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 Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2014 9:48 am
 Returning home for visits had always been... difficult. Near impossible, really, however, as Binti grew, she found she missed the call of the ocean and the call of her family. Tianxia was a lovely place, both safe and prosperous, but given her ties and attachments to her fellow peers had been nonexistent, the blue marked lioness had decided that moving on was in order.
Roaming had been in her blood anyhow. Her mother had told her that much, when she'd been very young. It was interesting to note that the white lioness had not been wrong; Binti took to roaming the roguelands like a fish to water, and though sometimes the brute force employed by others made her frown... all in all, she found herself content and at home in an otherwise rather hostile environment.
Still, what she had not been expecting upon her arrival at the Kizingo'zaa, was the eerie silence, or the strange, unnerving notion that someone (or many someones) were watching her from the shadows of her homeland jungle. The feeling of weird, almost familiar voices in her skull was gone too, and though Binti herself had never cared for the muses, their lack made her lift her head, sniff the air and narrow her eyes.
Something was... off, and she couldn't quote put her finger on just what this was.
Where was Nili, anyhow? Where was her mother, Misae? The seer would've probably known of her imminent arrival, and thus, the princess of old was startled when she met no one at all. The eeriness continued, even as she stepped out of the jungle and onto the beach, watching the night time and the stars hang over the horizon like they had in her childhood memories. This was the same and yet... at the same time, everything was different.
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Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 11:06 pm
To say that the rocks had eyes would not have been too far from the truth. It was one of Shandor's favorite rumors to spread about and perhaps the one that had outsiders tensing at the border. The more talented border guards would flick a few stones down the sides, creating an ecoing slide of a few loose stones. Sometimes a few would work together, doubling the effort. Just the subtle sound breaking the silence was enough to rattle a leery newcomer. Sometimes shadows would dart from one rock to another, sometimes a flash of predatory eyes would shine in the moonlight, and sometimes wild laughter would ring out from the stones. It was too easy to simply approach an incomer and demand their name and purpose, it was more fun to tease them with little mind games.
Nico wasn't as sadistic as some of the guards were, nor as bored. He liked watching the newcomers and trying to figure out for himself what their motives were. The ladies, especially, he enjoyed keeping a close eye on. It was always refreshing to see a new lovely along the border. Shandor's fear of eventually becoming a closed-off pride had thankfully not yet become a reality. There was a good flow of rogues come to find a place among them and they still had the festival just ahead of them to look forward to.
This particular pretty had a familiar look about her. The markings were telltale of some of the old nobility, few of which actually remained. It was a prominent enough marking and color scheme. Perhaps it was a coincidence, perhaps not.
He followed at a distance, always moving with the breeze, always down wind, and always with the utmost care. The female, unlike others, did not seem lost. She knew the coast, knew the path down from the knotted, dry wood down to the dunes and eventually down to the firm, packed, damp sand that licked the coastline. She had a sad, almost longing look in her eye. She knew this place well... perhaps she was among the nobles after all. Here-say said that most left, unable to cope with having lost their position. And here was one such noble, returned to perhaps see what had become of her kingdom.
Well. It would be rude to simply watch for too much longer.
The firey-maned male stepped from his shadows and made an open approach. There was no aggression in his stride or in his eyes. Instead there was a clever curiosity in his gaze and an easy, friendly smile on his maw.
"Ever see a hermit crab, miss? Funny things they are." He paused to flick at an empty shell in his path. "They grow bigger and move into an empty shell. Over and over they're forced to find a new home that suits them. Have I happened upon one such creature?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 5:56 am
Her sniffing the air continued, turning her head left, and right as she tried to scent the wind here and there, but it brought no familiar notions to her whatsoever. It was the same land, granted, but everything was different.
Her rump hit the floor as she allowed herself to sit there, her tail curled around here as it thumped the ground; the only clear sign of the mild irritation she felt at the general situation, for her features remain calm, inquisitive. Her time in the roguelands had left her frame strong, healthy; she'd had to fight her way around the territory, had had to defend her meals, but she'd managed to remain unmarred, scarred throughout her journey. Binti was actually quite proud of the feat, and also felt quite happy that her body had taken so well to the exercise.
All in all however... she did not look exactly like a princess of old.
But then again, she'd never really been much of a princess; her joining the Tianxia had been an effort to forge an alliance with the Kizingo'zaa of old. A bartering chip of sorts, and even though the marriage she'd been bound to had never really come to pass, she'd stayed in their pride, honor keeping her rooted to their land until she'd come to realize that... she didn't really matter.
Her presence or absence was not felt deeply at all. It'd simply been time to move on.
And now that she was home, she found it strange, altered beyond recognition, and the most frustrating bit of all was that she didn't know why. Knowledge was power, and she lacked it.
She'd been about ready to sigh, get up and move on; maybe head towards the dens, when a small rustle of foliage and the clear sound of paws stepping on sand alerted her of another's presence. Her head turned to look over her shoulder, watching the approaching stranger with obvious curiosity, and what little tension there'd been in her frame, melted away at the fact he approached her without aggression, "I've seen many things," she told him as she tilted her head to one side, "But I'm afraid my case was more along the lines of... the shell deciding it no longer needed the crab to be there for it," she turned to glance over the ocean again and lifted her twitching nose in the air once more, "This place has changed. I don't recognize it much, but then again... last I was here, I was but a child."
She shook her head, as if to clear her memories and turned to offer the stranger a small smile; it didn't quite reach her eyes, "Who rules here now? I can't scent my brother, or my mother. I can't scent anyone at all, actually. Would you be so kind as to... tell me what's happened? It's been a long, long time, you see," a pause as her nose twitched again, her brows drawing together, "Also... would you, perhaps know what happened here? Something's clearly happened. It doesn't feel... the same," she was struggling to describe what had been Muhali's blessing, unsure of how to talk about the muses without actually seeming insane (the irony!), for after all... she'd never actually been formally introduced to them, and her life had been far away in another pride, where such things were considered weakness.
Binti's head turned and looked at him pleadingly, hoping he'd understand without her having to spell out what she meant; it was awkward at best, "My name is Binti," she told him, and amusingly enough, left out any titles or any claims to nobility.Thalion Wow, for some reason, this post gave me a lot of feels. I don't know what to do with myself, wtf.
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Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2014 9:46 pm
"Ah." He tilted his head a little. The male came up beside her though there was at least two body lengths between them. He didn't trust an outsider, even one that looked like an insider. Part of why the pride remained so well hidden was because of the caution of its members. They had any number of tricks to keep themselves from putting themselves, and their pride, in danger.
"Well-" , He reached down to gingerly pull a half-crushed shell from the sand and lifted it for a short inspection. "It sounds like a cracked shell if you ask me. Any smart crab would move on." He flicked the shell away and glanced over.
A....very trusting stranger, wasn't she? He already knew her name and knew that she was formally from here- just looking for information. Sadly, his true name and the nature of the pride were things that wouldn't be presented openly nor easily. The gypsy lord smirked. "Well the first thing you should know is that we do not trust openly. Who we are, what we are, who we were- that is ours to know. I have no way of knowing if you are friend or foe. A word of advice-"
He took a step closer. "Do not be so quick to spill your guts around here. There are sharks in the water. They tend to swarm around even the smallest of cuts."
Leaning back he settled onto his hind quarters. "You can call me FireDog for now. I am something of a noble here, Binti. So you understand it's my job to withhold information in the interest of my pride."
He narrowed his eyes. "Speaking of. What is your purpose here? You got past our borders easily, your paws seem to know the land."
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 3:26 am
Binti couldn't help but chuckle softly at his words; a cracked shell indeed, though in all honesty, there were very few that would ever dare call Tianxia a cracked shell. It was, after all, a formidable pride, and though it didn't suit her needs, they would have been a powerful enemy if wronged. She shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts, but anything she might have said in response was cut short as the male continued talking.
"Since when?" the words sounded confused, genuinely curious as she turned her head and finally took a moment to eye Firedog up and down with a calculating glance; she recognized none of his markings, nor his colors, and though this was hardly uncommon with rogue blood... well then.
As he mentioned sharks, her brows knit, her posture changing ever so slightly; though she did not tense up, something had changed in her. After all, she had not taken to the roguelands like a fight to water for nothing. Despite her general politeness, she hid a keen intelligence behind her bright eyes, "Since when?" she repeated in answer to his words as took a moment to lean in, sniffing the air about him before drawing back with a small hum in her voice, "Oh. Well then," she said in a low voice as she turned to look at the ocean, "That explains a lot."
She gave no outward explanation for a few moments before she stood up and stretched her frame, working out the kinks in her muscles before turning back to look at him, expression carefully drawn upon her features, "We've always been trusting here. There was never a need not to be. If there is a need for distrust... it means things have changed," again she lifted her head to the air, scenting the wind as it had changed direction, taking in large gulps before she frowned. Her gaze traveled back to fall upon Firedog, her head tilting to one side. After a beat or two, she sat back down and raised a paw, palm up, "I was looking for my family. Nothing more, nothing less. I haven't decided yet if I'll be staying with them or not," another pause, her gaze roaming over him as she lowered her paw back down on the sand, "I got past your borders because I was born here, raised here. I know every small little crevice in the land, every small little notch and corner. If you are a noble here, does that mean we're related?" she leaned in again, only a bit, not enough to burst his personal bubble, but enough to take in his scent.
After drawing away though, she shook her head, "I can't scent my family on you though. Tianxia made it very hard for me to be able to visit; apparently I've stayed away a touch too long," after a moment, she turned to look him in the eye, "Where are Misae d'hulu and Nili Maua? I am the former's daughter, and the later's sister."
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Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:20 pm
“Since before I was born.” He answered vaguely, but honestly. Things had always been what they were in his lifetime. Anything else was something he had only heard of through the mummers or the grumblings of the older members. There were so few of the old pride members left. Most were so furious after their royal line was replaced that they simply left. Others were torn apart when the insanity was pulled from the lands that they decided to wander in search of it. The others… he didn’t know. The prince wasn’t exactly keen on those that would desert- for any reason -and he made it quite clear in regarding them in speech. This female, however, had returned. Old blood or not, he was suspicious of newcomers. He didn’t know her face, her scent, or her name. If he let a pretty face in that meant them harm he would and could never forgive himself.
The male raised a brow. “Trust is one you give to your fellow gypsies. Those that share the lifeblood of our pride, shared oaths. Those that take names for themselves. Those that you would trust with your real name. Those are they who deserve trust. DidikaI. Gypsy friends. Non-gypsies. Gajengi- no. They deserve no more trust than a hungry pack of hyenas around a dying calf.” He flicked his tail. “Trust is a shield- but on the wrong side of a shield is danger. Know where to put yourself and where to put danger.”
Her family… the old nobles. FireDog made a face and glanced away. “I will show you to our king. He might know what became of them. Those names mean nothing to me.”
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 9:13 am
Apparently... things had changed more than just a bit, from what this male was saying. Still, home was home, even if it was changed; or at least, so she hoped, because Binti did not particularly want to return to Tianxia. In fact, if push came to shove, she'd simply bid these people her farewells and would search the Savannah for another pride.
None would ever truly be home like the Kizingo'zaa was, but perhaps she could find some vague sort of approximation in her search. Of course, that all rested on the shoulders of this new leader of FireDog's, she supposed, "Kindly lead the way?" she offered him a polite smile as she stood up, stretching out her frame to get rid of the kinks, "I hope it's not too rude to ask but... was there some sort of down falling between my mother than your royals? I'd be hard pressed to... believe my mother even capable of such a thing, but I could not help but notice your grimace?"
She found it quite odd that the names meant nothing to him. Above all because she'd been brought up in stories, before she'd been scheduled to marry into Tianxia. Binti had learned of the history of her pride, the ones that came before them; everything there was to know about the past and what had brought them to where they were, "Leaders change; it is inevitable in society, but I find it odd you don't know about them? They were not a distant past at all. Do tales of the past kings and queens no longer interest the pride?" her head tilted to the side, still, she was polite enough not to push the issue.
A small shrug of her shoulders seemed to relay that she wasn't particularly bothered by the issue either way, "I get the impression..." she murmured, looking up at the sky above, "That if I have found my way here, my family won't dawdle much longer..."
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 4:08 pm
Unfortunately he wasn't guarding his expression as well as he should have been. His eyes had flinched away from mention of the old nobility and his shoulders had tensed up. Kudos to the female for being so observant. A small part of him was baffled at the same time. What he had heard of the old bloods were that they were so bat droppings mad that they'd not be able to read, with clarity, the light of day, much less the sway of one's emotional state through expressions or otherwise.
He bobbed his shoulders and rose to all fours. "Let's just say that the past is not spoken of fondly by those that remain." He said evasively, his tone conversational at best. He didn't seem to have any personal investment in the matter, so it wasn't guarded or skirted away from. But in the interest of keeping the secrets close to him, he held his hand close so to speak. "Most were unhappy when our new ruler was named. They outright left. Most without warning or word. Good riddance I say. The rest remained until the madness was driven off. Most of them decided to go look for their insanity."
He bobbed his shoulders again. "I couldn't say. My mother has no disregard or hostility towards any nobles. Riddle-mouth is hard to read. His disliking is for the insanity in general, I don't think any one individual is singled out."
He smirked as he walked forward. He hated insanity...but it didn't stop him from flirting with the lioness.
"Hmph. Well we'd best get this sorted. We don't want them meeting with the patrons on the border if they mean well."
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 4:38 pm
"Ah, that is interesting," for many a reason; mostly because it sounded like the rising of the new king was not well met by the people, which... was troubling. More troubling was the fact she couldn't picture a situation where her mother would have willingly stepped down from the throne of the pride she'd formed with her lover, back in the old days. Unless the throne was usurped, or otherwise taken by force.
All in all, none of these notions painted a good picture of the past in her mind, but Binti was not quick to judge; there could be other explanations, "Well, you know what they say," she spoke conversationally with him as he padded off in some general direction, small lioness in tow, "It's always wise to have both versions of a story."
After hearing out this Riddle-mouth, Binti figured she'd decide on her next step. But then again, given her mother's special talents, something told her that her best chance of being reunited with her... was to stay put, "I don't think my mother has a bad bone in her body. My brother... well, that's another story, but he's more bark than bite at any rate. Worst that can happen if they arrive is that he'll look grumpy," she shook her head as she walked, "Time will tell though. Only time will tell."
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 4:44 pm
Nico snorted. "I've hardly told a side of the story. I've kept to the skeleton of a story. If you want the full story, you'll have to get it out of Riddle-Mouth. He's called that for a reason, mind. Anything he tells you may not be the whole truth." He glanced over and smirked. "He's something of an uncle to me. Growing up under him was...different."
He nodded ahead and lifted a paw to point out one of the larger caves, decorated with scraps of brightly colored fabric, beads, and feathers. "There's his den. Hard to miss."
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 4:49 pm
Binti offered the male a small, but sincere smile, then nodded her head, "Yes, well, regardless, thank you," she turned away from him and slowly started to make her way towards the brightly colored then. She paused, however, turned to look over her shoulder and smiled again, "Fare yeh well, Fire Dog," and that said, she hooped forth and out of sight.
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Returning home for visits had always been... difficult. Near impossible, really, however, as Binti grew, she found she missed the call of the ocean and the call of her family. Tianxia was a lovely place, both safe and prosperous, but given her ties and attachments to her fellow peers had been nonexistent, the blue marked lioness had decided that moving on was in order.
