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 Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2016 7:19 pm
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This many lions, believing...that. Even if they didn't outright think it, they supported it with their presence. Yueyun's stomach twisted. "But if he hadn't, he couldn't have given the low class something more to do...to be," he protested weakly as he kept trying to maintain distance from the lioness he was starting to think of as "the crazy one." His dad had done good things. He had! The princeling knew the history--or at least, the dry details. Who'd been monarch when, how they'd died. His father's predecessors had been the latest assassinations of several. But there'd been peace since then...hadn't there? "And things have been good..."
But maybe not for much longer, he realized with a sinking feeling. Those discontent had been biding their time, gathering their strength. And now they were secure enough to gather openly, relaxed and cheerful. Asking for his support as though it were perfectly reasonable. Was it? The Great Lion's favor was important, and he wasn't sure how to defend the apparent offense given to their deity.
The look he gave the Hunt Leader as she pulled the crazy one away was pure gratitude. It was hard enough to sort through this, to grapple with the import of it, without such a fervent zealot right there in his face.
---
"Interesting," Nyota mused, watching the exchange with her tail slowly swishing behind her. "He does not, at least, seem to share the arrogance of his sire." She didn't hold much hope for turning the prince against his own father, but stranger things had happened. The blue lioness lifted an eyebrow as she overheard Ota and Kamia's exchange, but didn't comment on it. She did, however, wonder what they'd make of both--or neither--of the young males joining them.
---
Bumping against Umepatwa's shoulder in a rough and jovial fashion, Tamaa grinned at Fasbesa. "The more the merrier! Welcome to our grand and righteous rebellion." He was riding high on the apparent success of the evening so far. At least one recruit already, and even one of the princes listening to them! This was going even better than he'd hoped--maybe they'd even recruit the prince, at this rate.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2016 3:01 pm
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Neema didn't spare a glance for Iki'renkli when she claimed her sister and forced her out of the immediate conversation, though she was appreciative. There was no going back at this point, Nyeusi was a big part of all of this.. but she was still a lot to throw at the doubtful, which probably explained her less than stellar success recruiting for her cause.
"Do you feel powerless, your highness?" she asked, making a point of continuing to address the prince with the proper respect, "Do you not think, if you had a reasonable suggestion for the good of the pride, a cause you truly believed in.. that, with a supportive father- or in Shangyue's case, a supportive grandmother- that you could be heard?"
She paused, considering the suggestion that the Royal Guards were truly for the good of the pride.
"His appointment of a leader for the low class is commendable," she said thoughtfully, "But the creation of the Royal Guards was motivated entirely by selfishness. A king should not hide behind an army of slaves."
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 2:16 pm
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Fasbesa grinned at the two. This seemed like a pleasant group, he was glad. Of course, he knew his dad wouldn't be happy at all with his actions, but that was something he will deal with if his father finds out.. Well, rather when he finds out was more correct. He slightly dreaded it, but the thought got put out of his head the moment it got there.
"You have my full support." it was decided! Fasbesa wasn't one to back down from something he decided. Even if it wasn't well thought out, but hey... Gotta take risks from time to time, even if you didn't understand everything. If his father taught him one thing, it was once you go with something, you stay to it. Though perhaps, his father would disagree with which side he decided on.
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 5:45 pm
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Kimondo sighed in relief when Nketa appeared behind her, offering a cheerful (if somewhat strained) smile to her friend. She hadn't been expecting to find Antara here, it made it so much harder to hide who Nketa was.. but only if someone noticed there were two of them here. That said.. she had a feeling the twins would be happiest to see each other, not the rest of the pride.
"Do you want me to go get her?" she asked in a hushed voice, "Ume and Ndogo are drawing too much attention to themselves.. you could go hide with our moms and I'll send her over.."
She glanced to where Ota and Kamia were chit-chatting and watching the goings-on with the unexpected noble guests. They seemed to be staying out of trouble, though she knew that was in part because Ume was determined to be the face of the rebellion, in part for his own goal and in part to keep attention off of them. Antara, too, seemed to be staying outside of the center.
Ume glanced to Tamaa and put on a grin to match, waiting for Fasbesa to give in.. and he was pleased to have him agree. It was only one recruitment, and even if it was all they accomplished tonight.. if he was sincere, it was a pretty big win. The more they got from Shangyue's apparent side, the stronger and more convincing they would be to the rest.
"Glad to have you!" he said, giving Tamaa a shove and switching sides so he stood with Fasbesa, "That there is Tamaa, and Isibongo is back there--"
He looked around.
"There were more of us.."
Anaishi was around somewhere, but that wasn't everybody here, was it?? Hmph.
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 6:40 pm
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The brown lion had been moving to help his sane granddaughter restrain and pull aside the insane one when Nyota spoke again. Uchanjaa cursed inwardly as Nyeusi turned her mad gaze on Iki'renkli, but gave his attention back to the blue lioness beside him.
"We can only hope that he remains that way. Excuse me, but I think I might need to interfere," he informed Nyota, and began making his way towards his relatives.
"Take your paws off me, Iki'renkli!" the older lioness commanded, turning on her sister. "Didn't Mother and Father teach you not to interrupt someone's conversation? Or do you think your fancy position of Hunt Leader, which exists only because of Shangyue, gives you the right to order me around? Or worse, your class? Be careful of abusing the last one, because that's why Mother stopped Grandfather from killing the new King."
For all the ranting and raving Nyeusi had done over the past couple years and her unkempt appearance, the blue eyes glaring at her younger sister looked perfectly level and sane. For once.
Catching sight of their grandfather's distinctive fur, brown against all the black, white, and blue, Nyeusi raised her head to look directly at him.
"And are you going to try to stop me too?"
Iki'renkli was stunned into silence, her paw held in the air, no longer touching Nyeusi, but not returned to the earth, as if she had forgotten it entirely. That was, without a doubt, the most sensible speech she had heard from her sister in her whole life. Which had made the bottom drop out of the young Hunt Leader's universe. Nyeusi was insane. The entire pride knew it.
So why did her words make such horrific sense? And was that really why Mother and Grandpa wouldn't talk? Iki supposed that Nyeusi would have been alive then...but it was an amazingly astute observation. The darker lioness' mouth gaped to reply...something...but then her sister spoke again. Iki'renkli turned to see her grandfather approaching, the lion she hadn't spoken to since he'd refused to provide the answer Nyeusi ahd just laid before her.
Nketa was silent for several long moments, watching the various lions, listening to snippets of conversations. Some were more intense than others, some were very subtle, some were nonexistent. There were a couple groups that seemed to be more active and drawing more attention, while others were just a couple of lions standing near each other.
"I want to...but is it safe? There's so many here...and no one looks quite like us. How could they miss us if we were next to each other?" she murmured worriedly. She might have long since grown sick and tired of the restrictions in her life, but she didn't want to endanger her sister foolishly. |
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:33 pm
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Neema's conversation with Yueyun was cut short but the loud and alarmingly lucid command Nyeusi gave her younger sister as she tried to pull her away from the crowd. And then her eyes drifted to Uchanjaa when he approached and was also called out by the lioness. She blinked, and stared.
They had avoided confrontation with the prince, the royal guard, Tyfu's son and Fasrin's son.. and yet now, Nyeusi was ready to fight.. and it was with her own family.
Ume was caught off guard by the sudden shouting, turning his gaze to the lioness he had been (happily!) humoring. He didn't say anything, but his eyes moved between the three of them before searching for his mother- where Ota was sure to be. Would she step in to calm her family down?
Neither Ota nor Kamia moved from where they were, though they were watching-- but Vesper seemed to appear out of nowhere to stand by Nyeusi when she started shouting. It could be mere coincidence that he had chosen this moment to check in on the strike (he was supposed to stay on patrol and act natural) or it could be that the Great Lion was watching out for her. Either way, he was first to join her cause and among the first to defend her after all the time he had spent listening to her.
"Nyeusi," he said, moving along until he was standing at her side and between her and Uchanjaa, "Are you OK?"
Kimondo was thrown off by her father's sudden appearance but she was too distracted dealing with Nketa to worry about it. They came so far and Antara was so close.. but was she right to worry? They could, perhaps, meet away from the crowd now that there were both here.. but then if they were caught it definitely be impossible to fix.
"We're so close.. there must be a way!"
Their mothers would certainly disapprove of the risk but they would help.. but three lionesses, especially when one was still as short as Kimondo, could hardly provide cover for the twins. Ume and Ndogo were busy, everybody was busy..
She made a face.
"Maybe not, hmmm."
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Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 7:52 pm
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"You'll just have to owe it to me later," Nketa replied quietly, eyes on the three lions who were apparently having some sort of argument. The two black lionesses had to be related, they had too much in common otherwise, even though one looked like she hadn't slept for weeks and the ohter was as groomed as could be.
"Who are they?" she whispered, nosing towards the black lionesses and brown lion.
"Nyeusi, I haven't been able to stop you since the day you first embarked on this mad course," Uchanjaa told his granddaughter with resignation. "But is this really the time and place for this discussion? You've seen how everyone here agrees with you that Shangyue needs to be removed from power. Let's leave the private problems in private."
The Guard's words were calming and compelling. The question was whether or not Nyeusi would agree. He wanted to move close enough so that he and Iki'renkli could flank the Huntress, but Vesper's sudden and unexpected presence nixed that plan. Pale purple eyes narrowed as Uchanjaa eyed the other Guard. What was he doing here, and what relationship did he have with Nyeusi?
"I'm fine," the black lioness spat as she moved closer to Vesper. "But my family," she sneered the word, looking directly at her grandfather who'd come steadily closer as she did so, "seems to think that I should shut my yapping gob. As if our family drama is somehow more important than the fate of the pride!"
Nyeusi snorted and took a deliberate step away from her relatives. "The Great Lion sees all, and he judges us all, even though His back is turned because of Shangyue. And everyone knows He watches those born under His Blessings more than others. So I'm not the one who should be careful."
If someone had told Iki'renkli that the strike would attract a Royal Guard, a Prince, and one of Tyfu's offspring, she would have been concerned. If that same someone had then told her that those three lions would declare against Shangyue, she'd have been surprised, but conceded the remote possibility.
If that individual had then told her that she'd hear her mad sister speak sense and sound like any other lion in the pride, the Hunt Leader would have smacked them silly and sent them on a particularly long hunt in an area where game was scarce.
Her grandfather seemed perfectly accepting of Nyeusi's apparent sanity and was pleading with her to not bring their family baggage into the larger group. The Huntress was apparently having none of it and was retreating with a handy Guard who seemed to support her.
Iki couldn't fathom it, couldn't handle it. The black lioness turned her back on her family and determined to bring her full attention to what Umepatwa was trying to accomplish. At least he still seemed to make sense. |
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 3:49 pm
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Kimondo sighed, watching the bickering crowd as it tore her friend's attention away from the task at hand. She was related to every single one of them, of course, and she didn't know where to begin answering the question Nketa asked about who they were. There was a long story behind the whole lot of them.
"Cousins of mine," she murmured, lifting a paw but not quite making it to her own chest to point out the shared (partial) marking between her and the sisters, "And the one with the wings is my dad."
She winced as Nyeusi condemned her family for interfering in what she firmly believed to be a cause worthy of her fervor. She didn't realize it, but she held her breath, watching.
"No, this isn't the place to have a private argument, but this is the place Nyeusi belongs," Vesper said stubbornly, looking at Uchanjaa as he attempted to end the personal conversation, "She alone has been a voice for the rebellion when it needed one, a reminder that not everybody had to put up with what the king has done-- is doing. She's not alone now. Let her be."
He looked from Uchanjaa to Iki'renkli, and then back to Nyeusi. It was barely a simplification, even knowing how Ota and Kamia had been slowly building up their support for so long. Subtlety was not one of Nyeusi's strengths, she had kept the idea of a rebellion on the minds of everybody- including the king. Sometimes it made it harder, convincing supporters that it wasn't a the crazed fantasy of a madwoman, but Vesper was confident it was for the best.
"Don't get too carried away," he chided Nyeusi, wearing an approving smile, "It's not so easy to turn a son against his father. You can lead without force, you should know that by now."
Ota and Kamia watched in silence, though Ota was beaming. She couldn't help but feel a small twinge of jealousy when Vesper stood up for Nyeusi like that, but she knew better. Her greatest concern with Nyeusi had always been her safety, it had only been because of Vesper that she had stopped to appreciate what she was accomplishing.. however loudly and dangerously. They were both thoroughly distracted from the prince and the others.
Neema watched as Vesper stepped in to defend Nyeusi, causing as much fuss in the process as he was trying to prevent. It took her a minute to realize Yueyun was staring at her, evidently hit hard by something that had been said. She smiled sadly at him, unable to imagine what it must be like to have your entire world view shattered. It gave her hope for the royal family. Nobody talked about it, but getting rid of Shangyue was only part of the battle to come.
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Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 4:22 pm
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Nketa blinked at Kimondo's descriptions. She supposed she could see a vague relationship between her friend and the black lionesses, but not more than that. The white lion being Kimondo's father made a lot more sense.
"They don't look much like you," the purple female finally said aloud. "But what are they arguing about? I know we all want to get rid of..." not her father, "....Shangyue...but that doesn't seem to be all they're talking about?" Get rid of the King was something Nketa could grasp. The rest, along with all these people, was going over her head.
Uchanjaa was surprised at how strongly Vesper supported Nyeusi. Had she managed to persuade him to support her mad view of the pride? It certainly sounded that way. The Guard had to admit that he hadn't thought her words would have swayed anyone, given their presentation.
"I am simply concerned that my granddaughters not engage in a catfight in public," he informed the younger Guard with dignity. "As for the rest, we all know why we're here." With that, the brown lion stepped closer to his other grandchild.
"Iki'renkli? Are you okay?" He reached out a paw to comfort her.
"Don't touch me!" Iki snapped, batting Uchanjaa's paw away in an unconscious imitation of her older sister's reaction just minutes earlier. The black female was scared, frustrated, and off-balance after what had just happened, and already in a stressful position by being the only Hunt Leader present to lend legitimacy to the strike.
She'd thought this would be a simple political statement. Nothing personal. Nothing family. She hadn't expected her grandfather to show up, but it made sense, given what she knew about his past. She had expected Nyeusi to be there, because the mad lioness was a Huntress. Nothing else had been as she'd thought though, and the black lioness began to retreat to the edges of the gathering, uncertain if she could bear to stay longer.
Nyeusi snorted at her grandfather's reply to Vesper. But it wasn't worth arguing. The old has-been hadn't done anything since Mother had stopped him from killing Shangyue, and it was even odds whether or not he'd do anything again.
The lioness did appreciate Vesper's support, especially since he had been her first convert, back when all of this started. Still, she gave him an amused look at his comment about sons and fathers.
"Is it now? Seems that all it takes is the right motivation. Look at my own family," she told him, gesturing at the two who were trying to come to terms with the changes wreaked on their worldviews. |
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2016 5:29 pm
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Kimondo frowned, wondering how to condense the kind of family drama they were going through into a single, concise sentence but she was at a loss for words- and somewhat distracted listening to her father defend Nyeusi.
"Everybody is on the same side, they just can't agree on the path to their goal," she said, glancing from the argument to Nketa. It was a long story but it seemed like they had the time while they couldn't approach any of their intended targets for the evening.
"Uchanjaa tried to stop Shangyue from officially becoming king, but his daughter- their mother-" she gestured to Nyeusi and where Iki'renkli had been standing, not realizing she had left, "She was part of the effort to stop him. Halili and Orion are slaves, Orion is one of the royal guards now.. he's both of our cousin."
There was so much family drama that Nketa had missed out on by not being raised in the pride. She was only tangentially connected to Uchanjaa and his family, but she did have more than one direct connection to the royal guards. As did Kimondo.
"Nyeusi has been speaking loudly and earnestly against the king for as long as I can remember," she went on, "I don't know about the other, but she's here supporting us.. so they are all on the same side.."
Her frown deepened.
"This didn't happen overnight," Vesper reminded Nyeusi with a sad smile, inadvertently echoing Kimondo as he continued, "We're all on the same side, we all want the same thing. We can't fight amongst ourselves."
It was bound to happen, of course, they were still all individuals and many came from large families with unavoidable history and conflict.. but tonight really wasn't about them. He might agree with Uchanjaa on that, but he definitely framed it in support of Nyeusi. He firmly believed she ought to stay.
"Let's go see if there's anybody who hasn't heard the Word," he said, turning so his back was to Uchanjaa and attempting to guide Nyeusi away from the conflict, "Have the boys been kind to you tonight? I hope Umepatwa and Ndogo know better."
They weren't his sons but he was involved enough with the family (thanks to Ota) that he thought of them. And they were his cousins.
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2016 5:50 pm
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Nketa's eyes grew wide as Kimondo related the history of the familial argument. Now some of the bits she'd heard made more sense, but she wasn't entirely certain why they'd done the things they did.
"I'm glad they're all on the same side, but I'm still having trouble understanding a lot of it. I think it's the classes that confuse me most," she admitted quietly. They didn't have classes in Meshach's camp, and even though the purple lioness knew she herself had been born to the high class, which was why her father had raided the camp and (mistakenly) taken Antara with him.
But that knowledge was intellectual, and Nketa had no experience with which to flesh out that knowledge. Just like she wasn't entirely certain about the entire "slave" thing. It was simply something that she'd never known.
Uchanjaa withdrew his paw as Iki'renkli reacted and retreated. It hurt to see her in such confusion, but his grandchildren were adults in their own right, able to make their own decisions and hold their own opinions. He wanted to help, but the brown lion honestly didn't know what he could do to be of assistance.
Frankly, he wasn't entirely certain himself what was going on with Nyeusi. Her behavior though, reminded him of when she'd been a mischevious child, always causing trouble and breaking the rules her parents set for her.
Could it be that her broken mind had recovered? The timing was...suspicious...
"Win the war first, then squabble over the spoils?" Nyeusi mused aloud as Vesper reminded her that they were supposed to be helping each other. She didn't particularly need a share herself, but he was right and she shouldn't torment her kin just because she could.
"If they're here, other than the young Prince, I'd be surprised if they haven't heard the Word," she said at last. "But yes, they've been fairly polite. Nobody's stared at me as if I was insane besides Yuenyun."
The black lioness did not see any irony at all in her last sentence. |
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