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 Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 7:35 pm
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Ud was surveying those gathered with interest when a male approached him a bit abruptly and spoke to him. He blinked in surprise and turned to the other lion, taking in the markings and the bright yellow pelt. He'd fit right in with the Firekin!
"Ud," he replied, finally remembering that he'd been asked a question. He put on a smile and shifted his weight a little to face the lion a bit better. "What's yours?" Although his question was blunt as the other male's had been, the tone of voice was a bit more friendly and curious. Ud's youth lended itself to him where social situations were concerned.
Kuzimu remained still as a statue as two lions approached her, her eyes tracking their movements even though nothing else moved. She studied them silently after the female spoke and the male bobbed his head in greeting, trying to decide how to answer.
"They have been fine." There, that was appropriate. She wished they hadn't come here but the travel hadn't been hard on her.
Mat walked slowly through the sea of lions, watching as they mingled. This hadn't been a planned stop but she was glad they were here all the same. The more alliances the could make the better and with the Mwezi being so close to the old Nergui stomping grounds, it would be good to have some sort of correspondence with them in case the other pride ever returned. They'd want to know for sure if they were spotted.
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Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 9:21 pm
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Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 11:56 pm
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"Mmeremeto," he answered when Ud replied and rightly turned his question back on him. And then Mmeremeto simply stared for a moment, looking Ud up and down and deciding that yes, this is what he expected a Firekin to look like up close. For his obvious inspection, he knew he owed the stranger an explanation.. so he tried.
"My mother was from the Firekin," he said, "A huria. It'd be hard to believe if I didn't have two sisters who looked more like all of you. And two brothers, I guess. But.."
Well, no, there were some whose pelts leaned more towards an orange than a bright red. Still, Sky'ree and Fenghuang could blend right into this crowd if they tried. He wondered if they were there, playing it up, actually. He would be, if he could get away with it. Maybe. He had no idea his mother and himself would now, actually, be considered acceptable to the Motoujamii. The family was about evenly split for acceptable and unacceptable, with a lean in favour of unacceptable. The news would shift them to majority acceptable. Interesting, but not necessarily useful to them.
"Those huria who showed up here," he said suddenly, "Is it common for them to keep in touch with you guys?"
Moyo realized her mistake almost immediately and jumped back quickly so she wasn't right in Mircea's face anymore. She offered a sheepish, apologetic smile to both Firekin before shaking herself off and trying to regain some dignity.
"Sorry about that! Your eyes are very unique, it caught me by surprise," she explained cheerily, leaving out that somehow it reminded her of home, "My name is Moyo. I'm actually just visiting the Mwezi'Johari, I'm a Bard from the Kitwana'Antara! I've been trying to help prepare everybody for your arrival, we are already allies, after all."
Had.. had Maji or Na'al ever even seen the Firekin? Maybe she did want to talk to someone important. But who was in charge?
"Who-"
No, she shouldn't ask.
Titaia was surprised to find that by the time she reached the group of youngsters, even more had joined them. They were still all the wrong colors to be Firekin, but they were lively, polite and rather interesting. It wasn't fair to keep holding them up to Firekin standards that didn't matter here but it was a habit she had even in their long stay in the Bahari'mtoto and it wasn't going to stop now. It was too much a part of her identity, a part of her life.
When Helios, the smallest of them all, introduced himself, she smiled widest at him. Finally, a name she recognized and on a cub that almost could pass for a Firekin. What a coincidence!
But he wasn't the leader in their conversation, and Titaia wasn't even the main focus. She remembered being their size, she had been just like that. Perhaps the lack of discipline was why she favoured hunting. It didn't make her any less of a Firekin, though.
"It's nice to meet you all," she said, challenging herself to repeat back all the names, "Astrea, Tawi,
Raia, Akela, and Helios."
Not bad. It helped that they weren't all some variant of 'Moto'. When she continued, she kept in mind that her pride was large and threatening and while these adolescents seemed comfortable enough to have her standing with them and continue their own conversations, she still ought to help spread the idea that they were indeed here peacefully.
"We've been away from our home for a while now, actually," she said, "We were on our way back when we were turned this way. Your pride is kind to welcome us like this."
Hopefully the Nergui would be no threat to them.
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 6:00 am
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Tawi shrugged at Raia, ignoring the Firekin female for a moment to address Akela.
"I did not really ask for your name. Nor did I really care to know it," the male said standoffishly to Akela, rising to his feet. He made sure his tail was out of the way of Astrea, so she could not step on it again. "And my business about your sister is my own." A smirk caressed his lips as his eyes narrowed at Akela. It was as if he dared the male to challenge him.
"Boys..." Astrea warned, but it was really to Tawi, not Akela.
She turned her attention to Raia and Titaia, "I swear, you can't take brothers anywhere." Why couldn't Tawi be like her other two brothers. Quiet, good-doers? She had to hold back in eye roll as she spoke.
"Oh you've been traveling? Where have you been? What kind of sights did you see? Why did you leave?" They had a small group leave the Mwezi recently too, but Astrea did not express the knowledge to Titaia. "What made you turn towards our pride?" Questions after questions.
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 10:55 am
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The darkest lioness of the group wore an expression that consisted of a mix of rage and dismay. The dismay showed through in the look of sheer horror at the way the two boys were acting, especially in front of a guest. How. Dare. They. Emerald green eyes narrowed and first landed on her brother before swapping over too Tawi. She recalled the way that all some parents had to do was pierce the soul of their children with glaring eyes and the child would stop whatever it was they were doing. This was what she intended to do with her gaze.
"Do you two not remember that we are in the presence of company?" Her tone was low and carried a sense of threat. Raiatea had no threats to follow through on, but she was damned sure she would find one. "This is an inappropriate time for your squabbling." Not that she had been much better when she first came along, but that was harmless in comparison to what just happened.
"Ah-ha!" Her eyes lit up dangerously, but she kept her thoughts to herself.
Her attentions left the boys for a moment, but not entirely. No, one eye needed to be left on them apparently - were these two still cubs stuck in an adolescent form. She snorted at her own thought and looked at their company with a much kinder smile. "The pleasure is ours, believe me." Raia couldn't hide the impressed look she made when the lioness remembered all of the names as they had been rambled off.
"I'm sorry to hear you've been gone so long." Before she could get a question in edgewise her ears twitched in the direction of her brother. A name meaning? Of all things that was his question. Her ah-ha moment had to do with someone she imagined happened at in the firekin - duels. If the boys didn't behave she would encourage it, but later. This was not the dueling time.
"You were turned this way? As in steered?"
It wasn't what the lioness said, but how she said it. "Was it something divine that turned your nose to our direction?" Were they closer to the home of sands than she had thought? True, Titaia hadn't spoken about the sandy home she came from, but it was hard to ignore that fairly loud Ukulwa not far from them that helpfully repeated what she was learning in her questions. Her observational ability, which she had been working on thanks to Tawi, was actually working in her favor. She mentally high fived the male.
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 11:27 am
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Pyke lifted his head as he heard a voice by his ear and was quite surprised to be met with a teal eyed gaze. He didn’t know the female, which either meant new, or under his radar. There was a time when he knew most of the lions, at least by sight in the pride, but these days he had let his memory go a little.
He really had to pull himself out of this rutt. The yellow maned lion smiled gently at the female “Yes, I have never seen lions as large as these before, even though I have travelled through many places. I’m not sure I could handle one of these creatures if I needed to.” He chuckles a little and shakes his head. “They seem friendly enough though, I suppose they are here for a diplomatic mission.”
He paused for a moment and looked at the female once again, he was trying not to stare but she was very pretty. “I’m afraid I do’t know your face, my name is Pyke, I am a guard here. So I suppose if a fight breaks out I need to stop it.” He shook his head, the idea was comedic, he really hoped no one would start a fight, he hoped he also didn’t sound too pitiful before this pretty lady.
The arrival of his mother made Zlatan perk up quite a lot. With his mother there they would definitely be okay. His mother was the only female in the world he wasn’t afraid of. Her greeting made him smile and he returned her head butted with one of his own.
Nudging closer to his brother he watched as his sisters marched forth to make friends with the red giants. “Maybe we should say hello?” He had no idea where this touch of courage came from. As long as he was with Faruk though and their mother was near by they would be okay right?
“I’ll follow you if you want to.” He smiles at his only male sibling, he knew Faruk wanted to protect them all but he couldn’t do that if he was only protecting him. He would be brave so that Faruk could do what he wanted to do.
Kiahi'kripi smiled lightly. Honestly it wasn’t a tradition she knew everything about, she just knew that it was the way of the firekin, it was also something that she didn’t believe in and was afraid for the future of her own children, well, if she ever had any, she was of rogue decent after all and her children could be born as huria.
“Our cubs are all trained to be fighters, we don’t send them out in to the world until they are adolescents and they can look after themselves. If you can survive on the sands alone, you can survive any where.” She smiles gently lowering her head a little “Honestly, I worry that if I ever have children, they will be born huria, because I have a rogue heritage, but that is something for the future.”
When her mate approached the blood red lioness smiled a greeting and gave a nod. “Greetings.” She tilted her head and stifled a little laugh, it seemed her mate came when beckoned, how cute. |
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 2:56 pm
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Mircea felt a bit better now that the lioness wasn't so close to him. Being in the firekin he had learned that personal space was very precious. Though he had wondered what had caught the lioness's attention in the first place. Luckily he didn't have to ask though as she mentioned his eyes. He smiled, glad that someone liked him so much, but it also reminded him of how much he missed his brother. Their eyes were about the only thing that looked the same on them.
"I... thank you for noticing my eyes, they're very..." what could he use to describe how he felt about them without sounding like an idiot? "Well they remind me of my brother. I'm Mircea, guard in the Firekin. It's nice to meet you Moyo." Kitwana'Antara, he had heard of them before, and during his travels before he had joined the firekin, he had been warned to stay away from there, for it was a diseased pride. Though, if the firekin were allies with them, then they didn't have much to worry about right? Whether the rumors were true or not, perhaps not all members of the K'A were contagious or diseased. "Well, it's good that we have allies! I hope that our prides get along well. And thank you for helping to prepare for our arrival!" He smiled at her. He wasn't sure if he was just overly nice for Firekin, after all, he hadn't been born into the pride, it was hard to let go of old habits.
Shula and Anga noticed that Mircea had gottne into a conversation and decided that they needed to have a bit more conversation with the pride they were now visiting. After all, it wouldn't be good if all of the firekin seemed to be very standoffish now would it? They noticed a dark lioness with blue and green tufts of hair, and headed over. Shula smiled at the lioness as sweetly as she could, while Anga looked over Shula's shoulder to see if she was heading toward what could count as food.
As she got closer, Shula said a hearty "Hello" to the lioness, seeing if she could strike up a conversation. She had been told that the Mwezi'Johari were religious, but she wasn't sure how they were. But it was something to wonder about at least. Shula would have asked but it might be rude to do so. And so she tried to come up with something else instead. "How is the weather around here? Is it comfortable?" The weather, that's it. Nice icebreaker to any conversation.
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 3:09 pm
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Hali turned towards the greeting, a smile on her maw.
"Hello," she welcomed. Being part of a pride again, Hali found herself before more social to others. It was a bit more different than when she was out in the rogue lands. She had scanned the group to see if the sparkly blue lion had been amongst the pride as well in the group, but when she did not see him, she turned her attention back to the firekin.
Her head tilted at the question though. How's the weather? That...huh. "Uhm...Fine....?" Hali was rather thrown off by the question really. "I mean, it's manageable, I think?" Truthfully, the dark pelted lioness had not been around the pride long enough to know how the seasons were. Now, if this lioness asked about the Einaliai Thalassai lands...
"My name is Hali. I'm rather new...so to speak with it comes to the pride. What brings your group here?" She questioned the obvious what others were thinking.
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 4:53 pm
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Shula wondered for a bit if the lioness was messing with her, but the darker one seemed to be genuinely trying to answer the question, but not knowing how. She must be new. Shula thought. She had seen that look before often when rogues dueled their way into the pride. Sure, they had managed to win a fight, but they were still often unprepared when it came to their way of life and actually living in a desert. It was much harder to adjust living there for a few months versus having grown up in it.
However, if Shula had any question about the newness of the other lioness, she soon answered it for her. Shula pondered her the question that was asked of her, and was wondering herself if she was allowed to say. Wanting to be allies wasn't such a bad thing right? And it wouldn't be such a stretch to think of. Before Shula could say though, Anga piped up. "Hey what you got for eating here?" And Shula sighed.
"I apologize about Anga here. She's mostly interested in food, which is why she came with me." Shula said, sending a glare the Vulture's way. The Vulture shrugged in return. After all, vultures were opportunist eaters and Anga ate any chance that she got. Shula rolled her eyes, and faced the lioness once again. "We're here for a friendly visit mostly. If possible, I would think we would want our pride's to be allies. We've been traveling around for quite a bit now, having friendly visits with quite a few prides as we have gone around. Yours was on the way back so... Why not come by for a visit, if you guys are willing that is."
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 5:50 pm
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Hali's attention shifted towards the vulture, asking, in a peculiar way, for food. An eyebrow rose as the darker lioness shifted on her feet. "I...think there may be some fresh kill just over yonder." She nodded her head in the direction of where the latest hunt was dragged. It was not like the Mwezi had prepared to bring host the large warriors, but they still had something for the time being. If needed, the Mwezi could go hunting - something Hali would be happy to take part in being her role as a huntress.
"She's fine," the lioness smiled back towards the other. "I don't think I have ever come across a vulture so close before. Normally I see them circling above." Although, some in the pride had bird companions, Hali had not seen this particular breed.
She nodded when the other mentioned they were on a 'friendly' visit. Hali chose to ignore the mostly part added towards the end for a moment. "As long as your pride does not hold harmful intentions here, I don't see why an alliance could not be formed." But then again, Hali was not the ruler of the pride, and there was probably a lot more diplomacy that would need to go into it. Would Hodari have the final ruling? Or would a messenger be sent to the Tianxia for final clearance from Kimondo?
"I've heard briefly of where you hail from. You are called...The Motoujamii?" The name was foreign on her tongue. Pretty much all land based prides were foreign to Hali. If it wasn't for Roshan, the Mwezi'johari would also be unknown to her. "What is your pride like?" Now was better than ever to find out about their life, right?
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 10:37 pm
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Well atleast he hadn't scowled at her, that was a plus, she listened to this golden maned lion in silence as he spoke, every now and then a dark ear flicking slightly against the slightest breeze as her teal eyes kept on him. When he mentioned he was a guard, her eyebrow perked and she nodded firmly - not catching the comedic essence of it.
"Well you won't be alone, I am Jinamizi'Mwezi...I am also a guard, so if a fight does break out you'll have me watching your back." She wasn't sure how she felt about handling a fight with these brutish red-pelts however, eyes skimming over them before huffing thoughtfully. "But hopefully they keep their peace..."
As much she didn't want to, it had been obvious to her that something was bothering this male, even when she approached. Holding her tongue for a short breath of time she finally glanced his way again.
"Does it trouble you?"
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