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 Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2017 1:19 pm
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Suffice to say, Mazuri was immensely pleased at the change in weather. She was born during the beginning of the drought so she had to transition from having food and water to constantly being hungry and parched. She had endeavored to remain optimistic and not look at the worried faces of the adults as they wondered whether she or her siblings would survive the harsh drought.
Save for the accident with the crocodiles, which had injured both her mother and sister in the process, they all made it out alive and it seemed that now her optimism was finally pulling off. When it first rained, Mazuri hadn't known what it was and the adults had laughed at her. Now, it was her favorite thing, right up there with lounging in the new grass and falling asleep with a full stomach. It seemed that rain brought everything good along with it, most importantly the new herd that had begun to graze in their territory again.
Lionesses were encouraged to hunt in strategic groups when it came to hunting the wilderbeasts from the herd. No one could go after them alone, for reasons of danger and the fear of scaring them off. So, when Mazuri went hunting and left the cub sitting to other lionesses, she only preyed upon smaller beasts, like birds and meerkats. Hardly more than a few mouthfuls, but it was still food and Mazuri relished in it. She would occasionally pass by the herd, out of sight and scent boundaries, just to marvel at the herd actually being there.
Mazuri was out doing that today, actually, and was watching the beasts carefully when she noticed a flicker of movement that was distinctly feline, which was moving toward their herd. Her eyes narrowed and she quickly moved in to cut off the feline, knowing that it couldn't possibly be one of her pride sisters, due to the group rule in place. This meant it had to be someone new, trying to steal their prey, after the herd just arrived!
She curved and arched and then leapt forward, leaping just out of the sight and smell of the beasts and directly in front of the perpetrator. It was a lioness, as she suspected, but not one of her pride.
"It is foolish to try and hunt this prey." She growled softly. "Come walk with me, we'll find you something better." Nudging the lioness back with her shoulder, she slunk past her, careful not to spook the beasts nearby and headed away from the herd, glancing back frequently to make sure the lioness was following her. When they were a safe distance away, she spoke normally and asked, "Do you want to tell me what you were intending by stalking a herd on your own?"
Anderleit I hope this is an okay start! |
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2017 6:10 pm
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 ...They appeared to have settled. Blue eyes widened, their lioness' expression startled. But...here? Of all the places for the herd to decide to move on! Mokosh hadn't taken too much notice of the lands she had stalked the wildebeest herd into; only now did she really stop and take stock. She supposed it wasn't a bad choice, and there were certainly worse. She was just surprised, really. The lioness had expected to follow them quite a ways more.
This was the evening for being surprised apparently: when another lioness appeared, bounding into view scarce breaths from her nose, Mokosh nearly leapt out of her skin! As she scuttled backwards - panic gently, panic quietly, she reminded herself - the dusty lioness couldn't help but take in the interloper. A much darker pelt than her own, with some very fetching darkened forelegs. Absolutely lovely amber eyes that might have been angry; Mo' realized that she couldn't tell through the lioness' dark mask. Out of reflex alone, she found herself reluctantly bracing for a fight-
"...Oh." The words left her in a rush. "A-alright." The stranger did sound angry, but she also wasn't trying to jump down her throat. Mo would take a bit of a walk over a fight any day. The other lioness didn't look like she was going to take 'no' for an answer besides.
"I wasn't hunting them. I've been following the herd since it moved on." She slunk along behind the other lioness, having held her silence as they passed out of the herd's notice. "I tracked them down from the north, until they settled. Apparently, they've chosen to stay here." She settled into silence. The barest truth of it, that she'd come down with the herds, should be more than enough.
"Do you want to tell me who you are, to intrude on me and demand my purpose?" The question wasn't asked with any malice, but honest curiosity. Who else would be in this place? Especially someone so protective of a random wildebeest herd?
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2017 6:41 pm
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Mazuri gave a faint snort when the lioness claimed to have followed the herd down from the north. Why this herd in particular? Surely there had to be others between the northward territories and the rogue lands? They couldn't all be suffering from drought! Could they?
Shaking off her nerves that had come from the surprise of finding a rogue lioness so close to what should have been obviously the Bonelanders herd, she puffed out her chest proudly as she answered.
"I am Mazuri, one of the Bonelands lionesses. You," She gave the newcomer a pointed look. "Are trespassing." Her gaze turned back to the area where the herd grazed, now tiny dark blobs on the horizon. When she returned her gaze to the greyish lioness before her, she smiled. "Be grateful that one of our Umholis didn't catch you sneaking about our borders. Especially if you were a male. They would have gutted you."
She took the time now to walk in a circle around the lioness appraisingly and then she smiled again.
"You know what, it's a good day. Let's get something in our bellies and then we can decide how to move on from there." She started walking again and then when she glanced over her shoulder, she added, "You don't have to worry about anyone else springing at your from the pride, so long as you're with me. In exchange, you have to tell me what it's like wherever you've come from. Has the rest of the world been dealing with the drought too, or is it just us? What's it like out there? Do you have a pride? What's your name?"
Once she got started, it was hard to stop the flood of questions that poured from her maw. Because she, like the majority of the other lionesses in the pride, was confined to within the borders of the pride, she was always curious about the goings on outside the borders. She often discussed this with the Busisa, but they usually liked to ignore their pasts and settle into the Bonelands. To have someone so available and new was terribly exciting for the young lioness.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2017 8:26 pm
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The Bonelands? Some of the light drained out of Mo's eyes at the revelation. This land belonged to a pride? She must have been so engrossed in the herd that she missed the scent markers completely. "Umholi?" She latched onto the foreign word in her distraction. This strange lioness - Mazuri - had a very good point, though. She didn't want to be caught trespassing on pride lands, especially if they had claimed her herd for their own! She shuddered to think of the kind of trouble she could have gotten into.
...Although maybe she wasn't out of the woods yet. Though Mokosh didn't turn with the circling lioness, she did make sure to keep an eye on her. It was a little overwhelming, but supposedly she was safe in these new lands, so long as she stuck close to her impromptu guide. "I am hungry," she acknowledged, falling into step beside the Bonelander. The smile she offered in return was tenuous. "I guess I can relay a little information.
"My name is Mokosh. I come from lands north of these. We were not a proper pride, such as yours. Only a few families and some close friends." Her smile grew noticeably more genuine. Now that she was more relaxed, the dusty lioness' features softened. It was almost nice, getting lost in Mazuri's questions. "I suppose the drought hit us as well, but we would hardly have noticed. The lands we called home have been growing drier all the time. Sand creeps into places you would not expect, spreading like an ocean. Once fertile mountain passes grew arid. We...lost many." Her voice died off. It was light, a little bit breathy, and only seemed to become more so when recounting such poignant memories. Mokosh cleared her throat, her words coming with renewed strength. "So like I said, we were chasing the herd."
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2017 9:14 pm
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Mazuri's gaze softened with sympathy as she beheld the lioness' tale of woe. Suddenly, the lioness, Mokosh, was a sister that had been laden with sorrow. The notion of someone being so unhappy in turn made Mazuri sorrowful and she nudged the grey-brown lioness with a shoulder.
"I'm sorry. My pride has been suffering too. Between the hyenas and the crocodiles..." She closed her eyes, but a thought surfaced and she turned an inquisitive look upon Mokosh. "You said your pride was tracking the pride, yet I found only you." Her eyes widened in horror. "Is it just you that remains?"
If that was the case, then Mazuri simply had to take Mokosh home with her. Busisa were not uncommon and what was one more mouth to feed when things were finally looking up what with the rain and all. With a small nod to herself, it had been decided and that was that, assuming, of course, it was as she assumed. If not... Mazuri wasn't sure what she ought to do...
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2017 10:11 pm
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That look. Mo recognized that look. Her smile turned wry, blue eyes askance at this strange lioness who chose to take her aside and listen to her tale. Who could have - and by right of her pride, perhaps should have - run her off by now. Instead, she offered a shoulder, and the sympathy of kind eyes. Mokosh hadn't realized how much she'd come to miss the contact.
She couldn't let her guard down quite yet, though. For all she knew, she wasn't out of the woods. Perhaps this was only a kinder way of escorting her from the pride's lands. If they had recently come through a drought, they might not yet have the patience for new mouths or new faces.
Mazari was not wrong in her assumptions, however. Mo's smile tightened at the corners, taking on a bitter cast. "It is only me." The confirmation weighed so heavily on her tongue! "Some died. Some moved off the trail with their families, seeking a better path. Some were captured on the way, and we had dwindled so far by then... There was nothing we could do." The lioness' ears flattened to her skull. Nothing they could do but run.
"It was only my sister and I. We were hungry, and the desert seemed so vast." By now, Mokosh's lips had lifted over her teeth. This was the part of the story she hadn't wanted to tell. This was the part that hurt. But the words were tumbling out now, end over end, and she couldn't have held them back for one second more. "She grew impatient, and sought to take one of the wildebeest on alone. Foolhardy! And all it got her was a hoof to the head." The lioness shook.
"I tried everything I knew. But there were hardly anything in the sands, no plants I recognized. No herbs, no... She was so very still. I didn't think there was anything I could do to help her. And I had nowhere else to go."
So she followed the herd. Partly out of tribute to the fallen, partly out of a need to do one thing that was natural. Even in part to keep busy, and keep from thinking about anything else. Maybe just a little out of a desire for revenge. She had seen her sister mar the back of that particular beast. She wouldn't mind finishing the job.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2017 11:36 pm
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Mazuri's expression shifted from a look of horror to sorrow and finally, she managed a kind smile and she lifted her tail to brush it against Mokosh's flank. Well, it was decided then. She was sorry to hear such a painful story, but there was no way she was letting this poor creature wander the rogue lands ever more. Mokosh had lost a sister, but if she chose to follow Mazuri back home to the others, she would find herself gaining several more. Mazuri knew that her pride sisters wouldn't replace the one Mokosh had lost, but it was far better than being alone.
"I'm sorry, Mokosh." Said she to the other. "I would be heart broken if any of my sisters died unexpectedly. You were very brave to continue on your own so far." She stopped walking and pressed herself gently against the other for a moment, trying her best to comfort the dusty grey lioness, despite having just met her moments ago.
"Why don't you come home with me? Back to my pride?" She offered then. "We're all very friendly and Busisa, that is to say joining rogues, are more common then you might think. I'll vouche for you, too." She paused, letting the offer sink in and then added in a firmer tone. "I would so love to have you as a pride sister, if you think you can stand joining a pride so soon after your loss. I just..." She looked to the open savannah and sighed. "I can't see you wandering alone in the rogue lands, but if you truly wish it... Let me get you something to eat and then I can show you across the borders."
There, she had given Mokosh a choice. She would not force the lioness to join her and her pride sisters, even if she desperately wanted to. Mazuri was kind and occasionally firm, but she would never force someone away from their chosen path.
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2017 8:10 am
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A drawn-out, shuddering breath was all that Mokosh allowed for her grief. She'd done far worse out in the desert. There were flashes of heat, of the herd running on, all but forgotten as she wailed in the sand. Lying over the body of her sister, stretched out and mourning. The dusky female had to remind herself that part of her was over. Long gone, passed forever into the wind. And she all the better for it.
Besides...there was the smile of a new sister, now. One that called her to take part in a proper pride. Mo would be lying if she told herself that she was not surprised. Lying still more if she pretended that the idea didn't have some appeal. Could she really live in a pride? Would she be useful as a - what had Mazuri called it? A busisa? The lioness ears flicked back again, but there was far less aggression in it. She honestly didn't know. But she wasn't going to find out here in the reeds, now was she?
Her eyes lifted, their limpid depths beginning to warm in the face of the other's smile. "Thank you for your kind words, Mazuri. But I only did what was needed to keep going. There's hardly any bravery in that." A similar smile, lopsided and shy, touched her own muzzle. "There might be in moving on, however. I think...that I would be honored to come with you. My sister is gone, but she would never forgive me if I chose to waste away. Far better that I lend my skills to you and this pride that you so clearly love. Perhaps, in time, I may come to love it too."
Her smile broke into a bit of a grin, and she nudged her shoulder against her companion's darker pelt. "You will have to teach me all these strange words, I'm afraid. For example - what is a crocodile?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2017 10:09 pm
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Mazuri listened closely, her eyes holding a steady gaze of the lioness in front of her. Mazuri herself always appreciated the direct attention of another, how else was she to know if they were really listening or not? She only hoped all of her staring wasn't unnerving and that her smile balanced it out.
When Mokosh finally announced that she was willing to come back with her and become her pride sister a loud rumbling purr exploded from Mazuri's throat and she rubbed her cheek against her new pride sister's.
"You will love it." Mazuri decreed. "I will introduce you to all of my-our-sisters and we shall be content. Come, let us go see them now!" Hunting could wait, Mazuri wanted to share her whole world with Mokosh and now she had the opportunity to! She was elated!
"Oh, let's not start with crocodiles. Those are too foul a topic to begin with, both great and terrible beasts. No, no. Your lessons must start with something good. Let us start with the language of the pride." She smiled at the other lioness, her eyes bright and happy. "We have different names for different status', you see. We lionesses are all pride-sisters, of course, but we are separated only by who was born into the pride and who joined in from outside. The latter, like you, are called Busisa. It means 'new blood'." She gestured with her tail what direction they were going to be walking in and chattered on contentedly."Me and my sisters, my litter sisters, not my pride sisters, we are called Umzingeli. That means born-in blood. There are other ranks too, like Enda, who are lionesses with vulture companions and Umama, who are the oldest and most respected lionesses of all our pride sisters. That's what I would like to be when I'm older." She paused in her lesson, turning her head to look at Mokosh with a half-smile, "You okay? I'm not going too fast am I?"
Anderleit Aaaaah, bad Bello forgot to reply to the RP! gonk I'm totally all for continuing it though! heart Sorry for the delay!
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2017 1:44 am
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There was such surety in this one. Mokosh couldn't help but smile - and at Mazuri's purring and subsequent welcome, that smile turned into laughter. If the Bonelanders raised all their babes with her kind of assurance, Mo felt like she would be comfortable here indeed. She fell into step beside the darker lioness with an answering, softer purr rising in her own throat. There was just something about seeing the younger lioness happy. That joy was strangely infectious.
In the meantime, Mo was content to follow her new sister and listen. Though not to any tales of great and terrible beasts, apparently. The lioness' eyes widened a bit. She was somewhat crestfallen to hear that Mazuri would rather not talk about them, although she supposed she could understand not wanting to dwell upon such a recent issue in the pride. Nonetheless, the dusty lioness made a point to file the word away for another time.
All the better to make room for new words, after all. Goodness, there seemed to be a lot of them! "I'm keeping up just fine, thank you!" Mo replied, a bit of teasing in her tone. "The Enda sound interesting. I have seen lions with lesser companions before, but never heard of a rank just for them. What do they do?" The relationships she had seen so far appeared to be ones made from convenience, circumstance, and even sometimes of camaraderie. How would vultures aid the pride? "And which lionesses are the guards you mentioned earlier - the umholi?"
belloblossom Spelling errors! Sorry if it tags you more than once.
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2017 8:28 pm
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Mazuri found comfort in the fact that her new pride sister was laughing alongside her as they walked back to the camp where their other pride sisters were waiting. She wondered how her litter sisters might think of her, bringing in a newcomer. She sincerely hoped she wasn't doing any harm to the pride... She was bringing in a new hunter! And it would have been impossible to leave her there, after she learned of her tale of woe. No, Mazuri was right to bring along, no matter what her litter sisters, pride sisters or even the Umholi thought!
"I'll be honest, I don't know a lot about the Enda." Mazuri replied with a half shrug. "I mean, I know they're scouts, usually, and that when the pride migrates to the other parts of the territory, they're typically sent out first to make sure it's safe and stuff, but I've not been alive that long to see that happen. My mother or one of the older lionesses probably could though!" She added, not wanting to disappoint Mokosh with her own ignorance on the topic.
When the other lioness inquired after the Umholi and suggested that they were lionesses to, Mazuri laughed outright.
"Oh goodness!" She purred once her laughter had reduced to purring intermixed with giggle fits. "Dear Mokosh, the Umholi are the males of the pride. Never in our history has a lioness ever been an Umholi-what a thought!" She shook her head in amusement and went on. "The Umholi and Inselelo are the protectors and leaders and, in a way, fathers of the pride. They're always lions, never lionesses and they take care of us. In return, we feed them. The Umholi are the leaders that are ever-present and stay within the pride, but the Inselelo come and go, depending on whether another worthy male manages to take their place. I hear this usually happens through an act of bravery or through battle, but I've never actually seen the latter take place."
"Now, while the lions are typically the leaders, we lionesses easily outnumber them and so our opinions usually matter far more significantly. The older lionesses take great satisfaction of this fact, as do some of the younger more headstrong lionesses. One of my sisters comes to mind..." Mazuri smiled and shook her head slightly before noting where they were. "We'll be coming upon the pride lands soon and I'll introduce you to everyone then. Are there any more questions you have before we move forward? Of course I'll be happy to keep explaining when we're there, but I daresay everyone will want to meet you first." She added with a smile and turned an expectant look onto Mokosh.
Anderleit Do you want to wrap this up in the next 2-3 posts?
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 6:32 am
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Ah, scouts! Now that made sense, and Mokosh felt silly for not thinking of it herself. Using vultures as their eyes in the sky - how clever! "I'll make sure to ask," Mo replied, trying to convey in that warm-voiced assurance how utterly grateful she was for the young lioness' guidance. She certainly couldn't expect this one member to know absolutely everything about her pride, but she had done a wonderful job acquainting her with their customs thus far!
Even if that meant laughing at her a little. "Well, I didn't know!" Mo burst out, though she wasn't far from some embarrassed giggles herself. It was certainly clear that she wasn't offended, though. Rather, even more than attentive to the rest of the explanation about her mistake. By its end, she had to chuckle at herself a little too. It was more than obvious why her new sister had reacted why she had; clearly, those roles couldn't really be played by other lionesses. And yet...did their presence really mean that no one in the Bonelands had a mate of their own?
Mo shook her head. That was definitely not something she was going to ask about right out of the gate. She'd be painting the wrong picture of herself entirely; she wasn't some cub-crazy maven. Talk about making a poor first impression.
Still, speaking of making the right impressions... There was a little trepidation in the look she leveled Mazuri's way. "I suppose I'm ready as I'll ever be." If anyone had told her some hours ago that she'd be trying to impress a pride of strange lions right about now, she would have laughed outright. Instead, at the moment Mokosh was feeling a whole different sort of funny. The lioness rolled her shoulders, visibly straightening her spine and trying to take on just a little of her escort's backbone. "How many pride-sisters did you say you had, again?" Too bad the nervousness in her voice was a little harder to hide.
belloblossom Yeah, seems like we're at a good stopping point. cat_3nodding
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2017 12:48 am
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