Undaunted (Open)

[x Jumpstyle x]

AMARA
female || three || outlander || single

Why is it that no birds chirp in the Outlands? Is it possible that the land is simply too barren, even for those that eat insects? Do they remember the horrible things that happened there and speak awful things of the former kings in their gentle tweeting songs? Are they simply too busy singing lullabies to the precious Pridelanders?

Whatever the reason, the lands were left quiet almost every morning and practically every evening. Only the cackling of hyenas and the baying of dying wildebeast could be heard over the horizon.

However none of these noises reached the flattened ears of one lioness. Perched precariously on her back, her entire massive weight was slumped ungracefully over a large rock in the river's center, as though someone had gutted her and left her there like a fish on a line. Her scarred foreleg was draped over her face, which was hanging limply over the edge of the rock, only inches away from the water, her lightly colored toes covering her slate blue eyes and shielding it from what remained of the daylight. Crocs swam around her menacingly, hissing in her ears, but the feline was undaunted, only snorting loudly before shifting her weight slightly before returning to sleep, as though at home on her bed of crocodiles.

Even the reptiles seemed at peace with the intruder. The largest croc sat stubbornly watching the lioness with disdain, his gray-green face gouged deeply by a set of large clawmarks. He made sure to keep his distance from her. The rock was hers, even the kings of the nile knew that. So, for all of their hissing and bellows, they did nothing but look like fools, unable to chase a cat from her perch. The lioness rolled onto her stomach idly, letting her limbs drape into the water, black claws gracing the surface. But still the crocs only circled, none brave enough to get close after seeing what happened to their leader. A few bodies floated nearby, belly up, only spelling more doom for those stupid enough to wake her again.

And so they remained. Twarted by a simple cat nap.

[gerbil]

With so few hours in the day, it was always easiest to find when the lioness napped and when they were out hunting. So as Nina stood at the ledge, over looking the Crocodile River, she found Tau's sister napping on a rock in the middle of the river. This caused the young Queen to grin at seeing the lioness napping peacefully among all the crocs in the water. This was the type of lioness that she could see herself supporting or being supported by, but it would never be something she would ask of young Amara.

She hadn't been around the lioness much, but she had heard of the painful wrong that had been done to the lioness. It was evident by all the scars that settled upon her body, something she had only seen the one side of, never having seen Amara before she had been attacked.

"Are we having a peaceful nap, Amara?"

[/color] she questioned, her voice seeming to stir up the crocs, who all turned toward her ledge and started trying to climb up it. "I don't think your pets like me,"[/color] she stated, gazing down upon the biggest croc and seeing why these creatures left Amara alone.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[x Jumpstyle x]

Even when it broke the silence of the half-dead outlands, the voice of another lioness did not startle or even seem to wake the slumbering form out on the river. Even as she shifted her weight once again, slowly lifting herself into a proper sitting position so as to view the intruder, her movements remained slow, subtle, leisurely. No one liked to have their naps interrupted. In the world of dreams, even the most lowly lion can become the mightiest of kings once they crossed the line of consciousness. When asleep, the world was a simple and painless place. No one in their right mid would wish to return to the realm of blood and gore and wounds. But, what must be done must be done and, though reluctant and taking her sweet time, Amara finally raised her gaze to the ledge's sole occupant.

She immediately recognized the lioness whom had stolen her brother's heart, and almost immediately decided that she didn't care. Tau was the rebellious type- he typically did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, regardless of what his elder sister had to say about it. Even if she decided that she did (or didn't) like this particular outlander, it'd change nothing about her brother's mindset... so why bother jumping to conclusions? Offering an apathetic yawn, Amara took more time to stretch out her back lazily, jaws parting to expose her teeth and tongue until all of the air had been expelled from her lungs, and even that required lazy punctuation. She gave a quick shake of her slender head, ears flapping with the movement, before finally, she felt that she'd wasted enough time.

"You've just got to teach them who's boss, that's all. They're rather foolish beats."

Cold gray blue gaze floated over to the bleeding crocodile leader, basking on the nearby bank. As though he knew what she was saying, he immediately opened his massive jaws and hissed as menacingly as he possibly could. But this only served to amuse the gruff lioness. She'd already shown him. Smirking haughtily, she watched the male croc hiss and bellow once more before returning her attention back to the Outlander queen.

"Now then, is there's something that you need from me Nina? I can't imagine that you came all of the way out here just to do some sight seeing."

[gerbil]

No matter how much Nina might have wanted Tau's sister as a friend, the words that crawled from the lioness' muzzle seemed to hint that she didn't want anything to do with Nina. Though, she couldn't blame Amara. Nina had come out of the dust, it had seemed, and stolen Tau's heart, though that hadn't been her plan. Sighing, she sat back on her rump, tail lightly tapping against the ground. "I came hoping you would like to join me on a hunt. No one has been successful yet in bring back food,"

[/color] she stated, not really liking that she was asking Amara to join her, but Tau had expressed interest in her taking his sisters with her to hunt. And seeing as she couldn't find the other one, Amara would have to do.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[x Jumpstyle x]

The tri-colored lioness tilted her head to one side in an expression of interest, raising one of her damaged ears as though attempting to hear her queen better. Really this was all out of habit- a gesture of slight surprise that showed little in her expression. It was not often that Nina sought out any of her mate's sisters, let alone offered them a hunt, and with her stand-offish nature, Amara seemed like the least likely of choices. Yet, there they sat, speaking of that very situation under the red hot light of the african sun.

After pondering the queen's proposition for a moment, Amara's muzzle slowly twisted itself into something of an excited grin, the movement distorting the scar that marred the bridge of her scruffy nose. There was little that could stir the normally lazy lioness from her favorite afternoon activity- sleeping. But a hunt was definitely one of the things that could, even a hunt with a total stanger.

In what seemed to be one single swift movement, Tau's sister raised herself from her rocky perch and leapt effortlessly across the water- swiftly and without warning. Using the already angry crocodiles as stepping stones, she made her away across the river and even up the steep embankment at their expense, being sure to move quickly enough to avoid teeth and claws while purposefully batting at a few who seemed to have forgotten their place. She made it to the ledge without so much as a scratch or a pause.

"I'd be delighted, I must admit."

Once positioned on solid ground, Amara took another long moment to stretch her back lazily, forepaws reaching out, toes exposing their black claws.

"A day long nap is best punctuated by a good meal."