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 Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 10:39 am
Ka was peering about, viewing the slates that jutted up from the sands and disappeared with the wind. Flicking his tail he glanced over his shoulder at his sister, Kai, his twin and his forever companion. Since they had arrived and been allowed to call this pride their home until their quarantine was up, Ka and his sister roamed everywhere, trying to get a sense of placement and history. These carvings, were done by a female they often saw and sought to talk to, but she always disappeared before they got a chance.
The female was black and gray, with red as well adorning her pelt, Mzaa, he heard someone say, a rogue that had joined up with the rebellion, that was all they knew. They wondered if she was a historian, but they could not be sure, but the carvings were so intricate, and indeed held purpose. Ka wanted nothing more than to know everything, and be able to call this place his home in time.
Kai watched her brother and shook her head at him. he sought to know every incision made here, but she wanted to hear the truth spoken, not read it all from carvings and visual depictions. Voice, voice and actions made change and had sparked what occurred on this sand, in these dunes. She took a deep breath, and felt at home. Something she had never felt truly when she was in the pridelands with her mother who she and her brother feared. But now, they were safe, and their strength and will would be set aflame forever here.
"Ka, we need to speak to others, we've met with Ra'd and Ryujin, but we need to hear the truth, meet other individuals, how are we going to become a true part of this pride if we don't branch out?" her brother gave her a nod and she smiled at him, she was definitely the brains between them, though, now that they had a plan, who to meet further?
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Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 10:50 am
Snakes, Kidondo thought idly, what were their uses in the world?
He watched the young adult snake sleeping in the sunshine - or pretending to sleep in any case. It was sleek and black, not a marking to be seen on his scaled body. In fact, he was very much like No in appearance. Except that when he opened his eyes, they were not soft green like hers. They were vivid eyes of polished jade - bright and luminous.
They scared him a little.
"You there. Snake." He called, unsure how one spoke to a creature who was considered a lesser being. He was about to prove how wrong he was. "What is your name? What is your purpose here?"
It was a moment before the snake responded and when he did the movement was slow and lazy. He loosened his coils and drew up his handsome head. He was lean and slick and shining obsidian under the desert sun.
He looked dangerous.
His eyes fixed on the lion and for a moment his head swayed from side to side. Then, after another long moment, the cobra spoke, his words low and hissing.
"Itzcoatl, oh Great Red Lion of the Sssandsss." He blinked. "That isss my name, though what ussse it isss to you I do not know." For a moment he lifted his head to the sky and gave a small 'thinking' sound deep in his throat.
"Ahh...change isss in the wing, my Lord."
Kidondo frowned. What an odd creature. He seemed distant, aloof, and almost as if he had no idea how to properly communicate with a lion. Well...could he be surprised? He had no idea how to communicate with a cobra.
His eyes kept close watch of those deadly fangs, then, content that the snake meant him no harm he continued.
"Change? Change is always in the wind, Itzcoatl." He gave a gruff sound in his throat and opened to speak again when the distant sound of voices reached him.
The snake was flicking his tongue as the lion turned his head to spot the twins No had recently spoken with. They were rogues under quarantine and exceptionally Firekin-alike, they were.
He pulled himself into a sit and narrowed his eyes at the cobra - who appeared content to remain seated. "Watch your tongue snake." Then, with a grumbling sound of greeting he rose and took a step in the direction of these new faces.
"Greetings, friends. Let me guess. You are Ka and Kai, yes? The twins No recently accepted to stay here?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 11:01 am
Ka turned to his sister and gave her a look arching his brow, "Must you always be better witted then me?" Kai merely gave him a smirk and he laughed, "As always as my size will tower to yours, no matter, together, here, we fit, nothing will change that, and soon Ra'd and Ryujin will have their chance as we do now, I know it upsets you Kai, but you must not let emotions waver your judgement."
"And since when has that happened? You know we came here as a right of passage so we could be our own and be part of something bigger and more grand that what we had been a part of before, and you know it. Besides, with your brute strength over-powering your brain of yours, I'll always have the upper paw on you," she said coyly sticking out her tongue.
A voice then caught him, and his sister, he noted, for she turned her head as well. A smile crossed his maw when he saw who approached, who better to speak with and become more known with that the other Regent himself, Kidondo. Ka turned himself to face forward at Kidondo, and Ka walked towards him to meet him halfway from where he stood. Kai followed, and Ka stopped, giving Kidondo a sincere smile, "Good afternoon Kidondo, its a pleasure to meet you."
"Its always a pleasure to meet anyone here, sir," Kai said with a smile, at her brother's side. "especially you as we met with No, it only seems fitting to meet the other half of the whole," she said with a nod. "We are, who you believe us to be, if not by mere appearance you'd be able to tell," Kai said with a light laugh. "My brother and I were looking at these slates that we've seen another member of the pride carve into, there are depictions of other members, even some battles, its interesting, as we've not learned completely of the rebellion."
"Although, of course, we have learned of the rebellion, Kidondo, though details, are not spoken all the time," Ka knew Kidondo would understand, at least he hoped so. Some lions and lionesses might do well to keep details to themselves, as they would not want to disclose them.
"We are so appreciative of you and No, sir, this place, it gives my brother and I somewhere we feel we can belong. The home, if yo could call it that, that we left behind, was nothing like this, this place, its so...perfect, for us."
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Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 11:19 am
Kidondo's head was spinning. What a pair these two made! It was as if they were one being born of two bodies. What would they be like if they were split apart? What would it be like to meet one and not the other? Like meeting only half a person? A torn soul longing to be back with its partner?
This brother and sister clearly held a bond that most siblings could not even comprehend - himself included. Odd really, that his closest siblings were not his litter-mates, but those he adopted as sister and brother through the lack of anything. He had plenty of blood siblings, yes, but only Kaanga remained and she was somewhat...distant now a days.
"I am glad to hear of it." He could not help a low chuckle. "No was very impressed with the both of you. I have heard good things. I hope you will find the desert comfortable enough during your quarantine here." He paused. "All goes well, I hope? I must say, from your tones, it seems that all is well."
He seated himself again, content to let this meeting lapse into something informal and companionable. These two certainly were the chatty sorts and though he was not used to such a large amount of conversation, he found it calmed him greatly.
Therapeutic?
"Home." He repeated. That certainly answered his previous questions. "Many find the desert rough and...how should I put it? Bland? Harsh? Whatever it may be, I love it deeply and I'm glad to see it has taken your heart in the same way."
He flicked an ear idly. "I must say I have been curious about your coming. The bird came to us a while back - it seems - and gave us a little of your story. I am ashamed to admit it, but we did not take the bird's words very seriously. We are not used to communing with creatures other than lions here." His eyes flicked to the snake who was drawing forwards curiously.
"Birds like yours are rare here. We get the odd buzzard, a lizard and a...snake. All food, too, I must say. Though perhaps not the snakes."
The cobra arched his proud neck and puffed as if terribly offended. Then, with an easy motion, he crossed the sand to settle between the lions, letting his head rock back and forth to glance between the faces.
"New lionssss." He hissed, more to himself than anything. "Red and Black. Red and Black. Power. Danger!" He gave a bout of hissing laughter then fell quiet, his beady eyes poised on the faces of the twins.
"Two sssidesss of the sssame tree, my Lord?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 11:32 am
Ka smiled and sat on his haunches as well, and his sister did the same as he. Ka listened to Kidondo speak, and Ka nodded, "Our home, where we came from, was strange, if anything easy to label it as such. Though we had a large family, it was a strange one, as as we grew, we grew, uneasy, that is, of our mother at least, our father we never knew, or will know I believe, my mother never spoke of him."
"She never spoke much at all to us anyway," Kai said with a little bit of a shrug. Kai laughed when she heard of Kessek's journey, "Oh yes! We sent Kessek here when we were much too young to come ourselves. We wanted to wait until we were old enough and strong enough to make the journey. We wanted to leave all together, Ka, myself, my older brotherRyujin, and our dear friend Ra'd, Ryujin and Ra'd you will meet in time, only when the time is right of course," she smiled.
"Kessek is a wonderful creature, we saved her, from a snake no doubt, and she believes she is indebted to us, and so she stays with us, and acts as a mere messenger between us, our brother and friend, so that we can still speak, if not in person, through her. Kessek is smart, and we were grateful she came here for us, we would've liked to tell you our story ourselves, but we felt it at least appropriate to send word of our forthcoming," Ka said with a flick of his tail.
"We can understand your waryness of her as well though, an avian saying a group will come is a bit strange, but we are glad we did as we had. We were planning our move since we heard stories of change on the wind, and what we heard, we wanted, we said nothing else to our family, it was between us, so that our move would be secret," Kai didn't admit though, that she was glad it was secret so her mother wouldn't know. "Parents can be strange, I suppose, but at least we were raised for the time being there that made us strong enough to come here."
"I apologize for us both if we go on and on sometimes, sometimes we can't help it Kidondo," Ka chuckled.
Kai nodded as well.
"Although, we did want to meet you as well, to see if there was anything else that you yourself wanted to here us disclose to you, so that a beter undersading of who my sister and I are, would be known to you spoken by us, and not heard from others,"
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Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 11:45 am
Kidondo eyed the snake angrily but was not brave enough to physically push him away. One wrong move and that cobra would have his teeth set into his flesh. He would not die by a snake-bite, certainly not!!
However, he did his best to ignore the irritant, wanting to focus on the pair of intriguing to-be-Firekin before him. "Don't apologise. I have spent too much time in silence, I think. It will be good to have some cheer and chatter about the place. The desert can become a solemn and silent land for all that it has seen. You two will be the breath of fresh air that it so desperately needs."
He paused. "It sounds like you have had a hard life. I cannot truly comprehend what you have been through. I knew my father, I loved him dearly, and though our views eventually had us fighting on opposite sides, I could never find hate in him. He did what he thought was right and I respect him for it still. My mother, I did not know much of my mother. Her name, yes. She was Karama. A beauty to be sure, but not my father's mate. She was a fleeting figure in my life. I feel no bond with her and yet I do not blame her either. It was only in her character - I think - that she was not around as much. And, with so many other females in the pride to care for me, I never went without a mother-figure in my life."
He paused. "Your mother is the reason why you are here, is that right? You have a disagreement with her? That is what the bird said - or along those lines. Where is she now? At the place of your birth? Does she know you are here?"
Sensing that his presence was not wanted, the cobra slithered to one side, closer to the twins, closer to see the odd markings upon their pelts. Odd. Very odd. He'd been told that markings meant something. Told, too, that the lack of them meant something also. He himself bore no mark - unlike his brother - and yet it did not bother him.
Marks, in his mind, often portrayed a sin. Often portrayed a wrong. He was pure black, not a mark to hinder his handsome scales.
"Your mother'sss marksss?" He whispered quietly.
This snake, though it wasn't widely known, came from a superstitious family. He found meaning in every colour, every action and every mark. Half of his mutterings were nonsense, but sometimes they rang truth - though in all honesty this was probably down to coincidence.
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Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 11:59 am
Ka listened to Kidondo's voice and story, and he felt somewhat of a strange bond between him and Kidondo, they seemed to have similar experiences, almost as if meant to be. "Our mother, she, its hard to explain without us sounding strange as well. Also, to explain in a way that others would not think ill of my sister and I. My brother Ryujin, has had no troubles with our mother as we had, but we feared for his safety, our other siblings were stronger, but Ryujin, he was the first born and our mother doted on him, but as we grew older, so did... certain strengths of ours." Ka watched the snake idlely, but made no sudden movements of ill manner towards the creature.
"You see, Kidondo, my..our mother, she is a goddess," the way Kai spoke those words, one would believe she was speaking of something ill about herself she distasted. "When my brother and I would sleep, or when we were together, we received visions of our mother's past, it scared us, who she was, and who she could not remember she had been. Something about her, she is..torn in two, and her control, it is strange Kidondo...and no, she had no idea where we are, nor would she venture this far I believe. A vision we had once, something about the sand, nowhere near here that we've seen, but sand, something about an area like it, brings a memory back I believe she does not want to revisit."
"Forgive my sister and I, even our brother, for not disclosing the information sooner. But we do not want to be looked upon for visions, we do not see them as strengths at all, only something that lead us towards hte right path for us both," Ka was greatly worried that them being born from a goddess, would bring ill intentions on them.
Kai looked towards the snake, and tilted her head, "And you, sly beast, are you one of visions? Strange you speak of the marking on us we share, it is the same mark our mother bore, the mark that, because we wore it upon our pelts, she feared us, and did not..want us," Kai looked towards the ground, her paw clenching a bit. To think they were not loved because of a mark that they even shared with their mother, she detested the fact.
"if, Kidondo, if ever, she came here, please know and never forget that my sister and I ourselves would fight her and protect these lands in the name and honor of ourselves and this pride to make her leave," Ka spoke with force in his voice, confidence, courage. "This pride, is more of a home and family to us that she could ever be, and we would fight until our last days if we had to."
"Yes," Kai said following, "She gave to us, perhaps some would see as a gift, but we see it as an inheritance of the one who actually pushed us towards a path where we would fit." In truth, Kai and Kai believed they had no mother, along with no father. "My brother and I, because of her beliefs of what we looked like, what we bore, we've never had a mother nor a father figure, and we'd never look back to her for it."
"So please, believe us when we say our pride and loyalty is with this pride, our home here, and never from where we came."
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Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 3:35 pm
Many emotions fell upon Kidondo then. Yes, he did suddenly feel slightly nervous around them. However, he had to admit that he could understand their predicament. They were not the only ones to have odd visions in their sleep. He, too, often had these dreams that were not simply just dreams. They were more. They were different.
He set his jaw and his face suddenly grew serious.
"I have never met a Goddess so it may seem unfair of me to judge them so. And yet I have great need to hate the deities who see fit to play with mortals. You will know this through tales of Finar-Si." The name of the forgotten patron was bitter in his mouth. He did not know the true nature of his mother. He had never seen her in goddess form and had no reason to believe that she was not what he had seen with his own two eyes.
Kidondo did not trust magic. He did not trust his own seer abilities. He trusted only nature, instinct and what he could conceive as being possible. The fact that these Gods and Goddesses could meddle so much without flickering an eyelid disturbed and angered him. And here before him was proof that Finar-Si was not the only one playing games.
"I have never met Finar-Si and I have never met another of her 'kind' and yet I know that I would not trust them. Not in the slightest. I was suspicious of seers too, I'll admit this readily enough. I have...knowledge in that department and I can tell you, you are not the only seers that dwell here in the sands. Whether it is some curse of Finar-Si's doing or the reality that a Goddess' blood does run in our veins, many of the Firekin are born with this trait. My own, banished sister is proof enough of this. Your view on these visions pleases me, however. I think much of the same myself." He hesitated, then continued. "Perhaps she had a feud with Finar-Si in her past. Either way, I trust your judgement on her."
"Visssionsss?" Itzcoatl replied, somewhat distant, as if he were not completely focused on the words he was hearing or saying. "No, Lion of the Sssandsss. I am not a time-walker." His eyes lifted to focus upon Kai, his gaze cloudy. "You do not need to have a ssseer'sss blood to make predictionsss. There are cluesss everywhere if you were to look. The sssky, the wind, the twisssted shapesss of the marksss upon your body. It isss a knowledge - a sssuperssstition sssome might sssay - passssed down to me by the onesss who brought my creation."
He paused again, as if to catch his breath, tongue flicking testily. "A curssse then? If you believe in sssuch a thing. Sssome don't. Sssome laugh at cursssesss, call them foolisssh, sssuperssstitiousss nonsssenssse. I would not. I believe. There are curssses jussst asss there are blesssingsss."
He narrowed his eyes and jabbed his head at them. "Beware, young Lionsss of the Sssandsss, beware of the mark!"
Almost distressed at the snake's words, Kidondo was thankful for Ka's interruption, nodding briskly and making an eager move to speak. "If that day ever comes, Ka, Kai, then you will not stand alone to fight her."
His eyes went between each of their faces - young but clearly determined to prove themselves. They might not seem it - but there was a fighter's blood in them, some fiery determination that made it clear this was where they belonged.
He knew then that they'd pass their quarantine.
"When you rise to become full-fledged members, you will be our kin. Kin forever. If this cursed Goddess comes looking for you, she will find more than she bargained for. She will find her children and at their sides a pride of warriors ready to do battle with her. A Goddess is immortal, or so they say, I'd be willing to say otherwise." He was almost ready for a fight now, prepared to put down one of the creatures who saw it fit to play with those they deemed 'lesser beings'.
Just as he'd done with the snake...apparently.
He turned cautious eyes back to the cobra, but he seemed to be staring - as if in a trance - out across the desert. He fought the urge to follow the snake's gaze and instead returned to regard the twins.
"I will never believe otherwise." He replied, his voice soft but firm.
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Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 9:10 pm
Finar-si, Ka made sure to remember that name for if stories were ever told to him, or to his sister, that they would know the name and meaning behind her, what she stood for, her teachings, if any, or what she had done or created. Immortals were a strange thing indeed, his aunt...or, however she was quite related, to them, was not as there mother was to them as she was to themselves. Her children, were even more calm, "I assure you Kidondo, my sister and I have left our mother, her sister, and her sister's children far behind us, we never had a great bond with them, only with one another, our brother, Ra'd, only them," with unfaltering eyes and the want for Kidondo to believe his every word, Ka did not falter in his speech.
The thought of other seers here, prospects of it, were strange indeed. "Our brother, who in time will venture here from outside the borders to meet yourself and No with Ra'd at another time, he is from our same litter, but he has shown no signs of seeristic power upon him, that I want to say for him as he is not here to say it himself," Ka wanted to make sure for when his brother ventured here, no such question would be needed to be asked.
Kai's eyes fell onto the serpent who spoke to her, and she bit her tongue nad held herself in a composure fit. To have such things said angered her. Her mark, yes, her mother believed it curse, a sign of a curse she carried and believed Ka and Kai held for their own. But Kai's mother did not seem to understand, instead of being torn in two as she was, ka and Kai were merely two parts of one being, there was no curse, at least, Kai did not want to believe in such a thing.
"Believe as you wish, and I shall do the same," she said simply, though she stood where her heart and pride was, and she knew it was not good to waver. "The only thing to beware of this mark, is if my mother see's it," and she said no more, her simple statement implied that if her mother saw it, it might be the last thing she would see.
Ka's eyes met Kidondo's when he spoke those words, saying that he adn his sister would not have to fight alone, and he felt comfort, and joy in his soul. "Those words mean a lot to me Kidondo, as I'm sure they do with my sister. Our loyalty is with you, this pride-"
"-and we will fight if ever need be, against her, or any force that threatens us," Kai finished. She smiled then, and felt better, better knowing that Kidondo's knew their little secret, and that they would not be judged harshly for what they had not asked to be brought upon them.
At that moment, that moment then, both Ka and Kai, truly felt at home in the presence of Kidondo with sand beneath their paws.
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 10:26 am
And he did believe them. He had a good sense of judgement and he liked to think he was good at seeing into another’s heart. To look into their eyes was to see their hearts. They were not lying. “I trust you both. I do. I look forward to meeting your companions and seeing whether they, too, meet the standards that you have.” He smiled. “You are a breath of fresh air to this pride. You have something in you that spells Firekin clearly and yet you have something else. Something perhaps far more valuable. You have one another and in your togetherness you bring life to this pride with your voices and your cheer. Despite everything you have been through you can smile and smile genuinely. We need more of that around here.”
He nodded and filed the information about their sibling away in his memory for later use.
He paused as Kai addressed the snake.
Itzcoatl seemed to smile then, the corner’s of his mouth curving very slightly upwards. It wasn’t an amused smile – if a smile at all – but it seemed to add the glint of insanity to his eyes. Insane or wise – it was never clear which he was. Some said the two came hand in hand. Maybe they did. Either way the cobra seemed in no hurry to leave.
He had a proposition for Kidondo that he had not yet touched upon.
“Indeed.” His reply was curt. “Then, Lionsss of the Sssandsss, be sssure to masssk yourssselves. Your mother’sss urge to find her children may overcome her fear of thisss place.”
“I do apologise for him.” Kidondo thrummed. “He is the child of the snakes that are occasionally in the company of No – though I must say, I have barely seen them at all since our time here. An odd bunch. Until now, none have approached so boldly.”
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Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 1:27 pm
"Seems to be slightly attached to you or No as Kessek is to us, although I've never heard of many doing such a thing. Though what you say to my sister and I we are truly grateful and honored," Ka said with a smile and a nod.
"And in time when it is right, our brother and friend will venture here to seek out your permission to prove themselves one day as we will to you," Kai was already eagerly waiting for that day when their little family could be reunited, so that Ra'd and Ryujin could be with them no matter what with no boundaries between them anymore.
"My sister and I eagerly seek out to meet others here, and learn other tales and traditions of the pride, and we will do so so that we both will know everything about our new home, this I swear to you Kidondo, we will do whatever is necessary to finally have a home of our own."
"We will not let you down, for you and No have given us such an opportunity we will make yo proud of us," Kai interjected with a smile. Finally, she and her brother would have a home, and would rove their worth to the pride which Kai was also very eager to do.
"Please, let myself or my sister know if there is anything or anyone needing aiding with anything needing to be done-"
"We would be happy to help."
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