|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 4:25 pm
 In some ways, the biggest adjustment Tseva Reygehl had had to make since joining Avahk in the Mwezi'Johari was the change from diurnal to nocturnal. It was a strange choice the pride had made, at first glance, but the more she saw, the more sense it made. They did worship the moon, which was best visible at night. And it wasn't as if the pride was defenseless during the day, there were still Guards out. But daily life had been shifted until after dark. It wasn't a bad change, it had simply been a change she hadn't counted on when she'd left the Jini-msemi. After all, she was quite certain that they'd been as active during the day the last time she'd been here. Avahk had confirmed it, saying that it was a change brought about by King Shangyue. Well, it wasn't for Tseva to say if this was good or bad. She hadn't been here too long, but she'd easily been able to pick up that Shangyue's reign was new and not entirely welcome in some parts. The black lioness was determined to not let politics make her rue her decision. The mountain never could be home, and she was going to make the Mwezi the home it should have been!
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 4:33 pm
For a long time, Aysu had been struggling to resume her life as usual but she had never forgotten her words with Ikwezi or Nina-dini. In fact, she had all but officially disowned the pair of them since the night the queen had been killed.. but she never stopped thinking on it. Tonight, though, she decided to actually go looking for her children-- but she was having no luck. She had started out with a strange enthusiasm but now she was just wandering about to keep moving, looking grave but not particularly focused.
When her path was set to cross with Tseva, she almost didn't notice the dark, unfamiliar lioness-- until suddenly it was impossible to miss her. Startled to a stop, she stared for perhaps a second too long.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 4:43 pm
"Oh!" Tseva was surprised that she'd almost been run over by the older lioness. She squinted - her night sight was still nowhere near as good as any of the lions who'd been born in the Mwezi - trying to make out details in the moonlight. She thought that the dark female had some similar markings to Avahk, but she couldn't be certain.
Even if that was so, she also had no way of knowing how closely or not the lioness might be related to her mate. He'd once told her, jokingly, that he was related to half the pride. It hadn't been much of an exaggeration. Even now she had trouble remembering who was who and how they were related.
"Good evening," she offered cheerfully, smiling at the other lioness. "Are you all right?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 4:56 pm
It all clicked into place suddenly and she realized that this was Avahk's mate, the lioness he had gone off to visit and had ended up coming back with him. The realization made her smile, though it just wasn't in her to be as cheerful as she used to be.
"I'm fine, just looking for someone- you haven't seen any of those dratted royal guards around, have you?"
Aysu clearly was not afraid to make her dislike of the special guards, though she immediately felt bad for letting it take priority over proper introductions and general politesse.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said with a small smile, "I don't think you'd remember me, I'm Aysu. Avahk's aunt!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 5:06 pm
"No..." the younger lioness answered. Curses, she'd wanted to avoid politics, and now she'd run right into a lioness who clearly wasn't a supporter of Shangyue's, and unafraid to make that known. But Tseva's attitude changed as soon as the other female reintroduced herself.
"Oh! I do remember you now! Avahk always speaks highly of you," she went on, fondly remembering conversations with her mate. "He always tells me that if I need to find out anything, I should go to you first."
Some lions, Avahk said, called Aysu the biggest gossip in the pride. But the grey lion said that was just because they were mean, or because Aysu knew something about those lions that they'd rather she didn't. Avahk had told Tseva that really, Aysu just liked to help people by knowing everything. It had apparently been rather useful to him as a youth.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 8:51 pm
Finally, Aysu really smiled. As upset as she was about her own offspring and their questionable antics, it was a nice reminder that her family was still wonderful. She hadn't had much chance to talk to Avahk since he came home, or really get to know Tseva- she figured they might like some space while the lady got adjusted and, really, they were just reunited, married and settled.
"How are you doing, adjusting to live in the Mwezi'Johari?" she asked, "I don't know very much about the pride you came from but I know we're quite different."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 8:56 pm
"I don't know that the Jini-msemi is that different from the Mwezi'Johari," Tseva replied. "I mean, here's a King, there's a Queen, people have to hunt, people have to protect the borders...it's just the customs and beliefs that are different."
And if the black lioness only glanced over the differences...well...maybe Aysu wouldn't pick on that. Tseva knew she'd never share this pride's belief and worship of the moon as the eye of some Great Lion, but she certainly wasn't going to tell them that. And yes, the classes were a little weird at first, but she supposed the only ones you really had to watch out for were the royals and the slaves. In fact, the lioness refused to consider most of the lions in the pride to be any different from her, no matter what their class said.
There were no rules, from what she'd seen and heard, saying that you couldn't be nice and polite to anyone and everyone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:41 pm
Her smile never wavered, though she smiled for another reason as Tseva tried to minimize the differences. Differences in customs and beliefs were, really, all there was. Every pride needed a leader, whether or not that was a monarch, and lions needed to hunt. But she let it pass.
"I hope that means that you're happy here," she said brightly, though she bit back a frown as soon as she said it. It would have been happier under a better ruler, though Tseva had missed the worst of it and maybe, just maybe.. Shangyue wouldn't cause anymore trouble. Until someone tried to displace him, and it was almost sure to happen someday. Aysu would be sorely disappointed if it didn't.
She glanced up at the sky but looked back to Tseva.
"Are you out here with a purpose or just for a walk?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:43 pm
"How could I be anything other than happy, living here with Avahk?" the black female countered. Truly, she knew she was happy. And that she could be happy anywhere, so long as she had her mate. The spirits had blessed her, and she wasn't about to forget it.
"I'm afraid I didn't have anything in mind, really," Tseva admitted with an embarrassed grin. "What about you? I hope I'm not interrupting anything..." The older lioness had been moving fairly quickly, and so had probably had a destination in mind. Which was a bit of a shame, Aysu really did seem as nice as Avahk had said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:52 pm
Aysu beamed. Tseva's answer was very sweet, it wasn't something she saw nearly enough of in her family- though she played no small part in that, considering her adventures in love never went anywhere beyond the production of cubs. Which brought her mind back around to the goal of her night, just as Tseva was asking about it.
"I was just looking for two of my children," she answered simply, though her voice lost its cheery tone, "It has been too long since I visited with them."
They were in the same pride, it seemed almost an impossible idea but pretty well everybody knew better. She didn't doubt that even Tseva knew something of her shame, that two of her own cubs could end up as royal guards.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:55 pm
Tseva's face fell slightly as Aysu explained her purpose. Oh sure, she could find people...even ones related to the older lioness!...but that didn't mean she could find two of Aysu's children. It was the same way that she'd been able to recognize the older female as being one of Avahk's relatives and yet totally unable to remember which family member it was.
"I...see. I wish I could help, but I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to tell you if I'd seen them." She considered the problem a bit more. "You just have too many family members!" the younger lioness added. It was, after all, the truth.
She carefully didn't mention anything about how flat Aysu's voice had gone when stating her intent. Whatever had gotten those two on their mother's bad side...Tseva wanted none of it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 10:04 pm
"That's OK, I don't expect you'd know them to look at them anyway," she said, a small smile returning. Perhaps Tseva would see something familiar in them from the Jini-msemi, but perhaps not- Aysu knew what to look for in them to see it, and she saw a lot of him in them.
"I'm afraid it doesn't get any easier, either," she went on, "Knowing who's who and how they're related. Sometimes I can't even keep track of it."
Her own branch of the family was one thing, there were completely separate sections that she would have trouble identifying exactly- even though she would be able to tell they were family. Kamia would be an excellent example, she wouldn't be so capable of tracing her line back if she hadn't befriended Avahk.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 10:07 pm
She groaned aloud, though a smile was still hovering around her lips. "That is not what I wanted to hear, you know!" she mock-pouted to Aysu. The truth was, however, that it did make her a bit nervous to hear the older lioness, who had been born and raised in the pride, say that even she couldn't keep track of how everyone was related.
At least it was reasonably easy to say, most of the time, when someone was or wasn't related.
Tseva shook her head. "I know that in the Jini-msemi there's some families that almost everyone is related to...it seems like there has to be at least one of those in every pride under the sun!" Which did make it damned inconvenient to find a mate...unless if they did what Avahk had and find someone from another pride entirely!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 10:28 pm
Aysu actually chuckled at Tseva's reaction to hearing how difficult it could be to remember everybody. She was probably the most likely to try and keep track of it, outside of her grandparents who sat at the top of the tree.. but it was impossible to deny that it got tricky, and it got harder as more and more of them stayed quiet and unproductive in the background of the pride. Sometimes it was easy to forget that her uncle had once been king!
"You'll learn those who matter," she said, "And it won't take long to recognize who may and may not be a relative, I bet you're already getting good at that- but I don't count for much since I'm directly related to Avahk."
Tseva would have to pick out someone far less obvious to make an impression now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 01, 2014 10:32 pm
Tseva shook her head in bewilderment. "I don't even know how you can begin to keep track...or, having begun, why you would allow yourself to lose track. Frankly, I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the size of your family," she complained.
It was one thing to know that there were a lot of them. It was another thing when she began adding up a litter here, another there, and looking at just how big the Mwezi'Johari was.
It made her head hurt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
