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 Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 2:54 am
 Having literally only just arrived back from his solitary Viking, Chinjo was now making a bee-line for the Warlord's den. It was difficult to anticipate how this meeting was going to go, for many reasons. Firstly, the somewhat wreckless Reaver had chosen to go a-Viking alone. Not only was this dangerous for him, it also meant that there would most likely be very little loot for him to bring back, meaning that it didn't really benefit the Pride as a whole. Secondly, he had been gone for a very long time, which may also have affected the Pride in a negative way. Thirdly, there was Fisidi.
Chinjo turned to the black and blue female that walked at his side. She was almost as big as he was, and he was above the average size for a Myrsky Syntynyt male. It was impressive to say the least. With any luck, the addition to the Stormborn of this full-blooded Firekin would cancel out any issues that the Warlord had with his Viking.
"Just let me do the talking." He said lowly, just as they reached the Warlord's den. It had been a long journey from the desert, giving Chinjo plenty of time to tell Fisidi all there was to know about the Stormborn. It really did sound a lot like the Firekin. Although now that she was here, the home of this Pride couldn't be more different. No longer did the sun and sand burn her back and paws, instead being replaced by cool breeze from the ocean, which was something the desert-born female had never seen before. It was quite magnificent.
As they walked through the Pride, Fisidi could sense the curiousity of the other members. Eyes seemed to follow them as they went, accompanied by whispers. She smirked, quite enjoying the attention. Apparently Chinjo was potentially going to be getting into a lot of trouble. Although she had grown quite fond of her new ally, it wouldn't be her problem if he got into trouble. No, that would be something he would have to deal with himself.
When they reached the den of the Warlord, the leader of the Myrsky Syntynyt, Fisidi continued to smirk at Chinjo. "Don't tell me what to do."
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 5:59 am
 Aesir did not like surprises. It wasn't that he was bad at dealing with unexpected situations. He just preferred to have a plan. And contingency plans. Except for when he felt like just doing what he wanted and the consequences could be damned. But he didn't get to indulge in that way very often now that he was the warlord of the Stormborn.
In any event, Chinjo and Fisidi's arrival would not come as a surprise to him because, knowing of his aversion to surprises and also guessing at the pair's intended destination, a reaver in the pride had stopped by Aesir's den to warn him that he was about to be visited.
Aesir had sighed, told the reaver that was good to know, and flopped in front of his den. Whatever it was, he hoped it could be dealt with quickly. He wanted to go swimming before the tide came all the way in.
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 1:25 pm
The fact that the Warlord came out to meet them was both good and bad news. Good, because Chinjo knew how much unfond Aesir was of surprises, but bad because he was unsure how much he will have been told. Any concern that Chinjo may have had however was well hidden as the pair entered the mouth of the den to greet the Pride's leader.
"My Lord Aesir." Chinjo said with a low bow of his head. Not as a sign of submission or weakness, but as a sign of respect. Having been born in the Myrsky Syntynyt, he had been taught from a young age to give all Warlords nothing but respect. Except, of course, when one was interested in overthrowing them. For now, the orange and navy male's only ambition was to become a Captain.
"I have returned from my Viking and I have brought with me a new ally." A small smile touched his maw. "A former Firekin." He stopped there, as even though he didn't really want to pause until he had explained everything, he decided that he should probably give Aesir a chance to comment.
Fisidi could feel the tension in the air, but it bothered her very little. Although Chinjo had been quite clear that a Pride as strong as his didn't need any extra strength, that didn't mean that it wouldn't be welcomed. When the Warlord came into view, her pink eyes quickly danced over his body. He was certainly very well 'decorated', although she wasn't quite sure why. Must be a Stormborn thing.
When Chinjo bowed, Fisidi remained standing, although she did give a small nod of acknowledgement. She would bow upon being introduced, or when she introduced herself. The Firekin too were always taught to respect their leaders, so she could appreciate the show of respect.
When her escort refered to her as a 'former' Firekin, a small frown touched her face. It still hurt, that it had come to this. That she had been forced to leave, purely because of the colour of her coat. It was a fate that all Hurias shared however, and she refused to dwell on it any longer. The Firekin had raised her well, and she was grateful for that. She would soon be of the Stormborn though, and she had greater ambitions than Chinjo could ever know.
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 5:15 pm
The warlord looked with some curiosity at the unfamiliar female, though not enough to make his expression change. He didn't claim to know everyone in the pride by name, but he tried to at least learn faces. Hers was unfamiliar to him, but by her build she clearly had some Stormborn blood in her at some point in her history. Females just didn't come that large elsewhere.
"Welcome," he said.
Aesir's ears flicked backward in surprise when Chinjo called him a lord. He knew what the title meant, but it wasn't one used among the Stormborn all that often, and when it was it was mostly used by outlanders. Absently the warlord wondered how long he had been away from the pride viking, but he didn't ask it. Instead he listened while the reaver spoke about this ally he'd found.
"An ally?" he repeated when it seemed the reaver's female companion had nothing verbal to add. Hearing her named as an ally did cause him to give her a second glance, this one more thorough.
"Tell me about these Firekin," he said, speaking not to Chinjo but to his companion. The pride name was not familiar to him. "And tell me why you're no longer one of them."
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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 1:01 am
So far, so good. If Aesir was angry at him having been away for so long, he certainly wasn't showing it. More than anything, he seemed interested in Fisidi. It occured to him then that he hadn't actually revealed her name. "Oh, and her name is Fisidi."
Chinjo was starting to relax ever so slightly as the attention shifted to his travelling companion. When the Warlord addressed her, the orange and navy male turned his own attentions to her as well. She had spoke very little about the Firekin on the journey here, so what she said would be interesting to him as well, even though he already knew a bit about them.
A small smile touched Fisidi's face as the Pride's leader welcomed her, although it was quickly replaced by the more serious expression she had been wearing since they had entered the Warlord's den. When Chinjo said her name, she nodded in simple confirmation, although she was more than capable of introducing herself.
When Aesir asked about the Firekin, her expression became a lot more difficult to read. She looked angry but solemn all that the same time. "The Firekin are the rulers of the desert. We-." She frowned deeply as she cut herself off. "No, they are a very old Pride, one of the oldest in fact. They have a long history of violence and conquest." Her pink eyes flashed darkly. "They are the children of a wrathful Goddess."
Of course, this was all stuff that she herself had been taught when growing up, as the days of Firekin taking over the territory of others and keeping slaves was a thing of the past. These days, whilst all those who knew of them knew that they were not to be messed with, they were a lot more relaxed and less intense Pride. Perhaps that's why they were attacked so viciously by an unknown Pride. Fisidi blinked as she sensed her mind wandering. That was their concern now, not hers. The Firekin could take care of themselves, without her help.
Fisidi rolled her eyes a little at that point. "One of the Firekin's oldest traits is their firey coats. Only those with coats of red, black and white are allowed to join or remain. Those with 'odd' colours like myself are refered to as Huria, and are destined to leave the Firekin once they are old enough." She smirked. "It's ironic really. In an effort to prepare me and my sister for the outside World, my parents gave us almost all the attention. Where my non-Huria siblings were only given basic training, me and my green sister were put through our paces every single day of our youth. We grew up to be stronger, faster, and much better prepared for war than our siblings could ever hope to be at that age."
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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 4:33 am
Fisidi. All right. That wouldn't be an impossible name to remember, though it was likely Aesir would still need reminding unless she managed to make an impressive showing. The pride had grown sort of huge under his leadership with an enormous influx of outlanders, and so many of the outlanders tended to blur together. Even this Fisidi reminded him of another lioness in the pride. One he'd taken on his first viking as warlord some time ago.
Aesir's expression did not change with Fisidi's assertion that the Firekin were the rulers of the desert. He had been born on the edge of a desert and managed to grow up without hearing of these lions, but there could be so many explanations for that it definitely was not worth arguing over, or even mentioning. At any rate, the Firekin could keep their desert. He doubted the Stormborn would thrive in such a place.
"That sounds familiar," he remarked drily. "Go on."
Fiery coats. Limiting a pride's membership based on pelt color? That had to be among the stupidest things Aesir had ever heard. What sort of fighting force did that? Especially if parents did as Fisidi claimed hers had done. That seemed to him more of a vain, detrimental policy than a useful one.
"The Stormborn have our own prejudices, and I'm sure you'll encounter some of them, but coat color is not a bias we have as a pride."
His attention returned to Chinjo briefly. "While this is very interesting, why have you brought her to see me?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 9:47 am
Ah, now things may get tricky. Obviously, he wanted her to join. However, he had chosen to fight her before arriving back in Stormborn territory, for a number of reasons. Now he would have to prove this to Aesir, although he wasn't sure how. He didn't really want to risk losing another challenge to her, especially not in public.
"Fisidi wishes to join us." A small frown touched his face. "I challenged her, in order to test her strength. Although the challenge was hard fought by us both, I was eventually defeated." It was the first challenge had had ever lost since becoming a Reaver, so it pained him to admit it. "I believe she has what it takes to go far in our Pride."
Fisidi raised a brow at Aesir's response. He was so cool, so collected, it was hard to tell if he was being sincere or sarcastic. Not that that was really a bad thing. "I'm sure I can deal with whatever anyone wishes to throw at me." She smirked, beforing turning her attentions back to Chinjo.
When he revealed that she had defeated him in what he had refered to as a 'challenge', she nodded, before turning back to Aesir. "It wasn't easy. Your Pride clearly knows how to raise its warriors." Still, Fisidi wasn't sure if words would be enough to convince the leader of what she had done. Of course, she was more than happy to fight anyone she needed to, but she would have to wait and see.
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Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 7:11 pm
Aesir nodded. Closer to home, Stormborn did not typically challenge outlanders to test their mettle and suitability for the pride. That onus usually lay with the outlander. However, in the rogue lands, away from the pride, such conventions were unnecessary and Aesir found no fault with the way Chinjo had managed matters.
He could see for himself that Fisidi was a large lioness and Chinjo claimed that she had beaten him in combat after a hard fight. He supposed the reason for this visit was because the challenge had not taken place in a conventional manner and the pair wanted to be sure that it would still count. Well, as far as he was concerned, that was sufficient.
"I see," he told Chinjo in a noncommittal tone. "That will do for a test of her abilities such as the askorun serves. I will see to it the lawspeakers acknowledge her as a freeborn."
Turning his attention back to Fisidi, with whom the warlord was secretly pleased because she had complimented his pride, Aesir said, "What becomes of you now that you are here will, of course, depend on you. Among the Stormborn you must earn whatever you get, be it rank or respect or whatever else you desire. If you prove equal to the challenges you meet, I'm certain you will manage well."
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 3:28 am
Apparently, Chinjo had psyched himself up for no reason, as Aesir seemed absolutely fine with how he had gone about things in regards to Fisidi. As soon as he left the Warlord's den, he would have to breathe out a big sigh of relief. He would hold on to it until then though.
"Thank you." Once again, Chinjo offered a low bow of his head, much as he had done upon greeting the Warlord. "We will take our leave now." He then turned to Fisidi. "Come, I have much to show you." The orange and navy male gave another nod of his head towards Aesir, before turning and heading out of the den.
It really had all gone much better than expected.
It looked as though everything was going to be fine. A small smile touched Fisidi's maw, although she quickly replaced it with a more determinded expression. She was here to work, and make something of herself. She was here to prove that she could be better than any Firekin, for she was now one of the Stormborn.
"I am ready to do whatever it takes." She replied cooly, before offering a small bow of her own towards the Warlord. "Thank you." When Chinjo addressed her, she nodded and joined him as he went to leave the den. The rank of Freeborn was obviously not as good as Chinjo's rank, but in her mind, it wouldn't take her long to reach the rank of Reaver.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 4:50 am
As usual, Aesir was of two minds about how he was regarded in the pride. He had always been a lion who enjoyed being respected by others and he was dominant enough for multiple lions. In that way, Chinjo's apprehension about his hard-assery would have sort of delighted him. On the other hand, he had figured out that much of the caution people exercised around him now came from his position as the warlord. It was as though everyone had forgotten that he had been a stellar reaver and and even better captain before he was a warlord. That irked him.
"Be welcome," he told Fisidi.
He inclined his head once, encompassing both lions in the gesture, and waited for them to take their leave. His tail was just itching to twitch, but he'd been disallowing it because a twitching tail was often interpreted as a sign of irritation or boredom, when in Aesir's case it was usually just that his tail was twitching. People had no idea what he went through for them.
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