>Unfamiliar Territory<Open>

[>.Moto.>]

Moto Nafsi

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It was another relatively dry day in the forest as the cub wandered through the maze of trees. Of course, unbeknownst to the cub, this was unusual weather for here - of course, it had been for a while, so this wasn't new to anybody. Today, though, Moto had wandered just a bit farther then usual, and had come upon a new curiosity amongst the wilting, drying plants - a tangled mass of vines, suspended in the forest. It actually looked like it would be a lot of fun to play in, this mass. She was a good way away from her family, and was looking for something to have fun with - of course, this was long before panic mode when she realized that she was potentially lost.

Diving forward through the brush, the cub bounded toward this curiosity, this miracle growth of plants. Sure, there were a lot of interesting plants in the forest. This was different though. Parting her jaws slightly, the young cub took in the scent, ears perked forward, dropping into a crouch. New... And hers. All hers now. Just wait until the others saw this! This would be great! She'd have to explore... Slowly, amber eyes scanned ahead of her, a playful twitch of her tail showing her fake hunting stance, her intention of fun. Her eyes settled on a swinging vine, hanging on the edge of a tree limb, taunting...
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[Huru]

H U R U

The rising of the sun indicated the beginning of a new day on the African landscape. One by one, the animals that survived here would awaken to greet the morning and go through the motions that daily existence required. Within the Vinelands' territory, thick with vegetation, a young male lion lay hidden in the shadows of a dense mass of grasses, shrubs, and vines. His cranium, encircled by a thick chocolate brown mane, rested upon his two massive front paws. The juvenile's bright, amber optics remained hidden behind their lids as the lion slumbered. His chest rose and fell slowly and evenly with each deep intake of breath. The young male slept at peace, temporarily oblivious to the rest of the world. Slowly the juvenile opened his eyes, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the greenish hue of the illuminated vegetation that surrounded him. Massive jaws parted as a yawn escaped him before closing once again. Huru slowly got to his feet, standing motionless in the brush as he took in his surroundings. He lowered his upper body to the earth as he stretched to remove the stiffness of sleep from his body. The young male stood upright once again, exiting what had been his temporary bed for the night.

He began wandering aimlessly in one direction, taking in the lush vegetation and thick vines that surrounded him on all sides. In his life of wandering, he had never seen a place quite like this before. The thick masses of vines intrigued the young male while he maneuvered through the maze of trees.

A sudden noise in the distance peaked the male's interest. His head turned toward the sound of the rustling of brush. Nostrils flared as the male tested the air for the scent of another creature in the masses of plant life. Huru lowered his body to the earth in a crouch, moving slowly toward the sound. His hunting experience made it possible for him to move silently, hidden among the tangled plants and vines. As he drew nearer to the source, his amber eyes caught the site of a young lion cub in the distance. He watched as the cub frolicked through the brush, practicing her own hunting stance. Her focus was directed upon something in the distance as Huru's rested on her.

Maybe I could have a little fun... The juvenile thought as a smirk played across his lips. Slowly and quietly he began to close the gap between them. The young cub was much closer now, though she still seemed completely oblivious to Huru's presence. The young male came to a stop where his couched body was entirely concealed in vegetation. He allowed a low, audible growl to pass his vocals, while his amber eyes remained fixed on the female. After all, giving the young cub a reason to squirm was all in good fun.

[kasi]

KASI

little darling, it seems like years since it's been here

Her pelt was pale golden and covered from nose to tail-tip in brown spots, which made her almost invisible in her homeland, but she stuck out like an antelope with a sore hoof around here. She'd wandered off of her own territory in search of adventure, and had found herself here. She'd been wary of the darkness, until she found that the heat of the sun was killing much of the vegetation here and it wasn't quite as dark and frightening as she'd thought.

She still preferred her homelands, the seemingly endless rolling plains of the Grasslands. That was where she loved to be, although recently her home had fallen prey to drought, much like this region. She'd had to leave in search of water, but all she had managed to find was another victim of the harsh sunlight. She felt sorry for the vegetation, all dried out and dying, but she didn't know what she could do to solve the problem.

Her paws were having difficulty finding their way in the jungle. She wasn't used to a massive maze of trees and a ground hidden by intricate webs of vines. The jungle was hot, and the jungle was hot and sticky. Although she felt quite irritated by the extreme temperatures, she was intrigued by the fact that two lands that had seemed to be thriving before had now fallen to this state, as if they were just sickly prey.

Suddenly, shivers went up her spine. She could hear something in the bushes, a low snarl. Her claws dug into the drying earth and she picked up her pace, unknowingly approaching the source of the growl and the one at whom it was aimed.

She wasn't a coward, she just didn't want to pick a fight in here, where she had no chance of escape if things went awry. She wasn't built for combat, she had to rely on her agility in battle. She was a Cheetah, after all, designed to run free in the open plains and not some massive beast built for fighting.

It was then that her paw became ensnared in a mess of vines, which she promptly pulled free. However, her sudden release from the hostile vegetation caused her to lose her balance and tumble into an area of bushes. She landed on her stomach, placed between Moto and Huru, although that was something she was yet to find out.

here comes the sun, here comes the sun

Word Count > 393
Lyrics > Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles
Tags > Moto Nafsi, Huru
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[>.Moto.>]

Moto Nafsi

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While in her intense vine game, the cub had failed to notice anybody sneaking up on her. No, instead she was entirely focused on the swinging vine in front of her, too focused. She hadn't noticed at all the coming of the two strangers, hadn't noticed the scent of the prowling lion, hadn't noticed the shift in the plants. So, in this intense focus, her fur bristled and she jumped, falling over at the growl. What was there? She stumbled to her furred paws, glancing around for the source, clear eyes wide at the unidentified sound.

Scanning for the source of the sound, her vision fell upon another creature. This creature looked kind of like a lion, but was slimmer, and had longer legs, and a more spotted coat. She cocked her head at the strange lioness - she had to assume that it was a lioness, never having met a different cat species - and then flattened her ears, her young mind connecting the growl to the lioness. She stumbled backwards a couple of steps, crouching down as though trying to hide herself. Her mother had told her to run if she ever encountered a hostile lion, but something kept her there. The poor lioness didn't look hostile, just lost and out of place. Moto's fright-filled eyes softened a bit at the thought, and her instinctively lowered tail rose up a bit.

Maybe this lion could be a friend. That would be cool. So, bearing her courage and faith in herself, she forced herself to straighten up to show, in a rather childish way, that she wasn't afraid. "Hi! I'm Moto! What's your name?" Still the cub failed to notice the lion with the brown mane, hidden in the vines behind this 'lioness'.
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[Huru]

H U R U

The adolescent male lion watched the young cub through the vegetation that surrounded him on all sides. She was so lost in a world of her own, entirely fixated on an object in front of her. Apparently the young cub's parents had yet to teach her the importance of always watching her back when out on her own. She was lucky that the young male lion who stalked her was doing so for his own pleasure, rather than making the cub his next meal.

At the sound of Huru’s low rumbling growl, the hunter had instantly captured her attention. He watched as her small, undeveloped body tensed and stumbled over itself as the threatening noise entered her acute audits. The juvenile male suppressed a laugh as he watched her wide amber eyes scan her surrounding for the source of the sound. Huru knew for a fact that it was impossible for her to make out his dark pelt in the twists of vines and plant life that camouflaged his muscular frame.

Huru closed the gap between the two young felines a few more slow and silent paces. He unsheathed and flexed his sharp claws, digging them into the dry earth beneath his feet. Each muscle in his body tensed in preparation for the pounce that would terrify the young lion cub and give Huru something to muse over in the future.

The experienced hunter was prepared to pounce, but a nearby crashing of underbrush diverted his attention away from his target. As a reflex, the young male’s body rose from its hunting stance, exposing himself to the eyes of those around him. He watched as a young spotted creature tumbled blindly into the space between the young cub and himself, coming to a stop flat on her stomach as her slender, athletic body made contact with the ground. The young cub seemed just as taken aback as Huru did, lowering her ears to her cranium and backing away from the newcomer in fear.

Huru did not see the young cheetah as a threat, knowing it was in no cheetah’s best interest to try and take on a full grown lion in a fight. The juvenile stepped out of the vegetation and into the clearing where the cheetah lay sprawled across the forest floor. The young cub on the opposing side had already pushed her fear for the other creature aside, ready to make friends with the mysterious stranger. Huru rolled his amber eyes at the overenthusiastic cub, turning his attention to the vulnerable cheetah. ”Just so you know, you blew my cover.” The young male scoffed ”But hey, are you okay? You really had quite a fall there…” Huru asked the young cheetah, a trace of concern in his inquiry.

[kasi]

KASI

you gotta be careful with a dynamite stick

Sitting up and shaking her head, she noticed a cub of some sort nearby. She was brown, and Kasi deducted that she was a lion cub. The cub seemed as startled by her sudden appearance as Kasi felt. However, the cub straightened up, as if trying to prove that she wasn't frightened when she was. “Hi! I'm Moto! What's your name?

[/i]”

However, before Kasi got the chance to respond to the question, she heard another voice, this one male. “Just so you know, you blew my cover.[/i]” The male scoffed as Kasi whirled around, her claws digging into the drying earth beneath her paws. “But hey, are you okay? You really had quite a fall there…[/i]”

Kasi narrowed her eyes as she looked at the young male behind her. “You must be a pretty lousy hunter then, if I can blow your cover just by tripping. I'm fine, thank you very much.[/color]” She retorted, angry that the adolescent lion seemed to think that she was incapable of taking care of herself. Her ears, which had been laid back against her skull, pricked forwards as she turned her attention back towards the cub before her.

“It's nice to meet you, but should a cub your age really be out all alone in the jungle? I wouldn't have said that it was all too safe for such a youngster to be out all by herself.[/color]” Then, realizing that she probably sounded like an angry mother, she she relaxed and lowered her head. “Sorry, I'm Kasi.[/color]”[/size][/blockquote]

and she packs a punch like a roman candle

Word Count > 257
Lyrics > Firecracker by Josh Turner
Tags > Moto Nafsi, Huru
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[>.Moto.>]

Moto Nafsi

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Now her head moved back and forth between the two cats, not knowing which one was friendlier, more threatening, or what. She just wasn't sure how to react. Sure, her mom said to run... But if they hadn't attacked yet, they probably wouldn't... Would they? But the spotted one sounded a bit like the older lionesses back home, and she flicked her tail in amusement, pawing at the ground. "Oh, no, they hate it when I wander off... But they're boring brambles anyway..." She lowered her head a moment, thoughtfully. "Except for mommy's friend's cubs... They're kinda fun, even if they're a tad older."

She lifted her head triumphantly, having decided that she's perfectly justified in being here. She then turned to the larger male, tilting her head a bit. "I don't think I've seen you before, though..." Moto proceeded to scan through her memory, her tail flicking on occasion, to see if she'd ever seen this lion before. Not being able to place him, she tilted her head a bit to the side, very slightly parting her jaws to take in his scent, out of simple curiosity.

((ooc: Yeah, I built up some ooc, I know... I just figured the little cub would have a life somewhere... :/ Anyway, sorry it's short...))
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[Huru]

H U R U

The cheetah's response took the young male lion aback momentarily. He had not been expecting such a retort to come from the spotted female. A soft snort escaped from his nasal passages, followed by another quick roll of his amber eyes. A new smirk carved its way onto his features, as he fixed his optics on the female cheetah's set. "Well, it's not everyday you see someone fall on their face."He spoke, his tail flicking behind him. "That graceful entrance you just made was something I didn't want to miss for the world."

The young male left the female cheetah to absorb his words, instead turning his attention to the young cub, Moto. The female seemed very concerned as to what the cub was doing out here all alone: a problem that was clearly not hers to worry about. Moto, however, seemed to naive to understand what Kasi meant. Who knew boredom justified wandering into the dangerous African territories on your own?

"No, you haven't seen me before." Huru replied to the young cub's statement. His gaze flicked back and forth between Moto and Kasi. "If you had, you would have rememberd."


[ ooc: sorry that this is so late D: ]