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 Posted: Sun May 06, 2012 2:59 pm
 Aruná had lost her sister's tracks, and she also seemed to have lost a lot of her steam. Someone had stolen her sister from her, and she was not going to sit down and accept it. Janja'nafsi was looking too, but perhaps not with the same urgency. She had even asked Cythraul to keep an eye out. He seemed to know his way around these parts and might meet someone who had seen something.
She was at her wits end, and the anger that fuelled her actions didn't seem to help much. She had nothing to channel the anger into and so far she only knew that a dark pelted fairly young male had spirited her sister away. She had nothing! At this rate she'd need to stop random strangers and ask if they knew anything.
The dark lioness sighed and dug her claws into the gazelle at her feet. She had hunted to release some of the frustrated energy, but now she didn't feel hungry. She probably should be, but... Her claws broke the skin and ruined the pelt. Well, her mind was on other things than food at the moment.
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Posted: Sun May 27, 2012 1:46 pm
Annchen I am so sorry about the delay! D: Internet has been a bit hard to come by the last few weeks, but I should be able to reply more promptly now.  Bluu was bored. Caution didn't suit her, but caution was what the situation demanded. While she wasn't in the lands controlled by the Stormborn lions, she was in the lands where they conducted raids. She had no interest in getting captured as a slave and while she had full confidence in her running abilities, there was little she could about a carefully planned ambush. So she avoided lions. Mostly. Solitary lions, now... solitary lions were easy enough to outrun, to outsmart. And most of the solitary lions in the area weren't stormborn. Bluu eyed the dark lioness from a safe distance. There was no reason to approach, not even the gazelle was much of a temptation. But Bluu was bored and she was curious about the lioness. What was she doing out here, all alone? Was she stormborn? Did she know about the stormborn, that they took lion slaves as easily as they took cheetah? Bluu didn't know anything about the lioness, and that was more than temptation enough. Cautiously she approached the lioness, circling around so that she was in full view of the lioness even while she was a fair distance away. She made no attempt to hide and did her best to convey a friendly, open air. "Hallo there!" she called.
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Posted: Sun May 27, 2012 2:07 pm
It took longer than normal for her to notice that another feline was approaching. Aruná wasn't all there, and instead of chasing the intruder away from her kill she waited to see what the cheetah was up to. Her claws slid back into hiding and she faced the other with caution, but without hostility. She wasn't used to spend much time with non-lions, and didn't feel they were much of a threat. She had been taught that they were lesser beings in some ways, and had never really bothered talking to the few individuals in her pride that weren't lions or lion hybrids.
"Hello," she answered warily, and then in a leap of faith she decided to try asking about Udongo, "Have you seen any other lions or lionesses around these parts?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 10:52 am
Bluu stopped at a respectful distance, giving herself enough room to run if need be. Her ears perked at the question though; if the lioness was asking about other lions, then she probably wasn't from the area. Unless she was planning on conducting a raid... but why would a Stormborn ask about other lions when there was a cheetah right in front of them? No, definitely a stranger. "I might have," she said, eying the gazelle. "I might even know quite a bit about the matter. What's the information worth to you?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2012 2:14 am
Everything. Finding Udongo would mean the world to her, but Aruná didn't say that out loud. Another creature with a bit of people skills could probably "read" her body language well enough to figure out that this was something very important to the lioness, however. Aruná wasn't nearly as hard to read as she thought.
"You know something," she said warily to the cheetah, "And your information comes with a price? I don't know..."
She tried to sound casual, but at the same time she didn't want the cheetah to leave without telling her whatever it was she had heard.
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Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 11:04 am
Oh ho ho, what was this? The lioness' body language was child's play for Bluu to read; she cared about this information a great deal. So she'd probably be willing to pay a great deal - perhaps even that most tender gazelle at her feet. Although maybe she'd just ask for part of the gazelle... it would take a while to eat an entire gazelle, and she had no intention of lingering in Stormborn lands. "I know a great deal," Bluu said frankly. She tried to contain her excitement, but the tip of her tail flicked behind her. "Although I'm always looking for more. So I propose a trade: I tell you about any lions or lionesses I have or have not seen in this area, and you tell me about yourself. Why you're here, where your from. "And I get a haunch of the gazelle if you want detailed information," she added as an afterthought. "Where the lions came from, where they were headed. What they were doing in the area. Things like that."
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:37 am
Hook. Line. Sinker. Aruná had to fight back an urge to just rip of a haunch and give it to the cheetah. No. She'd see what kind of information she'd get from just her story first.
"I'm Aruná," she started hesitantly, "I came from the pride Mizimu'Tungika, but the pride hit some unfortunate times and I think most have left now. I was a hunter back then, still is I suppose. I left with my sister and a warrior when things went bad."
She didn't mention the plague that had decimated pride numbers until the pride hierarchy crumbled and the pride finally dispersed. They hadn't stopped to see what would happen next, but she doubted anyone other than the spirits remained near their old home. And since so many had died improperly there must be many hostile and confused spirits hanging around. It was freaking her out just thinking about it and she paused, trying to shake the feeling.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:45 am
Bluu nodded along to the information the lioness provided, but it wasn’t very much to go on. Nothing more than small scraps of information, but Bluu had plenty of experience building on and trading such small scraps. The Mzimu’Tungika had run into hard times, had they? That was certainly worthwhile information. As was the mention of her sister and a warrior… Bluu didn’t see any sign of the other two lions, but that didn’t mean they weren’t around. Better make things fast. Bluu wasn’t one to rush though. The lioness – Aruná – was looking for someone. Possibly one of the lions she was traveling with? The sister, more likely. A warrior would know how to defend themselves. “Lions pass through here regularly enough,” Bluu said, weighing each word. “There’s a pride nearby, that’s where most of them come from. Better avoid them if you see a group: they’re well trained fighters, real dangerous. “Sometimes they take things,” she drawled, eyeing the gazelle in a pointed manner.
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 11:04 am
"What, like a kill?" Aruná asked, misunderstanding the look the cheetah gave the gazelle, "I can defend my food if I have to."
She unsheathed her claws as if to prove her point. A warrior pride, huh? It was always good to know about pride borders, to avoid misunderstandings. And especially if the pride in question was hostile. It wasn't what she was looking for, however. Unless...
"They wouldn't take people, would they?"
It was a worrying thought. She knew that her sister had been abducted, most likely against her will. If the vulture had told her the truth there hadn't been much of a fight, but that sounded a lot like her sister. Especially since the perpetrator was described as young. She wouldn't harm a younger or weaker lion.
"Have you seen any adolescent warriors?" she asked. "Or just adults?"
It was obvious that the answer to that question was important to her.
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Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 1:33 pm
Bluu frowned at the lioness, weighing what counted as detailed. "There are adolescents," she said at last, "and sometimes they take more than kills. But if you want detailed information - the name of the pride, where they live, the things they seek when they travel - then it'll be a haunch of that gazelle."
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Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 3:32 pm
Fair enough. Aruná grabbed a haunch in her jaws and put her front paw on the body to hold the corpse down. It took a few tries before she finally managed to rip it off. There. She took a couple of steps toward the cheetah and dropped the severed limb before backing off again.
"Make sure it's good," was all she said. If this hostile pride had anything to do with Udongo's disappearance she needed all the intel she could get.
"If they've hurt her..." she mumbled, and if Bluu had a keen sense of hearing she might catch that.
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Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 3:32 pm
Bluu darted forward and grabbed the haunch before stepping lightly back. She smiled, content to fill her end of the bargain. "They're called the Myrsky Syntynyt, although they call themselves the Stormborn. They're a warring pride, proud and strong. All the Stormborn are lions. "They go on raids often, almost always in groups, although some are fool enough to risk it on their own. They seek treasure, glory... slaves. Mostly non-lion slaves, but they'll take lion slaves too." She paused a moment, thinking over what other information she had to share. Best tell the lioness everything - she looked strong, it would be good to have her gratitude. "For a lion... there are two ways into the pride," she said slowly. "Either they take you in as a slave, or you fight your way in. One on one combat; win or tie and you're in. "They live that way, on the edge of the sea. They guard the borders."
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Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2012 2:00 pm
Aruná listened in silence. There was a lot to take in, and she tried to remember everything word for word. During the weeks that came she would hear more about these lions, and the names they were called. Vikings and plunderers. Myrsky Syntynyt almost being a curse. Stormborn. She decided that these lions were her best lead, and that she needed to find them, and find out more about them. It was plausible then, that they could have taken Udongo.
She nodded to the cheetah when she finished her story. She might not have the kind of soul Aruná believed in, but she had helped her greatly, spirit or not. The dark lioness grabbed hold of the remains of her kill, and with some struggle she managed to separate another haunch.
"If you meet a lion named Janja'nafsi," she said, "Or one named Cythraul... You can tell them I went to the Stormborn to look for my sister."
She bent down to retrieve the haunch, but left the rest of her kill behind when she started her journey toward what Bluu had told her was Stormborn territory. Perhaps it was meant as an offering to the spirits of these lands, perhaps as an added bonus to her helper. Aruná didn't seem to care what happened to it, and she didn't look back.moineau bavarde I think that'll be a good ending unless you want to add something
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