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 Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 7:59 pm
She had stopped to talk to a rather gentle crocodile, who had been quite distressed. Well, as far as crocodiles can be gentle or distressed, that is. He was more than happy to tell the raven his tale. He had explained that he'd found himself a nice drowned and bloated water buffalo calf. He had morbidly described the decrepit thing with such gusto, it was clear he wasn't a very good hunter himself. But oh how the tale had changed then! Along had come dark hyena. According to the crocodile, this hyena had changed his name several times through the encounter, but the poor crocodile had been too eager to take it as a sign to distrust the canine.
Well, this hyena had managed to swindle the gullible croc out of his meal! This was accomplished by smooth-talking and lying to an astonishing degree. First, the hyena male had claimed he was pitifully weak and desperately needed food. When the croc had predictably offered to eat the suffering hyena, what a tale the canine had spun! He'd claimed he'd just left a large orphaned litter of wild dog pups, and that if the croc spared him and allowed him to eat the calf, he'd bring the entire litter of eleven half-grown puppies to be eaten by the croc.
Granted, the very idea made the rave fluff her feathers in distress, but she'd said nothing, and let the mournful reptile continue. It seems the hyena had not just eaten some, but all of the calf, so swiftly that the croc could do nothing about it. Needless to say, the outraged crocodile had attempted to punish the hyena by making a meal of him right then and there, but the canine had fled, promising return with puppies in tow. It was no surprise to her to hear the hyena had never returned.
Still mulling on things, Meeradin spotted the individual she needed to speak with below. Yes, she should definitely speak up and do something about this. There was more to her own tale, after all, and this individual needed to know about it! With a hoarse cry, she winged over and plunged earthward.
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 5:59 pm
 The season of Kaskazi was soon going to draw to a close, and though it was not yet her own clan's time of year, with it approaching swiftly, Kata had much to do. The first minor celebration needed planning, as well as the smaller non-festival crafts and preparations. She was scheduling a meeting with the Entertainers, arranging for the various duties they'd each have, and making suggestions for delegation for helpers. Whether you were an Entertainer, Bounder, or just a Celebrant, everyone helped with getting things ready, set up, run, then taken down and cleaned up. This took quite a lot of organization, which was for the most part what she did as Queen.
Her day was just starting, her mind full of these things, when out of the clear blue sky an explosion of black feathers flew. It wasn't really nearly so dramatic as it felt, but one moment all was well, the next a black raven with a red marking had landed in front of her. For a full minute, they had simply stared at each other, her out of startlement, the raven out of who knows what kind of avian logic. Finally Kata had managed to gather her wits and nod her head in a solemn greeting. "Fine day for traveling," she said noncommittally, wondering curiously what the creature wanted, for it very clearly wanted something from her.
From the time the raven opened its beak, the most amazing stories were spilled forth. For quite some time, Kata merely sat and listened, pupils round in surprise. At the start, she thought perhaps the thing was a storyteller, and was hoping to find a place among the Vuli. It... no, she... would have been welcome, but swiftly Kata was disabused of this notion. First the bird had assured herself of Kata's identity, then had launched into a tale about a dastardly hyena. Now, Kata had nothing against the scavengers, though she'd heard some did in other prides. She and the other rulers did not permit such to go on here, not ever. So it was not upon this cad's species that Kata based her own opinion.
Interspersed with the many tales of woe and trickery, it became clear that the bird was trying to warn her. After five different accounts, which included scattered descriptions of the hyena himself, the raven finally began to wind down to her point. It seemed that the miscreant was headed this way, in a lazy fashion. She narrowed her eyes at the bird and leaned closer. "What I want to know," she said quietly and in her best imperious, royal manner, "is why you are telling me this, and how you came by this information."
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 6:12 pm
The raven twitched her tailfeathers uncertainly and sidled back and forth a little. She had heard the Sikukuu were a merry people, and that Queen Madakata was stern but fair. Her heart thudded in her chest as she considered what to do if the queen ended up either not believing her, or taking umberance to what she had said. She gulped and flickered her wings as if to settle them more comfortably. "Your majesty," she said more slowly than she'd spoken this whole time, "I collect rumors." She held up her wings to forestall any protest that might be brought on by that statement. "Not rumors that are passed through many people, but the kind experienced by those I speak to first-hand. I only take matters of war and disease at second-hand or further, and those I check out for myself first." She nodded firmly, proud of her own standards.
"I spoke to each of those wronged by this hyena, and did my best to get all the facts down." Here was the slightly more dicey part. Would the queen believe she was good-hearted enough to desire to warn the pride? "Since I collect such knowledge, I thought it was best to put it to good use." Time for a little well-timed and genuine complimenting. "I had heard good things about Sikukuu as well, and with the hyena clearly meandering this way, it seemed obvious what I should do." There, that was utter and complete truth. In fact, she preferred to think of herself as the utter opposite of this lying character. She used knowledge for good. He used lies for selfish ends. She clacked her beak decisively at the thought. Yes, she had done her duty.
"I must go now," she told the queen while the lioness was thinking. "But I shall return, I am sure." She chrrrrrked a laugh. "I want to have time to enjoy one of your famous festivals!" With that, she launched into the air and swooped up into the brightening sky, soon lost to the sight of the watching feline.
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 6:21 pm
With a bemused expression, she watched the bird soar out of sight. Well, she had to admit, she felt herself reasonably convinced that this information was sound and useful. While the raven hadn't quite said that the hyena would be at the very least a nuisance, or at the worst a major disruption, it was clear she thought it. If she did indeed wish to join in one of the future celebrations, staving off what might upset the tradition was a sound reason to bring it to Madakata's attention. She didn't bother pondering how the bird had found out who she herself was. If information was what the raven collected and dealt with, such a minor detail as who was the queen of the autumn season wouldn't have been very hard to unearth, even for a bird.
The news itself was indeed troubling. The hyena didn't seem to have any scruples about how he went about achieving what he wanted, and during a festival, such tactics could be disastrous. Generally speaking, Sikukuu relied on both members and guests to behave morally. Those that did not were dealt firmly with, though rarely were thrown out entirely. This time, though, seemed to call for an exception. She mulled for a few more minutes before deciding on action. First, to see to it that her own celebrations were guarded from interference by this hyena. Then she needed to go speak with the other rulers about the matter. Perhaps they might have some better thoughts on how to handle it, other than her own idea to simply ban the hyena from their lands. Unfortunately, she felt woefully unprepared for such a tactic.
With a bob of her head at her mental tumblings, she set out to track down one of her own clan. What she needed now was a Bouncer.
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