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 Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2014 4:59 pm
 The longer Shangyue stayed in power, the more depressed Nyeusi became. It had been hard enough to lose the King and Queen so quickly. Harder to know they'd been killed. Harder still to watch her family be torn apart. After the initial bloodshed and violence, things had settled down somewhat, and the black lioness had waited cheerfully for her family to repair the rifts. But...that hadn't happened. Spiralia had disappeared early on. And her grandfather still wasn't talking to her mother or father, though he seemed polite enough when she saw him. Though...also kind of distant. And the underlying tensions in the pride didn't vanish either. Nyeusi had been a cheerful and overeager cub, and had remained that way through to adulthood. But now, the weight of the world was bowing her down and the young lioness sat, blue eyes dull, staring out sightlessly. There was no end in sight. The pride, and her family, would be damaged forever... "Oh Great Lion, why can't everyone just get along?" she moaned aloud to the moon above.
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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2014 5:19 pm
While initially Ota had been having trouble adjusting her sleep schedule to be as nocturnal as the pride now demanded, it had become easier and easier -- but not just because she was getting used to it. Her visions were changing, and in strange ways. It was getting harder to sleep at night, and that ultimately helped her get along now. She was out for a walk by herself. Lost in thought, she almost didn't notice her dark cousin nearby until she heard her speak- and she was jolted back to the present. It took her a second to realize who she was staring at, though she didn't quite catch what was said. "Nyeusi," she said, mostly to herself but certainly loud enough to be heard. Quietly, she walked over to investigate what was going on. There was a good chance that if she was talking to the Great Lion she wanted to be alone, but it never hurt to check- and Ota worried a great deal about her family getting into trouble without meaning any real harm.
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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2014 5:24 pm
Anyone who knew Nyeusi (which was really everyone who cared to in the pride) would have been surprised, if not downright shocked to see her. True, not much was visible in the half-moon's light with her dark fur, but what could be seen was startling. Nyeusi's fur hung lank and ratty on her bones, showing that she'd lost weight. Nor was it groomed, with scruffy bits and cowlicks in random places on her body.
But it was those dead blue eyes that truly spoke volumes of how the young lioness' hope had fled. She gazed fixedly at the moon above, willing the Great Lion to answer her. Somehow.
"Everything started going wrong when the King died...everything King Shangyue's done is wrong..." the words were far quieter than her initial outburst, but not so low as be a murmur.
"So wrong..."
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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2014 5:31 pm
The closer she got, the more apparent it became that something was very wrong with her cousin. She stumbled to a stop a short distance away, close enough to hear her speak but not so close that she might invade Nyeusi's personal space. Standing so close together, they were a harsh contrast. Nyeusi was dark, unkempt and unhappy. Ota was light, bright and, while wearing a frown, certainly seemed neutral at worst.
Her frown deepened as Nyeusi spoke again to the Great Lion, and her silver eyes went upward, wondering if she might actually get a response.. and wondering how she had come to this.
"Nyeusi," she said gently, "Are you OK?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2014 5:39 pm
Distracted as she was by her grief, Nyeusi could have been forgiven for not hearing Ota's approach or her words. However, the dark female wasn't that far gone, not yet.
"Ota," she replied dully, swerving her head around to look at the white lioness in acknowledgement of her presence.
"Are any of us okay?" she continued in a lifeless tone. "King Shangyue sits on a throne of blood, even if only a few died for it, and that blood flows through the pride and pushes us all farther apart."
This was so clearly wrong, and yet the Priests did nothing to stop the usurper. Some even supported him.
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Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 3:34 pm
Ota frowned-- but then started when suddenly Nyeusi fearlessly went into a ramble about the wrongness of the state of the pride, and the lion who ruled it. Immediately she looked around to make sure nobody was around to overhear, but she didn't see anybody and- thankfully- she didn't think Nyeusi was speaking in a tone or volume that carried well.
"Nyeusi.."
She would never have guessed that her cousin would be so affected by this- though she had no reason to suspect she would be fine, either. Sometimes it was hard to remember just how much trouble that part of the family was in. Uchanjaa was definitely being watched and something was going on with Orion and Halili, though Ota wasn't quite sure what- and it was complicated by their close connection to Uchanjaa and the fact that Orion had become a Royal Guard.
"Nyeusi, you have to be careful who you say things like that to," she said gently, taking a seat and looking sadly at her cousin.
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Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 4:04 pm
The dark lioness turned at the sound of her name, expressionless, but waited to hear what it was that Ota would say. What...she had to be careful now? When saying what everyone knew? The thought was absolutely absurd!
To the surprise of everyone, Nyeusi snorted. Then started chuckling. Her fit developed into full-throated, harsh laughter. It took her a few tries, but finally the black female was able to regain control.
"Be careful who I speak to? Ridiculous! Everyone knows that the Great Lion has turned his back on the pride-!" Nyeusi was gearing up for a long rant about what "everyone knew" when the sense of what she'd just said penetrated.
The younger lioness stopped speaking abruptly and stared off into space again, eyes wide as she contemplated something.
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Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 4:24 pm
Again, Ota started.
And really, she shouldn't have. Nyeusi wasn't wrong to say 'everyone knows' .. nobody was in the dark about what had gone on here, there were just many different opinions on what it all meant and the only acceptable one was that of the King. And his opinion was that the depth of his treachery was a secret from the Great Lion, that something that happened under a new moon would be overlooked and everything else fell neatly into place from there.
Her tailed swayed madly behind her and she struggled to come up with a response. She was normally far more reserved than this, far more careful. The only good thing was if anybody did happen to see them and overhear, they might mistake her agitation as being in support of the King.
"He has not turned away from us yet," she said, her voice low, "You can't see it now, but everything will be OK! It won't be like this forever, I promise you!"
This was the first time Ota had said anything hinting at the future she saw to anybody other than Kamia.
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Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 4:47 pm
The black lioness heard Ota's words and nodded, more focused on her own realization that the white lioness had supported, instead of what the older female had revealed.
"You're right," Nyeusi answered, sounding much more like herself now. Her tone was firm and her words certain as she pushed herself to her feet. Her eyes were still wider than usual, but there was some focus and sanity in them again.
"You're absolutely right. The Great Lion has not turned His back on the pride, but on our King!" The dark lioness turned to the light, her excitement building. "We have to tell everybody! Show the pride!" The more Nyeusi spoke, the more manic her expression became, until she seemed as crazed as before, this time filled with energy instead of despondence.
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Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 5:00 pm
.................
Ota was stunned by the reaction Nyeusi had to what she said, realizing very suddenly that her cousin would not be reasoned with. Whether or not she had sounded like it before, her mind was clearly already made up. She could try to talk some sense into Nyeusi, but Ota doubted it would happen. It seemed she would only work to make things worse.
"Nyeusi, you can't! I can't."
What an unexpected conversation this was turning into.
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Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 5:06 pm
Nyeusi snorted again. "Maybe you can't, but I certainly can!" she retorted. It didn't matter that they were both in the Lower Middle class or that Priests had to be of far higher birth. It was clear to the black lioness that her cousin had no intention of or interest in helping her spread the word throughout the pride. That was fine with Nyeusi. She had something to do, a purpose in life, and she was going to live it!
Without a single backward glance, the darker female strode off into the night, determined to tell the next person she saw all about Shangyue's lack of blessing.
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Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 5:13 pm
Ota frowned and just watched her cousin go off, realizing this might be one of the first steps into chaos as the pride finally recovered from the shock of Shangyue's takeover and started trying to fight back. Her night had started out cheerful enough, but now she wasn't so sure about anything anymore.
She sat quietly in the moonlight for a while, thinking.. and then she went off to find the hunting party that had gone out that night, hoping to find Kamia was still with them.
Fin!
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