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 Posted: Tue May 16, 2017 5:51 am
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 He'd thought he had more time. More time with his siblings, with his mother, more time to just...be. Ophile wasn't one of those bitter sorts who resented that he couldn't stay in his birth pride forever and ever. He'd been raised to see this as the proper way of things, and didn't bother him, but...he just hadn't expected to have to leave as soon as he had. His sire and his tawny partner had always been content to let the young males hang around until their manes had finished coming in, but Andhaka and Bangizwe were no longer the ones making that decision. It was Umkhombo and his friends now, and they were having nothing of the young (but nonetheless breeding-age) males loitering about. He supposed he could understand why, it just meant he was up here at the Outpost sooner than he'd originally planned.
The splotchy male hadn't quite finished growing yet: he had some filling out to do still, and his mane was a bit sparse and scraggly in some places. This made him an underwhelming sight, for sure, but within another several months or so he'd look like a respectable lion, very similar to his sire in build - decent but not exceptional size overall, lean rather than bulky. It was growing he'd have to finish in the desert, assuming he could win a duel.
He was reasonably certain he could, otherwise he wouldn't be here, at least a few days ahead of his migrating family. He was well ahead of them, since he was travelling alone and not slowed by all the young cubs.
Ecavi they can talk first fight later, fight first talk later...whatever works! |
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Meepfur rolled 5 6-sided dice:
3, 1, 3, 5, 6
Total: 18 (5-30)
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Posted: Wed May 17, 2017 7:10 pm
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((Stealing the shorthand/lazy rolling because...eff you, suspense. Also have lots of quotes. Sorry!))
Results: 3, 1, 3, 2, 3=12))
Quote: Rolling 6-sided Dice, where 1 & 4 = 1 2 & 5 = 2 3 & 6 = 3
He'd never been to the Outpost before, never seen any 'real' Firekin besides the ambassador, Su, plus the two - now one - huria who resided in the Bonelands. The pattern of migration, combined with the drought interrupting the typical seasonal movements of the pride, meant he'd never been close enough to make the trip...and yet here he was, all set to join up with a bunch of strangers he'd heard plenty of stories - and suspicions - about, but certainly couldn't say that he knew. But it beat being a rogue or just wandering about as part of a bachelor group, and unlike some young males, he had no ambitions about starting up a pride of his own, so...joining a pride it was. It was convenience, in large part, but subconsciously the impulse was fed by the comfort of being near what was familiar. If you asked him, though, it just made sense. That was all.
Ophile inclined his head to the dark female who came out to meet him, and offered a deceptively calm and casual, "Guess we'll see."
If he was doing this, might as well go for it, so he charged forward to strike.
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Ecavi rolled 5 6-sided dice:
5, 1, 4, 3, 5
Total: 18 (5-30)
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2017 3:58 am
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Rolls: 2, 1, 1, 3, 2
Total: 9, Xiu will lose
He seemed calm and ready to go, so Xiu waited-- and made the mistake of underestimating him right from the get go. Ophile landed a solid hit that could very well have knocked an unsuspecting foe right off their feet, but she was ready enough to keep herself upright even if in pain.
Unfortunately for Xiu, despite the distance between them being closed, when she reached up to retaliate she barely felt her paw brush against him. It would be enough, perhaps, to spare her a second hard blow but ultimately was utterly unimpressive.
((Yaaaay duels! Xiu is notoriously bad at these))
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2017 5:05 am
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So far, so good. Rough-housing with the other males had paid off, as had pestering the big Qyrhy lioness for tips and practice with someone who actually knew what they were doing, instead of just wrestling around with his fellow Lusizi. That was better than nothing, sure, but none of them really knew what they were doing. A bit of amused teaching from Sabit had gone a long way, as well as a few spars with a couple of the younger females of that group (embarrasing at the time when he'd lost, but worth it). Otherwise, he'd probably be in trouble right now.
The Firekin native swiped at him but barely connected, and he hurriedly lashed out in hopes of taking advantage of an opportunity, but didn't judge it right and missed. Snarling in annoyance at himself, he corrected his stance and pressed her again, one paw flashing out after the other.
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Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 8:17 pm
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Xiu barely got a hit in before suddenly both of his paws were coming right at her and she was left seeing stars. She managed to keep moving but one last poorly aimed glancing blow did more damage to herself than her opponent. Perhaps she was the wrong choice for doing this, or he was already well-prepared for what was to come.
Before he could wind up another attack, she raised a paw while staring straight at the ground and waiting for the world to line itself back up so she could see properly. They could keep fighting, in a real fight she would, but for now, she'd seen enough.
"OK, OK," she said, slowly lifting her head back up to give him a grin, "I think you'll do fine around here. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting such a good show from one of you."
((Wow, I fail xD Look at that.))
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Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 8:32 am
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Ophile was prepared to strike again, but it became unnecessary, as the lioness yielded. Relief flooded him; even full of youthful confidence, there had remained a seed of concern, of what if he didn't succeed. Nonetheless, he did his best to play it cool, and stood down with what his best attempt at an easy grin as opposed to an awkward one. It probably landed somewhere in the middle. He could try to be cool all he wanted, but there was no escaping that he was still basically a teenager.
A teenager who'd just won a duel with a redpelt. Haha! "Glad I exceeded your expectations, then. Do...many of us try?"
Once males left the Bonelands, most of them were never heard from again, so what happened to them or where they ended up was a mystery.
Ecavi half a lifetime later. orz
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2018 4:21 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2018 4:59 pm
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 12:27 pm
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"The...Regent's daughters?" Ophile processed this information with comical slowness, hampered in some part by his loose-at-best knowledge of Firekin rank and hierarchy. The Regent was...the one in charge. One of the ones in charge, and both of those were female - that he had heard about, as his home pride found it to be strange, even by redpelt standards - and if one of them had daughters and they were his half-sisters, then obviously that meant they were Andhaka's, and-
The young lion's mouth dropped open into an 'oh!' when it finally all came together. "I, uh. I'm pretty sure no one knew." Because if they had, they definitely would have talked and argued about it, and while he'd never been as enthralled by gossip as the females usually were, that would have been hard to miss. "There'd have been a 'stir' for sure. A few of the older Abazingeli always worried he was a redpelt plant, so..."
Yeah, there was probably good reason Andhaka had kept his own council on 'visiting' the desert.
Ecavi slightly less than half a lifetime this time, woo!
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Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2018 2:31 am
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Ophile's slow reaction was interesting, and his answer was surprising. Considering the Regent had touted her decision as a way to solidify the alliance between the two prides, the idea that Andhaka hadn't said anything was entirely unexpected. She didn't know the word "Abazingeli" but she knew "redpelt plant" and snorted at the accusation.
"They underestimate us if they think we'd be dumb enough to send a red lion as a spy into another pride," she said with a chuckle, she didn't actually know anything about the Watchers in the pride but she knew it was likely they had needed spies before and sending a Fireless or Huria would be the obvious choice.
And Xiu wasn't even the smartest guard. Showed what those old .. aba-whetevers knew.
"It's not a secret around here, and if I could guess, others will," she said, "Don't act too surprised about it. If you want to meet any of them, waiting around here a while before heading into the pride proper is the way to go."
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Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2018 8:37 am
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"From the stories they tell, I guess one of them had a tantrum about it when the rest voted him into leadership," Ophile said with a shrug. "So she brought Bangizwe in for...some reason, I dunno. Spite, maybe. But theu got along, so joke was on her, I guess." Obviously, that was all before he'd been born, but it was still talked about. There was never any shortage of talking around the Bonelands.
"They got...sort of odd in the end," he offered by way of possible explanation, "Especially Bangizwe, but Andhaka too, a little bit. It's probably for the best Umkhombo came back when he did." Even if it did mean he and the other young males had had to leave earlier than expected.
But he had sisters! ...more sisters. Which was probably a good thing?
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