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 Posted: Tue May 29, 2018 6:02 pm
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Njia was nervous about leaving her cubs behind, but the truth was that her little rascals were driving her crazy. She had never expected to be a mother to so many cubs. At times they could be overwhelming even when she did her best to parent them properly. They were... good cubs, though. Well-rounded and even kind. There were a few instances where they pretended to have swagger and attitude around the other cubs in the pride, but Njia couldn't blame them for trying to fit in.
She had left the lot in the care of a thrall, which she wasn't entirely pleased with. Njia hardly knew the thrall, and yet the thralls in the pride were expected to take on these sort of roles. The black and purple lioness still had a hard time coming to terms with the role the thralls played in the pride to begin with. Generally she cast a blind eye over them. If she did not see them, they did not impact her life.
It was early in the day, and she left the cubs still sleeping in their den. The time had come for both Njia and Ciro to make good on their promises. She was going to go on her first viking, and she knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park. She wasn't sure if that kind of life suited her, but it was what Ciro spent a good portion of his time doing. For some reason, she wouldn't mind the opportunity to be with him more.
Her normally pristine moral conscience had been clouded by his presence, tainted a little by it. Things she would normally see as unforgivable seemed just a little more acceptable with him committing the act.
Sucking in a quick breath, she spotted the father of her cubs with a group of lions. Perhaps it wouldn't be the romantic getaway that Ciro or Njia imagined...
"I'm here."
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Posted: Tue May 29, 2018 6:11 pm
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When it came to Vikings, Ciro was a bit of a no-nonsense type guy. He was a Captain now, and had more responsibility that the normal Reaver had on these missions. So much that he actually had a small team of Reavers along with a few freeborn. All in total there was probably five lions not including the dark male. With his dark lady quickly approaching, they would be a group of seven. A perfect little number.
It would definitely put a wrench in Ciro's woos know there was quite a gathering amongst them, but the lion knew a way around that.
"Ah. You were the last we were waiting for... Good, now that you are here, we can get going. Reavers. Tag up with a freeborn. One of you will share." His golden gaze turned to the purple marked female. "Njia, you'll be traveling with me.
"There has been word that a large group of lions are traveling south towards the Pridelands carrying some goods. It is our plan to intercept them before they hit their target. Should we succeed, some of you may be going home with thralls and trinkets should the War Lord not wish to keep them. Should be not, well," the dark lion narrowed his eyes, "Let's hope it doesn't come to that." He shrugged slightly.
"Now. Who knows the way to the Pridelands? Ah. Good." When a reaver raised his paw, Ciro nodded to have him take the helm. "You lead. I will trail behind." It was the only way to be able to speak with Njia alone for a while. When the freeborn and Reavers were a good distance, Ciro turned a smirk to his lady friend. "About time we get you out, isn't it?" Though, it was his fault this wasn't sooner. They had had too much fun in the pride apparently. |
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Posted: Tue May 29, 2018 6:42 pm
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Njia knew it was no coincidence that Ciro paired her up with him. It was as if the rest of the group did not matter, that this was a viking meant only for the two of them. She glanced around to the other lions gathered. None of them she knew, and she wasn't even sure that they mattered enough to know. The only lion here she wanted to spend time with was Ciro. To admit that aloud was something she wouldn't even contemplate doing, however. She didn't want Ciro to suspect that he had her wrapped around his claws as much as he truly did.
The group set out towards the Pridelands. She had heard the pride was massive, but relatively undisciplined. Her own homelands had lacked the same discipline, so when it came to a natural disaster they had no way to recover from it. The pride dispersed - its members spread across the lands. She was unsurprised that none seemed to have made it here, at least as freeborn.
"The only reason it took so long was because of you," Njia reminded him with a small, mischevious smile. By the time he had made it to being a Captain, Njia's pregnancy had been... very evident. There was no adventuring when she was burdened by so many cubs. Now that the little ones were weaned, she could stretch her legs and set out on a little adventure.
"I suspect your greed is showing in making me your partner," she told him. This time she knew exactly what Ciro was doing.
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Posted: Tue May 29, 2018 6:51 pm
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Ciro tsked slightly. "Ah, Njia. Your words hurt. I figured you would rather stay nearby your captain than just a mere Reaver. We can change that if you'd rather, although, that would certainly cause some talk amongst the others." His voice lowered. "And frankly, they may be talking about us later." He brought his head up with a small chuckle. He didn't care what others saw or heard from him, though he would want to not have the lioness feel uncomfortable in their current group, as they would be traveling together for a while.
"Where is your bird friend? Staying with the kids I assume?" Ciro trusted Njia's judgment on who she left the cubs with. If Javik was there then it would just be extra set of eyes.
"Hmm." He watched his group before him, making sure to still keep an eye on them as they traveled. He had been to the Pridelands multiple times, they were indeed on the correct patch. "Ever been out this way, or are we going to begin this adventure how I intended to, taking you to places in only your wildest imagination?" Well...it was more having a pleasurably time in places she could only imagine, but it was the same difference, right? |
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Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2018 6:54 am
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"Let's not give them too much to talk about," Njia answered cautiously. It was all too easy to get carried away with Ciro. While it was nice to be out and about, she needed to see if the reaver lifestyle suited her. Being able to travel where ever she pleased was great, but at the cost of hurting others... She wasn't sure it would be the right choice from her. Stealing goods seemed to be the lesser evil, but that hardly made it right. Maybe Ciro had a great way to go about it, some way to ease her conscience over the things that the Stormborn did.
"Yeah, Javik is back at the den helping keep watch of the cubs." If only she hadn't birthed so many. The fact that she took on an extra two did not need to be mentioned. They were her daughters now and forever. "When they're a little older, and I trust their sitter more, I'll have him come out here with me. He's a great scout." Having a bird's-eye view was no doubt a valuable resource.
He was trying to charm her, and she dared to admit it worked. A smile creaked at the corner of her mouth, her eyes darting to him as they traveled. "I've been this way before. It has been a long time since my homelands were struck by disaster, so I've been around. You'll have to do more to impress me," she teased.
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Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2018 5:57 pm
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Ciro smirk, his head nudging Njia's shoulder just a bit. "Aww, you don't want to live on the wild side this trip? You know...I vaguely remember someone was okay with an audience at one point," he paused his step, a thoughtful look coming across his face before chuckling. "Alright, alright. We won't give them too much to talk about." The devious look appeared, luckily the rest of his crew had gone far enough ahead to notice it, as well as hear their conversation.
"Ah, that works well then. Soon they will be old enough to look after themselves, or perhaps come on a trip with us." He frowned. Actually, him and the kids on a viking probably wasn't the best idea, especially if Njia was with him.
"Oh. Hmm.." He thought for a moment. "Well, I am sure I can impress you. Challenge has been accepted." He nipped at her shoulder as he pace sped up just a notch. "What kind of disaster hit your home? Perhaps we could swing by on the way back to see what has come of your old homelands?" And...maybe Ciro could find himself a new avian friend since Gwen had seemed to disappear on him. |
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Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2018 6:22 pm
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If Njia's fur wasn't so dark he would have seen the furious blush that tinted her cheeks. Instead she flicked her tail, feigning agitation as she looked away from him. Her hormones had obviously bested her willpower at that point, for her to be so brazen. But, she couldn't exactly forget just how enthralled she was with him. The dark lioness glanced nervously ahead of her, making sure that the other lions were out of earshot. That would have been embarrassing if they had just heard Ciro then. "If they hear you they will have plenty to talk about," she warned him anyways.
He was going to put her into an early grave, one way or another.
That was an idea, there. If she brought the children with her on vikings surely Ciro wouldn't be quite so interested in her. Njia had enough sense not to fool around with him with the cubs were around. It was a great idea and a terrible one all at the same time. "Well, we certainly had enough of them to make a small viking band," Njia offered with a small chuckle. "But I can imagine bringing them along would be quite the headache." Ugh, did she really want anyone to interfere with her time with Ciro?
He nipped her shoulder and Njia instantly shied away from him. She knew what route they would go down on if she showed the slightest bit of the interest she felt. The viking band was still too close, and the landscape too sparse. Glancing around, there was no real place they could sneak off to. Ugh, why was she even thinking about that? The lioness frowned, "It was an earthquake. Our leader perished, and we couldn't band together after that. A lot of the older members had already been through a tragic earthquake before." As she spoke, she found herself leaning into him, her body once again betraying her.
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Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2018 6:44 pm
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It did not go unnoticed that as Njia spoke, her body had begun to press against him. An ear flickered towards her while his gaze settled ahead, noting the elongating gap between him and her, compared to the rest of the crew. He had once quickened his pace, but now...now he decided against it. While there was nowhere for the two to 'hide' so to speak, if his band got well enough ahead of them, they could be enjoy a quick moment without losing too much time.
"That does sound awful. I couldn't imagine something like that ever happening to the Stormborn." He said with a frown, watching the band get further and further while he slowed his own speed to just a walk. He took a moment to lean back into her, making her aware the closeness of the two before he stopped altogether.
"The reavers up there are well seasoned. I am sure one of them wishes to become a Captain in the near future. It would do them well to see what it is like to not have their Captain overlooking their every move." It was how his own Captain had handled Ciro. In turn, it was how all the events of his recent past ended to be. Meeting Njia, capturing Ruka, befriending Gwen. It was time to let another have a little shot at the leadership.
Surely, Ciro was doing it purely for his own benefit.
He glanced around, a swarm of vultures were just to the left of them. His ears perked with interest. Vultures meant a kill. A kill meant an excuse should they be too long.
His smirk deepened as he rub his side against Njia, his tail flicking. It had been quite a long time since Ciro had been alone with Njia after all. |
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Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2018 7:05 pm
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"Your cliffs would fall into the sea if something like that happened," she mused aloud. Ciro's change of pace did not go unnoticed. He had slowed down, and Njia was not so naive to think it was for any other reason than to give them some more privacy. She could have hurried ahead to catch up with the group, but instead found herself slowing down to match his pace. What a fool she was, to think she could ever resist him. For a while they strolled side by side, watching as the group ahead of them grow smaller and smaller.
"You don't need to justify your decisions to me," Njia told him, because she knew that wasn't the real reason why he was letting the group slip ahead of them. She knew exactly what he was doing the moment he rubbed up against her, and it took everything within her power not to immediately cave to him. He was dangerously close, and they were becoming dangerously alone. Njia found herself stopping, watching through keen golden eyes as the other aspiring reavers seemed to be nearly gone.
"I know you're not letting them go it alone right now because you want to give them a chance at playing Captain." Her gaze turned to him again, finally convincing herself that if she looked at him she would not immediately cave.
But he was very handsome, and the group seemed to be far enough away.
Maybe if she got this out of the way, she could focus on the viking ahead of them? Njia leaned close, butting her head underneath his chin before she walked the length of her body against his side. At least, getting this 'out of the way' was what she could tell herself to convince them both that they could focus on this viking.
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