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 Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 12:41 pm
Her children had grown up so fast. Faster than she really expected them to grow, they had gone from blind fluffy balls to independent adolescents in no time flat, and now, they needed their rites and it was putting her nose right out of joint that they couldn't do it.
She had grown up in the pride and a lions rites, well they were the most important part of their whole existence. It worried her that her babies couldn't become adults in the eyes of the pride, that they hadn't been accepted by the sea yet. It worried her quite a lot, especially since the tsunami had wiped out a huge portion of the pride. For her babies not to be accepted by the sea set her mind in a constant turmoil.
She had convinced Xenon to come with her to see the new leader. She hadn't really spoken to Ram as of yet, but he seemed to be putting some interesting new rules in to effect. Well, she only needed one thing to happen. Rites, she needed the Rites to be allowed again so her babies could be accepted by the sea.
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 12:57 pm
Xenon was not entirely certain as to how receptive Ram would be to the demands of his mate. The male had a very definite way of doing things and his views didn't seem to shift very easily. However, Afina had been adamant and as it was ultimately the responsibility of the pride leader, it seemed that Ram was going to have to answer to her. Thus it had been with a soft sigh that the lion had conceded defeat and was now trailing after his mate with his head bowed and eyes partially closed.
...She was going to tear Ram's ears off if he didn't listen, wasn't she?
Alas, the lion who had surped the 'throne' from his daughter had lived in relative isolation since his arrival and seemed to be quietly mulling over what did and didn't need to change within the pride. It was for this reason that he was regarded as aloof and like his daughter, had yet to gain the full loyalty or trust of the pride. Still, he hadn't done anything as dramatic as Neith had and as such, Xenon was withholding judgement.
"Just promise me that you will be polite, Afina," he murmured softly as they drew near the cliff face, which seemed to be where the larger blue lion had chosen as his home...
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 1:04 pm
The small blue lioness paused for a moment and looked at her mate. "Do you know why I am upset? I know you weren't born here Xenon but, its very important to me that our children have their rites. What if the sea gets angry about it? We have had one tsunami, I don't want another!" She huffs and starts to march off again her tail flickering in a slightly irritated fashion.
Slowing her step once again she looks up at the big male that was her mate, she smiles softly. "I know I am being irrational, and superstitious, but for once can you just be as irrational and silly as me just for a few moments?" She lets out a heavy breath and starts to walk once again "I promise to behave and be polite." She snips and rolls her eyes.
She really wanted to speak to Ram, she really needed to see her babies have their rites again even if Xenon seemed less than enthused about her approaching the new ruler directly.
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 1:10 pm
There was rarely a time when Afina wasn't irrational but he didn't have the heart to point this out to her. Not only would he regret it later when he too became deaf from her nagging, but in a general sense he wouldn't pay any disrespect to her beliefs. He had once questioned the existence of gods and then one had parked on his doorstep, he now knew better than this. He'd even gone so far as to pay his own respects and had taken his own Rites years ago, so if Afina wanted his children to have them then...
"Fine," he replied gently and opened his eyes briefly to observe his mate. She had been horrendously agitated since she had been informed that the Rites were suspended, even now that her children could now run riot outside of the 'cub prison' as they pleased.
Nevertheless it wasn't long before the large shoulders of the pale blue male could be seen on the horizon and Xenon cleared his throat loudly to indicate their arrival. Unsurprisingly, Ram didn't 'start' in surprise, a testament to his own experiences in the roguelands. Instead, he merely turned around and fixed his gaze upon the couple in silence - who would be the one to speak first? Afina, Xenon or Ram...
It was the prideleader who elected to do so.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" he enquired softly, his tone low and without inclination to rise its volume any further than necessary. "The pride has been overtly suspicious and wary of my presence," he observed gently and lifted a brow. "Which would indicate that you have purpose here rather than a mere social call," he finished.
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 1:18 pm
The small lioness observed Ram for a long silent moment, she wasn't that surprised that he didn't twitch at their arrival, Xenon was very similar, he always knew what was going on around him. It was a rogue thing. She wasn't usually one to hold her tongue. If anything she usually spoke before thinking properly, but, this male, he was their leader. Or at least, sort of their leader soe she knew to be respectful. Mostly.
"You are correct, we are here for a purpose." She states holding her head high, her golden eyes fixed firmly on the big blue male. Licking her lips she takes a calm breath "My family has grown to adolescence and I wish to perform their rites as every family has the right to do when their babes have come of age." She flickers her ears irritably and looks back at Xenon momentarily.
"Please, I am really worried about them not being accepted by the sea." She fidgets uncomfortably and sets her gaze hopefully, if a little sternly on the big male, the lord of the pride.
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 1:26 pm
Ram's facial features flickered with confusion at the smaller lioness's remarks. Granted she wasn't as small as some of the rogue females indicating she had some powerful heritage in her blood, but he was still a good bit larger. The point was irrelevant though and instead, he dwelled on her words as if trying to fathom what on earth the problem was - she wanted to perform Rites, he knew what those were, he recalled his half brother explaining them many years ago, but...what of it?
Sensing his confusion, Xenon decided to rescue the unfortunate male before he had the opportunity to provoke or exasperate Afina. He knew that his mate was holding on to her temper and was showing considerable restraint, but based on Ram's reaction, that probably wasn't going to last very long if he didn't rescue the situation then and there!
"You are aware of the Rites my mate speaks of, yes?" he hazarded slowly.
"I am," responded Ram without missing a beat, his eyebrow arching delicately as he glanced between the pair. "But I am lost as to why permission is required, the last time I conversed with my brother this was a family matter and not a pridal one...at least not directly," he pointed out coolly.
"Your daughter suspended them," Xenon stated flatly, failing to have the same tact as his mate in those moments.
Fortunately for both Xenon and Afina, the weight of this revelation dawned quickly on Ram and his lips pursed into a very thin line. He didn't provide immediate permission in those moments and instead, turned his back on the pair and returned his gaze to the ocean that crashed at the rocks beneath his paws. So not only had his daughter made sweeping changes, but she was challenging the very core of tradition?
"You don't need my permission to have your family participate in their Rites," he replied at last and glanced over his shoulder again. "If you wish to have them, then you can..."
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 1:48 pm
Afina let out a sigh and looked up at Xenon. Clearly her little ramble across the sands and her tirade at Xenon, her deep worry, was solved so easily. She turns to Ram and smiles. "I really was very concerned. I had my rites when I was an adolescent and with the tsunami so recently, I didn't want to upset the sea by not having my children accepted by the waves." She closes her mouth, realising all too well that she was going on.
"Thank you, really, it has been a great weight on my shoulders, not being allowed to." She flicks herself around in a quick choppy movement and licks her mate on the nose. "Round up the children Xenon, we will be performing rites tomorrow." She smiles a wide very pleased smile. For her, this was a definite win. She had been right to come and see Ram about it despite the protests by her big mate.
"Just remember I was right the next time you tell me not to do something okay?" She grins a childish, cheeky smile at her mate. An idea flickers across her face then and she turns her attention back on Ram a much calmer, pleased look on her maw now. "Can you perform a Marriage Ram? Though Xenon is my mate we have never had a formal ceremony, I would like one." She states, a brow raised her eyes fixed on the large male. She would have further worries during the rites but until then her heart felt lighter and it could move to other things that were on her mind.
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 1:54 pm
Xenon's draw dropped.
Ram's soon followed...
Both males had heard a lot of questions in their time but generally speaking they came from backgrounds that denoted that it was the male who took responsibility for 'proposing'. To have Afina so openly enquire as to the possibility of a ceremony knocked both for six and Ram promptly glanced towards Xenon for clarification that this was something he would even consent to.
Fortunately, Xenon recovered extremely quickly and hazard a wry smile at his mate who had returned to her usual self when supplied with the answer she had wanted to hear - now she had obviously reverted her attention to other traditions of interest. Well, if she was going to do the adolescent rites she might as well do everything else, right?
"Have you performed one before?" Xenon asked in amusement.
Ram slowly shook his head.
"No," he replied and then tilted his head to the side. "Though I suppose if left to my own devices for a while I can seek the necessary instruction to perform the ceremony properly," he replied smoothly and peered at Afina searchingly.
"I do have one question though, was your litter the only one to be forbidden from accessing their Rites?" he asked.
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 2:06 pm
Afina smiled slightly in amusement, she could almost feel Xenons amusement. He knew what she was like, that was why he stuck with her, or so she told herself, she kept his life interesting. She laughs gently. "Good, I would like to have a ceremony. You will come and inform us when you have the correct information yes?" She smiles, a confident look on her maw, she was determined to have Xenon be hers forever in the eyes of the pride not just in her own.
Afina pursed her lips and frowned, of course she had been thinking of herself, her own children, but there were others who needed their rites too. "No, there have been no rites since the tsunami. It has been a difficult time, many have come and joined who need their rites also." She did care about others, she cared about the pride. "There was another litter, born just before my own that also needs their rites." She sighs softly, it was hard being denied such things, they were basic rights for herself, something that she had done with her own family when she came of age.
"It is a difficult thing being denied the rites."
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 2:16 pm
To Ram's credit, he showed no disgust at this revelation either but he did afford himself a moment of contemplation as Afina provided him with the answers that he required. It seemed that he had his work cut out for him if this was the case - he would need to do more than just rebuild certain physical aspects of the pride, he was going to have to completely reconstruct the traditional aspect as well! This was not something he had anticipated and wasn't really something that he was going to look forward to either...
Who was to say the new entries into the pride would even respect tradition at this moment in time?
Sensing his unrest, Xenon nudged gently at Afina and smiled encouragingly to indicate that he was happy enough with her desire to be wed. He was a traditionalist in his own right and in the end, even his old pride would have had such a requirement - he wasn't going to deny her that if she wanted it...and a small part of him was incredibly curious as to how Ram would even pull this off successfully!
"If it helps, I've had mine," Xenon murmured in a manner that gave Ram pause for thought.
"That is a relief to know," he replied simply and then shook his head. "I will look towards addressing both the issue of a lack of rites and of course your wedding rites - both will take a while to arrange but you have my word I will contact you again when I believe I am prepared to give you a decent ceremony," he offered with a half smile.
"Is that all you wished to asked or was there more?" he hazarded after a moment.
"I think so..." Xenon murmured warily and glanced at his mate, for all he knew, now that she had relaxed she could have half a million questions hidden under her net hood!
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 2:25 pm
Afina chuckled lightly she leans against her big mate momentarily and smiles. "I know you were going to ask eventually." She grins playfully up at him, her golden eyes full of that cheeky smile, that little bratty I always get my way look that she often gave to Xenon, who usually pretended she got her way, which was just as good really.
"Yes, thats all the questions i have for the moment." She smiles a very confident smile. "I have so much to do, round up the kids, find my conch shells." She sighs a slightly exasperated sigh though her eyes and lips never turned from a pleased serene smile.
"Come Xenon, we have much to get accomplished before tomorrow." She bows her head gently at Ram "Thank you, once again sir, you truly have lifted a great weight off my shoulders." She lets out a pleased huff and turns away from him her tail held at a much more jaunty angle than it had been marching across the sands only a little while before.
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 2:37 pm
"Yes, thank you," Xenon directed his gratitude towards Ram as his mate marched off to prepare herself and her children for the Rites that she had decided should be held immediately. Suffice to say that if there was one thing Afina didn't do, it was waste time...unless she fancied throwing a hissy fit. Fortunately, his beloved mate hadn't had one of her episodes in quite a few years which was of great relief to the lion!
"You are most welcome," Ram replied to both in tun, refraining from pulling any form of expression that might provoke the obviously vocal female. She was young, firey and knew exactly what she wanted. Ram was unsurprised to see that Xenon had swept her up, if she didn't keep him young then nothing would!
Nevertheless, the time for chitchat was over for both the couple and Ram, and no sooner had Xenon said his goodbyes than he had left to follow after his mate and Ram was left to his own devices. The couple would begin to plan the Rites for their children and as for Ram... Well, he was going to need to work out some way of reintroducing and reinforcing every tradition that seemed to have been tossed to the wayside by his daughter.
The pride were wounded, this much was true... But in order to grow strong, they needed to forgive and start again, that meant they had to take their Rites...
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