[ORP] We suffer together

[Andranis]

OOC: This is open to all, and basically a big gripe-fest for those recently injured hunting or by crocodiles, as well as any who want to hang around and learn from the gripes. It'll only be open for about two weeks, and is set shortly after the double-whammy of the hunting injuries and crocodile attack.

The sun was merciless, beating down on everybody. Isasa quietly cursed her darker back fur, wanting nothing more than to be laying in a cooling pool of water. She wasn't keen on going near the water, though, not with the crocodiles around. It was safe to presume that she wasn't keen, anymore, on meeting Kuhasa's crocodile friend, and despite the pain she was in, she paced back and forth, an absolutely dark look on her face. "Damn those scaled pests."

Watching Isasa pace back and forth, Izinyathi stretched out in the shade of a tree. Not that it was much shade, the tree seemed to be withdrawing in on itself with the prolonged lack of rain. "I'm sure they're only doing what's natural, going after prey. We just happen to be prey for them." She shifted, quietly happy for her own pelt being stark white. While it meant she could potentially burn easier in the sun, it also meant she didn't overheat. Time had taught her how to avoid being spotted by prey, even with such bright fur, and she was confident in her ability to hunt when her turn came. She would do her family line proud. "Now why don't you lay down? It can't be good for you to pace like that."

Isasa shot the pale lioness a glare, "I will not lay down! I can't lay down!" She shifted, rolling her shoulders as she looked away. "It hurts to lay down, I can't get comfortable." The remains of her tail, little more than a stub at this point, twitched in irritation. She'd miss the appendage, only drawing a small comfort in the fact the crocodile that had gotten it was now probably blind in one eye.  

[CaliWolfe]

Uthuli tried to console herself in that fact that she could have had it worse. She could be hobbling with a slight limp like Kuhasa now did or be missing a limb like Isasa. However her paw hurt so much she almost wished that stupid crocodile had chomped the whole thing off. At least then she wouldn’t have to deal with the painful healing process of the parts the croc’s teeth had taken root. It wouldn’t have caused a rush of agony every time a bit of dirt accidently flew into her opened wounds… Still, Uthuli tried to remember she could have had it worse. That said it took all her sympathy she could muster for the other three lionesses with her at the time to not start rant-complaining about her own injures in this moment.

Flopped over on her side in what remained of the grass in this area Uthuli shifted uncomfortably so that a annoying stick wasn’t poking her in the side. Lest that accidentally jab her paw as well. ugh. She dared to look down at her own poor mangled fingers. They weren’t so horrible today. In fact it looked quite promising that she would be able to keep her whole paw, thank the Gods.

“I hate crocodiles. What good are they for anyways? Aside from eating all our food.” Uthuli added to the conversation bitterly.  

[Annchen]

Inkungu was starting to feel a bit better after the big hunt. Her paw felt better at least. The fact that one of her sisters hadn't returned with them didn't feel great. She licked her sprained paw, something she'd started doing after injuring it. The grooming made it feel better somehow, but all her licking had almost created a bald patch on the top of the paw.

Their newest Inselelo sat by himself, and she looked at him with interest. She hadn't gotten around to evaluating him properly. His mane wasn't completely white, but she was certain the traditionalists in the pride would turn their noses up at it. More for her, and the others who cared less about mane color...  

[oo Ded]

If the lioness wanted to gripe about her injuries with her other recently wounded pride-sisters, she certainly didn't show it. Emeka had, in fact, said little since the incident during the water buffalo hunt. It had been a fool's errand. In retrospect, that was clear. Sure, they brought the beast down. But still, it could have gone better.The umzungeli hadn't spoken of the exact details of the hunt. What was there to be said? Nolaka was dead. And Emeka... well. She might as well have been killed, too.

She lay just outside a spot of shade, seeming not to care that the sun was making her fur hot and her skin itch with heat. Likewise, she didn't seem to care if others were around her, regardless of their proximity. She lay on her side, the only comfortable way to rest with her pathetically mangled hind leg. The limb was verging on grotesque, trampled on and beyond broken past the knee. For all intents and purposes, the limb was lost. It had been cleaned and was healing up as best as possible. Infection had been avoided so far, but still. What use was there for an essentially three-legged lioness? Just another mouth to feed, and what could she do now to pull her weight?

Emeka lay her head on the ground, staring blankly into the distance. It was a shame others were getting injured as well. She was so useless at this point, the lioness figured the best use of her would have been for her to throw herself to the crocodiles. At least that would give a diversion to the others.  

[belloblossom]

For the first time, Safura actually felt like she could have a home among these bitter lionesses. She had that them all snooty upon first introduction, with strict traditions and laws. Those that weren't elitist were simpletons, much like her sister. Content to be hunters and have cubs. Now that they were actually together and complaining about then irritation of others (even if it were crocodiles and not other lionesses), did Safura finally feel like she could be apart of something.

Yet, despite her desire to join in with the lionesses, an emotion that did not often overcome her, she had higher priorities on her mind. Kuhasa, for example, who sat a distance from the lionesses. She had approached him before and thought herself to have secured a spot in his favor, but she needed to watch herself around him now. Did she want to truly secure his favor and try to talk to him when no one else would; he was friends with a crocodile, the topic of the pride's bitterness. Yet, she had not managed to approach any other eligible male so easily as he. Perhaps bonding with others would have to wait. Besides, there was another female gazing upon him, a grey, slender creature. Safura did not know her by name, but she felt threatened. Of course, there were sure to be others looking upon the new Inselelo, but Safura would not settle down until she was the first to secure herself cubs from him. After that, other lionesses could do as they pleased with him. These cubs were her ticket to success and popularity within the pride after all. Her highest priority.

So, with a sidelong glance at the other lioness before she went, she approached Kuhasa.
"Forigve me if I have interrupted something, but I wanted to inquire after your leg. Does it hurt terribly?" She inclined her head towards his leg and concern graced her features. It did not come from a loving place, but one of contemplation and worry that his performance might be compromised with an injured leg. As it would be her first litter, Safura had no idea what to expect.

Ecavi

Safura is such a busybody sometimes.

Annchen

 

[Big Hobbit]

~Zakiya~

With everything that was going on, Zakiya's primary concern was always the health and well-being of the smallest members of the pride. The cubs were their future, and in order to maintain their future, they needed to be able to survive the drought they were in.

The lioness herself was willing to do whatever it took at whatever sacrifice to herself to help protect their youth. If she had to spent extra time hunting with the others, especially with some of the hunters recovering from a recent encounter with a zebra, then that's what she would do.

It frightened her that lionesses had been injured while in confrontation with a crocodile that was apparently living in one of their last sources of water. Zakiya couldn't imagine if the reptile had gone after a cub, they would have been eaten whole!

~Noxolo~

Noxolo was concerned about the pride's current state of affairs to say the very least.

She had not been directly involved in the recent happening, but she did her best to keep up with what was going on. Even though the three minute water ration left her wanting at times, she understood the necessity of it given the current water shortage. She hoped that those that had been injured in recent events would be alright.

They certainly couldn't afford to have sick and injured at a time like this. Nox had heard whispers of the possibility of the pride moving to a new territory in search of better resources, but she wasn't sure valid or even plausible those claims may have been. The young lioness would just have to wait as see how things unfolded.

 

[Mogami]

oo DeD

Baie felt almost like an intruder, trespassing upon the group with her good health and absence of injuries. She could – and often did – complain of hunger because prey was scarce, hunts were unsuccessful and they had so many cubs to feed. She almost regretted not eatinghyena when she had a chance.

She glared at Kuhasa with little heat, silently cursing his ineffectiveness during the last confrontation with a crocodile. More than blame him for the unfortunate episode, she wasn’t pleased that their newest male was so terribly pale and caused many conflicting feelings within her. It was, after all, hard to truly dislike the male when he reminded her so much of her own son, Neige.

And on the matter of eerie resemblance, Baie’s eyes searched for her daughter Kataaria who reminded her so much of the late Nolaka and then continued on to Isasa who was now missing a good portion of her tail. Not much luck surrounding Ulaka’s daughters lately…

Emeka, her great-niece, was also not doing well and anyone could see it. Her leg was all but useless and showed no signs of proper mending. That would be a problem, surely but… that was the point of being together in a pride. It was a pity sad that Emeka would be relegated to cub-sitting but it was important not to think of it as the end of her life. She could still have cubs and raise good huntresses who might share her lovely dark colors. She was far from her Ukufahamba.

Baie was looking through the sad bunch when she heard someone speak. She thought it was nice that someone was asking about Emeka’s leg and then it turned out that Safura had her eyes on the pale Inselelo instead. She beter not be thinking of adding more cubs to their long list of worries.

Baie growled quietly under her breath and stood up. She walked straight to her great-niece and dropped down by her side.

“It’s unbearably hot.” She complained, grumpily before her eyes softened. “How are you, dear?”
 

[belloblossom]

Mazuri sat close to her dark sister, Noxolo as the two observed the goings on around them. Mazuri had noted that Noxolo, much like Mazuri herself, had been one of the few lionesses left unscathed. Even their own sister, Khethiwe had her paw bitten by one of the vicious crocodiles. She wasn't even quite sure how it had happened, but judging from other lionesses in the pride, with Isasa in particular, Mazuri was beginning to realize that her sister had gotten off easy in comparison.

"It's frightening, isn't it?" She said to her sister beside her, "What fate will befall us-the whole pride too-should this drought just continue on and on like it is?" She paused and then glanced around to the other lionesses, concern on her usual kind face, "Will... Will we have to leave our home?" Surely, she tried to reason, such a notion was impossible. Migration was one thing, but to leave forever? She looked around to the others again, hoping that someone would shoot her question down with a scolding tone that said such a thing was ridiculous and that she shouldn't think such things. Surely someone could allieviate her worries for her, couldn't they?

Big Hobbit

 

[belloblossom]

Nomvula gazed helpless at her fellow lionesses. She hadn't been around at the time the crocodiles attacked, she didn't even know the full story. She just felt a strange mix of regret for not having been attacked herself and overwhelming pressure, since she would now have to work three times as much to make up for the injured females that surrounded her.

She had been spending some of it watching the youth of the pride, though Mazuri and some of the other adolescents had taken her charges from her. Now, she was back at trying to hunt something, anything that could sustain even one of her pride.

She was laying closest to where Izinyathi and Isasa were speaking, with occasional complaints added by surrounding lionesses. To Izinyathi, who seemed the least irate out of the lot of them, Nomvula ventured a question.
"I'm sorry that I was not there to help, however I could have." She began timidly, "And I confess I do not fully understand what has happened. All I know is that one moment we are welcoming new faces who had dealt with the hyenas into our pride and the next a great deal of our sisters are injured in ways most horrid. Please, Izinyathi, what happened?"

Andranis

 

[ABVirus]

Ezino stared at the others with wide, concerned eyes. She was not a smart or quick-witted lioness, but she had a good heart, even though her speech was slow. She didn't know what had happened to the other lionesses to cause them such pain. She hadn't heard yet of the crocodiles and their damage, for all of her observing. Seeing everyone hurting and bitter so suddenly left her very confused, but she wanted to help where she could and so she approached one of the lionesses who looked so very sad.

She slowed as another lioness with bright fur came up and she ducked her head politely. Ezino knew her manners, it was something that she prided herself on. Now, back to the sad lioness, she approached and licked the dark-furred lioness between the ears. She meant it to be a kind gesture, one of reassurance. She did not mean to alarm by any means. She had only meant to console the other.

"Do not despair." Said she to the other, "All is not lost."
They were all still breathing and the world had not yet ended, after all.

oo Ded

Mogami

 

[Meepfur]

Inkinga had curled herself into a ball despite the heat and the awkwardness of the position on account of her pregnancy. For the first several weeks, she'd been confident in her decision to have cubs, eager to reach that milestone regardless of the bad timing: nothing had seemed more important than 'beating' her rival Uheshe by having a litter before the palomino lioness could get around to it. She'd been sore ever since missing out on the Mkhulu for not being Zalwa yet, while Uheshe had gotten to go. When she'd made the decision, the drought hadn't seemed that bad, nothing to truly worry about. Surely it would be over sooner rather than later...

But she knew better now. The drought had dragged on, leading to desperate and even reckless endeavors that had left many injured, and worse still, one dead: her own mother, Nolaka. The loss had hit her hard and left her shaken, and she had been subdued and withdrawn ever since. She couldn't help but think that her mother was dead because of her, that she'd been hunting for her, for her grandcubs. The logical part of her knew that that wasn't entirely the case, that Nolaka hadn't had to pursue such dangerous prey but had wanted to do something impressive, but the thought stuck in her mind.

The dusty-pale Umzingeli observed the various members of the group in silence, though her gaze lingered on her aunt, who was now nearly tail-less, and Emeka, the lioness crippled in the hunt that had killed her mother.  

[Andranis]

Shifting her ears, Izinyathi turned her attention to Nomvula. "From Isasa's griping-" She ducked a swiping paw. "- I've gathered that they went to get a drink, and a crocodile wouldn't move, even for... How did you put it, Isasa? The Crocodile Whisperer?" She ducked another paw. "You have to much of a temper, you know, no male, Inselelo or Umholi, will EVER give you cubs like that." The white lioness gave her sister a cheeky grin, getting up to move to the other side of Nomvula. "Temper, temper, Isasa!"

If looks could have killed, the one Isasa was giving Izinyathi would have murdered her pride sister thrice over at least. With a snort, her attention turned instead toward her niece. Despite being so much paler in coloration, Inkinga looked so much like Nolaka, it made Isasa's heart ache. he went over, quietly laying down next to her niece. "Are you alright, Inkinga? You look like you have something troubling you." At a guess, she thought it might be Nolaka's death. The hunting accident had been something terrible, making Isasa unreasonably angrier than usual. She'd been robbed of not only one of her pride sisters, but one of her litter sisters. She felt sick with grief, sometimes, when thinking about it. The pain from where the crocodile had taken a bite out of her didn't help any.

belloblossom

Meepfur

 

[In Good Faith]

Isobana

This was probably not the time to join a pride; or at least that was Isobana's thought process at that moment. The drought was enough to wilt even the sturdiest pride members, and now there was crisis of crocodile injuries on a level that Isobana had never imagined. She'd never been brave enough to take on a croc by herself, so it was equally stunning that there were so many pride members that were dumb enough to get near the jaws of that thing.

Now, Isobana was approaching the opposite direction she'd found herself earlier in the day. In her mouth, the lioness dragged the half eaten carcass of a female gazelle. Isobana, frustrated with the circumstances of the pride at the time she joined the group, found herself wanting to put forth an effort to help. On her way to find shade and to think, Isobana came across a dark, spotted lioness... with a spur of a moment thought, she encouraged the lioness to go on a hunt with the intent to bring back food for the injured. It was then that Imbali, and with the help of her vulture, Isidlo, were able to discover their prize.

The three found a dead gazelle in a swarm of vultures that were not too difficult to disperse between them. What they found was a partially eaten gazelle with various types of bites taken out of the body. Except it was all too clear that the fatal wound was from a bite that was larger than a lion could have caused... probably crocodile if anyone had to guess.

With that irony in mind, Isobana pulled the body into the group of the injured lionesses, avoiding all eye contact she could so that she wouldn't feel the fear prickling in her stomach... She hadn't made a spectacle of herself since joining the pride, and this was certainly going to draw attention to her if nothing else would. The body fell from her mouth, around the bulk of the lioness. She only knew one of their names, and only because she'd heard a lioness calling to her once. Isasa, she believed.

Isobana then lowered her head and backed away, looking to the others to develop a sense of their reaction.

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Quaji

Andranis

CaliWolfe

Ecavi

Annchen

oo DeD

belloblossom

Big Hobbit

Mogami

ABVirus

MeepFur