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 Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 11:30 am
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The welcoming roar sent a shiver through Khazine, who grinned through her grip on the pelt and picked up her pace, forcing Sinir to walk faster as well to avoid spilling their haul. Once they were within speaking distance, the two set down their burden - the lighter with more care than the darker, for the dappled adolescent was suddenly in a hurry. Sinir rolled her eyes and shook her head, sitting beside the pelt and the little pile of fangs and claws sitting atop the bloody skin. It was a decision she quickly regretted, as it exacerbated the pain in her broken tail; rather than get up again, however, she simply scowled and gritted her teeth.
Khazine approached the rock formation with the orange lioness atop it and her great aunt beside it, her bloodied head slightly lowered. What remained of her left ear twitched and flicked away annoyingly persistent flies, the motion accompanied by an increase in the dull pain of the injury, but those flies were damned annoying. "Anti," she began with a small smile, "I told you I'd be back."
Sabit was glad for the chance to stop, and gladder still for the chance to unceremoniously shrug off her burden, letting the carcass fall to the ground. Though its claws and some of its teeth had been removed, it was otherwise intact; no one had bothered to strip the adolescent of his unremarkable gray pelt, only expending the effort on more striking specimens. For her part, the spiky-haired lioness hadn't taken any trophies for herself, never having been partial to the tradition. She wasn't one who enjoyed fighting, but fought because she saw it as her duty. Truthfully, she could have left the Qyrhyeshti as soon as her life-debt had been paid, and again when they left the desert, but these were her friends, and she would be with them until the end.
She sat down with an uncomfortable grunt, wincing at the sharp pain of her injured leg when she did so. Damn. That was going to get old.
As they reached the outer edges of the pride, Nesf kept right on walking, head and trophy held high as she made her way towards the leading males, expecting anyone in her way to move; she was, after all, wearing a bloody pelt and carrying the head of its original owner. She stopped several feet short of the Abaholi and threw the severed head on the ground before them. It rolled a short distance and fell over sideways, tongue lolled out on the dusty ground.
"It is done."
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 1:06 pm
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 1:31 pm
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Mazuri suddenly had very little interest in her sister or the notion of hunting when other lionesses began to roar. Her head swiveled around as she looked towards the older lionesses with great interest. There was a group approaching. She recognized a few pelts, but hadn't been allowed to go up an interact with them, for they were older and larger than she, the last time they had visited. The cub didn't know why they were there, who they were, or why exactly they had come and left only to return.
Clambering over various lionesses, Mazuri went to go investigate what was going on. Usually the cub was shy, but these lions were so new! She just couldn't help herself. When she saw what they carried however, she blanched. These lionesses, however new and exciting, were carrying hyena remains. She let out a distressed mew and tried to back up only to bump into Mhloshana. Looking up at the adolescent lioness apologetically, Mazuri stumbled behind the pale lioness and then asked her.
"'shana, what's going on?" In timid tones.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 1:42 pm
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Nomvula looked up at the oncoming lionesses with concern. She, like the majority of the pride, had been keeping out of the pressing heat. She couldn't imagine these lions having to be tasked with such a grizzly job only to have to return to this heat and to bear such burdens. If Nomvula had her way, she would invite them to join her in the shade and allow them to stay as long as they pleased. While they would certainly mean more mouths to feed, she couldn't help but want to assist them. After all, they must have come such a long way to find some form of other companionship from the Rogue lands, as Nomvula herself had done.
But unfortunately, she was unable to offer these lionesses such things, for it was not her place to do so. It was her job to bow her head to the lionesses who had been in the pride longer than she and help her sisters hunt whenever she could, which was often. Still... If these lionesses were permitted to stay, she would do her best to make them feel welcome, even in these harsh times and so she rose to her paws and padded towards were her pride began to gather to receive the newcomers.
----
Safura glanced at the simple-minded Nomvula and rolled her eyes soon after. She was looking at the newcomers with such pity in her gaze. It was as though she only saw them as new friends to make, not as powerful allies... Or enemies. She followed Nomvula to get a better view only to stop by Su and observe the others with appraisal in her eyes.
"Well, this has certainly become more intriguing." She remarked to no one in particular. |
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 1:49 pm
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Nur returned with her group of sisters, although she didn't carry any sort of trophy other than bleeding marks that adorned her already scarred hide. The pale lioness didn't take much enjoyment out of wearing things that would weigh her down or get in the way of her battling. The new wounds were more than enough for her in terms of proof of her victories.
The roars were a surprise, she had to admit. It seemed in their absence the Boneland females had warmed up to them considerably, even more so than the few that had spoken up for them had when they had first arrived. She grinned, her muzzle bloody from the battle, and let out a roar of her own in greeting. This was more like it!
---
Tawa heard the roars as he approached the gathering of females and a frown crossed his face. They were joyful roars, triumphant ones, not those of rage or battle. It seemed the group of lionesses that had been sent out to deal with the hyenas had succeeded. He paused a safe distance from the females he knew, tail flicking back and forth.
A quick glance to the side had him spot Andhaka, also keeping his distance. He hesitated just a moment before padding over to the other red male, although he didn't join him on the group. He remained on his feet.
"Seems they've succeeded," he said quietly. "I have to admit I'm a bit surprised at the speed in which they did so."
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 6:21 pm
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 7:32 pm
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As the group neared, Yithemba watched. She watched their interactions and the reactions given by the group. Baie's mood seemed significantly different than it had been before, she noticed. The lioness looked to the males and her gaze lingered briefly. It seemed as though they were keeping a distance away. So be it. Her gaze was caught by Nesf as she walked by towards the Abholi. It was hard not to by caught up by the sight--a lioness with a full hyena head. It was gruesome, but at the same time Yi couldn't help but find the entire scene to be exhilarating.
The Umzingeli moved forward towards the group as they approached, looking the individuals over, considering both their wounds and their trophies. After a moment of consideration she approached Sabit, a smile playing on her face as she moved towards the dark-pelted female. "Congratulations," she murmured welcomingly, glancing down to the carcass Sabit brought before looking back to the short-haired lioness. Yi considered the lioness for a moment. All these Qyrhyeshti, they must have been quiet the fighters. Even with their thinning herds, perhaps they would be an asset afterall.
"Your leg," she started after a moment pause, looking towards where she noticed the lioness sporting a limp before meeting her back in the eye, "Do you need assistance?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 1:13 pm
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 4:48 pm
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The trophy head thrown before them was a gruesome sight, delivered with a certain dramatic finality and flair, but it was also more than just proof: together with all the other spoils the Qyrhyeshti had collected, it was a very pointed show of strength, and Andhaka recognized it for what it was. It was not just evidence that the newcomers were worthy allies, but powerful enemies, just in case they were considering backing out of the deal that they'd made; they hadn't been considering that, but if they had, the display would certainly have given him pause.
The blood-red Umholi dipped his head low in acknowledgement of the blood-spattered foreigner. "Welcome," he said simply, "Busisa. You've done us a great service, and it won't be forgotten." He made a slight motion with his head then, indicating the gathered pride. "You should rest, and get to know your new sisters."
After the debacle the other day, he was reluctant to look or sound too authoritative, but every bit as cautious about not making it clear that the strangers would have no further issues from the Abaholi. Hopefully he had managed to land somewhere in the middle. Once Nesf had turned away, he nodded in response to Tawa'shilah. "They were quite efficient, but then, they were also quite eager. We'll see if they integrate as well as they fought."
_____
A far cry from her daughter's relative disinterest, Wodi didn't hesitate to go right up to her great-granddaughter to get a good look at the girl, grunting in agreement at Thuli's assessment of the adolescent's minor injuries. "Adds character," she determined, putting a far gentler, more affectionate paw to Khazine's head than she had at their initial meeting. "If we had more water and fewer crocodiles, I'd say you should soak it, but a good grooming will have to do."
_____
Ukuthula, meanwhile, did little more than sit and stare with critical, narrowed eyes. Her granddaughter was in one piece, as far as she could tell from here, so she got points for surviving the fight with the hyenas. How much fighting had she actually done, though, or had the adults done the bulk of it and shielded the young ones to some extent? She was curious to know, and perhaps even a little jealous of the opportunity to kill something that wasn't just another preybeast. Hunting was dangerous, of course, but there was something so much more thrilling about the prospect of fighting something else with teeth and claws and fire. The redpelts with their practice fights at the outpost didn't count.
_____
Uheshe was torn. She was deeply curious about her niece and the new arrivals, but looked back at her mother for a moment, who still refused to budge. And it seemed Khazine was already getting plenty of attention from Wodi and Thulisile, so there was no need for the Umzingeli to trip over herself to go and meet her young relative. Interesting that her brother had been the first of their litter to reproduce, but also interesting that he'd had only a single child - had it been just the one from the beginning, or had their been others? If so, what had happened to them? And what about the mother - was it one of these lionesses? She bore such a resemblance to the Bonelands branch of her family that it was impossible to tell.
She had so many questions, and she wanted to ask them! The palomino lioness had to remind herself to practice restraint; perhaps she would speak to Khazine later, after the others were done fussing over her.
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 5:14 pm
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Nesf returned the Umholi's nod with one of her own, much less comfortable with all of this official, diplomatic stuff than she had been killing hyenas or carrying severed heads, and she for one was glad that he kept his approval short and sweet. Leaving the head where it lay, she turned her attention back to the orange lioness who had been so upset with the males on the last occasion that they'd met, and who had offered a welcome as the sandy lioness passed by to deliver her trophy - which, quite frankly, she was glad to be done with, and she looked forward to getting the taste out of her mouth in the near future.
"Thank you," she said, with a hint of awkwardness. Being new was, well, new and unfamiliar territory.
_____
"It's not that bad," Khazine was quick to insist, "It's just i-" Whap. The dappled youth flinched and ducked her head instinctively, but in truth the latest blow from her great-grandmother was just a gentle little tap, all affection and no reprimand. She did perk up, however, at the suggestion that her disfigured ear added character, a wide grin brightening her expression. "You think so? They're my first scars!"
_____
While her cousin was examined by the family she'd only just met, Sinir suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and occuppied herself by starting to paw through their assorted little treasures. They'd collected a significant number, enough for everyone who'd fought to have a share if they wanted; if they didn't, maybe some of their new pride would want one or two? Then again, they'd done all the work, so why should they share? Unless...maybe they could trade, or something. After all, they would need something to string the fangs and claws on, maybe even with a nice stone or something...
While she thoguht, however, the throbbing pain in her tail became more and more annoying, and so finally she flopped down outright, deliberately bumping Kasirga when she did so.
_____
Sabit was visibly surprised when one of the native lionesses approached and asked if she needed any assistance, and was just as clearly unsure as to how she should respond. Finally, her awkward answer was, "Got bit. Feels funny, doesn't move quite right." By her tone and shrug, she didn't seem terribly concerned. "You a healer?"
All the lionesses who'd followed Umkhombo from the desert were muharip, no tabip at all. She hadn't given it much thought at the time, but it was damn inconvenient now.
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 8:15 pm
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That was it, then. If the males had persisted in giving them difficulty, Baysan would have borne a grudge. But the matter was settled, and it was settled in the Qyrhyeshti's favor. The dun-marked lioness would take the "win" along with her new scars and let it go. Nesf had had a nice dramatic touch with the head, too...she couldn't help but wonder what was running through the Abaholi's heads after that. Probably realizing it was a bad idea to piss them off, if they had any brains at all.
Settling her haunches on the ground, she began to clean some of her deeper wounds, appearing utterly unconcerned with whether or not her new pride-sisters approached her. Her ears kept swiveling around, however, alert for anything in her vicinity.
---
Huh. Well, that was easy. Yikma flopped down near her sisters, shaking her head to shoo off what flies hadn't been temporarily unsettled by the action. "Looks like there won't be a fight about it," she remarked, sounding almost disappointed by this. She figured they'd be easier than the hyenas, since only the males fought much here, and she'd take their group against a few males and whatever handful of females could fight any day. Would these lionesses even fight, if it came down to it? Or did they only ever hunt?
Her tattered ears twitched again...she had a feeling the flies were going to drive her half-mad before they healed. Infernal buzzing!
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