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 Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:03 pm
((Congratulations, Saint!))
Hamu looked up in startlement as Subira called out to someone other than him. They'd been in the forest less than an hour; surely she hadn't found one already?
The bright red coat was impossible to miss, though. That was, indeed, a cub, and he seemed pretty anxious not to be caught.
"I don't think he's looking to be found," Hamu told Subira. He glanced at her in amusement. Maybe the female could coerce the probably male cub anyway. Hamu glanced back only to realize he had lost sight of the cub. Drat. He smiled and shook his head.
"Lost him."
There was a flash of color that he carely caught in his peripheral vision and he whipped his head around to find the red-and-green male latched on to Subira's tail. He grinned at the boy and his "hungry" proclamation.
"I think we can see that." He winked at Subira. "Maybe you'd like something better than a tail to eat? I think Ira can find you something."
"My aim is for the King's advisor. He currently has three females assisting him, but one of them is old. I have hopes she will step down and leave a space... eventually." Gali had spoken to King Bwana in the past about this very issue, but she had something of an advantage. Middle class and lower class lions were forced to begin their apprenticeships early; she had all the time in the world to achieve her goal.
She smiled and rolled her shoulder into a slight shrug as they walked. "It's been my aspiration since I was a cub." Gali debated a moment, then added, "To see the bigger picture."
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:11 pm
His ears perked up at her words. She wanted to be an adviser to the King. He was quite impressed with that. Some of the other nobles he had met did not seem to wish to attain anything grander than simple being known as a noble. The fact that they merely outranked other lions by the color of their pelt alone seemed to suit them well. That was obviously not the case for Gali, nor for himself, though he had yet to decide what his path amongst the nobles would be. Kamau paused to take a glance around, there were plenty of places within the forest a cub could hide so they had no yet exhausted their search. "Adviser to the King, that is a very good goal. Hopefully, when the time comes and the other lioness steps down you will be ready to take on that role. I'm sure the King would be very pleased to have you help him and the pride in such a way."
Though he had only met Gali a short time ago he had no doubt in his mind she would attain what she wished. This gave him even more resolve to figure out his exact place among the nobles once this day was done. He would decide not only what would work best for him, given his strengths, weaknesses and personality, but also what would benefit the pride as a whole. Up ahead he spotted an odd rock formation, and from the looked of it there was a small opening, perhaps just big enough for a cub to crawl through but certainly not an adult. "Look over there." He pointed his muzzle towards the rocks and then led the way towards them. "Is anyone in there?" He called out softly. "We are here to help you. Do not be afraid to come out."
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:24 pm
"Yes." And, though she wouldn't say so because it would be boasting, she thought she would be well qualified for the position. Gali wondered when the last time she had spoken to her brother was, now that she was thinking of the future. Zamba, too, had his own distant aspirations of being part of their pride's government.
Kamau's soft direction to the rocks made Gali move as if the pair were one. She easily walked alongside him and then split off from him, advancing more quickly than he was. This time, she was the one to stick her nose in an opening she probably shouldn't be sticking her nose into.
"Hello?"
She nearly laughed as her voice echoed back slightly and she looked back over her shoulder at Kamau. Her tail switched back and forth, and her face beamed amusement and amiability. "I think we should stop putting our noses into holes. Next time one of us may very well get it swiped off."
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:27 pm
Subira felt saddened when the little cub had disappeared but when she felt the bite on her tail, she jumped visibly before smiling down at him. This little male sure was a sight! His bright red pelt was hard to miss and he reminded her of a juicy melon. Though the bite was initially painful, she saw the cub loosen his teeth so that it wasn't a painful bite but a way to maintain contact.
"Hello little one, I'm Subira and this Fahamu. You look really hungry so we'll find you something to eat while we help find the lost cubs. Do you think you can help us?"
The little cub nodded eagerly, happy to be of help. He then began to babble so much that it was clear that he'd been incredibly lonely. The stream of conversation included his being happy to meet a nice lady and her friend, how hungry he was, that his name was Kayode. It went along on that line before he came back to agreeing to help the two find cubs.
Kayode was as happy as a wild dog who had found a fresh kill and no one eating it. This lady seemed really nice compared to the last one and he couldn't wait to get to know her. The other lions and lioness had seemed kind enough, but her gentle voice and promise that he wouldn't be alone anymore really got to him. He needed someplace to call home and someone to love him after losing his parents and the surrogate mother. All that he could do was hope that this lady, Subira, would take care of him. So he babbled quite a bit due to nerves. When he was nervous, he never quite seemed able to shut up.
"C'mon this way Subi and Hamu! I think I saw my friend go through these bushes!" His tail twitched happily as he began scampering around places the adult and adolescent weren't able to reach.
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:27 pm
Borachio moved into the forest, sniffing around to see if he could find one of the lost cubs. Not to keep, as mentioned, but to find a family for. It was probably a bad thing that a part of him didn't want to find a cub, just because he didn't want to have to feel as though he needed to keep it around.
But he was happy to help someone else, if they needed it. He tried to keep himself near the more solitary members of the group, in case they were just too shy to ask for too much help from others.
Surely someone needed his help!
The lovely Melda moved slowly through the trees, working around the trunks as she searched for a cub. Her eyes came to rest on Mot'e- one of the older members of the pride. Well, not old, perhaps, but someone who had been there before she had arrived on the scene.
She seemed to be frowning which, of course, got Melda frowning as well.
"Are you alright?" She asked as she approached the other lioness, the scholar doing her best to look pleasant despite being concerned about her. It wouldn't do much good to come in looking all upset, now would it? "Worried about those poor cubs?"
No, he didn't like this guy at all.
Fara did his best to keep an eye on Kijembe, watching at the male moved along. It wasn't that he thought the guy was up to no good he just... totally thought the guy was up to no good. There was no point denying it. All he wanted was to find one good reason to kick the guy out.
The king was wrong this time around: not everyone could be trusted. This guy was no of the wrongs to boot out before he could do something terrible.
Bwana felt a little uneasy as he sat within the forest, listening to the sounds of the forest. Any little whimper or growl and he would be on his way to try and help.
So far, though, all he had heard were that some of the searchers were going to venture down by the stream. That seemed like a very good idea.
Cubs liked water, and he imagined these little guys were getting thirsty, too.
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:33 pm
Kamau beamed her a smile as her voice echoed back from the hole in the rocks. "Well, then you best let me stick my nose in the next one. I would not want you to become injured." And he meant it, he wanted no harm to come to any lion within the pride, whether it be deliberate or accidental. He moved closer to the rock, peering around it, seeing if there were any more small chasms that cubs could hide in. There were none that he could see. Tail flicked slightly as he thought, where else to look? Perhaps if they just kept going as they had been all this time they could prove successful. There was after all no perfect strategy for finding missing cubs within a large expanse of forest, so the only thing they could do was keep looking.
"I don't see any signs of cubs here." He called back to Gali as he closely inspected the ground all around the large rock formation for any hint of small paw prints, and to make double sure, he also checked the very top of the rocks to make sure a cub wasn't perched up on top trying to hide form them. "Anyone up there?" He asked as he could not clearly see the top without trying to scramble up the smooth faced rocks and that in itself could prove difficult, but perhaps not so for a smaller more agile cub.
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:41 pm
Maua glanced up at the sun to gauge the time but of course it was mostly obscured by the forest trees "They have been out here now for quite a while - imagine a female just running off and leaving cubs to fend for themselves" Maua shook her head - even if..and gods forbid this ever happened - she were to give birth to a cub without purple..she would at least make sure it would be cared for, not even she was heartless enough to just..abandon them. "It's shameful is what it is" She continued.
No matter she supposed she they headed off down the stream bed, following in the path of Raziela's slave ad with Aurora winging her way overhead. What was done was done and she could at least profit from the crazy lioness actions. Kivuli's find meant that she would have at least one cub to use in order to gain some favor. Two would be better of course.
They had gone a ways down the stream when Maua paused, was she imagining things? Or had she heard something rustling in the brush? It was probably Raziela's dog "Did you hear something?" she questioned her daughter.
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:42 pm
"Perhaps we should try the stream again," Gali suggested. They had drifted away from it as they moved. "Follow it back towards the other searchers. We've gone a fair way out, so I can't imagine other cubs will have come so far unless they were older."
Then again... Gali looked towards the stream for a moment, her eyes going distant. "Come." Without looking back at Kamau, she moved back toward the soft sound of water.
Her paws sank into the mud of the banks and her eyes skimmed down and then upstream looking for more pawprints like hers, but smaller. She glanced back only once at Kamau as he approached and smiled. "I do think this is our best bet. Cubs can't survive without water. I wish they would understand we're here to provide everything else for them and let us take them somewhere safe." Not so long into the search and she was already concerned. She had to remind herself that she didn't know if any other cubs had been found.
Her face turned anxious at the thought of Maua finding a cub, but she quickly smoothed it away for Kamau's benefit and she regarded the growth along the edge of the stream calmly again.
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:51 pm
When no cub came into site or called out to him from atop the rocks he determined that there wasn't one up there. Well it was better to check anyways and not just assume there wasn't one there. Imagine if there had have been a cub up there and he decided not to check, the poor thing would be left alone yet again. He nodded with Gali, yes perhaps returned to the stream was a good idea. He could use a bit of a drink now and while there hadn't been cubs there when they first looked that didn't mean that a cub hadn't gotten thirsty in the mean time and went to get a drink.
So he followed quickly behind Gali as she led the way back to the stream. He could see she was a bit concerned, but honestly so was he. They had no idea if any cubs had been found yet or how many still remained lost. As Gali set about looking for paw prints in the mud Kamau lowered his head and took a drink from the stream. As he did so his eye scanned the bushes on the opposite side of the stream looking for any fur amongst the green and brown of the forest. "Is anyone out there?" He called out once he had finished drinking and began to walk along the edge of the stream. "You can come out, we mean to help you."
While Gali continued looking up ahead he kept his pace slow as he looked on either side of the stream. There just had to be a cub somewhere - unless they had all been found already, but they did not know if they had or not, so they would just need to continue on until told otherwise. "Come on out." He called softly again.
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:52 pm
Cubs were so rambunctious. This one would fit in just fine with the Players when Subira got him back to the pride. He had more than enough energy to keep up with the older lions. Hamu would keep an eye on him when he wasn't working.
"Wait up, Kayode!" He called after the cub, stepping on a fern to move it out of Subira's way and using his mouth to pull another plant out of her path so she could follow the cub.
"He c'n fit wur we c'n't," he mumbled around the branch in his mouth. Should he be able to smile with his mouth full of plant? Well, somehow, he was managing it. "Affer oo."
He let Subira pass and then carefully moved around the branch in his mouth and then released it slowly. He didn't want any backlash. Hamu turned and followed Subira, hoping she was keeping an eye on Kayode; Hamu had pretty much lost sight of him again.
I hope that isn't an indication of the father I may be someday, he thought facetiously.
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 4:55 pm
Raziela shook her head. The thought was simply appalling. There were terrible mothers out there, she knew that, but somehow there was something worse about the thought of a lioness taking in orphans, giving them hope, and then taking it all away from them again. The children had suffered long enough, endured enough changes, and they didn't need any more. But at least they were out here now, prepared to change the little cubs' stars.
Her ears pricked at Maua's question, and she fell silent, listening to her surroundings for the telltale signs of a lurking cub. "I don't..." She took a step, searching hard. If there was a cub nearby, she wanted it to know it was safe.
Farther down the stream, Pan sniffed the ground, trotting in circles to double back and ensure nothing had been missed. "Children?" He whined, ears pushed back anxiously. "Children?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:00 pm
When Gali looked at Kamau she could almost see the same thought running through his mind-- though without the mother part. "The king will call us if all of the cubs are found." She smiled at him, back to the quiet lioness who had first run in to him. The female put Maua from her mind; really, she was being silly. There was nothing she could do about it now and she had more important things to do.
She studied Kamau's face again as he invited cubs to come to them. He was interesting. Of all the newcomers, though it seemed he had arrived before the large groups, or at least the adult newcomers, Kamau was the first Gali had really contacted. She couldn't say it was easy to meet him-- as a rogue, his mind didn't work in quite the same patterns as the lions born in to the pride-- but she wasn't as uncomfortable with him now. He was concerned for the cubs, and he had said he was assessing his options. He wouldn't just languish the way many nobles did.
"Little ones," Gali called on her own, her voice rolling across the stream as she scanned the banks. "There is nothing to be scared of." Ignoring the mud, she sat down on the slightly muddy bank so that she would be lower to the ground and less of a threat; adults on their feet could move fast, and considering these cubs were all parentless, that could be a bad reminder for some of them. She stretched into a laying position, her tail easily swaying. "Nothing to be afraid of."
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:03 pm
A somewhat older cub made its way over to Kijembe, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. He had looked, from far away, like a calm lion and someone she could trust. Made sense to make her way over to him to check things out, right?
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:05 pm
Kijembe looked down at the cub, his expression not changing in the slightest, despite the fact that he was now staring at a younger lioness. Good, they had found one more. Did he want it? No. He knew where it was, and the others would see it. He stared at her, hard, the air all but sizzling as he silently watched her. He stood still, one paw half raised, not moving all the while their eyes were locked.
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:06 pm
"Perhaps I was mistaken..." Maua stated when after a few moments nothing else reached her ears "The forest is full of small noises" She stated though she took another look around just in case. That blasted dog was running in circles whining and Maua wanted quite badly to tell it to be quiet..but it was her daughters slave not hers - so she did her best to ignore it and merely hoped the creatures antics weren't frightening the cubs away.
"Come out children and we will take you to safety..." She called out in a quiet voice, using the voice she had often used t placate her own cubs when they were small. Turning her head this way and that she spotted that creepy lion from earlier with his paw raised in front of a cub. "You there! Put that paw down!" She orders as she sprang in his direction "Don't you dare hurt that cub!"
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