And the sky began to Darken

[Xinn]

Jayden

Jayden traveled through the brush lazily. He had just finished devouring the fish he had caught and felt slightly lightheaded after eating it so fast. It didn't matter though. That wasn't what he really cared about. He was trying to find a place to rest for the night. Even though he was usually up and hunting at night, this fish he had caught was enough for his stomach at the moment and he couldn't even think of eating or even catching anything else. His energy was so crushed that he had wanted to simply just sleep. He actually loved being awake through the nighttime, it gave him a certain thrill that was exciting for him. Being powerful and hidden from those who couldn't see him. His spotted coat helped him keep hidden from others and so it was a joy to him being hidden from the world. It was the one time where he felt like he was king of the jungle, that everything was under his control.
Each paw that was softly placed on the ground moved so gracefully that it was indescribable. He noticed that with each step his paws began to feel colder and damper. He wasn't paying close enough attention just thinking about how much he loved the nighttime that he was about to walk into a marsh. He leapt backwards into the air and let out a loud hissing and hollering. He didn't mind the water, but not when it took him by surprise. He liked to know when things were coming and liked feeling prepared for the next thing to happen.

[Rudolf]

Up from the branches of a nearby tree, there was the sound of laughing. A middle-pitched laugh that ended in short purrs. A shadown jumped down from the branch, landing on the dry land next to the marsh. "Ha, looks like Mr. Confident got his paws wet! Silly kitten, are you afraid of the water?!" the voice said cooly, a feminine feline voice. She stepped into the moonlight that leaked through the trees like raindrops. She was almost pitch-black, but tints of brown showed stripes and maybe two or three spots embracing her slim figure. She didn't seem eager to get near the water, though, like she was also afraid of it, but it didn't show. Her tail was held high, almost straight in the air. She turned around, her back to Jayden, and said "I wouldn't go into the marsh anyway. Snakes and stuff, you know the deal. I almost ran into a poison dart frog once." She slowly started to walk away, as if waiting for a reply but yet not wanting one.

[spaz]

The night seemed to be quiet, near silent, as the snow leopard laid quietly upon his rock. Paws stretched out in front and behind him, he stared up at the sky, just as quiet as it was around him. His long tail gently swished around behind him as he watched the stars gracefully shine. "Orion," The constellation caught his eye. "The Hunter." He whispered to himself.

His parents used to tell him about the constellations, making up stories about how the stars are actually kings who watched over us and offered us safety and protection. But, he knew different. He knew it was impossible for a bunch of dead creatures to be living in the sky.

Merk snorted, lowering his head onto his paws and snorting. "Feels like this is going to be one long night."

[beluga]

Another creature stepped from the shadows; she was fearful of this sight. She was rather vulnerable against these two, if they were allies, yet the iritated face glooming the amur leopard made her giggle. She approached both of the creatures, her tail curled with her legs. She felt numb near her paw, as she always did, when meeting a new person. She finally came into sighting of them. Her tail was now half in between her legs and half out, giving a friendly sign.

"I have left my pride to find new company, and I have come upon you," she grinned, staring at both of them. "My family is still lead by my father, and I cannot begin a new life with him still in position as king, yet my brothers and sisters will be killed if he leaves." the lioness thought to herself, feeling she was giving to much information. "Anyway, my name is Aina." she said.

[Xinn]

_{At the moment Jayden was slightly overwhelmed. He had just wet his paws and some random cat came from out of nowhere. He quickly turned himself around flailing his tail in the air keeping balance. He looked at her and then gave her a little smirk. 'Oh it's a girl', he thought to himself. His eyes blinked twice and then he looked into her amber colored eyes, "Why I completely agree with you, that marsh is something I would stray away from." He looked her up and down as if to see her whole unusual figure. She was a feline he had never seen before in his entire life. He chuckled to himself trying to figure out what she was. Right as he was about to say something else to her some random lioness appeared from the bushes and was jabbering about some family business of hers. He was so completely lost that he had to shake his head as his ears flopped on the sides of his head. He looked back at the female 'cat' and back at the lioness with a tilted head, wondering if he had just missed something or gone unconscious for a moment.}

[Rudolf]

She chuckled, as if pleased with the reply he gave. She looked at the lioness who had suddenly appeared, and was startled. "Um, hello..." the strange black-and-brown feline replied. She started to walk away again. Two of them, I'm outnumbered! she thought, terribly afraid of being near groups of two or more. Who knows! They could join each other and kill me if they wanted! Not like I have a chance at winning a fight anyway! Upon thinking this, she bolted off running without another word. Her tail trailed behind her like a comet's trail of dust through the sky, and her paws hit the ground with a loud tha-thud-tha-thud as she ran. She turned to look back at the leopard, avoiding looking at the lioness. She continued running as she looked at him. She felt weird, looking at him, as if she had swallowed a living butterfly. Why did I approach him anyway? It isn't like me... she wondered, and before she could turn her head to see where she was going, the ground fell out from under her feet, and she began falling. She wasn't falling for long, and soon landed in a small, shallow lake. She slowly made her way to the edge of the shallow lake, however, her paws were barely touching the ground under the water, so every now and then her head would fall under. As soon as she was on dry land, she shook the water out of her furr, happy that the lake's water was shallow and not any deeper than it had been. She was very well aware of her inability to swim. She looked at the small cliff she had fallen off of, and sighed. Her ears shot back against her head, and she growled at the ledge "You're such an inconvenience to me." She sat down by the lake, licking the remaining water out of her furr. She thought about poking her head over the ledge to see if the male leopard had seen her fall or was looking for her, but decided against it. She hated the feeling of butterflies in her belly.


EDIT: i fixed some things that were unclear or confusing for the reader.

[beluga]

Aina watched the feline creature run away, unsure what had caused it to become so frightened. Still unpleased with her information revealed, she turned away, slowly and gradually emerging to a nearby stream that was hidden beneath the branches. "I can't get out of the woods tonight," she said to herself, drinking the warm water in disgust. She became famished soon that night, yet she knew she couldn't hunt. She rested against a large stone structure planted on the stream, making it difficult for the water to pass through. She sighed and tried to sleep, yet she couldn't. Through the dim clearings of the trees, she saw the bright stars creating pictures in the sky. Her head rested against her paws as she gave a gentle grin. She enjoyed nature, yet didn't enjoy being alone. She wasn't too far from the amur leopard, yet a good distance to not iritate him. Finally, she closed her eyes and got some rest.

[Xinn]

_{Jayden watched as the feline darted away. Did he do something wrong? His expression showed exactly how troubled he was. He was completely lost as these cats came from nowhere yet had so much going on in the time they were there. He didn't want to scare the feline by following her as she ran quickly away. And so, he sat down and looked over his shoulder. The lioness began to lie down and drift off to sleep it seemed. He cocked his head and lightly murmured to himself wondering what to do. He decided to walk a bit forward to see if the lioness noticed but she didn't budge. So he quickly trotted forward to realize there was a cliff in the direction where the feline had darted. He tried to see over it from the distance he was standing. He looked back over his shoulder and yelled to the lioness from the distance. He didn't know if she could hear him but it was worth a try, "Hello?! Uh... Uh??" Jayden had no idea how to handle the situation and so he was hoping someone would take over.}

[Masked Lion]

Before the large cat had time to lick up the remaining water drops from his whiskers, a large splash startled him, causing him to jerk his head up. The fur along his muscular back stood up slightly as he stared, wide-eyed, at the black feline who was scrambling her way up the opposite bank. With a soft shake of his large head and mane, Asaku calmed himself before looking into the, now murky, water. The 'mask' of brown fur barely visible now as his reflection was shattered by the mud and small stones that had been kicked up and scattered across the water by the mysterious newcomer who was now grooming the water from her dark, silky coat. The large lion narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled softly before puffing out his chest and clearing his throat unnecessarily loudly to get the other's attention. He wasn't sure what her reaction to him would be, but the lone rogue had little to lose.

[beluga]

Aina awoke hearing the concerned voice of the amur leopard. She pretended she was asleep and listened to him. He gave a greeting, yet it seemed worried. He was nervous. Aina could hear his fast heartbeat. "Yes?" she finally said, trying to stand up. The amur leopard seemed to be looking in the direction of the cliff where the dark feline had wondered off to. Perhaps the amur leopard had told her to leave before she got there. Should she leave as well? I can't get more lost, she said to herself. But finally, she realized why the amur leopard was so worried. The dark feline was running towards the cliff, and perhaps her felt helpless towards awaring it. But what could she do? She was as well vulnerable, unabe to run fast enough to reach the feline. She sighed and tried to sleep again, yet she couldn't. Her head looked up and she stared into the amur leopards eyes. Out of no where, she asked, "what is your name?"

[Rudolf]

edit : rewrote the whole thing because a laggy internet decided to say "you won't get to see the other two posts that were posted before you"

The feline was startled by the 'masked' lion, and she stood up. "Erm... Sorry to intrude...?" she said. She lifted her head to look back at the ledge, and heard faint voices in the distance. Seemed that the leopard and lioness were talking again or something. She wasn't sure wether to go back to them or not, or just continue on her way. She looked back at the stranger near her, and noticed he didn't seem hostile. She laughed, and said with a slight teasing tone "And who do you think you're trying to impress, fluffing your furr up like that?" Males, males, all around. Nothing short of a lucky day, I suppose, if I was actually INTERESTED in that sort of thing she added silently to herself. She lifted her head high, and walking around the male, as if sizing him up or trying to figure out what he was thinking.

[beluga]

Aina glared at the feline creature, wanting to snarl at her rude manners. Yet she stayed on the ground, paws folded, as she did her best to look regal. I'm ready to leave, Aina thought to herself, but she didn't. She was still lost and she didn't want to be completely alone. Just the birds provided her some comfort. Her albino coating wouldn't provide her much camouflage in this area, though in the sandy climates it was an ideal hiding technique for her. But darkness and tall trees surrounded her now. She also longed to talk to someone. She hadn't seen her family in a few days. She opened her mouth, but only panting came out. She was hot; it was hard to breathe in this area. She shook her head, then quivered her nostrils. "If you don't mind," she was able to speak, "I will go back to sleep, and I do not want to move, please. I apologize if I am in your way."

And with that, she laid her head once more, only she wasn't sleeping. She was thinking...

[Masked Lion]

Asaku shrugged his shoulders. "Just trying to make a good impression, though mine's slightly lacking compared to yours" he replied, a slight smirk on his face. He also heard the voices faintly but chose to ignore them, instead standing and watching as the dark female circled him, waiting for a response before speaking again. He had always been the flirtatious type which often got him into more trouble than good but the large male was more than able to look after himself. He had been rejected from many prides because of his unusual marking and rather intimidating size and had become used to it, being a lone bachelor made interaction with others a pleasant surprise and he intended to make the most of the female's presence.

[Rudolf]

"How flattering" she replied, smiling back at him. "As far as I'm concerned, you've already made quite a good impression. But however, I'm not the type to travel in a group." She turned her head away from him, but kept her amber eyes on him. She jumped into a tree and laid down on a strong branch just out of reach if he jumped, as if to tease him with her unreachable presence. "And what is the name of the charming male I have the pleasure of speaking with?" she asked, tilting her head and looking down at him. Her face looked like any other flirty female's, but it was only to hide how deeply she was thinking about her next move. If he tries anything stupid, should I just run? Should I get on his good side and leave before he even realizes I'm gone? Or should I just be a friend of his, or.... she wondered, thinking of many possible ways to handle the situation. She didn't want to get too close with the male, in case he abandoned her. And to be honest, she had a little more interest with the amur leopard male.

[Xinn]

This is a great thread we have going right now, but I have to stop you guys from role playing at the moment. Masked, I'm sorry but you need to create a character profile before you begin role playing that character. Once your character has been approved you may continue to role play him.