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 Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 9:53 am
The sun burned into his pelt, the sand scorched his paw pads. But the male didn't mind nor did he care. It was a welcome feeling, a missed sensation. Sand got caught in his dark mane, beginning to dot here and there with gray. Every step, every breath, brought him closer to the lioness he'd been missing. It was as close as he'd come to love. Was it love? He'd have to ask some time.
Danzi paused, standing atop a dune. His orange pelt seemed to stand out amid the golden sands and the blue sky, blinding one in the right light. Green eyes danced before he practically pranced down the sand, looking for Ripuka. Makaa'kali had returned to the sands.
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:00 am
She was sunbathing.
It was an odd time to sunbathe really but she hadn't been there long. She'd been curled in her den, tucked away in a cold, dark corner, hiding from the world. She kept going over and over again, the events that had played out between her and Azarax. She felt terribly guilty and it hurt her to the core.
But finally the cold shade had gotten to her and now, here she was, lying stretched out across the same, hoping the sun would warm a heart that was beating cold in her chest.
She smelt him on the wind.
Her eyes flashed open, her good eye zipping upwards. Was it her imagination or could she feel the sane dancing beneath his paws? She pulled herself to her paws, shook the sand from her fur and all but sprinted towards him.
"Makaa'kali!" She pulled herself up onto a dune, peering across the desert, sun-blinded.
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:10 am
A happy sound swelled up in his throat, calling a greeting. His walk turned into a prance, then a sprint, as he ran to meet her. For the barest moment, he was a young adult again, running to meet a cubhood love. He had enough sense to not skid on the sand as he stopped, rubbing against her. "Ripuka... I couldn't stay away for too long... The sands called me back." The sun, the sand, the scorching heat... And the memory of her. It all called him back. Eyes dancing, he smiled at her. "Tell me... Did Finar-si bless you with beautiful cubs?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:58 am
"Oh Makaa, these lands are blessed to have your paws on the sand again." Unusually soft and tender in Danzi's presence, she let her own purr roll free, tucking her head into the curve of his neck as she met up with him.
"I'm so happy to see you. There is so much to tell you. So much good and so much wrong!" He had arrived at the perfect time, once again! He was like her angel, arriving just when she needed him the most.
But she smiled, despite her worries. He was back and he had asked about her most favourite subject. Cubs! And more specifically, their cubs!
"Finar-si blessed us, Makaa, she truly did." Her eyes shone, thinking of Wakia and Jua'taka. "Beautiful cubs...beautiful." And then Azarax. "But with blessing came yet another test Makaa." She drew in a breathe. "Come, there is so much I have to tell you." She turned back towards her den.
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 9:32 pm
The purr rumbling in his chest couldn't be hidden. There was no hiding it, and he had no desire to hide it. He was in a place he considered a second home, and that was what mattered to him. "Well, I'm here, and I shall listen to it all! A wanderer needs to know the news!"
His ears perked a bit amid his raven mane, head tilting. "A test... Tell me, please, Ripuka." No word on how many, but he wanted to see. He smiled, sure he could take any news. Nothing could spoil, after all, his mood.
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 3:02 pm
"A wanderer certainly does!" She agreed with a chirp, curling her tail affectionately under his chin as she began to head back.
She spoke as she walked. "Three cubs, Makaa, though they certainly aren't cubs anymore." She continued. "They aren't at the den at the moment, which is just as well, because there are certain things I want to talk to you about that I don't want them to hear."
She lowered her voice as they arrived and she moved silently to the den's entrance, peeking in. Then, when the coast was clear she gestured for him to follow and slipped inside.
"Two boys and a girl." She continued. "All growing strong and fine! But...Makaa...there was a problem with one." She looked pained. "Jua'taka and Wakia are doing wonderfully. They are so keen to learn and they have made me so proud. They are just like the Firekin of our time! The Firekin that were truly honourable. It's happening, just like we planned." She purred.
"But one of the boys...Azarax..." She faltered. Oh how she loved him and how she had hurt him.
Her eyes lifted to Makaa's. "He is tan..."
Not red...never red. Her face looked suddenly grieved.
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 9:09 pm
Three... They had three children! Two boys and a girl... He smiled, thinking of how strong they had to be.
Danzi paused at the lioness' next words, describing the second boy, Azarax. "Tan...?" He looked at himself, making a face at his markings.
Of course... Of all the things to crop up as a pelt... His tan markings. A sigh puffed out, sending his black mane drifting a bit. "It happens, I'm afraid... The best of intentions go wrong by one tiny detail." He shook his head, eyes sad. "I suppose I'm the one to blame for the misfortune upon him, my markings are in tan..." He wished about then that he'd gotten his mother's white instead of his father's tan.
But was there hope? "Perhaps I should take him away from the lands. Far away, where he may grow strong to return one day. Or maybe..." He thought a moment, of the things he'd seen in his life, the lions and animals he'd talked to. "It's a test... There's other prides that believe their gods test the members. Perhaps Finar-si is testing us, and especially testing Azarax."
He smiled, though, looking at Ripuka. "I'm sure, though, that despite this, he will still grow up strong of body, mind, soul, and character, into a fine Firekin. Just like his mother..."
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:23 am
She noticed his face at the realisation that the tan had come from himself and sighed. She moved towards him, gave him a lick on the nose. Ripuka was only ever tender with the ones she trusted and loved the most. Makaa was one of those.
"Don't blame yourself, Makaa. There was a reason for this, a test as you say." She breathed in his scent, breathed it until she was giddy. Oh how she had missed him! "Life always comes with good and bad, two out of three cubs are doing wonderfully. In fact, the tan cub Azarax is doing fine too." She hesitated.
"I gave him up to the slaves when he was too young to remember me. I hated doing it, despised it in fact, but...I did it all the same. Luckily there is a little tan slave family here. They adopted him as their own. Oh but you should see him Makaa, he is strong and beautiful! You can tell he is a true Firekin despite the colour of his pelt.
"I can't wait for you to meet them." She settled herself on the earth and encouraged him to lie beside her. "They have been so eager to meet their mysterious father, and I have been eager to sleep at your side again. The den is cold without you here."
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:43 pm
A smile graced his maw as he lay next to her. As long as Azarax was safe... He groomed her between the ears, a purr rumbling in his chest.
For now, for this time, he was not Danzi. He was the rogue-Firekin, Makaa'kali, home to be with his family. "I cannot wait to meet them, either." Including Azarax.. He'd have to find him, to make sure he was indeed being treated well by his adopted family.
It made him mentally laugh, the fact Azarax was part of an adopted family, when his true one was so close without his knowledge. It was like his own life, being adopted by Mahiri and Bakhti, when his blood family was right under his nose. Would a seer tell Azarax, as well?
"Speaking of..." He smiled at Ripuka, tail curling. "Where do our children walk at this moment, amid the dunes?" It sent a pleasant shiver up his spine. Their children...
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 12:30 am
"Yes, they aren't far. They are growing strong but they are still small. I like them to stay close if they get into trouble." She lay her head on his broad shoulder, enjoying the closeness that she had so missed.
"But whilst are children truly are a blessing on this land, there are things going on here that are not so good Makaa. There has been talk, perhaps nothing but idle gossip, though I feel it is the truth. The banished prince Kidondo, they say that he returns to take over the pride. They say he wishes to change things." Her voice was dark and sad. "If he did that Makaa, then where would I go? My heart would break to leave this place but I could not stay if Kidondo took reign." She shook her head sadly.
"I hope it is only gossip, but the desert feels different, it's as if it knows something is about to happen. If a fight breaks out Makaa then I will fight and if I must, I will die to protect tradition." She said this firmly, there was no arguing with her.
"Have you heard anything about this on your travels?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 6:11 am
Danzi shifted, claws digging into the sand. The Motoujamii, change? No, he didn't like the sound of that. While it would be good for him to be able to enter the lands and not instantly be enslaved or murdered... He couldn't imagine them any other way than slave keepers. How would the pride change? He would have to seek Bodaway out and ask what he thought. The Pridelander didn't even stop to think of the fact he was thinking more and more as Makaa'kali the Firekin, not Danzi the Pridelander. Did the lands have an effect on him like that?
Deep green eyes turned towards Ripuka, thinking on the question. "No... I've heard nothing of it... I've begun to keep more to myself as I wander, in my age..." It was true, really. He kept more and more to himself, becoming something of a recluse like his father before him.
"If a fight breaks out... And Kidondo changes the pride... I may never be able to face it again. We are a proud pride, and must adhere to traditions. The impure must be kept out..." But what would happen if it led to inbreeding, his mind nagged... Not something to worry about now.
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 11:40 pm
She nodded. "Good, then none other knows of our plight yet. I would hate to think of it spread as gossip. The Firekin have always been good secret keepers - about things they want kept secret." She twitched her tail idly.
"Oh Makaa, this thought has been draining on my mind every day and night. It's coming, I can feel it, feel it as if I were the desert being invaded by diseased ridden insects."
She stared at him with her one good eye. Her white muzzle had turned silver with age but her face looked young and strong.
"When they come I will fight them, Makaa. I will fight them to the death if need be. I have spoken to Wakia about this but Jua is not yet aware, though I will tell her too." She rested her head against the great orange shoulder. "Will you fight with me?" She asked.
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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 7:47 am
He looked to her, a fire burning in his deep green eyes. "Yes, Ripuka... Yes, I will fight with you. The Firekin way is one that the world can use, it perfectly balances out all the sickly happy of other prides." Had he become tired of how cheery and happy and generally sugar-coated the Pridelands were? Maybe he had. He licked her ears, a rumble in his chest. "I will fight with you, until I can fight no more, and still try to fight. For the Firekin, for Finar-si... For our children."
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Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 10:58 am
Her good eye glimmered at him, raw and thick with the affection that she bore for him. She leaned forwards, licked his muzzle and stood, stretching to rub her head up beneath his chin.
"Makaa. I am gifted to have you as a mate." She replied, eyeing him with a smile. "The children will adore you. They will be proud that their sire is such an honourable male." She tipped her head back to the outside world.
"Come, let us go find them." And sending him one last glance she led him up into the desert once more, intent on calling her children to meet him.
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Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 11:52 am
Letting out a pleased rumble, he rubbed his head to Ripuka. "As am I gifted to have such a wonderful lioness for a mate..." He smiled gently, lovingly, at her, then followed her out. Their children, their future... He could hardly await seeing them.
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