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 Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 10:57 pm
Having wanted to scout a little further ahead from where she and Ikiaq were holding up for the time being, Brezanae had woken up somewhat earlier than usual and sought out their destination. If everything she remembered was correct, if her instinct wasn't wrong, the place she had been searching for since her mid to late adolescent days was near. There was an excited and anxious fluttering in her chest. She had traveled so far and seen much to find her way here. The little thoughts of doubt from these nerves passed briefly through her mind. Things like, 'What if they aren't at all like what you expect?', 'What if they've disbanded and all your hoping and journeying was for naught?', among other things, but her determination to see herself to the end push those nagging thoughts away in short order.
Zan figured she was beginning to get close. There were scents of other females here and there, in various degrees of freshness. That meant activity, pretty recent activity to boot. Her walking slowed to a halt within a clearing. She didn't want to waltz into the heart of the territory without an escort or an invitation to do so. No, she would wait until someone came along and found her. The lioness situated herself neatly near the center of the cleared space with a calming sigh. However not a few minutes after 'settling down' did her excitement and nerves get her fidgeting. Should she give a roar or something to make her presence known? Having not been raised in the area and only on stories of or of a similar nature to the amazons and their way of life, Zan could only guess as to how to go about alerting someone and asking for the chance to become a member of their ranks. After all, the stories that filled her childhood and early days were of mighty warrior women doing great and wonderful things, of grand tales of love between lionesses, of passion, battle, caring, and more, but never any describing how to go about becoming an Amazon. Zan would just have to figure it out herself.
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 7:09 am
Oh, what a wonderful day!
Ariadne practically skipped as she trotted through the trees and brush of her home, the only home she had ever known. Okay, so, maybe there were flashes in her memory of another place, but that place had been filled with lionesses and her mothers, just as this place was. The scenery was different, but she liked to think it was the same place. Here was Home. Stability. Love and Family. And the weather was just lovely! How could one ask for more?
With nothing much better to do, the young princess was wandering the boundaries of her beloved home, teasing herself with glances out into the places one only went to find cubs. She flirted with that invisible line, scaring herself silly with thoughts of evil males pouncing on her the moment she stepped outside. Sure, Mother Ebere tried to teach all of them that there were males as kind and gentle as any female, but that didn't exactly inspire fear and that wasn't any fun! At times like this, she preferred Mother Hippolyta's tales of the time she had been exiled and the brutish males that had stolen the pride from its rightful queen.
Her mind lapsed into fantasies about fighting alongside her mothers, about being a big, strong warrior and ridding the world of the evil males and all their horrible deeds. She feinted and pounced, playing with shadows in a way most lionesses her age had outgrown long ago.
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Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 11:11 am
Having just about resettled herself, the sound of nearby movement in the greenery caught her attention. Well, there went the thought of sitting and patiently waiting. Not like just calmly sitting was much of an option anyway.
Zan waited a moment, sort of gauging where the noise was coming from and about how big the one who was making was. She didn't have any fear, but it wouldn't hurt to play it on the safe side until she announced her presence to whosoever it was that was close by. The nature of the sounds made her pause. It wasn't the sounds of someone simply walking. There would be brief moments of quiet and then a short flurry of motion. If it was a hunt there would be more than one source of motion, perhaps distressed animal sounds. This was different however. Was it play? Thinking back to her youth with her sisters, they would chase each other around, battle imaginary foes, and have grand old time playing out hunting pretend elephants and giraffes for the glory of such large prizes! When they got going, they could really be goofy and so very into their fantasy worlds. Good times. Good memories.
Shaking her head to release herself from her reverie, she cleared her throat and called out to whoever it was that was carrying on just out of sight. "Hello? Is someone over there?" She made sure to keep her tone friendly and polite. It wouldn't do any good if she barked out orders for whoever it was to show themselves. Some impression that would make.
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Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 11:21 am
At the call from out of view, the hybrid girl straightened up hastily with a look of embarrassment, hurried composing herself. Oh, she hoped it hadn't been someone from the pride who had seen her.... she might never live down being caught out playing like a cub.
Though... she felt a thrill of excitement as she thought about who or what it might have been, if it hadn't been a pride-mate. An outsider? A stranger? She had never met one before, perhaps today was a lucky day!
"Hello!" She called out to the unseen visitor, all sorts of images and ideas racing through her mind as she shivered in place with building excitement. "My name is Ariadne! Who's there?"
Okay so, maybe it was silly to sit and call to each other through the brush, but she just couldn't bring herself to move from the spot she was rooted to.
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Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:17 pm
Ah! A call back! She wasn't just hearing things or being overly hopeful. The voice sounded female, but she had heard a few lady-like fellows speak in the past. There was little doubt in her mind, however, that the speaker was female. If all of her gut instincts were to be trusted, this was Amazon territory or near by enough to prevent much of a male presence in the area.
Zan waited a few moments to see if the responder would make their way over to where she had called, but the lack of rustling of grass and green made her figure that the source of the voice was staying put. That was alright. She didn't mind making her presence known. That's what she was here for. "Greetings then, Ariadne. Ah...Hold on." Moving forward, she drew closer to the speaker, giving a hop over a branch. Emerging from the brush, the lioness shook some clingy leaves from her fur and offered a bit of a smile to the female before her.
"Hi. My name is Brezanae, but Zan would be okay too. Am I in Antianeira territory? I've traveled a long way to come here if so."
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Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:24 am
Ariadne stared at the strange lioness, torn between eager excitement and a sudden nagging, itching warning in the back of her mind. She wanted so much to greet this new female and make friends, but there was something, some in-grained instinct from going up in a pride still recovering from oppression and betrayal.
"Um... Hello." She finally got out cautiously, though she couldn't help the bright smile that crept onto her face. It was just against her nature to be overly suspicious... "Its nice to meet you. Um... are you looking for something here?"
She shuffled her front paw as she ducked her head. "I've... never met anyone from outside my pride." She felt silly just coming out with that, but at that point, the words had been said and she couldn't take them back. Ah well... its not the stupidest thing she'd said before. She glanced up at the strange lioness, hoping she wouldn't think her a complete bumpkin.
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 3:33 pm
Whether or not the staring bothered the charcoal and cream lioness at all was not apparent. In truth, it didn't. She was just glad to have found the place that she had been seeking since her adolescence. Zan had no clue as to what recently befell the pride and figured the other's cautious answering to be the usual approach.
She smiled though, sitting down where she stood. She had no intention of appearing threatening. "You could say that. I'm looking for a home and I'm hoping that this place could be where I settle down and finally start building a life and family around myself." Her smile became somewhat sheepish as she bowed her head slightly with a soft, sort chuckle. "If I come across as over sentimental, I apologize. It's just that I've been so looking forward to finding my way here for quite some time now."
Straightening up slightly upon learning that she was the first soul Ariadne had met from outside the pride, she dipped her head to the other. "Well, it's an honor to be the first. You're also my first true Amazon. My mother was a rogue and brought my sisters and I up on stories about or of a similar nature to the Antianeira. Upon coming of age, my sisters went their own ways, but I knew I had to find my way here. Something in my very core called me to here." Brezanae shook her head. "I don't even know if- Ah, would you be accepting new members right now? I have heard that some prides close their borders to rogues, whether they be interested in joining or not. I don't know if all I have to do is speak with someone, or perform a task or best a test." Giving another shake of her head, she refocused her attention on Ariadne. "I don't mean to ramble."
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Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 4:22 pm
Ariadne smiled sheepishly, something in her recognizing the others sort of ... passion for what she spoke of. She felt her chest swell with pride that she should be the first of her homeland to meet this stranger and she straightened up a little, her demeanor calming a little, taking on more of the regal-ness that was a sort of trademark of her black mother.
"I think the best thing for you to do right now is to speak with... uh... the Queen, yes." She nodded vigorously, trying to cover up her stumble over the title to give Hippolyta. She'd nearly said 'Mother'... how embarrassing. Even if she was, Ariadne wasn't sure she should be throwing that around with a rogue newly come to their lands. Not that she was overly suspicious but... well, a lifetime of Mother's stories were hard to break.
"If you like, I can take you to meet her. I could also sort of... answer whatever questions you've got." She rolled her shoulders in a shrug, suddenly feeling a little shy. It was great to be told you were featured in stories (even if it was just as part of a pride), but it was embarrassing to. How was one to react to such a thing, when it was someone far distant that you had never met who had told the stories?
"Right this way..." She said as she turned, glancing back over her shoulder.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:21 pm
Oh, hey, her rambling wasn't off putting. That was good! The lioness breathed an inward sigh of relief at not receiving a weird look or something for her carrying on. Brezanae was certainly excited to find her way here. It meant that she could finally set forth to build herself a home. She hadn't minded the rogue lifestyle under her mother's care, or even as she had been traversing about to find this place. Zan wanted something different though. She wanted to be able to see the same faces day in and day out, to be able to work along side a great group of lionesses. Whatever children she would come to bear would be brought up in a strong support system, and that was something she looked forward to.
An audience with the Queen, that was probably a good thing. Zan smiled and nodded her head in return. If she noticed the covered up stumble, she didn't show it. In all likelihood, she hadn't. The slip up wasn't that obvious.
Rising to stand, she shook herself and smiled. "Oh, that would be wonderful if you would. Please do." She paused for a moment. Questions. Did she have questions? Hm. Her mind was positively abuzz, but not with questions at the moment. More like 'Woohoo! This is good. This is very good! I'm almost there and perhaps after this talk with the Queen I'll know if there is some test or trial I must do. If so, I know I'll come through! I've come too far to fail now. I just can't. If I do then. if they'll permit me, I shall just have to try again!'
She cleared her throat and chuckled softly, shaking her head to try to calm herself down. "Of course," she said as she moved to follow Ariadne. "Questions," the lioness echoed mostly to herself. "Hm. How many of you are there? How do you like it here? What's it like? I mean, it's beautiful out here. I didn't want to just barge right in without getting an escort or permission to do so. The stories I can recall aren't of the land itself, but more tuned in to, ah, I guess you could say the spirit of the lionesses within it. If that makes sense..."
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 9:49 am
Ariadne laughed, feeling more at ease with this stranger than she had expected. But then, she liked making friends and such tended to come easily to her. She felt she would always be closest to Shoshana, but it was a different sort of thing. Her blind sister depended on her, looked to her for guidance and was a willing ear and cuddle whenever she needed it. This was someone strong and independent, who had sought her/the pride out... someone she didn't have to worry about taking care of. It was... freeing.
"I don't know, really, how many of us there are total. A lot, I suppose. We all come and go a lot, on things like patrolling and exploring the outside lands. Lionesses are often gone for days looking for fathers for their cubs and the Queen's guard is out sometimes looking for females that might need 'rescuing', so to speak, and a safe place to stay. I've heard stories, sort of, of outside places that aren't as green as here... places where there aren't so many trees and more great expanses of grass. Places without hills and rivers..." She trailed off, thinking about how odd that would be. "There isn't really any shortage of food and water here... we live in a great cliff full of dens beside the river and the forest provides all the food we could want. You'll see the dens as we go to visit the queen."
A chuckle escaped her as she thought about her home and if she enjoyed it. "I suppose you could say I like it here. I've never been outside, not yet, so I suppose I don't really know anything else. It has everything I need, or close enough, and I am happy. I guess I'm just not like some other lionesses that feel the need to travel and see new things. I'm pretty content in one place."
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 1:28 am
One could say fortune smiled upon Zan as a youngster. While she hadn't been born or raised within a pride, she had her sisters and the regular traversing her little family did granted her plenty of opportunities for talking and interacting with unfamiliar folk, usually after her mother had given the okay that they were friendly enough, or even someone that she had come to know previously. There were times when she and her siblings were a bit older where they would sneak off and go socialize without their mother hanging around. Ooh, so rebellious. It felt so at the time at least.
When Ariadne began answering her numerous questions, the cream and charcoal lioness was all ears. She nodded occasionally as she drank things in. Brezanae smiled. "It sounds really beautiful, Ariadne. I look forward to being able to come to know it well." There was a brief pause. "Pending acceptance, of course." Giving a little chuckle and a shake of her head, she moved on, bypassing the little off topic bit. "Sounds like there's a good deal of activity and plenty of liveliness. That's nice to hear."
Upon learning that her guide had never been outside of the pride borders, Zan blinked in surprise before breaking into a bit of a smile. "Really? Never? I'll have to tell you of some of the places I've been then. I've been all over, it seems. A while back I even found myself in a desert for a short stretch of time. The heat of the midday was absolutely scorching, but it was made more bearable by napping in what shade I could find. The sunrises and sunsets were really quite something though. There's something to be said about finding happiness in one's home though. Traveling around as I have been had it's enjoyable moments, but there were the difficult times too. I didn't always have a den to get out of bad weather or to bed down in at night. There were times I had contend with groups or prides that weren't so keen on having a stranger 'skulking' around, or had to go without food or water. I think I've had enough experiences to make it all worthwhile though."
She sighed, a wistful smile settling on her features. "I'm ready for my forever home, I think. It'd be nice to actually have some place that I can always return to, be it after a day or a time longer, a place that I could build a family in. A mate, friends, and so on. That'd be great...Baah." She said with another shake of her head, a chuckle of her own escaping her. "Off I go again. Heh." The lioness took a moment to think if she had any other questions in mind. Not being able to think of any of note, she refocused on Ariadne. "How about you? Do you have any questions for me? I'd be willing to answer them if you do."
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Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 9:09 pm
Ariadne grinned, already brimming with questions of her own. The trek back to the main dens was no hardship with all the talking she got to do, sharing and learning about one another. It didn't take long for the hybrid to start pouring out all her thoughts and dreams, her wishes and ambitions. She couldn't stay suspicious of someone who spoke so freely with her, and by the time they had crested the last ridge and could see down into the canyon that house the dens, she felt like she might have known Zan all her life. Not literally, of course, but close enough.
"This is where the pride dens." She said, indicating the cliff face riddled with all different sized crevices. "Those are the sister rivers." The waterfall could be heard quite well from where they were and in a few more steps, they'd be on the sandy slope of the river that ran before the cliff. "Once you join, you can pick any one of the dens you like. As long as its not already taken, of course, and even then, sometimes friends or family will share one of the larger dens. That really big one on the bottom is our main den. Those who can't climb stay there, like the old, the cubs without parents, the injured or sick. The younger ones, like us, usually try to climb as high as we can, because its sort of a competition who can get the highest den. Sort of shows of bravery, strength and climbing ability, you know." She laughed softly, shrugging.
"I still stay with my family though, in that big den there on the second level." She said, indicating one a bit above and to the side of the main one. It was a large place, easily fitting six or seven lionesses.
Ariadne turned and smiled at Zan, waving a paw towards the scene. "Welcome home, Zan." She chuckled, no doubt in her mind that it would be.
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 11:20 pm
Brezanae found the trip into the pride's lands most enjoyable. She was simply having a ball answering whatever questions Ariadne had of her and gladly listening to everything the leopon had to tell her. Having done most of her traveling alone, there wasn't often an opportunity to just have a nice long, friendly chat. It felt nice to be able to let her guard down and just be down right sociable. The fact that everything she was seeing was quite a beautiful sight to behold, at least for this particular voyager, didn't suck either. For being a nomad as long as she had been, somewhere with such a natural bounty was most welcoming indeed.
She drank it all in, noting the den riddled cliff and the sounds of the waterfall and the flow of the river. "Upon becoming all official, I'm sure there's a nice, unoccupied den up there that would suit me just fine." Zan wasn't exactly picky in terms of dens, so there was no cause for her to even be tempted to oust another resident for their niche among all the dens. She nodded as she listened and then she smiled. "That sounds like an ideal arrangement for the orphaned and the infirm." Giving a chuckle, she continued. "I do know. Such a competition sounds like a fun way to test your mettle and skills against those of your age, your friends, and the like."
The indication of where Ariadne and her family stay prompted the lioness to look up the the den on the second level. She gave another bob of her head in acknowledgement before returning her attention to her friendly escort. The welcome brought Zan to flash a beaming smile and dipped her head in thanks, a light laugh just barely hidden beneath her words. "Thank you, Ariadne. It'll be nice for the first time to truly be home. To the Queen?" Can this be considered done, or should we do a wrap up post or something? Just wondering. >w>;
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 6:24 am
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