Sunday May 12th, 2013

The exercise:

Write about: the lion.

Celebrated Katherine's first Mother's Day today. Rather enjoyed it, especially the parts that involved coercing Max to join in. Like when he signed her card:


Mine:

Behind thick bars, he paces back and forth. His anger is palpable, it can almost be seen as it radiates from his body. His keepers brought him lunch hours ago and it remains untouched while he grows ever more hungry.

We are safe, those of us who watch this spectacle from the safety of the sidewalk. Fully aware of what this beast would do to us should he gain access to the fleshy softness of our bodies, we snap pictures and point and laugh.

All the while dangerously unaware that there should be two lions inside the enclosure...

5 comments:

morganna said...

Lazing about
In the sun
Oh so peaceful
Now the teeth appear!

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Also saw this the other day, seems relevant: Where To Look For Lost Children

Greg said...

@Morganna: that's a lovely description of a lion, and why we should always take care around them!

@Marc: I forget every year that North America picks a completely different Sunday for Mother's Day; ours is in March so it seems rather anachronistic to keep hearing about it all of a sudden. Still, Max does look happy with his Dad and his pen!
Nice twist at the end, as usual; I wonder where your second lion is lurking then? If the crowd are lucky it's the male: they're too lazy to attack anybody if there's someone else to bring them food :) Lion cubs are cute though; while I was in South Africa a couple of years ago we went to a safari park where you could go in the pen with the cubs and sit near them. It was... inadvisable to touch :)

The lion
They called him the Lion for his loyalty to his people. Whatever he asked them to do he believed that they could do it, and he had utter faith in them. However, if they broke with that faith, that's when the other reason they called him the Lion became apparent.
He was sat now on a chair as opulent as throne in the back room at the Casino. He didn't own the Casino – that would be crass in his opinion – but he did own the ratty little man who owned it, and as such he treated it like the home of a down-at-heel relative who should be grateful that he was visiting. In front of him, kneeling on the floor with the muzzle of a revolver pressed coldly agains the nape of his neck, was the man who'd been tasked with tracking down the Bear.
"Naomi says that you were in her bar," said the Lion, playing with his golden hair. "She says that you were tailing the Bear at that point, though the Bear wasn't really trying to hide. So what happened?"
"I don't know," muttered the man on the floor, his words barely audible even in the silent room. "He got away. I shot him, but he got away."
"Did I ask you to shoot him?" The Lion's words were also quiet, but they bespoke power.
"...no."
The walls of the room were soundproofed, so the gunshot didn't make it beyond them, but the carpet wasn't stainproof, and the little ratty man cringed as he thought of the cost of getting it cleaned. Again.

MosesMalone said...

He was presented to the world like Simba the lion from the Lion King movie or rather like the second coming of Christ. He is the very first male born to his mother's family in 112 years. His mother has 7 sisters. his grandmother had 12 sisters. his great grandmother had 9 sisters and 1 brother. This new Italian King, Leo Basilio Beredetta, was presented to his pride - the 5 Benedetta sisters. There, at 2 hours old, his bravery and loyalty was first tested by his 5 big sisters.

MosesMalone said...

Typo fix: Benedetta is the last name. Gee Wiz. I can't believe that was my misspelling.

Marc said...

Morganna - I think that pretty accurately sums lions up.

Also: love that sign.

Greg - that sounds pretty awesome. Pretty sure I would've tried to sneak a cub off in my backpack.

Excellent little scene. Particularly enjoyed your second paragraph.

Mo - that is a whole world of pressure bearing down on that little boy. Nicely conveyed :)