[Festival] The Moon Ceremony - Finale & Prizes, p3!

[Elawadiyi]

The Moon Ceremony is a time of reflection. It is a way to mourn those who have died in the past year, but also remember the ancestors of those that helped lead them to the lands the Ela'wadiyi now call home.

With the influx of rogue-blood, Skan Kanati also encourages those members to reflect on their past and send good wishes to their families they left behind.

The pride gathers within the stones that develop the Stargrove, though other members may linger near the small river that feeds into the Stargrove. Only those who wish to participate are encouraged to show up, as it can be a heavy memorial, and many of the cubs cannot stay awake for the entire time.  

[Elawadiyi]

Notes

• This is a general ORP, you may mingle as you wish but keep in mind the rather somber intention of this particular ceremony.
  
• This is your last chance to interact with pride members from other clans until the next festival, don't be afraid to take advantage of it!
  
• There is no plan or structure to this RP, just go for it!
  
  
• This is the last ceremony of the festival, at dawn the clans will go their separate ways once more. Expect some announcements when this RP wraps up. Ending date TBA.
  
  
• There will be participation prizes!
  
  
  • Every post you make in this thread counts as a raffle ticket for a mystery prize! Doubleposts do not count.
    
  • Every post you've made in other festival ceremonies count as a ticket, list will be compiled by chronology of the festival (i.e. Cloud, Tree, Rain, Sky (by round), then Moon).
    
    
    • Exception - Sky Ceremony battles count only as one ticket for each participant and only if all the posts were filled in.
      
    • No, it is not too late to go take part in the other festivals or fill in your Sky Ceremony battles.
    
    
  • You may only win one prize.

 

[Bronze Coffee]

Mamoru was hesitant to join this ceremony. He'd been hidden away for a long time within the pride, keeping mainly to himself as he sorted through emotions of joining. It was a shift going from rogue to pride member, but one he had been happy to take.

The ale situated himself towards the outside of the group, watching everyone, figuring out how to blend without actually doing something dumb. His tail flicked this way and that. A time of reflection, indeed. He didn't know anyone who had passed, exactly, but paying one's respect to your pridal family was important. He dug his toes into the ground, using his claws to actually dig a small groove for his toes. He would keep his distance for now.  

[mouselet]

Ow. Ow. Ow.

With every step he took, Tsi-Tsi could feel the pain of his bruises. It had been a bit since the Sky Ceremony ended and, frankly, he was just as glad that he'd lost in his first fight. That meant he didn't have to keep going and collect even more bruises and bumps.

He also know who to blame for each and every one of them. And she was right there, obvious with all her extra feathers. Tsi-Tsi headed straight for his sister.

"Happy now, Yinehi?" the young male pouted as he came near.  

[Andranis]

Tabi'nasi wasn't the only one questioning life choices. This year was the first Sky Festival without one of the Kalisetsi brood present. A black form stepped from the grasses, the pink stripe standing out as the lioness found a spot to collapse and sulk. She wondered... What had she done wrong? What had made things turn out as they had? As she moped, another form came and rested next to her. Huong spared a glance, before offering a small smile to the gold lion next to her. "I still miss her..."

Dongo settled next to his mate, before pulling her close in a hug. "I know..." He let out a sigh, closing his eyes. "I don't think there's anything we could have done different..." As he settled, he flicked an hear, noticing the striped gray lioness. He'd seen her at the previous year's festival, but before that couldn't recall her. Fate may have simply placed them in different places before last year. He couldn't be entirely sure. His gaze soon landed on a black and white lion with slight brown markings to his face. Beside him, Dongo felt Huong tense up. "It's alright, Huong..."

The lioness let out a puff. "I'm sorry... Old raisings die hard..." She gave him a sad smile, then frowned. Now she missed her sister, too... She watched the other lion, before she got up and walked over to him, offering a smile. While relaxed around others in the pride, she found... She still had nervous hang-ups with strangers, something that clan life didn't make easy to deal with but each Sky Festival did. "Hello... I don't think I've seen you before... I'm Huong, who might you be?"  

[Andranis]

Ecavi

Dongo gave a surprised start, before looking at his daughter and smiling. She'd born a litter of cubs in the past year... All adorable. Four grandcubs.. It made him feel a bit old, really. Where had the time gone? Who were these grow lions and lionesses that had been his little bundles of fur and fluff? "No, no it's not..." He looked at the moon, smiling a bit. "You know... Sometimes I wonder, when I look at the sky above... At the moon and stars... If my mother is somewhere looking at this same sky. Is she thinking of me, wherever she is...?" A part of him ached, missing the red-eyed lioness. He'd have to send Amadeus out to find her and bring her to the Ela'wadiyi... If only she were with a lion, though.

As she returned to her family, Huong spared a glance at Makovu. He was new in their clan, somewhat recently moved from another one. She offered him a smile and a quiet 'Welcome to the Mantis Clan!' before rejoining her mate and, now, daughter. She gave the dark lioness a lick behind an ear, rumbling pleasantly. "Kalanu, are you driving your father up the tree?" Mirth showed in her eyes... And sadness. She flicked an ear, looking at Dongo for a moment.

The male smiled, chuckling a bit. "No, no, just... Reflecting..." His gaze returned to the sky. "Wondering about my mother..."

Huong's ears folded back a moment, before she looked to the sky again, now thinking of her pride sisters. Did they miss her...?  

[Andranis]

Ecavi

The pink-marked black lioness smiled, nuzzling her daughter. "I may miss my sister... And the pride I was raised in... But I don't regret leaving" She groomed Kalanu's ears, then settled down. "If I'd never left, I would never have ended up with your father, and have had two wonderful litters of cubs so far." Three sons, to boot! There was a sense of glowing pride in her about it. Sure, the past hurt, but the future was still bright and shining and waiting.

Still looking at the sky, Dongo hummed to himself a bit, then smiled. "Everything happens for a reason... I'm not sure who said that first, but somebody did. Sometimes bad things happen... So that we can find happier days somewhere else." If his mother hadn't had a fling with Ezeoha, Dongo'd never be here, a bumblebee finding his rose, and finding a place to plant their garden. He glanced at his mate and daughter, still smiling. "I know this is a time of reflecting on loss, but.. Sometimes those losses can lead to greater gains to help ease the pain." Indeed, so many cubs... And grandcubs! When Dongo was an adolescent out on his own, he'd never thought that he would have not only a mate and children, but grandchildren as well. Truly, he felt, he could call himself a blessed lion.  

[mouselet]

Tsi-Tsi made a face at his sister as he - carefully - settled down next to her. Silly Yinehi...

"This is YOUR fault," he grumbled at the yellow lioness. He would have gone on, but then Makal came over. The younger lion smiled up at his brother and obligingly scooted over a bit, wincing as the movement jarred bruises that hadn't had much time to heal.

"You did better than I did," Tsi-Tsi replied with a grin. "So not a complete loser in my mind."

Ecavi

Safaia