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 Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:03 am
The day of that raging battle still sang in her memories. Uuo was not one with a blood lust, but she'd be lying to say that she hadn't enjoyed her own battle-- purely for the sake of turning the tables on the Traditionalists. It had felt good, maybe too good, but one thing still bothered her to this day.
Azarax.
He'd been convinced she intended to take Ripuka's life. Maybe that was the way of the old Firekin, but she had promised Kidondo she would do no such thing. In that instant, seeing the rebel leader frozen to the spot not moving to defend himself she understood. Ripuka, enemy or no, meant too much to their Regent to die needlessly.
That aside, the guard was missing the company of a certain spot marked lioness. Sure, Meilin seemed as much tolerating of Uuo's presence as Uuo was of her silence and sarcasm, but they had bonded in their own odd way. She also missed the little ones being underfoot. She couldn't do anything about missing them, but she COULD do something to try to straighten out the misunderstanding between she and Azarax.
So that would be why Uuo was seeking him out now, following her nose and his scent trail.
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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 5:49 am
((... xD -gives self props for finally noticing- I fail at life xD))
"I wonder," The tan lion said softly to himself, as he cast his eyes skyward. Being vocal had never been a particularly strong suit for him, yet he knew that if he taught himself to speak more readily, it would only benefit him in the long run. "What that sky actually looks like."
Wishful thinking did not fall under his name. He knew his bodily limitations, and he knew that there was no use in attempting to push past them. Some of that would constitute tempting fate, and much as he tried to believe that what each creature did defined their lives, he couldn't help but keep himself from pushing too far. He never knew what might happen, and he didn't particularly want to find out.
Yet, now and again, a fleeting thought would cross his mind, and he would wonder what life would be like if he could see colors for what they were. He could live without the colors, he knew that, and little would have convinced him to trade his sharp eyesight for a few splashes of richness here and there. But there were times when he did wonder.
"Blue."
His brow furrowed slightly as his piercing as took in the vast expanse of unblemished gray that stretched above his head. He truly could not imagine the sky looking like anything other than that powdered light gray.
A scent drifted on the lightly moving air toward him, and at once he recognized it as someone he knew. His ears flickered as his gaze lowered from the sky, and turned to seek the lioness out. His eyes settled on the bay lioness - though gray in his eyes - and immediately he felt confusion flood through him.
Ah, Uuo.
He had always wondered. That day. Had she truly intended to kill Ripuka? His heart told him no, yet his instincts told him yes. He had little choice but to have his reservations toward the lioness. He couldn't judge her by those mere few moments, he knew that, but...
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Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:27 pm
"Azarax, glad I ran into you today." Uuo greeted with her usual truth, straight to the point. The sands, long since sun-baked and warm, shifted beneath her paws even when she was standing still, reflecting, perhaps, the way her thoughts had been turning this topic over for weeks. "You've gotten bigger since then."
An honest observation. Even as an adolescent he'd been rather large, normal for the Firekin bloodline, as she suspected he was. She hadn't seen any new slaves captured into the pride around the time of his arrival. Maybe he was born to slaves, but that still wouldn't explain his size and coloration.
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 6:25 am
"Uuo," He returned the greeting with a dip of his head. He smiled. "I certainly hope so," He said with a chuckle. After all, he had matured, and at the time of their last meeting, he had still been in his adolescence. Growth was plenty during that stage, and in truth it would have been rather worrying if he hadn't changed in size since the Rebellion.
He paused, wondering how to continue. Much as he knew it was a rather rude question for him to pose, he dearly hoped to find out truly what it was Uuo had been planning the day he had saved Ripuka from her claws. Though he almost dreaded knowing the answer, just in case it was the one he hoped he would not hear, he knew sooner or later, his curiosity would win out.
He hadn't been avoiding Uuo, truly, but he hadn't exactly been actively seeking her out either. Partly because he wanted to know - nay, needed to know - the truth, and partly because he feared it. A small frown flitted across his face as he contemplated this, though as quickly as it had come, it disappeared again.
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 7:43 am
The large female offered a smirk in answer to this, straightening up and settling down to sit when he commented back hoping he had grown. Not seeing a good reply to that to keep the conversation going she opted to move on since the chance had presented itself.
"I'm not all that good with small talk, so I guess I should get right to the point. I need to talk to you about that day, the day of the rebellion."
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 7:47 am
A small smile flitted across his face. She was so to the point. He almost envied that. He wasn't one to beat around the bush, but he had also never been one to bring up a topic without first deliberating it. Added that to the fact that he was not a lion known to be the most talkative, and often many of his words went unsaid. He was rather alright with that though. What others didn't know didn't, in general, hurt them.
"The rebellion," He echoed, knowing he sounded somewhat guarded, though he truly wasn't trying to be. "Yea, that sounds... good." He settled on the last word, for lack of a better one. After all, it could only be coincidence that they had both been thinking of the same topic, and now without his having to prompt it at all, the topic had come up, and he was more than happy that it had.
At least now, his questions would be answered, for good or bad.
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 8:02 am
He was alright with it, good then. That was all that Uuo needed to proceed.
"The storyteller... your mother, what you saw wasn't at all how it looked. My intention was never to kill her."
Though she had been doing that kindness for Kidondo, not Azarax. Hell, she didn't even know at the time that Ripuka, the oldest traditionalist left, could possibly be his mother! Maybe if she had, she would have been doing it for him too, but as it was, such wasn't the case. She only needed one good reason to spare the storyteller's life anyway. The guard searched his eyes with her own, his body language, ears attentive as she tried to gauge his reaction not with social grace, but the sharp focus that came with her responsibility.
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Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 6:16 am
"Never?" He echoed, feeling relief flood through him. He had guessed as much - Uuo, she had never seemed like that type to him. But the events that had transpired in those few moments had happened all so quickly and he had been unable to truly recall them with precision.
Though he knew his face remained, for the most part, emotionless, he could feel his body loosening up already. The question had been answered, and it rather felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
"I'm glad to hear that," He said with a nod, meaning every word. "Ripuka, she..." He shrugged. "I don't know her well, but, I can't blame her for anything she's done. Better she be alive than dead."
It was difficult, explaining about his mother when even Azarax himself did not particularly understand. Yet, he had finally made his peace with it, and he felt no urge to dredge up the unanswered questions once again. Better to attribute the abandonment to his mother's religion, and leave it at that.
"I always thought you didn't look like the type," He added. "But, I wasn't sure. I didn't know you, after all."
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Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 12:21 pm
"I thought it might be something you'd like to know." Uuo nodded, relaxing herself now that the news was out. She smirked slowly then. "You don't have to tell me. Blind faith will do that to a person. I'd be lying to say I'd never felt as strongly as she did about a cause..."
For a moment she thought back to her last home, that "family" of hers. Where would she be if she'd kept on that narrow minded path?
It only took a soft shake of her head to clear those thoughts away. Focus on the present. "Nothing to worry about. I wanted to set the record straight, and that's done now. Consider it in the past." And she meant that. When Uuo looked at Azarax her expression was the picture of calm. "So, all that aside, you've been speaking with No and Kidondo. Everything going as well as it seems?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:24 pm
"Thank you, I truly appreciate it," He said with a nod, feeling far more at ease than he had in a long time. So perhaps he would never see his mother again, but he could rest easy knowing that she was still alive, whether or not the sudden change in environment was causing her distress. Which he was sure it was, but anyone could adapt to just about anything, and better she had the chance to do so than not at all.
"Why yes, things are going well." Azarax nodded, remembering his conversation with the two Regents not long ago. "I've been given the task of setting up the guard detail." He added factually. It was certainly good news that they had reached this stage. It was testament that things had finally calmed down enough that they could all begin to consider their defence.
"Actually," He added, remembering the way she had studied him only moments ago, with a sharp, almost biting, focus that seemed to see straight through him. "How do you think you would do as Captain of the guard?"
And who better than Uuo, he realized, for she not only had the attributes of a guard, she also had that straightforward bluntness that made her strike Azarax as the type that was trustworthy and honest. All those things made wonderful impressions.
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Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:59 pm
Uuo nodded slowly to accept his final comment on the matter, feeling that all that needed to be said on it had indeed been said. Now she focused on the second half of the conversation. It was excellent to hear the pride was getting back onto it's paws so well, and well well, guard detail? Then it was twice as well that she'd sought him out today, if he had anything sorted already he could simply pass it on to her now and save himself the trouble of doing it later.
However, at the word "Actually" her ears perked just a bit with curiosity as she continued to regard him, wondering what the verbal pause had been for. It was with mild surprise that she heard the question that unexpectedly followed.
"Captain of the guard?" He was serious, she could see. Even if he was the type to joke about such things there was nothing in his posture or expression to suggest this was said in jest. She only needed a moment to gather her response, which came with confidence. "I'd say I'd give it my absolute best just as I've done on guard duty. You've seen for yourself what I can do."
So he would know at least better than any of the other pride members, save for the younger (than her) regents, whom she'd met early on, and knew her personality well enough (It wasn't very difficult to figure her out. She was every bit as straight forward as Azarax suspected.).
"You certainly caught my interest. Is there something specific that the task entails?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 4:26 am
That she would do her very best, Azarax had no doubt. She was right, he did know what she could do, and not only that, he admired and respected the lioness.
What he was offering her would be much more difficult than being just a guard, but they were responsibilities that he was certain Uuo would shoulder well. There seemed, to the tan lion, to be a certain air to those that were obviously hardworking and unafraid to take responsibility. It affected a certain... aura of sorts, that seemed to send him vibes.
He knew much of it could easily be attributed to his own imagination, but so far the feeling hadn't led him astray yet, and it didn't feel as if it would.
"Well, as Captain of the guard, you would be in charge of training the guards, as well as any new recruits - which, I'll admit, will be rather grueling - and organizing rotas to make sure there are always guards on the border." He said in reply to her question.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:45 am
"Hm. Hard work, I like it." And it probably would be, just keeping the guards to stay their scheduled posts would probably be a task of it's own, but as one of the Simo, she was up for the challenge. "Well if you all will have me I'll gladly accept the position." Uuo commented in conclusion, posture strong with new determination.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 11:42 pm
A smile crossed the tan lion's face at Uuo's determination. "I think," He said. "If I gave you the position, my decision would be rather well rewarded." He was certain, in fact, which he would have said had it not been that he was not particularly gifted with voicing his thoughts accurately.
"So it's settled, then," He added, feeling uplifted at the fact that he had done the task he had been assigned by the two Regents. He had done it well, he was sure, and that alone was enough for him.
"I'll report it back to the two Regents. I'm sure that soon either they or I will have an update and more information for you." He said with a nod. And there it was. The beginnings of the pride's defense. With the Captain of the guard in place, the rest would soon fall into place, and with that out of the way, they could focus now on building their army. The army that would be the mightiest in all the land, as Kidondo had envisioned it. Very soon, it would all come together.
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