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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2009 12:22 am
It was yet another day where the sweltering sands had taken over the lands of the Blood. Upendo'Mpaji was looking out into the rage of weather with narrowed eyes.
It would not be ready to tackle for a good solid more movements of the sun. That was, if the sun could be seen. The roar of wind and the cut of sand warned him not to go farther as he poked a foot out.
He'd found himself in an underground like cave to escape the swelters. He'd chosen quickly and picked well. Kaanga would be worried about him if the event lasted for days, but he would not be without water.
It was everywhere, in fact. The earthen walls were slick and dark with its coating, and even in the scream of the sand, he could hear the steady fall as it landed in a pool somewhere in the dark. In the desert, it was a priceless commodity, but this far away from the border, it was not unusual. The underground source likely fed the Oasis a good distance from here, and only pooled this high out of the ground due to luck.
Only the sounds of his heavy footfalls kept him company. If his luck held, another would have found, or would find, this same location. If his luck did not hold, it was more than possible that a skeleton could be added to the mess of dripping water and somewhere, maybe, a deep pool fit for drowning.
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2009 10:39 pm
Iroh had, in fact, found the same location. He had been so pleased with the cave he had decided to take a nap, and when he woke he realized the weather had shifted drastically. So he had to wait it out.
Which was fine. He'd just nap again.
The rotund, white pelted lion wasn't much for making a big deal out of something he could control in no way. The weather was the weather, and though he didn't think he wanted to be stuck in this cave for too long, he wasn't going to fret about it. It was cool and moist, there was water and the sounds of the winds echoing among the rocks was captivating. Maybe it was a bit of a blessing in disguise, really, to be sheltering here.
He was laying near the pool, his eyes having adjusted to the dark, his tail flicking the water lazily as he rested his big head on his paws. He lifted it, however, when he heard a new sound echoing in the cave. Footfalls. He had company.
Standing, the large white lion waited to see who was coming. He recognized a lion in the darkness, his form sticking out a bit because his pelt was a light color. Much like Iroh's, really. He felt he was probably very easy to see in the gloom.
"Hello, there!" he said, hoping not to scare the other.
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 9:32 pm
Mpaji had the advantage in one way since the light was too his back, but his eyes had not yet adjusted to the gloom. He paused midstep. The sound of one paw falling back to the ground and sliding echoed through the cave as he peered back at the fellow in the dark.
"Hello!" Upendo'Mpaji called back. He dropped his head and squinted to try and get a better view. The lion was exceedingly white, and although not an usual Firekin color, the lack of red made Mpaji a bit skeptical.
He had not met this lion before, and one could never be too sure.
Mpaji realized he didn't care. He was a lover, not a fighter, and the old traditionalist members of the Blood were just as dangerous as any invader that might have accidentally stumbled on the area.
"Did you get caught in the storm, too?" he asked with a good-natured chuckle and padded the rest of the way in the direction of this new lion.
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:23 pm
"I did, indeed!" Iroh laughed heartily, "it caught me and led me here. It's a good little cave, though. There's water here, nice and fresh too." He nodded his approval on that front.
He hummed, his nod turning to a shake of his head. This lion gave off a very friendly air and that, in turn, made Iroh want to be friendly. Of course, by nature, he was a genial guy. He liked to make friends, not enemies, and treated every meeting as a potential new friend. Generally it worked out that way, so he wasn't too worried now.
"It seems we're cave mates for the duration," the white lion grinned, "my name is Iroh. It's a pleasure to meet you! Especially because I can actually see you in this gloom."
He purred in a friendly way, sitting down as the other lion came closer.
"I see more red than white and cream around here."
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Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:29 am
Mpaji's ears rotated at the sound of Iroh's laugh. They were searching for sound he had heard earlier. He could just barely catch it over the sound of humming, but it was the smell which confirmed the freshness of the water more than any other sense.
Although his face had gone blank, he returned the grin as he saw a flash of white teeth in the dark. He stood standing as Iroh settled down, looking this way and that. "Not a bad cave to be stuck in," he noted with a long, wide yawn before he too took his seat.
Another of his good-natured, rumbling chuckles followed. "It must be hard for you to get lost, practically glow in this light."
He nodded in agreement, thumping his tail on the ground and shifting once again. "No. White and cream are not Bloodland colors." It didn't seem to bother him any. He was proud of the land that had raised him, despite all the changes.
He was fortunate to be able to stay. His coat color was no matter compared to the strength of his heart.
"Let's see how far back we can get, then?" he asked, rising to his feet once more and padding off into the darkness. "These old paws need some exercise." Old. What a word. He wasn't graying, yet, but he wasn't the white youth with him. Time went far too quickly.
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 9:07 pm
"Not a bad cave at all!" Iroh agreed, looking around. He thought it was a good cave, really. Spacious, cool, comfortable. Fresh water. He might want to remember to come back here, really, when he had a chance.
With or without a sandstorm.
He saw the other moving and he got up in a hurry. He grinned and padded after him, his big, rather round frame still moving without heavy foot falls. He was less than quiet, though, when he bumped into a wall.
"Er, whoops," he chuckled. He didn't have an excuse for himself: he actually saw it, but had still managed to bump into it.
"Old paws, you said?" he asked abruptly, just trying to change the subject from him bumping the wall, though no one had mentioned it. He blinked a couple of times and cleared his throat. He was a grown lion, he really shouldn't be bumping into things.
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 11:11 am
The sound of Iroh's body contacting the wall caused Mpaji to flick an ear back and then turn his head. He chuckled himself. Everyone walked into things at some point in their life. Their heads were absent, their bodies going wherever they willed.
When Iroh asked him about his paws, he gave another low, short laugh to accompany the words to follow. "Getting there," he answered, pulling himself up onto a ledge that split into another section of cave. He wouldn't go any farther back than he could see, but the cavity in the earth had intrigued him.
"I've been walking these sands since the old King was alive. Never got a chance to meet Finar-si, but I bet I've done just about everything else." He paused and glanced back. Had the young lion even heard of her?
"I could tell you about anything you wanted to know history wise, I think. Did you ever apprentice to anyone?" The small talk was relaxing and when it got a little harder to see, he could use Iroh's voice to backtrack.
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Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 6:15 pm
Iroh chuckled, shaking off the embarrassment of the accidental bump. He couldn't be upset about it, it had been an accident and that was just the way it went sometimes. He imagined if he had been in the company of one of the cubs he had met recently they would have giggled at him, but the chuckle from his new friend was easier to take, at least.
Listening to the sounds of him climbing onto a nearby ledge, Iroh nodded. He had only heard stories if Finar-si, of course, and even then sparingly and mostly when he sought the information. Which he did quite a lot, on a variety of topics. He liked to be knowledgeable, thinking a good head was just as important as a strong body.
He had thought that way even as a cub.
"I was an apprentice to a Water Seeker, yes. With Yin-Li, who is very dear to me." He smiled at the memories, nodding his head despite knowing it was too dark to really see the subtle movement. "But my history is short and largely uneventful. If you wouldn't mind, I'd love to learn a bit more about you, and your experiences. I always think it's interesting, listening to the stories others have to offer. But only if you want to, of course!"
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