Afternoon Lull

It was hot and miserable that day in the Outlands, but young Tao knew nothing else. In her short life, she had already experienced loss, and fate alone had spared the cub and her two brothers. But this was life. Sometimes there was enough food to fill their bellies, other times the pride went to sleep hungry. It was simply the way of things and could not be changed, she assumed. It was not unusual to lose a family member in the harsh homeland. Many had lost their entire families, whether through war or famine. Even at such a young age, Tao accepted that life was to be difficult, and no complaining could stop what was coming.

Tao and her brothers were now old enough to walk, and talk. She was able to verbalize, but the cub was mostly quiet. Her greatest hobby so far was watching: watching how the adults interacted with one another, watching how the sun and moon rose on the horizon. Now, it was late afternoon, and the sun was quickly retreating towards the west.

Her brothers were napping inside the den, but Tao felt restless. It was a feeling that would grow as she aged, but for now, she was too little to wander away from the termite mounds, so she sat at the mouth of the den, sky blue eyes peering around the dreary, baked landscape for something of interest to appear. She didn't know where the grown-ups disappeared to now, and was ignorant to the world outside the borders of her father's kingdom. Her pink nose twitched, and she gave a faint, polite sneeze, though she didn't see anyone else around yet.

[[Bump... This thread is now open to all Outlanders!]]

Zivia let out a huff as yet again, the sun burned into her fur. Though she'd already come to adore the little cubs, she still missed her adoptive mother dearly. She'd known her for a few days, before the world had greedily taken her from her paws. The young cub couldn't fathom why the word would be quite so cruel towards her, after all she hadn't done much wrong to deserve such mis-fortune. She sighed as an annoying fly buzzed in her ear, and she swished it away with her tail before forcing herself to stand up and trot along.

She wandered around aimlessly in search of something to do. The days were drawn out, dull, hot, and humid. She was anxiously awaiting her younger siblings to grow a little older so that she could play with them. She was particularly excited at the prospect of having a sister, and she hoped that she could be said sister's motherly-ish figure. Her attention was suddenly caught by a strangely coloured lizard, and she leant down in a crouch. With a playful growl, Zivia leapt forwards and captured the lizard beneath her paws.

She left her paw on its tail, and giggled as it struggled and made an attempt to escape. She released it and watched as it scurried away before she sat up once more and stared around, now purring in contentment. She spied her sister, Tao, and eagerly bounded over to her side. From her observations of Tao, she had discovered the cub was quiet, watchful. She came to a halt beside her sister and affectionately rubbed her head against Tao's. "Hello, Tao. How are you?"

A gentle purr rumbled in Tao's throat when Zivia appeared, and when the older cub stepped forward, the other lowered herself, as she had seen hunters do. Her little butt wiggled behind her before she pounced for Zivia playfully, making little 'grrr' sounds as she batted at her ears. She was too small to pin the other cub, and had pondered to herself what life would be like if she failed to grow properly. Would she always be tiny, like her brothers?

"I'm bored. The boys are always sleeping, and I don't know where Daddy is." As the sole parent to the litter of three, Kiume was basically a god in Tao's eyes, and she adored her father. Her pale adopted sister Zivia had known Ilani before her untimely passing, while Tao did not possess even a single memory of her own mother. She knew that herself and her siblings' appearances took after their father moreso, except for Kudumu, but even his pelt was a few shades darker than Lani's had been. Tao had no example to say to herself 'Oh, so this is what she looked like,' which made the young cub even more sad.

"Isn't there anything interesting to do close by?" Tao attempted to scramble onto the other cub's head, but Zivia wasn't big enough herself to be climbed, and the smaller peach cub slipped down her back instead. Zivia was taller than Tao, naturally, and the younger of the two wondered what it must be like to see the world from a larger perspective. Would she find herself afraid of heights if she grew too suddenly? "We can find something new and exciting, if not. The boys will regret sleeping so much if they miss out." This was the most speaking Tao had likely ever done at one time, but if there was one other lion that she loved in the Outlands (besides her dear brothers and Kiume), it was Zivia, whom she looked up to just like a real big sister. A bright smile now graced Tao's delicate features as she looked up at Zivia, adoration obvious in her sky blue eyes.

Zivia smiled at Tao as the purr reached her sensitive ears, and she titled her head as Tao moved into a crouching position. She wondered if the very small cub compared to herself would actually pounce at her, and thinking that she was joking around Zivia relaxed her position. Which was why she was taken off guard when Tao pounced at her, and she fell back, giggling at the growls that left Tao. With relative ease, Zivia pushed Tao off her and punned the little cub down herself in a very gentle move as she growled back playfully, before nuzzling the small cub and sitting back with a purr.

"The boys are always sleeping, hmm? Poor Tao, you must be awfully bored all the time!" Zivia proclaimed, and when she mentioned not knowing where daddy was, Zivia waved her paw dismissively. "Daddy's always off patrolling, you should know that. He's the king, after all." She pointed out, and noted the adoring look that crossed Tao's features. Zivia was of course aware of how much Tao adored her father, and the pale cub could only wish she'd known her mother as well. She missed her adoptive mother every day, and it pained her to look at Kudumu, but also made her happy. She was glad that Tao had inherited the tuft of hair on her head from her mother, it was a resemblance to the kind-hearted lioness that Zivia longed to see once more. She couldn't fathom how heart-broken her dearest father was.

Zivia grinned cheekily at Tao as she inquired if there was anything interesting to do. She could think of several things, like exploring the elephant graves and seeing how far they could get across the border before a hyena of Scar's spotted them and chased them back. The latter of the two was most definitely Zivia's favourite thing to do, for she always lost them in the midst of the elephant graves. Her small figure also helped, for she managed to duck into tight spaces and hide away from them before an angry lioness of the prides chased them away. Sometimes her father did, and she knew that if he ever found out it was her who lured them in he would be most mad. "Ah, but there's nothing fun around here. And you know I promised daddy that I wouldn't let you wander." Zivia said in a disappointed tone. She couldn't wait until Tao was old enough to wander away from the termite mounds.

Tao nodded quickly when the older cub suggested that she must be bored. Though she was not one for mischief, the young princess was finding life stuck at the termite mounds to be rather limiting. She had never asked Kiume to take her on patrol with him, because she was quite certain her protective father would never allow that. Sky blue eyes searched the area again, but the two female cubs were still alone there, with no sign of their golden father or brothers in sight.

Her father was king, yes -- whatever that meant! From what Tao had gathered from watching various pride members interact with her father, it meant that they all had be respectful towards him, and towards his cubs, as well. Young Tao just felt funny whenever a lioness attempted to bow to her, or even nod an acknowledgement to her title, but 'princess' was only a word to her. She certainly didn't feel any different than any other lion in the pride, no more special than the rest, only younger. "What does 'patroling' mean? What is he looking for all day?"

When Zivia could think of nothing entertaining around, Tao frowned skeptically. She had seen the older cub run off on her own while no one was watching, though she had never followed, the younger peachy hued cub was certain she had to go somewhere interesting. "We don't need to go far at all. Don't you think? There must be something," she insisted, a pouty face gracing her tiny features as she gazed up at Zivia. "We could go there, just the two of us, and Daddy may not notice." Here, she grinned her most convincing grin, hoping to convince the older cub to accompany her somewhere.. Anywhere!

Zivia paused as Tao asked what 'patrol' means and giggled softly to herself. The pale cub had forgotten that the much younger one held no understanding of the title 'King' or 'Princess', and did not know much about the world beyond these lands. Zivia was glad that she was merely asking that, as she would have a hard time explaining how special it was to be royalty, as a cub so young wouldn't be able to grasp nor understand the concept of such a thing. As it was, Zivia couldn't remember how on earth she'd learnt the meaning, she presumed it must have been from her mother, something that had stayed in her mind without a memory.

"He is looking for enemies, most likely hyena's. Im not sure why he dislikes the hyena's so much, I think its 'cause they chase cubs like us and try to eat us up, but thats kind of fun!" Zivia grinned cheerily, and became lost in thought of why exactly their father was so occupied with patrolling. He was often patrolling, but what was so dangerous other than the hyena's who rarely even venture here unless Zivia teased them and made them chase after her. She knew that there was something else out in the lands, something dangerous but she didn't know what.

Zivia thought about interesting things they could do near the termite mounds but her mind was coming up blank. Even as Tao persisted there must be something, Zivia worried that they would get in trouble with Kiume -- though the young cub did have a point. If their father didn't notice, they could definitely go do something fun! The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. "Alright, I give in! Don't give me the adorable eyes, thats not fair either! Where would you like to go, play in the crocodile swamps or, in the elephant graveyard?"

Tao's ears folded back at the mention of hyenas that tried to eat cubs, confused why Zivia would think for a second that being chased by the mongrels could be fun. True, she had never actually seen a hyena, but she had heard them cackling in the distance at night, and the sound gave her the creeps. When offered the choice between a swamp filled with crocodiles and a graveyard for elephants, Tao's expression immediately fell. Was that really the best the Outlands had to offer for a cub to explore? A dirty river with animals that would love to devour two little cubs, or the place that massive elephants went to die alone? Neither option was particularly appealing, and now Tao was beginning to understand why their father had ordered the cubs to stay near the den for safety.

Still, the day was young and the cubs were all alone, so with a lazy shrug, she picked the less awful sounding of the two. "I guess we can go to the swamp and just look at it. I don't know if I want to play in it. Daddy would be mad if we came home all muddy, anyway." Even while breaking the room, the considerate cub couldn't help but think of her father. He never cried in front of the cubs, but Tao could sense the depression that still lingered after the loss of his mate. Kiume never spoke of the cubs' mother, and Tao felt guilty if she ever thought about bringing the subject up herself, unwilling to upset her father by the memories that were undoubtedly painful.

"Zivia, have you ever been to..." Tao's soft little voice grew even more quiet, as if she was about to utter a forbidden word and she didn't trust anyone else that might be around to hear it, "The Pridelands?" Her blue eyes widened as she said it, like it was taboo. All that she knew of their neighbors was that they were close by, but that the cubs should be fearful of them, and never, ever go into the other territories.

Zivia giggled as she saw Tao's ears fold back at the mention of the Hyena's. It was obvious that she didn't deem that fun at all, but so long as you had a nook that you could hide in that was so small only a cub could fit through, anything bigger and they'd get stuck. To an active cub that loved to be cheeky and devious, tricking the hyena's was ever so much fun - though she didn't like the idea of what would happen to her if she ever got caught. Zivia was sure that wouldn't happen though, she thought herself far too intelligent for that.

Zivia nodded her head, she didn't feel like teasing the crocodiles all that much today. It was more of a lazy day where you watched them swim around with one another rather then tease them. "Alrighty, we'll do that. And yes, he would be very mad and especially at me cause im meant to make sure you stay here. The croc swamps aren't that far though, just don't get eaten by a crocodillo, okay?" Zivia hadn't gotten the hang of saying 'crocodile' just yet. Zivia's mind wandered to their father once more, and she was concerned for him. Ever since their mother had died, he'd been more withdrawn then usual and it made her frown.

Zivia's head snapped up and she tilted it at Tao's soft tone. She paused, seeming to hesitate before she uttered the words that were like a taboo in the Outlands. She let out a hiss and looked around wildly, as many a time she'd gotten in trouble for asking about the Pridelands. Only one lioness had ever told her about them. She lowered her voice and sat closer to Tao, fearing someone would over-hear them. "Where on earth did you hear about that? But no, I have never been to... The Pridlelands... I know about them, but Tao, you musn't talk about them in front of the adults - especially not daddy! He'll be very, very mad." Zivia warned.

The very thought of being gobbled up by a crocodile made Tao whine softly to herself, and her expression was conflicted. It was impossible to have exciting fun while just sitting around the termite mounds, unless you made a fun game out of hunting for bugs and field mice, but Tao was growing by the day and so was her sense of adventure. Still, the warnings of her father repeated unconsciously in her head: Don't stray far from the adults. Stay away from hyenas. Never cross the borders.

Zivia's reaction to the mention of the Pridelands was more extreme than the younger cub had anticipated, and her ears fell back, embarrassed. "I was just curious. I heard some grown-ups talking about it. They didn't know I was there." Being a normally quiet cub did have its advantages, and Tao was occasionally the unintentional listener when the adults thought they were alone. Most of the time, she had no clue what they were talking about, but the worry in their voices when they spoke of the neighboring kingdom had been most interesting to Tao.

In spite of the warnings, Tao wanted to know more. Still certain that they were alone, she again lowered her voice. "I heard that in the Pride-- I mean, in the bad place, they're mean to their cubs, especially the girl ones. How come?" If her older sister knew of the place, perhaps she knew a little more she wasn't sharing? The peach cub, still wary of venturing about but willing to follow, looked at Zivia expectantly. "Why is it so bad there?" She was still too young to know that her own father had originally lived just across the border in the once-great lands, nor had she ever heard the name Scar -- if she did, she assumed the adults were talking about a lion with a Scar, not the dreaded king.

Zivia saw the way that Tao pondered it, and she grinned to herself. Tao was still far too young to want to take quite the risks that the curious Zivia did, and after all, Zivia was not afraid of death. She also thought herself - as many young cubs did - too great to fall to her death, or be gobbled up by a crocodile, and the hyena's were no worry to her. She laughed at the thought of one of the hyena's catching her, as though many hyena's were intelligent, the ones that chased her were not. She stretched her claws out and scratched lightly at the earth whilst she yawned. How boring it was to sit around all the time, and she was glad that she had cubs to play with. Even if it meant she lost yet another beloved mother.

Zivia made to lead her to the crocodile swamps, but the mention of the Pridelands had brought her up short and she now sat frowning at Tao. The Pridelands were not something she wished to discuss, and she sighed. Though she didn't fully understand the concept of the Pridelands, she understood enough to know that it was a place that should not be talked about. It was portrayed as a perfect place that had fallen to ruins with Scar's reign, and now he was trying to ruin everything else. Of course, what was their to ruin in the Outlands? "Well be grateful for that. You would've got in lots of trouble for eavesdropping." Zivia responded to Tao.

Zivia looked around carefully for any prying ears, and even though she saw no one she shifted closer to Tao and ducked her head to listen to the small cub. She saw no harm in telling Tao bad things about the Pridelands so she wouldn't want to go there. At that question, Zivia tilted her head and remembered the lionesses words. "I think it was because the King, Scar, he wants a boy. He keeps getting girls, and the boys he gets aren't good enough so he doesn't like them." Zivia explained un-surely. Zivia shrugged her shoulders. "Because of the King, he is not nice. It used to be great there, but then the King took over because the other King and the Prince died, so now its bad there!" Zivia proclaimed. She didn't know anything other than that, and she hoped Tao didn't ask more - she didn't want to disappoint her peachy-coloured little sister.

The younger princess had not yet found her bravery, and never put herself in dangerous situations. But time would tell if she remained so obedient, and so safe. She had not yet realized her growing need for adventure. Her ears drooped when she was chastised for eavesdropping, and she felt badly for it, but it was doubtful she would stop. Her mind was like a sponge, and she wanted to know everything: where the sun went at night, why the sky was blue. Everything and anything, Tao couldn't absorb enough information, like an aching thirst for knowledge.

For now, Tao dropped the topic of the Pridelands. Before long, she would learn all about the neighboring kingdom from Kiume himself, and the other harsh truths that accompanied her existence. Their pride was filled with rejects, the unwanted remnants of other places they had once called home, but for the time being, the peach princess remained in blissful ignorance. She looked up at her big sister with admiration shining in her sky blue eyes, and if their mother had been present, she would have been proud of her little girls. Instead of pressing for more information than Zivia had, her mind wandered in a different direction, but her curiosity was still running wild. "What does it mean to be king? It's a good thing, isn't it?" All that she knew was that her father was king, and the rest of the pride showed respect, but Tao hadn't an inkling what the title really meant. "Maybe one day, I'll be king," she offered hopefully, though in reality, she wasn’t the ambitious type.

Then, suddenly, another question weaseled its way into Tao's thoughts. "Do you believe in ghosts? I heard-" but she stopped herself before stating she had overheard the grown ups talking about this subject, as well. "I mean, someone told me about ghosts. Are they real?" Tao had never seen such a thing.. or at least, she didn't think she had seen one! Her tail thumped against the red clay ground, and it seemed she had forgotten about their plans to explore all together in favor of endless questions for her sister.