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Never Give Up! Never Surrender!
Username: Talencia
SoA Name & Meaning (if applicable): Modya'sozhal (adapted from "sober regret" in Russian)
Possible Age? Just past middle-aged, retirement age
What was his rank before he was chose by Surya'nontle to be King?: He was a guard
Personality: Modya has a very strong desire to do what is right, but doesn't always have the best methods of choosing which is the right thing to do. He has done and does his best, but in truth, he tends to be too direct for most diplomatic and inter-personal situations. He has a good heart and the right intentions, just not the more basic tools to do well in his choices. He does best following orders or being the brawn while someone else is the brains.
What's his history?: Modya was a dutiful and courageous guard before the Queen chose him to be her third mate. He had always thought her a pretty thing, but never thought she'd favor him. He was honored and flattered in his new position, and strove to live up to the pride's expectations. This turned out to be much more complicated the further things got. It wasn't long before it was no secret that Modya was lacking completely in diplomatic skills, and that if you wanted something done, you went to Surya instead of Modya. Then chaos decended on the pride. So many dead, so much strife! Desperate and muddled, Modya did what he thought best for the pride, regardless of the ramifications that didn't even penetrate his thoughts. The resultant death shamed the muscled male, broke his heart and his spirit. He watched helplessly as the pride blamed his sweet Surya for all that had happened, when he knew very well how large a part he himself had played in it. Privately he begged her to be the one to be sacrificed, but she would not hear of it. It needed to be her, she had explained to him gently, so that the pride would grow stronger for the spilling of her blood. She assured him that their daughter would rule better than she had, and gently asked him to allow her this final devotion to the pride. Heart-broken and sick with guilt, he had kept silent as his beloved mate was put to death in petition to Pestilence. He stepped aside willingly to make room for Nawiri and her chosen mate. Though given the rank of Vizier, he has kept himself from adding anything to the plottings and plannings for the pride, choosing to be mute rather than make the same mistakes he did before. He isn't sure of his place in the pride any longer, and spends his days heart-heavy and despairing.
Any future goals now that he's 'retired'? I want him to find new meaning for his life... a way to contribute to the pride that does not rely on his failing strength or on his lack of wisdom, but on something he is more capable of giving as age grows on him. It would be nice if he found a bossy old hen of a lioness who took him under her wing and gave him love once more.
What sort of relationship did he have with Surya'nontle?: He was greatly in awe of her, and loved her for who she was, not just what she did. Even as the pride began to fall apart under suffering and trial, he never blamed her. You might say he had a bit of a blind spot for her, feeling she did all she could. But is that not what love does for us? He could not see any of her faults, and stood beside her through it all.
What sort of relationship does he have with Nawiri'chiwa? When she was a cub, he doted on her and attempted to teach her his intense beliefs in right and wrong. The older she got, he was distracted by the strain the pride was experiencing. Next thing he knew, she was all grown up, and her mother was gone. Contrite for having neglected her, he began to attempt to repair his relationship with her. During present day, he is very proud of his daughter, and tells her so often. He is very careful to never give her advice, even when she asks for it, out of deep fear that he'll cause a repeat of previous events. He has full faith that she will do well just by being herself and doing what she feels is right. He will often ruefully tell her that she got more brains than he ever had, and probably more than her mother had, and as such he has no place suggesting any path or action. As Nawiri is his last vestige of his dear Surya, he treasures her dearly, and would give his life to prevent any harm from befalling her.
Does he have any sort of relationship with Eva'raja? Not really. At the time when she was declared unsuitable for being Queen, he rejoiced that his daughter would be chosen instead. Now, with his mate gone, Nawiri doing well, and himself having less and less bouts of illness, he finds himself with more in common with Eva. Even so, they have nothing akin to a parent/child relationship, but more of a friendly acquaintance thing.
Link to one or two completed or current RPs - Just to get a sense of your writing style! Disease Changes Your Outlook
Show Me Around?
Prompt Letter & Response: He had come to accept his lack of role in the pride, settled into a listless fog that only brightened when Nawiri came to talk to him. He had gained more wisdom than he realized, learning silence could be better than rash advice, but even should he have realized this, he would not have intruded upon the council sessions. But due to his lost sense of self, his days were filled with wandering and observing. He would stop when addressed, but generally didn't initiate conversation himself.

As such, he stopped when approached by a young cub one gloomy day. Clouds hovered overhead, dark and brooding, a reflection of the heart of the old lion. Still, his gaze was gentle upon the youngster who sat and craned his neck to look up at the much larger adult. "Sir," the small one said sweetly, "do you know where my sister has gone? Noone will tell me." Modya's heart squeezed as he realized what must have happened, and his heart sagged even further.

"I'm sorry little one," he rumbled, laying himself down so he was more at eye-level with the cub. "She won't be coming back, I'm afraid."

"Are you sure?" the little boy asked, clearly thinking hard about this. "She said she just wanted to go see the beautiful orange flowers that she heard the adults talking about." Big blue eyes blinked at him, clearly lost in the recent memory. "She wasn't feeling good the last rainstorm, but she really really wanted to go see them. I told her she shouldn't, but she left the den, while it was still raining!" The notion of going out in the rain seemed of much more of astonishing importance to the young one than the fact that his sister had left the den while sick. Modya became concerned that perhaps the cub had been lost after all, but the young one was continuing.

"I guess she must have found them, but couldn't get back, because one of the guards came back carrying her. She was smiling, but she was very hot. Momma made me go play, but she was gone again when I went back. Do you know where she is?" Again those huge, innocent eyes turned on him. For a moment, he hesitated to answer the question one way or the other. Was it his place to teach the cub about the everyday death the pride knew, or would he be overstepping his bounds? Or should he lie to the child and possibly cause problems when he found out what actually happened? He dithered a few moments, bemoaning his lack of tact and diplomacy. Surely a smarter, wiser lion would have known what to do.

But another idea began to wiggle in the back of his mind. Instead of answering the cub's question, he asked one of his own. "Do you know where those orange flowers were?" Easily distracted, the cub bounced and said he did. Off they went together, the little male chattering away happily, and Modya listening attentively. It was a surprisingly short distance, just outside the dens, where a large patch of large orange blossoms, a color brighter than the sunset, were bobbing in the rising wind. "Come, let's take some to the priests," he urged the child, using his claws to separate a few flowers from their stems. Together, old lion and young carried their offering to the altars. Laying the delicate blooms on the flat stone, Modya said quietly, "May your sister be cared for and safe, wherever she is."

After returning the cub to his mother and giving her his condolences, he once again let his paws wander. Such a young cub, to have died just trying for one last happiness. The idea wriggled from the back of his mind to the fore. Regardless of their age, he was certain many of the dying had wishes for a last taste of joy or pleasure. How many died without experiencing that final wish coming true? How many such wishes could be granted by those healthier and stronger? He himself could have carried that cub to see her flowers, could have found a way to shelter her from the rain, or done it before the rain had come. Perhaps she would have lived longer, had someone helped her fulfill her desire in a safer manner. It made his heart twist in sorrow, but also in hope.

Coming out of his thoughts, he looked about himself with new eyes, new purpose. Here at last was something he might be able to do for the pride he had so wronged in the past, a way to make up for the damage he'd done. Across the way he saw a young lioness, clearly weak an sickly, stretched out in front of her den and gazing mournfully up at the clouds. For once, the old king took it upon himself to speak first. "Hello sister," he said softly, approaching her instead of walking on past. "Let me ask you... is there anything I can do for you?" It felt good, so very good, to have found his place at last. With one last thought of how proud of him Surya would have been, he turned his full attention to the ailing lioness and her reply.

How does Eva'raja feel about Sliabh being asked to sire children to return to the pride? She wants to be okay with it, (and I’d like to think that she might have discussed the need of sending someone out with the queen before he was sent out) but it’s harder on her than she wants to admit. She if anyone knows that the new blood is necessary for their survival. Being away from Sliabh is hard, but to keep seeing a flash of blue in the corner of her eye and feel hope arise only to realise it’s one of his cubs. It’s a special slice of torture. She cares about Sliabh’s cubs as much as she cares about any other cub, but they remind her that he is not with her. To cope she throws herself at the tasks at hand. If not for “their” cubs (the three adopted ones) she would drown herself in work and probably forget to eat and sleep razz .
Does she have any doubts or fears when it comes to her future with Sliabh? Especially knowing he's out there fraternizing (for the good of the pride, of course!)... Eva is loyal and expects Sliabh to be like her, but there is a sadness about her that wasn’t there before. She does not explore these feelings, but perhaps she should.
How does she feel about Haruma, Faraa, and Ndale? She worries about them and tends to fuss over them even more than other cubs. She feels more for them than for the other cubs. They aren’t Sliabh’s cubs by blood, but he adopted them and made her their mother. The others... She has conflicting feelings about Sliab’s biological cubs. She's not going to turn "evil stepmother" on them, but right now their presence hurt her since they remind her that Sliabh is out there, and that she can't know if he's alive or dead. One of the biological cubs might feel that there's something off in the way she behaves around them, even if she fusses and dotes over them like any other cub in the pride. But I digress...
Has her relationship with Nawiri'chiwa changed at all over the past few months? She’s burrowing herself in work more than she used to, and Nawiri must have noticed that or been informed by the other healers. She still fusses over her sister and doesn’t miss their meetings.
Describe a typical day for Eva'raja. She wakes up before dawn and makes sure her wards are all accounted for. If she has any critical patients she might have stayed the night with them, but she will always make sure Haruma, Ndale and Faraa are all right before starting her day. If at all possible she will take them to the water and have a drink with them, she also tries to share a meal with them every day if the hunters have been lucky. She then proceeds to do her rounds before it gets too hot. If there are no really sick lions to attend to she tries to visit as many of the sick members of the pride as she can handle, but if she has many severe cases she will spread her time and skills among the neediest ones. She makes sure the other healers keep her updated, and it’s not uncommon for the newest healers to be sent on errands to keep Eva informed about key patients health status. When the sun is at its highest she rests. Either in the company of her family, or more often, in the den with the sickest lions. The afternoon is more of the same, and as the day turns into evening she often has a funeral to attend to. She also tries to see her sister at least once during the day, if only from a distance to check on her. When there are lots of severely sick patients she works well into the night, but not before tucking in her three adopted children and making sure they are all right.
Do you have any future plots or plans for Eva'raja down the road? It feels as if she’s setting herself up for a burnout so I might explore that, either a near miss where she realises she needs to take it easy or risk her own health, or a full blown mental meltdown type of thing. No other solid plans beyond testing the waters with Sliabh and make sure they still click. Note to self: must re-read that RP.
Are you interested in keeping her relationship with Sliabh? Will try to do that, yes. She seems like a loyal sort.
Any additional comments, questions, concerns? Past midnight... Darn...
Prompt Response:
Eva didn’t like not being in charge of the situation at hand. You never where in charge with the disease, really, but that was different. If she had a paw on everything she knew she had done her best. The healer relieving her had reminded her that she didn’t do anyone any favours if she stumbled around sleep deprived, and she grudgingly admitted he was right. She was a mother now, too. Before all this she almost felt as if she was responsible for the lives of everyone in the pride. Now she knew that she hadn’t known what she was talking about. These three, and Sliabh. This was worry on a new level. She had been mated to her job, but now she had a mate and children. A mate she saw even less than before they had been joined, but that was beside the point.

Eva concentrated really hard, almost giving herself a headache trying to will Sliabh to hear her. If only he was here. She stayed strong for the others around her, for her sister, for her children, for the other healers and those sick. But tonight, tonight she needed to be weak and lean on someone else. She sat under a tree, within calling distance from the den, and leaned on it for support. It was hard and cold, but if she closed her eyes and pretended she could almost feel Sliabhs scent.

Good luck, everyone <3

Grats everyone!!!!! Thoe were fantastic entries!!

Lorne! I demand rp soon!

Congrats! It'll be fun to see them RPed by you guys. smile