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Andranis rolled 1 100-sided dice:
68
Total: 68 (1-100)
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 Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2013 5:27 pm
The fleas were a bit better today... Still there, but better. Istif rubbed her back against a tree, letting out a pleased rumble as she got the itch that bothered her. This was, of course, no way for a lady such as herself to be behaving, nor a manner of keeping she should be in. But as everybody was covered in fleas at the moment, she found she didn't care how messy her coat looked, only that she got the itch. The pale lioness shifted, finding a new itch to scratch, before she settled to tidy her coat up. What if somebody walked up on her like this? What if a Reaver saw her so disheveled?!
She paused, flicking one ear, swearing she heard somebody approaching. She gave a shrug, grooming her paw to try and smooth her hair back down. Probably the wind or a cub...
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Annchen rolled 1 100-sided dice:
61
Total: 61 (1-100)
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 4:39 am
 Udongo was off somewhere searching for soothing herbs with a group of thralls. She assumed that they'd been instructed in what to look for by one of the priestesses, because as far as she knew Udongo had no previous herb- experience. Aruná was itchy all over, but she ignored it as best she could. Hopefully the thralls would come back with something soothing, but until then she'd just have to grit her teeth and deal with this.
Walking helped somewhat, so she wandered aimlessly. The pale lioness up ahead seemed to have settled for scratching and grooming for comfort instead. She knew Akatta had introduced her to this female at some point... Now, what was her name? From what Aruná understood she was from a good family at least.
"Greetings," she said, still trying to remember the females name. She had noticed that Akatta didn't usually go around telling other ladies that she intended to kill them, or that it was a good day to die, so she used a generic greeting instead.
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Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 5:52 am
Istif looked up. No, her ears hadn't been playing tricks on her, somebody HAD been approaching. The pale lioness crossed one paw over the other, smiling. "Good day." She paused. "Well, it would, if it weren't for the fleas..." She hadn't missed the lack of traditional 'good day to die' greeting, but between the fleas and the fact this lioness was a new face in the pride, she wouldn't fault her. A flea infestation was NOT a good time to die, it was a slow, miserable, and dishonorable death. "Would it be safe to presume you are out looking for a cure for the fleas plaguing us all?"
Istif, for a moment, envied this other lioness. Her coat was dark, making it hard to see the fleas, where as Istif herself was pale enough to see the little blighters. Her ears suddenly went back as her face twitched, before she turned and used a forepaw to scratch at an itch. "Little blighters!"
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Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 4:55 am
"Not really," Aruná admitted, "But I find walking helps a little bit. My thrall is off somewhere looking for herbs that can hopefully murder the little buggers."
It still felt a bit weird to call her sister 'thrall' when she spoke about her in the pride. Sometimes she thought she was more bothered by it than Udongo was. Her kind hearted sister did not see the need to be rescued from her position, apparently. And since Aruná claimed her as her personal slave she was certain that Udongo was as safe as she could be inside the pride. At least until she could get her stubborn sister to understand that it would be better for them to leave. She had no concrete plan after that, and her sister's reluctance to be rescued had really screwed up what little plan she had going in.
Until she figured it all out Aruná was determined to blend in. She'd heard horrible things about these "vikings" before she got here, but she had to admit that it wasn't all that bad to be in the pride. Or, it hadn't been until recently... However, running away would not help in getting rid of the fleas... Fighting them didn't seem to be an option either.
"Have you found anything that helps," she asked the other female. What was her name? This was annoying... She was certain they'd met and been introduced, but Akatta had introduced her to so many pride members...
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Posted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 8:36 am
Annchen Guh the weekend... It kiiiiilled me
Istif ignored a flea's biting. "So far all I've found are rubbing on this tree and others like it, and the odd mud bath now and then. It doesn't last too long, maybe a day or two, after the mud dries and falls off... But at least it's a day or two of good SLEEP." She rubbed her temple with a paw. "I am going to find the lion who brought the little blighters in, and I am going to tie their hair around their mouth..."
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Posted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 9:59 am
"I'm Aruná," she said, "And my thrall is named Udongo."
She was pleasantly surprised that the other lioness was interested in Udongo's name too. Many Stormborn simply ignored thralls, unless they needed something from them. It was also impressive that she had seen the family resemblance. Aruná's markings were brighter and bolder, and Udongo was a much larger lioness, but they shared certain features.
"Good eye," she said, "Udongo is my sister."
Would the lioness hold it against her, Aruná didn't really care. Udongo was her sister, and even if she didn't volunteer the information to everyone they met she didn't lie about it. Now the other lioness had their names, and Aruná still couldn't recall what her name was. She decided that calling the lioness by the wrong name would be worse than admitting she couldn't remember.
"I know Akatta told me your name," she admitted, "But she introduced me to a lot of people and I'm not sure I remembered your name correctly."
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Posted: Mon Dec 30, 2013 10:26 am
Her sister? Well that complicated things.. "Having a relative who's a Thrall isn't unheard of if both lions are from outside these lands... I'm going to wager a guess that your sister was brought in as a Thrall, and you joined later of your own free will, for one sister to be a Thrall and the other to not be... If you speak to the right lions, they might free her from servitude for being related to somebody in the pride..." Of course, they also might not, and Aruna would end up a Thrall herself. She paused to scratch an itch. "I recall... A pregnant lioness, some time ago, found her way into our borders... A young Reaver coming back from a Viking almost made a Thrall of her... But he was stopped and she was spared, because her son was already in the pride as a Reaver himself."
Her tail flicked as she smiled. "It's alright. We're even on that count... I am Istif. I know there's a lot of lions in the pride to keep track of. To remember a face is at least a start, at least."
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Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 9:22 am
Aruná listened attentively, but she didn't fully understand what Istif was saying. She wasn't ready to admit to that ignorance however. Perhaps she'd just ask around a bit more about how the thrall thing worked.
"I was advised to take her under my wing, so to speak," she said, hoping that what she said was on topic enough, "So I did, and it worked. If anyone mistreats her they have to answer to me."
She wasn't sure how scary she was, but Udongo hadn't been harassed so far. So either her fierce spirit was obvious enough, or Stormborn were serious about not messing with other people's belongings. But only other Stormborn's belongings, obviously.
"Yes, I remembered your face," Aruna said, "And your tail tuft too. It's a really nice blood red colour."
It showed strength of spirit, even if the Spirit was young. She refrained from telling Istif that with that coloring she would probably have been a revered Sacrifice in her old pride. Sure, some people in the past had been flattered when being told they would have been highly regarded, but they usually soured once they heard the word "Sacrifice", or when they realized they'd been expected to die and serve their pride in the spirit world. It was easier not to say anything. Come to think of it she had hardly talked about Mizimu customs since joining the Stormborn.
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Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 3:46 pm
Istif's tail flicked as she looked at it in mild surprise, then smiled. "Thank you! You should have seen my father, his whole mane and part of his face and markings were this color red. He always looked like he was wearing blood armor on his face, shoulders, and back." She smiled, sighing. "My siblings and I didn't really take after him in markings, just colors... We all took after Mother more." She shook her head. "It would have been a sight to behold."
She glanced at Aruna, smiling. "Even if she doesn't take the chance to cease being a Thrall in favor of a Freeborn, what you're doing for her is a very good thing."
She sat up, stretching her back. "In the interest of curiosity about the world beyond the borders... May I ask where you and your sister came from? And if it's another pride, what were they like?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 6:23 am
"He must have been a fierce warrior," Aruná said. To her that color red in the amounts Istif described could only mean that her father must have had a warrior's spirit. In Mizimu he might have been a warrior or even a warrior sacrifice. "My father died in a war just before I was born."
Aruná had always known her father was a war hero. The minders had never actually told her he was, but she'd filled in the blanks from what little they'd been willing to share. There had been a war, and her mother had died shortly after giving birth to them. Their father was also dead, and he had been fighting in the war. As a cub she had loved inventing stories about her parents, and as an adult it was sometimes hard to remember what she'd actually been told and what she'd imagined.
"We were born in the Mizimu'tungica," she said, "It was a strong warrior pride, but it fell on hard times and we had to leave or go under with it."
She didn't elaborate on the kind of 'hard times' they had encountered.Andranis Should we try to wrap this up?
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 6:28 pm
Annchen Aaaand I think this is a good ending point! Sorry about that mass gap!
Her ears perked at the description of Aruna's and Udongo's origin. "Your father must have been a fierce lion. He died with honor, I'm sure!" She paused, scratching at another itch. "Cursed little blighters!" A rock near by proved far too tempting, and she scratched her back against it. Finally, she let out a sigh. "As pleasurable as it's been to talk, and as much as I'd love to continue to, I'm afraid these fleas are just too much!" She couldn't wait for them to be gone! "I'll have to bid you farewell, Aruna, and hope that your sister eventually sees the right path to not being a Thrall anymore. I, meanwhile... Am going to go for another mud bath." Her poor coat, how long would it possibly last like this?
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