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 Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 12:11 pm
The journey had been longer when she was actually forced to go, and it seemed longer as a child, but now, Baridi’Akali had set her eyes upon the home she was born in, the one she had left many moons ago. She didn’t sigh though. This was no longer her home, and frankly she really didn’t miss it at all. Her father was still here most likely; he wasn’t too old when she had left. Maybe she’d stop by to see her mother; that would be a nice gesture.
Bari continued on, passing the border, looking at the familiar landmarks she had none since she was a kid. It seemed the recent earth-shake didn’t bother the lands too much. She even wondered how her grandma and grandpa were doing. The coffee colored lioness had been gone way to long.
Even though she had already passed down her position as head scout to the not-so-newly appointed Bushido, still she found herself wandering towards the borders out of habit. Maybe she was hoping to speak with one of the scouts, or something along those lines. The only thing that Mosi was really sure of was that she needed a stretch. The cubs were all pre-occupied, well, all but Lela, who was as usual stuck to Mosi's side like glue.
Figuratively speaking.
"Lela! I told you twice already, stop falling behind!" The mother called over her shoulder with an exasperated glare. Lela had seen it so many times though and had so much of her mother's attitude that she was hardly phased. She continued examining........ whateverthehellitwas that had stopped her THIS time, and Mosi rolled her eyes with a rough exhale. "How in the world did I let him talk me into having a third freakin' litter?"
Well, she couldn't leave Lela there, she knew the trouble that girl would find and she wasn't THAT bold as to risk it, especially not with cannibalistic psychopaths on the loose like the one what gave her her little collection of scars. So instead she sat on her haunches and scanned the borders a few yards away with her eyes, narrowing them for a better look at a familiar figure.
She didn't stay sitting down for long, jumping to her paws.
".... Oh what the HELL are you doing here?!"
Coffee colored ears perked forward as the teal eyes surrounded by the dark chocolate patches narrowed. She wasn’t expecting to come in contact with another lion here in the pridelands, but having the pride be as big as it was, who was she kidding. It was just terrible it had to be /this/ certain lioness the adult had to come by.
And…what was this? Teal eyes widened slightly as a smirk slowly began to settle on her maw. The rogue had found someone to knock her up eh? This was terribly amusing for the ‘princess’ to come by. She listened to the two, quite settled apparently, staring right at the two.
”Last time I checked, I was born here, so I have a right to be here, Rogue,” Bari reverted back to her old nickname for Mosi. Her eyes settled upon the black daughter with the unusual wing markings.
”Bringing in more of your kind here I see? No wonder this place looks like a hell hole.” But Bari shouldn’t really judge the lands right by the border. After all, the pridelands were rather large.
"You weren't the only one born here, you brat." She snarled. Mosi's initial reaction was to rise to the bait like she always had when they were kids, but she would not have her proverbial feathers ruffled by the slightly older lioness this time. Almost as soon as she had bristled she calmed back down, and a smirk came to her own muzzle. She was barely aware that Lela had come back to stand by Mosi's hind paws curiously. "You should address me with more respect, Runaway, your 'highness'," She tossed out a new nickname on top of the old one, just knowing that what she said next would get Bari's goat one way or another. "... you're speaking to a member of the high council, and I answer directly to the king. Where were -you- when this pride went through it's hard times? Out playing little miss badass princess? Living up the rogue life yourself?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 12:18 pm
Of course she wasn’t the only one born here, that was such a silly thought. “Of course not rogue, do you forget I have brother’s?” There was Baakir, in which was the one who actually kept the calm side of Bari there. The other, Ezeoha, Bari disliked just as much as her father Denahi. Baridi didn’t know much about her new siblings thought, she had left the Pridelands before they were born.
The coffee colored female growled at her nickname. She wasn’t a runaway. Well…she was, but that wasn’t the point. Her lip lifted, showing her canines, before it lowered. This lioness was one to attack, whether or not a child was in present.
”High Council? What the hell is that?” Bari made a disgusted face. Mufasa and Sarabi had actually given authority to this? She growled, “And you’re apart of it? Hah, they must’ve felt sorry for you then. I’ll have to chat with my grandparents about that one.” She didn’t know Sarabi and Mufasa were no longer amongst the living.
Mosi's only response to seeing the aggression level rise in the female and her long since declared rival was to tense in preparation for the fight she knew would eventually come. She knew Lela had the sense to get out of the way, and she wasn't worried about, or maybe just not thinking about, Lela witnessing such an event. Lela though, for all intent and purpose, was only watching the escalating argument with a glare, her ears quivering before rocking back on her head as Mosi's mood altered.
"... King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi are dead. He died protecting these lands and the queen passed shortly after. You wouldn't know that though, would you? You were GONE, no where to be found!" She snapped, knowing in her heart that it wasn't fair to throw this news at Bari this way, that it would be kinder to hear it from someone she actually respected, or at least could tolerate, but MOSI was the one here, as she had been when the king had fallen to protect her family from the ACTUAL rogue threat, as she had been when she took up a the lead scout position to protect the borders so that no more would have to die. If she couldn't protect these lands then she really would have been no better than Bari's insults, she'd thought at the time, and she longed for Bari to get her head out of her a**. "WE were the ones that stood up to protect these lands when he passed. Us 'unworthy rogues'." She snarled. "These scars? I gained them protecting these very borders from the real rogues. After that, Princess Kamilika took the throne, but she and the heir princess, her daughter, Sarakiva were taken by two leggers, oh, but you wouldn't know about THAT either because you weren't HERE when we formed the search parties and tried to find them. Yet here you come, prancing back in here as if you -own- the place! You don't have the RIGHT!"
Lela had moved a bit further back, sensing the rising tension between the two adults, and swallowed softly. She hadn't seen her mother this angry and worked up before.
Whn Mosi mentioned the King and Queen were dead, Bari;s ears flattened. They couldn't be...
She growled, why hadn't anyone told her? Wy hadn't anyone actually gone to the Kusini lands and gotten her? Her mother, Rehani, could've; her own brothers could have gone to get her, but they didn't either. She grimaced slightly, the emotion showing a bit as Mosi continued to speak. The coffee colored female gazed over at Mosi's 'battle scars' sp she said, and scoffed slightly. She didn't want to hear this, no, she didn't HAVE to hear this. Bari's ears flattened against her skull again at the mention of the rogues destroying her homeland. Sure she hated it, but she was still born here.
"I have no right? YOU have no right to even SPEAK to me like that," her tone was low, deadly-like as he head hunched below her shoulders in a defensive posistion. "I don't know if what you tell me is true, nor do I believe I /should/ listen to you," Bari was always hard headed that way. The posistion of leader should've been Bari's whether she had left or not, it should've been her birth right.
"If these lands weren't so accepting to rogues," at this, she turned to glare at the daughter behind Mosi, and growled at her as well, "maybe the King wouldn't have died." Her claws extended slightly, digging into the soft dirt underneath her. "Maybe I should just stay here, and take care of all the rogues myself." It was an empty thread, Bari wouldn't stay.
Not anymore at least.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 12:29 pm
Mosi took two aggressive steps and put herself directly in Bari's line of vision to block her from glaring at her cub, a look of barely restrained murder in her eyes.
"Look whose talking?! Some disbanded runaway who couldn't even be BOTHERED to stick around?! Or maybe you'd like to claim that you were just out on an extended walk or taking a break!" Mosi snorted and glared harshly, fangs baring more with each passing word and insult. "You DON'T have any damn right! You LEFT! You have no damned right to preach down to me or anyone else about my 'lowly rogue blood', at least I PROVED myself and stood up for this place! Mufasa DIED protecting these lands and EVERYONE in it! He DIED protecting MY aunt! Supposedly lowly rogue blood as you so love to say. How does THAT suit you? Huh? You're a blind, close minded, selfish, -ignorant- brat, and I swear to the gods if you insult my children or MY family-- this pride --again I'll tear your face off and make sure you can't use that blasphemous tongue ever again!"
Her eyes had gone hard, the more innocent insults gone, and a very real threat in her words. She would reflect back on it later and know she could have handled this much more calm, but she wasn't going to stand aside while someone talked down about one of her own.
Lela, at Bari's glare, returned it with a cubbish growl of her own, her fur bristling on her back as if she would fight too, but she stayed behind her mother, let her handle this. She knew better than to get involved when Mosi was this upset, or maybe she was just honestly afraid to. Maybe she should go get daddy...
”When I left this pride, nothing was happening. Nothing was out of place,” She growled lowly. “Don’t you go blaming me for leaving this pride when it needed all the members it had, because you want to know something Rogue that is utter-bullshit.” She snarled, her stance growing as her tail lashed behind her. She was almost about to lunge, when black lioness began to speak again, so instead, she just growled, waiting rather impatiently for her to finish. “It doesn’t matter whether you proved yourself or not. For all I know, it could have been your own blood, the blood of your father that came to destroy these lands. Perhaps I should start with him.” If what Bari had said earlier didn’t affect Mosi, maybe the mentioning of hurting her father would, or better yet, “Or it could be the blood of the rogue you happened to joined up with, the blood that runs through /her/ veins.” She nodded towards Lela, “She could be a target as well.”
The little growl made Bari smirk. Hah, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you cub.” She growled towards Lela, turning back to Mosi.
”…Is that a fact, Mosi?” The adult actually used the other’s adult’s name. She chuckled darkly, eyes hardening just as her enemy’s had done. “Well, in that case, Bring it on.” And with that, the coffee colored female lunged with teeth bared, her target at Mosi’s neck.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 12:59 pm
"Don't... Don't you threaten my family." Mosi hissed, a bit of spit flying free with the raw emotion of the gesture. "You threaten them, and you're threatning this pride, and Bari... you do -not- want to do that. I might not be head scout anymore... but by all rights I can and I will kill for this pride. Do you hear me?" Her voice shook with fury and intent. "I. Will. KILL. You."
She fell quiet after that, skin crinkling with a building snarl that built into a growl that built in her chest until she felt it might explode, eyes narrowing until they were only opened enough for her need to see with the purest form of anger, blind rage. Mosi's entire frame was quivering with absolute, seething, white hot rage by the time Bari finished her threats, and Mosi was already lunging by the time the brown lioness had, a roar fit to rattle mountains bursting from her throat. "You're DEAD!" It sang in words without using actual words. Her claws raked forward to try to connect with the muzzle full of teeth and fangs aimed at her neck.
Mosi angled her neck and head to take a bite out of Bari's shoulder, though she too had been aiming for her neck. She ended up going for the base of it instead, raking her other fore paw forward to try to dig into Bari's side for any hold her claws could find.
Lela's eyes widened in horror as the fight broke out, and she quickly backed away to stay out of the way of the lionesses as the battle began to rage. She wanted desperately to go get her father, but she was terrified that if she left momma alone... what if she couldn't fight off the "princess"?
It was too late though, she had already threatened Mosi’s family, and frankly, she wasn’t that upset about it. She almost smirked, finally able to get the reaction out of the black lioness. It only took them since they were kids, and even with that little sprawl they had gotten in back then, it was nothing. This, now, was full out war between the two pridelanders.
Bari was happy that her maw had come into contact with some flesh, as she tried to hang out to it with a hard grasp. Unfortantly, when Mosi hit her shoulder, Bari took a shock gasped, growling angrilly as her claws went to swipe at her face. Once she had the black lioness off her, she backed up a little, getting ready to pounce again. She would rethink this lunge, hoping to hit her rival in a major vein just right for her not to heal. A roar escape her maw as she jump, blood-lust eyes settled right on her target.
That was when /he/ intervened. Denahi had just been mosying the pridelands like usual since Rehani had gone on that trip, and he caught site of the two adult lionesses fighting, one with a cub with her. Denahi inwardly growled to himself, knowing that coffee pelted female oh too well. He snarled himself, galloping as fast as he could to intervene the two before anymore blood was split on the pridelands. Lucky for him, he got there right in time.
”Baridi’A-kali” He said sternly as her own teeth hit his shoulder. “Stand down, NOW,” He growled, the bright eyes with the same chocolate eye markings glaring straight into his daughter’s.
And she did, reluctantly. She wasn’t going to fight with her father here, there was no fun in that, especially since Denahi was on Mosi’s side. He always was on the other’s side. That’s why she hated him so.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 1:23 pm
Mosi had snarled in pain as Bari's attack still landed, but she scored a hit as well, and didn't care about one more scar for her collection. They broke apart a bit roughly, and Mosi staggered back, a ripple of pain shooting through her as she came down too hard too suddenly on the side that Bari had gotten, but she held her ground, her front leg and shoulder held out by sheer stubborn will as she braced it. She was ready to try for a full body tackle when Bari lunged, but luckily it didn't come to that. Mosi would have fought to the last breath to protect her child and the pride's other "rogues", even if Bari's threat of ridding the pridelands of them was ridiculous and impossible.
Mosi allowed herself to fall back some, and immediately recognized the lion before her. He was father to Bari and Ezeoha as well, it was only natural that she'd know of him one way or another, what between being around Ezzy so much as kids and her own seer abilities and dreams.
Chest heaving, she caught her breath and let the haze of anger slowly lift from her mind's eyes, relaxing only when Lela brushed timidly against her back left leg. She didn't dare tear her eyes off of Bari but she wanted Lela near if only to know she was safe. This had been bad. If she had faultered for any reason, Lela might have... It was -that- thought above all others that made Mosi consider for the first time in her life that maybe she needed to work MORE on her self control. She'd have thought after running into that Firekin b*****d she had learned, but even now it crept up on her in unexpected ways.
"...." Neither mother nor daughter had anything to say, Mosi perhaps more surprisingly so, but she had to see what was going to play out and had to calm down more before she could speak out. Her mind raced. What SHOULD she say?
The bright eyes he had acquired from his beautiful mother turned to Mosi and her daughter, a look of sadness plaguing his mind. “I’m sorry for any inconvience she has brought to you and your cub,” Denahi had certainly grown from when he was a child, now, if only his daughter could do that same. “I hope she didn’t hurt you terribly,” at this, he raised a lip to his now adult daughter, snarling at her, the charcoal fur on his back surrounding the scars beginning to stand on edge.
”You shouldn’t be here, /father/,” Bari sneered out, the flame in her eyes beginning to smoldering as the adrenaline drained from her battered body. “I had things perfectly under control with this rogue and her little rogue-ette,” she stated, refering to the cub.
Her attention turned to Mosi. “Next time I won’t be as easy, and my father won’t be here to stop me.” She snarled, lifting herself up on all fours, glaring at the three ‘pridelanders’. Hah, they were all rogues, all of them, standing right in front of her.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 1:35 pm
"Hardly. You don't need to concern yourself." Mosi reassured, resisting the incredibly childish urge to glare past him at Bari and add some comment about how it didn't hurt at all, but it did hurt, even if it was easily ignored, and she wasn't that cub anymore.
Lela stayed silent, but looked up at the dark lion quietly, eyes darting between the mean lioness and her... FATHER?!
"Forgive me for this, Denahi, but your daughter hasn't left me a choice." Mosi turned a hard, but calm glare on Bari even as her wound continued to bleed, slowly clotting. It had come to this? Mosi never expected to have to ban -anyone- from the Pridelands of all places. This place was the most peaceful...! How had it turned out someone Bari in the first place? What happened to make the girl so bitter?
No matter, she was just as much a threat as Nyekundu had been, and to ignore the danger was to run the risk of her stealing into the pride to kidnap "rogue" cubs just as that b*****d had, only her intentions could be far worse than just slavery.
"Baridi'A-kali, you're a danger to this pride and you've made your intentions painfully clear. You're banished. If any guard or scout or member of this pride finds you trespassing on these lands again you'll pay the consequences."
Denahi nodded. Good. Bari was old enough to make decisions on her own, without the old grump to be responsible for them. None the less, he still felt bad, as it was his daughter attacking one of the members of the council. He groaned inwardly, nodding towards Mosi as she told him to forgive her. That only meant something bad, terrible was about to happen, and frankly, Denahi was sure that the female was going to deserve it. “Do what you must,” he whispered to the black and white adult, turning his gaze away from his first daughter. His look said it all, he was ashamed. Ashamed of himself, and ashamed of what his family had become of.
Bari’s ears flattened against her skull. “You can’t do that!” She glared, snarling. “You can not ban me from my birth pride. I have done NOTHING wrong.” Obviously the fight she had just started and the threats she made to Mosi’s family and pride meant nothing to her. “She can’t do this. Father?” She spat out, her eyes wide, widly looking around. A lip rose when she got no reaction out of her father, and just the constant stare from her enemy.
”You’ll regret this, Rogue.” She sneered, her posture becoming a little too calm for her personality. “I would keep an extra eye on your mate and children now, it would be such a shame if something…ended up happening to them.” Bari smirked, leaving another empty threat as she turned on her haunches, stalking away, leaving the three dark colored lions to themselves.
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Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2008 2:01 pm
"..." Mosi licked the blood away from her muzzle with inward distaste as she shut her eyes when Bari finally turned and went, showing the first sign of nervousness in a very long time. It was difficult, painful hearing such threats against her family, her children-- they were her world. She didn't say it or show it often enough, but if anything were to ever happen to any of them she would no doubt do unspeakable things to the one that caused them harm, as near any mother would-- It was the fact that, being one so used to being able to do as she pleased and let her family do as they pleased and not think twice about it, the security that came with growing up in so peaceful a place that it melded into her attitude-- unlike her father who had grown up rogue. While he was lazy and seemed indifferent, he was fiercely over protective, and Mosi had never realized the difference until now. To let fear control their lives? Or to take their chances and go on like nothing happened?
"... I apologize again, Denahi," She could not bring herself to admit her guilt so easily, but she had pushed Bari to this. They were rivals with no love lost between them, but Mosi had pushed her to this, hadn't she? "I'm afraid this is half my fault. I shouldn't have let the argument get that far."
But it was Bari that made the real threats first. She didn't have to. She had been pushing too!
"... but I meant what I said. You shouldn't feel bad or responsible for this. Thank you for stepping in when you did."
Bright eyes waited for the form to be out of sight, and ear lengths for that matter, before turning his attention back to the council member. “Don’t apologize,” he said sternly, “She knows better than to fight. I think you two have been fighting since you were cubs anyways, haven’t you?” He smirked slightly, remember a few fights he had to break up, as well as Mosi’s father. “It’s a shame you two never could have been friends.” But Denahi knew that not all lions were capable of being just that. All of them were allowed an enemy, a rival, and Mosi’s was Bari’s; Just like Tamu, Denahi’s brother, was his own enemy.
”I don’t think it’s your fault. You were protecting your cub and our pride. I would’ve done the same thing in your posistion.” He nodded, though his small smile he held had faultered slightly. “I…just don’t know what I am going to tell Rehani…Good thing she is on a trip with the cubs.” He said with a small smile, giving him a few days to think of something.
His attention turned towards her wounds, then towards her cub. He leveled down to her level, giving her a small smile. “Why don’t you take your mommy to your daddy to get her wounds looked at.” Denahi smiled, turning his attention back to Mosi. “I’ll leave you two now,” He said quietly, moving away from the two black lions back to his den.
Mosi felt another pang of guilt as Denahi spoke, but took his advice firmly to heart if only for his sake. She wasn't the type to beat herself up usually, but once in a while she just had to stop to kick herself. Had she just risked her family's safety just to win that argument (because, would it have come to banishment otherwise?)? Really?
His words sunk in slowly though, and she was reminded a little bit of talking with her father or the late King Mufasa. It was nice to have that feeling again, since, once Mufasa died she lost her only remaining father figure (her own father had disbanded with her mother, a rogue's life really just suited them better it seemed.). "Yeah... I never thought we'd still be fighting now, though." She confirmed, recalling all those fights their fathers had broken up as well. She felt a little ashamed herself too there. Her eyes followed him as he ducked towards Lela, and Lela's response was to nod and step out from under her mother finally. Mosi's heart still felt heavy as she watched Denahi leave them to return home. Though she was sure she'd done right in the end, it still ached to know she had caused one family grief. Maybe she needed to go talk with Juhudi or Ezeoha, see what they thought. And, of course, she'd have to talk to Shomoro and the others as well, but that could wait.
"Come on momma, let's go home. Daddy's going to be really upset."
"Yeah... let's go home, kiddo."
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