Mark Of Africa - Moving To New Thread/Owner! No Posting!

[The Lost Gremlin]

Nyani narrowed her eyes but remained still.
''My indentity is none of your concern. I was always taught not to talk to strangers - especially males.'' There was a hint of cheek in her rather neutral voice. She sat quietly with her long, slender tail swiping the dusty red earth beneath the acacia.

Tip raised a non-existent eyebrow. Had she been following her? Her scent didn't seem familiar. If she owned a territory within this area with a pride, she'd have certainly have picked up the scent somewhere. She watched carefully, wondering what words to start out with.

[Tesumph]

Thistle dropped his gaze, becoming instantly serious. "Well, I'm terribly sorry my gender offends you."
His tail kinked up and he raised his eyes again. "What's a lioness like you doing without a pride, anyway?" His voice was teasing, but there was an edge of deep wistfulness in it, and his paws worked the dirt as he looked her up and down. His mouth opened as he tasted the air, and he had a flutter of hope in his belly when he realized that there were no other male lions around.

Quill lashed her tail with anxiety as she stared at the silent lioness. "I'm a loner... I.. pfft, who am I kidding, I'm never gonna find a pride." She curled her lip and turned away, muttering "I can't even talk to a lioness." She stalked into the undergrowth and opened her jaws, hoping for the scent of prey.

[The Lost Gremlin]

''There is no point in joining a pride if it's run by a hopelessly weak Pride Lord. I don't intend in joining a pride where my cubs will grow up to be weak, sickly individuals.'' She glared at him, beginning to feel what his possible intentions were. She sat in a haunched poise but never once did she take her eyes of him. He didn't look like the kind of male who possessed any females of his own - something she didn't see worthy in a male. Her tail flicked sharply, the limp end slowly becoming ruffled.

Tip yawned, watching the Lioness stalk off.
''Guilty as charged.'' Tip murmured, uttering a cheeky smile. Clambering to her long, lean legs she began to wander off again. As always her tail was high in the air as was her head. Something she often did to show her confidence and to alert others of her presence. She didn't want to suddenly startle a potential male by walking in on him without him knowing - generally she found it a safer bet.

[Tesumph]

Thistle dipped his head. "Understandable." He didn't know what else to say. She made a good point; He didn't want weak offspring either. But how could he prove himself if no lioness joined him? Stifling a growl of impatience, he dug his claws into the ground. He could smell that she was in heat and it made him eager. "Well, I suppose no one can force you." Or can they...? He added to himself.
Suddenly, he didn't know how to go about this. Do I just ask her to join me, or what? He felt confused and irritated by the tempting aroma around this lioness.

Quill sniffed the air carefully. The mouth watering scent of an antelope herd drifted toward her. Almost tripping over herself, she loped to the herd. Cautiously she peered out from some bushes and watched. For quite a while she couldn't see any chance, and she was just about to give up when a calf tottered away from it's mother. She watched with gleaming eyes as it came closer, then froze. Seeing her chance, she sprang up and darted after it. The calf didn't stand a chance and stumbled as her weight crushed it. She held onto it's neck for a while, then began to eat.

[The Lost Gremlin]

Sensing a sort of tension building up within her own, Nyani turned and slowly moved away from the male. Her interest wasn't in him, despite what it could mean for her. He just didn't seem the type of lion she'd want as her Pride Lord. He seemed... somewhat easy-going, maybe a little lax. She knew there was a male who held his own territory nearby, and even had a lioness or two. Perhaps he'd been worth investigating. In her own time, of course. Her steps were nearly hesitant and her movements were very slow and casual.

Tip stretched out quite happily on a warm, flat rock. It was reasonably sized rock wit it's surface slightly above the grassline and it's length big enough to accomadate the lioness. She was a small female, smaller than most her age, but even so, she was still growing at a somewhat graduate rate. In the distance she could see a pair of lions near an acacia tree - a lion (Thistle) and a lioness (Nyani). Curiously she watched them, following their movements with her soft, brown eyes.

[Tesumph]

Thistle let out and impatient roar and reared up. He sprang in front of the lioness and hissed at her. He suddenly had the strong urge to mark his territory. "Then if you wont join my pride, then get off my land," he smirked. He raised his head and let out a huge roar. Letting his tail flick her as he turned away, he trotted to a small oasis. He then started to mark his territory, including the oasis and the tree that he had met the lioness under. Contented, he stretched out on the grass, growling in pleasure. "Yes... I have the territory, now I just need the lionesses." He didn't bother to go check if Nyani was still there; He would let her decide if she would change her mind. "For now.. I will rest... and maybe they will come to me." Stretching out, he let out another roar that confirmed his territory and called to all the lionesses within range.

Quill's ear flicked as she heard the lion's roar. She recognized the fierce intensity the gripped all male lions: the urge to claim their own and start their own pride. She flicked her tail and grabbed another chunk of meat from her fresh kill.

[The Lost Gremlin]

''Aw, what's wrong? If a girl doesn't do what the big-guy wants then she gets tossed out like a pile of bones?'' She snarled at him, voice ending in a bitter hiss while her fangs were bared and tail flicking, her eyes staring daggers at him as shecontinued to move off at her own pace.
''Good luck with finding any decent lionesses with an attitude like that!'' She called back with her tail high above her head. Obviously a male like that was too much of a jerk to even try and stick around.
''Ah well. He's not my problem.'' She told herself firmly, finally leaving the male's boundaries.


Tip raised a non-existent eyebrow. Wow. That male looked as though he'd just flipped out at that lioness... why? She continued to watch as Nyani left and Thistle went back to his buisness. She was still laying on the rock, probably within territory borders while weighing up her options of whether or not she should introduce herself, or leave him to it.

[Tesumph]

Thistle bristled and scoffed as she walked away. "Well then..." Perhaps he had overreacted, but for some reason it had felt right, driving her out. Maybe this is just nature kicking me in the butt and telling me to get a life.., he thought grimly. Well, if that lioness wouldn't join him, maybe he could find another. He raised his head and saw the lioness laying on the rock, a ways away. He roared again, testing to see if she would respond.

Quill's tail quivered as she heard the lion's roar again. "Gee, he really wants a pride, eh?" She poked her head out of the bush that she had dragged her prized kill into and watched as the male lion rumbled a call to the lionesses. Her head lowered when she saw the lioness she had been spying on watching him too. Suddenly it struck her that she was probably in his territory. The opened her jaws and breathed in his scent, confirming her belief. "I didn't smell that earlier?" He had probably just recently claimed it, she decided. Sighing, she stretched out and licked her blood stained jaws.

[The Lost Gremlin]

Tip remained anchored to the spot upon the flat rock. The heat had induced her to being panting, but she continued to observe the male from a safe distance. That sudden fierce reaction he had towards the other lioness made her feel a little unsure about her presence. Despite this, something urged her to stay, perhaps meet the male. There seemed a shortage of bachelors and prides, so her options were open at this point. Her ears flickered to the roar, nearly tempted.

Nyani quickened her pace just before the roar. She'd have a browse around. It didn't matter to her whether or not she found a pride any time soon. What mattered to her was the stronghold of the best Pride Lord and living there. Her attitude seemed perhaps a little cheeky just now, unorthodox maybe, but she couldn't change who she was just for a stranger... or could she?
She simply shrugged but couldn't help but glance over her shoulder.

[Tesumph]

Thistle watched the lioness carefully, but made no attempt to approach her. He'd learnt his lesson. "If they want to join me, they will." He stretched out his back legs and basked in the rough, golden grass around him. The smell of the lioness in heat drifted to him, but he didn't move. He just waited, and watched.

Quill yawned and flicked her tail. "Well this is boring," she muttered. Should she join the males pride? Or just wait it out? She sighed and sat up. Padding out of the bush, she blinked in the harsh sunlight. Quickly she pushed back into her bush and laid down again. "I'm not getting anywhere with this," she scowled. Finally, she laid her head down and fell asleep.