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 Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2017 12:33 pm
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Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2017 1:06 pm
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Heti, corporal of the guards, was down by the water, treading carefully as he stooped to drink. The ground beneath his paws was marshy, sucking at his paws as he slaked his thirst. The sun was low in the sky now, edging the blue with a touch of pink. The raw ground had rubbed at the pads of his paws, made worse by the amount of travel they had done, but he was content. Invigorated. He never thought he'd be where he was at that moment. Outside of his home. Days and days apart from his family. The first days had been laced with homesickness but now, now that there was no turning back, the feeling had eased a little - dulled like the grief of hurting his father.
 
Kimeti and Neci, uncle and niece, were further away from the water. The grey female seemed to be on unofficial sentry duty, turning her head this way and that as if to catch sight of any non-Firekin moving to approach. She was stillclearly nervous about being away from her home, and had been quiet since they had left, as if quietly absorbing the new experiences and filing them away with until she was able to deal with all the emotions that accompanied it.
Kimeti was along for the journey to learn. To enrich his teaching and better himself as a lion. After all, his father's journey had transformed the Motoujamii. He'd be damned if he was going to miss out on a similar experience.
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Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2017 3:47 pm
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Mate'moto was perched atop a rock that stuck up a few feet out of the ground, surveying the group with a satisfied expression. They'd come a long way in a short time and she was more than pleased with how they were all holding up. There were some sore paws and general homesickness, but everything was so new and exciting it was hard to dwell too much on what they were missing.
Keen eyes darted this way and that, making note of the few specks at the edge of the small army of lions. She knew they'd be running into rogues at some point or another and their size and color-coordinated appearance were sure to draw attention. The only thing she was mildly concerned about were the re-emergence of the Nergui. They hadn't been heard nor seen in quite some time but that didn't mean they were gone.
Kuzimu joined a few other lions by the water, drinking deeply and not paying any mind to how far her feet sunk into the mud. It would be hell to get all this mud off later, but for now she was only concerned with drinking. She was thankful her pelt wasn't dark like many of the others here - even those with deep red pelts attracted more heat than her. A shift in the wind made her lift her head, a strange smell making her ears twist to the front out of curiosity. That certainly wasn't the smell of a lion...
Ud had spent the trip thus far splitting his time fairly evenly. He was paying close attention to how the elder lions worked the rogue lands, taking turns on the outside of the mobile pride to be on watch while others relaxed within. He was also paying extra special attention to the rogue lands themselves. It was very different than his home in the desert and it was amazing to see as much vegetation as he had thus far! The smells were exotic, the prey animals diverse and delicious...he could see what drew lions to live here.
He was also on the hunt for something for Sia. He wasn't sure what, exactly, he was looking for, but he was sure once he spotted it he'd know it.
Now this was quite a sight! Mez had never seen anything quite like it in his life, and he had seen some pretty crazy things. A massive group of lions, all various shades of red, black, and white, seemed to be making their way through the rogue lands. He'd see prides that migrated but this didn't seem quite like a normal pride. There was no clear leader as far as he could tell, no one that was the sole lion in charge. There were no cubs or youth among them, either. All adults. Very strange...he just had to find out what was going on!
"Ah...excuse me," he said, trying not to startle a grey lioness who seemed to be keeping watch. "Is this a migration route I wasn't aware of?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2017 4:51 pm
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((I'm a Firekin newbie. c: No Firekin, on the lines or otherwise. I might add some of my other rogues later too.))
She had just come for a drink. At the moment, Pikku couldn't decide whether to tough it out or book it. This was generally a popular watering hole, hence why she'd known of it's existence and had decided to stop by here when she got thirsty. But she didn't think it was this popular. What was this, a massive hunting party?! They didn't look hostile at the moment though. Just... wary. They'd clearly stopped to rest here.
Now she had a dilemma. The leopard had traveled quite a ways, from an area that was scorching with heat, and she wanted nothing more than to sate her thirst. But her choices were to either move on to another source of water or brave the pride of lions.
Harakhty had counted his lucky stars at the scent of water nearby, but upon arriving there, he was shocked by the amount of lions currently occupying the area. They were all such vivid red, black and white colors too. for a moment, he wondered if they were all related, but decided against that in the end after seeing all of the different markings.
They smelled like a desert too, which made his heart skip a beat. He knew they weren't a part of his old home though. None of these lions seemed familiar, and they all had a distinct scent of a different pride altogether. Which meant he should be wary. Who knew what their intentions were.
But that was no reason not to avoid them either. He may be a rogue now, but he wasn't a recluse. He also had no idea when he would come across water again, so it was best to get his fill now. That in mind, and with a confident flick of his tail, he continued moving towards the water in a way that hopefully showed he wasn't interested in challenging anyone.
This was unsettling. And he was stuck.
The cheetah had decided to spend the night here, near the water's edge but tucked away beneath a boulder. It'd seemed like a good choice last night. He could get a good nights rest and wake up to fresh water and maybe a quick meal.
He hadn't been expecting a massive group of lions to stop by. And now he was stuck.
Roku had woken up like it was any other morning, distantly wondering why he heard so much noise around him. It was mid-stretch that he realized the problem surrounding him. He usually tried to avoid lions, if he could. There was no guarantee that they were friendly, and while he could outrun them, he sure wouldn't win in a fight. So it was with an aborted whine that he curled his paws back under him.
Okay, he could handle this. They didn't seem to have noticed him yet, and they looked like they were resting anyway. He was lucky that his little shelter was hidden underneath this rock, though he was still a surprised that no one had noticed his scent yet. Unless they just didn't care. Which probably meant that they weren't going to be hostile.
... He didn't want to take any chances though, the black cheetah decided. He needed to figure out how to slip away.
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Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2017 2:12 am
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There was something familiar about those lions that he couldn't quite put his paw on - something that screamed 'you have probably seen them before'. It was for this reason that the fiery maned lion was continuing to watch the large troupe of lions as they wandered passed his vantage point. It was only when he spotted one particular lion that he seemed to perk up considerably - was it him, or did that one look particularly interesting?
"You know, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say -"
"That those are probably the lions from the place that has sand but no water?" The blue maned adolescent had looked up from his claws to examine the passing lions. They had amassed quite a number to say the least and he did have reason to ponder over their reason for being out here. They hadn't seemed like conquerors but looks could be deceiving and well... They all had seemed a touch insular when they had landed on the borders that one time.
"Aye, they've got that vibe about them," Huo agreed and tilted his head to the side. "Wonder what they're out here for?"
"Could be the same reason as us," Shui murmured.
"Somehow I don't think 'finding themselves' is something they'd do as a group, isn't that more of a personal or intimate thing?" Huo asked, to which his brother gave a loose shrug.
"To be fair, we're out here as a group, it's just a small one," Shui pointed out gently and finally raised to his paws. "Although it does remind me of the Vikings when that weirdo Captain was out and about around our lands..." Giving himself a shake, he dropped down from the rock and began to pad towards the group with his usual confidence.
"Now there's a point..." Huo replied thoughtfully, finally noting the parallel - 'twas the season he guessed?
It wasn't long before Huo followed behind and moved directly towards the group, though they were headed to no lion in particular - when it came to the brothers they would just talk to whoever happened to acknowledge them.
This would perhaps be one of their last opportunities to speak to others in the roguelands before they went home. After all, their father had given them permission to wander for a while, but eventually he was going to wonder where they had gone to. At least they were confident Ram would be satisfied with the stories they would be able to tell!
(I believe only Azar would have recognised the twins as I don't think his guys were around when they met him with Tapana! So they can just chitter to anyone, I'm not sure they'd recognise Heti immediately despite being his son!)
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Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2017 7:27 am
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 Haru had of course been in the rogue lands before so being out was hardly anything new to him. He had of course been born out here were the terrain was different, every day it was different. He had heard a few grumbling so-n-sos amongst the younger lions and he had insisted on knocking them gently. They would be home at some point this was after all the first expidition. They had come to a halt by water and now rather than drinking he had made his way to the edge of the group to watch the on-lookers. It seemed this was a popular watering hole as everything from cheetahs to, hmm, he wasn't sure what the blue creature was, kind of looked like a lion, but smelled a bit like a leopard?
A small memory jolted in his mind, hybrids, he had never seen one before even though he had been an adult before he had joined the firekin. Still he sat and eyed the approaching creatures, hesitant he could see to approach such a massive band of warrior looking beasts he supposed.
He stayed seated, calm, quiet, thoughtful, there seemed to be no aggression, he would step in if he needed to. He glanced behind himself, locating Mate'moto. He gave her a nod just to let her know he was watching. He wondered what they looked like to outsiders looking in.
Geei had forgotten what mud was like, proper, squishy mud where hundreds of different creatures walked on a daily basis. Sure there was water in the desert but it certainly didn't lie the way this did. She was quite enjoying wading in to the water, and as she dipped her head to drink the soft lapping sound of the liquid against her legs made her smile. She supposed this was the thing she missed the most about being a rogue.
The dark lioness lifted her head as she caught a whiff of other creatures that were not in the band. She was on duty after all, she was a corporal now and she had to keep an eye on the band. Taking a deep breath she waded from the pool and edged her way towards the outskirts of the group. She should probably keep en eye out. Where was Kiahi'kripi? That child, she had wandered off once already during this Trípoli and had come back with a tale about a leopard and a maned wolf. The girl was going to give her a heart attack.
Kiahi'kripi hadn't gone in to the water yet. She had watched as others had made their way through the mud to drink. She wasn't thirsty yet though and they weren't exactly going any where fast. She felt restless. She missed home but the pull of the rogue lands made her hair stand on end. It was a great adventure and she wanted to live it.
She had watched as Geei waded her way to the edge of the group and her head had flicked around in surprise. There were so many things out there! Dogs and a leopard and, well that must be a cheetah it's legs were so very long! She pondered if she could sneak from the group to speak to the cheetah. She had never seen one before. They would be friendly right? Taking a few steps, she looked around to see if Geei, or worse, her worry wort brother were watching before she casually started to sidle towards the outside of the group. She wanted to ask the cheetah how he ran. She heard they could run really quickly!
((If anyone wants to converse with Haru or Gerei feel free to they are at the edge of the group)) |
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Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2017 1:51 pm
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Neci was usually a polite and regal creature, with a kind manner and a patient tone. However, as the slate-blue figure approached and she rose herself up higher and higher on her paws as if doing so would help her see him better,
her face became quite the picture. The jaw a little slack, the eyes a little wide.
What a strange lion.
And who was that coming up behind him?
Another strange little lion.
Oh.
After a long moment, with his question hanging in the air, she realised her rudeness and, with a soft snort, leapt down to join him on the ground. "Not at all. We are merely passing through. We'll pass back through again on our return journey home, but it isn't a migration in the way a herd might."
She blinked, "you are...a distinct lion." Her eyes fell past his shoulder to where the little female was moving up beside him, "you, too..."
"The same could be said of you," Laka chirped. She was normally a bold cat - though in the face of these monstrous lions, she seemed to have settled on a more subdued manner. How long it would last, however, was yet to be seen.
SilverLutz Hope you don't mind I added Laka!
Heti, with a shake of his head, drew away from the water to allow others to drink, shuffling through the crowds and further towards the edges where - it appeared - they had been joined by others. He knew it would happen eventually, especially by a source of water so large, but he found it hard not to gawp. There were creatures here he had never seen. Slender cats. Things that were not 'cats' at all and lions whom looked so different he struggled to tear his eyes away.
Feeling suddenly out of his element, he found himself a more secluded spot on the outer edges just as he spotted the young males approaching. One of them could have been a Firekin by appearance but the other...not so much. Their similarities made it clear they were related, however, with their mirrored markings. It seemed twins were just as common in the roguelands as they were within the Firekin.
Epine de Rose Yeah, Heti looks much more like his mother markings wise, however he does have the same stocky build as his father so an observant lion might pick up on that :3
"You're confident," Kimeti gave in way of greeting to Harakhty, moving across to cross paths with the grey and black lion. He wasn't sure exactly whatit was about the lion that had caught his attention. How he had strode into his kin without fear or the strange trinkets he wore about his person.
"You're a pride cat, yes? I always assumed rogues would be more...wary."
A safe assumption? Probably not, but Kimeti had a lot to learn. He was a teacher, after all.
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Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2017 2:49 pm
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[[I'm fresh meat as well. Come at me. I am (hopefully) tasty.
Note: Flesh has never been tried. As good as new. ]]
It had been a while since he's had a traveling partner. He thought that it might have slowed him down but honestly...it was kind of nice. Hadithi hadn't had this much fun in a long while. Rangi's story he may have known well, but his personality wasn't something that he tired of.
His head whipped around to look at what Rangi was looking at, still licking his lips from their previous meal. Mysterious group?! His body stood alert, tail flicking in interest as he stared at the mob. Why were they there? Who were they? Were they a pack? Or did the group have another purpose? There were so many questions he wanted answered. Which made his answer obvious.
"Of course!" Bearing a broad smile; Hadathi proudly strutted his way towards the loose crowd. He didn't even glance behind him to see if Rangi was following. He was sure he was.
As he neared, the lion's interest grew. A majority of the creatures had red and black pelts. But why? Obviously, one of them would have an answer. He walked towards a purely red lion with an interesting white, black streaked mane. The guy seemed like he would have some answers. In fact, he seemed important.
"Hi! Name's Hadithi!" The tip of his tail flickered, curious. An easy laugh came out of his mouth. "I've never seen a family so large." It was an assumption that made the most sense. Even though they had a variety of different markings, they had similar fur colours. He could even barely tell some of them apart!
He nearly jumped out of his skin, turning to his current adventuring companion. "Where's my manners! This is Rangi. Hadithi layed a heavy paw on the wild dog's shoulder, beaming, before turning back to the other lion. "Why are you guys in this area?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2017 5:26 pm
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Mat's golden eyes darted here and there as lions and non-lions alike began to come towards the group. None of them seemed threatening, but who would approach a band of lions this large aggressively? Not any single creature on their own unless they had a death wish, certainly. She gave Haru a little nod as well before turning her gaze to a lion traveling with...a wild dog? She hadn't seen any creatures other than her own species before but she knew what to look for. Hyenas and wild dogs sounded similar in her mind, but this wasn't quite as large as she had been told hyenas would be. Its back also wasn't hunched and its muzzle was long rather than wide.
---
Kuzimu lifted her head a bit from the water and locked her eyes on a strange feline not far from the edge of the water. She looked a bit similar to a lion, but she was much smaller and her tail wasn't tufted. The lioness stared at her intently, unblinking in the unsettling way she normally did, and pulled her paws out of the mud with a rather grotesque sucking sound. The water washed it off a bit, but her normally pure white paws were now a tinge of brown.
"What are you?" she asked bluntly as she approached the feline, her pace steady and slow as if hunting.
MangoMeow Don't worry, Kuzimu isn't mean. She's just...strange XD And curious
---
Ud, curious as ever about his surroundings, spotted the green lion laden with pouches and decided it would be interesting to see what he carried. Medics back home often had pouches to haul their medicines in but he was sure they could be used for other things as well. Making his way through the group, the large lion gave the green male a little smile.
"Hello," he said, trying to ignore the way he had been gawking at the group moments before. "Don't worry, we won't be here long. Just passing through. I'm Ud." After staring at him for a while he had to blink, his eyes not used to seeing such a strange shade of green on a lion of all things.
"Are you a healer?" he asked, nodding to the bags.
---
Mez turned to flash his companion a toothy, strained grin as she chimed in. Laka was a bit blunt at times and wasn't afraid to speak her mind, but in a situation like this it might be best not to risk the possibility of insulting such a huge group of predators.
"Ah...just out and about," he said, turning back to the large lioness who was even bigger now that she was here. He was small by nature, as was Laka, and it seemed these lions before them tended to be on the bigger side of large. It was quite impressive he had to admit, and even a bit terrifying.
"Half lion," he added, offering an explanation for his appearance. "And half leopard. Laka here is all lion, of course." Mez laughed at his own observation before shaking his shaggy head, another toothy smile breaking through.
"And I'm Mezlijin. We're wanderers as well, for the most part. You spoke of 'home', though...where is that? I've never seen lions quite like you lot and I've been quite a few places."
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2017 12:03 pm
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Roku's tail gave a shiver, and he leaned down to try and lick some of the fur that was bristling along it. He was starting to relax, content in the knowledge that no one was paying him any mind, but his fur had a mind of its own sometimes.
'Or, maybe, it was trying to warn you about something!' He had that thought at the same moment he realized that there was a lioness edging closer to him. He looked away, stiff as a board, and then slowly glanced back, cursing mentally when he realized she was indeed heading towards him. Should he ignore her? Should he wait to see what she did? She didn't seem hostile.
In the end, he decided to be the one extending a paw. Better to show that he meant no harm first. Though he'd deny it if anyone pointed out that he curled further into his temporary den.
He waited until it was more than obvious that she was making her way to him (if she was aiming for nonchalance, it wasn't really working). Then, clearing his throat, he glanced at her again. "Um... hello. Can I help you?"
Harakhty's ears perked up, the only sign that he was surprised at someone coming up to him. Truthfully, he'd half expected them to stick to their own. A quick glance around showed a few of them branching out to approaching rogues though. So maybe not so against conversing with others.
He slowed his gait and shrugged at the other lion. "I've been traveling for a while and am in need of a good rest. Plus," He glanced back over at the red lion, "you and your kin don't seem like you're looking to pick a fight." He didn't mention that the nostalgic scent of dryness and sand helped to calm his nerves.
At the next question, he chuckled a bit bitterly, "I used to be. My pride parted ways quite a while ago though. Now I wander as a rogue." He paused to glance around at some of the other rogues, "You'd be right about rogues being wary though. Most can only rely on themselves."
Thirst had won out, and the fact that other rogues were making their way in helped to encourage her into the fray. Pikku had managed to inch her way closer to the water, eyeing the band of lions as she went. It made her nervous, being surrounded by felines so much bigger than her, but so far no one had bothered her. Maybe she'd be fine. She was so close....
And then a white one looked straight at her. The leopard froze up. Later, she would swear that she was looking right into her soul for a good few minutes, though really it wasn't all that long. Pikku watched uneasily as the lioness slunk towards her, but of all the things she expected to happen, getting asked what she was was not one of them. How could... she really didn't know? The leopard had never come across someone who didn't know what a leopard was.
She debated her options then. Honestly, it was super tempting to lie and say she was a strange looking lion, but with such a large group, someone was bound to call her out on her bluff. (at the very least, one of the other rogues would, the spoil sports) So, with a weirded-out look and a quick glance up and down the lioness, she replied slowly, "A... leopard." She narrowed her eyes, trying to decide if she was being tricked instead.
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2017 12:59 pm
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Haru's ears flicked forward at the approaching lion. Blue. It had been a while since he had seen blue. He had been born a rogue, but as an adult he had joined the firekin and it had been a long time since he had crossed paths with rogues. Though he supposed it wasn't as long as some of the others here. He knew there were a lot of youngsters here, a lot of youngsters that had never seen a rogue, or a cheetah, or a leopard. They didn't;t know what a hybrid was.
Returning his attention back to the present though the big bloood red male gave a nod, "Haru." Was his simple answer, he wasn't really a lion of few words but giving a lot of words along with his name he felt would probably make him look a bit soft. "We are passing through." Specifics, he didn't need to tell them any specifics. "We mean no harm to the area though, we have simply stopped for water." He smiled a calm smile and looked behind himself at the group of massive lions milling about and getting on with their day to day. "Though I suppose we look like a war band." He chuckled, hopefully they were making a good first impression.
Kiahi'kripi, had, apparently managed to escape the looks of her brother and aunt and escape the hoard of blood red, white and black to make a beeline for the dark cheetah. He seemed terrified. She could smell it on him, well, she supposed she shouldn't be surprised, there was a rather large band of massive lions milling about in an area he probably usually came to. Still, they weren't here to fight, they were here to learn.
She was determined to learn about everything she could and this was just one of those situations. She was going to learn about cheetahs. "Hi." A grin rolled on to her face, she could barely contain her excitement. She sits quickly, hoping, if she looked relaxed, the cheetah would relax too. "I hear cheetahs run really fast." Her eyebrose rose and she could feel a shiver run down her spine. She really wanted to know, and maybe, just maybe, she was not being a proper firekin. They were supposed to be strong, tough, stoic, but it was just too exciting to meet something she had never met before. "Please don't be frightened, I'v never seen a cheetah before." A glimmer in her eyes revealed her excitement. "So, do you, run really fast I mean?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2017 2:21 pm
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Rangi’ukungu jumped at Hadithi’s quick response, mouth opening in last minute protest before sighing and scrambling after him. The lions were so… large. Larger than most he’s seen. And so… strict looking. The wild dog swallowed thickly, keeping one step behind Hadithi. Sure, he was more and more sure that Hadithi wouldn’t be eating him. At least, any time soon. But everyone else… he eyed everyone skeptically, not quite enjoying his size in comparison.
”A family?” he breathed under his breath, head swinging. Maybe… or just a pride. A small one. He wasn’t too well versed in prides. In fact, he tried to steer clear of prides and packs. Of course, eventually his quest would lead him to one but at the moment, he prefer to act as though they didn’t exist.
Ignoring the existence now would be idiotic, however. He was about to open his mouth to suggest leaving or even point out that he was going back by himself when the large moron beside him decided to introduce him. ”Hadithi!” he yelped, ears flickering nervously. Giving his name shouldn’t do any harm. But he still didn’t like it.
Haru was his name? Rangi eyed his suspiciously, moving further behind Hadithi. And let out a large snort at the mention of how they must look. A war band, indeed! His gaze travelled over the lions again. There were others, as well. A leopard and a cheetah. Some guy with a lot of junk decorating him, though Rangi couldn’t make out the shapes in the dimming light. Being colored blind didn’t aid in seeing things at night. In fact, shapes and shades began to blend, making it rather difficult to travel at night.
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