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 Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 6:05 pm
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The watering hole had become her true location to recruit. There were times she got mud thrown at her, or yells, or even a swipe, but she also had great successes here as well. Curious onlookers, those who willingly believed her, even going as far to instantly turn around and attempt to recruit others for her. Vitha felt blessed with the work that she was doing, and every step towards understanding felt right.
If she could only get those with more power to truly understand. She hadn't yet been able to gain an audience with the king, and she suspected that Aoife was behind that. She probably played up her pretty looks and whispered lies into his ear, but Vitha wasn't going to give up. One of these days she would manage to cross paths with him, and beg for him to listen to her. That was all she wanted. Just one audience with him...
She shook her head, snapping herself back into the present. It was morning, the birds were as loud as ever as they flew overhead. The watering hole was a bit low for this time of year, but the crystal clear water was still good to drink. There would be lions to talk to soon, she knew.
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Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 6:37 pm
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"It's okay, she'll be back..." The words were spoken gently, the tone naturally empathetic. A young male walked beside a slightly older teenager, who in all actuality was his niece (but that was weird to think about). Kayode was in that awkward stage of adolescence, where his legs were too long, and the hair around his neck itched constantly. His voice had grown deeper, but it seemed to suit him... even the cracks every now and then weren't terribly grating.
"She's gone, Kayode. Just decided to waltz on out of here like none of us cared about her." The golden female beside him was practically bristling. The day was very young, but the fact that her siblings were leaving the Pridelands had festered into frustration. "With everything that's happened, why would she do that? She's being spiteful, always hated that she wasn't the center of -"
They had made it to the watering hole, and Belkane cut her words off quickly when she noticed a black and white lioness sitting there waiting. Surely, not for them, but she was there anyways.
"Bel..." Kayode spoke gently, as if to ward his relative away from potential trouble. They both knew who the lioness was - it was hard not to know her. With Belkane's mother on the council, the gold lioness had heard more than a few choice things about the female.
"You are not my mother, Kayode," she told her uncle with a roll of her eyes. Belkane had half a mind to tell the female exactly what she thought and felt... and then saw her uncle walking up to the female with a stupidly friendly smile upon his face. 'Oh no', she thought.
"Good morning!" If he intercepted her first, surely Belkane could not start a fight with Vitha.
"Ugh."
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Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 6:48 pm
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There were always voices, noises...the Pridelands was a busy place. In her mind, she figured that was exactly why it was a target for such an angry being. Life was good here, and for the most part everyone was healthy, full, and had a life to enjoy. Perhaps the bright joy of the Pridelands was something it wanted to destroy, but she wouldn't allow that to happen.
Her ears flickered around her head as she realized two voices were growing more distinct. She was almost able to understand what it is they were discussing when it went quiet for a moment. Her red eyes turned to the right, noticing that there were two adolescents approaching...at least one seemed interested in speaking with her.
"Good morning," she said with a serene voice. As much as she wanted to have believers, she wasn't of the sort to pin her worries and concerns on those who weren't quite adults. For one, she felt like pushing the concept of a being that wanted their pride dead was a bit too much for minds and paws that were just learning how to hunt. For another, she didn't want to step between the line of parent and child. She didn't have cubs herself, not yet, and felt like she wouldn't want someone like Aoife to stick her neck into a place that it did not yet belong. Once one was an adult, with more experiences and understanding of how life moved, perhaps then it would be a good time to sway their opinions to the just and true.
But for the moment, she would merely see if she could come to know them.
Their parents, their family. Still, she was rarely approached, let alone by those much younger than her. Perhaps they were curious, or perhaps they were just being kind. "Is there something I could assist you both with today?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 7:05 pm
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"...Vitha, right?" Of course Kayode knew who the lioness was, but he was trying to be polite and not assume too much. She did not seem like an unpleasant lioness, no matter what picture Belkane had painted of the female to him. Vitha was likely just sitting here, minding her own business and enjoying the morning rays of sun. "I'm Kayode, it's nice to meet you," he offered a paw out to her in an overly-formal greeting.
"You shouldn't be talking to her, you'll give your parents a heart attack." It was the first time Belkane had come across someone she truly disliked. Her mother's influence had weighed heavily on the gold female's own ideals. She was still at that youthful age where she believed everything her mother said to be the truth. Vitha was bad news, and Kayode was being naive in thinking that it was okay to be speaking with her.
Kayode winced, a small, apologetic smile appearing on his face. He had hoped to avoid Belkane's... less than tactful approach to her feelings. The young male had thought that if he had shown initiative and kindness towards Vitha, that his friend would do the same. It was going to be a hard lesson for the young male to learn, that not everyone had the same faith in the world as he. His upbringing was sheltered, even by the Pridelands' terms. "Sorry," he apologized softly. "Bel's having a bad day and I'm sure she doesn't mean to be so rude."
"I'm sure I mean to." The adolescent had come to stand just behind her companion, leveling a critical frown on the dark female before them. "You're not helping anything, Vitha. You're only making things worse here, dividing the pride when we need to be together more than ever." Her tone and words, while bold and slightly argumentative, were not purely malicious.
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Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2018 7:19 pm
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Vitha was quite surprised at how polite the young male was, and quite impressed with his manners. He seemed to understand who she was, and yet treat her like another member of the pride without carrying a prejudice against her. The younger female, however, was clearly still within a strong influence in her life...parents? A best friend? One to sway her opinions with dark clouds and block her from making her own decisions about her beliefs.
"Speaking with one, regardless if you consider they a friend or foe, is something to not be ashamed of," Vitha responded coolly. She had a lot of practice in her early fights with Aoife, the seer that openly called her a liar.
"Though, to say I am making things worse here is a call being made too early," she replied, smiling softly at the young lioness. She was trying to be passive, and supportive, but wasn't going to let herself be slandered without at least one word to protect herself. "Though....more than ever? Are there other things amiss in these lands?" Her eyes widened a bit, wondering if she had lapsed in her offerings to let something awful somehow slide past her watchful eyes that had joined her 'cult'.
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 5:43 pm
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"I am not," Kayode assured the older lioness, as if worried that she would immediately loop him in with Belkane. Yes, they were related and he loved his niece dearly... but that did not mean he always agreed with her. Belkane's mother had mostly been absent because of work while she was growing up. In comparison, Kayode had been absolutely doted on by his elder parents. That, and he did not have nearly as many siblings as Belkane had to contend with. It was no wonder she was so prone to speaking her mind.
"No, there's nothing," Belkane answered too quickly. The frown upon her maw was briefly remorseful, and the way her ears flicked back hinted that there was something wrong that she did not want to reveal. Was it wrong to blame the lioness for her siblings disappearances? It wasn't as if they had all just vanished. They had simply... left. Belkane did not want it to be her own fault, so why couldn't it be the fault of some crazy cultists making the Pridelands weird.
It was wrong, and a part of her understood that.
The wind was temporarily blown out of her sails, and when the bite left her words Kayode risked a concerned glance back to her. If Belkane did not want to talk about it, he would not pressure her to. It wasn't his place to reveal her family drama.
"It's just... Why? You're scaring others needlessly, and honestly I think you're off your rockers." She tried to push pass the brief moment of reflection. Belkane had a lot on her mind, and a lot she wanted to say.
"Bel! You can't just call someone crazy..." Oh no, he had thought she would stop with her foolishness.
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 7:07 pm
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Vitha let herself take a moment to listen to the two of them. There was clearly more on their plates than they shared, but she was also going to do her best to go ahead and take what they said at face value. She had her own demons stored away in her mind, what sort of hypocrite would she be if she pried at others' issues while she hid her own?
So she wouldn't pry. She would do her best to remember their names, their faces...and if things came into play later, she would do her best to help them, whether they asked for it or not. If the opportunity presented itself, Vitha would help.
And the next thing she heard shocked her...she stared at the lioness for a moment, and then laughed.
"Fear means you're alive," Vitha replied, clearly something she had said time and time again. "Fear is a healthy balance of respect for life, as well as the idea that death is always around the corner. It is best to protect what you can from death, to resist its pull for as long as you can. That is what I am trying to do, with those that believe in me." She offered a bit of a shrug, but she didn't really know what else to say. She gave a long glance to Kayode, wondering if he felt the same as she did, just in a more passive way.
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2018 7:44 pm
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There was an almost nervous shift in the air between the two adolescents, as if suddenly both were unsure of what to make of Vitha. Kayode had faith that she was a good lioness, even if she were a little unusual. While Belkane, on the other hand, thought she was straight up a mix of malicious intent and crazy. "I don't know... I wouldn't want to be afraid." His voice was gentle. Kayode had to admit he was a little nervous to debate anything with anyone. The last thing he wanted was to insult someone or accidentally trample all over their feelings and values. "I guess fear has its place, but I don't think you can really live life if you let fear play such a... role in it."
Belkane obviously wasn't going to be subtle. Before she had taken a position behind Kayode, as if to let him deal with the front of Vitha's attention (and crazy). She had little respect for the dark lioness, and hearing Kayode try to gently voice his opinion was incredibly frustrating. She stepped in front of her uncle, "I really don't need you preaching to us the value of fear, when you just seem to be trying to incite it in others. Where's your proof that anything bad is going to happen here?"
She fixed her red eyes on Vitha, impatience flashing across the features of her broad face. "You should just stop before you alienate yourself from everyone." Her words could not even be considered advice - she had put no good intention behind them, and everyone sitting there knew it.
"Bel, maybe we should go home? My dad's going to be worried if we're late..." He tried, bless his gentle soul.
"He can worry, then, Kayode." She was not done.
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Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:31 pm
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The young male was so gentle...there were aspects of his character that reminded her of Mkate. He seemed to care a great deal about how others felt, about how others thought of him, but most of all...how he wanted things to be right. Kind. Straightforward. Correct. She barely even knew him, but she wanted to wrap him up and keep him safe, away from the worries of the beast that always lingered in her mind, threatening destruction to her homelands. She was doing this to protect his future.
"Asking for proof is a terrifying request," Vitha answered coldly, her blood hardening as she spoke with the female. Her red eyes seemed to sharper for a moment, before allowing herself to release the breath she had been inadvertently holding. "Proof is something that could either strengthen us, or break us. Belief is a kind alternative. Its the same as believing that the sun will set tonight, that the moon will rise to guide is through the night, and see that the sun rises again in the morning."
Vitha adjusted her paws on the ground, keeping her body a bit more high-strung than it was a moment ago. She wasn't in this for tricks, and she wasn't very good at hiding her emotions. She was sure that made everything she said seem more genuine, and not 'hog-wash' like what it was called.
"I do this for faith to protect us, not for popularity," she added on, unsure if she should engage with the fiesty adolescent any further.
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 1:49 pm
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Belkane, young and impulsive, couldn't help but feel as if Vitha was talking to her as if she was still a cub fresh out of the den. Her anger threatened for a moment to boil over. The adolescent was still too young to properly control her emotions, and perhaps too young still to want to. "It wouldn't break me, besides there is nothing to your words. You just lie and lie, scare everyone onto your side. Well, I am not a fool. I won't believe words from a lioness who has nothing else to back them up with."
Kayode knew he needed to diffuse the situation. He felt like Vitha wouldn't do anything untoward, but he didn't trust Belkane to act the same. The anger he could practically feel rolling off of her shoulders. His eyes noted the clench of her jaw, the tension down her back. She was pissed, and she was terrible at hiding it. "Bel, you're not going to accomplish anything here like this. Just ignore her, she's not really hurting anyone with her beliefs..." The soft brown male walked up to his niece, and gently nudged his head against her shoulder.
"Yet. She hasn't hurt anyone yet." Belkane corrected with a snarl, hateful and prejudiced. Then, with a 'tsk' sound she turned away from Vitha. Each step her paws made against the ground were heavy, smashing the grass underneath her. "Let's go, Kayode!"
The male winced, and offered up yet another apologetic smile to Vitha. "Sorry about this. I uh, I hope you have a good day." He could practically feel Belkane's eye roll. Before Belkane could come up with an excuse to instigate another fight, he trailed after his relative to try and guide her back to the less tempestuous area of her family's den.
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Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 2:33 pm
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