Mioyo padded along the lands quietly, moving through the grasses and dust, red pelt a beacon to the outside world. She moved, patrolling, and at the same time, hunting. The pride blossomed with cubs, and there were mouths to feed. Double duty wouldn't kill her.
The commander stretched, pausing a moment, as she sat, minding a red poppy blowing in the breeze, merely watching it. so pretty....
After so long in the desert sands, the grasses felt strange under his paws. At first they prickled, causing them to blister. Even Ngoma and Kimiko's paws had done the same. But now they were used to the grasses, finding the softer patches or places lacking. Unlike his son and their slave, Makaa'kali... No, Danzi.. He was Danzi out here... Danzi almost blended in. Where the grasses were still browned from the dry season, he almost vanished into it.
Stepping into the trees was another story. No grasses hid him, and he found himself sticking out. Looking up at the sparse canopy, he let out a sigh. How he'd missed trees.. And yet they made him miss clear skies. Shaking his head, the fiery-orange lion turned, heading out of the trees. A red shape, though, caught his eye. Had he found a Firekin out here, or had he managed to find one of his blood-red cousins?
Mioyo watched the poppy a bit longer, a smile on her maw before the large lioness rose, nose twitching attentively, before she moved. She smelled prey, a wandering zebra from scent, and the lioness moved to the hunt, muscles flexing as she moved. It would provide ample meat for the young for certain.
Danzi watched the lioness move, slowly following her movements. Glancing about, he noticed a zebra. It was best to avoid the beast, for fear of scaring it off. And yet... Dropping down, he went slinking around, intent on helping.
Mioyo moved, claws kneading the ground before she launched, leaping on the beast with a roar.
So she didn't need his help... Keeping back, Danzi watched, green eyes mesmerized. With closer inspection, he found her to not be one of his cousins after all. Was she Firekin? He couldn't quite tell, he'd never seen a lioness like her in the desert before. But then, with a good look at her markings... He was reminded, with a pang, of Ripuka. The male bit back his anguish, eyes closed. No, not now... Not when it would ruin a hunt...
Mioyo threw the Zebra to the ground, snarling savagely before ensuring it was dead. The female moved, scooping it onto her back, and turned to move for the pride, when she stopped, nose twitching. A Stranger?
When he looked up, he saw that she had stopped. Had he spotted her? No, he was hidden... She'd probably smelled him. He opted to not be rude, standing up. "Sorry if I'm intruding..."
Mioyo eyed the male, noise twitching. Sand. Blood. Dry fur. Desert? Was he a Firekin? Mioyo felt her blood run cold-- not from hate, but misery. Swallowing it for now, the lioness shook her head.
"No intrusion at all...."
He nodded, then eyed the zebra. "Need help there...? It looks a bit... Big..." He wouldn't have doubted it if somebody told him he smelled of the desert. After all, it felt like he'd spent a whole lifetime there. He had family there now... Plenty of it. But out here, he felt, he had... Nobody. Only one of his cubs, and their slave.
"I suppose."
Mioyo remained guarded, eying the male from the pride that took her love away, her light, her spirit... She was on guard, but knew chasging him off for now was no good. No, for now, he could stay. She would merely avoid him.
Going over, he shifted half the carcass onto his back. Eyeing her, he found himself to be of slightly smaller stature. There was that Pridelander blood speaking in him... Maybe she really WAS Firekin. "So... I'm guessing I may be near a territory... What territory is it...?"
"The Matembezi'Wasakaji." She replied again, before beginning to move for the dens.
"A safe haven for escaping slaves, the weak, the old, the lost, the hungry."
Mioyo made certain to emphasis slaves would be untolerable-- no, no creature was property. Ever.
He eyed her. There was already a tad of a conflict there... How could he tell Kimiko she wasn't a slave? Strange girl, she was adamant... Even out here, in the rogue lands, she insisted upon calling them masters. Ngoma loved it, Danzi'd learned to hate it. "I see... I know a lioness... You may want to have a good, long... VERY long talk with her... She's convinced she's my slave... I told her to stop... She won't..." He paused in thought, then glanced at her. "I'm Danzi Makaa'kali..." Bitter orange bitter flame... That was the story of his life, wasn't it? It had become sour and bitter.
"Mioyo. And we have healers who can see to your lioness. And more, if necissary."
Mioyo continued padding along, ears switching forward as they drew near the dens. A small brownish male tumbled out, followed by the gigantic form of a grey and blue male, whom seemed to regard Danzi skeptically a moment.
"You return." He said, his voice a calm baritone.
Danzi eyed the cub, watching it. A cub... And it was brown... His first thoughts ran on Firekin thought, about a slave coming to greet its mistress. But then he pushed the thought away. He wasn't in the Firekin lands anymore. He was a rogue again, as he was when he was a cub. He would die a rogue, he felt... Glancing at the male, he felt himself take a slight step back. Something about him... It made Danzi uneasy.
The small male smiled up at Danzi, and began dancing around his feet.
"Who're you? What's your name? I'm Renado!"
The adult chuckled softly, nosing the cub.
"Calm, Renado."
Mioyo remained quiet a moment, before Shupavu emerged. He seemed to size the male up, and growled. The Half-Blood's fur rose, and he stood to full height, approaching slowly.
"Who's the Firekin?"
Danzi's eyes narrowed a bit. That streaking... And those markings... They seemed... Familiar. But how? How could he know who this lion was? He eyed the gray male, a growl rising in his own throat. "Who are you that you call me Firekin?" He had a mix of... Pride? And upset... At being called Firekin. It only served to remind him of... No, he couldn't think of her.
The male was small, Shupavu admitted, but he stenched of desert. The land of his father. Shupavu might now have cared-- but that his own father broke his mother's heart.
"My name is Shupavu, and I am her soon. And you will answer to me, small one. I will not see my mother harmed by your kind again." His claws flexed.
Mioyo felt a string in her chest, and she moved, the Zebra dropping as she slipped away, rushing into a den to hide. Shupavu had overheard her those night she wept? She winced. She meant no trouble to her children, but reality was sinking in. Slowly, she began to wail.
Hackles raising, Danzi stepped closer. "Who are you calling small? It is not the size of the body, but the size of the soul inside that matters!" He flexed his claws, at the ready, when something white pressed up against him with a cry of 'Big brother!' Looking confused, Danzi eyed the lioness. Why did she look familiar?
Kohpi had listened, and listened well, to stories told to her of the lion Kabichi had called big brother. When she saw this lion, she knew on instinct, that was who it was. Purring happily, she cuddled against him, much like a cub. Glancing over, she wagged a paw at Shupavu. "Shup-shup, you be nice! Guests need to be treated well! You don't know if a guest you treat bad will come back with an army to decimate you or not!"
Shupavu hissed.
"Guest? He's a Firekin. All Firekin bring ar--"
At that moment a timid voice spoke out, before another flash of white tucked it's diminuitive form at it's paws.
"Danzi!"
Blinking in surprise at the new body pressed to him, Danzi looked down. The blue and purple wing markings were familiar... He smiled, letting out a purr. "Kabichi... It's been so long..." Like a big brother, he leaned down and groomed her ears.
Kabichi smiled, snuggling up like a cub with a larger subling, rumbling away.
"It's been too long! I missed you!" She beamed. Shupavu grunted. He was out numbered, for sure. A growl, and the male turned, padding away. Let them risk life and limb then. He didn't want to hear it.
Looking at the other female, Danzi glanced at Kabichi. "So... You have a twin?" Or something like a twin... The only difference he saw, marking-wise, was on their ears. Everything else was, pattern for pattern, identical. He glanced up, noticing that Mioyo was gone. "And... Where did Mioyo go...?"
"I do! ...And you mean Mama? Don't know. Probably her den." Kabichi purred. "And this is my twin sister Kohpi!"
Danzi's eyebrows went up. "Twin... Well, then, if we had true blood relation, twins DO run in the family...." He groomed each one, then smiled a bit tiredly. "I should see what made Mioyo upset... If there's anything I can do to help..." He carefully stepped around them, heading over towards the den he'd seen her go towards. Was she alright? He could hear crying...
Mioyo remained huddled in her den, sobbing. Bodaway was gone. She's come to accept that. But why had the gods sent another Firekin into her care? Into her world? She curled tighter, burying her face in stone.
Stepping slowly into the den, Danzi watched her. He frowned, thinking back. Shupavu had called him Firekin... And them Mioyo had run... He let out a sigh, walking over. "Mioyo... If you're crying, because you think I'm Firekin... I'm not... If I was, it was a farce for the lioness I loved..." Because for some reason, he could never quite let go of the desert, but now he would have to step far away from it.
"So what did you do? Leave her?" The noise was a hiss, a snarl, a warning. Mioyo shook.
"No. She went to the Safi to save one of our cubs from slavery or death... And was killed. I and she had no choice in the matter." He gave her a dark look, ears going back. "Do you think I'm unfaithful? I assure you, I'm not. We had two litters together before fate took her."
"I know firekin males." She rose, showing her age the first time, unintentionally. Her heart was shattering all over again. All she wanted was to forget the past. Forget Bodaway.
She couldn't.
The lioness pushed past him, and began to lope.
She couldn't forget him.
She'd make sure she forgot.
Danzi turned, hurrying after her. "And I'm not Firekin. My mother was a rogue..." He frowned, glancing away a bit. "My father... A Pridelander." No need for specifics. He moved to block her path, giving her a solid look. "I'm not here for you, anyway!"
"Good. I already said you may stay. What else do you want?" Her eyes narrowed.
"To know why you think I'm here to hurt you." He looked back towards the dens. "I set paw in the lands, and somebody hates me just LOOKING at me, for assuming I'm Firekin. I want to know why. And what about you? That lion held no prejudice against you, and you're as red as most of the Firekin I've seen!"
"I'm not Firekin." She scowled. "My mate was... And he left me long ago."
He nodded. "I see... Like me, then, you're mistaken simply for the color of your pelt." He stepped closer, looking her in the eye. "Know this, Mioyo, I'm as Firekin in blood as you are, and I am not abandoning ANYBODY." He let out a sigh, looking down, then back up. "If I ever seek another mate, I'd rather die doing something for her, or die with her, than leave. Don't assume that all males are the same without getting to know them." He walked around her, looking back. "Just like one should not assume a red pelt makes a lion a Firekin... Or being a Firekin makes them evil." Tail flicking, he headed for the dens to poke around.
Mioyo sighed, laying down in the den.
She'd no words, but one thought now.
She wished she were dead.
