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 Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2009 1:55 pm
 Approaching the borders of the pride, Twiga found herself feeling a little nervous. Following the clues and trails she had picked up in her travels, she felt confident that she had finally found the place she had been looking for this whole time- the pride she had told her mother she wouldn’t stop looking for until it was found. This was it. All her searching was finally coming to a head and she was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The metaphors were mixing.
Tentatively, she looked around, unsure of herself now that she was at the place. The whole time she had been roaming she had been eager and confident- just waiting and wanting to get to her new home. Now, though, all she could feel was the sickening churning of her stomach as her nerves rose to her throat and made her feel like she was going to vomit.
What if they didn’t want her?
What if she wasn’t good enough for them?
Claws gripping the earth, she looked down at the ground, noticing that blood that still clung to her black paws. Along the way she had encountered a few creatures less than willing to tell her anything. Males. Or so she assumed them to be, anyway. In all honesty she had gone her whole life on hearsay- having never seen a real male lion before. But it wasn’t that hard to assume what ones were the boys. According to her mother they had lots of hair all around their faces and were normally larger than females. So it was easy to know who to attack.
Sighing softly, she sat down, not sure what she was waiting for. Was she supposed to head further, or wait to be found? Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea. She had no idea any more how her mother was doing or if she was even still alive. It might have been a better idea to just head back to her and make sure things were going alright.
No. No, she said she would join this pride and she was going to do it.
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 9:16 am
It had started innocently enough... she'd chosen to take a night off and slept seperate from the pride in a cave farther up the cliff, but a trick of the floor sloping inward had meant that the light rain that had come in the night ended up flooding the back where she slept. So waking cold and achey from sleeping in the water, she'd set out to find something to eat. Of course, as things followed their course, she'd been kicked rather hard by the antelope she'd eventually caught to eat, adding insult to injury. Then there was all the mud from the rain that she kept slipping in, the goopy mess clinging half way up her legs and along her belly, making her itch and increasing her irritation.
Thus it was that the red queen found herself pacing her patrol around the border, hoping that she'd find something to take it all out on, red eyes narrowed and blazing in her tattooed face.
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Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 10:01 pm
Twiga soon spotted a red lioness heading her way, joy striking her at the thought of finally getting into the pride until she noticed just how angry the lady seemed to be. It drowned her happiness in a sense of dread, her concerns now on what she needed to do right at the moment. Was this someone to speak to, or run away from? She sighed, shaking her head as she sternly told herself not to let something silly like fear get the better of her. This was her day.
She had come damn far to be a part of the pride and she wasn’t going to leave just because the creature she had met looked a little on the irate side. Well, looked ready to murder someone, but no need to split hairs.
The point was: Twiga wasn’t going anywhere.
Mustering her courage, she lowered her tail between her legs, moving towards the lioness cautiously. Just because she wasn’t going to give into fear didn’t mean she had to rush in like an idiot. If this lioness was going to fight her, she would prove her worth. If not, then conversation was the bound to happen. Neither would be accomplished by running. Turning her stern, thoughtful expression into a warm smile, Twiga stopped a few feet from the lioness, keeping enough distance between them to dodge any possible first strikes.
“Hi,” she offered somewhat awkwardly, “my name is…. I’m Twiga and I heard that… there’s a pride of female lions here. Do you know anything about it?” No need to jump to the conclusion that this female was even IN the pride.
She really did know nothing.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 9:11 am
The sound of someone nearby stopped Kiuma sort and she fell back into a defensive position, watching as a yellow and spotted female emerged from the undergrowth. She stayed wary, her annoyance still in full force, but the first words out of the newcomer's mouth sort of deflated her righteous anger.
She was looking for an all female pride... for Antianeira. What luck then, that she stumble across it's queen. Well... maybe not such good luck, considering Kiuma's mood, but her anger was winding down now, replaced by curiosity.
"And why would you like to know?" She said warily, not so much snappish as curious and wary. She wasn't naive, not with her past, and she couldn't pretend that there weren't females out there that could be just as bad, if not worse, than a male. She looked friendly enough, though, with her open and honest face.
"And my name's Kiuma, by the way."
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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 1:17 pm
Twiga watched for a moment, tense again, not sure what the other was going to do. When she spoke, the giraffe-like lady offered a thoughtful frown. “Well, I… I want to join that pride,” she said lightly. Whether this lioness was a member or not, there was no harm in sharing her plans. They weren’t secret- in fact she was happy to tell anyone who came her way what she wanted to do. “My mother told me about this pride and I’m going to honor her wishes in joining it. I’ll make her proud and do all the things she never got to do thanks to those disgusting males that held her captive.”
When the female introduced herself, Twiga smiled. Well, that was better than nothing. Maybe this female did know something about the pride- it seemed odd that her obviously sour mood would be put a little on hold to talk with a stranger.
Unless there was something worth talking about.
“My name is Twiga,” replied the female lightly enough, “It’s nice to meet you, Kiuma. I hope you don’t mind how rude I was before… I’m just… eager to find this place.”
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Posted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:37 am
Kiuma blinked at the prompt answer. She'd come here to join them? It wasn't really a regular thing, finding lionesses who just appeared on the borders asking to join. Truthfully, this female would be the first. It was a little worrying... that tales of her pride had already spread enough to draw outsiders to come and seek them. With an influx of females would come an influx of males as well, either curious or seeking to advantage themselves somehow on a pride with no other males to protect it. Not that Antianeira lacked strength! But border patrols would have to be strictly enforced, to make sure they were safeguarded at all times, especially with cubs in their cliff-face dens.
"Well." the red female said, rather at a loss of what to say now. She had to thing of something appropriate and seized on what was at hand.
"Twiga, yes? My first question for you, then, is why are you so eager to find the pride that you might have inadvertently informed some males of its existence? Can you guarantee me that you weren't followed here?"
Perhaps it was being a bit on the cautious side, but with cubs involved and a youngling pride, the queen felt she couldn't over do it.
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 10:07 pm
“I don’t speak to males,” Twiga replied softly, “never have, never will. I actually really didn’t speak to anyone on my way here. I was too… nervous. Too much in thought, I think. I stuck to areas that weren’t very well populated. Thought it would be better that way! And the things I did meet along the way… well… they didn’t live long enough to tell anyone anything.”
She didn’t consider herself a murderer, really. The creatures she had met had been willing to attack her and they had been the ones to raise the first claw. So it had been self defense.
A perfectly acceptable excuse for a woman.
“I wouldn’t let any males follow me here- the whole reason I’m looking for the pride in the first place is to get away from them! To be able to live in peace in a pride my mother said would be good for me- that’s it.”
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 10:21 pm
The red queen felt a smile curving over her face, though she couldn't say just what it was about this female and her words that pleased her so much.
"You have strong beliefs and you've gone to a lot of trouble to come here." She said, the warmth of approval in her tone. Her pose relaxed into the casual conversation, loosing the defensiveness she tended to carry when away from those that shared her unique view of the world.
Truthfully, the pride could use more members. There were lots of little mouths to feed and long hours of the day spent on patrol for each of the current members... another set of paws would only improve things around the lands. It wasn't that Kiuma didn't want her, either... just that there was something about her that made the normally serious and fierce lioness feel a little playful and contrary, wanting to make things a little harder for the golden lioness before she got what she wanted.
"I think, perhaps, you should tell me how much you know about Antianeira, then I will tell you what the truth of the matter is... and at the same time, perhaps I can show you around some, let you get acquainted with the lay of the land. That sound acceptable to you?" She chuckled as she took a step to the side, half-turning in an offer for Twiga to follow.
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:48 am
“So then the pride is here!” Twiga said, finding it difficult to contain her excitement. This had been what she was searching for. This lioness seemed to know a lot about everything she wanted to know, she could just feel it in her bones. That sense of finally reaching a goal. It was exciting to say the least. Exhilarating.
“Well,” she said eagerly, “I don’t know a whole lot about it. My mother wasn’t even sure it was really… real. But she said that if it was a place I would be welcomed and that if it would be safe there I should go. Safe from males that hurt her and might want to hurt me. That was what she was always the most worried about, I think. I heard it from some lionesses passing by once. Not… in their conversation, but listening in on it. And I told my mom. She wanted something better for me than what she had.”
She was moving beside Kiuma as she spoke, thrilled to do so. It felt like she had to keep herself from bouncing around in the trees. Everything was finally coming together. “But… that’s really all I know. I guess it’s not much, is it?”
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Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2009 1:25 am
Kiuma flicked an ear at the chattering of the other lioness, giving her a sideways glance as she felt a smile tugging at her mouth. She was young, that much was certain... and she'd probably never had a firm paw used when raising her. Not a bad thing, but discipline was always a desirable thing.
"We keep each other safe from males, yes, but there's more to us than that. We are a family, like sisters to each other. We work and life together, and together we find love in whatever form it takes. We share our scars to remind ourselves of what and who we are... And Antianeira is also a place for healing. For those escaping from troubled pasts, and to raise new life as cubs, to teach them to be strong and smart." She shook her head as she padded through the trees, weaving between them almost second nature now. This place was becoming ingrained in her bones, beyond a home to something... more.
"Joining us is not something to be done lightly, Twiga." She warned, her voice quite serious. "We must keep the pride's dens secret from the outside world, we must protect it from any males that might come too close, and we must always, always protect each other... there is patrols to do, hunting to feed hungry mouths, and you can never form an attachment to any male if you want to stay with us. You can't just flutter in for a while, and leave when it suits you."
Ugh, she was starting to lecture... but she was feeling that perhaps she had been too loose before, in her easy acceptance of new members. Not that they hadn't made fantastic additions, but it was the principle of the thing.
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