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 Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 3:01 pm
 Free. She was free. Moto'nyota sat beneath a savanna tree, waiting for her mate and little avian friend to return with food. And as she waited, she had time to think, to reflect. She'd hated deceiving so many...but it was for the good. Taswira and Set were two of the best to infiltrate the Aikanaro, but they needed something that would make them...trustworthy, in a way. Gain them 'glory' in the Aikanaro's eyes. Moto's supposed 'death' had done that. She was glad she was as knowledgeable with plants as she was, and knew of a mixture that had her sleeping like the dead for enough time.
And now, she was free. She would have her peace. No more torment from Hakuna'jina. No more demons to worry about. No more fears that she might turn around one day and see her pride and family slaughtered. Kaimel and Dogo would do well without her.
She vaguely wondered how Mle was doing. The Jini-msemi was, after all, her destination. As it was, perhaps she would run across little Zeru and Mzuza on her way there, or once they got there. Of course...they wouldn't be so little anymore. Not with their brothers and sisters full-grown themselves. And her own large genetics didn't help the 'little' idea at all.
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Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 3:58 pm
 With the sun setting, Zeru rose. Like a ghost in the growing night, she padded her way through the grasslands, head kept low. With the sun still out, she was afraid to hurt her eyes. Now and then, her nose twitched, picking up this scent and that scent. Eventually it picked up the scent of prey, and she found a place to leave her hood to hunt it, returning with her prize and donning the stitched-together scraps of pelt. The small antelope, the weakling straggler of the herd, would feed her for a day or two, at least. If she didn't go anywhere. Instead of staying in one place, though, she opted to drag it along.
Her effort was, more or less, rewarded by a sight in the sunset. Her nose twitched as the scent moved past the smell of her kill, and her partly-blurry vision took in the massive size. Zeru was by no means the largest lion in the world, though she had good size of her own. She was bigger than her father and almost as big as her surrogate mother. But the lioness before her put her other mother to shame. She set the kill down, cherry red eyes dancing. "Mother!"
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Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 4:14 pm
Moto heard the voice. It was distinctly female, but she knew it wasn't from one of her daughters in the Mwako. Of them, only Dogo, Luta, and Tarajia knew she lived currently. She turned her head towards the source of the sound and knew immediately who it was. She only had one daughter whose pelt was quite so white. She smiled brightly, an expression that reached her eyes and seemed to soften the scars on her face.
"Zeru! I was wondering if I might run into you!" She'd be able to tell her daughter everything, and maybe point her in the direction of visiting her siblings. Karma knew some of them would need some cheering up...but she'd need to warn Zeru to not say a word if she visited before a moon's time was up.
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Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 4:41 pm
No, there was SO no mistaking that lioness! Zeru picked up her prey and toted it with her over to the lioness. When she reached her, she set it down again. "You look like you've got more injuries piled up... And you're hurt! Are you okay? What happened?!" She poked a paw here and there, intent on making sure her mother was okay. The dimming light didn't help any, though, and it would soon be too dark to see. "I should find a baboon to make me a lamp of fireflies some time..." She'd be visible to everybody around at night, but it would certainly help her see better.
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Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 4:45 pm
Moto chuckled at her daughter. "I'm fine. They're small injuries, nothing truly life-threatening at all." While her daughter fussed, she licked the top of the albino lioness' head. "I'm better than I've been in many seasons, dear. I'm finally going to have peace." She pat the space next to her. "Come...sit with me for a bit, and I'll tell you of some things you should know. Especially if you're going to see your sibs in the Mwako."
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 9:30 am
"Okay.." She moved closer, laying down next to her mother. She then offered some of her kill, as it was indeed too much for one lioness toe at. "Are you hungry...? I've got extra meat here..." When was the last time her mother had eaten? And just what was going on? What did she mean about finally having peace? Was she DYING?! Sure, she had a surrogate mother, but... This was her birth mother!
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 11:01 pm
"A little, but I don't want to deprive you. And my mate is currently out hunting." Moto smiled, glad for the company of her daughter. "I've a mate now. His name is Dogo'tufani, and he's very kind." She closed her eyes and sighed. "We're heading to the Jini-msemi. So I can live the rest of my life in peace. Away from the fighting and heartaches."
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 8:30 am
"Oh..." Then her face brightened. "Papa'll be happy to see you! And you can meet his mate, Xochiyotl!" Well, she wasn't Xochiyotl when she joined, apparently. She was Nenetl. But that had changed, obviously. "You could meet so many new faces in the swamp, and I don't think any more than Mziza, Papa, an' me will know you." She thought about it, trying to pinpoint other lions that might know here. None came to mind.
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 10:09 am
Moto chuckled, glad to see her daughter excited. "It's good he's found love as well. Your father deserves happiness. And the King might remember me. Narindima'moyo, if I remember his name right. It's been many moons..." So many moons. But she remembered the way there very well. "If you visit your sibs in the Mwako'bi'Giza, there is something I must warn you of. There, I am considered dead. Very few among the pride know I am alive, and not all your siblings know I am alive yet. Mizuka-sisimca is among those who know."
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 11:18 am
Zeru nodded, listening to her mother's words. Though it was barely, she did remember her brothers and sister in the Mwako. They were good memories, to boot. "I'll remember that. Refer to you in past tense, and no mention of running into you out here, right?" She paused. "Except in secret with Mizuka-sisimca." She could just imagine it as being for her mother's safety. After all, the Jini had become somewhat xenophobic since the whole killer in the pride incident. Not that she had been there, her father had told her all about it, though. "I kinda miss home... I think after I visit the Mwako, I'll turn back." She then smiled. "We can walk together!" The cover of night would be perfect for a lioness hiding, after all.
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Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 11:31 am
Moto nodded. "That's right. In a moon's time, the rest of the family will be told...but for now, it's best they don't know. My supposed death had a purpose, and if the Aikanaro'hini catch wind that I didn't die...problems could occur. It's part of why I chose the Jini-msemi...safety and peace." She smiled at her daughter. "I would love to travel with you. And I know my mate would like to meet you."
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Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 2:49 am
Zeru considered her words carefully, processing things. She'd learned about the Aikanaro as a cub. They were somebody she had to avoid, and in fact had remained very close the Mwako's center as a tiny cub. With her white pelt, she'd have been enslaved with no hopes in life to speak of. "When do you leave for the swamps?" She DID miss them terribly, and couldn't wait to get home to them.
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Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 5:03 pm
Moto thought a moment, eyes closing. "Whenever you are ready. Dogo'tufani and I can wait out here just a little longer, so you can get the things you need to do done. And there's plenty of game and shelter here, so waiting would not be a bad thing." It would be nice, to travel to her new home with one of her daughters.
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Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 8:45 am
Zeru nodded, then smiled at her mother. "I should get going on to the pride... See some siblings..." As she started around her mother, she paused. "And if anybody asks, I never saw you, and when they tell me you're dead, I will act appropriately surprised, shocked, and then I will cry." Alone with only owls and bats to talk to as a cub, she'd found it fun to play pretend with some of them. Maybe it would help.
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 3:41 pm
Moto smiled and nodded. "Enjoy your visit, dear heart. I know your siblings will be glad to see you. Perhaps seeing you will boost their hearts a little." She had hated causing her family such grief...but it had been needed. Karma, she hated such painful necessities...
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