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 Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 10:45 am
She understood now why Hroarr had insisted she accompany him as his own personal thrall. She'd seen what happened to others who were less lucky. She's also found out what had happened to those females who had not been taken as thralls from that watering hole. it did not bear thinking about. Unfortunately, without her natural gift being called for, hunting really only left her plenty of time to think. She was the cognitive sort that was not satisfied with a plain job that took no thought or intelligence. What she most craved right now was a friend, someone to confide in that she didn't have to worry would slap her for her impudence.
With a sigh she sat down to take a break. It wouldn't be long before the reavers would have to help out with the hunting, because the game near the base den was getting scarce. Soon it would be too far to travel to hunt and bring back for so many mouths, one at a time. They'd need hunting parties. She made a mental note to speak of this to Hroarr. He'd be certain to make sure measures were taken to ensure food for all.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 10:54 am
 Freedom. It was Asmar's favorite word in the world. She'd been free of the Ukuucha'wafalme for some time now...and had never once looked back. Not even when she crept out of the crude shelter that first afternoon, leaving her sister Rasima sleeping, alone. Their mother Jazua had arranged for them to escape together. Nothing had ever been said to indicate the two would stick together and the striped lioness had long since lost patience with her sister. Alone she had the freedom to go where she wanted, do what she pleased, and answered to no one at all. So sometimes she went to bed hungry because she'd failed to find anything to hunt one day. At least it was her own fault, and not because some Pad was trying to punish her. Speaking of game...there didn't seem to be anything around for her to hunt. This terrain should have been rich in prey...yet there was so little! Asmar looked around, trying to figure things out, when she saw another lioness sitting. Had the other scared all the animals off? She didn't look like a threat, but looks could be deceiving. The younger lioness came closer before opening her mouth to voice a greeting. Pink eyes looked confused as only a hoarse croak came out. She swallowed and tried again. "Hello!" The brown lioness' voice was creaky from disuse and she realized that the last time she'd spoken had been to Rasima before they'd parted ways. No wonder she sounded so awful!
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:01 am
Isi swung her head around to gaze at the stranger. Well now! It was nice to see someone she didn't know or recognize, but a flicker in the back of her mind reminded her that they were here in exile. Being unfamiliar with them didn't mean they were safe, after all. Quite the opposite, in fact. However, as the other lioness' voice came out as a croak, her healer talent came to the forefront, as did her business-like healer manner.
"Sounds as if you haven't been caring for yourself," she said a mite sternly to the younger female. Indeed, she didn't look much beyond adolescence, for that matter. A foolish youngster, off having adventures and not understanding how to care for herself. Bah, where were the mothers of these kind of waifs? Surely these sort could easily been taught how to tend to their needs! Indignant but accepting of assuming such a role, she rose and padded to the other lioness. "Are you alright?" Though the question was worded as a caring inquiry, her tone was brusque.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:04 am
Asmar blinked, jerking her head back as if the white lioness' words had been a slap. What was this? She was focusing on...on her health? Who was this total stranger to do this to her?
The striped lioness was gathering herself to snap back when she realized that perhaps, just maybe, this stranger didn't mean her any harm by it. That this was how she treated anyone she ran into that might have a problem. It was a new concept, but she knew the outside world was very different from the pride she'd grown up in.
"I'm fine," the brown lioness replied. She wasn't certain that she trusted this stranger, but had decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.
"Why is there no game here?" she asked, voicing a question of her own in return.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:12 am
Isi made a faint harumphing noise in her throat, wordlessly expressing her doubt as to the validity of the assertion, but beyond eyeing the striped lioness intently and assessingly, she accepted the answer anyway. Instead she allowed the conversation to proceed to the question she'd been asked in return. She glanced around regretfully and shrugged faintly. "This was not meant to be a permanent home, but it is now, so the herds have reacted poorly to the constant hunting we've done."
Truly, she could well imagine the outrage of the various prey animal herds. They'd tolerated the occasional hunter for those Stormborn passing through, but now they'd been here for some time, and the numbers had dwindled drastically. It was no surprise they'd migrated to safer locations. "I was looking for prey as well. I believe there are some that can be found some distance in that direction." She tossed her nose towards an invisible stand of trees, too far away to be even a smudge on the horizon. "I take it you are in need of feeding?" Indeed, the older lioness considered her companion a bit on the thin side. Yes, definitely not caring for herself properly. She had spoken with a faint sigh of exasperation, but her demeanor was kindly. This wasn't the first newly-adult creature she'd come across in the roguelands, blundering about and making a mess of themselves through neglect.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:20 am
There was a pride living here? Great. Asmar knew that not all prides were like the one of her birth, but knowing that intellectually and realizing what that meant were two very different things. Try as she might, she couldn't imagine what a pride that wasn't the Ukuucha would be like.
"I'm fine," she insisted, glaring at the older lioness. She wasn't going to allow this...this conversation to be about her, and she was doing just fine! She had Jazua's lessons to help her and her own skill as a huntress.
"But if there's a pride here, maybe I should go hunt elsewhere," she went on, slightly nervously.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:27 am
The natural bristle of a young, free spirit against the interfering old has-beens only amused Isi. She was used to it, and bore it with good-natured humor. She didn't contradict or argue with the fiery female, but merely nodded her head wisely, as if she understood completely, not just the words but the sentiments and truth behind them. However, at the next statement/suggestion, Isi held up a paw to stall any swift action on the idea.
"Now, I didn't say there was a pride here," she chided firmly. "There isn't." She wondered briefly how much she was supposed to say, or if she was allowed to explain the situation at all. She shook off this uncertainty though, assured that at worst she'd receive a snarl and a cuff from Hroarr if he was extremely displeased with her. Better than most thralls could have expected. So she pressed on. "There aren't many of us. We are exiles from the mighty pride of the Stormborn." The word "mighty" was said with dry sarcasm, indicating that she didn't consider them quite so mighty as others might think them. "Not to mention, there seem to be newcomers being added to our group frequently. Not all are here to stay, but Captain Hroarr accepts them all, at least for a time."
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:30 am
Asmar cocked her head suspiciously. She had never heard of the Stormborn, nor did she know why the white lioness would describe them as "mighty" in such a tone.
Nor was she certain what the word "exiles" meant.
The brown lioness worried her lower lip as she considered what she knew and didn't know and what the stranger was saying. She didn't want to appear weak - she'd had enough of being made to feel that way - but if she didn't admit her ignorance, she wouldn't get any more information.
"I don't understand," the striped lioness forced the words out, a not-quite-request for the older lioness to elaborate.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:39 am
The aged lioness arched a brow at the forced not-quite-question. Hmm, perhaps there was hope yet for this young rattlebrain. However, she wondered what part the stripey female hadn't understood. Upon consideration, Isi decided to elaborate on the exiled warband itself, and if she wanted to know something different, she'd just have to ask about it directly.
She sat down primly, curling her tail around to the front, where she let it flip about randomly as she explained. "Captain Hroarr is the leader of the warband that lives here. He is banished from his pride, and a few of those in the pride followed him. He now is here, recruiting fighters to be his reavers, or warriors. I and a few others have been hunting for them all, even those who are not yet members of the warband yet." Her tone was vaguely sour at the mention of hunting for all those lazy warriors. "Does that clarify it for you?" Though her words were faintly acidic, her tone was not. She leaned forward slightly, her expression neutral and her eyes soft.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:46 am
Asmar listened intently, getting the feeling that this white lioness would explain anything to you...once. If you didn't understand or remember, tough luck. Still, it was almost hard to keep track as she listened, because it was not at all what she'd thought. A male had been banished - well, he must've been a threat. Others had followed - why would a pride permit that? Unless if they were other restless males who had been contaminated by his views? The banished male was now recruiting others, not necessarily from the pride. So he might wish to contest his status and regain what he'd lost. And this lioness and a few other lionesses were doing the all the hunting for this group.
It was, from what the brown lioness could tell, the Ukuucha'wafalme all over again, writ small.
But...
"If you and the other lionesses are given so much freedom to hunt...why don't you leave this Hroarr and his fighters?" she asked, hoping not to hear the awful platitudes the lionesses in Ukuucha were brainwashed to believe from birth.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 12:04 pm
isi stared at the child for a time, her face blank as churning thoughts and reactions bubbled in her mind. Why... could this young female be so naive? Perhaps so. She spoke as one who probably had come from a gender-strict pride, not at all the rogue she appeared to be. Well, hmm. That did put a slightly different face on things. Often pridal females were not properly prepared for rogue life. This really wasn't her job, though, so Isi firmly stuck to explaining the Stormborn, or at least the version of it that Hroarr kept alive, to this young wanderer.
"Firstly, Hroarr has lionesses as his fighters too." in fact, Isi thought there likely were more female reavers currently than there were males. "Not all lionesses are doing the hunting, either. We have two females who are neither fighters nor thralls. One is Hroarr's mate, and she is a Lawspeaker. The other is his sister, and she is a Priestess." Isi got a intent look on her face, realizing there was even more to explain to the girl now. "Reavers are the fighters, and our Captain leads them. Priestesses handle the charms and devotions to the gods, and Lawspeakers keep memory of the laws and traditions and history of the pride."
She paused then though, coming to the heart of the matter for herself. She supposed it was a good question, why the thralls didn't run. She pondered it a moment before continuing. "Thralls are slaves," she put it simply, without inflection of anger or despair. "We tend to the dens, the hunting, anything we are given to do. I myself am a healer, and Hroarr respects that, thankfully." She cleared her throat and gave the girl a stern, piercing look. "Not all thralls are that lucky, however. Many are abused, often scorned, and generally mistreated." Being a thrall herself, she wasn't going to gloss over this ugly truth of the pride. "However, I do not run because right now, Hroarr looks after my best interests. If I ran away, another reaver likely would chase and catch me, claiming me as his own." She leaned forward, her voice crystal-hard. "That reaver might not care that I am a healer, and might not care if he hurt me either." Did the girl understand now?
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 1:05 pm
Asmar could not quite conceal her shock at the fact that lionesses could be fighters under this Hroarr, and hold other positions of great import. Why...it was as if the sun had dawned on the striped lioness for the first time. She did not have to fear that the males of all prides she found would capture her...they might regard her as an equal! A layer of fear she hadn't even known she'd been carrying fell away in the light of this revelation.
And then it all came right back as the white lioness brought up thralls and called them slaves, quite simply and clearly. It was strange, how this Stormborn pride functioned, revealing something wonderful to Asmar and then conflicting it with something as bad as she'd ever known.
"If..." the brown lioness struggled to form words to question this strangeness, "...if lionesses are not restricted to being only thralls...why are such slaves kept?" She wanted to understand how this pride could be different from the Ukuucha, perhaps how it could be better.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 1:13 pm
Isi wrinkled her nose with an unladylike snort. "Someone has to do the distasteful jobs, and many born within the pride do not wish to do those things themselves." It seemed rather ridiculous to the white lioness that the Freeborn just rattled around, doing whatever struck their fancy, having absolutely no responsibility. Doing so invited trouble, probably similar trouble to that which had taken Hroarr's father out of power. "The pride is very individually motivated. The reavers roam the roguelands, taking things by force and pleasing themselves as they would, without any consequences other than quelling any fight in those they overtake."
Memory of her own 'capture' rose behind her eyes, making her frown and her expression to darken. "They attack camps, battle any resistance, take what goods or treasures they like. They take some prisoners as thralls, or have their way with the girls and leave them, broken and used." Her eyes glittered angrily, hard as diamonds, but the fury faded as she refocused on the young female. "They are a brutal pride, in truth. Captain Hroarr is unusual, and does not do the same sort of damage and curelty as the others do." Pros and cons, standards and exceptions. The world was so full of them, she could hardly bemoan her situation. With or without the Stormborn, she might have ended up much worse than she had, after all.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 1:21 pm
Asmar had to think about that. She could see the advantage to having the thralls do the nasty, necessary jobs. And how the white lioness described the reavers, well, aside from the cruelty, it was how the brown lioness had dreamed life as a rogue would be...though with the added security of a pride to back one up.
It was interesting how strongly the lioness defended her Captain Hroarr, and piqued the younger female's interest.
"So...this Hroarr is different from the rest of these Stormborn?" she asked, trying to keep the full depth of her interest out of her voice. If Hroarr was leading a band of lions - and lionesses! - in the sort of life she'd dreamed of...well, Asmar was most intrigued.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 1:36 pm
This was not exactly the reaction Isi was hoping for, but there was no help for it. If the girl was the sort to enjoy the viking life, then perhaps this was right for her after all. The healer wasn't terribly optimistic as to the skills this pride girl could possibly offer as a reaver, but that wasn't her call to make. "Yes, he is different, but he is still a reaver at heart, girl." Her tone was stern, giving her all the warning this older lioness was likely to give. "He is no tame kitty, nor is he gentle with his reavers. He trains them demandingly, and expects them to do their jobs as much as he does his thralls." Still, despite her words of warning, there was a note of pride in her statement. Hroarr trusted her to hunt alone, not all reavers or freeborn did. He also knew and appreciated her skills other than hunting or cleaning. She was proud of her odd relationship with the young, odd lion.
"Am I to guess you want me to take you to him, then?" Her tone was resigned and still exasperated, but she comforted herself with the knowledge that Hroarr would be certain to teach the girl what she needed to know in order to survive better than she had been thus far. Get some meat on that thin body, some muscle under that pelt. And just maybe, some sense in that head. "If so, you'll help me hunt for them first, and then I will introduce you to the Captain as a prospective reaver." After this sort of delay, she wasn't going to go back emptyp-pawed except for bringing in yet another mouth to feed. Perhaps, being the newest, she'd be sent with isi to hunt from now on. The thrall could hope, at least.
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