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 Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 11:46 am
Damn Tanaka, Damn Mrost, damn the whole damn world!
Kiuma fumed to herself as she paced, creamy paws wearing a tred into the earth with her ceaseless motion. She loved her mate with all her heart... he was her first love, the father of her children, and her physical match (she'd never admit aloud that he'd most likely beat her senseless in an all-out fight). Yet right now, she hated him with everything in her. How dare he refuse to let her come with and save their daughter! Stupid, stubborn idiot... Her heart hurt like the fire of the sun was consuming it. Deep down, she knew she'd never see him again, and that chaising after him when he didn't want her would only caust her more pain, but on the surface, she was too proud to admit it.
All the pain in her life could be laid to rest at the paws of the men in her life, or men that had intruded on her life. Uumikaji, her twin brother, had abandoned her, and now her mate had as well. Her father, whom she loved dearly, had been killed by a rogue lion... It seemed like the only males she could trust were the ones of her flesh, her sons.
That thought brought a halt to her pacing, and the red lioness settled down on her haunches to think. Her sons were waiting for her back in the Pridelands... no parents to care for them, only the sourceless love of the pride. Tanaka would handle their daughter alone, but their sons... they had no one. That thought was sobering, and her heart began to yearn for her homeland and those living pieces of her she'd left behind.
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 9:11 am
Baala was still considerably long to be living on her own, but her mother had taught her well enough when she had been alive, and Baala had somehow scraped a living. It had taken its toll, though, and she no longer posessed the elegant beauty she was born with. Now it was a ragged beauty, hidden beneath dirty fur and blood. Nothing more then a promise, this beauty was, but even this promise gave her something. It showed that she was no child to be idly dealt with, showed that she could be a monster in her own right. In place of beauty, she had discovered strength and the will to survive.
But, oh, the loneliness was ever present.
It was going to drive her mad.
She did not want to be alone any longer, though she had met a rogue and left him of her own decision. Her loneliness was the reason when she saw dry dust pluming up into the air, she headed forwards to it. Dust trailed behind her in gentle wisps, caressing her muscled legs before shrinking back and away from the near-ruined body. Even the dust did not like her... but dust was only dust, and she did not care about it.
But, Kiuma's opinion, she may just care about. Warily she drew closer to the red lioness, steps slowly, muscles tensing. She was ready to bolt if Kiuma showed any inclination to harm her. The red lioness was larger, older, and Baala knew her chances of getting out of a confrontation unharmed. They were slim, very slim. In her eyes there was reflected the fleeting hope of acceptance. Baala knew not what drove her to this madness, this desperate need to talk, to touch, to have someone she could call her family.
She missed her mother so much.
"Hello," and the meeting was initiated.
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 4:34 pm
The sound of a strange young voice jerked Kiuma out of her revere. The red lioness whirled with a snarl, springing to her paws as her tail lashed the air. Only when she saw a young lioness did she calm a little, giving a snort of displeasure.
"Who are you?" She barked, straightening out of the crouch she'd fallen into. "What are you doing here?" She seemed to have forgotten for the moment that this wasn't her homeland, and she had no say about who or what could be where. Old habits died hard.
Eyes like rubies studied the dark form, tracing the touches of yellow. What a sorry looking child... dirty and blood-stained, thin and bedraggled... She couldn't help a little curl of her maw in distaste. Whoever the parents were of this one, they should be beaten for not taking care of her.
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 4:49 pm
Her legs bent, eyes narrowing in preparation to flee. The red lioness displayed to her a quick show of strength, of attitude and harshness, and Baala realized she would have no calming conversation similar to the one she had held with Muroki. Baala had tread on dangerous ground, and what was more dangerous to her was that she was becoming irritated and insulted. Kiuma was making demands of her that Baala did not see fit to answer. She had no right to be asking her such questions. That kind of information was supposed to be freely given.
Baala could not help it, though. There was still a part of her that wanted to have a conversation, wanted some companionship, even if it lasted no more then a few minutes. "I am Baala, and I am here because I have no where else to go." She tossed her bangs to the side, away from her face so she could fix Kiuma with cool, defiant grey-blue eyes. All of her anger was hidden beneath that gaze.
"Is this not a place where rogues tread? For surely I am a rogue, and surely I have been traveling in this area." She dared Kiuma to challenge her logic, though it would be insensible of Kiuma to disagree. A little part of Baala regretted sounding so defensive, and a larger part of her hated the sound of hurt in her voice. Her eyes had betrayed nothing, but her tone had shown to Kiuma her vast loneliness.
It would not be hard to guess that there were no parents to take care of her.
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 5:27 pm
Kiuma gave an inelegant snort, shaking her head. She could see the defiance in the young one's gaze, and a part of her acknowledged it. It reminded her of herself, after all.
"There is always somewhere to go, child. " She said, her voice rough. "Even if you have nowhere to call home, you can always travel and find a new place. And while I don't like your tone, I'll over look your impudence. I suppose not all of us can be lucky enough to be born into a pride as I was. I pity you for being born a rogue." Powerful shoulders rippled in a loose shrug as the red lioness turned away, falling unknowingly into her pacing again.
"I'm in no mood for company right now. I suggest you leave... I have too much to think about now."
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 5:45 pm
Baala was tempted to mimic the elder lioness's movement, especially after her next words. Kiuma was assuming that Baala did not know anything, that she was as young as she looked. It was another insult, and one she could barely deal with. Her whole life had been that of a rogue's, and Kiuma obviously had not been long in this life, or else she would've been more reserved, respectful, and a little more willing to have a conversation.
"I do not require your pity. I have lived long enough without it, your pity could well enough doom me into softeness, and into death." Baala was not sure how much more Kiuma would over-look, but Baala wanted to provoke her, just so she would stay. A few precious more moments was all that she required, one last look at civilization before it wandered out of her grasp again... Oh, she was truly becoming desperate. "I've been searching for someplace since I was a child. I have not found it. Perhaps there is no where for me to go."
Something of a desperate characteristic urged her forward, following in Kiuma's path at a distance she considered safe enough. "We all have things to think about, lioness, and sometimes it is easier to work through these things... with someone else to hear them out." She was offering her ear, her attention, and she was sure Kiuma would harm her for it.
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:59 pm
Kiuma's lips curled, but she didn't turn back from her pacing, reaching the end and turning around to pace back whence she came. She passed Baala and kept going, her black-tipped tail lashing behind her. This lioness was a prickly thing. She kept most others at bay with her fierce manner, and she was content with that, but... there was something in this young one's manner that she couldn't ignore. A sadness, a loneliness... and something inside her sympathized.
After all, wasn't she exactly the same at this moment? Abandoned, alone... unloved. A soft huffing sigh escaped her. Seemed Kiuma wasn't as hard-hearted as she liked to appear.
"You can't do anything about it, why would you want to hear about my troubles, hmm? You wouldn't even understand them, you're just a cub. You don't know anything about the world out there... Or you'd have known that just about any pride out there would take in a cub in need. I know the Pridelands, my homeland, would. My sister is soft-hearted." Reaching the opposite end of her elliptical path, she turned and went back the other way.
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Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 1:18 pm
She found her paws falling into the prints left behind by Kiuma's own. Baala did not divert herself from the path she had fallen, and as Kiuma left her, she continued onwards, turning back at the same point Kiuma had earlier. The red lioness was dangerous, but Baala had picked up on that little bit of weakness. She would be accepted if she played in the lines of the box Kiuma had put her in.
"I am an adolescent, and in the world I have chosen to dwell in, that is far from being a child." Baala's lips turned downwards in a cruel frown, though her voice remaine smooth and nearly melodic. She was forcing herself to be sensible, forcing herself to keep from rising in anger to the insults Kiuma casually flung at her. It seemed to be a natural thing that Kiuma did, and Baala reminded herself not to take offense. Kiuma was trying to push her away... and Baala would not budge into the direction Kiuma wanted her to head in.
"I was only recently left on my own, and I am not so much a cub anymore. If you can actually believe that I have not tried to find a place for myself, then you are an idiot, and you deserve your troubles. Do not assume that my youth means incompetence. I would rather not be dealt such ill insults." Anger was still not present in her voice, but Baala would not leave herself undefended. She always would stand up for herself, even if it put her in an uncomfortable position. Baala had pride, dignity, and insuls did many things to hurt those qualities.
"Your troubles... I do not mind hearing them or not. I only think that you need to speak of them, especially to someone you claim cannot understand those troubles."
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Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 3:05 pm
Kiuma snarled to herself as she paced, long strides carying her easily over the ground. She was every inch the traveler, adventurer, huntress, and warrior... But at the moment, she felt like nothing more than a young female that had lost her first love. This young upstart was annoying, but she was right. Her voice and manner held little of a child about it, she seemed older than she appeared.
What the hell... she had nothing to lose by confiding in this lioness, and it could help take the strain from her, maybe ease the pain of her broken heart. "Very well. I've been... abandoned, by my mate." The words, actually putting her feelings in words, only trippled the ache. It made it real, and crushed the faintest of hopes she'd fostered deep inside. "We met while traveling, and fell in love, or so I thought. I brought him home with me and gave birth to our cubs. Five wonderful little cubs... a while ago, his brother stole our daughter, and he was consumed with anger and hate. I've been trying to travel with him to find out daughter, but... he's pushed me away." She could feel a pressure behind her eyes, like the onset of tears. No! Kiuma refused to cry over him. Crying did nothing useful, it only weakened the body.
"Now tell me you understand that, when even I don't? He claims he doesn't need me, and that I'd only get in his way." Reaching the other end of her pacing, she spun, kicking up dirt as she started back the other way. "He's... betrayed me, abandoned me... and it was all for naught. All that time, all my devotion, all the pain of bearing his cubs... dust in the wind..." Oh, the pain... like cutting through fur to let the blood seep... the pain poured from her heart, tainting her voice with it.
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Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 3:24 pm
Baala had truly not expected Kiuma to share her story with her. Other things were more expectable, such as thirst, hunger, and death. Whatt Kiuma chose to share with her was something she was not prepared for. By agreeing to listening to the story, she had agreed to share Kiuma's pain. There was emotion now in Kiuma's stride, in her voice, and in her heart, and Baala had to bear all of it.
The pain was horrible, but nothing compared to what Kiuma must've begun to feel.
Her mind flashed back to her childhood, questions rising in her head unbidden. Baala had never known her father, and Nuksani (her mother) had never discussed him with her. In time Baala quit asking about who her father was. Was it a one-night thing, or did her mother go through something similar to what Kiuma was now going through? Had her mother loved someone, and been abandoned, abandoned before Baala was even out of the womb? Her mother had always been quiet... But it could easily just be how she was, or she could've been silenced by other things. There was no way to be sure, and she wished not to dwell on it.
The silence she had let fill the air was broken by her soft, subdued words. They were considered thoroughly before she let them pour through her lips, her mind trying to sort through this information and present it in her own way. "I... I can't understand it. I have never been loved, mayhaps my mother did at times, but never loved my a male. The only thing I can come up with is... Well... maybe he doesn't love you anymore. If falling out of love is possible... he has done it, and has been cruel in the process. He couldn't put you before his anger; that can't be love. I'm sorry... but it's just wrong. Maybe he misled you, but now you have children, don't you? Happiness can be found there, correct, something to help you through this?"
She paused, head bowed down to hide the emotions flooding onto her face. "I am no help for you. None of this... is in my experience."
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 12:14 pm
Kiuma snarled as she came to an ubrupt stop, staring at the earth beneither her paws as she shot out claws and tore at it. It felt good to be ripping something up with those razors, even if it was only soil and plant matter. The scent of turned earth and damaged plants rose to fill her nose, and she snort lightly.
"Did I not say you wouldn't understand? You're too young for this... but I'll tell you one thing, cub, before you age too much further: Males are not to be trusted. No matter how much you may love them, never depend on them, and never follow them blindly. Be the leader, and never give them a chance to hurt you. I've been a fool like that twice in my life, and twice I've been betrayed by the one I gave all of myself to." Eye bright with her conviction, she turned and stalked towards the young lioness, looming over her as Kiuma struggled to impress on her the importance of what she said. "Never leave yourself vulnerable to a male... A rogue snuck into my lands in the dead of night and killed my father. They can't be trusted, you always have to keep an eye out."
Black tipped tail flicking, the Prideland's princess struggled with herself, torn in so many directions that she scarcely knew up from down, left from right anymore. As soon as she thought she'd found firm footing, the landscaped changed on her.
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Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2007 10:13 am
The way Kiuma stalked towards her, she was certain that death was very likely in her future. The red lioness had been wronged, and her anger showed through in bright, violent waves. They hit her and almost left her trembling, but her claws dug into the earth, she squared her shoulders, and she defended herself against the wrongness given to Kiuma and against the weaknesses that the story brought out in her. Her eyes rose, meeting Kiuma's with no hint of the weaknesses swirling in her veins, in her heart. It was not a challenging stare but one of understanding.
But the only male she had met in her life had shown her a great kindness. He had provided her with stimulating conversation, and had showed her where to get a drink so to keep herself healthy and alive. He had quite possibly kept her alive in other ways as well, giving her the hope to move on, the hope to find a home that would take her in and love her. She had been given no other proof then Kiuma's story that males were evil, but she was willing to believe that some were. Not everyone lived a life of purity; it was impossible.
"I will be careful with my dealings with males, I promise you that. I am not cub enough to be foolish." Her words were true and meaningful; if it helped Kiuma through her troubles, Baala would not trust any male easily. She was not promising to never love, but she was promising to careful. Her heart would not be easily won, and never, never would it be torn as Kiuma's was.
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Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2007 2:50 pm
Kiuma snorted, venting some of her anger at herself and her loss. The young one's bravery in the face of the red lioness's threat impressed her somewhat. She knew the picture she made and how scary she might appear to a young one like Baala. A lioness in her prime, fangs bared and eyes flashing... it was almost suprising she hadn't run away from the sight.
"Good." She huffed, settling back some and easing her fierce prescence on Baala. She, herself, would most likely never love another male again... It was too hard, and she was too jaded, to let it come easily. She wasn't necessarily set against it for others. After all, her own parents had been mated their entire lives, and a love like that was a rare and beautiful thing. But that didn't mean you should trust your love blindly, which was what she sought to impress on the other.
As her anger faded, other things began to make themselves known to the red lioness... like her sore paws and dry throat. The sun beat down hard on her fur, and she was hot enough to be panting. All of a sudden, she wished for a drink of water and a shady spot to rest. The desert always seemed to have that affect on her, the princess used to the cool green grasses of her home and the watering holes that were scattered through it. A sigh slipped from her at the thought, and she eyed Baala.
"I'm thirsty, and I want to get out of the sun. The jungle there looks like a good place to find a solution to both, so that's where I'm going." A forepaw shuffled in the dirt absently as she wondered what to do with this young one now. Leave her alone again, with the chance that she wouldn't survive n her own? Or take her with... slowing down her travels and forcing her to take responsibility for a life beyond her own? It was a hard choice.
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Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2007 4:13 pm
The tension in her muscles lessened as she saw Kiuma's fierce gaze die down. Truly she was worried about what this lioness would do to her if she felt like it. Baala was malnurished, and Kiuma was a large lioness with muscles Baala could see more then well enough. But, she was not worried enough to flee at the first signs of anger. She was hoping there was a bit of Kiuma that did not want to bring her any harm. Maybe she would simply wish her well and go on her way.
Baala didn't want that, though. She still wanted a family.
"I came out of the jungle not long ago, and there's a place to drink that I know of." She was wise enough not to mention that she was guided there by a male lion. Baala had no idea how Kiuma would react to being led to a place where a male lion had instructed her to go. Kiuma did not trust any lion, or at least she did not trust them easily. So, Baala kept the information silent, hoping that Kiuma would permit her to lead the way to the pool of water.
"If you want me to show you where it is, I will. If not... then perhaps this would be good-bye." The look in Baala's eyes said that she did not want to part with Kiuma so soon. She could not hide the look, and so she stared boldly at Kiuma with those eyes. There was no point in hiding.
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Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 1:02 am
Kiuma hid a groan at the look the young one directed at her, turning her head to eye Baala side-long. How could anyone with a heart refuse that? And contrary to popular belief, Kiuma did very much have a heart. Its what kept getting her into trouble, after all. Hopefully this wouldn't be yet another mistake she made by letting her heart direct her actions.
"Lead the way." She sighed, shaking her head. "Better to go somewhere at least one of us knows, than to wander around by myself." Inwardly, she was struggling to think of a way to redirect this adolescent's new bonding to her. Poor thing would probably have attached herself to any creature that didn't immediently maul her upon meeting. Bad luck for her, that Kiuma had been the first.
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