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 Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 2:45 pm
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This Bunch
“Ah, none of that outsider talk.” Kwende said lightly. His father hadn’t been born in the pride even though he’d been of pridelander blood and his mother was the King’s sister but he care little for where a lion was born or what he looked like. “This pride has always thrived by having big numbers and we need them if we’re going to keep this place safe against those flea-ridden hyenas. If you’re here, you’re a pridelander.” He didn’t particularly care that others might not share his opinion.
“Umh, hello.” He said to the stony lion before he looked back at the lioness. “Your friend…?”
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Koru looked mildly disappointed but only for a second. He’d seen normal hippos before but he really wanted some confirmation that giant ones did exist and that his uncle hadn’t been playing a joke on him… again. He did chuckle though when the lioness called the large grey beasts dumb.
“Do you know the Prince is my cousin? Kind of? My grandmother is the King’s sister and Tau…” Oh, the familiarity! And he’d never even hear of Tau until a few moments before. “…is the King’s grandson.” He paused, apparently having confused himself. “So… we’re cousins, right…?” He looked from one adult to the other, not noticing a third adult watching them.
“I do have cubs. Six of them, only one girl. Kind of like us. We were twelve and only have two sisters. Maybe it’s a family thing.” The Scout chuckled, trying not to stare too curiously at the two hybrids. The male was surprisingly large both by hybrid and pridelander standards so the whole not-staring thing took some serious amount of restraint. “Or not. Our younger siblings come from a more balanced litter. Smaller, too.” Two of their younger brothers actually looked a lot like Maral and one of Mheetu’s daughters greatly resembled one of her aunts. It pleased him that they all shared so many similarities. “That little one with Kwende over there is called Koru. I don’t know where he got his blue eyes from.” |
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Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 7:41 pm
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Shangwe smiled. "cubs, hm?" he hummed lightly, taking on a thoughtful expression, "I wonder what might have happened if I had ever had cubs when I was younger- I wonder if it would have been something I'd be good at. I've never been a father, after all. Maybe that's why a lot of lions are upset about this outsider nonsense. Maybe they're just worried about their cubs." Somehow, though, he doubted it. They were probably just being assholes because they didn't like change.
He chuckled to himself.
Sungura hugged Xho's small mane, snuggling into the fur on the top of her head. It had seemed like she was sad, for a moment, and he didn't want his new friend feeling unhappy.
"You're never going to be alone now! Not with all the members in this pride! And, of course, Shangwe and I are always going to be around, right Shangwe?"
"Of course," the lion smiled.
"How dare you!" huffed the haughty female appropriately, falling right into the trap without even realizing it. Or maybe she did- she seemed to like to be the one with the differing opinion. "I don't look anything like that little... little whelp!" She looked offended, as though her tan color was somehow so much better than his tan color. She even took a moment to look herself over before eying pride rock again. This only made Nyamafu laugh, aware that Frigga was not as insulted as she seemed to be, and was only doing it for the show. She seemed to like being the center of attention, good or bad. Frigga huffed, feathers ruffled.
She grew all the more flustered as the teasing continued, though she couldn't deny that she was secretly pleased to be compared to the royal line- who didn't want to be related to the king, after all? But she really didn't know much about her line, or if it connected to certain streams. Still, it was nice they thought there was a resemblance. Not that she was going to admit that out loud, of course. "I do not look like him!" She said again, much to the delight of her gray companion.
The happier of the two turned her attention towards the newcomer, smiling warmly. "I think you're right there! Even if he did come from another place, this is his home now. If we want him to love it, we'll have to start by making him feel welcome! He'll probably feel less inclined to change things if he knows how much we love them and how happy we are, right?" She looked at Frigga, who only managed a grumble in response. She never seemed as loud when she didn't have a sound protest in mind. Weird.
"It's nice to meet you, Tama," Nyamafu went on, "I'm Nyamafu, and this is my friend Frigga. And these are out new friends, Nimbe and Magh! Maybe they knew each other already, she wasn't sure. But it would have been impolite not to introduce them as friends too, wouldn't it? Frigga grunted, getting right back to the matter at hand.
"Well, maybe he can learn to be in this pride, but I still don't think that's enough. Some things you're just born understanding," she insisted bitterly.
"He's still of the royal bloodline, though," Nyamafu pointed out, "so maybe that means he does know what needs to be done for this pride? it's in his very being!" Once again, Frigga was oddly quiet for a moment, glaring first at Nyamafu, then at her paws.
"Haha, that's alright," Shugjaa replied lightly, "you're not the first one to think that. It's probably because I'm not a full-blooded lion, and that kind of thing is more likely to come in from outside of the pride. I believe a fling can be blamed for this one," she chuckled lightly, though she didn't feel the need to stay on the subject too long. She didn't really remember much about her upbringing, anyway. Only that she had loved helping others and pretending to be a hero of some kind, known through all the pride lands. That had been a fun youth, even when some cubs sought to tease her for being different. It was only because they didn't have powers like she did.
She looked at Gliri, nodding. "Oh, yes, I've been outside of the pride a lot," she said lightly, "traveling was a big part of my growing years. I spent a while looking for a place to live, only to realize that my home was, of course, the pride lands. But it was fun, being able to see other prides and roaming the prideless lands out there. If I were younger, I might still be tempted to go traveling," she chuckled lightly. Having cubs had settled her roaming tendencies, she thought.
Fentara smiled at the little cub. She was honest- he liked that. "You'll have to tell me some of the stories you've learned sometime," he said lightly, "I think I would like to hear them, too!" He had only seen a couple of leopard in his life. Enough to know what they looked like and that he wasn't quite one of those, either. No, he was something in the middle of a lion and leopard. Something he was happy to be, too.
He laughed when she said she wouldn't like to be big because of the food thing. Actually, that was kind of a problem from time to time. "I do have to hunt a bit more than normal, but I think the pride helps me with that, thankfully!" he smiled. "I think I would have liked to be normal-sized, like lions, but I guess big will just have to work!" He didn't have much choice in the matter, now did he?
Emrey smiled. "That sounds nice- having a big family you can hunt with! I think i wouldn't be so bad at it if I had other lions helping me out. i have my brother, but he's mostly taking things down all on his own. My other brother and I don't hunt together often." He smiled and look from Maral to the newcomer. "Nice to meet you, Mheetu," he offered lightly, nodding his head in a polite greeting. All the talk about cubs made him very pleased. "I hope to have cubs one day... gonna have to find a lady first, though."
Rai knew she was probably making the lion she was lying next to a little uncomfortable, mostly because they had never even met before. But she didn't care too much, and was happy to stay there until she spotted another lion not too far from them, entering the thing with an air that suggested he had only just arrived.
"Looks like you're a bit tardy to the party," she commented, nodding a silent hello to the other lion. She continued to stay by the unknown lion at her side, lying close enough to be a bother.
Without a smiled, she continued to speak to the other lion, amused that the white-furred fellow hadn't arrived with everyone else. "Do you need a recap, or have you figured out what's going on already?" She would be happy to fill him in with what little she knew- it wasn't like she had an opinion on it one way or another, so relenting it without biased wouldn't be a problem. She could care less who was going to be in charge of the place, as long as the place remained safe and calm. She loved her home, of course, but maybe she didn't feel as inclined to defend it from every little assumed slight as those around her.
She was too busy feeling sleepy to bother.
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Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 1:33 pm
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(SEVERAL DAYS LATER... I finally reply to this xd )
She stuck her tongue out at her brother. "You so ARE jealous!" She then looked to Alake. "Okay!" She then gave her brother a look, jumping to try and pull her brother back. "No way, I should get a ride!" Never mind that there was enough of Konja's back to fit multiple cubs. She noticed the look on Konja's face and got confused. "What, did one of us sprout something weird...?" She looked over. "Maybe Hari's horns finally came in!" She sat down, putting her paws to her face. "Oh no, what will Mom say?!" She pitched her voice higher. "Well, now I can tell my boys apart at a glance!" Biyu dissolved into a fit of giggles.
The lioness flushed under her fur. "I'm sorry, it's silly, I know... It's just strange to hear about a lion, and then meet them!" She took a seat, tail flicking before she looked at the cubs. "Oh! Aren't you two adorable? You look like clouds and sunsets full of dew sparkles!" She let out a sigh, remembering being a cub herself. So full of life...
Warrul looked up at the orange-cream lioness and her brother, ears flicking to them with her eyes. "Oh..." Her face dropped a bit. "At least you didn't get banished for your love..." She let out a whistful sigh. "My parents were banished from my mother's home pride, when my older brothers and sisters were born, because he witnessed their birth... I suppose Mother forgot to warn him, since the pride was still recovering at the time, and he didn't know..." She gave a bitter smile as she spoke the words, frowned a moment when she'd finished, then smiled again, far less bitterly. "Now I've settled here, in this pride I grew up next to..." And she'd finally taken a mate, too.
Bluu listened, and then began to feel bored. Was this all everyone was doing? His attention turned to the cream lioness' brother. Odd eyes... But then, eyes could pop up in any manner one could think. It was the way of the gods and all that, he'd figured. The fluffy gray lion went and sat next to him. "I can't imagine one has many battles to fight here... It's so peaceful!" Other than the hyenas...
Jahina lay down next to her father, giving the gray and blue lion a flat look. "I think he means personal battles... Emotional ones." She eyed her brother, contemplating bringing up his apparent lack of confidence. Now THERE was a personal battle. She took a different approach. "Consider me. I had contemplated doing as many others, including yourselves.. Find a mate, settle down... Raise a family with them... But then I got thinking..." She stretched her body out, paws and toes splaying out. "I think I prefer the idea of raising cubs on my own. Then I can fill their little heads with all the ideals I grew up on, and not have to wory about someone else mucking them up, because my brothers and sisters were raised on the same ideals that we got from OUR parents."
Kushindwa smiled at Dayo. "Hello, Dayo!" His face took on a serious look for a moment. "Dad HAS been busy..." He settled back, the serious face very quickly cracking as he began to grin. "It's going to make the Pridelands fun, isn't it? So many of us related!" He pointed behind him. "Madaha has that problem! I think she may be related to that guy up there... How did it go again, Madaha?" When he turned, the lioness had her face in her paws again. "What...? What'd I say...?"
"Oh, Kushindwa..." If there was one thing Madaha didn't much like to talk about, it was her relation to... Far too much of the pride. If she met a lion and they could trace their lineage back to Mufasa or, gods forbid, Taka, they ceased to be a blip on her 'potential mate' radar. Of course, most didn't seem to get close because of Kushindwa's presence around her...
Her ears pricked. She distinctly heard one of her sisters... "It's a relation, period, Kushindwa, and I'd like you to NOT bring it up again... Now if you'll excuse me..." She turned, rising and almost running over to Frigga. "Frigga, am I hearing this right? You're not happy about this heir?" She sat down next to her sister. Though their opinions differed in the matter, Madaha still respected Frigga for hers. A great deal, in fact. What was the world without differing opinions, even within the same family? "Do you think you'd make a better he--" She cut herself off. "Wait, no, don't answer that.. Right now, you would... He's just a cub at the moment, after all..." Wether Frigga had told anybody about their relations was unknown to Madaha. Danzi had left it up to each of his children to tell someone or not, and who they told. Madaha had only told two lions - Kushindwa, to an obviously problematic end, and Jahina... Who had her own bloodline fun.
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Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 6:09 pm
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 Here he was born, and wide he traveled before made the desert his home. That time in his life was over, a sandstorm had torn him from his mate and family he had created, save for a single son. He knew in his heart the others were alright, and he had searched but to no avail. And so, Zoran had returned to the land of his birth, along with his son, Ahmesseke. Some days he was sad, others he met with longing. Most he greeted with a resignation to move on and be happy.
There were more lions in the pride than Zoran could remember, and he didn't even know a fraction of them! It was amazing, if not a bit scary.
 "So, this is where you were born, father?" Ahmesseke asked.
The land was much cooler than the desert, for which his white hide was thankful for. He, too, was amazed by all the other lions and lionesses he saw. Wow... He missed his mother and his siblings, but Ahm was much like his father - he didn't dwell. No day but today - there is no future, no past, so live this moment like it's your last. It was an outlook that served them well and kept them going. It made the days easier on them both.
"Yeah," Zoran replied, "It's bigger than I remember! Haha!"
Zoran scanned the crowd of gathered lions and lionesses for his mother and father, hoping to see them after so long being gone. |
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Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 7:48 pm
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Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 8:45 pm
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Zorlin looked stunned. She had actually hit him? Well… Of COURSE she had! She was that awesome. The female looked rather pleased with herself as she rolled off her back and sat herself upright. She rose an alabaster paw up for a short lick and a quick check over her claws. She might have damaged one with such a mighty blow! That would have been a true pity.
“That’s right!” She asserted to her brother with a nod of her head. “And don’t you forget it! I’m not a pushover, you know.” Then after a moment she added, “I practice with the best.”
The little female smiled even brighter as an older lioness doted on her brother and herself. Puffing her chest out, she tossed her chin up. “Don’t we though? Just wait until we grow up. We’ll break a few dozen hearts between the two of us. At least that’s what mama says.”
Mwali snorted and flicked his tail again. “Yes, well, the living reality rarely measures up to here-say. I’m afraid to ask whether or not the things said of me were flattering.” He chuckled. “I just don’t want to be remembered as the victim of a romantic sob story. The reality of it is more appropriate for the next generations to hear. Plenty of lessons to learn.”
Tawala frowned and shook his head. “There’s some odd prides out there. Banished for watching a birth? What kind of rule is that. What if there were complications? Who would help her?” He shot a look to his father. The elder lion bobbed his shoulders.
“There was once a pride made up of mystics. They lived through the mists and moonlight.” Of course, the firekin had dealt with them quickly enough. He was certain that pride had gone extinct shortly after their invasion. It was nothing personal- they were simply fair game.
Mwali looked over to his daughter with a gruff grunt. “Jahina, don’t go looking for that sort of thing. Cubs need a father to raise them. Take as many mates as you want, but I won’t hear any daughter of mine raising her cubs without a male’s influence in their lives. Boys grow up and get all muddled in the head if they don’t have someone they can aspire to be like.
Dalziel nearby gave a short bob of his head. He hadn’t meant to listen in, but the group was rather close by and their conversation was more interesting than most.
[Word Count up to this point: 1,737] |
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:50 am
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 1:42 pm
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Jamii smiled at the cub and shook her head, about to answer that she did not really know how their relationship broke down, but the older lion's gesture toward the silent lion behind her made her pause and turn her head over her shoulder.
He was still there, just watching. He did not look at her, he never did.
"He is not my friend," she said, looking back at the pridelander. "He has been following me, after finding me injured. He takes care of me... I think he protects me, and chases off anyone that might hurt me. But I don't know his name, he never speaks. I'm not sure if he wants to live here too, or not."
She frowned at the floor, then glanced back at the lion again. He was looking off to the left, watching a small group of chatting pridelanders. He looked distant, though, as if his thoughts were elsewere. She wondered about him, then shook her head.
"I-I don't think he'll cause any trouble though. He's just... a mystery." |
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:15 pm
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Magh laughed, nodding briefly at Tama whose words though logic in nature, were quite boring. Frigga was far too interesting to ignore though. The orange lioness suspected she might be somewhat pleased to have been compared to the royal line. Her little outburst had been hilarious!
It was also interesting that Nya had introduced her and the green lioness as friends but Magh liked that little unexpected kind gesture.
“Dear, dear. Careful to show our beloved prince the proper respect. “Whelp won’t do, oh no.” Magh joked as she stretched her back slowly before looking up again. “Is this it then? Are we supposed to leave now?”
“Nice to meet you, Tama.” The green lioness said politely, making a quick judgment of the newcomer. Pridelander colors though she was quite certain that they hadn’t grown up together which she was probably of pridelander blood but had only joined the pride as an adult.
“He has the proper colors and a proper name. We’ll just have to see how he does, I guess.” There really wasn’t much more they could say at this point. She did feel for the cub though and Nya’s friendly dialogue encouraged her to speak out those thoughts. “I do wonder if he misses his family. And how it feels to look down on this gathering from up there.” Hopefully, the unrest wouldn’t bother him but she was certain the King had already prepared him for it.
The brown lioness nodded at each lioness in turn as if she was hearing their names for the first time and hadn’t been totally eaves-dropping on them until just a few moments ago.
“You’re probably right.” Tama told the friendly grey lioness who seemed to be the more approachable of the bunch. “It’s important that he feels accepted, I think. If he feels he belongs here, I don’t think it will matter where he was born.” The opposite, however, could carry some serious consequences now that she thought about it. |
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:56 pm
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Frigga looked at her sister and huffed softly, calm only slightly by the presence of someone related to her. She was not the type of lioness to alter how she acted in front of strangers than family, though, so it really didn't make too much of a difference. She frowned at the thought and shook her head. 'I don't think I would be the BEST heir," she commented, "but I would be a better choice for the pride's peace! I think the king just wanted to excite the masses!" She sighed and look from her sister to the others.
Why was she the only one taking this seriously?!
Nyamafu sighed at the thought that had been suggested, tilting her head thoughtfully to one side. "I hope he doesn't feel too lonely- it must be hard being away from the lions he had known in his other pride! He was probably very close to some of those pride members, right?" She felt a little bad for him, now that she was thinking about that. Aw! How sad for someone so young to be away from home! "at least this place is going to become his new home! I know I'll make sure he feels like he has people he can depend on here, too."
"I won't!" grunted Frigga, for all the good it would do. She was pretty sure Nyamafu wasn't even listening to her anymore.
"I'm glad you agree," Nyamafu told Tama, "I was born here, so I guess I don't know much about coming in from another place, but I bet it's scary enough without lions glaring at you left and right!"
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