|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 11:25 am
 For just a moment the sun disappeared from view, taken hostage by a giant white cloud that loomed over the desert lands. Clouds were rare in the lands of fire, and to see one was considered a bad omen for some, but a good one for far many more. To Uzulu, it was the cloud of promise – his cloud – to match the burning white of his kin. It was a trait that had passed down from every generation to him, on the male side of the family. A thick and stunning mane, as white as the sand on which his feet once again rested.
The male sucked in a deep breath, marveling in the beauty that he once again returned to. It had been far too long an absence. A feeling of despair came over him in that moment, despite the sun’s returning rays. He remembered his father, so valiant, his breath coming no stronger than the silent desert breeze. That was when he had fled, and he was sure now that the land he left would be changed. There would be no plague left to be had, and the firekin would be strong yet again.
It was in this new land he could flee and start anew, teach the ways of the proud Motoujami to all his children and heir. Perhaps, someday, grow to raise the next King of the firekin lands, if he played his cards right. Only careful words of seduction on the most noble of creatures would land him there. He would have to fake love, caring, affection, all which he knew he could manage. Once the chidren came, it wouldn’t matter, and he would be sure that they would.
His lips curled lightly, revealing sharp teeth that spoke of wicked plots and plans. His voice was that of persuasion, deep, thick, and sharp. It held ones attention, but also made them feel safe, as though he were made for you and only you, and he would make sure everything turned out to its greatest splendor. His jaw opened wider to release his welcoming call, he was home, and it was best that everyone new it – so he sang his song to the skies and ventured down the thick dunes into the Firekin world.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 11:36 am
A lazy dream. For such a simple minded creature, it was a luxury was often taken for granted. Her dreams of late had been troubling. She dreamt a lot about her father and her brother arguing. A large old male from the east speaking with Ripuka... things that made no sense. There was a skull head the old one carried. Strange times, although Kaanga could not say she had never known quiet ones. The princess shifted and rolled onto her back, pressing her white paws against her chest. But this one had been lazy. Something about the sun and rain and little white beetles walking on the sand. She missed dreams like that. They were the ones she liked to make stories out of.
She stretched again, moving her long body out. She wasn’t used to this grown self, even thought it had not happened overnight. Maybe it was the fact that now she could no longer deny her inevitable growing. And with it- the rest of her large family. She was glad to see her sister home at last. Now if only poor Koka would return! Then, all would be well, finally.
From the tangled web of her thoughts, a low roar echoed over the pile of sand and rock she rested upon. The lioness rolled back over and folded her paws. It wasn’t that roaring was uncommon in the desert land- but this voice seemed unfamiliar. Delight flashed across her face. Perhaps Kidondo was coming back from his trip? Or was it Koka? It had sounded rather masculine, but...Koka had always been a bit of a brute.
The lithe creature scrabbled over the rocks, moving across the small hillside so she could get at a better vantage point. The rock formations were oddly circular- and she had to pass through a few nooks before she could reach a crest at the side. Down below amongst the sand was the unmistakable form of a firekin- but not that of Koka or Kidondo. Kaanga cocked her head, and carefully slid down the dusty crevasse.
“Hello, hello.” She called to the stranger, stumbling.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 11:52 am
Uzulu was carefully knit picking his way through rocks and sand, careful not to make any mistake that would ruin his perfect entrance. Regardless of whether or not anyone was around, there was a simple pride that he held above all other things. One of those was to walk with the pure elegance and grace that must befit royalty. If not perfection, what should the Firekin think of him? The grin was still heavy set from his maw when the stirring of rock came to his ears.
He turned his head towards the disturbance, ears forwards, and brows furrowed. Coming down the hill was a sight indeed. She wasn’t the most coordinated of things, but she moved with the ease of the adolescence she possessed, or at least Uzulu perceived. He gave her a broad smile as she called out. Not a typical Firekin greeting as he remembered, but times would have changed, no doubt.
He chuckled lightly to himself. He wasn’t too old himself, but he imagined still a bit more than her in years. It may have given him a bit more status, but he wouldn’t risk an upset at the beginning of his adventure. No, best to keep it safe and be kind. “Aye,” he drummed back, a look of alarm crossing his forehead as she stumbled.
With quick footpaws he spun over the sand, running up to her aid. The sand was a bit thicker than he wished, and he nearly fell himself a few times. So much for the valiant rescue. Still, perhaps she hadn’t seen his falter. “Careful there, lady, or you’ll scar.” He sidled up beside her, his green eyes scanning her over with as little time as he had. Well muscled anyhow. “Can I be of assistance?” He was, of course, referring to her descent down the hill. Curtesy was always highly regarded and he thought his entrance to the homelands was going rather well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 12:02 pm
“Oof,” Kaanga sputtered as the sand bled between her paws and sunk her in. But the stranger had rushed up to help her down. Had she been any other firekin female, it might have struck indignation- but Kaanga swallowed up the feeling of someone feeling concern over her. Had that ever happened before? She twined her tail eagerly, and gently rubbed her face in slight embarrassment. “Hehe- sorry, Kaanga sometimes is not very stable.” Sometimes really being always.
She shook her head. “I am good, no no.” The white lioness replied, waving her paw. “Stumbling, sometimes. I think I am on good ground now.” She responded, shoving past her own troubling ways and craning her neck to look at the large lion who had helped her down. “I am Kaanga,” The princess smiled, curling her tail. “Who are you, stranger?” She could tell he was of the blood- there was no mistaking that bright red coat.
Suddenly a bit self-conscious, she shook off her coat and slightly fluffed it down. She was never in the lieu of keeping up apperances- but she was sure she'd be scolded for looking so disheveled, particularly if this male was on track to meet with her father. They always were, after all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 12:13 pm
She was odd, for a Firekin. Uzulu had expected the fierce flame of the typical Firekin female, not wanting aid, and certainly wishing they could give him the very scar they spoke of. Her blatant kindness made him recoil a bit, his nose wrinkling. Someone must have slipped something rather odd into the drinking water after the plague. Still, it would be rude not to continue conversation now that he had her in one; or rather she had started it.
He smiled at her name. It was a harmonious sound. As a general rule he found Motoujami names to be distasteful. Very blunt and, well, just like fire. Hers, however, was more like his, a long and flowing of syllables, but not to distant to make the tongue ache from use. Just right in length and dialect. His smile, however, soon vanished. In his experience they gave historical background when telling others of themselves. She’d merely spoken her name, nothing more. There was going to be a lot to get used to.
“Uzula. He said it simply, as though it meant nothing, for that was, of course what is was, just a name. Not even a name could cover up the lack of good breeding. His sons would fix that, he was sure. “Tell me, what have the lands turned to?” Better he find out now then be caught with the shock while in the midst of his more venomous of kin.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 12:21 pm
Kaanga looked behind her towards the main thrust of firekin land, as if she had to look to recall exactly what she had lived all of her life knowing. The golden eyed creature turned, and another small smile flitted across her face. “Turned to? Oh-“ She echoed, and paused. Kidondo got most of the history lectures, but she occasionally listened in when Ripuka was schooling him. “The lands are under control of my father, lord Kimeti. He is the son of Kiu, who was the son of Makadari.” She knew not further then that. “The queen mother has left, and now it is just the king. My brother, Kidondo will take the throne soon- but he's away at the moment.” She summed, her tail shifting in thought.
“Oh- and, there are babies.” She grinned. Well. Expected babies anyways, although the bloodlines were dropping thin. “...blood is not too well, there are many relatives, but I am sure everything will be fine.” she hurried.
Actually. Things were pretty crappy lately. But Kaanga did not seem to admit it. “My mother has not been well, the priestess Karama. Do you know her?” She rambled. “Uzula-...I do not know that name, but I’m only a season. I am sure my father will know of you.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 12:31 pm
The smile was back, stronger than ever. He’d struck gold – royal gold. She was the daughter of the king, and if he won her favor, it would be a tale indeed. Her brother was to take the throne, it was a slight disappointment, that she had brothers at all, but there were ways around that. If he started with the sister, he could work his way up. Perhaps sire a girl that would one day sit beside the other on the throne. He wouldn’t mind a queen rule. The females tended to be stricter, besides. He’d known the males to lax, for one reason or another.
Children? He turned looked at her questioningly. He wasn’t sure what she meant by ‘babies’. Many firekin, or simply those of royal blood? Her second bit confirmed his doubts. The firekin were indeed spreading, though they weren’t the purest in their lines. Pity, it meant the pickings would be slim. It also meant the lands were flourishing. The plague was, indeed, gone. That brought a waves of relief. Perhaps his dreams would haunt him no more.
He shook his head at her questions. Her mother was sick, that was ill news. Perhaps if he were to offer to care for her, a little bit here, for a scratch on the back there. He had to be patient, couldn’t seem too greedy. “It is an honor to meet you, Kaanga,” he said, giving her a little bow. It wasn’t hard to tell she enjoyed it when others told her kind things. He hoped they weren’t all like this.
“I doubt it. I left, as a youth, never had many ties to royalty. Peasantry, you could call me.” No problem with being honest, as long as she kept her big mouth shut, it shouldn’t be a problem.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 12:42 pm
Kaanga was delighted by the gentry show of it, watching him bow. The idea that she could have been manipulated never entered into her mind- nor had the idea that her rank would attract such a show. It’d been a long time since someone had payed direct attention to her, and she happily blushed and skirted around him. Maybe he was like her! “Firekin never forget one another.” She repeated, and stretched her paws out. “Someone will know. Ripuka is an old lady, she probably would know.” Not that Ripuka would like her using such a condescending remark towards her...
“But, but- you’ve been outside the lands then?” She dismissed, taking a few steps to imply she was willing to walk and talk. “What are they like? I’ve never seen them. I want to ask Kidondo what he thinks of them when he comes home, but he’s not home.” She frowned. “Kaanga has stayed here with father.” Why was it that she still dreamed of trouble between them? There was no reason for it.
“This is still a bit far out,” She explained as she crossed under a large rock which hung between two other ledges. “There are still not as many firekin as there once were- so we occupy a bit more to the south now.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 12:56 pm
Uzulu wasn’t so sure he wanted to be remembered. The less memory they had of him, the better, on less of course they were good memories. They could have as many of those as they wanted. He followed her footsteps carefully, letting her lead the way as they spoke. She asked so many questions, and he had so little answers. She seemed more like a cub than one of adolescence, but he tolerated her demeanor with a small smile.
“The outside lands. . .” he paused, gazing towards the sky. They were so very different, with no customs, rules, or legacies to live by. Most did not even know who the Firekin were; they looked at his coat and laughed at his nature. He’d changed, since then, and now he knew to repress the slaves harder than ever, for fear they’d rebel. “It’s dark, for the most part. I lived in the jungle for most of those times. There are leopards, far worse than any Firekin, and it’s mostly remaining unseen. Nothing noble about it.” He hadn’t bothered to venture father into the other lands. Once he’d met the thick jungle it wiped away all other desire to travel. Besides, he had been hiding, not sight seeking.
The rock formations made his body rumble with pride. They were beautiful spectacles, their dark rings and insane balancing acts. For a time he tuned out her talking and leapt up onto a precipice. His claws clacked against hardened magma as he stretched them out to feel the earth. Uzulu let another smile slip, looking down on the female below with soft eyes. She wasn’t so bad. People could be changed.
Still, he wanted to get a good view of the lands before the sun set. The rays were already beginning to glow orange against the neverending sands. This was where he’d wake up every morning, Kimeti permitting. Home.
“Oy! Kaanga!” he shouted, breaching the next rock. It had been many a year since he’d had such a view. “Come see!”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 1:16 pm
The young princess listened intently, he ears folded against her head as she absorbed such information. Dark, really? Then the firekin lands truly were a land of light and the sun. She gleamed eagerly, and shut her eyes. She might have been strange, but she had great pride in her lands. She had never left them- she had not dispersed like some other family members. Even if times were bad, she just knew they would improve under Kidondo. Soon there’d be many cubs and strong warriors, and everything would be gleaming like the glass her father wore in his mane.
“Jungle...” She echoed. She didn’t know what a leopard was. She knew there were other fell bloods in the world- but she had not met any. Although she had once come upon a serval, who despite her confusion, had insisted he was full grown and not a cub.
The sun continued to burn as it drifted downwards, and she stared out in reflection. He seemed to be eager to move about- and she lost track of him for a moment as he started to climb. When he called for her, her heart briefly skipped. “Come see?” She responded, not knowing what else to say, and delighted to have been beckoned, she skirted up the rock.
It was beautiful- but then, she had always known that. Kaanga wondered what it must have been like for someone who had not seen it in so long. “Sometimes the sun gets so big it looks like it might fall.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 1:30 pm
Uzulu waited at the top, his front paws curled undeneath his mane as he watched the sun go down. It was bright, but he had nothing against seering his eyes for a time while he waited for her. It didn't take her long to bound up the side of the rock. At least he knew she wasn't a complete pushover. With the way she was acting he might have thought she was afraid to get her paws dirty, or pretty coat scratched.
He snorted at her comment of falling suns. He doubted it would fall, ever, or if it did, perhaps it would fall on her. She'd probably think it was funny, considering it didn't crush her completely. She was right, however, it did get enourmously large. Not on this night, it was simply its normal size, but it gave everything such a sweet light it was impossible not to be in good spirits.
"Tomorrow, I'll meet Kimeti." It was not a request, or an order, simply a statement of fact. He was so sure he'd meet the king, become accepted. In fact he had is whole life planned out. With one last look at the setting sun - and a quick glance at Kaanga - he settled his head on his paws and closed his eyes. There wasn't much that was going to come after them on top of a rock.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 1:40 pm
Kaanga nodded her head eagerly. “I will tell him you’ve come,” Oh! Someone to talk to! Not that...she didn’t usually have anyone to talk to, but surely this one had many stories to tell. And he hadn’t asked her to stop talking yet. The princess gleamed, and gently rubbed her paw against her leg daintily. “I’m really glad you’ve come home, Uzula...” She spoke. “I had better go ahead to my family’s den- but, I’ll come get you tomorrow.” Maybe he would tell her more tomorrow. Father was sure to like him though. She just had a hunch.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
