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 Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 2:29 pm
It was a nice evening. The sun was begining to lower itself in the sky, but there was still plenty of light. Things seemed happy enough - even the awkward leader, Makail, was smiling. Of course, this could have been reasoned simply enough, by the fact that there had been little crime that their forces had caught, and therefore, just justice needing to be administered.
That suited Makail just fine.
The kind often asked himself why he had to obtain the throne so young. It surely wasn't halthy for one as young as he to have all this responsibility shoved on to him!
'Life isn't always as fair as our courts, my son!' Makail remembered his father telling him.
In the end,, perhaps Makail was just a spoiled only child that needed a good kick in the rear, and to suck it up, and get on with his resposibilities.
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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 3:31 pm
They arrived just as night was beginning to fall, despite Faine's frequent [frequent] protests that it was imprudent to arrive at such an hour. Lua- now shed of his awkward adolescence and finally settling in to the stocky mountain of a lion he'd become, had had none of it. Who cared about time of day? Night was just as practical an hour. And although the both of them could make quite a racket arguing, it was clear who ended up making the winning decision.
Lua turned his head, observing Faine just a few yards behind him. He was still dragging his heels, but for the most part had shut up. It had been his idea to investigate the pride after all. Had Faine had his way, he probably would have planned the meeting out for a couple decades. Duable, for one that was immortal. But, a bit boring and pointless for the mortal firekin.
"Ah, don't drag, Faine." He thrummed. There was the thick scent of lions nearby- a familiar scent, although far placed from the desert lands the young male had long called home. There was a comfort in that. And, the curiosity about this group had been too tempting. For a long time now, Faine and Lua had been something of vigilantes on their own. The notion of finding other like-minded individuals...
"Don't be too eager." Faine cautioned, as he pulled up beside Lua. His voice was low- and as they approached, his wings delicately faded behind him into smoke. He wasn't about to make a grand entrance. "Just as many evils come out of good intentions."
"Mm." Lua remarked, taking stride beside his small friend. "Ah, I wonder what we must be then?"
Faine didn't seem to key to respond. Villains or heroes or not, it didn't take the duo long to come arrive at the borders. Or at least, where they felt they should not tred further. A lion was in the distance- and for a moment, both Faine and Lua stayed where they were.
"Might as well announce ourselves," Lua mused, a smile pulled across his face.
Faine shifted uncomfortably. "You should talk." He added in a hurried voice.
"I wasn't expecting to do anything less." Lua remarked, and with a slight keel to announce himself, began to approach. He kept his ears down as he moved. It might have been several years since the firekin had been a blight upon the savannah- but, Lua wasn't about to appear to be any sort of aggressor. "Hello there!" he called, his voice amiably booming.
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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:03 pm
Makail's ears perked - visitors? Makail put a bright smile on his face, and trod towards them. Whether they were here to employ them, passing through, or otherwise, greeting others was one duty that the young king didn't mind. Though, if they brought more work on him, he might begin to rethink that. Oh well! For now, they were yet another pleasantry on a warm, beautiful evening.
"Greeting visitors!"
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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:30 pm
The red lion thundered a low chuckle as the stranger greeted them. He liked open people. So often did people mistake amiability for weakness! What good was strength when all you did was lurk in corners and grumble? "Afternoon," Lua smiled, his tail flicking behind him as he approached. "Sorry for an intrusion at such an hour. My friend here, seems to think it's rude."
Faine, flustered at being introduced in such a way, took a step back and glowered at his friend. But, as the two males exchanged- he carefully observed the newcomer in front of him. He felt nothing from him. Not yet, anyways. Faine bitterly reminded himself that it was not an immediate process. "Not rude, Lua." Faine mumbled. "Just presumptuous."
"Ah!" Lua smiled. "That was it! Well, forgive us for that. We've only just arrived in these parts. We heard some rumors about a pride being here. Might you know of it?" He asked, his black mane shifting. This fellow smelled of other lions- he didn't doubt the answer.
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 10:57 am
Makail nodded. "You arrived at a fine hour, and indeed, a pride does live here and I," no matter how much he wished for his dad to totally rise from the dead and take his place, "am it's king. Please-" Makail took a step back, and jestured to the entrance to their large rocky abode- "Enter, and we can talk further.
For as gentle and accepting as he seemed to be, Makail examined both. The large dark-maned male was much larger than he, but he didn't feel too much of a threat from him. Like the Malakim, he seemed dutiful, and intense. From his smaller companion, intelligence, almost eerily so.
Makail, however, was not a judge. As he saw it, he was just there to administer the official going ons of the court, while the Elohim - much smarter and experienced than he, did their job. He did however, invite them in based on his inittial feelings. He'd just see whether or not his judgement of character wasn't as skewed as his since of duty.
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 12:08 pm
Lua smiled a broad, toothy smile and nodded his head. The king! Well, it seemed their token bad luck was, at least for the moment, starting to waver. Over his youth, Lua had met a great many lions- but despite his heritage, a king was not among them. He was pleased to find that they did not seem all that different. "The King- well, I am glad then that we need not waste much time in finding you!" he thrummed. "I'm Lua, and my partner here is Faine."
Faine nodded his head, keeping his mouth shut. He seemed a bit more offput by the idea that they were already speaking to the king. Lua frowned a bit, and chuckled slowly. Hopefully, his friend's antics wouldn't come across too badly. Faine didn't do well with strangers- and even less when he wasn't fully prepared to meet them.
As always though, what Faine created in awkward social staring, Lua attempted to remedy in amiable conversation. Directed by the king, the firekin followed towards the rocks. "Ah! That's good then. We're foreigners to these parts, my friend and I- but, we do have a small matter of business."
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 12:35 pm
"You may call me Makail. It is a pleasure to meet the both of you," he said, walking deeper into the depths of the rocky labrynth.
He managed to hide a groan as the word 'business' was spoken. Oh well, it was to be expected. Makail managed to keep his smile.
"Well then, I know a place where we can speak comfortably. There will be water, and a soft place to lay. You must have traveled for a while, and I'm sure both would be something most desireable."
It didn't take long to meet said place - it was a moderately sized grasy basin, located adjacent to the court circle, seperated only by a large outcroping of stone. The place was pleasant and cool, as it was always shaded, save for when the sun was directly over head. And there was the stream that flowed through it. Birthed from the sea that bordered the pride's eastern edge, the rocks it was forced to travel through filtered it, for the most part.
It was this place that served as a sort of 'commons area' for the pride, though at this time of day, most were settling inside.
"Here we are!"
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:03 pm
It was a rather grand sight, walking through the labyrinth- and it was a struggle to keep his attention on the king as he spoke. Makail. He would remember that name! "It's a far distance, yes. But- I'm afraid I come from a land far from here. One not so hospitable as this- I'll be quite comfortable with anything you might have!" He wished that wasn't the truth! With a low chuckle, he considered the nights spent on hot sand and hard rocks. Not that their sleeping arrangements as of late had been any better. Ah, he'd never been one for creature comforts anyways.
But, that said- the place was indeed lovely. Even Faine seemed intrigued- and, as force of habit, nothing intrigued him. As they stood around the basin he clicked his tongue and tilted his head. How many hundreds of years would it take to form something like this? Time was so under appreciated! "How interesting," He said quietly.
Lua nodded. The water was an unfamiliar sight- flowing below them as though it were nothing. Even though he had traveled far, the idea of water being as precious as gold had never lost him. "Indeed... you don't see many places like this! But, do not worry. No bad business, anyways."
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:19 pm
"It is said, in the old stories, that this place was a gift given to us by the gods," Makail said, taking a seat. He then gave a chuckle, "I'm not sure where the reality begins, and the fantasy ends though."
In all truth though, many years ago, the rocky structure that now served as home for the Refilwe'Oluchi pride had been a seriese of under water caves. The smothness of the rocks were a testament to the water that had once flowed through the open pores of the rock. Eathquakes eventually pushed the structure higher, and closed off many of the pathways that led straight out to the sea. The caves were emptied of their water, and life took wing. The caves though, remained absolutely facinating! Fossils of small sea creatures marked the wals like cave paintings.
The facination wore off though, if you were born and raised within those walls. It was the new blood that kept the 'magic' alive.
"Ah, that is good. Though I do think the Malakim are getting restless. One sindicate already went out to scout..." Makail remarked, forgetting that they probably didn't even know that the Malakim are
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:30 pm
Faine flattened his ears and took a few steps back to observe the rock face. As though, perhaps, the gods still lingered in the rocks- able to peer back at him. "...sometimes there is truth in old stories," He said lightly, his pale eyes fluttering around as he inspected the grounds for hidden shadows. He stumbled a hesitant circle around Lua, before settling down somewhat. "...maybe."
The stocky lion smiled, nodding to the King's story. "Fantasy or not, it is a fine place! Settle down Faine, there's no reason to trip over yourself." He added as an after thought, sitting down as well before Makail. "I don't doubt such a place comes with a long history."
While Lua let the slight bit of information slide- [or at least, chose to ignore it until he knew more of the subject], Faine was quick to jump on any idea of suspicion. His ears went up and he stumbled, eyeing the walls again with their great bones stretched across like a canvas. "Scouts?" He remarked. Well. Such a group would have enemies. "You're preparing for conflict?"
The black maned lion shifted, gazing over at Faine and putting his weight onto his left shoulder. "No one is without conflict. Actually, it's the stories we've heard about this pride that have brought us here."
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:50 pm
Makail chuckled a bit, "No, no conflict. It is our task to prescribe justice to wrong-doers. The Malakim with sometimes go out and scout for crimes going on, so we can deliver that justice. I'm interested to hear what stories you have heard... put some information for your friend;"
Makail looked to Faine, "Wrong-doers are brought here and detained in a cave away from the rest of the pride, untill they are to come to trial the next day, where the facts of their crime are questioned and disputed. We like to have witnesses, and the victim of the crime here to testify, and helf shed some light on the truth. It is then that a fitting punishment is determined...." a small space of air followed, before makail jumped on a little fact- "We always choose death as a very last resort, and if it comes down to that, it is not done happily. After all, there is a lot that can be done with rehabilitation."
Ugh, but he totally failed when it came to coming up with propper punishments.
"But either way, you came here for a reason..."
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 2:13 pm
Faine listened critically. He liked the idea of punishment. Although, he had a feeling his stance would be a bit harsher then this King's. Just the thought of it sloped his shoulders. Lua was sure to like it though- and just looking over to the big male, it seemed his assumptions were right. Critical, but Faine knew Lua had been right about coming to this place.
"Well, I believe you've just explained the reason." Lua smiled, his head nodding appreciatively. "You see... we're a bit like minded. For a while now, Faine and I have worked together, doing what we can to at least have some semblance of... sanity, here and there." An impossible task, but no one could say they weren't dedicated. "We might not seem like much, but Faine and I are... surprisingly good at finding trouble."
Lua looked over to his friend. But as a result, their ability had them tight-rope walking morality. Makail might have needed witnesses. But with a god that could feel the guilt of a soul as though it was a picture before him- Lua and Faine had become... less obliging to hard facts these days. And it was not that Lua doubted Faine, or regretted anything they had done in the past. But it was so easy to use Faine. So easy, in fact, that it worried Lua. Knowing guilt was Faine's burdeon, and look what it had done to him! The last thing Lua wanted, was to end up in a similar situation. "But, I believe strongly in the cause. Strongly enough to know that there is a very thin line separating criminals and those who hunt them- and, although we might be good at what we do, I no longer trust our two opinions as they stand. Sometimes, I fear we act without thinking."
He cleared his throat. "Which is why, we'd like to join you. I feel that, with the support of a pride and a group of people, we can truly feel justified in what we do. And not some rogues playing god out in the nowheres."
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 2:26 pm
Makail nodded. "I see." There was a moment of thought. These two felt the same call to duty that was betowed upon the pride, and better yet as Malakim. There was no reason for him to deny them.
"Then you are welcome to join the pride, and find your niche therein. There is a fair bit to learn - ranks, and laws, but depending on your station, should you choose to joing with the Malakim, or live a commonlife like the Ofanim, I am sure that with your hearts where they are, you will find a home here.
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 2:36 pm
Lua nodded his head, smiling. "I'm glad to hear that. It's been a long time since we've stayed in once place for any length of time. That'll be some relief on our feet." And his heart. It would do them some good working with others. God knows, Faine was about as reclusive as they came. And Lua would be glad to have someone who wasn't Faine to temper his actions.
"Well! We're willing to learn everything the pride has to teach." He looked back over to Faine, and gave the same toothy grin. That'd keep his flighty friend busy! If there was one thing the bitter god enjoyed, it was study. "Although, I think I will rely on my friend here to keep me informed." He thrummed.
"I..." Faine started. He still had his suspicions, and he still was a critical sort. But, although he was fearful of this future, he was not about to seem any less committed as Lua. "I thank you for having us, King."
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 2:52 pm
"The pleasure is mine," Makail gave a warm smile.
It was nice to have some new members of the pride who wouldn't hold him up and compair him to his father. It was, in the end, a great relief for the young king.
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