[META ORP - 2] Lost

[KasaiLoki]

SilverLutz

and cue the awkward chit chat

Mgbamizu hummed, moving forward. He jumped on a small rock, feeling it wobble under his paws.

"So Zuko. Since we seem to be seeing each other more and more lately, tell me, fancy any of the ladies around?" The brown lion smirked, his claws scratching the surface of the rock as he walked on them. No need to be quiet on this little excursion, and what better time to learn about the other. Zuko and Mgbamizu had never really been friends growing up, but that didn't mean things could change as an adult.  

[MangoMeow]

The unpleasant sensation of gravity dragging him back down wasn't pleasant, nor was the sudden horror as he realized that she was most certainly not ready for him to grab her paw. Why was she holding it out if she wasn't ready to grab him?!

The next few seconds were a blur of dust and fur as he landed back in the hole, this time with a companion. With a groan, Kione found himself sprawled on his back, but at least he didn't land on his tail this time. He had a feeling that he was going to be sore tomorrow though. Why had he come out here again? He could feel twigs in his mane and dirt clumped beneath his claws! Curiosity wasn't worth this.

Shifting onto his side, he snorted at her words and glared balefully back at her, "Trust me. The feeling is mutual." She shouldn't have told him to try harder, if she wasn't prepared for it.

With a dark grumble, the lion pushed himself back up to his paws and looked back up at freedom. "So what now, oh wise one?"

Krysin

Excited Apathy

 

[SilverLutz]

The question Mgbamizu posed drew a snort of amusement from Zuko. "Here we are hunting for possible survivors of a rock slide and you're thinking about females?" He shook his head although there was a tiny smile on his muzzle.

"Honestly, no. There are some attractive females but beyond that, I have little interest." He was sure at some point he'd find someone to settle down with but for now he was quite fine with playing the role of bachelor.

"And yourself?"

KasaiLoki

 

[KasaiLoki]

"Hey now. We need to lighten the mood a little bit here." His golden eyes narrowed. Was the darker male...smiling? just a sliver of one. Chuckling, the Aguu shook his head. "Besides, it's better than walking in silence, don't you think?"

"I get that. One day you will find the right female and then you will have little Zukos running around." The picture in his mind was priceless. Zuko probably didn't feel the same way.

"Er---when you have my mother around, you learn to keep your love interests a secret. Other than what was with Isithunzi when we were younger, nothing." He shrugged. He wasn't actively looking for a mate either, but now with a new Onyeisi in rule, who knew what his future held.

SilverLutz

 

[Krysin]

Afya was determined not to be stuck in this damnable pit with Kione. He should have known better and let her go the moment he realized he was pulling her with him (she refused to admit that it was her fault, it wasn't). Sharp eyes cut back towards Kione, swallowing a retort in favor of coming up with a solution... for herself. After all, Kione was the one who had fallen down here to begin with. If anyone deserved to be trapped between mud and sticks, it was the pale male. Afya had better things to do.

She straightened up and took a few steps back, silently evaluating the slope of the pit. Her gaze shifted from the wall to Kione, and then back up to the wall again. Yeah, that could work. The lioness smirked, which was probably Kione's first hint that something was up.

"Hey, Kione, can you do me a favor and straighten up? Uh, and you better brace yourself." Afya hunched low to the ground, testing her grip against the earth with her claws and the elasticity of the muscles in her hind quarters.

Yes, she was going to do exactly what was probably occurring to Kione right now. Both of them didn't have to be stuck down here together. Kione had almost made it out of the pit himself without Afya's assistance. With his height, she'd be able to catapult herself from him to the rim of the pit. She was lighter and more sprightly - she wouldn't hurt him too much by using him as a prop. If it was the other way around, he'd likely break her back.

This was Afya's only option.

Kione had better stay still for this.

MangoMeow

 

[Excited Apathy]

The urge to sigh was becoming nearly unbearable. He'd tried to have good sense and warn them that this plan was risky, and it had played out almost exactly how he'd thought it would. Well, you could advise all you like but you couldn't force a lion to think.

"What now? I go back to my first plan." Having answered Kione, he turned back to the largish branch he'd been tugging toward the hole and started inching it towards the pit again. He ignored the commotion he heard from within the hole for now--he was convinced their best option was to give the trapped lion(s) something to climb out on.

MangoMeow

Krysin

 

[Nezi-ozu]

Poor guy...

The world has taken pity. For the remainder of this update, you all may roll 4 dice instead of one : 'D

 

[viatorai]

After her initial attempt to help poor Kione failed absolutely miserably, Sadiki took a backseat.
It was absolutely heartbreaking to watch the poor guy struggle with getting out,
and everyone else failing to help him. Granted, at the moment, she wasn't helping...but she didn't want to make things worse.

But she couldn't do NOTHING.

Eventually, watching what everyone else tried, and Afya sliding down with him,
something spurred her into action once again. While there were some branches that others had saw, Sadiki, however, laid her eyes on what looked to be a thick vine. Fresh enough that it wouldn't break, and thick enough to sink claws into.

"Hey...?" she ventured, pulling the vines closer the best she could to driped it down into the hole. "th-this...?"  

[MangoMeow]

His eyes narrowed as he watched the smirk grow across her face. That wasn't a good look. He really didn't trust that look. "Afya...." His voice lowered as he spoke, "Whatever you're thinking...." At her next words, he furrowed his eyebrow's in confusion. Brace himself? For what?

.... Wait.

He whipped his head up to mentally judge the distance, and then back around to glare at her. "Don't you dare!" He took a step back, ears pulling back as he realized that she was likely going to do it regardless of what he said. "Afya, I mean it!"

And then Sadiki, far-sweeter-than-freaking-Afya Sadiki, piped up from above them, a trail of vines following soon after. "Wait, see! We have a way out now!" He really didn't want to be used as a jumping board. Lions weren't made to be jumping boards!

Krysin

Excited Apathy

Kivras

 

[Krysin]

Oh, ho ho ho, she did dare.

It didn't matter that Sadiki had come to the rescue - Afya's mind was already made up. Kione rightfully deserved to be used as a jumping board for getting her stuck down here with him and dirtied by mud and twigs. The lioness hunched lower to the ground, rotating her shoulders to ease the muscles and prepare them for what her next step was. "Don't move - I wouldn't want to step on the wrong piece of you," Afya warned, voice brimming with smugness.

Yes, there was a vine waving right in front of them as a tempting offer to climb up on. Afya would still do it if she couldn't make it to the top. She'd still be able to grab onto the vine in her ascent, and that would put her ahead of Kione still.

The male was trying to talk her out of it, but he should have already known that it was too late. Once Afya's mind was made up, there was little one could do to change it. "Uh huh, I see. Still, stay put." The dark lioness suddenly sprung into action, thrusting herself towards Kione with the complete intention of jumping off of him and to freedom. Either the lion stayed put, or he scrambled out of the way. Afya would be satisfied with both reactions.

MangoMeow

Excited Apathy

Kivras

 

[MangoMeow]

He would later deny EVER making the almighty shriek that came from him when she ran towards him. Lazy as he often was, he was NOT about to let himself be used as a spring board!

Kione scrambled in the direction of the vines, practically throwing himself into the air (he didn't know he could jump this high, actually) and grabbing the vine with his teeth. He was pretty sure he could feel Afya as she whizzed past him, and he wasn't about to give her another shot.

Pale paws dug furiously at the dirt as he tugged himself up and out of the hole. He may have chipped a claw in his attempt to get out, but at the moment, he really didn't care. Kione gasped as he collapsed at Sadiki's feet, tail frizzed out behind him.

Krysin

Kivras

 

[Krysin]

Kione made the boring decision and scrambled out of the way, though the sound of his startled shriek would forever resonate pleasantly in her ears. Oh, that was one she would never let Kione live down. Fully-committed to her charge, she jumped past Kione and grabbed onto the vine with her teeth. Using the thick vine as an anchor, Afya pulled herself up out of the pit ahead of Kione.

The male clearly had suffered considerably more than Afya. She was a little breathless, but her fur was already falling back into the right place. "Thanks, Sadiki," she offered the female a brief smile before turning her critical gaze back to the boys.

It would figure that the girls were the only ones capable of getting anything done. Kione had dragged her into the hole, and Kemmasi had watched it happen. Both of them were at the center of Afya's ire, but after a few moments of consideration, she decided to let the grievances she had with them lie. They had more important things to do.

"Well, I guess we better actually go check out what those birds were doing now. Hopefully no one manages to... distract us again." Her sharp eyes fixed on Kione disapprovingly, as if he could have helped himself from falling down.

MangoMeow

 

[MangoMeow]

Kione, despite his frazzled appearance, shot another baleful look back at Afya. Well sooorry for FALLING INTO A PIT. How could he have prevented that? She wasn't the only one holding a grudge right now, but Kione wasn't one to let something like this slide. No, he would stew quietly and then get his revenge later, hopefully when she least expected it.

Back to the task at hand though, he was no longer sure if he WANTED to continue. He had fallen twice into a hole, was covered in dirt and twigs, and was almost used as a jumping board. Surely this wasn't worth it. Whoever they were, if they hadn't dug themselves out by now, they were probably dead anyway.

But on the other paw, he had come here to satisfy his curiosity... and honestly, the prideful part of him wanted to show up Afya by finding them first. He had been the one following the birds in the first place, she had only tagged along, and her high-and-mighty self needed to be brought down a peg.

Stumbling back to his feet, he snorted and began walking once more. "Well stop talking then, and let's move," he spat, "And everyone keep an eye on their paws. The ground is unstable."

Krysin

(( + Everyone else here. XD;; I’ve lost track...))  

[Excited Apathy]

All that Afya's critical look would get out of Kemmasi would be an impenetrable gaze, save for the briefest quirk of a brow. She'd have to try harder than that if she wanted to ruffle his feathers. He'd watched her back, he'd warned her, and he'd made an attempt to catch her when she fell. Her misfortune was not his doing, and she would not draw him into thinking as such. He began walking as Kione spoke.

"A good idea, Kione, and an excellent demonstration. Let's try not to repeat it."

Krysin

MangoMeow