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 Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:54 pm
Gzifa had never been nocturnal unless she had to be. Not because she was secretly afraid of the dark. She totally wasn't. Just because watching the sunrise, to her, had always been better than seeing it set. Rising into the sky to greet the world just seemed much more hopeful than having it leave. Gzifa had a real issue with abandonment, even when it was the sun.
For that reason she'd woke up every time Banji so much as twitched out of pattern with his breathing, concerned if she didn't, she'd wake up to find yet another friend MIA. When she woke up in the morning for the last time, miracle of miracles he was still there. She smiled to herself and thanked the god she'd prayed to that had kept him there.
Off in the distance three figures were fast approaching. Two large, one small. Too big to be a bunny, but too small to be another lion. Just large enough to be--
"Cricket?" Why was she with lions? "Banji." A paw reached out and nudged him roughly. "Banji, wake up. Cricket's coming with some lionesses."
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:55 pm
Banji, on the other hand, had slept like a rock. Her voice, ear-piercing though it was most of the time, did nothing other than give him a reason to roll in the other direction. He stirred only at the contact. It did make her voice less fuzzy. When she started sounding worried he bothered listening. Then, he himself was worried. Lionesses?
"Who?" He sat up quickly. Poor eyes barely had time to adjust. There were a number of women who he was sure wanted to smite him. Mto was one of the last ones he wanted to see. Lakisa he barely knew, but she was insane. There was a wild dog with them he didn't really notice. One glance at the others was all it took for him to turn tail and try to run.
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:56 pm
There was nothing she had in common with Banji other than how well she'd slept the night before. Her dreams had been of smacking him repeatedly in the face until it knocked some sense into him. There was no redemption for him now if he'd left multiple women. Not unless he could gather them all, get forgiveness, and make up for lost time with the other children she'd learned from Mto before they slept he had.
She wasn't sure how he'd react to their... wake up call. Nothing was going to surprise her, she knew that much. When he tried to run she stayed true to that knowledge. Her muscles ached from all this walking (out of shape, pssh), yet still she found the stamina to spring forward and pounce him before he could get far.
"Now don't go trying to run off like that! We've come to drag you back to the Mtaishi with those children you left where you belong!"
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:57 pm
Mto hadn't slept well, but she never did. There were visions of squabbling couples as per usual. This was the first time, probably the only time, she didn't mind it. If she got a good nights rest she wouldn't be in enough of a bad mood to be a worthy partner for Lakisa (and maybe Cricket) in this little intervention.
If Lakisa's weight wasn't enough to prevent him from moving, Mto's would be. She joined the other female in pinning him. "Do you know how many things I've had to see because of you?!" The message would be lost on everyone but Banji. That was fine. He was the only one who had to get the real meaning.
"Every night almost!"
That was a bit more questionable.
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:02 pm
Cricket watched the enraged femme fatal's maul their target like he really was a zebra. This entire thing had been her idea to begin with, yet now that it was playing out before her, she had no idea what to do. She took a seat beside her mother and, at least for now, reasoned observation was the best (aka safest) solution. She was increasingly glad she'd sent Kirala off for right now. This was not a safe place for a hare in the least.
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:03 pm
Gzifa barked like a yappy house dog at an intruder when her friend found himself being squashed by the damsel duo. She rounded them once, barking the entire circle. "Hey, you! Stop! Get off him!" They hadn't shed blood so she wasn't going to attack them. If she did, what would it have done? She barely managed to hunt birds. Sometimes she backed off from that. Their beaks were scary. A lion claw had the potential for much more damage. Not something she wanted to find out first hand if she could help it.
When Cricket was close enough to speak with over the yells she screeched at her, "What are they doing?!"
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:06 pm
Crushed under the weight of a well fed pride lioness and the daughter of a goddess, Banji was surprised his ribs hadn't been crumbled into dust. Lakisa of all lions should have sympathized with the tenderness of his old age. He'd have been jealous of how much better shape she was in had he been granted that much free time between the pain in his back, his face, his legs, his--well, everywhere, really.
"Ladies, please. Can't we be reasonable about this? If you'll just--" Cough. Hack. Gag. "Just let me explain. I can explain everything."
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:09 pm
Explain? Lakisa could have laughed out loud.
Scratch that, she did laugh. Her body weight didn't shift a bit unless it was to breath. Her claws extended just enough for him to feel, as if to prove just how much trouble he was in. They were serious this time. If those women wouldn't stand up to him, someone had to. She wasn't about to fall for his sweet talking charms. "Just answer while you're pinned. You can obviously still talk."
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:10 pm
Mto wasn't as amused as her partner in justice. This was indeed justice at it's finest. An eye for an eye, as the saying went. They should change it to a broken heart for a broken leg. She moved down some and leaned all her weight on his right back leg. The rambling did nothing but make her hiss. "You best answer if you want to keep this leg!"
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:11 pm
Guilt hit Cricket like a wave against the shore. She had her ideals. Ideals she lived by. True, one of them was that running away as a father from a family who wanted you was a big no-no. But another was using violence to solve problems. This wasn't going to help.
"Hey, stop it!" They seriously were going to try and break his legs?! "This isn't going to help anything! He said he'd talk to us, so just let him talk!"
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:12 pm
Gzifa was all about talking. Except for now. This was one of those situations action spoke louder than words. Saying and doing could mean the difference between a broken leg. Since Gzifa came from a line of females able to multi-task (or maybe she was the start of that line), she managed both.
"Yeah, leave him alone!" she cried out and tackled the black of the black and white pair to no avail. Mto did little more than budge and growl at her. "You're gonna hurt him!"
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:15 pm
"Listen," Banji coughed. There was an uncomfortable snapping noise. He feared that was the red flag he was finally a dead man. Not that he didn't deserve this. He'd waited for death to come for him for a while now. Once, even dared it to. He'd just hoped it would come and claim him in his sleep, rather than as two psychotic women when he'd just woken up.
"I left Tayhira because those children aren't natural." Damn, should have said 'my', he realized. There was still time to salvage this fake sob story. "I worried they weren't going to be happy not knowing what they really were. I thought they'd live a better life with just Tayhira, thinking they were leopards. I thought she could tell them their father was a leopard, too."
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:16 pm
Did he seriously think she was about to buy that? Lakisa laughed again, sounding more like a maniac the second time around then she realized. She shifted back, sat on him. He was being truthful about one thing; Lakisa was old. Too old to sleep too little, walk too much then stay standing on some good for nothing. She'd pin him fine sitting down.
"Well, then that's no problem. They already know what they are. The whole pride knows. No one cares. Except for you, I guess, and you'll just have to get over it."
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:20 pm
Mto wasn't anymore convinced than the other individual smashing his face in the ground. He wasn't even worthy to eat the dirt if he lied once someone finally had it in them to corner him for all the things he'd done. She took a massive paw and smacked him across the face. A good old bitchslap worked wonders. The annoying wild dog she could save for later to deal with.
"What's your excuse for all the other ones then, hm?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:21 pm
Cricket was a wordy one, and she'd have had no way to describe her reaction to what just happened had she been narrating this tale of insanity other than she freaked. Freaked the hell out. Mto didn't strike her as one to take mercy on somebody who would go headbutting her in the side. Lions really were batshit crazy
When she found the nerve to move again she snatched her mother by the neck and drug her back. So far, she'd hurt her more than any of the lions had, but it was for a good cause. They really didn't need to stick around any longer. She pushed her until she ran, then ran herself. When Gzifa was somewhere out of harms way, she'd return.
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