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 Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 3:23 pm
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 Veri had stayed in the diseased pride much longer than she had originally planned. At first she was going to leave the cubs with Mith and go back to the mountain, then she decided to stay until the cubs were weaned completely, and then... They were only eating solid food and had done so for quite some time. Yet she was still here.
The cubs lived in Mith's den, and she stayed in the area the queen had showed her. She visited her cubs, and she took them out to play. Sometimes other pride members came to see her, and sometimes she was called to the restricted area where the sickest resided. As Mith had predicted her talents could be quite useful, in a morbid way. She liked it.
The best part was knowing that her offspring was well cared for by the nannies of the pride, and ultimately watched over by Mith. He was their guardian and when she left (someday soon now, surely) he'd be there for them.
Sharp teeth nipped her tail, but she didn't flinch, she just moved her tail, letting the tip of it dance across the dusty ground. It wasn't something she'd imagined herself doing, but here she was, entertaining a cub while thinking over the decisions that had led her here.
Curiosity mostly. And then... finding a sense of purpose that appealed to her.
---
 Ee'bo was busy practicing his pouncing skills using the red tipped tail tuft of his mother. Veri was sitting very still, thinking about whatever god-moms thought about, and he could easily pretend that the black and red tuft was a separate being. It eluded his little paws, moving this way and that. He liked it that way. Sometimes he managed to catch it and hold it, but only for a short while.
It was the bestest toy, really. Sometimes his nannies or siblings tried to play the same game, but they couldn't get it right. Veri was larger than the lionesses in the pride, and no other tail was quite the same. And when she was in this mood she could keep playing forEVER. It was awesome. |
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Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:52 am
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Annchen (( I AM SO ANGRY. I wrote you a huge post, and it got destroyed. I am so sorry for the delay. 8[ ))
They were old enough now that they'd begin to remember things.
"Stay here." Uuni's voice was firm as she nudged a small, pale brother in next to his sister. The long, hard stare she gave them emphasized the seriousness of the matter. Children had a tendency to wander, especially the female in the group. After they had settled themselves down, the large goddess left them.
The smell of stale blood and nostalgia, memory, was easily recognizeable. Her sister was perhaps the only lion that had any direct power over her - she'd known Uuni young, playful, kind, full of excitement for life. They shared memories which could cripple one another, and out of respect did not bring them up.
The path she took was coated in well-traveled dust. It wound its way between trees marked with hundreds of scents. There was no questioning where pridal boundaries were. But Uuni was careful, and she disguised herself with an illusion that blended her into the trees, and gave her the scent of a bird. She had no desire to attract attention to herself, yet.
"Veri," Uuni called out. "I can't possibly understand the point of your being in this Amaret-damned place." |
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Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:08 am
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Kaelyndra Ouch, I hate when that happens sad
Veri tensed for a moment, but there was no mistaking the voice. Uuni. The memories... The mayhem. Good times, and bad. She smiled and turned her head towards the voice. The illusion was very good, but she could see a goddess sized patch of woods that looked slightly off. It was hard to blend while moving, and something had moved over there.
"Nice camo-work," she said and nodded a greeting to her sister, "You nearly managed to sneak up on me there."
Uuni had, in fact, managed to sneak up on her, but Veri was not going to admit that. Was she going soft? Maybe... But Uuni was always good at this, so she wasn't too embarrassed.
"I guess I got distracted," she said, as a small cub poked his head out from behind her.
---
Ee'bo really managed to get the tail this time. He chomped down with his sharp little teeth, and was disappointed to get no reaction whatsoever. His mother was talking to someone, but he couldn't see who it was. He let go of the tail and wandered around his mother, looking this way and that. It took him some time to walk around her, and when he couldn't see anyone he walked around her again.
"Who is that," Ee'bo asked, demanding some answers from his mother, "I heard someone!" |
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Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:27 am
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After a quick glance behind her, and a further survey of the trees, the illusion completely fell away.
"I'm just glad there's no mob to greet me." The smile that had begun to form across her muzzle said there was a secondary reason. Maybe she was a bit proud of her ability to hide. Okay, so, really proud.
It was hard not to let the fact she'd sort of missed her sister show. Perhaps they didn't greet each other when loud, raucous displays of affection, but there was a mutual sense of like there. It certainly wasn't hate. But there was rarely time for casual 'How have you beens'. Banter was easier, more natural, and -- what the heck was that.
But she hadn't been the only one sneaking. Uuni's icey eyes flicked down to the appearance of a small cub. They moved, instantly, back to Veri. Both Uuni's brows had raised.
"That's not one of yours, is it? Don't tell me you fell hopelessly in love with one of those mortals." Hell, she'd take needing to fulfill a motherly urge over that.
A small bit of familiarity welled up in her chest. She fought it down. Uuni hadn't been wrong. This would be a good place for them. "Do you want two more?" |
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Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:58 am
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"They're actually really friendly around these parts," Veri said, "They're open to anyone... I guess they have to."
They had even accepted her, and her special skills. She had come here on a mission to satisfy her curiosity, and she had found answers to questions she didn't know she had asked. Curious how these things work out. She snorted when Uuni asked if she'd managed to fall in love. She liked this place, she cared for her cubs, and Mith'ando was a good friend. Like a younger brother, one that would eventually fade and die like all mortals.
"More?" Veri said with a grin, "I just gave these guy's away."
---
Ee'bos jaw dropped when Uuni's disguise did. Wow! She had just... like that! And she looked really badass and she had horns. But he didn't like the way his mother talked to the strange goddess.
"You didn't give us away," Ee'bo protested, "Mith is just guarding us when you're not there."
He was pretty sure mom was just making a joke, but it upset him that she should joke about that. The small cub knew she wouldn't be around forever, both Uncle Mith and Veri said so, but she'd been around up until this point and he didn't want that to change.
---
Veri gave Ee'bo a reassuring lick on top of his head. This was the trouble with cubs, and the reason Mith took care of the parenting, assisted by various nannies. They were fragile, in more ways than one.
"This is your auntie Uuni," she said to Ee'bo, deliberately using the sillier name auntie to tease her sister, "Uuni, meet my son Ee'bo." |
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Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:57 pm
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"Did you?" It sure didn't look like that to her. That one was clamouring all over his mother like she wasn't going anywhere.
A snort, as the cub tried to confirm this little hiccup. Poor sap. He might never get over it when Veri did eventually leave. Though perhaps he would get lucky; perhaps she wouldn't.
Veri was cast an appropriate scowl. "You're not allowed to call me that." Uuni's nose wrinkled up. She hadn't asked for a clinging family of mortal children. "He'll start thinking he can rely on me for safety." Which would have been a terrible mistake.
"Would you like some cousins Ee'bo?"
Uuni only let her eyes land on the small creature for a moment, before her eyes hardened on Veri. "They were a part of a deal. Their father isn't supposed to see them, and if he tries, he may find them with shorter lives." She flicked the long, loose hair of her tail. "This isn't exactly a prime getaway location. If they're as open as you say, I full intend to leave them here."
A pause, and then she added. "Not that I'm worried, but have you contracted?" The disease, she meant. It would be easy for either of them to get rid of, and if they should find it increasingly difficult, Uuni was sure a pact with Amaret could be had. But, she was curious -- mortal diseases weren't always lost on gods. She'd heard of untimely deaths. |
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Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 11:51 am
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This was a rather strange place, Kasoro thought to himself. It smelled...off. Something was wrong here but he couldn't put his paw on what it was. Not that he was terribly concerned, of course. His sister and mother didn't seem upset by it, and when he was told to stay he settled down in the dirt to think about what it might be. Perhaps there was a kill nearby. Fresh kills always made him a bit wary for some reason. He had just started to eat meat and, while it was delicious, he was skittish around the corpses. Yeah, that was probably it.
White ears swiveled this way and that once Uuni disappeared, taking in the sounds of the immediate area. A few soft voices could be heard in the distance, although he wasn't sure who they belonged to. Oh, perhaps they were going to meet friends! Mother dealt with friends from time to time, and they were never allowed to go with her. She would always come back, though, sometimes in a bad mood. Hopefully this time the friends she was dealing with wouldn't make her grumpy.
Kasoro rolled onto his back to look up at the sky as he waited with his sister. He was growing quite bored and was about to roll over to bat at his sibling's ear, when another voice was added to the murmurs. Mother was talking with someone who had a cub as well! Interest perked, Kasoro jumped to his feet and strained to hear what they were saying. He took a few steps forward, but winced. Mother had told him to stay put. He sat down for all of two minutes before he couldn't handle the curiosity. Mother might be mad, but he had to know!
He ran forward, following Uuni's scent, even as it changed to that of a bird. She did some fun tricks sometimes that had confused him when he was younger, but now that his mind was growing in strength he knew better than to be thrown off by the changed smell. Sure enough, a light breeze picked up and Uuni's scent drifted towards him. Encouraged, he put on a little extra burst of speed before breaking through the small grove of trees and into a clearing. There was Uuni, along with another large lioness and...a cub!
Kasoro froze to the spot, blue eyes wide as he took in the scene. Wow...maybe he was going to have a friend! His sister was nice, but getting new playmates would be fun.
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Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 4:29 am
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Ee'bo's ears perked up. Cousins? Really? He could have some? Many of his current playmates had large extended families, and he sometimes got a bit jealous about that. It must be so nice to have a bunch of relatives to play with. He had two brothers and a sister, but some of the cubs he knew had more siblings and cousins and half cousins than they could count.
"Yes, please?" he said to the goddess that didn't like to be called 'auntie'. And just like that another cub came running from behind her. Wow! It was another little boy, slightly younger and smaller than Ee'bo himself. To the black cub it seemed like magic, and he ran laughing towards the white cub that had appeared out of the woods.
"You're magical," he said, and then turned to Uuni with a small frown, "Will he disappear when the moon comes up?"
The nannies might have told him too many stories...
---
She watched her son tripping over his own paws to get to his cousin. It was good that the boys were distracted when Uuni and Veri discussed some grown up maters. She nodded as Uuni explained the deal. Nothing out of the ordinary, really.
"Leaving them here might find them with shorter lives anyway," Veri mused, "But yes, they will be welcomed without questions. This pride can't afford to turn down cubs. They will not be able to leave easily either. Only lions that are confirmed immune are allowed out without restrictions."
Veri hadn't considered the possibility of catching Amaret's plague, and she felt sheepish for not thinking about the possible danger. But unlike the male she had guided here she hadn't gone through with the joining ceremony and exposed herself to disease. She was more or less in quarantine anyway. There was a slight possibility that she could get the disease form her own cubs, but since they didn't suckle anymore that was unlikely.
"I haven't been exposed," she said, "And the locals seem to think that gods and goddesses can't get this disease."
It was careless of her to assume that they were right. Was she growing soft?
"We should run together again sometime," she said, changing the subject to avoid thinking about what this place and these people were doing to her. |
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Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 10:48 am
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Uuni's brows raised. Eyes following the path of the black cub, she soon had a good idea of why he was suddenly excited.
Of course.
"He might. Keep a careful eye on him." Uuni's smile was easily seen. It never hurt to get the small offpsring thinking she was magical. It would be useful to them, later, when they thought it was a good idea to call upon that magic. Her son, however, was not given so pleasant of a welcome.
"Kasoro." The exasperation was clear in her voice and she let out a long sigh. "You left your sister all alone." Although, if she knew anything about this particular batch of children, she was probably close behind.
Whatever further scolding Kasoro may have received was quickly cut short by more serious tones. Uuni trusted the girl of the litter to find her way here on her own, and with the cubs occupied, she could more easily talk to her sister.
"Good." Uuni was nodding. "It's better that they don't leave." For everyone, really, but especially for themselves.
"Mortals think gods and goddesses are capable of many things which we're not," Uuni pointed out carefully. She didn't trust it. But, what the hell did she trust? Veri, she supposed, completely summarized that list.
"The mortals would pee themselves, Veri." But Uuni was grinning, a white, sharp-toothed grin. It would be delightful to see them trip over themselves with shock and awe. "Perhaps when you're done here."
If she was ever done here. "What is it that you do for them?" Run medic, perhaps. Help them figure out how to stay in good favor with Amaret? Uuni was really at a loss. |
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Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 11:17 am
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Kasoro knew he'd be in trouble the moment Uuni turned around, but the thought was tossed from his mind as the other cub suddenly ran towards him. He held his ground, looking at the larger male warily, unsure if this was an attack or not. He hadn't had much experience with play fighting since he was still fairly young, but he had lots of fun chewing on his sister's ear or his mother's tail.
He tilted his head just a bit as the cub spoke. Magic? He didn't think he was magic...of course, he wasn't too sure what magic was, so he couldn't say one way or another if that was true or not. The question directed towards his mother, however, made him laugh. The moon?
"No I won't!" he said with a smile, his tail flopping from side to side. "That's a funny question. I-"
He grimaced and pressed his ears against his head as his mother cut him off. Ooh...that was right, he had been told to stay put. And he had left his sister behind...whoops. "Sorry, mom," he said quietly, keeping his eyes on the ground, shuffling his paws awkwardly. He hated when he got himself in trouble. And now, in front of the other lioness and the cub, it was super embarrassing. The normal scolding didn't follow the sharp words, though, so perhaps he wasn't in as much trouble as he thought.
Lifting his head again, he eyed the cub warily. He was so dark! Just a few hints of red and white. That was kind of funny...Kasoro was white with a few hints of red and black. Huh...
"What's your name?" he asked finally. "I'm Kasoro...obviously." He grimaced a bit again as his name echoed in his head in his mother's voice.
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Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 12:32 pm
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Ee'bo was completely oblivious to the grown up talk. He had a cousin now, a BOY cousin, one that would probably not disappear. Kasoro, Kasooorooo. And... his new cousin had a sister too! Cool, but Cru could have that one. She'd sometimes whine about the lack of girls in their den. Now she could have a cousin that was a girl! This was just great!
"I'm Ee'bo," he said, "Are you going to stay with the nannies too?"
He lived with Uncle Mith, but when he was busy or too sick they all went to the nannies to play. Some cubs lived with the nannies all the time because their parents were dead or super, super sick. And some days, like this one, his mother came to visit and play.
---
The boys were busy getting to know each other. Good. Veri grinned back, remembering what they had done, and thinking about what they could do together in the future. When the blood sisters joined forces it was a terrifying sight indeed. Sometime soon... She needed the rush.
"That's half the fun," she said, mirroring the feral grin, "I'm sure we could find some place in need of... chaos."
When she was done... When would that be? She supposed she'd have a reason to return to this place as long as Mith and her children still lived. Or perhaps she'd stop by from time to time as long as her help was needed and welcomed. But that didn't mean she could take a break and enjoy herself elsewhere.
"I help them die," she said simply, "The sickest bleed inside, and it's less painful to die from that than to choke on phlegm." |
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Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 12:51 pm
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Nikusaidie had been right behind them, quiet and contemplative as she slowly grew accustomed to her surroundings. This... aunt she supposed nor her cub seemed to phase the small female cub as she slowly made her way forward, looking from one face to the next. She placed herself next to her brother and offered him a smile before looking to this new cousin of hers. "And I'm Nikusaidie. It's nice to meet you." She said in a soft and friendly tone.
This new place was too intriguing , she couldn't think about any mischief making just yet, no, she needed to scout out the place, get use to it, maybe make some friends, besides Kasoro, and then she could get on with looking into stirring up some trouble. Even as she eyed up her new cousin, she couldn't let herself look away from her aunt, Veri, for too long. Pale fur and wings, certain things covered in red, was it blood? The idea made her curious, but grown ups were talking, she couldn't interrupt now without a bit of a scolding. With a shake of those questions that popped up her attention returned back to her brother and cousin. "Nannies? Probably. I think that's what mom told us, right?" She asked, turning her gaze to her brother once again.
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 3:44 pm
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Kasoro glanced to his left as his sister appeared. He knew she wouldn't be far behind, no matter where they ended up. Neither of them liked to be left alone if the other was off adventuring, and this was certainly an adventure! He gave another little sniff as Ee'bo spoke, that odd smell hitting him again. What was it...
"Nannies?" he echoed, glancing at his sister. "Oh...yes, that's right. Mom's too busy to keep an eye on us all the time. She does important stuff," he said with a little nod. He had no hard feelings towards Uuni about being left here. He knew she wouldn't put them anywhere dangerous, and he had family here! What could be better than that? He hoped there would be a few more cubs to play with, too.
"Is your mom a Goddess, too?" Kasoro could only assume she was. She was big, had wings, and was their aunt. Surely if his mom and her were related they would both be Goddesses. "Is this her pride?" He was a bit fuzzy on the details of what was going on here. All he knew was that their mother had to leave them here so she could continue about her godly duties. "And what's that smell? It kinda smells like a rabbit that's been killed kinda recently..."
It was the pride itself, but he didn't know that. The sickness that infected so many of the lions was new to him, as was it's scent.
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Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 11:51 pm
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L1m3_gr33n_sh4rp13 (( Totally did not see your post! Here I was, waiting on you, and I shouldn't have been. ))
"The mortal world is full of it right now." Uuni pulled in a languid sigh. "They're tripping over themselves with stupidity." Had she been a gossiper, Uuni might have dumped stories on her sister. Fortunately for those mortals, she was not. Privacy was a thing she respected, sorta.
There was an uncomfortable shift in her stance as Veri began to talk about death. It was not a mortal problem Uuni liked facing. Ever the less so when she factored in that she could die. She'd been reborn before - it was not a pleasant experience, and there was always room for things to go wrong.
"Morbid, but effective." Uuni's ears went back. "Do they really think such a heinous death is a blessing?" One one hand, she could understand their way of thinking. On the other, the pain, the anguish. Uuni was no fan of these things.
Uuni, who was naturally inclined to eavesdrop on her children no matter what the situation answered Kasoro's question. "That's how you find your way home when you inevitably get lost." Because he was a devious little traveler, and he and his sister apparently never stayed put. |
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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 1:12 pm
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"The nannies are nice," Ee'bo said, "I stay there when I'm not with Mom and uncle Mith. You can probably visit. I've got a sister too, and brothers. The other kitlings will like you I think. They like everyone who's not from around here."
He couldn't wait to introduce their new cousins to his siblings. He'd found them, sort of, so they were his discovery to share. He was sure Cru would be pleased to have a girl to spend time with. Most of the family except Mom were boys.
"Yu-huh," he said, "She's the Goddess of Blood and Mith says she's the best mom ever."
He beamed up at his mother.
---
Veri heard Ee'bo, but pretended she hadn't. Mith had told her he'd make sure the cubs would know, love and respect her. Some days it made her want to run, but she knew he did what he thought was best for them. She just wasn't used to the unconditional love. It was almost, but not quite like being worshipped.
"It's not the worst way to go, apparently," Veri said, remembering the few she had helped, "They tend to just doze off and not wake up."
She had thought of her tendency to make blood thinner in the mortals around her as an annoying side effect of her powers, and it had been a bit of a surprise to find a pride that found it useful. However morbid that use was. It would be a nice change of pace to shake up the mortal world a little.
"You have to let me know if you find a good place," she said and grinned, "I'm sure we could 'help'."
Stupidity needed a sharp slap over the head from time to time. Most of the time it didn't help, but it could be satisfying even if the silly mortals didn't snap out of it.
"This little deal of yours," she said, "Do I even want to know?" |
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