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 Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 10:18 pm
Roho released her grip as Uovo fell to the ground. Her paws were stained with red and there was a rush of excitement, of adrenaline. She watched proudly as her daughter clawed the male's flank, but was caught unaware as he slashed at the air. His paw struck the side of her muzzle and she yowled in rage, going into a blind fury as she leapt towards him, clawing at his cheeks in return. An eye for an eye, right?
After a moment she stopped, taking a breath. There was a streak of blood on her chin, tiny droplets falling to the ground. Roho sent Katavi a meaningful look, one that clearly said 'stop'.
Prodding at the male with a paw, she growled, "Who are you?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 10:42 pm
Uovu's sides burned. His paws burned. His cheek burned. In fact, everything in his whole body ached and pained.
Sheesh, these two 'ladies' sure knew how to bring a lion down hard. What, were they trained assassins, or something?
He cursed under his breath, breathing heavy, trying to regain balance and clear his head. At least he'd managed to strike back, and that had created the pause in the fight that had saved his life.
Shaking the thought from his head, Uovu placed a forepaw to one of the cheeks that had the older female had slashed at.
She'd had a good go at him, that was certain. The cuts were deep. They could quite possibly scar his handsome face forever, if Uovu didn't go and wash them out as soon as he could.
Wincing, he took his paw back, and stared at it's pad.
Pure red.
The little buggers had drawn blood, after all.
He gritted his teeth, and looked back at his attackers with blazing, defiant eyes. At least they hadn't killed him. It could have easily gone that way. There was a moment, when all three lions met eachother's gaze. With heavy breath, it seemed as if the older lioness had quietened the younger girl.
And now... silence. Uovu's muscles tensed and quivered, not knowing whether to expect another attack, or to relax. Then, the eldest spoke.
"Who are you?"
Uovu's ears flicked. He wasn't expecting talk, of all things. Hadn't they just taught him that they didn't... have time to talk?
He stopped and tried his best to remain focused, not lifting his gaze off the dominant lioness. If there was going to be an attack, Uovu needed to watch her body language. It seemed she was the commander, around here.
"My name?" he growled finally, his chest heaving as he caught his breath, "What business is it of yours to know my name, Miss? Unless you're willing to withdraw those claws of yours..."
He didn't mind socialising with she-lions, but these two... well, they looked like killers that could rough up even the toughest of male lions.
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Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 11:22 pm
At Roho's gaze, Katavi withdrew her claws and regained her near emotionless expression. The wonder of fight and blood was gone, and she was a wandering soul once more. A shadowy blanket fell across her face as she stepped back, falling behind with Roho. She longed to continue the fight, but knew that this look she had received from her mother meant business.
She began to pace quickly from side to side as if she were caged, gluing her blue eyes to the groaning male below their paws. A low growl thrummed in her throat in agreement to Roho's questioning.
Suddenly, she stopped. What? She swung her head around, her eyes fierce and scolding as they met with Ouevu's.
"What?," she hissed, glancing from Roho to the strange rogue.
Anger flared inside her, illuminated in her icy eyes. Who should dare to speak to my mother that way? She pulled her arm back and swung her suspended claws around Ouevu's face, daring the naive male to challenge her further.
The young lioness pulled away, afraid that she might release her fury onto the brute again and anger Roho. Instead, she fell back into the shadows and began pacing, whipping her tail to and fro and hissing under her breath in fury. One day she'd get him again. One day.
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:05 am
Roho raised a brow at the male's words. Though part of her wanted to kill the b*****d right then and there for daring to retort at her demand, another part of her couldn't help but admire the gall that he had to try and retain some dignity, even towards the two lionesses that had almost killed him, and still very well could. The petite lioness saw potential in this one, and so she eyed him, sizing him up like a piece of meat.
"You'll tell me what your name is unless you want those claws in your eyes," she said coolly, though there was a hint of amusement in her raspy voice.
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 7:28 pm
Uovu, even with his countless wounds, afflictions and scrapes, also found the older lioness's comeback rather amusing. Although his body was now shaking violently with pain, he couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
"You humour me, I see," he grinned, struggling to keep his posture straight and his head up, "You two women sure have an odd way to greet someone you've never heard before. It's all slash, slash, slash... and then you ask for a name? That's... really ' polite'."
His eyes glowed insubmissively, brightly shining from under his thick brown mane. Great, his hair was all mussed now... and his fur was a mess. It was darker in patches, but not the usual ones... most of his fur was dark and wet with blood. These girls were fighters, there was no doubt about that.
He looked to the smallest. She had been vicious. If her mother hadn't called her off, there was no telling what she would have done. Still, there was something about her he couldn't put a spot on. Hmmm... it was a shame. She was a very pretty girl, after all... he would have gladly asked her out if she wasn't so much of a killer.
"The name is Uovu," he said, placing a forepaw slowly forward, and keeping his eye on the two in case of another attack, "And as I said before, I was just passing through. Last time I heard, the Southlands belonged to absolutely nobody," he paused, and put another paw forward, nearing closer, "So why don't you fill me in on who owns this joint, huh? And," he added, with a slight growl rising in his throat, "If there are any seers anywhere around, which is what I wanted to find out before some people tried to murder me."
He hoped he'd been straightforward enough. Might as well try to find out some things before he did a runner. His muscles tensed, ready to take off lest they strike again.
He'd fought enough... he couldn't take much more. If they tried again, he'd have to try his luck and run.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 3:40 pm
Katavi grew continuously frustrated as the other spoke. She watched him with a careful eye, absorbing everything from the way he held himself to the way he spoke. His blatant retorting angered her, and his posture, although a subtle display of definacy, enfuriated her further. Didn't he know who he was up against?
How stupid could you be?
She withheld the urge to throw herself at him again by scraping the earth beneath her with her front claws. At his polite comment, her mind hissed "Shut up!", but she stayed silent and obedient.
However, when the brute questioned Roho's leadership, her fur began to prickle, and muscles bunched. It was only his next comment that stilled her.
"Seers?" she asked.
Her voice lowered to an accusatory tone.
"What is your business with seers?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 10:03 pm
Roho laughed, her voice raspy as usual. "Clearly you need to be updated," she hissed in a condescending tone. "These are my lands, and if you wish to question it... well..." She unsheathed her claws, flexing them threateningly. "You've already felt it once. I don't think you're tough enough to take it again."
"Uovu?" She sneered. "My name is Hodari'roho, queen of the Tononeka. This is my daughter, Katavi." There was pride in her voice as she flicked her tail, indicating the black lioness.
The mention of seers raised a brow, but she did not say anything. Obviously Katavi was interested in his statement, so she'd let her deal with it.
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Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 12:13 am
"I came here to find seers," Uovu uttered coldly, eyes clouded with pain, "And I don't intend to reveal much more than that, Missy. It's man's business."
He couldn't help but say it... after all, Uovu was beginning to think that women were naturally dangerous creatures, and he had a throbbing cheek and dripping side to remind him of that fact. So why would he, now, go ahead and divulge his mission to his attackers? Did she really think he was that stupid, that afraid?
Because he wasn't afraid, oh no. He was hurting badly, and angry... but not afraid.
"You're both mental!" he managed to splutter, wincing as his legs wobbled, threatening to cave in. Standing around, loosing blood like this was making him dizzy, but staying strong was a matter of life and death. Geez, his sarcasm and over-confidence had made a mess of him today. Would he even live to see tomorrow?
He hastily turned his attention back to the white lion. 'Daughter', was that what the older-one had said? It was true that Katavi looked younger in age than this Hodari'Roho character, but their features, apart from their steely eyes and cold expressions, were different. In spite of it all, Uovu felt a sudden curiousity about the two, and smirked. Maybe this could be something to explore.
His parents had always told him that it was best to know your enemy.
"If these are your lands, then why aren't you well known, Queen?" he ventured, spitting (flecks of blood dotted the ground, mingling with the spittle), "I, for one, have never heard of the Tono...Tono... Nono... well, whatever it is. See, see? I can't even remember what it's called! "
He grinned. Uovu still retained his smart-a** nature, in any situation.
"And... haha, let me get this right. She's your daughter?" he turned his head to face the young lady, "Black fur, different build, and bigger than you. Geez, you must have an interesting mate. Where is he? Where is your King? I demand to know!"
Uovu was pushing it. He really was.
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Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 2:05 pm
Katavi stood in place, lashing her tail from side to side. She kept every aspect of herself silent; her expression was cold but unreadable, and she continued to fight the urge to snap at Uovu. It took a skill that she had been taught at a young age to maintain her self discipline. As the male continued to provoke her, she only burned with more silent rage.
After he finished speaking, a million different responses came to her consideration. There were points that she wanted to make clear, while others that didn't even deserve acknowledgement; his haughty male attitude, for one. And his curiousity in her and Roho's relationship.
She'd played that card before. Getting to know the enemy was a skillful business, and rewarding if you're not on the recieving end. But that's just it; it required skill.
She couldn't help but smirk.
He was readable. Very.
"Well," she hissed, "considering you are the one who just forgot the name of the land after being told a moment ago, I would not conclude that we are the ones who are mental. It's Tononeka; remember it this time."
Her eyes narrowed into slits.
"And you demand to know? No. I demand to know what this business of yours is," she growled. "Why are you here?"
She glanced at Roho, hoping she wasn't going too far. But how couldn't she? After all, Uovu was teasing the caged animal.
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Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 11:08 pm
"Man's business?"
Her voice was furious but there seemed to be a tinge of amusement in her eyes. Mental, he called them? Mental was trespassing on someone's territory, being attacked, and then staying while taunting the attackers.
In fact, that required some serious guts.
"It's a new pride," she said shortly, eyeing him. He seemed fairly strong and was obviously not afraid of a challenge. The gears were working in her mind. "Although I can assure you that it won't be quite so... obscure, in the coming months." When he commented about Katavi, she smirked. Blood was not important - it was the ties that binded her to Katavi that really mattered, that made them mother and daughter.
"I have no mate," she said, smirking at him. "I have no need for a man to be around. More often than not, they only muddle things up. Katavi here may not be my daughter by blood, but I brought her up, and she's more my daughter than you are your mother's son."
There was a steely look in her eyes, daring him to challenge that.
She did not stop Katavi, allowing her to continue. After all, she made very valid points, and if this lion wanted to push them, then at least one of them needed to push back. But, once the black lioness finished, Roho turned her head, gazing at Katavi. Her thoughts were very clear - the pride was small and needed to grow, and the brazen male could make a decent addition, if he could be beaten into submission, so to speak... sort of.
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Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:34 am
"It's Tononeka; remember it this time."
"Hey, it's not my brain that needs fixing, Prissy," Uovu shot back, clearly disgruntled, as the female's sharp tongue lashed against his confidence like a merciless whip, "I'm not the one loosing fur over a simple rogue walking in the Southlands. Do I really need to tell you why I'm here? Honestly? Did it ever occur to you," he stepped closer to Katavi, breathing heavily, a menacing scowl replacing his former cocky smirk, "...that I was simply taking a walk? Oh, 'I'm looking for seers, I must have some kind of dangerous motive', is that what you're thinking, woman? What if I simply want to have my bliddy fortune told, hrm? Do I need a reason? Do I, really? Answer me that, girl!"
He was interrupted, however, by a growl from the elder female, and instinctively found himself backing off. She was dangerous, this one. Though the young female seemed no less dangerous, Uovu found that the old lioness installed more terror in him than he was prepared to admit. The black lioness's fur was, for the most part, rather unmarked - maybe it was the darkness of her pelt that disguised her scars. But Roho's bright white pelt bore numerous slashes and scars, to the amount that Uovu was amazed.
By her tone of voice and impressive collection of past wounds, this one apparently meant serious business, so he grudgingly listened.
"A new pride, you say..." he repeated, sitting down for a moment to think, his eyes not leaving the two lionesses lest they strike again, "What kind of pride is it that attacks the innocent stranger with hardly any warning on formerly unclaimed land?"
His eyes, though clouded with anger, glinted with a slight glimmer of humour as Roho brought his parents into the argument. His smile returned, and he chuckled, though it was not the heartiest of laughs.
"Fair enough. You could say I've never been a real Mama's Boy," he grinned, his eyes staring straight into Katavi's (they were much prettier to look out, he thought, than the old woman's), "But, prying into an enemy's family life. Ouch, you could really offend someone with comments like that. Haha, what kind of lions are you, anyway?"
He mustered a chilling smile, eyes staring blanky ahead... and for a moment his tone was completely and utterly serious.
"I'm intrigued."
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Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:04 pm
Prissy?
A deep viciousness that had been resting in her rumbling throat seemed to curl down the lioness's spine in pure fury. If this Uovu fellow had been crossing the line before, as far as Katavi was concerned, he might as well be marking that line as his own territory now. Each offense seemed to drip from the brute's mouth like poison, harmless until a certain extent, when Katavi could do nothing but snap when it became one drop too much. And just like that, her control dissipated with a brutal snarl.
"Now, you listen," she spat, "when you step onto this land, you accept the consequences. Simply taking a walk, planning an attack, it doesn't matter; your offense is all the same. Why it is that we ask your motives is our own business, not yours. Your only business is to cooperate without question, and you've already proven you're incapable of doing such a simple thing."
The back of her mind screamed shut up, he isn't worth the effort, yet her words flowed more vehemently with each passing moment. She just couldn't stop.
"So to answer your questions, this is a pride of powerful, undefeatable lions, and that should be recognized. But because you clearly have no respect for greatness, I could not even dub you a remotely similar title. In fact, you're simply an idiot!"
With that, Katavi took a few steps away from the male. She could not afford to be near him, because she was a breath away from clawing his ears off. Roho would not approve of that, not without her signal.
She glanced towards the older lioness, hoping to find some assurance in her eyes that the male would be done with soon enough. But instead, she saw something much different in them. Possibility, perhaps? A sinking feeling settled in her stomach. Surely her mother wasn't considering... no. She knew Uovu had guts, and strength - despite her willingness to admit it out loud - but did that mean that Roho was actually considering that brute into her pride?
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Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:26 pm
Roho did not say a word as Katavi raged, merely standing back and listening, her expression approving. There was no need for her to speak when Katavi said everything for her. Instead, she kept her eyes focused on the brown lion, curious, intent. Would he flinch, cower, at the ferocity of her speech? She was almost certain he'd be offended by being called an idiot, but that didn't particularly matter. His actual actions spoke much louder.
"I think that Katavi has summed everything up nicely," she said in an icy voice. "She speaks of titles and greatness, which is what we stand for, and yet you're little more than a buffoon. Interesting. Perhaps we could whip you into shape."
The lioness turned to Katavi, once more communicating without words. He is invited to join us, it said, but it is for our entertainment, not his shot at greatness. Her eyes stayed on Katavi's, waiting for a response. If the black lioness felt strongly that they not take in the lion, then she would not allow him to follow.
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Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:06 pm
Katavi had begun pacing again when Roho began to speak, but now as she felt Roho's eyes on her once more, she stopped in her tracks. Her eyes leveled with her mother's, and for a moment she felt nothing but calm, for the eyes that stared back were full of wisdom beyond her years. Although Katavi disapproved of the rogue, she knew that Roho would not dig her own pride into a hole over him. There had to be some motive behind it.
Katavi's faith was assured when she saw a sparkle of amusement in Roho's eyes, and then she understood. If anything, the male could be useful to them as something to joke about, or maybe even a punching bag. He didn't really have any value, and was therefore no threat to her. But then again, in time he could learn the ways of the Tononeka, and perhaps be decent... maybe.
She tore her gaze from Roho's to peer at him for a moment. He had the build to be a good fighter, yes. Or atleast a build. And a haughty attitude. And.. Katavi caught herself from licking her lips. Maybe he could be useful.. If she could learn to tolerate him.
Her icy eyes met with Roho's again, and she gave a single nod of consent.
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Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:37 pm
Uovu drew back for a moment, taken aback by Katavi's emotional, angry outburst. The ferocity riding her voice was frightening. It was amazing, Uovu thought darkly, how intimidating women could be when they were furious. Katavi was clearly no exception to this.
"Ouch," he retorted simply, after she had finished, “You know what, sugar? I’m starting to get the feeling that you just don’t like me.”
He really had nothing more to say. Though he stood there, recovering himself confidently and grinning defiantly, Katavi had certainly knocked the wind out of him and, at the same time, had badly bruised the young lion's fragile ego. His mind whirred, searching for an intelligent retort, or, at the very least, a smart-assed comeback to offer, but he could find nothing. He blinked at the two lionesses, momentarily stunned and perhaps a slight bit disturbed.
The next few moments were a hardly memorable blur for Uovu. There was speech, and then silence. It was not, however, the sort of silence that offers no new information whatsoever, but instead a silence of the opposite sort. In this silence, Uovu noticed that the females seemed to communicate something to eachother, probably something concerning him. The elder female offered Katavi some sort of proposition, it seemed, and this was received with shock and disbelief by the young woman. However, after a few moments of thought, the younger lioness seemed to accept. Now Uovu just needed to figure it all out... and with a gulp, he realised what he was getting into.
"Whip me into shape, you say?" his steely eyes shone over with curiousity, "What exactly... are you hinting at here?"
There was really little need for him to ask the question. Deep down, he knew exactly what they meant. He'd already placed the last piece of the puzzle down and pressed it gently down, and the picture was complete.
He was going to join them.
Hey, perhaps he'd come to like it.
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