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 Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2014 12:28 pm
 Heti had arrived at the quiet training grounds just as the sun had cleared the horizon; starting its long climb up into the sky. At this sort of time, there was not usually much to see. The restless. The workaholics. Some lions walking off their sleep in preparation for a day's work. It was surprising then, that not too far off, his father was training a new apprentice.
From this angle, the low sun made it hard to see clearly, but if he didn't know better, he thought he even knew who the youngster was. A friend of Kerra's, he believed. The little female with the blaze of fiery wings across her back.
Still, despite the intention to train in the peace and quiet of early morning, he had opted - instead - to stretch out on a cold slab of rock and watch the training session take place before him, recollecting memories of his own childhood whilst the sun crawled warmth between his fur. His apprenticeship had been a difficult and trying one and he didn't doubt that poor Shula's would be the same. Still, she was likely up for the task, else she wouldn't have been there now.
Azar had her doing laps of the grounds, at the moment, barking orders that were muffled against the shrill cry of the wind, and then - suddenly - the morning was getting away with him.
When Heti blinked next, clearing himself of all those childhood memories, he noticed that the training grounds had already begun to bustle with the sound of newly arriving Firekin.
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Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2014 1:03 pm
 Restless. Workaholic. Why just one? Both led Niu to the training grounds in the wake of her guard duties. She was tired, aching, and — though it seemed to her a taboo for those of her rank to admit it — bored.
For a fortnight she had no visions at all. The first five days were spent awaiting the inevitable, and some with their ear to the ground could have reasonably assumed Niu was amongst those anticipating further assaults from the Nergui. She was always so focused, so tense.
But they weren't the enemy she feared. Not this time.
After a week had gone by, Niu started to relax. Some. Could the frequency of her unruly powers be dwindling? she wondered. Time itself supported her theory: another week spent staring out into the desert and not once did she glimpse anything else.
That morning her mind had taunted her some, let her believe for but a second she could be freed from this at last. She'd... There were seers she'd heard about whose powers had, without rhyme or reason, subsided. But she'd never met any. At least none that would admit it.
Azar was as vocal as he was red. Between his loud voice and color, Niu didn't find it worthy of suspicion she always noticed him first. There was something different about him that morning, and that something was small, white, and showing more promise than Niu had expected when she'd first heard the youngster namedrop.
A moment of observation and then she started toward Heti. Beside the rock, she stood and looked on. "Isn't that your boy's friend?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2014 1:37 pm
Heti looked up at the sudden voice, breaking into a smile to see Niu there. Being guards meant that they often worked together during their patrol shifts and training and she was an easy one to get on with. There were many lions in the Firekin that could be difficult conversationalists but Niu was certainly not one of them - not in Heti's mind.
"She is. She's one of Khin'del and Azar's girls. Shula, if I remember right." He glanced back across at the training session taking place before them and stretched in an attempt to hide his amusement. "I wonder how she ended up with dad as a teacher. His last apprentice was forced on him. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that it had happened again. The women in No and Kidondo's lines always have been hard to refuse." He paused there to think of Hraga, a sad pang of jealousy niggling at his heart. Sometimes, if he thought too much on it, he could believe Azar was more fond of Hraga than his own son. Perhaps Kerra had the right of it. Being trained by family was maybe not the best idea - even if he had been willing to teach. Still, his boy had chosen a worthy teacher. Mwanyambi was an exceptional guard. The pair of them would do well together.
Sigh.
"Although, thinking about it, I don't think Shula's mother is particularly friendly with my father...I wonder if she even knows about this." Could cause problems...maybe. Without thinking his eyes snapped around to look for the absent mother. Thankfully she was nowhere in sight.
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Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2014 2:00 pm
"The women in No and Kidondo's lines always have been hard to refuse."
Niu's poker face was a bit out of practice with her visions on hiatus, but she donned the figurative mask and kept it in place. There were so many Firekin and their lineage was so intertwined. She had either forgotten or never truly comprehended Azar's new pupil was of her blood. For that matter, so was her little friend's mentor. And to think she'd come here to avoid her family...
"Although, thinking about it, I don't think Shula's mother is particularly friendly with my father...I wonder if she even knows about this."
"Is that so?" Niu observed the cub with renewed interest. Defying her mother, was she? That was a familiar story.
Like Heti, Niu spared a glance around the vicinity. No sign of trouble.
A guard's work was never done.
"Does he know who she is?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2014 2:42 pm
Families were complicated things within the Firekin. They always had been and they always would be. Even with the new blood, the few original bloodlines that remained weaved complicated threads through each and every one, tying them all to one another in some way or other. Still, Heti was glad to be surrounded by family - even if some of his family was difficult to get on with at times.
"Yeah, they butted heads quite a bit, particularly when the trouble with the Nergui first started. You know what he's like. Stubborn and loud-mouthed at the best of times. The brigadier was not always appreciative." He allowed himself to smile at the thought of it.
Still, Niu's question was a viable one. Did Azar know?
"I imagine he knows she's a relative of No's in some fashion. Perhaps not that she's the brigadier's daughter, though," he chuckled. "Do you want to tell him, or should I?"
And, loud and sharp through the morning air, Azar'bijan's 'teacher' voice struck out: "Run faster, kid! If you don't get this last lap done before that sun touches the top of that rock, this session will be over before it's even started."
Heti flinched, his ears falling back into his mane. "I do not miss those days."
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Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2014 2:58 pm
Unintentionally and without realizing it, most of her time had been spent with Azar'bijan for a while now. Yet there were entire days gone by they hadn't learned a single new thing about one another. Niu was all too familiar with the basics, though. The stubbornness. The crass attitude.
The unabashed willingness to yell at children.
Would Azar have agreed to train Shula had he known of her mother, assuming he didn't already? That Niu couldn't say. She would hazard a guess that he wouldn't. There were many ways in which she respected Azar, but overall he was... him.
"Better to leave it be," Niu replied. It wasn't her business, really. Not her place or her desire to get involved.
She glanced sidelong at Heti after his confession. To her, Azar's methods didn't seem any more or less brutal than she would have expected of this place. More and more Heti's disposition seemed like an exception rather than a rule. That "stubborn and loud-mouthed" comment could have been applied to the pride as a whole as far as she was concerned.
"Did he train all his sons and daughters?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2014 3:23 pm
He nodded in agreement. He certainly wasn't about to be the one to break the bad news. Heti risked another tremulous smile, allowing it to fade again a moment later.
"Just me," he replied after a moment. "Probably because I was set on it from the moment I knew what a guard was. My sister took up the guard career too, but much later on, though he did teach her a few things during her training. Not all of us wanted to join the military though. Our mother was not the fighting type and some of her cubs took after her more than others."
Still, it was amazing that Azar had done as well as he had, all things considering. He'd only been an adolescent when he had become a father. A scary enough prospect for a fully responsible adult, let alone someone like Azar'bijan.
"Were you a guard in your previous pride?" he asked after a moment, realising he knew very little of her life before arriving in the Firekin.
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 12:24 pm
Niu wasn't certain whether she fully comprehended Heti's viewpoint. If No's females were hard to resist, the males in the Azar'bijan line made up for it by being hard to understand. She'd always known she would have some responsibilities when she was older, some kind of duty, but she'd never wanted it for any reason than it was the right thing to do — and as another way to keep from becoming her mother, who had probably never worked a day in her life.
So many of the Firekin's brood treated their rank like a dear friend they couldn't let down. Not only their high and mighty; the low tiers too, and especially guards. Niu had never known such raw dedication until joining their ranks.
As if on cue, Shula tripped and skidded face first in the sand. The fall was so visually unpleasant, by instinct Niu, who did not care much for children and who cared even less for involving herself in their plights, stepped forward. Just one paw. Just a little.
But Shula was back up, shaking the burn from her eyes. Then she ran again.
Niu breathed out slowly. Her glance to Heti was the same: gradual, a bit uneasy.
"I was a rogue before this," she replied. A private one. That hadn't changed, but the subject was about to. "Do you think we'll be under attack again?" A reasonable question from one guard to another.
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Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 9:48 am
If Heti was about to declare surprise over Niu being a rogue before joining the Firekin, he was given no chance. Still, he was surprised. Still, in the end, she had found them here in the desert and it was clear to him that she belonged here with them.
His brow furrowed with thought, watching Shula complete her last circuit; determined and stubborn as her line. She was commendable and even his father would not be able to deny that to himself (though he would if asked outright).
"Honestly? I don't know," he paused to consider his words further. "I wish we had known more about them. That way we might be better able to determine their actions - or lack of them. Is the lull because of the return of the rains and of our strength? Are they waiting for our environment to turn on us again before pressing the offence? Or has something else kept them away? Something more important. Something that has set them back. It could be anything or it could be nothing."
He sighed, "all I know is that there are some among us who will be disappointed if we have seen the last of them. A few crave glory. Others; vengeance. But we are bred for the fight. Who can blame them? I just--" he hesitated, fearing weakness. His mother would have been proud of him for what he was thinking. His father...not so much.
"--I don't want anymore lives to be lost."
And his eyes fell on Shula, so young and vibrant but destined for life on the edge of their lands. A life of risk.
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Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 1:09 pm
This wasn't conflict. This was war. Niu could be vindictive as any Firekin when she was angry. Mildly annoyed better suited her presently, hence her suggestion being detached and level-headed, fueled by simple brainstorming and not outrage. "If some of them are so determined to put their life at risk —" From the mouths of guards. "— why aren't they sending in any spies? There must be some... specific sorts around here who would gladly volunteer?"
Coughwatcherscough.
Niu lost interest in Azar's methods and focused entirely on Heti. "What if they have already?" Some would feel she'd just implicated herself, but it needed to be said — and she hadn't really thought of that before she said it.
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Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:41 am
Heti looked up at that.
Spies?
The thought made him feel uneasy, but it couldn't be denied as a possibility. Would Firekin really have opted to face death and walk amongst the Nergui? To learn their secrets? Would he? His face twisted into a grimace as he came to his quick conclusion. Yes. yes and yes - if he wasn't so needed here, of course. But who were the likeliest of candidates? Those that didn't hold a high rank. Those that were frequently away from the pride so as not to be noticed missing.
"It would make sense," he said at last. "Maybe things aren't as quiet as they seem. Maybe there are things going on that we can only make a guess at. The regents must have some sort of plan; and the others? The general? The brigadiers?" He didn't see much of any of the higher rankings, but perhaps it might be worth sparing a look in their direction every now and then. If they seemed worried, maybe there was good cause.
"I guess there's no point losing sleep over the thousands of things that could happen. We have trained for battle before there was a threat of war and train harder because the threat is here."
The muffled voice of his father put a twitch in his ear. He was likely engaging his young student in a lecture now. Full of blunt observations and huffy pride.
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Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 12:51 pm
"I guess there's no point losing sleep over the thousands of things that could happen."
Niu wasn't so sure. Brute force and willpower were valuable assets, but they didn't always mean victory in battle, let alone war. If they did, she wouldn't be here now, prattling on about the matter.
She turned back to mentor and student in time to see the lecture in its stride. "What's the protocol to talk to them? The regents?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 9:20 am
"Oh, they are available to all who have need of them." Heti replied with a smile, feeling comforted that there was someone else willing to discuss these matters with the 'higher-ups'. He rather felt out of his depth and tended to leave that business to his father. Though said father looked rather busy at that time.
The large, red lion was shifting into a number of different defensive stances, talking the youngster through each one and barking our corrections if she did not match his move completely.
"They hold council every two days at the council chamber. Anyone can take their business to them at that time. Sometimes both of them are there, others only one; dependent on their duties." The regents were not ones to sit back and let others do all the dirty work. They had always led by example and Heti didn't think that would ever change. "But...if you want to go speak with them at a less formal time, they've never turned anyone away that has sought it." He gave the smallest of shrugs.
"You're not going to offer your services as a spy, are you?" The whole idea sounded...well, like a death sentence.
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2014 6:32 pm
Kimaria FINALLY A WRAP UP FOR THIS LOL. Let's talk on AIM / GW2 sometime soon about where to go from here. <3
Shula was oblivious to the both of them, far too busy conjuring the strength of will it took to keep her weary legs from trembling as she shifted into another stance to mirror her mentors. She didn't notice Niu turn to leave and she certainly didn't hear what she said.
"Take care, Heti. I'll let you know how things go."
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