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 Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 8:11 am
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Unbeknownst to father and son, they had been spotted some time ago.. and, to great surprise, they had been recognized. Enough that Kimondo was eager to make contact and nobody thought to stop her, though she knew they were nearby because of course, everybody thought her leaving the pride was a terribly idea doomed to result in her untimely death. Kimondo was still herself, though, and she refused to feel trapped by the fate she had been assigned with this job.
And.. more importantly.. if these were the lions she thought, that mattered most.
Suddenly extremely conscious of how closely she resembled her grandmother, she made a quiet approach to the stream as Fafnir made his way to the stream to drink. She wasn't a sheltered princess but Kimondo had never really had to approach strangers before.. luckily, she had somewhere to start.
"F-fafnir?" she called quietly. |
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Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 8:31 am
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Consumed with his thoughts and the cool water on his tongue, Fafnir didn't notice the pale lioness until she was upon him with his name dripping quietly from her jowls. Rigidness took his body along the spine, freezing him in place, though he caught his first glimpse of her as an unsteady reflection in the stream.
"Aapep?"
The name was a whisper on his breath as he jerked his head up at last, water dripping from the dark, steely fur around his mouth. There was confusion in his gaze as he took in the sight of her, slowly coming to the realization that he was not his daughter. This lioness was paler, lacking the hints of his own fur colors in the markings he knew so well along her face and spine. Even still, if she wasn't Aapep, there was no doubt she was...
"Who are you?" It was Ladon that spoke for him, calling out with a kinder tone than he would have reserved for any other rogue that happened upon them in the middle of the night. As his son came to stand at his shoulder, he could see the same peculiar, confused expression on his face. Ladon knew Aapep as well as he did, perhaps better, having been part of the same litter. They had been together until Ladon left to follow him out into the wilds.
Fafnir seemed stilled to silence, wearing his heavy heart on his face, open and broken as it had ever been. This lioness was his bloodline, of that he had no doubts, and though he had always wondered what his children were doing in the pride he had left behind, how they were fairing, it was an utterly different thing to come face to face with the legacy he had abandoned.
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Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 3:52 pm
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Kimondo could see the recognition in their faces and she felt an almost overwhelming urge to cry for them. It was impossible for her to comprehend what they had gone through, something so horrible that grief had driven them from their home.. it was the same feeling she got, now that she had cubs, when considering what Unyezi had gone through losing Alcmene. She didn't imagine there might be lingering sorrow after so long .. except that here was a sudden reminder of their past. That was the only thing making this a dangerous confrontation. And yet she was so curious about her great-grandfather and grateful for this opportunity.
Did mama know this would happen when she left?
Wearing a sad smile, Kimondo managed to maintain her composure and held herself as tall and proud as any queen ought to. She.. she wanted to make a good impression, even if she never saw them again after tonight. They didn't need to know what had happened in the pride, she just wanted them to know a little bit about her so she could learn a little bit about them.
"My name is Kimondo," she said, "Aapep is my grandmother, she said you looked like Uruloki.."
It wasn't so easy to tell that now.. Being a rogue was so much different than being a well-fed pride lioness. The colors matched but the build and textures of fur were so different. Ladon was easier to identify, he was all the right markings on all the .. wrong? colors. Even after the lines crisscrossed again here and there, Ladon was utterly unique.
But she didn't dare mention that out loud just yet.
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Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 9:23 am
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"Uruloki," Fafnir repeated softly, filling the word with an impossible amount of affection and longing for only three little syllables. It had been a long, long time since he had seen his other half - a long time since he had seen any of his bloodline apart from Ladon himself. That being said, Kimondo was the first of his grandchildren that he had ever laid eyes upon.
"You look very much like her, dear," he said gently around a sad but wistful smile, "I am overjoyed to see your beautiful face. I have worried that our family.."
He frowned and shook his head, finding at once that he was unable to finish his sentence. It was the sadness over losing Alcmene but, too, a guilt that worse had happened since then and that he had been as helpless to stop it as he had been that first tragedy. He sat and Ladon stepped forward, trying his best not to show all the worry he felt over his father. He could be strong where the old blue dragon could not.
"How do we fair, Kimondo? Is everyone else well?" Ladon had stayed behind scarce months before setting out to locate Fafnir, refusing to let both his father and mother perish at once. "It has been a very, very long time since we have heard any news."
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Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 2:32 am
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Kimondo suddenly wondered who was watching over her at this moment. By now, her brothers and Uncle Amarantos would have caught up to the little group. They had to be giving her space, and them. Who knew how quickly one could overwhelm Fafnir and Ladon.. but right now it might seem that she had simply walked away from the pride herself. She did seem to be alone out here.
When Ladon asked for news, she felt the weight of her options here. There was no pleasant way to run down their history since Alcmene's death. It had been the start of a tumultuous time for the pride, though it had it's periods of peace.. Kimondo only hoped it would finally last this time.
"Yes, we are all doing well," she said carefully, "I didn't leave, if you're wondering. I am- well, we are on our way to visit an allied pride,
the Tianxia. It's a long trip and we were comfortable sending even our Queen, if that tells you anything."
Kimondo was reluctant to get into the fact that she was Queen now. She didn't know if they knew Khathelela ruled after Alcmene, or how they might feel knowing more turmoil had followed. What really mattered was focusing on the fact that all was well now.
"Aapep only had the one litter, my father and his brothers and sister," she said, trying to remember what she could about her paternal aunts and uncles, "Wambazi had two, and I don't think anybody else did.. one of grandma's sisters left before I was born, but I can't remember her name."
Were there any other girls? Perhaps Fafnir and Ladon would know exactly who she meant..
"All of your brothers are still at home, though," she said, looking at Ladon.
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Posted: Tue Nov 21, 2017 5:42 pm
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The two males listened to her words with rapt attention, though they both seemed to be processing it with an altogether different attitude. Fafnir seemed heavy with guilt, even now, though his eyes shone bright with something akin to pride. His family was still growing, still strong, and that was all that he could have hoped for them after everything. Ladon, on the other paw, seemed to be filled with a sort of wistful longing - in his eyes it was easy to see that he still, after all this time, hoped that he could go home.
"Nothing can make you feel like an outsider quite so much as knowing that you have an entire family you have never met," Fafnir began, taking the floor back from his son. The laugh that escaped him was sad but honest and he shook his great white mane as he let it unfurl into the night. It felt good to laugh. It felt good to see her, the tiny piece of him he had never known. What were the others like, he wondered? At least all of his sons were home and safe, save for Ladon.
He turned that gaze on his figurative black sheep, then looked back upon his proud granddaughter, the one who was traveling with the Queen. There was a question on his tongue that he wanted to ask but seemed at once unable to. It hovered there for a moment until he swallowed it down and Ladon, ever perceptive as he was, chose to begin again.
"We have heard of the Tianxia. We have.. been out here a very long time." He sat now, too, at his father's side. How long after Alcmene's death had this pale lioness been born, he wondered? How much did she know of his father's heartache and the exile he had forced upon himself? It was a wonder how quickly things could change - maybe that traitorous fool had managed to bury his wrong doings by now. He wanted to ask but knew, unfortunately, that his father might not have been able to bear to hear it. "I suppose that means that things have settled then? We," a pause and a frown, "you are at peace again?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2017 5:55 am
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Kimondo smiled sadly at Fafnir's laugh. His words were sad but there was something genuine in his laugh, or perhaps she only hoped so. She wanted to tell them about Amarantos, about Matakwa and Milele.. about all of Hodari's children that had come with her. They were all so close.
When Ladon sought further confirmation of peace, the young Queen hesitated just too long to say yes convincingly. They'd know she was leaving something out and she knew it, too.
"Alcmene's tragic death was the beginning of a chaotic period for the pride," she admitted, "We've struggled to get back onto the right path. The worry of losing another monarch shaped the new royal family and they worked hard to prove that they were reliable, dedicated rulers. Khathelela might have been Queen for a long time."
It was such a hard story to summarize so carefully. If the political climate had been different, even the smallest change could have spared the pride so much. The monarch was the supposed favorite of the Great Lion, Kimondo wasn't so sure that was true but it explained a lot about what happened in the pride.
"Khathelela's grandson undid everything," she explained, getting right to the point, "He didn't want to wait his turn, the growing stability meant he might not get his chance so he took it."
She hesitated again. That was a lot to put into just one statement but the names didn't matter right now, the details didn't matter.
"His reign lasted the longest of any since the migration, I'm told," Kimondo said, "I was born well after he took over, but I grew up during the beginning of the rebellion. The pride is back on the right path now. Shangyue- the usurper- his father was from the Tianxia, he was one of his victims. That's why we're going there now, to make peace."
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Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2017 12:53 pm
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The two males listened to her story with rapt attention, again with differing reactions. As Kimondo suggested that somewhat awful had happened yet again during Khathelela's reign, Fafnir's face fell heavy and every trace of his laugh retracted. Ladon, though, tensed in a way that suggested he was not quite so beat down as his father - he was angry, for many reasons, not least of all his own choice to seek out Fafnir instead of remaining behind.
"I am sorry," the brown male said at last, "perhaps if I had stayed behind.."
The words trailed off before he could finish his hopes and ifs, knowing deep down that there was no way of saying what might have happened if he had been present, only that he knew he had been a loyal, strong male. Capable. For the first time in a long time, a part of him resented his father's choice to abandon the family but it didn't change the connection he shared with the older male. They were a strong blood connection, his choice had been made the day Fafnir set paw in rogue lands.
"The pride seemed so different when we were growing up," Fafnir spoke at last, breaking the silence that followed Ladon's regret, "if only Alcmene and I had known that it would not last. It is hard to recognize the best time of your life until after something has happened to throw it into contrast. My heart was a great Queen but perhaps.. too gentle."
But who could have known? In his heart of hearts, he knew she was the Queen the pride had deserved. The Great Lion worked in mysterious ways.
"It is good of the monarch now to see the need for peace, I agree," it would have been what Alcmene wanted, he knew. For all that he had been a lord's son with no hope at being aught but a hunter, he had learned a great deal from his great love. "Who is it, now? How have they fared since.. Shangyue?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 19, 2017 6:03 pm
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If Fafnir had noticed the sadness that swept across Kimondo's features, her next words quickly made him forget.
She chose me.
Both males wore stunned silence like a shroud, staring at her as if she were a ghost haunting them, not the sweet relative that seemed so concerned with their existence. It was Fafnir that recovered first, pushing himself back up to his feet politely and dipping his head so his shaggy, somewhat ragged mane swayed with the motion.
"You do an old lion proud, my Queen." Beside him, Ladon offered his own bow, but kept his maw tight as his eyes settled on the older male. The blue dragon brought his head back up and showed her a smile that was, truly, enamored of her. "Alcmene would be so happy to know that her blood rules the Mwezi'Johari again, I know that."
Ladon, afforded the grace of being out of his father's eye line from where he now stood a little back of his shoulder, seemed perplexed. Honored, certainly, to be in the presence of the queen but his attention was all reserved for Fafnir who seemed, for the first time in more moons than he could even count, at peace with himself. It could only have been Kimondo's presence, he knew, though if it were her status or her blood he wasn't quite sure.
"My father is right," he chimed at last, offering her a smile he hoped was not dampened by his curiosity, "the Shaman was very wise, though I guess that goes without saying, hm?" Beside him, his father chuckled at the silly joke, but it was enough to brighten Ladon's serious demeanor.
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Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2017 2:04 pm
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The stunned reaction made Kimondo feel rather awkward suddenly, especially when her great grandfather, a lion she only just met, a former King.. bowed to her. Still, she smiled when he said he was proud and that Alcmene would be happy. She suddenly wished that her grandmother could be here to see her father again, or that he might go see her. Leaving them behind was going to be hard.
"I'm grateful you both have so much faith in me," she said shyly, "Do- do you want to come back to our camp for the night? We're staying not far from here. You don't have to stay with us, but our hunters are out now and you could take it easy for a bit.."
She imagined that being a rogue was a hard life, she definitely didn't enjoy being out here even with her fair sized group. Fafnir and Ladon had each other and by now their fair share of experience as rogues.. but an easy meal and a worry-free night might do them good. And Amarantos might like to meet them.. and Milele and Matakwa.. and Miyako, Kasai, Yoru, Spindla, Althaia, Leonidas..
Maybe there were too many family members. Or maybe she could wrangle all but Amarantos, Althaia and Leonidas.. or..
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Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2017 8:40 pm
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It was hard for Ladon to contain his anxiousness as Kimondo extended her invitation to them and while he worked at schooling his widened eyes back to neutral and forcing the rigidity out of his stance, his father was already eyeing him askance. He was excited by the prospect, even the old male could see that.
For a long moment, the blue dragon said nothing, only let his gaze shift from Ladon to the white queen and then up, as always, to the Moon that hung heavy overhead. He wished it had the answers for him. Would rejoining this part of the pride open an old wound? Would it heal it at last?
"I suppose a night could not hurt," he said gently, pulling his gaze away from the dappled face of the white orb. There was a small smile on his mug, though it was laced with that same sad tint that always seemed to linger just beyond his eyes. Truth was, seeing his old pride might hurt more than he had reckoned but Ladon had never deserved the exile he had imposed upon himself. He was a good son, better than Fafnir often thought he deserved.
Ladon was more enthusiastic, shifting his weight between his paws at the mere thought of being back among his kinsmen.
"We really do appreciate the invitation, Kimondo, truly. It has been such a long time."
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2018 3:32 pm
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