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 Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 9:36 pm
A wide yawn, many bared teeth and a pair of groggy eyes. These were three of the four things Rosko was equipped with however many hours into his shift. The fourth is what had landed him the job. That is, the seer powers. He'd hardly call them a skill. More like a curse.
"If you're tired, we can swap you out with one of the others," Waseme advised from his right. Until that night, he'd never had much extended contact with the pride leader. They exchanged nods, glances, greetings and goodbyes, but nothing more than that.
Suddenly, he found himself with more respect for her. She could have just assigned everyone else to do the work. Staying out here herself showed loyalty to her followers, he mused. "Nah, I'm fine."
Waseme was going to lose some teeth from grinding them together so much by time all this was over. Mwokoti had "requested" (in a very bossy way) two guards and one seer until she could find time to come back and handle him for good. What that entailed, she didn't care enough to ask. The fate of some Firekin? Not her worry. He just needed to get out of her pride.
She'd told Rosko and the current guard opposite her, Bandele, to inform her whenever they wanted to 'switch'. Neither seemed willing to cave before the other. What was she to do? It just wouldn't look good to be the first to give in as the ruler. It was bad enough Kitambi had probably gotten wind of this and was having a field day with her misery.
"So... Nice weather lately, huh?"
Silence.
This sucked.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 9:51 pm
They were about to get another guard. A momentary one, and a very angry one.
In prides, rumors spread. Rumors spread even faster when you had a son that was very jealous that a different son got to have fun guarding the cave with the dangerous Firekin. At first, Tayhira had told him to suck it up. Then the math had started to work in her brain.
It was for this very reason that the three legged leopard was hobbling up the side of the hill. It was a very quick and rather agile hobble, but her dragging fourth leg was apparent all the same.
Her hackles were raised and she was seething.
She spotted Waseme and ignored her not unlike a lot of the members of the pride. She went straight to her son. "What do you think you're doing?" She wasn't flat out pissed very often, but she had half a mind to grab him by the scruff of the neck and launch him down the mountain until he fled home.
Unfortunately, he was getting a bit too big for that.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 10:00 pm
Rosko's nose drew back and a feeling of impending doom struck him like a rock to the back of the head before his visions even had a chance to warn him. "My mom's coming, and she's pissed," was the brief warning he managed to give the other two before Tayhira hobbled into hearing range.
He knew what she was going to say before she said it. That didn't really help him know what to say in response. "I'm..."
Figures.
The one time he could have used his powers for personal gain (not getting in trouble with mommy), they got axed by. He squinted to see who was approaching them, concluding soon it was his aunt. It amazed him she and his father could really be related.
Someone dedicated to nothing but their family, and...
Someone dedicated to just plain old nothing.
With no future warnings to guide him, Rosko faced his mother again, flashing her what he could only hope was a disarming smile. "Just doing my job, Mom. I'm not a cub anymore. I'm old enough to help out around here."
Hasana was more courtesy than to get involved with another mother's strife with a child of her own. She knew the effects of that first hand. They never ended well. She wasn't there to Rosko to begin with. "Is he awake yet?"
"Dunno." Waseme shrugged. It was all she could do. Actually...
A swift kick to one of the thick rocks followed by the queen yelling, "Hey! Red, white and fail, are you up yet?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 10:06 pm
Tayhira gave him a scowl to that answer. "Help out does not include suicide runs!" she snapped back and settled onto her haunches. Someone was going to pay dearly for this at some point. At the moment, she was more interested in bitching out her son.
She was about to go off on him again, when Waseme, the clearly idiotic female that ran this whole operation, got a wonderfully bright idea.
Tayhira's scowl deepened. The snarl that followed was most certainly not hers. There was no sound of movement, however. The Firekin was likely thinking it was better not to move.
That being said, she turned off on a different tangent. "And who exactly is charged with feeding it?"
She gave her son another harsh glare. "You are not allowed to volunteer for that."
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 10:16 pm
Waseme didn't harbor any sort of moral obligation to let someone run wild because they were a mother. The second Banji showed up she knew there was going to be all kinds of trouble. If only she were cold enough to kick out a leopard with seven kids.
The queen swept past Hasana and in between Tayhira and Rosko, coming to sit beside him about half way into her first line. "Tayhira, I appreciate your concern for your son, but as Rosko said he isn't a child. This was an order from Mwokoti herself. I'm sure you know her. The one who has the friend that keeps this place from being attacked and overthrown like all the prides? I'm sure you must have heard all about that, too."
There was practically no way she hadn't. Lakisa had heard about it, and when Lakisa heard about something, it was only a matter of time before everyone knew.
"Um... Yeah." Smooth, Rosko. Normally he would have been. It was just... Well, his mom was kind of scary.
"To answer your question," Waseme continued. "We're not feeding him until he decides to start talking. I reason he's not mute, and if he isn't talking, it's either out of spite or he's not conscious and couldn't eat anyway."
Another kick to the side of the mountain soon followed.
"Hear that? You'll starve in there until you tell us what happened to all the 'slaves' you had."
Through all this Bandele stayed quiet. He observed the bickering between the leopard and her offspring, frowning only when his eyes caught those of his grandmother.
What a mess.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 10:37 pm
Appreciate her concern? Tayhira had never heard a worse batch of lies in the entirety of her life.
"Mwokoti has enemies," Tayhira answered in response. "Everybody has enemies! And deities are not perfect." Her eyes scanned over the rocks holding in the Firekin. What did she want with him? Did she want him alive.
"At some point he will start talking, and he will need to be fed. Problems don't just go away if you ignore them." How did this dolt get to be the head of such a place? And better yet, why was she still here?
Oh right. Banji. She, like a lot of other females, held onto that dark hope that he'd still be around for her. Foolish notions, and she new better than it. Her children were almost grown. She could leave in theory. Ohahira probably wouldn't even notice if she slunk back to the forest and kept on the low. It would only take a few deals and she'd be safe again.
"And what are you going to do if he starves to death? Has he got anything to drink in there? Does Mwokoti even want him dead!?" Taking in a deep breath, she finally silenced and closed her eyes tight. Her teeth ground and she let it out.
Eventually, she relented. "If anything slightly suspicious happens, you are to run Rosko." She cast a scowl to Wasembe as though it were her fault.
The great group had started to gather and she flicked her eyes between them as though it were all their fault. She had never really liked lions much. Not at all. They thought too little and attacked before they reasoned.
"Well, you won't mind me helping too, then?" she asked with a huff and started to limp her way farther up the mountainside to keep watch. Watching for what? She didn't know. She just knew she hated this whole arrangement and if something was going to happen, she was going to at least try to defend her son. Not that it could be said for the rest of the pride.
Only fools dealt with gods. Only fools made deals with those more powerful then them.
s**t she was such a fool.
It was about then that the angry roars started to increase. They grew and then dwindled. There was a scuffling on the inside and then it silenced. It could be guessed that the large beast was standing at this point. Standing, caked in dried blood, and very much aching and in pain.
He would not be able to fight or hold his own against those outside even if he tried. The worst he could do was cut someone or maybe snap a leg with his jaw. If he got out of here, he would be certain to snap as many legs as possible on his way out.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 10:49 pm
Waseme listened to Tayhira's rant in silence. Arguing with her was just going to lead in circles. Outside Kitambi's company (where everything was fair game, including fits of rage), Waseme had a good head on her shoulders and knew when to pick her battles. She would have liked to say that's why Sen picked her to lead, but in truth she'd have given the title to anyone just to be able to leave. Thankfully, the pride didn't know that.
"Okay, mom..." The distressed hybrid mumbled what sounded like an apology following a mutter concerning the status of leopards from the queen. Sometimes, his mom was so embarrassing. He was already bigger than her and she still talked to him like a cub.
During the verbal scuffle Hasana seated herself beside Bandele, leaning on him with a yawn of her own. No one was about to argue her adulthood. The years had been kind to her all things considered, but moving around so much, staying up so late and the excitement of a new (and yet old) family addition was taking it's toll.
"I think he's awake," Bandele pointed out, ears held high at the sounds emitting from inside. Each and every strand of fur stood on end. Let the big bad Firekin try and break out. He didn't scare him any. Hmph.
"Hey, Rocky, where's the rest of them?" Waseme demanded again, leering at the rocks as if he'd be able to see through them.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 10:58 pm
Tayhira glanced down at them time to time. It was practically a party at the rockside. When she heard the roars, she put back her ears and tightened up her muscles. Scared? Absolutely. She'd be the first to admit she'd rather be hundreds of miles from this place safe and sound.
Some things just weren't sticking around for. Unfortunately, her offspring wasn't one of them. Whichever goddess worked with motherly instincts had cursed her rather well.
Down below, under the earth, much different things were going on. At first, the only answers to questions were scuffles and scrapes. The sounds of claws dragging across rocks reverberated through the earth and heavy, limping steps followed shortly after.
He was pacing. And then he was speaking. "When Finarsi comes, you will all have death and blood to pay for your insolence." His voice cracked halfway through and he set to coughing. Another set of angry cries followed. Had he been smarter, he would have let them assume he was still unconscious and saved his energy. Rage, however, outplayed his wit.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:08 pm
Maybe Waseme wasn't all that collected at the end of the day after all. Her temper stayed in check. That wasn't the problem. The issue was her smart mouth, that sometimes, just couldn't for the life of her keep from running. "Yeah, I'm shaking. If kicking you all out of your own land is what she does as a reward for years of worship, I'd hate to see what happens to those she actually doesn't like."
Bandele grunted in what was almost a chuckle. What? He couldn't enjoy the occasional wit? Just because he didn't spew them himself didn't mean they weren't sort of funny. His amusement ceased the second Hasana elbowed him sharply in the side.
"Those you consider slaves are my grandchildren. Please tell us where the rest are."
"Don't try and reason with it," Waseme advised.
From another part of the mountain Hari watched them impatiently. She'd hoped there would be a time they'd have gotten bored or tired and taken off. How was she supposed to speak to the b*****d now?
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:13 pm
There was no answer to that. Uzulu could not expect common, stupid rogues to understand the will of Finarsi. There was no point in trying to answer.
"You are welcome to ask your humble goddess where the rest are. She seems to enjoy visiting the lands of the Blood whenever it strikes her fancy." Why Finarsi hadn't struck her down yet was beyond him.
Perhaps she had and perhaps this goddess did not yet know her place. She would. Given time, she would be put in her place just like the rest of them.
Even if he had to do it himself. "Weakly, cowardly beings," he muttered to himself. They couldn't even take up a fight themselves. They sent their worthless "higher being" to do it for them.
Inside his enclosure, he spat out a tooth that had come loose from where Mwokoti had struck him.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:23 pm
"Yeah, well, at least someone has the balls to go." The whole concept of the Firekin made no sense to Waseme. She'd grown up hearing how badass they were. Suddenly, some God comes down, tells them all to piss off and they just go? Yeah. Real fierce. Tch.
For a while things stayed quiet. By time the sun was coming up, Waseme felt it in her best interest to dismiss the current lineup and substitute them. This time Amira, Konja and--mostly just to keep him from whining that his brother got to have all the 'fun'--Hanyu replaced the three of them. She bid Tayhira a sweet farewell, assuming if she stayed for one son, she'd stay for the other.
When Bandele took a drifting Hasana back to his grandfather, the trio were left alone. Not counting the guy they were, uh, babysitting.
"So, big brother, how was your day?"
"Fine."
Amira tried to make light of the situation. It wasn't going all that great yet.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:30 pm
Usually Csoa accompanied him on adventures. However, it was late at night, and Csoa had politely avoided any sort of chance he would have at guarding over something fierce and terrifying. He would rather have watched over children.
Tayhira flicked an ear and said, "Good night to yourself, Queen." It was hard to tell if her voice contained mockery.
And then there was Hanyu, and she scowled. It wasn't right for a mother to not like her sons, but she had a particular dislike of how Hanyu handled himself.
"My day was wonderful, Amira, if you wanted to know. I went for a swim in the lake today and it reminded me of you."
Her son never lost a dull moment, did he? How humiliating. "Because it was green, Hanyu?" she asked him in an irritated fashion. Hitting on women right in front of her? Unacceptable.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:38 pm
"Don't be silly, Tayhira," Amira chirped up at the leopard. "Our water isn't green. He knows that. He means because it's so cool." The thought Hanyu might be making moves on her didn't cross her mind. One, because her father was Hanyu's cousin. Didn't that make him her uncle or something? This family was so confusing sometimes! Two, if he was, Konja would beat him up. That's what big brothers did.
What Amira didn't know was Konja remained oblivious to the advances himself, more fixated on chewing on his back foot than the conversation going on. Not too bright, but at least he was huge, easily close to Uzulu's size if not matching him in stature. A good replacement for Bandele.
What none of them knew was how much Hari knew. About the mountains. She could have walked the trails she crafted with her own paws with her eyes closed. It was a hassle, but not an impossibility, to reach Uzulu.
Sort of.
She had moved to the top of his prison, digging herself a hole just big enough to poke her head through and peer down at him. The drop was far should she fall, but again, she knew the mountain well and trusted it to hold her weight.
"Why don't you stay quiet and come listen to me, hm?" Hari whispered to the captive. "If you make noise, you'll never get out of here. It's in your best interest to listen to me."
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:46 pm
"What's swimming in his head is green," Tayhira muttered to herself in response. Like Wasembe, she did not bother to have conversations with those that would not listen logically.
"Well, you are pretty cool," Hanyu agreed with a grin. He winked towards his mother. His mother leered.
Hanyu knew he would be begging for mercy later. For now, however, he had free reign to flirt all he wanted! Score. Life was great.
"You're a seer, right?" he asked, making conversation as he slipped closer. Kissing cousins? Hell, he'd take on anything as long as it wasn't immediate family. Luckily, his sister was ugly and a whore (he had an evil trick to play on her tomorrow), and his aunts were all old and gross.
Man, he couldn't wait to get out of this pride. The girls would love him and he knew it. Maybe he should move into Nchi and then work his way out from there. . .
"What's that like? I mean, there's all this hype. You've got to be pretty brave to be able to see all those horrific visions, don't you?"
While he was prattling, and Konja was chewing on his back foot, Uzulu was listening.
As quietly as he could manage, which wasn't very quiet at all, he worked his way over to the sound. He remained a fair distance from her. If it was one of those rogues, he wanted a chance to try and kill her before she decided to abuse him again. His body was sore and nearly useless enough as it was.
Knowing it would be hard for him to speak quietly with a hoarse voice, he nearly nodded. He could listen. Just to start.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:59 pm
"Uh, yep." The seer question fell on only half-listening ears. Amira still didn't suspect a thing. Had she, she'd only of half-blamed him. It felt like everyone here was related, and with Banji's other son in the Nchi now, it was only a matter of time until all of them were too.
That Goddess over at the firekin was starting to make more and more sense. --Wait, what? Amira turned to peer at Hanyu in wonder. Horrific visions? Was he serious? "Um. No. I've never seen one like that."
Had the chatter not been going on outside they might have heard Hari. It was, and they didn't. That was all that mattered.
Her next move might have raised eyebrows among other individuals in her situation. Hari found it the perfect gesture. Who would trust someone who only spoke to them from afar?
In this tale, many factors were on her side. For starters, the offspring of Gods were most often as huge as any Firekin. Second, her colors, which she'd never bothered being thankful for in the past, were serving her well now.
Hari proceeded to claw, smash and dig through the strong, but not exceptionally strong floor made of stone and dirt until the opening was just barely wide enough for her to squeeze through. She jumped down and clung to the wall, sliding down with less grace than she'd hoped, but more than most would have shown.
"Wait, did you hear that?" Amira asked from outside. Hari went still, mouthing 'hush' to Uzulu until the seer dismissed the noises. "Nevermind. Probably just throwing a fit in there."
If he attacked her, Hari was sure she'd win given his injuries. Then she could make up some bullshit story about wanting to fight the horrid beast without risking the safety of anyone else.
"Hello, Uzulu. I'm from the new Firekin."
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