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 Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2010 6:01 am
 It was a hot day and Blota had found a spot of shadow near some thorny bushes. He was far from home, and today he really felt it. Surviving on his own was a far cry from his sheltered life as a Sacrifice, and he was once again hit with the guilt of not being where he was needed. What if his Sacrifice was what was needed to turn the luck around for the Mizimu? But that thought made him feel even more guilty for thinking about being sacrificed. Right now he did not deserve it.
Blota knew everything about being a proper Sacrifice. The main part of his life up to now had been devoted to bettering himself and learning the things he would need to know in the Spirit realm. One of the main thing a Sacrifice would never do was to leave the lands of his pride. And yet, here he was, wandering without knowing exactly where he was going. At first his main focus had been to get away from his captors in one piece to be able to get back home and help. He had dashed away from the commotion, away from the fighting, away from his home.
It had seemed very reasonable at the time, or perhaps he had finally given in to the fear Yuusa had warned him for. Was he a covard for running, even when his intention had been to get back and help? And why had he strayed for so long?
Sure... He had been a little lost at times, and... ahem... distracted. She had been good to him, shared her kill and... But she had left now, not at all interested in following him back to Mizimu. But she hadn't tried to stop him from going back and that was a bonus at least. So what was it that still kept him from going back?
Blota sighed and rested his head on his paws. He had a vague idea of the direction he needed to travel in order to go home, and the war should be over by now, right? He needed a sign from the spirits, if they still watched over him.
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 7:30 pm
Jua Kali had only been out of the swamp lands for a week, two at most. She felt a little world, being out in the world, all by herself, without her parents or siblings to play with. No familiar swamp waters to tread, to get muddy in. No, there was none of that.
She had met some creatures she wasn't used to, a few leopards and the like, something she had never seen in her time in the swamp lands.
Now she was faced with finding her name. She had been sent into the world and told to find her name. Her mother hadn't been able to give her any advice because she had not been born into the pride, so she was really on her own for this one.
The day was hot and Kali wanted shade. A bit ahead of her she could see some bushes, a few shrubs, and two trees. Grinning, Kali bounded over, but not until she had stopped in front of one of the two trees and turned around did she notice the male lion laying in the shadow of some of the bushes. Unsure of what to do Kali lay under the tree, and waited for him to speak first.
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 12:32 pm
Blota had been lost in thoughts so when he heard the sound of someone lying down nearby he startled, almost getting to his feet before he realised the female could be no threat. His heart was still racing and he felt more than a little silly for zoning out and then jerking awake like a frightened beast. He should really be more careful out here. Sure, he had mostly encountered friendly or non-aggressive creatures out here, but it was never good to let your guard down. He had to watch out for hostile spirits and lions alike.
"Ah... Uh... Hi?"
She looked friendly enough, and Blota was comforted by the familiar colours of her pelt. If it wasn't for her distinct and unfamiliar markings she looked as if she could have come straight from the Mizimu. But in that case he should recognize her, right?
"You're not from the Mizimu'Tungika, are you?" he asked just in case.
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 10:57 am
She was almost relieved when he spoke first, she wasn't used to speaking to anyone that was outside of the pride, and being so far from home was really weird for her. This whole 'adventure' business was just not to Kali's tastes.
She was glad at least that he had not been aggressive or anything like that, because she had never fought before, and would easily have lost.
When she heard his question, she paused for several seconds, trying to process what he was asking, clearly it was a pride of some sort, but not one she had heard of. She hadn't really heard of any prides outside of her own. "No... I'm from Jini-msemi... the swamp lands..."
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Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 1:18 pm
Blota had a very sketchy understanding of what a swamp land was, but he wasn't about to show his ignorance. Mizimu got wet during the seasonal rainstorms but he had never seen a swamp or heard of that type of terrain. But then he hadn't encountered a lot of prides, only heard some stories from creatures he met.
"We're also called the Spirit Bound," he said, almost hoping that she would have heard of it, and maybe know if the war was over, "Um... Is your pride around here somewhere?"
He had learned to stay away from prides and larger groups of lions and other creatures. Enough well meaning lions had tried to prevent him from returning from Mizimu and he did not want to risk anything. He had been tricked by seemingly nice lions and been treated nicely by ones that had seemed reserved at first. Blota was learning that the world wasn't always as it seemed. He was suddenly reminded of that green lion he had talked to when he was with the Dhati, just before everything took a nasty turn. Blota couldn't remember his name, if the green warrior had even told him, and he couldn't help but wonder what had happened to him.
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Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 9:51 am
Kali still had no idea what 'the Spirit Bound' was. But she didn't feel like showing her lack of knowledge, because that might come off as a weakness, and she wasn't quite sure yet if this lion was safe to be around.
"My pride is many days away from here. I've been traveling around, I'm on a journey." She nodded, trying to seem sage like and profound. Not that he'd have any idea what sort of journey she was on, but that did not matter, she knew. And that was all that mattered to her.
"Are you far from your pride as well? What are you doing away from them? Are you on a journey as well?" Suddenly, Kali wanted to know many things about this lion, and she wasn't really sure where the sudden curiosity had come from.
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Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 9:02 am
It made Blota feel much better to know that this young lioness was also far away from her home. He imagined a certain kinship between them, both being on a journey of sorts. But before he could ask her to tell him more about her pride and her journey he was assaulted with a barrage of questions. He sat up, and his ears clearly showed his interest.
"You could say I'm on a journey," he said as he tried to remember all things she had asked about, "But I'm trying to get back home. There were some... bad things happening and I had to flee."
It was weird talking about what had happened with a stranger, even if he wasn't telling the entire story. Blota had to pause and think about how to continue. Did he have to flee, really? Yes, he decided, he was telling the truth. If he hadn't fled he would have been killed, he had heard the orders to the few remaining guards. And he could not help his pride if he had been killed like that. They wouldn't have let him die honourably and then it would all have been in vain.
"I'm not sure how long the journey back from here would be actually," he admitted, "First I tried to shake any followers and then I've wandered... I don't know. Why did you leave? Didn't you like your pride?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:26 pm
She was almost offended to hear him ask her if she liked her pride.
Of course she liked her pride! She loved it! Didn't this lion understand that sometimes one has to leave ones pride to do important things? Not just running away, or leaving because it wasn't pleasant. She nearly huffed and walked away, but she figured that he didn't deserve that. He didn't know.
"I love my pride very much. I left because I am on a journey to find my name. Yes, of course I have a name, but that's my baby name. When I return to my pride I will be an adult and a full member of society." She smiled, feeling proud and a bit excited about what the future held for her. No longer could her mother n** at her paws and tell her what she was doing wrong. She would return and adult, and run her own life.
"I wish I could help you find your way back home though, I feel very bad that you had to leave. It must have been horrible."
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Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 4:22 am
This girl must already have heard a lot of questions about name finding, because Blota only had time to open his mouth to ask before she explained that she already had a name and was looking for a new one. Confusing if you asked him, but he didn't make more attempts to interrupt her until she was done. He wondered if she meant what she said about helping him or if she was just trying to be comforting. He decided to think that she was being honest.
"I will make it back," he said, putting on a brave face for her. "Don't you worry."
All talk about names made Blota realise that he had not introduced himself or learned the girls name yet. They had talked and shared stories about their homes so he felt they should at least know each others names.
"What is your name?" he asked, still wondering what could be wrong with it since she needed another one. "I'm Blota, it means 'to honour with sacrifice'. Because of my pelt, you know?"
But maybe she didn't know. Not everyone he had talked to knew about the Spirits or the significance of Sacrifices. He hadn't even talked about it with the lioness that kept him company for a week. After his encounter with the Dhati he had started to be more careful about talking religion. You couldn't save them all, and he had to be content with just saving himself if he could.
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