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 Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 12:01 pm
 Hala.
His name, in arabic, meant halo. A shame then, that he did not live up to his name. Once, it could be pereived that he had. He had been the angel of death, bringing justice by ending the lives of sinners. He had been an assassin and a fine one at that. In his youth he had been a prized member of his pride - along with his brother - but now he was nothing more than an exile.
An exile that now sought nothing but revenge on the sibling who had turned on him.
His 'halo' had long since broken and fallen about his feet. Some, who would not believe in the act of justice killings, would say that it had never existed.
The lion was no closer to finding his brother, that much was clear. He had passed by many lands in his search and had not come up with a single trace of him. No one he had asked had seen him, and though some thought they may have, their offerings of help had always come up with nothing. He saw no point in trusting the word of others now, though occassionally he might ask one who looked like they had travelled a lot in their time.
Yet, despite the fact that he might as well be looking for a needle in a haystack, it was clear he would never stop looking, even if it took a lifetime.
He padded onwards, dark pelt dusty, head low with fatigue. His eyes were dark, his expression grim. He was clearly not in a good mood this day.
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 12:15 pm
Unlike Hala, Nyota was in a fairly good mood. While she had lost track of Theluthi, her small companion, she was off looking for her. It was almost like a game of hide and seek, which was a happy reminder of when they had both been smaller. She didn't have much of a reason to grow up, even though she was physically an adult, so she was more than willing to let herself be childish while she could.
"Hmm," she leaned down to sniff at some dirt that looked almost like it had been disturbed by small feet recently. It wasn't just entertaining, it was good practice. The only potential problem was just how far she had gone from the central lands.
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 12:23 pm
Hala was tired, but not so tired that he didn't spot the female just ahead. The very thought of crossing paths with a female riled him. How many had he met now who had thought themselves good enough to try and fight with him or woo him? It was beginning to drag on his nerves and he wasn't sure how much more of it he could handle.
Perhaps it would be better to circle wide and miss her. Even if she had spotted him, maybe she wouldn't want to risk approaching a strange rogue.
Altering his path a little, he made to circle around her, keeping his head straight ahead, but his eyes on her, making sure she wouldn't suddenly charge at him or anything like that. The last thing he wanted was to be taken unawares and tackled by a female. That wouldn't do his mood any good at all and he was too tired to fight well.
It was only when he caught her scent that he stopped dead. His whole body tensing, not moving at all. His eyes were wide, his whiskers flared around his muzzle, the hackles on his shoulders up.
That scent.
It was a little altered, of course, but held such familiar traces that it could not have been a coincidence.
He turned his head slowly to look at her, his nostrils working madly as if trying to work out exactly what he had found here.
It couldn't be....
...could it?
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 12:49 pm
Nyota lifted her head back up from the dust, squinting to look out and around for any obvious signs of Theluthi and suddenly sneezing. Shaking her head, she suddenly noticed the stranger nearby. He was strange and dark but something about him was familiar, even from a distance. The colors were very familiar but that was hardly a reason to approach anybody. Black was common and well, he didn't look like he wanted to talk.
So she shrugged, and started looking around again. They were far enough away from the central lands that Theluthi wouldn't be entirely safe from hunters, and now that she had spotted a lion around, the real threat of it occurred to her.
"Theluthi wouldn't be that stupid," she told herself, moving along again -- until she realized the nearby lion had stopped moving and was staring at her. She stopped herself and looked over at him, tensing. Was she so far from home now that she could be in danger?
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:02 pm
Well she had noticed him now.
He stared across at her, not able to tear his eyes away, trying to figure out who she could be and knowing already that it had to be linked to his brother in someway. No one else in his family had parted these lands and it was highly unlikely that they would mate with someone outside of the pride.
So that left the one likely option.
Altair.
Even thinking the name sent a bristle of anger through him, rippling the fur on his back. So who was this then? A spawn of his backstabbing brother? And what did that mean? That he was nearby? Could it be possible he had reached the end of his search? Vengeance - he could almost taste it!
And before he knew what he was doing he was moving towards her, not fast, but with strong purposeful steps. "You there. Wait a moment."
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:07 pm
Nyota kept her eyes on him for the same reason he had been looking at her, to make sure she was watching if he attacked. She wasn't strong but she wasn't stupid, she had a better chance facing him than trying to run away. Even if it was just to try to get past him and gain some advantage while he got himself turned around. At least she was.. near the pride's lands.
Her eyes narrowed when he called out to her and she took a defensive step back but made no obvious signs of running off. The closer he got, the more obvious certain resemblances became. Then she almost look confused.
"Who are you?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:33 pm
His heart was pounding with anxiety.
She didn't have many of her brother's colours, but there were similarities in her build. Even that look, as she narrowed her eyes, was like his brother's. She wasn't backing down or fleeing either. She was standing her ground.
Perhaps if he realised how close he was to a pride's lands. Perhaps if he realised that this lady was not just a rogue, he would not have been so confident. But at the moment, the scents of those pride members were nothing more than an ignorable part of the background. This female before him was too important for him to hesitate.
"My name doesn't matter, girl." He replied, still moving towards her. "Where is your father? Tell me now!" He could feel the fire of rage already burning within him. The desire to rend his sibling's soul from his body and cast him into everlasting darkness.
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:43 pm
Nyota frowned at first when Hala refused to introduce himself but it didn't last long. When he demanded to know where her father was, she looked confused once again. She didn't know her father, she hadn't even been thinking about that- but now, the reasons he might look so familiar were obvious. The colors were much like Usiku, the streaks in his mane were like Dhuriyana and his eyes were the same color as Dhuriyana and Nkiruka's eyes. If he hadn't specifically asked for her father, she might have written it off as coincidence but he had to be a relative. Not their father specifically or he wouldn't have asked what he did.
"What's it to you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes again and taking another defensive step back, "Who are you?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:49 pm
He stopped a few paces short of her, bristling. It was clear that he wasn't going to be happy to see Nyota's father if she had been able to produce him. Lucky for Altair that he was nowhere in sight. The male wasn't even aware that he had children at all.
"Well, judging by your scent and your attitude, I'd say your father was my brother." His claws dug into the ground at that.
His brother had had children? What would he do now? The assassin's rules stated that he could not harm her. For it was no fault of hers that her father was a traitor and exile. She had not chosen her sire. However, he was no longer bound by those rules. He was an exile, too. And yet...old habits die hard. He didn't think he could bring himself to harm her...unless she refused to answer.
"That would make me your uncle, I suppose. Now. Answer my question. Where is he?" He gritted his teeth to keep himself from losing control. He needed to keep his patience.
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:57 pm
She noticed just how happy Hala looked at the idea of seeing her father, and it didn't make her feel very agreeable. She was sure it'd be easy enough to just deny knowing who her father was at all, which was the truth, but part of her was curious and the other part knew it'd be hard to convince him of it. Still considering her options, she looked him up and down- noting the claws in the dirt in particular before looking back up to his eyes.
"You don't look very happy to have found him," she commented, the false indication of having 'found him' referring to Hala's own idea that he had in fact done so, "And you don't look very happy to see me."
Nyota had uncles and she had never seen any of them look like that. She was beginning to think she understood why her mother was so silent on the topic of their father, but the idea of him being vicious like this lion didn't produce many pleasant scenarios that would lead to cubs in her mind.
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 2:46 pm
"Oh no." Hala replied. "I'm very happy to see you. In fact, I am blessed to have crossed your path, girl. If I had not met you than I would have passed this place by, completely unawares to the relative who hides here."
He took another step forwards. "And since you seem hesitant to tell me where he is, I'll take it he hasn't told you about his past, has he?"
A plan flickered into life in Hala's mind. Perhaps he could exaggerate the truth a little, get this girl to believe her father wasn't all that he seemed. Yes, it was truth, but truth could always be made that much more extreme.
"There is probably much you don't know about him."
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 7:15 pm
Nyota looked extremely skeptical when Hala said he was very happy to see her, until he said it was because he wouldn't know his brother was (supposedly) hiding out around here somewhere. She looked on very seriously as he continued. She hid her curiosity, her desire to find out anything about him. The most honest answer to the remark that there was much she didn't know about him would be that she didn't even know his name. She barely knew what he looked like, though some of it could be pieced together from her and her sisters. She opened her mouth to challenge him, dare him to tell her something she didn't know but she thought of her mother and closed her mouth again. Her mother didn't want them to know, there had to be a reason. The worries that originally crossed her mind had faded when Hala inadvertently indicated that her father just might have been the type to stick around and be a father, why else would he be so ready to believe he was here? What else could be so bad that her mother wouldn't want her to know?
"I don't care," she said finally, deciding against her desire to know and her mother's decision to keep them in the dark. What did it matter any way? She glared at Hala, taking another step back, about ready to walk off but uncertain she could get far. She wanted to look back the way she had come to see if anybody was nearby but she didn't take her eyes off of him just yet.
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 12:28 pm
"You don't care?" Hala looked genuinely surprised. Did she really not care? Or was she just pretending? If he had been in her place he would have wanted to know. After all, cats were curious creatures and he had just presented her with a mouth-watering piecce of information here.
Well...he'd give her a little to chew on.
"You don't care that your Father is a dangerous lion?" He continued briskly. "That, so ruled by emotion, he even turned his claws and fangs upon me?" He turned slightly so that the odd streaks of tufty fur could be seen - now grown over scars.
"If he would turn against a brother, who is to say he will not turn against a daughter?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 6:13 pm
She stayed quiet as Hala refused to accept that she didn't want to know anything. She made no move to avoid seeing what he showed or to stop him from speaking, a clear indication of her conflict on the topic. She raised a brow at him when he suggested he might turn on a daughter. Now her worries circled back on her, half expecting to hear he was some sort of psychopath. Someone who could turn on their own family but still might be expected to stick around for their cubs.. that didn't sound normal.
"Prove it," she said, not letting herself be convinced so easily- though she already had her doubts, "How do I know that he did it?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 12:45 am
The male exhaled noisily through his nostrils at her response. "You know I cannot do that. There is no way to prove what has been committed in the past." Though it angered him to say it.
"The scars beneath my pelt are the only proof I have. However, the situation seems clear. Ask your father yourself, see what you can find in the look in his eyes when he tries to deny it. Or better yet, tell him you've met me and see his reaction then."
Oh, he'd love to be there when that happened. The fear. The anger. His brother must know that he was coming for him.
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