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 Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 12:16 pm
[WARNING - Graphic Content] 
He'd started early today, in order to reach the border by the time the sun had fully set. That was some time ago, of course. The sky no longer glowed yellow and orange, but merely was a lighter shade than the rest. The brightest stars were beginning to peek through on the other horizon, providing an odd counterlight to the muted remnants of the day. Ears alert for movement in the area, he padded along, eyes shifting from changing sky to the shadowy landscape around him. The semi-dark even seemed to muffle his pawfalls, though soon enough full dark would fall, bringing with it the sounds and activity of the nocturnal. For now, all was quiet.
That is, until the aging lion nearly fell flat on his muzzle. With a loud grunt of surprise and effort, he caught himself in a sprawl, eyes wide and senses suddenly more alert. He must have been seriously lulled by the dusky serenity to have allowed himself to trip over something! But as he scrambled to his paws, he realized that whatever he'd stumbled over wasn't the typical obstacle. Nostrils flared, mouth gaping slightly to inhale more scent, and whiskers quivering, he turned to examine the offending object. Raising a paw to cautiously prod it, he leaned in closer to better see in the murky light.
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Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 10:40 pm
 He knew he should take better care but his mind was jumping back and forth as he battled the thoughts within his head. He was torn between his loyalty to the Mizimu'Tungika or looking for his sister. He wanted nothing more than to earn their respect or at least to be noticed. Of course, earning a spirit in the next life was at the top of his list of priorities as well. On the other hand, his heart carried a heavy burden that challenged his feelings towards the pride. His sister has been missing for far too long. He did not want to think of what the Dhati could have done to her. Instinctively, his body tensed and began running in a different direction. His heart had decided for him. With any luck, he could bring honor to the pride AND search for his sister.
He regretted giving her such a hard time. Was this his fault? No. She was only following orders, right? But could their competitive nature have made it harder for her to concentrate? Could something have gone wrong?
He paused briefly to scout the area. The land was almost empty, a hallow reminder of his life. It was here that she had been sent. He would scour the land until he found some sign of her as his keen eyes rarely missed any details.
It was those very eyes that spotted movement in the distance. Though he was too far away to be sure, it looked like a lion and no member of the Mizi. Without thinking, he charged forward to close the distance between them and to find out what was going on. All his training as a scout seemed to disappear. He was loud, he was fast, and he had no care in the world. All he could think of was Chuuza being in possible danger.
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 10:32 am
A piece of the dusk at that very moment came hurtling out of the gloom. The grey body snarled and growled as it came, causing the green lion to crouch and bare his fangs defensively. Perhaps this was the one who had done what was at his feet?
For what he crouched over was the body of a leopard, a female. The ground was soaked with blood from her freshly slit throat, pooling around his forepaws and staining them dark. The scent of death and blood was both heady and nauseating, for there was more carnage done to the body than just a mere ending of life. Her pelt had been removed, from face to haunch, peeled away to reveal what lay beneath. The desecrated face was further dishonored by one eye being removed from it's socket to lay in the puddle of blood, still intact. But lastly, her entrails had been removed from her belly and now lay beside her in a grotesque sprawl, steaming in the night air.
Haini's grimace had as much to do with this silent mocking of of the sacred sacrifices of the Mizimu'Tungika as it did with the heinous nature of the slaughter, as well as the approach of the dusk-cloaked stranger. It would undoubtedly take him longer to focus on and identify his aggressor that it would for the one approaching to identify him. Uncomfortable at being put at the disadvantage, the grizzled lion snarled into the growing darkness, a warning to whomever it was that came near that he was willing and capable of defending himself.
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:49 am
The scent of blood reached his nostrils first, and death followed shortly thereafter. It wasn't until the scenario became visible that the leopard tried to stop his high speed run. The sudden movement caused him to topple forward and roll before landing in a heap on the ground, just a few feet away from the carcass. He ignored his aching muscles and for a moment he ignored the lion present who seemed ready and willing to fight. All he could do was stare at the body before him. Could this be Chuuza? Could this be his sister? He could not tell but what else could it be? Her pelt was gone but it was a body of a female leopard all the same. She was.. it was awful. She would be avenged. He would see that her killer shared the same fate as she was forced to suffer.
The tears that had taken up residence in his eyes slowly dried from the rage that had begun to burn. A rage the young leopard had never felt before. Life and Death almost seemed meaningless to him. He had nothing left to lose. Nothing left holding him to this life, at least that was how he truly felt at the moment.
His eyes turned back to the lion and his claws dug into the dirt below. The female's blood was on him. The kill was fairly recent. There was no question in his mind just WHO had killed his 'sister'. He hated jumping to conclusions but common sense dictated that it could be no other.
"I promise to make you suffer as much as she suffered," he growled out as he pushed his body up from the ground. A moment of recognition passed over him as he took in the full appearance of the lion but he pushed it to the back of his head, tucked away for later use if he managed to survive this encounter. The only thing that mattered to him was that this lion was still alive but he aimed to fix that problem. "We'll see how good you look without your pelt, coward".
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 2:53 pm
His eyes dialated in the dim and fading light as night closed in. It still was horrendously hard to distinguish the other from the background, though he saw well enough to know who it was. But this accusation!
His instincts warred against each other. One said to cringe, to smooth over the problem, to debase himself. Another riled that a leopard would dare speak to a lion that way, and one with a pelt no better than his own in proper color, or lack thereof. And lastly, a new sensation, one that insisted that color no longer mattered, only truth. Taken aback by the ferocity of his opponent, and the churning, conflicting thoughts in his head, he backed away, one slow step at a time.
His tail lashed and his ears pinned, but he did not do more than bare his teeth. It wasn't that he was afraid of the smaller feline. He'd fought too many battles in his long years to worry over such a thing. Finally the vying opinions in his head merged, and he managed to reply. "Stupid young fool," he growled, now standing his ground several feet away from the carcass. "Get your head on straight!" He raised a paw as evisdence. "Look. Look good, cub. Does this look like the result of that?" He bit off the last word with such heartfelt disgust. It was one thing to fight to the death, to protect one's pride, or one's family, or one's self. But this smacked of more than just mere territorial combat.
The paw he raised, gleaming wetly in the rising light of the stars, bore a clean line where he'd stepped in the gruesome puddle. It didn't even cover his whole paw. His whiskers bristled and he coughed a challenge. "If you still think I'm the one to blame, you go right ahead. Just know it'll be your death for it." It was just a leopard after all. He raised himself taller, squared his borad shoulders. He ignored the groan of joints that were becoming less pleased with aggression. He still could take on the smaller cat, surely, if it came to that.
As to why he didn't simply attack what essentially was his sworn enemy, his reasons remained his own.
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Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 7:13 am
Tahir didn't want to see reason. True, there was not enough blood on the present lion to warrant the bloodshed that could have come from the terrible act before him but he wanted to blame someone. He wanted to blame the lion before him. He wanted to tear into his flesh and hoped it would make the pain go away but he knew it would not. The pain would never go away, nor would the guilt that he felt. If he had done things differently then perhaps he would have been given the task that ended up with his sister. Perhaps he would have had a better chance surviving whatever did get her.
"Logic supports your words," the leopard stated barely above a whisper. Resignation echoed in the quiet voice. He took a few steps forward and lowered his head to the face of the dead leopard. He couldn't waste his energy fighting those that were not involved. He would have to find out any information he could and move on but even if this lion did know something, would he share it with him? And if this lion was part of the Dhati, didn't he owe the Mizi something? Would he be dishonoring them if he left him alone? He was torn between what he should do and what he wanted to do.
"What are you doing here? What have the Dhati put you up to? I believe that you stumbled upon this but what brings you here all the same? Did you see anyone here before you?" To be honest, Tahir was surprised the lion did not jump at his throat already. Though he was loathe to admit it, he was thankful for it. He didn't want to be delayed more than he already had. He needed to find out what happened and if it were possible, who had done this.
The scent of the dead leopard was starting to make him sick. His worst enemy did not even deserve to die in such a way. No, that wasn't necessarily true. Whoever killed his sister DID deserve to die in just this way and if he had his way, he'd be the one to deliver it. The question though was who.
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Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 9:30 am
The lion eyed the leopard warily as he replied. Well that was a start. He did not, however, relax. No warrior would in such a situation. Words were just that. Words. They didn't always match intended action, and one must be ready for anything. The fact that he had never officially been a warrior was beside the point. A warrior had been what he'd striven to prove himself as, despite his green hide.
But now how to respond? He pondered his options as his hide twitched and shuddered in revulsion at the grisly scene. How much should he reveal? What would hurt or help his own cause? His tail lashed back and forth as he studied his opponent. Finally he spoke as the last of the light died in the west. "The Dhati have given me nothing to do," he replied truthfully, but with his voice oddly weighted. "As to what I'm doing here, that is my bsuiness." Such an strange mix of haughty coldness and distant cautiousness blended in his voice, it wasn't clear whether he meant to brush him off or not. "But I saw noone. The only one I saw was you." There. Let him wonder if that was an accusation or a mere statement of fact.
Sparring with words wasn't his strong point, and definitely not his chosen form of communication or combat. Still, under the circumstances, he couldn't see any other way to handle this. He felt constrained by his own motives, binding his paws and stifling his voice. What a tricky mess this was. Gruffly, he turned away with a growl, "You'd best move off, though. If they catch you here, it may be your hide that's missing." As to who that 'they' might be was anyone's guess. Maisha'uhaini kept his reasonings and thoughts to himself.
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Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:06 am
((Sorry for the no show. Yesterday was a long and exhausting day of running around doing last minute school shopping, belated errands and then open house for school. By the time I got online last night, I crashed soon after to get back into the school grind. ))
Try as he might, he could not fault the lion for being secretive. He wouldn't have shared information to the enemy either if the roles had been reversed. It seemed honest enough but the Dhati could not be trusted. This one especially could not be trusted.. if his memory didn't betray him. The past was the past and had nothing to do with his sister and that was one truth that he was sure of. Whatever this lion was up to, he was not the one to hurt his sister. It would be too easy to attack him, to take out his anger and pain on the lion but it was not his blame to carry. This war would no doubt bring another opportunity to fight, perhaps to even kill one another.
"We were competitive," he admitted, opening up briefly to the guilt and pain he felt, "but I would never kill my sister." He lowered his head to look at the body more closely before adding in a whisper, "I can't even tell if this is her but the odds of it being another are slim." Too slim.
"I'm going to be honest. This war dictates that we should fight one another. However, there's plenty of time for that in the days to come. I'd prefer we go about as if this meeting never happened. You were never here." Though he wasn't entirely happy with this and worried it would make him a coward and ruin his chances of a better pelt in the next life, he felt like he had no other alternative. Not every decision was an easy one to make. "I would like to get back to the Mizi as soon as possible. They need to know that one of their scouts have fallen. Perhaps one of them would have insight behind the brutality of it. It is my duty to provide them with an update on the situation."
He left out that he would be back. One way or another, he would be back. Nothing short of the Mizi ordering him to do something elsewhere would prevent it from happening. If luck was on his side, they would order him back here to investigate further. A part of him wanted to do it now but he knew that letting them know what happened was more important. If something happened to him, then they would have no knowledge of what took place. His sister would understand, even support him.
Of course, this depended rather heavily on what the lion wanted to do. For all Tahir knew, a fight very well could be happening and his body tensed in preparation for that very possibility.
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Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 12:32 pm
The leopard chattered on as Haini moved away. Only his ears slanted back to indicate he heard, until the grey one stated that he had never been there. He paused, one paw upraised, to look back over his shoulder. His expression was unreadable in the night. He had never been there. Yes, he supposed that was appropriate. He gave a grunt of rough agreement, turning his face away once more as the apparently bereaved brother continued his spiel.
Haini looked up at the stars. The came out brighter every moment, more of them appearing within the blackness of the sky. Mostly the leopard's words flowed over him, having little impact. He did gather that this death was to be reported back at the pride's home. He wondered if it would create a stir or merely be accepted as a casulaty of war. For all that he'd been told he was not to have been present at the discovery, he knew he could very well be blamed. What would the Queen think of that?
He growled under his breath at the speculation. It was pointless. The whole situation had turned out to be useless for his own motives. Irritated and feeling his age entirely too much, he rumbled wordlessly at his opponent, back still turned, and then padded off into the night. Let the measly boy mourn his kin, if he chose. Her death was not the first, and certainly not the last in this conflict.
Feeling tired and as if time was running out for him, he broke into a lope that carried him from the scent of blood and misery. He had his patrol to finish.
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Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 8:09 pm
The leopard had to admit, he was rather surprised that the lion had chosen to leave. Though he had little to gain from the possible battle between them, surely it was a different matter for the lion. Would he be going back to the Dhati empty pawed? Tahir found himself curious about the lion and his loyalty to the Dhati. Now was not the time to drown in random thoughts, however. He had to get back to the Mizi.
He was sure that he would be sent back this way to scout further and to try to find more information on what happened. If he did, perhaps he would cross paths with the lion again. Curiosity killed the cat, he reminded himself, half jokingly, half seriously. There were worse ways to die, of course.
When the lion was no longer within his vision, the leopard lowered his head and bid his sister farewell. He hated leaving her this way but his options were limited. Once he finished, he turned and quietly darted off. He took more care to keep quiet this time as he had made enough mistakes as a scout for one day.
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