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 Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 2:21 pm
She let those eyes, as pitch dark as a night without stars, turn towards the paler male at her side. "Do you see him?" she asked softly, tail curled around back leg as she tried to pick out the form of the king from among those that passed them in the distance. They had decided that this was the place to stay, at least for Rin if nothing else, though she couldn't have said when the decision truly became final. It wasn't really so long ago that she had promised only to show him the way out of his self-made trap. When had she decided to become a part of this little family?
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 2:32 pm
Not that he wasn't pleased usually, however, today Mwezi'Mtoto found himself to be more pleased than usual, for today he'd finally noticed that all traces of that vile (extremely undignified) limp had receded into nothingness. THe wounds that had been caused to his frame whilst fighting those rogues in an attempt to protect his own were gone; they hadn't even left traces upon his pelt and skin (for which he was extremely grateful, really).
Of course, in a way, he knew that Malkia had been right; all what he'd needed had been rest, but before, out in the rogue lands, it'd been impossible for him to get more than a couple of hours of sleep. Since entering the pridal lands, he'd felt guarded enough, secure enough to finally rest, and it had done him good. It'd done them all good, really. Rin had been accepted or at least, as much as one would hope a cheetah cub would have been accepted into a lion's pride, and not only was the child happy, but she could run around without the threat of constant peril curling up in tendrils along mwezi's mind.
He was... pleased.
"No," he answered the female as they padded along, dignified, and finally NOT limping, "I do not; it does not mater though... we shall find him. Sooner or later," he sincerely hoped they found the king sooner than later, because he was feeling so pleased he had to keep himself from humming softly, some random tune he'd heard... because honestly; humming was just another of those things Mwezi Did Not Do. Idly he wondered how long his list was already.
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 2:48 pm
Since moving into the new lands, the king had found himself having an easier time relaxing now that the worries of wandering forever without a home were gone. He still had much to do, however, and he was doing his very best to get the best possible idea of every part of the territory they called home now. Unyezi wanted to know everything, from any pridal territory they might be bordering to where all the major sources of water were. He was currently heading back towards the dens from such exploration, in fact. He was learning, and he was very happy about that.
As he walked cheerfully along, he started to make some plans for the rest of the day. Perhaps it was a good day to go and visit Lela, it was nearly the full moon again and soon they would be able to officially welcome Mwenzangu into the pride. His mate had also mentioned some visitors they had, perhaps they too might take interest in the idea.
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 3:00 pm
Malkia sighed lightly in her frustration, though she even managed to make that seem elegant. Her dainty frame sauntered along at the side of the larger one that had become her constant companion. It truly hadn't been so long that they had been together, she knew, but already she felt as if it would be far too hard to leave his side. There weren't truly many males that would go fight off rogues to keep her safe, not when there seemed to be no strings attached. She was still puzzling him out, but despite his typical attitude, she found herself quite attached to him. To what extent, she was unsure, but she had no need of rushing anything these days.
"This it taking for-" she began, but cut off as a pale figure crossed their path. With a coat as white as Mwezi's own, though marked quite differently, Malkia was sure this was the king. Aureole's description of him matched this lion perfectly and unless he had a twin she had not been told about, she was positive this could be the one and only. "That's him," she said quietly, waving a paw in his direction. She paused only briefly to give Mwezi a cautious look, said a prayer in her head that he would behave, and picked up her pace to catch up with the pale royal.
"Excuse me, your grace?" she asked cautiously, regal stance toned down just slightly, so as not to offend. She might have been a queen had her pride not been destroyed, but there was no room in life left for 'might haves'. She had to play what life gave her to.
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 3:25 pm
It was sad to note Mwezi had tuned the world around him out, so thus Malkia merely got a soft, "Hm..." for all answer at first; the male was busy trying desperately to get the tune that kept on repeating itself in his skull. She was tuned out to a comforting subliminal presence by his side... instead of puzzling her out (because, Oh! She confused him so VERY often), he tuned her out, allowed her voice, her breathing to lull him rhythmically as they walked. Even if none of this was obvious on the outside, for his face remain impassive; languid as ever, Mwezi found he'd fallen into the habit. It pleased him to do so, and thus, he did, without further thought.
Thus was how Mwezi found himself blinking slowly as Malkia waved a paw in a certain direction; despite tuning her out he made it a habit of keeping track of her movements, and finding her waving a paw was... oddly out of place.
Dragging himself down from cloud nine, he turned in the direction she pointed and slowly padded by her side, pausing only briefly to arch a brow as she stared at him, almost as if weary, or perhaps not all that sure of... something. Arching a brow regally down at her, they continued till the meet with whom he assumed was the king they'd been looking for. He bowed his head slightly, and though his regal stance was not toned down as much as Malkia's there was gratitude shinning in his eyes, "We hope not to interrupt," he drawled slowly, his head tilting almost innocently in question before he flicked an ear, "We wish... to thank you, and yours, for giving us solace and shelter," it was his job to be grateful; as it was these lands that had healed him. So much so he felt strangely attached, "We were hoping you could inform us as to the way of your people, just a bit further..." the words under the words were there to be heard; we wish to remain here.
He did not voice them though and remain silent after that, figuring Malkia would rather handle it from there.
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 4:10 pm
At the sound of a voice, a rather strange one, calling out to him, Unyezi immediately straightened up a bit. He turned and spotted to two visiting lions, immediately recognizing them as the pair that Aureole had welcomed into the lands. Offering a friendly smile, he nodded to the lioness before his attention was turned upon Mwezi, who seemed to have a lot more to say at once.
"You are welcome, any peaceful passers by who have an open mind to our ways are always welcomed," he said brightly, happy to have found such critical and closed-minded creatures to be rare thus far, "When you arrived, how much did the queen tell you about us?" Unyezi would not know where exactly to start until he knew what information they already possessed. The basics were simple enough, but from there came many specific rules and traditions.
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 4:20 pm
Malkia had to admit that she was vaguely surprised with Mwezi's ease in the situation, though none of said surprise showed on the surface. Her face remained cool, placid, though those dark eyes drifted up to her companion slowly. She had thought his attitude predictable, but he certainly did show a few nonconformities here and there. Perhaps she still had a great deal to learn about him. For now, she was only thankful that he seemed to be at peace not talking too much. When Mwezi talked, it was hard to hide the cockiness that usually oozed from every pore.
Once he fell to silence, those dark eyes drifted back towards the king instead, giving him another slight bow of her head. "I'm afraid not so much. At the time, we were only seeking a sort of temporary shelter for various reasons." She would save Mwezi his pride and not elaborate on said reasons - she had a feeling he would not particularly want it spread that he had injured himself in a rather bad fashion. "Which is why we seek you out. As the king of this pride, I assume you are the best informative of traditions and laws." She offered a smile, small but reassuring, as elegant as anything she did.
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 4:34 pm
"Indeed," he confirmed her companion's word, his languid gaze turning to focus down on her as she pinned him with what he'd come to figure was her own, particular, startled gaze. Barely refraining a sigh, he made note to drag her to one side later one that day and kindly inform her that he COULD in fact be diplomatic when it so suited him.
Instead however, Mwezi fell silent, content with letting Malkia handle the situation for the mean time, only coughing slightly as she mentioned the er... vague reasons for seeking shelter, "We also heard about a ritual of initiation... of some sort, however, the specifics of it are lost to us. We've had not as much time as we would have wished to socialise," he had, after all, been busy healing, and Malkia had been making sure he healed; which, all in all, involved a lot of berating him for moving more than necessary, more often than not.
Just thinking back on it made a light headache thump behind his eyes and briefly, the male closed them. It'd been worth it though.
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 4:52 pm
At the mention of seeking shelter for "various" reasons, Unyezi wondered for a moment if he should be worried about that. The last thing the pride needed now was some sort of conflict headed their way, they'd had enough of that to last them a good long time. He hesitated a moment as he tried to determine what right he had to pry, but knew for the better of the pride he had best make certain.
"I'd hope if your reasons could cause any trouble for us here that you would be inform us," he said, trying not to be accusing but simply stating that. After surviving a war, he had every right to be wary of it happening again. Still, Unyezi smiled at the comment on his knowledge of their traditions and the questions about them; dealing properly with curious visitors and potential members might be new to him, but traditions were one thing that could be learned and explained with ease when one grew up here.
"The pride here is run on a very specific and fairly strict class system," he started, glancing upward though there was no moon out in the daylight, "The moon is most important, it is the eye of the sole deity in the pride- and it is your favor with him that determines your class. Since we cannot be certain of the stage the moon was in at new members' births, we have a special herb that is taken on the night of the full moon. It puts you to sleep, usually the longest it goes is until the night without a moon. If the Great Lion witnesses your awakening, and how well he watches when he does, determines how high in the pride you are."
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:43 pm
At his words, Malkia couldn’t help but let her smile spread slowly across her maw. He truly was a good king if his mind immediately began to turn over the possibilities that they might bring harm to the pride. They wouldn’t, their troubles were nothing of that ilk, but that he thought of it made her feel all the more confident about picking this pride as their final home. If the king was half this observant with everything else that concerned the pride and those in it, she had no fear that their decision would turn out to bite them in the end. No, this made her feel that much more at ease.
“I assure you, our troubles are nothing long-term. We bring no enemies with us, Mwezi just ran himself afoul of a couple of ruffians,” she shrugged slowly, turning her eyes up to him briefly – vaguely apologetic though he was the only one likely to see. She felt a need to reassure the king, and that answer was the vaguest one she thought would suffice in his situation. She’d not want to make a bad impression from the start. “I believe they are long on their way of running back to where they came from, but you can understand wanting shelter after a bad spot such as that?”
She listened, nodding slowly as he explained, leaning slightly towards Mwezi though not against him or truly in his personal space. He was the only thing she actually knew in this land of strangers, and it was a form of comfort. They had an interesting way of categorizing souls in this pride. “That is an interesting and sensible way of doing things, I must say.” She said no more simply because she wanted Mwezi’s opinion. She shifted her eyes up to Mwezi, deep black orbs awaiting his decision. They could end up in any rank, any at all – somehow, though, she figured he would be just cocky enough to bet her he’d be the best.
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Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:34 pm
There was a twitch; just the briefest of twitches of the male's right eye and the smallest of flickers of one of his ears and then... he looked away. He did nothing, and said nothing as Malkia explained the situation to the king (something he would have loved to avoid, really, but wouldn't push his luck against). He'd found there was nothing he could add to her brief words so instead, he sunk into a magnificent sulk; at least inwardly. Only the twitch and slight flicker of his ear were indication of the fact he actually felt uncomfortable, however, they soon came to pass and as he turned back towards the conversation (and ultimately towards Malkia), he found her gazing apologetically up at him.
And then, just for that brief second, things weren't all that bad. Plus, since he wasn't as pleased as just moments ago, he found he could concentrate on the conversation at hand without the added stress of having that annoying little tune resounding at the back of his mind. All in all, Mwezi'Mtoto decided things were good.
"Hm..." he had, in fact, noticed something akin to social ranks, from what little he'd seen, and he had to admit, the way they figured them our was rather interesting, "Fascinating," he murmured truthfully, then gave a single nod, as if deciding something to himself, "We would probably like a day or two, to assimilate the information you give us and make a wise decision," he drawled at the king as he tilted his head, "Is there anything else we should know of?" he wasn't all that sure if the 'rest', whatever it might be, would be learnt along the way or if the precious information would be given to them beforehand.
Malkia was right however; despite no outwardly change to his appearance or demeanour, Mwezi had already decided that he'd wind up in a high rank, for after all, WHOM could not favour HIM?
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:15 pm
Unyezi looked to Malkia as she assured him that they were not going to bring trouble along with them, glad to hear it. He hoped that no one would come seeking revenge, but at least the pair seemed certain enough. Even if Mwezi seemed to avoid the point himself. He nodded in reply to Malkia's question, smiling.
"Our pride is not new, but it is quite fresh from war and a long search for a new home," he explained the more recent history of the pride, easily explaining why he was so keen on keeping the peace now, "The last thing we need right now is more trouble."
He reviewed all the other information they might want to have if they were considering joining the pride. This was his first real experience with greeting potential members, and though he had accompanied his father in the task before he knew it was up to him to decide what was the right way to do it now. He considered what detail he should go into about the slaves, about the other traditions that influence things, and the one very obvious thing that should be explained (though he could not be certain they were a couple).
"You may take your time deciding, and keep in mind that the classes do range from the high class to the low class," Unyezi said this carefully and meaningfully, he didn't want to scare them away with the idea but felt they should be warned, "But in the case of mates, it is the female's class that they take as a couple. There are other traditions that can be explained fully when you've made a decision, and if you decide to join us permanently you will have your options fully explained when you wake."
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Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:56 am
“We heard as much through talk amongst the others,” she said softly, dipping her head lightly. “I feel truly sorry for the tragedies that your pride has had to endure, and we most certainly would not bring more trouble upon you in such a case.” She offered her smile again, entirely pleasant with no true ill-will lingering anywhere. It was always good to make a first impression, and letting him know that they meant no harm in any form was probably the best of all. She did feel quite a sadness for the pride’s past, however. Tragedies that crippled prides always touched a soft spot in her heart.
She listened carefully to the words he said, to the information he gave them. It all sounded easy enough to remember, and if they would be told more upon waking from the herb-induced sleep (should they choose to remain of course), then she felt no worries over fitting into the pride itself. She was good at adaptation and always had been, though she’d never had to do it to such an extreme before this. “I see,” she said finally, nodding her head as if to record his words in her mind, “that is all understandable.”
Her eyes shifted up slowly to Mwezi again as he began to speak, nodding along with his words as she watched his features. For that moment, she was silent, distracted as she let thoughts roll across her mind. The talk of mates was important, yes, but she wasn’t sure if it would ever be useful between them. She wasn’t sure of many things when it came to Mwezi. Finally, she turned her attention back to the king, bowing her head again.
“Thank you for indulging us in this, the information was.. quite helpful.” Indeed, she felt a better grasp upon the pride and its beliefs and traditions. The idea of her living here was becoming one that she was more and more eager to accept. “Mwezi and I will go and talk about this, make our final decision. After all, we have the life of the cub to consider as well, so it’s not as light of a decision as it would be otherwise.” She turned her eyes up to Mwezi once, questioning whether or not he wanted to ask anything else. “For now, I think we know what we need to, unless Mwezi has another question.”
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Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 2:41 pm
Indeed; he did not wish to talk about, it was obvious, but after a moment, the large male turned a languid gaze upon the king, "It will not cause you repercussions.... it was a long way away from here, and..." a pause as he turned to glance at the sky, "While they hurt me, I incapacitated them in a way it is extremely unlikely they'd have been able to follow us. Even if they'd wanted to, which, if they are wise, they wouldn't have wished to anyhow," the thought he'd quite deftly blinded one of the attackers, probably for life, was still rather a nice one; it boosted his pride and ego, even though it probably didn't quite need it.
Nodding at the kings word, and content they'd been granted time to ponder the decision through, Mwezi bowed his head, this time a tad lower, his eyes closing briefly in the process, "We thank you," he murmured as he lifted himself to his full height again, "We shall take the time to... ponder this, then," as Malkia had pointed out, it was a big decision they were taking, and not only were they looking out for their own future, but Rin's too.
An ear twitched then, his head tilting to one side; the mate thing wasn't of consequence, really, however, he felt a pang of something as it was revealed. Jealousy? Over what? It took him a few moments to realise he was slightly upset over the idea of someone taking Malkia as a mate. A frown covered his features briefly, but he masked it with concern, his eyes seeking the other male's, "I've no more questions... That will suffice," another nod at Malkia, "Yes, talk we shall," he turned around then and padded away from the other two, just a few paces, having deemed himself dismissed, but paused briefly to look over his shoulder, waiting for Malkia to catch up, "Thank you again," he told the king before padding away.
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Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 7:52 am
Unyezi nodded as they continued to assure him they brought no trouble with them, and he made careful note of how Mwezi said they hurt him and he had taken care of them. It was impressive, certainly, and the king could only hope that it would not be wasted (or become a danger) if they did decide to stay by his waking as a slave.
He nodded his farewell and watched them go with a small smile. That hadn't gone too badly, not for his first time actually facing that situation. Hopefully they had enough information, and hopefully the pride would soon be welcoming them officially.
( Fin. <3 )
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