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 Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 7:05 am
The red lioness craned her head and stared down the two water-seekers present. "I would hope they have checked the other lands. After all, we send patrols there regularly. Seeing the general incompetence of some of us here though, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't want to get their feet burned." Her tail flicked. "But, I do not think so. I've been there recently and it was as dry and rocky as here."
Vlam was having trouble enough at holding back Ea. But when Fia slipped past him, his mouth hung open in a pathetic attempt to bring words to silenced lungs. He couldn't stop both of them. Ea pressed forward, her eyes widening at her sister's sudden challenge.
Armada glanced over at Fia, with a kind of imperious stare. Without breaking the look, she gently pushed her cub out from underneath her paws and towards Adiel. The hyena pelted lioness, perhaps sensing the trouble, scooped up the cub and took a few steps back. But while she was shocked, she hardly said anything against the brewing storm.
The red lioness seemed lax, despite the tension in the air. She smirked. "Really? You're going to show me?" Her tail swayed. "For a group crying about how the poor sick lions and babies won't get water, you're the first to pull out the claws?"
And then, she swung her paw forward, intent on catching Fia in the jaw. "I suggest you back down!"
------
Elsewhere, No was in fact becoming aware that something was amiss. Mostly because, after returning from her patrols, there was a significant lack of people in the common areas of the pride. And whenever a significant amount of people were missing from anywhere, it usually meant someone, somewhere, was up to something.
The black cat scrunched her nose, looking about the empty rock faces. Sound traveled in the pride- and Fia's yelling carried through the rocks. This gave the black cat pause. Like any good mother, she knew the sound of her children, even when they were identical. Ea's yelling was something of commonplace these days, and hardly worth investigating. But Fia yelling was not something she heard every day reverberating off the rocks.
The words were intelligible, as echoed as they were. With a slight sigh, the black cat started towards the direction of the sounds.
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Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 10:35 am
As they neared, Zii and her daughter could easily see the conflict going on within the group. Zii's red eyes narrowed at seeing her siblings and her relatives, all on high stress and anger. She sighed, knowing that this whole fiasco was terrible enough. But now everyone was very freaked out. As they stepped within ear shot, Zii's ears twitched. She spotted her sister Azar leaving with her father, and rather sit and watch the conflict; she turned to avoid it all and headed that direction.
........................
Ute followed after mother quietly, her blue eyes scanning the furious family members and fellow pride goers. She had never really shown any firey rage like her fellow members did, she was more like her mom. She was going to head towards the group, but her mother took a side track and she hesitated, not sure where to go. She instead, decided to not follow and to head towards Fia and the others. She sort of kept her distance, as she didn't want to get into the fray, but she'd help if she was needed.
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Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 1:50 pm
Letting out a squeal, Tuli could only dangle from the jaw of the pelt-wearing lioness. His pale eyes wide, he could only watch the fight that blossomed. From his perspective, things seemed to move in sudden slow motion.
The white lioness let out a growl at first Fia, and then Armada. Ever one to try and remain neutral... She wasn't sure who to side with. Instead, she scooped up Rashmi and moved over to where Adiel was. She'd voiced her words, and she would stay out of their fight.
Kosuke looked to Vlam. "Six bones says Fia kills her." It was blunt, it was a bad joke, but it was the most entertainment he'd gotten in a while.
Calmly, Bodaway reached up and smacked Kosuke on the back of the head. "Idiot."
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Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 9:16 pm
"Enough!" she snarled, chest heaving and eyes narrowed, silver hues engulfed in flames.
Karana'Mzaana had heard the commotion carry over the dunes. Yes, she was old, yes, Fia, her glorious apprentice had taken over as historian and she cared for the slates now as much as she could, but this was nonsense. "For someone who states they know so much and hold pride in strength, you know nothing." Her tail flicked as she stood next to Fia.
Fen'wei had crept up on the gathering group and stood near the edges of the others. He was nervous, in groups, and heard rumors of this. His mother had come too, and stood by him trying to give him comfort, but from a small distance as he didn't want to appear babied."This is ridiculous," he muttered to himself, "it's pitting us against one another."
"Better against one another than against other prides that know we are growing weak without water," Badieh sputtered as she came up beside Fen'wei and his mother. She sneered at the red and black pelted lioness. "As an original outsider, you have to know of someone we can go to to get water from."
"Quiet," Rellik spat at Badieh. "We need to stop fighting and start finding solutions."
Mwako'damu came to the edge of a dune and watched as the female he knew as Armada advanced towards Fia. Mwako'damu knew that the fight was between the two females, over water, but it made no difference. There was a way to handle situations but also to show respect. He kneaded his paws into the sand and narrowed his eyes and looked to his mother who stood with Fia. He knew she cared for Fia in a way he could never understand, if he had to, he would protect her.
Ka, Kai and Ryujin stood with one another, close together. Ka looked to Ryujin and nudged him, "Say something."
"N-no."
"You can help, it might mean something," Kai whispered.
"We don't know that."
All three knew they had to do something.
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 6:35 am
It occurred to Atesh that now would be the time to do something, to help bring the situation back under control. What had begun as a discussion about dwindling resources was fast becoming unmanageable, and if he had thought it was a problem earlier, it seemed much more like a crisis in and of itself now.
The striped lion glanced around him at the arrival of even more pride members. He watched them somewhat anxiously, wondering if they would help to calm the situation, or simply add fuel to an already burning fire. The latter seemed altogether entirely possible.
In a time of crisis, Azarax was happy to take a back seat to hear all viable, and even not viable, suggestions. But this. This was neither. A brawl would help nobody, least of all the two involved, and rising tempers would only further strain their already scanty resources.
But that wasn't it. More than anything, this fight was ill-mannered and unruly, neither of which the tan lion tolerated in his vicinity - not from his children, not from his friends, and certainly not from his soldiers. An anger rose from deep within the tan lion, and a dark growl rumbled from his chest.
He was not pleased at the prospect of being caught in the midst of a fight, but it irked him much less than the idea of a full-fledged scuffle breaking out in the midst of so many gathered lions. He shoved his way forward, moving with the intent of parrying the blow Armada had swung toward Fia's face. A grave snarl joined the growl he had given moments earlier, and he turned to stare into the red lioness' eyes. "You," he said abruptly. "Would do well to heed your own advice."
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 6:57 am
Damu had remained calm so far and surprisingly continued to do so as he watched what was unfolding with a faint wince as the brewing tension soon clashed and the real storm behan to show its thunderous capabilities, ears folded back he moved aside to keep a closer eye on the cubs that had been pushed to the side by the adults, having it almost be second nature now to do so whilst the females began their scuffle.
It irked him a lot as Armada and Fia began to cross blows, even more so as Azarax joined the fray intent on stopping the warring ladies...but even so...his worries just continued to brew and bubble within his head till his eyes wandered to the cubs. Sun knew how they were feeling about this and he offered a small and comforting chuff to the cub Adiel was given.
Even if it was Armada's, he felt an obligation to every youngster, especially now.
But no words came to mind, for the moment he could only watch and wait to see if amongst the other lions that had decided to appear onto the scene that one or both of the Reagents were somewhere amongst them. Ears continuing to swivel atop his head.
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 3:42 pm
Fia had tuned out everything and everyone. Everyone except Armada, of course. She was neither aware of the presence of others coming up to stand by her, nor of the banter or the looks that they were casting amongst themselves or directed towards her. But, if anyone thought she wasn't serious, they did not know her at all.
Fia was deadly serious and if that blow had landed instead of being blocked by Azarax, it was likely she would have thrown herself head first into a battle that - most likely - would have ended up with her on the losing side. After all, natural talent could only get one so far and talented or not, Fia could not hope to match one who'd trained on a daily basis to become a true Firekin warrior.
Only when Azarax intervened, did the world fall back into place and she became distinctly aware of others close by who had not been there before. Karana'mzaana, for one. Even still, her eyes were fixed on Armada, even though Azarax had done well to diffuse the situation. A low, warning growl rumbled in the back of her throat, threatening to escalate into a snarl at even the slightest provocation.
"She would do well to keep her opinions to herself." Fia snapped. Riled as she was, she did not seem to see that it might be better to stay quiet.
It was at that moment that Kidondo came within ear shot and even he was taken aback by the number of lions gathered in this one place. The tension was so thick that it seemed at any moment things might fall into chaos; which was why he was so grateful and relieved to see Azarax's tan pelt amongst the red, blacks and whites of the others.
He hastened his pace, growling a warning as he drew nearer; eyes grazing across the faces of all gathered there. From generals to cub-sitters. An unusual and certainly heated gathering.
"Would someone like to tell me what is going on here?" His eyes snapped across the faces, seeming to be searching for a suitable candidate.
Vesta, who had hunkered down beside her brother, lifted her head and ears at the sound of the Regent's voice, but said nothing. She was too afraid to draw attention to herself and be on the receiving end of that anger.
"Well? Fights over water, is it?"
Azar'bijan, who had pointedly ignored the Regent's daughter, Azar, drew up alongside the Regent, puffing up his chest proudly and glaring at all those gathered there; his self-importance not dwindling for a moment.
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 6:42 pm
Armada gave a low, bristling growl as her swipe was deflected. Her paw settled to the earth like stone, for a moment sliding her claws into the sand. She'd been denied the satisfaction of hitting one of those double-eyed bitches across the face. It would have been better for her to put Fia in her place- after all, she hadn't been the one to start showing her teeth. But Azarax was her general, and she was a loyal soldier. She let the growl smolder in her chest until it rang hollow, and bowed her head. "As you wish." There was no sarcasm or lack of sincerity. But she didn't pretend she wasn't disappointed.
The red cat turned, her white eyes glowering at Fia for a second before returning to the spot she had been in. For a few minutes after, her claws continued to pulse into the stone. Her tail twitched in thought. She wasn't wrong. They could say whatever they wanted. If the situation was as dire as it seemed to be, there was no other option.
Armada and Fia might have kept their tongue around the general, but Ea would have rather seen some blood. Fia could have knocked that strange-eyed lioness to the floor. "Couldn't possibly have any soldiers acting inappropriately!" she intoned. "They won't want to look like they're in the wrong when they try to take over!"
Vlam continued to push back on the large lioness. He had a horrified notion that if he'd let her go, she might actually try to continue what Fia started, Azarax or not. Kosuke's offer of bets only seemed to appall him. Had everyone lost their mind? Another push back, and at least this time, he'd gotten Ea a good few steps back. But the wild cat was still bristling, all but reaching over the white lion to be heard.
Luckily, the twin stopped her struggling when the sound of Kidondo rang behind her. Ea seethed and dropped back down to her feet. It wasn't that she was afraid of her father seeing her misbehaving. Misbehaving was pretty much Ea's usual MO. But she knew once Kidondo had arrived, all notion of conflict and passion was going right out the window. Her parents were smart, logical creatures.
That was also what worried her.
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 3:01 pm
Azar was very happy to see the other Azar not respond to her. She felt like it was a bit of a relief to not have to put up with that but to a point she wondered if it was going to be better just to give in and argue with him instead of see what was about to happen. She flicked her tail around behind her as she trotted behind her father. She was glad that he was about to get involved. She knew that everything could be taken care of now that at least one of her parents were taking care of the situation.
The only thing was she was hoping it didn't get worse since she left.
As she approached she noticed that there was more lions. That was for sure however no one seemed to be injured or hurt in anyway and it made her feel a lot better. Her sisters were fine too and that made her feel better. She approached by her father's side waiting for his word. She liked to make herself as helpful as possible and if she needed to do something she was ready to do it in a heart beat. She flicked her tail around and watched the others carefully. She couldn't believe that anyone was acting like this she knew it was getting bad.
Aithne on the other hand really still didn't understand anything and in all of the confusion of the adults she was weaving around in between their feet, a slightly panicked look was on her face. She was franticly trying to find her way out of the mass and finally a large, red, familiar figure caught her attention and she ran over to him. She knew her father could fix all of that. "DADDY!" she trotted over as quickly as possibly. Looking up at them. "Daddy, put them all in time out! She demanded puffing her chest out as she did.
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Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2011 6:04 am
The Reagent. Oh thank the sands beneath his very -feet- he'd come.
Supressing a small sigh of relief he looked about the group, awaiting to see if any of them spoke out to him about the situation at hand...however when none did there was a faint pinch of worry in the back of his skull as he watched the faces around him.
Most of them so angry or irritated or worried, especially the water seeker who seemed to try and shrink down into her very fur. But no one would explain the situation?
Watching Ainthe, he supressed another smile to intone the seriousness of this situation and against all his better judgement, drew himself to his paws and pushed himself to approach the other. Someone he secretly aknowledge biologically was his cousin....but also knew that he was, in a fact, his better wih status came to show.
That however only fueled his paws till he stopped a good few feet away from the other and met Kidondo in the eye, no anger there, just the worry that had been tugging at him since the beggining of this fiasco.
"I'm afraid so, sir." Tagging on the formality of 'sir' just incase. "One of our water seeker's came back dry muzzled and there's already a very heated discussion on the rationing of what little we have..."
Unsure what else to say he cleared his throat softly, not out of necessity but just to do something whilst infront of the reagent that didn't seem to waste his valuable time.
"Some think the soldiers should have first say, some think that the injured and cubs should..." Ears folded back he finally took a step back and sat himself down, glancing briefly at the females and the others.
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Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2011 2:17 pm
The old lion let out a grunt, his ears back. "If the pride lives through this, history will look back as the time we all argued like cubs..." His blurred gaze turned toward the Regent, attention now rapt.
Well, they were no longer ARGUING, that was for sure. She got up, going over to the red lion. "Uncle... I think we need a temporary exodus... The water's gone down too much. We could send scouts back every moon to check on it until it's deemed okay to return..." It felt to her like the most level-headed idea, something that was becoming inevitable. "Or at least the weaker. Like the sick, and the cubs.."
Rashmi, in the mean time, had other things on her mind. While the adults created a tense situation, the juvenile turned and wandered a short distance away. Finding a spot where the sand at least packed together firmly, she sat down and began playing in it. It wasn't anything big, just mini-cliffs like the ones she saw from below. Looking around, she soon found small rocks, dropped by various birds flying around, to put on and around it, like little lions. She then made a small depression in the sand with a toe, placing a bunch of the rocks around it. When she picked one up, she made a mock-angry face as she made her voice deeper. "The water should go to this group! THEY are more important!" She then picked another up, making her voice higher, "No, it should go to THIS group, they deserve it more!"
Curious, Tulipalo slipped away from what had become his designated cubsitter, going to watch the white cub. It soon dawned on him just what she was acting out with the rocks, and he covered his mouth with a paw, attempting to hide silent laughter.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 1:22 pm
(( exclaim Just a quick note to all you wonderful RPers:
This thread will be closing in about a week as it has very nearly run its course. After that, another thread will be created where your characters will be able to give suggestions to the Regents as well as for you to cast votes on what you would like to see happen. Thank you! ))
--
The fiery historian finally ripped her eyes away from Armada and cast a look back over her shoulder, somewhat startled to see the crowds that had gathered. Now that she'd been snapped from her fiery reverie, the realisation of what was happening and what she had almost done begun to sink in. Her body was so tense that the muscles in her shoulders and back felt close to cramping and the discomfort of it showed on her face.
Her bi-coloured eyes grazed across the faces of her sister and Vlam, before she begrudgingly moved over to where Vesta hunched behind Atesh. If there was a time for hiding, this certainly wasn't it. And, as she did so, she heard the situation being described - briefly - to her father, by Damu. She was glad of that. Currently, she did not feel capable of calming explaining anything.
"Come on, you." She hissed at Vesta, giving her a shove to get her to her feet. "Haven't you got a report to give?"
Vesta, with a high-pitched squeak, leapt to her paws as if she'd sat on a cactus, blundering forwards and out of hiding. Fia, moved swiftly in to stand at her side - perhaps to symbolise that she had now dedicated herself to the cause of water-seeking. Or...maybe just to ensure that the timid seeker stayed put and saw the job out to the end.
Meanwhile, Kidondo had drawn to a halt - with Azar'bijan at his side - and had cast a look down to his red-pelted daughter. With one paw, he reached out and scooped her close, setting her against his foreleg and offering her a look that seemed to suggest she'd be better off staying close by. Then, with that silent acknowledgement, he turned his attention to the lion who answered his question.
"I see." His response was as dry as the desert itself. His eyes snapped across to Ea and Vlam, narrowing a little. "I can't say I was expecting good news." He released a slow breath and turned his attention across to Vesta and Fia. "Vesta. I take it you have time to meet with No and myself? Feel free to join us, as well, Vlam. I think it best we're informed of the details before we start putting a strategy into place."
His eyes crossed now to where Savitri stood and gave a slight nod of acknowledgement. "I hope that it will not come to that, but the option remains...if the situation does not improve."
Fia gave Vesta a hard nudge that sent the meek female across the sands to join Kidondo. Fia seemed to want to say something but, strangely, remained silent. She, like Ea, could not help but feel deeply concerned about what the decision on the water might be and what it might mean for their pride.
"Now, the rest of you, go about your business. I want no more energy wasted on arguing about a decision that has yet to be made."
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