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 Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2017 1:40 am
The pride was once again at its most lively, positively buzzing with excitement as yet more foreign prides saw themselves crossing the borders and making new discoveries. It had been a rather busy period of Solomon's life, a rather busy period for any lions life when they had been so accustomed to the quiet. The Bahari'mtoto had lived in relative peace for a considerable amount of time, and more often than not they only received a small number of visitors...but in recent years this had been blow out of the water.
Credit where it was due though, Ram had managed to maintain control despite the ever changing paws that walked their lands. While there had been ups and downs, as well as the occasional drama and certain individuals hadn't been able to control their urges, things had gone quite well over all. Somehow the Bahari king had managed to reinforce that while these individuals were in his lands, they must live by his rules.
...And they had respected that.
The Firekin had been no exception, proving to be respectable, but it still wasn't enough to placate the lion who had experienced the worst of their culture. For all their bravado, their claims of strength and power, he had watched as they cast out their own children for one simple reason. Despite it being far beyond the realms of their control, they had been born the 'wrong' colour - no one gave heed to the fact that their blood came from their parents, only that they didn't fit in... And with that, they were thrown to the hyenas. He had seen just how devastating that could be...
He had been rather proud of the fact that some of his offspring had grown rather bored of the bravado very quickly. While the vast majority had been riveted by the tales that were told by the lioness (something he couldn't blame them for), there had been a few who had deemed it tedious, and had wandered off. It was for this reason that he now found himself in the company of two of his cubs on the outskirts of the hive of activity.
He had made no secrets of having no desire to attend and the pair of cubs had been quick to identify this. As soon as they had found their father they had been quick to paw at his legs and regard him with gazes he knew all too well. They had questions, and while he wouldn't discuss them here, he knew that neither Ijiraq or Siarnaq would let him away with it for long.
"Well now," Solomon mused. "We'll wait a little longer in case anymore of you are bored, and then we'll head for some dinner," he added.
"I think most are gunna listen to the lioness," Siarnaq remarked.
"Her name is Mat," Ijiraq corrected, to which Siarnaq shrugged. However, both cubs were glancing at each of their siblings in turn noting that one of their sisters was more than happy to laze about with their mother, while the others did seem rather engrossed in Mat's tales. They personally didn't think anyone would be following, but they'd do as their father told them for now.
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Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2017 5:49 pm
 This day had been both enlightening and and thought-provoking and yet overall extremely disappointing. His childish glee and excitement over the giant strangers had been popped like a balloon within a few short minutes of listening to the red lioness gloat about her accomplishments. Everything she said was just such a foreign idea to him, and honestly hard to wrap his head around. The experience had left the young cub with more frustrating questions than answers! But one thing that he couldn't shake from his mind was just how... barbaric their culture seemed. Umbriel was happy to see that he shared the same sentiments with a few of his siblings at the very least. As soon as Ijiraq and Siarnaq got up to take their leave he was quick to follow behind. Originally his plan was to seek out their mother as he suspected that she would have been left alone with everyone previously eager to get out and explore what the new visitors had to offer. Yet once he saw his mother's unmistakable large form surrounded by others he had decided against it. He wasn't in the mood for anymore strangers today, his social limits had been peaked out. Was it really too much to ask to be able to go home and eat his worries away? His head perked at the glance of the familiar - yet striking - rainbow markings of his father in the distance. Kicking his butt into high gear Umbriel dashed over to meet with the rest of his family, barreling through legs and under bellies in the process. "Hey!" He called out as he finally broke through the massive crowd. Panting heavily he slowed down to a trot as he closed the last bit of distance between them all. Finally coming to a stop he slumped onto the ground next to his two siblings. "That whole thing sucked baboon butt." He remarked dishearteningly.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2017 8:35 am
Unsurprisingly, his sister gave a giggle at Umbriel's lack of approval for Mat's story. When it came to cubs, none of them seemed keen on having any manners, and this may in large part be due to the fact that their mother didn't seem to hold back when it came to her views and opinions. Quite frankly, it was a bone of contentious for the 'father' of the litter who had made a mental note to cuff each of them eventually.
...If he could teach the twins manners, you could bet your bottom dollar he could teach his own 'kids', though even now he conceded that in the grand scheme of things they weren't his. As usual he had been saddled with the burdens of others and he was still smarting, he wouldn't punish the cubs for their mother's inability to commit to anything, nor their father's blatant womanising, but that still didn't detract from the fact that he had more than just a pawful.
In any other pride he'd be a laughing stock; quite frankly in this one, he was probably a laughing stock in some circles.
How many times had he been screwed over now? He'd stopped counting but even he could acknowledge it was far too many.
"And so we meet another wanderer," he chuckled as Umbriel drew near and motioned for him to follow. "I think in this respect you are the last one," he added as he glanced towards the remaining furballs. He was satisfied they were pre-occupied by tales of grandeur and utter nonsense. They'd be safe here at least and he could ignore the swarm for a short while, at least they returned home and he was forced to sleep outside again due to the fact he literally had no space.
At this point, he might as well just make a new home.
"You don't like them much, do you?" Siarnaq mused as he gazed up at his father.
"No, I don't," Solomon replied calmly as he strode away.
"Why though?" Ijiraq pressed as she padded after him.
"Because they have no issues with throwing their young out of the only home they've ever known because they weren't born black, red or white," he stated coolly. "Violence as a key factor in determining rank, and a complete and utter disregard for your own children isn't something I look at fondly." he finished.
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Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2017 11:45 pm
Umbriel's chest puffed out with pride at his sister's giggle. Ha! Making others laugh always could put a whole new pep in his step. Though his 'father' might not particularly approved of his manners Umbriel was quite content to make himself look like a fool if it meant bringing happiness to others. In a way he was like his adopted father, he was willing to let others screw him over and walk over him for the greater good.
Who said the apple couldn't fall from the 'wrong' tree?
Umbriel's ears perked at his father's remark. His eyes darted to his other two siblings before he gave a loose shrug. He couldn't honestly say that the low number of his siblings who broke off from the crowd shocked him by any means. He could play devil's advocate and see the reasons behind their fascination with the strangers, they were after all exotic, exciting, and were able to fill their small minds with grand tales.
...Though perhaps more of those tales should end with warning the dangers of hubris!
Striding along after his father Umbriel's expression unknowingly mimicked his bewitched siblings as he listened to his family. "If they're all about strength why would they throw out their children? Didn't you say that there was strength in numbers?" He mused with a deep frown. Every little new bit of information that he learned of the visitors soured his stomach even more. Even he couldn't understand their actions! They seemed so alien that his wee mind couldn't wrap around the reasoning behind them.
"Why are they so stuck up about red, black, and white?" Umbriel asked as his nosed wrinkled up in disgust. "Just because you're blue does mean you don't have claws or teeth to fight with!"
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Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2017 3:26 am
"Religion," Solomon shrugged his shoulders in much the same fashion as his son. "From what I have gathered," he added. He didn't know the full history of the pride or why they maintained this stance, but he assumed it was a part of their doctrine. He was vaguely aware that they weren't religious now, but that didn't mean that traditional racism couldn't still reign in some form or another. He could only assume that in some warped world of their's, those particular colours meant they were stronger.
Stronger, faster, more durable?
Given it was all a load of nonsense and the Firekin would never have the capacity to learn any different, Solomon had never seen a reason to pursue it. After all, how could one blatantly prove another wrong if that sect never even considered a dual with someone who didn't 'fit' their world view. The creatures of the desert lived within an echo chamber with such thick walls that they would never know any different. All that Solomon could hope was that those they outcast would eventually find somewhere secure and loving to live.
...Somewhere that would value them and perhaps even promote what little intelligence they might display. Not that Solomon didn't think there were those who had the ability to be intelligent in the pride, but it wasn't exactly catered for and he doubted it formed a large portion of their upbringing.
"There are a few prides in the world who display similar world views and I don't really understand their logic either," he confessed with a wry smile. "As you said, you don't need to be red to have teeth and claws."
"Or be big," Siarnaq pointed out.
"Or strong!" Ijiraq added with enthusiasm, flashing an appreciative smile towards her brother.
"Indeed, but if you try to tell them that you might discover they can't hear you."
"Ooooh like momma when she doesn't want to tidy the den," Siarnaq gave a nod of understanding, one that was met by a raised brow by his father. It was true that Solomon could never really get Krisis to do anything, but that was a rather apt observation.
"Yes, her ears are filled with wool," Solomon confirmed with a slight groan.
"She should probably pull that out..." Ijiraq mused.
"Well maybe you can all make that your next, mighty quest," Solomon replied and shook his head. "You might actually succeed where no other could!"
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