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 Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 5:28 am
 Jasiri hadn't been all that involved in the cub raising. The females of the pride had accepted that Surtak took a more active role when it came to his sons, but no one seemed to miss that practice when the Umholi disappeared. In a general sense Jasiri had helped protect his offspring by protecting the pride from intruders, but when it came to paws on parenting he was sure that Igazi knew what she was doing. If she needed help he was certain she'd rather get it from Uju or one of her pride sisters. Males usually didn't help with cubs, with the exception of the Ahluke (and for all intents and purposes they were more like females than like males).
However, the current situation seemed to call for something. His son Ifunci had been hurt at the worst possible time - the migration. Hopefully he'd still be strong enough to keep up. At the moment there were several injured in the pride, so they couldn't move quickly. But what would happen if the other injured recovered (or died)? Would Ifu keep up? Could the pride wait?
It might not show, but Jasiri was worried. Ifunci had approached Andhaka to pledge a vow of celibacy and stay as Ahluke, and then this had happened. Perhaps it was for the best that the young lion had decided to stay. Few young lions could hold their own against an adult in a fight, and if the fight had happened out in the roguelands his son might not have survived at all. The world was a dangerous place after all, especially to the kind and soft hearted.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
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Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2015 10:06 am
  Ifunci was glad that the migration had taken a temporary break. Plenty of others had been injured in the catastrophic rainstorm when the rogues had attacked. Snake bites, burns, lacerations...a good portion of the pride was not in very good shape.
But none of them were so worse off as Ifunci was. He'd have been fine if his leg hadn't been injured, but as it was, he was most certainly the weakest link the pride. It had been sheer luck that the bone hadn't snapped altogether, or stuck out at an odd angle through his skin. No, it had just been a crack. As long as Ifunci kept his weight off of it for a while, he would eventually recover.
Only keeping his weight off of it was rather difficult to do when the entire pride was migrating. Even short journeys left him tired and sore. His pride sisters had been good about supporting him, giving him a crutch to lean on, but that couldn't last forever. Ifunci hadn't even completed is Ukuzalwa yet! And with his injured leg, it would be some time before he was able to run on it once more. How long would it be until he was considered a burden? Would Andhaka chase him out into the rogue lands for not being able to pull his weight?
The young male looked up at the golden lion approaching him. Crystal blue eyes, much too like his own, stared at him. Had Ifunci been born lighter in colour, he would have been almost an exact copy of his father. Almost. Jasiri was strong, strong enough to have become and Inselelo. Ifunci hadn't even been strong enough to fight off one attacker. "I'm fine," Was all Ifunci replied, casting his gaze away. His cuts had healed, but his head was still a little sore from when the wildebeest struck him.
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Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2015 12:12 pm
The boy said he was fine, but he wouldn't meet his eyes. Jasiri didn't press the matter, however. Refusing to show signs of weakness might even be a good sign. No lion with their wits about them would flaunt their injuries. Showing off scars, sure, but not disabilities. Show a weakness and an opportunist might strike. He was quite proud that the fights he'd been in so far hadn't produced much scarring. A close inspection of his face would reveal thin, almost invisible scars on the bridge of his nose, but he'd managed to avoid anything large and hideous. Smart fighting didn't leave any painful mementos.
"So you've decided to stick around," he said, changing the subject.
He hadn't really had a chance to talk to Ifunci after he made his vow. Chances were his son would stay longer in the pride than he would, provided he survived the migration. The Ahluke normally did less fighting than the leading males, and even if the hunting could be dangerous he hoped his son would stay out of harms way.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2015 11:22 am
The Ahluke didn't know if he was relieved or disappointed when his father didn't press the issue. Ifunci certainly didn't want to talk about the fact that he could barely walk, or that he had no way of knowing if he'd ever be able to hunt again. Perhaps he and Umoya could start a club. But then again, Ifunci did want to talk to someone. He wanted someone to tell him that it was going to be okay, that he could still serve his pride, even if he'd been benched for this season's hunting. Maybe his father wasn't the one to do that though. What Ifunci really wanted to do was curl up with his sisters and brothers in one big pile, just like they did when they were cubs. But they weren't cubs anymore, were they? His brothers would be leaving soon, and his sisters might even start having cubs of their own.
Ifunci was the only one of his brothers that were staying. The Ahluke didn't know how the others could just up and leave like that. "Yeah. This is where my family is. Everything I've ever known is here." His mother, his sisters, the other females who had raised him, how could Ifunci leave them when he owed them so much? "Plus I think it's obvious that I wouldn't last long as a rogue." Ifunci added bitterly. He hadn't even been able to fend off one single attacker. At least he had made his pledge before the attack, so it didn't look like Ifunci was staying just because he'd been injured. Of course, the attack had definitely solidified his decision. The young male didn't know how his brothers were going to be able to manage, or even how his father was able to survive in the roguelands on his own prior to becoming an Inselelo.
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Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2015 1:54 pm
Family. Jasiri had helped create that family, in more than one way. He wondered if Igazi or Uju had told the boy about the time they decided to join the pride. If they hadn't met him (in all his mud-covered glory) the pair of sisters might not have joined the Bonelands. And then there was the obvious, if Igazi hadn't decided that he'd make a good father for her litter he wouldn't have an injured son to worry about. Perhaps he should be happy that Igazi got to keep one of her sons around. He'd always got the impression that the small lioness wasn't very impressed by males, but it had to be different when they were her own sons he supposed.
"An adolescent doesn't stand a chance against a full grown male," Jasiri said, "I had to run to save my skin on more than one occasion."
If he'd been taken by surprise the way Ifunci had been at the same age he wouldn't stand here today. Luckily the males he'd encountered had been more interested in chasing him away than in spilling his guts, and he'd lived to grow stronger. It was rare for the golden male to talk about his life prior to winning his position here. Without running, and later fighting, he wouldn't have been in a position to beat Kamal. At that time he thought he'd won two females, but as it turned out he'd got more than he bargained for. Not that he complained!
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 8:30 pm
Ifunci stared up at his father, the shock written across his face fairly obvious. That wasn't possible, was it? His father, the Inselelo, who had fight for right to his position, whose job it was to defend the pride from attacking rogues and had proved himself a capable warrior, had run away from a fight before? It just didn't seem possible. Ifunci had always thought of his father has strong. Why, he bet that Jasiri could even beat one of the Umholi! Not that he would ever say so out loud, of course. That would just bring him some trouble. Especially since he'd just sworn his loyalty and all that.
But still. "Really? I can't imagine you ever losing a fight." The admitted in wonderment. Even when he tried, the picture was refusing to form in his mind. Maybe his father was just lying to him to make him feel better. But Jasiri had seemed honest in his words, and Ifunci trusted his father, so it must be the truth. "How did you become strong?" Ifunci had no desires to be an Umholi, or even an Inselelo. But he still wanted to be able to protect his pride sisters if the need arose. What if he was out on a hunting party and they were attacked? Ifunci wanted to know that he would at least be able to do something.
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 10:12 am
For a moment Jasiri saw himself through Ifunci's eyes. To his sons and daughters he'd never had a weak moment. He'd guard the borders and he'd come back dusty and at times even clawed up, but he'd always come back. He was their strong and invincible father, even if he was always the lower ranking leading male. He didn't think he looked as shocked as his son had, but the realisation was certainly unsettling. It didn't fit the picture he had of himself, but something strange happened when other people relied on you. He might not always feel like the strong and invincible protector, but he wanted to be that lion.
"Ifunci," he said and laid down next to his son, "I'm going to tell you the most important thing there is to know about fighting."
He settled in a more comfortable position and placed one front paw over the other. Perhaps he should have had this talk earlier. Perhaps he should have trained his sons like Surtak did while he was in the pride. Knowledge he took for granted was not common sense here, he realized.
"The best way to fight," he paused for effect, "Is not to fight at all."
He wondered if his son would understand what he was trying to tell him, so he paused again and tried to figure out what the other was thinking.
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Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 12:52 pm
He blinked. And then he blinked again. And then a few more times, his mind as empty as a river bed in the dry season. Had that been a joke? Was Ifunci supposed to laugh? Maybe it was a riddle, and Ifunci was supposed to figure it out?
But it didn't make any sense, what his father said. No matter what way he tried to look at it, Ifunci couldn't come up with a scenario in which that would actually be sound advice. Don't fight at all? That was exactly what Ifunci had done, and here he was, beaten, bruised, potentially crippled. How was that supposed to make Ifunci a better fighter? If anything, it would amek him even more of a burden on the pride. What was he supposed to do if they were ever under attack again? Just stand by and watch his pride sisters be hurt and injured?
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I understand." The ahluke admitted, cocking his head to the side a little bit. Surely his father would be able to explain it further.
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Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 9:41 am
It was clear that he hadn't managed to explain in a way that made sense to Ifunci. But then his experience with fighting probably consisted of watching the red pelts spar, maybe trying it out for himself, and then the experience of being attacked without any warning. Larger predators stayed out of lion territory, so he hadn't been able to study fights among other species. From what Jasiri had seen most animals avoided fights if they could help it. If you could sacrifice a meal, or a territory to stay alive it was usually worth it. He'd even seen lizards leave their tails behind.
"My job is to keep intruders away," he said, "To keep the pride safe. If I can do that without fighting, it's much better for everyone. Better for me and better for my opponent. If we don't fight we will not get hurt, so I need to convince him that he will lose if he fights me, and that he's better off leaving without bothering us. I will only fight if I have to."
It didn't always work out that way, but many of the border fights were preluded by a great deal of posing, roaring and trying to intimidate his opponent. If he was clearly stronger, the challenger usually cut his losses and fled. If they were closer in strength or if the challenger was particularly stubborn there would be an actual fight. So far he'd been able to come out on top.
"When I was younger I was the one running," he said, "I ran so I could live. And I grew stronger. Those rogues didn't even give you the option to flee."
Jasiri's tail tip twitched. He would very much have liked to take a chunk out of the bastards that got away, and he was glad one of them was dead.
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