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 Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 3:11 pm
 INTRODUCTION
...or that's the plan, anyway. The pride has been on the move for several days, proceeding as usual in no great hurry as they follow the wildebeest and zebra herds. Mornings are a slow start, with so many needing to be rousted before everyone can get moving, especially as they tend to scatter and spread out during the night. This morning, things are particularly slow, after a bountiful hunt the day before. They've been under a steady, rumbling rain since halfway through the night, which may have put a damper on some moods, but temperamental weather has become commonplace in the last few weeks.
It's odd, but...that's weather for you, right?
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Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 3:18 pm
IC Information
As stated above, the pride has begun its southern migration, travelling away from the Outpost. They have been wet more often than not, which is very odd considering that they're supposed to be in the midst of the dry season!
Inselele Sayilmaz and Budek were each defeated, one right after the other, by Pahana and Giruvegan respectively.
OOC Information
There is no specific posting order, however, to keep it from being to unwieldy/overwhelming, this ORP is limited to two characters per owner. You can assume that your other characters are present, just in the background.
This is open for all members of the pride. No passersby.
There may be danger 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. Prizes
??? - pending
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Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 6:07 pm
 Rain, rain, and more rain. Maybe it should have been reassuring to have a dry season that wasn't dry, after the drought that had wracked the lands for so many long months before his arrival, but it was unsettling. No one, not even the oldest among them, could remember such an anomaly. Combined with the strange lights that now and then streaked across the sky, whispers that some had heard strange things, and reports from Aenda of unusual occurences elsewhere, there was cause of concern. It was a shadow in Umkhombo's mind, but there was nothing to be done for any of it but watch and wait. The dark Umholi, like most everyone else, was soaked to the bone, his thick mane heavy with the weight of the water. He didn't even bother to shake, knowing it would be a futile effort. Returning from an early morning of pacing the farthest perimeters of where the pride rested, he navigated his way respectfully past individuals in various stages of wakefulness. At least the previous day's hunt had gone well, and everyone had slept on full stomachs, even if it didn't quite make up for being rained on all night.
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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2018 7:40 am
Well then.
That had gone...about as well as could be expected, all things considered. And he had considered, of course, that Turiya's decision might not go over well, but as he had said, it had been her decision to make. For all that she was young - and impulsive, even - she was an admirably strong female, and if Umkhombo had a weak point, it was strong females. She had wanted something, had made her case - her demand, in point of fact - convincingly, and so he had obliged. It was, in part, a facet of the Bonelands culture he'd grown up with and was now an integral part of: if a female wanted cubs, the male she asked almost never denied her. It was more than just a slight or insult to deny such a request; rather, it implied that she was somehow unfit or undeserving. Turiya was neither, for all that she was a foreigner...and even then, only half a foreigner.
But the greater part was mostly that she was a grown-a** lioness who was fully capable of making decisions and handling whatever came of them. He could have denied her - some might even argue that he should have - but why? It was what she wanted, and she had sense and conviction enough to be persuasive. The consequences, whatever they were, would be hers, and she was willing to risk them, which spoke volumes and added that much more weight to her request. So he'd fulfilled it.
Now the consequences had arrived, and they were hardly terrible - at least, aside from the angry Agni-pariksha portion of the consequences. It wasn't like Turiya was being expelled or truly exiled; no, she still belonged to the desert, she was just going to be living in the land of bones for awhile. As an ambassador. The fact that she might have cubs a few months down the line was just a natural step in furthering better relations between the two prides. Turiya herself had been sired by an Umholi, and these potential cubs would be three-quarters Bonelander, with - as Turiya had emphasized - much deeper and more pervasive blood ties to the Ithambo'hlabathi. Turiya had half-siblings aplenty, a pawful of nieces, but her cubs? Their cubs? Everyone who could trace their line to Matifu or Surtak would be their kin. And she and they would have the Qyrhyeshti, as well; the former soldier would have no shortage of kindred spirits to keep company with, and in fact was already well-acquainted with Khazine. Their connections would be many, albeit in some cases odd or convoluted, and they would lack for nothing.
If, when they were of age, the 'acceptable' ones wanted to explore the other quarter or their heritage, that would be up to them. As long as they did whatever they found most fulfilling, nothing else mattered. Curiously, though, he found that he cared that they - these cubs who might or might not even come to be - found the future that was best for them. He had been appropriately detached from all of his Ithambo-born cubs thus far, as was expected of an Umholi, since traditionally, raising them was meant to be the females' business, and they could be very particular about interference. Not that he didn't care at all, wouldn't lay his life down for them, but he was distant, in a way he had not been with Khazine and her cousins. For the first time since Khazine, he was...excited, which inevitably led him down a path of concern, after what had happened to Aribak.
All things that he kept carefully hidden away as he turned to leave the spring, nodding to the red-striped lioness who waited for him. Very impatiently, since his conversation with her mother had not been a brief one. "Come on, then. Ambassador."
"Just ambassador?" she quipped casually, falling into step. "Don't you have some fancy word for that?"
Umkhombo snorted, a sound that could almost be substituted for a short laugh. "Cabanga, actually." He hesitated for a second, looking at her a second time and noting the slither of blue that had twined its way up her leg and around her neck. "....And this is?"
"Nil-kant," she supplied, and the snake flicked out its tongue and blinked slitted eyes at him, appraising.
"We don't keep snakes in the Bonelands, only birds - vultures, mostly." And one stubbornly loyal Qyrhyeshti falcon. "Don't be surprised if it gets you strange looks. One of the lionesses lost a leg to a snake during the drought." Nil-kant was obviously - well, probably - a civilized snake, but it would be quite a new concept for the Abazingeli. "But don't let them give you s**t, in general. Not that you seem the type to."
"You think?" Turiya said with a dry laugh.
"I just didn't want you to think you have to temper yourself because you're an ambassador. The Abazazingeli may not all be fighters, but they've got plenty of attitude regardless, and they love to talk. So if anyone gives you s**t, give it back - just don't beat the snot out of them," he clarified, and while he chuckled, he was serious about what he said. "Unless they're Qyrhyeshti, then have at it. They like a good fight. Most everyone else...not so much."
"Got it. So what do I do, then, besides hang around and not pick fights?"
Umkhombo shrugged. "Get to know everyone. Help with the hunting. I doubt they'll trust you with any cubs right away, so you shouldn't get dragged into babysitting. As far as I know, that was about the extent of what Su did: hang around and help with the hunting. She was quiet...maybe a little too quiet. She didn't leave much of an impression. Maybe you will."
"Maybe?" The young lioness laughed. "Of course I will!"
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Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2018 9:47 am
Ever since the pride had finished its migration to as far north as their territory reached, Khazine had been spending an inordinate amount of time at the spring their long-ago treaty had ceded to the Firekin. A good percentage of both prides' populations, Umkhombo himself included, hadn't even been born then, but he knew from the stories and lingering suspicion that it had been a tense affair. The proximity of the redpelts did remain a source of unease for some of the Abazingeli, particularly older ones who actually remembered the incidents, but time had moved on, and those old tensions really needed to be let go.
On that count, he was glad that Khazine, along with some of her cousins and other Qyrhyeshti who likely found the Motoujamii attractive for numerous reasons, was spending time here, but she was here more often than she was not. Her preoccupation with their northern, warlike, desert-dwelling neighbors was well-founded, but it bordered on obsessive. Had she been a color they found suitable, he had no doubt she would have considered joining them, although he also liked to think she would have been at least a little torn about it. It was irrelevant, however, as she was brown, and so he never needed to worry that she would go haring off into the desert. She would stay here, with her family.
He had thought that, after awhile, some of the shine would wear off, but it hadn't - months later and she was still trekking up here for duels. He allowed, though, because where she was concerned, he was indulgent and always had been. She was, as he had named her, his treasure. The very last piece of her mother in this world. And if dueling redpelts made her happy, that was fine by him.
But the seasons were beginning to change, and it was a foregone conclusion that the herds they hunted from would soon be moving on. When that happened, so would the pride, and they would be away from this portion of their territory for months, much too far for Khazine to visit her preferred dueling partners (perhaps they were even friends - he suspected so, after this much time and so many sparring matches). What would she do then? Take it out on her cousins and Sabit's brood, more than likely, until that got boring. And if - when - she got bored, he suspected acting out would follow close behind. Gods knew how, exactly, but he didn't doubt that she would find away, and probably a cousin to rope into it with her. Just what he needed.
Not that Khazine was why he was here, she was actually where she was 'supposed' to be, out hunting. He was here because it was along his patrol route today, and he was thirsty. It was simply a matter of convenience. He did note, on his approach to the spring, the presence of a red-striped lioness, who looked to be relaxing in the shade, but she was far enough away to not merit more than a polite nod of acknowledgement that she might or might not even see from where she was. He then dipped his head to lap at the water, and once he had quenched his thirst, turned to be on his way.
"You must be Khazine's father," came a voice from behind him - the lioness had roused herself and approached, greeting him from several feet away while she continued to step toward him until she'd reached a more conversationally suitable proximity.
"Oh? What gave you that idea?" he responded to amiably blunted sarcasm.
"Ha," she 'laughed,' flopping back down into a lazy stretch. "Small as she is, you're bigger than I thought you'd be. But then again, you did toss Andhaka out, so I guess I shouldn't be that surprised."
"There was more at play there than a size difference," the Umholi clarified after a moment's pause for thought. "Judging by the stripes and the interest in Andhaka, then, you must be one of his."
"You've got me," she remarked with a smirk. Now they'd both observed and stated the obvious. "Don't worry, though. I'm not out for vengeance."
"Even if you were, what makes you think I'd be concerned?" She seemed to have a good humor about her, and a bit of banter felt natural enough. More than most of his interactions with the Abazingeli.
"What, you think I couldn't take you? Bet I could run your harem just as well as you do - no, better."
"Maybe so," he said with a shrug, "But you might find some of the duties more challenging than others. And it's not a harem, either - that's a common enough misconception for outsiders to have, but it's not the case."
"Isn't it? Enlighten me, then - how is a pride made up mostly of females and run by just a few males not a harem?" Under the irreverence in her tone lay an honest curiosity - this was half her heritage, after all.
"Not only do the lionesses not belong to us - and they'd be rather offended by your suggesting such a thing - if anything, it's almost a reversal of roles. It's our duty to provide services to the females, when requested. We protect the pride from outside threats, provide cubs when it's asked of us, and in return, we're first to feed."
"Oh, so 'providing cubs' doesn't qualify as a perk?" she asked incredulously.
"For aome, maybe." He shrugged.
"But not for you?"
Another shrug, and stubborn silence. She wasn't getting a verbal answer for that question.
"Well, all the same," Turiya decided, "Providing cubs aside, I could totally do all of that."
Umkhombo laughed, although privately he was relieved by the slight shift in topic. "Is that a challenge, or do you just like to talk?"
Now that was more like it! "If it were, would you accept it?"
"I don't see why not," he said with another shrug, "Although if you do win, good luck holding onto it - a redpelt lioness as Umholi won't sit very well with the Abazingeli, even the more progressive ones." The truth was, though, that he knew full well he would win; she was good, he knew, good enough that she and Khazine drew more often than anything else, but good enough to beat him? He was an Umholi in his prime, amd before that had been a warlord - even a war dog. He'd have to be coming into the fight already injured for her to have even half a chance. But she had spirit, and he liked that, so he'd humor her for awhile.
"Claws out, then, redpelt," he said with a grin. "When we fight in the south, we fight for keeps. And we bleed for it."
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 1:39 pm
Umkhombo had to resist the urge to groan and drag his paws down his face.
Where the hell was Yinqaba? The Umholi had been looking for hours, and had yet to find even the slightest trace of his green son. No one knew where he'd gone; Sands, no one was even quite sure when exactly he'd gone missing. As a male cub, a Lusizi, and a green one at that, he could not have been less important. He was the very last to eat, and the very last cub most anyone cared about. Even Turiya didn't come across as particularly concerned, reminding him a great deal of his own mother when his brother Indlovu had gone missing. While she might not have cared overmuch, though, a search party had gone out, but if Umkhombo had to guess, he would assume that the concern had stemmed in large part because he and his siblings had been Gakere's very last litter. And Indlovu, while pale, hadn't been green.
And though he was very definitely concerned, if he was being honest with himself, Umkhombo was hardly in a panic over Yinqaba's absence. He did care, and he was worried, because green or not, the cub was his son, and this litter...this was the first time he'd felt a real attachment to any of the litters he'd sired since returning to the Ithambo'hlabathi. As Umholi, he was supposed to be detached from strong bonds with the cubs he sired, and was expected to keep his nose out of cub-rearing. He was required for the having, but after that, the mothers of the pride generally preferred that the Abaholi and Inselele keep out of the way. But Turiya wasn't an Umzingeli, or even a Busisa: she was their ambassador from the Firekin. And he...may have had something of a soft spot for her. Maybe. It probably wasn't wise, but there it was.
Still, even though he was concerned about Yinqaba, he knew that things happened. A thousand different fates could have befallen the cub, who would certainly be an easy target for predators and scavengers alike: small, defenseless, and too brightly-colored to miss. And with all manner of dangerous, unnatural things happening of late, the possibilities were all endless, and most of them grim. But he couldn't not look. Tala was helping, and likely had a better chance of finding anything than he did - the falcon had sharper eyes, and an even better view. His grandmother had insisted on looking, as well, albeit separately. Though she'd not admitted anything, he suspected the green very likely came from her side of the family. Something about her reaction had just seemed...suspicious, and process of elimination supported his guess. He doubted it came from Turiya's side of things: her mother was Firekin, and Andhaka had never thrown any green cubs in all his time as Umholi. It definitely didn't come from the strong Bonelands side of his tree, and Surtak had never had any odd cubs either, so that left Wodi and her Mistweaver blood. Somewhere in there, he suspected, lay the blame for the green. Not that he was overly concerned about it, as long as it stayed fairly rare. One odd cub one in a great while might be shrugged over, but if it were a regular occurrence...well, he'd be a less popular Umholi. Although he really wasn't in this because he relished cub-siring duties, so then again, it would hardly be a crisis.
Umkhombo was so wrapped up in his thoughts and so focused on looking for something small and green that he didn't notice the approach of someone large and tan until they were embarrassingly close. The dark male suppressed a start, and frowned at the new Inselelo. Well, less at him and more just that he happened to be there to be subject to it. "Mot. Did you need something?"
"I was coming to see if you did, actually," the newcomer answered, letting any gruffness from the darker male roll off of him. He knew perfectly well not to take it personally; he could barely even begin to imagine the sort of mood the Umholi must be in, with a missing son. A missing son that Mot couldn't help but notice that almost no one seemed terribly concerned about, whether because the cub was male or green or both. Fresh from being huria, Mot had empathy in spades for the odd little thing, who was treated much more harshly than cubs of unacceptable color in the desert. It was obviously the way here, but still, it got under his skin.
Khombo gave the Inselelo a good, long look, trying to parse for himself why the other male might be interested in helping. Maybe to curry favor, because he was knew. Maybe because the cub was Firekin-blooded. Or maybe he was just doing a good thing for the sake of it. Whatever the reason, he supposed it didn't really matter all that much. Help was help, especially when he was so short on such offers, and had deemed it best not to come out and ask for such assistance. The pride had greater concerns than one wayward green cub, after all. Even if that green cub was technically the grandson of their close ally's Regent. He had to wonder what Agni-pariksha would think about that. That was irrelevant for the moment, though, and he'd leave it to Turiya to explain that. "I wouldn't turn you down," he finally answered with a long-suffering sigh. "He may be green, but he's small enough that he could be hiding any number of places."
Mot met the favorable answer with a nod. "Point me in a direction no one's looked yet, and I'll get to it."
There was another short pause from Umkhombo before he spoke again. "South, towards the chasm." Not that Yinqaba could be anywhere near there, since it was a four-day walk even for an adult. Otherwise, one of his first suspicions would have been that the cub might have taken a fatal tumble, not that there weren't plenty of other hazards within reach. "Wodi went east, and I'll keep looking to the west.
Mot nodded again and turned in the indicated direction, though he hesitated just long enough to add, "Good luck."
To all of them.
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Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 12:33 pm
Sona-sugandh's sense of time was, to put it mildly, a mess, to the point that she barely had one at all. Her grasp on the passage of days, weeks, months, was tenuous at best, as she herself had ceased to age quite some time ago, and she lived in her own little world besides. Even changes of season were hardly noticed, irrelevant as they were to her save for the fact that rain was fun to play in. And if she wanted rain that badly, or any other weather, she could always go somewhere that had just what she wanted. Mostly, though, she stayed in her own little valley, hidden from the rest of the world where she and her friends wouldn't be bothered by adults. Yeeugh.
The only trouble, then, was that her friends had a troublesome way of growing up on her and becoming adults. This was her only real measure of time, and one that filled her with a mix of dread and seething indignation. How dare time steal her friends? Ruin them? Why couldn't they just stay young forever? How many times now had she had to fix Umngane and Umshomi? And they forgot her every time, and had to start all over again. It wasn't fair! And now Kupotea was getting bigger and bigger, and before too long...before too long, her precious purple friend would have to go. All too soon, she'd be too old. Before that happened, though, she needed more friends - maybe if she had more friends, maybe if she was happy, she would stay longer. Maybe...
The goddess had been restless for days, distracted, and not even her favorite games had worked to chase away the mood that had come over her. Whether she could fix what was wrong with Kupotea or not, she needed more friends. Maybe that would make her feel better. And so she left the valley and returned to where she'd taken Shani from, where there had been not only countless cubs, but old lions in droves. Surely, any one of them would welcome rescue from what she was certain was misery: to be old and full of aches, with death practically just breaths away. This was a gift, one that only she could give, and they were so, so lucky that she was so willing to give it. Not that she ever asked, of course - she knew that she was right, that this was for the best, and that they would be happy together. There was no point in asking whether or not they wanted this. Besides, gifts were meant to be surprises, weren't they? So it was better this way!
On this visit, the wingless goddess didn't dally as she had before, disguising herself as just another cub and frolicking with the pride's youths. No, she needed a new friend, sooner rather than later, and it was best to just get down to business. So she slipped among them all unseen and took a good, long look. As desperate as she was to collect a new companion, a gift that took so much power to bestow merited using careful consideration before she made her choice. Most of her friends now were girls - poor Umshiso was the only boy. Should she get another, so that he wouldn't be the only one? Yes, she would start there, a neat little decision that narrowed down her otherwise impossibly large pool. By cutting it in half, she'd save herself at least some tedium when it came to this task (which, while important, was not fun at all when there were so many choices as to make it more like work than a game).
A boy, then. But which one? There were still a frustrating number of options! So, what else did she have and not have? Umngane was gray. Umshiso was a sort of tannish-gold. Kupotea was purple. Shani was brown. More color, then? That might be fun! Hmm. But which color? Did she want a red friend? A blue one? A green one? Pink? Sona paced all around, here and there and back and forth, until her paws were tired, and she hemmed and hawwed over every old or even old-ish lion the Pridelands had to offer. It took a great effort not to talk to herself all the while, which might have attracted some attention, a voice out of thin air! It would have been ever so helpful to be able to consult with herself in such a way, but...
Hmph. Pace, pace, pace. Grumble. Oops! Oh, well, at least that one was asleep. They probably didn't notice. Maybe. Hopefully. All the same, she scurried off elsewhere just in case. She hadn't looked in every den yet, anyway, so it was probably about time she checked a few others! And, ooh, who was that?
This one was so very nice and yellow, and she was awfully partial to yellow. After all, she was yellow, and so was her mother! Granted, she'd come across all sorts of shades of yellow and gold around here, but this one was especially nice. She crept ever so slowly and carefully closer to the sleeping form of the lion, until she was very nearly touching him. Close enough to compare her shade of yellow with his. It was difficult to tell for sure in the dim light of the approaching dawn, and maybe a bit of it was wishful thinking, but their shades of yellow were very close, and she found that very appealing indeed. And on top of that, he had a little bit of blue, and she liked that, too! None of her friends right now had any blue. And were those scars? Oh, the poor old dear! Yes, yes, this one was just the one for her. Absolutely perfect!
Sona stifled a giggle as she wriggled with glee at finding just the right one, and called up the power that would make him young again, and truly the perfect friend. In a matter of moments, a tiny cub slept before her, and she gently scooped him up so as not to wake him. One quick hop and they were both gone before anyone was the wiser, off to paradise.
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 6:03 pm
For all that her entire life had been leading up to her leaving the desert and becoming just another stray rogue, now that it had happened, Dautha'in had to confess herself at a bit of a loss. She was hardly alone - huria weren't exactly uncommon these days, and as her mother hadn't been the only lioness to choose to have an outsider's cubs when given the opportunity, she'd grown up with several other huria of varying shades. All of her own siblings had been perfectly acceptable - albeit mostly fireless - while she had been close, but not quite. In the right family of warm colors, overall, but too pale. Who knew? They'd loosened up a little on color restrictions once already, and maybe one day they'd do so again, and she'd finally qualify as an acceptable color. Or maybe they wouldn't. She wasn't going to hang her hopes on the thought, and she certainly wasn't going to deliberately linger nearby just in case. What a silly waste of time that would be! She knew that some, whatever their reasoning, did choose not to stray far from the birth pride, making homes in places like the Ithambo'hlabathi and Pridelands. The former was an option she had considered, as they were fairly close allies, with blood ties on both sides, but she had no desire to spend her life sitting just over the border, hunting and gossipping and having babies, or whatever else it was the females over there did. She had no intentions of living what she viewed as such a little, unremarkable life. She knew less about the Pridelands, but she knew enough that it wasn't an especially attractive option, either. Too big, too already been done. Maybe it was immature of her, but she wanted adventure, and she wanted to be different. So she just wasn't making a decision yet, except to decide that...she wasn't. Perhaps she should have been better-prepared and had a plan in place, like Mot, who was all full of notions about challenging his way into the Bonelands as an Inselelo. That was all well and good, she supposed, but even if it did work out for him, sooner or later he'd have to leave. A better fighter would come along, or even just a bad day, and he'd be right back here with nowhere to go and not much to show for it. To Dautha'in, his grand plan to sire cubs in hopes of having a few red ones to send back to his mother didn't seem the least bit grand at all. He was a nice enough lion, but really? Didn't he have any imagination? Anything he wanted for himself? The young lioness glanced over to wear he lay on his back, basking in the sun as though he didn't have a single care in the world, and shook her head. They were friends, and yet...she found that she really didn't understand him at all, now that they weren't cubs anymore. Not that it made him any less her friend, but... It was just one more troubling thought among many. Tired of being alone with them, she made her way over to the snoring lion and shoved at him none too gently with her paw. His snoring ended in an abrupt and unflattering snort as he started into a semi-upright position, searching groggily for the source of the disturbance. Gold eyes fixed on hers from under his unkept, almost grown-in mane, and he scowled. "C'moooon, Dauth, really? Did you have to wake me up? I just got comfortable!" Dautha'in just rolled her eyes and sat back on her haunches to watch him. "Liar. You've been asleep for at least an hour, and snoring like a warthog for half of it. It was getting annoying." "Sorry?" came the half-apology as he shook the sleep from the corners of his mind, with the unintended side effect of fluffing out his mane. It, like the rest of him, still looked just a bit awkward. "So. Are you going to just sit around here forever, or what?" "Huh?" Mot tilted his head at the odd question, made even more perplexing by his being only seconds into wakefulness. "What's that supposed to mean?" "Exactly what it sounds like," she 'clarified' impatiently. "You said you wanted to go to the Ithambo'hlabathi and challenge your way in. Are you going to do it, or just keep talking about it?" "Of course I am," he huffed, pushing himself up into a sit and looking in the direction of the subject at hand's territory. "When I'm ready." "Which will be...?" "When I'm ready!" he rumbled gruffly at her. "Like you're one to talk about sitting around. You're doing just as much sitting around as I am, even if you don't snore. You don't even want to join, so what are you still hanging around for?" "I'm here to make sure you go through with it, of course," she answered, smoothly providing a lie to cover that she was harboring her own lingering doubts and indecision. A lot of exciting possibilities lay before her, true, but once they went their separate ways, she would be alone, and that was one experience she wasn't looking forward to. "So you really ought to do us both a favor and get it over with already, and I can be on my way." Mot grimaced. "Not yet. That earthquake we felt the other day..." "What about it?" "After what that bird told us about what it saw, it just doesn't seem right to go barging in right now, you know? The Inselelo guy might already be hurt, and that wouldn't be a fair fight." "That's it? Really? You're waiting because you don't want it to be easy?" "I guess you could put it that way," he answered with a shrug. "I just get a bad feeling about it, that's all. So if you're in a hurry to go, you might want to just go ahead and go. I think I'll be here awhile longer." "I can wait a bit, I guess. Like I said, someone has to make sure you don't back out. And if you get your a** kicked, well, you don't have a backup plan, so..." "What, staying with you is my backup plan?" Mot snorted. "Fine. If I lose, we can wander around aimlessly looking for something to do." "Deal."
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