|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Oct 04, 2010 3:10 am
 Nko was headed back to the pride. She'd spent a night out patrolling the lands. Nothing really exciting had happened. Some tracks meandering over the edge of their lands, and some hyenas she'd chased off were about the sum of it.
Now she was tired, hungry, and thirsty. The sun was barely starting to peak up over the land. At least I wont have to worry about tripping over stuff. She inhaled the fresh morning air and picked up her tired paws. Ahead she smelled fresh water; a small stream flowing across the land for a short ways before disappearing underground again. It would do to quench her thirst. Maybe I can get a slave to beg a huntress for a meal for me.(I'm rather unclear if the initiation ceremony for them ever took place, but I'm going to assume it has and Nko has assumed her role of guard.)
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 11:15 am
 As if a sign of luck, Kizimwi had returned from a hunt. The prey wasn't all that big - Just a young zebra she'd caught - but it was sufficient for one or two lions. As she picked her way through the trees, she spotted somebody near the watering hole. She paused near by, setting the zebra foal down. "Hello!" No matter if she'd just returned from a hunt or not, Kizimwi wasn't above saying hello. It was the nice and polite thing to do, after all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 11:28 am
She had just finished drinking, when she heard a voice calling out. Rising to her feet and turning to see who it was. Nko licked water from her whiskers. "Good morning. What are you doing out here so early?" The zebra foal at the other's feet gave her a pretty good idea. She told her stomach to hush as it made itself known.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 1:47 pm
"Well, I went out hunting last night, and caught this foal... It's actually a bit much for me, when I think about it..." She motioned with a paw, smiling at the other lioness. "Would you care to share some? It's not a problem for me, really, too much food for oneself is a bad thing." What seemed like long ago, her mother had told her to always share. It was right, and it meant others would share with you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 2:05 pm
Nko smiled. What lucky timing for her! She wouldn't have to wait for a meal. "That is very generous of you. Ah... My name's Nkosazana." It only seemed polite to make introductions before they shared this meal.
She walked over. "Since you caught it, what portion would you like?" Too bad slaves can't hunt. Then I'd never have to wait. She almost sighed as she came up with an idea, and had to lay it aside almost immediately. A huntress wouldn't need Nko's protection, so she'd be unable to make one loyal to her. As nice as a private hunter would have been....
First dibs on any of their kills and all the choicest bits she could want. Her mouth watered and her stomach growled at the thought. I'd soon become too fat to patrol effectively, Nko thought to herself with amusement.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 3:16 pm
"My name's Kizimwi!" The lioness motioned with a paw to the zebra foal. "And I was thinking, we could each take a hind leg, split the rest... It's fair, and equal." Kizimwi had no idea what rank Nko held, but from the sound of hunger... It wasn't likely to be huntress. Having been away from the pride so long, Kizimwi wasn't sure of too many of the faces. She didn't know who'd joined, or who was the offspring of another pride member, since she'd last SEEN the pride. So, for now, she treated all the same.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 3:26 pm
"Pleasure to meet you Kizimwi, and I thank you for the meal." She smiled. "That sounds excellent to me." Selecting a back leg, she took a large bite out of it. As the meat hit her tongue, she rolled her eyes. It was so good! She chewed slowly to savor it and make it last. "This was a very good choice. Nicely young and tender." She beamed approval on the other lioness. It couldn't hurt to be nice this time even if she didn't know her rank; after all Kizimwi offered to share her kill without Nko asking.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 5:00 pm
Laying down, Kizimwi enjoyed her share of the meal. As she licked her maw, she smiled up at Nko. "I'm just curious here, what rank are you...? I'm a huntress, myself." She smiled, quite proud. "Just like my mother and father before me, and their pants before them! I come from a long line of hunters!" No slaves in her line, which made her happy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 5:07 pm
Clearly she was a good huntress in Nko's eyes. "I'm a guard." Her neck arched just slightly. She was proud to make her pride safe. With her belly now pleasantly full, she took a moment to clean up. Making sure to get everything off of her fur. "I.... really don't remember much about my family. I still have my brother Uchanjaa."
She looked trouble for a moment. Not remembering had its drawbacks, but Nko wasn't sure that she really wanted to remember. Even so, she couldn't claim any such honor as coming from a long line of something. She'd just have to start her own line them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 10:56 am
"That's not always a bad thing!" She smiled. "You can be the start of a long, proud line of guards!" Then she tilted her head, contemplating just what Uchanjaa would look like. "I'm not sure if I've seen your brother or not... I do know I haven't seen you before today... Are you new to the pride?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 6:47 pm
Nko purred as Kizimwi said aloud exactly what she'd been thinking. It would be a proud line indeed! "Yes, that's an excellent idea. We need good guards." For a moment, she was dazed by the image of proud lions standing guard beside her.
"He's a bit darker than me, with a symbol on his nose. You'd recognize him if you saw him." She gave a soft purr that was almost a chuckle. Her and her brother were very near similar. "Well.... yes and no. We were part of the pride before the move happened. Our group got lost and it took us some time to find where the new location was." She took a moment to lick her fur. "It just seemed like the journey would never end, but it did." Nko smiled.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 9:22 pm
Kizimwi's ears perked. "So I'm not the only one who got lost!" She smiled sheepishly, a bit embarrassed about herself. "I slipped off to hunt something, and came back to everybody gone..." She shook her head, stretching out with a pleased sound. "But then I found my way to our new home, so that's behind me!" No more embarrassing actions for her! She hoped.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 9:34 pm
"Oh dear Great Lion. That must have been so nerve wracking! I'm very glad you did find your way back thought. I didn't exactly have a choice. My brother and I were born out there when the pride was scattered. I think. It's so hard to remember."
And she didn't want to remember. The tragic death of her mother, then being taken in by a slave, wasn't something the proud lioness wanted to recall. "Were you heading back to the pride now?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 10:29 pm
"I've actually been back a couple nights myself..." Her tail flicked, as she thought about her parents. Her ears went back, sorrow in her face. "I wish my parents were here... My mother died at the start of the journey, and I haven't seen my father since I got lost..." She had no siblings, either. She'd been born an only cub. "I hope he still walks this world, but if he doesn't, he's made it back to the Great Lion..." Her gaze went to the sky, becoming bright with the sun's light. "The sun's rising... The Great Lion sleeps..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 2:34 pm
She nodded. Kizimwi was lucky to have been only lost for a few days. Her group had not been so fortunate. "I hope someday you reunite with your father if he's alive, or return to bask with him in the light of the Great Lion." She purred comfortingly.
Nko looked towards the horizon. Indeed, it was starting to shine brightly. "Shall we return then? I must go make my report."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
