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SilverLutz rolled 2 4-sided dice:
3, 4
Total: 7 (2-8)
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 Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2022 4:37 pm
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Your paws may not take you to far-off, foreign lands, but during the night, you still wander all the same—albeit much closer, a day's travel at most—in hopes of finding something...
You find the bones of a (prey animal of choice). The carcass has long been picked clean.
 Nqobile glanced over her shoulder to make sure her companion wasn't too far behind before turning to gaze up to the nearly full moon that hung overhead. It was comforting to see something familiar amid all the uncertainty and worry that had been brewing in the pride even if it wasn't something she could touch. After everything the pride had been through in recent years Nqobile thought things would only get better as the world stopped shaking and the skies stopped falling, but the lack of herds was a rather grim reminder that life was difficult and it truly was a struggle to survive.
It was when Tawa had left that the direness of their situation really started to sink in and it made the small lioness feel a bit hopeless. She was a decent huntress despite her stature but with little to hunt she couldn't really help her pride. Her sister was the daring one and it had taken a while before Nqobile worked up the courage to offer her assistance in searching for the herds, spending a day and a night away from the heart of the pride. Thankfully Nonhlanhla had agreed to search with her tonight, relieving some of the fear of traveling alone.
"It's nice that the moon is so bright tonight," she said as she waited for the older lioness to catch up. "It makes it easier to spot things in the distance." It was true that they had good sight in the darkness, but the extra light helped them see even further and pick out details they might miss on a night where there was no moon to guide them.
"Though the light is wasted if there's nothing to see," she added, her tone a mix of worry and mild distress.
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Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 6:41 am
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 Traveling at night was such a relief for the darker colored female. It would seem team monochrome was on a mission. Glacing at the silver female ahead of her, the light pelt almost glowing in the moonlight, Nonhlanhla gave a soft smile. The duo seemed to be doing, alright for the most part. Nothing great to report but nothing terrible either. All in all she was quite pleased with their odds while out on their little mission. Still, it worried her a great deal that the herds were seemingly missing.
How could they have just gone like they had? Was it a gradual thing and they all hadn't noticed? She felt there should have been warning signs before this. Did the abholi and inselelo's not see? What about their Cigna and Enda? While it was EVERYONE's job to make sure the pride was provided for, those were the few she could think of that were "at the top" of the hierarchy when it came to ensuring they were protected and had food. Obviously the Cigna and Enda were more so for the herd locating and not protecting, but really?
Nonny was a bit hangry at this point and was just trying to find others to blame for the prides current state of distress. It wasn't really due to ANYONEs lack of duty, it was just a fact of life. Still, there had likely been signs and even she hadn't really paid much attention and was feeling a little guilty that SHE, the queen of standards, hadn't realized there was something wrong.
"I agree." Her voice soft as she came up on the lioness's right. Giving a look around there was nothing but short shadows, from rocks, brush, and dry grass. "Maybe we will get lucky?" A fools dream.
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AstoriaFallen
AstoriaFallen
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Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 2:09 pm
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Despite their lack of success thus far Nonhlanhla's presence was at least a bit of a comfort. Nqobile was used to being around her sisters - pride and blood - at all times, so to head out on her own was quite daunting. Having the elder Umzingeli at her side kept her calm even if their situation was growing worse by the day.
"Perhaps," she echoed, though she knew they were only speaking hopefully to try to keep their spirits up. She began to walk again, this time moving a bit slower so she didn't put such a large gap between her and Nonhlanhla.
"Have you lived through anything like this?" she asked, hopeful that Nonhlanhla might have a story of a similar time years ago. She'd lived through quite a few changes of Abholi and many things had transpired, but she couldn't quite remember a situation like this. There'd been famine and drought before but as far as she could recall, there were no stories of the herds simply disappearing.
As she walked something shone in the moonlight not far from where they were and she turned her head to look. The familiar sight of bone made her heart leap into her throat with hope. Perhaps it was a fresh kill? She couldn't smell anything though which took her sudden joy down a few pegs. Oh dear...
"Look, over there," she said, nodding her head in the direction of the flash of white. "I can see bone in the moonlight. Let's go look."
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Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:38 pm
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SilverLutz i will do my rolls next post haha- didn’t realize we both roll
She was aged, compared to the rest of the pride. Well, maybe not the REST of them, but a lot of the lions that inhabited their home today were much younger. Not that she wasn't feeling old or anything but it became clear to her that she wasn't exactly as quick as Nqobile, though the lioness had seemed to have slowed down just a tad and Nonhlanhla wasn't sure if she should feel gratitude or offended.
She kept her mouth shut either way.
Her question didn't exactly make her feel any younger. If she would have been a humorous sort, she would have laughed at the question, just because of where her current thoughts were. However, she was not so she didn't. Clearing her throat she shook her head. "While I have seen a great number of things, this is by far the worst thing that I have witnessed." Well, that wasn't exactly true. Cubs being torn apart by alligators or trampled to death in a stampede was probably the worst thing she had witnessed, but as far as droughts or famines went, this was the worst of those.
"Not to be the bearer of bad news, but I am afraid if we don't find a suitable source many will perish, if they don't leave the lands." Nonhlanhla probably being one of them, she would die in these lands, it was her home.
"Oh?!" Her spirits lifted as the others words, what had she seen? Bones? Maybe it would be something worthwhile! "I really hope it's something good." She got a sudden spark of energy and made her way towards the direction of the glinting white bones. |
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AstoriaFallen
AstoriaFallen
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2022 5:34 pm
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Nonhlanhla's insight wasn't good, but Nqobile hadn't been expecting sunshine and rainbows. Still, to hear it spoken out loud was a bit defeating. She nodded as the older lioness continued to speak, bringing up the idea of having to leave should things continue on the current trend.
The distraction had her spirits up in a moment, though, and as she trotted towards the flash of bone she hoped there might be something left for them to eat. Perhaps even to bring back! But as her paws brough her closer, she realized that the carcass had been picked clean long ago. Only bones remained, and she couldn't even tell what they'd been. The head was gone. It was small so possibly a gazelle or a young zebra.
"Of course," she murmured quietly as she came to a stop before the dry bones. "Even the vultures don't spare this mess a glance." There was truly nothing left in terms of soft tissue, no skin or fur strewn about. This had been here for a while and those passing through had picked it clean.
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AstoriaFallen rolled 2 4-sided dice:
1, 3
Total: 4 (2-8)
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Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2022 12:13 pm
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AstoriaFallen
AstoriaFallen
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Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2022 6:51 am
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Nqobile tried not to be too discouraged by the sight but it was difficult. With so many failures to find food in recent weeks it was becoming scary, not just concerning or worrying. If this persisted lionesses would begin to die, she was sure of that. Something had to be done and 'soon' was turning into 'now' very quickly. They had a small window in which they could act and searching for answers was very quickly turning into a useless plan.
Nonhlanhla's voice broke the pale lioness from her thoughts and she turned to see what she had spotted. Her ears perked up with interest as the older lioness walked away and she trotted to catch up, a spark of hope stirring in her chest. As they approached the new find Nqobile's heart gave an excited, fast flutter. A zebra foal!
"Better than nothing," she said, her mouth already watering. But Nqobile knew better than to dive right in and instead motioned for Nonhlanhla to approach and take a few bites first. She was older, she'd found the scraps. Although Nqobile was hungry she knew that being younger provided her boy with a bit more strength to continue.
"You first," she said with a small smile. "Good find, Nonhlanhla. Even if it's small."
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Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2022 3:37 pm
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As the older lioness took a few bites of the carcass Nqobile had to close her eyes to keep from giving in to the urge to shove her aside and eat it all herself. It was a base instinct, her stomach trying to take over her rational thought, and it was truly hard to ignore. She'd never lived through anything like this and, if she made it through, she promised herself she'd always appreciate having a full belly.
"Thank you," she said as she opened her eyes, Nonhlanhla having stepped back to share what little there was. She knew it must be hard for her as well to move away when there were still a few scrap of meat, dry and tough though they were. She pulled off what was edible and even considered taking a bone back to chew on simply to keep her mouth busy. In the end she left it, licking her muzzle for any trace remains of meat or skin.
"I think so," she agreed with a defeated tone of voice. They hadn't found much and what they had found might as well have been nothing. "Thank you for coming with me," she added as she looked up, her voice appreciative now and the look on her face was sincere. "I don't think I'd be brave enough to venture out this far on my own." Even as she spoke Nqobile turned to head back towards their home, trusting that Nonhlanhla would fall into step beside her.
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