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 Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 12:43 am
It had taken time to get used to, walking on grass and dirt instead of the shifting sand. It felt... Unnatural. It had also proven challenging to get accustomed to hunting on it, too. But she'd managed to do it.
She was better at it now, anyway.
White-toed dark paws moving as quick as they could, Jua'taka did her best to not lose the antelope she'd killed. It was a young animal, just barely a year old, but it would suffice. She didn't like the idea much of her mother out hunting, not with the injuries she'd sustained. Thinking about it still brought a growl to her throat, a bitter taste to her mouth.
Stopping at the entrance to the den they shared as a family, the black lioness set the kill down before stepping in. "Mother, I brought back something to eat!" Near by, she could see the slave that had stayed with them.
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:57 am
She looked up, blinking. The heat of the sun was down upon her and the gritty, loose sand beneath her forepaws was no comfort to her, not anymore. She purred as her daughter aproached, paying no heed to the slave.
Slaves could have been as interesting as rocks for all the attention that Ripuka blessed them with, though in all honesty it was probably better for the slave that Ripuka wasn't paying her much heed.
She'd attacked quite a few slaves in her time.
"This sand feels different, Jua." She smiled, but the expression was hard to come by. "Thank you, dear, you always were a wonderful huntress."
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 8:22 am
Rubbing her cheek gently against her mother's, Jua looked her over. Everything was healing at a decent enough pace...
Swatting some sand away, the dark lioness glared at it. "It does... It feels more like tiny rocks than the fine sand of home..." She didn't like it, and she highly doubted ANYBODY liked it.
Licking her mother's face, Jua could only smile before getting the kill for her. "Here... Eat... You need your strength to get better again. Then..." She paused, wondering on the 'then' part. Surely she wouldn't go fighting rebels again.. Would she?
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 11:20 am
She nodded gravely. "Nothing will be the same again. Nothing." She smiled at her daughter's fussing. Now, who was supposed to be taking care of who? She flicked an ear and looked at her with such tenderness. It was clear that her children and Makaa were the most important things in her life.
Even Azarax, though perhaps she didn't know that yet.
"What did I do to deserve such a wonderful daughter, Jua?" She moved. "I'll eat, so long as you eat too. We'll both need our strength if we're to make a come back." She tugged at the meat, testing. "Have you seen your brother today?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 6:31 pm
She smiled, helping her mother to the meat. "Finar-si blessed you for your faith in her, what more is there to say? And things will only change for the better, I know it." She hoped so, anyway. Their numbers were abismally small, but they still had faith.
Starting in on the meal, she looked at her mother. Not to be rude, she finished the bite in her mouth before answering. "Wakia? I think he's out hunting himself. Or training." Or socialising... She'd noticed her brother was better at it than she was. Even Azarax seemed better socialised...
As her food sank to her stomach, she realised that she had no social connections, just her mother and brother. And the slave... Maybe they'd leave it something.
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:21 am
"You are right. We are alive and we should be thankful for that." Ripuka took the break in speaking to chew down a mouthful of meat relishing in it's nutrition. It had seemed a long time since she had last eaten, a long, long time. In truth, it had only been a few days but she felt drained and she had needed to eat - though she had only just realised it.
"So long as he's safe." Ripuka nodded. She worried greatly for her children. "We are a rare breed now, us Firekin, we must take care to be cautious, not put ourselves in needless danger." She took another bite.
"You're father...he still lives. At least Finar-Si protected my family from harm. Everyone is here, safe and sound."
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 8:35 am
Finishing her share of the meal, Jua sat back, watching her mother. After a moment, she smiled. "As long as hope lives on, we, too, shall live on as a pride." She rose, stretching out.
After a moment, she paused, ears moving back. "Besides the queen's slave... There are no cubs in the pride..." Indeed, in the time of the fighting, the cubs seemed to all grow up. She looked to her mother, unsure of what more to say.
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 12:28 am
She nodded solemnly. "You are right. They are all but grown now. Even the royal children are on the brink of adolescence." Ripuka wasn't bashful or shy about talking of having children or getting involved in a relationship, especially if it was for the good of the pride.
It was the reason she had gotten together with Danzi, though she had later grown to love him dearly.
"Maybe you should go converse with one of the royal boys. Poor things need a new bloodline." She smiled softly. "It seemed like only yesterday when you and your brother were cubs. And now you are an elegent lady." She smiled softly.
"I was thinking of asking your father to bless me with more cubs. What do you think, Jua? Would you mind?" She knew that Jua didn't like her father very much, though she'd never understand why. "New cubs in the lands would bring hope."
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:58 pm
Jua nearly choked on her last bite of meat. Her, with one of them? The only royal she'd actually conversed with had been Sinbad, and that... Swallowing her food down, her ears moved back. "Why would one of them want a story teller like me?"
But then there was that mention of more cubs by her father. Brothers and sisters...? Licking her lips, Jua thought about that. Little brothers and little sisters... It was an idea that seemed to make her eyes dance. She couldn't help but smile at such an idea. "I think... I'd like having brothers and sisters around..." She looked at her mother, smiling at her. "It would be fun to see them play, and teach them the traditional ways, and a great thing to see them grow."
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:26 am
(( sorry for taking so long @_@ I burned out my muse but it's back now! ))
"You're not just a storyteller, love. Don't say it as if you weren't important. You are beautiful, intelligent and skilled in what you do. I have yet to meet the newest royals but I'm sure they are as magnificent as Kimeti."
She didn't know that many of them were actually rather distasteful.
Then a smile was brought to her face. So Jua approved of more cubs. Would her brother approve to? She wasn't sure why, but she just wanted to make sure they were both aware that it was a possibility. For though it was perhaps unusual for Ripuka's character and going against her silent promise never to fall in love. She had. She loved the lion who masqueraded as a Firekin. And more than that, she had adored being a mother. Motherhood had made her glow with health rather than taking it away.
"Thank you Jua. One day I hope you have the joy of having children. Watching them grow and shape into something wonderful has given me so much joy." She blinked fondly. "And having you there to help me the second time round would make it all the more perfect."
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 6:45 pm
She had to bite back a laugh at the idea of one of them being as magnificent as Kimeti. At least in her mind, of what she'd met... Nothing was impressive. Yet. There was still time to impress her high opinions. She flushed, though, at the compliments. "Still... I'm not THAT impressive next to them..."
Smiling at her mother, she gently butted her head on Ripuka's good shoulder. "Maybe we should have them at the same time... Then they can be raised together." That would be a nice idea. All the cubs playing together... If there were that many, anyway.
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Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 3:37 am
She buffetted her head tenderly against her. "You are wise and honourable. You have a true heart with true tradition ringing through your blood." She smiled affectionately. "Besides, we are all Firekin, whether we have the royal pelt or not. We are still here amongst our kind when many have fled."
She smiled softly. "The same time?" She nodded her head. "That would be wonderful." She flicked her tail, sighing deeply. "Then we can aid one another, take time in caring for them. It would make motherhood easier if we were able to leave the den every now and then. You're father is a wonderful lion, but he was born with wandering paws. He's not always so reliable." She laughed quietly, finding herself thinking back to the time she had first introduced the children to him.
Jua had left.
Was she still mad at Makaa for not being there whilst she was growing up? She cast a look to her but was unsure on it. Why was she afraid to ask?
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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 8:36 am
She smiled, a genuine one, purring at her mother. "This is true... Alright, I'll give them a chance..." She sighed settling down. What a day today was. So much going on...
"And they would all play and grow strong together." She nodded, smiling at the idea. Little roly-poly cubs in shades of black, white, red... Maybe a bit of orange... A hint of gold...
She glanced at her mother, sighing. She could see the look in Ripuka's eye... "I'm not mad at him anymore... Just... Frustrated." She shrugged, eyes closing. "After all, I was young when I first met him... So..." So did this mean she was just frustrated with the royal boys?
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Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 5:26 am
"It's all I ask." She smiled, settling herself into a more comfortable position.
Maybe things would be okay, after all. Her daughter was smiling just like before and they seemed closer than ever. Yes, so long as she had family then everything would be okay. Not all could be bad.
"Its the best thing about being female. A father bonds with their children but not in the same way as us. We carry them and go through the pain of bringing them and without us they would starve. Having cubs derived of our very own being is something magical."
She blinked and looked up at her daughter then. "You've forgiven him?" Her voice was whispered and her good eye glistened. "I'm so glad. It's odd really. When I met your father we made a pact to bring mroe Firekin into the world to help our dwindling numbers. It was a simple arrangement, a one-off. Somehow...it's turned into something more."
She sighed deeply. "I never thought my bitter old heart could ever fall in love."
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 7:16 pm
Jua raised a brow, still smiling. "It's never too late to fall in love." She paused, thinking about it. "Love knows no age, no generation, it knows no boundaries." She flicked her tail, thinking on that. Would she ever love?
Gold eyes contemplated a small reptile moving to nibble the leftovers. Swatting it away, she frowned at it. "Yes... I've forgiven him." She looked back to her mother, her very eyes seeming to dance. "Perhaps I can use his experiences for stories, make some new ones..." Thinking about it, it made her shiver. "Glorify the Firekin... Heralding campaigns into foreign pride lands to gain new slaves, to subdue enemies..." All she needed were young ears to hear such stories.
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