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 Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 7:03 pm
TISHKARIThe brown lioness paced steadily through the savannah. She was alert to potential dangers, but only in a peripheral manner. The vast majority of her attention was focused inwards, and her shoulders were tense with anger.
She couldn't have said, however, who she was angry at. Here she was, in what was simply known as the "rogue lands" - lands unclaimed by any of the prides that lay scattered throughout the world and were thus home to the prideless rogue lions.
Technically, Tishkari was one of those innumerable rogue lions. The problem, and cause of her anger, was that she had no desire to continue that way. As a cub she'd had no choice because that was what her parents had been. Now, as an adult, she was determined to change that.
She'd gone near to the borders of several prides before this, but after a day or two of observation (and the ocassional discussion with a pride member) she'd always left, still a rogue. None of those prides was the right...fit. The lioness commonly called "Scar" was too bold to bow meekly to any male, but had no taste to treat those men as her playthings. She wasn't particularly inclined to religion, nor was she overly fond of rigid castes. That being said, she also disliked the lassez-faire style of organization.
She admitted to herself that she was picky. But hey, if she was going to join a pride for the rest of her life, better make sure it was the right one, eh? Just like the probable future mate. He'd have to be someone she could stand to live with for the entire forseeable future and beyond.
With all that on her mind, it was no wonder that the brown lioness wasn't paying as much attention to her surroundings as she had been earlier. The subject matter was just too weighty to allow for distractions.
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 8:05 pm
How far she had wandered from the Ela'wadiyi's pride lands, Madoa Waya would probably never fully realize.. but it would be no surprise when, at the end of the day, she found her way directly back to her home, right down to the proper den. It was a lucky thing for her, really. The same could not be said for her family, though. They were lucky if she paid them any special attention as her days were often spent wandering, plotting and testing ways to trap something without hunting. And she never seemed to give up, the lapse leading up to her marriage and cubs not included.
Maddie's search for good bait was what had led her out this far. She was following her nose- but it was focused on the sweet scent of strange and unfamiliar flowers, not on the scent of anybody who happened to be around.
It was more luck when she did not run right into Tishkari as their paths crossed, but it was a near miss as she scrambled past just too quick to cause any collision.
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 8:16 pm
Having neatly circumvented the eventual problem of a mate to return to the current problem of a pride, Tishkari wasn't paying as much attention as she could have been. So it was sheer luck that the gods didn't want her and the stranger to run into each other. The brown lioness' eyes focused on her immediate path with a sudden sharpness as a brown and white tail, liberally covered with red markings, finished moving in front of her. She came to an abrupt halt, physically and mentally, and swung her head around to see who or what had come so close to her without her knowing.
She beheld another lioness, white and brown (though much darker than her own coloring) who was almost completely covered with red markings. Now that she was thinking about it, those markings didn't look entirely natural. And the pouch or ornament around the other's neck was certainly nothing she'd been born with.
Rogue lions didn't tend to have possessions or markings that they hadn't been born with. Thus this lioness almost certainly belonged to a pride. Tishkari hadn't heard of any particular pride in this area, but her information was fairly spotty all things considered. And as she believed in leaving no stone unturned, this required investigation.
First things first, she needed the other lioness' attention. A chocolatey brown foot with sandy toes came down firmly on the stranger's tail - gently, but firmly, trapping her in place. She had no wish to injure the other, of course. She just didn't feel like talking yet and needed to get her attention.
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 8:37 pm
Maddie didn't notice the lioness she had passed and would have contently kept along her way if something didn't stop her. Sudden pressure on her tail and a pull at her backside were enough to send the quick-moving lioness into an abrupt stop and scramble backwards. She turned around to see what she was caught on and was genuinely surprised to find it was a lion who was holding onto her tail. It was clear she was no stranger to getting tangled in things.
"Oh! Didn't see you there," she said, "You're on my tail."
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 8:42 pm
Three points for obvious and two more for exceedingly obvious. That was the mental score Tishkari gave the other lioness as she opened her mouth. However, the stranger hadn't done anything against her yet, so the brown lioness didn't particularly mind. Or care. Her greatest need right now was information, so she'd damn well get it.
"I am," she responded calmly. "You're from a pride, aren't you," Tishkari went on to state what was probably something the stranger would consider obvious. "I need you to tell me about it."
She supposed that her mother, may she rest in peace, would prefer her to actually ask questions and use some form of manners. But her nickname was "Scar" for several good reasons and she didn't care to waste manners on someone whom she had no guarantee of ever seeing again. Unless of course the stranger's pride was the right one. Then she'd be more polite. In the future.
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 9:12 pm
Also calm, though mildly curious about the whole standing-on-her-tail thing when it became clear it was on purpose and not some accident, Maddie stared on as she was asked about her pride- though it was more of a statement when the stranger said she was in a pride and then a demand for information.
Luckily for Tishkari, Madoa was not very good at being suspicious.
"I'm from the Wolf Clan of the Ela'wadiyi," she said, "There are other clans but it's all pretty well the same, we all live and travel separately but there are times we're all together."
She wasn't entirely sure what there was to say about the pride. She barely paid any attention to the festivals and she wasn't the most dutiful huntress or daughter of an alu'nadi. Madoa Waya just was not a very good spokeslion.
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 9:17 pm
That was simply not enough information. Not yet. Which meant that Tishkari had absolutely no intention of freeing the other lioness' tail at this moment. Green eyes narrowed slightly as she considered the stranger carefully. Was the other female deliberately being obtuse...or was it just a habit of hers, a factor of her personality?
But she had learned some things. The Ela'wadiyi was broken up into clans, though they sounded fairly independent for the most part. That was good - a smaller group of people that one interacted with normally, but a larger group to call on for many events and reasons. So far it was as promising as a couple of the other potential prides has been.
"Tell me more," the soft command came. The brown lioness had never heard of this pride before, and doubted she could find out more from a local rogue. Then she paused to consider what she knew thus far of the stranger before her. She might actually be able to learn more from a rogue at that.
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 9:25 pm
Maddie was suddenly very aware of the fact her tail was still trapped- and the pressure it was putting on her back. She scooted a bit closer, not the type for violence or unnecessary harshness. She almost rolled her eyes when Tishkari demanded more information, her true purpose out here was returning to her as the shock wore off and her inability to conjure up detailed explanations was becoming more and more apparent to her.
"My tattoos, the red markings all over my body, they tell the story of my life if you know how to read them," she said, going for the most obvious thing to talk about. Had she never been to another pride, she might not have realized it was a unique thing- even staring an unadorned rogue in the face, or having seen any former rogues about the clan.
"You get more as you grow and each set is unique," she added, continuing and throwing out her sister's name as if she were talking to someone who knew her, "Though Makonde and I share a great deal, because we were so close."
Anybody who knew Maddie would have known her bond with Makonde was unusual though mostly short-lived in it's most active form. Now she was barely close to Sado, and they were stuck together indefinitely.
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 9:30 pm
She was starting to think that this lioness was, well, maybe not stupid, but certainly one of those who looked at the world...differently. Which would make this whole gathering information bit fairly long and drawn out, and exceedingly frustrating for the brown lioness.
All the factors added together and made a whole. Tishkari lifted her paw and released the other's tail.
"Perhaps," she replied thoughtfully, "you should show me something of your pride, instead of just telling me."
Gods all knew if she actually went with the brown and white lioness she'd at least get to see things. And, gasp, maybe even learn something real!
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 9:37 pm
Her nose wrinkled when the stranger invited herself in to see the pride- or so that was how Maddie interpreted the suggestion. Madoa had come out here for her own reasons, she was looking for something for herself. She was good at brushing off the requests of others but forcefully sitting her down and talking directly to her had always been a method of keeping her attention.. to a point.
And then there was the fact that she could recognize the easiest way out of the situation. She wasn't that far away-- was she? She took a moment in her pondering to look around them. It would be quicker to take in the strange and demanding lion, ditch her there and come back.. except that she was here now.
"Why?" she asked, her own tone becoming more demanding, "You can just go back that way, you'll find it."
She nodded to where she would find the Ela'wadiyi.
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 9:44 pm
Green eyes flicked in the direction the stranger had indicated, then back to face the other lioness. Was she truly so close to a pride's lands without having known it? It seemed impractical for these lions to not have scouts of some kind out here - since the stranger really didn't read as any kind of warrior for her pride - but there you had it. She couldn't even attempt to figure out the whys or wherefors of a pride she'd just learned about, so she had to put that whole line of inquiry aside.
And whatever disdain Tishkari may have had for the stranger faded by her refusal to be chained to the brown lioness. She might not be the most normal of creatures, but there was some spine in her yet, which argued well for her pride.
"Perhaps I will," she responded simply, walking around the stranger and heading in the direction of the Ela'wadiyi.
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 9:48 pm
Maddie was pleased with her decision to stand up for herself in the end, it could have gone a couple different ways but that was certainly the best. And for a second, she sat there and watched Tishkari go, almost like she wondered about her curiosity and what she would think about the pride when she found it.. but she quickly turned back around and headed back off on her hunt. It'd be lucky if this stood out in her memory enough to warrant telling the story at home later.
Fin!
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