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 Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 11:08 am
Kwaruza was closer to the borders then she had been in a while. There wasn't really any reason for it other then she found more shade here and being pregnant in the heat, it wasn't her ideal thing anyway. She was getting pretty big and was close to waddling though she was sure she wasn't going to have a big litter, she hadn't had one yet anyway.
She was panting as she lay in the wet grass under a tree. That was one good thing, being so close to the sea and all the rivers and streams that came from the sea meant the grass was nearly always damp which made it so much cooler to lay in. It allowed her to rest without over heating.
She licked her paws as she lay in the shade, she hated the taste of sand but sand between the claws was much more annoying. She couldn't stand the sand grating against her claws it felt so horrible but at least it came out easy enough it just tasted all icky.
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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 2:44 pm
 He ran. A brown blur above the horizon line made no hesitation in its dusty trail. He had left without a word to anyone. As the sun slowly eased up into the sky, the large beast of a lion swept the grounds, aiming in no particular direction, yet running straight ahead. He knew he would never go back to his pride; admired and known as he was, he couldn't bear to witness the same scenery again, especially if... He was to see her. Tearless, harsh red eyes glinted when the sun's path crossed them. He had no reason to stay on that rock anymore.
He would find a new one.
He was a tireless warrior, but the premeditation prior to his abrupt travel wearied him out. It had only been hours, but it seemed like days. What kind of thing could effect a skilled, adept warrior so efficiently? It was heartbreak.
To care for something so deeply to be turned away from it simply killed the big lion's spirit, and it was not something he was accustomed to. Perhaps he wasn't suited for the position he put himself in, and he should have accepted the offers of higher recognition, after all. But he thought he could be something more. Dedication, devotion, and faith were all he wanted to give.
With these thoughts in mind, the lion progressively slowed to the vague sounds of calm, crashing waves and water ahead. For once, he took in a slow breath, filling his nostrils with the warm, relaxing scents of the beach, and breathed out in relief. How far had he gotten? He was sure he was far enough to be unreachable to any scouts looking for him, so this could've made a good area to rest in without worry.
He continued walking, letting the smells and sounds of the rolling sea guide him. As he was going through all the foliage, he noticed a nearby stream running through the surrounding trees. Thinking it would be the ideal spot to refresh himself, having ran nonstop with no breaks, the brown lion began walking over, eyes focused on the water source but ears and senses up and alert for potential company or opposition.
As he neared the stream, he felt like he wasn't alone, and observed the immediate clearing. He paused for a moment, and walked to the edge of the stream. He supposed if he didn't see anything now, he would have time to draw a few gulps of water. And so, he began drinking from the stream; water never tasted so fresh and precious to him before.
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 7:45 am
 She loved him.
It had taken all that time for her to realize it, but she loved him, and because of her harsh words, her heartless actions, she had chased him away from her.
Tears had long since dried from her weary face, the fur around her eyes now stiff from the salty exposure. It was by a stroke of luck that one of the other lions had noticed Aminifu run off, and Makuu had run after him without a second thought. Having decided on impulse, she did not realize at that time, that she would be forever saying goodbye to the home she loved, to the friends she'd grown up alongside, from the land she had always assumed she would live out her days in. The thought had occurred to her, at some point, during her run, but none of it seemed to matter anymore. The pain in her heart was too great to leave unsoothed, she needed to see Aminifu. She needed to talk to him, to tell him how sorry she was and how ashamed she was for her behavior. Never in her life had she seen such dedication in another, and she was determined to at least try to regain the treasure she had thrown away.
She continued to push away the fear of his own rejection, and refused to stop, even when her bones grew weary from the heat. The lioness knew he was well within his rights to turn her away from him, for what she did, but she hoped with all of her heart that he could forgive her, somehow.
Makuu had started to believe that she'd strayed from the path he took, when she finally noticed a brown form, off in the distance.
"Aminifu!" She called out, "Aminifu, please! Wait for me!"
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:01 pm
Well she had been resting. She had heard movement close to her but couldn't be bothered to move until she heard the shouting and that was well... erm... something. Well she didn't want to see unwanted drama here and so it was time to move.
She saw the brown male along and drinking and forgetting the shouting she had heard waddled over to him, making slower progress then she wanted. The problems of being pregnant!
"Hi there, erm excuse me!" She called out, it wasn't a harsh sound, just her being a little less polite then usual and that was down to her very round stomach. She really shouldn't have been working but well Kwaruza was Kwaruza and she wasn't one for sitting around doing nothing all day.
It was then she noticed the female coming and remembered that she had heard shouting. Oh well as long as the drama didn't force her into an early birthing she didn't mind that much.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 12:55 pm
Startled at the call for his name, Aminifu turned immediately to the source's direction, and froze. The distant shades of blue and green were ever too familiar; it hadn't even been a day, and the vision of Makuu was haunting him already! How far did he have to go to rid his ghosts?
He forced himself to look away, to find himself facing a rather round lioness; blast his distraction for letting his guard down! At least she didn't present any danger in her state, anyhow. So, through with quenching his thirst, Aminifu walked up quickly to the white lioness so that she needn't struggle reaching him.
A nod in greeting came automatically, Aminifu not being a very vocal one; but he thought, with his sudden intrusion on the clearing and possibly on the lioness in her state, he should offer a better introduction. After all, he could be in another pride's territory without fully realizing it.
"Can I do anything for you?" Aminifu asked, simply and as politely as he can through his prior emotions. He attempted to conceal his feelings with the coming of the present; there could only come harm in living in the past. "Sorry if I disturbed you."
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 1:22 pm
Was he... was he ignoring her?
Surely not, she told herself, shaking her head as her pace grew slower, reaching her destination....and another lioness?
Teal eyes stared at him, then moved to scan over the other female in their presence. She was mostly white, with bits of tan and brown... was she... was she with Aminifu? Had she been replaced, so soon and so easily?
Confused tears began to well in her eyes, but Makuu managed to keep herself in control, despite raging emotions within. It was at that moment she noticed the roundness that the stranger had, who was obviously heavy with cubs. Unless Aminifu had known her weeks ago, he could not be this lioness's mate. Knowing that, she felt the pangs of heartbreak subside, and the feeling of hope return.
She nodded and gave the other female a bashful "hello" with a nod, and then moved to turn and face Aminifu, her bright eyes pleading as she spoke.
"Aminifu, please... I didn't mean any of that, back there. I will make it up to you, please, let me! I will do anything!"
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 1:41 pm
Well he was being nice but then again she hoped everyone would be nice when they noticed that she was heavily pregnant. She was about to respond to him when the female turned up. She was then about to return the hello but the female seemed to be begging the male.
"erm.. sorry to interrupt but do you need some time? I can like stand here while you erm discuss stuff but then I am afraid I do need to talk to you." She was a little calmer in her speech then maybe she had been toward the male but she was aware that this could be a very sensitive moment and so she was more then willing to step back. The female looked distressed.
She laid herself down, it was really the only comfortable position she could be in at the moment and just waited.
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Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 10:16 pm
It was a dream--he felt--when Makuu actually arrived right beside him. How could she have known where he went, and why did she pursue him after that harsh rejection? It was impossible; but Aminifu could no longer deny her presence, as her warmth made him feel like he was melting, and her scent both allured and caused him to be nervous.
He'll have to deal with Makuu later, for Aminifu felt uneasy at dealing with a situation like this in front of a complete stranger--and a pregnant one, even. But before he could react, he found himself face to face with the one he could not even look in the eye at the moment, and he was unsure of what to do or say.
"Makuu," Aminifu said, his voice wavering as he said the name aloud, "I... We will talk later..." he managed to mutter assertively as if it were a command to another fellow warrior, albeit slowly and without directly gazing at her.
Aminifu was scared, though he wasn't going to show it outwardly--it was the first time he was speaking to Makuu. How he had spent countless nights only dreaming of talking to her--and now it was being fulfilled, though not under the same circumstances he was in when he dreamt. Fear was not an emotion he knew, but Aminifu held it in his heart.
Turning to the white lioness, Aminifu responded, "Sorry, again. I don't mean for you to be startled. But right now, you have my attention." He motioned his head just slightly to indicate Makuu, and said, "It is not urgent."
He registered his last remark as a lie as soon as he heard it come from his mouth, but he did not wish to cause any trouble at all for the stranger. He would deal with the matter of Makuu later, though he knew he wouldn't be prepared to talk with her no matter when he did it -- the same problem plagued him throughout the past days of his rock watching.
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:25 am
Her ears flattened as the coldness of his response emitted from between his lips. She deserved a cold response, she knew it. But the fact she received it was crushing, though the peacock colored lioness refused to give up. He had said they would talk later... and well, that was just going to have to do for now, until that later point in time when they could discuss what was going on between the two of them.
The phrase 'not urgent' stung when she heard it. It was urgent to her! They needed to talk now, after all they had just gone through! Gritting her teeth, she forced her head into a nod, turning back to face the stranger.
"Yes..." she finally agreed, refusing to meet eye contact. "It can wait."
Giving a second curt nod in the lioness's direction, Makuu had the decency to feel ashamed for her dramatic behavior in the presence of another. "I apologize for the...erm... scene. Aminifu and I have traveled quite the distance, though while we have a somewhat urgent discussion to attend to, it was quite rude of me." Nodding her head, she finally met the gaze of the other lioness, "My name is Makuu. Please, tell me, where are we? Are we among another pride, here? I hope we have not disturbed anything!"
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 3:34 am
Kwaruza looked at one of them and then the other and was speechless. They clearly needed to talk.
"erm... you guys need to talk it seems." She was just slightly stating the obvious.
"You are in pridal lands, this is the lands belonging to the Bahari'mtoto and we are a pride that worships the seas. Erm you are welcome to stay and join if you wish but I shall go back to my tree over there.." She nodded in the direction of the tree she liked to rest under. "You two can have your talk and then tell me if you wish to stay or not ok?" She felt as if she were talking to her children but she couldn't ask these two any questions, it was clear that something important needed discussing between them and she wasn't about to ask them if they wanted to join the pride and expect a proper answer in the state they were in.
"Okay so come over when you are finished, I need to rest." She smiled at them both and turned to go back to her tree.
"Oh and neither are coming across as rude or anything but personal stuff needs sorting out, I know all about that. If you want to talk about the pride and if you decide you wish to join come over to me after, I assure you I won't be going anywhere any time soon."
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 5:20 am
It felt like an awkward interrogation, under the thrown looks of the white, pregnant lioness, and Aminifu indeed felt like he was being mothered--but he knew it was not the stranger's blame. While he felt pressured under her meek remarks concerning himself and Makuu, there was nothing more he desired now than to prolong the confrontation, especially when a third presence was obviously concerned and vaguely involved.
At the lioness's words, Aminifu was mildly surprised that his tinkling of a thought was correct: he had intruded upon another pride. He was lucky that it apparently didn't happen to be an inhospitable or aggressive one, though he knew if it had been, he would have been able to hold his own. He considered the white lioness's words carefully, with Makuu at the back of his mind, and found it quite difficult to find clarity. Maybe a new home would be nice for a change of pace--in fact, was that not what he had been searching for from his run? But... what of Makuu? Was not the point of running to escape her?
He didn't want to sound offensive to either of the two lionesses. Assuredly, the white lioness did not want feuding lions around, but he thought that not to be the case at all. And Makuu--he did not know what she wanted. But he could not up and walk away from either one.
Aminifu, attempting to think quickly, walked over to where the stranger had begun going to, and spoke, "Are you the leader of the Bahari'mtoto, then? I am sorry for disturbing your rest, and I did not properly introduce myself. I am Aminifu, and I came here looking for some..." he eyed Makuu as he continued, "...peace. Peace with myself, and with others. I have... known Makuu for many seasons of my life, and I do not wish to have you perceive that we have something to attend to right now over you. But I thank you for considering all things; I simply hope to be a good guest."
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 1:02 pm
Oh great gods and spirits above, she was embarrassed for her behavior. First she scares Aminifu away, and now makes a fool of herself in front of a perfectly reasonable stranger.
She studied the brown male's expression as he attempted to bring the stranger back into their conversation. Stay here, among a new pride, among strangers in an unfamiliar land? Had she upset him that greatly?
It didn't take but moments for her mind to justify his decision. Of course she had; he had devoted himself to her and she'd tossed him aside. Well, she wasn't about to lose him, not when she'd come this far and already sacrificed so much!
"The sea?!" She cried out, forcing a jovial spirit to surface from within, "Oh, I knew I could smell the water nearby. Oh, I do so terribly love the ocean; the salt does such wonders for my fur!"
Of course, Makuu had never dwelled close to the water before, but she was willing to give it a try. If Aminifu wanted to start a new life, then Makuu was going to force her way to staying by his side!
Stepping forward, she forced her head to nod in agreeance. "Please, new friend, both Aminifu and myself would love to be a part of your sea pride. How would we go about getting ourselves accepted as members? Are you able to assist us in such a task?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 1:24 am
Kwaruza wasn't sure that they should be making these kind of decisions yet but then again she didn't know what they had been through, so long as they behaved themselves.
"No I am not in charge here, I guess you could say I am 2nd in command or something, I help out Tamu our queen." She looked to them both and then took a deep breath.
"If you are indeed looking for somewhere to stay then of course you are welcome to live here. To join the sea must accept you and so you have to do the Rites. They aren't hard, you go out in to the water, I will show you how far, then stay in the same spot until I call you back while the tide comes in." She took a breath still looking at them for their reactions.
"Be my reckoning the tide will be coming in soon and so if you both wish to join then I suggest you follow me down to the water." Was this a good idea?
"Oh and I am Kwaruza."
She wasn't sure if this was a good idea and really did want to just leave them to sort out whatever it was they wanted to sort out but then again maybe this was there way of sorting things out? Who knows, well they would be able to find out soon enough.
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 5:50 am
Blinking in surprised confusion at Makuu's riled up words and excitement, Aminifu had naught an inkling of why exactly she was including herself in his plans to the point of exclamation. Was she making these things up, or had she really been seeking out a seaside residence? He swallowed, his throat feeling tight. Now this was a change of pace from before...
"Ah, a queen," Aminifu worded after the information was given. He wasn't sure whether to ask if there was also a male in authority, but didn't feel like he was in his place to ask -- for now, anyways. Instead, he just mentally repeated the name "Tamu" and made sure to remember it well for the future.
His head hung a little lower than usual, feeling guilty about disturbing the other lioness -- she was doing a lot for the two! Putting up with their apparent conflict, taking the time from her highly deserved rest, and potentially aiding them in joining a safe haven. He wouldn't be surprised if any part of the situation agitated her.
"Ah, the sea must accept me?" he repeated, unsure of the prospect, yet also unconcerned. While he hadn't really immersed himself in water that much, he was adept at many things in the physical realm--for that he was confident.
"Thank you for the explanation, Kwaruza. I will come with you to the water, then."
Aminifu took a very quick glance at Makuu, eyes holding concern for her that he desired to hide, and turned immediately back to where the sea was. He guessed she was being serious about this, after all, and there was nothing he could do to stop her from joining him.
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Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 6:38 am
Wait.
She had to be accepted by the Sea? As in.... swim around in it?
Concern was evident in her face as she looked over to watch Aminifu. He seemed dreadfully serious about this whole joining-business. Did he already know how to swim?
Makuu herself had only grown up around the water she'd consumed; namely the streams and water holes near hers and Aminifu's former pride. An entire sea though... how was she going to survive it?
Well, while Kwaruza had seemed solemn during her explanation, she hadn't objected or tried to steer them away from the idea. And hell, if Aminifu was so confident that he could do it, then Makuu was a firm believer that she could do it herself as well!
"Yes, thank you, Kwaruza!" the female echoed her companion, moving to walk beside him. "We will follow you to the water so that we can get this joining rite completed!"
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