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 Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 10:11 am
It was early in the morning, and one rogue lioness was out for a walk. It was not so much for pleasure as it was to get moving again, it seemed like awhile since she'd been out and about. She was near the borders of the Pridelands, which is where she lived as she had for a good deal of time. Memetuka fit the role of rogue that she had put herself in, she was thin and her fur was more than a little dusty. She'd been alone for so long, she hadn't really bothered to take care of herself.
With a yawn and a stretch, she took a seat and stared into the Pridelands as she tried to plan out her day. Perhaps it was a good day to try some hunting, she certainly felt she could use it. Her actions did not match her decision, for she continued to admire the distant beauty of the Pridelands. Alone with her thoughts, as she usually was, she wondered what was going on there. Would today be when she finally returned, or would she continue to hide away like the coward she truly was?
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Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 11:01 am
It was then that the mostly white female's eyes met the form of another lioness. "Hmm..." She muttered quietly, glancing around to see if there might be any others hanging about that she'd failed to notice until now. Just the golden furred female, she looked to be of the pridelands build. "Wonder why I don't recognize her..." Avellano trailed off, flicking her tail and giving herself another shake before heading towards the other lioness.
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Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:14 pm
Memetuka's attention was taken away from admiring the central Pridelands and her thoughts by a white, moving spot in the corner of her eye. She usually paid better attention, was able to go undetected- perhaps the fact she'd been alone so long was more luck.
Or karma.
She pushed herelf into a standing position, turning to stare at the lioness that was approaching her. Meme was a poor judge of social interaction, as far as she could tell, the approaching lioness looked friendly enough. She couldn't help but look somewhat uneasy, and a bit lost.
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Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 2:35 pm
The white lioness grinned warmly at the gold-furred other and then moved still closer, stopping a few yards away and reclining to her haunches. "Hello there. My name's Avellano, you're not lost are you, miss?" She introduced herself, then inquired kindly, her red-tipped tail flicking slowly behind her. She had to hide her sadness at this particular moment, or that wouldn't make her a very good greeter, would it?
Ave loved to go to the border and greet newcomers looking for a safe home, and tell them all about the lands, as she'd learned from Sarabi, while she walked them around a little. "Or maybe you're new here...in that case, welcome to the Pridelands." She beamed, white teeth glinting a bit in the sun. She gave her ears a little flick and then stood again, quirking a brow at the other.
...The other lioness really did look like she was of pridelands build, but maybe Ave was wrong.
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Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 3:06 pm
Memetuka's ears perked forward when the stranger introduced herself, trying to dissect the tone but finding herself too far out of practice. All she could assume was that she was in fact being purely friendly. She had no reason to be distrustful other than the fact she had not been in close contact with many.
"My name is Memetuka," she replied in a somewhat hushed voice, "I'm not lost, but thank you." So she did remember polite conversation, at least. That was a start. As for being lost, she knew that would well describe her situation, though not in the way the friendly white lioness meant it.
"You are a member of the Pride?" she asked curiously with slight hesitation. She found herself more interested than she expected.
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Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 4:09 pm
"Oh, what a lovely name." Ave churred, smiling even wider and flicking her tail again. "Sounds familiar somehow, but I'm sure I've never met you before. My thoughts have been so distant lately." She chuckled softly, shifting her paws a little and then glancing about again.
"Yes, I am the current historian for the pride, actually." Avellano fluffed up proudly, winking at the golden-furred female and then flicking her ears a little. "I know almost as much about these lands a the royal family." She added, lifting one of her front paws slightly and smiling again, proud of her knowledge.
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Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2007 4:41 pm
The compliment went unthanked, as it seemed what natural social conventions she knew stopped when it came to herself. She paid no attention to the familiarty of her name, either, for surely there could be more than one Memetuka about. She did sigh and nod her agreement at the distant thought comment, without meaning to at first. It was quite true, for her thoughts always seemed to be far away from where she was.
The mention of Avellano's role and the royal family quite obviously caught the attention of the golden lioness. She carefully relaxed into a seated position, swishing her tail behind her.
"You are?" she asked, returning to a hushed voice, "What- what can you tell me about the lands? About the royal family?" Memetuka had found her perfect solution, by the looks of it. She could find out what had changed, how things were now.. and still keep herself hidden away.
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Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:01 pm
Avellano added her own little sigh at the golden female's questions. "Unfortunately..." She said quietly, not sure where to start. The brutal murder of their beloved king? ...The death of his mate? "Well, like I said, very, very unfortunately... Mufasa recently was murdered by some horrible ruffian from the Oasis...and Sarabi passed away not long after..." The white lioness sighed again, "I bet she died from a broken heart, the poor dear." She frowned and flicked her tail, looking away.
To a former member just returning, Avellano knew this would be a reasonably hard blow, and she made an attempt to preparer herself for the possible flow of emotions that might soon come from the golden lioness, whilst trying to keep a straight, professional face.
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2007 1:04 pm
Memetuka's expression was hopeful until she heard the word "unfortunately." Maybe she'd not be able to find out, but then the Pride never was that secretive so unless the white lioness lied about her rank it was very unlikely. She waited anxiously to hear what Avellano had to say, and her shock when the white lioness said that Mufasa had been murdered could not have been more obvious.
Her mouth opened to say something, but she found no words and her mouth closed once more when she heard the name of her sister. Memetuka could not get past the words, she could understand their meaning separately but it seemed impossible that they could be used together and become anything meaningful.
"They-" she started, hesitating for a moment, her voice sounding as disbelieving as she looked, "They're- dead?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 4:34 pm
"I...I'm really sorry. A lot of former mebers returned once they heard the news, I guess you hadn't known." Ave hung her head slightly and laid back her ears. "...Sorry." She muttered again, flicking her tail sadly.
She gave a quick glance about and then a small shiver. "I can bring you to their old home, if you wish? I'm sure nobody would mind if you wanted to sit there and grieve for a small while." She nodded slowly, giving a smal, kind smile, and then standing and shaking herself briefly. "It's up to you though, dear." She said, blinking a few times and then swaying her tail a little.
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 4:52 pm
Memtuka was stunned. Mufasa killed by a rogue, and Sarabi not lasting much long afterward. She could imagine why, and Avellano had nailed it. It was inescapable now, she could no longer easily deny she was a former pridemember with her reaction to such news- but she could find no other way to react.
"Go back?" she murmured in response to Avellano's offer, and shuffled her feet. The old, dusty lioness did not need a guide to find the home of the king and queen, though it seemed she would need some encouragment to decide to go back at all.
"I- I couldn't do that," she answered hesitantly. The Pride would not know her, they might wonder about why she'd left, why she'd been hiding out for so long. Memetuka might have felt terrible for everything she'd done, but she still had some vain tendencies.
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 4:56 pm
"Well, only if you want..." Ave said quietly, noticing the slight hesitation to Meme's tone. "I'm sure wherever they are, the King and Queen would appreciate any words you might have for them, Gods bless their souls." She added with another quick, kind smile.
"Although I'm going to assume you know your way there, would you like my company, or shall I leave you?" She inquired, only trying to be polite. The white lioness didn't want to force herself upon this golden-furred female if the other didn't wish it.
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 5:31 pm
Meme kept her eyes off of Avellano, knowing that no one but herself could force her to go back to Pride Rock, back home. Her mention of words for the King and Queen got her to look up, but beyond Ave to the sky. She knew the stories about the Kings in the stars, and even the variations that included most others. On the sky is where her attention stayed until the white lioness spoke up and offered her company for the walk or if she might go alone.
"I-" she hesitated, and thought though her answer. It might be rude to turn down such an offer, to say she did not want the company. On the other paw, this was something the golden lioness had intended to do for so long now, something she'd put off, something she felt she should make herself do. If she had to have someone nudging her along like a cub, it would not be the same.
"This is something I should do myself," Meme answered, not explaining why or anything else. She was positive that Ave knew she was an old member, and hoped she would understand that through all her surprise and hesitation in the conversation she had reasons to believe she should make the journey herself. Unless Ave expressed a stronger desire to go with her, then she would not take her up on it- no matter how she felt about turning down such a generous offer.
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:12 pm
"I understand completely, miss Meme." Ave said quietly, swishing her red-tipped tail again and shifting her weight slightly. "Would you like me to walk with you even a little while, or shall I just leave you to your own devices? I don't know if anything's changed much since you....left?" She said, again quietly, as usual, and then flexed her toes in the dirt as she waited on a response from the pretty golden lioness.
"Again, I'm terribly sorry that you had to come back to bad news, dear." She said, looking up at the other and smiling apologetically. Avellano layed her ears back and blinked a few times, then glanced about, scanning the land around them for others, though there was nothing but a small group of impala.
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:43 pm
Meme held back a small sigh of relief when Ave said she understood, the last thing she needed was to have anyone in the Pride think ill of her. At least, the lioness surpressed any desire to be suspicious of the historian. She figured her judgement of sincerity was poor due to decreased interaction with lions.
"If you'd like to stay, you're welcome to," she answered quietly, "I left a long time ago, I don't know what greater changes there could be other than ... than what you've told me."
Here, the lioness hesitated as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. She still had questions, but was having a hard time continuing with the idea that her half-sister and the King were gone.
"Is there anything else I should know?" she asked finally, "W-who are the King and Queen now?"
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