[ORP] Dry Season (Baie, Nandi and cubs?)

[Mogami]

(I’m doing this to get a feel for Nandi but anyone can join. This is very informal, cubs are flighty with short attention spans so no post order is required. Also, I will roll art gifts at the end of each completed page – max of 4, lol) >> Edit1: no gifts here because it seems the Bonelands Crew is already working on activity prizes! =D... Edit 2: Ya know... art gifts are still in.)


Baie looked over the sorry mass of lionesses, cursing drought season as she took in the seriousness of each of her fellow Abazingeli’ injuries and the protruding ribs. It was something happened cyclically and she had no doubt the pride would survive the harsh conditions once again but there were always casualties during such times. She missed Nolaka, her voice, her spirit, the way she'd reminded Baie of Gakere and one of their daughters. Such a loss. Now, because of the unfortunate weather shift (and some poor thinking, as well, she believed), they were drowning in cubs. She had to give it to their current Abaholi, the males had been prolific. And speaking of those two…

She, like many Abazingeli, was concerned about Bangizwe. He’d been quieter and strange, lately. He hadn’t been eating first, when he ate at all. He had become distant and rumors were spreading that he was actually sick and possibly dying. She didn’t feel terribly sorry for him as she was still a bit sore when it came to the way he’d handled the whole Khazine matter but she had stopped telling stories to the cubs regarding silly Abaholi of the past. Well, at least they had Andhaka. He had proved himself a very decent Umholi.

Baie looked down quickly when a small voice pulled her out of the dark thoughts.

“What are you doing?” The red cub was looking up, her coat gleaming in the faint morning light. A Busisa with some small hunting injuries was watching the cub keenly so she couldn’t go too far but a passing adult was fair game. So when most of the other cubs were sleeping and she was supposed to avoid waking them, the orange lioness suddenly became the most interesting thing in her immediate area.

“I’m going hunting…” Baie said quietly so as not to wake all the other cubs and she focused on the little Andhaka daughter for a few moments until the name came to her. “… Nandi.”

"Oh... Can I come?" She knew the answer already but the adults always tougth it was cute when a cub tried to tag along.  

[Tanakako]

Sifiso yawned mightily as voices woke her. Lifting her head the little golden cub peered round and over her friend's shoulder. Khethiwe was an adolescent now, but even though she was growing up, the pair were still inseparable. Sifiso was just glad to have her friend close when everyone in the pride seemed so stressed and on edge. Sifiso knew what was going on of course, she wasn't that much younger than her red-furred friend, but she was young enough that the thought of drought and famine frightened her with the nebulous sense of impending doom.

Ears perking at the words being exchanged near by she sat up and peered over at Nandi and the adult. "Can I come?" She piped up, more because that’s what cubs did than any real desire to leave her sleeping companion.


Khethiwe had been injured at the watering hole recently, a nasty bite to her paw by a crocodile that had nearly bisected her foot and had left her toes slightly mangled. So she had been forced to rest while the injury healed. As a result she had become an unofficial babysitter, which she didn't mind at all. Currently she was napping with the cubs, her younger golden pride-sister sleeping against her side.  

[Mogami]

Baie looked suddenly concerned as her eyes dropped to the second cub. One was kind of cute and easily manageable but two... would soon become three, then four and it wouldn't be long until she woke up all the litters and then it was going to be very hard to leave, at all. The baby-sitter would probably thank Baie not to disrupt their morning, thank you very much, especially when so many were resting while recovering from injuries.

"No one is going anywhere, Sifiso." She said, quick but quiet, before correcting herself. "Except me. I'm going hunting with the other Abazingeli. Someone has to make sure you don't all starve. Go back to sleep."

-----------------------

Nandi looked over her shoulder at the other cub, smiling at the unexpected support but Baie's words had her quickly twisting her neck back into its proper position.

"I can help. I caught a butterfly yesterday!" She'd also released it right after because she'd been upset by the creature's discomfort but hey... It counted!

In all honesty, she didn't think Baie would ever agree to take her on a real hunt but it was funny to see her reaction anyway.

 

[belloblossom]

Mazuri had been dozing as she often did. There wasn't much else to do these days, aside from spend time with her other sisters and feel the effect of the drought. She didn't care to think about it the drought, nor the negativity it brought on within the pride. It kept her throat parched and her stomach empty and Mazuri promptly decided she would have nothing more to do with it, so she slept her days away. It seemed that the majority of the pride was of a similar opinion.

Today, however, she would get no such rest. Roused from her sleep by the voices of others, she blinked her eyes open until she found herself gazing upon two cubs, Nandi and Sifiso. A lioness looked down on them with discomfort on her face... Or was that annoyance? Mazuri was too groggy to tell. What the cub was able to deduce however, was that the lioness, Baie-something-or-other, was trying to go off to hunt, but the two cubs were preventing her from doing so. Oh goodness, it was time for her to step up to the plate.

"I suspect we would only get in the way if we went with her without knowing much about hunting. There's quite a lot to know, what with posture and form and all sorts of things, isn't there?" She said, coming up to stand next to Nandi and giving the older lioness, Baie, a pointed look. "But perhaps if we behave while she is off hunting and don't stray from our mothers, Baie will teach us some of those hunting techniques when she returns, so that we can go out with her next time." She smiled at Nandi, who was younger than she, but they were sisters (born from the same father) and Mazuri wanted to make sure that she stayed happy and safe as a result. Family, no matter how distant, was the closest thing to Mazuri's heart, after all.

Mogami

Tanakako

(Didn't realize that Mazuri was an adol now, oops. Edited.)  

[Tanakako]

Sifiso smiled brightly at Nandi, before Baie caught her attention again. She paused and blinked up at the adult lioness, gold eyes widening slightly at the reminder of the lack of food. Head lowering and tail slipping betwene her legs she huddled back down beside her friend. "Oh... ok." She replied quietly, pushing her toes together in discomfort.


Khethiwe, disturbed by the raipdly increasing noise and the constant throbbing of her crocodile-bitten paw, woke from her nap and looked over as Sifiso pressed against her side. "What's up?" She asked softly before looking over at her sister, Mazuri. "Mum went out hunting a while ago." She offered, only having caught a few words of the conversation through her sleep-haze.  

[Mogami]

belloblossom

Tanakako

“We’ll make a proper huntress of you yet. Oh, don’t look so down Sifiso, we’ll find something soon.” Baie told the paler cub as she gave up on the notion that she would be able to escape easily. She looked at Mazuri then who seemed to be one of those cubs that you could talk to as you would an adult and pretended she wasn’t feeling somewhat coerced by a cub into agreeing to her offer. “Sure, why not? I can’t take you out for a while but I can teach a few things… Just not on an empty belly.” Theirs and hers. No point in wasting what little reserves they had left.

“They’re not back yet so we’re sending another party.” Baie told Khethiwe, who was old enough to know such things and certainly deserved her respect for facing a crocodile when they had been trying to secure a water source. Baie eyed the young lioness appraisingly, silently trying to decide if she could dump the three cubs on her before they got too rowdy.

-------------

Nandi weaved quickly between the two cubs that had smiled at her, rubbing her side against them and offering a quick n** in passing before she stepped under Khethiwe and sat between her front legs. She then looked up at her older sister with eyes gleaming with obvious admiration.

“Is your paw better?” She asked so quiet it almost seemed as if it were a secret that the red lioness had fought off a crocodile.




(not a prize, just a little sketch I felt like doing)  

[belloblossom]

Mazuri smiled at her sister who joined her and turned towards Khethiwe, standing as she approached and bumping her head gently against her sister's. Mazuri tried not to mother her, they already had a mother, not to mention the majority of the pride, to show concern after the bite in her sister's paw. Still, seeing someone she cared about, hurt and limping, it wasn't one she would like to ever see again.

She then returned her gaze to Baie and nodded. She didn't mind being looked over as though she were younger. After choosing to spend so much of her time between her sisters and other cubs, she was happy to be thought of having a paw in both worlds. That would have to change once she grew into adulthood of course, but for the time being, she was more than happy to be as easy going as Nandi or Sifiso were. Or, seemed to be.

"Well then," Mazuri concluded. "While Baie is out, I'm sure the rest of us can find some entertaining things to do." She looked apologetically to her sister and then said, "Khethiwe, would you be willing to tell us about your heroic battle? I'm sure we'd all love to hear about it."

(That picture is totally the cutest thing in the world, Mogami! I love how Mazuri is looking out towards the 4th wall. I'm just sorry that I messed up her age. Dx )

Mogami

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

The young golden cub nodded slowly at reasurance. Her belly was empty sure, but that hadn't been formost in her mind. The bumpb and small n** did perk her back up though and she stood, wavering between staying with her best friend and investigating the situation. Glancing back and forth between Khethiwe and Baie, then smiled shly at Mazuri.


Khethiwe gave her friend a warm smile. They had been cubs together though Khethiwe had been older, it hadn't made a difference during their early cubhood. But now she was rapidly growing and their age gap was far more evident. Once Sifiso joined her as a young adult things would go back to normal between them but for this short period of time she was far more aware of just how large that gap was between them.

Returning her litter-mate's head bump she smiled at Mazuri before ruffling Sifiso's fuzzy head. Letting the golden cub move off as her younger half-sister took up position between her paws. Grinning at her younger sibling, their close relation so very obvious in the deep red of their fur that was an almost perfect match to each other, both of them having been sired by Andhaka though by different mothers, Khethiwe smiled reasuringly at Nandi. "It is healing. I'll be fine soon." She didn;t want anyone to worry about her, after all she had gotten off lightly. Her injury didn;t seem like it would leave any pernament harm and she still had her life intact. Looking back up as Mazuri spoke she flicked an ear back, shooting her sister a mock-glare. She didn't like making a fuss and storytelling would only keep the attention on herself, as her sister well knew. Rolling her eyes, already having forgiven her sibling, she tipped her head. "How about you tell it?" She returned with a sly grin.

Mogami

OMG I ADORE THAT PICTURE!!!!! So cute!!!

 

[Mogami]

show spoilerhide spoiler

(sorry for the delay, I was away for the weekend <3)

belloblossom

Lol, that’s because I colored the wrong side of the eye. OTL --- And no worries on teh age thing, I'll stretch her up when I can, lol

AstoriaFallen

Tanakako

There was something to be said about having so many close family members – and so many female relatives - available for conversation and playtime. Nandi never really felt alone or unprotected. The red cub looked between her big sisters and then chose her littermate as her next target, stalking the approaching Nokuthula until she was close enough to pounce… and missed.

----------

“Well, I… was just leaving.” Baie told Mthunzi though her eyes were on the little grey cub – such a pretty shade and practical for hunting, too. “But I believe Mazuri was going to tell the story of how the mighty Khethiwe faced off against a crocodile!” Her voice was light and teasing as Baie realized with a good amount of relief that she wasn’t the most interesting thing in the young lionesses’ vicinity and she might actually be able to leave without too much trouble.

“Nandi, do try to stand still.” Baie said with mild reproach, taking a step back away from the younger females. “You’re going to tire yourself and then you’ll be thirsty and hungry.”

----------

Nandi’s ears went back for only a second before they rose again. She didn’t like being corrected but in the midst of so many of her sisters, the impact was severally diminished. Also…

“May we hear the crocodile story?” Nandi asked with wide eyes, staring between Mazuri and Khethiwe.
 

[Tanakako]

"Yes Mazuri..." She echoed with a smirk. "We all want to hear you tell the story." As Nandi moved away to pounce on her closer relative, Khethiwe took the oopertunity to lay back down, pinning her black eyes on her own sister expectantly. After a moment she looked up as Baie tried to extract herself, Khethiwe figured the older lioness would probably have more success if she simply slipped away when no one was watching. Cubs were fa ous for their short attention span and while they might all be distracted by the idea of an apexciting tale right now, in another moment or two they could go back to wanting to hunt with the grown-ups. Smiling at the thought she absently lowered her head to lick at ehr healing wound. It was still swollen and sore, and the dark adolescent knew she was desperatly lucky not to have had the whole leg ripped off, as crocadiles weren't known for generally letting something go once they had it in their jaws.


The young golden cub settled back down beside her red friend. Gazing around as more and more cubs arrived she realised from their coloures and markings that they must all be Andhaka's offspring. She, with her golden fur, was so clearly Bangizwe's, but it seemed she was the only one there who was. Uncertain what this meant or how she was supposed to feel, Sifiso pressed closer against Khethiwe.

show spoilerhide spoiler

Mogami

belloblossom

AstoriaFallen

 

[belloblossom]

Mazuri was surprised to have the offer she put on her sister suddenly thrust back upon her. It would be challenging, since she didn't actually know the full story herself, but she would endeavor to make it entertaining for the cubs at the very least and boost Khethiwe's amusement (and perhaps her ego) while she was at it. She so wanted her sisters to be happy.

As if on cue with that thought, Mthunzi stepped up and inquired what was going on. Before Mazuri could answer, Baie beat her to it and Khethiwe was egging her on to tell the tale, as were the majority of the cubs.

"Alright, alright, if you all truly insist, then come closer, little ones send let me tell my tale." She waited until all the cubs had come close enough to hear her and then she began.

"We all know that the pride is falling on tough times right now, but it is in difficult times and places that heroes are born. Heroes like the lionesses that go out to search for safe watering holes and rivers for us to drink from and that bring us home food to eat. We are all important to this pride in our own individual ways, but makes a hero is to perform an act of bravery." She smiled at Khethiwe. Truly, Mazuri thought all the lionesses were very brave for going and those who had come home with injuries were especially so, especially when some of the injuries were quite severe, like poor Emeka.

"Who can tell me a hero they know in this pride? Come now, there must be someone."Mazuri asked the listening cubs, hoping the question would keep their attention on her a little longer than if she had just told the story by itself.

Mogami

Tanakako

AstoriaFallen

 

[Mogami]

show spoilerhide spoiler

belloblossom

AstoriaFallen

Tanakako

(Sorry for the delay, I've been sick and work has been a pain. Also, I stretched Mazuri xD)

Baie grinned at the brown lioness before she actually stopped trying to escape and sat down. She was known for foisting cub-sitting on just about anyone she could get away with but if there was one thing she could appreciate about the whole dreaded task was a good story-telling. The look on the younger cubs’ was priceless.

Everyone who faced the bloody crocodiles, the orange lioness answered in her head but didn’t say anything aloud, not particularly keen on shedding some light on herself.

----------

Nandi’s mind was working somewhere along the same lines.

“Khethiwe!” She answered brightly, looking at her half-sister with palpable pride. The red cub seemed unable to stand still but she was perceptive enough to catch something strange coming from the golden cub… did she a little sad…? Nandi didn’t understand why but she bounded forward just the same and draped herself over the other cub like a very warm red trophy pelt though her eyes remained on the red adolescent. “She fought a crocodile! So she’s one!”

 

[Tanakako]

Khethiwe grinned evily as her sister began her tale. It didn't really matter how accurate it was, all the cubs wanted -and Baie it seemed- was a good story to take their minds off their hunger. Besides, she enjoyed watching her sibling be put on the spot by a bunch of entirely-too-adorable-to-resist cubs. Settling down she shouldn't have been surprised by Nandi's outcry, though she was. Chuckling softly she snagged her younger half-sister as the cub raced past, giving her a lick before releasing her back out into the wild again.

Sifiso hadn't thought that she was being so obvious about her concerns, but evidently she wasn't as good at concealing her emotions as she had assumed. Yelping in surprise as Nandi landed on her, she instantly giggled, squirming under the darker cub. "Hey!" She mock-complained, still giggling and not actually wanting Nandi to get off. She was a typical cub and was used to sleeping in piles of fluff. Having someone close or even on top of her was comforting.

show spoilerhide spoiler

Mogami

belloblossom

AstoriaFallen

 

[Mogami]

show spoilerhide spoiler

belloblossom

AstoriaFallen

Tanakako

Despite being interested in the answers to the question and Mazuri's story-telling skills in general, Baie was aware that she wouldn't get a better opportunity than this. Pointing with her chin at the younger cubs, she sent Mthunzi and Khethiwe a look that clearly said "You're it" and sneaked away to join the band of huntresses that was about to depart soon.

It annoyed Baie that she wouldn't be there for the ending of the story and she just knew that she was going to be curious all day but the orange lioness took comfort from the fact that she could seek out Mazuri at a later time and ask her about the younger girls' answers. Oh well, at least she'd escaped.

(Baie out!)

----------

"What?" Nandi said innocently, though the effect was great dimished by the fact that her voice was heavily muffled - she had Sifiso's ear in her mouth and was chewing it contently as she waited for another piece of the story. She didn't let go of her agemate and continued being a dead weight over the pale cub, trying to be a very subtle nuisance. Her posture was relaxed but her tiny grin and the playful glint in her eyes betrayed her thoughts. "What is it?"