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 Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:17 pm
Though Azarax stubbornly tried to believe he didn't care, there was no way that it was possible. For it was just that part of him that, despite everything that had happened, wanted his family to be safe. And perhaps the only thing that could distract him from family was family itself, and Mpaji too, for the burly yellow lion that had seemed a father to him for so long would always be at the top of the young lion's priorities.
The tan lion stood, his piercing yellow gaze on the black lioness that was his sister as she sat beside him. She was telling him too much. Once again, he felt his head swimming as he fought to understand what was going on. And he felt, again, the image of Ripuka replacing Jua's in his mind's eye. They were doing the same thing to him.
And then a roar seemed to rip the world apart and Azarax's head swung toward it in frenzy. He knew that sound. Not the roar, perhaps, but somehow he recognized the anguish and pain he had heard there, the hate too maybe. And he swept his eyes across the sands, looking for its source. The roar sent chills down his spine. For there was death looming near, he could feel it.
And then he saw. He saw the mass of the two fighting lions, saw the familiar flame like pelt as the old lioness fell and the other. She was preparing to kill her. The lion frowned, feeling a tug. It was none of his business.
... Except for the fact that she was his mother. Except for the fact that perhaps someday, he would have wanted to know more from her. Except that he didn't want her to die.
With that realization, he realized that there was no use fighting against it. He wasn't letting Ripuka die, no. He brushed past his sister and leaped forward. He didn't understand the ways of war. But Mpaji had told him, it was time to pick sides. It was not time to fight, was it?
He neared and he saw how much he had missed, talking to Jua. If only he'd tried to stop it earlier. He knew the other lioness was preparing another attack. And he knew that what he was doing now... perhaps, just perhaps, it might mean he would not be able to follow Mpaji to the rebels. But right then, he felt all concious thought leave his mind. He was intent only on stopping what he saw before him.
And then he launched himself off the sand toward the lioness threatening to kill his mother. "Don't!"
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:53 pm
Uuo would have been glad to put an end to the lioness' ranting, though not in the way that both mother and son seemed to suspect. No, but she'd not get the chance.
She was smart enough to anticipate being ambushed, which was the only reason that Uuo managed to be prepared for it at all. Grimacing at the impact she staggered, instantly whipping around at the ready with an angry snarl, but stopped cold. This lion's pelt was not the approved colors of the Firekin... yet he wasn't among the faces she'd seen just last night or this morning... WHY was he defending her?!
"Are you so lost in servitude that you don't realize what's happening here?!" She snapped incredulously, though making no move to further harm the elder.
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Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:42 am
Ripuka couldn't see. Atleast, not very well. She tried to force her good eye open, felt tears of pain streaming down her face, tears born through the desperate need to cleanse her eye of the vicious sand.
Why hadn't it ended?
Was the slave simply letting her live long enough to give her a little hope then dash it all away with a swipe of a paw? Ripuka was angry, but she was weak. She could no more stand than she could try to protect herself.
And then a voice, a single word that sent disbelief wriggling into Ripuka's soul. The voice had sounded like her son's. Not Wakia, no, the other son. The son she loved and hated, the son she had cast away to become a slave.
Better slave than dead, right?
No, it couldn't be Azarax! Why would he come to her aid? He of all children should be relishing in this battle, waiting with anticipation as it ended. Why? Why? Why? Ripuka was sure she would never live long enough to find out.
His scent drifted to her nose, she wheezed, raised her bloodied head. Her gummed eye opened. She saw him, or a blur of him.
She tried to stand, her wounded leg failed her and she hit the ground again, grunting. Wonderful. She couldn't even protect her own child, she couldn't even make use of Uuo's confusion at being attacked by one not of typical Firekin colours.
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Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:14 am
Azarax was silent for a moment. For in that moment, he could finally see - Firekin and those that they considered slaves. And they were all the same. So why... Why still was there this battle? And he knew the answer. Because the Firekin would never see like he did. They would not see that it was not the coat nor the blood that mattered, it was what was inside. Not without the language of blood, which they all seemed to be completely fluent in.
And at that moment the excitement of war and adventure that had flooded him earlier on drained, and he no longer wanted to see what would win. He didn't want to see the look on Ripuka's face when she realized he had saved her, only to join her enemies. But they weren't her enemies. Not really. For Kidondo had not come to destroy. Perhaps even the other lioness had not meant to kill Ripuka. The war was a paradoxical way of teaching and protecting those of the Blood.
"Things are not always as they seem on the surface," He said finally, though his words were aimed not only at the lioness that stood before him. They were aimed, too, at Ripuka, although perhaps then he didn't completely realize it. He could sense confusion emanating from both, and he stood there between the two lionesses, fighting to keep away the sense of battle that flooded him with the scent of blood.
His ear flickered only to show he could see Ripuka's efforts to regain her footing with his ears, but he kept his eyes fixed on the other. "I'm not your enemy," He said, too, for he knew what his actions seemed like. "But I... I can't let you hurt her."
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Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 5:37 pm
Uuo glared briefly past the youth to the orange furred lioness, but felt those crimson orbs drawing back to the young male before her. She stared at him a bit longer and suddenly felt smacked with realization. These two seemed familiar, and yet she knew for certain that this male was a slave, and what slave in it's right mind... No, no, focus. She hadn't time to mull on such things. She gave Azarax a blank, firm stare.
"Frankly, she'd be better off unconscious, I doubt if she has the sense to sit it out even as beaten as she is, but fine. But she's your responsibility. It won't be on my shoulders if she gets herself killed."
She glanced in the direction that Kidondo had gone, glancing at Azarax again in passing and throwing the words out:
"If you plan to be on the other side when it all goes down, you'd best make it known."
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Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 12:24 am
Her head was muzzy. What she could see through her one eye was become clearer and yet blurrier at the same time. She knew it wasn't the sand anymore. No, it was something else.
She glanced down at her shoulder. No, it was more likely the life draining from her. She shook her head, dared not move in case it provoked more blood to flow from ehr wound. The claw marks had lashed deep but the blood was clotting, stopping the most of the blood flow. She needed to be careful, keep it as still as possible.
The anger faded, left her feeling slightly shocked. It had happened. Kidondo had ripped her life apart. She felt tears in her eyes now, and this time they were not tears trying to fight away sand. What was she supposed to do now? Was it surrender or die? What if Lord Kimeti fell? If Kidondo used trickery in the fight, her lord could be destroyed. Was it too late to go and help? She glanced at her leg, willed it to seal up.
She had to do something!
And then she was aware of voices, bubblign in her ears. She turned her head back, sought the lion who had come to her rescue. Not always as they seem on the surface.
Just like her...her ebbing faith, though she stubbornly held onto it with both claws. She was ashamed, yes, but who could blame her? Maybe that was why she had lost this fight? Maybe Finar-Si had seen her sins?
She tried to growl, but the sound was feeble.
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Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 1:12 am
His responsibility. He shook his head. How ironic. Yet he felt as if a weight had been lifted as the lioness turned away. At least when it came time to make it known whose side he stood on, which he imagined would be very soon, he would not have to feel as if he was completely betraying the family he didn't know. For in saving Ripuka from what they had both thought was death, perhaps he had shown her that he wasn't out to destroy her, that he wasn't hungering for revenge for what she had done.
No, it was nothing of the sort. He wanted them to realize their faults, as he had, as Kidondo had. He wanted them to realize that he was not so different from them, that color was not everything. Yet he knew, somehow, that he was. Because he was not blind to the flaws of the Firekin beliefs. He could see them loud and clear, and only because of Ripuka. So perhaps he had cause to thank his mother, rather than feel anger.
He turned his attention to the orange lioness at the sound of a small growl. The wounds were deep, but at least she had the good sense to stay still, lest they opened again and bled more. He took a step closer, seeing that her eyes were clearing. "Mother..." He said softly, fighting the urge to call her Ripuka. No, she was his mother, whether he wanted her to be or not. He would live with that. At least... no, he could with that. Yet his voice was distant with the foreign feeling of the word.
"You should pull through this," He added. "But... Don't fight." His eyes implored her, wondering if she would take his advice, as they had once long ago before Azarax could even remember, asking her to take him with home her.
"I can't fight with you and Jua and our brother," He said. Then his voice raised slightly, so that he was no longer whispering, but actually speaking in that bold, clear voice of his. "What I know about the Firekin tells me that I must fight with the rebels. But not for hate," His voice dropped once more, so he was speaking into his mother's ear, and to Ripuka only. "Not for hate, mother. Only for change."
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Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 4:57 pm
She said nothing more after that, simply moved to leave while the two "talked". She had others that she could be helping. In the back of her mind, however, the lioness wondered just how her slave friend, Meilin, would be fairing at this time, and how the other rebels within the pride were doing as well. Ripuka was wrong. Just as she had fallen, so would the other traditionalists. The rebels would come out on top. They would reform the pride, or at least do away with the excess. Slaves no more, they'd all prove their worth for the children of Finar-si to see.
((Wasn't sure if you guys were waiting for me or not. Sorry if you were/I held you up. :<))
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Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 1:41 am
She said nothing. She just listened to his words.
He called her mother. Mother.
Her eyes tipped up to look at him, to follow the curve of his proud neckline, his growing mane fluttering in a breeze that brought majesty to him and pain to her. Mother. Why would he call her such after all she had done to him? Perhaps he understood, or perhaps he had put it behind him. Either way, she knew she'd lost him. She'd known the day that she'd carried him from the den and left him to the slaves.
She knew it now as the pride was being rent in two that they were heading for very different futures.
A future not for hate.
For change.
She opened her mouth, sought to tell him that somehow she understood, that despite the niggling inside her that wanted change, she could never permit herself to admit it. Words failed her.
She stared at him through a veil of tears, hoping that he could understand why she had made such terrible decisions.
Better to abandon him than kill him.
She lay her head wordlessly against the sand, not caring about herself, Uuo nor even Finar-Si. It was lost. Everything was lost.
The world blacked out.
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Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 2:01 am
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Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 5:28 am
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