=--------------------------------------------------------------------------= ___ _ _ ___ ' | ` |__| |__` 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. =--------------------------------------------------------------------------= [ January 09, 2006 ] -- Uzima Valley -- Top of a Hill Standing atop this slightly raised part of the grassy savannah to the north, you can see down into a moderately large valley bordered on all sides but this one by a very steep, rocky ridge. From here, you can continue down the hill into the valley towards a herd of impala, peacefully grazing in the long grasses, go north out into the plains again, or go around the valley by climbing the ridge that from here, gently slopes upwards. Down the [N]orthern Edge of the Hill (defunc due to land loss) Down the [S]orthern Edge of the Hill You can see... [IC ] Balana, up to her ears in a sea of cubs. [IC ] Kizingo [IC ] Thakur [IC ] Kizingo [ZZZ] Tahlili Chanika Chanika is a sturdy young Lioness cub, only a few months old, with the fluffed edging of youth and the inevitable cute look, but so far not much about her which proclaims delicacy. Her head is proportionally large at this stage, of course, with fringed, round ears jutting out. She is wide-eyed, fascinated with others' interest and what she is learning on the world beyond that. Her large eyes have changed from a newborn's misty blue to a variegated hazel, with dark corners, tiny streaks of red-brown, and a glimpse of silver around her pupils. Places on her face are tinged with white, a little lighter than the rest of her: most of her pelt is a dry-grass tawny liberally scattered with ruddy spots, these blotches a deeper brown along her back. Her tail is approaching the proper length, although it still doesn't quite have a full, darker tuft at the end. Balana Balana has definitely seen a fair share of life. Her features show signs of age, the few grey furs intermixed into her pelt and the look in her eyes suggesting she's nearing the end of her prime. A tawny color covers her topside, a lighter tawny/off white on the underside, as well as the inside of her ears. Her eyes are a deep brown, almost the same dark chestnut as her tailtuft. Despite her age, this lioness is in excellent physical condition, of average build and standing slightly taller than most lionesses. She has a few visible scars, all of which appear to be minor. She carries herself with a certain confidence and nobility, even though her days as a ruler have long since passed. Some habits stay around for life. Currently, her rounded belly has shrunk, though she still carries evidence of being a nursing mother. Kizingo It's a wee little cubby! This young male cub has a fairly light coloration to him, though certainly not white or albino. His eyes have a dark brown color highlighted with a touch of crimson, like wet clay perhaps. His youth shows through with his cubspots still being quite promenant on his pelt, otherwise appearing to be quite healthy and normal, at least on visual inspection... Not going back to the Golden Lands, having a distinct lacking of Chibi, of the rest of the pride... The oldest lioness has been keeping her distance for the most part, coming back to the hill to feed the cubs, or to go hunting, but mostly lonliness has been her companion. Making a check in, she makes her way slowly back up the hill, head and tail lowered. Chanika is flopped on her back, bravely trying to entertain herself, but the grass waving above her head is losing what little interest it intially had, even as it bounces obediantly away from the cub's batting paw. She squints upward to the grey sky, visible beyond the green stalks. The art of vibration detecting has become something of an obsession for Kizingo possibly because he's no other choice for what to do with himself. Any and all efforts to fit in amongst the others of his age have proven disasterous, at least as far as he can tell.. all that jaw flapping without any idea what they're trying to communicate.. then he ends up doing something that gets stares and then he just runs away. Now, tracking things and exploring by the quivers of the ground.. that he can do without fear of rejection. He's getting pretty good at it too, already having nearly caught a rabbit on his own the other day. Right now the deaf cub is crouched in the brush, carefully approaching the female cub nearby.. so far not seeming to be noticed. Thakur pushes his way onward through the grasses, grumbling lightly to himself at how his size allows for them to become an impedence. He stops a moment, suddenly noticing that he isn't the only being rustling through the resistant strands of gold; there was someone else here. Possibly multiple else's. If he is visible to them, the first and most noticable aspect of his small form would be his eyes-two giant blobs of blood that almost glow through the night. The lion cub himself seems to bring with him a chill that washes over the lands, possibly attributable to an environmental oddity. He tries to see over the grasses without himself being spotted, carefully rearing up such that he peers over to the two cubs and Balana. The lioness barely notices her own two cubs, much less the foreign one making his way through the grasses. A low sigh is given as she pads over to settle a little bit away from Chanika, who she can see, and Kizi, who she can't, and lays her head down on her paws. She's not neglecting them, exactly... but certainly hasn't been such an attentive and playful mother as of late. Chanika catches the sounds of her mother's slow approach, and rolls over on to all four paws, quickly stepping to join her. With a wordless trill, she moves in close, intending a nuzzle and sideways fur-to-fur rub of easy familial greeting. She can't but sense some portion of Balana's quiet mood, but she will make the most of her presence, and all same. The movement of mother and the subsequent patter of the other cub's paws.. there's something else closeby, but it's too small to identify at his skill level. The male cub is put off by the change in the female's position but he keeps up his current effort. Shortly he's at the edge of the brush. There's mother.. there's the cub.. there's mother... aaaand... he rushes out and pounces! Thakur watches them a moment. It doesn't take long for him to realize that they're no threat whatsoever. He makes his way further towards them, soon close and visible enough to be possibly confused by the mother as one of her own cubs. Watching the exchange between Balana and Chani, he seats himself, scrunching his nose in confusion. /That/ never happened where he was from. His eyes fix on the scene without him noticing that he was staring, as if it were an alien in front of him. Her daughter's approach causes Balana to stir a little, and she leans down to give Chanika a soft nuzzle. "Hi, Nika..." The words are almost a murmur, little more before her daughter is pounced by Kizi. Blink! That was unexpected, and gives the lioness a light smile. She's glad to see Kizi playing. She doesn't notice Thakur right away, but eventually turns to look away from her two cubs, and lays eyes on him, blinking a little. "Oh... hello there." Sumi follows the path from the falls as it was all quiet down there, and wanted to get away before his father got any more bright ideas about learning to swim in that cold water. The thought of it just makes him shiver soon he makes it partway up the hill as he listens for any signs of anyone being awake. Hearing the sounds he hurries his pace up a little, doing nothing to be silent or hidden by sound or sight. Chanika squeaks, her intended reply cut off by the shock of Kizingo pouncing her--with uncharacteristic forwardness. She of course realises that this is play, and responds appropriately, letting herself be bowled over on to her side. Her back conveniently braced against her mother's flank, in case of further tussling, and she is more than ready for the latter, her tail twitching with anticipation, the dark tuft striping the air. Unfortunately it isn't exactly 'play' for the pouncing male. Of course since it isn't a serious attempt to catch prey than it can certainly be considered play, though there's a real reason for this practise as it helps to confirm his improving skill at hunting. He makes a low warbling sound in his throat as his head tosses about, clinging to his sister in a few moments of strong grasping. All at once he releases and jerks away up onto his paws, striding away, actually seeming proud of himself for a moment. Thakur seems to calm a little from his deer-caught-in-headlights stare after a moment. "Hello." he responds to Balana, gazing up at her with his typically emotionally muted expression. Ears flick backwards and he is suddenly filled with a powerful longing to get out of here. This was not his home, and these beings were confusing and discomforting to him. He did not play. Nor did he rub against his parents. "Where am I..? I was trying to return to the elephant graveyard." The brief scuffle of her own two cubs is left to sort itself out as Balana looks at Thakur, nor does she notice Sumi making his way up the hillside. Tilting her head, the lioness folds an ear. "You're in the Uzima Valley. We're west of Pride Rock..." She blinks a little. "The elephant graveyard? You live there?" Chanika is somewhat surprised at Kizingo letting her go and strutting off, giving her no time to retaliate, but although faintly bored up until this point, she doesn't feel like chasing after him. Indeed, it's rather warming to see him looking that confident; his quiet and shrinking has been more disturbing to his sister as she grew older to see it clearly. "He did good," she speaks up, with a flicker of a glance to Balana, and then belatedly her round ears swivel as well, taking in the exchange of words with the unfamiliar male cub. Sumi climbs up higher as he spots Balana and the others and gives out a, "Hello." before he moves up towards them, he spots Kizingo and thumps the ground twice to try to get his attention before waving to him if he looks towards him. Kizingo takes interest in a small pebble, dabing at it with his forepaw in a manner that suggests that he's not actually interested in it, just lacking in anything else to do now that the pouncing bit is over.. he's not exactly used to being sociable. Unfortunately mother seems to be occupied. The taping of Sumi's paw doesn't seem to be noticed right away.. maybe it only works with his mother so far? Balana perks her ears up a little as Chanika speaks to her, and she turns to look at her. "Who, Kizi?" She leans down to nuzzle Chanika softly. "Let him know about it, remember? Get to where he can see you, and smile and nod your head... You're my good girl helping him learn." She turns to look over at Sumi, and then reaches over near him to give two louder, more firm taps to get Kizi to look. Sumi smiles over to Balana as he moves a bit closer and chuckles, "Maybe I just need bigger paws..." he says as he hasn't gotten Kizingo to look at him yet with the paw tapping, but doesn't mean he won't keep trying. Thakur tilts one ear to the side and breaks eye contact with Balana. "Why is it everyone asks me that?" he murmurs in monotone, frowning slightly. "I live in the elephant graveyard when I can get away from my parents. I prefer it there to my home." The cub seems emotionally cold, and he in fact takes a step backwards from you. "You have very.. different habits here in Uzima Valley compared to what I am accustomed to. Just like everywhere else I go. I want to go home..." he murmurs, glancing around anxiously while his chin quivers a bit. "What way do I have to go to get to the graveyard?" Chanika blows out a loud breath at this detailed instruction. Kizingo's gone off to play with a pebble, after all, and if he wants to creep up, pounce, and then go mull over his triumphs with the help of a small rock, it's no skin off Chanika's small pink nose. Still, she obligingly trots over to her brother, swinging round to stop in front of him with an overly-large smile and a couple of quick nods for good measure. She spares a squinting look back towards Thakur, but Balana seems to be dealing with him, and Chanika isn't particularly bothered. Kizingo's head is quick to swivel back towards mother when she does the double tap that's been taught as the means to gain his attention. His wide eyes look towards mother expectantly, perhaps eager for her attention specifically, which wouldn't be a surprise considering how dependant he is uppon her and the fact that she's been so reclusive lately. Instead he's met by his sister as she trots up to him. At first he shys back a step, head sinking down, but the head bobs and toothy display hold him from retreating further. He does glance at mother once before making a soft crooning tone, swaying a little as his tail twitches in quivers behind him on the ground, bashful it seems. Balana smiles a little to Sumi. "You'll get them, in time. And I think we just have to practice with him to get used to it..." He smiles a little as he sees Chanika before Kizi, giving him the same smile and a nod, and also nodding to indicate Sumi as well. "Sumi, go closer, but slowly." She then turns to look back at Thakur, blinking a little. "Er... We're just not used to lions living in the graveyard with hyenas, but rather with other lions..." Her ears fold. "It really is a little late to head back to the graveyard, but from here you go back that way through the pass..." The lioness nods towards it. "Then towards the big rock, and keep going past it to the waterhole. But... you're more than welcome to sleep here." "Yeah, she's ignoring us," Chanika tells her brother casually, but leans towards him for a light brush of noses, a low-key, consoling nuzzle. Her gaping smile slips a little at the admission--although more independant these days, and expressive of things, she is still an attention-sponge at heart--and at seeing Kizingo's returning uncertainty. Sumi moves towards Kizingo and Chanika as he waves again, "Heya you two." he says, his eyes looking towards Kizingo as he tries double tapping again once he's looking towards his direction to see if he spots him or not. He moves slowly while doing this as not to spook Kizingo, though he does eye Chanika as she seems to ignore him too. Kizingo's eyes meerly blink slowly as his sister works her jaw.. the meaning of it seems to be whimsical as her eyes and mannerisms suggest so he doesn't react to it as badly as he ususally does. Rather he just keeps his head low, body turned such that he's perpendicular to his sister, hindquarters sidesteping away when she means closer to touch him. He makes another cooing sound as he's nuzzled but seems to be quickly encouraged by it and suddenly leans towards her to return the affection with a bit more earnestness, patting the ground with his forepaw. If that was an attempt at communicating himself it's cut off by the approach of another cub whom he now peers towards. His eyes blink quickly as he sidesteps further and shuffles where he stands following the cub's double tap. He glances at his sister then back at the other male, now seeming to look to her for confirmation. Thakur pads a little closer to the lioness. He curls up in a little ball close to her elbow, without touching her. It might seem odd to a mother that a cub would not want the warmth you expell. "thanks." Though it seems like he would have rather taken off then and there, the cub takes Balana's advice. He shivers there, frightened of how the lot of furs acted here, however it was better than whatever waited for him in the pitch black of night while he was alone. "I'm scared, lioness." Balana blinks lightly as she hears Chanika's words, looking over. She's about to reprimand her, but stops before she realizes that her daughter's right. At least... she has been as of late. Catching Sumi inching closer, and then Kizi looking to Chanika for a response, she speaks up quickly to change the subject. "Chanika, honey, please... You're doing very good too. Smile and nod again to Kizi and point at Sumi, even if you may not feel like it... Then come talk to me." He turns to look down at Thakur, giving him a slight smile. "Now, there's nothing to be afraid of here. Nobody here is going to hurt you. My name is Balana, what's yours?" Chanika ducks her head, hoping to get her face out of Balana's clear sight, before quirking her mouth, not /quite/ rolling her eyes, but discreetly showing Kizingo just what she thinks of all the instructing that her mother is piling on to her, on top of acting so interested in the far-from-personable cub. This done, she straightens her face, and waves one forepaw at Sumi, before drawing off to leave him and her brother to, well, greeting if not talking. She trails over to Balana, all careful-politeness in her movements, tail held level. No doubt she'll get that talking in a while. Sumi moves closer to Kizingo as he gives a smile and waves to him and then stops a short distance away, close enough that Kizingo can see him clearly, but far enough back that he hopes he's not too scared or worried about his presence. Kizingo's head tips to one side before his nose then scrunches up, exposing his fangs with whiskers splayed and tongue jutting out a bit, all this accented by a vocalization that comes out as 'eh?'.. quite possibly his first successfully communicated word, even if it wasn't really intended to be that. Obviously he's not sure how to interperate his sister's gestures beyond that she has an issue with mother in some manner that's bothering to her. This does distract him away from being leery of the other male cub so after he watches his sister trot away his gaze turns to the other male cub, blinking at him casually as his tail does a twitch behind him, eyes seeming to ask 'who are you and why should I care?' in a breif moment of bluntness.. of course his gestures may not always match his intentions. "Thakur." he mumbles, omitting the prince part of his title. "I'm not afraid of being hurt. I'm scared of how you-and they-behave. It is discomforting to try and sleep in a land full of things you can't understand." The cub tucks his head down after that, staring out at the other cubs sleepily. Sumi continues to move slowly towards Kizingo once he's paying attention and moves as close as Kizingo will let him before he leans to rub against his side lightly as he tries to be friendly. He looks towards Balana for his own confirmation as he's still a bit worried about upsetting Kizingo or startling him. Balana pulls Chanika close with a forepaw, leaning down to nuzzle her. "I'm sorry, I haven't been more attentive, sweetie... I'll tell you about it soon, though, I promise..." She looks over to Kizi and Sumi, then taps her paw on the ground twice as she gives a light smile and nod to Sumi before calling him over. "Come over too, Sumi..." He then turns to look back at Thakur, head tilting. "Well... don't worry. You just get some rest, and maybe you can tell me about it in the morning." =--------------------------------------------------------------------------=