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 Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 10:32 am
Rain. It didn't happen terribly often this time of the year, and when it did there was a sort of mini celebration in the pride. Cubs played in the puddles that formed, the jungle exploded with life, and the main sources of drinking water were replenished. Fireheart had always enjoyed the rain, especially during dry spells, as it seemed to rejuvenate the whole pride and the surrounding area. The worst of the storm had passed, taking with it the thunder and wind and leaving behind lightly falling rain. The queen made her rounds to make sure no trees had fallen and that everyone was happy before heading off into the thicker part of the jungle to enjoy herself a bit. She loved watching the water run off the large leaves and listen to the creatures high above scream and call in delight. She took a deep breath and let out a slow sigh, glad for the fresh start. The past few days had been rather busy and her paws were sore from all the walking she had done. Being queen was rewarding, but very tiresome. She needed a break from the constant talking.
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 4:29 pm
In the bushes there was a rusteling and lip puckering noises accompanied with little coos among purrs of what could've been another type of celebration of the rain, on a more personal scale. Then a male voice rose above the other noises, there still seemed to be more than one set of lips making the coo-ing noises. "Ladies... Ladies. Please, I can't. I'm so sorry." He lied, the more difficult he was to capture, the more they seemed to want the big red stud. Taking his own cue, he jumped out of the bushes and shook his ruffled mane and feathers back into place. He hadn't noticed the newly appointed Queen yet, but the resemblance between the two was undeniable. Quite pleased with himself now, his eyes finally locked with the matching ice blue iris' of Fireheart. "Sister!" Immediately his smile grew to full grin as he went to embrase her, shamelessly. "What brings such a busy lion such as yourself down here?" Macaw was always the one with the light heart, full of love for his family and the fun of the pride. Macaw had only learned of his sister becoming Queen by rumor, not so much ceremony. He was more of the punk behind the bleachers macking on the cheerleaders than one for the glamorous show the gypsies threw. There wasn't too much room in his mind for social or pridal issues or such serious things, that was what his sister and the hierarchy was in place for.
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 9:45 pm
Fireheart's ears perked up as she heard odd noises coming from some bushes a few paces away. When her brother emerged from them, she had to admit she wasn't terribly surprised. Macaw was an odd one - perhaps the oddest one of them all - and therefore was a very good lion to be in the Kizi. He embodied the carefree nature of the pride, the silly and somewhat crazy antics those who knew of them thought they got up to. "Akanni," she said softly, not needing to use her brother's gypsy name since they were alone. "It's been a while." Even though they had been born to a fairly decent sized litter, she rarely saw her siblings. Everyone was off doing their own thing now that they were adults. "Seeking respite from all the talking," Fireheart went on, answering Macaw's question. "Although for you I can make an exception, since I haven't spoken to you in months now. Who was in the bushes with you?" She peered around the red lion, trying to see if it was a lioness or just some of his 'friends'.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 5:04 pm
"Be careful, Ugomvi," Akanni gave a canny grin, "Worrying too much will drive you crazy." There was a big 'BUD-UM-CHHH' in his head, which he hit the symbol with a jerk of his head and his tail, and showy cross of his legs. Trying to bring a smile to his sister's face he continued with hearty laugh. "Whew.. Oh, them? Just admirers thinking they can strap a saddle on the free bird that is.." Pause for dramatic effect, "Macaw'Zaa." With his gypsy name he struck a pose and held it for a moment then returned back to normal. "If you seek respite from talking, you came to the right lion! I don't want to hear it. Respectfully, don't tell me about anything serious. For your own good." He gave her a gentle tap on the shoulder and his carefree, full maw smile. It wasn't that he didn't care about the running of the pride, or about the concerns that wooed his sister; brothers convention one could call it instead.
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 2:18 pm
Fireheart rolled her eyes slightly, a slightly amused look on her face. She felt like she was the only one in her family that wasn't crazy, so it was rich to get it from one of her siblings. She did love her family, though, despite her being the odd one out. "Respectfully, I'm not at liberty to discuss some of the things I've spoken about with you," she returned, arching a brow. Her brother was a Gypsy Lord, after all, and he was entitled to know about the goings-on in the pride, but as the Queen she talked about some very personal things with lions that wanted assistance. And that was completely confidential. "I do have a matter to speak with you about," she said as she motioned for Macaw to follow. "Although...I suppose it's more telling you than speaking to you. You're going to be an uncle." A crazy uncle at that, but an uncle all the same. She did hope that her children would carry some of the light-heartedness her family had, and hanging around uncle Zaa might bring that out in them.
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 4:08 pm
"An uncle?" He retorted, having to take a moment to think about what this meant. "OOOOHHH!!!" Doooy! "Congratulations!" Did the sane little Gypsy Queen get pregnant before her irresponsible bird brain brother could knock-up a female? "That dirty Straw Dog actually had some fun?" He embraced her carefully, jesting a little at her mate's cheery disposition. He would make a great father and raise the cubs most assuredly be well adjusted, which didn't really settle quite right in Akanni's gut. All cubs should be allowed a fair amount of childhood, which fitted the red male's passionate hide. But really, Akanni wouldn't have the first clue what to do with cubs, it never really occurred to him that he could have any. "Well then!" He shifted to a more demeanor, stomping his paw to emphasize he meant business. "I demand visitation rights. Simple as that my dear sister." But then he softened, playing serious wasn't his bill, he was too lucid. "That is, if that's alright with Straw Dog, I mean." The last thing the soft hearted lion would want would be to push away his own blood. "After they're potty trained." He had to bring light to the subject in some way, he laughed and threw his head back, allowing the sunshine back into his mane. "Perhaps you would be the lion to bounce my idea off of after all.." If she was interested he would continue, but if not than he would save it for another time.
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 4:38 pm
Fireheart snorted softly as Macaw finally put two and two together. Her brother was out there, that was for sure. He was incredibly good-natured, though, and she did want her cubs to have that. She and Vodnitvar would instill good morals and a strong sense of responsibility but...she did remember being a cub, and she did have fun playing and acting goofy when she was with her siblings and family. She wanted them to have that too. "Of course it will be. He'll probably be thankful for the respite," she said with a tiny smirk. She knew he'd be a good father, but she also knew he'd get overwhelmed and need some time on his own every now and then. She was sure she would, too, and she was incredibly grateful to have the whole pride so supportive of new mothers. There were plenty of nannies to assist in their rearing. "An idea? Let's hear it," she said, sitting down to devote her full attention to her brother. His ideas were usually pretty far-fetched, but she was here to forget about her duties as the queen, wasn't she? She could use some fantasy and imagination.
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 6:15 pm
To Akanni this was what a Queen should be, totally devoted to listening to every pride member, even her crazy brother. This was going to be a hard sell, but if he could convince his completely sane sister this was a good idea then he couldn't be in the wrong. "I know there are some traditions of the Kizi ways you personally don't choose to apply to your own lifestyle," There was something different about Macaw, he wasn't smiling, there wasn't a magic joking twinkle in his eye, he was being serious. "And that's you're right as the new Queen. But, if you're the benevolent ruler we all are believing you to be, then you'd be tolerant and therefor advocate traditions, right?" Big wind up for what was honestly a rhetorical question. Of course she was, and he signaled this with a wink. "I believe it's my birth right and therefor duty to go into the rogue lands and procreate as many times as I -- it takes. The end point would be upholding traditions in the most grand, yet private way possible. I wouldn't want to walk around perverting the pride, you know." At this he laughed, but then brought it back down to a serious look again. When Macaw means business, it must be a good cause.
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 6:37 pm
Fireheart listened to her brother, taking into consideration his serious tone. She knew he must be up to something, so the first 'question' surprised her. For Macaw, it had come completely out of left field. Uphold traditions? The wink clued her in that he was only joking, and she gave a little snort and nod in reply. She knew the traditions of the pride well and, although she preferred order and discipline, she knew that wasn't what the lions of the pride preferred. What kind of Queen would she be if she imposed her own thoughts onto them? "Go on," she said, and he did. The question nearly made her laugh. Was he asking her if going into the rougelands to have a good time was acceptable? "Akanni..." She shook her head, a smile on her face. He was always good for a laugh, that was for sure. "You're a grown lion now, you know. You're allowed to do things as you see fit. If you're looking for approval you have mine. As long as you bring some back with you, I suppose there's no reason for you not to go."
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Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 6:01 am
It warmed Akanni's heart to see his sister smile and even laugh. But he didn't have enough gull to tell her it was the 'doing things as he saw fit' part of life that he wasn't bothering to really figure out for himself just yet. That's why he had the responsible people in his life to bounce his ideas off of. "I just couldn't make up my mind. But thank you! I figure if you say it's okay, it must be." His eyes wandered for a moment putting his plans together. So much to do now! "We need to do this more. It does us both good. Even the Queen gets a day off right?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 4:48 pm
Fireheart shook her head in amusement once more. It was no surprise that Macaw hadn't been able to make up his mind. It would have been surprising if he had come up to her to tell her what he was doing rather than asking. Then she would have asked if he were feeling all right. "Queens get the day off over the course of the week," she said with a soft chuckle. "An hour here, a few there. But for my zany brother, I can set aside some time." She had to admit, it was nice to unwind like this. She felt at home around those she loved - they were the reason she fought so hard to be a great warrior, the reason why she stepped up to take her mother's place. She couldn't stand to see those she cared for in danger - and Macaw was no exception. "I expect to have some nieces and nephews of my own, then," she said finally. "My cubs will enjoy having cousins to play with, I'm sure."
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Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 4:09 pm
"Haha, yeah.. Sure." Akanni knew what he wanted to go out into the rogue lands to do and that if he was good enough there would be stunning little red replicas of him around and about, but he never considered them being in his daily life. He tossed the concern out the window, this was just going to be an epic joy ride. "Then it's settled." He covered up, "When I come back, I will come to see you again and you can introduce me to your little ones. " He winked and gave Fireheart a gentle embrace, and winked. "Wish me luck." With a laugh he turned and headed back for his den to make his preparations.
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Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 10:06 pm
"May all the luck of this pride go with you," Fireheart said with an amused look on her face as her brother headed back to wherever he had come from. She shook her head slightly once she was alone again. Unless whatever female he found was good-natured, he'd need quite a bit of luck to succeed in what he wanted. End
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