|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 12:39 pm
Nina looked at her brother, one of three, and bumped her forhead into his shoulder. "Three more lions are dead... At Shangyue's paws, it's said... And we may improve our lot in life for it." She glanced over at Gyps and Sitha, scowling at them. "We only want what you have - Favor of the Great Lion! Is that so wrong? How DOES that make us traitors?" A lioness could not marry her way up the ladder. She was in the class she'd either woken up in or was born to, where as the males could fall or climb as was dictated by who their mate was. Nina was jealous of her brothers for that - All three could wed a lioness each and rise up the chain to a higher class, while she was stuck at the bottom. She wanted better than that.
"You side with a MURDERER!" Gyps'fulvus stared Kin down, so far the highest-ranking lion in the group. The rest were all slaves. "How can you side with him? He killed his own FAMILY! And now he's hunting for MORE of them!" Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Caritas and a part of him worried. Like Haggy, she was a midwife, and losing just one of the midwives could prove a huge problem for the pride. What if too many lionesses came down pregnant with only one midwife present? Would any of the cubs be lost, or anything of the like?
"Perhaps the upper branches of the tree just need a bit of... Pruning." If he knew how loaded that statement could be with his own blood relatives, Najisi may not have said it. He offered Akemi a smile. "Akemi here is right, you know..." He looked over. "The Great Lion turns his back on us, and we must protect ourselves, for he won't protect us. How much have you all tried to protect us?" He paused, then motioned. "Besides dust-legs here... I never caught his name..." He'd get it later, he'd make sure of it. "Sorry about that, friend. Busy and all..." His red eyes settled on the two guards. "Perhaps you DO feel threatened by us... How many guards are there, anyway? And how many slaves? Don't we out-number you three to one...?" And how many guards were on Shangyue's side?
"My name is Kin... Um... Goldy." He'd missed the gold-coated slave's name, too. His ears folded just a bit at the idea of pruning the tree, but he made no comment. He looked over at the two guards. "The thing about history is... In the end... The winner is the one who records it, and those that support the winner are the ones who spin the tales and how they're remembered. Didn't your mate, Gyps, come from a place that kept slaves? Is that why you're so against them finding favor?" He stepped closer, almost antagonizing the other lion. "You want her to have a glimmer of the glory her father said her birth pride used to have... To know what it's like to have someone break their back for her... While she sits on her pretty little--" His words were cut off as a paw struck his cheek, sending him backing away in pain.
"You will NOT.. Speak of Haggy like that..." Gyps glared at Kin. "If you like the slaves so much... Why don't you JOIN them?"
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 1:53 pm
Sitha was stunned by the entire exchange, her entire body tensing from the moment Halili spoke up-- her only distraction was a glimpse of Cartias, which made her turn her head sharply. No, it wasn't Stellaluna, it was her sister- and she, too, was worried about the Shaman.. there was so much that was more important than standing here squabbling! And yet, here they were. She turned back to the slaves and Kin with a snarl.
"We have always protected you! It is our job as much as it is yours to work to repay us!" she growled, repeating a very simple lesson every lion was taught in the pride. At that moment she wished it wasn't part of their purpose, that they could simply reject those who were ignored by the Great Lion. Would Shangyue have accomplished as much if the slaves didn't feel this way? This was simply not the time for her to consider their perspective, right now it was dangerous for all of them.
She started when Gyps lashed out-- and then she crouched, ready to react to anything, waiting to see what happened next.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 2:22 pm
 It was probably for the best that Halili had yet to notice that one of her wayward offspring had made her way to this meeting. Otherwise she might have had to do something drastic, such as publicly punish the younger lioness. Well, maybe not that far. But at least send her home! Halili had not wanted any of her children anywhere near Shangyue's coup d'etat. She was, however, rather pleased to hear Akemi's rebuttal to Kin. It was encouraging to know that she was not the only slave who was somewhat annoyed with The Way Things Were. She wondered if the other lioness was one of Shangyue's supporters. Halili herself wasn't one of those helping to create this chaos...she simply had no qualms about perpetuating it. "Are we so despicable to you," she demanded of Gyps'fulvus, "that you view joining us to be a punishment?" Really, and he'd lived here how long? Oh sure, the low class was treated fairly well overall, but there were always isolated incidents. The lioness glanced over at Sitha, who seemed to be of the anti-Shangyue faction. But the other female wasn't being quite as...outspoken...as the male Guard. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  "This is all ridiculous!" the black lioness declared. "The low class work for the rest of the pride, yes, but it is our responsibility to see to it that they live the best lives they can, that we share what blessings the Great Lion gives to us with them, to make up for what He did not give to them Himself!" As a Midwife, who often had the unfortunate duty of informing new parents of their children's ill-luck, Caritas was accustomed to seeing every class, including the lowest, in the best light possible. And she tried to make this true for herself in every way. Sure, she didn't have incredibly strong connections with many slaves, but Unyezi was her grandfather too, and he himself had been the one to point out how much good she could do as the Midwife she was today.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 4:15 pm
It was from some distance away that Rishima hushed the jabbering Stela so that he might better hear the group's squabble.
Stela whined, but a well placed step on the blue lioness' tail got the point across, and she quieted down, but not without a pout on her face.
Rishima, true to his neutrality, weighed both sides. He had always looked down on the lower class, looked down on the slaves. He didn't want to serve, or be anyone's servant. He was always too proud for that. At the same time, he also did not like being served. he was as independent as he could be. He didn't want, or need, to depend on anyone.
Stela, on the other hand, was more than happy to be waited on as much as she could get away with. However, she also didn't see rank. Perhaps it was because she was so simple minded and almost cub-like. It was a blessing in its own right. She didn't even see the benefit of her own upper-middle class rank, and how it more than anything had appealed to Rishima, who would take whatever step higher he could get.
Although now he was quite thankful to be in the middle, and time had seen his eye open slightly. After all, as said before, he had daughter who were slaves, and parents who were upper-class; lord and lady. Such events had given him insight. it was only too bad he kept it to himself and his children and mate.
Stela could not keep quiet anymore, as she did not have quite as keen hearing as Rishima, though even the golden-winged lion could not catch everything that was said.
"Rishimaaaaaaa, what are they saying?"
"They're saying that they should eat you if you're not quiet."
"Eep! Wait....no they're not!"
Sigh....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 5:27 pm
 Bili kept his mouth shut and walked with a worried expression as he looked for family members in the midst of the chaos that had suddenly engulfed the darkest night. The hunter didn’t really understand what was going on but until he found his brother and sisters, he felt as though he couldn’t breathe properly. The whole environment felt hostile, filled with suspicion and aggression. The level of violence definitely caused an impression in the worst possible way and the young adult refused to believe the Great Lion could ever condone the actions of those responsible for the recent murders. Murders! He’d never thought to see the day such a foul thing would happen in his pride.
Despite having been almost completely oblivious to the unrest that had slowly been growing in the pride, it was impossible not to notice the bickering, accusations and general discord that was happening all around him, usually involving one or more slaves and random lions from other classes. The white lion tried to stay away from all the arguing and concentrated in finding his family.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 8:34 pm
"That's not what he said!" she said, rounding on Halili now and abandoning whatever tense threat she intended to appear towards Kin should he retaliate to a deserved clawed slap across the nose for insulting Gyps' mate, "You're twisting his words!" It was then that she became very aware of three things. First and foremost, she was now addressing the daughter of one lion she had been most interested in finding. Uchanjaa seemed a likely ally in any resistance movement, he was a dedicated guard and worked closely with the royal family in the past.. was his daughter really so different from him? Or would Sitha be surprised to learn how he truly felt in this situation? Those questions kept her focused on Halili for a long moment but she couldn't help but glance around. The crowd here was considerable and it was growing, she had certainly picked a good place to come to find other lions. And, owing in part to Cartias' exclamation, she realized they were wasting time. "This is ridiculous," she agreed loudly, "We have to do something!" She had half a mind to ask after Uchanjaa but would that help? Should they look for Stellaluna or should they focus on building up a resistance? They obviously couldn't form a resistance with the slaves around, acting like this. What if his search for Stellaluna was a distraction and he was up to something else? If they found him, they would find out for sure what he was up to. "Has anybody here seen Shangyue tonight?" Boldly, her narrowed eyes went to the group of slaves.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 11:28 am
All the arguing and accusations were just delightful! Deep inside, a part of her was satisfied with this turn of events. A lot of these lions who were born here had no idea what it felt like to have their freedom, and then lose it once they decided to fold into a pride. To awake under the new moon, with no protection...Akemi had felt herself lose so much freedom that she had taken for granted. Now they, all the lions with ranks above her, were feeling the same way she had.
"Now that you all taste fear, you lash out at those below you. Disgusting." Her tail trashed behind her, a growl emitting from her throat. Her eyes turned to Sitha as she replied to her outburst. "As a guard, shouldn't you know where he is, rather than us slaves? We are normally not even allowed out of the central area of the pride..." Her tone was threatening, and her body language doubly so. The lioness was ready for a fight, if it came down to that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 3:08 pm
Zuri`zola had made her way here knowingly, with a purpose. That she would not share with many, if any at all. Besides that troubled Shangyue whom she had found very curious and enlightening. She had been spoke to a while prior. Though she was not accompanied to the pride by him, she felt herself tugged here almost as if by an invisible force. Upon arriving she was deemed a Guard, suitable or not was in the air, but she accepted and moved on.
The pride was in turmoil when she got here, and it appeared to only have gotten worse. There were tales of murder of challenging the throne weaved between many tongues that spoke aggressively and failed little to cover their own tracks. Night after night seemed to erupt new problems, new faces and new questions. She was rather enjoying herself. A particular event caught her eye.
It seemed to be happening quickly, an argument boomed in the distance. She wasn't one to go near the slaves. She did not consider them below her, in fact she considered them just as interesting as Shangyue. The problems, the mind games and more. Though Shangyue's tale spun with a dead King and other royal blood to be spilled. She smirked slightly as her mind played over the events again. She smacked her lips slightly as if she could taste the blood herself.
When her mind seemed to warp back to reality she was nearing the ongoing argument, there was yelling, and violence was beginning to show its ugly mug. Though she approached the group, she stayed to the side, eyes glued to them, but staying silent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 8:24 pm
The beige lioness was unphased by Sitha's accusation. Sure, it was to the other female's advantage to claim Halili was twisting Gyps' words. But that didn't make such a statement true. "I may be twisting words," she admitted, "but do you really think I'm twisting the meaning behind them?" She knew for a fact she wasn't, else how could he have said something so quickly and unthinkingly. When the call for Shangyue went up, Halili simply yawned. "Really, why would any of us know where he is? You're assuming that everyone here works for him. Truthfully, I'm just here to watch the show." And to enjoy the fact that for once she was given...well...a kind of respect. Fear was better than nothing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caritas frowned as the other pride members focused mostly on their arguments. This was...not good. Shangyue's actions threatened to divide the pride badly. Something had to give, and soon, else they could have something awful...civil war. "We shouldn't fight amongst ourselves," Caritas told the group, stepping forward. "I don't know where Shangyue is either...but...Halili. Your father is Uchanjaa. Do you know where he is?" The former Royal Nanny would be a very useful lion to have around. Not only did his word carry some weight, but he had to be some kind of fighter, or they wouldn't have entrusted Selene's safety to him...right? She hoped that was the case.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 12:53 pm
He reached up, rubbing his face. The claws had certainly smarted.... Kin looked at Gyps, a dangerous glimmer in his eyes. "You're going to regret that, dust butt. I'm gonna make you eat your words!" He didn't even hear what the other lions around him were saying before the gold-coated lion jumped on the other male, his claws out as he let out a roar. As he connected and tackled Gyps, he moved to bite at his neck, despite the pale mane getting his way, utterly ignoring the other lion's claws on his shoulders trying to get him off. When Kin looked up, he spied his great-uncle Rishima in the distance, and turned the hard angry look on him. With all his pride... Kin saw his uncle as no better than Gyps.
If he was going to panic, Gyps never let it on. He didn't even have time to think before Kin tackled him, trying to bite his neck. The crazy lion meant to KILL him! He let out his own roar, clawing and shoving at the tan-maned male, before he got his hind paws between himself and Kin, kicking him in the belly and shoving him off. When he stood up, he was bloodied, but so was Kin. "You... You filthy.." He wobbled for a moment, before trying to shake his mane to correct where it'd been messed up, even a little. The action hurt, though, as his scratch wounds protested.
"What... Slave?" Najisi stepped between Kin and Gyps, eyeballing the wing-marked male. "Did you enjoy eating your words, guard? See... We're stronger than you..." He looked over to Halili. "I think he DOES think we're so low that being amid us is punishment, but..." He looked back. "While we may not be allowed to go far... We still have more freedom." He then took a seat, stretching. "Plus... Male slaves have EVERYTHING to gain in the world... He marries a lioness even in the lower-middle class, he becomes a hunter. If he marries someone in the HIGH class... He can be anything he pleases so long as the position is available."
Nina stepped up beside Halili. "Words can say one thing... But the meaning is clear. You say we serve you so that we can share in your favor... But I think that part was made up... So that you would have an army of slaves to simply DO your BIDDING, so you could feel BETTER about it!" Was there even a Great Lion? She was beginning to doubt it. "You say we should do something... How about we turn things around in OUR favor and make YOU the slaves?" She had no idea where Shangyue was... She didn't care at that moment. She was spitting mad.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 1:18 pm
Sitha yelped as a fight broke out right beside her- and there was no way she could get involved without making it worse, so she could only get out of the way and turn her eyes on the other slaves in case any got the idea to gang up on Gyps while the other had him down. The world had gone mad! She looked back and forth between all the lions around her. Her focus on trying to get a search party started was, again, completely thrown off by the shenanigans of the slaves. She couldn't let her guard down now, she couldn't trust anybody here. If Shangyue told them to keep them off course, they were doing a damn fine job. 
She appeared in the background of the aggressive little crowd in time to see the scuffle, though her eyes were on her own cubs. Nina-dini and Xwaya were part of the group of slaves now standing up to the others! Whatever frustration she felt seeing them there, she pushed it down inside her, waiting for Nina's angry little speech to finish before speaking up, loudly.
"That is quite enough!" she said, giving Nina and Xwaya a good glare before looking around, pausing briefly on each guard and hunter present, "I know where Shangyue is headed, I don't know if he'll find who he is looking for there but we have to catch up to him now."
They couldn't let him wander unhindered, nobody else should have to die tonight. She only needed one surprised but determined look (from Sitha) and she turned about and started on the way to lead them in the right direction. Hopefully more than the one dark guard would follow.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 3:18 pm
Halili frowned at the older lioness. That was...not something she really wanted to talk about. She knew that her father had had a connection with the Heiress, but that was mostly before she and her siblings had been born. There had been a trip, after they were adults, where he'd accompanied both Selene and Fuu to Tianxia to visit the Lord's relatives or something. Halili hadn't paid much attention at the time, since she'd been more excited about being an adult. Also because it kind of hurt that her father spent so much time with this lioness who wasn't even related to them. "Why on earth would I know where my father is?" she replied, annoyance clear in her voice. "I'm sure that he'd side with that idiot Guard." The lioness jerked her head towards the wing-marked male in the fight. She was pleased to hear her words echoed by others, however. Clearly this was the time to make a change in the world of the Mwezi'Johari...and to allow the slaves more freedom. Aysu's appearance was something of a surprise. Halili wasn't sure what to think of the lioness, the gossip, but she did have a good point about finding the Prince. "That sounds like a plan, and one more likely to resolve things than fights," she pointed out. Yes, Halili was in full-on troublemaker mode tonight. She wasn't going to commit to any sides, to any fights, to any people. She was simply here to stand up for herself and to point out things that she had (and other people should have) noticed in her life. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caritas made a face at the fight, at the insults, at the answer she got from Halili. This was...rather unhelpful. And she didn't want to point out that she was probably the highest ranked lion here...for one thing, she was a Midwife, not a Shaman. For another, rank was precisely the issue, and she didn't want to draw excess attention to herself. Yes, all these lions should know who and what she was, but there was a difference between knowing and thinking about it. "The Great Lion's favor is about balance and exchanges," the black lioness protested, but not that loudly. She certainly wasn't going to yell to make herself heard over the fight. She was a little afraid the combatants might turn on her, and then where would her mate and children be? Then Aysu came on the scene and announced that she knew where Shangyue was. If that didn't put a lion amongst the antelope, she wasn't sure what would. "Do you know where my sister is?" Caritas called out, stepping closer to the other lioness.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 3:40 pm
 The dark coloured guard watched the brewing fight with a disgusted look on his face. But instead of joining in, he looked around to see what else was going on in the crowd. He wondered about his family, and he also wanted to make sure nothing else was going on.
It took a while, but Amarantos finally managed to locate his brother in the crowd. He walked over to him, avoiding the fight, but not caring if he bumped into anyone on the way.
"You okay," he asked as he walked up next to Bili. --- Xwaya's ears might as well have been glued flat to his skull. He had ended up in the middle of a fight, somehow, and his sister was getting real scary. The way they talked... It was as if they lived in a different world than him. He found comfort in being told what to do, but there were slaves who seemed so full of hate. It was a relief when his mother showed up and started ordering people around. He slunk to her side with his head held low.
"Sorry mom," he whispered, not sure what he was asking forgivness for. He just wanted to try to erase that disappointed glare.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 3:51 pm
Even though he was far off and for most accounts hidden by leaves, Rishima still somehow caught the glance of Kin, who's hard look of hate was merely met with calm, holier-than-thou dismissal. If the lion was lumping him in with the slaves, well that just showed stupidity, and Rishima had no time for stupidity. Speaking of stupid...
"Rishima, what's going on? It sounds like a fight!" Stela asked excitedly.
Rishima nodded, "A fight among fools. Quiet, Stela...I want to hear what this one lioness has to say.."
Indeed, he was interested in Shangyue's location, if only to know where the action would be, and so he'd know where to avoid...
Stela huffed like a spoiled child, and once again fell silent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 4:05 pm
Belial had actually begun to zone out when the fight broke out, he was almost a little startled by it, and even more so when a loud and strong voice bellowed. Shangyue had been found? He was going to be followed? He had his reasons for his quick reaction to this. Belial wanted to be there for Shangyue when everything went down. Support would be the thing to sway the odds in this situation.
With that in mind he moved and decided to pick up a pace similar to the female which lead the way. She seemed to know where she was going, but he braced himself for some form of ambush or trap.___________________________ Sabia kept her eyes on the situation, though it exploded rather quickly it seemed to calm down just as quick. She hadn't realized it, but she had been holding her breath. It wasn't until a female, with a booming voice, had yelled out that she let out that breath and inhaled quietly. She was finally speaking with some sense. Sabia was no stranger to violence, but disliked it greatly and had almost backed away a little bit. Instead, realizing her title as Guard, she stood her ground. Even when the female whom had bellowed began to turn away and attempt to lead the group, Sabia held back. She wasn't certain whom would hang back here, but she wanted to take the tail of the group. Leading was fine, but fights could break out at the back of the pack and her duties came first and foremost.
With that she stood, but did not move, instead remained where she had stood and simply stared after the female that had scampered off presumably in the direction of Shangyue.___________________________
Her paws carried her forward briefly, her interest had peaked before, there had been a sudden outbreak and lions had been thrown about, though she had not witnessed the actual strike as it didn't last long she would not miss seeing the aftermath. Upon passing the group she gazed at them, looking at the blood that stained the group and pelts and the cuts that would certainly ache sometime soon. She smiled at them, a dark smile, than moved forward. Hoping fate would lead her to seeing Shangyue once again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
