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 Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 7:31 pm
It was early in the morning, and Veru had no idea what he was doing up. But he knew he regretted it. The sun was just cresting over the horizon, blasting the earth with more sunlight than it had any right asking for. It made his sleepy eyes sting. It made a bizarre cocktail of hot and cold. Waking early was a side effect of growing stronger, he supposed. After months of spending time sickened, wellness was sinking in. Which was great, all things considered! He just didn't like the idea that it had somehow warped him into a morning person. That was just too much responsibility all at once. It was bad enough he'd gone an joined a pride for reals.
But if there was any benefit in waking up in the morning, it was the kinds of people you saw lurking about. The pride was anxious, and sleep didn't come easy. On his way to take his first and likely only drink of the day, he noticed the Hongshan lioness called Adiel. She was pacing something fierce outside their encampment. It must have been something to be tormented so early in the day! Regret was not a word familiar to Veru. He thought she looked rather lovely, troubled face or not.
There were other sorts too. Occasionally he caught sight of the regents, going out for a brief patrol along the land. Vlam was up early too, and Veru feigned hurt at the silent lion's blatant brush off. Life in the Motoujamii continued. The only difference was, this day, he was apart of it too.
It was his first official day as a firekin.
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 6:07 pm
Moto'Seide was not an early-riser, she was simply always up. The lioness had a habit of sleeping in short, rapid cycles, as opposed to taking a deep rest through the night. Seeing her out in the darkness was common, and in the early morning. Naps were usually well-used through the heat of the day.
Moto'Seide had spent the last of the night up, and had descended a wall of packed sand to the east before making her way in for her own drink.
It had become increasingly hard, to not think about water at all times of the day. She had begun to move less, train less, and knew it would be another week before her body fully adjusted to having rationed water.
On the way in, she caught sight of an unfamiliar face. Another new one? She could not possibly hope to recognize the entire congregation, however.
"Hey," she said, coming up alongside to join him. "I'm Moto'Seide. I don't believe we've met."
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 3:13 pm
"I don't believe we've met, either," Veru gleamed. No he certainly had not! And he made a habit of making sure he knew all the amazonian-esque beauties the Motoujamii had to offer. People watching had become something of a hobby of his during his stay in the wards. This was one lioness he did not recall ever seeing. If he had been a more logical fellow, this would have told him something right off the bat. But Veru never met a person he didn't like. Especially not a lady person!
"I'm Veru, charming rogue." He indicated with a flourish. It was partially for drama, but partially just out of habit. He let her make her own assumptions as to which. "One of Ea's test subjects, in fact. I've escaped the wards for the afternoon. It'd be good if you didn't let anyone know I was at large. So to speak."
"And you?" He continued. "You come armed with an impressive rank, I'll bet? I can tell these things." That, and the firekin seemed to give out ranks like treats to placate the masses. Fia had a rank. Ea had a rank. Naseera...well, he supposed she didn't have a rank, but that was with good reason.
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 4:27 pm
"Ea was my babsitter as a cub," Seide pointed out with an utter lack of humour. "And for an escapee, you are doing a poor job of hiding." Her footsteps shortened as they descended towards the shrinking watering hole.
His continued words caused her to suck in air through her nose. Briefly, she found the edges of her lips curling slightly. Perhaps it was mock amusement.
"Corporal," she answered him after a minute. A nod, to one of the guards as they passed and reached the pathetic, murky pool. Her stomach gave an involuntary churn. "Whether you are impressed or not, Veru, is up to you."
"So, charming rogue and wanted fugitive, how did you make your daring escape?" One brow was raised at him, before she turned her head away and leaned forwards to take a drink.
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 4:39 pm
Oh, she was a serious one. Oddly it only made his smile stretch all the wider. "Babysitter? Now that's something! I can certainly see the resemblance. Patients are a lot like babies, after all." He continued his lax stride towards the pathetic little pool of water. A depressing sight, even to him. "Not that I'd know from experience..."
"Corporal? I'm impressed," he chattered. As she leaned down to drink, he continued to ramble. "Are people not often to being impressed? It seems everything is rank around here. Big, long title like that. Would be a shame not to."
Sometimes Veru said things that sounded vaguely sarcastic. He didn't always mean it. And to be honest, he rarely knew which he meant at times either. "The usual way, I suppose." He mused. "I beat one of your guards in a fight. Maybe beat isn't really the word...I ran around him quite a bit, and eventually he declared it a tie."
He decided now was a good a time as any to take his own drink. The poor water burned at his throat. Even drinking wasn't enough to shut him up for long. "Funny guy, named Azar? Seems quite...volatile. In either case, I was a full member, and declared well enough to go kill myself through other means."
Which seemed to happen a lot in these lands!
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 4:54 pm
Rather than comment on the obvious, logical fault in Veru's comparison, Moto'Seide let the conversation on Ea pass to the wayside. One ear remained on the sounds coming from his mouth as he continued, and Seide considered her answer to the question.
"The Firekin are a large group, Veru. A large group needs management, and management requires ranks. Some manage more easily than others." The look she gave to him was pointed, as though she expected him to cause his own sort of trouble.
His answer to his entrance to the pride, however, seemed to capture the attention she had not been placing on him. She opened her mouth to say a few loud, quick words, and then changed her mind. "A cowardly way to fight," she noted instead, but said no more on the matter.
"But since you are here," she began as she, having finished, turned from the pool and began the sloped walk out of the guard's eyesight. "Explain to me these other means. Have you given any thought as to how you will serve the pride?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 5:09 pm
"Maybe," he mused. The outlands certainly hadn't taught him to fight with honor. He couldn't even remember the word 'honor' ever entering the equation! In truth, Veru was something of a poor fighter. He'd learned at a very young age it was better to be fast and dishonorable then dead. "But it does well enough. When cowardice kills me, I'll be sure to tell you."
Perhaps not the best thing to say to a lioness leading him off and away from the guard's earshot. [He didn't seem like a very respectable guard, in any case! Fidgeting like that!] Although to Veru's favor- he actually did have an answer to Seide. "I do have an idea, in fact."
"I've been in this pride for longer then I've been a member, after all. Enough to know some names and faces. I've been asked to work as a tracker for the time. I can't take credit for finding that poor lady who took a dive off the ravine, but- it seems I made enough of an impression to get my own fancy title," he said with a smile. He might have been an aloof fellow, but he was anything but lazy. "A whole group of us, actually. Some of the younger ones who assisted were promoted as well."
He looked over his shoulder curiously. "Fine enough a job to wind up dead, anyways."
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 5:30 pm
"When cowardice kills you, I will help Ea drag your body to a proper place to rest." The correction came quickly, sharply, as though he were playing with sarcasms he perhaps should not be.
"I hope they have you tracking alone." Moto'Seide did not provide a reason for the statement. It would have been safe, however, for Veru to assume that she had one.
The lioness came to a pause and surveyed Veru. Her eyebrows had knit together, and she thought for a long moment. "You are not actually planning on winding up dead, are you?" That seemed the quickest way to make it to the end of life.
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 5:40 pm
Veru seemed a bit bemused. She was serious, wasn't she! "Ah, no. Not particularly. It would be rather unfortunate to survive what I did, only to die a day later!" Although somehow strangely like him. The irony was charming, but it wasn't something he was particularly set on discovering. Joking aside, Veru liked life. Loved it even! It was a very fine lady. "Although if you want to watch me just to make sure, I certainly would not mind the company."
He leaned a bit to the side. Perhaps with a bit too much familiarity for Seide's tastes. He did it anyways. "Am I wrong in taking you to be a rather dire individual? That's very unfortunate. You should know I'm not usually serious about the things I say. Part of the charming rogue, you see." He leaned back upright. Firekin were given to be a serious, crazy bunch. That was one thing the white lion knew for certain. "Mystifying, I know. You needn't glare so."
He was quick to change the subject. "And what does a corporal do, other than ensure the survival of one very lowly tracker?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 5:49 pm
"When I find you charming, I'll let you know."
Veru then received his very own, grimace from the corporal. It was followed quickly with a step to the side. A side that was not in the direction of Veru.
"Don't get too close. I haven't decided I like you yet." Perhaps the 'yet' had been a poor choice of a word. Seide did not dwell on the repercussions.
His interest in her position seemed misplaced. Seide passed it off as meaning that talkers simply were enthralled with speech, regardless of the subject. "A corporal takes orders from generals and admirals, and gives direction and order to guards or soldiers, depending on their specialization." The flick of her tail, before her mouth parted wide over white teeth. It was equally as useful as a threat as it was a smile."But you would know that already. You've been here far longer than you've been a member."
They were well-past the guards now. "If that is all, I have an apprentice to meet shortly."
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 6:17 pm
"I'll look forward to it!" He chirped.
But she'd caught him there. He did know what the corporal's did... or at least, to the extent in which he cared to know. The brief entrapment did little to break his smiling facade. "True! But it's always nice to hear what one thinks of their own job, after all. Had an old tutor once who even said it was rather telling. Used to go on for hours, in fact." At least Seide's had been short and to the point!
He nodded his head. "An apprentice! Ah, but you are important."
Veru took a few steps forward, and then started walking backwards. He did an admirable effort of keeping up with Seide's deadset pace. "And, I would say that is up to you, my lady! You have grilled me sufficiently. I know better then to pester." He didn't. His follow up questions were probably about her teaching schedule. "If its enough to trouble you, I shall continue walking in the direction you are walking."
"I'm set to patrol the west quadrant you see. Would be terribly awkward to part ways and continue walking in the same direction."
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 9:19 am
Moto'Seide's ears went back. They were not yet flat to her skull, but they were dangerously close to touching. As he began to explain his patrol, her right ear gradually moved forwards.
"I suppose it would," she answered definitively. With the statement, the tension in her muscles began to subside, though her pace did not decrease.
"Since we are walking in the same direction, why don't you tell me a few more stories about yourself."
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