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 Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 1:16 pm
In Which the Ithambo'hlabathi Learn From the Motoujamii
Hraga of the Motoujamii is in charge of a teaching session located at the Firekin Outpost. Here, wanna be warriors may learn proper fighting techniques, battle terminology, and all the in and outs of being a proud warrior. So Far. . . A summary for those joining in later!
- Hraga has introduced himself and his cub assistant Bakar.
- He has asked the meaning of the word warrior. "Sometimes warriors can be a little overambitious. A lot of you mentioned fighting for others or for a cause. But the first part of learning to fight is learning how to protect yourself. If you can't protect yourself, you can't protect the things you care about. So you could say being a warrior starts a little selfishly."
- If Hraga were an invading lion, what should you do first? Warn the others - you are useless injured and individually lack the strength of a group of warriors.
- Elda and Heti are giving a demonstration of proper defense techniques.
- Pair up! Practice charges and feinting techniques!
Who can participate
Any member of either Firekin or Boneland pride of any age and any gender. This is open to cubs all the way through adult!
How Will it Run
This is ICly a teaching session, so it will be predominately post-run with the interaction of dice. Certain moves may have dice associated with practicing them, for example.
Where it Will Occur
This training session occurs at the Firekin Outpost. There are guidelines for creating private spars located in the outpost thread.
Bonuses!
- Posting in this thread can be used as credit for Firekin Prizes!
- You may count this as a 'spar' for numerical modifiers.
- Prizes: A page number and post will be rolled from this thread; the winner may pick from either a familiar or moderate item edits (scars, jewelry, etc.).
- Posts in this ORP count towards Boneland's rank opportunities
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 1:45 pm
"The Motoujamii have invited us for formal training." The tone had left no room for argument. Attendance would be every lionesses choice; Surtak was not a lion who convinced the unwilling. "We'll leave tomorrow, after sunrise."
-
Nahmba was full of energy. It escaped her body in a full wriggle from shoulders down to the tip of her tail. Since calling them 'fat' and shunning them off, the pale lioness had grown a natural tolerance in the back of her mind.
Determined to be in the front of the group, she limped her way along when the old, bad joint in her back leg acted up. The lioness was starting to go blind in the right eye and the grey hairs were beginning to encroach the gold of her fur. Perhaps her most recent litter, or the one after, would be her last.
Surtak, at the front, would cast wary glances across all the females as though silently and constantly counting. Then, he would resume his slow, steady jog.
They met no resistance as they entered the outpost - only a few raised brows left any indication that a group of natural pelts entering Firekin territory was anything but normal. Head held high with tails swaying, they almost looked ready for war.
"Mind yourselves," Surtak gruffed out, as though he expected trouble. He gave a few of the Boneland's females pointed looks. "Stay in a straight line. Make a column along that high end. Face this way." There was no falter in his voice; nothing to hint that he expected anyone to disobey.
Nahmba shuffled her way over, bumping the nearest lioness to her with her head. "They have such big sons," she jabbered on, face beaming. "But I still think they are a bit lumpy."
Surtak flicked an ear back, catching the growing hum of chatter. He approached a dark-pelted lion, stating only. "We are here." A glance behind him. "They are ready." As ready as they were going to be.
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 2:18 pm
While most firekin might have felt a bit indignant about training outsiders, Hraga couldn't have been more excited. This was his first legit training assignment, and he had high hopes that he might be considered for a promotion in the future. Most guards would have to worry about making a fool of themselves in front of their students. But by training these outsiders, Hraga was ensuring he had a test group with absolutely no ties to the firekin. When promotion time came, he wouldn't just be any throwaway guard! He'd be an experienced trainer! It was strangely brilliant, even for him.
[Also someone had told him that there was a high chance of being fawned over by foreign women. This may have also influenced his decision.]
"Good afternoon everyone!" Hraga said, perhaps with more mirth than any firekin should rightfully posses. Surtak's quick comments didn't even seem to phase him. "I am Hraga, a guard in the Motoujamii. If you are looking to learn some basic lessons, I am more than happy to give an overview today!"
"I also have brought some assistants," he said, looming down and scooping up a small red ball of fur. He dropped the squirming cub on the ground rather carelessly, nudging him forward with a few shoves of his paw. "This is Bakar! He will be helping out anyone underage with some modified versions of the lessons."
Bakar winced, rubbing his nose bitterly. Why had his mom put him through this? This was soooo lame. Like the lamest. Of the lame.
"Does anyone have any questions before we get started?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 2:31 pm
Never one to exclude himself from activities, Moto'Spaki had made his way over. Though he still found a few cultural differences between the pride somewhat unnerving, the Ithambo lions were nice enough. He'd quite enjoyed sparring with one of their females earlier, and didn't mind the opportunity to do something of the sort again.
He huffed, briefly amused as Hraga dropped a cub on the floor. He could only imagine how the poor kid must be feeling now, and it was funny enough for him. He didn't really have any questions about the activity in itself, he was sure it seemed simple enough. Moto'spaki more or less just wanted to get started, as he was certain he would find some fun in all this.
Tswana hadn't really meant to come to this outpost initially. But considering she felt like she wasn't doing enough around, when she heard there would be a training exercise she had come on over. The most experience she could get, the better! She was done being a helpless lioness whose pride had been overrun. She had to get active and be as fit as possible for the oncoming war, for the sake of both Hongshan and Firekin.
She stood with the rest of the firekin, though feeling typically a bit set apart, thanks to her fur and perfectly average stature.
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 2:58 pm
Nuria's stance was confident and relaxed as she watched the Bonelands members come. She was bigger than many of them, and trained--while she might walk away with a few bruises, she had little worry of suffering a humiliating defeat. She might be bested, but she intended to give her opponents a hell of a fight either way.
Her eyes cut over to Hraga, and while amused, she raised an eyebrow. "Don't drop the kid on his head, now."
-----
Maru wouldn't have missed this for anything. The encounter with the Firekin ambassador had sparked a curiosity, and the cub now wanted to learn more about these odd, foreign red-pelts. The stocky white cub jogged along behind the adults, startlingly blue eyes trying to take in everything at once. When they got there...it was a shock to find one of the red-pelts wasn't red at all! He frowned, looking up at Hraga with the utterly serious look that only a cub could give. "I thought red-pelts were all red. You're not red."
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 2:58 pm
Baie’mooi did not like the idea of being summoned even when they called it an invitation but she was secretly pleased to visit the outpost and even more pleased that she could finally watch the warriors in action with having the Abazingeli talking about her behind her back. While being herded into a confined space did not feel right to her instincts, she focused her mind on other matters, like the way Surtak seemed to be taking charge and how easily the role seemed to fit him. Her eyes were seeking Gakere when she felt a familiar bump.
“They are… bulky.” She agreed, eyeing the dark lion with her head held high, frowning when he dropped the poor cub on the ground. She smiled at the little one though her smile faltered a little when she noticed his eyes. Even giants looked cute when they were small, it seemed but those eyes looked awfully familiar for some reason.
-------
Thuli couldn’t be more excited about this little event and it certainly showed. The adolescent’s tail danced from side to side as they made their way to the outpost and she ginned happily when one of the Firekin spoke. See, now this was what a proper male looked like. Dark coat, dark mane, big but apparently nice enough. Her eyes travelled to Surtak as if she was comparing the two but she didn’t say anything to the brown lion towards whom she’d grown an irrational and mostly undeserved animosity against.
“His eyes look the same as that crazy lioness that almost attacked Gakere …” Thuli said quietly to the Ithambo lionesses’ ears only, eyeing the young Firekin. She was not in a phase where she liked to admit she found the young cub cute. “We are ready!”
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 3:17 pm
Aurinko was determined to be a good soldier. No, a GREAT soldier. She looked forward to these training sessions, even found herself to be rather proud. After all, her parents had joined the pride from outside - She was a first-generation Firekin-born for her family, something that she felt set her apart from most of the others in her age group. Not all, of course, but most. She found herself looking at the lionesses gathering with anticipation. She turned to Hraga and Nuria, eyes dancing. "I think this should be a GREAT learning experience for us!" At least for herself. It was like getting in touch with her roots.
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 3:58 pm
Hraga smirked, nodding his head at Nuria. "He's alright, Bakar is a tough kid. You should have seen the fit he pitched once he was out of his mom's earshot." He might have been enjoying the bit of de javu the kid gave him too. It wasn't all that long ago that Hraga had been the annoying little brat kid, clawing at Azar'bijan's paws. Bakar wasn't his apprentice, but it still felt remarkably similar. It was nice being on the adult side of things.
As to the other questions, Hraga was more than happy to indulge a little curiosity. "Not all firekin are red. My mother isn't a firekin by blood, she was born outside the lands. Farther even than your home. My father was the prince back then, and they fought in wars together," he relayed rather proudly. He'd always been something of a Mama's boy given the opportunity. Not that No indulged him. "So I'm rather proud to resemble her."
"If there's no further questions, I'd be happy to get started. I don't know what lessons you may have learned already, so why don't we start by talking about what it is you want to learn. What does the word warrior mean to you?" he started.
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 4:56 pm
Mind themselves? Now now, when had that ever been a problem? Wodi had snickered to herself at the warning, but fallen into line regardless. For all that she was wary of them, she was also incredibly intrigued by the red-pelts and their outpost, and wanted to get a good look at more of them. Especially with all the fuss everyone made about how big they were! And...lumpy, apparently. It was an odd way to hear the bogeymen of her youth described, and elicited a further chuckle.
They really were big, though - except for one, who was of rather average stature, but still bigger than the painted lioness. Compared to most of the assembled Firekin, she was downright tiny, not that she was the least bit intimidated by that. She watched the red-pelts with her head held high and gave a muffled snort when the leader asked them what the word 'warrior' meant. What were they, kids?
...well, okay, so there were a couple of kids around, but still.
"I didn't realize this was a vocabulary lesson," she muttered under her breath, just loud enough for whoever was next to her to hear before clearing her throat to answer.
"A fighter - either an experienced one or one who just thinks too much of himself." Wodi had a curious way of minding herself, clearly.
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 5:22 pm
Surtak was smiling. It was a quiet thing, which curled the edges of his mouth upwards. He had joined the females, standing on the far right side. The smile grew as Wodi spoke. There was a cough in the back of his throat as he supressed a chuckle.
Nahmba was staying in her spot, but barely. Boneland's discussions were active - everyone moved around, they guestured, they postured. Being demure was its own form of statement. Sitting still was difficult. To help her own distress, Nahmba leaned heavily against Baie'mooi, eyes glinting at the dark Firekin.
She'd always had a thing for tall dark, foreign lions. Nahmba thought to impress him.
"Yes!" she peeped out in agreement with Wodi. "Nahmba has seen warriors. They must have been." Her tail was swiveling all about with the excitement of her story.
"They held their heads very high, and hopped at each other. They stuck out their chests!" She demonstrated. "And were very loud towards each other. Big words! They smacked each other on the nose.
"Eventually, the one who could not push his chest out as far left. He thought too much of himself. He must not have been as good a warrior."
Surtak frowned.
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 5:37 pm
Trotting up last, if only because she'd like to not have her kills stolen, Mhisani found herself just in time to hear Hraga's question and Wodi's answer. The peach-brown lioness tilted her head, slowing to a walk as she fell in line. An ear flicked as she heard Nahmba, a smile coming to her maw. Normally not so bold, the question was rather public domain and the lioness found herself answering. "Warriors are males." She paused, at once sheepish. "Or they were back where I'm from..." Of course, there were far more males in her former pride to protect it. Here, there were mostly females and cubs - This training was needed for more than defending her food.
Puffing her own chest out, Aurinko couldn't help but smile a bit. Looking to Hraga, her red eyes shone with amusement. "I think they all got good answers.." Her attention then turned to Surtak, noticing the smile. It was barely there... Only somewhat. It was almost as if he didn't want it to be seen, the picture of a stoic male lion. Typical of a male to her... She'd never met one who was overly emotional before. Did they exist..? Come to think of it... She didn't want to run into an emotional male. That had to be the saddest thing in the world to watch.
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 5:53 pm
Thuli gave Wodi a wide toothy grin, her expression shifting between excitement and mischief. It was good to know she wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been expecting the question.
“A warrior is a good fighter.” She answered the question without hesitation. Without really thinking about it too, that much should be obvious. Her eyes travelled to the Firekin crowd, wondering if they had learned the answer to those kinds of questions in their youth or if they showed any reaction to her answer. If she’d said something incredibly stupid, Thuli would surely be able to see it in their expressions, after all. She listened to the other answers, eagerly.
-------------
Baie held back a snicker when Wodi answered the dark male, frowning a little when Nahmba released some of the the weight on her side to demonstrate... something. She did not even bother to hide her grin then.
The question had been unexpected to her because she’d assumed they were going to start sparring right away. She certainly hadn’t expected to be greeted by a quiz on their first lesson. But this was a serious lesson and a question required an answer.
“I’d say…” she started slowly. “A warrior is someone who fights when told to. Someone who is trains to improve one’s body and skills and is willing to fight for his pride.” Well, this was kind of a trick question as far as she was concerned. The answer to the dark lion’s question would probably vary depending on the individual and his circumstances so finding a definite answer might not be entirely realistic. But they would know the Firekin definition of the word, or Hraga’s at the very least, a lion who despite his size did not seem to act like most of the other Firekin she’d seen before. Baie found him rather intriguing.
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Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 6:28 pm
It was an interesting question, and one Moto'Spaki found he was more interested in hearing what others thought to be the answer rather than formulating his own. Still, he tried to answer it somewhat. "A warrior is someone who know how to fight, and fights for the right reason." He mused out loud, then perked his ears to pay attention to the others. He wasn't sure there really even was a right answer, but perhaps Hraga would disagree on that.
Tswana frowned and pondered for a bit. "A warrior doesn't need to know how to fight, or fight well. It helps, sure... but a warrior fights." She shrugged. not all the Hongshan had really been trained when they were attacked, but she would call every single one of them a warrior, even the ones who hadn't been able to properly fight back. "A warrior fights for their honor and pride. A warrior endures and keeps going." But perhaps she was thinking about it a bit more than Hraga intended when he asked the question. But it was a rather close subject for her, having experienced war first hand, along with her entire pride.
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 12:00 am
Chazama just might have been the first one to jump in line when Surtak had first announced their trip to the Outpost. As a group no less! The young female's excitement was plain on her face, nothing but grins and smiles for anyone that managed to catch her attention when she wasn't eagerly dancing in place on the tip-toes of her pads, or chattily recalling two of her first spars with the Firekin. Yes. She had made the trip herself, twice, to seek out willing Firekin to help train her. Both times she had gotten lucky! Big Guy, a white pelted lion she had forgotten to ask the name of, and Heti had both been excellent and amazing teachers.
As they had been instructed to sit in a particular way by Surtak upon first arriving, she made sure to stick close to her little pale brother, Maru. Their mother hadn't exactly said to watch him, but with Dina refusing to join them Chazama figured it could be the least she could do for her mother. With an eager smile she ruffled Maru's little hair tuft before turning her attention to the Firekin. As she scanned the faces of those present she did happen to catch sight of Big Guy, and allowed a toothy grin to spread over her maw. It was good to see him again! To say she was excited was like saying the sun was hot- it was obvious.
The white and gold lioness listened carefully to the question Hraga posed, and even more so to the answers that were given. Of course, she had her own little ideas on 'what a warrior was', but it was mostly a variation of everything that was said before. Instead, she leaned down to speak with Maru, nudging him with the tip of her nose. "What do you think it means, Maru?" she asked, encouraging him to speak up. She'd be interested in hearing what the cub had to say!
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Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:57 am
Firekin didn't have vocabulary lessons, so he wasn't entirely sure what one might entail! The sarcasm, effectively, flew right over his head. "All those are very good descriptions! Often times our idea of what a warrior should be is shaped by our impressions of the ones we've seen. I'm sure someone who thinks with his head more could give you a better reason as to why."
He pulled his head back, rolling his shoulders. A quick stretch before standing, and his eyes scanning over the most recent arrivals. "Bakar, what do you think a warrior is?" he asked, as the little cub had been one of the few firekin to speak.
The little firekin cub wrinkled his nose. "A warrior is someone who murders all his enemies and then makes a hat out of them so he can-"
Hraga winced slightly. "Sometimes warriors can be a little overambitious. A lot of you mentioned fighting for others or for a cause. But the first part of learning to fight is learning how to protect yourself. If you can't protect yourself, you can't protect the things you care about. So you could say being a warrior starts a little selfishly."
"Fighting isn't all about throwing your paws around, or tackling down your foes like they are prey. Prey runs, but your enemies rarely will. So lets say I am an invading lion, what is the first thing you should do?"
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