[PRIVATE] A Loner's Pride

[Harvs]

Sius knew what he was doing. He could apologize to the pride for the rude awakening later. But right now, the important thing to do was to wake everyone up and get moving. But then, something shot through Sius' mind. The pride would probably be hungry. They couldn't very well fight off a group of rogues on an empty stomach. They would have to hunt quickly though. The sun was barely rising, so the prey wouldn't be too awake. If someone was willing to come with him, Sius would help increase the speed of the hunt. After all, a rogue had to learn to do everything on his own. And a lion as old as Sius knew how to hunt, fight, but most of all knew how to be kind.

He looked at Taro with one brow raised, countering Taro's confused look with a look of sheer encouragement. Sius knew what to expect at minimum. A loud bellowing roar that would wake everyone up... maybe. But what he got couldn't have been more perfect. The roar itself seemed to be kingly. Taro resonated at that moment like Sius hadn't seen before. At that moment, He knew that he'd picked the right king. Sius smiled seeing the sleeping lions now wide awake. Better than going around and individually waking them up one by one. When Taro finished his wake up call and turned to Sius to ask how it was, Sius looked him in the eyes and said. "Have you ever considered being a king?" Almost foreshadowing his plan, Sius then winked at Taro and walked past him.

"Sorry for the rude awakening, but we need to get some food and get ready to move out. I'll go hunt." Sius usually went hunting alone anyways. He had a secret that only he could use, and while half of him wanted to do this himself, the other half knew that he hadn't been having much luck lately. His prey had been giving him the slip as of late, and not to mention his kill disappeared from the den. And he still didn't know how. And now he was forced to retrieve more food for not just him, but his whole pride. Though Eeve had previously volunteered to wake up early and hunt, he doubted that She wanted to spend time with him, not including the matter of her injury. But still, the hunt would go by much faster with an assist. Turning back around, Sius added "But I could use a little help. Would anyone like to volunteer?" Patiently awaiting the answer, Sius sat back down and looked around the den.

-----------------------------

Kasi's head tilted when he saw that his 'prey' was a lioness. Aw... Another lion... that's no fun. He was somewhat downed by the sight of this admittedly attractive lioness. Though, it wasn't Kasi's think to get into romantic affairs. At first, she paid no heed to his camouflaged presence... until he decided to get a bit closer. A twig snapped under his paw and the lioness' attention was instantly on him. She could see him, no doubt, but she probably couldn't tell what he was.

Thinking it through a bit as her tail flicked intimidatingly back and forth, She was obviously mentally and physically prepared to strike. Kasi didn't want that. He didn't want to get into a fight he could easily avoid. Keeping his mind and feet prepared, he walked out of the brush and strolled 10 yards away from the lioness.

She stared at him. He stared at her. The atmosphere was almost tangible. wind blew through Kasi's short mane that covered his right eye. The wind itself was silent. There was so little sound, that a pen drop would sound like a cannon. Kasi had heard of awkward silences, but this was just ridiculous. A good two minutes the two stood there, silent as stars. Until Kasi, boldly stepping up, asked "Are you friends with the rogues?" He prepared himself to strike if she said yes. She wouldn't even know what hit her until the smoke cleared. But he would give her a fair chance to defend herself.

[Nukascar101]

Taro's roar had carried far enough to wake Wafu who during his sleep had already moved till he was right on the edge of the branch. Now the sudden awakening caused Wafu to jump a little which was just enough movement to send the lion plumeting to the ground landing with a loud thud.
"Ow, I'm gonna be feeling that all day" Wafu said to himself laying on his back from the fall. Usually he would still be sleeping and nowhere near ready to wake up by this time in the morning but it seemed that the joining of a pride would change his daily schedule around quite a bit. Rather than get up, Wafu in his semi-sleeping state just stared at the sky watching the clouds roll by.

[XxRinaRoguexX]

Chanya rose her head up with an abrupt jerk and she glanced hastily around the den to find that it was merely a wake up call. And here I thought I could get some more beauty sleep, thought the lioness. None the less, as she spotted the others abiding by the leader's rules and request for them all to get up and moving around before they headed out, she did the same with a long stretch and yawn. Her dark fur, not so usual for a lioness that lived in the Pridelands, had dirt written all over it and it urked her. Though she knew there was the need to converse with the others so she could come off part of their little group, she instinctively sat herself down and turned round in order to course her tongue through the pelt of hers. There was only enough time for her to get some of the dirt off until she heard Sius make an announcement that he needed someone to help him. This could be another chance of hers.

As she poked her head up and looked over, she trotted merrily over and smiled. "I will. It would help to wake me up some more" she laughed lightly, looking up at Sius. Was he going to accept her invitation to allow her to come along, or was he going to weave his way out of it? She flashed him the best look her orange eyes could.

-----

So it was a lion all along, huh? Zera eyed the male. There was no doubt that over her intense brown colors that her eyes were somewhat of a distraction from what she had to offer the eyes of the public around her, but she gave him no reason to think she wanted anything to do with him on a romantic level. Something about him was unsettling. Was he being chased, or was he being harassed? When she looked around and lifted her nose to see if there was anyone else around, she could detect nothing on the wind nor could she spot any clue that there were more than two of them where they stood. But the way he was looking at her turned from how Sius looked at her at first to a suspicious look. When she was asked if she was in alliance with these so called rogues, it got her interested. So he was being chased, eh?

Zera couldn't hide her laughter, letting out only a small few chuckles towards his displeasure at being so uncertain of her. She liked the way she made some lions and lionesses so uncomfortable when they first looked at her. She could admit to herself that she was striking to the eyes, but when they got to know her they either liked or hated her. Most of the time, it was females who could instantly come to hate her, but males were interested in her because they thought she was playing "hard to get". Of course when they figured out she was just being the way she was because she didn't like them, they hated her as well. But she was too lazy to think about changing who she was by nature to please those around her-- thus making it easy for her to be a rogue as well as not dislike her as the days lived themselves through.

"So you're afraid of these rogues then" she smirked to herself and at the male, walking past him and on her way. "How warrior-like of you" her sarcasm was tinting every word she spoke as she walked until the sound of paw prints stampeding along the ground were heard through the senses of the lioness. "What the...?"

[xLilacVixenx]

The sudden outburst from Taro got Syira immediately leaping to her ready feet in an instance. For a few moments she stayed as so, until she realized that it was just to wake her up for the day. With a loud sigh of relief, the tired lioness stretched her sore limbs and yawned openly. She had had a rough night being high-strung by Chanya and her unusual antics. The whole night she was preparing for the slightest appearance of the sinister lioness, until she fortunately drifted into a deep slumber.

Syira sat on her haunches and scratched her ear thoughtfully with her hind leg. Why was Taro roaring? It seemed such an unusual thing for a quiet lion of his type to boom that loudly with his usually soft voice. She smiled broadly as Sius questioned the lions if there were any volunteers to hunt breakfast with him. Her sleek body manuevered gracefully as she padded toward the lion and grinned with a slightly playful glint in her emerald eyes.

"Of course I would help you hunt. I need to get out of here for a while; it's too confining for my entergetic bones," she added with a wink. Syira's face fell slightly as Chanya had decided to join the two, as Syira had been hoping to discuss the dangers ahead to Sius soon, but she remained her cheerful self as she thought that it would be best to come along anyways. She had been true in saying she had been bored in the slightly damp, dark cave. But she also wished to come with because Chanya's actions could be unpredictable. It would be best to make sure Sius was safe and to notify Taro if anything happened to him.

With her smile still warmly beaming, she gazed around the room to see if any of the other lions wanted to come with the small party. Her mood had improved somewhat compared to when she first met them all. She was not as moody and she noticed how she was being to dramatic with everything. Syira's only solution to this problem was to be as cheerful as possible to give off a happy glow to others who had been feeling down. Her joyfulness might even help solve the emotional problem among the small pride. The lioness' smooth, sleek body turned around as she carefully sat on her haunches again. With a slight flick of her curved tail, she waited patiently for the response of the pride.

[Harvs]

Sius didn't have to wait long, as Chanya and Syira soon volunteered to assist him. The choice was a difficult one; either take a lioness whom he knew... slightly, and leave behind one he did not know at all. But that would likely cause her to dislike Sius and make her think that he looked down upon her. Or he could take Chanya, and leave Syira behind. But he didn't have any reason to tell Syira to stay behind. Her injury had vanished. The choice was indeed troubling, and a few "Hmm"s seemed to broadcast to the rest of the pride. Until, Sius had a great idea. Why not just take them both?

There was nothing that could be lost by simply taking both eager lionesses. And it would make the hunt go even faster. "Alright then, Syira, Chanya, we'll head out whenever you're ready."

Sius walked to the hole in the den and sat down. He noticed that Wafu had fallen out of one of the trees. While his mind chuckled, his outside remained unfazed. Not even a small giggle escaped from his lips this time. Instead he walked up to Wafu and asked "Are you alright?"

---------------------------------

Kasi stood at the ready, claws to be drawn at any time. Though this lioness wasn't giving off a murderous vibe like the rogues, he had been deceived before. And at this point, he couldn't trust anyone. She responded by questioning his courage. Not a very good way to get on Kasi's good side. Unlike his brother, he wasn't very patient with others and usually judged others harshly on first impressions. "How warrior-like of you"? Does she not realize that I could have been killed?"

Kasi's patience ran dry with this lion. He turned back toward the pond and said "Whatever. Just don't come cryin' to me when..." He stopped, as did the lioness. Did they both hear the same thing? Whatever it was, it was becoming increasingly loud. Then it dawned on Kasi. "The rogues!" Kasi bolted for the jungle brush, when he noticed that the lioness was still out in the open.

Whatever happens to her is not my problem. If she wants to distract them for me, I'll take it. Kasi thought nothing more than escaping the line of sight from the rogues. He wanted to hide in the jungle... possibly up in a tree, and wait for the rogues to move on. But something... something in his heart just wouldn't let that happen. He turned back and looked at the lioness, who was possibly frozen in fear, and something in his mind clicked. Double taking back and forth from the deep jungle ahead and the endangered lioness behind him, he realized that he couldn't just leave her behind.

Running out of the brush, Kasi jumped right next to Zera and said "Hurry! run for the jungle!" He took a fighting stance and readied himself for the rogues. What happened to him was irrelevant at the moment. He felt the unconditional need to defend her from the rogues. "Ugh... I'm becoming more and more like Sius every day." Kasi whispered, surprisingly loud. Not like it mattered, this lioness couldn't possibly know Sius.

[Nukascar101]

Wafu looked a Suis first with a slightly confused look, there again he was being nice to a lion he had only met yesterday. At this rate it would be eaier to get into this pride than Wafu first though, while the lionesses may be a little on edge the leader seemed to welcome both him and Chanya with open arms. So with a slightly friendly smile he spoke.
"Oh yeah, just took a hundred foot fall and destroyed my spine but I do that all the time so I'm okay" he said sarcastically exaggerating what happened. He was putting on an act but one would have to look very close and be a pro actor themselves to see through it as he did it flawlessly acting as if he hand only the best of intentions. Wafu then rolled onto his feet an stretched.
"Next time your about to wake up the whole of Africa, block my ears or something" he said in a joking manner. As he put on this fake act though Wafu couldn't help but remember what had happened last night. 'My dad never hugged me, and where did he come up with that paw shaking thing. He just doesn't seem like someone who'd do what Chanya said he did' he thought to himself really wondering if Suis said those things about him but he didn't let any of that show in his facial expression.

[XxRinaRoguexX]

Like Zera was going to let him risk his butt when he was obviously so concerned. Zera spotted the male beside her taking a stance ready to attack and quickly pulled his neck fur with her as she flung him into the bushes at the side and she leaped next to him. Her paw was placed on his back to make sure he didn't try anything heroic which would be translated into stupid and flicked her ears. There was nothing coming as of yet, so she took the chance to let him figure out that she knew more about him than he thought she did, "well Sius is a dramatic one, I'll give you that". She didn't know the relation between him and Sius, but all she could assume was that he had known Sius for a longer time than she had thought herself.
-----

Of course, I have to have this idiot follow me, thought Chanya with no change in her facial expressions to signal her thoughts. Finally she drew a smile and looked at both of them with smiles, "awesome! We can all get to work as a team".

[[Sorry it's so short; have to head off to work. ^^; ]]

[zorayda]

Taro flicked his ears at Sius's comment, startled.

"Well, yes, someday. How did you know?" His eyes followed Sius as he led the females off for a hunt, smiling. Though Taro harbored some ill feelings towards Sius for his relationship with Zera, the golden lion knew that the other male was a wonderful lion at heart. "You know, you'll make a great king, too, someday," Taro suggested gently before they left. He settled down to watch the den while the others left to hunt, smiling to himself.

---

Eeve grinned at Dakari impishly. "Well, let's get a move on, then!" She giggled, and raced ahead of him.

[[Very short, I'm sorry. Working off of someone else's computer til mine gets fixed. For now, I'll just react to things and keep it simple...I won't be able to do a lot of complicated drama for a bit. D:]]

[Nukascar101]

Wafu looked at Chanya and surprisingly didn't smile but rather had a expression that showed a mix of annoyance and disgust.
"Team? You don't mean team hunting do you" he said and sighed.
"I've never been a fan of team hunting, everything else sure but...not hunting" he said with a look of that said 'sorry'. Wafu's whole life had been one of relative solitude especially when it came to hunting considering he didn't begin to seriously hunt until his parents had died which meant he had always been doing it alone.
"You remember how was was when they tried to teach us right?" he asked Chanya hoping she would remember. Back then Wafu was rather uncoordinated with the others, fine on his own but when it came to group hunting he seemed like a total klutz.

(Sorry, just don't have that writer mojo right now)

[Harvs]

Sius snickered at Taro's comment. In truth, he hadn't known at all, it was just a bit of humorous foreshadowing. But this was turning out better than he could have expected. So he wants to be king after all? A perfect choice if he'd ever made one. But the fact still remained that he would have to wait before turning his power over to Taro. But he seemed like an understanding lion. Whether he knew about Sius' plan or not, it would work. As long as nothing unexpexcted turned up, then Sius would live the rest of his days the way he liked it: as a rogue. Happy, carefree, live-life-on-the-edge rogue.

"Call it a hunch Taro. But I don't think being a king is for me." Sius said with a small grin. It's hard to believe that this lion had previously tried to kill him. Yet, this whole misunderstanding seemed to have evaporated once Sius had gotten some sleep. He was still relatively put out with the subject of Zera's departure. He couldn't just tell Taro that he'd only thought of her as a friend though. He would think that he was in denial and the dispositions would begin anew. Best to just drop the subject and hope for the best.

"Alright Chanya, Syira. Let's move out." Sius walked away from the den a bit and waited for the lionesses to catch up. The sooner they could spot some prey, the better for everyone. It was only a matter of time before Kasi's luck ran out. And Sius had to take care of his pride before he rushed them into battle.

--------------------------

Kasi was relatively shocked with Zera's reaction to his defensive stance. He was going to do whatever he could to make sure she wasn't hurt and she... stayed by him? Why? Well, Kasi didn't know much about this female. But if her personality was anything like what she was forecasting, then she would be able to defend herself.

Kasi heard her words, but... no... how could she know Sius? It was impossible. There was no way she knew who she was talking about. Yet... she knew that he was dramatic. The question boggled Kasi's mind until he turned to her with a confused look and asked "How do you know Sius?"

[Sorry for the short post, I'm at school right now]