And the sky began to Darken

[Rudolf]

Understood. I never noticed that Masked never made a charry profile, so I'm sorry if I have anything to be sorry about xD

[beluga]

Aina now knew there was no reason to sleep. She got up and trudged towards a nearby conversation she had heard, trying her best to listen. It's coming from the cliff, she thought to herself, following the fresh scent. She also managed to free herself from the odd forest, which was not exactly a forest. It was a few trees huddled together. Aina had not been clever, though, to approach the near group. Two felines, she said to herself, hiding under the cliff where she could hear them chattering. She was aware the trouble she could be caught in if she continued to move closer, so gently, she settled herself down and listened to the voices. They drew farther away, yet Aina was pleased with hearing their small mumbles. She grinned, thinking. Her whole life she longed company, though her pride provided it. But they didn't... she enjoyed meeting new people.

[beluga]

EDIT: oh great... now I just read that Xinn ^^; sorry for adding more OO`

[spaz]

OoC-
Ahhh I go away for a day and I miss so much! Darn it, now I gotta catch up D:

BiC-

Merk watched the fellow felines chat each other up. He snorted, sitting upright on his claimed rock and eyed them cautiously. His tail flicked around as he half-payed attention to them.

"Huh, maybe I should go over there..." The snow leopard mumbled to himself. He looked at them all together, then looked at his small hiding place. Suddenly, he jumped up and hopped off his rock and slowly trudged over to them.

'I hope this isn't a mistake...' He thought. He looked down at his paws as he walked over to them, avoiding eye contact in any case. After several minutes of slow walking, he reached the group.

"Hey." He said in a half-uninterested tone. Secretly, he hoped that he'd actually catch their attention and they wouldn't blow him off. But the pride in him pushed that hope down quickly.

[Masked Lion]

[Sorry Xinn..and everyone else, just posted his profile now c: ]

[Masked Lion]

The male chuckled slightly at the female's response and his teal eyes tracked her graceful movements, he was impressed at the show of agile climbing that he so obviously lacked. Instead, he stood at the base of the tree and looked up at the female, a small smile across his muzzle. "The name's Asaku" he said before leaning up against the tree and scraping his large claws across the tough bark, creating large gouges in the wood. He stayed in this position against the tree, flexing his paws, the female still out of reach but less so now that the large male stood on his hind legs. "And yours?" he asked, gazing upwards into the dark face of the other feline. He could still hear others nearby and the thought lingered in the back of his mind as to who they were, and wondered if the female knew them. She didn't seem too bothered by their presence, yet Asaku saw something stirring in the amber eyes he was staring into, an uneasiness that unsettled him slightly. The large lion decided to give her some room and sat back on his haunches, more a show of respect than anything else, he half expected her to go off bounding through the treetops.

[beluga]

EDIT: I'm so sorry guys but I'm starting over with Aina >3> I know how to start her story now...


Aina had heard voices from her sleeping area. She was perched on a low branch that gave a good view until the cliff dropped. The noises uneased her. She stood up and leaped from the tree to the ground, her paws aching as they reached the mud. How disgusting, she snorted, emerging closer to the voices. She had no interest now in joining their conversation; she wanted to see if it was reasonable. And perhaps did they have food they were willing to share? She was an unusual lioness; like rogues, she wandered by herself, without a pride or family. Finally, Aina saw a large lion rubbing against a tree, talking to something in the branches that Aina couldn't spot. The rogue had a large, dark "mask" covering the upper part of his face. He had strange yet admiring blue eyes. How unsual, Aina thought, backing away. I must not disturb them. I will search if the rogue made a nearby kill I could feed off of.

With that, Aina left, the voices faintly disappearing. She found a carcass, yet it didn't have a punctured stomach or ripped flesh. She ate it swiftly, and then rested nearby to regain her sleep.

[Rudolf]

Confused by how Asaku actually backed down, the feline stuttered as she said her name. "It's P-pandora." She sat up straight in the tree, looking down at Asaku still. "Seems like you've had a small change in plans. Not interested anymore, if that was the case?" she said, tilting her head. Her tail hung over the branch and swung back and forth in front of Asaku's face as she tried to figure out what he was thinking and why he had backed off. She suddenly frowned, not realizing she did. What, does he think I'm afraid of others? I mean, I am in some situations, but I can't let that be a weakness!!! she thought, and suddenly jumped down from the branch. She still kept her distance from the male, but tried to appear less afraid if she had let that emotion show through to him. Pandora's amber eyes narrowed, and she sat down in front of him.

[Xinn]

_{Looking over the edge seeing there was a small lake, Jayden noticed that the feline was clinging to a tree while a huge lion stood near her. His ears perked in concern as he watched. Then the lion backed off slightly and the feline seemed to relax. Jayden let out a sigh, he was already feeling protective for the girl just because he had a love for all females. Jayden decided to make his way down there to interrupt their 'meeting' and bring himself back into the picture. He tried to easily ease himself over the edge but he slipped and splashed right into the lake. Thank goodness he was a fantastic swimmer, and on this hot day he actually enjoyed the water and began to swim around a little bit as he made his way over to the cats. He swam more to the right side of them and not directly near them just incase the lion decided he didn't want him being there. Jayden could probably defend himself from the lion but who knew what would happen. As long as he was doing a good job swimming and remained in shape he knew he could escape any attack from the lion. Jayden pulled himself up to the bank and looked over to his left to wait and see their reactions.}

[Rudolf]

Pandora laughed, and said "Welcome, WetPaws! I see you've had yet another irresistable attraction to the water today?" Her ears stood up as if happy with the leopard's prescence; she'd already taken a liking to him even if she wouldn't allow it to show through. Her furr on the back of her neck stood up though, jealous at his swimming skills. Her tail lashed to the side, but she stayed where she was. I wonder if these two will get in a fight. They both seem interested in having me as company or something. If they do fight... I'll just leave. At that point it won't be worth it she thought. Gosh darn it, I gotta stop planning things out when nothing's happened! What am I, an OCD control freak? Her black furr relaxed again, and she lowered her ears slightly as if having them perked up eausted the muscles on her head.

[Masked Lion]

Asaku opened his mouth to reply but, before he could say anything, a loud splash echoed around the clearing and a large amount of water flew his way, drenching his head and front half of his body. The lion cursed under his breath and shook the water from his fur and mane, growling deeply in his throat. He then saw the male that had interrupted his conversation and stopped growling, instead placing his ears backwards slightly and standing straight, looking the spotted individual up and down. He appeared a lot more balanced on his paws than the large lion and Asaku doubted he could outrun or out-climb him, though he would have an advantage in a close-combat situation. He then pricked his ears forward and adopted a slightly less intimidating stance. "Uh..hi, I see you two know each other" he said dipping his head in respect to the other male. Asaku had no idea where things were going with Pandora, all he knew was that he was now outnumbered two to one, even odds for a large lion as strong as him, but Asaku would rather avoid a conflict as a fight against two fit animals such as them would result in serious injury, regardless of the outcome and the male found it hard enough to hunt alone without the inconvenience of broken limbs or torn muscle. The situation had suddenly become potentially dangerous and Asaku briefly considered leaving before refusing that idea, he had a den in a large rock formation nearby which had served as a temporary home. The jungle area was a welcoming oasis from the scorching sun of the plains which he had been doggedly marching through for weeks. The male wouldn't be forced from his new home without a fight, if it even came to that. No scenario could be ruled out at this time.

[Xinn]

_{Jayden shook off the water the moment he was greeted by the female. He looked over at the male as he also welcomed him. Jayden felt much safer now that he knew there was a good chance of nothing happening. He slightly smiled and looked up to the female, "Well.. not technically." He said in response to the lions remark. Jayden had a one sentence conversation with the female and then she darted away, so he really couldn't say he knew her. He looked over to the male and laid his ears against his head, "Sorry to interrupt so rudely... " He bowed his head in respect to the large feline. He had never met such strangely marked felines before, today was most certainly a special day. Jayden slowly took three steps backwards to let them know he wasn't causing a threat. He had just caught up to the strange female and he didn't want her to run off again. She was something different and it kept him interested greatly.}

[Rudolf]

Pandora was almost relieved with the lack of violence at this point. She walked over to the leopard, but stopped near the middle so that she was the same distance from both the lion male and the leopard. She figured that not picking a definate side would help ease tension. Her ears perked up again as she remembered something, and she quickly asked "Oh, yeah, Wetpaws, I never asked your name. I can't introduce two of my acquaintances properly without both of their names." She smiled sweetly and sat down, wrapping her tail around her paws as if that were some sort of nessecary thing for whenever she sat down. Moonlight hit her furr perfectly as it dripped through the tree branches and leaves and reflected off the water as it began to settle, bringing out the stripes and spots in her almost single-colored pelt. A small spark in her amber eyes and a small tilt in her smile gave away how uncomfortable in the group she was, but it would take a mother or a hawk's eye to spot it.

[Masked Lion]

Asaku caught the other male's eye and smiled softly, he already liked this guy's personality and his show of mutual respect was most refreshing compared to the insults, threats and jeers the lion was used to. "Wetpaws suits you. You sure you weren't an otter in a past life?" he asked, half-joking and half-complimenting the feline on his amazing swimming ability. Perhaps the situation wasn't as dangerous as it had seemed. Asaku lay down with his front paws tucked comfortably under his chest and yawned loudly, creating an echoing roar that bounced through the trees. He felt more relaxed in the presence of the two large cats now that there was less tension and for the first time, he noticed that the Sun had been replaced and stars had started to appear, blinking through the leaves of the taller trees that lent over the clearing. The light reflected from the nearby lake moved in ripples across the three cat's fur, creating an ethereal atmosphere, almost dreamlike.

[Xinn]

_{Jayden smiled and looked down towards his paws and back up at the two faces. One had gleaming amber eyes and the other bright teal. His were a darker more aqua teal but still unique to his own breed. His tail flicked side to side like a relaxed cat's tail would normally do. The lion complimented Jayden and then moved himself into a more comfortable yet more vulnerable position. This made Jayden feel extremely comfortable in the situation and he couldn't help but smile again. "Well thank you for that! But sadly no, i don't believe I was an otter," he chuckled. "I'm just an ordinary Amur leopard who loves to swim! He paused and looked over at the feline who had driven his curiosity to its peak, "Right, pardon my poor manners. I was given the name Jayden as a cub, but feel free to call me Wetpaws if that is what suits me." He laughed and swiped his paw across his face, batting a fly away that was buzzing around his eyes. Once he placed his soaked paw back down his ears flicked several times to make sure there were no flies around his ears either. He never realized how much a soaking wet feline attracted flies. His chin continued to drip and finally the flies gave up on him. He sighed and began to lick his paw clean while looking up with just his eyes he gave somewhat of a puppy-like look to the two while in mid-lick.}