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 Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:17 am
 He was moving across the swamplands, trying to get into the 'movement' required for this very different landscape. The earth was soft and puddles of marshy, muddy water would often take him by surprise. Today was no different.
The young gold lion was swepping across the lands, slipping occasionally on slick reed or pebbles. His underside was wet and matted and there was mud on his paws. But he looked happy. More than, happy, in fact. He was fantastic.
With a rumbling purr he paused to lap from one clear pool, dipping his whiskers as he did so.
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:32 am
 Draped on a log overlooking a pool of water, Zimwi watched as a dragonfly danced by. Another soon followed, the two doing a graceful dance. It made the little white lion smile, before he shifted.
Gold moving through the trees wasn't something he normally saw, especially that particular shade. One of the lionesses in the pride was yellow, but not gold. Sliding off the log into the water, Zimwi went to see who it was, in the best way he knew how - Popping out of the water.
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 10:01 am
The appearance of the white lion in the water took the gold by surprise. It showed briefly in his eyes, though he squashed the emotion away and covered it with a bumbled greeting. "Hello there!" He settled himself so he was balanced on his four paws and turned himself towards the other, smaller male.
"Enjoying the water?" He blinked and smiled. "Sorry. I'm Chunuka, I'm also very new here. Are you a member of the pride?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 10:22 am
Climbing out of the water and shaking off, the white male smiled. Even with his mane covering his face, he kept his eyes on the other. "Hello! You must be new! I'm Zimwi!" He paused. "Well, I think that's changing soon, but... Right now, I'm Zimwi!" He blinked, sitting down and moving his mane out of his face. "Yup, I'm a member!" And he loved it here, loved the swamps. All the water made him happy, only feeding his love of swimming.
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 10:26 am
"Nice to meet you Zimwi." He blinked and smiled, settling into conversation. Once he would have shied away, been too timid to even speak out. Since coming here, however, he'd changed. Yes, it had been a very short space of time, but he felt happier. He felt more confident. Here he wasn't surrounded by lions. He had space to breathe and be himself.
"So, you're going on your name quest soon, I take it?"
He sat, too, mimicking the other. "At the moment I'm called Chunuka. But, I'm told that I'll have a new name eventually. It's quite an exciting thought and suitable too. I'm not the lion I was before. To have a new name to mark it is something to be proud of."
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 10:40 am
Tilting his head, Zimwi blinked. "Name quest? Me? No, I'm not going on one." His smile returned, full-force. "I came here as an adult like you did, I've just been living here for a while." He motioned, somewhere off to the west. "I used to live in a dying jungle, but the land got too dry and I left. Then I found the swamps..." He stretched, digging his toes into the mud. It felt simply wonderful!
"I don't think anybody coming here from the outside is the same lion they were before. I used to be afraid of everything and everyone." His chest puffed up, a look of pride passing over him. "I don't run and hide from anyone without due cause anymore!"
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 10:55 am
"Ah I see! Well it's nice to know that I'm not the only adult who has joined. I wish I'd been able to come sooner, but I think things are better this way. I felt ready to leave my old home and start a new life."
He paused and listened to the description of Zimwi's old home. "It sounds like a sad place. A land without water must be a terrible place. A shame that something like that would steal your home from you."
He nodded and smiled. "Then we're more alike than I thought. I used to be the same. Jumped at my own shadow! Spoke only with my closest family. Now, I'm finally getting to grips with making it on my own. I came from the Pridelands. It was a nice enough place but too crowded for me. It's nicer here. Much nicer."
He swished his tail. "I came here with a girl called Kimya'kizuka. I met her when she was on her name quest and we met up again by chance later on. Do you know her? She was named Noki before her quest." He purred at the mention of her.
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 12:22 pm
Zimwi's ears went back a bit. He'd always been around small numbers, he could hardly begin to imagine a pride that had crowded lands. Just thinking about it made him shudder. "The Umande were always small... I have no idea what crowding is like..."
He lifted his ears just a bit. "I've met Noki in passing before.. I didn't get to know her too well, though... I'll have to get to know her more some time!"
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 12:27 pm
"It's awful." Chunuka confirmed with a slight grimace. "Everything was so impersonal. No one knew anyone. A rogue could have strolled in and gone about his business without even being noticed. I didn't feel safe unless my family was near...then I realised I wasn't a cub anymore, that I shouldn't be relying on them as if I was." He smiled softly. "If it wasn't for Kimya I probably would have been there forever. Miserable."
He gave a happy purr. "I'll introduce you sometime. She's my...well...my mate, I guess." Mate. Yes, it'd take some getting used to. "She's very sweet. You'll get on well, I think."
"So, Zimwi, do you have any family here? Or did the rest of your pride go its seperate ways?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 7:45 pm
Zimwi could hardly imagine such a place. Just thinking about it sent a shiver of slightly resilient fear through his body. "Just any rogue..." He fought back his fears, closing his eyes to breathe a moment. When he'd gathered himself again, he looked at Chunuka.
A look of sorrow passed over his face. Family... White ears dropped down, as the white lion looked away. "Here, I have no family..." He bit his lip, tail curling just a bit. After a moment, he shook his head. "I spent time in a pride of lions in a jungle filled with the air of death, as the place we called home was dying around us. I don't know what happened to everybody else, but I left not long after my mane filled in."
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