[META ORP] Rumours Take Flight [Closed]

[Velveteen Angel]

This RP takes place directly after the previous ORP. All rogues and colony members may partake.

Update:

This boy will be raffled off at the end of the ORP! Each post counts for a raffle ticket.

He is a hybrid from Ardhira'i's upcoming litter. This will cause quite the scandal in the colony!

He is not born yet. He will be officially born after this RP is completed, and so no one should know that Ardhira'i is pregnant. Some may suspect, as she's getting 'rounder' but even she is currently not aware she is knocked up.

As a hybrid, once he reaches adolescence, he (and his two sisters, owned by myself and Seaki) will be sent to the Koti Kaikille Lands to live with their father (Chozi: owned by Seaki).

 

[Velveteen Angel]

Ua had been placed in one of the grounded dens, her wounds tended to and herbs given to her to force her to sleep. She had been almost delusional when she had been found, rambling about a monster, but giving no specifications. It created an uneasy feeling in the air.

Hu stepped out of the grounded den to the surrounding crowd – many of the members of the search party – and other members as well – had crowded the forest floor to view what happened. His expression was set in stone and his posture stiff. Someone had attacked his baby girl. This meant war.

He stared down at the crowd, taking in each face in turn. Had one of them done this to Ua?






Ardhira’i was bouncing on her paws, anxious and not sure how to soothe that anxiety. She just wanted to be doing something. She had given some herbs to Ua, to ease her pain and put her to sleep (one of her concoctions and recent experiments). Now she was stuck in limbo, waiting for someone to speak in the awkward silence that was forming around them all.








Kianga didn't let the silence affect her, she instead stepped forward boldly, almost confronting Hu with a dark stare of her own. She then turned her attention to the growing crowd, speaking to them directly and almost ignoring the irate council member.

"It is important that we do not panic in these times," she said clearly. "We must think of this rationally and approach any suspicious with caution." She shot Hu a look, as her last sentence was aimed directly to him.




Arcus was another who was not swayed by the silence, but his opinion varied severely to Kianga's. His eyes narrowed and he scoffed at her words.

"There is a violent creature in our forest, and we cannot guarantee that this is a one off attack. We must be vigilant and act appropriately! This could be a one-off attack, or this could be war."

 

[tani duh!]

Celestyn had been in the forest during the search and, though his help was fruitless, he followed them back to their dens to see if there was anymore he could do. He wasn't in the front rows of the crowd, but listened intently, concerned for the girl and the pride, thought he wasn't a part of it. He took their needs to heart though, and he was here to support his fellow leopards. He recalled when Ua had finally been located, and her words.. the constant mumble of monsters and fear. He shook the memory from his head, it made him nauseous to think about it.

At the mention of war, by Arcus, Celstyn gasped a little. For someone who had no enemies that they could name earlier, this could mean war? With whom? was the first thing that came to his head. He remained silent, however, as not to cause a ruckus. His partner from before, Kianga, seemed a little more level headed when it came to this meeting, telling the crowd to be cautious. Arcus might cause a lot of negativity by immediately saying things like that and jumping to those conclusions.

Dalmar padded quietly up to his fellow council members, giving Hu a concerned yet confused glance. Farih, his avian, floated silently beside him and landed by his paws. He had hear what Kianga and Arcus said. Arcus was creating too much drama already, he would cause an uproar with responses like that, and that is not what they needed right now.

"Arcus, do not make the others uneasy. Talk of war is a touchy subject." He said just loudly enough that the council members would make it out, but hopefully the crowd would not. They already seemed on edge enough from the attack, they do not need to believe they should be readying themselves for a war or an invasion. More loudly, he added, "Cautious is exactly what we should be at this time. If someone found their way into our midst to do this, it could happen again. Do not let your guard down!"

He turned to Ardhira'i, "How is the girl? What do you see from her injuries? Anything?" He was curious what Ardhira'i might have found out based on Ua's physical state, not her mental one.  

[Talencia]

Nan, accompanied by her twin, had followed the group back to their dens. Had she been clued in on how others felt, she would have noticed how protective and uneasy the colony's members felt about strangers being near their dens. Nan, unfortunately, never had been any good at sensing how others felt, however.

She watched and waited patiently as the leopardess was tended to, then applied herself to the rising argument. "While I do agree that this attack may not be a solitary event, we have no evidence of it being an act of war either. Caution is always advised in dangerous situations, I agree." She spoke with an easy, authoritative manner, as if her knowledge on the subject should be generally accepted as superior.

"Does the leopardess have any enemies? Or the colony?" She addressed the questions to the striped male, but glanced at the others who had spoken up. These were likely the leaders of the colony, though she and her sister had not gotten any official introductions. "It would help us narrow down the list of suspects."  

[NatashaRogers]

She silently watched the others from the shadows of the den, focusing her attention on the things that were being said. Zakiah had very recently joined the pride and already a problem had risen. One of their members was attacked, but no one seemed to know by who or what and by the way everyone seemed to be on edge meant that this had never happened before.

Either someone had a nasty grudge or they were set on starting something against the pride. Her ears flickered back and forth in all directions as others began to speak. Zakiah slowly stood and quietly moved from behind the other members and made her way closer to the front of the group.

 

[Seaki]

Sanii, of course, was hovering around in the lower branches of some of the trees. Most of his focus was on Ua. The best he could do was to craft something to make her more comfortable.

He gave a soft whine. She was alive, but she was still hurt. It was the first time Sanii felt truly unsafe in the forest. Ua didn't have any enemies, but that doesn't mean she was the intended target.

"What if it's more than one," the frightened leopard said, though mostly to himself. There was no need to frighten anyone else, right?





Maua turned her head to focus on the white leopard Arcus. "Should there be a wider patrol?" she asked. Arcus was... basically their only defense. She could help where needed, but she could only do so much! She was a medic not a fighter.

"We could volunteer?" She spoke uncertainly. It wasn't like they had much of a choice. Arcus could not stay up forever. Perhaps any of the hunters? The sole artisan didn't seem very eager about the prospect of patrols, though.

"Or maybe stay close and post guards..."  

[Znaruto]

Nulis had been walking for day on end. Where he was going he didn't even know. He just had that itch to walk and walk. He left Gino with his daughter this time because he want to walk by his self for a while. Now Nulis had no idea where he was going but it didn't matter he always made his way back to Gino so he didn't really care how far he went. The only thing was every step Nulis took the more and more he started to smell others. Which he was okay with because he love to meet new things and explore what they where about. But then he started to feel a tense vibe and that was never good.
He didn't like this because what if these other where not friendly. Hmm. He walk carefully behind trees to not make a big sir. Then he heard other talking. What where they saying......did one of them say violent creature? Did he get notice. He didn't mean any harm. He just had an itch to go explore and that what he did but he hope that itch didn't just bite him in the butt.  

[Painted Moose]

"The male has a valid point." Scheherazade spoke up, making her prescence known. She moved in close to Sanii, since it had been his comment that she had latched onto. "We have no evidence, save for Ua was able to share, but her words are that of a frightened soul. War-" Her words were sharp and directed at Arcus. "-is folly. Would you have us attack the shadows?"

Inhaling, she nodded and moved in closer. She looked at each of the leopards around her, lingering on faces that weren't Hu. He she avoided awkwardly quick. Ua was safe which meant the world to her, but the culprit had yet to be found. How long would it be until another was taken? Or this "monster" made another attempt on Ua's life? They nothing tangible to grasp.

 

[Velveteen Angel]

Arcus turned to face Dalmar, a heavy frown on the bulky male's face. "They should be uneasy!" Arcus snarled, ever bit the grumpy captain that he was, but he was wise enough to keep his voice low enough that only Dalmar and the other council would be able to hear it.

"There may not be war, but there is danger lurking," Arcus said, slightly louder to the rest of the crowd.

He looked at Maua when she spoke. "A patrol would be a wise move," he said to the green female, nodding in approval. "Myself and Zakiah," he motioned to the female watching at a distance. She was his only warrior thus far, "we will coordinate the patrol."

"I assume I can trust you," Arcus said, directly his gaze directly at Zakiah and meeting her eyes head on. He would not suffer fools gladly but if she was willing, she would be a great help.

Jaleeni

Ardhira’i was startled when she was directly addressed by the councilor. "Oh! Uhm," she hesitated, glancing at Hu who was still watching in silence. She wasns't sure how much detail she should go into about the wounds, knowing that the victims father was there.

"Her injuries," Ardhira'i began, nervously. "They're pretty big. Like, not deep but...large?" Bigger than a leopard claw, or perhaps just a big leopard. "She is not a big girl though, so it's all relative!" She hesitated again, staring at the ground.

"It's pretty bad," she said quietly. "Someone has to have been really ...angry..."

tani duh!

Kianga shot Ardhira'i a supportive look, knowing it would be difficult for the female to speak of her friend in such a way.

"Ua is safe now," Kianga spoke again, addressing the crowd not just the important leaders. "The immediate risk is over. But Maua and Arcus are right, we will need volunteers for patrols. Our defence force is limited, and we will need our brains about us, not just our brawn."

She shot Arcus a look that said she thought him very brawn-heavy, and lacking on the brains.

"I know that many of you are strangers to our lands, but you are welcomed here if you wish to stay. Any help is much appreciated, but there are no obligations if you want to leave us to our issues - and they are distinctly our issues." This was something the colony would need to face as a colony, not as separate individuals or it would simply be fighting a losing battle.



Hu was the last to speak, stepping closer to the female who had asked the important questions. The one who had spoken of enemies.
"Ua has no enemies that I know of, she has never harmed a soul in her life and that I can attest," he said, his voice deep and raspy. He was a cold male, little interest in others but Ua was one of the few creatures on this earth who had captured his heart - his daughter was almost his entire world.

"Any enemies I have gained over my lifetime are no longer threats," he said, a deliberately vague statement but a true one. There would be no issues from his past, he had made sure of that.

"There isn't a list to narrow, there is no reason to this attack," he growled lowly. He had made a deliberate effort to avoid Scheherazade's gaze, and he knew she would have the decency to do the same. He did not need her yet, but soon he would. He would need her strength.

Talencia

 

[NatashaRogers]

Velveteen Angel

Zakiah raised her head, ears forward in attention, as her captain spoke directly to her. She nodded, bright green eyes shining with determination. "You have nothing to fear from me, sir. Just give the word and I'll follow." This pride was kind enough to take her in even when they did not know much about her. They trusted her to join their family without questioning what her intentions were. It only seemed fair for her to give it her all and protect them from whatever was out to cause them harm.  

[Znaruto]

Nulis was going to have to tread carefully this time. These leopards seemed on edge. That was another thing they were all leopards. Was this a pride? Are they just on a hunt? If they were a pride what kind are they? All these questions plus more were going though his head but he knew they would not get answer with they way things was going.

He over heard what was going on and if he came in to there sight right now they might think he was the killer or monster that they was speaking of. He wanted to help them but he had to stay out of sight until they gave he an opening.



 

[tani duh!]

Dalmar rolled his eyes at Ardhira'i. She speaks as if she is still an apprentice at this, she must mature. He wanted to speak with her! He knew it was too early, though, "Patrols seem like a good idea," he said slowly, as if still trying to process what had been said by everyone so far. He agreed strongly that this was their problem, he was not trusting of the strangers, either, though. Arcus was all too willing to bring chaos to the masses. As far he knew, it was true that they didn't have any sworn enemies, there was no where to piece together immediate blame.

"If this was a random attack, we don't know who orchestrated it. We don't know why they have chosen our dear Ua, we don't know who else they might know." He turned his head to the council, making eye contact with Hu. "We do ask for the aid of strangers, now. These same strangers should not be ruffled if we seem uneasy about them."

Farih waddled about Dalmar's paws, the tension made her uneasy. She had been on her own from an early age but became close friends with Dalmar easily. He was always a serious feline when the time came, and untrusting of strangers.

All of this made her nervous, however. She was generally a very flutter-happy and had never seen everyone quite so edgy, as if they were ready to jump down each others throats. She and Dalmar didn't know what happened under the treetops before, when they began the search and, obviously, found Ua, but she wished she had been there. She wished should could have prepared herself better for this moment.

"Don't seem cold. We need their help, especially now. It is a troubling time for all of us." She said, looking directly at Dalmar, and shooting a glance at Arcus as well.

Dalmar looked down at the avian, now sitting directly in front of him. "Regardless, we shouldn't share any vital information with the outsiders. They can follow, but should not be involved in any planning of the routes or know timing in advance." Farih sighed at him, but this was typical and smart of her friend. Dalmar looked about the faces surrounding them, both familiar and unfamiliar. "With a tragedy like this, we don't know how close the danger could actually be, we must play the game wisely."

Celestyn was still back in the crown. This made him so nervous. He had never been involved in such a thing; a pride on edge because of a members' disappearance and injuries. Similarly, Ua's words of monsters still rung in his ears. It terrified him that something could be lurking in the trees, a large, blood thirsty, predator.

All the interjections of other leopards settled in his brain heavily. He sighed and decided he should do what he could, and, as a fit male, brawn was what he could offer at the moment. "I can also aid in patrols. I have no family and no one who will miss me while I am gone. I think perhaps a few guards posted at bottleneck points would be a good idea, also." He sat back, a slightly worried expression on his face. "Even just at the main entrances and exits to the den area."

At this, Dalmar's ears perked up. "That male has a good point. We should monitor who enters and leaves the dens. For the sake of everyone. No one is free of suspicion here."  

[Velveteen Angel]

Hu nodded when Dalmar address him, agreeing with him on principle. If the rogues had their features ruffled in their investigation, tough because something was seriously wrong and Hu was not about to let what happened to Ua go unpunished.

When the new rogue spoke up, both Hu and Arcus nodded in support of the idea. "A good idea," Hu agreed.


-

Arcus stepped forward. "The rogues shouldn't be part of the planning, yes," he agreed. " Perhaps each rogue should be paired with a pride member when on patrol? It would be better if each rogue was paired with a defence member -" if something happened, how could a scholar be expected to overthrow someone who had already clearly injured Ua? "- but in these strange circumstances, we must use just any pride members."

He glanced towards the warrior, Zakiah. "We will plan the patrols, and pair people up as we need."

He glanced at the Council. "Unless the council protests this of course?

It was unlikely that Arcus would bow down if the Council kicked up a fuss, but it was mere politeness that prompted him.

Jaleeni

tani duh!

 

[Dame NightFury]

Ngetal sat high up on a tree branch watching the group below. She flicked her tail back and forth as her anger - no, her annoyance continued to grow. After all a proper lady leopardess did not allow anger to gain a hold on her sensibilities and logic. That was what Ua truly was, a proper lady leopardess. Ngetal had even wanted to suggest Ua become a role model for any youths Ngetal came across. She was well rounded and balanced between amusing and sensible.

Well, at least that was what Ngetal thought. Ngetal's high opinion could have been slightly bias though. After all, Ua was a dear friend now.

That's what made this entire situation so - irritating. Ua didn't deserve to have been attacked and hurt. So who, or what, would have been devious enough to do just that? It was obviously not a respectable or reasonable thing at all.

Guards and patrols were all well and good, but ridiculousness of war was another thing all together. And while she understood the caution the pride members were obviously displaying, that also meant that Ngetal wouldn't be able to visit Ua anytime soon.

Ngetal gave a small shake of her head, standing. She slowly descended the tree until she was closer to the group and did not have to shout at them. Shouting was not proper behavior. Nor was fighting, but Ngetal had some experience defending others. Not much, and only against desperate beings, but still it was something.

"I will volunteer. I was often hired on to protect and care for cubs and pups as a nanny, tutor throughout my travels."  

[tani duh!]

Dalmar gave a quick nod to the female that descended from the tree and turned back to the council.

"I agree with that. Each rogue should be paired with someone who is a native to the pride," Dalmar added sternly. "We will keep track of everything. We cannot have another tragedy happen to our group! I am not going to fight with you, Arcus, but I feel you should plan the patrols on your own." He didn't mean to offend him or anyone else, it was just on principle. "Any talk of the patrols could be overheard. Who knows who we can trust at this time."

Dalmar looked around at the leopards gathered, some paying close attention to what was happening and some slightly less concerned about what was being said. They seemed pretty even in the male to female ratio, but obviously needed the males now more than ever.

He turned to the crowd, being sure to raise his voice so everyone would hear, "I implore every able bodied leopard to help us. Females are welcome, but males would be preferred. If someone so easily attacked our Ua, we cannot assume females will be strong enough alone." He turned back to Arcus, "Perhaps no female-female patrols either. Just to be sure. I obviously will volunteer to help."

He turned now to the area where Ua was being cared for. "We must find out more information from her. She must explain everything she meant by the monster. That monster could be among our ranks now..."

Celestyn felt somewhat proud that he was acknowledged and was more than willing to help out in any way possible. But something seemed off to him, there was an imbalance in power it seemed. The leader, Hu, didn't seem to be making many decisions or really.. leading. There was Arcus, who Celestyn had met briefly before they all found Ua, and he seemed to be the one making the decisions currently, the one who had the most influence over the group currently. And there was the newcomer, Dalmar, who seemed to be a support beam to Arcus, taking his ideas and buffing them into better ones. He found it strange that most of the council stayed quiet, but there was also a lot going through all their minds, he assumed.