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Reply [IC] Ithambo'hlabathi Lands [IC]
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Kaelyndra

Liberal Streaker

PostPosted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 9:25 am
Talencia

Jovi of Shadows


(( Since there hasn't been any posts in a while, I'm just going to assume that we can move on! The following is a timeskip. ))

Surtak made each and every one of them walk. A few bumps of his nose encouraged any stragglers that could not keep up with his heels. If one of his children stopped either to wash or to give up, he would pick it up by the scruff of the neck and toss it a short foot--enough to scare them, but hardly enough to do any damage should they not land on their feet.

Only the faint scent of the pride remained. The strange group had dipped beneath a rise and skirted into the cool shade of a canyon, and no amount of mewling or searching would reveal any lions but themselves.

Surtak left large, deeply pressed impressions of footpads in the thickening mud as he led the cubs to the edge of a pool. In a few weeks, the would-be pond would turn into a puddle and then eventually cease from view. The land was still plentiful enough in water that this source lacked crocodiles and was not deep enough for a lurking hippopotamus.

Surtak waded out into the water, quickly submerged to his chest. The mud shifted and dirtied the pool as he turned to face the cubs. "One goes first." The statement seemed to be spoken like an order, though its structural arrangement was that of a musing lion.

"Decide." Surtak didn't seem to care how the cubs decided who was first to experience whatever the male had planned. Only one thing was certain: It seemed to involve the body of water, and only the most upbeat of characters would assume it was as easy as drinking.
 
PostPosted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 9:48 am
Kayode thought this adventure was great fun. Well, mostly anyway. It had been a long and dusty walk from his cubbie perspective, but that didn't seem to daunt his bounding interest in the land around them. Often the nudges he received from his father were due to stopping to look at something, big or small. His eyes were wide and round and they walked, and he capered in occasional excitement, which tended to result in a tumble. He would always scramble back to his paws and bounce onwards eagerly.

As the ground under their paws changed to mud, he prodded at it curiously. He was quick to notice that he and his brothers hardly made a print on the mud, but their father's pawprints were deep. He frowned at the mud thoughtfully and pressed with all his might to try and make his pawprint as deep, but abandoned his attempt when their father spoke.

He glanced at the other boys. "I'll go first," he volunteered gamely, tail waving his eagerness. His facial expression, though, conveyed concern. He worried about the smaller cubs going in first for whatever was coming next. Maybe they'd do better if he or Neze did it, so they could see what would happen? "Whatta ya say, Neze?" he asked, swiping a playful paw at his brother.
 

Talencia

Blessed Friend


Jovi of Shadows

Dangerous Werewolf

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 03, 2014 1:26 pm
Neze wasn't too freaked out about leaving Buna behind, after all his brother's upbeat adventurousness was somewhat infectious, but he was getting more than a little annoyed at being tossed and nudged every time he stopped. In fact, towards the end of their venture he was stopping out of sheer stubborn spite, just for the sake of doing so. He watched incredulously as Surtak then entered the waterhole, not at all missing the way it went right up to his chest. Neze would not be the first to volunteer, and luckily for him Kayode seemed to jump at the chance.

The dark cub ducked the playful swipe, though the tip of his ear was tagged, and he offered his brother an equally playful grin. "By all means Kayode, you can go first." He didn't entirely miss the concern on his brother's face, but Neze figured it was just uncertainty at what they would be doing. After all, he was a little uncertain too!


Khanyo had, in fact, mewled for his mother once or twice at the beginning of their journey, but after being picked up and tossed he'd learned not to do it anymore. With the safety of Chazama out of the question, the golden cub had no choice but to focus on what was going on around them, and accept his present company. All in all, the further they went from Chazama, the less worried he seemed about it.

By the time Surtak was asking them to decide on who went first, he'd already been halfway following the larger lion into the pond, and only stopped when Kayode said he'd go first. Khanyo stared at his toes, nearly touching the water's edge, before he called from over his shoulder at the other boys. "I'll watch from here," he stated, unwilling to move from his position so close to the water, but honoring the decisive Kayode's statement. He was curious as to what would happen.
 
PostPosted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 9:45 am
Talencia

Jovi of Shadows


Even a blind lion would see the brown one, Kayode, was the most outgoing of the four. While this trait might eventually display itself as recklessness, at the very least he was saving his siblings the trauma of growing up in a foreign, and often hostile, environment.

The Umholi's muzzle quirked as Kayode's paw grazed an ear. "There will be time for that, later." The distant, and uninterested, tone conveyed there may not, in fact, be time for play later. And, if there wasn't, it would not concern their father.

"Take a breath and hold onto it," was Kayode's only warning before Surtak's head was descending on the playful Kayode, plucking him up by the loose flap of skin at the base of the cub's neck. Given their father's unwillingness to carry them before, this behavior was unusual.

No further instruction preceeded the next moments. With the cub in tow, Surtak moved into an unstirred part of the pool, and the murky bottom blinked back at them in the sun. Surtak's head dipped slightly, the male's jaw slackened, and Kayode was tossed feet-first to his fate in the water.

He'd hear rumors cubs instinctively knew how to swim.

-

Brave in his mother's presence, Duma had become jumpy and sulky when he could no longer catch her comforting scent on the wind. It was only the continued movement of his brother that had kept the painted male moving forwards. He'd stopped several times to try and nurse a thorn in his paw, or turn in search of water. Duma had invented a hundred excuses to turn around in his small mind.

Surtak fell for none of them.

When Surtak asked them to decide, Duma had sat down with a heavy hind. Finally, he could pick the stickers from his paws and try to wash away the dust that had started to cake his legs. As always, he stayed close to Khanyo, though he eyed the pond apprehensively. Water was no new concept to them, but their mother had warned them from it, and there was something undoubtedly special about this particular pond.

"I, too," he piped up when his brother spoke. Duma would likely need some grammatical correction before he aged. He was thankful, when he heard an alarming splash, that he had not gone first. The sight was enough to pull the cub onto his feet. "He can't live under there!" he spoke alarmingly to his brother, though it was loud enough that everyone would be able to piece together what he'd said.
 

Kaelyndra

Liberal Streaker


Talencia

Blessed Friend

PostPosted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 12:15 pm
Kayode wasn't sure that Khanyo really was okay with not going first, but before the dark brown cub could offer to negotiate, the decision had apparently been accepted. He went limp at being picked up, like a good little cubbie, and sucked an uncertain breath at Surtak's admonition. His pupils dilated as he was carried over the deeper water, but he managed to still hold his breath as he was released into the wet stuff.

Yikes! It was... everywhere! He flailed his paws, stirring up the muddy bottom below him. He was just heavy enough to reach the bottom from being dropped, and now the mud swirled and curled in lazy, graceful curls, looking like scary tendrils reaching upwards to surround him. With an involuntary yelp, which released bubbles from his maw, he began madly paddling away from the mud, sending the swirls surging away from him.

He broke the surface sputtering and coughing, having tried to breathe too soon. He forgot to move his paws at one point too, dunking him back under the surface without a proper breath. When he resurfaced, he remembered to keep his paws going, though he was spraying water frantically from mouth and nose both. Tipping his head upwards, trying to keep his mouth out of it, he gasped and sputtered more, angling his eyes back towards his father in a mute and fearful plea. He was afraid now, and swiftly growing tired. Had he done what he was supposed to? Could he stop now? He had neither the breath nor the energy to ask, but paddled desperately, coughing occasionally as water still managed to slosh across his face.


Kaelyndra

Jovi of Shadows
 
PostPosted: Wed Jun 11, 2014 9:21 am
Something happened between Surtak taking his brother into the water, and the horrible splashing he was hearing now. Something. Kayode had been there and then he wasn't! Neze felt stiff, startled eyes searching frantically for his brother, and- there! He could see Kayode's head poking out, but just his head! It looked almost as if the water were trying to swallow him, like angry ants over dead things. But Kayode wasn't dead!

Neze had managed to rush his way to the water's edge, now standing next to the other two cubs. "There he is! Get him, there he is!" His plea was meant for Surtak, for maybe the big brown lion hadn't meant to drop Kayode into the water, and couldn't find him. Then he saw the fear in Kayode's eyes, as the other cub looked back towards their father, and consequently in Neze's direction. He'd never seen such fear in any of his siblings, Kayode especially, and he felt a cold knot tighten in his gut. "Kayode!" Neze pleaded, hoping to somehow force his brother above the angry water by voice alone.

His paws hesitated, frantically wobbling from side to side as he desperately wanted to reach out to his brother. It was a cub's logic to think he could run fast enough to avoid falling in the water completely, but Neze tried it anyway. With a burst he'd plunged himself into the water as well, attempting to run his way to Kayode. Unexpectedly the muddy bottom dropped out from under his paws and Neze's head slipped under the surface before his back paws could push him up and out again. The shock of the water on his face, in his nose, and ears struck panic in the cub as he momentarily forgot he was attempting to save Kayode and realized the angry water might swallow him as well!


Khanyo didn't like this, not one bit! An uncertain sound left his throat, something akin to a whine and a growl as he pressed himself closer to Duma, ears flat against the side of his skull. Had the Surtak meant to do this? Did he drop the other cub by accident? And now the other brown cub had been swallowed by the water as well, and it was all Khanyo could do to frantically listen to the splashing of water and ragged gasping breathes. He wanted to run. To hide. To do anything other than go in that water.

His paws seemed ground into the earth however, and his legs refused to move. Khanyo's posture stiffened as the little hackles rose along his spine, from fear and angry confusion. "Dun't go in there!" he yelped at Duma, as if somehow he or his brother might be pulled in by the water's edge as well.


Kaelyndra

Talencia
 

Jovi of Shadows

Dangerous Werewolf

7,950 Points
  • Perfect Attendance 400
  • Partygoer 500
  • Team Jacob 100

Kaelyndra

Liberal Streaker

PostPosted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 9:51 am
Talencia

Jovi of Shadows


Duma did not need to be told twice. He glued himself to Khanyo in the same manner that Khayno was attached to him. Had his brother taken off at a sprint, Duma would have followed without hesitation.

"Towards shore," he heard Surtak's gravely voice speak. The brown muzzle dipped into the water as if to save his child, but instead only gave Kayode a tap towards the muddy shallows. Then, water splashing around him, he shifted towards the water's edge.

Instantly, Duma was on all fours. The fur along his back was entirely risen, and he let out a loud, alarmed hiss towards Surtak. "No!" A loud rumble from his father's muzzle answered him, but it seemed poor Neze was the target, not Duma or his brothers.

The small cub was pulled out of the water, by his scruff. Once he was on the ground--out of the muddy part of the shore--Surtak placed one large paw on the sopping cub and pushed down. "He'll drown you."
 
PostPosted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 10:11 am
Toward shore? Kayode's spinning mind frantically tried to make sense of what had been said to his water-logged ears. Shore? What was a shore? The nudge helped, though. If there was anything Kayode wanted to go towards, it was the safety of dry land. Maybe that was shore? He sucked a deep breath in preparation for trying to do as he was told, but managed to get a lungful of water instead. Coughing and retching, he nearly forgot to keep paddling, and his head dunked under briefly again.

This time he kept mouth and nose shut while under, so that only a minimal skim of water was sprayed when he broke the surface again. Shore. Shore. He had to make it to shore. But how? This water stuff was not providing any sort of help with that! Determined to make it work anyway, he flexed his little jaw, glared towards the dry land, and proceeded to plow the water with all four paws. He huffed breaths through his nose, keeping his lips firmly closed.

When his paws first brushed the muddy bottom, he was so surprised he ended up going under again. Mud swirled and clouded the water, and for one panicked moment, he couldn't tell which way was up. But he wasn't in very deep, and his paws found the muddy floor of the pond once more. That was down, so now to go up! He sputtered some as he came up once more, but now he had the hang of what he was doing. After a lot more splashing and paddling and gasping, he finally made it up into the shallows, where he stood for a time, heaving deep breaths and looking ready to fall over.


Kaelyndra

Jovi of Shadows
 

Talencia

Blessed Friend


Jovi of Shadows

Dangerous Werewolf

7,950 Points
  • Perfect Attendance 400
  • Partygoer 500
  • Team Jacob 100
PostPosted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 5:03 am
He was lucky, sense told him as Surtak lifted him out of the water; his eyes glued to Kayode the whole time. And confused. Why save him and leave his brother? To a cub, the situation was dire and horribly difficult to wrap his mind around. The weight of Surtak's paw pressing into his back did not go unnoticed, and try as Neze might, which he did, there was no squirming his way out of his father's grasp. Drown him? "Kayode wouldn't do that", he mumbled in response, feeling as if the combination of the water and now the weight of Surtak's paw might have squeezed the air out of him. He was all to happy to see his brother rise from the water, standing, and only then had Neze stopped trying to escape Surtak's paw.

With Duma hissing beside him Khanyo could feel the hair along his hackles rise in response, ears flattening themselves further against his skull. He'd stiffened as Surtak turned towards shore, and only somewhat relaxed when the big brown lion went after Neze instead. Even if he did leave the first cub in the water, at least he'd gotten Neze out. That was... good? Khanyo kind of thought so, but he was still uncertain and his eyes once more traveled to the first cub, Kayode, as he struggled to stand in the water. "Is he safe now?" was the sudden question that slipped from his tongue, brown eyes narrowing.
 
PostPosted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 9:10 pm
Talencia

Jovi of Shadows


A careful eye remained on his son, teetering by the water. Should his legs stop working and he collapse, he would be pulled out of harms way until he had revived. His pure-brother's body remained firmly confined under Surtak's paw until the squirming had stopped, and then persisted still until the male was confident Neze would not rush in heroically.

"He's safe," the brown father confirmed Khanyo's question, though his eyes were hard-set on Kayode. They took a while to drift towards the other cubs.

"You'll all learn to swim." Out of a mother's mouth, it might have been comforting; from Surtak's, it was fact. "Or you will drown if you fall into water." Letting the cubs contemplate, Surtak stepped past them and grasped a shore-lying log between his teeth.

This in mouth, the Umholi waded back into the murk. By now, enough silt had risen the pond was hard to see into. The log was carefully set down on the water's surface, the dust that had been on it turning to mud and grit in Surtak's teeth.

"One at a time, to here. Neze." Should the cubs reach it, the log was large enough to easily support a cub's weight without becoming completely submerged. Should they try to climb onto it, however, an abrupt, violent spin into the water would result.

-------


(( Last post by me! Feel free to add wrap-up posts. Here's some additional IC information for the time-gap. ))

- Surtak will wait patiently for the cubs to venture into the water, swim to the log and back

- If they all go in at once, he will warn them, but allow it, and won't rescue them should they try and scramble on each other to stay afloat

- If they try and refuse to enter the water, he'll chase them down and toss them in. If they then proceed to run away (or somehow manage to escape and hide), we can do a private RP! Just ship me a PM.

- If a scenario I haven't mentioned here, fling me a PM as well.

- As they grow, all four boys will be taken out together to do similar stunts. They will be required to swim (and swim well), go on long walks, chase small game, and towards the end before Surtak disappears they will have been asked to start fighting each other. Failure to fight results in more intense swimming training for everyone.

- They'll likely get bruises, a few scars if you decide you'd like this for your character, and maybe stress-related injuries (again, if you decide appropriate). This may stunt their growth, however, they will also be well-muscled and somewhat war-savvy.

- If they ask why, he'll tell them so they are fit for the roguelands.

- If mother's want to raise hell over this, they are welcome to it! Toss me a PM or get ahold of me some other way and we can definitely RP it out.
 

Kaelyndra

Liberal Streaker

Reply
[IC] Ithambo'hlabathi Lands [IC]

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