[ORP] Chatter [Closed; for pride members]

[Quaji]

INTRODUCTION

The pride is just settling into their new location, near the riverbanks, east from where they had originally come from. These plains were much greener than back home as the rain filled the rivers to the east, causing it to branch out, supplying the parched ground with the moisture it craved. Beyond that, the rain has caused the grass to grow tall and temporary flowers to bloom. It seems much different than back home.

In the midst of these unfamiliar plains, a Cinga had found a rock formation which is now acting as the pride's temporary home. Perched upon top of the stone were the Abaholi and the nursing mothers and other lionesses below them, close for safety. The pride seemed to be growing nicely now that Andhaka and Bangizwe have taken the head of the pride after Gakere and Surtak both went missing. With new blood, new litters hopefully on the way and old litters growing quickly, an Inqina is undoubtedly coming up.

To help promote togetherness in the pride after such a move, Umama Ukwazi suggested something new to the Abaholi. The lions of the Ithambo'hlabathi around about to have a new tradition that is about to happen for the very first time: a Mkhulu.

The hunting party has been seen off and now the main body of the pride has returned to the rocky formation that is now the center of their world. There they wait for the return of one of the vultures with news of how it went. Of course this waiting isn't done in silence. With so much going on, there's plenty to talk about among pridesisters.

Runs concurrently with:
Hippo Hunt - A group of volunteers heads off in the night to take down large game in a display of skill!  

[Quaji]

IC Information

• The pride's migration has finished and they are now in their new home. A new rainy season is upon the pride and showers are common. While cubs drowning is still a fear, adults are in no danger so long as they stay away from the rivers. There will be a major update about this soon.
  
  
• The Abaholi have now been in charge for several months and the pride has been adjusting nicely to the change. While not everyone is happy about it, it's obvious that the leadership change has been good for the pride.
  
  
• The two sons from Gakere's last breeding have now left the pride.
  
  
• Litters are common now! With several litters already reaching adolescence and a few more mothers expecting, this is a happy time for the growing pride.
  
  
• In fact, Ukushisa, one of Bangizwe's daughters is pregnant. Mvua is currently missing from the group and is assumed to be giving birth.
  
  
• A huria by the name of Arita has joined the pride. She's odd though as she wears the pelt of a brown lion upon her back. Some say she might be an albinistic lion and that the sun hurts her. She has since been given the new name of Umthunzi by Abazingeli. (She's now an adult!)
  
  
• The massive herds that are now around the pride are a new danger as being trampled is a real concern, not only for cubs but also for lionesses. Care must be taken while hunting.

OOC Information

• There is no specific posting order, and you are free to post as many times as you would like. Interact with your fellow players!
  
  
• Any member of the pride, so long as they are not participating in the on-going Mkhulu, are free to post in this. This includes cubs, as I'm sure they're definitely not sleeping with all the excitement going on.
  
  
• This will be a primarily community-driven RP with several posts intended to come from the mule, Meepfur or Quaji.
  
  
• There is no danger posting in this ORP.
  
  
• One post = one ticket.
  
  
• The option for more prizes may be available throughout the ORP.

Prizes

Andhaka x Siantiadh  

[Quaji]

Bangizwe spread himself over the top of the rock formation that was now the center of day-to-day life in the Bonelands. His forelegs draped off over the edge of it and his chin rested on top of them. He, along with the rest of the pride, was waiting on news from one of the vultures that the Mkhulu had been successful. He was worried, just like many of the other lionesses were, but some of the pride's best huntresses were participating. Regardless, that didn't quell the horrible thoughts that plagued his mind. Groaning, he rolled onto his side. The Umholi's chest heaved as he snorted a fly away from his face.

Of course Andhaka had joked about being ripped in half right before leaving.

At least the chatter of the lionesses that kept him company would offer him some respite. With so much going on, both with the Mkhulu and the many pregnancies, and then were was the obvious upcoming Inqina too, there were plenty of topics for them all to choose from while they waited together.  

[SilverLutz]

It was a good thing Nehanda had left slightly ahead of the group after saying goodbye to those going out on the hunt. They had caught up with her fairly quickly and they all returned to the pride lands around the same time. She was horribly uncomfortable with the size of her belly on her small, weak frame, but she was too worried now that she knew one of her closest family members was out on the dangerous adventure to lay down and relax.

She paced around slowly before grimacing. One of the cubs had kicked her rather soundly as if telling her to stop moving around. That's right...she was close to giving birth and Kokumo had told her she'd be there to help when the time came. It would be her luck the cubs would decide it was time to come out while she was away.

Although Han hadn't met the new Umholi yet, she couldn't help but gravitate towards the rocks on which he was sunning. She was nervous about her cubs being born now that Jasiri was gone, as it wasn't unheard of for males to try to eliminate the threat of being usurped by someone else's cub. She knew the practice was frowned upon here, but still. Instinct could take over. Despite that nervousness, there was something calming about being near one of the reigning males that helped ease her anxiety about her niece and put her worries of her cubs on the back burner.

She didn't say anything to Bangizwe, but she did give him a little smile as she settled down in the sun near the rocks. It took her a minute or so to get comfortable, but once she was laying down the kicking ceased. Phew...that had been getting painful.  

[Puhterodactyl]

Quote:

Uthuli fidgeted nervously. She was very excited about the Mkhulu, but also very anxious. She hoped it would go well. It would, right?? There were too many pride members involved for them to fail. At least that's what she told herself. A lot was on her mind. Her half-brothers who had just left, would they be okay in the rogue lands? The threat of stampedes and trampling... What if they couldn't swim. What if she couldn't swim? Really anything she could be worried about, she was worried about. Her mind wouldn't let her rest. She paced around looking for distractions. Or someone to bother, anything.

Gods help the first lion who said anything to her, they were liable to lose their ear to her talking it off.

Uziri reclined on her own rock, but she was more calm than other some other lionesses and any given cub. She was hoping a vision would come to her, and that she would be able to See the outcome of the hunt, but her visions were fickle things, and she hadn't had one in some time, now. So she ought to be due for one, but there was never any guarantee she would even have one again for as long as she lived. But who even knew how long that would be?

She recognized one of the lionesses from the pride who she recalled was pregnant. She was happy about all of the recent births in the pride, even if she was a little jealous she herself had been the product of a rogue-swap. But she didn't want to be petty. Spying Bangizwe, she considered that maybe she should think about having her own litter soon.  

[CaliWolfe]

Ukungcola had no worries about the hunt.

Her sister, a Cinga was there, not to mention that several of those on it were skilled hunters and would surely be fine. Still, having said that she did feel a bit restless on the subject, and was filled with an emotion similar to excitement on awaiting for the hunters to return.

With a sigh she approached those who had already arrived to the area and took time to lie herself on the ground, wrapping her paws across one another in a position of relaxation. She was content in sitting where she was, as she got a good view of everyone so far, from Uthuli to Nehanda and even Bangizwe Ukungcola merely had to shift her head slightly to the left or right to get a crystal look at any of their faces. A nice place to sit for observing conversations she decided...  

[Meepfur]

Taking her cubs out to see off the hunt had been a little frivolous, perhaps, but Siantaidh had wanted to see it, and wanted them to see it, even if they probably wouldn't remember it, not really. But who knew? It might live in their subconscious somewhere. She mused over it as she settled herself back at the rock formation, thanking the pridesisters who had helped her carry her cubs to and fro. She gently arranged her daughters with large paws before sitting back on her haunches. They were old enough to be mobile (if not proficiently so), and unlikely stay where she put them for long, but she was prone to fussing with them a bit regardless.

She found herself with the urge to groom them again, but curbed it for the moment. They were clean enough, she didn't need to give in to every little instinct she had about them. It was her first litter, though, and it was difficult to rein the compulsions in sometimes.

The Busisa looked up and smiled widely as the very pregnant Nehanda passed, but said nothing. She seemed less than comfortable - a feeling Sian could sympathize with - and on a mission to get where she was going.

(All the babies: 1 2 3 4
If a couple people want their lionesses to have helped with cub transport, you are welcome to say they did!)











No sooner had she put down Sian's charcoal cub than Ukulambile was right back to running her mouth, gushing about the hunt and the hunting party and this was going to be so awesome. "I can't wait! Hippo is going to be great, yeah? They do look a little tough, though. And fat. But there's gotta meat under all the fat, yeah? Right? I hope so!"

The creamy lioness, who tended to carry some extra weight in times of year where food was more readily available, had never outgrown the name her mother had given her: hungry. She loved food, and would try to eat just about anything at least once.  

[CaliWolfe]

Ukungcola flicked her tail which caught dust and spayed it across the ground briefly as she exhaled in the form of a light chuckle. "I imagine there must be." She nodded toward Ukulambile. "Or else the hunt is all for nothing." She added with a silly grin.

Imagining it tempted her to chuckle once more, the brave hunters taking down the large hippopotamus only for it to consist of nothing but blubbery fat. Though she highly doubted that would be the case, animals required muscles to walk and move and even hippos- no matter how big, had legs for movement.

"I've never eaten hippo before." She continued, "I wonder how delicious it will be."

Meepfur

 

[SilverLutz]

Han watched as more lionesses joined the area she had laid down in and had to smile as one of them brought four little cubs in tow. Four little girls...what luck. A few of them had strange colors, but she appeared to be from the Firekin, so it wasn't too odd. It gave her hope that her cubs would be like hers, strong and healthy and dark in coloration. She could only hope...she did have dark colors in her family.  

[Andranis]

She had remained silent when the group had bid farewell to the hunting party, hanging at the back. Hunting larger prey than usual, she felt, was dangerous, and she worried endlessly about her sister who'd gone off with the party, cinga or no. Now there was intermittent rain, and she found herself pacing the edge of the sheltered space, ears moving to and fro as if to hear any calls for help out on the hunt. Pacing over to Ukungula, Imvula sat down for a moment, only to rise again to begin pacing anew. "What if something happens?"

"They'll be fine." Izinyathi, fresh into adulthood, had opted to not join the hunting party. It was an important hunt, one she didn't feel she had the skill for yet. She was still too young, too inexperienced, to go out hunting like that. But she had confidence in the older lionesses around her, much more capable paws that could better bring down something bigger than all of them. She lay stretched out along a wall, dark tail twitching and flicking. "Now stop pacing, you're making ME restless!"

Zola stared out at the world and sky, eyes bright against the shadowed light. "I think it's fine to worry." She looked over her shoulder at the younger lioness. "Anything can go wrong in any situation, no matter how confident we are. A bit of worry keeps us aware and watchful." She turned her gaze again out to the grasses beyond, listening and waiting. After a moment, she turned again, a grin on her face. "Can't wait to try some hippo, though."

Because of the transitional period the pride had been in when he fought Jasiri, Gabedi hadn't yet properly met up with the pride. The rain had him worried that he would lose track of them, but even in mud the paw prints were easy enough to follow. He had a feeling they knew he was there, though, and why he was there, between Jasiri's absence and changes in smells around the land. A rock formation came into view, with a lion up on top. He squinted, trying to remember who this lion was. Rain, mud, and blood, he remembered that much about the last time he'd seen him. He just couldn't remember his name.  

[Quaji]

As the lionesses discussed the matters of the Mkhulu, such as how the hippo would taste and how much of it there would be, if the lionesses were safe during the hunt, would they even be successful, something managed to catch the Umholi's attention thanks to the full moon that lit the sky. Without it, darkness would have overrun the land and he could have missed the body approaching.

At least there wasn't rain to worry about right now.

Bangizwe's head quickly turned to the newcomer and within two full leaps he had cleared the rock formation and was already putting his massive body between the lionesses and the darker male. He had heard through the grapevine that Jasiri had been defeated and that a new lion had taken his place, but he had yet to meet this newcomer. Despite this knowledge though, he could not assume that this male was the one and that only that he wished the lionesses harm; something he would not allow to happen until he was a still and cooling corpse on the ground.

"State your business." The Umholi demanded with a short, impatient snarl. One answer is all he'd give to this stranger. One and only one.

Andranis

I'm actually fairly certain Bangizwe hasn't met Gabedi yet. o:
Also looks like his rank is a little off on his cert~ It's Inselelo. c:

 

[Andranis]

She rose on her paws, eyes growing wide. At first fear raced through her - Who was this dark lion, coming in the night? What business DID he have? But then her nose twitched as she caught his scent, and a thrill ran through the spotted lioness. "Gabedi!" What was he doing here? How had he gotten past the lion that had defeated Jasiri? How stupid was he acting right now? She started out toward him, joy at seeing one of her brothers momentarily taking over, only to stop. Why WAS he here?

He glanced at his sister, then up at Bangizwe. He still couldn't quite place the lion, wondering now if he'd seen him out in the roguelands. "I am Gabedi, born to these lands, and I have defeated Jasiri to take his places as Inselelo." His lip twitched momentarily, before he glanced at the lionesses. "And though I didn't get an opportunity to tell him, I swear to protect any cubs he's left behind in the pride, as well as any other cubs, as if they were my own brothers, sisters, or children." Until such time, he knew, that another lion took his place. Even if he never left his mark on the pride directly, he would defend it with his life if he had to. Remembering the state of one of Jasiri's legs, he had a feeling that was exactly what the golden lion had done.

Quaji

I don't think they properly met during the Blood and Rain RP, no - But both were present, as I recall, just didn't talk. Gabedi was there and gone so fast I don't think they could have, anyway.

... Gosh dangit, how'd I miss an e..?

 

[Quaji]

Bangizwe stared the other lion down, his claws flexing as they nervously scraped at the ground, though this action was hidden by the tall grass. At least one of the lionesses seemed to recognize and welcome him back and the fact that Jasiri had yet to return and no other lion had come to claim his position did lend credibility to his claim of being the victor.

"Fine. For now, rest. We'll speak more later." As he wheeled himself around to head back up the rocky mound, he looked back at the new Inselelo, "Oh and stay where I can see you." No more words were spoken as he climbed back onto his perch.

Of course the golden male was upset. He had been fond of the white-maned Inselelo, but such was the way of the pride and was certainly a reminder of how uncertain their positions were. Even so, he still outranked this darker male and with Andhaka not around, he had to put down some kind of base rule, even it if was temporary. Andhaka wasn't even around at the moment anyway, oooh no, he was off hunting a hippo while he was stuck here dealing with this.

Andranis

Nope! Blood and Rain ran concurrently with Stormy Rescue, which was the ORP that Bangizwe was introduced in, so he wasn't present in B&R. So they never got the opportunity to meet. c:

I'll need to amend the Mkhulu ORP then, since I had it assumed that Gabedi had already introduced himself to the Abaholi. : )

 

[Tanakako]

Dania had taken quite a while to move from where they had seen the Mkhulu hunters off, to where Bangizwe had settled down atop his rock. Ordinarily Dania was not one to put herself right in the middle of anything, prefering to remain off to the side and out of the way. But now she felt the need to be close to the Abaholi, the reasuring bulk of the pride's leading males made her feel safer. Sighing softly as she carefully lowered her large belly to the ground, she leaned back against the rock atop which Bangizwe lay. She had tucked herself up against it to be out of the way at least. Lowering her head over a smaller rock she watched the rest of the pride settling down. The sudden comotion startled her just as she was starting to relax, her head snapping up and eyes widening. Though she stayed prone, too heavy with cubs to have any hope of scrambling clear. She watched the short confrontation, only relaxing when Bangizwe returned. Though she did actually recognise the large dark male as Gabedi, otherwise she would have been a quivering mas sof nerves. Surely a Bonelands son was at least more trustworthy than a complete stranger, even if he now held the title of Inselelo. Settling again Dania let her gaze drift over to the tiny litter of four cubs, smiling as she watched their anticts with a touch of envy. At least Sian had her's out of her. They looked more fun once they were born...








Kala had followed the heavily pregnant Dania back to their new home, but unlike the older lioness she had been too nervous to ge right into the middle of the gathering. Instead, as was her habit, she settled down on the edge, watching the other lions moving about and talking. A sudden flash of blue caught her attention and she sat up, only to exclaim in quiet delight at the tiny tuft of blue on one of the cubs tails! Right then and there she determined that she would befriend the little girl with the blue tail and make sure no one ever said anything bad about her, like they did about Kala and her own sister Ku'e.






The experienced lioness had followed along with the rest, content to simply be, rather than having to find someone to talk to. Not much could fluster the mature female, though she would admit to worrying about the Mkhulu huntresses... Spotting the creamy yellow female she had spoken to earlier she padded over. "Ukulambile." She smiled in greeting, though it had only been a few minutes since they had last conversed, it was polite. Pausing she looked about, noting the brand new litter with a larger lioness and another pregnant female besides Dania. Certainly the pride was flourishing. Smiling she sat down, content to wait patiently with her pride-sisters.








Sanele had lingered to watch the Mkhulu set off, but then had jogged to catch up with the rest of the pride that was staying home. Grinning with her excitment she couldn't lay down like many were doing but instead padded this way and that. The sudden apperance of Gabedi wasn't so sudden for her as she had been watching him approch. Bangizwe's reaction was proper and appropriate, even if she didn't believe Gabedi was a threat. Rather, she watched him with no small amount of interest. It wasn't unheard of for the old Umholi's male cubs to return but at least this time it looked like a peaceful one. Finally settling near Siantaidh she grinned to herself. Yes, he was a fine looking male now.

Turning her attention to the lioness and cubs she smiled, warm and friendly. "They are utterly adorable!" Shameless in her conversation Sanele jumped right in, forgetting that a Busisa might not know who Sanele was... After all most of the rest of the pride couldn't help but know of the gossipy but sweet Umzingeli.

Meepfur

Khanya had missed the sending off, having been caught sleeping late. Now however she was wide away and curious about how it had all gone. Of course there would be no real news for some time, not until the Mkhulu party returned, but until then she wanted to catch up with her friends. Watching the brief and thankfully non-violent meeting between the two males she studied Gabedi for a moment, noting how he had filled out, before turning her gaze back to their Umholi.She had noticed Bangizwe when he had arrived but she had yet to approch him. Soon...