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 Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:17 am
Chunuka wished he had someone to share this experience with. Being new to the world was odd. It was like he'd opened his eyes for the first time. Been reborn into a whole new life that was big, scary and unknown.
He crept more than walked, his lean body as golden as the sun and good at blending in with the dry grass if he moved slowly enough.
However, now the long grass was coming to an end, leaving him unprotected across a stretch of seemingly barren land. The sun was no longer high in the sky and the blues were fringed with purple as the flaming orb made its descent.
"Where to now I wonder?" His father had been gone too long. There was no hope in finding a scent or a paw print to match to his. He had to go on a whim, put himself in his father's grief-moved paws. Amari would blunder blindly into the rogue lands and so would he - though it scared him to do it. What if he couldn't find his way home?
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Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:29 am
Her aim was to return to the area of the Roguelands that she'd been born, to visit it occasionally because it was where they'd agreed to meet. However, it wasn't looking much like that was where she was heading- none of this seemed familiar. It hadn't been so long ago- right? She had time to get there, even if she could think of a couple of her siblings (Pepo) that wouldn't like knowing she was lost.
Allowing her mind some distraction from the fact that she was physically lost, she started to wonder what on earth she was going to do about a name, how she was going to find out something like that simply by traveling. It distracted her from where she was and from keeping her attention on the path she walked.
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Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:38 am
He had been walking across the barren land, keeping as close to the random thickets that covered the land's rough surface, when he saw her.
She was gold, a comforting colour to a lion who had lived surrounded by natural colours of golds and rusty browns. Besides, gold was the colour of his home and the colour abolished his fear somewhat. There could be no gold lion that could mean any harm, or that's what Chunuka's naive brain told him.
So, slowing his pace, he moved out onto the path that he'd been purposely avoiding - hoping to stay out of sight - and called to her. It wasn't a loud roar, not a grumble, it was a low chuff of greeting that shook his sides.
"Um..." Now what? Should he do something? Should he speak. "Um, hello?" He perked an ear forward, gave a sheepish grin.
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Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:47 am
Like Chunuka, Noki was naive to the potential dangers of the world, always having had a loving family and a safe place to live. She'd never had any reason to doubt anyone, except the occasional time she wondered why her mother had left them and why her father hadn't stopped her or gone after her. But that was hardly a reason to suspect strangers, she felt! She was startled out of her confused little thought bubble by the sudden sound of someone calling out to her, her heart skipping a beat.
Curiously, she turned toward the sound to see not someone she knew but a stranger- a friendly looking one at that.
"Hello!" she answered, smiling shyly.
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Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:52 am
Oh good. She seemed friendly. That was a good start and Chunuka felt the last of his fear squished into the ground he trod on, leaving it to wither behind him.
He moved towards her until he was a few paces away, hovering hesitantly, unsure how rogues did things and whether he might break a rule by coming to close.
"Um..." He paused, wondered what he was going to say. Well first thing was first, he had to check to see if she had seen his father. "I wonder if you could help me. I'm looking for someone." After business, maybe they could chat and be friends, right?
"My father, actually. Um, he is rusty brown and has brown eyes, he's a big lion too, slightly greying in the muzzle. He has the same symbol on my shoulder on his nose and another round symbol on his shoulder...oh! And a caramel coloured mane, just like mine." He shook his own, wishing suddenly that he had more of his father's traits. Maybe he should have brought Inari with him. Inari represented his father's colours much better than he did.
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Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:05 am
Noki had only ever played with her siblings before moving into the swamps with her family, and even then her friends outside of them were very limited. She wasn't entirely sure the best ways to be social, but she was happy to try. However, she stayed where she was as he stepped closer- not to be rude but because it let him pick what distance he was most comfortable with.
"Oh?" she murmured, tilting her head as he asked for her help. She was surprised to hear him asking about his father, wondering if it was more common than she thought that parents might up and disappear. Frowning sincerely, she shook her head.
"I haven't seen anyone like that," she answered sadly, "I haven't really seen anyone, I'm sorry."
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Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:14 am
"It's okay. You're the first person I've met since I left. Guess I should have expected the search to be harder than that." He sighed, realising for the first time the enormity of his task. The world was enormous and he was but one little lion looking for another lion. Besides that, he didn't even know where to start.
Well he sort of did. He remembered that Amari had a friend in the Kusini and that pride was to be his first target, if he could just remember where it was...
"Thanks anyway." Then he continued. "I'm Chunuka, from the Pridelands. My first time out in rogue country. Probably my last too, if all goes well and I find my dad."
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Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 7:48 am
He may have been right, but Noki still felt bad that she couldn't help him. Part of her wondered if maybe she should use her time away from the swamp to start looking for her own mother, though she wasn't sure why Chunuka was looking for his father. She sighed when she was thanked despite her lack of information, and perked up a bit at the introduction. Part of her was tempted to make him guess her name, since she had no other ideas on how to go about this- but that didn't seem very nice, or like it would work.
"I'm Noki, for now," she introduced herself, "I'm from the Jini-msemi. I've been out here before, just never on my own. I know we used to live somewhere around here, but I can't really find it. I've never heard of the Pridelands though.."
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Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:59 pm
"For now?" He smiled, though he wasn't really sure what she meant by that. He knew there were other prides out there but he had no idea of the extent that they were different. He was such a sheltered lion.
"Jini-msemi? The only pride I've ever heard of is the Kusini'mwezi." He dipped his ears sheepishly. "The world is far bigger than I ever realised."
He nodded. "I've been away from my pride once but I was so young, I can't remember much. My father took me to see his friend, who was King of the Kusini Lands." It had been in a time when he had just entered juvenile. Now, however, he couldn't remember much of it. It was a distant memory, too far away to seem reality.
"So you were rogueborn?" This was new. She was kindly, gentle. There was no flashing of teeth, lashing of claws or vicious snarl. There was no mad eyes, filled with anger or hate. In fact she was as kindly and sweet as pridelander lionesses.
He suddenly felt ashamed.
"I was born in the Pridelands, lived there all my life. I would never have left if it wasn't so important." He smiled. "The Pridelands is a couple of days walk that way." He waved a paw in the direction he had been coming from. "It's a little crowded but it's pleasant and welcoming. Nothing bad ever happens there...well mostly."
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Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:04 pm
"It's why I left," she explained when her 'for now' was questioned. Noki wasn't even sure how this was going to impact her entirely, but she knew that it was an odd feeling to know that your name would not be your name for very much longer, "When you reach my age, you get sent out of the pride to find your true name. You don't even get to say goodbye, it caught my sisters and brother and I all by surprise.." It had been a startling day when they realized that they were being sent away, one by one, without warning."
She smiled meekly at this. None of them liked being separated but they knew it was how it was going to be, though they'd agreed to try to head near the same area so they might still find each other, so they wouldn't have to be alone.
"I've never heard of the Kusini'mwezi, either," she commented, "I never heard of any prides until we moved to the swamp." Noki looked beyond Chunuka to where he'd been coming from, making note of it- perhaps she might visit there, learn a little more about the world while she was out looking for a name.
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Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 10:47 am
"To find your true name?" Chunuka wasn't sure he understood. As far as he was concerned, the name his mother and father had given him was the only name he ever needed. The only name he ever wanted. He felt a sudden desire to clutch at it, afraid that someone might come and tear it away from him.
"But what is your birth name if not your true name?" He shook his head. "I'm sorry, it's probably not my place to question it." Here he was prying into another lioness' life. When had he become so nosy?
"The Kusini...well I don't remember much but it's small and quaint, far less populated than the pridelands, though that might have changed since I last ventured there. It's where I'm going first. My father will probably have gone there to see his old friend."
He paused. "Seems we're both as oblivious as one another then." He smiled. "I'm glad I'm not alone. I expect a lot of wandering lions were born rogues or lions who had enough knowledge. But I can barely hunt right and I'm a bumbling fool most of the time." He grinned. "The world wasn't made for lions like me."
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Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:48 am
Noki didn't seem to mind his questions about her name quest, perhaps if she had no been born a rogue she might have been offended. She was raised with the Jini-msemi traditions and beliefs, but not from the start. She'd never known about the things she felt she knew now before her family moved to the swamp, and for that reason she didn't imagine everyone would know what the Jini-msemi did.
"It's a child's name," she answered carefully with a slight shrug, "It's ok to ask about it, I don't know how to start looking for my name." It would be especially hard if everyone was like Chunuka and only had questions instead of helpful advice about it. But then, Noki knew better than to expect it to be that simple.
"So it's- um- that way?" Noki asked about the Kusini, turning to look in the direction she guessed Chunuka had been walking, though she wasn't positive on it. She smiled sheepishly back at him when he commented on how oblivious they both were, not having anything to say to prove otherwise. Perhaps learning about the outside world was part of the reason they went on name quests.
"You don't seem like a fool to me," she commented curiously, wondering why he thought that of himself. There was no way to judge his hunting, unless they tried hunting. But Noki wasn't too impressive at that either, she would be lucky if the need to fend for herself got her some decent practice.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:18 am
A child's name. Well he supposed it made sense, especially if a cub was given an unsuitable name at birth. Parents could never see how their cubs would turn out in the future. He realised suddenly that his own name was extremely applicable to him though. He smiled at that. His parents had probably taken a chance at thinking he'd be like his mother. They had been right.
"Yep, or atleast I think it is. Everything looked a lot different when I was small. Scarier somehow I think. I don't want to be gone for long though. My sister has cubs and my mother isn't in the best of health. I've been helping take care of them and I don't want to be away too long in case something happens when I'm away."
He smiled. "Maybe finding your name isn't as simple as finding a location and heading for it. If you don't know what it is, maybe you need to wait for it to find you." He wasn't sure that made sense but it sounded like a good suggestion. "Maybe just travelling wherever you want, not caring whether you take a wrong turn will help you come across what you are looking for."
He laughed. "Well I can be clumsy and I'm not the smartest lion ever." He paused, settled himself more comfortably. "But I get along fine so long as I'm with my family. I don't know how I'll fare out here." His blue eyes traced the land. "When my mother was younger and she first met my father she attempted to leave the Pridelands and lead a nomadic life with him. But in the end she couldn't. She didn't want to leave her home." He smiled softly. "I know how she feels and I've only been away a few days."
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Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:23 am
Noki's gaze moved back from the direction of the Pridelands and back to Chunuka as he described his family situation. She smiled sadly at the mention of his sister having cubs and his mother being in poor health, it seemed sweet that he was so close to his family and wanted to help them. She and her siblings were so close, but their father had become so distant seeming. Noki wasn't even sure if he really was or if all of them were just feeling a little jealous about their younger siblings and angry that he didn't go after their mother. They were in a complicated situation, even more so than they realized.
"I hope you can get back to them soon," she murmured, thinking about her own siblings and how she was supposed to meet them soon. It didn't look like it would be so easy, though, she was rather lost. She listened eagerly when he speculated more on the name quest, and she smiled- he seemed to catch on very quickly.
"Yes, you've got it," she said, "It can't be any simpler than waiting for it to find you, for something to just.. suddenly make sense." Noki sighed, knowing she wouldn't be getting home quickly.
"I guess I'll be stuck out here for a while," Noki sighed, then smiled as he expressed his concerns about being out here, "This isn't like leaving your home, you'll be going back. If I can make it out here, then you can certainly find your way around. You're bigger and stronger than I am, and everyone gets sent away to find a name when they're my age. You get to go home whenever you want, you always have that."
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Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 9:29 am
(( sorry for being so slow ;o; ))
"I hope so too, I'm happiest when I'm with them." He smiled. He didn't need anyone so long as he had his parents. It was clear he stll had to mature a lot mentally. He truly wasn't ready for a relationship or a family, at the moment he had to concentrate on the family he already had.
"Then I hope it finds you soon. It must be hard, waiting for something but not sure what it is or when you might find it." He smiled encouragingly. "But you will find it and it'll be worth it."
He nodded then. "Your right, home is always home and it's never too far away. But, maybe the roguelands aren't so bad either, if I cna make friends along the way it'll be wonderful and who knows, if we ever meet again you may have to reintroduce yourself." He smiled. "Until then I'll know you as Noki." He bowed his head. "I wish you well on your journey. I wish I could stay and chat with you longer but I need to keep going if I'm to get closer to the Kusini. Good luck!" He called, sidling off slightly, clearly hesitant to go.
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