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 Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 8:15 pm
 Troublesome, troublesome! The more she learned of those wretched two-legged beasts (from nightmare-ish visions and dreams, mostly, to the most recent news today) the more she was coming to loathe them! They had definitely gone too far this time, taking the queen and the princess-heir!
"By the circle, Shomoro! Who knows how far they've gotten!" The head scout snarled, hurrying with her friend towards Pride Rock to see if news had reached there yet. She was sure that the Queen's consort would know by now, the wolf they'd heard the news from, she'd been on a mission after all.
Her thoughts raced away with her as the two ran, hurrying towards their own destination. The first order of business in Mosi's mind was to form a search party of any willing, but they'd have to inform the rest of the royal family of what had happened, first.
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 8:27 pm
The news had hit Simi hard. Who in the world would ever attempt to take away something so important to so many? His mother and his sibiling! They were both such large pieces of his life, as well as almost the center of the Pridelands. He didn't know all the details yet, just knowing that strange creatures had taken them away, and only Mother's friend Hadaya knew where they were.
His father had let him know, but everything else was a swirl. He knew that Father needed to tell his other sibilings if Simi couldn't, but he wasn't sure if he actually had yet. Or had Father gone to try and find Mother? It only made sense to him, but that made everything even more frightening. First Mother gone, now Father?
A shuffling of noise drove him out of his hazy state, his paws leading him out of the cave and to the base of Pride Rock. He noticed two forms rushing towards his location. He squinted, trying to figure out just who they were. The head scout? Mosi, with a lioness he had often seen around...Shomoro? He hoped his memory served him correctly, or he would be horribly embarassed. The last thing he needed to fail him now was his mind.
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 8:35 pm
 One moment, Shomoro had had been having a nice chat with her old friend, wrangling children and grandchildren, and the next she was moving her old bones as fast as she could force them to go. Adrenaline aided her as she raced beside Mosi, running as she rarely had in all her long days. Never had she seen a human, and rarely had she heard of one. They had long been a mystery to her, but now...now, in the space of an instant, news of them had turned her peaceful world upside down.
The golden lioness didn't answer Mosi's snarl - she didn't have the breath. All she could do was keep on running until they reached Pride Rock. Once there, she skidded to a halt before one of the Princes. Simi? She'd never actually met Sarabi's grandchildren, only heard of them and occasionally seen them. She'd always been so busy, what with her horde of children.
The huntress bowed her head respectfully, huffing and puffing. Hopefully Mosi had more breath than she did.
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 9:09 pm
Mosi caught a glimpse of a familiar form emerging from the shadows cast on Pride Rock, recognized it. He was one of Kamilika's nine. If it hadn't been for her regular business with the queen Mosi might not have known them as she had, but as it was there -were- multiple reasons for her to be familiar with the family, even if not on a personal level. Simi, she was confident to say this one was, and judging by the air about him he knew already what had happened. Just as well, it meant they'd save time.
"Prince Simi," Mosi greeted quickly between short breaths just after she had also skidded to a halt beside her golden friend. The dust puffed and settled around them as she went on. She was too worked up to remember to bow just then, but thankfully Shomoro likely had enough manners for both of them easily if the need was there. "you've already heard?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 9:16 pm
Simi paused, still feeling numb from the shock. He stared at their faces blankly for a moment, his mind registering the fact that they must have found out, and had seeked out the other royal children to make sure that they knew as well. He bit of warmth creeped into his heart, but he was still far from recovered.
"I have. My father has told me, though while it was registering in my heart he must have left." He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts up quickly before he stumbled over his own words.
"I have learned very little on the matter, do either of you know anymore than I?" he said, a hint of hope in his voice. If she knew just a bit more, than it would be better than the rough ideas that he had. Strange creatures could be anything, even things that they had never seen before. The thought was enough to make him ill, but this was not the time to plead a weak stomache and hide. "All I know is things of strange creatures, and Hadaya somehow escaped their hold." Was it too much to hope that Mother and Sarakiva could as well?
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 9:28 pm
Thankfully, by the time Mosi and Simi had finished their initial exchange, Shomoro had most of her composure back. Her lungs were still catching up with her, but she had enough breath to speak by now. It was an odd feeling, to be suddenly caught up in all of this; she had had little to do with the royal family, save for her acceptance by Sarabi. This blow was not immediately personal, not for her, and yet her heart ached - as a Pridelander and as a mother. And it cried out also, against the wrongness and injustice of it.
"Nothing more, Prince," she answered, "I'm afraid that is all we know. We came to give the news, if it had not already been heard, and to offer out help, such as it is." The huntress looked to Mosi.
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 9:41 pm
Four royals in the short span of a year, this pride had suffered consecutive major blows, and Mosi was certainly tired of feeling helpless to do anything about it. Her reasons might have been more personal, but she wouldn't have doubted Shomoro's dedication if she'd been asked. Everyone in these lands had a reason to be affected, should want to do whatever they could to aide the lands. The royal family had made this place -home- for so many, the lands were well kept with everyone's help, true, but the royal family offered a beacon and guidance. It was time that the pride members do something in return.
"My visions tell me that they're both alive. We don't know where they are, but forming a search party won't be a challenge. We only need to act quickly while there's a trail that can be followed." She glanced to Shomoro, then back again.
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 9:50 pm
Crestfallen, Simi's eyes drifted downwards to his toes. What should he do? He wasn't sure where his other sibilings were, as disoriented as he was, and it was obvious that they needed to go after these strange creatures and try to get their Queen, his mother back, as well as Sarakiva. He wished he could ask these creatures why, but he was uneasy. Should he go as well? If his father was gone....it wouldn't be good to have so many of the royal family disappear at once. So much resonsibility was at times more than he ever realized.
"A search party it is." His tail thrashed behind him as he thought. "Gather all that are interested, as long as they are of age. It would probably be best to reach out to the other prides that are in alliance with us, if only to give them warning of what's happened here."
The price flushed, embarassed. "I'm afraid....I do not know who would be best suited to the job. Perhaps the both of you could assist with gathering up what and who is needed?" It felt odd, asking them what to do and how to do it, but did he have another choice? In all truths, he didn't. He would have to grit his teeth and help out with this. Everything else could get sorted out in time, when the matter came up.
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 10:01 pm
Poor young prince, no older than any of her children. Shomoro's instinct was to reach out, to comfort, but she was little more than a stranger. He was like to push her away. And so she kept her distance, only fixing him with a sad, matronly gaze before dipping down into a bow, better-executed than the first she had given him.
"As you wish, Prince. We will move as quickly as we can." Mosi was no doubt the faster, being the younger of the pair, but Shomo wasn't a victim of her age quite yet, and she had a debt to pay. "We will return with the willing as soon as they can be found."
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Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 7:27 am
Mosi's heart went out to Simi as well. If she was this upset she could only imagine how he felt.
She felt a renewed dousing of contempt for the wretched two leggers then, for doing this to their pride. Always the outsiders!
Mosi bowed this time, respectfully, Shomoro responding well for the both of them. After straightening again to follow Shomoro's example, Mosi gave a follow up.
"If anyone on Pride Rock here wants to help just have them wait for us here, Prince Simi."
Mosi looked to Shomoro then with a silent signal, her age seeming not to have even crossed Mosi's mind. She had trust and faith in Shomoro, as she did all her friends. She was glad that, of most of the lions she could've been with when she got the news it was Shomoro, that day.
With this decided, she started off quickly for the borders, explaining as they raced away. "We can start with some of my scouts. I'm sure that there'll be at least one volunteer among them."
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Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 9:24 am
Simi felt a rush of relief. So he wasn't being too demanding with his request. Good. There was a piece of him that was wary about doing this, but if there wasn't anyone else around, who else would have to step up to the responsibility?
"Thank you," he said quietly, his body feeling just a bit shakey like his voice. "I will certainly do that, Mosi. Thank you, and to you, Shomoro."
He knew that they had much to do, and quickly the news would spread over the lands. It was only a matter of time before they would seek out the family to console, offer assistance, and hope to learn more. Simi's stomache turned again. Hopefully they would give his sibilings a bit of room to breathe and figure out what to do next.
I only wish I paid more attention to everything around me before this, he thought to himself as he watched the pair run off. Hopefully soon they would know what had happened and would welcome them home.
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Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 5:21 pm
"Ziza will want to go," Shomoro responded as they took off running once more, leaving Simi to himself for the moment. Her daughter had always wanted an adventure, but sadly, misfortune had a way of going hand-in-hand with adventure. "We should split up - we can cover more ground that way." And she could probably rope at least one of her sons into helping relay the news, because chances were slim she could keep covering this sort of ground for all that much longer. Hunting was one thing, but long-distance runs were another matter altogether.
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 12:08 am
"Good idea. If you find Ziza before I do send her then. I need to see if any of my children will want to help too, I'll meet you back at Pride Rock when the sun reaches mid-sky!" She called back, sparing Shomoro a good-luck-glance before veering off onto her own path. Kings help them all, they'd need it.
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