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 Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:39 am
(( this is just a solo RP between my two characters. ))
Stretching out under the rays of the sun was a lioness who was both wise and unwise. At some times she could seem intelligent, speaking with a wisdom that could impress even the immortals and at other times she could be....well...she could be a fool.
Ripuka was blind, both in a physical sense and a mental one, for though she had no sight in her right eye she also had no sight into other's beliefs.
She lived only for Finar-si and loved the Goddess more than most Firekin. She worshipped she who had created her and given life to the desert and why not? For Finar-si had indeed blessed her children with strength and beauty that far surpassed any others. Yet at the same time she had condemned them to a life of living up to a reputation that some might find a curse rather than a blessing.
Perhaps it was a good thing then that Ripuka took great pride in her Firekin blood.
Her sides heaved upwards with the beginnings of a great sigh and for a moment it seemed like she was thinking of moving. Though after a moment she simply repositioned her head on the sand, flicked her tail and fell back into a drowsy sleep.
From here her body was half shrouded in the shade of a great boulder that jutted up powerfully from the sand. It was this that protected her from the hottest rays of the desert sun.
In fact Ripuka seemed quite happy to sleep the day away and probably would have if the tread of paws hadn't disturbed her.
With surprisingly quick reactions the lioness rolled onto her stomach and swept her head around so that her one good eye could scan the area.
Sand...sand...sand...slave.
Her muzzle wrinkled with the beginnings of a snarl and with another flick of her flaming tail she rose and shook the gold from her fur. She was indeed a rare beauty to behold despite her scars. Unlike the other Firekin her pelt glowed with an orange sheen that made it seem almost like she was on fire. The strange tribal markings on her body also showed that she was not of the royal blood but of her own separate bloodline. A bloodline she happened to be very proud of.
"You!" Her voice rumbled from her chest like approaching thunder and halted the slave in its tracks.
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Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:45 am
The slave had been trotting across the sand towards the den in order to tell Zenoni the news of her meeting with an old childhood friend when the yell struck her. The single word was like a physical blow and almost instantly her body ceased up, one forepaw hanging midair as she had prepared to take another step.
Aware of the sand burning her paws and her heart pounding painfully in her chest the pale, petite lioness turned her head slowly in the direction the voice had came from and awaited the punishment that was sure to entail.
Her spirits had actually been high but now as she saw the approaching Firekin they slowly began to dip once more, leaving her dwelling in despair.
She didn't want to be hurt anymore! She just wanted to go to the dens and be left alone. She didn't mean any harm!
Almost out of habit the young lioness dropped to the ground, burying her nose between her forepaws and curling her tail around a hind leg in the most pitiful of positions. She was submissive, afraid and willing to do anything if it kept her out of harm's way.
She would not speak unless told to.
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Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:53 am
A low growl rumbled in the back of the storyteller's throat as she approached, her paws moving gracefully across the sand towards her victim. It was time to teach these slaves the meaning of their existence. They all walked about as if they were as good as the Firekin but this was far from the truth.
This lioness needed to learn respect.
"You, slave." She barked, coming to a halt in front of her and raising her head up so that she appeared even larger. In fact she was already huge when compared to the petite peach girl cowering before her, the tiny frame dwarfed by the strong muscled figure of the Firekin.
"Where do you think you're going to in such a hurry? You think you can walk past me with your head held high?" Her lips curled up to reveal yellowing fangs, her eyes slitted as she glared down at the lioness.
"There was once a butterfly, a beautiful thing, who flew the skies with all the freedom one might want." Her words were nothing more than a spiteful hiss, "this butterfly flew and flew and flew, happy to fly and nothing more. Yet one day this little insect saw the sun and took delight in staring at its beauty. And stupid little butterfly wanted to greet the sun and with it's dazzling wings set off. Flying and flying and flying and flying towards that golden disc. And do you know what happened to this pretty little insect?"
She did not wait for a response.
"The insect flew too close to the sun and it's wings melted. Now butterfly was not butterfly any longer, no, in fact butterfly had become worm. Ugly little worm who fell to the ground and was squished beneath the paw of a flaming lion."
She slammed her own forepaw down, dark claws unsheathed so that they cut small grooves into the soft ground.
She loved stories and she loved riddles, this much was obvious.
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Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:57 am
"I w-was going to the d-dens ma'am, just to t-the dens. N-nothing more. P-please Lady Firekin, pl-please forgive me f-for my r-rudeness. I di-did not see you." Her voice shook, the stutter ever present in her words.
It was a habit brought on by her trauma of living here as a slave, being beaten and looked down on.
No longer was she treated like a lion, she was treated like a worthless being, alive only to serve. Perhaps she deserved it, perhaps not. But Kiburi knew she was not the lioness she had once been.
"No l-lion could ev-ever ou-outshine y-you ma'am." She swallowed to try and clear her throat so that her words would come easier, trying to stop her body from shaking.
She was a skinny bundle of nerves.
She said nothing as the lioness told her story, wincing only as her paw came down to slam the ground. She could almost imagine the poor little bug writhing on the ground in agony before being killed beneath the paws of an evil red-pelt.
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:32 am
Kimaria "That is correct." Ripuka snarled, gazing angrily at the slave with her bi-coloured eyes. She was a proud lioness and a fierce one at that and there was no way she'd ever allow a slave to get the better of her.
Her muzzle wrinkled in the beginnings of a snarl and for a moment she thought about striking out at the pathetic beast that cowered before her. It was then that the scents of strangers became apparent on this creatures fur and something ticked in the Firekin's mind.
"Who were you with?!" Her voice was menacing. "Inferiors should not converse with other inferiors unless permission is granted. Who do you belong to scarred one?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:33 am
Kimaria "I b-belong to Lord Kimeti, he i-is my master and m-my guide. He blesses me wi-with his greatness and has given meaning to my ex-existance." Kiburi bowed her head so low that her muzzle pressed against the sand and for a moment she wondered if finally after all this time she had met her maker.
"I wasn't...wasn't wi-with others." She could not give away the locations of her friends, she could not see them captured and enslaved.
Uumikaji...
Syeira...
No, she would not give them to the Firekin on a silver platter, not when they had finally brought her some hope.
"O-only with other slaves."
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:33 am
Kimaria "So you're the King's little helper?" She hissed, bristling angrily at her words. "You think you are special because you are his personal slave?" She drew closer, her breath falling onto Kiburi's lowered face.
"Kimeti is the same as all of us, and all of us are better than you. Do not forget it or more scars will mark that foul pelt of yours." She raised a paw then, claws unsheathed as if preparing to give a final blow.
"Tell me the truth inferior, tell me where these others are and I'll let you off lightly. Speak more lies and I'll swipe those pretty eyes from their sockets." It was not an empty threat.
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:50 am
Kimaria "Lady Ripuka, would you truly wish to strike a slave who is not your responsibility?" The calm and collceted voice of the young Prince and heir to the throne stepped up to stand beside her, his golden gaze falling upon Kiburi's trembling form.
Why did his heart ache when he set eyes on these pitful creatures? Did no one else feel sad when they saw such broken animals? This one had been a lion once but now she was nothing more than a hollow shell.
It was in her that he found his first vision as a seer.
Pain, suffering so terrible that it was enough to break one's heart. Nightmares so terrifying and life changing that they forced one to do things they would not usually do. A journey across the sand, death closing it's jaws upon her - or trying to. The fear...the terrible, /terrible/ fear!
The seer prince gave a startled gasp and stumbled backwards, eyes wide with terror as he felt the same emotions that one day this young lioness might. He feared for her then and wished that he could change that future for her even if she was not of Firekin blood.
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:51 am
Kimaria "P-please...I d-don't know a-anything.." It was at that moment when her plea left her throat that the footsteps of an approaching lion caught her attention. She raised her head to gaze across the sand to see her eyes settle upon the son of her Master.
Kidondo.
She returned to her bowing, face pressed into the sand as she lay trembling against the heated ground, wishing she could just leave and return to the cave where Zenoni would be waiting.
It was only when she caught the startled look of the usually emotionless cub that Kiburi felt her heart clench with fear. What could he have seen in her to make him so afraid? She was nothing but skin and bones.
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 5:52 am
Kimaria The cub's words however did have some effect on Ripuka and she halted her swipe to turn to face the young prince. She bowed her head slightly and cleared her throat.
"Young Prince, I apologise if I stole the job from you. As your father's slave she is yours too and you have more right to scar her hide than I." Though her words sounded respectful her tone was bitter and she knew that the little prince would hear it.
He was a smart one for she herself had been teaching him. "I shall take my leave of you. Do with this one as you see fit." And she backed up, turning away only when she was a good ten metres away.
Ah well...maybe next time she'd get to sink her claws into that slave.
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