The Hunt

[Alex]

Shana put her paw comfortingly on Kala's.
"I'm so sorry to hear that... you must have been so strong to get through that. But... I guess, no matter how long ago you lose someone, the pain never quite goes away, does it?"
Feeling tears well up, Shana gazed down at the floor miserably.

[growl1]

"No, Kala replied, "No, it never does. Sometimes I dream about him, and then I wake up and I want to tell him, but he's not there. Do you ever wonder what happened to Kiume?", she asked, trying to lighten the mood.
(OOC: I'm having a lot of fun with this. It's one of the bright spots in my day. I'm so glad you let me join.
Thanks, Alex,
Growl1)

[Alex]

(OOC: Me too, Growl1! It's really fun because I don't have a clue where the story's going to go - so the story can turn out so different to how it starts! Thanks for joining and hope we keep having so much fun with it
"I think about him everyday, wondering if he's OK, where he is... Sometimes I wonder if he's found a pride and he's settling down, with a few lionesses..."
Taking a breath, Shana stopped herself.
"But I prefer to imagine that he misses me as much as I miss him. It may just be a fantasy, but it keeps my hopes up that one day I'll find him."

[growl1]

"Maybe you will. So, now that we're done telling stories, what do you wanna do now? Or are we just supposed to keep talking and watching these adorable little cubs?," Kala asked.
(OOC: Sorry I haven't posted sooner. Saturday when I was on here, the dang computer wouldn't let me log on. I got really, really mad.
Bye,
G. 1.)

[Kirsui]

((OOC: A little suggestion I could give ya two.. When you use OOCs, put a space between the OOC text and the IC (in character, meaning the actual RPing) text. Like this:

OOC: she's a cheetah, btw

IC:
Seleter walked along to the river... (etc.)

That way it's easier for others to see where the OOC ends and IC begins. ))

[Alex]

((OOC: OK, thanks Kirsui, I'll remember to do that. And don't worry Growl1, I might not be very quick at replying atm because I'm very busy right now))

IC:
Stretching, Shana glanced up at the sun to gauge the time.
"I guess we just have to wait for the others to come back from the hunt," she replied.
Suddenly she heard a mighty roar from the distance. Looking out over the savannah, she saw the figure of a male lion sprinting towards them.

[growl1]

Kala jumped up and said,
"Who in the world is that? And what do you think he wants?"
She continued to gaze at the lion, coming ever closer to them.
(OOC: I hope you post again soon. I'm missing you and I can't wait to see what this strange lion has in store for them.
G. 1.)

[Alex]

((OOC: Sorry about the wait! I've been so busy with school >.< and I don't think I can play the part of this strange lion because I've already got 2 chars, Shana and Azura, so I don't think I'm allowed to RP another char. You can take him over and make him anything you want, or another member can, or whatever. I'll write a short post about Shana now but I'll try to be vague so whoever ends up taking this strange lion can do what they like with him.))

IC:
Leaping quickly off the rock they were lying on, Shana growled,
"I don't know who he is, but I'm not taking any chances, not when I'm in charge of the cubs. Get them all together in the den, and quick."
She proceeded to round the cubs up, picking the tiniest cub up and leading the rest to the den nearby. Her fur bristled with anger and fear; she could almost taste the danger in the air.

[growl1]

Kala sensed something was wrong, too. She herded some of the cubs ahead of her. Once they were all in the den, she turned to Shana and said,
"Whoever he is, I don't think he's up to any good."
(OOC: Alex, do you think I should make him Kiume or Mufasa? I can't decide.)

[Alex]

"Me neither,"
Shana replied grimly.
When she was sure all the cubs were safe in the den, she crept round the side of the den to see where the strange lion was, and, to her alarm, he was out of sight. She hissed urgently,
"Kala! I can't see him any more! He must be hiding, or... he could have run in a different direction - either way, it's not good! What should we do?"
There was real panic in Shana's voice now, as she scanned the horizon with her keen brown eyes. There was no sign of the rest of her pride either; they wouldn't be back from their hunt for a while.

((OOC: Ooooh this could be an interesting plot twist! But... I thought Mufasa was dead? :S It's up to you, though, you should choose who he is. I can adapt to either situations I look foward to seeing who you choose!))

[growl1]

(OOC: Well, yeah, he's dead, but if you don't remember, in an earlier post, I put that Kala had never given up hope that someday he would return from the dead. But I think I'll make him Kiume instead. Does that make you happy?)
IC: Kala could tell there was panic in her friend's voice. She said,
"I could go out there and go look around for him."
She waited to hear what Shana had to say about this suggestion.

[Alex]

((OOC: Ohh right. Yeah that will make me happy, but it's completely up to you - either way it will be really interesting to see how this whole thing turns out!))
IC:
"Would you? It's just... well, if anything happens to these cubs... I must stay here to protect them. And I'll watch your back from up here. Just... just don't go putting yourself into danger. Have a quick look, then come straight back. OK?"
Shana kept glancing around worriedly, her voice low and urgent. Time was running away from them. There was still no sign of the rest of the pride, or of the strange lion. They needed to act fast.

[growl1]

"Ok, I will," Kala said, then crept out slowly, stopping every 2 seconds to look around. She went off to the north, looking around for signs of him.
"Come on, where are you?," she whispered.
Suddenly, she heard a low growl from her left, turned, and next thing, she knew, this lion comes jumping out at her. She had just enough time to scream before he pinned her down. She slashed him on the cheek and he backed off. She jumped up, teeth bared, while hoping Shana would come help. She didn't want to have to fight this male alone. She growled thorugh clenched teeth,
"Who are you and what do you want?"
(OOC: What does Kiume look like? I need to put his description in the next post.
G.1.)

[Alex]

((OOC: It's really up to you, but I always imagine him to have Outlander-ish colours, ie. black mane, dark body fur, and for him to be lean but muscular. Maybe he could have some kind of distinguishing feature, like... blue eyes, or a scar off his attack, or some interesting marking, or something? Just use your imagination!))

IC:
Crouched in the shadows by the den, Shana's keen eyes widened with shock and fear as a piercing scream ripped through the air.
"Kala!"
Shana was torn between her responsibility to the cubs, and her fear for her friend - she wanted nothing more than to be able to tear herself in half. Turning desperately to the wide-eyed, terrified cubs, she sought out the biggest of them. Her eyes fell on two cubs who were nearing adolescence - a male, Shahaab, and a female, Binah, who were fairly sensible and responsible.
"Shahaab, Binah - can I trust you to look after the rest of the cubs? Kala is in danger, and I have to help her. I'll be as quick as I can; I just need to make sure she's OK."
Smiling gratefully when the two cubs agreed, Shana continued,
"Thank you! Listen - you all need to be really grown up and look after each other. None of you can leave the den. I'll be back, very soon, I promise. Be good!"
With that, Shana sprang down from the den and sprinted across the distance. Her heart racing and her paws pounding, she made herself concentrate. She had to save Kala.

[growl1]

(OOC:Thanks!)
IC: Kala studied him closely. He had Kovu-colored fur, blue eyes, black mane, and he was lean but strong. His most distinguishing feature was a scar running around the right side of his right eye. She growled again,
"I said, who are you and what do you want?"
"Name's Kiume," he replied casually and Kala remembered.
"I remember you. From a story a good friend of mine told me. Her name is Shana."
Kiume, who had been on the verge of telling Kala to shut up and leave him alone, stopped.
"Did you say Shana?"
"Yeah."
"So, you know her?"
"Yeah. She should be coming here any minute," Kala said, sitting down to wait for Shana to show up.

[Alex]

Running towards the direction of the scream, Shana found herself heading towards the waterhole - she knew the waterhole was nearby because there was more lush greenery around her. Tumbling through the trees, she nearly fell flat on her face several times, but she perservered determinedly. Suddenly, she heard voices right up ahead.
"Kala? Kala, where are you?" she yelled.
Shana was so close... she knew Kala was nearby... there! A flash of gold between the trees, the low rumbling growl of a male lion... Shana leapt into a clearing between the trees. There was Kala, unhurt, by the look of it. Confused, Shana spun to stare at the other lion. He had a look of deep shock on his face, and it took Shana a moment to register the blue eyes, and the scar down the side of his face. She stared. It was him.
Hardly daring to believe it, Shana whispered,
"Kiume?"

[growl1]

Kiume stared back.
"Shana? Is it really you?"
He looked from Kala to Shana, as if daring someone to say, "Gotcha!," and laugh like it was all a big joke, but no one did. He looked in her eyes, and realized the truth.
"It is you!"
He wanted to cry, finding his love again like that, but he didn't. He just smiled at her and waited for her to say something.

[Alex]

Shana felt a great bubble of joy inside. It was like all of her dreams had come true - here was Kiume stood in front of her, alive and well! After her initial shock, she was dizzy with delight. She grinned, a huge, ecstatic grin which she couldn't seem to hold in.
Suddenly, she found herself leaping towards Kiume and nuzzling into him. She wanted to feel the warmth of his thick dark mane as she cuddled close. For a moment she simply stood, breathing in his scent, her senses flooded with this exhiliration and pure happiness. She felt the ache in her heart disappear.
"I... You... Where have..."
Her excitement made her stutter. Trying to make the words scrambling out of her mouth form an orderly queue, she murmured,
"I've missed you so much Kiume..."

[growl1]

Kala watched the two with an ache in her own heart. She remembered that she and Mufasa used to do that. She smiled, happy that her friend had finally found her true love.
Meanwhile, Kiume continued to hold Shana close and said,
"I've missed you, too, Shana. I love you."

[Alex]

Shana smiled and licked Kiume's muzzle lovingly.
"I love you more than anything in the world," she whispered. She nuzzled close to Kiume, purring tenderly, for a moment longer, before pulling reluctantly away.
"Where have you been? It's been so hard, Kiume. I wanted to come and find you, but there wasn't much chance that I could track you down out in the savannah."
Suddenly a thought struck Shana and she asked, the panic rising in her voice,
"How come you're back? Does my father know you're here?"
Shana knew her father wouldn't take kindly to Kiume returning, especially not now he was so strong and fit. Her heart jolted with fear.

[growl1]

"No, he doesn't. Why?," Kiume asked, puzzled. "Do you think he'll try to attack me or something?"

[Kirsui]

((OOC: me coming in with my advices again... ;D
when you are in the actual RPs, avoid one liners (replies with only one line). Though it might sound hard in some cases, write details into the reply to make it longer than a few sentenses. Describe the surrnounding areas, how the character feels, what he/she is thinking, what kind of expression he/she has etc.
That way your reply gives more to other players to react to. ))

[growl1]

Ok, I was kind of in a hurry, so I didn't want to put too much. Thanks!
G. 1.

[Alex]

Shana's heart tightened with fear.
"I-I'm not sure, but I don't think he's going to be very happy," she murmured grimly. She thought of the cubs she had left in charge back at the den, and felt guilty that she had forgotten them in her excitement about Kiume.
"I need to get back to the den, I left the cubs alone. The hunt should be back soon - which means Father will be coming to the den to eat. If we hurry back to the den, we can talk things over, and work out what we'll do about Father. OK?"
Shana looked to her friends.

[growl1]

Kiume said,
"Sure, I don't mind."
Kala said,
"I don't mind, either. Since I don't have permission from Shana's dad, either."
So they all headed back to the den, Kiume staying as close as possible to Shana, and Kala a few steps behind them.

[Alex]

Hurrying back to the den, Shana felt a surge of joy as she realised how closely Kiume was following her. She loved the familiarity that had already settled between them - even after their months apart.
Before long, they were climbing the slopes to the den. Suddenly, Shana stopped dead in her tracks, as she caught a scent on the air. Lions - in the den. Snarling, Shana sprinted up the remainder of the slope to the den, where she found -
"Azura?"
Shana stared in shock at the lead lioness, who stood with a few of the other lionesses in the mouth of the den.

Swinging round when she heard her name, Azura growled angrily. It was that foolish lioness, the one who was always daydreaming about something or other.
"Shana! Where have you been? I trusted you to look after the cubs, and I came back to find you gone!"
And the fool moaned when she wasn't trusted to join in the hunts!
Behind Shana, a golden lioness appeared, and Azura snarled furiously, leaping forward to confront this stranger.
"Who are you?"

[growl1]

(OOC: Before I go on, I want to remind you, that Kala's color is dirty blonde, not golden. That's just the color of the rings around her eyes. Thanks!
G. 1.)
IC: Kala replied,
"My name's Kala, and I'm just passing through. I'm a friend of Shana's. I met her today when you guys were out hunting. I'll be on my way in the morning, if her father is kind enough to let me stay here, that is."
Kala sensed this lioness, Azura, meant business. She waited to hear what Azura or Shana had to say about any of this and wether she would be allowed to stay. She hoped she would. She didn't want to leave her new friends.

[Alex]

((OOC: I'm so sorry, I think I just misunderstood your description... I'll remember in the future!))

IC:
Staring at this strange lioness, Azura felt her anger building up inside her. How dare Shana give this stranger permission to trespass on their land! Ignoring this new lioness, Azura's green eyes flashed with fury as she turned to Shana.
"And you think your father will just agree to this, do you? You think he'll just welcome a strange lioness, who, for all you know, could be just about anyone?"
Without letting Shana speak, Azura went on, her voice low and threatening, "If you've put the pride in danger..."

Shana stared at the lead lioness. Azura had a notoriously prickly personality and short temper, especially towards Shana. Shana herself knew Azura thought of her as a liability to the pride; after Shana's beloved mother, Ayanna, died after a long illness when Shana was a young adolescent, Azura had been left to look after her neice as her closest relative - she was Ayanna's older sister. However, Azura had never managed to bring herself to give Shana the same love and attention as she gave her real cubs - Shana knew that much. But she had never been able to figure out why.
She wasn't expecting this outburst from her aunt, though. Feeling her own temper fraying, Shana snapped,
"But she's not just anyone! She's my friend! I trust her, and she won't put the pride in any danger at all. And... I'll tell Father myself - I'll explain that Kala won't be with us for long. He'll understand."
Even as she said it, Shana knew there was no chance her father would understand. He was extremely aware of the safety of the pride and was constantly checking for intruders. Thinking about intruders made Shana wonder where Kiume was. She prayed that he had realised not to interfere, and that he would stay out of sight of the pride.

((OOC: I hope you don't mind that I brought a bit of Shana's history into this post by linking Azura and Shana. I just felt it would give Azura a bit more of a role in the story, as well as making it all more interesting.))

[growl1]

(OOC: No, I don't! It actually makes it more interesting.)
IC: Kala didn't like this new lioness, Azura, very much already. She decided she had to tell her who she really was, that she wasn't "just about anyone." She said,
"Um, excuse me, Azura? Would you happen to know who the ruler of Pride Rock is?," she asked while putting a claw to her lips to warn Shana not to say anything, while she waited for Azura to reply, hoping that Azura knew at least about Mufasa. She looked up at the sky and thought,
Mufasa, what do I do now?

[Alex]

((OOC: I'm a little confused - is Kala the ruler of Pride Rock? Or Mufasa? :S I won't post an IC in case I get it wrong and mess up the whole storyline))