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 Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 6:33 pm
 So much had changed since the day Kokabiata wandered into these strange, war-torn lands. She had met a male in the neighboring pride and although she quickly discovered she felt nothing for him beyond simple friendship, their meeting resulted in her first litter of cubs, a development that brought her both joy and dread. Like the desert where she was born, Mwako'bi'Giza was dangerous territory. Her three little cubs needed to be watched closely. However, unlike the desert from which she haled, Mwako'bi'Giza was filled with caring adults and powerful warriors; her cubs were well protected.
While her cubs stayed with the caretakers, Koka went in search of another warrior. She hadn't seen much action yet but she knew her time on the battlefield would come soon, so it was important for her to form reliable bonds with her fellow warriors. The realities of life and death came second nature to this desert-born lioness. She did not hide from it.
Koka was quite large for a former rogue. With her hood wrapped around her head she looked like a male with a black mane from a distance. She was tall and stocky and almost androgynous. Her large paws, perfect for running across the dunes, also served her well in battle. She wasn't pretty, but she was practical.
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Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 6:52 pm
Having adjusted the log the way he wanted, Hekima raised a giant, thick paw, extending his claws and slashed at it, ripping bark from the exterior and at the same time giving his claws a good sharpening and shortening. Some would thing having long claws would be a good thing for a warrior but it was quite the opposite. Claws too long got into the way of running, and could get snagged quickly on exposed roots, causing tripping and loss of speed, neither which are good for war or hunting. Of course you didn't want your claws too short, than they might not rip quite the way you wanted them too.
Hekima shook his head, his thoughts were bothering him. He knew the way he thought wasn't bad, as those are technical things all big cats should know to survive, but for some reason he felt like that line of thinking made him more and more like the things they were combating against. Which simply lead him to thinking whether or not there is a demon inside him; was there a demon within Bavu?
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Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 7:07 pm
Obviously this was a warrior. Koka didn't look twice at his physic; she was used to hybrids by now and thought of them no differently than her fellow lions. In fact she was glad she chose not to stay in the desert to join the Firekin because of them. There were certainly no hybrids among the Firekin - they would have been killed on sight - and Koka felt proud to count them among her friends.
She approached at a casual pace and paid no attention to stealth. She did not want to startle him while he was practicing. When she was certain he had seen her, she said, "Good afternoon, shujaa. I hope I'm not intruding."
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Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 7:27 pm
Hekima finished his swipe as Koka had approached him, some bark from the trunk flying off. He looked up and over to Koka a smiled, she was new, probably not terribly, terribly new, but it was the first time he had seen her, so he was new to her.
"Afternoon! No, no, you're not intruding at all. I was just sharpening my claws, they're getting a little long. You can join me if you'd like, plenty of trunk to go around," Hekima gave a bit of a cheesy laugh to this. He wasn't used to talking to feline girls who weren't related to him and most of his encounters and adventures so far have been with males or dogs of some kind. This was a new experience for him.
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Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 7:42 pm
"Thank you." Koka nodded, though his laugh perplexed her a little. She moved to the other side of the trunk where she hopefully wouldn't be hit by flying pieces of bark and watched Hekima take a swipe. She was used to sharpening her claws on large boulders rather than tree trunks.
"My name is Koka. What's your's?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 8:00 pm
"I'm Hekima, first son of Moto'nyota," The leopon answered, slowly ragging his claws against the exposed dying wood of the trunk he had dragged over. It was almost like sandpaper, smoothing out the roughness of his claws, as well as sharpening them.
Hekima looked over Koka for a moment and noted her hood, which he thought a tad odd. He had seen accessories before, as his mother had some, and a few of his siblings, but he had never seen anything quite like that.
"Koka, what is that around your neck? Does it not get in your way?" He asked, pointing a claw at the wrap.
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Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 8:28 pm
Koka raked her claws across the wood. The bark gave way easily and she found the affect much more satisfying than sharpening her claws on stone, where she needed to be careful not to break them. It also reminded her of cutting through flesh. The wood resisted her attack but feebly.
She lifted her head and touched the bone necklace hidden in the folds of her scarf. "I call it a hood. It keeps my head cool in the heat of the day and protects my neck in battle, a bit like your mane. This necklace helps keep it in place. I found it in the desert. It still smells of the dunes."
The hood couldn't provide as much protection as the thick mane of a male lion, even when she wrapped it double around her neck, but it made her appear larger and tended to distract attackers from her neck. They would swing at the hood and miss her jugular or worse. "Once when I was in the desert a male lion got his paw caught in my hood. It was uncomfortable for me but left him so confused I was able to blind him and get away. The holes are still there, from his claws." She spoke casually, as if she hadn't found it frightening at all.
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Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 8:58 am
Hekima nodded as Koka spoke, he could imagine how hard it would be for a lone female out in Rogue Lands, or just generally by herself. You'd either have to be very good at defending yourself, or very good at running, though it was only his assumptions. He hadn't lived alone outside of the pride since he was a cub, so only his mother really knew what it was like to be on her own, maybe he'd ask her sometime.
"I like your hood and your necklace," He said, complimenting them, and mused, "I should find something like that for Taswira."
Shortly after he said it, Hekima realized how weird that may have sounded, mentioning off-hand some female she may or may not know, so he decided to elaborate, "Taswira is my younger half-sister. She is a little on the small side, and her friend Set is always worried about the demons and shadows getting to them, so something like your hood would be helpful at putting their worries to rest."
Hekima raised a paw and scratched at his ear quickly, "When did you join Koka?"
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 10:56 pm
Koka smiled at that. She understood what it meant to care for a younger sibling. "My brother Fufukamoto was a runt, too. My sister and I always worried about him overheating in the hot sun. I take it the shadows Set fears are some kind of evil spirits? What your sister needs is a good charm to keep them away. I'm not sure it would work so well on demon lions."
She thought it sweet that Taswira had someone like Set to care for her. Shupavu was nice and he gave her three wonderful daughters, but aside from that she had no interest in him. The idea of falling in love with a male was a little strange to her. She preferred males, certainly; it was just that the situation hadn't worked out so well for her mother.
"A couple of months now I suppose. It's hard to keep track of time, there's so much going on." The way she spoke, she clearly loved the chaos. "Do you have any other brothers or sisters here?"
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Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 8:11 am
"I'm not quite sure, but I believe Set sees shadows as a way the Demons can get to them without physically being there, like messengers or minions." Hekima explained, though he was unsure of his own explanation. He hadn't bothered to learn what Set had meant by his shadows, because it didn't matter what form was attacking him, only that he could be able to defend himself from it. Or at least he figured that's what Set had wanted.
Brothers, sisters; Hekima had plenty to spare. Since the disappearance of his farther, Serithi, his mother had taken on many lovers, but their presence never seemed to do much aside from stifle the pain in her heart for as long as they were present.
"I have many brothers and sisters, as well as half-siblings, though they are no different in my eyes. This pride was founded upon my family's bloodline, and I'm pretty sure we make up a decent number of the inhabitants here today. At least I can only speculate," Hekima said.
It was weird to him as he did have many brothers and sisters, and some he has yet to meet, or has only met once or twice. His own adventures and explorations take him from the pride enough where he you could potentially say he's more of a wandering rogue than a Shuuja of the Mwako'bi'giza, but nonetheless he always returned home if he was ever in need.
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Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 4:44 pm
"It must be nice to have such a large family," Koka mused. "I had a large family once, but we lived in the desert and the heat claimed many of them. The only ones I have any real memory of are my brother, Fukuamoto, and my sister, Jiweteka Maji. We went our separate ways a long time ago but I still feel them beside me. Family is strength.
"As for Set, I think a magic trinket would be just the thing to ease his worries. I'm pretty handy at making jewelry. Just not magic jewelry. But, if this is all in his head, perhaps it need not be real magic. He may just need to believe in it. Belief is its own kind of magic."
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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 9:56 am
Hekima nodded his head in agreement to her words, "Family is strength. I can only imagine how hard it was in the desert for your family. Even here in a more pleasant climate, it's hard raising a family, especially if you are without a pride."
Hekima pondered on this. It was true, her words. If this was all within Set's mind than he wouldn't need anything that was real magic, he would just have to say it was. At the same time, however, if Set believed it to be real and ended up hurt because it didn't work like he thought it would, Hekima wouldn't be able to forgive himself for his lie, even if that lie had only meant to help.
"This is true. I only worry that if it weren't of real magic that he would become distrusting of everything if it didn't work," Hekima sighed, "I've seen that happen before on my journeys in the Rogue Lands."
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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 12:38 pm
"Yes, it is risky. Even if it eased his mind a little he would resent you if he found out it was a lie, despite your good intentions." She paused in thought. "Then again maybe it's not such a bad thing to be a little paranoid in this pride. As long as he's not hurting himself or anyone else because of his beliefs, it may be better to leave him to them."
Koka raked her claws through the bark a final time and sat down to lick them clean. That tree trunk worked even better than she hoped. It was a relief to have something a little softer than stone to sharpen her claws with, for she had been limited to rock in the desert. She turned to Hekima with a faint smile. "Would you like to spar with me? Since we'll be fighting side by side in the future, we should get to know each other's style."
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Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 10:27 am
Hekima nodded to Koka's words, she was right on many accounts. It was possibly the best idea to leave Set to his paranoia so long as it didn't hurt anyone else in the process. He gave a small sigh, a little sad he couldn't figure out some way to ease Set's mind of his fears.
Hekima blinked at Koka and nodded his head, "Sure. That sounds like a good idea."
It was a fantastic idea, actually. His opponents thus far were people he'd found out in the rogue lands. While his siblings were the same size and were evenly matched to him, one was a chicken, another wasn't one to fight, and he couldn't really locate the last one at the moment. He was sure she was out and about doing things outside the pride, or at least he thought. Either way he felt excited about the prospect of having a good fight, and followed Koka off to a location where they could spar without interruption by children.
[FIN]
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