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 Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 3:14 am
Ramses lifted his head at the gust, the unexpected blast of wind ruffling his and his brothers manes like teasing fingers. Three stars? Like Masika's necklace. And Clouds. How long had it been since there'd been even the promise of a cloud wider than someone's tail in the scorched blue of the sky. Did he even -dare- hope? Did he have it in him to hope that there might be yet the promise of rain?
Enki ruffled his mane in silence, green eyes blazing with the muted intensity that he was known for by anyone even remotely familiar with him. He was no dramatic speaker. The pride would not tremble at his words. Or if they did it would only be because they were surprised to hear him speak at all with his rumbling voice, not kind to the ears. The clouds... the stars...
It could not have been much more handsomely orchestrated had they planned that moment.
Sekhmet's whiskers trembled, still as tense as though she were ready to try and catch some prey that had eluded her claws for so long. She could almost taste it, the strange theatre of the moment. The anticipation on the air, as though something had started stirring with the wind. Oh Storm God, she wished it would rain. Just a few drops. Nothing to flood them, just a taste of water to sate the thirst of the land, and sate the doubts of the bitter.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2007 5:26 am
He'd been expecting something. That was for sure; something or other, no doubt. However, the gust of wind that suddenly blew against the barren, once majestic lands was surely not what Ushaufu had figured would happen, and even despite his immortality, he too raised his head to gaze at the heavens he had scarcely visited.
The stars twinkled back at him in greeting, winking almost as if holding a secret of their own, and soon enough the God of Deception smirked; no, not at him. They were twinkling brightly at the Princess of the Mists. If they'd been waiting for a moment... a signal; this was it. He spoke not however, and merely turned his head to gaze fondly at both his mate and Masika as the princess padded up the hill his mate dared not.
They didn't need his words. Not now.
Despite that however, he found himself closing his eyes and doing something he never guessed he'd never do. He found himself silently asking for that what the other pride members were echoing; rain. That was the first time Ushaufu had ever prayed for something... anything. Even if he likely did not know he was doing so.
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Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2008 2:36 am
The winds indeed. Taban noted with amusement. Perhaps the winds of a storm, the winds of devastation, or the winds of change- for better or worse. It was hard to say. The cheetah really had no opinion of the female. He'd heard of her, of course, but had not a chance to converse with her...nor did he feel he'd be welcome to with the cold feel towards his corner of the gathering. That was the funny thing about the wind... it could change at any time. Though the gathering was insightful into just what had happened to choose this female. It hadn't been the winds or the gods, it had been sheer numbers... quite a few lions had blown in so to speak along with the female. It gave her the power of numbers. There was no divine right, no god's will. It had been a matter of who had more at their back. Simple enough. He couldn't help but chuckle inwardly... and here they made it seem like it was some divine grace. Amusing.
It seemed Maji was in the same mentality. He ignored the coldness in the few gazes in his direction and sat still as the stone at his back, eyes narrowed and ears pinned back against his mane. The times had changed so much... where had this 'queen' been when they needed her? She had no idea what the pride had gone through in her absence. The treachery of a false queen, an invasion of rogues who sought to turn the land into their personal breeding ground, the threat of a would-be tyrant taking their cubs. If she was meant to be the ruler, if the gods had chosen her, why send her now when the danger was over and the rains were due?
A joke..., the cheetah's words surfaced in the back of his mind again.
A joke indeed... the entire affair. The storm king himself it seemed. Why Enki had suddenly turned was left up for him to assume. He'd not spoken to his cousin in a long time...assumed he had left with his mate when the rainy season seemed to have missed its que for the valley. And so he returned a completely different lion with a seemingly unspoken grudge. Sekhmet as well...
Kisuli seemed less than impressed as well. He'd been born just towards the beginning of the outsider's invasion of the lands and had grown up hating those from other lands. The few lions he knew at the gathering had turned their loyalties to what was in his mind the same enemy that they faced during his cubhood. It didn't seem right.
However, he didn't display the frustration that Maji had nor the amusement that Taban took no effort in hiding. Instead the lion sat looking bored with the entire thing, perhaps even tired. He'd never been of a significant rank within the pride. Seemed even his father hadn't taken the time to introduce him to the 'grand' princess.
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 7:20 pm
A peal of thunder rumbled almost unheard through the lands. The wind picked up once more, throwing Masika's tuft of hair askew on her head as she continued to gaze upwards to the stars. Slowly the clouds were covering them once more, though she knew in her heart they would always be there, whether she could see them or not.
The wind awakened something inside of Masika, and she nearly jumped the last couple of steps to the very edge of the outcropping she stood upon. With glistening eyes, the princess of the mists let out a roar to the heavens, a sound that overflowed with emotion, calling out to the stars themselves as they slipped back into the dark.
Letting the sound die down, it echoed in fading cannon down into the valley below. Almost in answer, a flash of lightning shortly followed by a crash of thunder rang out. Once again Masika roared, putting her strength into her voice, and again she slowly let the sound die down. Similarly she was answered by the storm brewing above. Upon her third roar, the sky opened up, emptying the clouds of their precious liquid in buckets upon the gathering.
This time, when she fell silent, 'Sika remained so, closing her eyes to allow the rain stream down her face.
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 7:28 pm
A kind of vibrant electricity broke along her back as she saw Masika take those last joyous-seeming leaps to her position. The roar seemed to resound through the nearly-dead forest and there was now no mistaking the scent of rain upon the winds. Tears pricked Kizuka's eyes, but still she held her breath until that first roar came.
Though she'd never been taught, she knew what to do. A second roar, a crack of lightning. The electricity was more powerful now as relief and belief flooded through the old mistweaver's veins. She knew His call when she heard it. A roar, and then another of the rains falling down. Kizuka's mouth opened and she answered her Queens call, as the all must, the rain soaking into her pelt as if to wash away the hurt and hardships of the past seasons. The Storm King had returned.
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 10:46 am
And it happened.
Whatever anyone else thought, Ushaufu knew the truth; there was magic crackling in the air, if not to the eyes of the mortals, in his eyes at least. One look around confirmed that the others could see it though, feel it. Or at least most of them. Slowly closing his eyes, the God of Deception raised his head and allowed the sweet water to cascade down his face, feeling it as it plastered his mane to his forehead and then, following Masika and Kizuka's roar, he too offered his own, thundering around them.
It did not serve anyone's purpose to allow others to darken such a beautiful day; the most beautiful one he'd seen in ages. For after all as the old saying he'd heard from the birds themselves; It never rained in a way that pleased everyone.
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Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 4:56 am
Enki: He raised his head mutely, jaw opened slightly in awe as the thunder rolled, and then, as though the lands had been holding their breath for just this moment, the heavens opened and poured rain down the lands parched and begging throat. Rain pounded his and his brothers manes to their skin, soaking them in cool water. He was not so sensitive to it as Usha, but a blind, deaf, mute could have sensed the awe and magic of the moment, and he took Ushafu's lead, his roar loud, perhaps unexpected from a lion otherwise so quiet.
Ramses himself seemed to sense it even, his red eyes, hopeless for so long, lifted at the sound of the roars and thunder, feeling the tiny flutter of hope in his chest for the first time since he could remember almost, blinking in astonishment as heavy rain splattered on his face and whiskers. Every roar, from Masika, from Ushafu, from Enki and Kizuka, made him shiver. He had been too young to remember the lands when they were still green, too young to remember the storms from anything but his mothers stories, where she spoke of thunder as the roar of the Storm God.
Sekhmet boldly, gleefully, joined her own voice to the others, her passion in her voice, her tension finally finding an outlet, pouring down like the rain. Water had never tasted so sweet as the rain that found it's way to her tounge as she roared.
He father finally joined a moment after, still a little quiet, not as assertive as his daughter, but...it was the beginning of a frail hope, and she was overwhelmed with gratitude for it, thanking Storm King and her own mortal Queen in her own way with that roar, for hope, for strength, and for rain.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:22 am
Raising his own head as the first few droplets of rain fell, Makadara closed his eyes, sure that he could feel something shifting in those around him. He might have been absent for much of the drought, but he'd seen the wear of it in the others' faces, in the deep-seated dryness that had held the land in such a chokehold...and so, he thought, he had some semblance of just how much of a miracle this downpour was--there was something more than just rain that had been returned to the pride.
Opening his own maw, he too roared, joining his own voice to those of his pride-mates.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 1:29 am
Taban watched quietly, his expression unchanged save for the slight tip of his head to watch the sky as rain started to fall. Internally he smirked. It seemed so frail...the ways of this pride. Their entire existance depended on something that they couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't achieve for themselves. The cheetah had seen gods, there was no doubt in his mind that they were real. It was their involvement and interest in the strife of mortals he doubted. Highly. Across the plains there were times of flooding and times of drought. A rainfall was hardly a stroke of fate as much as it was luck. So fragile. In short- they hoped for a stroke of luck if anything.
Either way, they had a new ruler. It wasn't his place to voice approval or disapproval. He had no opinion. He called none his lord and lady. Luck was too frail, he lived for what he could achieve. So rather than a definite response he simply glanced around the small group. A small pride. Many of the older members were gone. The lionesses mainly. A shame really. Still, he was interested to see what would unfold.
Eventually his gaze shifted to the silver prince beside him, surprised by the reaction he was presented with.
Maji watched quietly, allowing the rain to fall through his mane and roll over his body. For a long time he watched his paws, the water gathering around them. Had it been a few days prior, he'd have been almost humbled by the rain. The earlier talks with the Cheetah haunted his mind still. 'Masika didn't obtain the throne because of some divine right.'
He looked up shortly, watching the others voice their roars of approval. Taban was right. It wasn't a god's choice. Whatever their reasons, the pride had chosen the queen. Perhaps they were under the impression that a new ruler was a better shot at a better future. Perhaps it had been that he'd been so easily misled by Ciyari, perhaps they honestly believed that blood gave someone the right. Whatever it was, that was it. He gave a long sigh and glanced over to Taban.
'If he exists I doubt he particularly burdens himself with 'gracing' mortals with a divine purpose that they won't fight for themselves.'...the cheetah's words repeated themselves. At the time it was the last thing he wanted to hear. Now...it made sense. He'd not fought for his position. He fought for the pride. The lands.
Maji cracked a smile and gave a slow nod. He understood. Masika had lived as a lion, Maji had tried living as a pride. Rather than throwing his own roar out, he simply lifted his head and drew his shoulders back, watching his...sister. Perhaps it was for the best. If she slipped up then she slipped up. If not then well... that was the way of things.
Kisulisuli didn't add his voice either. It was a testimony of approval he couldn't honestly give at that point. They were strangers. They were new to him, from the outside. His father, uncle, and cousin all voiced their approval, however. It didn't seem to phase him either. He'd give approval and respect when it was earned. It wasn't the people's place to earn the ruler's approval after all. He had nothing to prove to her. We'll see. He thought, watching the spectacle.
Once everyone quieted down, Maji glanced to the sky again. The rain felt good... the heat seemed to simply melt out of his vision. The rage slowly fell down into disappointment, even a bit of humor towards himself. There was no divine right. He'd lost a game. Simple as that.
Maji raised his voice a bit, just enough to carry over the rain pelting the ground, "A wise friend of mine once told me something that I'd like to pass along if I may." He glanced towards Masika, slowly forcing his pride down and a faint smile up to his maw, "The unfortunate situations that we've both been presented weren't a stroke of judgment or divine wrath...but tests. No one's given greatness. No one's born into it. Not you, not I. We're simply presented with the opportunity to show greatness." He tipped his head a bit, "Perhaps...you can succeed where I've failed."
With that said he lifted up to his paws and turned away from the group, shaking his mane out just enough to lighten it as he started away. He'd let them celebrate as they wished. The entire affair still left a bitter taste in his mouth and a rock in his gut. Neither would change anything. It was just something he'd have to adjust to or leave behind. Which he'd choose still remained unanswered.
Taban nodded a bit. Good fellow. An interesting game indeed. He, however, opted to remain there and finish his observation of the celebration unless he was dismissed. Kisulisuli was up as soon as Maji had turned and was following after him without a word. That one...was hard to figure out.
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Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 6:26 am
Masika's eyes flashed, mirroring the lightning above. The lion who proclaimed to be her brother spoke, the words ones that contradicted everything she'd seen and heard, both from and about him. Though she knew little about him, since he'd seemed to become a ghost in the night from the time she'd arrived in the lands, this seemed to be off kilter for even him.
However, his views were his, and he was allowed to have them. And he more than had the right to voice them as well. That she would not deny him. However, Masika also knew that faith went a long way, when no faith at all left one standing, cold and empty and without purpose. If the pride lost faith... then perhaps they'd end up wasting away in the lands, or moving to new territories. However faith had gotten them this far, and she certainly wouldn't stop believing in it now.
"Perhaps." She bowed her head to acknowledge the words, mulling over them quietly. There were no words she could offer to make the situation better, nor did she believe he would take them as such. It was best to allow him his words on even terms and then let him go, in peace rather than with a fight. She'd never understood him, or his peculiar views, but at least she did hope they somehow did him some good, even if they could not have helped their pride at all.
As Maji turned and walked away the other lion beside him whom she'd not been graced with the pleasure of knowing followed, leaving the cheetah who'd been around when she'd first met her brother behind. Offering a soft nod to the lone onlooker, Masika turned and descended the outcropping, her strides regal and slow as she enjoyed the rain above. Downtrodden and ill feelings were washed away, this was no time for them. The rains were back and there was much to celebrate. For the first time in ages, Masika felt at peace. With herself most of all. It was as if, upon the rock she'd felt the softness of her mother's nuzzle, and the strength of her father's paw across her shoulders as she stood there and announced her first roar. Another feeling, of strength and wisdom, that had washed over her though the reason for it went unknown.
Down to the pride, a time for rejoicing was in order. Not for their choice in particular, but for the sheer joy that the rain had returned, and that they had regained the favor of the Storm King once more.
FIN!
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