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 Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 2:57 pm
Unyezi was in a good mood, a very good mood. It was hard to be upset following the birth of his four cubs, two boys and two girls. It was perfect, even if the firstborn was colored like Njiru. It'd been a shock, to say the least, but he dealt with it. Alcmene was a girl, she had that on her side, she could fall in love with whoever she wanted and not worry about losing her place as heir. And then there was another girl, a good candidate to offer as apprentice to Shira. Cubs were very busy, though. Ally had wandered off to play, and a bit wary of her being off on her own right away, Unyezi was off looking for her. He was a bit overprotective, but he was a new father he would adjust. But until Alcmene was a bit older, it was important to keep an eye on her.
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Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 12:03 pm
After talking with Mvushi for a bit, Sindain decided that he wouldn't really be able to help her get into the pride. She had wandered around the edge of the pride's territory trying to find a more likely lion to help her.
A little off to the distance, she saw a cub playing, and what looked to be the father not far off. Well, if he has cubs, he must be one of the pack's higher males, She thought to herself. She started making her way over to them, and stopped just at the edge of the territory where she could be seen, but wasn't exactly intruding. She sat down and watched them, waiting patiently.
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Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 5:43 pm
Unyezi wasn't having much luck finding Alcmene, but he did spot someone strange nearby- but they were sitting, watching and generally not looking too suspicious. With a quick glance around to check for Alcmene once more, he turned in the direction of the stranger to go and say hello. He always met everyone who joined the pride, this was not a member and they didn't appear to be with any returning members. No, it was someone new.
"Hello," he called out a greeting with a smile on his face.
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Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 1:54 pm
"Hello there!" She replied, bowing her head slightly. She waited until he got a bit closer so she didn't have to shout and said, "I know this might seem a little forward but... I'm looking for a home. I talked to one of your pack members, and they told me a bit about the pride, but I would love to know more."
She smiled at him, even though she felt extremely nervous. She couldn't show how unsure of herself she was right then... they might not want to initiate a weakling into the pride. She wasn't weak, but first impressions were everything.
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Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 6:18 pm
Unyezi's smile was consistent, he wouldn't scare off anyone who wasn't a threat, and this lioness was a bit fuzzy looking but she was far from looking dangerous. At the mention of looking for a home his smile softened ever so slightly.
"You've found the right lion to talk to," he said, and with a nod he introduced himself, "I am Unyezi, and I'm the king of the Mwezi'Johari. You must have run into a newer member if they didn't talk much! What do you know about us?"
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Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 1:50 pm
"It's an honor meeting you," she said, now feeling a bit insecure. I didn't think I was going to be meeting the king of the pride...
She thought back to what little the lion had told her of this pride. "Well, from what I was told, I know that your pride believes in the Great Lion, the moon. The Great Lion decides the fates of the lions in your tribe in some way. The position of the moon on the day you were born indicates what your rank is in the pride. That is all I have been told so far." She hoped she had remembered everything the male had told her, she didn't want to sound ignorant in front of the pride's king.
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Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 7:46 pm
Unyezi smiled at her, noticing the slight insecurity in the way she reacted to his introduction. He had to maintain some level of formality, of course, but there was no reason to be unfriendly. That would only scare away potential members.
"That is close," he answered, not at all sounding disappointed and more than happy to clear things up, "The pride has a strict class system, your place in the pride is determined by the Great Lion. The moon is his eye, he watches over us at night and how watchful he is the night of your birth is how much favor you have with him. The more watchful he is, the higher your class. I was born during a full moon, I am in the high class."
The king glanced up to the sky, though it wasn't nighttime. Then he looked back down, waiting to see her reaction before jumping into an explanation on initiation and hierarchy.
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 8:11 am
(Ah, just letting you know Sin was rehomed to me and I still intend to have her join the Mwezi... just curious as to if she was rolled or not and if you would like to reroll her or not because of her change of owner?)
Sin was slightly comforted by the king's smile, but still very nervous as well. She had spent many years wandering as a rogue, bound to no one's rules and having no king to speak of or to follow. Still, it had been a lonely time despite her travels and all of her meetings of strangers. Nothing could stop the yearning of wanting a home, a place where she could always be. Still, it wasn't as if she went exploring different pride lands and customs, and many seemed just as good to her. She rather liked the land though, and thought there was something romantic about letting a moon effect your fate. The great lion and his giant eye...
Unconsciously Sin had started to purr thinking about it, her mind wandering into different scenarios before she realized the king said he was born into such a ranking. "Ah, but..." She paused a moment to think of how to word her question. "I have already been born.." She pointed out, almost feeling foolish for stating such an obvious fact. What she really was trying to get at was the question of how the great lion and his eye would judge her if she was not being born into this world, and had already walked it for many years. Did the great lion know of her even though she was not a part of this pride long ago?
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Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 10:38 pm
(( I seriously do not remember what Sindain rolled, but I do believe she got a roll. I know she was neither high class nor slave, at the least. I can roll her again if you'd be OK with that ))
"There is another way for us to know," Unyezi replied calmly when Sindain pointed out a problem that had been very clear to all of the pride from the beginning, no living lion knew the origins of their tradition to correct this but all had great faith in it. And why shouldn't they? It worked as far as they knew, and there were known cases of siblings waking at the same time using the herb.
"There is a plant that grows around here, some leaves of it are on my necklace," he explained, "It can be dangerous, but our shaman knows how to use it properly. New members are put to sleep using this, its effects wear off in between one and fourteen nights. Given on the night of the full moon, when you wake up determines your rank. You are watched over by a priestess and sometimes a guard."
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Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 7:02 am
(I'd be fine with that.)
So there was an herb that helped the great eye give you a rank and a place in the pride... "In a way it helps you be reborn, right?" She asked slowly, smiling softly. Yes, she thought she liked that idea very much. An herb that put you to sleep and when you woke up you'd be reborn into the pride, in a new life with new duties. She was surprised she wasn't more frightened with the whole process.
"Why does a guard accompany a priestess?" She asked suddenly, frowning thoughtfully.
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Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 6:27 pm
(( OK, I'll do that. nn Rolling won't work right now, but I'll do that ASAP ))
"Reborn," he repeated with a smile quite similar to hers and with a slow nod. It was a good analogy, a good way of thinking about it. It was how they were accepted into the pride, how rogues were born again in the moonlight, under the watchful eye of the Great Lion and with the right lions who paid attention and respected that watch. He was distracted from the thoughts when she suddenly questioned the guard who watched over the sleeping lions.
"I was born under a full moon, I am high class- I've already explained that," he started, trying to find a clear way back onto the topic that answered the question, "When there is no moon, when the Great Lion is not watching, if you are born then then you have no favor with Him. These lions are, though, still a part of the pride. They are submissive to all classes above them, they do what is needed of them, they answer to no specific master but they are slaves."
He paused.
"Slaves are the only lions who are not allowed to leave the pride, the only ones not permitted to venture away permanently," Unyezi said finally, "Some show them kindness, some can be cruel but all slaves are expected to accept their place, their favor with the Great Lion. A guard is sent to watch the sleeping rogues with the priestess when the new moon nears and those who awake may need to be informed that they are now slaves. It is for the protection of the priestess."
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 6:49 am
She nodded slowly as he began to explain the reasons for a guard, why the precaution was taken. Her ear flicked slightly at the word slave and quickly she thought about the other lion she'd met of these lands. "Servents." She stated out loud, thoughtfully. But this was needed in some places, was it not? If everyone had the favor of the moon and no wish to do anything for the pride... then nothing would get done, would it? So it only made sense that those the moon did not favor would help the pride. "I think I understand." She said softly, with a smile just as soft to accompany her words.
"The guard is there incase the lion does not accept what they've become, what they've been reborn into." Her tail flicked slightly, really she was just trying to show Unyezi that she understood what was being said. "What other sorts of jobs come from the moon's favor?" She thought it might work something like the lower the favor, the simplier your job was... no, perhaps not. Well, it did not seem all that complicated to her mind. In fact, all of it felt very safe. "I think it is good that the moon decides your fate in these lands.." She said softly, smiling. After all, someone must decide these things, right?
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Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 6:30 pm
Unyezi smiled when she accepted what he explained, part of him always worrying a rogue might take the news badly. Some in the past had been overconfident of what their place would be, it was why they knew they needed a guard sometimes. It wasn't the happiest of jobs, but it had to be done.
"That's right," he confirmed, and thought about her question, "Hunting is a job for all the classes, something all lions should know how to do so it is the job every class below high class is expected to do if not something else. Guards are usually the bigger lions or the smarter lions, depending on which approach they want to take to their job. They are usually middle class or higher, mostly to deal with respect issues that might come from a lower class lion getting an important position within these ranks."
"Priest positions can only be done by those in upper-middle or high classes because of the importance of their jobs, both for the pride and for our traditions. Only those with good favor should do these jobs," he continued, "We have midwives to ensure someone unbiased can report the class of cubs, we have historians to keep track of everybody and to help should marriages take place or dissolve, the priest who watches the rogues, hosts for when adolescents join their class. High class is the class of royalty and nobility, these are the only members of the pride who may decide not to support the pride in any way. These lions are titled Lords and Ladies. The Shaman is always high class, and the King, Queen and heir must also be this class."
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Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 10:05 am
The jobs sounded really thought out, she wondered how many ages they had been in place. To her, everything sounded as though it fit really well together in the whole scheme. "All of it sounds wonderful." She said softly, slightly curious if all of the lords and ladies actually did choose to do nothing. She thought that with such a well run pride that even the highest of classes might be happy to help in any way they could... but a lion's character was a lion's character and she guessed that some really would prefer to do nothing rather than help.
"I was wondering.." She was tentative, wondering if it might be too soon after meeting the king to actually ask such a question, but in her heart she felt very secure with the lands and she had already accepted whatever paw the moon might deal her, so to speak. "If... it would be alright for me to stay here.." Her ears twitched. "I mean... to join with your pride, to become a part of it.." She added, to make sure things were clear. She offered a small smile to the other, feeling slightly nervous.
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Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2008 1:47 pm
The king looked at Sindain thoughtfully as she did her best to ask if she could join the pride, offering an encouraging smile when she finally got it out. She had been informed of the basics, she knew the risk of slavery, she seemed well suited to join the pride.
"You would be welcome to join us," he said, "The next full moon is a ways away, but that is when the initiation will take place. Until then, you are welcome to acquaint yourself with the other pride members. I don't believe I caught your name."
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