=--------------------------------------------------------------------------= ___ _ _ ___ ' | ` |__| |__` oooo | | | |__, .ooooo. o 88 ---------------------------------------------------- o8" `"o8 88 ooo oo888oo ooo ooo ooo oo ooo ooo ooo d8' " 88 8 ,8' `8. 8"8 8 8 o8' 8 8"8 8 d8 88 8 88 88 8 8 8 8o' 8 8 8 8 88 oooo 88 8 88 88 8 8 8 88o 8 8 8 8 88 di 88 ,o 8 `8. ,8' 8 8.8 8 `8. 8 8 8.8 `88. ,8i o88ooooo'o8o `"ooooo"' o8o o8o o8o `8o o8o o8oo o8 (c)"88oood' =--------------------------------------------------------------------------= The Lion King is copyright 1994 by the Walt Disney Company. This MUCK in no way constitutes a challenge to this copyright. =--------------------------------------------------------------------------= [ March 20, 2000 ] _( the pride lands )__________________________________________________________ In Front of Pride Rock You stand in the middle of the vast Pride Lands, and as you gaze upwards the familiar monolithic shape of Pride Rock towers above you. As you look around yourself, you see several examples of the denizens of the Pride Lands milling slowly around the area: giraffes busy among the leaves of the baobab trees, a small herd of gazelles cropping the grass and peering around interestedly, and several lionesses lying lazily in the shade below the Promontory of Pride Rock or sunning themselves on nearby flat rocks. You see a path running up the side of the Rock, leading into a dark cavern's mouth above you. South [S] Northern Savannah [N] In [F]ront of the [P]romontory [Pa]th in Front of Pride Rock -Pride Rock- You can see... [IC ] Ayorith [IC ] Kitran - - -= Batui =- - - Handsome, perhaps, to one of his own kind, although the regular blots of black patterning this Serval's pelt would seem strangely placed to Leopards or Cheetahs, and merely strange to Lion-kind. The way this svelte feline holds himself is confident, with a touch of arrogance as well, and not misplaced. Young as he might be, Batui's appearance attests to his experience in dealing with his own kind on a physical level: traced over his foreshoulders and flanks are ridges of scarring. The sparse fur around these marks is lighter than elsewhere, the yellowed white of throat and belly, instead of the rich, rust-tinted gold of the remainder of his pelt that is not marked with the dark shadowing of spots, gathering to parallel lines of mottling down his spine. At the crown of his small head, the black flows over the small space remaining between two sizable, upright ears. Then, on the Serval's face, pitch markings scatter over the tracing of tones, orange to bright gold to the not quite white on muzzle and around the edges of his eyes. These, hued a washed out amber, are constantly darting glances at their owner's surroundings--whether familiar or not... Indeed, Batui's whole demeanor is that of one ready for fast action, be it aggression, prudent retreat, or a few carefully considered, laconically spoken words. As if in emphasis, Batui's black-ringed tail-- short as in all his kind, reaching perhaps half the length of his hindlimbs--twitches in a regular motion that could swiftly excelerate into lashing if the Serval is provoked. Moment to moment, then, he lives, but not so exclusively that he cannot attend to keeping himself presentable. Somewhat thin, perhaps, but his pelt is sleek, bearing only the traces of dust that gather between groomings. Journeyer's dust. A traveller, this one, if not quite what could be called a wanderer. Batui has none of that half shy, half defiant anger of those without known lineage and acknowledged past. No, he is confident enough in where he comes from, and if where he is going is a thing that changes from day to day-- well, Batui is content in that. - - -= -=- =- - - Ayorith Ayorith is a young nonmorphic/natural serval, standing around twice the size of a big housecat and reaching above knee height. As a serval she's fairly tall, but especially lithe/thin, her body is covered completely in a short, but thick and plush, layer of fur; Mostly a soft sandy brown in color, though its covered in little black speckled dots all over her body. In particular a series of black marks are dotted close together just under neck, creating the impression she's wearing a necklace of natural markings. As she's nonmorphic she walks around on all fours in a digitigrade stance, all four of her limbs ending in a neat set of toes with heavy but soft padding underneath them. Her Legs are long and slender though surprisingly lean looking despite some inherit strength, the rear legs are longer then the front legs meaning her thin rear stands about the same height as the tip of her head whilst both sets of legs contain a sharp set of sheathable claws. Behind her body is her tail, a fairly long one as it trails near the floor, also being round and fairly thin it spends most of it's time in the air to some degree, either held aloft or curled upwards since it's agile enough; The end of it ends in a black tip with extra fluffy fur. Being a healthy female serval her body is slender though a little lanky looking, her rear hips thicker set then her front limbs, while underneath her lower underside hangs trimly with her soft fur covering it up. Her neck is fairly short, ending in a surprisingly small, almost dainty, looking head. Atop of it, and easily one of her most noticable features, are her ears as they are twice the size of a normal cats, being especially long and rounded; They also twitch and swivel about to pinpoint sound and are filled with a plush layer of fur to keep them warm, often giving them a cute effect. Her muzzle is fairly short and flat, though the sides of the bridge of her nose have thin lines of black markings defining her face. Her eyes are suitably feline, an odd pale gold with a black pupil that contracts or the reverse due to the light; Each eye is also lined with black. Her mouth, joined to her nose by a thin line like any felines, is soft, almost always mirthfull looking. Her nose is flat and rounded, almost 'buttony' and cute in a way, while the sides of her muzzle and face are covered in extremely long, fluffy white whiskers. Not on a hunt, so hardly bothering with concealing himself, Batui moves through the grass. Where from? Does it really matter? He's close enough now, to be noticed, step direct. Not as an owner of the ground, but as a confident traveller. Ayorith smiles, glancing up from Kitran and then freezing up a bit in surprise, ears swiveling back a moment before she nods politely. Batui pauses himself, in mid-step, all but his tail in the open at that moment. "Greetings." It is sound rather than motion which comes from him first, pitched evenly, neutral and considering. Ayorith blinks, raising herself up onto being sat on her haunches, but keeping her head pretty low, "..Hello there." Kitran You see before you a very cute little lion cub. He has cubby blue eyes which seem like they might change to green as he gets older. His furry pelt of fur is a brownish gold in color, much like his uncle Kit. He looks to you and smiles, showing off his cuteness and his playfulness. Then he goes about finding a new way to torment his sister (or to find a way out of his sister's torment). Kitran looks over his shoulder and looks at the serval. "Hi," he says in a shy voice. Batui ignores the young Lion for the moment, not precisely rudely, but merely because the male Serval does not see the relevance. His attention remains on the female of his own kind, as he takes a couple of slow steps nearer to her. Ayorith is still sat directly beside Kitran, head perpetually tilted in curiousity, though she comments to the lion cub, "I..didn't realise there were other servals around." Unheading of the direction of the comment, the source of the confusion speaks: "I might not... count. A wanderer only. Batui," he supplies the name, not adding lineage for once. A change. Kitran's brow knots as he feels a bit offended at being ignored but he's too shy and a bit nervous to say anything. Ayorith perks up one ear, then smiles a bit and settles enough to lie back down beside the cub, feeling more relaxed, "..Yori. Pleased to meet you then." Batui's head tilts to one side fractionally at the short length of the name, as well as the unsupplied bloodlines. But then, he set the example, did he not? "Pleased," he echoes, taking advantage of the peace to edge closer, mouth very slightly parted. Ayorith looks a bit perplexed it seems, her ears swiveling a little though she remains lying down, "A wanderer you say...Have you no family either?" Batui answers in a light enough tone, after closing his mouth with a momentary swipe of his tongue, and a moue of diappointment, "Oh no, quite the reverse. Simply that I'm long past the age to remain with them, hmm?" Kitran looks to the male serval, still waiting to be recognized by him. Batui utterly fails to oblige the Lion cub by reacting to his presence. Tactful. Ayorith nods, debating that, "Oh..Guess that can happen..", seeming not sure what to say, her tail flicking slowly. Batui adds helpfully, "I'm Kilahri's of Ryana's child, by Tuissar. Brother to Kukeni. Of Gressir's matriline. That do you?" After a beat, the male mentions, "As for the next generation, I've no young I'm aware of." Kitran rolls his eyes to the male serval and his linage, smirking, . o O ( If only he knew who I am... he'd be a little more respectful to me... ) Ayorith tilts her head, "You lost touch with your family?" Batui's foreshoulders lift in an elegant shrug. Although actually, the lines of scarring there make it nearer a display. "Of course. My sister and I went our own ways, and my mother was hardly willing to let me stay about, even had I wished to." Ayorith blinks, thinking about this, her brows furrowing slightly, "Why?" For a moment, the male's eyes narrow. It's not anger, but sheer confusion. "What would be the point?" Ayorith debates, then lowers her head, placing it between her forelimbs, "..I..well..Guess different people get different upbringings." "Could be," Batui answers, placidly enough. There is no point in antagonizing the other. Ayorith admits almost apologetically, "..I've..not met another serval in ages." Kitran continues to ask quietly for the serval's attention. . o O ( Just a hello or a nod would be fine for me... but he won't even look at me, as if I'm not even here! ) Batui might be joking, if that is his style. It is so difficult to tell from a short acquaintance. "Not got used to it yet?" Ayorith blinks, "Used to what?" The male replies simply, "To meeting few." Ayorith shrugs, smiling and glancing to the cub beside her, "I meet plenty of folk." Finally, Batui's gaze slides to Kitran, and rests there briefly. "I meant Servals," he says, dismissive. Ayorith blinks, "Well..No.. But lions are nice too!" Batui seems unimpressed. "Perhaps. But not... interesting." Kitran grrs at the serval, fed up with his attitude toward him and that remark just hit his last nerve. But instead of saying anything or acting in anger, he just rises to his paws and pads away. Ayorith raises herself up and mewls, "Kitran!" Batui falls still and silent both, letting the two play out their drama. Kitran sits down with his back toward the two and closes his eyes, trying to calm himself down. But his thoughts aren't helping any . o O ( I'll show him "not interesting" ... ) Ayorith hobbles some after the lion cub and around him so she can lower her head to press her forehead down against his, glad he stopped, "Hey..." Kitran opens his eyes and looks to Ayorith, muttering softly so the other serval can't hear, "Sorry about that, just couldn't take it no longer. Said I was 'not interesting', huh? Phff." Batui drops to his haunches--at least outwardly, he is totally unconcerned--and begins washing a forepaw. Ayorith flicks her ears, murring and nuzzling her chin between Kitran's ears, "Don't worry..You are interesting!" Kitran purrs a bit and nods. He glances back at the serval, still muttering, "I bet if I told him my linage, that I'm a prince (which I am), he'd think I was more interesting." Ayorith giggles, flicking her tail, glancing up to look for a long moment at Batui, then glancing back, "I ..doubt it." Batui lowers the paw which he has been cleaning to the ground, and gets to his paws. "I fail to see why I should," is the comment. He stares now at Ayorith, biting back a remark. Kitran smirks, responding to Yori, "Yeah, me too..." He rises his voice, looking to the male again, "You remind me of a stuck-up little prince-wannabe." Ayorith blinks and paws Kitran, "H..hey.." Batui stretches, spine curving with the motions, lengthy limbs extended, then with a shake that resettles dusty fur, stands firmly again. "I have no need to be," he states, cooly. "Then why don't you act like you're so much better than me when actually you're not?" the cub replies calmly back to Batui. "I am not your kind." Simple words, and undeniably true ones. "I also have no need for these designations as 'royalty', and I am certainly no child." Ayorith frowns, standing herself up with a slight hobble. Kitran frowns, turning to face him, "I didn't say you were a child, now did I? And I'm not your kind either, but I associate with my newest friend Yori, don't I?" Batui takes a single, slow-motion steps towards the Lion cub. "I am pleased you did not say it." The tone is ice. Ayorith pricks her ears up. Kitran stands his ground calmly, "And the part about royalty, yes, I am a prince, and I am a child, but I act a heck of a lot better than you do." Ayorith snorts, "Will you two quit it?" Batui's posture changes, to something a little more... fluid, shall we say, less obviously agressive. "You have a request?" He questions, with an evident attempt at charm. Ayorith blinks, lowering her head, "..I..Think I'm going to get a drink.." Batui grumbles under his breath, displeased at how this encounter has unfolded, and himself begins to move off. =--------------------------------------------------------------------------=