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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2020 5:00:18 GMT
Tags Vitani @code Words 520 Notes n|a | T ΞΉ ΞΉ Ο Ο
Olive eyes swept the arborous landscape, her ears pinned back tightly against her head. She had gone and done it now. Little Tiifu had no idea where she was. She pulled in a deep breath through her nose, trying to calm down her racing thoughts. Squeezing her eyes shut, she crouched down, her belly brushing against the ground. The hard earth felt cool to her skin, no doubt the shade of the acacia trees to thank for that.
βOk Tiifu, justβ¦ breatheβ¦ We couldnβtβve gotten too far from Pride Rock. We just gotta get a better looksie.β The small cub forced her eyes open, searching for a boulder or a low branch she could climb on.
There! In the distance, just.. fifty yards or so. You can do it. You wandered this far, you can get home just fine. Standing up she carefully crept forward toward a partially downed acacia tree. It mustβve splintered in during the last rainy season, a few months ago. A thick and arching branch curved up and away from the earth in a rainbow-esque shape. The arch of the bow seemed just high enough to change Tiifuβs point of view.
Earlier that day, Tiifuβs mother and grandmother were selected for todays hunt. She didnβt want them to go, as the appointed cubsitter had already left with the children for the Water Hole and no one else seemed to be anywhere near the dens.
βTiifu, I know.. Trust me Titi, but youβll be fine. Grammah and I will be back before you know it. Just stay here in the dens, my dear.β
The cubβs face twisted into an angered pout as her motherβs words replayed in her mind. She leapt up onto the dead wood, gripping it with her claws as she climbed the arch. Perched atop, she lifted a paw to wipe at her eyes and the tears that threatened to crash over.
Tiifu watched the lioness hunting party depart Pride Rock and a smirk curved her maw. If her family couldnβt stay at the dens, why shouldnβt she just go with them? She let the group get a good head start before she ran after the lionesses, her tail arched over her back, the tuft bouncing this way and that. At first, she had no problems both keeping up with the adults and them being unaware of their follower. But when the lionesses gracefully leapt up a meter high earthen overhang, Tiifuβs little legs couldnβt push her high enough. She grabbed frantically at the packed earth and managed to clamber her way up the overhang but once atop, she couldnβt see them anymore.
Lifting her head high, she took in her new vantage point and her brave face fell hard. Where is it?! Why canβt I see it?! With dismay Tiifuβs eyes only swept over more and more acacia trees. She couldnβt stop the tears now as they rolled freely over cheeks. Lowering her belly to the bark, she gripped the dead trunk tightly with her claws as a sob wracked her tiny frame.
βMamaβ¦.? Grammahβ¦.? Anybody..?β
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2020 3:36:38 GMT
"What are you doing here?"
An older cub had been walking about for a while, tail straight behind her confidently as she went. She had run off for a while again - having gotten tired of spending time with Nuka. He was her brother and she loved him very much, but great kings, he could be so annoying! So could Kovu at times, though she loved him fiercely. Sometimes she felt both of their heads were too big for their bodies - and so Vitani had wandered off around the Pridelands, as sneakily as she could. And hopefully not get too chewed out when she went home. However it wasn't like this was her first time around doing such a thing - she often wandered by her lonesome while she could. After all, the Pridelands weren't really dangerous if you knew where you were. And she already knew the way from the watering hole and back perfectly - amongst other routes.
This was one such route. Vitani loved to come over towards where the acacia trees flourished in the savannah's ecosystem, often using them to sharpen her claws. Play fighting at home meant claws were sheathed for the most part - or at least when the other adults were around. That meant she had to find another way to practice. So stationary swiping at trees was a way to! Or at least, she pretended as such. Most of the other Pridelander cubs didn't really care much for fighting and such... and adults always just let a cub win. It just wasn't fair. So non-stationary targets would have to do.
As of right before now, Vitani had been picking out a good spot for some practice swipes. She had picked this tree because it was dead That would be perfect to pretending she had fell an enemy. Walking over, Vitani had been ready to start - until she had heard the voice, and the sob.
Curious of what kind of animal was here, Vitani had rather fearlessly started to climb the tree herself - before noticing the cub. That... honestly wasn't what she expected. Maybe a bird or something else, but a cub? "You shouldn't be out here." That was the second sentence that escaped her, both spoken rather harshly as she looked at the cub. And she wasn't being hypocritical - she wasn't! This cub was definitely younger and smaller than her. Too young to be alone. Sniffing slightly, Vitani turned around, her blue gaze looking over the trees. No sign of another adult at the moment. So she probably wasn't up here because of one of the lionesses' fault. "I don't think your mother or 'grammah' is out here." Whoever they were. Turning her gaze back to the cub, Vitani tried to put the face to a name, but couldn't at the moment, so she just shook her head slightly before frowning, waiting for a response.
@tamsin
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2020 4:45:15 GMT
Tags Vitani @code Words 297 Notes n|a | T ΞΉ ΞΉ Ο Ο
"What are you doing here?"
The sharpness of another voice spooked the young cub and she let out a tiny squeak of a yelp; her eyes flying open only to come face to face with another cub. Well, not cub, but she did recognize this one, albeit vaguely. Sniffling loudly, she sat up a tiny bit and wiped at her face roughly with a paw, failing to hide the fact she had been crying.
"Mama told me to stay in the dens..but there was no one there! So when she and Grammah left to go hunting.. I.. well.. I followed them! I was doing really good too! Until I didnβt." She sat up fully, to better look at the adolescent in the eyes. Mama taught her her manners good! She gazed thoughtfully at the blondeβs face, the harsher lines compared to her own. What was her name? Shetani? No.. that canβt be right. Furrowing her brows as she thought, she continued on with her tale.
"We got to this.. dirt cliff overhang thing. Well, all the lionesses theyβre big right? Well they were able to jump up it no problems. But me, ya see, Iβv got wee legs. I canβt reach as high as they can. So, it took me longer to climb up. And.. once I did, they was gone!"
She thumped her tail around her body and across her paws as she lowered her head, adverting her gaze from the female. βSo thatβs how I lost them. I tried running in the direction their scent went, but it got all muddled once I hit the trees. And so I was the one lost. I tried climbing up here to see Pride Rock, but again. Iβm smol, and I dunno which way to go."
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2020 6:09:26 GMT
Vitani listened to the cub's explanation, keeping her face neutral as she listened to the cub's story - or more so, explanation, though it eventually turned rather amused. Did this cub really try to follow a hunting party into the fray? Vitani let out a small snort slightly at the idea, before shaking her hand slightly.
"Be glad you didn't. A small thing like you would have been stomped by an antelope or a zebra easily," Vitani said, shaking her head slightly. "You shouldn't of left in the first place." Still, that left Vitani with a problem. She could just leave this cub here - but that would probably get her in trouble eventually, if whatever-her-name-was went crying to her mother. That... wouldn't be good. It would only get her into more trouble. Sighing, she looked at the younger cub straight on.
"I guess I can help you get home. I know the trail pretty well. Plus, you'd probably be eaten by like a vulture or something out here." Probably not really. Most vultures stuck to the Outlands from what she knew, but who knows. "Just try not to do something stupid like this again." She said scowling slightly at the younger cub.
"Come on," Vitani stated before jumping down to the ground, claws sinking into the dirt so she kept her balance going down. "It's..." Vitani paused for a moment, squinting at the sun for a moment to gather her bearings, before nodding slightly. "This way," she said, pointing towards the way she had come with her tail.
@tamsin
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2020 20:17:25 GMT
Tags Vitani @code Words 520 Notes n|a ! | T ΞΉ ΞΉ Ο Ο
"You shouldn't of left in the first place."
Tiifu pouted at those words, a sour expression scrunching her face tight. βBut then I wouldβve beenβ¦alone.β The last word left her lips in a harsh whisper, a slight shudder waved over her shoulders. She then met the femaleβs eyes again. βSo thatβs why I followed.. And I wouldβve been fine if I kept up and didnβt get lost! I know how to hide outside the hunt.. I mean itβs not like I havenβt done it before..β Her eyes widened suddenly. βOh please donβt tell my mama! She would be so disappointedβ¦β
She shuffled her front paws and her ears hung low upon her head. She never wanted to upset her mama or grammah. That would be the worst thing she could ever do. She tried her best every day to make them proud of her. She worked hard at her studies, both as a future huntress and as a lioness of the pridelands. If her mother found out that she has snuck out to follow them on hunts, Tiifu would be in so much trouble.
When the older girl said she would take Tiifu home, she let a great smile curve her maw. βOh thank you so much!β The young cub then began to slide down the side of the trunk, she claws sinking into the wood to slow her descent. When she ran out of wood, she retracted her claws and dropped to the ground, not as gracefully as her new companion though. She landed with a loud thwump, dust billowing out from her landing.
βHow can you tell which way to go? I didnβt see Pride Rock anywhere!β She pranced after the older girl, her tail tuft flopping over her back. Tiifu watched the way she moved, her harsher lines seemed to smoothen out with her lope. She had seen similar lines go from harsh to smooth before. Zira She was Ziraβs daughter, she could see that now. But what was that name? βYouβreβ¦.Vitani? Right? Your mama is a great hunter. Iβve seen her before.β
Tiifu was never told much about the Before time, as her mother calls it. She knows about Scar and the hyenas and how it was dark all the time. But she was never told about much else. Not about how the pride starved, about all the rape and torture. And not about the Dark Queen and her children. All Tiifu knows is Zira was Scarβs friend and that she is a good huntress.
βIβm Tiifu, daughter of Tama, daughter of Taamu.β
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