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 Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 4:54 am
The news should have reached the ears of both prides by now. The success of the Kizingo'zaa's initial assault on the Bahari'mtoto was self evident. The large number of cubs that had been acquired as a direct result of the attack was something to be 'proud' of in a general sense, even if the vast majority of these cubs were not receptive towards their new captors.
Nevertheless, the Kizingo'zaa pride had done as instructed and acquired the numbers necessary to add to their ranks. Or at least, they would add to their ranks for a short while. Suffice to say that in the initial rescue of six of the cubs, the Pride leader of the Bahari'mtoto had made no secret of his intentions. In short, he would happily respond with force if this was what it would take to retrieve his pride's cubs and more worryingly, he would have no qualms about wiping out the entire pride in an act of vengeance.
Fortunately for the Kizingo'zaa, his rage was tempered by the traditionally pacifist pride who had been given the opportunity to voice their concerns and opinions. It would be these pride members who would ultimately decide how the king approached the Kizingo'zaa to retrieve the cubs and one could only hope that they voted in favour of something less hostile... After all, no one would appreciate the public executions or the blood that would seep into the soils.
Rage had boundaries and it would only be a matter if time before the Bahari'mtoto would breach the borders and return in force. Whether this was within a few hours or days was unknown, but it should have come at no surprise that the Kizingo'zaa needed to prepare and consider their own approach.
How would they react to the neighbouring pride? How did they feel about the deliberate provocation?
Were they ready for a war if it came...?
There were many questions to answer, many options to consider and there was a great deal to prepare for. Especially when they currently had ten new and very young cubs to care for!Kidnapped Cubs Unnamed!Prize, Erdem, Eusi'wingu, Dhiren, Takibi, Adalena, Aquaticus, Harmonia, Peregrine, Nuzhah
EDIT: One cub has been switched out through inactivity so that another can participate for plot reasons "Billy" has been traded off for "Harmonia". If the owner has a problem with this, please contact the mule.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 5:11 am
Event Overview!
...So you know where this is going...
The start of this event is going to be reserved for the Kizingo'zaa and kidnapped cubs. As the other two events weighed heavily on the Bahari'mtoto pride, this will be an opportunity to the Kizingo'zaa to react to what they've done. They can express what they think of their actions, how they feel and so on.
In addition, they also have the opportunity to speak to the kidnapped cubs who are now in their care.
Kidnapped cubs are encouraged to talk amongst themselves and may react in whatever way they like to the their Kizingo'zaa captors.
When the time is right, the Bahari'mtoto pride will enter the Kizingo'zaa lands through this part of the meta to retrieve their cubs. However, until that prompt has been posted by the mules, you can assume they're still preparing for their 'assault'.
Have fun!
The Rules!
...Of which there are few...
1. There will be no fighting in this part of the meta, but you can argue.
2. Please don't god mode or assume anything, we'll give you prompts if we need to progress the storyline!
3. Try to give other players the opportunity to respond to your posts e.g. 12 - 24 hours.
4. If the player you are waiting on doesn't respond in 24 hours you can move on and assume they've fallen quiet for a while.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 5:28 am
 When Peregrine's mother had informed him that he would never know what life would throw at him, he hadn't quite realised that this is what she meant. Last time he had checked, he was fairly certain he wasn't meant to be snatched from his mother by an unknown assailant and deposited rather uncomfortably in a foreign location with the weirdest smells. Then again, with a mother like his, he had been raised to be unusually philosophical in such circumstances.
He was certainly scared, there was no doubt about that, but in the grand scheme of things, these sort of situation tended to work itself out in the end, right? Well, at least he hoped so, and he sincerely doubted that his mother would leave him behind in a strange place like this... she would come for him, or if she couldn't, then one of her friends would.
He had no guarantees of this, but rather than dwell on it too much, he simply took a seat and examined his albeit bland surroundings...
 Unbeknownst to Peregrine, he wasn't technically alone. While he may have known that the other cubs were with him, he had no idea that his half-sister was within range. In fact, she was sat no more than two feet away from the cub as she surveyed her own surroundings. Technically speaking they were no more familiar to her than the Bahari'mtoto lands had been. No matter which way she looked at it, she'd accidentally stumbled upon the beach and in this case, she had been picked up and deposited unceremoniously somewhere else.
Her life had been a little hectic in recent weeks... Her mother had been captured by a rather vicious lion and a number of her siblings with her. Others had managed to scatter but in the long term, they hadn't been able to reunite. Perhaps this was what her mother had felt like when she had been captured, who knew? It was difficult to pinpoint and as Adalena had no point of reference how was she ever going to get a solid answer.
...She wouldn't, that was how.
Alas, she could do nothing more than heave a sigh, suck in a breath and accept that none of this made any sense. That being said, she could appreciate some of the pretty colours the flowers had, the place smelled nice at the very least!
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 3:44 am
Furiko sat not too far away from the ten cubs that had been kidnapped from the neighboring pride. He was on high alert listening for any noise coming from the under brush that could signal an attack from the neighboring pride. Pretty much it was quiet but he intended to stay on his guard. After his encounter with the blue male from the neighboring pride he had full intentions on keeping the other pride from getting the rest of the cubs just to show they couldn't one up him.
He hated that the blue male had gotten the better of him and he wasn't looking at the fact he should be thankful of where he was sitting. He could have easily been kept captured by the pride and tortured until there was nothing left of him to be tortured. He however just wasn't seeing that at all and probably never would.
He would be standing guard for as long as it took for the other pride to try to come back for these cubs.
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 9:04 am
 Eglantine felt horrible for what they had done, and for the cubs who must have been terrified. She shyly, cautiously, made her way over to them and laid down. She could do nothing now but offer the cubs a motherly sort of comfort as she watched over them. She would have been no good if any of the Bahari rushed in to try and reclaim more of them, but luckily Furiko was here, and the rest of the pride was working on a plan...or at least she thought they were...
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 8:18 am
Fireheart moved through the underbrush after taking her morning run on the beach, exhilaration flooding her system. The cub heist had gone fairly well. Some had been rescued by the other pride, but they hand managed to nab ten cubs, with a healthy mix of males and females. That would easily help populate their numbers once they became of age. She was very thankful she wasn't one that watched them, though. As they were parentless, it was going to be a handful for the nannies to watch over them all. She pushed aside a large leaf as she moved into the clearing where the cubs were being guarded. She was relieved to see Furiko was the one standing guard, since he had also been the one that had been captured for a short time. Fireheart knew the large lion was capable of taking care of himself, but it always worried her one of their members was in trouble. "Afternoon, Blue Mountain," she said as she approached. Green eyes flickered over to the cubs, but none of them were being terribly rambunctious. "How are you? No injuries or scrapes after your brief stint as a captive?" Glancing back at the blue lion, she doubted he'd be sitting here if he were too terribly injured.
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 6:19 pm
So they had returned. Their first test of the goddess' skill and their new way of life. While the pride was divided, as it always seemed to be, on the matter it was a necessary evil. Their neighbors were growing fertile while their numbers were struggling to keep up. If they were out-numbered by another pride so nearby, odds were there was little to stop that larger pride from taking advantage in times of trouble. Given the departure of the goddess and the none-too-distant memory of a terrible tsunami, hard times weren't exactly unheard of in the area. Most of the royal family had left along with their precious goddess and some members had drifted off in search of their muse. Those that remained were divided on many issues but at least they could all agree on one thing- they needed fresh blood in the pride. The pride had been blessed with several new litters but it would be too soon before available mates became a rare thing. Where Ame was to keep the sanity an culture of the pride, it was his job to look out for its best interests when it came to numbers and protection.
The gypsy king approached with an appraising look on his face. The cubs looked healthy, unharmed, and while most looked confused or afraid, they didn't seem to have been outright traumatized.
"Welcome, little princes. To your new home." He called out, his dark eyes settling on the small forms bundled up in the sand. "I hope that your escorts were gentle of mouth and swift of foot."
He glanced up to Blue Mountain and then over to Fireheart as she emerged. Both looked more or less pleased with the turnout, if not a little tense. It was a strange situation that they'd found themselves in, but a necessary one. Eglantine, a lovely lioness with strong ties to the old nobility and perhaps even the old ways, huddled down near the cubs, guilt evident in her eyes.
Choosing to ignore it, he glanced towards the border. "Where you followed?"
Commotion. Why did there always have to be a commotion? Of course, it was his own silly fault for staying up until the wee hours of the morning. However, he'd found the absolute perfect conch shell on one of his routine walks and simply couldn't find it in him to put his curiosity aside until his body demanded rest. It was un-chipped, unbroken, un-scarred. Perfection. He'd cleaned it up in one of the smaller streams and returned it to his den. A clustered thing that might have been the treasure trove of a genius or a rubbish pile for a madman. The pride was divided on the issue and very few could say for sure if the strange outsider was himself mad or more sane than most. If asked, the lion would only shrug his shoulders. It wasn't for him to say.
But the commotion.
Groaning, Renaissance emerged from his den and shook the loose sand from his mane. Troublesome thing it was...
Blinking against exhaustion, he looked down the line of the beach to where the pride seemed to be gathering. RIddle-mouth was already there, beaming like the morning sun. Either he'd accomplished something that morning or he'd had a bit of good news. After further inspection, and spotting a group of small, foreign bodies, the short-lived question was answered.
Captives. Just like he'd been. Swallowing back a grimace, the small lion made his way to the collective near the water.
"What's all this then? Cubs?" He glanced to Shandor who only threw a critical look his way. The gypsy king wasn't exactly certain of where the newcomer stood. At times he was outright defiant, others he was quite useful. "We're not getting our paws into this are we?"
"Into survival? Insuring a stronger few generations? Yes." The male answered sharply. "This isn't a matter that concerns you, Renaissance."
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 7:04 pm
 As the shadows parted, Magpie, the Head Merchant came up behind Renaissance at the sounds of Riddle Mouth and Renaissance bickering. Her mouth opening a little in astonishment at the cubs. Her mouth parted and then she looked between the larger males. Her scarey small form dark and sleek against the two brighter adults.
It was then her eyes snapped towards Riddle Mouth. "Have you gone crazy my friend? The spell had been lifted from the pride I had thought?" She said strongly. "Survival? Are you dying Riddle Mouth? Because last I knew you were pretty healthy." Her quirky mind at play here, however the voice didn't hold the usual weird merchant-all-about-the-customer ring. It was more of a lioness who had some sort of understanding of motherhood. And Riddle Mouth was the pupil she was going to beat sense into.
However, before she could belittle the King some more a shrill 'rar' came from one of the cubs. Her head looking up over Renaissance's back to see the little thing who stood at attention. Erdem didn't really know any of the cubs around. He kept close to those cubs of his pride. The god of Virtue's patterns lay on the boy, his eyes matching his father's. He was aware on who his father was and what he presented. And if his dad was here, bless his soul, he would have not approved of what the gypsies had done. His Morals weren't set for this. In this instance the young cub stood up and squinted at Riddle Mouth.
He puffed out his chest his white cape on his back 'blowing in the wind' off the waters. He let the two adult lions quarrel and he let out a small chirp of a 'rar' to get the king's attention.
But when he was drawing attention his mind fluttered off into unknown. What was he going to announce? He didn't know. The inner-Jamala had died down. The seer squinted at the king though. "When----" It caught in his throat. "IF my dad was here, he'd make sure to make you were flattened into pancakelions!" Whatever pancakes were. It sounded painful against the word lion. However, what was to sound virtuous and Jamala-fancy with a big deep voice... Almost shrilled and came out cute.
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 7:22 pm
Furiko watched as lions started to gather around and he nodded to Eglantine as she laid down and then turned his attention to Fireheart as she came up. "Afternoon Fireheart. I am well. Beyond my ego being injured I was not injured. I'm not sure my captors assistants would have had it in them to injure me at all." He replied to her.
As Riddle Mouth came up Furiko straightened his back and sat at full height. At his question of being followed Furiko's ears fell back upon his head. "I'm sorry sir a few of the pride members did manage to steal six of the cubs back." He told him rather ashamed but he didn't stay that way for long as other members came up.
Furiko was surprised by their comments and reactions to the cubs being there. He had not realized there were members against what the king had ordered. The lions didn't seem to be afraid to voice their concerns of the cubs being cubnapped. He was actually shocked that pride members would speak to the king in such a way. He could never imagine speaking to his superior in such a manner and getting away with it.
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 7:46 pm
"That's good," Fireheart said with a nod. Pride wasn't physical and therefore it wouldn't hinder him from protecting the cubs. Mental weaknesses could be dealt with a bit easier than physical, from her point of thinking. Plus, he seemed to be a very confident lion that she was sure would bounce back after a few days, if he hadn't already.
A few more lions came into the clearing, and she stood up a bit straighter as well as Riddle Mouth appear. He wasn't her biological father - she had no idea who that was, some rouge apparently - but she had grown up with him as her father figure. As a Lady and as the Lead Huntress, though, she had to pay him the respects of a father and a king.
That was why, when the two new faces to the scene began to question their motives, her hackles raised a bit and she narrowed her eyes. She stood beside the blue lion with a look of disbelief and mild anger on her face before stepping forward a few paces. Even though she was far younger than those present, she couldn't let them attack Riddle Mouth like that. He could defend himself, of course, but as his subject and his daughter, she had a duty to defend him.
"When we're all too old to have cubs anymore, you'll be thanking him for thinking ahead," she said, directing her words towards Magpie but looking at both the lioness and Renaissance. "They'll be adults by then and will help populate the pride. You have to anticipate the problem before it happens."
As she spoke, a tiny mewl came from the gathered cubs. She glanced over to see one of the two cubs she had grabbed from the other pride and snorted. He had been a bit of a fighter on the way back, but once she had growled he had quieted down quite a bit. Paying no mind to the little male, she looked back at the two lions that weren't completely on board with their plan.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 9:28 am
Eglantine remained quiet, though when Erdem spoke she did try to becon the cub back and coax him in to silence. Others speaking out towards the Gypsy King made her nervose, and she didn't want tempers turned towards the cub.
Even though she didn't agree that stealing cubs was the way to protect their future as a pride, she wouldn't dream about speaking out, even if it was evident enough just by looking at her. All the same, what was done is done. Now Eglantine had to sort out her own feelings...and help watch these little ones while she was at it.
There was a storm in her mind, and fierce as when she discovered that the flowers had stopped talking to her. She questioned her place here, and who she was to become. She'd given up hope that she'd ever hear the flowers voices again. Finally. So what now?
Now.... Now she'd have to ask herself what she wanted in life, if she couldn't have that. She wasn't converned about the pride's future or current path. She was, and always had been, selfishly seeking her own happiness.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 9:35 am
Peregrine regarded his captors with a certain amount of distrust as more of them filtered in to 'inspect' their treasure. He didn't like being regarded as a 'thing' and more importantly he missed his mother. The very fact that the King had also called him a 'prince' also didn't sit well with him - suffice to say that while he wasn't traumatized, he wouldn't be the sort to sit idly either! He wanted to go home and if some of his fellow cubs had already been rescued then that definitely meant that the pride would come back for them.
His mother would come for him, she definitely would!
Sucking in a breath, the lion padded towards Erdem and promptly sat down beside him, puffing out his own chest as he stared defiantly at Riddle Mouth. "Don't think," he announced with a surprising level of confidence, "That they won't come and get us. Don't think that they're all nice and that we don't have any friends," he warned, his brow furrowing and his cub features surprisingly obvious. He knew after all, for his mother had been a rogue and as had quite a few of the other Bahari... According to his mother's tales and conversations (not that he had ever eavesdropped), they had all arrived after the Tsunami too.
"They're not peaceful," he warned and wrinkled his nose. "When they come, they won't play nice," he added and shook his head before pointing at Erdem with his paw. "They'll turn you into pancakelions, just like he said!" he finished.
*******
Adalena on the other hand held her peace, she had no attachments to the other pride but nor did she have any real inclinations towards this one either. Admittedly she wasn't a fan of anyone who would imprison her but the world worked in mysterious ways and if she wanted (and fate willed it), she would eventually be able to wander off again. Alas, rather than acknowledge the king responsible for her current captivity, the young cub merely flicked her gaze towards Eglantine.
Steel blue eyes focused on the lioness, and she noted that unlike the others, this one seemed to have remorse.
"Why?" she asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. "We never did anything to you," she pointed out softly. "Why did you have to be like the mean lion that took my mother? You might start a war..." she persisted, though not with a sense of urgency, more curiosity.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 11:22 am
When Fireheart talked to her like as if they were old and wrinkly lions again Magpie stood up. The northern lion sure wasn't born a Gypsy, but deep inside her heart she was still a Head Merchant. And like many had anticipated. She was a force to still recon with. Magpie wasn't requested by the King to join the numbers to be boring and just go with what he wanted. He liked her spark. Gave her the name. She saw eye to eye on subject with him.
"Right, and look at you, Lead Huntress. Look at you and all your wrinkles and toil. You can't even hunt anymore." She said with her own riddling-mouth. "You'll never bear cubs. Shenanigans. I say. You are even younger then I am! And I still look to the future to bear cubs of my own." She looked at Riddle Mouth. The Head Merchant's eyes sparked like they would when they saw a good item. "You are a fool for removing cubs from another pride. Rogues may have been easier to handle. You and your thieves didn't calculate how many were coming after these wee-ones? Do you not hear your princes?" There wasn't much the lioness hated. She didn't even hate Riddle Mouth in any least. She saw him like a brother. The two were quirky in their own ways, thus why they had gotten along since now.
Even though Silverlutz tried to power play Erdem in submission, he didn't pipe down when she growled. He backed up his fellow cubs. Adalena's words saddened him. Her mother was taken. She would understand what the cubs were feeling and never let them do this.
"Like I said!" He said with much pride in his speech now. "If my dad. Jamala of Virtue. Saw what you did. He'd shake his head at you. Hopefully the parents of the cubs that are here with me still will walk in my daddy's footsteps and do what's righteous!" The seer's eyes hardened more. Maybe the cub was testing the older lions? Testing the waters. He heard stories that his father was a well known god in his day. He was very proud of it. Even if his father was going to be reborn into a pipsqueak.
"For the good, I hope my ma comes here and beats you up!".
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 8:42 pm
Eglantine's ears folded back against her head, and she looked shameful once again.
"I was desperate and stupid. But in my guilt I see now what I could not see before," she replied quietly to the young cub while the others bickered. "I have lost things that I thought made me who I am. In my selfishness I allowed myself to believe a lie conceived to make me act against my morals. I can't undo what was done, but I can look within myself to determine how to proceed with my future."
Resigned, was perhaps a word to best explain the lioness who lay amongst the stolen cubs, wishing they didn't have to see their elders squabble - what kind of role were the modeling? Childish kidnappers?
"Please," Eglantine beckoned to Erdem, "brave little one...." she started, but then lost her words. Instead, she looked to the other adults.
"Riddle Mouth, I must ask...how do intend to make sure they remain here? I don't doubt their tenacity - who is going to stop them from leaving the pride when they become older and stronger? If they grow up to hate the pride and always see us as kidnappers, and never accept this place as their home, and find no loyalty in their hearts to the Kizingo'zaa, then how can you expect them to bear our future generations? There is a better way to insure the well being and future of the pride than...than this." Eglantine asked softly, not a single ounce of negativity to her tone, but genuine curiosity. She has always been a soft-spoken lioness, gentle and delicate like the flowers she loved.
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Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 5:56 pm
"Come now, Magpie." Riddle-Mouth rolled his head to one side and raised a brow. "A little bird knows that its wise to begin storing spoils before they are in need of it. We are well off now, true, but this will not always be the case. Many of us have had families and those families are beginning to cross into eachother's blood. What happens in three generations when all the blood in the pride is shared?" His playful tone became something far more stern, far more serious. "Our pride suffers. The old nobles left us when their goddess did. We were left without direction. We have it now..."
Regarding the reinforcements he shrugged his shoulders. "This business is new to us. The goddess blessed us with cunning tricks but our gypsies and thieves are still very much green. This was but a test and while it was a successful one, it was a sloppy one. We learn from our mistakes." He looked to Blue Mountain specifically. "Soon I will have the gypsies and thieves sharpen their skills further. We cannot be caught again... the concern for retaliation is a very real one."
He looked away from the male and addressed the others with an easy smile. "But as we are cunning, we are also strong. Peaceful ways are not our own any longer, not when we must survive. So if they come, they come. If they cannot be reasoned with, another one of our qualities will be put to the test. Let us hope that our tongues are sharp so our claws do not have to be."
Renaissance shook his head and brought a paw to rub at one of his temples. "I do not want to upset anyone or question your methods, but this sort of a test ... I cannot approve of the turn out. Gathering information, certainly. We would be better off to know who surrounds us and the state of things...but to take their young. I understand why-" He held his paw out defensively. "I understand that we need to keep new, young blood in the stream of this pride but... you invite danger."
Riddle-mouth sneered and took a slow step towards Fireheart. The young female didn't need to put herself inbetween him and those that didn't agree with their methods, but he was grateful for her loyalty regardless.
"In the field of combat, two males will spend more time looking at one another than they will spend fighting, Renaissance." Shandor said casually. "One will shake his mane to show how thick it is, how it will defend him. Another may roar to let his opponent hear for himself the fire that burns in his belly. They may claw the ground to show how sharp their claws are or bear their teeth to show the power in their jaw. This situation-" He motioned to the area around them. "Is many things. It is a trial for our new ways. A test. Out gypsies and thieves now know the sort of tasks they will face, the risks involved, and the gravity of failure. They also know now that we share a border with a very large pride with very fertile females." He smirked a little at that then continued. "But we are not the only ones that know something new..."
He raised a claw, "Now our neighbors know that they share borders with a very dangerous lot. Dishonest, stealthy, and clever. We have shown them our manes, our claws, and our teeth. They will not come in here with the intent to start a fight, my friend. They will come in caution. We are small, but they know nothing of this. For all they know, every shadow may have a gypsy within it. Every rock may have a pair of eyes under it. They will come, yes, and they will have no notion of peace in their hearts...but they will know that we are not to be trifled with. And that, my friend, is the prize. Now, if they can be reasoned with- all the better. We have someone on the border that can respect that we are a pride that can stand on our own and that nothing is below us. If they show... we can respect that they have courage."
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War or Peace?
