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 Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 4:04 pm
He frowned and let the body he'd been dragging sit at his feet for a few moments, mouth open so the taste didn't feel as... strong. There really was someone keeping an eye out, wasn't there? "We'll have to keep an eye on him, avoid moving when he'd looking right in our direction, and stay low..." Which made pulling this lug a bit more difficult... and mean they'd have to be closer to the rotting, bloated things.
At least it was getting darker, that should help them stay a bit better hidden. "I hope they manage to learn something useful." He mumbled. Azulon crouched low and grabbed onto his 'charge' again, dragging it eastwards and closer to where the Nergui were. They had been told to flee to the east and south, so he figured they could just concentrate the bodies in a sort of arc around that way.
Azulon would occasionally pause to make sure neither he, nor any of the other body-movers had been spotted, as well as checking on wherever the lookout was turned to. He was almost at a point where he thought would be good to drop it off. Being rid of the former lion would probably please him, but that meant he'd be going back and getting one probably even more rotten.
––
Hraelsveg tilted her idea, initially a bit uncertain on how well they would be able to distract the Nergui. And they didn't want anyone to know they liked, and were helping the firekin! However, after a bit of pondering she nodded, agreeing with her sister. "Okay! I'll do that."
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Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 4:22 pm
"That's my girls!" Somehow, the vulture used his wing feathers to tweak Hraelsveg's beak. "Ah, you learn so well how to confound lions... It's wonderful fun, you know..." He motioned with a wing, smiling with pride. "Why, the Cursed One never really knows if I actually follow him or not! Then again..." He held a wing to his chest, lifting his head with pride. "I AM a vulture, and we follow death quite often..." Which was why he enjoyed the company of the Diseased One so much. Death followed her... Or did she follow Death? One could never really tell.
-------------
About ready to throw up, Serkan let his load fall, then went over to Elcca. Voice low, he settled to help her. "Two lions move dead body better than one... Yes...?" It was rather hard to not breathe the stench in... And he had the taste in his MOUTH. How had she even reached into one of these things in the first place?
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Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 6:12 pm
Mkazo couldn't claim to understand more than a word, here and there, of what the Nergui lioness was saying. At the moment, he didn't need to--her actions made it crystal clear that she was pissed. He tensed as she struck at Arikara, and his ears slicked back further as her attention turned to Morag and himself--he could only hope that she saw it as fear and cringing, rather than tightly restrained anger. To avoid glaring, he kept his eyes firmly on the ground.
When the male keeping watch spoke up, he shot a look at Morag before taking opportunity of the quiet moment to slink--or rather, attempt to slink--away from the sharp-tongued Nergui lioness and Arikara. They needed to find the girl cub, and hold up their end of the bargain. He scanned the area, trying to keep the sweeps of his eyes low and quick, as if fearful. At the moment, he saw little but Nergui. Where was she?
((Working on the assumption that the Nergui are still speaking Nergui--if not, lemme know and I'll tweak around a bit.))
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Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 6:21 pm
Mwako'damu stayed with the others as the group went off, it seemed strange to think they separated in such a way. As they moved the bodies, the night was oncoming, at least the fire red colors of their pelts would be deemed in the shadows of the night.
"Let us hope so," Mwako'damu spoke to Azulon as they moved quickly and efficiently, though he hated the smell. Lifeless...masses, it was so strange. To once have life and be left to..this.
It worried him, and he thought of home, they needed to do their mission and return home to be useful in any way possible.
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Whimsical Blue generated a random number between
1 and 4 ...
4!
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Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 6:49 pm
Morag dropped her head lower as the female spoke to her, the female's voice at least hinting at her opinion of them even if she couldn't understand the words. She shuffled a paw in the dirt, trying to look sullen, as Mkazo moved away. Without knowing what was said, she kept her mouth shut, hoping no one would address her with something she actually needed to answer.
After a moment, she turned and followed after her companion, trotting a little to catch up, much as a female would to join a male she had an interest in. Let them think they were seeking time alone and not draw interest... they needed to find that girl cub, before anything else happened to endanger this mission more.
Once she had caught up, she started casting about, wondering where a cub would hide herself.
EDIT: Well, if it had been her... she'd have chosen a place that was unlikely, but protected. Some place only she could go safely... Nudging Mkazo subtly, she turned and headed towards the bramble patch, her eyes darting to look for anything that might be hiding in them.
((rolling to choose a place to look first))
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:38 am
[For Nergui speech, it'd probably be too confusing to garbler it, since we have people who would understand. But you can also assume they are using more 'common' words so that the rouge group understands them. You can pick and choose what they are able to make out.]
It was easy to see why the little cub had taken to hiding. She wasn't exactly shadowy like her brother. Even now her bright orange fur was partially visible from between the thorny vines. Perhaps the Nergui had mistaken it for a flower. Luckily, being situated towards the south meant she had an obvious route to escape through to the others... but getting her out wouldn't be so easy.
When she sensed strange black, muddy lions drawing closer, she drew a sharp breath and curled into a tighter ball. The other rogues might have trusted Arikara implicitly, but this little one was a cub. All she knew was that the monsters that had taken away her father were back.
It was going to take some effort to get her to go along with the plan.
---
Arikara did nothing to show interest in the two lions slinking away, instead keeping her eyes relatively set upon Tengri. The striped female was still flinching in anger at the other's rejection. She was a dangerous lioness, but her lack of general respect to anyone had obviously eaten away at her credibility.
Her temperament also meant she was the easiest to get talking. Arikara folded her paws, and meekly began cleaning the mud off of them. "So many patrols these days, its almost as if you expect invaders," the old woman said.
Tengri bristled. "You should hope that we don't. Else the rest of the horde will convene here, and then sromdko, you won't be required."
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:46 am
As always, Elcca was not one to reject help moving heavy objects. In fact, she feigned a little weakness in an attempt to flatter Serkan into dragging the bulk of it. She was the sort of lioness you wanted around when you needed to know things, but not so much when you actually needed to get them done.
But she was, if anything, watchful. "Tired lions like to talk. Hopefully Nergui are no different, and our grandmother is no trickster. I don't trust old lions. You don't get to be old these days being soft." No, you had to have some tricks up your sleeves to get the privilege of calling yourself old. Not with wars, plagues, Nergui, famine and storms all around you. And gods barely taking notice.
She put her mouth back on the disgusting corpse and started to tug, keeping her eye on the guard overhead. They'd have to deposit them one at a time, and the first two would be the closest if they kept with the fanlike arrangement Yoan had suggested.
Time to see how good they were at covert operations.
arrow To place a corpse down, roll 1-10.
As long as it does not roll on the number 4, we are not detected.
If it rolls 4, a lookout will hear something curious and start investigating.
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wooga Paes generated a random number between
1 and 10 ...
4!
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:59 am
(If Azulon fails at this I will laugh so hard.
Edit: Aaand there he goes. Oh boy. xD )
Azulon was on his way to place one of the closest bodies to the camp, perhaps against his better judgement. He thought he had a good grasp on it, but the decomposing, and wet body, was a bit... uh, unreliable. He had grabbed onto the dead lions scruff, and had not anticipated it just... coming off. The weight in his mouth was relieved when he found himself only with a mouthful of decomposing skin and fur, while the front of the corpse hit the floor with an audible enough thump, rustling up the grass as it went.
He at least had the decency not to make the situation worse by hissing in frustration. He lowered the skin and crouched low, close to the body. It looked like he had been heard. Azulon laid his ears. That was just too darn inconvenient, and a dumb mistake of his.
He took a few cautious steps back, managing not to make any more noise as he distanced himself from the body. He wouldn't be able to move it now, but it would be worse if they found him and the thing, rather than just the body.
––
Hraelsveg nodded at her dad. Yes, they were vultures! She looked back at the lions. From her spot up in the tree she could see the firekin were... up to something weird. Were those the bodies? Oh geez! What a strange idea.
Still, she managed to catch onto the fact that someone had screwed up when one of the Nergui's ears perked up. Uh oh. "I think... we'll be needed a bit sooner than we thought. Come on, Kivu!" She glided down from the tree, keeping flush to the grass. Maybe she could already help distract the Nergui now.
Hraelsveg landed noisily in the grass, just in the path she though the Nergui might take to reach where Azulon had so totally screwed up. "Stupid mouse got away!" She cried irritably, stomping her feet on the ground. She wasn't the sort of bird that hunted, but maybe the Nergui wouldn't think too much of it.
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 7:09 am
Ah... there she was. Morag caught sight of the bright orange fairly quickly, the color rather standing out among the brambles.
"Mkazo... can you shield us a little from view?" She said softly, hoping he could catch her lowered voice. "Keep an eye on the patrol and listen for the information Arikara is getting us."
Turning back to the patch, she slowly lowered herself to her stomach, resting in the grass as she turned her head, looking for a likely way to stick a paw in and drag the cub out. It wasn't the best of ways to get her, but it would do in a pinch if need be. She kept her voice soft as she spoke to the cub, hoping to calm her fears and get her to come closer.
"Shh... its okay. You don't have any reason to be afraid of me and my friend. Grandmother brought us here to see you. We came from far away, over the mountains, from a place with lots of bright sand and blue sky. If you come a little closer, I can tell you more about it. Your grandmother wanted us to meet you, she said that maybe we could be friends because we aren't part of the bad lions"
There was not much time to get this accomplished, but sometimes one had to weigh patience against a need for speed.
Kivu took off after sister, following her with lazy flaps of her wings. She circled where she landed, unable to stop giggling at the sight of her sister flailing around on the ground. "You'll never learn to hunt that way!" She laughed.
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 7:25 am
Mkazo flicked one ear forward for a moment, before it settled back into its former laid-back, hopefully-cowed-looking position. His eyes settled on the flash of bright orange fur, and his face became grim before he gave a barely-perceptible nod and moved between the the cub and the Nergui. The girl-cub would be difficult to sneak out, with her bright orange pelt--the dark lion had little doubt that in appearance, she'd fit in with the Firekin just as well with her brother...as long as she made it there. His body slightly curved, his head turned just a little, he looked much like a male being overprotective of his female. In reality, what little sight he lost with his posture would be rewarded with having his ear to the group--without losing his ears-back, cringing look.
"Your brother's with us," he muttered in a preoccupied tone, his eyes back and forth between Morag and the cub, and the lioness talking to the Nergui. "The rest of us."
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 3:18 pm
The cub flinched, as if the soft whispers brought only dread. Was it a trick? She seemed to think so, at least at first. Unwilling to believe there was any sign of help, particularly with the Nergui patrol sitting right on top of them. But then, if they were with the Nergui, why were they hiding? Her bright eyes searched for the older female's direction, but Arikara was still focused squarely on Tengri.
Lions from a land of bright sand and blue sky?
Her body pressed to the ground, the little cub slunk forward. Like her brother she did not say a word. It was hard to say if they were naturally quiet, or simply gripped in fear. But her eyes were certainly pleading: what exactly were they going to do to get her out of this?
As if on cue, commotion struck the group from two sides. First, the large black lion who had been keeping watch suddenly seemed interested in something south of them. He hopped off the stone, giving a quick comment to his companions in garbled nergui speech.
It looked like more would have followed after him, except for the other development: another older female was returning with food. When her eyes fell upon Arikara, noting her lack of game, she immediately seemed nervous. "This was all we could-" the tan female started.
Tengri hissed, and shooed her aside. It was only a small piece of game, and almost immediately all members of the tired patrol took that moment to wake themselves back up and descend upon it. It was not a quiet affair.
While the patrol was otherwise occupied, the new female approached Arikara. "What's going on?" she started, eyeing the two strangers who had not joined in the feeding frenzy.
The older female only cleared her throat to silence her.
arrow Now is the best time to try and get that cub out of there!
Team, roll 1-10. As long as both of your numbers add up to more than four, the cub is safety escorted away.
If it falls under four, TROUBLE ENSUES.
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 3:37 pm
Oh s**t. They hadn't even gotten the bodies in position yet and already they'd alerted someone to their position! Elcca immediately flattened to the ground, knowing all too well that her bright coat was a dead giveaway. Unfortunately that put her face to face with the decaying fellow they'd been moving. Uuugh. This was so far from ideal!
The male who had left the group, missing out on dinner from the sounds of it, loomed from across the grass. Where he stood he had a somewhat elevated view- but the grass was still obscuring enough to keep his vision from locking on anything in particular. He'd heard something though. Something that sounded like...
...those fledglings? Svarr growled. How were those miserable things supposed to serve anyone? "Quiet you two," he snapped. "I'm trying to listen."
And when he finally could hear, he heard the sound of footsteps. In fact, Elcca heard them too. Who the hell was walking? Were they trying to get them killed? Was it that cub? Where the hell had-
She froze when another lion emerged from the brambles. He was a large lion, but not of the muscular and imposing sort. He seemed stretched and gaunt, a strange looking mixture of features that she wished she did not immediately recognize. As it turned out, there were no duplicate Godlums running around the savannah. It was the very same she remembered. It was immediately hard to keep her heart silent. She knew those red eyes.
He wasn't going to be fooled by this game.
But for whatever reason, he did not linger amongst them. He surely had to smell the bodies. Instead he walked past and into Svarr's view. The black lion immediately flinched and looked a little uncomfortable. "Godlum Oma, you return."
He said nothing, but strolled into camp. Shooting a glance behind him, Svarr followed suit.
---
Elcca inched back towards the others. "We won't have time to move them all. Lets get them in position the best we can and fall back. He had to know something was up."
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Whimsical Blue generated a random number between
1 and 10 ...
4!
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 4:25 pm
"Godlum Oma?" Kivu chirped as she turned and followed after the new lion, curious about this male that visited dead trees and everyone talked about. She circled above him with lazy wing beats, following him into the chaos of the feeding patrol. She kept an eye out though, for the female that had named her and the male with her. Would they be able to sneak away?
Morag flinched at the sudden commotion behind then, the sounds of lions feeding... and watched as the little female crept closer. Seizing the moment, she murmured softly to soothe the cub and reached for her.
"We're going to take you to your brother now. Just be quiet like a good girl and we'll take you somewhere safe and get you something to eat..." She said before she wrapped her jaws around the cub and lifted her up, letting her hang from her scruff like any mother in history. Turning, she glanced at Mkazo before she slunk around the brambles, heading for thicker cover and away from the patrol. They'd join up with the others once they were clear.
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 4:45 pm
He thought his heart would jump out of his chest and up his throat to dance and scream in front of him in the grass. As soon as the guard had moved, Serkan dropped down into the grass. In as quick and quiet a move as he could, he hid his bright white mane amid some particularly pale grasses, doing his best to look hidden. Or dead. Acting dead was good, if nobody looked too close. But when Godlum walked into view, he kept one eye on the imposing lion. Those bone markings... They were very striking indeed, as was that white mane. He was like a lion of contrasts. Death marking life, white blaring out against white. The red, black, and white lion held his breath, trying not to breathe.
Vunde looked up at the new commotion and almost grinned. "Godlum Oma!" It was spoken very loud and as clear as he could get it, and only spoken when the black and white lion got into the clearing. All the more to keep their attention off the Firekin! He shifted on what was currently his branch, green eyes glinting with amusement. His little fledgelings had done VERY well, keeping the guard distracted enough that Godlum had time to show up. Though he had to wonder, why had he passed right by the Firekin...?
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 6:49 pm
"Listen to what?" Hraelsveg retorted irritably. "Say, do you know where the mouse went?" But he voice died down as the footsteps sounded, and then a lion stepped up. She tilted her head, had the firekin given up their game? Then he was identified. "Ooooh, Godlum Oma." She whistled, amused.
"They were just talking about you!" She didn't really speak directly to the lion, feeling he wouldn't even pay her any attention. Still, she thought it was funny he had shown up now. Hey... wait a second, wouldn't he have noticed the firekin? She hopped towards the clearing after them, intent in hearing anything interesting should the opportunity present itself.
–––
He sunk close to the ground, all the same preparing himself in case he would have to fight. Azulon was prepared for such a thing. The fledgelings had come down to distract the lion who had come down to investigate, but it didn't look like it was working quite as well as they might like.
And then the footsteps came from the wrong direction. He turned his head slightly, and the dark, gaunt lion walked past. That was very strange. No alarm was sounded, but Azulon was certain this lion would have noticed them, he looked like he had been right in the middle. Was this Godlum Oma a traitor to the Nergui, or did he have some sort of plan?
He made his way back to the others. "Things just got interesting." He mused, quietly. Very interesting. Whatever the case, Elcca was right. He didn't think it likely they would hear anything useful now, but the lion the Nergui had been waiting for had arrived. That counted for something. And that might mean battle wouldn't take much longer to come knocking at the Motoujamii's door. "Good idea." Yes, they needed to get back to the desert sooner rather than later. Ideally it wouldn't take Mkazo and Morag too much longer to return.
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