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 Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 4:53 am
(( if you wish to have your firekin cubling join then just PM me and we can organise it. )) Ripuka stretched out her limbs and cackled, eyes blazing with a strange glint. Oh it felt good to have sand between her toes and the hot desert sun on her back. In fact she felt quite content.
It seemed that now she was back in the desert her madness had been trapped somewhat, the haunting memories of her past only flickering briefly every now and then. Yet the oddly marked lioness was still a little on the unstable side as far as others were concerned.
"Oh glorious day, Finar-si shines well upon us. We are glorius, we are reunited." Her tail flicked as she spoke, her odd manner somewhat frightening to those who weren't used to it.
Yet Ripuka was a wise lioness, she knew tradition, she knew history, she knew of her worth as a Firekin.
"All is right in the world when the desert grows this hot." She sighed contentedly and extended her forepaws to gaze across the dunes.
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Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 3:38 pm
In retrospect the butterfly had done nothing to the young firekin cub, but she was in such a mood that she didn't really feel like doing much but killing it. If she couldn't be as beautiful as it was then why should it live after all? Besides, how could such a delicate bug live in such a hot desert anyway?
Because it's not as smart as you are.
You shouldn't even be here you little fool. Run along and go jump off a cliff.
The corner of Khepri's mouth turned down in a frown as the voices that bugged her waking moments rang in her head. Except as she tilted her head, the cub heard a voice that wasn't in her head. Or at least she didn't think it was.
Twisting her blood red head so that she could see the bizarrely patterened lioness in the distance, Khepri stared with her rusted golden eyes at her for a long moment. She seemed to be just as out of her mind as Khepri sometimes thought she would go. But in a fleeting moment the young lioness remembered who she was looking at.
Standing, she trotted over the blazing sand with no problem whatsoever, keeping her eyes on the walking lioness. When she was close enough the other edge of her mouth that wasn't frowning twisted upwards and her strong voice sang out over the sand dunes.
"Aah, but if th' desert's hot an' the valley's cold, where's a lion left ta go?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 6:35 am
Ripuka turned her head so that her own good eye could focus on the approaching cub. Her bright red fur stark against the gold. So it was the little lioness who had shown such promise at becoming a good Firekin one day. It warmed Ripuka's heart to think that she would help lead this pride into a new generation of lions who would put their faith into Finar-si as much as she did.
"That, child of The Blood, is for your instincts to decide." She smirked, "but the desert can never be too hot for us. We are bred and born to live here, for it is what Finar-si wanted for us."
She flicked her tail around to fold over her hind legs, "tell me child, why do you think our Goddess chose the desert for us?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 4:25 pm
Fluffing her fur out slightly in aggitation, Khepri took a few steps towards the older lioness. A few cautious steps, as she didn't want to get scarred as deeply as she had been by Denahi. Though she didn't mind the markings and had kept her promise to him to never tell a soul who gave her the scars, she still didn't entirely enjoy the pain that came with them as much as the vanity of having them in the first place.
"Well, hones'ly Ah haven' evah met 'er. So Ah can' say wha' Ah reallah think o' her can Ah?" Khepri was more down to earth than most of the Firekin or most lions in fact. They all believed in things that they couldn't see or feel or touch. Sometimes things they couldn't even hear.
The little lioness knew enough to trust what was thrown before her own tarnished gold eyes rather than just trust controversy and rumors. So she didn't have an opinion.
"If she reallah did wha' it's said she did, then Ah guess she can' be tha' bad can she?" Khepri asked the larger lioness in front of her.
ninja
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Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 4:19 am
Faith was something that came quite easy to this religious loon. Her whole life had been based on the teachings of Finar-si so it seemed only right that she never doubt it. She loved the red-pelted Goddess more than anything or anyone.
She smiled almost fondly at the cub's response and gave another strange laugh, head thrown back. She would never ever turn claw against her own kin. Never. For in her eyes they were all equals and all deserved respect. They worked as a unit and not against one another. She had her own scars too, hidden beneath her strange pelt but they were from rogues.
"We are part of her." She finally replied, "we share her Blood, we share her pelt, her strength and her beauty." Her one golden eye glittered strangely and for a moment it seemed like she might stop talking and be lost amongst her beliefs.
"Finar-si chose the desert for us because of what it offers. We alone were created to adapt to it's heat. We alone knew of the food that roam the sands, we alone know of the location of water. We were blessed with knowledge that would allow only our kind to survive." She drew in a deep breath and tilted her head up with pride. "This desert is our protection, our barrier, it keeps slaves from escaping easily and allows us to live in relative secrecy." "This desert is ours alone." A voice flickered from nearby and after a moment one could see a red cub trotting along the sand with an ease that made it seem like he was born to walk upon the unstable ground. In a way...he had.
"If inferiors tried to take it, they would fail. This is a holy land meant only for the blessed children of The Blood. Correct?" His voice was strangely emotionless and as blank as the look in his strange seer eyes.
And it took a moment for Ripuka to recognise his shade of pelt as the one belonging to royalty.
This young fellow was indeed a prince.
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Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 8:51 am
Khepri frowned for a moment as the prince arrived, she could smell on him Kimeti's scent as well as the scent of something that almost seemed like atmos. One of her ears laid back and the scarred female didn't make a sound, she just gazed at her soon to be ruler with shimmering tarnished gold eyes.
"Yo' both speak as if this was the only place tha' evah existed. Why? Ah mean, we aren' the only ones that can survive in this place, the slaves we have proves tha' otha lions can surive here to." Khepri said to them, her eyes flashed and she quriked the corner of her mouth down in confusion. What were they talking about? The only ones that could survive off of the desert? She knew better.
It's because they don't know better.
You should show them.
The voices rang out in her small head and she turned to look at Ripuka again.
"If we were all part o' her, then we'd all be royalty instead of just Kimeti's cubs, but we aren'. "
ninja
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Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 10:30 am
A muscle in Ripuka's jaw twitched but the annoyance soon gave way to a gentle understanding. This cub was new to the world and it was only to be expected that she would know nothing of the ways of life here in the desert.
For now she turned towards the approaching cub, bowing her head. "Greetings my prince." Her voice was low and regal. "You have come for the teachings?"
He bowed his head towards Ripuka and Khepri, slowing to a halt where he stood before them. For a moment he fixed his eyes on the adult, his gaze searching her aura and finding it a colour that pleased him. Yes she was a fine lioness and one who served his father and Finar-si.
Yet at the cub's questioning his head snapped around, his gaze dwindling at the other. Her questions were understandable and he too wished to hear them answered.
"Good day to you both, sisters of the desert." He seemed somewhat placid as he directed his next phrase at the adult. "I await the answers to those questions Lady of Fire."
Ripuka nodded and drew in a deep breath, searching her mind for the easiest way to explain. It would probably be best to answer the questions with thoughts that she often had running through our mind.
"Only place that exists? Of course not. I have seen the rest of the pitiful world and know that there are other lands beyond the desert. It isn't the only place that exists, but it is the only place that matters. Leaving the desert was like leaving behind my heart. We are part of the sand, we are one."
She paused a moment before continuing. "And as for the slaves, have you taken the time to look at them? I mean actually look at them? If we did not hunt and allow them the scraps they would starve. Their ribs stick from their pelts, they tremble and cower, they are disgusting. If they lived without masters then they would die of their own stupidity. Only we know the hunting grounds, only we know the locations of the oasis and the time of day to travel. It is us alone that can follow the dunes to our home, navigating the sea of gold when others fail. Even our physical beings are more adapt. Our fur grows different so that it does not hold as much heat, our paws are thickly padded so they do not burn as easily. You are young cub, you have not seen how many slaves have died of heat stroke or starvation or with their petty attempts at escape."
She nodded sharply, satisfied with her answer. "And as for your final question, perhaps our Prince can answer."
The young red cub looked surprised for a moment, shifting from one paw to the other before settling.
"If our pride had no King there would be no one to guide us in the absence of our Goddess. If we had no ruler than who would finalise decisions, who would determine what was right and what isn't? Young lioness of The Blood, whether King or Hunter, whether Cub or Prince we are all a part of our Goddess and in that way we are equal. I did not ask to be royalty but I will not look down upon you because of it."
His eyes narrowed slightly. "Think of us as guides to turn to when a problem surfaces."
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Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 4:30 pm
"Oh -please-." A cruel voice spoke as a small ebony form trotted towards the little group. "We are royalty because -we- are the most blessed of the Firekin." The young princess rolled her eyes as if this was a fact that all Firekin should know. "We are most perfect, we continue a line that has never beena marred, a line that will never die, and a line that will never betray it's true calling. Many have left the sands to escape the plague that hit here when father was only a mere cub. But grandfather and grandmother remained. They were the -only- ones to remain. They the most loyal the pure of the line. Thus, that is why we are the only one's worthy to be royalty and able to look down upon you commoners." She smiled sweetly. White teeth contrasting well against her charcoal coat.
"Now, storyteller, tells us a tale as to why Finar-si created us Firekin -here-." She swiped a paw at the sandy ground, clearly intending she spoke about the sandy desert itself. "Tell us why we are the most noble and pure of all other lions and why all slaves should cower before us."
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Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2006 4:41 pm
One of Khepri's eyebrows twinged up after a moment and she nodded her head for Ripuka and Kidondo's explanations. She did understand them deep down in her heart, but on the outside she didn't. As a cub she knew more than most of even Kimeti's cubs because she'd watched the slaves on a day to day basis, spoken with one of the ones that had survived, the same that had scarred her so deeply with the knowledge that the world outside of the desert could be just as willing and cut throat as the desert itself.
So she sighed and looked back and forth from one to the other before inclining her head to Kidondo slowly and smiling gently. "Now tha' Ah undastand. But yo're one o' a few, not all o' yo're siblin's thin' the same way. Even yo' gotta know that." She frowned and locked her eyes with his, eyes that were the same color as one another. Her spirit smoldered inside of her for a moment, trapped and hidden. "There's a reason tha' there's royalty and us. Some o' the royalty knows they' royal."
Like the cub that's walking up to us.
Though she didn't want to admit that the voice in her head was right, when Khepri heard the other lioness cub speak she knew that it was. Her frown deepened and she thrashed her tail over the sand for a moment before curling it around her back leg once again to hide her emotions and anger.
"Ask yo'r motha." She said slowly to the other slightly younger cub. She didn't hold any anger for her other than for her mouth, the fact that she was the daughter of Finar'Si and Kimeti meant nothing to Khepri whatsoever. In fact she liked Kidondo already, though she wouldn't tell him that ever. But this other female annoyed her with her mouth and her demeanor, though a lot of Firekin had that same way about them.
ninja
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 6:06 am
"My siblings believe what they must." 'Ondo replied with a shake of his head, moving to sit carefully upon the sand. "Though do not judge them all so harshly, not all of us are blinded by status." At his sister's voice the young male's eyes narrowed very slightly and he was on his paws again, shifting sideways and turning his head to gaze at Koka.
Her ebony fur blazed under the sun and the wing markings burned fire along the curve of her spine.
"Good day sister." He bowed his head slightly before turning to regard the others with a solemn gaze.
Ripuka smiled and nodded at Kidondo's reply, proud that the cub would answer in such a fashion. He was a smart little prince indeed and one that obviously had the brains to keep tradition alive. She would train that one and train him well.
It seemed that the other cub, the princess, also wished to hear of greatness, showing a spirit that was common among the royal line.
The elder lioness bristled slightly but said nothing that might offend. "Why Princess!" Her words were full of loyalty, "the others must cower before our strength. We are superior for we have the blood of a Goddess coursing through our veins. Our strength, honour, pride, tradition can never be beaten. We live here because the land suits us, it symbolises strength, hardship, endurance. Everythign that we stand for."
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Posted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:37 am
Koka glanced to the other young lioness. "My mother would no such things. She is not royalty like my father for he never took her as a mate."
Koka smirked at her brother and said nothing in return to his pleasant greeting. Instead she yawned with boredom as Ripuka told her the information that she already knew. "Yes, yes, all Firekin should know that. But I want a story, a REAL story, not just some facts sputtered out at me." She stretched her front half then her back before settling onto the sandy floor of the den to wait for her promised story.
And it had better be good.
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Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2006 3:11 pm
Instantly she frowned and swished her darkened tail at the maroon colored female lioness. One of her ears flicked back towards Ripuka at the older female's words and she smiled grimly. Of the desert, no, they weren't of the desert anymore than the lions of the savannah were ofthe savannah. They were simply created to enjoy the world the gods had made for them. And if Koka's goddess mother wasn't royalty than who was?
Khepri's tarnished golden eyes rolled for a moment and she layed down sphynx-like on the sand, warming her white belly contently. "Ah don' jump ta conclusions. Ah can onl' believe wha' Ah learn from listenin'." She explained to the male cub in front of her. The prince seemed wiser, seemed like if he got the chance to take over the lands from his father then he'd do a good job of it. She hoped she was around to see it happen.
Sighing lightly so that the others couldn't hear her she looked up at Ripuka the same way she looked at her mother. "Why mus' they cowa anywah? Ah mean, wha' did they do or not do tha' they deserve to be forced ta work for us?" Her frown creased further.
ninja
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 2:09 am
'Ondo settled down closer to the fiery adult, turning his eyes across the little group so that he could scan each face. Then when Khepri spoke he inclined his head graciously and replied, "that is true, too true. Listening is the key to wisdom, I did not think I'd find another who would think the same as me." His words were soft but audible.
"Patience sister, the story will come." He gave a smal snorting sound and settled himself more comfortably, turning his face to gaze into the scarred one's eyes.
At first he had mistaken her for old, probably because of her wounded face and the way she spoke, but as he took the time to look closely he realised she probably wasn't all that old. Not ancient at any rate. However he sensed she had a lot of stories to tell about the outside world and that excited him.
"I shall tell you a story about a slave in hopes to answwer the young one's question and satisfy the Princess' thirst at the same time." The female spoke, closing her eyes against a gentle breeze. Then after a moment's pause she continued again.
"Long ago, when your very own parents were nothing more than balls of red fur baking under the sun, there were many Firekin who looked eagerly to the outside world. They wanted adventure and fame and had the idea in their mind that they needed to be a rogue to do this. There was one female who dwelled on the borders perhaps a little too long and one day she came face to face with one of those inferior beings. For unlike our strong males here this one was weak and pathetic, he thought only with the fruit of his loins. He had journeyed here with the intent of luring a lioness to follow him and fall in love with him, and once she had been ensnared he would sew the seeds of life within her. This was not an action that is done out of love, no, for he wished her to birth him strong cubs whose coats shone with the colours of the legendary Firekin. He intended to brag about how he had used his charm to tame the mighty huntress!" Ripuka's eyes flashed with anger as she retold the story.
"Everyday he would meet with her and tempt her with his sly, rogue ways and then finally he got what he wanted and life began to grow in the belly of this traitor. Questions were aroused about why she smelt so strongly of rogue, she would reply that she had seen one on the border and killed it, or that she had brushed too closely against a slave. It was on one fateful day however that she felt the life of unborn cubs stir within her and she realised what she had done."
"She realised her treachery and feared that she would birth cubs that would bare pelts of their rogue father. So with mind set she sought out the male with intent to tell him what had happened. To her annoyance the male seemed not to care, in fact he seemed rather pleased with himself. He thought he had outsmarted the Firekin lioness! But the laugh last would not be his, for a moment or so later she had torn out his throat and done away with his life."
She paused here, her good eye scannign over every little face, "so you see, out there in the world when people know you're a Firekin they think of you as a challenge to be conquered. They fear you and in that fear they will try to rise up and beat you down. What is that if not weakness and cowardice?"
She was on her paws then bristling and without warning she snapped out at the nearest cub, though her teeth clipped only air.
"Make that mistake and you will be a traitor." Her eyes flashed with pain but only Kidondo would see it. Then the old teacher, content with her story and saddened over memories long past, she swept away from them all.
Cubs.
Would they grow to make mistakes or would they become true Firekin? She had yet to find out.
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