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 Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 7:03 pm
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A purr resonated within her chest, a soft and sweet sound as she rubbed her cheek back against Nyarai's. She knew from the moment Nyarai slid against her which lioness it was. There was only one who could be so sweet and yet so bold towards her. Nyarai was the type of lioness who was able to get along with anyone, and one who seemed capable of bridging the gap between others. Afya valued the pale lioness greatly, and was almost protective over Nyarai. She was so precious that Afya was convinced the smallest thing could break her, and she would not allow Nyarai to break.
She watched her pale friend disappear into the crowd of lions. It was for the best. The conversation between herself and her brother was heavy, loaded with fear for their future. Afya was less worried for herself, and more for the future of the pride. "You have a point," she answered, turning her dark blue gaze back to her brother. Noresi was correct, the lioness was already in their midst for better or for worse. Even if she was not ill, her presence alone heralded change.
Afya was not convinced she was ready for it, but she had to be. The time to adapt was now, but Afya was a soul deeply rooted in her beliefs. Rogues had brought them nothing but misfortune, only time would tell what shape this lioness' misfortune would take. "I suppose we will have to see what happens from here, brother."
Her eyes narrowed, teeth clenched in a disapproving 'tsk' as Urupuru approached the Onyeisi. There was only one reason the lion would wish to speak with Itiri. "How futile," she spoke disapprovingly. The damage to Ebere had been done. What had happened to the young lion could not be undone, and it was just punishment for what actions he had taken. "I wonder how long it will take for him to lose his cool, or how long it will take for him to realize that nothing can be done for his son now."
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Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 9:29 pm
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With enough time, her demeanor would calm. As it were, she was still too wound up but do anything but watch, listen, and hope that things didn't go too far south too quickly. What could be done, she wondered, to help ease the tensions that were still clouding the air around the celebration? Could anything be done, or was it futile and something that marred the future? Would she be able to do anything?
Before she could get lost in the seemingly never-ending pit that was her mind full of worries and despair, she felt a bump. It was enough to jolt her, but thankfully not enough to scare her. Sadiki knew Nchekwube only from watching from afar, as she did most of the pride, but that didn't stop her heart from feeling pained for him. If the whispers around were true, he had to be feeling some sort of agony, sadness, whatever else came with a sibling's punishment as harsh as his brother's was.
"It's alright." she offered him a warm smile and a consoling purr, trying her hardest to not lose it, herself. "Absolutely no harm done. Would you like to sit with me for a bit? Calm a bit and, maybe have something to eat?"
She was terrible at this. But, she tried.
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 1:13 am
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It was unlikely to be a response that Uru would have wanted, but as the Onyeisi's gaze truly levelled upon the paler male he wasn't met by a diplomat, but something a little different. It was clear that Itiri knew precisely why Urupuru was here and why he had chosen to approach him here; but in a gathering where tensions were already high and the air thick with tension... Privacy was not something that could be afforded.
No, the new Onyeisi would start off how he meant to go on and that meant putting individuals in their place immediately and publicly if it was required. Given that one of the key subjects of gossip on this occasion was the fabled and now blind son of this particular lion, privacy would do nothing more than stoke the flames of existing controversy.
"I know why you are here," he said finally, his tone remaining neutral. This could very well end in a fight, or Urupuru would step down. "And you are not entitled to privacy in regards to it," he added and shook his head. "Not when it is common knowledge, and not when you are here to dispute the consequences," he paused, allowing the first of his remarks to sink in. Clearly the lion wasn't just a pretty face and more importantly, it seemed that while he might be moderate, there might very well be respect for fundamental traditions within the pride.
Maybe.
"So if you are here to dispute your son's punishment then you will do so publicly," he forced his expression to remain blank, though the urge to raise his eyebrow was high. "And you will inform not just me as to why his punishment was inappropriate, but all of us," he shook his head.
"Why should your son have been exempt from what would have been inevitable?" he continued and pursed his lips; his paw then raised as if to pre-empt one particular excuse that he was sure would come up. "And do not attempt to use age as a reason; your son is no child and from birth we are all raised with the same fundamental expectations from society. From birth, we should know better."
For now those who had come to congratulate him were 'forgotten' and Itiri made no attempts to keep his voice low. He had good reason for it; everyone was invested in this gossip to some degree and it simply made sense to address it before it got truly out of hand. If rumours were to be believed then there was every possibility of a needless family feud and that would benefit no one.
+Anyone else who had a lion listening in!
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 3:54 am
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The pale lion took a breath. Loosing his cool would only make him look like a child, loosing his head could start a war between families. He did not want to do that. The war in his soul was enough. The words rang true in his head, He was, after all, a traditionalist. He had been born and raised here, the fact that his child had done something so bile inducing was a constant cause of conflict for the pale male.
“I will not use age as an excuse, though I do think that he is a boy, foolish, without a thought in his head, as most are when they are too young to know their tail from their mane.” He paused, his ears vanishing in to his mane. “The punishment does not befit the crime.” Again a pause, he wished he could take the pain away from his child, he wished he could have taken the punishment but it was too late now and as the debate would not be taken to a private whisper he would have to say exactly what his suspicions were.
“I believe, the boy did his foolish act out of love.” He licked his lips, it was his family name after all, in a way they abided by the rule of their family blood. His duel eyed gaze settled firmly upon the dark male.
“My child, my child can no longer preform societally. His pawsteps would have followed my own and with so few of us on the borders, a productive member of our society has forever been destroyed.” He felt his calm fading, his heart rate elevating, his ears were ringing and trying to pull some semblance of sense back to this moment was proving, difficult, to say the least. His voice held strong, firm, any whine in his tone would make him seem weak.
“He is young and now he cannot fulfill his role in this pride and what female would take him when he is a burden?” Perhaps this was a foolish thing to ask, but he himself had married young as was expected of him to keep their pride alive. “His punishment did not fit the crime he committed.” He spat the words, the conflict raging in his head was making his eyes hurt and his blood boil. He knew he wanted revenge, pure and simple, revenge for the wrong done to his silly, foolish, love lorn child.
“The amoosu had no right, he should have been brought before, you, disabling a babe in arms is a foolish waste of a life.” He swallowed hard his throat was dry and tingled with acid. Again an audible breath escaped his maw, he loved his pride, he loved their traditions but his children mattered more. He opened his mouth to further state his case but his jaw closed just as quickly, to mention the rogue in their midst, a rule, a law set in place would make him seem petty and judgemental so the words flittered from his tongue. He uttered one final phrase and he said it with all his heart. “My child does not deserve this.” |
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 4:44 am
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His brow did raise at this point, Urupuru had said something that was incorrect but in doing so he had provided an opportunity. Itiri could sympathise with his son, could appreciate that life would no longer be as easy for him as before... But this had never been Itiri's judgement to render. This was a misconception that the Onyeisi would clear up and in doing so, he would hopefully dispel some of the doubt in the minds of at least a few of the pride who were concerned with his personal stance.
"The judgement rendered upon your son was never mine to mete out," Itiri replied smoothly and shook his head. "Throughout our history there have always been a series of fundamental truths that we have always followed and quite frankly, it seems that at some point, we started to forget them..." He released a sigh and motioned towards the Amoosu who had deemed him at least 'worthy' to take time away from their work.
Suffice it to say that the relationship between Priest and Onyeisi had been strained for some time now.
"I serve the Living, this very soil you stand on is my domain and it is imperative that I ensure you are happy and safe, that much is right," he pursed his lips. "The Amoosu have always served the Dead; the Catacombs have always been their domain. That which is the realm of spirits is their's to commune within and never the two shall meet," he paused briefly and cleared his throat. "As Head of the Amoosu, Isiike was within his rights to exact the punishment."
"Your son invaded the Realms of the Dead, and you must concede that we do not know what he did within it. No eyes other than those of the Amoosu have seen those realms and more importantly, they are already in disarray - your son could have jeopardised that further," he stated. "If what you say is true and he was foolish enough to allow love to guide him to go against everything we have been taught..."
He glanced briefly at Naani, though he said nothing directly to her at this time.
"Then he was already blind," he concluded and shook his head. "His vision was already clouded, as was his judgement. Who is to say that rather than wandering through the Realms of the Dead, he did not instead decide to harm another or simply kill them. If he was truly so blinded by this affection as you imply then it seems he would have had the desire to do anything to prove his point."
Another pause; did he blame the lioness for what she had challenged him to? It was certainly foolish, but if she had made such a demand then it might very well have been out of desperation. Logic would have stated that even a child would exercise judgement and when faced with that challenge, they would have backed down.
...Ebere simply hadn't.
"Perhaps without his sight to mislead him, his judgement will be clearer. He is young and he will adapt, there are other activities within the pride other than Hunting and he will find his place."
He returned his gaze to Urupuru and grimaced.
"Even if you had dragged him before me, the ruling would have remained the same," he pointed out softly. "He knew of these consequences, they have never been secret... He just chose to participate despite this." It was at this point that he finally glanced at Naani again and perhaps, there was a hint of something else, was it understanding?
"If the gossip is true and your child was challenge to enter the realms of the dead in order to prove their affection, then perhaps one should consider why that challenge was rendered. I can only imagine that it takes an act of desperation to utter such a thing to begin with."
Itiri was unlikely to ever know the full story unless he was told.
"But on a personal level, I would only issue a challenge like that to make a point... And that could only be one point alone: Leave me alone."
Itiri had no idea if he was right, but in truth he could only imagine issuing such a ridiculous task in the hopes that it would be so extreme, it would put the other individual off. It would be a way out, an escape route, something that would enable him to escape something that seemed incapable of letting him go.
He could have been completely wrong of course and the lioness had actively challenged him as part of some strange, tragic fantasy. If this was the case, then perhaps he did need to address Naani's behaviour personally. However, without the full facts he wasn't going to drag anyone over the coals further - gossip was one thing and he scarcely had either side of the story.
...All he could be certain of was that Urupuru's son had broken one of their most fundamental laws. The Amoosu had acted in accordance with these laws and as the Onyeisi he had to support them. Age, love or the words of another could never be used to exclude someone from this punishment. Ebere's actions were his own and no one had made him take them through force. One day perhaps, Urupuru would realise this but for now Itiri could appreciate that his pain was still too raw.
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 6:53 am
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 8:28 am
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With his nose buried in Nyarai's fur, it was surprisingly easy to forget about everything else. Ink could ignore the celebration around them. He could focus on nothing else but making her feel better. Looking back on this moment later, he would probably wish that he had tried harder to do that right away. Maybe he could have suggested that they leave as soon as she made her distress known. Maybe he could have done anything, honestly, more useful that merely insisting that everything was going to be alright.
The golden lioness would feel his sharp intake of breath before she heard it. Ink kind of wished he could make it louder, make it fill her ears so that she was spared its cause. Itiri's voice rose over the assembled lions, just loud enough that there was no mistaking it; he meant to be heard. The heather male lifted his head, looking on - as if in slow motion - as the realization spread over Ebere's father's face. Watching him struggle to keep his composure flattened Inkumbulo's ears against his skull, wrenched at his heart.
He didn't even think about it as he stepped in front of Nyarai, gently attempting to coax the lioness further behind him. As if through position alone, Ink could body-block her from the very public scene unfolding in their midst.
It was made all the worse because, of course, there was nothing to be done. Itiri spoke the truth, every awful word. But it was terrible to see, and it certainly didn't feel like it was going to be alright. Not at all.
Dharau's brows shot up, though he fought to keep his expression neutral. Were he a more crass lion, he might have whistled in surprise; completely out of the question, thankfully. Not to mention the attention such an act would draw to himself: at the moment, save for the voices of Urupuru and Itiri, he would swear you could hear a raindrop.
The Onyeisi was not going to waste any time progressing the game, was he? And he made no accident of the position this ruling placed him in. The green-eyed lion was quick to note the mention of the priests, and his brows touched his mane at the flick of that dark paw. A summons, how rich! Daring, to put the respected amoosu on the spot. Would any of them dare step forward to support him, as he did their leader now?
It took everything in Dharau to hold back a chuckle. Whatever issues all of this brought their pride - and issues would come, these rash changes could bring nothing else - at the very least, they would all be kept entertained in the meantime!
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 8:32 am
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 8:51 am
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Nkwusi padded quietly into the area where everyone was gathered, aware that he was late, and trying to either make sure no one noticed - or if someone did, that they thought it was on purpose. The young lion's head was up, meeting the gaze of anyone who happened to look over at him. Despite his still-present grief over recent family events and insecurities he realized that looking weak in front of so many others would be bad. The Uju could not be seen as vulnerable. The only part of him that betrayed his inner nerves was the tip of his tail, constantly twitching around behind him.
Thankfully, after not too long, he spotted his sister talking to an older male. A frown chased across his face for a moment, but then disappeared. Much as he wanted to protect her, she would need to find a mate. For their family. Drawing himself up a bit, he moved to join the two of them, catching the very end of what was going on over by the new Onyeisi. Without saying anything first, he bumped lightly into his sister with a low purr. He'd noticed she had seemed more down than usual lately. Kind of ... off. He didn't know exactly why, and wouldn't push her to tell him, unless she wanted to - but he did want her to know he was there for her. "Gbaruo," he greeted the older lion with a small nod of respect. Then he nodded toward the front of the assembly. "What was that all about?"
MangoMeow Sorry your bro is a late bum lololo
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 8:58 am
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“I don’t know about that, the winds are howling and I can hear the thunder roar.” Her words were so quiet, so gentle spoken that she was not sure if Ink would hear them. Eyes closed, face contouring as she heard their new leader speak, she almost felt like she was the one being scolded. It was just all too tragic.
With every word in the exchange she wanted to chime in, she wanted to comfort Uru, defend Ebere. She wanted to say that nobody here saw the young lion as a burden, that the price he paid was his sight and not the love they had for him. She wanted to reassure the father that his son still had a place amongst and a life to lead. She wanted to say all the things Ithri was saying but in a much softer way. Ebere was young, he could adapt; and that she would offer all the help she could to make sure he grew up happy.
The orange lioness wanted to say so many things, but getting between the two males was a thought so terrifying that her feet refused to move. She was a coward, she had always been a coward; that is why she was still living life in Khwezi’s shadow, too delicate to step out of it even if it meant sticking up for what she believed. Now Ink was protecting her, using himself to shield her from the events occurring. No, she could not live her life this way. For some reason, she did not want Ink to think that poorly of her.
Instead, she stepped forward, ever so slightly. “Uru! Please, do not think that poorly of us. We- I…” Her voice trailed off a little, she did not want to speak for others, she did not think she had to right to do so. Vivid eyes looked around for anyone who would support what she was saying, anyone else who wanted to comfort Uru, offer him some show of solidarity and support. If one believed the punishment was just or not, she hoped that the Pride valued each other enough to understand that this family needed their help. Hadn’t everyone suffered enough? “Ebere will always have a home with us.” She was sure he would grow up to be strong, just like his father.
Her toes twitched, not too sure if she should run after Uru or in the opposite direction as quickly as possible. She knew that she was not brave enough to talk to Ithri tonight, nor did she think she would be brave enough to do so in a while. She did not think badly of him; she thought he had handled the situation as well as she could have hoped for. But witnessing it was hard and it left her far from the mood to celebrate. Her eyes drifted back to the male stood with her, back to Ink, wondering if she had done the right thing. Instead, her head just fell, long strands of hair falling over her eyes.
“Run away with me.” It was almost a plea, silent to anyone but her companion.
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 9:30 am
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Zuko nodded slightly as the lighter male spoke and was about to continue their conversation when voices carried to them from where the lions were gathering. He paused and turned to watch, ears turned forward. Urupuru, Ebere's father, was voicing his displeasure to Itiri about how his son's punishment was handled. While Zuko could understand the rage and sadness the lion had simply because it was his son, Zuko had to agree with what Itiri was saying. It wasn't his place to dish out punishment when the catacombs were involved.
That got him thinking about the rogue and he frowned a bit, recalling his own gripes with the decision to let her in. While it was true that Itiri oversaw the living of the pride, it still didn't sit well with him that he had let the female in so easily. Still, that was a conversation for another day. It was clear Urupuru wasn't pleased with Itiri's final say, but Zuko felt as though it had been a good show from the new leader.
"Well. That was exciting," he murmured, tail flicking back and forth. "I do agree with Itiri and what he said, but it certainly must be awful to be Urupuru and his family right now." He could understand the concern for his son's well being, his place in the pride, finding a mate in the future and things of that nature. Zuko, as a third party, could look on their situation with empathy but with a critical eye as well. Hard times could shape a young lion and he was sure Ebere would thrive even without his eyes so long as he didn't wallow in self pity.
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 12:15 pm
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Nchekwube looked up to the runed lioness with a small, unsure smile. "Yeah, thanks," he started, sitting down. He recognized Sadiki a bit, if only from distant encounters. The adolescent didn't do much in the socialization department.
As Isithunzi approached, Nche did his best to a give a little smile in response to the smirk.
Then, the words from Itiri and Urupuru's conversation met his ears. He hadn't anticipated being close enough to the conversation to hear the details. The sounds of unrelated chatter seemed to conveniently stop. Were people listening? What must they think? The idea of others judging his family members made his heart sink into his stomach.
The adolescent's ears pinned to his head and his eyes dropped to the ground. He wasn't feeling pity for his brother and father. Nor anger towards Itiri or Isiike. It was just… sadness. Sad that things had to be that way. Sad that people might think of Urupuru or Ebere as anything less than a caring dad and a good brother.
"Ebere isn't a bad guy," Nchekwube murmured, not loudly or at anyone in particular but enough to where perhaps the two nearby lionesses could hear him. "Yeah he did something dumb, but…" his voice trailed off and he looked up to see his father walking away. Part of him wanted to go be there for his family. But the rest of him knew that they just needed some time. "but he's not a bad guy." He just wanted this all to go away.
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Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2018 3:18 pm
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Mgbamizu shook his head, listen to Itiri and Urupuru. Never having met his own father, he was curious is this was how Ihe would have reacted if he had done something as stupid as entering the catacombs. He wondered if he should confide in the new Onyeisi with what Naani had told him during the meeting, but held off. It wasn't his place.
"Hmph." Mgbamizu snorted, gazing back at Zuko. "I just hope Urupuru doesn't do anything as equally as stupid as what his son has done." He commented almost in a whisper, thinking his thoughts out loud. "Otherwise we are in for one wild ride, and as many hardships as this pride has gone through in the past, I am not sure everyone will be able to hang on for it." He didn't want to dwell on the thoughts of the future. Right now, he knew there was other life outside the N'ezi-ozu, and Mgbamizu was determined to see out this new female to ask her questions about the outside world.
Rising, the Aguu bid the other a farewell. "See you around, Zuko." He debated going to speak with Isithunzi, or maybe seek out his mother somewhere in the mess of lions here. |
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