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 Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 9:20 pm
Now and then, one of her wounds twitched. They weren't doing too grandly well, but they looked better than when she'd limped away from Ngoma. Now, Jua'taka simply walked, looking for... She wasn't entirely sure, herself. Not anymore. Was she looking for Finar-si, to set her children straight for abandoning her? Or was she looking for some other god to bow to? The black lioness wasn't sure, she just knew... Life didn't seem to be smiling at her. She huffed, climbing her way up a hill. Not long ago, she'd be running up a dune... Now it felt like she was climbing a mountain instead of a small hill. But the view of the savanna was well worth it, scanning the horizon for... She wasn't sure. But when she spotted a red and white blob in the grass, she decided to wait for it to come to her.
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Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 9:40 pm
Ment had wandered far from his Simbafutaji homelands in order to look for materials for his crafting. He had made sure that their Kifoku was aware of his absence, as well as one of his friends. Searching for materials was important to Ment, as his crafting skills were one of the few things he could be proud of in his life time, which was kinda sad. He spent so much of his time at play and trying to survive, that he really hadn't done anything important until he came into his new pride, his new home. He was determined to do his best.
Accompanying him for the ride was his new friend, Chopoa. An avian he had met back at the shorelines who had come in quite handy when he was looking for nice, intact sea shells for a necklace. She had been circling overhead, trying to spot anything shiny that Ment might be able to work with, unfortunately the search had been compromised due to the savannah's long grass. Spotting the dark lioness, Chopoa said nothing and simply circled the air. She would not bother another lion or lioness until they bothered her and Ment first.
It didn't take long for Ment to pick up on the peculiar scent lingering over the lands. It wasn't old, as many of the scents filling his nose currently were. It was rather new and new by what he could only suspect were hours if not minutes. He looked around for the scent but couldn't see the source. He was forced to follow the scent.
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Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 9:51 pm
The other animal didn't seem to notice her... The dark lioness let out a huff, heading downhill. May as well investigate them. Like a shadow, she crept around through the grass, intent on seeing first who this creature was. Was it a lion? Or was it some other manner of beast? Through the grass, a shock of white was barely visible. As she drew closer, she saw reds, a mane... She paused. A mane... Maybe somebody with Firekin in them? She didn't know, she was wary to find out. The lioness started to circle around, now seeking to avoid. Inexperience in savanna grasses, though, couldn't work in her favor as she stepped on this and that and made noise.
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Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 10:13 pm
It didn't take long Ment to notice that the owner of the unfamiliar and fresh scent was circling him. He could hear their attempts at stalking about him, as if they were checking him out. Unfortunate for them that he had caught on to it, because no big cat, or even dog and hyena, would be very pleased in knowing they were caught.
Feeling that the obvious avoidance of directly contacting him was not working out very well for whomever his admirer was, Ment peaked his head up over the grass and went up on his hind legs to get the higher ground on the other feline. Noticing the dark black against the green of the grass, Ment gave off a small chuckle and smirk before addressing the individual.
"The whole 'undercover spy' approach doesn't seem to be working very well for you at the moment," He said lightheartedly.
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Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 10:32 pm
Ears first moved forward, as the lioness froze mid-step, before they went back. Slowly placing her paw on the ground, she turned to look at the other lion. "Forgive me, then... I don't have much experience with walking in tall grass... Or grass period..." Living in a desert hadn't been the best place to learn how to walk in grass. After all, grass didn't exactly grow in the desert. That was why it was a desert, it was... Dry. And barren of plants.
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Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 7:37 am
No experience walking on grass, huh? Ment thought to himself as he scanned over the lioness before him the best he could. She was dark, dark and big. He'd never seen a lioness who was so big before. It put a small lump in Ment's throat considering the fact that if this lioness wanted to do any sort of damage to him, she could do it. He would have to play nice, because the last thing he needed was a giant gash on him when he returned.
"Where are you from where there is no grass?" Ment asked. He could only think of the thing called a desert, but he had actually never been there. Hearing how hot and unbearable it was in comparison to a Rogue Lands drought he made sure the best he could to keep himself from wandering that way.
"If anyone needs forgiven, that would have to be me," Ment said with a small chuckle, approaching the lioness with a step or two, testing how comfortable was with him coming anywhere near her, "I didn't ask your name, or give you mine, and that isn't rather gentlemen-ish of me. I'm Peremende'Ment, what're you called?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 10:44 am
She stared at him, ears still back. Once again, her wounds twitched, sending a small shiver of pain through her. "I'm from the desert. Grass doesn't grow there, and I couldn't tell you the last time it rained." She shook her head, turning to face the male and lifting her head, keeping the pain aside. "My name is Jua'taka. And... What are you doing out here, anyway...?" It was, for the most part, just a question of confusion. After all... She didn't much know what lions did out on the savanna.
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Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 11:16 am
Jua'taka. That was an interesting name, kinda pretty in its own way, Ment supposed. He was so used to highly girly names whenever he encountered a lady, so finding a woman who's name sounded more like something you'd give to a warrior, or a warrior princess, was a nice change of pace. She was kinda funny in her own way. She acted like a fish out of water as she spoke and moved. It made him wonder exactly how long she had been in this area.
"Oh, me? I'm hunting for materials with my bird friend," Ment said, pointing to the still circling Chopoa who seemed to be quickly losing interest in Ment's encounter with this unfamiliar lioness. He didn't think she was unfamiliar with what a crafter did, considering what she was wearing, but just to make sure he explained himself.
"I am a crafter in my pride, which is near the ocean. I take materials in which the males or females bring me and I create for them things to wear or give as gifts. It's rather fun," He said, giving her a cheesey smile. He liked watching as the womens' eyes would widen in glee at their new trinket, or the appreciation a male gave him for making something for his special someone, or even for himself.
"What did you do back in the desert, Miss Jua'taka?" He asked.
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Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 11:43 am
A crafter... She couldn't rightfully recall if anybody back in the desert had such a rank. Not that there was a whole lot to work with... Finding her items had been chance, things long-buried in the sands of time. Though... "What's an... Ocean...?" She was just beginning to comprehend the savanna, something called an ocean was a new concept to her. "Me, I was..." She paused. "Don't call me Miss... I was a storyteller, like my mother before me." She scowled. "And stories were all I heard growing up... Nothing but lies from those around me..."
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Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 7:42 am
Ment was surprised that Jua'taka wasn't sure what the ocean was. She must have been out in the grassy savannah for much shorter of a time than he had anticipated. He figured he could take her to go see it, but he didn't expect for her to be curious enough to go with a strange lion to see it. One always had to live with suspicion when they were out on the Rogue Lands and he expected it to be no different despite him living in a Pride now.
"The ocean..." He mused for a moment, finding the right words to describe it, "The ocean is a body of water, but not just any body of water. It's the biggest body of water I've ever seen and stretches endlessly into the distance. I tried to see if I could swim it once, but I almost got sucked into it. It's unforgiving, like the desert can be."
He hoped that it was a sufficient answer for her, or at least peaked her curiosity in some way. He hated when he let people's expectations down, whether it be to giving a simple answer or doing his craft. When Jua told him what she did, his ears perked a little. A Story teller, huh? That was kinda cool. Ment was pretty sure there was a position like that in his pride, but he'd have to double check with the Kifoku.
"Heh, forgive me than. I'm used to being polite to others. It helps to be polite when you live in the Rogue Lands," Ment said, explaining how a few polite words landed him a hunting partner an food for almost two weeks once. "Story telling. It sounds interesting. Why do you say everyone has lied to you?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 3:05 pm
"A big body of water..." A shudder ran down her spine. The first time she'd come across a pond and fallen in, a deep panic had engulfed her. It wasn't something she was likely to repeat. "I think I'll take your word and avoid it..."
The dark lioness' ears went back, eyes hardening. "To say why I've been lied to is to tell you a story. I come from a once-mighty pride of lions called the Motoujamii, or Firekin. The story goes, we were made in our goddess' image, and thus the majority have been red lions. Oh, the Firekin were a mighty pride, taking any who trespassed as slaves... Or fortune would smile and we'd kill them. Then the plague came, driving most of the pride away... My mother was amid them, the storyteller Ripuka. She eventually found her way home, with many others in the pride. And then others trickled in... Including a rust-orange lion who called himself Makaa'kali. He formed a relationship with Ripuka, siring three cubs by her - Myself, and my two brothers. One, though, was a sandy brown, and he was left with the slaves to spare him death, yet nothing could be figured out of why he happened. Time passed, and we grew, and then the war within the pride broke out, splitting us in two..." She took a breath, watching Ment. "I went with my mother and one brother, to keep to traditions... While our other brother, Finar-si bless him, remained with those he'd known his whole life. Couldn't blame him, it was what he knew."
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Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2010 11:55 am
"That sounds terrible for all of you," Ment said with a small. lop-sided frown. He couldn't imagine having to go through all of that. Sitting there while your own sibling was cast into the life of servitude simply because of the color of his coat. Unbeknown to Ment, his own daughters were thrust into a life of servitude where they would spend their days as apart of some males harem, with only the hope that whomever their mother's pad chose to give them to was not violent and would not beat them. If Ment had known this, or if he had known he had children, he wouldn't be here now speaking to Jua'taka. He'd be off trying to bring his children home.
However, Ment didn't know any of this, and the only life he knew was that of the Rogue Lands. Here, slavery wasn't unheard of, but was definitely a rarity, considering there was nothing to keep another confined. It seemed that slavery was reserved for those in prides, and he was glad his own pride was not the kind to take on slaves. He had his friend Chopoa, but that was it, his friend. She was not indebted to him, and though together they made a very nice co-existent pair, she did not have to stay either.
"I grew up here in the Rogue Lands, so your story is rather disturbing to me. I'm sure that couldn't be easy to deal with," Ment said, sighing, "I wish I could relate and understand, but my childhood was much simpler and not quite as burdensome. What caused you to leave your pridelands, Jua'taka?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2010 12:12 pm
"Well, I didn't actually see it myself, my brother being taken to the slaves... It was actually an action that saved his life." She shrugged. "Mother did what she felt she had to, to spare his life from death... And hers, and ours..." She looked at Ment, ears twitching back. "If you were in such a situation, would you do it?"
Sitting down, she let out a sigh. "I left, because our 'queen', Kenna, lacked a spine. Instead of sticking it out, she took most of the remains of our pride running back to the rebels that had run us out and let slaves into their ranks. The old way of life is dead, and I refuse to look at that pitiful excuse for a pride." She let out a huff. "All of my cubs are there, living with them. Not that I'm missing them." She scowled. "Two of them fell for Rebel filth... My one son that was blessed by Finar-si like me to See fell in love with a filthy half-breed."
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Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2010 12:33 pm
Ment could feel his hackles raise slightly at the predicament he had gotten himself into. He was not reacting to the fact that the words flowing from Jua'taka's mouth were offensive, but the simple fact that she seemed a little on the fanatical side about it. After all, he was a proponent of the whole 'Live and Let Live' philosophy, being part of the hippie pride and all. Speaking of, this would be a rather interesting tid-bit of information to bring back to his pride. I'm sure they'd be interested in this story. He only hoped that Jua'taka did not ask him his feelings on those matters.
"Ohhh." He said, understanding now how she could speak about it with such laxity, when others may be a little more choked up over the ordeal itself. "I can see why you left, considering everything you believe in was gone..."
Somehow, someway, Ment always found the beautiful ones who were nothing but giant balls of crazy. There had been the brown and pink girl, who was obviously a little less than there and now this one, fierce and gorgeous while still being a gigantic speciesist and a xenophobe.
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Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:10 pm
The lioness offered a rather sad smile. "Yes, it is all gone... Those of us who refused to assimilate left... Not that it was many, it seems... A couple of my brothers and sisters from our parents' later litter assimilated, the rest of us... Left... I think a couple found new prides, some are still rogues... One brother joined a pride that I found... He was still believing our father a Firekin... He left me with these marks..." She motioned with her head to the wounds on her back and sides.
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