Rise Up (Open)

[Erik]

Erik quickly left the province after one strange night. Part of him was convinced that it was all a dream, but his soreness told another story. It was all a lot to process, so he left to gather his thoughts. Of course, it still took him some time to get to Ordona. By the time he actually got there he had come to the conclusion that the night happened, a night to change his life forever.

He sat on the fence, watching the goats graze. He sighed, wondering if she would find him here. She did say he was free until called upon, but how often would he be called upon?

[Malique Irving]

It was such a nice day, being all quiet and peaceful. When Malique had arrived at this ranch, he somehow found it boring to watch the goats grazing. Among other predatory thoughts that came to mind as his red gaze stared at them. Hey, it's not his fault he is part animal too, such instincts that made it difficult to sit still were natural to him. He was mainly trying to think of other things, to keep his mind off of making one of those goats his next potential meal. But it was proving to be much more difficult than he originally anticipated, as he couldn't really think of much. Whatever topics that did come to mind at first, he immediately dismissed most of those thoughts to the back of his mind. Sighing, he briefly look up at the sky. "Hmm... What to do?" With not much to do here, eventually the look on his face gradually changed. Eyeing the goats once more, as there was one idea...

Whether or not it was a good one was debatable, and no, it's not what you think. While some bleating sounds from one of the goats could be heard, he wasn't trying to eat it. Actually, to satisfy his boredom, he had approached the flock and managed to motivate one into trying to charge him. On purpose. The goat didn't appreciate being hassled, as it tried to take down the crazy minish. But that was the fun part, as no matter how many times it nearly rammed into him, he'd manage to deftly dodge the charging mass of fur. As it'd just snort in frustration and attempt it again. Now this, he found more interesting. Although the farmer who owned the goat probably wouldn't appreciate what he was doing.

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OOC;
Meh, somewhat fail muse on my part. But whatever.

[Erik]

Erik noticed there was a lion that had entered the ranch. Hunting the goats no doubt, or so he thought. Instead, the green lion was...dueling one of the goats. Well, it was good to watch. He removed his bow from his back and watched. The hunter was careful, as sharp eyes kept open for any danger. They weren't attacking him, but a lion was dangerous.

Although...it was odd to see a lion around here, let alone one that was green. Very curious indeed.

[Malique Irving]

This was becoming increasingly aggravating, the goat just couldn't manage hitting the lion. And as this continued for a while longer, was starting to tire too. Malique was laughing to himself the whole time as he kept goading it into trying again. But, it didn't take long for him to notice how the goat was no longer putting a whole lot of energy into it's charges. "Tired out already?" How disappointing... Eventually the charging stopped completely, which was rapidly boring Malique. "Is that really all you've got?" Taking this thought into account, he slowly began circling the goat. Which of course, concerning it was a large predator in the eyes of the goat, was starting cause the animal to freak out. Whatever burst of courage it had when it began it's relentless attacks, just completely fled it. Malique's circling halted, as he sat down, huffing in annoyance. "Well, that's not very fun." Staring the goat down, he didn't think much of it when the goat bleated out in fear.

Nope, in fact, he hardly anticipated for what occured next. Milling about in his spot, his thoughts somewhat distracted him from the distinct sound of hooves beating against the earth. But when he did notice, he could tell the sound was coming towards him. "Uh-oh..."[/color] Looking about for the incoming sound, apparently a goat was nearly upon him. "Sh-" The whole moment cutting off what he was going to say, as he quickly tried to avoid it's path. It was at the very last second, when he was sure he managed to dodge it, he felt something blunt hit his hindquarters. The goat having veered it's horns off in the direction he took off, it wasn't the full force that it could've been, had he stayed in that spot any longer. But it did hurt, as he tripped up and fell over.

Groaning, it took him a moment to recover, before he stood up again. And when he did, red eyes glared out at the herd. Unable to tell just which one had done it, Malique decided to lump them all together as guilty for their buddy's act. Once that decision was made, he bounded straight after the whole lot. The entire flock scattered, running for their lives as a loud roar was made. The source obviously from the lion, as he snorted in anger. Lying down to rest, as he surely now had a literal bruise, as well as the figurative bruised pride. "Hmph, I probably should've eaten the damn goat instead..."[/color] He grumbled, as he was actually considering it.

[Erik]

Erik watched and laughed as the goat butted the lion in frustration, or so it appeared. Then the lion decided to charge the group, scattering the goats as the beast roared and snorted before laying down. Erik began to laugh again and clap, calling out to the lion.

"Good show, good show." It was an enjoyable experience. More importantly, the hunter had a chance to study both predator and prey. However, Erik was smart, and did not approach the lion. If the beast wanted to attack, so be it. It was fairly clear this was no ordinary lion. The green fur was kind of a giveaway.

[Malique Irving]

Despite how tempting it was, Malique knew it wouldn't be a good idea to take one of the beasts down. Trying to keep his thoughts in check, so as not to chase after the nearest goat to make a meal out of. His large paws clawed at the earth thoughtfully, the burst of anger which had flared up before, eventually died down to a mere flicker. "Good show, good show." Eh? Looking up from what he was doing, he saw that there was someone here too, sitting on the fence. Great, not only did one of the goats get the best of him, Malique's little blunder even had a witness.

Well, thinking of it that way, that most certainly didn't make him feel any better. "But, why 'good show'?"[/color] Malique sure didn't feel like he did anything noteworthy enough for any praise. If at all, he felt embarrassed of having gotten what he deserved for tormenting the poor animal. This man wasn't the local rancher... Was he? It almost didn't seem very likely, as he didn't appear angry like Malique would've expected a rancher to be after what had just happened. And concerning his appearance, didn't even look much like a rancher either. Then again, angry or not, who would be crazy enough to take on a lion by himself over a flock of frightened goats?

Hmm... At any rate, he needed something better to do than sitting around in the field with the goats constantly distracting his thoughts. Spending a few more moments to be sure he had fully regained his composure, Malique went about standing up to slowly walk over towards the man. When he got there, he made sure to keep a reasonable distance between them. "Umm..."[/color] He hesitantly said at first, looking down at his paws. "So, those aren't your goats... Right?"[/color] Not that he really needed to know, but with the lack of anything better to say, that was all he could come up with...

[Erik]

Erik was still cautious as the lion approached. He seemed civil enough, but one could never be certain, and caution seemed smart.

Then the lion spoke, which surprised Erik for a moment until he remembered that Minish did retain vocal abilities in their animal form.

"Well, let's say they were. How much would you be willing to pay to keep this little incident a secret hmm? Erik eyes him once, trying to keep a straight face before laughing at his own joke. "No no, I'm joking. They aren't my goats. And even if they were, no harm done. Besides, I enjoyed watching." He gave a small round of applause and readjusted his position on the fence.

"Anyway, yes, introductions. I'm Erik." He stopped there. Not because a thought suddenly perforated his mind, not because it was a stopping point, he just did. No real reason.

[Malique Irving]

Malique didn't think he would have surprised the human, but found surprising him to be somewhat amusing. Though he seemed to quickly recover his composure. "Well, let's say they were. How much would you be willing to pay to keep this little incident a secret hmm?" Hearing that coming from the human quickly worried him, as that was the last thing he needed. Easily falling for the joke, he quickly grew nervous himself as he briefly muttered, "I--"[/color] He was trying to sort out the best course of action, which was promptly cut short once he heard the human burst out laughing. "No no, I'm joking. They aren't my goats. And even if they were, no harm done. Besides, I enjoyed watching." Well, that was a relief. Knowing that, he managed to breath out a sigh. Smiling sheepishly in response towards the clapping. "Glad to know I'm not the only one who enjoyed it."[/color] At least up until he had gotten horns into his hindquarters.

"Anyway, yes, introductions. I'm Erik." He thought about the name for a moment, Erik... Very simple, easy to remember. "Right, nice to meet you, Erik. I'm Malique."[/color] While he may have appeared to be calm on the outside, all the talking on his end was making him nervous. Afraid of saying the wrong thing at some point.

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OOC; Sorry for taking this long to post, real-life hasn't been much help to motivate me.