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 Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 10:47 am
Su lay draped across her sleeping father's fore-paw, blinking out across the wild, majestic gold of the desert. The sun had just dipped behind one of the pinnacles of rock, casting them into pale shadow and making it easier to appreciate the beauty of their home. And it was beautiful. She yawned, stretched and, rolling onto her back, reached up to press two tiny paws against her father's snout. He was not sleeping. Instead, he was merely resting his eyes; head dipped in a dozy state. But, at the touch of his daughter's paws, his eyes flared open and Su saw the desert in them.
She smiled.
"Little Su."
She'd been named by her mother who seemed to have a fondness for short names. And, whilst it was not as elaborate as some, it was delightfully feminine and elegant. A short name could not be forgotten and Su wanted to be somebody when she grew up. So young but with such ambition, fuelled by her parent's stories of the strength and legendary status of their pride. And she, a daughter to the rulers of a legend. She was certain that she would find her own battles to conquer, though perhaps a different type from what her parents had fought.
"Going out this morning?" Kidondo continued in his deep but gentle voice.
"Maaaybe." She arched her back, pressing her hind-legs up against his chin and pushed with all her might, smiling victoriously when he lifted her head and she rolled down against his chest; cushioned by his mane. "Oof."
Kidondo lifted her by her scruff, set her down before him and dragged his rough tongue across the top of her head, mussing up the short fur there. Wrinkling her snout in displeasure, the cub smoothed it back down and blinked, glancing past the form of her father into the shadows of the den.
Was anyone else up?
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Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:05 am
There was another little cub up.
She didn't have a really short name like her sisters but it wasn't too long. Feminine for sure, beautiful but something that she could grow into. It plan out meant fire and she was a firey tough and one thing was for sure she was rebellious. She was a trouble maker and she didn't want to do what every else was doing, at the moment that was sleeping.
She pushed herself up against the side of the den making sure to stay in the shadows, carefully moving making sure not to make a sound carefully moving, as carefully as possible. She had her own plans, she always had her own plans. She wanted to be out in the sand of the morning, she wanted to be out exploring who knew what she could run into. She was so focused on being careful she didn't exactly notice the sound of her sister and her father talking. She was too much into the idea of getting out.
She moved toward the mouth of the den and pushed herself against the side. She never wandered around the pride with out one of her parents or one of her older siblings and now she could everyone was sleeping and she was awake! She wiggled her toes some and looked out at her home, she also thought it was beautiful a beautiful land of warriors that were stronger than anything else. She rubbed her head against the side of the den she was about to step out too bad her plans were going to be ruined. Her grin was going to be wiped off of her face.
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Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:13 am
"And where do you think you're going, little daughter of mine." Kidondo interrupted and reached out, lifting his second, sneaky daughter up, set her in the crook of his arm, and took a moment to groom her ears. He wouldn't neglect his parental duties that was for certain. He was as considerate and thorough as a father as he was as a Regent and more than happy to do his fair share of the work.
Su, not looking all that impressed about bath time, sat with her nose wrinkled in dismay, though she was amused at how her sister had been caught out. Apparently she needed lessons on being a 'sneak'.
Kidondo shot Su a warning look. "You'll get wrinkles, scrunching your nose up like that, you know."
Su immediately smoothed her expression and leapt up onto her paws, kneading at the ground impatiently. She wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to do. All she knew was that she wanted to do something/ Meet some people, perhaps. Learn something new. Hear a story about how wonderful the Firekin were. Anything! She turned to throw a look over her shoulder and almost lost her balance, staggering sideways in the sand. Then, with a small mewl, turned back to the den. "I want to do something. Now please."
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Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:34 am
A small yelp of a sound escaped Aithne's small maw. She was surprised, damn! She thought everyone was sleeping! She thought everyone was sleeping! This was nonsense, he was sleeping she was sure of it. She huffed and sat next to her father before shaking her head. "You were sleeping!" She looked at her sister then turned away looking out the den and making a face. There wasn't enough words to describe how annoyed she was at this.
"Daddy I had it all planed out! You ruined it!" She huffed and flopped down on her belly a temper tantrum of sorts. She was a little smaller then her siblings however she had a bit of a temper to go along with it. She huffed again wiggling her toes trying to ignore her father's cleaning. She huffed and then wiggled around getting a little irritated she wanted to move not get cleaned she didn't need a bath.
"Daddy-" She grumbled getting interrupted by the tongue against her head. "Daddy I'm clean." She grumbled and wiggled herself around flipping herself on her back and extending her paws with her little claws out batting them at her father's nose trying to reach up with her maw to gnaw on his nose. Kitten claws were the worse, and his little act was part of her temper tantrum. She threw those a lot, when ever she got the chance, she would get grumpy.
"Do what?" She grumbled at her sister, shooting her a look.
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Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:40 am
Kidondo chuckled at Ai's attempts to escape bath time and lifted his head just enough to keep it out of reach of pesky kitten-claws. With another laugh he snorted loudly and gave her a shove with the top of his head, making room enough for him to stand without sending her flying.
Shaking gold dust from his fur, he blinked and cast a look between the two girls. "Well, since you're both 'clean', how about we go and do something, then?" He threw a glance back over his shoulder to check that they hadn't woken anyone else and then stepped over the small cubs, moving out across the sand.
With a squeak of surprise, Su ducked as her father passed over her and then turned to follow, hopping into the paw-prints he'd left in his wake. "Anything." Su answered her sister, pausing to give the slightly smaller cub an accomplished grin. "Come on, keep up." Turning her attention back, she made a game of hopping from one hollow to another, trying to avoid the untouched sand that was swept smooth by the wind. "Where are we going, Daddy?"
"Wait and see." He turned in a slow arc, making towards higher ground where - even from here - the tops of a number of rocks could be seen.
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Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:56 am
Aithne was annoyed at not being able to reach her father's nose it annoyed her even more, she was a little surprised at feeling pushed back down she grumbled then looked over at her sister. "Okay." She stood up and shook her pelt out, she was still annoyed however the idea of going out felt a little better. She could always try to go out on her own tomorrow, maybe everyone would be sleeping that time for sure.
Aith huffed at her sister annoyed at her sister telling her to keep up she felt like her sister was making fun of her because of that it annoyed her more then anything else. She didn't like it when she felt like some one was making fun of her. She rolled her eyes at her and trotted trying her hardest to keep up with her. She made sure to keep up right behind her sister.
She heard her sister talk and she couldn't help but to roll her eyes before leaning forward and nipping at her sisters tail. Well she was a little rougher then just a little n**. "You keep up." She grumbled as she trotted a little faster making it up to her father's back paws. She was curious to where they were going.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 12:33 pm
"Ouch!" Su squeaked, hopping forwards and tucking her tail up against her side to keep it away from nipping teeth. "Stop that, Aithne." She hung back a little, watching her sister take over and then, with a small huff, quickened her pace to try and keep in line with her sibling. Su was not much one for play fighting - gentle or rough - and tended to whine and complain rather than join in.
"Now, now you two." Kidondo warned gently. "There's no rush." He slowed down slightly to try and keep a fight from breaking out. "We're not going too far. See those rocks up there? The tall ones? That's where we're headed."
Indeed, it was not far, and a few minutes later, Kidondo passed beneath the shadows of the pillars of rocks, circling around them to finally crest the hill. He cast a look around, frowning a little - clearly not finding what he had sought - before turning to the girls. "I was hoping your sister, Fia, would be here. Apparently she has work elsewhere. Come. I'll show you something." He padded over to one of the rocks and sat, reaching up to set a paw onto the flat of the stone. "Pictures. Do you know what of?"
Su, slowly, drew up beside her father and leaned in against his side, peering at the rocks curiously.
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Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 2:11 pm
Aithne looked at the other cub then rolled her eyes. "Snitch." She grumbled at the other cub as she looked back, she looked up at her father. "The tall ones?" She said thoughtfully thinking about it for a moment before her loud voice chirped once again. "Whats there? They're just rocks." She grumbled not sure what to think about where their father was leading them. She really wasn't sure at all.There was one thing for sure and that was that she loved her parents but that didn't mean that she liked doing what she told them to do or for that matter enjoy not talking back.
Aithne looked at the pictures on the rock, flicking her ears around and looking as carefully as she could. Not too sure of what she was going to think about this. These rocks and these pictures. "What about them?" She huffed sitting back on her haunches before then turning to her father what was he trying to tell them. She grumbled some she was hoping her father was going to show her something really interesting but she didn't get the point of this it was a bunch of pictures! She stared at the pictures trying to think more.
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Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 7:42 am
"Now, girls." Kidondo informed with a soft smile. "Take a closer look. The lions here dwell within this pride and if you take a moment, you will see that stories are there. This is the history of our pride, recorded here by our historians."
Of which there were only two at the moment. "Your sister Fia has put a lot of work to ensure that everything is recorded and, if you look there." He pointed towards one image. "You can see a new picture she's added." His paw touched just beneath the image where a small black cat sat aside a red one with a black mane. At their paws were smaller lions, each one representing Kidondo and No's new litter.
"There you are, see? A part of our history, recorded for all to remember."
Su moved close to the rock - her nose almost touching it - and gave a small chirp of surprise. "That one me." She touched the slightly darker red cub there. "I should look prettier."
Kidondo laughed. "You are all very beautiful but such things are impossible to capture on the rock."
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 6:03 pm
Aithne looked at the lioness and then paused looking at the rock closely not sure of what to say about this. She was on a rock. Yes it was an impressive rock he had to admit, he really liked the rock, really, really liked the rock. She stared at it and looked at the rest of the rock before looking at her father, she could see some other figures that looked familiar including her siblings and other figures that she just recognized. She was speechless, seeing the job that her sister had done. It was pretty impressive.
"Fia did this?" Her attitude had dropped for once, at least for a little while. She looked up at the other pictures not really worried about her own. Yes she was proud of it but there were so many other pictures and so many others to learn. She wanted to fight in these fights that she saw these pictures fighting in. She wanted to be on this rock more then once, she wanted to be some one that the others had seen often. She could see her father and her mother in a few places, that made her proud that was her parents!
She then made a face as her sister's word's caught her attention. She bit her lip for a moment before standing up and making a growling like sound. "All of this is really impressive and thats all you have to say!?" She half shouted before she paced away toward a different part of the rock. "All of this is much more important then how pretty you are in a picture!" She grumbled more and more as she stood off to the side digging her nails into the ground a large frown was on her face.
"That really is stupid." She snapped.
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Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 12:54 pm
Su snorted angrily, clearly a little miffed at being talked to in such a fashion and for clearly having missed the point of the rock. She gave a small growl and then shoved up against her father's side, possessively. "Well, I don't want future Firekins to think I'm ugly. Not when I'mma gonna be important someday."
Kidondo gave each of his daughters an affectionate nudge. "Fia did. She and her teacher are the only two in the lands at the current time. They are the keepers of our history so that we do not repeat the mistakes of our past."
He pointed at one picture; a red lioness with wings spread wide. "We remember that one so that we do not forget how she abandoned us long ago." Then he pointed to another lion, a dark-pelted female who had once been Kidondo's teacher. "And to remember those who stood for what they believed in no matter what happened." He smiled. "There is a place for all of us in history, no matter how great or small. But I know you will both do well. You are Firekin, after all, and your spirit burns bright. There is nothing that you can't accomplish if you put your mind to it."
Su huffed. "I'm going to be important and I will be all over these stones." And she leaned around her father and stuck her tongue out at her sister.
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Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:24 pm
Aithne looked at her sister with her face scrunched up. An obviously annoyed look was spread across her features. Her hair stood up on end and she tried to calm down. She firmly placed her paws on the ground and then huffed. "Whatever." She commented simply to the other lioness before flopping down on her haunches and listening to her father. "They do a lot for the only two." She said as she looked over the stone staring up at the winged lioness.
She thought long and hard about the lionessshe had wings, she had never seen anyone else ever with wings in her life. "Who is she papa? Why does she have wings?" All of this really interested her in a way. She wouldn't want to be out here doing it, but it was still interesting to her. It did make her want to try to work hard and do the best she could and be up here as often as she could. She looked for some familiar faces, she saw her mother and father often and a few friends of theirs she seen around the thread. She wasn't too sure of what kind of thigns they did but she was still very curious.
Aithne shot her sister a look and growled puffing out her chest once again. "Yeah as the brattiest lioness in the pride."She growled shaking her head again.
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Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:35 pm
Well, these little daughters certainly were fiery ones, to say the least. Kidondo smiled quietly as he listened to their banter, giving Su a light tap on the nose to silence any snotty remark she might have made.
"Her name is Finar-Si. The story goes that she once created our kind from herself; that our ancestors held her blood in their veins. There was also a time when the pride was divided because of traditions set down by the Goddess. Now, we are mostly united again, the last of her followers long gone from the desert they had fought for...and lost."
He tilted his head. "It is a complicated story and one that spans back many lifetimes, but when you're a little older, I'd be happy to tell you it in full."
He twitched his tail and stood, shaking the sand from his fur. "Mostly, I brought you here to show you what you are a part of. All of us our unique and individual, yes, but looking at these stones. You can see that you are both part of something more. Much more. We must be proud of our heritage and our history and continue to prove our worth in this life."
Su gave a small growl. "So she's a bad lionness?" Referring to the Goddess. "She must be dead now, though, right?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:51 pm
Aithne felt a little better as her father taped her sister's nose. It made her feel a little better. She wiggled her toes out tapping her nails in the ground a few times before turning back toward her sister then at her father. "Goddess?" She then looked at the rock and pushed herself as close to it as possible trying to stare at it better. It was hard to get a really good look. "We all came from her?" she asked curiously before turning toward her father once again very interested by his story. she wanted to hear more and more. She really wanted to know everything about the goddess. She had never seen a goddess before in her life. Well then again she hadn't seen too much during her life. She was still very young.
"But papa!" She squeaked as he stopped the story she turned back around and looked up at him curiously. "Please papa! Can't you tell us something?" She thought about it before turning toward the rock once again. She then scrunched up her face as she began to think "PAPA!" She squeaked once again looking up at her father and then pointing toward her siblings pictures. "Azar has wings!" Ubawa has wings!" She said as she recalled her older siblings before speaking again. She paused once again before speaking again. "So does some of Azar's kids... What does that mean papa?" she asked curiously raising a brow at her older father not really that sure of what to to think about it at all.
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Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 5:29 am
Kidondo chuckled and, after a brief moment, seated himself again, pulling Su in against him with a paw. She was clearly sulking and a sulky child was never a good thing. "Perhaps she is dead, dear one. I have seen no evidence to suggest she still lives."
Then, to Aithne he replied: "Okay, okay, I'll tell you a little more." He cleared his thoughts to help him remember, not a very talented storyteller by any means. "The Goddess was our maker, supposedly. She created the first of us from her own blood and found us a place in this world where we could grow strong and big. Legend says that she chose this desert for us due to it being a harsh landscape. We adapted to live here despite the hardships. Little food. Little water. We fought to survive and it made us strong. That is why so many of the Firekin revere this land. It was chosen for us and is a part of us." He drew silent for a moment.
"Perhaps the wings on our brethren are throwbacks from old times. A sign that the stories are true. That in all of us lies a little of the Goddess' blood. But children, listen carefully now. Whether that is true or not, one fact remains. That Goddess chose to abandon her children. The Firekin faced great hardships and she did not come to aid them. Plague tore through the bloodlines and wiped out all but a handful. Then, when we faced extinction, your Mother and I fought to change it. We brought war upon our own lands...a thing not taken lightly. The others who would not give up their faith in the old ways fought against us and were banished upon losing the fight. Some of those saw the light and returned to us a time later. Others are long gone, now."
He drew in a small breath. "And even then. Even when her poor, faithful 'children' were thrown from their lands, she did not come to aid them. They were alone and with nothing. We had cast aside some of the old views and remained with everything."
He gave Aithne a light nudge with his nose. "Some of the old ways remain in us, of course. We are still a proud and warrior race, revering strength. However, no longer do we close our eyes to the outside world. We allow new blood in to continue our lines, so long as that blood is worthy of the title: Firekin."
He paused. "Does that sate your curiosity, young one?"
"She died or doesn't care." Su piped up. "We don't need her, Daddy."
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