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Mimsey

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Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 8:21 pm

So, it had come to this.

She had heard from some of the guards that among the rogues attempting to gain entry to the pride was another black cat. She hadn't thought much of it- that is, until she happened upon a glimpse of him during one of her patrols. She knew that face. It had been much smaller the last she had known it. Before she had become regent, before any of this. It served as a good reminder as to how much time had really passed since the war; for now, the little black cat that had been a cub seemed to be all grown up now. And, as it seemed- eager for a spot in his sister's pride.

"I don't know what you might have heard," The elder cat said, crossing the ridge of one of the towering sandunes. It hadn't been too hard to track the rogue down. It wasn't like they were trying to hide! "If you think that simply being family would earn you a spot in this land, you are mistaken." She said sharply, her tail twitching.

"The pridelands is a good home. Why don't you go back there?" She suggested, a wry smile stretched across her Chesire face. "Not all who come here are well suited!"

"But mind you. If you think you are firekin, it'll be me you'll fight." No spoke.

It was the only way she could be sure, anyways. The last thing she wanted was getting another of her family tied up into something they couldn't handle. And with that- she charged.

Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 8:24 pm

He smiled just as wildly and with as much ferocity as the lioness had, rising up from a midday nap. Having had one failed attempt at joining certainly threw the feline for a spin, and just as No feared, he too thought if a pride only just mending old wounds would suit his passive aggressive needs.

However, he was a Firekin, regardless of where his youth had him wander and in his blood furry and fight did rise. Shaking off the grains that stuck, fatigue had long since left his frame and offered him a moment of clarity. One that allowed recollection of the days leading to this. No was not hard to catch on most days, but being in the position she was seemed to put Pride over Rogues; as it should and did not allow for conversation between the two. Mwanyambi once saw her chatter on with another lioness, fiery pelted with a mate carrying a mane of white and black, and from his distant placing yearned to approach and be known. She, his older sister, was just another perk to his return.

Golden eyes watched No dance across the sands, his stare matched by the heat of her words. Before she charged, his lips peeled further and parted ways slightly, "It has been you I've wanted to fight since the very start, sister."

Kicking sand into the air, Mwan sprinted with ease over the dunes and extended his paws (claws kept retracted) out, swinging with force toward his sister and snarling in delight as contact was had.

Shia bean

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Mimsey

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Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 8:26 pm

She hadn't been sure until about halfway down the slope if she was in fact, so willing to fight him. He was her brother, even if she hardly knew him. In some part, she supposed she had hoped seeing her charge him would chase the rogue off- off, and hopefully, back home. Unfortunately, or fortunately as it may, this did not seem to be the case. The other black cat met her charge with one of his own, and quietly, she bade goodbye of any hope of simply being finished with this easily.

But on the other hand, she was glad to see this brother of hers was no coward. She didn't think she could stomach that.

"Of that then, I'm glad to hear." She responded, dodging to the left and raising her paw to strike.

But he had struck first! No sooner then No had risen up in a half rear, did a particularly well sized paw crash into her face. She gave a low growl of warning and rolled with the hit, spinning around and considering. "That's not a bad hit! But, I can't help but wonder why you are here."

Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 8:29 pm

Excitement filled those mischievous eyes, who watched this black cat dance across the dunes. She was quite good, the dodge nearly sending him and his all but faulty swing face first into the ground; it surprised him, really. Grinning wide, hearing her growl and returning it with pleasure, Mwanyambi grabbed hold of the sands as No hopped to her feet and spoke.

“Hrm.” His throat rumbled with a groan.

Discomfort settled and tensed the muscles around his shoulders and spine, teeth clicking in what Mwan hoped she’d see as a mock snap. Blood ran deep, even for siblings like themselves who were kept apart for all this time…yet the rise of uncertainty and guilt overpowered what he felt just moments ago. Dreading his next move, for a moment the lion let his paws fall into a steady pace and in response to her, he muttered. “Is it not obvious?” Having always aimed to join because of No, he never thought she would be part of the test…it drove him mad now as the thoughts swam and swam around his head.

He did not want to fight his sister. He did not want her pride to be dented…if it would…he knew so little of this No.

Then again this was the reality, so getting it over with seemed to appeal to his better judgment.

“This is my home.” Perhaps later, when they had the time to introduce one another formally and, more than likely, form a stronger bond than what stood now…perhaps then he would admit to his other reasoning’s. This seemed to fit for now.

"I will prove to you that this is where I belong." Letting loose a soft chuckle, the male sprung forward for a second time.

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Mimsey

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Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 8:31 pm

He had the voice of youth, but it wasn't entirely misguided either. She dodged to the side, trying to catch a glimpse of his eyes as they danced. Just what sort of brother was he? He did not seem to be like Jing-Fei, her litter mate, who had always been a generous soul. She supposed she saw a little bit of herself in this black cat, but No wasn't quite ready to accept that just yet. He was family. And although she pledged to treat her pride fairly, she knew she was especially hard on her kin. She was responsible. If Mwan joined the pride, and ended up a little white skeleton somewhere on the dunes in the months to come, No would take it personally. If she had survived, so would her family.

But, he'd have to beat her first.

She dodged his swing and moved aside again. She wasn't particularly looking to attack so much as judging his willingness to fight her. What did he think of her, he wondered? What sort of stories had their parents spun about their mighty daughter and her army? Or their silly little girl playing queen?

"The pridelands did not suit you?" She asked. "You'll not find a better life here. There are no riches in these lands but fire. Why chose this life?"

She wondered, maybe. If they had both chosen the same.

Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 8:36 pm

There was no richness here. There was no glory in defeating the heat of this desert, or the sand that rested beneath their feet; the only triumph here was another day passing with your body moving across the dunes. Alive.

In some ways, Mwan wondered why he chose to leave the Pridelands himself.

They offered him safety in both numbers and family. There he would always have food, and water was but a stones throw away. Yet, the days he thrived within those evergreen fields and plains of long yellow stocks, amongst the few who he never felt too close to anyway, were days spent in misery. There were stories of No, and though she might think unkindly of what her parents may or may not have said, Mwan never took those tales as anything but remarkable. "She left to the Firekin Lands." he would hear. "She left to become a Queen. To run the lot of savages into battle." Perhaps, he always thought, they all should praise their long lost family member. Departed or not, whether she left for love or betrayal; No was a hero to both the Firekin and to Mwan. Should that not count for anything at all?

To them, it did not. And for Mwan, he could not live side by side with lions who did not see pride in its most general sense.

Shaking out of thought, Mwan caught on to her dodge and weave tactics, grimacing some before retorting, "Don't try not to win." His remark was sullen. "I did not travel this far to win by default..."

His sarcasm was thick, even with truth hidden beneath the joke, and when his smile seemed to have reached its widest spread; it grew further. Charging forward, Mwan was not to miss this time; He silently begged a question of his sister:

Shall she turn out to be the War Hero he saw her to be?

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Mimsey

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Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 9:24 pm

No smiled. "Sometimes it isn't the fight itself that chooses the victor. I won't lie. To you I will be harsher. You are my brother; I know the life you leave. You are not just a rogue looking for scraps on the edge of our claws." She shifted, leaning into the next sweep. "Perhaps the real fight is to convince me that you have made the right choice."

"The days are long here, and the sun will burn your paws. The grass in the pride lands is sweet and green. There's no paradise amidst the bones of our enemies and the throngs of countless spies and enemies. The only thing you can be assured by default is that I might trust you- and I do not wish to trust someone so carelessly." She warned. "For most rogues, all they need worry is to impress the pride that you are a brute like them. I have all the brutes I need."

As if on cue, one of his lashings struck at her. She held fast to the blow, her body becoming rigid. Yes, he certainly had the brute strength. She looked up from it with a smirk, and flicked her tail. "I doubt mother and father encouraged you to fight. Where did that come from?"

Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 9:34 pm

“The right choice?!” Mwan roared, leaping back and skidding across the hot ground before sinking his paws beneath it. “I have learned that in the desert, there is no salvation. There is only, as you so bluntly put it, death and the endless dunes are riddled with mystery not meant for the ignorant adventurer.”

“I understand your concern, sister. I would wonder the same of you if our roles were swapped.”

”However, beneath the grain when positioned right on this dry plain, there is cool ground to quell some of the heat. Perhaps I am not much of a fighter, though I’ve had my share of rump kicking’s since I’ve arrived here; but one thing you will have time to understand of me is this: I refuse to give up.”

Rearing up, he leant the female a false swing of his paw, keeping the distance where it had fallen. “I act with time, not impatience. I learn far too quickly for me to be anything but cautious. I have thought this through. Do what you want with these tests, because I can assure you I shall pass them all, just know that I am not what you imagined me to be, and I will thrive here beneath the Firekin sun.”

Standing his ground, Mwanyambi blew gently into the sands so that the loose grains floated up into the air and then, slowly, fell back onto his partially hidden paws.

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Mimsey

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Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 9:36 pm

"No salvation?" She asked, a smile stretched across her face. She'd always had a wicked smile, even when her intentions were well. "Hardly! The desert is a brutal mother, but it is not unkind. The firekin are not mad. If all there was in this land was death, none would call it home. We would take our forces, and we would claim a land more suitable. We have the power- and, god knows, we have enough claw happy brutes to make it possible!"

"When I left the pridelands I did so because it had nothing for me. It was already perfect. How could I make it better?" She spoke, rounding. "Who would have me? I am too bitter to be kind, but too kind to be cruel. I came to this land so that I would not linger away into obscurity in the pridelands. For some, raising a family and surviving into old age is all they need. It wasn't enough for me. I had to raise a war and conquer the desert to even begin down that path."

"And- all that possible because of this desert." She said, leaning into the sands. "I warn you of the dangers and the hardships because she's very much like me. She will be short with you and she will attack you, but she will take you and mold you." Even as she said it, she took a swipe just above his head. "But if all you want is to grow old and be happy, this is not the place for you."

She leaned back and smirked. "But, for now it seems you've convinced me enough. Perhaps you will not suffer too terribly..."

Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 9:37 pm

Ducking beneath her swing, Mwan grumbled a bit. No would be right in the end, and whatever heartache might be felt for a land so perfect as is the Pridelands, would have to be lost. If, by chance, all that Mwanyambi said turned out false simply because he could not handle the pressure...

He would have to overcome. Neither leaning back or pushing forward, the black feline smiled in return. No was so capable, and what she said of their once home seemed to fit into his puzzle perfectly. They were, in many ways, so much alike; though Mwanyambi could never rule over a pride like she had.

With the sister he never knew standing before him, powerful and far too quick to be sane; Mwan threw a final paw at her before pushing off the ground and pouncing. The connection was with as much power as before, aside from the landing which turned out to be one of slight play. Rolling off and shaking the sands from his pelt, Mwan bowed his head for No.

"I doubt you are looking for thanks on the matter. I know where you stand as far as me being here...but I do thank you. Shall I escort you back to the pride now? I'm sure they are wondering what has happened to their ferocious leader."

Turning to face the sun, the path which would take them BOTH home, Mwan chuckled.

"This feels like home."

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