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 Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 6:29 pm
He could feel it again, the swell of tension rising throughout the Dhati ranks as they prepared to make their stand. Unable to sit still he found himself stalking through the clan's territory, making various observations on how others seemed to be spending their time as he did so. Some seemed to be bonding while others honed their skills, both those newly learned and other...
None of them, from what he could see, seemed to be acting any differently than any other day. Could they not feel what was coming?
No, they had to. They knew and this was just their way with dealing, just as stalking around and being generally cantankerous was his. He couldn't begrudge them what moments of happiness they could find, knowing well enough that he himself would partake in some of his own after the sun went down.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 7:09 pm
He was leaving his den at that exact moment, throwing a worried glance and a frown over his shoulder as he sauntered away. His conversation with the Queen had worried him a little, and he was left wondering over a few things. Then again, when wasn't he left wondering over the inner workings of a female's mind? That thought left his mind a little soothed, and he turned his head away with a smirk. It was a temporary relief, that amusement, but any relief, no matter temporary or not, was welcome in this time.
It was then that his eyes swept up and over the brown male that seemed to be making rounds of some form. Magadi never questioned Mwako, and so he wouldn't now. If the male thought rounds were in order, so they must be! "How fairs things?" he called out, not bothering to wait until he neared to strike up conversation. With the Queen's words still heavy on his mind, he wanted anything to drown them out.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 7:39 pm
The sound of a voice drew him from his mental montage of current events. He blinked, letting familiarity bring him further back towards the realm that he should have been paying more attention to if he'd gone as far as to not notice the approach of another, let alone the Dhati's leader.
"Magadi." He bowed his head with the reverence one felt obliged to give their monarch. "We are preparing for war, it seems. Anticipation runs high and tension lingers in the air much like the morning's mist. Ready or not, it is coming for us."
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 7:56 pm
He was glad to have snagged Mwako's attention when he did, otherwise he was sure the other might have simply walked past him, so concentrated on his own thoughts as he was. As the distance between them shortened and they were within a more reasonable talking space, he dipped his head in greeting, the mask over his eyes wavering lightly with the motion.
"Typical behavior, then," he said with a nod, brows furrowing slightly as he turned to look out at the landscape around them. What his exact thoughts were on the matter would be hard to determine, but he didn't seem surprised by the news of anticipation and tension. "I believe the war is coming in a matters of days, good friend, perhaps all that tension will keep our pride on its toes, yes?"
He nodded his head at the ground before he sat down himself, feeling weary as he recalled the sudden weight of expectation the pride placed on his shoulders. "Any new sacrifices saved since last I checked?" It could be a boring matter, war talk, but it was a necessity.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 8:10 pm
"Mm, I hope so." He let his gaze follow Magadi's for a moment, taking in the distance between them and the horizon. It was that stretch alone that separated them from the enemy. The enemy. How long ago had it been that they had considered them friend? "We can't afford to be letting our guard down now. Not when we are this close..."
Close to what he would leave unsaid. War was a given, yes, but victory? He refused to count blessings before the Spirits granted them in whole.
A bit of a smirk curved the corners of his mouth as his eyes returned to the Dhati leader. "I would hardly call them saved yet. Safe for the moment, yes... But saved?" He shook his head slowly. "Ask me again once this is over and we've won."
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 8:27 pm
"No, you're very right," he said, tearing his eyes away from the horizon to look at the lion before him instead. "We can't get distracted by anything." By anything, he was thinking of the terrible conversation he'd had with his Queen, not that Mwako would have any idea of that. It was a relief to know that at least some things would never be said in the public's ear - he could live with his inadequacy as a mate in silence.
A small smirk spread over his own maw at that, a light chuckle on his words as he spoke again. "Must you nitpick every word?" The chuckle died in his throat as his voice turned a little somber, a quick switch in mood. "For a time, they are safe, and we have given them more time than the Mizimu would have allotted them." He shrugged his shoulders, a weary sigh sending the mask's fur fluttering. "That is more than they would have been given otherwise, no matter the outcome of this, is it not?" Even if they did not succeed, they had given those of the Dhati a peace of mind at least for a little while, and there was a small comfort in that.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 8:39 pm
"It is." He nodded slowly, giving Magadi that much. They had given the Sacrifices that had joined their ranks a purpose beyond simply dying to appease a tyrant's whims and false predictions. They had filled them with hope; the same hope that he had earlier seen shining in the eyes of his beautiful sister... A hope that made his heart, buried deep within his chest, ache.
"I would give them so much more... Each and every one of them. Their lives are precious, even as they prepare to give them for what they believe in. None of the sacrifices that we have made will be in vain. We have given everything... And we will reap something in return for it."
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 8:49 pm
"What our future holds is yet to be seen," he murmured, eyes drawn yet again to the horizon, despite fighting desperately not to look in the direction of their foe, "but that future will be worth something. Even if we fail, it is enough for me that so many have come against the Mizimu and their corrupt rulers. It's enough to know that they know that they no longer have such a secure grip on their pride."
He thought of all the sacrifices, their beautiful pelts. Such jealous creatures were those noble blooded, to sacrifice such beauty. How many could have been saved if this had all happened at the first sign of their corruption?
"My only regret is that we can't save more. Those that came before us, and those that linger still in that pride, fed the lies of those impostors." A rare flash of anger swelled in him, showing on his face, though the majority was still hidden behind his spotted mask. It was so strong that it forced him back to his feet, limbs snapping upright with a speed and strength that would surprise many in a lion of his age. He turned to look fully in the direction of the Mizimu, as if he might stare them down from so far away.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 8:56 pm
"Finally, as warriors, we have something worth fighting for." Not the pride that had once been their own, the pride that had called for the dedication to their tasks as Warrior and Second... But the Dhati.
A smirk curved his lips, orange eyes gleaming as he let his claws extend for a moment, gouging the earth beneath them. "My only regret will be in death... And even then it will only be a regret if I die without taking at least one of those bastards with me."
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 9:03 pm
"We have a lot worth fighting for," he murmured in agreement, seeing the face of his beloved in his mind's eye, followed by the faces of countless others that they had saved from a wretched life among the Mizimu.
"I think there is more to regret than death," he said after a long moment of contemplation, the faces of the pride members fading away as he turned from the horizon to consider the male at his side. "I wouldn't underestimate the Mizimu. They are morbid souls, and I think there are things far worse than death they have to offer. After all, in death there is peace." A frown turned down the corners of his mouth, as if, for the first time, he was contemplating the horrors that could await them should they fail.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 9:09 pm
"Peace for some, perhaps... But for others?" His brow lofted slightly as he met the other male's gaze for a moment before his own drifted back to the abandoned horizon. "For others death holds only loneliness." The only peace that he would find in his own death would be if he died knowing that his sister would live beyond him, on into her old age with a life of freedom ahead of her.
"We won't fail." His posture tensed, features taking on a look of sheer will and determination. "We can't."
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 9:17 pm
Magadi fell into silence as Mwako broached the subject of death. What would his death hold for him? Peace, or loneliness? Magadi liked to think that he had done right by the spirits, that everything he had done up until this point had been in accordance to their true wishes. But, then again, was it only this matter that concerned them? His beloved seemed unhappy, and she was as important as all of this. Would death find him without her?
"No, we can't fail," he echoed after Mwako, pulling himself upright and setting his jaw tightly. If they failed, he might never see his beloved Queen again, and that could not happen. He had done too much, sacrificed too much, all in her name. No, they would succeed, and he would give her the happily ever after he had always promised.
"I think I'll go and check on the status of the hunting raids," he murmured, his eyes a little far away, as if he were staring at something not there - or thinking of something completely separate from the world around him. He turned back to Mwako and gave him a swift nod. "I'll be calling upon you shortly, I've no doubt."
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 9:31 pm
"Mm." He nodded slowly, eyes still staring off into the distance until he blinked, relaxing ever so slightly as he stepped back. "I'm going to track down that leopard... See if he's seen or heard anything worth repeating. May the spirits guard you until we meet again, Magadi'Afya."
He managed to flash a true smile at the other male as he turned away, finding that smile lingering on for a moment until he started to ponder just where the spiritless one would be this time.
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