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 Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 8:52 pm
Life was calming down nicely now, Unyezi felt. The land was becoming more and more familiar, they were finally starting to feel like it was home. Really home. There were still some stragglers out there he worried about, especially Otieno. He wanted to see the small lion come home, not just because he himself was rather fond of the youth but because he knew it meant a lot to Aureole. She didn't seem so cheerful lately and he really wanted to find a way to cheer her up, but he wasn't so sure what he could do for her. With that in mind, he was wandering around trying to think of something nice he could do but also was keeping an eye on things around the lands. Busy work (and an excuse) while he tried to come up with something nice.
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:06 pm
Dinaledi had just woken up from a nap, when he saw a familiar mostly white lion walking around the area. Not wasting any time to talk to his friend, and the king of the pride, he hurried over. When he got within range he shouted towards his friend, "Yezi! Over here." Dinaledi hastened his pace to close the gap between the two of them.
He hadn't really had an opportunity to speak with his king since they were traveling and looking for the herb. Once they found it, it seemed that everyone scattered off to go settle themselves into their new home. "Yezi, it's so good to see you. It's a shame we haven't been able to meet since we were traveling. How are you doing?" Dinaledi knew that something was probably worrying Yezi. When you were a king there was always something that required his attention. He felt somewhat bad for Yezi, just recently having so much responsibility thrust upon him.
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:26 pm
Unyezi's ears twitched at the familiar call out to him, there were very few who felt comfortable enough addressing him like that- in fact the few that did were those he grew up with. The remaining of which were his sister, his mate and Dinaledi. Clearly it was neither girl, and just before he turned to look for the source he knew exactly who it had to be.
"Dinaledi," he greeted his friend, laughing as the younger lion declared it was a shame they hadn't had a chance to chat much lately, "Things have been busy, with several new members and cubs and even just settling in. But I finally think this is feeling like home, don't you?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:36 pm
Dinaledi smiled when his friend greeted him. "I couldn't agree more. Things have been so busy between settling in and making sure everyone made it here okay. Also, this is starting to finally feel like home." There was a slight lie to this, because no matter how much Dinaledi like this new place, their old land was where he grew up. It was were he had many memories, and many firsts, and nothing could take that away from him.
Gazing up at the morning sun, wondered what Yezi was doing before he came along. He certainly seemed intense about whatever it was. It was pointless to try and guess, so he decided to ask. "So, Yezi. What were you doing before I came along this morning?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:45 pm
Unyezi was certain that most of the members who'd been in the old area would not forget it quickly, it had been home for so long and for the generations before them. It was really odd to imagine being the first of many generations living in this area, but that was exactly what Unyezi hoped for. He wanted the pride to thrive and be happy, he wanted things to be peaceful again, once and for all.
"I was just out for a walk," Unyezi answered more honestly than he might have with just anyone, after all Dinaledi was a childhood friend of his, "Im kind of looking for something for Aure, but I'm not too sure what. What were you doing out here?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:54 pm
Dinaledi took in all of what he said. Why would he be looking for something for Aure? He wasn't entirely sure yet, but he was bound to try to find out. He was sick and tired of not seeing Yezi happy, and the first step to having a successful pride was having content rulers. Answering Yezi's question Dinaledi spoke, "Me? I was just doing a little bit of napping before I came out here."
Curious about Yezi and Aure, he decided to pry to try to find out what was going on between them. Of the four or so original high class members of the pride, Aure was the one Dinaledi knew the least. "Yezi, is something wrong with Aure? Has she been unhappy lately?" The blue adolescent wondered if the remaining anxiety had anything to do with the members who were still lost.
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 10:00 pm
"Ah," the king chuckled quietly at the idea of a nap, it did sound nice- and every once in a while a nap was very welcome, no one could deny that! He smiled at Dinaledi until he was questioned about Aure, at which he couldn't hold back a small frown.
"It seems like it; but of course she misses Otieno, I'd trade her brother for my own anytime," he snorted, "Njiru could have stayed lost if Otieno would just come back sooner. I'm trying to something to cheer her up a bit, but it's not so easy."
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 10:19 pm
Dinaledi nodded as Yezi spoke, but couldn't help but laugh when he took a jab at Njiru. Having once been in the same situation as Aure, Dinaledi hoped the best for her. Back at the old homeland, Dinaledi waited for days, hiding in a cave, for word on if his parents were still alive. Hopefully, for Aure's sake, Otieno was just taking his merry old time getting to the new land. However, then a new idea struck Dinaledi.
Not taking the time to fully think it through, he blurted it out just about as fast as he thought it. "I know Aure is probably worried over her brother, but maybe she's somewhat sad that you haven't taken any initiative on starting your family. I mean, you two do need to create an heir, just in the rare case something horrible might happen." Embarrassed by his rash idea, Dinaledi turned his head and dropped his gaze towards the ground.
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:16 pm
Unyezi smiled when Dinaledi laughed at the comment about Njiru, happy to take whatever he could get though he knew he shouldn't speak badly of his brother. And he wouldn't to the general pride, but Dinaledi was the only lion who currently classified only as a friend. Aureole was now his mate and queen, Lela had always been his sister. Dinaledi was just friend, and a very good one. And as it turned out, a very direct one. Glancing about for ideas, his gaze was forced back on Dinaledi very suddenly at the comment and he froze.
Well, the king had certainly not thought of that. He was still trying to get caught up with the last decision they'd made, though Dinaledi was right about one thing. Eventually they did have to produce an heir, something Unyezi had once been intent upon but with recent events and a seeming awkwardness with Aure.. it wasn't so easy as it could have been.
"Well- um- eh-" he stammered, laughing awkwardly, "We do need an heir, but do you really think that's the problem?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:58 pm
Dinaledi wanted to run away from the awkward situation his impulsive suggestion earned him. He wasn't really entirely sure why he said it. Maybe it was because of his recent meetings with cubs. First, he met Malkia's son Fafnir, and now he had met Nerit's Indu. They seemed so vulnerable, and needed protection-- the job his now deceased mother had once held. Still not meeting the gaze, Dinaledi made an attempt at talking. "Well... I don't know. From what I've seen and heard, the other cubs have really lifted the hopes of the others."
He turned around, and looked out across their homeland. "I know it may not solve everything between you and Aure, but it would really bring you two together right now, that's for sure. In my opinion, it would also make everyone realize that this is in fact our home. Sure, we can call it our home, but if you two had a litter here it would really earn your approval as our new place. By having a litter here it would make everyone at ease, and be the last step in our moving in process. This probably doesn't make any sense it all, so I'll just stop rambling." Dinaledi turned back around and brought his gaze up, meeting Unyezi's.
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Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2008 2:05 pm
"Having cubs running around is one of the reasons it really feels like home," he agreed with Dinaledi on that matter, even if he didn't like that Nerit had a cub and the majority of the cubs were from a litter of rogues who'd joined the pride, "It hasn't quite seemed like we need to set an example where.. where cubs are necessarily concerned." He was very obviously hesitant on this subject, even Dinaledi didn't know the whole story behind how Aureole had become queen. The only lions now who knew the full story were really Unyezi, Aure and Lela- and Njiru knew one troubling little part of it, but he seemed good enough at keeping his trap shut.
He had to admit that Dinaledi was making sense enough, it just wasn't such an easy topic for them to discuss. For Unyezi to bring up, anyway. The monarchs were supposed to set an example, supposed to be strong and happy through tougher times so everyone else could be reassured. Did that apply here?
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Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2008 6:27 pm
Dinaledi tilted his head when Yezi said that he and Aure didn't need to set an example for cubs. Sure, cubs had already been born, but Yezi just didn't understand how important it was for the monarchs to have some. Along with his doubt, Dinaledi was curious as to why Yezi was so hesitant about the whole subject. "Yezi, this is just how I see it, but listen. Right now, everyone is content, but what makes this place then any short stop on our journey here? I'm not demanding it, but if you two had a litter then it would surely finalize the moving process. It whould show that you two considered this place home, and that you believed it safe enough to start your family."
He sighed, and realized that it wasn't his place to keep pushing the idea of a litter. He just didn't know who else would since there were so few of the original members, and even less that were close to Yezi. "Oh, why are you so hesitant about all of this? I'm not going to do anything if you don't like my ideas." Dinaledi chuckled at the last bit, and seriously wondered what was bothering Yezi. There were few lions he was close to, and he didn't like it when one was down.
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Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2008 9:17 pm
Unyezi watched Dinaledi carefully, all at once rather muddled by the suggestion of cubs but also not liking how, despite saying he wasn't, demanding the youth was being. There was more to it than simply having cubs, especially in this pride. Home was where your family was, and they were all about as close as they would get after surviving what they all had. And it was getting rather personal when asking why he was so hesitant, if only because Unyezi was keeping a secret about part of it and the other part, well, it just wasn't so easy getting through the awkward stages of choosing to be mates instead of just letting it happen.
"I know better than anyone exactly what I have to do to maintain the pride's trust in me and itself, we will all feel best when the last of the stragglers are found and can come back to us," he said, bringing up one of the main issues he still had about home, and being rather defensive, "There's no question about the need for an heir, it'll happen soon enough."
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Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 12:57 pm
Dinaledi didn't know the answer to why he kept pushing the idea himself. He assumed it would be best to digress, so not to create an issue with one of the friends he truly had. "Ah, yes. The stragglers. I do hope they can find us easily, it's so hard not knowing what's going on with someone. I remember how hard it was when I was waiting for my parents, but they never came back..." He paused, forcing himself to choke back some tears. Most of the time he was able to talk about them without breaking down, but sometimes he caught himself off guard. Not wanting Yezi to see him unhappy, he turned around and hurried back to his personal den. "Well, I'll see you later."
finished.
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