[Meta ORP] The Silent Morning [FINISHED!]

[ShinosBee]

Welcome to the first RP of the Kizingo'Zaa metaplot event!
Start: October 1st, 3:00pm EST.
End: October 4th, 11:59pm EST.

This event is the first of several parts, and is both an RP and a contest! It is open to all current members of the Kizingo (meaning those who joined before the insanity lifted!) AND non-lion NPCs. That means you may play things like birds or turtles or monkeys--potentially the once-muses of the pridal lions! So if you don't have a member you can still try to win! The RP will be pretty dramatic, and will be set the morning after Li's arrival. The God of Peace, he has decided to bless the pride for its peaceful ways, lifting the insanity of the land overnight. As dawn breaks, the lions stir in their dens to eerie silence. Many, though not all of them, will no longer hear their muses. Amefungwa and Shandor will call the pride together, try to calm the fears of those missing their 'voices', and a vote will be taken on what to do next.

The end result of this decision and the following Metas' votes has already been decided--the votes will just help the pride decide what path to take to get to that result! Sort of like a choose-your-adventure game!

We would appreciate it if those who are leaving the pride post here as well, though we will in no way penalize or disapprove of you if you do not! IC departures are just more fun than OOC ones, right?

So you probably want to know how to play, and more importantly, how to WIN! Well just follow the rules, and all will go well!

Rules
1. Please follow all Gaia and SoA rules!
2. Be friendly to your fellow RPers--if you don't win the prize, don't whine! Just try again next time!
3. If you win the prize they MUST stay in the pride. Forever. Period.
4. Each post you make counts as one raffle ticket for the prize!
5. After you make a post, you have to let at least TWO OTHER POSTS be made before you post again!
6. Those who do not own a pridal member may RP a 'critter' such as a turtle, monkey, etc.; this critter must have previously been a muse to some lion (even if that lion doesn't exist!)
7. "Muses'" input will be considered, but the opinions of the lions will make up the majority of the pride's reaction that is taken into account.
7. The winner of the prize MUST PM ShinosBee their prize's name, and potential gypsy name!

So what's the prize?

Sure by now you've got to be curious. Well there's only one prize, and as stated above it will be raffled off. Each post you make counts as one ticket, and you can only post once, then you have to let two other people post before you post again! Hmm? What's that? You know the rules?

...You just wanna see the prize? ...Well...okay!

There he is! Handsome, no? He is the ELDEST child of a fling between the Song Keeper (AKA Gypsy Queen) Amefungwa and a passing rogue, Pahale. The cubs were all born in secret mere days before the disappearance of Insanity and Li's arrival, almost exactly two weeks before the current RP. Therefore you CAN decide to have your cub be crazy! If you decide this, please tell ShinosBee in the PM you send with the cub's name! Thank you!

Raffle Tickets
1. NovaCracker
2. ~Masamune~
3. Tanakako
4. Conrad The Mighty
5. Reeshie Hack
6. Ameh
7. Velveteen Angel
8. Neon Fly
9. Zee Oddwyn
10. Tanakako
11. Reeshie Hack
12. Neon Fly
13. Depawsit
14. Nerpin
15. Hotaru-Neko
16. Conrad The Mighty
17. ~Masamune~
18. Velveteen Angel
19. Mimsey
20. Tanakako
21. Reeshie Hack
22. Nerpin
23. Velveteen Angel
24. Reeshie Hack
25. Mogami
26. Velveteen Angel
27. ~Masamune~
28. Mogami
29. Nerpin
30. Andranis
31. Zee Oddwyn
32. Ameh
33. Split Personality
34. Ameh
35. Neon Fly
36. Nerpin
37. Velveteen Angel
38. Ameh
39. Nerpin  

[ShinosBee]

Amefungwa had gone to bed an upbeat, energetic, almost scatterbrained lioness. The crickets she always spoke to had sung her off to sleep, chasing all the worries of leadership and new motherhood from her mind, including the arrival of that new strange god-thing that had come in the middle of the day to look around the pride. Her sleep had been peaceful, and she had rested well, curled around her precious cubs. The world was full of wonder and magic, and NOISE.

She slept, and the morning came, and the first rays of morning light poking into the den made her stir. The cubs were whining, and she nursed them a while, laying back and enjoying the quiet of the new day.

Wait. Quiet? When was the Kizingo ever quiet?

She turned an ear to the mouth of the den. There were birds chirping and the roar of the sea, even her beloved crickets humming in the grass. Humming? Not talking? Hmm. Well maybe they just didn't have anything to say. Still sleepy, she decided that must be the case, and drifted back to a state of half-sleep for a time more. Only when a chilling scream rent the still air did she bolt up and out of the den. The pride was never under attack, so all she could think was that some cub had been washed out to sea. She sprinted to the shore past many other pride members, all of whom seemed to be pacing or staring around in a sort of shock. An old lioness with faded fur was at the water's edge, and she ran up beside her.

"What happened, did a cub get swept out?" She panted. The old lioness looked up at her, eyes overflowing with tears, and lit with an odd clarity, and fear.

"The sea..." the old lioness gasped. "I can't...hear the sea...anymore...!"

---------

Amefungwa stood tall upon a rock in the center of the pride. She looked around at the pride members who were gathering nearby, giving nods to the few she knew personally, and sharing the occasional reassuring word. The consensus was that almost all the muses had gone silent. Lions that had been muttering piles of fur unable to even walk straight the day before were also now as clear as the day they were born. It was a mystery, and many members were terrified about it. Amefungwa included. She had tried to ask the crickets for help, but they'd only chirped, not spoken. It was beyond unsettling. She had left her cubs with one of the more cool-minded lionesses she knew. At least that worry could be handled easily.

"Please, everyone!" She called to the crowd. "I know that you are worried...your muses...my muse...has suddenly gone silent. But you have to calm down, until we can figure this out!" Shandor hadn't appeared yet, but some of the pride were looking restless. Better to get this started, if they were going to figure out quickly.  

[~Masamune~]

Deka had always been an early riser, so she was already among the gathering group of frightened Pride members when Amefungwa emerged from her den. Frowning deeply, she looked from one lion to the next, searching desperately for answers.

She was trying her best not to let her emotions show, but soon enough her eyes began to glimmer as tears threatened. "What's...going...ON?" She hissed, again looking around as she dared someone to say the one thing that she didn't want to hear; I don't know.

Her muses, the butterflies, had fell silent. Deka had always taken great pride in the fact that butterflies were rare and beautiful creatures to find along the coast, so to be fair, sometimes they weren't around at all. As far as she was aware, she was the only member of the Pride who's muse was a butterfly. Deka had seen butterflies this morning, and all of them were silent.  

[Tanakako]

Asali had woken early as usual, going about sorting out he herbs and pastes after a late-night call to a cub that had grazed itself. Her familiar, h 'voice' and the one she had believed to be the image of her soul, sat on her shoulder, the little white bird was quiet, observing the upset pride with crimson eyes and murmuring softly to Asali. The young lioness, small and petite, seemed uncertain, walking this way and that, looking around with worried eyes, seeking the familiar, large bulk of Ozark. Only with him would she feel safe on this most strange of days.. the pride's fear and tension was infectious and she felt her limbs quiver with worry.

What was going on?  

[Conrad The Mighty]

Exis' early routine walk about had come to the group of lions at the water's edge. His eyes widened at the group, all of the older lions were panicking. Why? He hoped his muses would awake and give him news, they were usually late sleepers, but in his panic he looked to the sun, they never slept in till the sun was this high in the sky.

He took a couple steps into the water and felt nothing. Oh no. Slowly backing out of the sea, he started looking around for a familiar face (which was not an easy task since he was mostly isolated to this point in his life). Matter of fact, this was probably the most lions he's ever seen in one time, so this was what his pride looked like.

 

[Reeshie Hack]

Euri sat with the rest of those gathered before the Song Keeper, his nephew at his side. He didn't really understand what was going on, what everyone was so upset about. He looked to Fiach, seeing the boy bearing a contented, almost relieved look on his face. He wasn't sure why, but knowing that at the very least the young male would keep track of the proceedings and let him know what was happening, the older male stood and left.

He walked away from the others, giving Fiach a small nod and headed off towards the roguelands. Mist curled around his paws as he wandered, letting his paws carry him to wherever they would. He was almost running out of the pridelands when he was stopped by a pair of pretty pink eyes.

Fiach watched the lion that had been his uncle for as long as he could remember. Euri and Phae were not actually brothers, but they had much in common. Both were sons of gods, their mothers mortal lionesses. Both had been demon hunters for most of their lives before they left. It was Phae's children that had made him leave, Euri's visions that had made him join the other lion.
Fiach and his sisters had learned early on to tell when their uncle was having a vision. His eyes would become cloudy and unfocused and he would hold still, not responding to any outward stimuli.

And that was how Euri was now.

The god-son blinked and shook himself, ruffling his fur slightly before dragging a paw through his mane. He was back at the gathering. How had that happened? And where was... Gods be damned. He'd had a vision. But... but he understood the difference. Ever since he had come to this land, he'd lost the ability to differentiate. He couldn't tell, they flowed too well.
"Something's changed," he whispered to Fiach, glancing around at the other pride-members gathered. It didn't seem good.  

[Ameh]

Memeth had awoken from yet another calm night of lullabies and goodnight wishes from the moon. He was never sad when it disappeared through his sleep - it was just a sign that it would come back again, stronger than ever.

This particular morning was peculiar, however; as he rose, he peeked at the sun, squinting at its brightness; it surely did not match the beauty of the moon's paleness, nor the comfort of looking at it... The sun was rather harsh, blinding, and a bit more frightening. But he kept those words to himself, keeping his respect to the sun as his moon's twin. This was way earlier than he usually woke up, and perhaps it was the sounds drifting in from the outside voices.

So Memeth walked out, bringing his large, pink, fluffy self towards the commotion. It seemed as if there were a group of lions congregating, talking in hurried, frantic sounds to each other. At the center, he saw Amefungwa, his fellow lioness who had been appointed the new leader. He tilted his head, wondering if this was a new secret festival or something, and why no one told him about it!

He rushed to where most of the lions were and peeked at their confused faces; ah, so they were as confused as him. At least he wasn't the only one uninformed about this!

"Ah, so Amefungwa has a new activity for us all to join in this morning, how exciting," Memeth murmured.  

[Velveteen Angel]

Laf'lari sat amongst the crowd, towards the front because she used the excuse how poor her eye-sight was, and her hearing, since she was 'old'. Lari hated admitting her age, but sometimes it was quite...useful. Her two daughters sat by her side, Talu a shivering wreck. Lari had been sleeping in that morning when her eldest daughter Talu woke her with a scream. Talu could hear the sand anymore – the only thing keeping her grounded with her paranoia.



Nisija pressed against her mother, their sides closely squished, trying to find the same reassurance that she had used to find in the sand. It wasn't there. She loved her mother, but it wasn't the same. Tears filled her eyes, and her body continued to quiver.

“Where did they go? Why did they leave us?” Nisija called out, but her voice shook and was hardly loud enough for many people to hear.

Lari purred, trying to soothe her daughter.


Hiana, her youngest, sat on the other side of Lari, a calm look on her face. No more did the ocean call to her, trying to lure her back into it's depths. There was the faint pull, yes, but there was no longer that pitiful voice that yelled to her, begging her, trying to kill her. She glanced at her sister when she called out, and frowned, wanting to comfort her, but Hiana and Nisija had never been close.
Ever, really.
They were just too different. Hiana felt different from everyone here. She unconsciously rose to her feet and began to back away from her family.

Lari's eyes followed Hiana, a sad look on her face. She knew her daughter wanted to leave, but she had lost so many cubs. She couldn't lose her too.
“Stay, darling,” she told Hiana, almost begging. “Stay.” She saw Hiana hesitate, and sit back where she had been before, her shoulders Slumped. Lari felt cruel, making her stay, but she couldn't lose her too. She couldn't.  

[Thalion]

The male groaned as the first light of the day poured into his din and pricked at his eyes. One of him was an early riser- the other not so much. It often took half the morning to agree on when was enough sleep, and just what qualified as a good night's rest. That morning, however, even as Shandor braced himself for the other self's mental complaints, there was only silence. No grumbling, no swearing, not attempts at bartering for another few winks of sleep- nothing. At first, he only laid still, searing the confines of his mind for his other self.

Hello? He tested, his brow creasing as his mindvoice seemed to echo into nothingness.

So this was how it was like to think for one's self. Interesting. But...why? Soon the lion raised his head and took a short glance around the cave, half expecting the other-self to leap out with an impish laugh and a twisted grin. The silence continued, as did the rising sun and the additional lighting to his cave. Shadows soon sank fearfully behind the stones only to vanish as the great circle rose fully over the not-so-distant waves.

He was alone. The other-self was gone.

Where the rest of the pride began to panic and search for their muses, Shandor cried out in joy and bounced up to his feet. It was gone. He was gone! He had his own mind!

Unable to contain himself, the lion burst out from his den out onto the open sands of the coastline. All the sudden, he felt weightless. Boneless, reckless, and ageless. The sea air filled his lungs and whipped through his mane as if to welcome him back into the realm of sanity.

His bliss, sadly, was short-lived. As his paws hit the damp sands and he dared a glance down the coastline, he found a growing gathering of the pride members. Their faces were flooded with anxiety, fear, and confusion. Some were downright distraught, their eyes searching the sky, the sea, the sands, and even eachother.

Clearing his throat and correcting his posture, the Story-Keeper broke into a brisk lope down the beach. Soon the murmurs turned into audible questions. Why? Where? What?

His expression hardened and his chest swelled as he joined the pride and slowed his pace to a strong, tight walk. Amefungawa was already trying to calm the pride but she herself seemed at a loss. Her eyes were wide with worry and her posture was uncertain.

"Alright calm down!" He boomed, his dark eyes drifting over the pride and back over to the Song-keeper. "Amefungwa, what's going on? What is all this?"

 

[Neon Fly]

While the pride was subdued beneath a blanket of slumber Ozark continued his rounds about the pride lands ever vigilant for those in need of his services. Unlike some of the Ushers who spent all their time in the Twilight Caves the mountain beast found that he couldn't stay still for that long.

For various reasons, though the most prominant one was definitely the overwhelming presence of those who had passed on and yet still lingered on the mortal plane.. in a sense. Given that the caves were the intended location of most of the Kizingo deaths it was impossible to completely avoid their presence. He hadn't had much desire to avoid them really, until the spirits of those he had sat with in their last hours began appearing. It was only at that point that he'd begun to feel the crawling sense of need to escape their lingering stares. Questioning. Confused.

They didn't seem to understand their position any more than he did and the fact that he wasn't able to help most of them was.. distressing at times.

Of course there were times when their insight could prove invaluable. Something was happening in the Kizingo'zaa. Something that would change the pride forever. So it was of no surprise to Ozark when he walked up on the noisy gathering of pride members days later. Fear and confusion filled the air and murmuring voices became little more than a drone of anxious sound.

Rather accustomed to pride-wide hysteria the tall lion remained quiet. Seeking out the familiar scent of Asali, she wasn't difficult to discern from the others. He'd know the sweet aroma of her fur, tainted by the eclectic array of medicinal herbs she used in her profession, anywhere no matter how many other smells filled the air. Sensing her growing distress, he frowned with displeasure and did his best to reassure her by dragging his rough tongue over her nape. Right now his only immediate concern was to see to Asali's comfort. Don't fear.. I'm with you.
 

[Zee Oddwyn]

"My feet won't speak to me, Shandor!" called one lioness, continually glancing at the aforementioned limbs, fur standing on end in distress. Tiktok simply couldn't believe it. Her feet had always told her- well maybe not always, they hadn't spoken to her when she was a cub, but still! Ever since she'd first learned to listen to them, they'd told her how to move gracefully, to dance. This morning, it was like her feet had gone asleep, or walked off without her. Tiktok shook each one in turn, as though to wake them, a rather comical sight if not for the pitiable expression on her face.

"How am I going to dance now? Why won't they talk to me?" She mourned aloud, stumbling over to pink Memeth and leaning against his broad side for comfort.













...

Tukuta awoke in his cave and stretched lazily, wondering what the commotion outside could be. Of course, he should be concerned, and surely the clouds would scold him for not being properly apprehensive, but he was inside right now, away from their tutelage. Besides, he could hear plenty of lions outside right now. Surely such a large number would be enough to handle any true emergency without Tukuta having to rush.

So, he took a moment to wash the sand out of his growing mane, and make sure his coat was neat, so he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of the lionesses, before trotting out to join the group. As he emerged from the caves, however, Tukuta realized the clouds weren't nearly as vociferous as they usually were. He blinked up at the sky, and the pearly white mounds of fluff in the morning light, puzzled.

"What's the matter?" he asked them, as he joined the outer fringe of the growing group. Their response was so quiet Tukuta could barely hear them. Craning his neck upwards, he just caught a bare whisper.

Things have changed between sea and sky. Listen!

Tukuta tried to listen harder, but the other lions were making such a ruckus, he couldn't hear anything. Until he started actually listening. Moving in behind Shandor, he heard various lions crying about the sudden absence of their muses. Eye going wide in shock, Tukuta again strained to hear the clouds, and was reassured when he detected the faintest murmuring response from them. So, not gone, maybe, just gone quiet? Perhaps too quiet for most to hear?

Shandor's call for calm seemed to punctuate the silence of the muses, and Tukuta huddled in on himself with unease, finally catching the atmosphere of the pride.  

[Tanakako]

Spotting the large figure of the usher, Asali dodged round the lost and confused pride members that separated them and tucked her far smaller body against Ozark's chest, unable to help the slight quivering that moved through her slender frame. The warm, solid presence of him did much to relieve her own anxiety and the warm caress of his tongue seemed to sooth away the rest, allowing her to relax a little as she sheltered from the confusion of the others against his solid body.

Finally she tipped her head up to gaze up at him, a shaky but trusting smile touching her maw. "Thank you.... Do you know what is going on?" her voice was soft, worried, yet the thread of fear that had been there was now faded, not as sharp as it had been. Nestled against him she could only now look around at the others, wondering what was happening, noticing the bright red female she had met before, the cricket-lady, up on the rock. There was something different about her, more... womanly, less innocent.. Confused Asali frowned and pressed a little closer against Ozark.
 

[Reeshie Hack]

Something had changed? Yes, something had changed. He hadn't heard the demon yet today, hence his good mood. He was always happy when he didn't have the vile whisperings in his mind. Perhaps the soft voice, perhaps his muse had finally defeated the evil part of him.
A familiar voice rose up above the murmurs and Fiach looked up from his uncle, ears perked.

Talu.
He hadn't seen too much of her since they were young, not since she had found her muse and her name changed. He'd been young for his age when he had found his. A glance more at his uncle and he stood, hurriedly making his way through the crowd to the front, though she wasn't far.
He had heard how her voice shook and he understood. Euri met his muse in his visions, Talu took comfort in hers, and his battled his demon. If Euri knew something was wrong and Talu was so scared... Did that mean the muses were gone? His only came to him on thunderclaps and lightning strikes, he wouldn't have known. Had it taken his demon with it?

"Talu," he said when he moved to her side, looking down at her with the barest hint of a smile, more like an upward twitch of his maw at one side. He was never a very cheerful individual.

Euri watched as Fiach stood. An eyebrow rose and he wondered where the younger male was going until he saw three very sparkly-pelted ladies. Oh, that was it. A charming smile on his face, he followed Fiach and nodded politely to Lari.  

[Neon Fly]

For one, impaired the way Ozark was, this was madness. Pure insanity. The traffic of fraying voices. The scents and motions. It was easy to understand why someone could easily be drawn into the chaos with the aid of visuals.

Luckily, though he could hear the emotion in their voices, Oz couldn't see the expressions on the faces of his fellow Kizingo. It was hard to recognize anyone in this mess, not that he was trying currently. His intention had been to find Asali and keep her close. Offering the lioness' feathered familiar a nudge of acknowledgement only once his beloved had settled down.

Not entirely sure how long this gathering would last and having been up a good portion of the night tracking and being pestered by nosy spirits, the medium sank heavily upon his haunches. Pulling Asali into his body gingerly.

The last thing he thought he'd be telling her now was some second hand rumor off a handful of the pride's resident ghosts. He hadn't wanted to worry her, but it seemed everyone was already worried.. what could he do?

The madness that infects these lands is gone. The goddess of Insanity has fled.. and it seems that many have lost their muses because of it. Oz didn't dare allow his voice above his whisper. He wouldn't have an entire pride turning on him. Been there. Done that. The first part of his statement he knew for certain, though he wasn't yet prepared to explain to Asali why or how he knew. His answer was vague at best. The second half though, based purely on the reaction of those around them, was purely speculation, though it seemed like a safe bet. Adding hushedly. There's change on the wind..