Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Those who have been RPing know there's been several small strikes made by both sides - dead slave cubs left as grizzly warnings by the vultures, Laini killing the vulture's prince, Muroki being ambushed then healed, and the pride have been keeping a close watch on their youngsters, Matifu has been out of the lands recruiting those who'll come help in the war... and so on!))

The Dawn had been greeted by Muroki and those who cared to keep the tradition as well, all had been fed and watered recently and the day had been spent preparing for battle as secretly as possible. The cubs and other youngsters were to be gathered at the deepest den at the Oasis and guarded there. Everyone else still had sometime before they met and went over the plan one last time.

The king had gone round, making sure things seemed to be going smoothly before he lay down where he and his generally spent their free time. Close to the biggest oasis in the string of pools and under a large palm it was cool and shady.

Kainda the maned wolf, having settled her two young pups in the den came to rest by him and absently they used sand-and-stone paint mix to daub protective spell signs onto their fur. Any human would have recognized lopsided heiroglyphs - not being able to read them as humans intended, the Dawnwakers had their own meanings for them. For protection and safety, for luck and skill combined and if worst came to worst, for a good death and safe passage to the next life.

All there was to do was gather and wait for the right moment to march out.

((Can RP the setting out and also go off and do your own war RPs. The plan is this - wait until dusk when the birds will roost and have less of an advantage. They haven't got good night vision and flying in the dark is rubbish. The goddesses will strike first, then the DWs storm the Temple in little groups, heading for all open doors so they attack from all sides. Head upwards in the Temple, free any slaves you find. ))

((I hope it's okay for me to assume that Safi would be helping to guard the youngsters in the den. ^^ My Dawnwalkers are going to play a less active role in the war, so I hope it's alright for me to RP them here once or twice as they are in hiding.))

Safiya's heart was thumping loudly in her chest, and she hoped the cubs around her couldn't hear. Nervous and fidgety, she counted the heads again, just to make sure of their number. This was her job and her contribution to the war effort; it was the most serious thing she had ever had to do. The safety of the pride's children, including her own four, was her most important duty. Safi was hoping against hope that the war would go in the lions' favor, and she wouldn't have to concern herself with fending off vultures that had broken all the way through to this den. She would rather not think of what would happen to the children; Safi was not strong or fast. But if she had to, she would fight to protect them.

As much as she was afraid for herself and the children, she was deathly worried about her Moyenda. Safiya had had this bleak worry in the back of her mind for weeks, and it was now hovering in the forefront of her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about him being in such danger.

He would actually be there in the thick of it, while she would be here in relative safety. Safi felt sick and guilty; her tail flicked anxiously, never able to rest. She dreaded the sunset and the moment when she would have to say goodbye to her beloved, with the possibility of not seeing him alive again. She shuddered, and banished that thought from her mind.

Everyone in the world who was closest to her, all of her new friends and family, would be at risk tonight. All she could do was wait and pray to the gods that everything would turn out alright. And count the children one more time.

(( The cubs will be born post war, so she will feel some indications but not noticeably pregnant. ))

The day passed so slowly in her mind, her heart and body anticipated this moment. Her mate was around, she could feel his presence, as to where he was or what he was up to, she had no idea. All she did was sleep and eat, replenishing her energy for the confrontation. Azra's blazing orange pelt did not mesh too well with the desert sands, but she need not hide from peering eyes for she was confident that she could take down a target before it could call for help. Otherwise, it was another burden for Athrun, however, this time it won't be just him.

She was part of a pride now, she had to put their safety before her own and think about what will happen by her actions. With her head high, nearing Safiya and a few others that seemed restless, she sought comfort in the company of others. It was good to know that Athrun isn't the only life that she can be near at the moment.

It had been rather strange, not quite pride related but more of teh relationship between she and her mate. With Akiiki and Yadumugandama gone with their own lives, their mates, and their own duties, she and Athrun were alone. As mates are, things happen. However, lately, she has been feeling familiarly strange. Her body has became a bit more bloated. Had she eaten too much? Though food was scarce here, she had eaten quite a lot before coming to the Dawn Walkers. Had she put on pounds? It took a moment of thinking as she walked that it may have been something more serious than becoming fat.

Athrun may have gotten her pregnant again.

Azra loved her mate, being a mortal bound to an immortal mate, she would have done anything for him to make up for her lack of presence in his life later. Mortals would not live forever, she knew that. She felt horrid that she put all her heart for a male that she knew may find another love later on and possibly forget her, but it would always ease by his loving words. Carrying his cubs was an honor for her, but she wished that it was at another time. This moment was far too important but it was too late to take back what was done. Resting her paw against her belly, she hoped that she survived through this and let Athrun know that he would be a father yet again. A new pride. A new life. A new family.

"Laini, Safiya, good to see you two."

Tha jackal made his appearance then, sleek and small but honed and tough. The travelling had made him swift, made him silent. Besides, in those slender jaws were powerful muscles, probably the most powerful muscles a canine could have.

He slipped silently up to the gathering, waiting, twitchy, dreading and yet wanting the battle to come.

He paused outside the circle of the gathered and sat, his brush of a tail curling around his hind legs. There he sat, sentinel like in his watch, large ears turning slowly to pick up sounds from all around them.

((Phife, Laini isn't there. I think you mean Johari?))

Johari, who by no means could hide her own pregnancy anymore (It had been a good month from she first conceived until shortly after Muroki's injury had healed up fully), glanced to Azra and gave a welcoming nod, offering a small smile to her as well, more because she could now sense Safiya's unease. With a litter of little ones to look after, and others from various parents, as well as a mate on the battle field Johari could only imagine the worry that the female must feel. She offered a reassuring rumble, gentle yet firm.

"Welcome, Azra. More numbers to help protect the new lives... all of the new lives."

She glanced to the paw resting on the orange lioness' belly, not looking at her own but not needing to to be aware of it's visible bulge. Muroki's reason to win, or one of them, he'd spoken in those first moments after learning that she carried his cubs.

To Safiya now, however, she said: "It's alright to worry..." She finally said, after a pause, settling down to sit close to the pale lioness, at a position that she too could help keep an eye on the children where they rested, played... were they too aware of the importance of the day?

She tore green eyes from the children to look at the two females again.

"Hold steady, girls, we'll all be alright. We have the gods favor." She repeated again softly, glancing now towards the temple.

War was in the air. Laini could smell it. She had always been a strong lioness out of necessity and as Muroki could vouch, she had a temper. Vultures had done her no favors, attacking her in the open, wounding a hybrid cub and also her adopted brother, the king. This had been something she had been boiling for, craving almost, like a crazed person. It left her quite serious even with a well-contained desire for action. She scanned the gathered, those to simply watch the make-shift band of warriors off and those who were taking an active roll.

Perhaps some might argue that it was best to be worried, to be cautious. But as Laini felt willing to sacrifice, she left it to others to do the worrying. She approached at Matifu's side, having met up with him after his return. Recruiting had not been as promising as hoped but Laini was sure that they could do it ...somehow within a long span of time. She looked to where Muroki laid, nodding to confirm that she was ready for whatever was to happen as the young goddess voiced her question.

Ilori watched the others and prepared with his family. It was coming... he knew it. He was one of the younger warriors, he and his brother... but they had been haunted for far too long by the vultures. The threat looming over them... and some of the children he had met there. And Sepoko now... no, he couldn't let anything happen to any of the lions he had come to know and care so much for. This wasn't even about protecting his family anymore, this was about protecting something so much bigger.

Half of him wished that the vultures had been willing to share... maybe it was just the laziness in him. It took so much less effort to be peaceful and ignore each other than it did to have a big fight over it... but now that it had come down to it, it was time to fight. He supposed he would never understand why it was needed like this... but that wouldn't stop him from doing it. He knew the reasons why he fought.

Adanna was restless. A desire for justice boiled in her blood, one that went beyond her fury against the vulture's use of slavery and the death of children. It was an uncoscious would throbbing in her genes. This was the homeland of her ancestors. Beyond that, the desert had always been the closest thing to home. And she was ready to fight for it all.

She lean lioness paced acrossed the cooling sands, despite the fact that others seemed to be still in their waiting. She couldn't help it. Unused energy flowed through her like a river she couldn't dam. Though now, in the stillness, it was an annoyance it would aid her later when strength and ferocity was needed.

Pausing briefly she turned to look impatiently at the sky, "Come on, dusk..."