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 Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2007 4:30 pm
"Your home pride?" He jutted out his chin in thought. "But they won't accept you back unless you find your name. They sound heartless to me. Lions like that would make the surrounding land just as cold." What was he saying? Was he trying to suggest that rogue land looked better? More appealing? That wasn't the truth. In fact, Hakan had found the rogue lands a sort of limbo. He felt like a ghost, wandering without a purpose.
His link with Mrost seemed to weaken, maybe his faith was failing too. He loved Mrost like a father but the blue God seemed to have abandoned him. He could pretend all he liked, but really he didn't heave the heart to continue being his High Priest anymore. His claws were already stained with too much blood.
His eyes flashed with pride at the mention of his name. A strong name for a strong lion. It made sense. But her name...tree of life? What was that supposed to mean? "You're guess is as good as mine. That's a bit of a strange name for a lion." He paused. "Is it supposed to be a hint of where you're supposed to look? If so, maybe you should head to the jungle, there are plent of trees there."
His tail swished and he made to move off. He really had to get going. He didn't have time to waste with idle chit chat, though he had to admit he'd missed having a conversation that didn't involve war or killing.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 4:34 am
She frowned lightly and was shaking her head. "They won't let you return as an adult." She answered. She wondered if they turned you away from the pride if you did not find a name?
"But there are many trees in the swamps as well... what is a jungle? Is it a type of swamp?" She really didn't know much.
As he turned she frowned. Was he leaving already? "Oh... you're going." She said, her voice slightly upset. This was the longest conversation she had ever held in her life, really.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 4:42 am
He nodded. "I've got to find my daughter." He glanced around as if expecting her to come bounding out towards him. "She's been left alone for far too long and I don't trust these Pridelanders." He glanced at her. She was far too sweet and innocent to traverse these lands alone. What was her family thinking, letting such a naive lioness go off alone. She reminded him of his sister, in a way. Kimya was such a sweetie.
Maybe that's why he was finding it difficult at this little female. She had a delicate heart.
"You can join me if you like. Two pairs of eyes are better than one. Then I'll point you in the right direction." He had only ever been to the jungle once but Hakan was good at navigating. "A jungle...a jungle is nothing but trees. Everywhere and in all shapes and sizes." He would continue his description if she decided to follow.
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 5:23 am
"Daughter?" There was a delicate bit of jealousy folded into her words. She wished she had a daughter... a sweet little girl-cub. Oh how lovely it would be! But she didn't think that would happen too soon.
"Yes! Yes, I can help!" Her voice was eager and she was excited, this was something useful for her to do!
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 5:35 am
"Yes. Kimondo'Arista." He replied. He didn't mention his other three cubs. He had no idea where they were now. Probably still off with that evil mother of theirs. To think he had ever lusted after her. The only good thing about their pairing was the fact that he now had his daughter for company. "I told her to wait somewhere around here, but she's not as young as she used to be. She's a young lady now." He sighed. And when she was fully grown would she leave him too?
He gave Mti'a'aushi a genuine smile and began to head off again, walking with slow, purposeful steps. "Hopefully it won't take too long."
And then he continued. "The jungle is very green and full of colours. It rains a lot there and heavily but the temperature is humid. Most parts of the jungle are too thick for a lion to traverse, but maybe it you find a way through you'll find your name." He shrugged. "Either way it's a place that every lion should see in their life time. There's no place in the world as rich and beautiful as that."
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Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2007 5:39 am
"What does it mean?" She asked, walking beside him and letting her eyes slide over the grasslands for a lioness. Oh how comfortable she finally felt! "Her name, I mean."
It was green? Her homelands... were full of shades of brown. She wondered what a place full of green would look like. A wet... hot... green... foggy place? Aushi related 'fog' to 'humidity' though they weren't the same. She shut her eyes a moment as she pictured it fully. "It looks creepy in my head." She stated with a slight laugh before opening her eyes again to help look. "Creepy but nice."
Well that was a good place to start then... her name had to do with trees and so did the jungle!
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Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 1:45 am
"Shooting Star." He whispered. He had an interesting past, one filled with mystery. His mother, he had always thought a firekin, was actually a pridelander and through his distaste of them he had unknowingly learned their beliefs. He lookd to the stars and thought of it as a place where he would eventually go someday.
The stars.
It was a shame they weren't out now, maybe they would have guided him back to his little one.
"It can be creepy. Lots of strange creatures live in the jungle and their songs are far more frightening than a lion's." He didn't know the names of the howler monkeys or the parrots, he hadn't even seen them. But he had heard their screams from somewhere above his head.
"But usually it's not so bad. The predators there are smaller than us so they often run away. Just gotta watch out for the..." He paused. Should he be saying all this? He'd probably scare her. "The rain, just find some shelter or you'll be soaked through." Glad that he had been able to think on his feet, he continued.
"I've always meant to take Kimondo there." And he had. He wanted to show his daughter the world.
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Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 3:27 am
She just nodded slowly, taking in all the information with wonder one her face. So many things were foreign to her... this place sounded a little odd and creepy but also more similar to the swamps she loved. Odd noises... trees... all of the water! Except most of the swamp's water was already on the ground where as the jungle's water was falling from the sky a lot, it seemed.
Her eyes moved to the sky and she sighed. No stars. Maybe it would remain cloudless at night and the sky would be a carpet of shinning points! "You... you and Kimondo should come." She said, faintly. She wasn't used to being 'bold' but she was quickly growing attached to Hakan, he seemed to know a lot about the lands and he wasn't bad at all then he wasn't acting mean. "You should see it now. If she wants, anyhow."
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Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 8:15 am
His gut instinct was to say no. What was he doing? First he had ignored her, then snapped at her, now he was offering to help and giving her directions. There was so much confusion in his head. His mind was yelling at him; what are you doing you fool? Just leave her now.
But his heart, his lonely heart wanted to go. He'd had enough of being alone, of wandering what each day would bring, if not another fight with a rogue male. He'd always gotten on better with females, they didn't threaten him as much as males. However, that didn't mean he'd go...
Oh hell, what was he thinking!?
"Maybe we will." He decided. He'd let Kimondo choose. If she wanted to go then they would, if not, then they'd stay and say their goodbyes. "When we find Kimondo, we'll ask her and see what she thinks."
He faltered a moment. His den was just ahead. He'd never let strangers this close to his den, not even females. He liked his privacy, liked to hide. He didn't want strange rogues sneaking up on him whilst he slept.
But Aushi wasn't like that was she. Why did he keep thinking everyone was out to get him? Even a gentle lioness like her.
"I'll go and check the den to see if she's there." And he headed slowly towards it. From the way they approached the entrance was completely concealed, but shift a few paces to the left and it would come into view. It had a low small opening which was only just ig enough for Hakan's large bulk, providing he crawled in on his belly.
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Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:12 am
She beamed, thinking that 'maybe' was certainly better than a 'no'. This was almost like having Soo around! Well... except that Hakan wasn't really sister material (especially considering he was a male).
In any case she hoped his daughter was friendly.. it would do good to have friends! And she hoped Himondo would like to go see it... she really didn't like going places by herself.
I'll go. So she should wait? "Mm." She replied as a 'yes' and slowly sat, just watching. She shouldn't be inviting herself into others' dens, she knew that much.
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 12:55 pm
He ducked his head beneath the low ceiling and pushed himself in. There was a smell of warm earth and of his daughter. He had always found a den the most comfortable place in the world. It kept you warm, safe and hidden from view. Here in the warm dark he felt like no one could ever hurt him.
"Kimondo?" His voice was a mere whisper but he knew it'd be enough to wake her if he slept. Sadly he didn't sense another body here, the den always rang different when someone else was here. Maybe she'd gone exploring after all...
His heart sank and he backed out of the den, tail waving as he emerged into the sunshine again. Then shaking clods of earth from his mane he did an about turn and moved over to Aushi again. She was sitting now.
"She's not here." He replied. "Guess that means your answer will have to wait." He glanced around, hoping to catch sight of the youth, but failed to see anyone. "We've got two options. Search around for her and hope we come across her, or wait until the sun dips and she returns to sleep." He wasn't sure he liked the latter idea. Then a thought hit him. Why hadn't he thought of it before?
"Or...I'll call her." He leapt up onto the ridge that jutted up from the side of the den and drew in a deep breath. Then, focusing on the voice that swelled in his chest he opened his jaws, threw his head high and let roll a roar that waved out across the Prideland borders. When the sound died he held his head at a proud tilt and tipped his ears forward. Any living thing within a mile would have heard that roar. Kimondo would have heard it too.
Then he sat on the ledge, curled his tail about him and glanced at the female he was slowly warming too. "Well..." He paused. Hm, this was awkward. What else did they have to talk about while they waited? Only one thing came to mind, something that was very important to Hakan. Family.
"How about we chat a bit whilst we wait? Tell me about your family. Are your parents still around? Do you have a mate?" He would have asked about cubs, but something inside him told Hakan that she wasn't yet a mother. He was sure she would have given that information freely when he had mentioned Kimondo.
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 2:59 pm
Her ears flickered as he roared out in hopes of getting his daughter's attention and she smiled fondly. She'd never heard anyone roar that loud before, it was impressive!
Ah, oh no! He was asking about her family! Her family was important to her but she tended to shy away from it. She swallowed and smiled awkwardly. "Well.. I have two older brothers and an older sister." So she was the baby of the family, it made sense. "My brothers are twins. My parents are still around and..." She faltered, her face turning embarrassed. "No I don't." She stated. She'd never even thought about taking a mate! No male wanted her.. and.. oh why was that her first thought! It wasn't as if she wanted a mate....
Actually. The thought of a family was one of Aushi's most wanted things in the world. She couldn't help it if she was shy. "No... no ones ever been interested." She said slowly, watching him and then glancing around.
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Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 10:07 am
Family meant a lot to Hakan too, in fact family was his whole reason for living. When the whole world turned against you, your family would always be there to pull you out of the darkness.
"That's nice." He replied smoothly. "I'm the eldest of my litter, I've got a little brother and sister, my sister has a cub of her own, but I've not met her yet. My family tree gets a little complicated from there. My mother was a Firekin and I suspect I have half brothers and sisters there too, not that they're even aware of my existance." He was inheritantly proud of his Firekin heritage, even though there was none of that line in his blood. What would he have thought if he discovered he was half pridelander? "My father...well I never knew him and never will. That's the problem being rogue born. Love wasn't involved in my making." Not that that mattered, but Hakan wondered often what it would have been like to grow up with a father figure. Maybe he wouldn't have turned out so hard-hearted and gruff.
"Maybe it's because you haven't looked?" He queried. "Anyway, you're still young, there's plenty of time. Besides, you should never rush into love. I learned that mistake the hard way."
He wasn't talking about Mbaya. He had never loved Mbaya. He had lusted after her because of her strength and courage. But there had been another, a lioness he had not even nuzzled. A lioness who was probably dead. He could barely remember what she looked like now, but sometimes if he thought hard enough he could remember how strong his feelings had been. It was only a hindrance now. In fact, he never would have gotten over her loss if Kimondo hadn't come to him.
He sighed and glanced up. "Where is that girl?"
(( I'll PM Kolie the link and she can join up when she's ready <3 , is that okay? ))
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 6:51 am
Kimondo had decided to wander into the Pridelands territory despite her father's reluctance to insistance that she stay at the den. At the age the Kimondo was now, telling her not to was just what she needed before making up her mind to do the exact opposite. It wasn't that the girl was rebellious. No, she was just curious, curious and naive. Though she had been living as a rogue with her father for all this time, she truly didn't learn much about life. Father had always been there to protect her from things so there was never a need for her to fear anything.
Kimondo had traveled quite some distance from the den by the time her father's voice reached her. Ears swivvled as she turned her head back in the direction in which she came. Turning to look back at the giant rock sillhouetted in the distance, Kimondo sighed before running off back to the den. She loved her father dearly and she didn't want to ever really upset him.
Running back at an easy pace it only took half the time it took her to walk into the Pridelands than it did to return to the den. What surprised her though was the lioness who accompanied her father. That little feline curiosity swelled back up within Kimondo. Slowing her pace down she walked up to her father and rubbed against his side as a form of greeting. "Sorry I wandered off."
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:27 am
Bini kept herself from squealing with delight at the little cutie, as would be her first reacation if she wasn't so shy, and kept her joy to herself. She wished she'd played with more of the younger lions back in her home pride...
She wondered if she should wait to be introduced? Oh she couldn't! "Hello, you must be Kimondo!" She beamed at her. "I'm Mti'a'Aushi, but Aushi is fine." She grinned and hopped Kimondo would be friendly, she'd never been in an incident like this before.
Her tail flicked and she waited patiently, feeling a little out of place as she say with the father-daughter pair.
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