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 Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 4:56 pm
Thanda'Lau shifted slightly, hunching and releasing his shoulders to work out the slight stiffness that sitting still in one place for so long was putting into his joints. Truly, he wondered when the meeting would be over, and action would begin, most likely not for him, but he could tell that many of the pride were getting restless for one reason or another, as tempers started to flair up and voices rose in anger.
The sudden uproar started over one male's comment did make Thanda'Lau p***k up his ears and glance over, but the male was verbally cuffed almost instantly by the black lioness in charge. Huffing his approval for her swift counter he settled back to watching the majority of the pride, even as angry rumbles continued to swell across the sands.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 12:56 pm
Morag sighed as the Regent chewed out her father, inwardly wincing at her harsh words. She felt almost physical pain from them, and she wasn't even the one they were directed at. It was sobering to watch Kosuke not even flinch though, staring stoicly back at the lioness. It made Morag wonder what sort of a life he had lived and how the war had affected, not just him, but the whole pride. She'd been born after the conflict, so could really not relate the way they could.
Feeling suddenly tired, the black lioness settled down onto her stomach, her forepaws stretched out before her, and struggled not to rub at the bandages that covered half her face. It was starting to itch and being in the sun was sapping her strength... but she refused to leave now, not until the meeting finally broke up and everyone had said their piece.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 1:56 pm
Although Teketeza wasn't exactly shocked by what his father had said, he was shocked that he had chosen to say it in front of the whole Pride, including the Regents. The old ways were such a taboo subject these days, so for someone to say out loud that they wished to go back to them was pretty amazing. The hulking grey male smirked. Maybe he and his father weren't all that different after all.
On the other hand though, Teketeza did have respect for authority, so he wondered if perhaps his father had gone too far. Ever since Regent Kidondo had asked him personally to go out and inform the other outposts of what had happened, he had gained entirely new ambitions to work his way up the Ranks within the Army. The feeling of responsibility and honor satisfied him greatly, and he felt that the higher the ranking, the greater the satisfaction when it came to carrying out a mission. With this in mind, despite the fact that he quite liked the idea of the old ways, he chose to hold his tongue.
It turned out that he had made the right decision, as Regentess No snapped back at Kosuke, clearly completely disgusted by what had been said. Teketeza had no idea that she used to be a slave herself, which actually was rather disappointing to him. How could one of the leaders of the Firekin be a former slave? And why had he never been told this whenever he had asked some of the much older members about the old days? He raised a paw to scratch his chin as he considered this, his eyes now fixed on his father to see how he reacted.
Apparently his stubborness came from both of his parents, as Kosuke didn't even flinch in the face of No. In fact, he looked her straight in the eye and answered her back. Teketeza just continued to smirk. He had always seen his mother as being the strong one, the one from whom he could learn the most. Perhaps he had been wrong. For now though, his own progression within the Pride was more important to him, so his father would have to accept the concequences of his actions on his own.
Hratchouhi gasped, almost in horror, at what Kosuke had to say. "How can you say that?! We're NOT savages anymore, we're so much better than that now!" Horror was soon replaced with anger though, as with all Firekin, there was a flame inside that burned constantly. When that flame was disturbed, of course it had the tendency to flare.
When Regentess No spoke up, the bright red female felt her muscles tense even further. How awful it must've been for her to hear such things, when she herself used to be a slave. Hratchouhi's expression softened a little as she looked at No, but of course, the Regentess most likely didn't need or want any sympathy.
Of course, Kosuke remained defiant. As he skulked off, Hratchouhi snarled in his direction. "YOU are the disgrace." She spat, her eyes burning brightly like the markings that surrounded them.
Ukuba frowned darkly as the red male who went by the name of Kosuke spoke of slavery. Not only did what he had said bother him, but the fact that he had the gall to basically interupt his leader in order to say it. "Such insolence." He said with a shake of his head, before moving from Thabiti's side to stand by Tswana, who seemed particularly taken aback by what had been said.
For the Hongshan, the talk of slavery sat all too close to home, and Ukuba was feeling more and more uncomfortable by the minute. He didn't let it show though, as he looked at Tswana in silent support, before turning to see how the Regents answered.
It was the female Regent who had addressed them that answered, and Ukuba was more than impressed with how she handled it. Still, the male remained defiant, and seemed to get the last word. A low growl radiated in the throat of the dark red and black male. He had never witnessed such disrespect to a leader, but thankfully, the male seemed to be on his own in his beliefs. If the majority of Firekin were like him, the Hongshan would be no better off here than they were with the Nergui.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 2:19 pm
A certain red female cringed as the issue of slavery had suddenly and violently appeared in the conversation, spoken loudly and shockingly, proudly, by a big and apparently rather old male. Xiāofáng had never heard of such a thing in this pride before, being a fairly recent addition she knew she was lacking in knowledge about the pride's history, but that such a practice had ever occurred was enough to set her ears flat against her head.
The outcry that greeted the male's call reassured her though, and the fact that the Regentess cut him down so coldly made her breath a little bit easier again. What ever the pride had done in the past, it seemed that at least that part of it was something of a taboo topic now, and that was enough to assure her she need not worry too much about it. Though she did commit the lion who had first mentioned it to memory.
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 2:39 pm
Ali Baba bit back his own response as Kosuke voiced his thoughts for all to hear. It was an opinion shared by many in their line, some still lived that remembered the days when they had disposable slaves for such affairs. Slaves that would bring in the hunt so the strong could focus on training and protecting the borders. Two things that, frankly, Ali believed that they could use at the moment. Their borders obviously had holes in its defense but really with their kind stretched thin between having to carry out softer tasks like hunting and healing while having to keep their skills sharp, it was little wonder.
As Kosuke stalked past him he reached a paw out to touch his brother's front leg. "Patience." He whispered. "We lost our position once because of haste. Patience."
Savages indeed. These savages had ruled the desert with an iron paw once. Their names were on the lips of every pride beyond their borders. Cubs were told that if they wandered too far, they would be scooped up by the giants from the desert and forced into slavery. It was internal strife more than anything that had ended their proud reign- and the thinning of the firekin blood. Deception, lies... all of it had been their downfall. Perhaps wisely, he kept his opinions behind a clamped set of teeth.
Sinbad moaned quietly and brought a paw to his forehead. He didn't want slaves back... he remembered the slave that Mwali had captured to keep them clean and out of trouble as a child. The strange blue-pelted male would often fall into seizures and stare blankly at the sky. He'd predicted the fall of the firekin, the downfall of their family, and he had said nothing about their honor ever being restored as a family. A seer, he later learned.
"... Good-bye Ali... you find love." The older lion rose to his paws and trailed after Kosuke. "He's handsome you know. Don't know why he doesn't have a female yet... maybe it's my fault."
Ali sneered and rolled his eyes. His romantic life was none of their business...or rather the lack there of. "See that he doesn't weep through the night."
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 7:37 pm
"Anyone who thinks bringing slavery back would be better for the pride is a complete fool." the elderly lioness said loudly as she walked into the meeting just in time to hear No talk down the idiot who had the galls to suggest such an idea. "Slaveery does not make a pride strong, in fact it promotes laziness and lack of discipline." Blue eyes glanced around at the pride, settling on the lion who suggested such a thing. "Not to mention its a completely horrid and uncivil practice."
(totally late getting into this rp but rl has been super hectic)
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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 8:18 pm
When his furry perch had decided to wander over to join her bother, Aiolos hopped off her back and winged over to a near by rock, for as much as he trusted the red lioness, he still knew better than to stick about when siblings played roughhouse with each other.
Claws scrabbling on the hard stone he ruffled his feathers after the short, unplanned glide and glanced about. There had been another avian close by earlier, but he had lost sight of her in the sudden chaos when the entire pride had latched onto one old lion's comment and basically reamed him a new one. Shaking his head he resettled his wings and crabbed sideways along the rock perch in order to gain a better view of the proceedings now that he had lost his furry mobile vantage point.
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 5:22 am
If No heard, she didn't respond to it. But her look was icy, and her face severe. It would be a tragic thing to underestimate the black cat's seriousness. She had accepted Kenna's good faith for the Safi, largely based a desire to see the Motoujamii whole. If these fools wanted to make trouble, they'd see soon enough just how easy her conscience could rest without them. The insanity of the comment alone baffled her. How did they propose to feed and water all these new slaves, on top of their current problems? Her lips curled.
Nergui, Safi. It did not matter to her. All enemies of her pride would fall in time, should they test her patience.
Unfortunately, now was not the time to reopen old wounds between the pride. Not when they had a new force massing against them, one that clearly had a taste for any firekin blood it could swallow.
She exhaled, and turned her head back to the Hongshan. Not forgotten, but...new. Another group in the pride, another group to appease. Perhaps in the end, the Hongshan would do well for the volatile clans of the Motoujamii. "As I was saying before the brains of some could not keep up with their mouths," she started. "I have heard your concerns about your position in the pride, and the hesitation over our commitment to your cause. I am true to my word. If there are no secrets between your clan and mine, then we will shelter you. You are firekin by our laws, and we defend our own."
Her jade eyes searched the crowd for one in particular. "So, we offer a good faith gesture. You all look to Nawvlee for leadership. It seems only proper that he represents your interests on our council."
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 5:53 am
Today was probably not the best of days to test patience. Kidondo was in an uncharacteristically bad mood from the recent events that had occurred and this sudden show of defiance did nothing but aggravate him further. Even still, he remained stony-silent at No's side. His body language, however, portrayed quite well that he was growing angrier by the moment. The fur along his shoulders had lifted and there was the distinct curl of lines around his maw as he tried to suppress a snarl. He had known that some of the old-timer views still existed but to so openly express them like this was beyond belief.
And then came No's announcement of Nawvlee's promotion to the council and he seemed to come back to himself a little, straightening and drawing up his head. "As of today, you may welcome Nawvlee as magistrate of the Firekin."
Then at last he moved, circling around behind No and brushing up against his daughter as he stepped towards the gathering of Firekin. "And whilst you are all gathered here, I'm going to take this opportunity to warn you all now so that we are clear on this matter. If anyone so much as shows the slightest hint of turning their backs on everything the 'Simo' are again, there will be dire consequences." He spoke, of course, of exile or death, and the members would - or should - have known that. The regents hardly kept their views on such things a secret. "Take that as your final warning. There will be no other. Have I made myself clear?"
He growled, long and low in his throat. Then he fell silent, letting the rhetorical question hang there a moment.
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 6:50 am
Swallowing down her ire at the last few minutes of conversation, Kuza settled herself next to her brother, but kept an eye out for any other members of her family she hadn't spotted yet. Turning her attention back to the two regents she settled to listen, wanting to know what other news No evidently was waiting to tell them.
The news when it came made Kuza sat back up, head swiveling to flick her gaze over the Hongshan gathered. She didn't know much about them, something she figured she really should rectify. She certainly didn't know which one was Nawvlee, and she hoped he or she might step forwards for identification.
The low mutterings still rumbling round the pride made Souzan want to hunch back down again, but he wasn't a cub any more and he refused to be cowed by general malcontent, especially when it wasn't directed at him specifically. Instead, he focused on No and Kidono, ears twitching until she made her announcement. Surprised and curious, he too glanced back at the small bad of Hongshan, head tipped to the side thoughtfully. But his main concern was still weather or not he would be allowed to become one of the sentinels that had been mentioned earlier, so he simply watched and listened, not unduly worried about a Hongshan taking a higher rank in the pride.
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 9:03 am
The lone caracal had very nearly bolted when someone brought up the idea of slaves. He did not want to be around if they started taking slaves. He was entirely too tempting a candidate for dominating and forcing into service. As it was, he froze in place, hunkered down against the rock, belly to chin. He did not so much as twitch a whisker as they debated, praying that his color would properly camouflage him. But the cries against slavery rose heatedly, and instead of fearing slavery, he began to fear a more physical conflict. Some of these lions felt very strongly about the issue!
The tension remained for some time, and he stayed crouched and coiled as well, ready to flee should the situation call for it. If it came to a fight, he hadn't a chance against these massive felines. To his relief, the situation calmed, tempers were soothed, and things seemed to settle back down to business. He released a tight breath and relaxed again, sprawling on his rock. Were the lions always this tense when they met? Granted, observing it gave him a heads up as to what would be happening concerning water, game, and power shifts among the lions. But was it worth the stress? Maybe.
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 10:46 am
Thanda'Lau was not the kind of guy to worry when the pride started to growl and threaten, if it looked like a brawl would start, he'd stay out of it, that was, unless someone was foolish enough to come at him, spoiling for a fight. The ex-rogue was many things, but shy was not one of them. He wouldn't start a fight, but he would certainly finish it.
Next to him, atop the rock, sat the caracal that had joined him earlier, and he saw the creature freeze then hunker down as if scared for its life. As well it might be, he mussed silently, for it was barely big enough to defend itself against the bird he had spotted earlier, let alone a pack of angered lions. Blood hued gaze regarded the creature for a moment, curiosity sparking in the large male's eyes, but then he turned away and settled back to watching the pride and the two Regents.
The announcement didn't really have an impact on him, he wasn't sure what the relationship between the Hongshan and the Firekin were, but it appeared they were allies so he didn't see much point in worrying about it. No, he only had one goal to attain, and his own death had so far proved elusive.
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 11:17 am
She appreciated Ukuba's support, but quietly convinced herself it was unnecessary. She was back to her old self-- or, almost there, and had just been angry. and a little suspicious, sure. If the firekin were slave takers, they weren't the kind of lions she wanted to be around.
However, the Regent handled the situation very well, and the issue seemed to be over with. One of the regents, the male, was down, and he seemed to be warning the firekin.
Tswana was much more interested in what the black female had said, so she didn't even bother trying to understand him. Nawvlee was in the firekin council? That was... well, that was very good. Perhaps she wasn't really feeling like 'part' of the firekin, but this was certainly a way to earn her trust.
-
On the other side of the firekin group, Sjari hadn't sat with the other Hongshan. It was difficult for him, and upon arrival he had been... relieved, perhaps, to be able to gain some distance. Of course, he didn't actually feel good. Sjari hadn't felt good in a long time.
He listened to all that was going on. He understood the language very well, and could probably speak it just fine. There were no troubles there. For most part, or perhaps even the entire time, he had remained still, moving only to be able to look at different characters at different times in the discussion.
Then No announced Nawvlee's position on the firekin council. It had been the first time in a long time that Sjari felt something akin to good. The Hongshan were going to be all right. The battle wasn't over, and there were still the Nergui to handle, but at least the firekin were willing. She even said You are firekin by our laws.
...But she also said If there are no secrets between your clan and mine, then we will shelter you. The most important words, at least to him, being no secrets.
Sjari had secrets. Maybe it was time he didn't. At least, that time was approaching.
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 1:09 pm
As No spoke, and then Kidondo, the lions and lionesses that had come together and dispersed seemed solemn for a moment. Fen'wei only made a slight nod at the decision knowing now was the time to gather brothers in arms, not enemies within a home. Karana'Mzaana sighed softly and looked to the young of the pride hoping that any volitile thoughts and notions would fade as the pride went through this endeavor. Badieh huffed and stayed silent watching some of her own family grow quiet an appear to leave.
Rellik, however, took a step back, tail curling, no secrets, but she had some, but only linked to the group she had traveled with. Only they knew...well, mostly everything. It was impossible though, for them to come here, right? She looked to the sand beneath her and watched as the wind gently brushed it aside. Times were changing, an this was her home and life now, she would not revert to her past. Never again.
Ryujin, Ka and Kai stood together, siblings, and looked to one another, eyes meeting, and then peered out trying to spot their other sister who had become one of the Hongshan. No secrets? Kidondo knew, but who else? No? Had their sister told anyone, had anyone made the connection based on appearance? Surely she wouldn't...tell them, but how would they know for sure. Ryujin lowered his head, Ka and Kai did the same and took Kidondo's words to heart.
They needed to cooperate.
The pride could no longer be severed at it's core.
They needed to become one.
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Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 1:31 pm
Sharp bird eyes scanned the gathered lions as the black female on the rock spoke again. There seemed to be a rising tension in the little band who stood separate from the others, where they what was being referred to by the term 'Hongshan?' Quite possibly... and yet though the news seemed to be good, several of them started to get restless, looking about and casting fugitive glances..
Eyes narrowing the falcon hopped along his rock to get a better view, then spread his wings and glided the short distance to a more useful rock, closer to the band of strangers. Rotating his head in that bird-like way, he scanned the lions, feathers ruffling. Well.. it looked like this was going to provide entertainment for a while longer....
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