[ORP] Strangers and Kings (Done)

[Meepfur]

INTRODUCTION

This ORP takes place late in the afternoon on the same day as Red Sun Rises. Following the morning's events, the pride took a 'break' for the day rather than continue their migration, though they intend to get moving again tomorrow. The successful hunting party returned about an hour after Umkhombo's arrival, leading to a very public reunion with his Bonelands family: his mother Ukuthula struck and openly berated him for taking so long to return, as well as for allowing Bangizwe and Andhaka to live, an indignity he did not protest. He's spent the hours since then conversing with various members of his family, as well as the Qyrhyeshti, and anyone else curious and bold enough to approach him. Any answers to questions about where he's been, what he's been doing, and who his mysterious partner is have been vague and guarded, but given politely, although occasionally with a hint of good-natured sarcasm if the question is inane or one he's tired of hearing.

Now and then he's gone off to speak with an individual more privately (though his answers remain much the same), but is currently resting in the shade in the midst of the group with his sister Uheshe next to him.  

[Meepfur]

OOC Information

• Retcon Notice: in the first ORP, Umkhombo said "There will still be two Abaholi" because that was my expectation at the time. Due to the results of the contest, I've amended that slightly to "There will still be more than one Umholi" so that he's not making an incorrect statement.
  
  
• There is no specific posting order, and you are free to post as many times as you would like. Interact with your fellow players!
  
  
• This RP is for Bonelands members only.
  
  
• There is no NPC/meta danger posting in this ORP.
  
  
• One post = one ticket, but you cannot win more than one prize.
  
  
• The option for more prizes may be available throughout the ORP, but is not guaranteed.

Prizes

Lusizi->Rogue, Andhaka x Sabit.

show spoilerhide spoiler

Family Info! As she's not native to the Bonelands, his mother won't treat him as lesser in any way because of his gender, but she will not want or allow him to stay once he reaches adolescence; if he doesn't go on his own, she'll chase him out even before the Abaholi can get to it. She fully expects him to go and make something of himself, not bum around as a celibate cub-sitter, and will emphasize the nearby Firekin as an option.
(This litter will not be ICly born until the migration is complete.)

 

[Meepfur]

It had been a very, very long day - one that had begun before dawn with a battle, an abruptly-ended flurry of violence that had, much to his relief but to his mother's disappointment, not ended in any deaths. So long as their wounds, some of which did border on serious, did not become infected, the previous Abaholi would live. As he had reiterated several times by now, he'd held them no ill will, but they'd been in his way. Unless they were foolish enough to come back (and he knew them well enough to know they were no fools), they would not die by his claws, nor by those of his companions.

Companions who should, ideally, be arriving soon. Their errand to escort the deposed leaders away from the lands had been practical not only in ensuring that they did leave, but in alowing Umkhombo time to (re)introduce himself first and giving the pride a little lead time to adjust to the fact that there had been a change in leadership. The reactions ran the gamut from pleased to indifferent to upset, but in time even those who were upset would adjust, once the shock wore off. Upheavals in leadership, while not frequent by any means, were the norm in the Ithambo'hlabathi, and unlike the last time, this time it had been done in the traditional manner of a challenge. Points for him and his partners.

As the heat of the afternoon reached its peak, his gaze drifted more and more often in the direction his companions would likely be coming from, and though he remained outwardly relaxed, there was a tension underlaying the dark male's posture.








Beside him, Uheshe noted the gradual change in her brother's bearing, but said nothing. It was easy enough to guess, both from the time and from his frequent glances away, that he was anticipating the arrival of the other Umholi with whose existence he had been teasing them. No one had been able to glean anything significant from him as to his appearance, nature, or history; all anyone had been able to get was that Umkhombo trusted him and that he fought well, assumptions they could easily have made for themselves. It was exceedingly frustrating, and gave her the urge to emulate her mother for once and strike her sibling, but she was far too composed to do such a thing.

She had prevailed upon her grandmother to see if Wodi could persuade him to divulge something more, but she simply snorted and told her to be patient. Uheshe swore she was amused by it all. Still, as irritated as she was by the lack of information, the dappled lioness was pleased that her brother was now Umholi, not so much because she was particularly fond of him but because her brother was Umholi. Of course, this circled her right back to frustration, because he was obviously not a potential sire for any cubs she might consider having...for that, she would need his mysterious partner.

If he didn't at least have a decent mane, she'd be livid.

SilverLutz

oo DeD

 

[oo Ded]

It would be a lie for him to say he wasn't nervous. The past few seasons had been eventful. More so than the sandy lion would have cared for. One pride to the next, it seemed as though the world around him was just one big whirlwind of change. Ahlaq hadn't come from the Impibutho to the Bonelands without any idea of what to expect. His relationship with Umkhombo wasn't by any means full of chit-chat, but the lion had some idea of what was in store.

And so they traveled. They fought. They won. And now they were here.

The idea of accompanying a defeated foe from the lands was a strange one, and even as Ahlaq returned from the borders his muscles felt tense with unease. The scarred and sandy lion was used to bloodshed. To battle. It was the politics, the ways of this land that had been vaguely briefed on, that felt foreign. And, of course, there was the matter of a particular group of lionesses that he was sure was going to be less than thrilled to see him…

Ahlaq exhaled, the deep breath escaping his chest in a huff of a motion. He was moving in the direction Umkhombo had when the dark lion went his own way earlier that day, though certainly not in any hurry. Each of his steps were tense and thought out and Ahlaq found himself going over in his head all the different ways this interaction could go.

Deep in the afternoon sunlight, Ahlaq reached the peak of a small hill and paused when he saw the coalition of bodies gathered in the shade. His eyes narrowed and he looked over them all, considering his course of action once more before his eyes rested on the dark figure looking in his direction. There was no more time for planning, now.

Was he to wait? Was he to go forth? Ahlaq snorted, shaking his head as his own overthinking of the situation, and descended.

His eyes wandering as he moved towards the group, looking some individuals over as he walked. Ahlaq was well aware of how much the lioness' impression of him mattered, though, and after a few steps his eyes focused solely on Umkhombo as he walked tall. Ahlaq wasn't the huge and burly lion that might be expected from being born to a pride of war and battle (a fact his uncle would tease him for in his youth, noting him to be quite the pretty prince). Still, he had scars to prove he was battle-tested. He could only hope that would give him some sort of positive points, here. Something to balance out everything he had going against him...

Meepfur

Pls omit me from the raffle! Also sorry for all the notification :'D

 

[SilverLutz]

Not far behind Ahlaq another male walked along, a rather battle-scarred female at his side. Faust had let the other male lead the way back after they had escorted the former Abaholi away from the Bonelands territory so he could meet up with Nike once more. He could tell they were getting close to where the pride was currently waiting by the smells on the wind, and his paws were glad for that. They had been traveling for a bit now and he was quite eager to see his new home, even if he didn't show it outwardly.

Beside him, Nike sniffed the air and snorted, her lips pulling back into a grimace.

"It reeks," she growled quietly. Nike had grown up in a pride in the mountains and was much more used to the deep, dark forests and the snow. Here in the savanna everything seemed dry and dead and disgusting. She couldn't go back to her old home, though, even if she hadn't been banished. It was no more, destroyed in a massive avalanche, which was why she found herself once again on the move. This time Faust had convinced her to join him and she had come along, perhaps against her better judgement.

Faust rolled his shoulders a bit in a shrug as they reached the top of a small hill which overlooked a surprising amount of lionesses. They had been told the Bonelands were primarily female, but he was still stunned to see just how large the percentage was. In fact, aside from the dark shape of Umkhombo, he couldn't spot any males that weren't cubs. Surely there was at least one?

Nike paused beside the two males and peered down at the group that awaited them. Even she was stunned into silence for a few moments before Ahlaq's movements pulled her from her thoughts.

"Well. At least they know which sex is superior," she said with a bit of a bite, following Faust as the other male headed down after Ahlaq. The male kept his head high and eyes trained forward as they had been warned the females could be picky and wouldn't hesitate to show their displeasure if they didn't find them suitable replacements. He just hoped Nike wouldn't start anything on their very first day in the pride.

Meepfur

oo DeD

 

[belloblossom]

While Nomvula had went off with Maditah and her cubs, they had to regroup with the others eventually. Still, she kept close to the mother and her cubs for a while longer, before finally deeming that all was well and excusing herself for the time being.

Things certainly had changed in their absence, however brief it was. The new male was calling himself Umholi and Nomvula found the whole thing rather confusing, despite the her long time in the pride, she was still getting used to the customs regarding, well, most things. Well, she supposed she would figure it out eventually, though whether it was from her own observations or her helpful pride sisters, she had no way of knowing.

She was drifting towards a few of her pride sisters, Liyana and her daughter, among others, when another new scent reached her muzzle. Turning her head, she spotted two shapes headed towards the group. She narrowed her eyes at them, before realizing that one of them was male and the other...Oh my.

Now, she hurried to her sisters' sides, taking comfort in the groups.
"Looks like we have another male joining us, dear sisters." She glanced down at the small male cub at her paws. "And son." She added with a smile. Looking up at the adults (and soon-to-be adult) around her, she shuffled her paws and lowered her voice. "Do you see that lioness with him? What on earth must have happened to her?"

SilverLutz

AstoriaFallen

 

[belloblossom]

Now that Safura had introduced herself to the new Umholi, she was feeling considerably more confident with walking in his general vicinity, though she kept stealing glances at Kuhasa, who judge his reaction to all of this. She was curious to see what he thought of the new rule and she was also curious, as an unrelated note, where his giant lizard was, now that the pride was migrating.

Not wanting to appear stuck in the old ways by going to speak with Kuhasa just yet, Safura kept a steady pace, before spotting a similarly pale-coated lioness. Struggling to remember names, Safura approached the other, who walked beside the Umholi.
"Hey." She said, coming to walk on the other side of the lioness. "It's Uheshe, right?" She asked with a smile. "Whaddya think of this... new development?" She asked, nodding her head in Umkhombo's direction.

Meepfur

 

[oo Ded]

Yithemba had been patient. Curious, but patient. The dark lioness had settled down after the exciting events of the day. Her body lay half in the shade, lounging near her three-legged companion. It was hot, but the bumbling energy of the day kept it from being too unbearable.

The lioness found herself often glancing over to the new, handsomely dark Umholi. He was indeed striking and, it being the nature of things around her, she was unashamed to stare. Further than just his looks, though, found herself following his gaze. Was he looking out for the appearance of his mysterious partner?

She could only hope he would be just as striking.

Yithemba was in the midst of wondering what the mysterious stranger could be like when a figure appeared not far away. From the fullness of the mane it was surely a male. She noted him to be disappointingly colored like the pale sands, but she supposed it could be worse. At least they had options, no?

And then another figure appeared. And another. One was most notably also a male...

"More than one Umholi, indeed," she spoke to no one in particular, though her eyes drew to Umkhombo as the words left her maw in an almost amused tone.  

[In Good Faith]

Isobana was sitting on her haunches under the shade of the same tree as Yithemba; the lioness' comment made her smirk almost unwillingly. What a morning it had been, Iso mused, echoing the thoughts of all of the lionesses around her. She liked Yithemba. She had scars similar to Iso's and wasn't overly talkative like a lot of the pride tended to be.

This was one of the first times Isobana had seen the culture of this pride take full force. The coup had happened so quickly she hardly had time to process it. While it had been her natural instinct to join the fray and defend the lions that had led the pride since she'd arrived... she stayed as motionless as her sisters⏤shocked by their inaction. She happened to have been with a group of cubs with another lioness when the fight began. The lioness that was with her had explained to the frightened children that this was the natural order and that we mustn't be afraid. A lot of good that did. She rolled her eyes.

One of the cubs in particular had been shaking with fear, hiding under the leg's of Isobana. The cub still clung to her now but more composed. The dark, little red girl was watching with wide eyes and ears folded back. She was tucked between Iso's front two legs now, watching everything happen as the murmurs continued.

Iso glanced from the cub to the arrival of what she assumed were partners with this dark, new leader. She'd not caught anyone's names yet but it was relatively obvious who was boss. She glanced over the smaller male, unimpressed with his size but kudos to him for being confident as he strode in. He further didn't cast a glance at any of the females, which she thought was rude, frankly. She didn't take well to lions that weren't attentive to their lioness(es).

The next lion to appear was darker than the second, but not as dark as the first. He also had a female with him that looked like she'd be eaten by a crocodile and spit back out. What an unpleasant expression she had. Her eyes drifted between the three lions, making her own assessments. She was wondering who would gain favoritism in the wake of this, already assuming the torn up female and the blond lioness were going to get plenty of attention.

When the cub make a squeal and bolted for her mother, Isobana felt a surge of sadness to the see the cub go... she'd been enjoying her company. Now Iso felt alone again, and in the wake of this morning, that was the last thing she wanted to be.

oo DeD

"Mama!" Thabisa ran towards her mother, Chiko, and rubbed her little body between the legs of the lioness. She was still frightened but her mother being there, and her bother, made it better. She didn't care to listen to the grown up talk, either, and decided that it was safe enough to give herself a "bath" while at the same time, playfully batting at her bother's tail and floof on the top of his head periodically; as affection of course⏤mostly. She was going to wait for her mother to explain what was going on and everything would be okay.

AstoriaFallen

 

[In Good Faith]

Thabisa stuck her tongue out at her brother before proceeding to chase him around their mother, her little tail whipping left and right as she shifted left and right to catch him off guard. Her mother's voice caught her attention only because it was a soft whisper, out of character or rather just out of the ordinary for broad daylight among the pride. She paused in the pursuit of Isi, and flopped abruptly to the ground to star wide-eyed up at Chiko. "Who are they?" Thabisa knew very little of the roles the males played among the pride. "Fathers" were not responsible for being involved in the rearing of their children more than any other male within the pride. She did know that there were special males that the sisters treated differently... but she hadn't given it much thought or cared to know before now. The fear she felt this morning with Isobana came back in a wave that made her tilt her little ears backward and cast anxious glances at the new comers.

AstoriaFallen

 

[Annchen]

Buna was pleased to see a proper dark-pelted Umholi in place again. This was the right way to do it, not just a popular vote to decide. She was in two minds about the fact that the defeated Abaholi had supposedly been allowed to live. There was some honor in stopping before the opponent was dead, allowing him to make his death walk with dignity. However, Umkhombo talked as if he was sure they'd live. That could mean two things... Either the defeated Abaholi had been cowards who hadn't given their all in this fight, or Umkhombo had been too soft. Maybe a bit of both, but hopefully not.

The dark pelted lioness was more inclined to believe that Andhaka and Bangizwe hadn't given all they'd got. They'd become Abaholi in an unorthodox way, so perhaps that was why they'd given up instead of defending the pride to the end. That's what you get for messing with tradition!

This would be unpleasant news for her daughter when she came back. Instead of coming back with a litter of the Umholi's daughters she'd come back with lusizi. It was unfortunate, but it was the way of life. If she had waited... but no. Kokumo was Umkhombos aunt through their relation to Surtak. Perhaps she should wish for a tiny bit of soft heartedness from him... She wanted grandcubs, lusizi or not!

There hadn't been any infanticide by new Abaholi recently, but in the old days it wasn't unheard of.

Buna studied the two males as they arrived, one trailed by a female. Hmmh... Were the Bonelands females not good enough for him?
 

[Meepfur]

Finally. Umkhombo hadn't been worried about them by any means, neither for their welfare nor over whether or not they'd come when they'd finished their little 'errand,' but now he wouldn't need to dance around questions about them any longer. And upon seeing them again, he realized that he'd missed them; that, in spite of being surrounded all day, he'd been lonely. It was better when the Qyrhy were near, but better still now that his companions had arrived. Though it hadn't been consciously done, he'd now collected together pieces from every stage of his too-complicated life. How well they'd actually fit, well...that remained to be seen.

"Really?" his sister huffed in disappointment beside him, wrinkling her nose. "This is the best you could do?" Uheshe surveyed the two males who would also bear the title Umholi, and was utterly unimpressed at first sight. Neither was wholly unacceptable, both better than most of the Inselele she'd seen in her life, but it was hard to get worse than green-touched Emrys or the very light-maned Tawa'shilah and Kuhasa. These two were more of a medium hue, one a bit lighter than the other...as well as smaller. She wrinkled her nose. "You're actively trying to piss off our mother, aren't you?"

"No," he answered with a quirk of a grin, "But it's a side benefit." Even as a striped lioness approached to speak with his littermate, he rose and moved to greet his partners. He did a quick scan of the nearest lionesses, eye out for any of the older Qyrhyeshti, well aware that things could turn quickly unpleasant if - when - they recognized the white-tailed male he'd brought with him. He'd forewarned Nesf when they'd spoken, but no one else, leaving it to her to the whisper the news if she chose. She'd stormed off and he hadn't seen her since, but he knew that sooner or later, she'd pounce on him. Literally. Fortunately for him, she had enough self-control not to do it then and there, on his first day back and close enough to the group that there would have been witnesses.

He glimpsed only Kasirga, and forced his thoughts back to here and now as he strode forward, reminding himself that what they see matters. He rumbled a greeting and lowered his head to bump it against Ahlaq's, then moved to do the same with Faust. The gesture lacked the deep affection Andhaka and Bangizwe had developed for each other over the years they'd worked together - in a partnership Umkhombo now suspected was something more - but there was still a bond. These were his friends, whom he'd fought both against and alongside, and just as importantly, they were his allies. He trusted them to help him rule and protect this pride.

At Nike, he hesitated a moment before he settled on just nodding. He wasn't sure she'd welcome the headbump, and beyond that, he didn't want the gesture to be somehow misinterpreted, for anyone to think that he was including her as one of 'the boys.' Damn, but a part of him missed the Impibutho, where no one gave two shits what you were as long as you were tough enough. He missed the little blue leotah who could kick his a** and probably anyone else's, and the rest of her misfit warparty. He'd have brought them all if he could have, but the Bonelands weren't ready for that. They probably never would be.

He smiled at the little piece of the Impibutho he did have, and nodded approvingly. "Welcome home."

oo DeD

SilverLutz