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 Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 1:30 am
Teketeza would've liked to have taken Tarsa on, but the large black male was tagged out before he reached him. It was almost interesting to see the different styles of attack that different lions had. Still, he was skeptical of how well all of these games were going to translate to a real war, as he found himself growing bored again. Surely in a real war, he would be far from bored.
When Hraga hoisted himself up on to the top of the rocks, Teketeza did the same. He smirked down at those who had chosen to remain on the lower path. Of course he would keep an eye on them, as they were the most vulnerable. They were almost like bait. If any of Azar's Team revealed themselves down below, from this height he could take them out with ease.
Having been tagged out by Roho, a fellow Hongshan, Ukuba was now watching carefully from the sidelines. He was sure that the strange Medic Ea would tell him to lie down again at some point, but for now, he was certain he would learn more by watching the group as they advanced. Although, with all the rocks in the way, it was proving to be difficult.
As his purple eyes danced over the battle area, they suddenly widened when they noticed a familiar face. When had his brother Isifo showed up? A deep from appeared on his face. He now deeply regretted not being more forceful against Roho, as now he was no longer there to protect his brother should he need it. This became painfully clear when a large black Firekin went charging through the group, knocking down Isifo in the process.
Ukuba growled viciously, and waited for Tarsa to be brought back to where the rest of the 'dead' Firekin were before snapping at him. "What part of war GAMES do you not understand?!" When it came to his brother, the dark red male lost all sense of reason and control. This brute could've injured his brother with his recklessness, and he couldn't let that go so easily.
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 5:45 am
After being pulled to the sidelines by Ea, Tarsa was in anything but a good mood. He hadn't gotten the chance to take Hraga down. It wasn't likely he'd hear the end of that anytime soon. Even worse, the ambush had been mostly a failure. When Naseera had called the group, she had left out the part about Hraga having his entire team behind him! Only Roho had managed to get out of there in time to report back to Azar.
If that had been real...
The thought made him bristle. He didn't accept failure like that, not from himself. He was a better planner than a fighter, but it seemed he'd messed up both parts of the scheme! Now when Azar took the win, which he would, the whole thing would look like his doing. Tarsa wouldn't get s**t for credit. It was enough to put the chubby lion into another raging state.
...so it probably was not a good thing when some strange Hongshan, Ukuba, shoved his face right in his. He returned with his own throaty snarl. "Its not my fault they couldn't move out of the way. Maybe you should tell your friends not to be so stupid."
He wasn't particularly sure which lion this guy was upset about, but honestly Tarsa didn't really care.
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 6:31 am
Go up? Through the rocks? For some unexplainable reason that felt like an entirely BAD idea to Saharan. Sure, she didn't have a warrior's instinct, and maybe she was just shaken from being trounced by Tarsa...but something was nagging at the back of her mind, and she could place it. And she decided that it had nothing to do with her much smaller size, and the resulting added difficulty of making a jump the rest seemed unconcerned with. Another lion, Nisi seemed of similar mind, though perhaps for other reasons? She caught her glancing at a paw. Hmm.
An idea struck her, made her frown, and she cursed herself for not thinking of it before half the team started scrambling up the rocks. "Isn't it possible that the other team, having already come through here and had time to take the lay of the land, would have had the same idea? They could be waiting over the top. Or at least one of them..." But more and more lions were scrambling up now. Her ears pinned back. This just didn't feel right! It seemed foolish now to think there wouldn't be anyone already up there...but then, maybe that's what Azar wanted them to think, and the ground was where the real danger was? Ugh! She was thinking in circles!
Deciding to go with her gut feeling, she backed away from the ledge and ducked down one of the narrow passages.
Now on the sidelines, Saoiraed still managed to keep a smile on his maw. His team was doing well! He spared an apologetic look to the lion Trasa shouted at--sure, this was a serious training exercise, but tormenting and terrifying your comrades wasn't a good idea, as far as he knew. How could you feel comfortable fighting back to back with someone who'd tried to tear your eyes out with their voice? He said nothing though, and instead focused on watching the team's slow ascent up the rocky incline.
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 8:21 am
Down the narrow path, hidden behind some rocks, sits Adiel.
If anyone got close enough to her, they'd surely hear the heavy breathing and see her trembling shoulders. True enough, she had been apart of Tarsa's ambush group... but she hadn't fought with them. The Hongshan lioness seemed terrified.
As she sensed the other lions getting closer, she tried to bury herself into a ball, hiding underneath the heavy hyena fur she wore on her back. She didn't want to be in this game. It felt too much like... like real life.
"...please dont see me..." she whispered quietly.
WHAT DO WE DO?
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 8:29 am
Well this was a surprise! Soleil approached the lioness, eying her critically. She looked back at Keahilani a moment, then back to Adiel. A sneer rose up on her face before she did her best to wedge herself between the Hongshan and the wall she was against. "Come on, you, get out of there! You're a prisoner now!" It wasn't a tag, but it was at least SOMETHING.
Keahilani didn't follow his sister to go behind the rocks. Instead, he remained out in the path, watching. Waiting. His ears flicked back and forth amid the fire that was his mane, checking for the 'enemies' hidden somewhere around them. They still had Azar to worry about, after all, so he didn't want to be caught in a hiding place like this. His gaze turned to Hraga. "So... Prisoner, then?"
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 8:34 am
Saharan had caught the sound of breathing echoing on the passage walls, and found the shivering Hongshan moments after Soleil named her prisoner. She hung back, watching quietly from the mouth of an intersecting crevasse to see what would happen. Already unnerved, she wondered if the lioness was simply very good at being bait, or if she genuinely was afraid. If the latter, she would never be a good firekin...That thought surprised her. Their brutish natures must be rubbing off on her. Still, she could understand being afraid. She had her own fears tucked down deep inside. It seemed cruel to treat her so, but would cowering enemies of the pride be met with such mercy? Perhaps. Prisoners might be a reality all too soon.
She kept silent as they interacted, and did her best to stay out of sight. She still couldn't shake that nervous feeling.
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 8:41 am
Hraga leaned down from the rock ledge, looking over the commotion down below. They had...a prisoner? Could they take a prisoner in a war game? He wasn't sure if that was how these things worked. "Uh...who is it? I'm not really sure we're allowed to take prisoners. What would we do with her?"
Hraga took a step down from the ledge, mostly so he could lean over and try and get a better look at the cowering lioness. He could tell it was a female, but all he saw was the grey pelt of the hyena fur. He couldn't recall anyone he knew wearing something like that. Maybe one of the Hongshan? He blinked. "I...uh. Hey, you, you're supposed to run or fight. Do you want to pick one?"
Adiel made a nervous squeak, and seemed to withdraw even further into her pelt.
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 8:44 am
Prisoner? Fia snarled at the very idea and temporarily gave up on her 'dead' act to twist around and see what was going on. It was hard to see exactly who it was they were taking 'prisoner' but either way, she wasn't one to hold back when she disagreed with something.
"Do you think the Nergui will take prisoners?!" She snapped; ears laid back and teeth bared. "No. No they won't and neither shall we." the pain of loss was still there and Fia's desire for vengeance still raged in her heart.
"Whoever is there, you better start fighting because Firekin don't keep slaves! We just kill!"
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 8:59 am
She gave a snort, shoving at the lioness again. "It's the one... Who's red... With the hyena pelt!" She did her best to wedge and gave a hard shove. "MOVE!" Just why had they recruited such a cowardly lioness into not only the Hongshan, but the Firekin and the war game, at all?
Keahilani decided enough was enough. He went over to join his sister, then unsheathed his claws. Ignoring the alarmed look from his sister, he lifted his paw, then simply pricked his claws on Adiela's rear. "Time for you to run, little Hongshan!" Before Fia or, worse, Ea came to give them all a tongue lashing.
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 9:14 am
Kalama cleared the jump easily, ignoring the concerns of Saharan. She didn't have anything to fear, as far as Kalama was concerned. No one could take her-- sure, perhaps she was a little cocky, but that was. Perhaps she should have gone investigate, too, because apparently there was some commotion down there. She snorted, then peered down the ledge, not quite wanting to go down and investigate.
"Is she from team two, then? Just kill her and be done with it!" It was all very simple! If they came across some Nergui this way, there would probably be some killing and fighting.
Sjari was more willing to go down into the path, recognizing the whole 'someone with a hyena pelt'. He had to do a bit of squeezing past other lions to be able to actually see her. Yes, that was one that had... joined the Hongshan, some time ago. (issat right?) He frowned, laying his ears back.
"Are you alright, Adie–" He was interrupted by Keahilani. Uh, that seemed harsh.
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 10:07 am
While she had originally felt stirred to leap up on top, she did feel more protected and better able to blend with the shadows down below. So when several went up, and several stayed down, she glanced around for how best to proceed. One of those staying down was a lioness who struck off down a passageway, so 'Kero followed her.
When Saharan slowed and peeked around a corner at the scene with an enemy lioness, 'Kero drew up behind her quietly. "I figured it might be best to not end up alone down here," she said softly to her teammate. She hung back further than Saharan, unable to see what was going on but listening nonetheless. "This might be a good time to scout on further ahead, while there is a commotion," she suggested just as quietly, angling her head towards another passageway leading on, bypassing the plugged up area with the frightened foe.
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 10:18 am
Saharan nearly started out of her fur at the sound of someone behind her. Yipe! She whirled, meaning to use her crouched stance to help her get up under the lioness...oh thank goodness. Just one of her teammates. She stopped herself and took a breath. "Good idea. I can't help but feel like she might be a decoy. Poor thing. I can't imagine how she got to be in the Firekin..." Kero's plan made sense, and she nodded. "We'll do that. I plan on staying low. Harder to bowl over with a low center of gravity, right?" Back down to a crouch, she slipped down the way the female had motioned. Hopefully no one was ahead. This path made her feel less ill at ease, at least.
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 10:30 am
She nodded at her new partner and followed her down the new passageway. Having the lioness ahead of her allowed her to scan high, leaving what was ahead of them for Saharan to watch for. In retrospect, this worked better than her sneaking off down a side passage by herself. She'd been unable to watch for enemies in both places on her own. Now they had two sets of eyes to be prepared for an attack from either direction.
She also agreed with the mentality of keeping low. Even though the lioness was ahead of her, 'Kero still stayed as much in the shadows as possible, slinking along on quiet paws with her belly just above the cool sand. That was another advantage they had to those walking above. The passageway was narrow enough that it often was in a general state of shadow. Oh, it was still plenty hot, and certainly bright, but nothing like it was up in the direct sunlight.
Hopefully, between the two of them, they'd be ready for whatever might come.
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 10:32 am
Teketeza had moved a bit ahead of the group, peering down into various cracks and small spaces in an effort to flush out the Hongshan who had got away. When the shout went up that they had captured a prisoner, he growled, before going back to where Hraga was stood.
He didn't recognise the cowering female, but the fact that she was cowering made him take an instant dislike to her. "Someone better tag her out, before I do it myself." Weakness was not something that any Firekin should show, and mercy was just another form of weakness in his eyes, so there was a lot to get angry over at that very moment.
Ukuba snarled viciously. "Do not lecture me on stupidity, brute. You were taken down by a female thanks to your stupidity." His purple eyes flashed darkly. His mind started to take charge once more, attempting to reign his emotions in. This wasn't the first time he had momentarily lost control, and when his senses returned, he often felt rather foolish. Not this time though.
Tarsa's actions had really wound him up, but Ukuba wasn't about to get into a full blown fight over it. Frowning darkly, he took himself away from the black male. He wanted to continue to keep an eye on Isifo, as Tarsa probably wasn't the only Firekin who was taking the game too seriously.
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Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 11:41 am
Nisitayeshaua had stopped, rather perplexed, when they had found the cowering lioness, and watched with flicking ears as the other reacted and spoke to her. She had no input to give on the matter, until the lion her aunt had called Keahilani used his claws.
"Hey!" she objected, trying to swat away the offending paw. "It's just a game, we're not supposed to hurt each other."
"How about you just...roll over, alright? Then you can go sit on the side." Nisi suggested to the other lioness.
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