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 Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 10:58 am
Auburn eyes stared over the expanse of territory the now small pride called theirs. Soon... there would be almost no one left here. If this continued, things were going to derail into utter insanity and chaos. Jambazi's eyes narrowed down as she turned her head west; in the distance, Pride rock still stood, looming, as if taunting her. Ever since Sarafina had gone on a scouting trip and not come back, things had gone from bad to worse. The few members they'd had from a start were scared, unsure of the would happen and many had moved on, intent on leaving the land in favor of seeking out a better future.
Jambazi remain though, waiting for her half sister's return. Her children were still too young to take the throne; for some odd reason, they had yet to grow, and the shaman was starting to think it might be a curse from the gods. Something had to be done. Soon. Right now.
Stalking down from the perch she'd been holding atop a termite mound, she padded into the darker refuges the mounds offered, "Ashiki?" her voice resounded within the caverns and labyrinth-like tunnels, "I don't think she's coming back," there was a definite sadness and a bitter ring to her voice, "I don't think any of them are coming back," after a long pause, the skull-wearing lioness sat down, her eyes almost luminescent under bone mask, "We can wait all we want, but I don't think they're coming. I think... you should take the throne."
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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 11:56 am
The inside of the mound was dark, dim and cool compared to the brighter exterior and it was the perfect environment for dusky female's mood. Her beloved home was slowly dwindling, deserted even, it seemed, by the queen that had loved it. She would have thought anyone, anyone but Sarafina would grow weak enough to run away from the home they had built here in these lands. Sure, she could always think, too, that she had simply been killed on her hunting excursion - but where was the honor in that? No, both of those outcomes looked grim and left a foul taste in Ashiki's mouth. Better that she not voice them, though, for who knew when her terrifying sister would show her face back within the lands once more.
Her green eyes swiveled at the approach of her other sister, hearing her name on her lips. With a sigh at her own thoughts, she pushed herself into a sitting position to greet her, ready to hear whatever it was that Jambazi had to say. In Sarafina's absence, Jambazi had been enough to glue the few remaining members together with the aid of Sukari. They were neither one a queen, but they were wise in their own duties. "Don't say that," Ashiki muttered, gritting her teeth. Even if her own thoughts echoed Jambazi's words, she refused to think that Sarafina was gone. Despite it all, deep down she truly loved and adored Sarafina. As hard as the pride was and as much as she feared her older half-sister, Ashiki loved and was sincerely devoted to the harsh queen. "She has to come back, Jambazi, we need-"
Her words were cut short, her green eyes widening a fraction in surprise before narrowing almost as quickly. "What did you say?" She was on her feet in an instant, though she did not do so in a threatening manner, not towards Jambazi. "Why on earth should I, of all lions, take the throne? Not to mention, if she came back and thought I had tried to usurp it from her, she'd have my head." It was the truth, and she knew it. Anyone who knew Sarafina would know that any threat to her throne would not be taken lightly - she was as harsh as she was loyal.
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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 12:15 pm
"We need a queen," came the answer; there was no joke within the female's words, nor was there any sort of mirth in her eyes. This was not a time for jesting, "You are loyal to these lands and to Sarafina. You should take the throne in her absence," her auburn eyes turned towards the darkness, narrowing, "Nuka and Kovu have not grown. I do not know what is wrong with them. A curse perhaps? I am unsure, but neither can take the throne, Ashiki," the small framed Shaman had pondered over what could be the cause to her nephews' stunned growth, but had not really figured it out yet, "I can't take the throne, and neither can Sukari. But you can; these lands need a queen."
While no one knew her sister's terrifying personality better than they did (with the exception of Sukari, perhaps), Jambazi was also sure that Sara would have wanted this. She would have not stood to see her lands... her home; her dream for a better future, fall into disgrace just because they'd sat there waiting without a purpose, "If she comes back, we will explain what happened and easily return the throne to her, Ashiki. But for the time being... we need a leader," she paused and gestured around them with a paw, "Look at this; look at us. The pride has dispersed for the most part! I don't think there's many of us even left around here! Vi left with Sara on that hunting trip and neither have come back. There's Sukari, and us," when she said 'us', she meant their litter, of course, "There is perhaps a member or two more, but they keep making longer excursions. Soon they will not come back," settling her paws back on the ground, she frowned, "There's just us. And... well, Kibaya. Or Chrno. Or both," she'd taken peeks on their prisoner, but wasn't entirely sure which personality was in 'command' or if he'd gone entirely crazy by then. He'd stopped roaring and had stopped ramming himself against the walls of his prison, but Bazi wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Sara would have hated to see us... and these lands simply wait around doing nothing. She would have wanted us to be strong and do something about it. With class," she shook her head a bit, lightly from right to left, making it obvious she'd been thinking about this for a long while now, "We have no choice."
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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:11 pm
The state of her nephews was troublesome, and if Jambazi, of all lions, had yet to figure out the cause of their eternal youth, then she feared that they might never know. They were certainly not fit to take the throne that their mother had left behind, the throne that would have been rightfully their own to claim by now if nature had flowed along the proper course. Sukari and Jambazi both had other duties to attend to, other things that they had to do within these lands, for this pride, albeit how small it was becoming, and that truly meant that she was the only left who could take the throne.
"You're right," she whispered, shutting her eyes as she slowly let herself sit back on her haunches. She had never even thought that one day she might take over what Sarafina had started. She had always thought to be the sister that was not but a loyal member, a hard-working sibling, someone to be proud of but no one to look up to. Oh, how fate played silly tricks with them! "If we let the pride crumble while we wait for her, it will shame her memory, and she will likely kill us if she ever does come home." She opened her bright eyes to look up at her sister then, feeling the first ripples of decision rolling through her. "I will take the throne, and we will restore this pride to it's glory. We've already waited too long in her absence - those filthy pridelanders are probably mocking us by now."
She let a growl-like sigh drip from her maw, her ears flattening against her skull as she realized that now the problem of the dwindling numbers was no longer just an irritation for her, but a personal problem as the very new queen. "We need to find a way to keep our members here and bring new ones to us, we can not let this pride die." Her tongue clicked, her brows furrowing as she tried desperately to think of what Sarafina would do. "Chrno, he is the.. prisoner?" she said, suddenly, as if remembering part of their conversation after it had already passed.
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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:43 pm
A snort of mild mirth escaped her then, "Ashiki, knowing Sara, if we don't do something, even if she doesn't come, she might find a way to haunt us from beyond the stars," her words made it clear she thought the queen to be dead (for what else would ever be able to keep the matriarch away from the pride for such a long time?). It was a harsh, brutal world, and Bazi had no doubt that if Sara had been taken down, it had been done so in some sort of trap or unfair fight.
She could only hope her thoughts were wrong and there was some other cause to have kept the queen away for so long... that she would show up any day now and bark her orders like she always had. Another snort, though this one of disdain as her eyes narrowed a notch, "They don't even know we exist, Ashiki; we are no threat to them like this. Too small. And to make matters worse, I know some of our members have crawled back to that wretched hole of a place," it was betrayal what they had done, as far as Bazi was concerned, and they would have to explain themselves fully and give her the best excuses ever set forth if she EVER lay eyes on them again.
How dare they.
"Do you know how many of us there are left? I know our siblings remain here.... for the most part, as far as I know," a pause followed her words, "We have been so absorbed with waiting that I don't think we even know who is still with us... and whom left with their tails between her legs. We should find out."
Ashiki's question was answered with a nod, "Yes; that's the one. He's a rather... ahhh... interesting character," she'd been visiting him since she was a cub. Since that first day when she'd snuck in there with Nuka. The dark male was strange, to say the least, "I wonder..." she murmured darkly, the wheels in her mind already grinding away, "If we should set him lose. He has nowhere to go now that Vi is gone. Would he follow her? If he finds Vi, he might find Sara."
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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 3:39 pm
A sad smile twisted her maw at those words and she nodded, staring out of the entrance to the mounds towards the daylight beyond them as if the sky might part and show the night and stars beyond - with a snarling, irritated Sara among them. What her words implied was no doubt true. If Sara had been alive, she would have no doubt come back to them by now. Nothing in the world could have kept her away from them for so long.
"That's just it, Bazi, they know we exist now," she hissed, gritting her teeth even as the thought ran through her mind. "Our own family turned tail on us and ran back to them, and if they did that, they've no doubt spread word of us by now, don't you think? It's only a matter of time before we have that filth breathing down our neck." The thought made her blood boil, made her seethe and want to rip something, anything to pieces. She needed to reign her temper in though and not let it get the best of her. She was no longer a young lioness to let her emotions run away with her.
"I honestly have no idea," she muttered, shaking her head slowly as she tried to regain her cool. "I know that most of us are still here, and Sukari. How many more are left besides that, for sure, I can't honestly say. I suppose we've been too wrapped up watching the horizon for any sign of Sara." Which was a stupid thing to do, no doubt. Was Sara out there somewhere, shining down on them with a frown of distaste at the way they'd been sitting around in idleness, letting the pride fall apart? "We need to find out and soon." She pushed herself up to her feet, moving to stand at her sister's side. "We'll also have to go and have a visit with Chrno. Even if he can't find Vi, and in turn, Sarafina, he will still be a strong asset to our numbers." If they could trust him. Did they really have any room to pick and choose right now?
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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 7:02 pm
Bazi seemed to consider her sister's words, her eyes narrowing again under her skull mask; with it on, it was always hard to tell what she was thinking for her features were mostly concealed by it. That was part of the reason she liked wearing it, really, "That is true. But I think they have assumed we have either died, or will move on. After all, with Sara gone and Tahka not here, whom is there to drive us? Sukari says that she's not as young as she used to be any more and besides, Sara's disappearance has hit her worse than us, to some point, I think."
Either way, it was not a good idea to think themselves too safe. At least... not till they had a fair number of pride members, which they lacked at the current time. Even then, the pridelands was without a shadow a doubt, one of the largest prides in existence, surely numbers growing in the outlands would be of no threat to them, "Well, as far as they're concerned, I'm pretty sure we're 'worthless'," she said, "Hardly a threat. Perhaps it is a good thing this is so; it might give us the advantage later on," after all, wars were not won with numbers alone, but with wits. Smarts were much better than strength alone. For now, they would lay low and plot.
Pushing herself off the ground, the Shaman padded down and around the crooks and corners of the labyrinth-like tunnels, "Did I mention Chrno has a.... mild problem?" she murmured to her sister as they reached the large boulder like rock that Sara and Sukari had pushed to block the entrance of the male's 'cell', "Well, it's not something I can describe. You'll find out soon enough though... he's of no use just laying there. We might as well free him. He can pick if he wishes to stay and join us, or leave. Though... from what I know, he has little left to live for, or even go to," that said, she pushed her shoulder against the rock, expecting her sister to join in on the pushing to reveal the dark chamber beyond, where the 'monster' lay.
The 'monster' in question had indeed been dormant for a long while. Though not entirely driven crazy, he'd lost the will to live and had simply reclined himself down, refusing to do much other than eat or drink when the pain was too much to bare. He'd most likely simply come to accept that he'd never leave the bloody cell. Or perhaps he didn't want to, having come to terms with what he'd done to Vi. It was hard to tell either way.
His head did not move when light was shed upon him, but his eyes, blood red, dark and menacing did look up to the two lionesses. The roughness around his edges made it clear it was 'Kibaya' whom was in control; the corners of his lips lifted into a growl, the blood and grimed he'd actually come to the pride with still clinging to his pelt here and there. Bazi herself had entered his chamber many times and had tended to him, bathing him without fear, something which the large lion had never understood. However, there had been places even Bazi had been unable to wiggle herself to, and he'd been unwilling to clean himself, almost as if the blood that clung to him (all of which was not even his own) were some sort of dark reminder, "What do you want?" the voice was horribly hoarse from misuse.
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Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 4:18 pm
"Well, for now, they don't seem concerned with us and I suppose that is.. enough," she said with a frown, though the thought still worried her. To have her own family turn on them and go back to those wretched land and foul lions made her seethe. What was she to do about it, though? They'd just have to take that one step at a time, deal with it as it came.
"I heard he was troublesome," she said softly, and that was putting it mildly. She had passed by here before, she had heard him making noise when he was first holed up inside his prison, but as with all of Sarafina's decisions - she had not questioned it and she hadn't bothered him. "I'm not quite sure I know what this 'problem' is exactly, though," she murmured, throwing her glance sideways at her sister curiously. What she meant was lost upon her, but she was sure she was about to find out, as they were nearing the cell where the 'captive' was kept. He hadn't been let out at all yet, to his knowledge, and out of necessity they were going to attempt to do so. She just hoped they wouldn't regret it.
As her sister leaned her shoulder into the boulder, Ashiki leaned her own in to help, her green eyes greeted with the interior of the cell she hadn't seen since it had been occupied. She had yet to even see the prisoner, in fact, and as she stared at him, she found that he wasn't quite what she expected. However, it was his tone that caused her to draw herself up, a cool brow arching as she stared at him. "That's not a very nice way to greet people, Chrno," she said, much calmer than she felt facing him. If she was going to be queen, she needed to learn how to put on a good face and be in control, yes? This was a good first test. "Bazi and I are here to talk to you." She'd talk to him first, just to make sure he was, after all, able to be trusted. She didn't know what these problems of his were, and Bazi hadn't quite had the time to tell her.
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Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 4:33 pm
"You'll find out soon enough, Ashiki," the Shaman murmured as the shreds of light illuminated the interior, and then, as the red lioness spoke, she smirked a bit under her mask, "Sooner than later, it seems."
"That's not a very nice way to greet people, Chrno,"
The single phrase sent a ripple a hatred through him, his lips pulling back into a snarl; it was clear the large male had little to inhibit him from darker thoughts. All in all, he looked feral, dangerous, even if he was still weak from imprisonment, "Don't CALL me that!" he shouted, and though the voice was hoarse and could not reach a level high enough to be considered a real 'shout', the effect it added would have set many lions on edge, "I'm not him!" primal anger flashes in his eyes as he pushed himself up, "don't you DARE call me that!"
Just as the large male took a step back (no doubt to prepare himself to lash out), Jambazi took a step forth and set herself between her sister and the prisoner, "She doesn't know you," she stated, eerily calm, "More over," came the languid drawl, "Don't blame the past on us."
Turning her head so she could both keep the male in her line of vision and still address her sister, she continued, "Have you ever heard tale.... rumour of cases where one lion is not merely 'one', but two within?" she'd heard stories when they were young, but it'd taken time for her to figure out Chrno was such a case. Then again, perhaps he was simply insane. It was hard to tell, "Meet Kibaya; the other half," she turned her head to regard the male, coolly stepping aside again as she noticed him relax his stance just a notch, "This one is the... Vi was scared of," at the sound of the female's name a growl rumbled the lion, feral eyes flashing again, "Not the other one."
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Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 5:23 pm
The shout caught her off guard, but it was her sister's words that had warned her. As he leaped up to his paws, she almost took a jump back, until the face of her sister flashed before her eyes. There was no time to act like a baby - Sarafina's memory alone demanded that she stand her ground. With little more than a flicker of an eyelid, she kept her feet rooted to the spot, her face schooled, and met the disturbing eyes of the male before her. However, she felt a wave of relief wash over her inwardly as her sister placed herself between them.
"I've heard that tale," she said, turning to look at Bazi and ignoring the male once again. She considered it, thinking of the two names. Chrno and Kibaya - two lions in one body. She assumed this Kibaya was the dangerous one, especially if he was the one that Vi feared so terribly. That also probably meant that he was the one who had hurt Vi. Her eyes flashed towards him again, then narrowed in thought, "I brought Vi back to the pride after I found her. I assume that was you then, that did that particularly nasty little number?" A 'tch' sound of disapproval passed from her maw and she threw her gaze sideways at Bazi again. "Can we really trust him enough to let him out of here?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 6:07 am
If it'd been him whom had assaulted the female or if there'd been other circumstances that had not yet been revealed remain a complete mystery. Instead, the blood red eyes narrowed in the darkness for all answer; all in all, he looked like (and acted), like a caged, cornered animal that had nothing to live for and nothing worth dieing for, "What would you know," he breathed, "Pass judgement without knowing the facts; call me by another's name without knowing mine," the words were snapped then, accusing them as much as they accused him.
Jambazi remain to the side, obviously lost in though, pondering the situation. As her sister spoke, her ear twitched and she turned to gaze at her, "I don't know, Ashiki... but what have we to lose at this point?" considering her own words, she watched as the male made a jerky movement, a tilt of his head that seemed too childish for someone as dark as him, "Do you want out of here?"
The male in question narrowed his eyes again, obviously thinking there was some sort of catch to this whole deal, but otherwise remain calm, patiently waiting for Bazi to continue.
The Shaman seemed to take the silence as an affirmative and continued, "Vinuka is gone. So is Sarafina. Gone," she told him, and she watched the creature's eyes snap open, wide, lost; as if the concept of Vinuka being gone were one that he'd never paused to consider, "You are free to go and look for them if you so wish. We have no reason to hold you any more. And we can no longer feed you anyhow; you are free to leave. Or stay. It's your wish," oh, she knew she was letting lose a monster, but if that monster could be manipulated to work for them, like a guard dog of sorts, then it'd be their gain, wouldn't it?
Kibaya hesitated for a long moment, lost... confused, "Gone?" there was a childish tone to the word, obvious that he had not paused to even consider the possibility. It was gone soon enough though, and the darkness returned to his features, his legs carrying him towards the exit as both lionesses stepped aside to let him out. It was the first time he'd stepped out of the cell, and yet he did not run off. Instead of running, the large dark blue lion moved with languid paces off towards where the light shone through the labyrinth of tunnels. He'd find out for himself if she was really 'gone'. He'd find out for sure. With that thought in mid, Kibaya stepped into the light for the first time in what might have seemed forever.
For a long moment, Jambazi remain within the cell with her sister, watching the large lion leave, her brows knitted together, "I hope this was the right thing to do. I hope we can manipulate a monster with no hopes for tomorrow and no will to live nor die."
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 9:34 am
Ashiki listened to him, but was happy to fall silent when her sister began to address him instead. She knew little of the strange creature that had been kept in their 'care' for so long, while it seemed Bazi actually had a little knowledge at least. It was then in her best interest to let the more familiar of the pair address him and talk to him, as he seemed to have no will to cooperate with her questions. She couldn't probe him to find the answers, though if he stayed, she would seek him out to assess just how dangerous he might be, or could become, to the pride - especially in its fragile state.
One angry lion, that would be all it took to take them down at this point. Sukari might finish him, in the end, and save one or two, but he could do damage. They were putting a lot of faith in him, whether he realized it or not.
"Only time will tell, Bazi," she whispered, her eyes narrowed on the form as it dwindled away in the distance, "but we'll just have to hope he finds some reason to want to live and want to do that living here."
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