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 Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 3:52 pm
Kaihdin wearily woke at daybreak, as she had been doing so for the past month and a half. Every morning, the instant the bright and shining sun peeked over the horizon far, far away, her mother demanded alertness.
Every. Single. Day.
For hours on end, she would train. For the first few weeks of such routines, some tasks hard and others easy, the fifth oldest cub had no idea why she was forced into such a thing when her brothers and sisters lounged about, watching or doing they're own thing.
That was until she was told by a sister, nonetheless: Kaihdin was the chosen heir, as Roho wanted a female queen to rule after she had passed on. Kaihdin herself thought this ridiculous; why couldn't a different female cub had been chosen? Why her, this skinny black cub with white paws and uncanny purple lightning around her eyes and down her back? Why her?
But she knew better than to question her lord and mother, Roho of the Southlands. No father was ever present to face or be threatened with, but Roho never had a need to have an older male around. She ruled just fine alone.
And Kaihdin learned everything from her: how to be the meanest lion, how to hunt, to elict fear from another, and--most importantly--how to kill. She hadn't exactly done so, yet, as they were still in the 'explaining' stages, but she knew that one day, it would happen.
And as she rose for what felt like the millionth time to train all day yet again, her stomach churned. Over and over, like a mill. Like a waterfall crashing on the same rock each time water sprinted down and over the hanging cliff. And it wasn't a good feeling, oh no.
This 'churning' feeling only happened when something bad would.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 4:05 pm
The lioness, however, did not see her daughter's displeasure with their constant, vigorous training, her mind only on the importance of it all. She was too busy imparting her so-called wisdom upon the cub, delusions of grandeur filling her mind. She could see her daughter ruling her pride once she was gone, and it brought a smirk to her lips. Yes, everything would be fine.
Roho had obviously never been an affectionate lion and so no matter how much she cared for her cubs, no matter how deeply she loved them, she had a very hard time showing it. Combined with the intense training she put them through, especially her chosen daughter, she seemed just as cold as she did to her enemies.
"Come, Kaihdin," she growled, the light of enthusiasm in her eyes. "Today is one of the most important days of your education. Before, we went over the basics, but today... today is what really matters." She leaned over and pressed her nose to the dark cub's cheek, her own rough version of a nuzzle. "I have confidence in your." Something similar to affection shone in her eyes before she swung around and began stalking away. "We'll learn today in the grove of bushes." She named their usual training ground, chosen for it's spaciousness and accessibility.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 4:21 pm
The younger lioness followed obediantly, trotting to keep up the required distance of three strides behind her mother, The Queen. In one sense, she was happy to be a princess, because she was treated well (if one could call being trained every day from dawn until dusk), but it was only their family. No other lions were seen for miles around, or so she thought. And she couldn't very well rule over her 'subjects,' as they were called, if there were none to be found.
'Princess of the toads' was not very appealing to her.
What her mother had said, today being what really matters, unnerved her a bit. Yes, they had gone over the basics for many things, all different and all necessary to become queen, so Roho claims. The bushes was the place they frequented most, as it offered shade (which Kaihdin was thankful for) and camoflauge, from whatever it was they were 'hunting' at the time.
But with the bushes came a small field, excellent for sprints and running exercises, which Roho tended to lean towards if Kaihdin didn't do something right. It wasn't a punishment, exactly, just more training. She didn't hate or mother, or loathe her for all this exercise and 'education.' It was a difficult time and she understood that.
So, with only tired thoughts in her mind, most yearning for more sleep, Kaihdin sat in the middle of the field, back straight, tail erect, and feet firmly in front of her. A princess awaiting requests from the Queen. A soldier awaiting orders from the General.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 4:34 pm
Roho stopped, eyeing her daughter for a moment and giving a nod of approval. Kaihdin was definitely quick to catch on, and there was a glimmer of pride in Roho's scarlet eyes as she said, "You can relax for now, daughter. This morning's training has no physical component to it." She circled around the cub, finally sitting down at her side and wrapping her tail around her daughter's haunches.
"Do you see that shadow in the distance?" she asked in a soft, rasping voice. "The tall, blurred shape?" Roho waited for a moment before continuing, "That's Pride Rock." Her lips curled in disgust. "The lions there are peaceful fools. They live in harmony and avoid conflict if at all possible." She chuckled roughly. "Now, Kaihdin, peace is not necessarily a bad thing. With peace comes rest, and with rest comes vigor for the next challenges we face. Those who actively seek peace, however, are usually cowards. Cowards, as a general rule, are weak. What reason is there to be cowardly if you can hold your own in a battle?"
She paused for a moment, letting the heiress take in this information before she went on. "As you know, cowards - the weak creatures - are the enemy; the scourge of the earth. And it just so happens that one of the most pathetic lions I've ever met lives in the Pridelands."
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 4:43 pm
Kaihdin immediately did so, pushing her paws forward a bit and relaxing her tail. As her mother's own long, spindly appendage rested over her daughter's back, Kaihdin offered a sign of respect and somewhat love in the act of winding her tail around the tip of her mother's, offering security and whatever else Roho assumed from this action, be what it may be.
And at her words, her red orbs flickered upward and into the distance, making out a blurred--very blurred, because of the distance--triangle-like object. 'Pride Rock,' the word tumbled in her mind. Peaceful fools? Is it so wrong to want peace instead of blood, revenge, and death? Kaihdin did not voice these aloud; she pushed them away and into the back of her mind, focusing on what Roho was saying.
"Cowards, as a general rule, are weak." Of course they were. This was what Roho had loved to teach and was a basic rule, one of the first she had taught her six cubs.
Kaihdin nodded in agreement, not speaking until asked directly, or so she thought was...'polite.' Roho had never specified when she could speak, only to watch her words and tone when she did so. But Kaihdin had picked up the habit of not speaking unless asked or told to do so, and when she did, she always worded her vocabulary in a flattering tone towards her mother as a respective nature.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 4:56 pm
Roho sat in silence with her daughter for a moment, mulling over the right words to use. "This lion has great potential," she finally decided. "He's a great massive brute, with plenty of strength and power in him, and yet he doesn't use it. I fought him once - twice, actually - and his skills are pathetic. I could tell he'd never lifted a claw in his life, and he's an adult." Roho scowled. "When he did strike, it was clumsy, but I could still feel the strength built up in him."
"However," she continued, "he was more concerned about escaping than fighting to defend himself, and his honour. It's a sheer waste. This is where we come in, Kaihdin. His mate was pregnant last time I saw them, and she must've given birth by now. He has cubs now. What better way to unleash the strength inside a lion than to pose a potential threat to his offspring? I may not be reserved about battling, but I can assure you that if anyone were to even come close to you and your siblings, all hell would break loose."
"The plan, my daughter, is to cubnap one of his children. He and his mate detest me, which makes the plan all the more likely to succeed. We'll bring him back here. Then, the fool father has only one choice: to come and fight for his cub. With this, we'll unleash the potential in him, and get rid of another speck of weakness in this savannah."
Roho turned her muzzle down to her daughter, watching her quietly. "What are your thoughts, Kaihdin?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 5:08 pm
Kaihdin mulled over this new information quietly. She could say one of two things, one being more suitable to admit for her mother than the other, the latter being one she felt in her heart. The one she was not supposed to feel.
"Cowards in Pridelands. What do they call themselves, the Pridelanders, then?" she began, the word twisting on her tongue. It was slowly becoming a mindset for her: Pridelanders equal cowards. Cowards must be dealt with accordingly.
"If they are so cowardly, why put such an oxymoron in their own name? Or are they trying to build up such self-esteem to convince themselves of their polar-opposite nature, being the cowards as they are?" The thoughts came unbidden to her mind as another mindset floated in: Cowards must be dealt with, by pain or death or banishment. They must be gone from this world, for they have no purpose in life but to serve the strong. And if they do not, they die.
She winced inwardly at the harsh words that smoothly slid off her tongue. Her mother was having a truly powerful impact on her middle daughter; this was not a good thing, this hatred. But Kaihdin squashed her second-guessing feelings, concentrating on the lesson at hand.
"Mother, your plan is flawless. This lion: has he only daughters? Would taking a son be more..." she searched for an appropriate word, glancing into her mother's face when she found it, "provacative? Of course, you must have already thought of such. I simply wanted to make things clear so as to not overstep details that might be needed later, Mother."
She laid the flattery on thick. Day by day, lesson by lesson, lying and flattering were becoming more and more easier.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 5:22 pm
Roho broke into a smile at her daughter's words. Such intellect from one that wasn't even a juvenile yet! "You have a good point, Kaihdin," she rumbled. "I believe that you're right - they give themselves that name to try and convince themselves otherwise of their meager reality." A thought struck and Roho added, "I have, however, met one Pridelander who did not fall into the usual weakness. Her name was Kiuma and she was fiery and strong. She herself was the daughter of the king and queen, so I suppose there is some good blood in them... but in general, be skeptical of them."
A purr of satisfaction bubbled in her throat as Kaihdin complimented the plan. "Good," she murmured. "If what I've heard is true, there are three sons and one daughter. I have word that one of them, one of the sons, might even come willingly." She offered the cub a smile and added, "Even your oldest brother finds ways to help."
With fiery determination in her voice, she growled, "We'll infiltrate their home in two days. Tomorrow we'll practice some more stealth, as it will be important in this mission... your first mission," she said proudly. "But we won't work too hard, because you'll need your energy for the following morning."
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 5:30 pm
"Thank you, Mother," she offered at once at the compliment. Having such praise come was rare, and the more she received, the more she felt good about herself. But a warning bell tingled in her mind: flattery could be used both ways; for all she knew, Roho could be laying it on just as thick as Kaihdin was.
"It is good to hear that good blood still resides in all tribes, Mother, though they are surrounded by those of weak blood," she stated, kneading her claws in the ground. It was a nervous, misused habit of hers, but one that she did not abandon for the sake of her mother's thoughts. From an outsider's point of view, one would think Kaihdin eager to start this...mission.
"Yes, Mother. What is your plan for the infiltration? Shall I wander in, or do you have a more stealthy idea, as you always do?" She grinned upwards at her mother slyly. "And what shall we practice today?"
'Boderline, Kai, boderline,' she yelled at herself. 'Don't put a paw over such a line.'
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Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 5:32 pm
Roho considered her daughter's words, thinking over her plan once more. "I will be there with you, of course... while I have the utmost of confidence in you, this is your first task, and a very important one at that. If anything were to go wrong, I'll be there to help you."
"What we'll do, Kaihdin, is slip in at night. I'll have Cam find out the exact whereabouts of their den... that senseless boy has some sort of fondness for the Pridelands." She added the last part in a soft growl, barely audible. "Since the lion and his mate have never seen you, nor your siblings - in fact, they don't know I have cubs at all - then you won't need to worry about a disguise. Cam will convince the cub we want, a reckless boy named Tain, to sneak outside around midnight and wait for him. Instead of Cam, however, he'll meet you, and you can lead him far enough away that I can swoop in, grab him, and we can escape home."
Roho's eyes sparkled with pride at her plan. "Remember, Kaihdin, this boy will not be a slave. Enslaving others - especially cubs - is foolish and shows that you're not strong enough to do things for yourself. No, he'll be a sort of captive, and though he won't be treated like my own, he will not be harassed nor attacked." She knew that Kaihdin didn't need to hear this, for this particular daughter was sensible, but she was thinking out loud.
"As for your mission today, my daughter, all you have to do is catch a field mouse and eat it." This was not something particularly new, so she knew it wouldn't be a big deal. "You need your strength for tomorrow, so I want you to be well-rested and full."
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Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 5:42 pm
"I thank you for your reassurance and help, Mother. It is an important task, and I confess I will feel better with you there. And think: my coat is so black I will blend in just as well as Cam will," she boasted a bit with the thickness of it all, not being able to help her pride in her lightning-streaked fur.
"So this cub--Tain, his name is--will act as, say, a...distant relative?" Kaihdin, too, thought aloud as her mother often did. She found that the inherited skill, one she liked more than others, often came in handy when there was a particularly tough problem or just a time to herself.
"Not as close as myself and my siblings, but close enough to only suspect what we want him to? And close enough to gain his trust so manipulation will be inevitable and all the rest you have planned for, of course," she finished. The devilish thought brought a fake gleam of silver to her eye, one she had practiced for months and finally had it mastered. Such evil could never come to her willingly. It was hard enough to lie about even trivial things, even to one as such as her mother.
"Yes mother," Kaihdin replied, bowing her head respectfully. She took her leave, her head and upper body still bowed, as she backed up and began to turn toward the forest around them. This would be an easy hunt, she decided. But she would take longer just to have the chance for some alone time.
She felt that she deserved it.
Edited for finishing purposes only.
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