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 Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 8:05 am
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The question made Kuzimu's eyes narrow just a bit at the thought of what they could be doing. The offer to remain behind and try to gather more information about the Nergui had been posed but no one had stayed as far as she was aware, and she had gotten enough looks that said she'd be the watched rather than the watcher if she remained.
"I believe they seek an alliance," she said, her voice low and gravely. "Do you know anything about the Nergui?" The question was blunt and to the point. Perhaps they knew of the feud with the two prides, but Kuzimu's intentions were far from gathering intelligence to find where they had gone. She simply wanted to know more about them.
The blatant staring made Ud smile a bit weakly, unsure if he should take offense or just let it happen. Mmeremeto didn't seem the type to be overly aggressive or attempting to assert dominance, but they were in a new place and he couldn't be too sure. When the reason for his staring came out, though, Ud's whole demeanor brighten, ears lifting in delight and surprise, eyes widening as his grin did as well.
"Oh! So you may be related to some of us," he said enthusiastically. "That's great! Yes, the huria tend to travel far and wide. I'm sure there's a lot of Firekin relations in prides all over the place."
The question made him tilt his head a bit. The rules about huria had changed very recently but he didn't think to mention it, focusing instead on the direct question. He nodded after a moment after doing some quick calculations.
"Some prefer to leave and never return which is understandable, but there's many who return to visit their families from time to time. There's even some that hold a rank with us, sort of as a lesion to the world. They travel around and bring back news to us when they're in the area." It wasn't as if huria were hated and damned for their coloration, after all. They were still brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews...they just weren't Firekin.
Mat paused by a few of the conversations to eavesdrop, curious as to what everyone was talking about, wanting to make sure nothing was getting out of hand. She was pleased with what she heard, though, and continued on after just a minute or to. She wasn't looking for anyone in particular but she did have an eye out in case anyone wished to speak with her. She didn't want to turn anyone away and leave a bad taste in their mouths.
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Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 8:47 am
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Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 2:31 pm
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Shula wasn't exactly one for convincing people to do things. She was a healer, and her first job was to make sure that everyone got treated, and sometimes, she had to be rough about it and pin someone down until they accepted her help. The Firekin could be very stubborn, and she hadn't learned how to soft-talk others into following her commands.
Anga for her part however, quickly followed the direction that Hali had gestured to with her head. Anga intended to eat her fill, or as much as she could. Being a vulture, she did have to allow the lions to eat first if they so wished.
Shula smirked at Hali. "Sometimes I wish she had stayed up there instead of deciding she wanted to hang out with me." She said this in a friendly way. As bad as Anga was, she was also incredibly helpful to Shula and made her job a lot easier. Especially when it came to lions hiding their injuries. Some of them may be able to hide it from others, but vultures could spot vulnerability right away.
"I do not believe we would have any harmful intentions." Unfortunately she had been too young when any of the real conflicts with other prides and did not have the hatred and animosity some of the older lions had within their pride. She may not have liked their rivals because of the history, but she wouldn't attack on sight either unless she felt threatened.
"That's correct." Sometimes pride names were hard to pronounce. "Though we are commonly known as the Firekin, a lot easier to remember anyway. We live in a desert so we have to be extremely tough to survive the little amount of food and water there, along with the extreme temperatures. We even have roles specifically for finding water." They hadn't run out as of yet, but that was something Shula tended to worry about. "We also have a lot of battles, and only accept rogues, recently, if they're able to defeat one of us in a duel. Though... we only accept certain colors too. But I believe you would make the cut with your dark coloring."
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Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 3:02 pm
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Hali was proud of herself for actually getting the name of the pride correct! However, when Shula had mentioned their common name, the darker lioness would probably remember that overall. After all - two words that were commonly used in their day to day speech meshed together, who would not remember it?
"A desert? The sand without water." She commented. "Total opposite of where I am from." There were days she missed the sandy beaches, the salty air, the occasional encounters with Pirates and Vikings. This was her life now, however, and she would make the best of it.
Hali shook her head at the mention of her making the cut for the Firekin. "That may be...but I don't think I would pass a duel if I wanted to." Unless the duel consisted of persuading the other out of charm, Hali would likely lose in paw to paw combat. Plus, there was the fact she was quite petite compared to Firekin members. She'd still stick out like a sore thumb. "Are your borders open to visitors?" If an alliance was formed between the two prides, would that mean they'd be able to visit each other from time to time? The Mwezi was rather welcoming, but the Firekin? |
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 4:33 am
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Surprised by Ud's suddenly enthusiasm, Mmeremeto listened carefully as he explained about the varied lives of huria. It was surprising, upon reflection, that his mother had chosen to settle in here. But then again, she had a respected position and a family now so it worked out well.. so maybe it wasn't a strange decision, whatever had helped her get here.
"That's interesting," he said, "So, they can be like spies?"
Another something to ponder about his mother, though he knew she couldn't possibly be that good of an actress if she was spying on the Mwezi'Johari on behalf of the Firekin. That hardly seemed a worthwhile endeavour, there wasn't much to find out from them if you didn't care about the Great Lion. The neighbours, apparently, were a problem but eh.
"I guess that's what those two were up to in the mountains, then," he mused, "How often to your spies find something big enough for a party like this?"
Moyo noticed his pause at the mention of her pride, though she didn't dwell on it. It didn't sound like he knew much about what she was talking about but then again, neither did she. She shook her head when he commented about them getting along, but smiled when he thanked her.
"It's enough that I've heard of you, I suppose I might have anyway.. but I mean, I've never actually seen any of you before," she said, speaking just a tad too fast, slowing down for a more certain statement, "I know our prides met and parted on good terms, but it was before I was born."
She was counting on this Nergui business having gone on long enough that she wouldn't seem like a cub suddenly. She wasn't that young!
Titaia watched in amusement as the adolescents continued to squabble around the conversation with her. She didn't bother answering right away, giving them some time to get it out. The question of what had turned them this way gave her pause, too, because she was sure it was known.. but perhaps not to the younger members of the pride. That made sense.
"We've come to check out the mountains on your border," she said, carefully leaving out why,
"I'd never actually seen anything like them until recently, we live in the desert and most of us never leave it."
That they were just on their way home from the ocean was worth mentioning, but Helios asked a question and she saw an opportunity to share some of the Firekin with them. Even if some would continued to squabble around her, she focused on Helios and spoke loud enough that the others could hear her if they chose to listen.
"My name means 'fire,'" she explained, "Most of our names do, actually. Those were the rules, every Firekin had to have red, orange, black or white fur and be named after fire. There are many lions with Moto or Azar in their names where I'm from, your names all sounds very different.. but Helios. That's one I recognize. You're named after the sun."
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Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2017 3:07 pm
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Harakhty shook his head, "Not at all," and then paused thoughtfully for a moment. "Well, perhaps to some of my fellow pride members. I don't think they're so used to such a big group visiting." Especially during such a... strained time, what with their queen and a chunk of their pride gone. He refrained from mentioning that though. Best not to point out any weaknesses they may have.
He moved on, "I honestly wasn't expecting to come across all of you again." He grinned, "I ran into your group a while back in the rogue lands, while I was still searching for a home. I ended up finding one here." The lion cast a fond glance at his surroundings. Yes, he was happy with where he was. It was cool, and pleasant, and he could devote his time and attention to his pride.
Turning his gaze back to the two in front of him, Harakhty cocked his head to the side, "I'm glad it's been relaxing for you." His ears flicked up, "I hope you haven't run into any trouble in your travels, but at least you can gain some quiet here."
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Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 1:00 am
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(( I know I'm a little late, but if anyone wants to talk to these girls, feel free! ^^ ))
Standing at the edge of the group that had gathered, Laleh was very quiet. She had been watching, absorbing, trying to figure out what was going on. Her sister had told her of the discovery of strangers - and about the group that followed. Growing up, she had, of course, heard many stories about this strange group of fire-driven lions. She had heard of their ferocity as well as their strict colorings. Seeing them here, in front of her, she couldn't help but feel like the stories didn't quite match up. Though, stories hardly ever seemed to.
There was a lot of red. Here, with a pride filled with so many families with cooler and paler colors, they stood out like a sore thumb. Laleh couldn't recall the last time she'd seen a red lion before now. Her pale eyes carefully moved across each of them, silently sizing up the strangers. Part of her wondered if she would need to heavily interact with them in the name of diplomacy; though she knew the Queen had left capable paws here for just that. Still, she would be courteous and welcoming where she needed to be.
Laleh slowly turned her head, looking around to see if any of her siblings had made an appearance. She knew that some of them had ventured with the Queen, but surely some of them were still around and curious. Laleh was a fairly reserved lioness, so having someone familiar around would make things easier for her.
(( Liuxing is a Patrol Leader now, in case that matters <3 ))
Coming back from meeting with a group of guards, Liuxing was well aware of why there was a crowd here today. In fact, it didn't take long at all for her eyes to catch sight of the visiting group. It had been a little nerve-wracking, having a fairly large group of outsiders coming while the Queen was away. But, Liuxing knew that those that were here were highly qualified to handle themselves in any situation. She was optimistic, though, that everything would play out smoothly and successfully.
Coming up at a quickened pace, her head swiveled looking for a good place to join in. Soon enough, she caught a glimpse of that familiar purple that eased her soul - family. It was her youngest sister, on the edges and alone, as usual. Laleh was very sweet, but also very reserved. When she was growing up, she had tended to lean on Liuxing and her brothers to comfort her in more social situations.
"Hey." Coming up beside her, Liuxing gave her sister a nudge. Laleh didn't have as much time in the royal lifestyle as Liuxing did, but she knew Laleh wasn't ignorant to the stories and information about this group. "What do you think?" Her voice was quiet, but decently cheerful. Her presence seemed to make Laleh much more approachable.
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Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 4:59 pm
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Tawi did not respond to Akela. He kept that smirk on hi maw as the male began to get closer. He’d wait for the other to make the first move against him. It didn’t come. Instead, Tawi sniffed the air. Trash? Akela was one to talk. In all the situations he had encountered, why was it always the opposite party calling him names?
The adolescent was about ready to respond, before he was stopped by Raia. Well, not personally stopped, but the no-nonsense-tone that sounded quite like his parent made him cringe, quite visible. He was silent when she was done speaking, his own gaze staring at the ground. He’d blame Astrea for keeping him here just moments ago. He’d blame Akela for approaching on the conversation he was not welcomed too. And he’d probably blame the Firekin as well, for causing this pileup of lions from the pride, generating the situation. Tawi was starting to blame everyone, including himself for leaving his resting place this morning to even try and be social.
Without saying another word (just a glare to Akela), the lion moved away from the group. That’s how you fixed your problems, right? By running away? Sure. |
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Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2017 11:13 am
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"Spies?" Ud said, struggling to restrain his laughter at the question. "Oh no...not spies. More like ambassadors, sort of doing what we're all doing now. Going out, visiting new prides, learning about them and teaching them about the Firekin in return." He decided not to mention that they did have a Spy rank. It would be harder to explain that it wasn't a lion that went out to collect intel on various prides and he didn't want Mmeremeto getting the wrong idea about them.
"As far as I'm aware, this is the first large group to have ever gone off together," he said, pressing on and ignoring the 'spy' commentary. "We recently had a bit of a shift of power back home and the new leaders want to try to make alliances with other prides. We just visiting the Bahari'mtoto, a pride by the sea, and now we're here. For a long time we've sort of been recluses in the desert," he added with a wry grin. "But I guess they think it's time to start making friends, which I'm all for!" And indeed, as the new Legate, it was pretty much his job to do so.
"But what about you? Have you lived here your whole life?" he asked, eager to learn more about the other male than to talk about himself.
Kuzimu didn't show any outward signs of hearing the lions before her, but inside she brushed them off as a viable source of information. They knew nothing and therefore were of no use to her. Based on the rather peaceful and serene nature of this place she doubted the Nergui had ever come here, but still. It was important to ask.
"I care not for alliances or speaking to queens," she said in a low, monotone voice, still staring at the duo. She hadn't blinked the entire time they'd been with her.
"Do you know of anyone who might know anything about the Nergui?" she pressed.
Mat continued to push through the crowd, taking in the sounds and conversations. There were quite a few of the Mwezi who were still simply standing and watching, as well as Firekin who were hanging back. She gave a little snort and rolled her eyes, nodding to the paler lions, encouraging her kin to mingle. This wasn't the best way to make an alliance, after all. Back at the Bahari they had been quite interested to learn about the seaside pride, but here they seemed a little hesitant. Perhaps poking around in the Nergui lands beforehand had thrown them off.
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Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 5:18 pm
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"Huh, that's... good to know." One bad thing about being new to the pride and a rogue was that he hadn't gotten into much of the history of the pride yet. He only wished he was more knowledgeable. He was going to ask about Moyo's pride, but he had heard it was a diseased one. He wasn't too sure if it would be okay or rude to ask about it.
"Well, I'm glad that we're allies at least, even if we don't know too much about it." He replied, smiling at her. He was torn in-between trying not to offend her and wanting to know more. His mouth spit out words before he had thought about them, "so, what do you do mostly? I mean it looks like you're here by yourself. Are you a sort of ambassador or something?" He could have sworn that he had either heard, or Moyo had mentioned already what her job was, but his brain was currently scrambling.
Anga had barely heard what Hali had said before she flew off in search of the food. Shula rolled her eyes again. "Anga says 'thank you'." She said, shaking her head. "She's helpful, it's just... hard to tell.
"I would be surprised if any fighting started here, even if some of our pride can be especially stubborn." She had patched up enough of them to know who were the more annoying ones. And Shula nodded her head Hali's correct assumption of their name. "Yes, we have a lot of warriors. Though a lot of that is from pride conflicts, and living in the desert. If you aren't tough enough to live in the desert, you won't survive long after all. We even have to have lions specifically trained to find water. It's... interesting. I know it's a kill or be killed out there world, but for us we're constantly having to expend energy on fighting and just plain... surviving in the harsh landscape. Though I'm sure it's not any easier here." Well, it looked easier. They seemed to have easy sources of water at least.
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Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 10:30 pm
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Mmeremeto shrugged at the correction, preferring his label of 'spies' for that was what they would always seem to the outside world.. though ambassadors is likely how the pastel twins would be labeled if the two prides managed to get along. Would their Regent handle that well? Well.. who knew if their Queen even would, she was new too. Of course she went on a long trip away from home just in time for the first real test of her judgement and politics.
"I never imagined the Firekin as the friendly type," he remarked honestly when Ud explained their mission outside the desert, "Though mom never really gave a bad impression of you guys, don't get the wrong idea."
He wondered if the Bahari'mtoto were a military pride as well. Mmeremeto could barely imagine the Firekin being interested in the Mwezi if not for apparently sharing a border with someone.. shady?? He'd have to join later investigations, he was just as curious about whatever was going on in the mountains as he was about what was happening here, now.
"I have lived here my whole life," he said, "Neither of my parents were born here, but we're pretty well established. Mostly thanks to mom being one of the longest tenured Priestesses."
Mmeremeto wondered how far the information had spread that Hagryphus was a priestess, and how much that mattered to the secular Firekin. It might seem all the more strange now to some Mwezi, having met the Firekin. But his mother was devoted to her pride and the Great Lion, he didn't doubt that for a second.
Moyo kept on smiling at Mircea, happy to have someone agree with her, even if it was just one Firekin acknowledging what she said as something resembling the truth. His question caught her by surprise, though she had already introduced herself and it was entirely reasonable that in everything going on it might have been hard to take in.. part of her worried that somehow, she had given away some of her cover. She was a spy but she was still new at this!
She let her surprise show but not her worry, and focused on the visible truth.
"I came here with some friends from my home, actually," she explained, "Their father lives here and they wanted to meet him. It didn't really go well, though, so they're probably not keen on getting involved in all this now."
Moyo did feel bad for Shangyue and Buyue, they came here to find out their father was a murderer, their grandfather the lunatic who made it and worse happen.. and that they each resembled someone important. Shangyue like the lunatic, Buyue like the martyr who fell first and was knighted posthumously. Part of her lingered to build up her repertoire of stories, another part to wait for them to figure out what they would do, and now finally, part of her stayed for this. Meeting the Firekin!
"I guess you could say I'm like an ambassador," she said thoughtfully, "I'm the only one who was definitely going to come home again, after all."
Titaia was quite taken with little Helios, realizing for the first time that she actually liked cubs. She might regret having wasted her time not looking at potential sires while out and about, but for now that would not occur to her. She smiled when the young male apologized, shaking her head.
"I interrupted you," she said, "As we all have. I understand."
Strange, being nice almost came naturally when not dealing with the divisive political issues of the Firekin and all the hot-headed lions who had strong opinions about it all. She watched Tawi go before turning back to the others.
"It is much cooler here, but it's warmer here than it was by the ocean," she said, "But all the water, the rain.. that's been the strangest part of wandering outside the desert. I bet you all have a waterhole you don't even have to think about."
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