Pride of Exiles

[Ravvij]

Crawling slowly through the tall grass, the soft dirt beneath his feet, the smell of the warm night filled his nose. He crept closer and closer. He felt his breath slow and his heart race. Closer... closer. A light wind carried the scent of his prey deep into the back of his throat. Closer. He pushed his head slowly out of the cover of the grass. He could clearly see his prey, no plants to cloud his vision now. Just one more step... and.. HE LEPT at his prey and only once he was a mere breadth away did he let out a loud roar. His prey looked back at him and the fear in it's eyes could be seen even in the dim light of the fading sun. It was over. His prey lay trembling and dieing in his powerful jaws. It didn't have a chance. He knew it was his own sadistic pleasure to scare his prey only an instant before he caught it. The rush he got from seeing the terror in their eyes was enough to sate his feral mind. His prey stopped thrashing under his grip and he knew that it was dead. He released it, letting it's limp body lie there as he stood over it.
"Impressive, my cub!" his mother said to him as she approached the kill.
"Thank you." he said with a slight smile.
"Rav?"
"Yes?"
"You think we should travel north tomorrow? I hear there are some beautiful felines that way." she said, teasing him, a sly smile on her lips.
He just shook his head in exasperation. It wasn't that he was uninterested in finding a mate, more over, he just wasn't up to joining a pride at this time.
"You know you want to meet a nice girl. Why not try it?" she asked.
"I'm just not sure I'm ready to join a pride." he said honestly. The idea of taking orders from another male made him cringe and even worse he was still young. Old enough to start a family, but still, young.
Rav and his mother, Kaith, had been traveling for many days and nights. He no longer knew just where they were, even if he familiarized himself with his surroundings many times. He hoped that maybe one day he could find a place where he truly felt at home.
"You should eat." Kaith said, breaking his trail of thought.
Rav dipped his head down to eat while Kaith lifted her's to watch their surroundings. Then they switched, Rav watched their surroundings while his mother ate. They traded off until the boar he caught was little more than bone.
Now the sun had gone and the night sky was shimmering with stars and lightning bugs. The air was still warm, but as the half moon came over the horizon the air cooled. Other animals could be heard far off giving calls and howls and yips. Rav listened carefully and it didn't seem to him that he and his mother would be bothered tonight. A delightful calm emanated over the plains. They found a good tree and rested beneath it, digesting their meager meal. The moon rose higher and higher into the sky and Rav looked out with his cat eyes to the mountains that stood by themselves, dotted over the landscape. He wondered if any of those would make a good home.

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Okay so there's your starting point.
The plot at this point is that Rav is going to, by some turn of events, start a pride of his own. I do have some plot twists planned so don't worry too much about this getting dull. If you want to join please post first to this ( http://www.mylionking.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=101&t=40343 ) asking if you can join and link to your character's profile. Also, if you have an idea for a plot or story arc, please put it there and not here. I'd like to keep the discussion away from the story posts.

I ask that anyone wanting to join this RP please not treat it like some stupid D&D RP. Write sentences and paragraphs! I'd like this to be a story, not an "I do", "I did" dialog.

Rav's profile: http://www.mylionking.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=119&t=40323

[TheWhistlerify]

The following morning, a young lioness was making her way across the plains. It was still a very early hour; the sun was just starting to rise and the wind was still chilly. She's spent the past few days in that area, as if to take a break on her way to the mountains where she hoped to find a pride that would take her in. She'd left her old pride for various reasons, and hoped that the next one she would come across wouldn't be as... unpleasant.

Having resided in the area she was now in for the past few days, she was kind of aware of her surroundings. She has yet to see other lions, other species of big cats or hyenas, and ended up coming to the conclusion that there weren't any. There weren't any poachers either. While simply walking through the open savannah might not be the safest idea, Laini knew that there most likely wasn't anything that could possibly want to hurt her. Also, being out in the open, it would be difficult for anything to simply sneak up on her without attracting her attention.

Today she was considering to finally continue towards the mountain. The reason she'd stopped there to begin with was because there seemed to be a lot of prey animals around as well as water, which made it easier to hunt and stay hydrated. Laini doubted that she would have such fortune once she started exploring the mountains, which was why she'd decided to gather up some strength before carrying on her way. Unknown to her, however, she was being watched.

[Ravvij]

Rav and Kaith walked lazily over the open land. They'd not seen anything but prey in that area and lots of foliage. not too far to the west was a large lake that many of the animals drank from, and very far to the east there was a dead forest desert. They walked north to see the mountain nearest to them. Above the calls of birds came almost at random. Rav could hear small rodents and insects moving through the grass around them. The calm was more than welcome and he felt a tad drowsy in the warm sun light and fresh air.
Suddenly, Rav saw from the corner of his eye, another lion. He turned to look and Kaith, noticing her son's alertness, looked and saw as well. It was too far off to see clearly and Rav was weary about strange cats so he huddled down and Kaith did the same. They watched carefully as the other lion made her way around at the edge of their vision. Without warning, a large gust of wind blew Rav and Kaith's scent toward the strange cat and Rav cursed his misfortune. He readied himself for what may come.

[TheWhistlerify]

Before heading towards the mountains, Laini thought, it would be a good idea to drink a lot of water. She didn't know just how long it would take her to find water on the mountains, and there was no telling just how hot the day was going to be because it was still a very early hour of the morning. Either way, it was better to be safe than to be sorry. That was something she'd almost learned the hard way, and she had no intention of being reckless.

The lioness immediately became rooted to the spot as the wind suddenly carried two new scents towards her. They were different from the ones of she's come across during the past two days, and there was no doubt that there were two other big cats nearby. There was something familiar about the scents, which made her believe that they mostly belonged to two other lions. While this was a good thing, it did not necessarily mean she wasn't in danger.

True, had it been another species of large cats the smart thing to do would have been to leave as soon as possible, but just because she was dealing with other lions did not mean that they meant no harm. Because Rav and Kaith had huddled down, she could not see them and had no idea just how close the potential threat was to her. Nevertheless, she did know that simply running would mean getting chased down if the two lions did have the intention of hurting her. Just taking off in a fright would be regarded as weakness.

So, despite not knowing whether the two would be able to hear her or not, she called out. "Hello?" They'd obviously spotted her already, so just trying to hide would be ineffective. Running for her life would always be an option, but it was definitely a last resort. There was a chance that the two wouldn't try to hurt her, but she was going to keep her guard up. "Who's there?" She hoped with all her heart that her scent really did belong to two lions and not something else like tigers or leopards. That would put her in a very bad situation.

[Ravvij]

"You should speak up. I told you there'd be some girls out this way." Kaith teased.
Rav just watched for a few seconds, then finally, he stood up. "Stay down for now." he whispered.
"Hello?" he called out to the stranger. Rav walked forward slowly so he wouldn't alarm her. His large stature and short main clearly defined him as what hew was. "Man eater" and "Child snatcher"he and his kin had been called by humans. "It would be nice to have some company... but then mother would do nothing but try to push us together and tease me. I'm not sure If I want to put up with that. Well, we'll see how this goes." he thought to himself. He'd now closed more than half his original distance from his hiding spot to the newcomer. He stopped a good three or four leaps away. He said nothing. He looked her over and tried to guess her intent.
Kaith watched them from her hiding spot, but decided it might be a good idea to move elsewhere. She crept very , very slowly to the left of where she'd been. She found herself a perfect spot behind a large boulder just big enough to hide herself. "If he plays his cards right, I might be a grandmother next season." she thought to herself with a hopeful smile.

[TheWhistlerify]

Laini had sort of expected at least one of the two lions to be a male. Lionesses were mostly a part of a pride and not many of them wondered about as rogues. Nevertheless, she did feel herself become a little tense when Rav finally revealed himself. He was larger than she was, so it was quite understandable. So far this wasn't going too badly, but she knew she couldn't trust a stranger right away. Who knew what his intentions might be?

Hadn't he come to a stop a good distance away from her, she would have probably growled or done something else to let him know that she didn't like how close he was getting. The problem with that would have been that he wouldn't have necessarily cared. Because of the size differences he had a much better chance to gain the upper paw if a fight was to start. There was also the fact that there was another lion or lioness nearby which made Laini uneasy.

She looked around cautiously, trying to spot him or her anywhere but with no success. Hopefully the latter had been told to stay behind as a safety precaution, because if that was the case then this lion and his companion probably weren't looking for any trouble. Looking at Rav, she realized she didn't really know what to say. "Look, er... I'm sorry if this happens to be your territory or something..." she said at some point.

Her apprehension was notcliceable in her voice and she hoped it wouldn't work to her disadvantage. "But I'm just passing by. I don't want any trouble." Since she was looking after herself, the last thing that was on her mind was finding a mate. Hunting would be impossible if she were to become pregnant, and since she wasn't a part of a pride the possibiliy never occurred to her. There was no telling whether some random rogue would really stick with her for more than just a few days. The lioness kept constantly looking around and listening out for any sign of the other lion / lioness that was nearby, just in case.

[Ravvij]

"This is not my home." Rav said calmly. He spotted the unease in her voice immediately. "Take what you will. I have no claim on any of it."
Rav stepped a bit closer, but stopped. She looked to be about his age. He was surprised to see that she was so much smaller than he'd first guessed. He was used to lions his own size and species. This was relatively new to him. "Are you headed into the mountains as well?" he asked, never flinching. His powerful figure seemed to be immovable and unshakable. His paws firmly planted on the ground beneath him. He seemed to have the air about him of a fully grown lion.
Still hiding some ways back, Kaith looked around to make sure no other animals posed any threat to them. "That boy needs to loosen up sometimes." she whispered to herself. Eventually she desided this lioness was no threat and so she relaxed a bit, but kept her watch of their surroundings.

Kaith had raised Rav to be the King of his Pride; once he had one. She, of course, never let him know what she'd been grooming him for. She hoped that he might retake his father's former pride, but she saw early on that he had no desire to go back. He knew little of his father or of his former pride. So, Kaith decided to help him start his own any way she could. This is why she was leading him north. If her son could claim a small pride or gather one up, her task as a mother and matriarch would be fulfilled.

[TheWhistlerify]

It was a relief to hear Rav say that he had no claim over the land they were in. It was only when he came a little closer that she realized how larger than her he was. However she could take a little bit of comfort in the fact that she wasn't fully an adult just yet and still had a little bit of growing up to do. Something about this lion - his seemingly unshakeable figure and the air about him - made him a little more intimidating. But, in a way, it was also appealing at the same time.

Laini slowly nodded in approval when Rav asked her whether she was headed towards the montain. "I'm hoping to find more lions there..." Living as part of a pride was always a safer option. It appeared like this lion had the same destination, and it would be safer to not travel on her own. "Um... My name's Laini..." she said somewhat timidly. "I know you're not here alone, by the way..." It would make her a lot less uneasy to know that this other lion / lioness wasn't trying to sneak up on her or something.

[Ravvij]

At this point Rav was sure that this young lion was no threat to him or his mother. He looked her over once more, then came closer to her, this time the only thing that separated them were a few feet of air and ground. He looked into her eyes intently, judging her on character now rather than as a threat. After a moment his presence, the feeling coming from his intense being, relaxed and he smiled slightly. "You're welcome to join us." he said, a kindness in his voice. Rav knew very well that he intimidated her, so he tried to back himself off a bit. His body relaxed and calm now. He turned toward where he'd left his mother.
Kaith heard their conversation and stood up on the rock. It was her turn now to inspect this female. She needed to gauge whether or not this one was worthy of a matriarchal status later down the road. So far, she wasn't sure. This lioness looked timid, "But" she thought, "She still has some growing to do."

[TheWhistlerify]

Laini became a little tense when Rav almost fully closed the remaining gap between the two of them. She stared back into his eyes, not moving a single inch as they stood there in front of each other. Her body seemed to relax on instinct when Rav smiled at her. Even though she barely knew him, the kindness in his voice sounded genuine to her. Knowing that she wouldn't have to travel on her own anymore was definitely a relaxing thought. "Thank you, uh..." she paused for a short moment, smiling back at the male. "What's your name?"

While they were still complete strangers, Laini knew that this lion would have already hurt her had he really wanted to. And he seemed to be trustworthy. She followed his gaze and soon saw his mother, who was looking directly at the two of them. "Who's this?" she asked quietly, looking at Rav again. It was obvious that the two were traveling together, but she was still curious as to just who this lioness was in Rav's regard. Was she his mate? Perhaps a relative?