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 Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 8:14 pm
In the near distance, Tejasvi could hear the reassuring sound of her own cubs laughing, playing beneath the trees of her clan's den. It was good to know, in her heart, that she and Kianga had provided the next generation with a litter of strong, healthy cubs that would see the ideals of the pride onward. It was the thought of all the other cubs, those of other females, that she could not be sure of. Once, she would have believed that there were none in her pride that would raise their cubs to have any doubts, but with so many leaving the lands, she was beginning to wonder.
A deep sigh escaped her maw, the bright green eyes of the adhi-raj shutting slowly as she let the world around her fade away for a moment. It was a heavy burden she carried, though it was a little easier with the support of Usha as well. They would have to deal with this soon, but it would be a messy task, and until it was dealt with she knew it would continue to plague her. Every time she looked in the eyes of her cubs, every time a little body passed her by, she would think of it. She leaned her head against the cool bark of the tree she was reclined beneath, listening for anyone that might approach.
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 8:23 pm
She had spent some time settling herself back into the lands that she had always thought of as her home. Her old clearing had grown over a bit but she'd been able to clear it out and found it much in the same shape she'd left it. A bit of plant tending and she'd have everything she needed to continue on as always.
All she needed were more lioness to join her clan. That was going to be the tricky part but she knew she and Kamaria could figure something out. She had even spied a nice fit male that would suit her well enough for the next generation. That would at least give her young minds that she could make sure knew how they were expected to act.
Shaking her head a bit she wandered though the lands between the clans homes. The words Tejasvi had told her on her return still plagued her mind a bit. The pride being eaten from the inside wasn't something that could stand. She just had to keep herself in check until after it was delt with properly.
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 8:38 pm
For a few moments, Tejasvi was too lost in her thoughts to really register the sound of someone approaching from amongst the sound of her cubs playing a short distance away. They were in the clearing, of course, and in an entirely different direction - that meant that she had to be quite lost in thought to let herself be confused in such a way.
Her eyes fluttered open quickly as she finally realized someone was coming closer, her head tilting up to see the purple tones emerging from the pride's lands. "Kichaa," she said, pushing herself up from her laying position to sit instead, regal and formal all at once, leaving her lazy grace behind her.
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 8:41 pm
Her head swung around as she heard her name. "I must be psychic." She remarked idly to herself. IT was a bit odd that she'd been thinking of the queen and then she'd more or less appeared in front of her.
"You look like you still have far too much on your mind." She stopped a bit away from the other lioness and sat back on her haunches.
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 8:48 pm
Tejasvi smiled weakly at Fichaa's comment, shaking her head in a defeated manner as she looked down at the earth beneath her paws. "It is a hard burden to carry and it will be hard and heavy on my shoulders until it is sorted out," she shrugged her shoulders, though it was a slight gesture, as if to emphasize the strain of the invisible burden that lay upon them.
"Even then, when does an Adhi-raj not have a lot on her mind?" The last words were said with a slight touch of amusement, her air a bit more lighthearted now that she had a companion to at least divulge her mind in if not take the thoughts away from the subject within it completely.
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 8:54 pm
"at least it is one that can be solved." She figured it could be solved easily enough but she knew that everyone didn't share all her views on how to deal with things. "Have you called together the council?" Kamaria hadn't said anything to her so she figured not yet but it was at least something to ask.
"I would think that on occasion there is nothing on the Adhi-raj's mind. Rare but it must happen on occasion. Everyone has that salvation." It would most likely be a far less occurring thing for someone like the queen.
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 8:57 pm
She frowned and shook her head slowly at the thought, a little disappointed with herself for getting things going so slowly. "I'm afraid I have not. I've still got to talk with Usha and between all the things the two of us must see to, my family, and her trying to start her own, we find there is little time to see one another." It was truly a shame, for not only was Usha her partner in ruling this pride, she had grown up being one of Tejasvi's closest friends.
"Well, there are times, they have just begun to come fewer and farther between lately," she murmured, flicking her tail. She wished there were more times when nothing plagued her mind, but she knew better than to hold her breath.
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 9:01 pm
"Mm...Perhaps it is something that needs to take presidence over others. If it weights too much on your mind it could begin to affect other aspects of your mind." She knew that well enough being a product of a twisted mind that had twisted her own. "The quicker you deal with things the quicker things will quiet and you can go back to having your thoughts to your self for a bit."
She reached up and rubbed at the ear that the feather that showed her rank in her own clan was attached to. "It would not do for the one who leads us to be burried under problems we've created."
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 9:10 pm
"I suppose you're right," she frowned, furrowing her brows as she let the thoughts cross her mind. She knew that if she let the burden rest upon her too long it would eventually begin to weigh on her in ways she couldn't imagine at the moment.
She shook her head and picked it up again, raising her chin a little so that she could look Kichaa in the eye instead of staring down at the ground. She was young and betimes, under extreme pressure, she still resorted to acting her age. "I can't let that happen, the pride depends upon me too much. I'll have to force time to speak with Usha, lest this get out of paw and I find myself in more trouble than this problem presents by itself."
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 9:17 pm
She smirked slightly at the others words. "That is the bright and determined cub i knew." She truthfully couldn't remember much of the queen when she was younger, generally since others outside her little realm of focus weren't at all important to her, but she remembered a bit.
"You have always taken after your mother. I am sure you can deal with things and return the pride to balance. I would suspect that if any of those on the council are to blame for the ... problems ... that it will become obvious quickly. Then you will know where the problems stem from"
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 9:24 pm
The praise brought on an unexpected swell of pride in the queen, though she fought it down and only acknowledged it with a smile and an incline of her head. She fought hard to live up to her mother's name and to have someone that knew her so well give her such a compliment was enough to make her giddy. She knew this was not time to act like a child given their favorite treat, though. "Thank you," she simply said, "I try very hard to make her proud."
"I'm not so sure that there are any council members directly to blame for the problems," she said finally, frowning as she tried to work the thoughts through her head. "I think, perhaps, it may be the lack of discipline that the council has been stressing upon the pride as a whole. In the absence of many older members, either taken from us in the time of the plague or sent out by my mother, it left room for a lot of younger council-members to be raised." She did not think that age was any excuse to be lax (she herself was not that old) but she thought it might have a great deal to do with it.
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 9:32 pm
"I am sure she is proud of you. She would not have made you her heir if she didn't believe you could live up to what she expected" She had been sad upon returning to know that the former queen, and one of her former friends, was gone. She had respected the lioness greatly. She knew that her daughter would be a good leader though and she was not afraid to ask for advice when she needed it.
"At least you have Kamaria returned to you." She would have been on the council herself but she and her mate had decided it was for the best if Kamaria took that responsibility. She herself often made rash decisions and while she figured that the pride would run smoother if her ways were listened to more often she did at least know that not everyone would agree. "I would say that if those of the council are still those in high rank in the clans that they are at least partially to blame. They are responsible for what the cubs of their clans learn."
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 9:53 pm
She nodded again at Kichaa's words, smiling fondly at the thought of her mother. How she hoped that she had made the right decision, though she did not doubt her self now. Time would tell - in the end, on her judgment day after this life, if she broke the circle and found her peace in the after life, she would know if she had done well. If not, well, she would return to slave another lifetime in this earth and repent her sins.
"I am very thankful to have Kamaria back," she said with a little relief in her words, "with she and my aunt on the council, I feel as if some of the older influence may come back to it." She tilted her head at Kichaa's second opinion, however, considering it in silence for a time. Her tail snaked behind her through the grass and brush, rustling fallen leaves. Finally, she simply nodded with a sigh. "You are right, though many of the wayward clubs are from Usha's clan. She doesn't have the time to hold the mother's paws and guide them to raise their children properly and her bonded is the female raised to council." She had her own opinion as to why that was - probably because Usha had little faith in the other females in her clan (which seemed to be proven a correct assumption). She knew she wouldn't have to explain that to Kichaa. "As members of a royal clan, they themselves should know the honor at stake better than any, and yet.." She trailed off, shrugging her shoulders in a gesture that explained it all.
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 10:04 pm
Her nose scrunched slightly. She herself believed it was the responsiblity of the clans leader to make sure that all the cubs were brought up correctly. She involved herself in helping teaching all the cubs that had been born into her clan before. That way if there was fault found with them she could quickly quell it.
"And yet they do not. I do hate to lay blame but they are under Usha's paw and she should make sure they are all learning correctly and acting correctly. I do know my ways are a bit .... off at times but they do work." Everyone wasn't as harsh as she was though and she could not teach the cubs of others clans for them. "It is not a comforting thought but you can not always be kind to those you wish to be kind to. Some times the kindest thing you can give them is a good cuff in the head and a reminder of what is expected of them"
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Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 10:15 pm
Tejasvi's brows rose a bit at Kichaa's brash and rather bold statements, though she was no exactly angry at the lioness. More, simply, surprised by her. There were few who would talk about cuffing am Adhi-raj over the back of the head, even by implying that it should be done by the other Adhi-raj herself. In a way, it was vaguely endearing, because Kichaa was not completely prim and proper. Although she knew that she would have to put the lioness in her place if she continued in such a manner. It was not a thought she relished, but it was for her own sake and honor as much as to maintain the balance of leader and follower.
"Usha carries as many burdens as I do and without an heir securely beneath her, she has much more to worry about. We may be the clan leaders of our clans, but part of being born into our families means that the goddess expected them to maintain a certain degree of honor, to not need the guidance that you and the other matrons must bestow upon your own clans." She shook her head, gazing up at the older lioness with a fixed frown. "This troubles Usha as deeply as it does myself. The only thing we can fathom is that it was a seed planted long ago - mothers raising their cubs improperly, the seed growing and blossoming until we get this.. current generation. There has been a certain degree of degradation."
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