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 Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 9:41 am
 It had been a long day. The black lioness was seriously considering resigning her position as a Guard and falling back on being just a Lady. Intellectually she did realize that the increase in workload of late was a direct result of the vanished Shaman and her apprentice, but that didn't change how exhausted it made her. She knew the position was an important one, that without it no outsiders could be admitted. And she even understood that without those infusions of other blood, the entire pride would soon be totally interrelated. Still, Caritas resented the fact that all of this conspired to make her work, and hard. The black lioness collapsed inelegantly next to the watering hole and began lapping some much needed moisture. It never once crossed her mind that, as a lioness born to the high class, she could be considered a perfect applicant for the now-vacant post of Shaman.
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 9:54 am
Still, it was exhausting, dealing with everything that had been going on. It had only occurred to him earlier in the day that he could apply for Shaman, though he was a male. It was simply a matter of being willing to never marry- or wait for someone in the high class who would marry him.
No, his sisters would be a much easier choice.
It so happened that he was already at the waterhole, keeping an eye on the comings and goings, when one of his sisters appeared. She looked tired- but the guards were very busy now. It took him a few minutes but he eventually decided it would be worth going up to chat with her to see what was going on.
"Hey, Caritas!"
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 10:01 am
She was so tired it took her a few long moments to realize that the familiar voice was calling her name. The lioness lifted her head long enough to see that it was none other than her brother Orion. Ugh. Family could wait. Caritas returned her head and attention to the refreshing water, treasuring these final moments of privacy before she had to give her attention to her sibling.
Finished with her drink, the lioness rearranged her position and turned to face her brother. "Ho, Orion," was the quiet response. It was even odds whether he'd pick up the edge in her tone that said she'd much rather go home and sleep, thank you very much.
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 11:02 am
Caritas had obviously heard him so he was content to let her finish her drink, he was not intending to interrupt her completely after all.. he didn't have the nerve for that, even in the midst of such panicked times. However, it did help him press on despite the tone she used that said she really was not interested in talking.
"I- I was just wondering if you guys had found anything today," he muttered lamely, trying to work out a way to work everything he wanted to talk about into a conversation Caritas did not want to have.
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 11:06 am
The black lioness growled low in her throat as Orion touched on a sore subject - THE sore subject for every guard in the whole damned pride. So it wasn't entirely surprising when she responded fairly sharply to him.
"Have you heard hallelujahs and hosannas of late? Or perhaps a celebration right through the middle of the pridelands? No? Then I guess we haven't found a single damned thing!" Caritas hissed angrily at her brother, only long-standing habits keeping her from shouting loud enough for the entire watering hole to hear.
"Damned fool," she muttered under her breath before glaring up at Orion once more. "Don't ask stupid questions, especially ones you already know the answers to," she told him.
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 11:17 am
Orion was extremely put off by the reaction he got, he hadn't been expecting that, even with all his experience with his sister. She was absolutely right to call it a stupid question but .. he wasn't the only one who was asking questions like that. Hopelessly asking hopeful questions was just how some people dealt with it.
"Sorry," he said, raising his voice to a more normal tone. It took him a moment of silence to work up the nerve to continue.
"What do you think about the hunt for a new shaman, now?" he asked, perking his ears up but still looking like he expected to be yelled at again.
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 11:21 am
Orion had waited just long enough to speak that she was actually starting to regret almost-yelling at him. Not enough to actually apologize yet, but starting. He ruined it for himself by starting to talk again. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised by the subject he was asking about this time, but she was.
"I haven't really thought about it," she answered honestly after a moment of consideration. "Why should I? It'll only affect me once we have someone to bring in outsiders again." He'd managed to avoid being yelled at this time, hopefully he'd continue to not ask totally idiotic questions.
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 11:27 am
"Have you not thought about applying, then?"
Orion knew this was another tricky topic, and he was opening himself up for getting yelled at again.. but this was an important topic and for once he was willing to put himself out there for it. He hadn't thought a great deal about all of the high class lions in the pride but he knew he and his siblings were high class.. and looking at their family, they could be an easy choice. Miakoda had been their aunt, after all. Their great-aunt was queen. It was in their blood.
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 11:30 am
"WHAT!?" The exclamation exploded out of the black lioness. In surprise, in denial, in anger...there were a lot of different emotions. Caritas gaped at her brother, fumbling for the words to respond to the concept that had never once crossed her mind. Her mouth moved, but no speech came out as she tried to put her shattered worldview back together. Orion had well and truly flabbergasted her.
After several minutes of gaping, and mouthing, and pretending to ignore the startled looks of the other pride members in the vicinity, Caritas managed to respond to her brother.
"Ah...no. I haven't."
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 1:32 pm
Despite being prepared to be yelled at, the volume of her exclamation still surprised him and had him leaning back a bit as he watched her struggle to come up with a response to a seemingly simple question. He watched with wide, mismatched eyes as she slowly came to terms with his question and was able to give her answer.
"Perhaps- perhaps you ought to?" he suggested hesitantly, wondering why it hadn't even occurred to her a little bit- it was apparently a big shock that the idea would even come up.
"You are high class, after all, and a girl," he added.
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 1:37 pm
Caritas made a face at her brother. She wasn't going to tell him the real reason she was not at all interested - the fact that it was just far too much work. At heart, the lioness was a lazy creature. The only reason she was a Guard was just so that she didn't appear to be that incurably lazy to the rest of the pride. She'd heard murmurs, here and there, of resentment about some Lords and Ladies who didn't do anything all day - who didn't even have children to raise.
However much she might want to be one of those, she didn't want to be actively looked down on for it.
That being the case, she still had no interest in being a shaman.
"Um...I really don't think I'm suited for the job," she told Orion, carefully not mentioning any of the resentful thoughts running through her mind at the moment. She cursed under her breath. Looking at the facts, she was one of the best suited people in the pride to be applying for the stupid position. Why did the shaman have to be a high class lioness anyway!?
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 1:42 pm
"I think you would be very good at it," he said, surprised by her explanation- she always seemed so confident and to have such an easy time with everything. He was, apparently, oblivious to her lazy streak, "You're smart and ambitious. I mean, if you were shaman, you'd be just as important as the queen."
Orion was not taking the best route for finding a really suitable candidate. Someone who was only in it to be important was not what was best for the pride.. but it seemed like a good selling point to anybody who had doubts. Especially where he was certain Cartias could do a good job.. if she tried, anyway.
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 1:47 pm
Caritas blinked, staring at her brother. Did he really know her? Hadn't they grown up together? She opened her mouth to tell him every reason why she should never in a million years be considered for the position-
-and closed it with a snap. He'd grown up with her, and he knew her better than most, even if he could be a bit oblivious to her (and anyone else's) faults.
Was it possible he was seeing something in her that she'd managed to miss all this time? She didn't want to think it was true...but it was certainly possible. The importance would be a nice perk, she admitted, but maybe there was more to it than that.
"I think you're crazy," the black lioness retorted, but her words lacked the sting and anger she'd previously spoken with.
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 1:53 pm
Orion was pleased that, at least, Caritas had seemed to lose the motivation to shout at him. Maybe he had gotten through to her. They needed lions to actually step up, it would be a shame if everybody talked themselves out of it.
"I think you should think about it," he said, finally managing a smile. She was far less intimidating whens he wasn't yelling- but that was true of anybody, especially to Orion.
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 1:55 pm
"I think you should stop telling me what to do," the black lioness retorted, flicking her tail in Orion's general direction. She'd think about it or not as she chose, and no one - especially not her brother! - was going to change that.
"Anyway, I need sleep. Tomorrow's another long day searching for nothing," Caritas continued sourly, finally getting to her feet once more with a small groan. Too stiff, she'd need to stretch out before she slept and then again before she went to work in the morning.
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