New RP section - Outlands

[Jabari]

Jabari sat down for a minute to think. The only way they could ever become friends is if they spent time together...but, what if they spent the night together? Jabari grinned and pulled Sahara over to him with a large paw. He leaned close to whisper in her ear.

"Here's the plan. We say that we have to go out and look for food for the night. We'll say that we'll just camp out. These two are to stay here and hold this area. Us, on the other hand, will go out back and watch."

[Vitani Lover]

Sahari covered her mouth with a paw to stifle a giggle. "That's perfect! Let's go tell them now!"

[Jabari]

Jabari grinned and nodded as he stood up once more.

"Alright guys, I want you two to stay here and hold the perimeter for the night. Sahara and I will be going out to look for food and other possibilities for shelter. I don't want either of you leaving the area under any circumstances. Be careful and stay safe."

Jabari nodded to both of them and then nudged Sahara out of the area.

[Vitani Lover]

Katali wanted to ask why only two were going out to look for food, but Jabari was gone already. He was stuck here, with no one but Takara to keep him company. He sighed. "Well, that was random. They just took off."

Takara said, "I guess so. What do you want to do now?"

Katali shrugged. "Not much to do here." They sat in silence, not sure of what to say or do. Katali was thinking about Hawara and wishing he could look for her. "I know," he said, "let's climb up to the top of these rocks!"

Takara nodded slowly. "OK, let's do it." Katali got a head start by jumping onto the nearesy rock, but Takara was able to pass him by the time they reached the top. They sat and looked out over the endless field of stars.

"You can see all the way to the Pridelands from here," Katali said in awe. Takara didn't answer; he was lost in thought.

"Do you remember your parents, Katali?" he said finally. The question caught him off guard.

"It's like a fog, you know? Sometimes I can hear them inside my head, and it's like they're still with me, and sometimes I can barely remember them at all. I miss them," he finished in a near-whisper. His eyes misted over and he turned his head to keep Takara from seeing a sign of weakness.

"I know what you mean," Takara said softly. "My mother was always there to watch out for me, and now she's gone. I've been on my own for as long as I can remember." His eyes narrowed. "And it's all because of what your parents did."

Katali tensed - not that subject again! "Let's not go there, Takara. I don't want to fight right now."

"Scared of me, Katali? Your parents were scared of my mom, so they killed her in an ambush - but my mom's friends got them for it. You didn't know that, did you?"

Katali took a deep breath and mentally told himself to withstand the urge inside. "No, I didn't know that - I only knew some Outlanders killed them. I sort of remember it, too - I dream about it all the time. But I bet you miss your mother, as much as I miss my parents. What about your father?"

Takara looked away. "I don't want to talk about my father - I don't even remember him."

"OK, we won't talk about it." They sat side by side, two tiny figures in a barren land.

[Jabari]

Jabari took a peek at them, grinning. He knew it would work. They just needed some time to get to know each other and be alone. This'll help out a lot...but...he still always wondered if there was another lion his age out in this dense, barren land. It seemed like childhood was the only time there were other lions your age...

He turned to Sahara.

"Sahara...never grow up."

[Vitani Lover]

"I'll try not to," she said with a smile, then stole another look at Katali and Takara. They seemed to be doing all right. "Do you believe what Takara says about Katali's parents? That's the main source of tension between them. If they work around that, they'll get along just fine."

OOC: Go right ahead and create some more characters of your own if you want... the more the merrier

[Jabari]

Jabari shrugged his shoulders.

"I really don't know Sahara. It might be true...it might not. I think that's something the two of them will have to sort out between them."

He winked at Sahara and gave her a playful nudge.

"Don't worry. Everything'll work out."

(OOC : Hehe, I dunno if I'll make any more. I'm trying to find someone to kinda fill in for Hawara. :P)

[Vitani Lover]

Katali looked out over the Outlands. He wanted to get to the bottom of the story Takara told about their parents, but he sensed that the other didn't want to talk about it, and he really didn't want a fight right now.

He slipped quietly from the rock and to the ground again. He was looking for a sleeping place when a hissing sound made him freeze to the spot. A large snake was coiled right in front of him, ready to spring. Katali shook with fear, but he knew he couldn't move quickly or the snake would attack. He decided to back away slowly. The snake bobbed back and forth aggressively, and Katali was sure he was a goner.

Then several things happened at once. Katali was thrown off of his feet, but he managed to see a form moving rapidly towards the snake, and then the snake's head was pierced by Takara's teeth and claws. It took only a few seconds.

Katali was stunned. He took a minute to catch his breath and still his heart. "Where did you learn to kill snakes?" he asked at last.

Takara was also breathing heavily. "Mother taught me - she knew all kinds of ways to get rid of them."

"But why did you do it to save me? I thought you hated me."

Takara frowned. "Well, it wasn't to save you. If the snake got you, it could concentrate on me next, without you as a distraction."

Katali gave him a doubtful look. "Uh-huh. Right." He wondered if Takara was telling the whole truth. For now, though, he was ready for some rest. He lay down and fell asleep in no time.

[Jabari]

Jabari grinned. Perfect...

"See, Sahara? That's all they needed...just some time alone. This'll be great from now on. No more bickering."

Jabari smiled and pulled Sahara against his fur as he lied down.

"We should get some sleep now, huh?"

[Vitani Lover]

Sahari took one last look at the sleeping form of Katali, then lay beside Jabari and drifted off to sleep....

----------------------------

Takara looked down at Katali sleeping at his feet. He wanted so badly to hurt him now, while he couldn't fight back, but he just could not bring himself to do it, and he felt like a traitor to his mother because of it. He would have to do something about that....

"About what?" Takara jumped; he hadn't seen Katali rouse himself.

"Uh... nothing. I was just saying that I was hungry and needed to do something about it."

"Oh." Katali didn't seem convinced or fooled completely. Takara groaned inwardly at his stupidity in allowing his thoughts to come out of his mouth. And now Katali was awake again. This was turning out to be a long night....

[Jabari]

While Sahara slept by his side, Jabari kept a close eye on the other two cubs. Takara still looked untrusting of Katali. He was going to have to overcome this. In order for them to survive, everyone had to trust one another. If Takara wouldn't...then who knows what could happen.

Jabari decided not to sleep but keep an eye on the two. If any fight were to break out, he had to be there to stop it.

[Vitani Lover]

Takara and Katali lay across the formation from each other, not paying the other much mind. Katali wanted to talk about their parents, but Takara did NOT want to get into it. Katali stood and walked over to him. "Takara," he started. Takara looked up at him. "I really want to know the truth - do you think that my parents killed your mother?"

Takara glared at him for what felt like the hundredth time. "What are you asking, Katali? She told me that they did before she died - that's enough for me."

"What if she was lying to you? My parents would never kill anybody without a good reason."

"A good reason! You think that just because she was in their hunting ground, that was a good reason? Your parents were murderers!"

Katali felt the heat rising on the back of his neck. "Don't you say that! Your mother deserved it!" He knew right away it was the wrong thing to say. He braced himself for a possible attack as Takara's face contorted in anger....

[Jabari]

Jabari saw that things were getting heated and it would be a fight soon enough. He tried to get up as gently as possible as to not wake Sahara and walked into the area.

"Break it up, you two. I thought leaving you two alone would help to sort out your problems. But I guess I'm going to have to be the problem solver here."

Jabari walked back to Sahara and gently nudged her before picking her up in his mouth and bringing her with him in with the other two cubs. He sat down and let Sahara lie down against him.

"Now, let's get this sorted out once and for all. I'm tired of seeing you two at each other's necks. We all need to get along. I can't have you two ready to kill each other at every moment. Now, Takara, tell us your side of the story."

[Vitani Lover]

Takara tried to figure out where to begin. "OK, I'll tell you." He took a deep breath and started.

"My mother and I lived pretty much alone, you know. Kept to ourselves; she had her own hunting ground. One day while I was sleeping she went out to find some food, and there were Katali's parents, angry at her for entering "their" hunting area. Mother told them that she had been there first, but they said she was a liar."

Katali stirred, but remained silent and in his place.

"She told be about it that night. The next few weeks Mother hunted away from where they had been, but eventually the food ran out, and since she had been their first anyway, she decided to go into the contested area and hunt. I saw her go and thought it was a bad idea, but I'm just a cub and she wouldn't listen; and I told you how scrawny I used to be.

"She never came back. That night I knew that something was wrong, and I went looking for her. I found her lying almost dead in a dry riverbed. I cried, and she told me that it was Katali's parents who killed her, and that I should be careful and grow up strong to make her proud.

"After that, I stayed away from others, especially older lions, but one day I spotted Katali's parents, and there he was - I saw Katali for the first time. I hated him inside because he had two parents and I'd only ever had one, and now she was gone too.

"I never saw his parents again, but he was around sometimes, alone; and like I told you, he always picked on me because I was too weak to fight back. I had to grow up quickly, and I got stronger because I had to eat.

He caught his breath. "That's pretty much it."

[Jabari]

Jabari sat and took all of the information in. This was a common occurence among Outlanders. Territory seemed to be everything. But...it wasn't Katali who killed his parents.

"Takara, you do know that Katali didn't kill your parents. He has or had no control over his parents actions. If they did in fact kill your parents, it wasn't his fault. Territorial claims are pretty common in the Outlands. It's just...how lions try to survive."

He then turned to Katali.

"Now, Katali, as for picking on him, you should know that many Outlanders have to fend for themselves. You should always think about others' feelings before you start to pick on them. What if Takara had picked on you if your parents were dead? How would you feel? But all the same, I believe that both of you are in the fault here. Takara, you shouldn't link blames just by bloodlines. Katali, you should think of others ' feelings next time. Other than that, you two have more in common than you think. You two just need to find your common ground. And I think your common ground should be putting aside the differences your parents had and befriending. In that, you'll be stronger than ever."

(OOC: Phew...)

[Vitani Lover]

Katali sighed. "OK, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have picked on you before, and I really am sorry that your mother got killed, though I'm still not sure that it was my parents who did it."

Takara looked at him, and it seemed a sincere apology. "I'm sorry, too. It was wrong to goad you on about your parents, when what they did wasn't your fault, and I'll try not to do it again."

Katali couldn't help but notice that Takara still stuck with the fact that Katali's parents killed his mother, without question, but he ignored it. "All right, I'm really tired now. Let's get some sleep." And as the sun began to rise in the East, the former adversaries fell into a much-needed rest...

(OOC: Very good work on the arbitration, Jabari - I just had to apologize after that)

[Jabari]

Jabari smiled as the two cubs fell asleep. That was it...that was what it took to get the two of them to get along. Time would tell, however, if it would last. In the meantime, sleep didn't sound like too bad of an idea. Jabari lied down with Sahara at his side and quickly dozed off into a gentle sleep.

(OOC: Thanks! )

[Vitani Lover]

(OOC: What do we do next? I think you should design the next story arc if you would like to)

[Jabari]

Jabari couldn't sleep peacefully as everything seemed to finally calm down. Something just didn't feel right. He slowly rose to his paws and looked around. It felt like...there might be other creatures around. Jabari sighed and sat down. Guess he wasn't going to sleep tonight.

He looked over at the cubs sleeping peacefully and smiled. It was a long day for all of them and they deserved this rest. Jabari would have to stay up the entire night and keep an eye out for anything strange. He just had a gut feeling.

However, this time awake gave him time to think. He thought of the cubs' futures. What would they do without parents? They'd have to grow up alone...just like Jabari did. All those years alone...no one to cry to...no one to talk to. Those years were so rough. He just hoped these cubs wouldn't have to deal with that.

He sighed as a tear fell down his face. He just had to hope...

[Vitani Lover]

The cubs too were having a restless night. Katali dreamed once again of his parent's deaths, and Takara saw his mother's face ordering him to make her proud someday.

Sahari also dreamed, but her's was a wonderful dream - she was with her family again, laughing and frolicking. Then something strange happened - her mother, father and brother disappeared and were replaced by the images of Jabari, Katali and Takara. Strange, Sahari thought as she awoke, then fell again into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

OOC EDIT: I will be going down to Florida tomorrow and getting back early Friday evening, hopefully with a new RP entry.