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 Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 4:04 pm
"Thankyou."
She injected the quick quiet thanks for the compliment when Noyana paused for breath. Tufah had gone back to cleaning her paw as she listened to Noyana once more, ears pointed in her direction even as she washed off the last traces of blood. Besides, it was a sort of comfort gesture as she thought through her own opinions and took in the other youngsters words. She was going out on a limb here - it was the first time she was trying to make up her own mind rather than just follow the teachings she'd had on Taka's side of the story, on class and on what was expected of her. She tried to see it from the 'Mufasa' point of view, then from the point of view of your average pridelander.
"I'm not sure I'd call them traitors. I think that many may just be...ignorant? Maybe they've never thought of looking at it from Taka's point of view. I mean, I've tried looking at it from Mufasa's point of view and even if my brother was 'cowardly' I never would have treated him so badly. And Taka had a right to be bitter, though maybe he should have overcome it, he should have been clever enough to let it go and do what he could for the pride even if he wasn't king - helped Mufasa. I don't get on with my siblings, but I'd never act so...so..."
She dropped the paw she'd still had raised with a crash down on the dirt, with a tniy snarl. Tufah didn't know a word yet for what Mufasa had done and what Taka had done. The soft thud communicated nicely her sense of frustration. It was all so stupid! And it still had such an impact todays generations - just look at her family for one!
"I'm not really sure anymore either. My life, your life and everyone's lives are still effected by it! Even if we don't see it. We put our lives in the paws of the royalty after all."
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Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 7:14 pm
Noyana listened carefully to what Tufah had to say. Yes, she was right. How did she know all of these things? The act of slamming her paw to the ground portrayed everything perfectly. Tufah was someone who wanted to make a change in the matter, Noyana could tell. She also seemed to be the right one for the job.
"Maybe we're too young, and there are things that we haven't been told that would help explain things like this," she said, trying to reason why it was so difficult. "Or maybe... maybe this really is the way things are," she added, folding her ears back at the thought of the immaturity of the adults that ruled the Pride.
"You would be a good leader, Tufah," Noyana told her. Maybe nobody had yet, but she seemed to be a good one to take the job. Better than the current queen, at any rate. She was intelligent, strong, and determined, in Noyana's eyes. "I would've dreamed of being queen a while ago, but leading everyone's just not my thing. I wouldn't like it at all," Noyana said. "I'd much rather be the best huntress ever." She held her head up a little with this statement, and smiled a truly happy smile.
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 3:45 am
"I hope that it is that we're too young. And I don't feel like a leader...just another follower. I mean, I'm trying to be the best I can be so I can help the pride and get a position of power - like you are being the best huntress, maybe the head one? - since we weren't born into one." The way she said it, the we was inclusive and coupled with a paw gestured at Noyana then herself. She thought they both seemed ambitious and really, they had no power at all. The only difference being, Tufah thought she should have been born into it. The slightly elevated status of being a lesser-royal would have been a springboard and an honor.
"I mean, I don't want to be spiteful, but half the lions who are royal act like they don't even care about anything." She shrugged. Stupid creatures. They could be doing good for everyone...Red eyes studied Noyana again.
"I think you'll be a great huntress, you're far far better than I am. You could try out for being head hunteress one day! "
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:23 pm
"That's the plan!" Noyana said, rising to her feet. She did have intentions of taking that title, after all. Somehow, though, she'd never really thought about it as a reality. Now that it was mentioned that way, it transformed itself from a mist-covered far off dream to a bold reality.
At any rate, it was time to lighten the mood, she felt. All of the depressing talk on the topic of the adults weighed too much on her mind, and she wasn't going to make any important decisions about how she felt on these issues without mulling them over for some time. "Well, Tufah, where do you live around here?" Noyana asked, hoping for a bit of an expidition. If she didn't feel like showing her den, Noyana would gladly take Tufah to her own.
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Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 4:08 am
She stood up too, smiling more genuinely, tail lashing behind her. Noyana had proved her misconceptions false and seemed to be someone she could get alone with well. Optimistic, until she mentioned going back to Tufah's den. That caused her ears to flick back a second.
"I...erm." Had anyone ever brought home a friend - or possible future friend - to their den? Tufah couldn't recall anyone visiting yet, save her momma's friends. While Tufah loved to excel she wasn't sure she wanted to be the first one to try it. Besides, she and her siblings played rough.
"Well, it's not very interesting. Maybe we could try exploring further or something? I think the border isn't far from here." She shrugged.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 3:16 pm
Noyana considered it, deciding not to push if her new friend didn't want to take her there. And Tufah was right, the border was mighty close. Noyana always got a little bit of a rush going near the border, or even crossing over it.
"I'm good with that," the lioness said, rising to her feet. From here she could clearly see she was both taller and bulkier than Tufah, but she didn't care. "I think it's that way," She said, pointing in the opposite direction of Pride Rock. She referenced everything to Pride Rock when navigating.
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Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 2:01 pm
Tufah looked over her shoulder at Priderock, taking in what angle they were heading away from it. She too used the impressive rock as a guide when she travelled about the lands - not that she'd seen much of them yet but she planned to change that when she got older. She was a cub of many many plots after all.
"Yes, I think you're right." The smaller female started forwards, tail lashing.
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Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 2:31 pm
"So have you ever been across the border, Tufah?" Noyana asked as she walked alongside the cub. Before she gave her a chance to answer, she continued. "I've crossed it once. I met a lioness my age named Intombi, who wanted to join the pride. I used to think anywhere beyond the pridelands was a desolate place with no grass and no sun, but it turns out everywhere gets grass and sun. Funny, huh?" She chuckled at her past beliefs. Everything to how there was no land beyond her home's territory, to how having her tail up when she stalked helped her out, to believing everything she heard. Her mind had changed dramatically in the little time that had passed since she considered herself a cub.
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Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 2:54 pm
"I've wandered out a few times, I think. Except for once when I passed right by a stinky marker, I find it hard to tell where our lands end and haven't met anyone out there yet." She wrinkled her nose as if there was such a strong musky scent now, then chuckled too. Tufah had nodded at Noyana's words. She'd thought along simular lines herself. And while the outside lands were pretty much the same from what she'd experienced so far, Tufah still cling to her idea that the Pridelands were life. Lush and rich, the most important place in all of Africa.
"I thought it'd be...less good outside the lands, when I was smaller. All old and dusty and lifeless. They do seem a lot less crowded though."
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Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 3:56 pm
Noyana nodded, having noticed the same things about the lands beyond the Pridelands. "I've never passed a stinky marker, though I've heard of them," Noyana admitted, clearly relieved to not have ever experienced such a stench. From the sound of it, they were postively awful to walk by. Fortunately, she could smell nothing so potent as they continued towards the border.
"I've only met one non-pride member, and that was the lioness I mentioned earlier. Maybe the rest are deformed," she thought out loud. Part of her still was a cub, it appeared.
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Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 4:08 pm
"Probably all ugly and stupid. Else they'd be in prides. All the decent ones probably join up with prides." Tufah had been about to say how stupid it'd be to try to live without a pride's strength and power behind you, wherein fa lions strength and power lay. But she'd remembered by the time she said the word 'stupid' that Noyana had rogue parents, so it wasn't logical for all rogues to be deformed halfwits.
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Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 4:42 pm
Noyana took no offense. In fact, she didn't even notice the little slip. As far as she was concerned, her parents had always been Pride members, even if they really hadn't been. Noyana, therefore, had nothing to be offended over.
"I don't really understand it either. Why would anyone ever wander... they'd be so vulnerable," Noyana said, thinking out loud. This topic had never once crossed her mind, and she'd never put any thought into it. Anyone with any smarts in their head would stick with a pride, because not only is it harder to hunt alone, but it's harder to stay safe too. And should you cross into pridal territory... sometimes the cost was fatal. Of course, the Pridelands seemed a bit more lax in the area of defense, the punishment for wandering in on accident was low, if it existed at all, but still. She thought about it for quite a while, before she distractedly admitted, "It just doesn't make sense."
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Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 4:57 pm
"Can you imagine growing up out there? Call me a coward if you must but I've always loved the fact we have a literal horde of nannies and protectors looking out for us." Of course, if Noyana did call he a coward, she'd have to argue that one out with words or maybe even claws...
Tufah'd grown up with stories about how great the pride was, so she'd already considered why being a rogue was foolishness. But she'd never thought about being a rogue herself nor experienced the truth of 'that which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger'. And since she was a cub herself and just a wee bit selfish, she automatically thought of what a rogue cub would be like first.
"We pridemembers look after our own. It makes sense and unites us. But how many rogue cubs must die because they've only got their parents trying to protect them?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 5:46 pm
Noyana nodded, Tufah's words made perfect sense. And while Noyana had once thought she would travel the world for a spell, her mind was suddenly changed, and perhaps her life was saved. Noyana's plan had been to meander about for a while, then return home, having seen much more of the world than she had now. However, her desire for this trip had died very suddenly, having heard the complete sense the younger lioness spoke.
"You know, Tufah, I think you're absolutely right," Noyana said, keeping her ex-future-plans to herself. "It must be difficult, if not impossible, to get far without protection. There must be tons of lions who starve to death, too. Big game being hunted alone must be a difficult task, even for the most experienced hunters," She pondered out loud.
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Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 5:54 pm
"You're right too, you couldn't lay a good ambush for the big game with one lion and we're not really built for chasing." Tufah' smile had grown at the compliment and she returned it, agreeing with Noyana's ideas about the difficulties in hunting. It was a wonder any rogues survived, she mused. With cubs in danger and little food, it was a wonder they didn't turn on themselves...or did they?
"And also, other animals might not be all that's to be feared. What about hostile lions? It's bad when prides get taken over but with rogues there's no strength in numbers to help."
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