Post by Shomoro on Jun 4, 2006 2:42:47 GMT -5
I was cleaning up some logs to HTMLise, and I stumbled across this! 
My first RP with Shituko here, in all his...unhinged glory. XD
/Forgotten Lands\ Water Hole
Here, in the very centre of these lands, lies the waterhole - a precious resource crucial to many forms of life, and thus the stage for frequent dramas as creatures struggle both to use it and, in some cases, to escape safely. Fed and kept fresh for most of the year by a small stream, the waterhole is surrounded by flowers and plants that flourish in the damp environment - cherry pink and white for some of the year, sky-blue and gold at other times. In two or three spots where this foliage is thinnest, the ground slopes away in sandy banks which, judging by the scent and the various tracks, must be where animals go down to the water's edge to drink, play and hunt.
At night in the dry season, crickets chirp mournfully around the shrinking lake, and the water becomes dark and muddy; but when the grasses are thick, the water is clear enough to see the reflected stars in, and the waterhole broadcasts its location far and wide with the croaking of hundreds of tiny frogs. In the daytime, the grassland can be seen to stretch in all directions almost as far as the eye can see, broken only by dips and rises in the western landscape, what looks like the edge of a small jungle to the south, and to the north the unmistakable silhouette of the promontory.
Being alone is beginning to get rather -lonely-. Wa is briefly amused by the thought as it flickers through his head. Still-- it -is- true. Perhaps he ought to begin finding another vagrant to hang about with for a time. His nose wrinkles, his whiskers twitching thoughtfully. Well-- first and foremost, ought to visit the water, and find a place to bed down. It's strange, really, that these lands have no resident pride. He's smelt other lions about, but there's no -coherent- scent. Well! Again, no bother for now. Water! Eck, the waterhole -is- crowded at dawn, isn't it?
"/MAGGOT/!" Shituko wants to hurt this lion, claw him right on his stupid scarred face, and so he does; a paw slaps down /hard/, and the water gives easily under the blow, splashing up to hit /him/ right in the face. A low growl, and then he's shoved his muzzle down, not drinking, but snapping at the water. This battered thing in the lake can't be /him/, it looks so /haggard/, not like he did the last time he really stopped to pay attention to his own reflection. The water's got to be fooling him; it can't have been /that/ long. He crouches on the bank, tail lashing furiously behind him, and glowers down at the ripples, waiting for them to stop and quit fooling with him. ...Crowded, and a small herd of antelope that had the misfortune to show up right about now are giving him a wide berth, as well as a couple of okapi.
Aaaand, oooh, water'd be nice! Wa actually emits a little warbling call, low-pitched. When alone he enjoys nurturing his musical side. But then, a shout-- well, not a shout (always quantifying, Wa avoids generalizations almost obsessively), but certainly -noisy- -- makes him start. The cat's ears twitch forward and he lifts his head. Bloody herbies. "-Move-," he complains at them under his breath, and marches forward as well as he can while swerving to avoid stubborn, snorting wildebeest. -- And stops. -My-. If all the locals look like -that-, then maybe he oughtn't drink this water. There's a pause of a moment or two before: "Hey there!"
Waiting...waiting... Shituko's muscles are quite tense, his tail stiff and unmoving where before it seemed quite unwilling to stay still; even his /breathing's/ stopped, as if he thinks that the illusion will go away if he holds it in long enough. ...And then he bursts into motion again, /lunging/ into the waterhole this time, and snaps furiously at it, plowing in almost up to his chest. It's here he pauses, sides heaving now, and looks back at the shore when he hears somebody calling out quite cheerfully; his mane's plastered flat around his face, and his expression matches, sour and deeply irritated. "Fix it." Petulant. "Your water is /lying/ to me, maggot." Because clearly Wa must be a native.
My. "It -is- going to be hot today, isn't it?" in the voice of one determined to be pleasant, although one's conversation partner is clearly quite mad. "-- Pardon? I'm not a maggot, I'm Wa. So far as I know, I've never been a--" right. Stopping now. Don't make fun of the madman. It's not nice. "It's not -my- water; I've just come upon it, myself. Why is it lying?" slipping, reluctantly, towards a more wary attitude.
Shituko's ears turn back, and he bares his teeth, briefly, irritated. Well, if this male /doesn't/ live here, then what the hell use /is/ he? "It's showing me the wrong face, Wa-maggot. I don't LOOK THIS WAY!" Attention snapping, suddenly, back to the lying water in question, voice peaking into a snarling yell, and he bites at it /again/ before whirling and slogging back towards the shore; apparently it's still not showing him what he wants to see.
.... -Dear-. Wa's ears are tipped back, pressing into his mane. "Well--" he starts, is cut off by that snarling outburst. Waits a moment to see if it's through before starting again. "-- Shall I have a look? Maybe it -is- magic water." His voice lilts briefly into amusement before, realizing it, he tamps it down.
That amused note doesn't go unnoticed; Shituko's teeth make another appearance, and as he hauls himself back out of the water, he's sure to thrust his face towards Wa's, crowding. The thought that maybe he shouldn't go doing that to strangers? Never even occurs to him. This obviously isn't a lion with /any/ understanding of social etiquette. "Have fun," he grunts, and peels away, now giving the other something of a berth. He doesn't want the other male to /retaliate/; he doesn't like touching strangers.
Wa's whiskers twitch and his own lips roll back. But only for a moment, a casual flicker of tooth, and then gone again. It reappears, however, when he finds that face shoved close to his. This cat-- terribly scrawny, isn't he?-- is -- well, madness isn't catching, but he doesn't want those teeth near his face. A low noise, half-growl, half-grunt, when Shituko moves, and then Wa leans forward, waiting. "... Looks fine to me." Is his declaration.
Shituko grunts again, himself, and shakes off vigorously, sending water everywhere. "You're probably too stupid to know what you look like, that's all." Grumbled, low, but he doesn't make any terribly concentrated attempts to keep the other from hearing it.
"You know, I think you may be wrong there, buddy." Wa replies at once, and huffs laughter. "You probably look about the same in there as you do out here, though, I'll tell you. I guess you're not from around here either, huh?"
There's a moment of silence from Shituko; he stiffens a bit in unpleasant surprise, takes a minute or two to register what Wa's said. Then he turns, glaring, his tattered ears flattening. "/What/ did you say?" he hisses, low and utterly furious. "I'm not that /ugly/, I can't be! You can't be insinuating that he had such horrible taste!" Whirling, he stalks right back towards Wa, stiff-legged, lips wrinkled up to the gums. "Or are you, maggot?"
..... A-buh? Dammit, he pressed the 'crazy' button! "You -heard- me. Now I--" oh dear. Wa backs up, lowering his head defensively. "Not -ugly-, more--" no, not going to make fun, "dishevelled. Have a good grooming and you ought to be fine!" he encourages.
"I /did/, maggot, but I can't quite believe what you said. Because I believe you said--" He stops when Wa backs away, more or less, creeping a little closer so that he can glower more effectively, and let the other male hear the soft, rumbling snarl that's started in his chest. "It's /ugly/." Angry. "He scarred it and now Kisambare wouldn't even want me back if he /was/ here. Understand?" How about 'no?' Shituko doesn't much seem to care that his impromptu audience is totally in the dark, though.
"Ah../huh/. I prefer my personal space to be at least two steps back behind where you are now." A warning note in his voice, sudden. "Pardon me? I was making an observation, fella, I'm sorry you don't agree. Fine. You're terribly handsome. You're also dirty. Dirt isn't permanent, to my knowledge. You'll note some of it is even kinda coming off there?" he can't keep up the derisive tone for more than a phrase or two.
... "Oh, shut up." Snarled, suddenly, and then Shituko whirls, stalking off. Most people would be pissed off at him by now; that Wa isn't confuses him, and, annoyingly enough, he doesn't think he wants to attack this guy after.../that/. Hmmpf. Nobody's complimented him in a long time, and he doesn't like that warm, fuzzy feeling it gives him.
Silence, obedient. Wa's irritation and unease have melted away-- the phrase is terribly -normal-, and this eases him. "Got a name, have you?" cheerful enough, after a pause.
...What? The query is so unexpected and so idiotically /friendly/ that Shituko stops dead. "...Shituko. Why do you ask, maggot?"
"It's called making conversation, -Shituko-." That amusement is back. "Heard of it, have you? I'm Wa. Is 'maggot' the usual general term for strangers in these parts? No bloody -wonder- there's no cohesive pride-smell!" huffing laughter.
"And why bother trying? I've got /things/ to do, worm." Shituko looks over his shoulder, irritated, but it's a confused sort of irritation; Wa has, apparently, succeeded in throwing him off. "I wouldn't know; I don't live here /either/." He regards the other through narrowed eyes for a minute. "I'm only here because I'm /looking/ for somebody."
"Oh? I'm looking for someone too, though not," he adds, "anyone specific." And a lift of the shoulders, a tip of the head.
Shituko squints at him. "...How pointless," is the larger male's eventual declaration, and he snorts, padding off, away from the water. "You're looking for someone you don't even /know/? Ridiculous."
"I shouldn't think so," bemused. "Why would it be ridiculous? I certainly don't -enjoy- being alone, fella."
"Why should you /care/ enough to go make nice to some stranger?" A bony shoulder is lifted, then drops again; Shituko barely breaks stride to do so. "You're wasting your time, maggot. Most people are idiots. And some of them might well /eat/ you."
"Well, -everybody's- a stranger, at first." That bemused note stronger, now, gilded with something sharp. "-Wa-," he corrects, "and so far as I know, there's nothing out there that could eat -me-." And the cat lengthens his stride to a trot, briefly so that he might catch up with Shituko.
"/Pointless/," he stresses, grouchily. "You should have gotten yourself somebody and stuck to /them/." Disregarding, of course, the fact that Wa is trying to do that /now/. Bah. He should've done it earlier. He could have elaborated, but when he hears that last remark of Wa's, and sees the other coming up beside him, Shituko /does/ stop--and turns towards the other male, once again leaning far too close, and grins at him, huge and toothy, his eyes lidded.
"-Well--" that grouchy mood is catching, and this makes Wa even more irritated. Irritation floods away, though, then ,and he stops in his tracks to stare back at Shituko. "... -Hallo- to you too, fella."
Shituko's jaws snip shut just in front of the other's muzzle, almost delicately; then he yanks away with a laugh, low and raspy and /almost/ pleasant. "What makes you think that you aren't edible, Wa-maggot?" He lowers his head, regarding the other from under the ridges of his brow, coquettish. "You /are/. I'd have half a mind to prove it if I could still eat."
Wa snorts, his whiskers waggling, and pulls his own head back sharply when those teeth snap closed. "Well, everybody's edible," he amends, "well, most people, but-- you'd have to kill me first, and well, I simply -won't- allow -that-." A brief chuckle. -Very- brief. "One, piss off," -- not antagonistic, "two, why can't you eat?"
The other male smirks in response, but he doesn't show his teeth this time. "Do you think I would politely ask for your permission? How quaint." Then, though, his brows furrow, and his ears turn back, body going stiff again. "...If he can't eat anymore, I'm not going to." He doesn't bother offering any explanation behind that; if Wa doesn't get it, then he's /clearly/ never going to.
"Well, of course not!" startled. "I'd kick your donkey, though. That's all I'm saying," Wa explains. " ... Oh. Planning," forcibly cheerful, "to join him, then? There are easier ways to do it, I trust you know."
"I'd like to see you try, maggot," Shituko retorts at once, then shrugs, turning away again. "I know. Piss off." --Echoing what Wa had said a minute ago.
"All right, then." Wa's shoulders lift. "See you around, fella." And he turns, ambling off back towards the water.
"Hmmpf." Still, Shituko does look back over his shoulder--just briefly--as he slinks off. He doesn't stop, though, picking a direction at random, and he snuffles at the ground as he moves along, his tail flicking behind him like an irritated metronome.
My first RP with Shituko here, in all his...unhinged glory. XD/Forgotten Lands\ Water Hole
Here, in the very centre of these lands, lies the waterhole - a precious resource crucial to many forms of life, and thus the stage for frequent dramas as creatures struggle both to use it and, in some cases, to escape safely. Fed and kept fresh for most of the year by a small stream, the waterhole is surrounded by flowers and plants that flourish in the damp environment - cherry pink and white for some of the year, sky-blue and gold at other times. In two or three spots where this foliage is thinnest, the ground slopes away in sandy banks which, judging by the scent and the various tracks, must be where animals go down to the water's edge to drink, play and hunt.
At night in the dry season, crickets chirp mournfully around the shrinking lake, and the water becomes dark and muddy; but when the grasses are thick, the water is clear enough to see the reflected stars in, and the waterhole broadcasts its location far and wide with the croaking of hundreds of tiny frogs. In the daytime, the grassland can be seen to stretch in all directions almost as far as the eye can see, broken only by dips and rises in the western landscape, what looks like the edge of a small jungle to the south, and to the north the unmistakable silhouette of the promontory.
Being alone is beginning to get rather -lonely-. Wa is briefly amused by the thought as it flickers through his head. Still-- it -is- true. Perhaps he ought to begin finding another vagrant to hang about with for a time. His nose wrinkles, his whiskers twitching thoughtfully. Well-- first and foremost, ought to visit the water, and find a place to bed down. It's strange, really, that these lands have no resident pride. He's smelt other lions about, but there's no -coherent- scent. Well! Again, no bother for now. Water! Eck, the waterhole -is- crowded at dawn, isn't it?
"/MAGGOT/!" Shituko wants to hurt this lion, claw him right on his stupid scarred face, and so he does; a paw slaps down /hard/, and the water gives easily under the blow, splashing up to hit /him/ right in the face. A low growl, and then he's shoved his muzzle down, not drinking, but snapping at the water. This battered thing in the lake can't be /him/, it looks so /haggard/, not like he did the last time he really stopped to pay attention to his own reflection. The water's got to be fooling him; it can't have been /that/ long. He crouches on the bank, tail lashing furiously behind him, and glowers down at the ripples, waiting for them to stop and quit fooling with him. ...Crowded, and a small herd of antelope that had the misfortune to show up right about now are giving him a wide berth, as well as a couple of okapi.
Aaaand, oooh, water'd be nice! Wa actually emits a little warbling call, low-pitched. When alone he enjoys nurturing his musical side. But then, a shout-- well, not a shout (always quantifying, Wa avoids generalizations almost obsessively), but certainly -noisy- -- makes him start. The cat's ears twitch forward and he lifts his head. Bloody herbies. "-Move-," he complains at them under his breath, and marches forward as well as he can while swerving to avoid stubborn, snorting wildebeest. -- And stops. -My-. If all the locals look like -that-, then maybe he oughtn't drink this water. There's a pause of a moment or two before: "Hey there!"
Waiting...waiting... Shituko's muscles are quite tense, his tail stiff and unmoving where before it seemed quite unwilling to stay still; even his /breathing's/ stopped, as if he thinks that the illusion will go away if he holds it in long enough. ...And then he bursts into motion again, /lunging/ into the waterhole this time, and snaps furiously at it, plowing in almost up to his chest. It's here he pauses, sides heaving now, and looks back at the shore when he hears somebody calling out quite cheerfully; his mane's plastered flat around his face, and his expression matches, sour and deeply irritated. "Fix it." Petulant. "Your water is /lying/ to me, maggot." Because clearly Wa must be a native.
My. "It -is- going to be hot today, isn't it?" in the voice of one determined to be pleasant, although one's conversation partner is clearly quite mad. "-- Pardon? I'm not a maggot, I'm Wa. So far as I know, I've never been a--" right. Stopping now. Don't make fun of the madman. It's not nice. "It's not -my- water; I've just come upon it, myself. Why is it lying?" slipping, reluctantly, towards a more wary attitude.
Shituko's ears turn back, and he bares his teeth, briefly, irritated. Well, if this male /doesn't/ live here, then what the hell use /is/ he? "It's showing me the wrong face, Wa-maggot. I don't LOOK THIS WAY!" Attention snapping, suddenly, back to the lying water in question, voice peaking into a snarling yell, and he bites at it /again/ before whirling and slogging back towards the shore; apparently it's still not showing him what he wants to see.
.... -Dear-. Wa's ears are tipped back, pressing into his mane. "Well--" he starts, is cut off by that snarling outburst. Waits a moment to see if it's through before starting again. "-- Shall I have a look? Maybe it -is- magic water." His voice lilts briefly into amusement before, realizing it, he tamps it down.
That amused note doesn't go unnoticed; Shituko's teeth make another appearance, and as he hauls himself back out of the water, he's sure to thrust his face towards Wa's, crowding. The thought that maybe he shouldn't go doing that to strangers? Never even occurs to him. This obviously isn't a lion with /any/ understanding of social etiquette. "Have fun," he grunts, and peels away, now giving the other something of a berth. He doesn't want the other male to /retaliate/; he doesn't like touching strangers.
Wa's whiskers twitch and his own lips roll back. But only for a moment, a casual flicker of tooth, and then gone again. It reappears, however, when he finds that face shoved close to his. This cat-- terribly scrawny, isn't he?-- is -- well, madness isn't catching, but he doesn't want those teeth near his face. A low noise, half-growl, half-grunt, when Shituko moves, and then Wa leans forward, waiting. "... Looks fine to me." Is his declaration.
Shituko grunts again, himself, and shakes off vigorously, sending water everywhere. "You're probably too stupid to know what you look like, that's all." Grumbled, low, but he doesn't make any terribly concentrated attempts to keep the other from hearing it.
"You know, I think you may be wrong there, buddy." Wa replies at once, and huffs laughter. "You probably look about the same in there as you do out here, though, I'll tell you. I guess you're not from around here either, huh?"
There's a moment of silence from Shituko; he stiffens a bit in unpleasant surprise, takes a minute or two to register what Wa's said. Then he turns, glaring, his tattered ears flattening. "/What/ did you say?" he hisses, low and utterly furious. "I'm not that /ugly/, I can't be! You can't be insinuating that he had such horrible taste!" Whirling, he stalks right back towards Wa, stiff-legged, lips wrinkled up to the gums. "Or are you, maggot?"
..... A-buh? Dammit, he pressed the 'crazy' button! "You -heard- me. Now I--" oh dear. Wa backs up, lowering his head defensively. "Not -ugly-, more--" no, not going to make fun, "dishevelled. Have a good grooming and you ought to be fine!" he encourages.
"I /did/, maggot, but I can't quite believe what you said. Because I believe you said--" He stops when Wa backs away, more or less, creeping a little closer so that he can glower more effectively, and let the other male hear the soft, rumbling snarl that's started in his chest. "It's /ugly/." Angry. "He scarred it and now Kisambare wouldn't even want me back if he /was/ here. Understand?" How about 'no?' Shituko doesn't much seem to care that his impromptu audience is totally in the dark, though.
"Ah../huh/. I prefer my personal space to be at least two steps back behind where you are now." A warning note in his voice, sudden. "Pardon me? I was making an observation, fella, I'm sorry you don't agree. Fine. You're terribly handsome. You're also dirty. Dirt isn't permanent, to my knowledge. You'll note some of it is even kinda coming off there?" he can't keep up the derisive tone for more than a phrase or two.
... "Oh, shut up." Snarled, suddenly, and then Shituko whirls, stalking off. Most people would be pissed off at him by now; that Wa isn't confuses him, and, annoyingly enough, he doesn't think he wants to attack this guy after.../that/. Hmmpf. Nobody's complimented him in a long time, and he doesn't like that warm, fuzzy feeling it gives him.
Silence, obedient. Wa's irritation and unease have melted away-- the phrase is terribly -normal-, and this eases him. "Got a name, have you?" cheerful enough, after a pause.
...What? The query is so unexpected and so idiotically /friendly/ that Shituko stops dead. "...Shituko. Why do you ask, maggot?"
"It's called making conversation, -Shituko-." That amusement is back. "Heard of it, have you? I'm Wa. Is 'maggot' the usual general term for strangers in these parts? No bloody -wonder- there's no cohesive pride-smell!" huffing laughter.
"And why bother trying? I've got /things/ to do, worm." Shituko looks over his shoulder, irritated, but it's a confused sort of irritation; Wa has, apparently, succeeded in throwing him off. "I wouldn't know; I don't live here /either/." He regards the other through narrowed eyes for a minute. "I'm only here because I'm /looking/ for somebody."
"Oh? I'm looking for someone too, though not," he adds, "anyone specific." And a lift of the shoulders, a tip of the head.
Shituko squints at him. "...How pointless," is the larger male's eventual declaration, and he snorts, padding off, away from the water. "You're looking for someone you don't even /know/? Ridiculous."
"I shouldn't think so," bemused. "Why would it be ridiculous? I certainly don't -enjoy- being alone, fella."
"Why should you /care/ enough to go make nice to some stranger?" A bony shoulder is lifted, then drops again; Shituko barely breaks stride to do so. "You're wasting your time, maggot. Most people are idiots. And some of them might well /eat/ you."
"Well, -everybody's- a stranger, at first." That bemused note stronger, now, gilded with something sharp. "-Wa-," he corrects, "and so far as I know, there's nothing out there that could eat -me-." And the cat lengthens his stride to a trot, briefly so that he might catch up with Shituko.
"/Pointless/," he stresses, grouchily. "You should have gotten yourself somebody and stuck to /them/." Disregarding, of course, the fact that Wa is trying to do that /now/. Bah. He should've done it earlier. He could have elaborated, but when he hears that last remark of Wa's, and sees the other coming up beside him, Shituko /does/ stop--and turns towards the other male, once again leaning far too close, and grins at him, huge and toothy, his eyes lidded.
"-Well--" that grouchy mood is catching, and this makes Wa even more irritated. Irritation floods away, though, then ,and he stops in his tracks to stare back at Shituko. "... -Hallo- to you too, fella."
Shituko's jaws snip shut just in front of the other's muzzle, almost delicately; then he yanks away with a laugh, low and raspy and /almost/ pleasant. "What makes you think that you aren't edible, Wa-maggot?" He lowers his head, regarding the other from under the ridges of his brow, coquettish. "You /are/. I'd have half a mind to prove it if I could still eat."
Wa snorts, his whiskers waggling, and pulls his own head back sharply when those teeth snap closed. "Well, everybody's edible," he amends, "well, most people, but-- you'd have to kill me first, and well, I simply -won't- allow -that-." A brief chuckle. -Very- brief. "One, piss off," -- not antagonistic, "two, why can't you eat?"
The other male smirks in response, but he doesn't show his teeth this time. "Do you think I would politely ask for your permission? How quaint." Then, though, his brows furrow, and his ears turn back, body going stiff again. "...If he can't eat anymore, I'm not going to." He doesn't bother offering any explanation behind that; if Wa doesn't get it, then he's /clearly/ never going to.
"Well, of course not!" startled. "I'd kick your donkey, though. That's all I'm saying," Wa explains. " ... Oh. Planning," forcibly cheerful, "to join him, then? There are easier ways to do it, I trust you know."
"I'd like to see you try, maggot," Shituko retorts at once, then shrugs, turning away again. "I know. Piss off." --Echoing what Wa had said a minute ago.
"All right, then." Wa's shoulders lift. "See you around, fella." And he turns, ambling off back towards the water.
"Hmmpf." Still, Shituko does look back over his shoulder--just briefly--as he slinks off. He doesn't stop, though, picking a direction at random, and he snuffles at the ground as he moves along, his tail flicking behind him like an irritated metronome.