The lion waited, still as a stone. His expression wasn't the affable smile he usually showed to the world, but blank and serious. Not even his tail twitched as he sat, awaiting his offspring. The messages had been sent, taking time to find them all through friendly and unwitting messangers. At long last, the end of his long quest was in sight.
He held himself still because if he did not, Facio knew, he would be fidgeting and pacing furiously.
The pink lion glanced at the one child who was already here with him. Mors, who had found what all four had sought. His son. Facio found it fitting that his only son should be the one to succeed. It proved that, of the four, Mors was most like him. A proper heir.
Mors hoped his sisters would get here soon. He didn't know how many of them would've gotten their father's messages, but it had been several moons since he'd started back from the lands of the Kitwana'antara. Being here alone with Facio for half of that time had been...strenuous. Mors knew his father was skilled at controlling himself, but he'd been even more controlled than usual.
Or was it less?
Usually, Facio was friendly and smiling, though gods all knew that wasn't his true self. He simply adopted that pose to fool any passerby and to stay in practice. However, he'd been silent and stiff ever since Mors had reported the whereabouts of Mittere, and the younger male was slowly realizing that his father was incapable of controlling himself enough to be act friendly.
It made him nervous.
nessiaing
Ecavi
Capricious Starlight
Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 3:42 am
Tisiphone had left the Pridelands thinking to find another well-populated area to scout out, taking her time before setting her sights on the coast.. she had barely made it to the jungle when her father's summons reached her, and she'd had to turn right back around. And it was no short journey but knowing Facio was waiting was especially motivating, and it could only mean one thing.
When she arrived, she saw Mors was already with their father, making her the second to return. It took a beat to realize that no, this very likely meant that she was the first to reappear - her brother must have found what they all were looking for.
She took a deep breath before putting on a demure smile and closing the gap between them. It had been quite the trip since she left the Pridelands but she knew she was yet visibly well-fed and her father would notice that. Unless anybody else had the same idea, she was going to stand out even more than usual. But there was no helping that.
The young leopon obediently followed his mother as she led him and his siblings to the other grownups. Mommy had told him and his brothers and his sister to be quiet and not interrupt the grownups, so he was going to be super quiet. Like a rock. A rock who was following his mommy so closely that he was almost glued to her leg.
There was another mommy here, but unlike his mommy, she was purple, not pink. And she didn't have cubs with her. And there were two big boys too, who were both pink like Zikawoneka and his mommy. And they both had fuzzy stuff all around their faces. Zika really wanted to play with it, and wondered if he could do so while still being quiet.
Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2017 5:35 pm
Good. They were all here now, which was as it should be. Facio had considered heading out straightaway when Mors told him the news, but realized that it was possible Mittere could escape again if he didn't have extra bodies to deter her. Not to mention that the news his son had brought indicated that the lioness had been settled in this pride, the Kitwana'antara, for most of the intervening time since his last sight of her. It was unlikely that she would leave now.
Not impossible, he admitted to himself, but she would likely only do so if she learned his intentions. Since she'd never shown any such knowledge previously, Facio had put his faith in providence.
"You can thank your brother for finally locating her," the lion rasped to his offspring. He had spoken little since Mors had returned, and was distantly surprised by the disuse in his own voice.
"We leave at dawn for the Kitwana'antara."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mors waited patiently as his sisters arrived. The most surprising additions were the cubs trailing along behind Megaera. He was...an uncle? To...a group of leopons it looked like. Huh. They were cute, in a stereotypical cub way. He wasn't so sure it would be a good idea to take them on the long journey to the pride he'd found though. They didn't look like they'd have the endurance for it.
Well, they weren't too big. Maybe he and his sisters could carry them. Or maybe Meg would choose to stay behind with them? He wasn't really sure what the best method would be.
On the other hand, he wasn't entirely certain their father had noticed this new generation's presence. Facio had been very withdrawn since his return.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zika froze as the big grownup started talking. His voice sounded funny, like rocks sliding on top of each other. He didn't understand everything that was said, but he knew that dawn was when the sun said hello and he knew that leaving meant walking. Lots of walking. On sore paws. Except Mommy didn't like it when he and his siblings complained about sore paws.
Oh and he knew brother. He had brothers. And a sister. But he hadn't found anything and his brothers hadn't either. So...maybe the other boy was a brother too? It was All Very Confusing.
Ecavi
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mouselet
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Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2017 8:14 pm
Alekto had been traveling with a small mercernary band when the summons reached her. It had been a simple matter to slip away, expecting them to, at most, attribute her depature to the call of a family she'd made the vaguest of references to once in a while. If they cared more than that, well, she didn't. She'd left them little they could use.
She'd arrived in near-silence, an eyebrow twitching slightly at the unexpected addition of cubs to their little "family unit." A surprised blink answered the news of who'd located the lioness. Mors was possibly the last she would have expected to find a lead, let alone their quarry itself. She had to wonder just how he'd managed to pull it off, but kept her questions to herself for now. She wasn't about to betray that much interest in his methods yet--he might save her the effort, if he was inclined to boast. She glanced at the cubs speculatively, musing on if Facio would allow them to slow the group's progress. Likely not. A solution would have to be found there, one way or another.
Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 8:49 pm
The cubs that arrived with Meg were a distraction and a hindrance. Whether or not she wanted to, that was all Tisiphone could allow herself to think of the cubs. Her annoyance was pushed farther by the raspy voice her father used to confirm her suspicion that Mors was the one that had found their target. At least he didn't seem especially disappointed in the sisters and Mors himself hardly seemed in a gloating mood..
The Kitwana'antara.. she'd actually heard of it! A surprising benefit of spending so much time in a large pride. It attracted many members, guests and passers-by that had been all sorts of places.. it was a chaotic, disorganized mess but it could have been the most well-informed pride out there if it had any discipline.
Though she managed to keep a neutral and attentive expression, she couldn't conceal a soft sigh.
Ecavi
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Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 8:37 pm
As unfocused as Facio was, that didn't detract from the sharpness of his ears and he turned on Tisiphone at the sound of her sigh.
"This is no sighing matter!" the lion informed his daughter. "It is essential that we arrive without alerting the pride to our intent."
Absolutely vital. Mittere, if she found out prematurely, would certainly make things difficult. Facio looked around at his family, eyes settling on the cubs at Megara's feet. Slowly, he began to smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mors blinked in surprise as their father singled out Tisiphone to berate her. It wasn't like him at all, and it made the young lion feel rather awkward. He was starting to wonder about Facio's intent in finding Mittere, and if it was really a good idea to lead him back to the Kitwana'antara.
"Uhhhh...Father?" the boy ventured. "Just what is our intent?"
He wanted to know, but he also felt that he didn't want to know. It was...a strange combination of emotions and tension.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The big growunup got very upset at one of the not-moms and Zika hid again. This was scary! Mom was good, but he was less sure of the others here. Especially when the big one looked right at him and started smiling. Zika was reminded of playing with his dinner, the ones he hadn't caught yet.
He really didn't want to be someone's dinner.
Ecavi
nessiaing
Capricious Starlight
Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2017 9:29 pm
Tisiphone straightened herself up when Facio snapped at her, but gave looked him in the eyes when he addressed her and did not falter. In many ways, she was scared of him, but this was manageable.. and she would never show him her fear, that would only make things worse.
Her eyes stayed on Facio when Mors asked a very important question. She was wondering the same thing, though she had only one logical guess after everything they had been through.. she was curious if he would admit it.
Unfortunately, his attention turned to the cubs and a terrible smile crept onto his face. Her eyes narrowed but she said nothing, still looking only at her father.
Ecavi
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Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2017 6:57 pm
The older lion was still smiling as he turned his gaze from the cubs back to his son. The cubs were an asset - though they'd slow the group down, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It would mean that all the adults would be well-rested when they finally arrived. Not to mention that the presence of cubs would help indicate their general harmlessness.
"Our intent is to gain peaceful entry to the Kitwana'antara pride, so that we can come upon Mittere with no forewarning." The lion paused. If he completed his thought, he would voice words that he had never once stated in his entire life.
"The cubs will be key, as they will be the indication of our honesty and simplicity." Facio smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, it sounded reasonable, though Mors wasn't entirely certain as to why the cubs were so necessary. That is to say, he understood how they could be used to deflect and deceive, but he still wasn't sure what the end goal was. Facio had stopped just short of saying what it was, but the young lion had an odd feeling that he wasn't sure he wanted to know. A growing sense of dread as he considered what hes father's next words might be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zika blinked at the word "cubs." It sounded like...he and his siblings were going to be important! Very important! Which was good! The leopon stopped hiding behind his mother's leg and came out to sit next to her, pride in every line of his little body.
Ecavi
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Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2017 8:21 pm
Gain peaceful entry to the Kitwana'antara, so that we can come upon Mittere with no forewarning...
Like Mors, Tisiphone had been wondering about Facio's true intent and though she always had her guesses, she never felt more confident in it than she was now. Her stern gaze remained steady on her father but inside her head she was going in circles trying to sort out what she thought and how she was supposed to react to this. Unfortunately for her, her siblings and her niece and nephews.. there wasn't much to be done but go along with it.
So she held fast.
"What do we know about the Kitwana'antara?" she asked, now scanning her memory for whatever gossip she might have picked up about it in her own journeys.
Ecavi
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mouselet
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2017 7:01 pm
"A good question," Facio replied, pleased. This was going to go very well indeed, he could feel it in his fur. The lion gestured for Mors to step forward.
"Your brother will explain what he's learned about this pride to us all. Though they are peaceful, they hold some unexpected dangers, it seems." Indeed, he'd almost failed to believe his son's news because of that. However, on reflection, it had made complete sense.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He hadn't expected to be put on the spot like this. But, an order was an order and Mors obeyed his father. The young lion came forward and took a deep breath, looking around at his sisters and the cubs. They were really going to go.
"The Kitwana'antara is generally avoided by travelers because it is plagued by a disease..." the lion began, explaining in as much detail as he knew to his family. Since he'd already gone over this once for Facio, it was easier the second time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zika didn't understand everything the not-grownuppest grownup was saying, but everyone else seemed to be paying a lot of attention to it. So he would too. There was lots of stuff about sick lions, which sounded unpleasant. He hoped he didn't get sick either.
Okay guys, this is my last post in this RP! At some point (hopefully this summer before I completely forget again) I'll do the next RP of arrival in the K'A! I'll let you know when that happens.
Ecavi
nessiaing
Capricious Starlight
Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2017 1:43 pm
Slowly but surely, Tisiphone resigned herself to the role she had been given at birth. Her father was in charge, he directed all of their fates. She finally turned her attention away from Facio when he ordered Mors to take the lead in explaining these unexpected dangers.
Plagued by a disease..
That would make infiltration complicated, but not impossible. All she could do was listen carefully to what Mors told her, asking no more questions but instead focusing on absorbing the information. It could very easily mean the difference between life and death, it seemed.
