[ORP] Inqina [Open; Cubs/Adolescents]

[Quaji]

INTRODUCTION

In the recent seasons there have been so many litters that the prides' numbers have swollen by nearly two dozen. Many lionesses called for an Inqina many months ago, but had been pushed back with the arrival of new Abaholi and the turmoil the pride was going through as a result. Now that their litters are among the new arrivals, more calls for an Inqina have sounded and it seems like this one is going to happen!

Of course a number of lionesses, mainly mothers of younger cubs, are wary. Badriya had lost an eye on the last Inqina and had very nearly been snatched away by a leopard! With so many cubs for only a few lionesses to watch over, many mothers have apprehensions about letting their cubs go. Still, it was tradition that cubs have their Inqina and due to not having one earlier, it seemed like adolescents who had not become Zalwa were also being allowed to participate to help ease the mothers' worries.

As the morning sun rises two weeks after the magnificent hippo feast, mothers began to appear near the border of where the Ithambo'hlabathi were making their home. Behind them trailed cubs, with some being carried in their mother's mouth.

Last ORPs:
Hippo Hunt - A group of volunteers heads off in the night to take down large game in a display of skill!
Chatter - While the hunting party is off, the lions rest and talk about recent events and future happenings. A familiar face shows up...  

[Quaji]

IC Information

• The pride's migration has finished and they are now in their new home. The first half of the rainy season is coming to an end and the pride is entering the dry spell. Showers are considerably rarer now and a cub drowning is much less likely to happen, and while the ground is starting to dry up, mud is still a concern in a few shaded or naturally wet places. The grass is still green, but has been mowed much shorter thanks to the migratory herds that are currently residing in the Ithambo'hlabathi's territory. Careful of hidden snakes or other dangers!
  
  
• The massive herds that are now occupying the same land as the pride and being trampled or starting a stampede is a real concern for the pride. With the dry spell about to grip the land, water supplies are about to become more treasured which means the herds may be drinking from the same water the pride does. Extra cautious is advised.
  
  
• Cubs are extremely common now! Several lionesses have recently given birth and brought their cubs back to the pride. Older cubs have also grown since their introduction, but it seems like there's always someone to play with now!
  
  
• This ICly takes place while Gabedi is still Inselelo.

OOC Information

• There is no specific posting order, and you are free to post as many times as you would like. Interact with your fellow players!
  
  
• This will be a primarily community-driven RP with several posts intended to come from the mule, Meepfur or Quaji.
  
  
• This is open for any cub or adolescent SoA that is part of the pride. Adolescents will need to not ICly be Zalwa yet to participate (so they can't ICly be Umzingeli).
  
  
• !! Due to this being (very) late, I am going to be extremely lenient on the aging here. I'm hoping this won't happen again. If you, or anyone else from the same litter, has roleplayed an OOC adult SoA as an IC adult, they are no longer eligible to come. However, if no one has RP'd a littermate as an IC adult, an OOC adult SoA, but still IC cub/adolescent, can come so long as they meet the above requirement! Make sure this is okay with the mother's owner first!
  
  
• For more information on the age of cubs, please refer to the mother's owner! Some cubs may be younger than their OOC art indicates in this ORP!
  
  
• There will be no IC stragglers. If you are posting late, it is assumed your SoA has been silent.
  
  
• There is no danger posting in this ORP.
  
  
• One post = one ticket, but you cannot earn more than one ticket.
  
  
• The option for more prizes may be available throughout the ORP.

Prizes

TBA  

[Quaji]

Tag. Oh of course! Gede quickly joined in for the fun, trying to avoid becoming it, as well as her cub feet could handle at least, but her own laughter was cut short as she ran into something, or rather someone. With an ungraceful "oomph", she fell onto her rump, her paws quickly rising to cover her heard before she was brave enough to peer at the thing she had hit.

A golden leg.

'Please not dad, please not dad..' She repeated in her head, but the sudden clearing of the figure's throat caused her head to raise meekly. It wasn't dad, instead it was her sister!


Ukwazi gave her younger sibling a half-hearted smile as she leaned down and nudged the young cub back onto her paws. Equally gold eye glanced over the group that had since arrived and it was well to see Udaka had since arrived too. She was a favorite with the youth of the pride, and Ukwazi knew all too well that she was not.

To keep the mood from souring, she spoke quickly, "My, it seems I arrived late. I hope you have not tired yourselves out yet. We can always postpone it, but there's no guarantee the elephants will be there tomorrow.."

The Umama feigned sadness, playing a forlorn look towards the outside of the protected territory of the pride. She hoped to reinvigorate the cubs' excitement for this Inqina, as she was sure some would definitely still be unsure or apprehensive about going.

_____________________________

[OOC]

This is a direct continuation of this ORP in the old guild! Instead of continuing it there, I brought it over here! Please do not repost any of your old posts. There is no need to!

I'm looking for one adult lioness to join Ukwazi and Udaka in hosting this Inqina. Ukwazi would have invited them the day before. Simply post, claiming this. You may edit your post after the fact if you want to include any roleplay response.

All events in the old thread are valid and this is directly continuing the events of this ORP where the one in the old guild left off. All posts located in the old guild are still valid and are still considered to be part of this RP, meaning you don't have to worry about your old posts not counting towards breeding! They're still in the same RP, just in different guilds!

All posts in the other thread will still count towards earning you your ticket towards any prize(s) this ORP will produce!  

[Excited Apathy]

(I'd like to toss Tufani at helping Ukwazi, because it's been far too long since I've played her!)  

[SilverLutz]

Sing was still in hot pursuit of her blue-tailed target, but the apperance of Ukwazi made her slam on the breaks. Her little paws dug into the dirt to bring her to a halt and she turned, tail high, to face the other female. She gave a startled yelp when the Umama suggested they might have tired themselves out, and she ran over to her to stand beside Gede, practically quivering in her place.

"No, we're not tired! We're ready to go!" she said earnestly, blue eyes bright with hope.

Quaji

No sooner had she turned to take up her place under the tree than the lioness that would be leading the group appeared. Grumbling quietly to herself, Umlotha turned to face the group and got close enough to hear, but not enough to be trampled by the cubs. She wanted to get on the road, already.

Njalo's friendly greeting made Udaka's fur stand on end a bit, especially when the floppy-maned lioness nudged her closer to the group of females. She cringed as she was called 'Uddy', the nickname rubbing her the wrong way. Still, she tried to remain as diplomatic as possible. It wasn't as if she meant to ostracize herself from the group. That was the exact opposite of what she was trying to do.

"I'll be helping, yes," she said, pausing when Ukwazi appeared. Thank the gods. "It seems we'll be leaving soon. I'm glad you enjoyed the hippo. I hope there will be more of that in the future."

Neon Fly

 

[Neon Fly]

With Uddy around Nja knows there will! Then the new cubs will be able to have some too! Njalo trilled happily, oblivious to the earthy female's discomfort at her overzealous affection. She looked about ready to say something else, mouth open, but when she caught sight of the golden Umama her attention abruptly swung toward Ukwazi. Her attention span as easily swayed as a feather in the breeze.

Umama Ukwazi! Chirping excitedly the muscular Umzingeli slipped around Udaka, leaving her near the lionesses corralling Ilanga's cubs. Addressing the female with the respectful title Simosihle had stressed she use towards others, even if her manner was more relaxed with the slate lioness. Sisi has sent Nja to help with the Inqina!

Puffing out her chest, marked by the white crescent which lay lazily upon it's side, the lioness grinned and surveyed the cubs scattered about. There were a lot more here than her own litter, that was for sure! Oh! Nja remembers!

Giggling at herself and the way most thoughts seemed to slip in and out of her head at their own leisure, Njalo pranced back to the rock where everyone had been expected to meet. With unsheathed claws the bubble-headed female began to scratch marks in the side of the boulder as she'd been taught to do, making a mark for each cub. This is how we will check to make sure all the cubs return safely!

She announced with a vivid smile, eager to be of use beyond her talents as a skilled huntress.

Quaji

SilverLutz

 

[Quaji]

Ukwazi, for one, was glad to have Njalo with her. She was by far a favorite amongst the cubs for her more...youthful personality, a stark contrast to the Umama's. The muddy lioness that she and everyone else knew as Udaka was a hero to some in her efforts during the pride's first Mkhulu. While she wasn't exactly her first choice of a partner for this grand adventure, but if something happened, having a skilled hunter alongside her and these cubs would prove useful. And then there was Tufani, a busisa and one who Ukwazi scarcely knew, but she was willing to help and Ukwazi would be glad for another body.

One thing she noted, making sure to bring up at a later date was the distinct lack of her sister's presence, but the show of her cubs thanks to their brother. It really ought to have been the red lioness to bring them, but she was shamed by her scandalous behavior and the results of it. Ukwazi would make sure she would do well not to repeat her mistake. Later though.

The golden lioness' body straightened as she looked over those gathered. With a soft chuff, she turned and began moving away from the gathered mothers, her pace leisurely to give all present time to catch up. Some cubs hardly needed the extra time as they leapt over small obstacles, tripping over their own paws to catch up and keep up with the Umama. It was time for final goodbyes as the group departed for the first Inqina in what seemed like ages now.



OCC
Right now the group is putting distance between them and the group that came to see them off. The first real start of this Inqina tonight at roughly 9PM CST, which will include a dice roll!

I'm sorry it took so long to get off the ground, but we've got some really neat stuff planned for everyone. <3  

[SilverLutz]

The tiny cub held her ground for a few moments as the adults gathered a bit closer. She glanced around at the other cubs that were getting ready to follow the Umama and she nearly danced on the spot while waiting to head out. Finally Ukwazi began to move and Sing had to try very, very hard not to charge ahead of her. They should stay behind her so nothing bad happened to them.

"Woo! Bye everyone!" she said over her shoulder to the adults and very young cubs who were staying behind. She thrust out her chest proudly and held her tail high as she fell into step behind Ukwazi.

Umlotha hung to the back of the group of cubs, not wanting to be so close she seemed too eager but not far enough behind to get lost. She glanced around to make sure there was at least one adult behind her before setting into a slow pace, not wanting to lose too much energy from the get-go.

As Ukwazi shifted to lead the group off, Udaka hung to the back to make sure all the cubs were falling into step. She set off once they all were a few yards ahead of her, wanting to keep an eye on them from the rear. Having one lioness at the front, one at the back, and two on either side was probably the best way to keep the cubs contained.

Neon Fly

Quaji

 

[ShinosBee]

Ukubala had been hanging back so far, just watching the other cubs with interest. She had been dreaming of the day she could get out of the den and see the world for, well, forever! But now that it was here, she was realizing that the world was a loooot bigger than she'd guessed. Okay, so it wasn't like she hadn't been around others before, but just thinking about leaving the pride to where anything could happen? It was a little scary and a lot exciting for a young cub! She'd tucked herself into the long grass after being dropped off with the others, content to watch until the time came to move out.

A feeling of do-or-die came over her little brown self then, and out of her little hiding spot she popped like a startled hare. She wasted no time with farewells—all the important stuff was out there, ahead of her! "Did you say elephants?" She all but squealed as she scrambled to pull up near Ukwazi, little paws nearly running to keep pace with the much larger female while going over roots, around stones, and so on. "We're gonna see elephants? A-awesome...!"  

[Neon Fly]

While Ukwazi called the cubs to follow her like the pied piper of the Bonelands young and they bobbled to fall in step, some in lines like ducklings and others in small clusters like bees, Njalo busily scratched lines in the giraffe shaped rock. One for each cub she counted. Only when she was certain she'd counted all of them, followed up by Udaka at the rear, did she bounce off the hard surface to catch up.

Jogging to fill the open gap on the right side of the cluster so that their little band of adventures were closed in on all sides, she grinned wide at the chatter about elephants, excited to see the great, grey beasts for herself too.  

[Tanakako]

Sanele just grinned as her friend climbed heavily off of her, inclining her head to the darker female as Udaka approached close before starting to round up the many young cubs darting about. Beside her Maditah was watching the goings on with interest, ears pricked as she listened in that calm, wise way she had. As if she was both experiencing something new and yet felt everything was timeless. Sanele assumed it was the mix of her mature age, after all the female had birthed many litters before joining the Ithambo, and her relative newness to the pride she now resided within.

For her part, Ilanga was content to simply watch the event unfold while her own cubs were safely contained. Though she knew it wouldn't be that long before they were old enough to start causing a little mayhem of their own.



Musa had caught sight of the golden Umama even as he darted away from another cub, skittering round the legs of another lioness as he tried to avoid being tagged again. Reluctantly slowing up only after making sure his tagging chaser had also stopped, he trotted right up to the large female with a bright grin. "No one is even a little bit tired!" He chirped excitedly, large paws doing a clumsy dance in the dirt as if to prove his point. Turning obediently to follow as the all started to head in one direction he lifted his head in excitment. "Elephants!" He crowed. "I bet we can easily being one down!" Excited he trotted faster, pushing his way towards the head of the column of cubs.




Ishaka'sil spotted her sister sneaking about in the grass but was far too busy trying to out-run her persuer. When Sing suddenly slithered to a dusty halt Ishaka slowed, looping round to lightly swot her sibling on the rump before trotting on to catch up with the gathering bunch of youngsters. Setting herself up near the head of the line as she peered forwards, towards the horizon. Though she looked sideways at Musa as the young male came up along side her. "Don't be stupid! Stupid." She scoffed as she stuck her nose into his neck, making him yell. "Elephants are way too big for us. Everyone knows that."



Cashile hung back with some of the other, calmer, cubs but stayed close enough to the group that she was soon hurried along with the rest. Falling into step obediently she looked about for her sister, only relaxing when Sizani ran up and fell in beside her. The brighter red of Sizani's fur brushed against her brown-hued sister as the pair padded along, talking and giggling to each other as they debated on what they wouod see and what was going to happen on this trip. Sizani was excited and eager to be going, while her more reserved sibling was worried about what might go wrong. But the presence of the adults, one of which being the sisters favourite Umzingeli Njalo, helped to reassure Cashile about the whole thing.  

[Excited Apathy]

Arriving shortly before the group started moving, Tufani flipped her white forelock out of her eyes as she took a position to one side. With Umama Ukwazi leading and the remaining lionesses loosely surrounding, danger could--hopefully--be intercepted. There was also the not-inconsiderable benefit of keeping the small herd of cubs somewhat contained! Even she found herself pricking her ears at the talk of elephants, though it was mingled with apprehension. If the cubs didn't show the good sense to keep a safe distance even in their excitement, the handful of lionesses would have their paws full.

Mhloshana shot one last quick look back at her mother before nearly tripping over her own paws to catch up with the group. Wait, what, elephants? What were those...? Trying to listen even harder, she gathered that they were "way too big" and not much else. "How big are they?" she asked in a loud voice, glancing around expectantly. "Bigger than the Abaholi?"

SilverLutz

Neon Fly

Quaji

 

[Quaji]

Ukwazi glanced to Mhloshana and nodded with a mischievous smile unlike her normal personality. "Much larger, over twice their size easily when they're full grown."

As the minutes passed and the distance between the pride and them grew into passing hours, Ukwazi visibly became more alert. She would glance over her shoulder, scanning the grass for any movement. At some points she held her breath at the sound of the brush shifting only to see on of the cubs come tumbling out. It was gun-wrenching to say the least to be a part of this and she could hardly understand why other lionesses wanted to do this.

Turning her head to address the cubs, she called out, "Keep an eye out and stay in pairs of with one of us." Us obviously meaning the other three adult lionesses that would be chaperoning the Inqina. The call was also intended for Njalo, Udaka and Tufani.

OOC
For every cub you have participating, you can roll 1 6-sided dice! There is a corresponding prompt for each number!

1. You don't see anything interesting while walking. Bummer. : (
2. You find a really cool, shiny rock! It's a nice orange/yellow color. Ukwazi tells you it's called "amber" and came from tree resin a long time ago. You can either keep it or leave it.
3. Ooo! FLOWERS! A fairly uncommon thing to see in the Ithambo, but this one is really interesting looking! They have long, large and spiny leaves, but the flowers are really tall! Ukwazi mentions they're called "aloe" and that apparently rubbing a broken leaf on a wound is supposed to help. She also mentions that apparently the sap is useful for stomach aches.
4. You spot some dots waaaaaay on the horizon, but only after jumping on a rock, much to Gede's disapproval. You can't make out the color though...everything looks the same that far away.
5. Is that an elephant you see?! No...maaaaan. It was just some tree. A big tree though! Ukwazi tells you it's still young actually, only roughly the size of an adult bull elephant, but that they can grow nearly five times that! They're called baobab trees and the fruit is extremely useful as it's really good for you, but they're hard to get to that high up. Apparently they gathering places for elephants during the dry seasons though.
6. You find a neat bug! It's red and black and...oh no! It's a stink bug!

 

[SilverLutz]

Sing pranced along after the Umama, grinning at the hoard of cubs around her. This was going to be so much fun! Elephants and who knew what else! She was sure her mother was worried sick with the thought of her cubs out here in 'danger', but even good ol' mom had been young once and had ventured out like Sing was now to get to know the land they lived in.

As she walked, a bug caught her eye. "Ooooh...so cool!" she said, leaning down to look better at it. The bug wasn't too thrilled with the encroaching cub and it quickly ruffled its wings to try to keep her away.

---

"I wouldn't sniff that if I were you," Umlotha said as she slowly caught up to the frozen cub, wrinkling her nose at the memory of one she had found when she was very young. "Those smell bad. And taste bad."

She flicked her tail as she walked on, not at all impressed with the find. She'd rather get her sights on something like a hyena or a leopard, something that was dangerous. She wanted to know what she'd be up against when she got older and had to defend herself and the pride. So far nothing seemed to be within eyesight, though, which was disappointing.

---

Udaka reached Sing and gave the little brown cub's bum a bump with her nose. "Come on then, can't have you lagging behind," she said, her voice gruff but somehow warm. She wasn't an affectionate lioness by any means but she wasn't out to get the entire next generation of the pride to dislike her. She had earned the respect of the adults, now it was time to do the same for the cubs. She didn't want to have the younger generation thinking she was all bite.