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 Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 7:32 pm
 Hakuna was dozing as she waited for her next student. There'd been another who'd shown interest in the position she'd once held, and she was the only one really qualified to teach the ins and outs of being a guard. The Aran'shale had helped out, yes...but they'd not spent nearly as much time on the borders as Hakuna had. And what she was doing at the moment was one trick any guard HAD to learn...especially if they were out for more than a day.
How to doze and still be alert. At every mouse skittering in the grasses, she'd flick her ears in that direction, and one the skittered over a front paw found it the last thing it would do as she siezed it and lifted it to one open, amber eye. "Hmm...though a sleeping lion was a good thrill, eh? You're barely a snack...maybe I'll let you go."
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 2:23 am
 The months had not been kind to Xiang, but kind or unkind they still passed and with each he grew larger, more confident, wiser, stronger. He stood on the brink of adulthood, but the last steps would be his making or undoing. It started with this- lessons.
Xiang frowned, it wasn't that he was particularly unhappy, it was just that Xi never smiled, he felt no need to try and fake an expression, so as he went towards the place that Hakuna waited the edges of his maw turned down, he wondered what the lesson would be like. Tirma'ath- Defender, protecters of the pride, first line of defense against attack, guards of the boarders; it all sounded easy enough. Xiang thought, he knew how to defend himself, but this was more than that. Arguing with himself and wondering and debating was not going to give him understanding any sooner, so holding his head high and picking up speed, Xi moved in a swift trot until the red lioness came into view.
Xi watched her capture a mouse as he trotted up, an eyebrow raised, "... Sinta'hare Hakuna?"
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Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 9:14 am
Both Hakuna's eyes were open now, and she placed the mouse down. "Ah...you've grown quite a bit, Xiang. And you've even got scars now. I remember when you were no bigger than my paw." How strange, the way little ones grew up. She shook her head. "But yes, I am Sinta'hare Hakuna'jina. Hakuna is perfectly fine, with me. It's still hard to get used to all these formalities."
She looked Xiang up and down, then nodded. He looked perfect for a guard. Perhaps she could train him for the day. With his colors, he would fit perfectly with the grasses during the sunlight hours. But for now, night watch was the idea, since it was the time when the pride was awake. "What brought you to the choice of Tirma'ath, Xiang."
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 3:36 am
Xiang's eyes, he noticed before looking down, they were the same hue as her eyes were, fell to the paw that held the mouse, he had no interest in the tiny creature, but let himself wonder for a moment, that he'd ever been so small? He looked back up to acknowledge her with a nod, "Yes," his voice held a proud tone, "Hakuna, as you wish."
He stood before her as she eyed him, watching her expression and waiting for the judgment to show there. With this pelt, what else can I do and not be worthless? He asked silently before forming his answer, his tone now only respectful. "I wish to be of use within the ranks I'll be allowed to hold. Defending the pride is a duty and honor that I am sure is within my abilities as well. I've been defending myself since I was a cub, I'd like to do it from threats from outside the prides' lands."
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 10:10 am
Hakuna nodded. Ah...so he was like her own adopted son. It was a pity there were so many restrictions on pelt colors, but Hakuna lived the way the pride dictated...No matter her disagreeances, she was loyal to the end, if only for Him. "And by the looks of it...you learned to defend the hard way. And that, Xiang, will be an advantage to you."
She let go of the mouse, letting it skitter away. She could get a snack later. "The hard won lessons of vigilance and strength are the ones that stay with us, for true scars reach deeper than the skin, my student...they reach the soul. And the soul never forgets, lion or demon."
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Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 4:06 am
"How do I scar my soul?" his tone was lightly curious, as if he was eager to gain such an invisible mark.
"I want to know all the knowledge you're willing to part with." He longed to be treated as if he was any other darkly colored member, he didn't want pity nor softness, his eyes danced with an inner fire as he stepped nearer to Hakuna. "I don't need any advantages. I like learning my lessons the hard way." He smirked at her as if to say, give me your worst.
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Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 1:16 pm
Hakuna chuckled. "Do you remember the things that gave you the scars you wear? If so...they've reached your soul. It's the memories and the way you change as a lion that mark the scars on your soul." She'd gained many scars on her own soul...but they'd changed her for the better.
"And you will get everything you are willing to learn." She smiled. "You will learn to take every advantage you can, young guard. The hard way is good, yes...but the hard way often teaches you the shortcuts you COULD have taken, that would have secured the victory for you."
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:28 pm
Xiang nodded, "I learn from my mistakes, I may not remember every fight or blow that landed, but I think I've learned my lessons well so far," He sat before her to listen curious as to her particular brand of know-how. "What are these shortcuts then? I want to win, more than for just myself, what I have chosen for myself and what I can do for the pride are all that matter. I am not weak, nor am I content with stillness." Xi hated to admit his defeats, there had been many, but there had also be victories it was those he focused on.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:09 am
This was the sort of student she liked. One willing to learn, to change himself just enough to listen while still keeping HIMSELF. "The shortcuts are more often ways of thinking, rather than physical shortcuts. There are those, too. I'll teach you both, while you are my student. The first is this...NEVER go into a fight thinking you will loose. Never underestimate or overestimate anyone, INCLUDING yourself. That is the quickest way to loose."
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 11:56 am
"Mindset." Xi replied nodding sharply, "Thoughts before actions. Determination." He felt he knew this stuff, though it was not unwelcome for someone to tell him that they shared his ideas. "How do I learn to judge my opponent? I know better than to judge based on size or color alone." He gave her a smirk, they both knew that non demon opponents were what he would be facing out on the borderlands Xi liked to believe that because they were demons, they were just stronger, that non demons could still be a threat without being stronger, still be a danger and difficult to fight, he was eager to learn to spot whatever it was that keep him from losing. He would remember that the possibility of losing was there, but upon entering a fight, the thought that he would come out victor, not could, but would, should be his focus.
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 9:40 am
She nodded. "There are many factors. One is how they move. Another is how they look at you. There are many factors. And I'll teach you all of them." She chuckled. "Starting with how they move. Generally...rogues must display their strength, to keep from being attacked by scavengers looking for an easy meal. It is the ones who do NOT walk like they own the savanna that you must keep an eye on the most. They will not cringe, or draw in...but just walk as if they are not worried, as if they need not prove anything." Those were the creatures truly confident in their own abilities, and usually the strongest.
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:45 pm
"The weak practice deception, and the strong have no need to." Xiang thought about the lions he knew and had fought and watched from day to day, he determined that he knew both kinds already, though he was sure that he would encounter varying degrees outside of the pride, he wondered how it was he already carried himself. He hope it was the latter, and would focus from here on striving to do so.
"What else Hakuna?" His voice was eager, his eyes wide. He wanted her to spill everything she knew for him and he would draw it in like the dry earth soaked in rain.
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Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 10:24 am
"Scents." Ah...the bane and blessing of being a lion. They had such sensitive noses. "There are many scents out in the savanna, but you must learn to determine which are worth notice, and which are not. Prey beasts, for one, are best left to the Tsafar and Tsafare. A hunt is good, now and again, but ONLY when you are off duty. Sometimes you may think there is another coming from outside...but there is one thing you must remember." She sighed.
"We who live near the great hell gate will forever smell even a little like it. Ash and sulfur and heat rock. But those from outside...they do NOT carry that scent. Sometimes the wind will play tricks on you, carrying the scent of the hell gate. But you must ignore it and concentrate on the predator scents that are not infused with it."
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