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 Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 9:02 pm
Whispers of the future should have meant nothing to Masuko, but doubts were nipping her heels like hyenas nipped the heels of wildebeests. There were so many things that had been promised to her in the future, and so few came to fruition. So why was she actually considering the word of some...lion?
Still, to gain some sort of advantage against the Pridelands...to give them something to fear...she wanted that. Was it worth the cost of getting help from lions, though? The doubts were still there, but to really stick it to the ignorantly blissful golden lions would be so satisfying.
"Umbulali. A word?" She despised asking for another's opinion that wasn't Chora, but she really needed to broaden her trustworthy contacts, and he seemed well suited enough to enroll into her circle.
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 9:09 pm
Since joining, his stomach had be emptier than usual. He was spoiled, used to a full belly and the transition was hard for him. Umbulali had been in the process of taking a scrap from some slave within the clan, thinking of picking on someone else later on when he heard the Alpha call for him. Scoffing, he abandoned his plans and moved to her side, trailing behind slightly. He was nothing official, no consort, no head or anything. Sure he had previous power, previous position, but that meant nothing in the Mava'bunda. To secure a place here and a fully belly, he had to earn it through her.
For whatever reason, she seemed to think him trusting enough and he wasn't objecting.
"Yes, Masuko?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 9:13 pm
She was almost tempted to ask him for his opinion on the offer, but....that could wait. She had time to think about it, and regardless, it was her decision. There were other things that needed work here, things that would help set the future she wanted into motion. No need to completely depend on what could be empty words and promises...
"Are you settling in well enough? I know that the Mava'Bunda can be...lacking...but I would like to hear your honest opinion on it." Perhaps, through him, she could get a different opinion on what would help improve moral and commitment to the pack as a whole. That would be the best defense (and offense) for the future raid against the Pridelands.
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 9:25 pm
"Well enough." He echoed, using her own words to fill his. Then she asked his opinion, an honest one at that. Well...she asked. "Your lands are retched. The skeletons impressive, but you cannot eat them. They will not sustain us and the scraps the Pridelanders throw to us out of amusement or pity is insulting. Not even mentioning the dust, the dirt, they're choking. I can hardly breathe and I fear I will die in my sleep, not by assassination, but by choking on earth that lodged itself in my throat. Then there's your hyenas who starve to the sides of you and for that, your numbers suffer. You've had what...one, two litters born recently and they are now adolescents, adults?"
Umbulali pondering his next choice of wording, but it was such a perfect set-up that for part of him, he wanted to just see the Alpha's reaction. "Perhaps you could lead by example~" The words slid from his mouth with such ease, crimson eyes shifting to take a sideways glance, a wide grin firmly plastered on his face.
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 9:35 pm
Masuko was accepting enough of his words, even if many of the things he complained about she personally enjoyed. The only two things that were always lacking were water and food. Somehow she had to do something about those situations, and fast....what?
She snapped her jaws at him, growling as she prickled her mane up in disgust. "I will lead from the front, not hiding in the back with mewling whelps." She felt like having any pups would hinder her leadership, and she had enough business to handle. Why would she ever add more to her plate?
Besides, her original consort ended up running off before anything happened. He was such an idiot, however, that she felt like she dodged a bullet there. Fidelity to her wasn't as important as strength and dedication to the pack as a whole.
Still, she growled, and felt her fur prickle. "Somehow I must convince others to do this, though. Through more stable food, perhaps...." she thought aloud.
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 9:45 pm
In the face of lions, his traitor sister and more, Umbulali had not faltered, but for some reason he felt his own pelt stand up as a slow shiver ran down his body, ending as his tail lifted skyward. She was frightening, but there was something beautiful about it in this bleak existence. Saying he was disappointed was an understatement. Of course he wanted to sire children with her, she was the Alpha, his children would be the best in the entire Mava'Bunda if she ever came to him. Until then, others would make do. It's not like the clan regularly practiced monogamy.
"In time then, but if you wish to eek out a better existence for your clan, perhaps making sure it is stable from the inside would help, with regular growth to outweigh your losses and strong enough to take whatever land you need instead of living in the shadows of gluttons. Likely the best place to start when it comes to securing better hunting grounds and more successful hauls would be to actually have a head hunter. As I recall, you currently don't have one."
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 9:59 pm
Something unnerved her a bit, but she assumed it was his harsh words and rough outlook on her pack. Still, an ex-outsider's point of view was a refreshing shake-up of her relaxed grip on the pack. At least his scars proved that he wasn't shy of getting his paws dirty for some sort of gain.
"Well, it sounds like you're nearly volunteering for that job," Masuko grinned wickedly as she let her violet eyes linger on those scars of his. "Since the last one that did have the job nearly got his tail chewed off for his shortcomings."
Yes, she could use one, but she was starting to enjoy this bantering back and forth with Umbulali.
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 10:07 pm
"What?!" Umbulali exclaimed.
"Absolutely not, if I'm out catching your supper, who will watch your back? You have no heir, Masuko. If you were killed by some would-be usurper who somehow got the better of you, perhaps drugged your meat..." The red-eyed hyena shook his head fervently before ending it with a curt nod. "No. I'm much better suited to staying here." There were guards, but they were to keep other scavengers and lions out and keep slaves in more than protect the Alpha. He knew some of those dangers. "Besides, I'm rather fond of you and this little clan you have. I'd rather not see it go to s**t too quickly."
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 10:13 pm
A snort escaped from Masuko's snout. "Jasi could do well enough, I've trained her to keep things from completely falling apart." Well enough indeed, but who knew? Masuko was really only the second alpha of this pack, excluding the little her beloved father did to keep everyone together when Mafa disappeared....
His little comment of being fond of her didn't fall on deaf ears, but she didn't take it to heart. He hadn't proved much to her yet, though she did appreciate his blunt honesty in answering her questions. That made her favor him a tad bit.
"Well then, perhaps we should recruit a candidate for that position, if you must make sure a lion doesn't come around and knock my head off my shoulders," she smirked. "You'll quickly learn that I love to live dangerously, though."
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 10:22 pm
"Jasi, the pink, black and blue gal? Would your clan follow her willingly if you just vanished? With a little back-up for the position, maybe but...maybe you could make her your head hunter? Being responsible for filling bellies will be sure to win some people over in the event you get in over your head and I've fallen down the same ditch as you and neither of us can get up." Maybe he was overstepping, maybe not, but she had asked him for his opinion and he gave it. A little too much of it, it seemed, but she hadn't stopped him yet.
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 10:34 pm
"A possibility." Masuko would probably not put her in the position, but it was a gear to turn to get some of the other pack members talking, thinking, and perhaps training to strengthen their own hunting skills.
"They would follow her if she had enough backing, and just having the backing of the bone readers would be enough. We have many superstitious pack mates." Some of the older families that had lived in the pack for a couple generations let the seers (real or otherwise) sway their opinions.
"One thing at a time. A hunt leader." She wouldn't speak another word of her herself having cubs, but if there were many full bellies, hopefully more fruit would bear, if she dared think of that sort of thing.
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 10:44 pm
"You take all the time you need, Masuko. You're the Alpha after all. We move are your pace."
How many of the bone readers would support her would be up to the future, assuming Masuko didn't outlast them all, which was also such a huge possibility. This clan was certainly a good one to pick and at this point in time, Umbulali hardly regretted his decision to join. This clan was going to go far, he could see it in her eyes, the way she moved and spoke. She had plans for it, for them, for everything and that was something he wanted to be a part of.
"For now, you have things to ponder on and I hardly think you need my input in those matters since you already have it. Instead, I think my time would be better spent eating. I wonder if that wild dog still has that scrap..." Umbulali's tail remained higher than most as he circled around the female hyena, giving her a a sideways glance as he trotted back into the fog of the Mava'Bunda's graveyard.
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