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 Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:09 pm
 Lost, lost, LOST! Barazahi hammered into her head mentally. She'd been following a herd of antellope all day in hopes of catching one for her mate, Angusho, but hadn't had much luck, and they had led her far away from anywhere she recognized. She'd wandered near the Unity Walkers' lands, but was completely unaware.
"This is just great," she muttered under her breath, plopping her butt down into the dust. She vigorously grabbed her tail and licked it- Raza's one nervous habit. She was sure that Angu would be worried about her and be tracking her down, but her encampment was... Who knew which direction? She stared skyward to the few speckles of light in the night-time sky, hoping that they would miraculously re-arrange themselves for her to point her "home." However, not even the most beautiful lioness on the savannah had the power to make them do that, and all she could do at this point was stare wistfully at them, hoping that if Angu didn't come, someone friendly would. Although, she did wish it would be her mate that would find her. Wouldn't that be just romantic?
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:22 pm
"What's great?" A friendly voice called out from the shadows before exposing herself in the dull moonlight.
The teal lioness was curious on what was going on right outside her new homelands. She had been growing a little tired of turning her head and only seeing other pride members, and had decided to spend a night away from them. Bakari would probably grow a bit frantic when he couldn't find her, but he couldn't tell her what to do, and besides, it would be good for him. Some things were better with a little distance and time between them, right? Right.
Her deep blue eyes seemed a bit darker then normal from the night sky and lack of light, but they were still bright in their tone, friendly you could say. She had finally begun to feel comfortable in her life, and it showed. "Is there something I can help you with?" Her tail drifted behind her as she took a few more steps closer before pausing, not wanting to seem pushy. She herself had been lost in this forest only a few moons ago, and she knew how unpleasent it was being lost in such a vulnerable place.
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:33 pm
Barazahi jumped at the other lioness' soft voice. She quite honestly didn't even hear her sneak up! Probably because she'd been wondering which way she'd come from. "I'm so glad to see you!" Raza said as if the other lioness had been an old friend. "I'm lost, do you know where we are?" She asked, getting up and taking a pace or two in the direction of the other lioness. Yes, whether she knew this lioness or not, she was sure that she was going to help Raza find her way back home.
"I'm Barazahi, by the way. Bara or Raza for short, either works fine," She introduced, sitting back down. She flipped her bangs to the other side of her face so her markings would show clearly. Whether anyone commented on them or not, Raza was extremely proud of them. They were her mother's markings- the markings of a line of royalty in her pride. She couldn't wait to get back to the Mteo lands, even though she'd never been there.
Behind the lines, though was a distraught face. Raza, as she had said, was desperately lost, and this lioness was her only hope of finding camp any time soon.
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:42 pm
Latifu followed Raza's lead, and she herself took a seat where she was. It was simple enough to get up if she needed to, and she didn't sense any sort of threat from the pretty blue lioness. If anything, one just as she was those moons ago.
"Certainly. You're just outside the Ushirkino Watembezaji lands, since pieces of this jungle hide our pride." She smiled. "I'm just out for a nice stroll tonight. Pride life can be a bit stifling if you're not used to it." She let her words phase in for a moment before continuing, her smile still brightly across her face.
"Barazahi. Welcome. I'm Latifu, it's a please to meet such a lovely lioness as yourself." She offered a small bow to stay polite. Pride life had certainly calmed down the lioness, and even taught her quite the set of manners; though with so many levels of leadership in her pride, she needed to learn it fast. "Is there a certain place you are looking for? I don't know everything around here, but I would be glad to help."
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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:58 pm
"Nice to meet you, Latifu," Raza said, trying to mimic her bow. She was utterly relieved to find that this lioness wasn't a rogue- dark and dirty things that they were. Though, whenever Raza met one, she always thought it was ok.
She picked up quickly on bits and pieces of their culture just from having met Latifu. She couldn't help but smile back at the beaming lioness, especially when she called her lovely. These compliments just fed Raza's ego, and she loved it. "Why, thank you!" she said to the compliments, "you're pretty too." (This was actually quite the large compliment from Raza, as far as looks go. Only the lionesses close to Barazahi's own beauty were deemed "Pretty" by her.)
Barazahi had a slight idea of where the Pride was, though she completely didn't expect to have wandered this far away in a day's time. Angu had mentioned that this pride had been around here, but he'd also said that he thought it was a long way off from their campground.
"Thank you so much!" Raza said, relieved that Latifu would help her out. "My only problem is... well, I'm not exactly sure where my camp is. My family and I are all travelling back to our homelands, far to the south, but I don't remember exactly where we last stopped to set up camp. I think it was..." She looked around, only to find she had absolutely no idea where she'd come from. "I don't recall," she finished in a far-off voice, hoping that the lioness would know some of the terrain around here. "I remember passing by an odd shaped acacia tree, if that helps any. It had a big lump on it," Raza only knew how to navigate land by landmarks. She hoped this would spark some memory of Latifu's.
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Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:48 pm
The lioness just flashed a smile when the other replied to her pretty comment with a compliment. Latifu normally didn't like her coat's colours, as they gathered her more attention then she wanted, especially with a group of the pride she lived with. She stuck out quite far from them. But the small compliment helped her self-confidence a bit. She flicked her tail behind her, a shy smile soon popping out again before continuing. "Oh? Well, at least you're with family. Hopefully a bigger group then just one other...."
Her mind pondered on the tree that the lioness mentioned. Latifu wasn't too good at paying attention to landmarks around her, as she normally just let her paws lead her where she wanted to go. "Well...." she pondered for another moment. "There are a few that grow out to the east past the jungle. Would you like me to walk with you there?" She wasn't completely sure it was the right direction, but she knew that to the west there was a lake, past the canyon walls of the pride. So East, or maybe south, would be the only proper way.
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Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 3:37 pm
"We're a relatively large group for travlers. There's me, two siblings, two parents, and two additional caretakers," Raza said. "They should be easy to track once we get close enough to start seeing some signs from them. Plus I've got someone looking for me," She said, her thoughts turning to her mate. It was a big secret, though, that they were together. The gods only knew how upset her father would be should he find out. She didn't divuldge too much about who was looking for her, and if pressed, she'd say it was her brother.
"Thank you for the offer," Raza said, dipping her head a little. "If you don't mind taking me, that would be nice." She didn't want to go alone, especially since that run-in a long time ago with that horribly mean lioness. There was strength in numbers, even though she doubted an attack this close to Pridal lands.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 11:43 am
"No problem!" Latifu replied with a smile, ready to get the quest underway. She would do her best to send her in the right way, and even then, it would be good to stretch her legs out again. She loved her pride, but growing up as a lone little cub, her wanderlust popped up every now and then. "Let's go a little carefully, sometimes there are some not-so-nice leopard in these parts when the sun falls."
She took her first step with confidence, though, even with the warning that she gave to Barazahi. Latifu felt like they shouldn't worry about something until it plopped on their lap, and even then, maybe nothing would even happen. She peeked over her shoulder to make sure that Raza was coming, slowing her pace so that the two of them could step shoulder to shoulder. She did not want to seem like some leader type, but just a friendly face helping out. "So, Raza, your homelands are near the Southlands?" She asked an open question, hoping to find out a little bit more about she was going. Latifu would admit, she was curious.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 12:03 pm
Raza hadn't met a leopard yet. She had a feeling, though, that they'd be tricky and cunning- mean creatures. Perhaps she was right, perhaps wrong. She didn't vocalize this, however, and kept those ponderings to herself. Perhaps that's what their religion meant when they referred to dark beings that live beyond the Mteo lands.
Raza fell into stride alongside Latifu, not being ahead or behind her. "I believe so, yes. I think, actually, that it's farther away from there," Raza responded. "We've been travelling for a long time, you'd think we'd have made it home by now," she said, feeling like she could trust the lioness. "We're pretty far to the West, right?" She asked, trying to orient herself.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 4:06 pm
Latifu wasn't sure just how far the west went, but since all she knew that went west was the lake. What was to the west? It occupied her thoughts for the moment until she relaized that the other lioness was probably waiting for her to reply. Oops! "Umm, well, we're as far west as I know of," she started, thinking a bit more. "I haven't heard of a pride that's more west the the pride I'm in."
She matched her pace with the other, pleased to be conversing with someone new for a short time. "Anyway, I'm sure you'll reach there soon if you've been looking for a while. Do you know what it's....like there? It must be somewhat dry if it's below the Southlands, since those lands can be dry enough in the summer months."
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:03 pm
"I don't... know what it's like there," Raza said, casting her eyes downward. "It may be the place that I call home, but I've never been there. I've lived out here in the roguelands all my life, with all intentions of returning to the lands my parents called home. Though, I suppose that truly, everywhere is my home." She confided, bringing it up for the first time. She hadn't ever questioned where her true home was. "So I don't really know how dry it gets in summer, but if it's further south than that, it must be," She said, working out her logic.
"How about you, have you lived here all your life?" She asked.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:38 am
Latifu smiled warmly. "Well, that's never a problem, because if you make it your home once you get there, then that's what matters, right?" Her tail swished behind her for a moment, her heart pleased. "The Southlands can get quite dry during the summer, so I'm sure it's very similar to that. All I advise is befriending a tree so you'll have plenty of shade." She laughed warmly, letting a little silence fall between them before picking up the question about herself.
"Actually, no. I was a rogue for most of my life, usually alone as well. I didn't mind it, I could do whatever I wanted when I wanted to, but I will admit it wasn't very fun when I got hurt or scared. A friend of mine that I met a couple times lived in the pride nearby, and I ended up joining the pride to have a real place to call home." She paused for a moment, thinking. "It sure took some getting used to, with so many others around all the time, but I'm learning to enjoy it."
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:50 pm
"I've heard that the area we're going to has lots of trees- Baobabs, I've heard," She continued walking. "Like I said, I don't know the land at all, I've never been there in my life. But I have a feeling that Dad's getting his senses right, that he recognizes where we are, and where we need to head to get back. I think we'll be home soon," She said with a confident smile towards Latifu.
To her story, Raza added more of her own. "We're travelling in a group. My family and I. You're never alone, we've got two guards too," her thoughts turned to that sweet white-and-pink face, she could feel her own face growing soft at the thought. She covered it up quick- he was a secret. "It's hard to get any alone time." She said with a chuckle.
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:12 pm
"Baobabs..." Latifu echoed, bringing up the image of them in her mind. She remembered Raza metioning them before, but only now was the memory of what they look ike coming back. "I'm sure we're going the right way, it shouldn't be too much longer." She wanted to give her companion an update on how close Latifu thought they were, since she was probably anxious to get back. It was dark enough already, and she knew that she would want to get home as soon as possible when it was dark, and you had no idea where you were.
She turned her atteion back to what Raza was saying though, and smiled at the thought. "Doesn't it just drive you grazy sometimes, though? I mean, I love being social, but sometimes it's nice to just stretch out and take a nap with no one around to disturb you or even accidentaly trip on you." A memory came back to her, of the rambunctious cubs running around not paying attention to where they were going. Oi.
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:28 pm
"It drives me crazy all the time!" Raza admitted, glad that she wasn't the only one who felt she needed her own free space. "Not long ago, I had to wait until nightfall, when everyone was asleep, to sneak out. Crazy, huh? But I just couldn't stand it, I had to get away. That is, until I got caught." Raza smiled sheepishly at the memory, the same face she'd made when she came back home to her mom. "It was a bit... awkward," Though she felt it was needless to say it, she did anyway.
"I've not been tripped on... Just by my siblings." Ata had done it once or twice. "Were you ok? Seems to me that that'd take you out of commission for a bit. At least, depending where they tripped," she amended.
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