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 Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 10:37 am
Ainra couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Surtak. He was being questioned on his strength and his ability to father young. Rude questions, truly, for a male to have to answer. She was thus he gave as much of an answer as he did and peeked across at Wodi's chuckle. Seh even managed a timid, embarrassed smile at her suggestion.
In any case, she wouldn't need to worry about Surtak's future sons and daughters. She was hardly fierce and judging from his reply would not warrant much of a look. Then again, she was in no desperate need for her own children. She'd already had tow litters as a rogue and, to be honest, she found it just as delightful to dote on the cubs of her new sisters. Cubs were cubs and all were equally adorable in her eyes, no matter who their mother and father might be.
Even still, it seemed that some in the group seemed to want to judge before they had all the facts. To judge Surtak's abilities before he had been given a chance to prove himself. To judge the red pelts as monsters before they had been given a chance to prove otherwise.
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Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 6:26 pm
Baie’s green eyes were keenly fixed on the brown male as he answered her question. She was pleased by his answer but didn’t want to admit to it too quickly. Her tail flickered playfully behind her as she watched him in silence for a few moments.
“It does.” She said at last, her gaze shifting towards her niece who seemed to be about to say something. “Though I would still like to see it.” It was only natural for her to be curious. No matter how much she trusted Gakere’s judgment, none of the Abazingeli had seen his strength in action or knew the reason why Gakere had chosen to accept him. Hearing his determination to fight anyone who challenge Gakere only served to fuel her curiosity even further and keep her wondering exactly what had happened between the two males.
Buna’s put a small grin on her maw that widened when Wodi spoke. Did the brown male seem a little embarrassed?
“Umholi Surtak.” The polite formality that filled her tone should be clue enough that her next question would be perhaps less polite. “Your family line… is your size of its traits?”
---------------------
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll find fierce here.” Thuli grinned as the questions became more private and the Umholi lost some of his perfect composure. This was actually a pretty good game now that she thought about it. Who Can Get The New Umholi Flustered, that sounded about right. She wasn’t happy with his words so it served him right. As if he had the right to be evaluating the Abazingeli in order to decide who was worthy of his precious loins. Pff! They were the ones evaluating him!
If he wanted fierce so bad, he could just run off after the red pelts. If he hurried he might still catch up to that maniac who had almost attacked Gakere. Oh, what a match that would be…
“But if you don’t, will you leave?” The young lioness asked in a blunt and almost confrontational tone, wondering just how committed Surtak was towards her pride in general. It was great that he seemed devoted to her older brother but that wasn’t enough, now was it?
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Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 7:21 pm
"If you feel the need, a sparring match can be arranged." Surtak's eyes flicked towards Wodi as he said the words. He offered her the quirk of a small smile which was followed by a wink only a few would catch.
The questions from the next two females left him with squared shoulders. The Abaholi sat, not answering them for a moment.
"You all seem pleased, amused by these answers and by your own questions. Tell me, are these legitimate, or are you simply seeking to see if my fur will raise? I respect your time, and in return I am giving you mine. But, now, I see children with a new toy."
Surtak was not yet done, then. He merely paused, ears moving forwards then back.
"That," he finally answered towards the adolescent who had asked the last question. "Appears to be the your decision." The way it was phrased made it clear he was adressing the entire faction.
"Is there anything else?"
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Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 8:14 am
"Perhaps I do..." Wodi mused at Sutrak's response, her grin only widening when he winked. Equal parts amused and satisfied, she lashed her black tail and resumed watching and listening to Surtak and the others. She so far found nothing lacking in the dappled lion and his responses, though she was perhaps less critical than the other lionesses...in some areas, anyway. Now that it had presented itself as an option, she rather liked the idea of 'testing' him.
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Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 8:52 am
Buna couldn't help but grin as the white female turned the heat up with her comment. She didn't look like the cheeky type, but that made it much more amusing.
"That's true Ibala...Wodi," Buna said and tilted her head, watching Surtak. "Proof is better than words."
Her fur bristled a little as he insinuated that they were just messing with him instead of asking legitimate questions. All questions she had asked had been asked in order to find out if he could be an asset to the pride or not. And if they had been phrased in a way... Oh, maybe it was a little bit satisfying to watch the male squirm.
She tried to think about something else that would be good to know about the male, but she was distracted by the... flirting? A pale Busisa and a short dark male. She couldn't help but imagine an army of small and feisty ankle biting cubs...
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Posted: Sun May 13, 2012 9:50 am
Baie looked positively interested in Surtak’s offer, secretly pleased that he’d go all the way to show the Abazingeli his skills. It actually made her feel a little more important. As one of the Umholi, it was one of his duties to prove himself to the females and earn their acceptance, now wasn’t it? So as long as it didn’t look like they didn’t trust Gakere’s word, the orange lioness believed a public match might be the perfect solution to their little problem.
“If Umholi Gakere is not against it, I for one would like to see it.” She admitted, doing her best not to laugh when the brown lion seemed to grow annoyed by the number (and nature) of the questions being posed to him. She tried to remain serious but found it impossible to suppress the amused grin that graced her expression. A new toy? Yes, that sounded about right. Until the majority of the Abazingeli accepted him that was exactly what he was.
-------
When the brown lion addressed Thuli, who had dropped down to the ground in a fairly relaxed position, the young lioness sat down tensely with her body pointing forward with a very typical I’m-not-backing-down fire in her eyes. She disliked being chastised and she wasn’t even sure if that was the case at that moment but Surtak’s tone clawed at her patience in a very annoying way that was probably worsened by the male’s odd accent.
“Oh, no.” Thuli said slowly, her voice sweet as poisonous honey. Her next words were but a mischievous whisper, meant only for the ears of those closest to her. “We can’t possibly lose the only dark Umholi that isn’t related to us.” She knew she shouldn’t judge the lion too harshly. She was, after all, one of the lowest ranked lionesses in the pride and not anywhere near as dark as she wished to be. And Surtak was the darkest Umholi they had – though if you were willing to ignore his many faults, Kamal’s black mane was rather attractive as well.
Still, the adolescent was a little surprised. She would’ve expected her brother’s word to be final even if it was pretty obvious that an Umholi who was not accepted by the Abazingeli could never perform most of his duties. Wodi’s replies did manage to return a grin to her face and she sighed contently, dropping down to the ground again.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 1:39 am
Sekayi watched the inquisition of the male Surtak with more than slight amusement as the lionesses seemed to gang up on him. Even Thuli was speaking with him. It made him smile when he saw how beautifully his sisters had grown, both in their appearance and their personalities. Now more than ever they were reminding him less of the cubs that had been and more of the Umzingeli that they were becoming. "Lay off of him Thuli, time will tell if he is truly up for being an Umholi," he said smiling and with his usual good nature.
Having lived among the Abazingeli, and having been partially raised by them, Sekayi knew well that one had to work to live up to their standards, and that they didn't accept just anyone. One thing that he appreciated about the lionesses of his home was that they were a tight-nit communal unit and they worked hard to maintain it and keep everyone safe.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 7:18 pm
Hlengiwe sighed as she listened to the conversations that the adults were having. Though at the moment, she decided that they weren't acting very adult at all. How could they call out Surtak? He was in their pride with Gakere's approval. One of the things that didn't change about Hlengiwe was her incredible loyalty to those she considered blood relatives. Of course, she wasn't actually related to them by blood since Njalo had found her as a cub. But she didn't know that. As far as she was concerned, Gakere was her half-brother and anyone that questioned his decision was stupid.
She turned back to stand directly next to Surtak, clearly showing his support in him. "I think that fighting amongst ourselves isn't a smart thing to do. Are you really questioning Gakere's authority?" Her question was for every single lioness there that had bothered to question Surtak. Though she was only an adolescent, she wasn't afraid to say what she thought to those older and still a little bigger than her.
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 8:39 pm
Wow. She wasn't certain if she could imagine the place Surtak had said he came from, as she had never really felt the cold. A mild wind, yes. And so loud that he couldn't hear himself think? These were the kind of thoughts that had Chazama zoning out of the conversation, sitting back on her haunches with a thoughtful expression across her face and pondering what such a place would be like. When her day dreaming did come to an end, she managed to catch some of the more recent conversation, and a tidbit that had the young adult flicking her ears back in surprise. Were... were they talking about...? They couldn't be! How horribly embarrassing! Of course, Chazama had just recently grown out of adolescence, and talk of siring cubs was strange and all too personal.
Ducking out of the conversation as best she could, the splotchy lioness slunk towards where the other adolescents had converged into a single group it would appear. Chazama stayed towards the back of this new group, feeling 'safer' among those closer to her age. Adults were weird...
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 8:49 pm
"Surtak," The deep rumble of Gakere's tone, somewhere between growl and amusement, was familiar to all. "I look away for but one moment, and you are already gossiping like Cinga with their birds." The large male paused his stride, waiting with an air of respect for the females to part so that he could approach the dappled Umholi.
White teeth flashed against dark fur as he bared them, laughing. "I apologize if he has bored you." His orange eyes, however, were far from 'apologetic,' good-humored as they searched the assembled group. His gaze paused on the group of adolescents and he straightened, suddenly more interested, voice full of approval.
"If I did not know you, kin, I would think you full grown!" Pulling his attention away to catch Surtak's eyes, he tilted his head toward the outpost. "Now, come, we will stop harassing our hunters and make ourselves useful keeping an eye on our new neighbors."
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 9:12 pm
As he took a seat beside Sekayi and wondered, a bit absently perhaps, where his other brother was off to at the moment, Machozi watched the girls pipe from every part of the semi-circle they had created around the unfamiliar, brown stranger. The Lusizi wouldn't have wanted to trade positions with him for anything in the world, but he couldn't help the fanged grin that held his maw captive when the feisty group he had been raised by continued to raise their voices. They were certainly a spirited group, if somewhat vulgar, and any Uhmoli should have taken pride in being of service to them.
Njalo, who had happily climbed over her daughters to greet each one with a head-bump as she climbed over top of them without caution, now sprawled amongst them. She watched her daughters--amongst others--sizing up the small, odd-voiced Umholi and take their stance. Some of them more loudly than others. Her reverse clone, Thulisile, was almost equally as provocative as Wodi, though if Njalo was horrified she gave no sign of it.
Her own actions in turn following Hle-le's as she followed the dark adolescent. Her actions more blatant even if they were also more innocent than any offering of interaction thus far. Sleek, long-legged frame brushing against Surtak's chest as she lifted her head to press beneath his chin in as much an affectionate welcome as she would have offered any other. Njalo likes our new Umholi! He has a cute way of talking! The Abazingeli should be nicer to him or you all might scare him away!
Hard as it was to watch his sisters show interest in this stranger, for some reason it was twice as difficult--or maybe just uncomfortable?--for Machozi to watch his mother offer her love so freely to Surtak. Even if she offered it freely to anyone, to know that perhaps someday she might bare offspring with a legitimate Umholi that might be of more worth than he and his siblings was hard to bare. His jade stare hard as he watched Njalo cuddle up to Gakere's right-hand. Maybe it wasn't his place to speak, but emotion got the better of him. The words slipping off his tongue before he could swallow them. Granted, given his expression he didn't want to swallow them. How'd you---
But before he could finish his statement the presence of Gakere humbled Machozi into silence out of sheer respect. Like having his head fondly ruffled the approval in the Umholi's voice quelled whatever frustration might have been building beneath the surface. It was fair to say he admired his sibling. Yea, even, loved him.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 2:41 am
"Of course not," Buna said calmly and met the gaze of Njalo's strangest daughter, "We are questioning Umholi Surtak, like he asked us to do. And he seemed to be able to handle it."
If the girl thought that being defended by a female not yet fully grown would improve his status she did not yet know how the pride worked. The purple marked lioness was soon followed by her mother and Nja's more paws-on kind of affection. Buna wondered if Surtak had been subject to the friendly female's love before or if this was the first time. Well, everyone had to go through it, sooner or later... It was an initiation to the pride in a way - to be lovingly molested by Njalo.
She stepped aside to let Gakere enter the circle that had formed. The dark maned male had that quiet authority that came from fighting his way in. Things had changed when his ruling started, and while Buna didn't appreciate all changes she would never dream of questioning Gakere's right to lead the pride.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 10:29 am
Ainra had nothing else to say though, when Gakere stepped up join the gathering she shuffled to her paws and took a respectful couple of steps back. Her bright green eyes watched him with nervous curiosity and she smiled as he greeted the young - but swift growing adolescents. He seemed, to her, a nice sort of lion with a good, noble heart.
She would not question and she did not mind their neighbours or this newcomer. Ainra, was, however a new lioness to these lands so perhaps that was why she seemed less ruffled about it. She tried to think how she would be if she had lived here all of her life, knowing only her sisters and the Umholi. After a moment she decided she could understand the apprehension. This was change and change was not always an easy thing. She knew that if nothing else.
Any way, with Gakere here, it seemed likely the 'interrogation' was about to come to an end. Ainra was pleased about that. She was rather curious about the red pelts, after all.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 10:52 am
Baie’s green eyes from one Njalo cub to the next, her throat making odd little noises every time she found their words amusing. And then Gakere was there and the orange lioness was up on her paws in an instant, following her niece’s example as she took a few steps back to allow the male to pass unhindered. Though she smiled at the brief interaction between the Abaholi, Baie couldn’t help but wonder about the words Gakere had chosen to address his Lusizi half-siblings despite his friendly tone. Fully-grown, huh? Were those the words of a brother who was impressed at how big his siblings had become or of an Umholi who would soon send the growing males away from the pride most likely never to be seen again? For a moment Baie was confused by his approving expression and her eyes turned to her niece discreetly. Perhaps she was overthinking it.
“Umholi Surtak certainly didn’t bore anyone.” She said with a grin. She could see the potential for “boring” in the brown male but surrounded by a pack of curious lionesses who hungered for information? Boring didn’t really fit the situation. Baie sat down again, making herself comfortable. It seemed like Gakere was taking the male away to be useful somewhere else. Oh well, it seemed the fun was over.
----------
Thuli took a few steps towards Sekayi and sat down next to her brother, leaning comfortably against him. Had anyone else told her to back down, she would probably done much worse to show her rebellion but this was her family and their opinions mattered more to her than anyone else’s. Hlengiwe, too, seemed to be in a more appeasing mood so Thuli sighed quietly and gave in.
“Fine, fine.” She said with a long yawn, growing tired of this odd meeting. It wasn’t until Gakere arrived that she rose proudly again, looking cheerful and excited. That is, until her mother started cuddling the brown Umholi. A rough sound came out of her throat before she could stop it, not much of a growl but more like a quiet grumbling breath. She could tell she wasn’t the only one who disliked the sight.
“Oh, mom.” She said with a sigh, pointedly looking away. Only one – perhaps irrational – thought was in her mind at that moment. It was official: Thuli really didn’t like the new Umholi.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 11:22 am
A rumble of warning had moved up from Surtak's throat as Njalo had squeezed through the crowd and headed straight towards him. It was cut short as his mouth was promptly closed by the upward push from Njalo's forehead.
Ears moving back on his skull, he glanced briefly at her shoulders and puffed out a heavy breath through his teeth. The male took a few steps back and placated her with a bump from his forehead. "I am not scared," he informed, tone confused at the idea he might be so easily flustered. "I am suprised. They are cautious, though this is not unwise." Though perhaps somewhat irrationally so; if they truly trusted Gakere's judgement, then they were making liars of themselves.
Surtak had to no more than think the name. The large, proud lion had all but sauntered in, easily parting the women before him.
"They had many questions." Surtak pulled himself upright, eyes scanning every lioness in the group. But Gakere seemed to take what was left of his attention, and this was the final mention he made to or of the lionesses. The male turned towards the Firekin outpost and broke into a steady jog without a look back. The Abazingeli would just have to bicker amongst themselves.
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