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 Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 8:13 am
His teeth grit as he let his mind roll over those thoughts, knowing instantly that they weren't fair at all. Of course, they were true, but they weren't fair. He was resorting to letting his emotions out on her, at least in his mind, because he was on edge. She had told him the lions in this land weren't kind at all, and if she was anything to judge by, he honestly believed her. What was worse was that she had said that she wasn't even that worst of them - she hadn't even really ever seriously tried to kill him, after all. He knew for a fact that someone here might, and that put a cold, stabbing feeling of fear into the bottom of his gut. He didn't really want to die just because he had become attached to the girl, especially since he didn't even know what in the hell that attachment meant yet.
Man, he missed Dhoof.
"Are we even close yet?" he breathed, bright orange eyes flashing as he looked around him, across hills and hills of nothing but sand. This place was hot, and sandy, and ******** - why did she like it so much again? That didn't matter, he guessed, he'd already pledged to stay. He also figured she probably had no idea if they were close, but talking took the edge of his nerves, too.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 8:29 am
All of these months, days, seconds since she'd been away from her home, all of that time she'd felt miserable and stupid for ever leaving with that goddess. How easily she'd been tempted, how foolish and shameful! And then to have no clue how to get back, which direction to go in and how to avoid those nasty places like jungles and prides full of lazy.. disgusting.. She sighed and shook her head, her steps becoming more normal and less playful as she shook away the thoughts. It was all over now, she could rest easy. Was her family still around, would they remember her? She had no clue the changes that were hanging on the horizon of these lands.
Her male companion's voice came crashing down around her ears, killing the rest of her good mood as she rolled her eyes and sneered slightly, glancing over her shoulder. "You really think I'd remember something like that after being gone so long from this place? You do realize, also, that the wind shifts the sands quite often?" The response was nasty as always, but she'd changed since traveling with him. Maybe for the worst, seeing as in the past she would have just spat 'of course it's near, are you stupid?' or another likely line, instead of admitting she didn't know and pointing out why the question was, in her opinion, stupid. What kind of firekin was he, anyhow? His mother obviously needed her throat slit if she wasn't proud enough to at least tell him about the desert lands and how they worked. "We've been walking long enough though..." She trailed off, her voice a little unsure as she began to look around as well. How far did the desert stretch, exactly? It was a bit difficult to compare the stretch of land viewed from the back of a goddess to the land they'd moved over while walking.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 8:56 am
In the near distance, a large, red, strong looking lioness lay upon a flat rock. Her arms were curled around an equally red, squirming cub, whom seemed to be howling with almost insane rage, biting, snapping and clawing whenever her mother lowered her head, in a horribly vicious manner, "******** STOP THAT IT HURTS, b***h!! THE WOUNDS ARE FRESH! THEY STING!" the cub yowled, curses filling her vocabulary. Despite that, and for whatever reason, the mother seemed unfazed as she ran her tongue across the cub's face and front legs; small scars littered the cub's body here and there, some almost entirely gone, vanished from view, and others looking fresh, as if it'd just gotten into a fight.
"Stop squirming, Sera. The more you squirm, the longer I will take to get you presentable. Now be a good girl and be quiet, love," the mother's voice was raspy and firm, and seemed to have an effect on the cub, even without having to threaten her. Serafina Fell silent almost immediately, and the insanity that had been clouding her gaze dissipated, leaving a behind a docile little girl with an almost semi pleasant smile upon her maw.
"Can I go play after you're done, mommy?" the curses and tone of voice had changed too, making it obvious it HAD been the same cub talking, yet it was almost as if two beings inhabited the child."Yes. But do try to not get dirty this time," it was then that Kenna looked up and saw the lions approaching. Instantly, her eyes narrowed at the red colors, her lips pulling back into a threatening growl, though she did not move.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 9:07 am
"How the ******** am I supposed to know that the sands shift around? You're the one that grew up here? Or did you miss the part about my mother being a lunatic?" His eyes rolled to give her a narrow-eyed stare, and as she admitted that they had been walking 'long enough', he was about to snap at her again for being such a b***h - but then he heard that little cub. At least, he thought it was a cub, until he heard that change in voice, and the cursing. With furrowed brows, his steps hesitated, eyes desperately trying to find the voice.
It wasn't until the pair came into view that he stopped, and even then he had no bloody idea what was going on. Even then, the only thing he could really think about was how ******** huge that lioness was. Sure, Chanda was pretty big, and he knew he was pretty big for a rogue, but this lioness was a ******** beast. Plus, that little cub in her arms, if that was the one screaming out, was batshit insane. What in the world had Chanda just drug them into? "********, Chanda, do you know who she is?" He was holding his breath and hoping against hope that she did, because he sure as hell didn't feel like dying today.
Of course, all hopes of that seemed to be dashed when the lioness' eyes caught sight of them, and that growl erupted through the air. What was he supposed to do? s**t. He wanted to shrink down, flatten his ears back, but shouldn't he be doing something manly? Cursing himself, he took a step forward - not towards the lioness and her cub, no, but to put himself in front of Chanda. He didn't growl, or make any offensive movement, he just put himself between the lioness and her. If he ******** died for her, he was going to be pissed.
"Say something," he hissed back to her, not daring to remove his eyes from that giant female in front of them. Maybe she'd be too busy protecting that cub to come slit his throat. Maybe?
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 9:38 am
She sneered slightly more at him at his words. He'd obviously forgotten she hadn't really spent tons of time growing up here. "It's not hard to figure out." She muttered sourly, though before she could retaliate with bitchiness further her eyes widened as she heard the nasty screams of what could have been a cub, a string of profanities flying into the air. Her head jerked back around and her eyes landed on the pair where the commotion was coming from.
Huge. Beastly. Stunning... the lioness, Canda instantly felt, was magnificent and beautiful. She vaguely remembered her from when she was a cub, but it wasn't as if she knew the lioness's name or anything like that. If she should have she couldn't be sure, but she hoped she wasn't about to make an a** of herself. She'd been dreaming of coming home for ages.. Her own eyes narrowed as the growl ripped through the air, almost like an electric current effecting the very air around them. She forced herself to keep on her brave face, but like her companion she was feeling anything but. With a beautiful body structure that large this lioness must have had a lot of the true blood flowing through her veins. Suddenly Aib was in front of her, as if he was protecting her. She scoffed slightly but part of her was relieved. That quickly turned sour when he hissed at her to say something.
Why did she have to say something? Of course, she was the one that was directly from the lands. It wasn't like she knew who the lioness was, huge or not. But it also wasn't as if hostile behavior was... well... rare. It happened a lot, surely. Chanda's lip curled slightly as she pushed past Aib again, glaring at him slightly as if he'd done something wrong. "Hello.." She stated, feeling quite a bit lame. Her voice was very unsure, she wasn't sure how to deal with meeting a fellow pride member after it'd been so long. Of course she should have figured she'd have to do this sort of thing at some point, right? "Er... My calling is Chanda, this is my companion Aibisho." She wasn't sure what else to say, she'd had no news of what was going on for such a long time now.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 10:03 am
The cub's eyes slowly turned to face the strangers, and a grin broke over her maw. Girlish giggles that bordered on the insanity resounded through the air, "Are we gonna eat them, mommy?" before Serafina could say more though, the large lioness lowered her head and nipped at the cub's ears, a silent order to be quiet, apparently, because the girl closed her maw and merely contented herself with grinning eerily at the pair.
The queen's eyes narrowed down, her lips pulling back even further when the lion stepped to hide the female. The names they gave her was not much to go by; one, she could no recognise, and the other she could barely remember from her cub-hood, before the split. Kenna had no way of knowing if the two lions were rebels or... something else, and thus, her threatening posture remain, hunched over her cub, "Kenna," she called out to them, "Daughter to Mwali and Azachamorel," the claim was mostly they would know she was of the Blood - in fact, she was one of few true blooded firekin that still remain, "Queen of these lands," an obvious threat was hidden behind the words, even if she wasn't going to remain queen for long... after all, they would be leaving for Simo within a few days, "Now state your business and WHOM you are, or I won't hesitate to teach you a lesson."
If either of them were of Firekin lineage, they'd understand she was asking for their parents' names; that ways she could confirm whom they were. She honestly hoped they weren't rebels, and that they weren't looking for a fight. She still had to finish Serafina's bath, and a fight could last a while before she ran these strangers out. Ugh, there went her bloody afternoon.
The cub was still grinning maniacally, and though she did not talk, she kept mouthing the same words over and over again. Dead, dead, you're bloody ******** dead, dead, dead, she chanted silently, moving her lips without producing a sound. Apparently, Serafina found the whole situation to be hilarious.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 10:23 am
As Chanda pushed past him, he curled his lips into a sneer, setting his eyes directly on the back of her bright red head. Well, if she was going to be such a b***h about him doing something nice, then see if he ever tried to save her a** again. For all he knew, that crazy lioness was about to jump up and kill them both. If Chanda wanted to sacrifice herself and go first, no ******** problem with him. He huffed lightly and forced his sneer away finally, realizing it might not be best to face the lioness with it, lest she think he was actually doing it at her.
Returning his attention to the giant beast (it was probably stupid to let it falter to begin with, what if she snuck up on him?), he listened to her words. Her name was Kenna, she was the daughter to some really ******** tongue-twisting name, and.. oh great, she was also the queen. ********. He sighed under his breath as he shifted his weight from foot to foot, tail lashing behind him anxiously. It would be just their luck to run into the queen first of all, wouldn't it? He supposed maybe it was better, though, since they would have to see her eventually. Maybe they could skip all the in-between lions, and a few blows to the head.
"Uh, who we are?" he asked hesitantly, brows furrowing. Hadn't Chanda just said that? Oh right, right. She wanted all that crap about lineage or something, he bet. "I'm the son of Moto, who left the lands a long time ago. I'm afraid I couldn't tell you the name of my father, as she refused to ever tell me and my siblings, because he's apparently the reason she left." He shrugged lightly, glancing around the sands, then back to her. "I met Chanda beyond the desert on her way back home, and I thought it was my chance to go back where I belonged. Rogues are all a bunch of softies, you know." He even made sure to drip disgust onto the words there are the end, in just the manner he had heard Chanda doing the whole time they'd been traveling together. Well, at least he knew he could lie well.
He glanced at Chanda, waiting for her bit. He couldn't speak for her - he had no ******** idea who her parents were.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 10:56 am
Her guess was correct judging by her parents, but as she stated she was queen of the lands Chanda could feel her blood running slightly cold. The queen? So thinks had changed, and drastically. Her left ear swiveled back as she listened to Aib announce who he was. Moto? Was that his mother's name... it surprised her, she realized she'd never heard him speak of her name before. He'd only referred to her as 'the crazy b***h' or other like terms. Still, she was beginning to feel uneasy with the whole situation- what if this new leader would not accept she was still part of these lands, part of the pride? Her threatening tone certainly didn't help matters. Her tail had flicked and brushed against one of Aib's front paws, and she found herself curling the tip of it against his paw as if seeking comfort. She couldn't very well step back behind him, now that she'd moved out in front of him. "I am the daughter of Kiunguza and Bodaway, though I do not know what has become of them. I fear... much has change since I have last been in these lands."
Surprisingly respect had flooded into her tone, it was obvious she wasn't going to pull any of the s**t on the queen that she pulled daily on her companion. Her eyes flickered to the cub and for an instant she felt her uneasy gaze shifting into something of annoyance, dislike. She pulled her gaze right away knowing she should not show what she assumed to be the daughter of the queen disrespect. She swallowed and composed her features again. She did not like seeing those silent words forming on that young one's mouth. "I see Finar-si has blessed these lands with you grace at the front... but what has happened to Kimeti? I believe he was last in rule before... circumstances had changed and I found myself away from these blessed lands." She made herself sound calm, but she did not. It probably did not do her well that she had no idea of the land's current circumstances.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 11:19 am
The Queen's eyes narrowed upon the male, a calculating look coming upon her features as she digested the information he offered. Moto? Could be any ******** Moto, as far as she was aware. It was an extremely common name upon these lands, and she could not pinpoint the lioness in question; if only Ripuka had been here, she'd have been able to consult the Story teller. As it was, she couldn't call him out on anything; if it was a bluff, it was a good one. It was likely this Moto had mated a rogue and had been driven out of the lands by guilt.
Still, there was something wrong with him. There was something off. Something Kenna could not quite put her paw upon.
After considering him for a few more seconds, she seemed to let it slip, though the look she offered him seemed to voice she would be keeping her eyes on him. Right now, she was very much indeed of numbers, even while in preparation to march into Simo. Beggars can't be choosers, she figured, "Hmmmm..." her eyes then turned towards the one named Chanda, whose parents' names she DID recognise instantly. A sneer curled upon her maw then; Bodaway was a rebel, while Kiunguza remain under the realm of the True Firekin.
Ironic.
"I'm afraid a lot has happened since you've been missing, Chanda," the tone of voice had changed, from menacing to annoyed, and her posture had relaxed back to laying across the rock, her paws curling around her cub; it was obvious she no longer meant to threaten the pair, "Kimeti is dead. He was killed by Kidondo and his rebels. A great war has ripped the pride apart into two; The simo and the safi," her head motioned north from where she stood, "Kidondo and the Rebels down that way - the Simo. Your father is amongst them," her eyes returned to them, "The side that still believes in tradition and Finar si, here. Your mother is here, somewhere amongst mine. Though I'm amused, you reach us in a troubled time. We're suffering a dire situation due to our dislike of rogues... out blood grows thin here."
She made a note to look at the male as she said this, as if to say that yes, she was onto him - something about him was off. Now, if he took the bait and got nervous, she'd know, "You may stay with us - any old firekin member, even if they were not born here, is welcome."
The cub let out a long "AWWwwwWWwwwWwww....." as she noticed that no battle was going to happen. Then, bored by the situation, allowed her eyes to drift off. Adults were soooooo boring.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 11:37 am
He listened to Chanda relate her heritage and her tale, her questions and curiosities. It was with a bit of surprise that he felt her tail curl around his paw. Looking down, he frowned at it momentarily, mind gone blank as he tried to figure out why in the hell she was looking to him for comfort. Chanda was a b***h, and she never looked for any comfort. Had t his lioness gotten to her that badly? He couldn't say he'd be surprised, this Kenna could probably take them both down. With a little shake of his head, he turned his attention back up, focusing it back onto the Queen once more.
He visibly relaxed as the lioness sat back and curled her paws around her cub. As long as her paws were around her cub, they weren't going to come after him or Chanda, at least not quickly. It seemed to be a sign that she was giving them a pass, at least for now. His story must have been plausible, for whatever reason, and for that he was relieved. Still, she looked at him funny, and he couldn't quite decide if she was trying to size him up because everything about his history was so general (he'd done that on purpose) or because he didn't fit in. After seeing both Chanda and now Kenna, he was starting to think these lions were a lot bigger than normal - he wondered how big a male was supposed to be?
He listened to her retell the story of the rebels and someone named Kimeti with half an ear, training his eyes on her, and the little cub, and barely listening. He'd ask Chanda later, but he didn't particularly care right now. All he heard was that one sentence: Our dislike of rogues. Well, he supposed she might be a little more brains, a little less than just brawn. Still, he didn't flinch under her eyes, because he knew in the back of his mind that it was still a little plausible that he could be part firekin. He had no idea who his father was, and there was a good chance he was from these lands, wasn't there? After all, his litter was mostly black and red.
Just because he lied about his mother didn't necessarily mean he was lying about it all, did it? He shifted his weight and turned to look at Chanda, then back at the queen. "Thank you." What else was he supposed to say? Something in his gut told him she ******** knew, or would soon, even if he didn't shiver and shake and act like a coward in her gaze.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 11:48 am
The queen seemed to ease her stance, laying once again and the tension that had been building up in Chanda seemed to melt away, in the back of her mind she remembered just what she'd done to try and gain comfort. Her tail flicked away in almost a hard manner from the male as she criticized herself silently. Foolish. And weak, why couldn't she have just stood in front of Aib without any sort of that weak.. touchy.. crap? Her ears twitched slightly. So the king was slain by his own son... rebels? A deep frown set into Chanda's features as she tried to figure out what this was beginning to mean. The Simo and the Safi, and it seemed the disgusting blood-traitors were the Simo. She felt disgust and shame pouring into her stomach once more at the mention of her father becoming part of the rebels, shamed because she had come from his blood. Was he that much of a coward to part ways of everything the Firekin stood for?
She slowly eased herself to a sweated position, her eyes never straying from her queen. "Then it is with Finar-si's blessings that we'd headed in this direction instead of stumbling into... the Simo." She made no comment of her father, he'd chosen his own fate. She shifted slightly, aware that Kenna kept watching Aib, though Chanda could not be sure why. She'd actually bought his story of his mother being firekin, accepted it unquestioningly but with annoyance. She had only been concerned that he hadn't mentioned it earlier. "Of course we are thankful for your acceptance, and to be of any use you see fit." She bowed her head again, trying to restrain the smile that was coming onto her features. She was home, she was in her wonderful lands once again, and she could stay!
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:03 pm
A chuckle rumbled through the queen's throat at Chanda's words, however... it was dry and devoid mirth, "Had you stumbled across the Simo, they would have either killed you for talking of the Great goddess, whom they despise, or they would have locked you away in an attempt to reform you and your thoughts," a grin crept across her maw, and it was clear whom the cub had gotten her strange 'tendencies' from. Kenna's eerie grin was devoid insanity, but just as horribly sadistic as that of the young female that lay in her arms.
"You are welcome," her eyes were on the male again, narrowing a notch before her maw opened into a yawn, her head dipping down to resume the lapping of the cub's head and the bath they had interrupted, "You may go where ever you wish, you have my blessing," the male hadn't so much as flinched at the words, and for now, that was enough for Kenna. She would buy his story and her thoughts of his father being some random rogue (after all, he was a tad smaller than the males she was used to - but then again, 'Danzi' hadn't been much bigger).
Her gaze had left them and she was otherwise ignoring them, giving them the opportunity to walk past her and into the pride's territory, where the dens lay ahead. Chanda seemed loyal, and even if she was wrong about the male and he WAS rogue, then... well, it didn't really matter. She'd not missed the way Chanda's tail had curled around his paw. If the other female trusted him and had taken him for a mate, well... whatever. After all, any cub they had, were numbers in her favour once they were inside Simo.
They'd soon learn of the plans of the merge, but oh, they wouldn't learn them from HER. She was tired of talking. ******** them all.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:21 pm
He was certainly relieved, even more, when he was no longer the recipient of those awkward glances. Whatever the queen had been looking for, she had satisfied her curiosity, and he could finally be at peace. He frowned lightly, however, when he felt the sudden snap of Chanda's tail away from him, letting his eyes roll in her direction and narrow. He was sick and tired of her damn mood swings and he hoped to hell that since she was back in her precious homelands, she'd finally get the ******** over whatever was twisting her tail. It was getting old, these mood swings.
"That's good, thank you," he muttered again, narrowing tangerine eyes on Chanda before leaning over to nudge her with his head. He was tired of being around this crazy family - that cub was nuts, and that grin of the mother's looked similar. He nodded his head in the direction he assumed the dens were, then took a few steps in that direction before pausing to wait for her to catch up.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:33 pm
As she felt the queen's interest in them drop her eyes floated toward the direction they'd be heading in. Toward the dens.. she felt his head brush nudge into her side and something of a curious, electric feeling tingled down her ribs. Her gaze did not stray toward Aib though, she sat stubbornly still until he'd moved forward, ahead of her. her gaze floated over him then and she frowned slightly, hating how fast her heart had began to beat. She stood and bowed her head again to her queen. "Then we shall be going." She stated, her gaze lingering on the Queen's smile for just a moment, deciding it was much creepier than that of her daughter's. She moved after her companion, a small smile settling over her features at realization that she was finally home, and would be forever.
"Well, I think it would be good to rest after this.." She said, suddenly feeling very odd now that she would be left alone with Aib again. "For now I think it would be best if we stuck together... as sick of you as I am." She scoffed, but was quite surprised at herself for even trying to get him to stick around. What the hell was wrong with her lately? "I guess I should tell you about those lions, the ones the queen spoke of, since your mother obviously had no pride in her own damn blood.." She sounded as if she was disgusted with his mother, as if she shouldn't be alive because she hadn't spoken to him about his roots and where he'd come from. "In any case.. I don't think it'd be wise to be off by one's self in a time of war." She stated quietly, trying to make it sound as if she only wanted him to sleep in the same den with her because of the war going on, it certainly wasn't because she was actually fond of the insufferable b*****d.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:47 pm
As she watched them turn to leave, the Queen arched a brow, her head tilting to one side. Were they aware she could hear them bickering all the way from here? So they were mates after all. Even if they were in denial about it anyhow, by the sounds of those snappish replies they were giving each other.
Hate and love... they were separated by a mere line. Kenna had always found that amusing and-
"Mooooooooooom, can I go now?" Serafina's words pierced her thoughts and the large female turned away from the new recruitment's and down towards her daughter, "Mommy, I'm bored, can I go play now? Pleaaaaaaaase!"
Blinking slightly, the Queen lowered her head to lap one last time at the cub's head, ridding the most recent scars of sand grains and let go of her, "Don't get into trouble, love. And stop harassing the other cubs. I don't think they appreciate it," it was obvious that her daughter wasn't really listening to her though, because no sooner had she let go of her, that the cub bolted away, giggling to herself. Hooding her eyes, Kenna reclined herself back against the rock, allowing her head to rest on the smooth surface as she prepared to take a nap.
Soon... a new era would start. Soon indeed, but a nap was in order; eras could WAIT till she'd rested a while.
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