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 Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 7:05 am
Brief flickers of regret had come to her, whispering in her ear, asking her why she chose to join the Claw, when it was impossible, hopeless for her to have even considered the prospect of her being greater than her father. The higher ranks of the Claw were held by the male gender.
So what? Shinda asked herself. Why then, couldn't she at least try? Even if it was unheard of, she would try then, to become the first female to rise through the ranks. It was better to try and fail, than to not even attempt to prove herself at all. It was a challenge, a test for herself. The journey ahead of her would be tough, but she knew that she was definitely ready to face it. After all, she was the Warleader's daughter.
Her face was impassive, her eyes cold as she gazed at the horizon, not showing even the slightest hint of any emotional turmoil within her. To reveal your feelings was to make you vulnerable to others.
And she was, without doubt, not weak.
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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 7:33 am
When a lion is as large as Sakata, stealth is not a skill that one possesses. But then, being as large as the Warleader is comes with its own advantages - he has yet to be successfully challenged, has yet to bear even one scar as a result of the many battles he has won.
Unfortunately, his size and lack of stealth means that the approach of the large lion is quite obvious. Slowly, deliberately, Sakata makes his way through the tall grasses. He's returning from a hunt. The remains of his kill drag along the ground beside him, gripped firmly within his massive jaws. But as he made his way back towards the pride, the silhouette of a large lioness caught his eye.
Shinda's silhouette is very familiar to him, even from a distance. That is how he has seen her, for all her life. How many times have they even spoken to each other? He can't recall, truly, and as Sakata wanders closer his mind wanders as well, mulling over the most recent news he's heard of her. She's a Warrior now, working under... was it Chuma?
Near enough now that a greeting would be expected and conversation would be polite, he stops. His head lowers, placing his kill on the ground beside him, and then he rumbles, "Shinda," a simple greeting, accompanied with a nod of his heavy head.
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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:08 pm
The lioness's ears pricked up, and the approach of the other registered in her mind. Dimly, her mind told her to pay no heed to it, it could be someone simply just passing by. Yet her nose told her a different story; it had picked up a familiar scent. Surprise briefly flickered over her face, but she made no attempt to move from her current position.
Until he called her name.
The lioness turned, all the while wondering how she should greet him in return. Should she call him simply as Father, or Warleader, or...? "Sakata." She decided, bowing her head in return. She lapsed into silence, meeting his orange eyes with her own, a wordless question held in its depths.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 6:35 am
Seemingly oblivious to both her inner turmoil and the questions she holds deep inside, the large lions casts his gaze across her form. She's certainly inherited his size, and many of his markings. His colour, as well... except for her tail-tuft and little floof of girl-mane. That colour belonged to her mother, long dead and in the spirit realm.
He does not sit, nor does he continue on. Sakata simply stands there, the remains of a small antelope at his side, and slowly brings his gaze back to meet hers.
"You look well," he offers blandly. "I trust --Chuma, right?-- I trust he is making good use of your potential?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 6:32 am
Shinda's gaze turned impassive as she scanned his large build. Indeed, the same thoughts were running through her head; how alike she was to him in so many ways. Physically, of course. She wondered vaguely; it was a question she had often asked herself, would he have cared more if she was a male? A son of Sakata's, instead of a daughter.
She dismissed these thoughts as he spoke, letting a little smile curl at the sides of her lips. "You know how Chuma is." A simple, albeit rather cryptic reply. The Veteran was sharp-tongued, but at least he was straightforward; one knew exactly where they stood in his view. "And you have been fine, I believe?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 6:43 am
"Fine, yes." He replies simply, shrugging his shoulder. With no recent challenges and a lack of conflict, the Warleader has turned to hunting and the occasional sparring match to keep himself in fighting trim. He looks as disgustingly healthy as always, still scar-free and proud.
If he had been aware of the questions she left unasked, he'd probably wonder why. For all his faults, Sakata is direct. If he wants to know something, he asks. If he wants something done, he gives the order. Dancing around an issue has never been his style... which is probably why she does not have the answers she wishes for, since he would not think to answer them if they had not been asked.
"Make sure you keep fighting, even if Chuma would just have you piss in their streams. Stay strong."
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 6:24 pm
It wasn't in Shinda's nature to ask questions she deemed unnecessary. She had stopped doing that a long time ago, when her queries about her mother were unanswered. That was when she was little, still a cub and ignorant to the complicated matters of the world.
She smirked at his words. "I am your daughter, after all." She knew of the high expectations that had been placed on her; it was something the Minders liked to remind her constantly of.
She stayed quiet for a while, pondering over a question that had been nagging in her mind, then raised her eyes to his again. "You don't think I've been wrong to join the Claw, do you?" Somehow, deep down, even though she loathed being in his shadow all the time, she desperately wanted his approval.
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Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 9:42 pm
His only reply to her smirk and statement of fact is a simple nod - yes, she is his daughter. Nobody in the pride could ever doubt that (even if some whisper that she must have gotten her quick wit from her mother). He certainly would not doubt it, and even if Shinda wanted to... the evidence upon their matching pelts speaks far more eloquently than Sakata will.
But as the silence lengthens between them he is forced to wait, gazing into the distance, until her movement re-captures his attention. And her question, unexpected as it is, earns a surprised lifting of his brow. Now she asks, well after the decision has been made and the path has been partially-trodden? While he has never been an ideal example of fatherhood, it does seem a little odd even to him to ask for advice after the decision has passed.
He answers with a question, an irritating habit that those who work under him are accustomed to. "Do you think you were wrong to join the Claw?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 12:40 am
She gave him a tiny smile, shaking her head slightly. "I don't think I was wrong." Shinda replied pointedly, mildly irked that he had managed to wheel the question that required his reply back to her. "I don't mind serving the spirits, but I don't believe I could ever understand their cryptic signs." She shrugged, preferring not to mention that she was rather distrustful on whether some...individuals did understand the spirits' signs as they had professed.
"It's just that, it seems like I gave everyone what they expected of me; the Warleader's daughter." Shinda continued, and for a moment, if his eyes were sharp enough to catch it, the lioness seemed upset...vulnerable, even, but she quickly straightened up again into her usual rigid stature. "But is this what he expected of me? I never knew."
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Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 4:44 am
"You never asked, until now." A blunt reply, but a true one. The large lion grunts, looking down at the kill at his side, looking over at his daughter, looking towards the pride he leads and serves. For a moment it seems that he's forgotten that she even asked a question, as he continues to stare blankly into the distance, but then he shrugs and looks back at her.
"If you were born male I am sure you could climb high in the Claw," Sakata begins what is about to be an uncharacteristically long speech, "but as a female, this is where you start and stop. Even as my daughter." And he frowns, knowing that if he continues he's going to have to reveal at least a part of his carefully-kept secret - and knowing that if he doesn't continue, his own flesh and blood may end up hating him, resenting him, calling him enemy.
"Not the Heart, lions like you and I serve the spirits. We are not meant to understand them. Not the Blood, not yet... perhaps after you have proven your worth in the Claw and can join the spirits in battle. The Backbone?" He laughs, shaking his head, "I would die of boredom, and so would you. So that leaves hunting, or fighting. And you are my daughter, my blood. You cannot replace me, as we had hoped our son would, but you can make us proud."
Now that he has finished, the Warleader looks uncomfortable for a brief moment, then lowers his head to grasp the antelope and continue on his way. But then he stops, to offer one more thought.
"My only regret is that you did not have siblings, so I would have more children to be proud of."
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Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 7:39 am
"I've learned to stop asking too many questions when I didn't get answers." Is her simple reply, also ringing with truth. The lioness continued to gaze at her father and wondered if she would have to repeat her question as his eyes slipped away from her.
It was as she considered asking him again when he answered her, watching him as he spoke. Her eyes narrowed slightly, partly that he had said what she was thinking, that she would always stay a Warrior, partly because something nagged at her that there was something left unspoken.
Of course, he was right. If she had been born a male, she would have more opportunities to be the next Warleader. But she clearly knew that was out of her grasp; the only thing she truly desired was to someday, hopefully be a Veteran.
"Perhaps then," She called after him, "your children with the Queen would bring to you much more pride than I would."
"Take care, Father." Shinda added, as an afterthought, before turning away.
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Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 7:30 pm
"They will bring pride to the Queen, honour to me, and strength to the Mizimu'Tungika," he replies, pausing long enough to cast the words back over his shoulder. But what he does not say is this - unless they prove themselves to be as much his children as they are the Queen's, they will not make him proud.
Sakata continues on his way, and again there is a delay after her parting comment. As if he hasn't heard her, or perhaps he did not understand her words. But before his form is swallowed by the tall grasses, his words drift back to her. "Make us proud, Shinda. Daughter."
And with that, the Warleader is gone. He has a kill to share with the Minders, and a new generation of cubs to impress with his might.
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