Might and Magic [Kirsui and Zorayda]

[Zorayda]

Characters:
Taro
Hlela

"The west perimeter is clear, sir." A blue-eyed lioness stood at the edge of a large pool, where her king was calmly watching the animals by the waterhole. The large golden male blinked slowly, as if coming out of a deep sleep.

"Hmm?" He focused on the serious lioness's face, smiling a bit at her decorum. "Oh, thank you, Helly." The ecru-and-cocoa brown lioness winced visibly at this little nickname, at which Taro inwardly chuckled. Hlela was always so serious... it was silly, really, considering the laid-back nature of the pride and the easygoing leader. But it was to be expected from one who used to live in such a rigid society... Hlela had once been a soldier, and even so young she was hardened by battle. Why she left was a mystery that she chose to keep secret from her current pride... but Taro trusted her. Something in her eyes made him give her permission to join their ranks.

"I wonder when they will come..." the lioness wondered softly, now staring out at the animals along with Taro. The lion tilted his head.

"When who will come?" he asked. Hlela focused her blue eyes on him and gave him a look that spoke of her incredulousness at his stupidity.

"The Arcane ones," she stated simply. Taro flattened his ears and brought them forward again. The Arcane animals. The rare ones born with magical capability... often times they overpowered their peers and became tyrants or killers. Even rarer than the magical beings were the kind ones... Because in this wild world, might won out against the weak.

"They have no reason to come here," Taro answered firmly. He felt the piercing, sidelong glance, even though Hlela said nothing. This was a foolish way of thinking, but... if someone did come along who presented these... awful powers... what would they do? They could fight back, yes. But they would almost certainly lose. Taro took in a deep breath, held it for a moment, and huffed it back out again. This did not ease his worry. "C'mon, Helly. Let's get back to the rest of the pride, I'm tired of walking around in this hot sun today."

[Kirsui]

Characters:
Bleak
Sera



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By the pool of water, Bleak sat in silence, gazing idly at the water's surface while ignoring the hot sunlight with surprisingly little effort. He had joined this peaceful pride of lions some time ago. They had taken him in with open arms when he had needed a place to stay, and treated him like he had been with them all his life. Still, there were times when he felt he didn't belong. Perhaps it was because of the solitude he had experienced while growing up that made him feel awkward in a group. Either way, he was grateful of their hospitality, and intented to pay back any way he could.

He smirked faintly, his ear twitching as he heard rustling from the grass behind him. He had always been a good scout, and right now the best way he could help this pride was by spreading his skills to whomever was willing to learn.

More rustling, and with a chuckle the black lion ducked, laying as flat against the ground as he could. A moment later he heard a loud splash and burst out into a merry laughter, scaring off some of the animals that had been calmly drinking water just a moment ago. There was more splashing, and he watched as one of the most uncommon creatures he knew emerged from underwater.

"Too loud, Sera", Bleak scolded playfully as the young cheelion scrambled back to shore. She had a wild, surprised expression on her face.

"I can do this", Sera insisted, shaking water out of her fur. Bleak shook his head with a quiet chuckle. Sure, it was admirable how determined the cheelion was, which was one of the reasons why Bleak had chosen to teach her. However...

"You need to be patient", Bleak pointed out. He glanced around out of habit, and noticed Taro and Hlela not too far away from Sera and himself. "It takes time to hone your skills. You have been going on at this for only a few weeks."

Sera grumbled something unclear under her breath, at which Bleak only shook his head as he stood up. "Come now, don't be like that. You've improved a lot since we first started. Just... be patient."

The cheelion sighed, but she knew Bleak was right and gave him a small nod. The black lion smiled faintly at that, then motioned for her to follow him as he began to approach Taro and Hlela.

"Sir", he greeted Taro first, turning then to nod a greeting at the blue-eyed lioness. "Hlela. Anything new going on today?"

[Zorayda]

Hlela's ear twitched and she faced a little away from the king, towards where two of their members were making noise in the still delta. Sera the cheelioness was messing about in the water for--some strange reason... while Bleak encouraged her. But the sleek, raven-colored lion made his way over and greeted them.

"Ah, hey there Bleak. Nothing new, really, no... Hlela and I have just finished scouting the perimeter of our territory." Taro tilted his head a little, looking past Bleak and over at the reddish cheelioness, currently dripping with water. "What were you two doing over there? There could be crocodiles in the water, you know--and with you muddying up the delta, you won't be able to see them until--" here he mimicked screaming and getting attacked by a crocodile. Hlela longed to roll her eyes but resisted the strong urge. Instead, her left eye twitched.

"What his majesty is saying is that you should be more careful," she finished in a deadpan voice.

"What? But I did say that," Taro pouted.

[Kirsui]

Bleak couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him when their king gave quite an interesting display of what could have happened. And while he did agree about the crocodiles, he was fairly certain Sera hadn't been in any real danger.

Sera, on the other hand, looked rather mortified at Taro's mimicry of a crocodile attack. She stared at the king with wide eyes and slightly flattened ears. When Bleak noticed her discomfort he reined in his amusement and spoke with a slightly softer tone.

"We were practicing, sir", Bleak explained. "I've been trying to teach Sera how to move stealthily. We agreed she would try to surprise me once a day at a moment of her choosing."

Sera smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, um... It... might not have been the best possible moment to pounce."

"Perhaps", Bleak agreed with a nod. "You got a lot closer than you have before though."

[Zorayda]

Taro got up from the ground as if nothing had happened and turned to the black lion. "Ohh, that's what you were doing." He gave Sera a nod. "Well, you surprised me, at least... I didn't know you were in there."

"No offense meant, sir, but you aren't trained in that regard," Hlela interrupted in her no-nonsense tone. "Sera would surprise anyone untrained, and possibly those with little training, but for a veteran like Bleak, it is much more difficult." Taro gave Hlela a mock-offended look, which she promptly pretended not to see.

"You got a lot closer than you have before though," Bleak assured Sera.

"A single day does not a soldier make," Hlela agreed. "Sera, you are welcome to try and practice with me, as well. I may not be a scout, but I have some skill in stealth tactics." She turned her eyes to Bleak. "So long as that's all right with you, Bleak."

"Well... we should probably be heading back. Sera, you should probably dry up in the sun, right?" Taro asked. "The rest of the pride will be waiting for us to get back, and you know how paranoid some of them get when we're late."

[Kirsui]

When Hlela complimented her skills, Sera's eyes lit up as an eager smile spread on her face. When the blue-eyed lioness offered to train her as well, she was almost overjoyed. Except that Hlela then asked Bleak if it would be alright. The cheelion turned to look at Bleak, a pleading look in her large eyes.

"Can I?" she asked quietly, hoping he would say yes and dreading that he might say no.

"Of course", the black lion answered. He remembered when he had been her age, and he too had been an eager student. It would be foolish of him to deny her this, especially since she was so willing to learn and had shown great promise during the time he had spent teaching her what he knew. Perhaps it was time she learned from another source too, and he was certain that whatever she would learn with Hlela would be valuable in the future.

"Well... we should probably be heading back. Sera, you should probably dry up in the sun, right?"

"Yes, sir." The cheelion replied, turning her attention to Taro. She would settle down to dry properly when they were back with the pride.

"The rest of the pride will be waiting for us to get back, and you know how paranoid some of them get when we're late."

Bleak chuckled lightly. While he felt that the king was perhaps exaggerating slightly, especially when considering the pride's relaxed nature, it would be better indeed if they didn't dally too much. He, for one, was eager to get out of the sunlight. He didn't mind the sun, but his fur would make him feel uncomfortable if he didn't get into the shade soon.

[Zorayda]

That spark of excitement in Sera's eyes made Taro practically melt inside. She could be so adorable when eager to learn, but he refrained from saying anything, instead just smiling secretly. If he fawned over her too much, it would take away from that 'super serious scout' thing she was going for. Even Hlela couldn't hide that little gleam of happiness in her eye. Ah, to be young like that again... not like he wasn't already young, but, to be that age was far more carefree.

"Bah," Taro muttered when Sera called him 'sir'. He didn't correct her, though--Hlela insisted that he be addressed properly to garner respect from the pride. Not that he didn't have their respect already--he was kind and gentle, though he could be commanding when the time called for it.

The walk back was in comfortable silence, with Sera's eagerness setting the air afire with her youth. Their home was humble--just a small den, akin to a wolf's, for when they all laid down for sleep out of the sun, but plenty of rocky outcroppings about and a few small trees scattered about. The waterhole was only about an hour's walk away, and between some of the rocks was a small pool that refreshed with every rainfall. The most popular spot for the pride to hang out was beneath a very large, fat baobob tree, carved up with claw markings of lions stretching their paws and from cubs trying their teeth out on the rough bark.

"Hey guys! Oh, hi, your majesty," a voice from above piped up. High up in the branches was a grey-black panther with lime green eyes and a casual smile. His tail flicked lazily.

"Hey, Gunta!" Taro replied, then looked about. The heat had made everyone lazy today, it seemed. "Anybody out for today's hunt yet?" The panther yawned, his white teeth flashing in the shade of the tree's branches.

"Nah, not yet. Everyone's too sleepy right now. Though when the sun goes down, we'll probably go out for a gazelle calf or something." The king nodded while Hlela frowned. He was fine waiting to eat, but Hlela sometimes did not like the casual attitude of everyone in the pride. She was used to being given orders, not requests... it just felt so odd.

"No sign of any Arcane?" The blue-eyed lioness asked, and Gunta shook his head.

"No, we haven't seen anyone. It's been a while since we've even heard any news from off the savannah." Hlela's frown deepened. She felt that something was going to happen, but she couldn't put a paw on what...

[Kirsui]

As the four of them reached their pride's den, Bleak was quick to make his way into the shade of the large baobob tree, giving out a small sigh of relief when the sun's heat on his dark fur lessened considerably. Meanwhile Sera chose a comfortable spot in the sunlight, earning a few odd looks from the other pride members until they realized she was still dripping wet.

Bleak glanced up when he heard Gunta greet them, and gave the panther a polite nod as a greeting. He settled down next to the massive trunk, yawning widely. Heat sure had a way of making one sleepy, and with a content sigh he placed his head on his paws and closed his eyes, ready for a small nap.

"No sign of any Arcane?"

At the mention of the Arcane the black lion's eyes opened and focused on Hlela.

"No, we haven't seen anyone. It's been a while since we've even heard any news from off the savannah."

"I think I'll go scouting when the night falls, just in case", Bleak said, closing his eyes again. "It troubles me that we have heard so little from outside our territory."