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 Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 6:11 pm
To worry.
That was her duty as a mother, or so it had came to seem as such. Every day, she took the time to wander from the den of her kin, the Mteo'nyungu, to find a place where she could allow her children to play without fearing they'd fall into a watering hole, or a river, or get eaten up by some beast that may have been on the prowl.
And every time, she found herself somewhere familiar. Somewhere she'd played with her brothers and sisters, somewhere where her parents had told her something that had molded her life.
Today, she found herself at one of the more important places of her life. The grasses of her hunt as the leader of the Msaka, under her mother's teaching. ".. How long..." she murmured, closing her eyes and recalling the tattoos that used to adorn her body, which were scrubbed away when she took up the title of Kaimu. All in the name of love.
"... How long has it been, since I ran free after the 'beasts?" she spoke aloud to nobody in particular, though inside herself, she did wish that someone else would break the silence.
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 6:25 pm
And Uten was about as far from a 'beast' as possible.
Maguezo on the other hand.. She was a little odd.
But where was she?
Uten sighed to himself as he trumped through the grass. Strange little genet.. Where is she? He wanted to start moving again. They had been there for a day or so, about as long as he usually liked to stay in one spot. But now that he was ready to leave, the genet was nowhere to be found. Just like her, he thought.
Maybe he was going about this all wrong.. He'd seen other lions hunt.. Of course, he didn't enjoy doing it. He was more of a scavenger, picking off already dead animals, trying to push the fact that they had been killed by something out of his head while he ate. Uten didn't like killing.
He crouched down and stuck his tail into the air. Perhaps if he did it this way.. Nose to the ground, he crawled along on his stomach. "Mag, come on.. I'd like to find somewhere new to rest sometime this season.."
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 6:39 pm
Mpenzi's first reaction upon hearing the movement of the grass was to rise straight up to her feet, the fur on her back bristling a bit, almost as if her first thought was some weirdo was stalking up to attack her or something.
However, her mood quickly restrained itself back down to a little more mellow when she spotted a... tail sticking out of the brush?
The Kaimu couldn't help but stare at it for a moment, her expression rather blank as it seemed to move in a rather random pattern. Not a hunting, but more like.. ".. Tracking?" she whispered to herself.
And certainly not her, as she hadn't walked through that brush on her way over here. Curious, she dropped down onto her stomach to peer through the grass to see whom on earth it was trouncing through the vegetation, and what after.
".. Hello?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 6:48 pm
The sound of someone calling out to him caused his tail to immedietly return to his side in an attempt tp hide where he was. There was someone else here.. And that was definitely not Maguezo's odd, high pitched voice.
Uten was not comfortable around other lions yet, that was mostly thanks to living with the dogs as a cub. He didn't know whether to answer this strange new voice or just crawl away as quickly and as quietly as he could.
But Uten was not mean and rude like that, as awkward as the situation may be. He always tried to be as nice as he could. Cautiously, he rose above the grass only enough to peer over the tall stalks, blue eyes darting to and fro. Almost immedietly, they fell on the lioness. "That must've been who called out," he murmured to himself.
"Um.. Hello there."
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 6:57 pm
She felt like she'd sat there for a couple of minutes, before she finally got a response. That was all she needed, a sign of life besides the sudden disappearing 'flag' sign. Her ears perked up ever so slightly at the sight of the other, almost automatically being able to pin him as a stranger. (Well no DUH, Mpenzi, you're pride DIED from a PLAGUE)
".. Hi!" she beamed again, sitting up and taking a step forward, but not within 'bubble' boundaries to take a look at this stranger, so very close to the boarders of the Mteo lands.
"You're almost in Mteo'Nyungu land, did you know that?" she inquired, pondering to herself as to just how much of the actual outside lands were actually familiar with a pride that had been wiped of all but six of it's members. And thus far, they'd only gotten two more, via the birth of her twin children.
The brown female sat up properly, her head held up high in a rather cheerful manner.
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 7:05 pm
"Hi.." Yeah, he already said that.. But Uten was a little too nervous to realize. He had no idea who this lioness was or what she was going to do to him.. And apparently, he was by her territory..
Crap. He sunk a bit lower behind the grass. He always tried so hard to stay in unclaimed land. Lions were violent, he knew that. The last thing he wanted to do was get into a big fight. He liked it when things were calm and peaceful..
"I didn't. Sorry." And down a little lower he went.
Wait.. Maybe this lioness had seen Maguezo?
"Um.." He straighted up, now sitting at his full height. "You didn't happen to see a little genet around, did you?"
Oh man. What are you thinking, Uten? She probably ate her. That's what these other lions did, right?
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 7:09 pm
Mpenzi seemed rather confused at why he was making such an odd expression upon her announcement that he was ALMOST in the lands of her pride. Nobody had ever APOLOGIZED for such a thing before.
".... You.. don't need to apologize for it, unless there's a reason I'm supposed to be upset?" she said gingerly, a tone she'd soon adopted since becoming a mother, as it was an effect of taking care of little ones that were fragile.
She perked up again when it seemed like the stranger had suddenly recovered from whatever depressing 'bout he'd just had with himself, before allowing her mind to search out and see if she'd seen what it was he was asking if she had.
".. Genet.. genet.." she repeated as she searched through her memory to see if in the last hour or so she'd seen such a thing.
".. I'm sorry, I haven't. I'll help you look for it though." she offerred, unaware that the stranger was frightened by her presence.
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 7:19 pm
His cheeks began to turn pink. "Right. Sorry then." Gah, and there he went again. Uten had a bad habit of apologizing a lot when he was a little uncomfortable. He just had to mellow out a little, that's all.
"She's grey and brown.. She shouldn't blend in out here too well." He wasn't even sure if he should be accepting help from her or not. After all, why else would a lioness be out in grassy areas? She was probably hunting. And Uten was leading her right to poor innocent Maguezo.
However.. This lioness kind of reminded him a bit of his mother. Or what he could remember of her.. Kind, and very gentle. He didn't know whether to trust his instincts and say he didn't need help, or just forget it and give in..
Oh well.
"Thank you for helping.. I can't leave without her, you see."
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 7:26 pm
Mpenzi listened calmly as she was given a quick rundown of what it was she was to keep an eye out for, smiling a bit upon getting a decent mental image of the genet under search.
"Well, I'm sure there aren't many places she could be hiding from you in, then." she purred, standing and taking a quick glance around the area to see if there was any chance that they could have missed his query and that she was in plain sight.
Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case, she she saw nothing of the description she was given off hand, and had now determined that indeed she was going to have to do some actual, nose in the dirt, searching.
"You're welcome. There's no point in you wandering alone in circles all day, as some of the things one will look for tend to make one do." she said, her mind automatically clicking to how her searches for safe areas for her children to play in did a similar thing to her searching pattern.
"I understand that you have to take your companion with you, though I see no problem with either of you staying for a little bit longer." there was a pause here... "Unless you can think of a reason you couldn't stay here. Are you in a rush to go somewhere?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 7:41 pm
"I don't think she's.. hiding.. Really.. She's a little.." He paused to think of the right word. "Odd. She's probably off preaching revolution to birds or something.." He sighed. Uten had to pick the weird friends, didn't he?
He started moving about through the grass again. Ugh, next time, don't stop for rest in places where the grass is huge, he told himself. It really was a pain to look for things in. How lions could hunt in this was beyond him.
"Oh, I take it you're sort of a drifter too, then? Like me?" He stopped. Oops, opening up a liiiittle too much to this lioness. Bad Uten, bad.
"Not really in a rush.. I've got all the time in the world. I just don't like staying in one place for too long. I like seeing new sights every other day or so. This world is a beautiful place." Still doing it Uten, he continued to remind himself. Stop talking so much.
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Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 7:47 pm
Mpenzi laughed a bit. "No. Not really a wanderer. I am more of..." she paused, attempting to seek out a proper explanation for what it was she did with her time.
"I'm... a mother." she stated. "That's the kind of lioness I am. I was out here looking to see if it was possibly safe enough for me to perhaps allow my cubs to come out and play in the grass here and not get eaten up by another lion, or some other animal that may lay in the grasses."
There was a sort of amusement at the thought of what kind of friends this stranger had to have one that would be teaching religion to the feathered kind.
"I'm sure the world is beautiful.. but I've never wandered too far from the Nyungu..."
There was a pause here..
"My pride's watering hole, for a long period at a time. That, and I know I would miss my family... or..." Her expression became rather pained here. "What is left of them." What she has created to be her family..
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Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2006 3:19 pm
A mother.. So.. like his mother? Uten stopped looking for a moment. He missed his mother. He didn't actually know what happened to her and his father. What would they think of him, now? How different would his life be if he lived with them?
He shook his thoughts away. "It's amazing. I love being able to see it all.. No cares or worries.. Except about my next meal, but I usually manage to find something."
Her family. So that's what was tying her to this place. Uten never really knew living in one spot, even when he was with the dogs he liked to wander a lot. Maybe the concept of a 'family' was not right for him? He knew it wouldn't fit his lifestyle. "I understand." He pushed aside some more blades of glass. "Sometimes, I almost wish I could have a family."
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Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2006 3:28 pm
Poking her nose through some grass gently, her eyes continued to look between where she was searching, to the stranger and his awkward seeming movements. Something about him was distracted, that was for sure.
Mpenzi nodded at his expression of why he loved to travel. "I'd love to see it all, but..." she paused. "In my pride, we stay on our lands. It's best to do so. Nobody comes in for the most part, and we leave our existance to ourselves." she explained, laughing a bit.
"But I'm sure such a notion is boring compared to the life you live. Our lands are blessed with many strange meetings, however."
Mpenzi nodded at this thought, confirming to to herself alone. "I do believe the Gods love our land. We have had at least two of them visit us."
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Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2006 3:40 pm
"I suppose that doesn't sound bad. But I can't say I'd enoy living a life where you have to stay in one spot. To each their own, though."
His ears perked at the comment about the Gods, but he kept his head below the grass. "I met a God once. Or a Goddess anyway. At least I think she was one. She was dark purple and black and had these big wings.." He sighed and picked his head up, looking to the sky. "I was only a cub, but I envied her wings. I so wish I could just... fly.. I can only climb trees to touch the sky, and that's the closest I'll ever get."
Oddly enough, Uten wasn't thinking twice about opening up to this lioness anymore. In fact, he probably didn't even realize he was doing it.
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Posted: Sun Jun 18, 2006 3:51 pm
It seemed most the time she had that effect on others. She didn't mean for it, but it made her life a little easier on herself. Pausing as he explained his 'meeting' with the dark goddess, Mpenzi's head suddenly lifted up from the grass to turn and stare at him in shock.
"... That's Kita'Mauti!" she declared, sure of it, before blushing again.
".. She's.. one of our patron goddesses." she then explained, embarassed by her sudden outburst. "The goddess of the shadows." she then added to her identity. In her mind, she had to wonder.. in the Shadow Hearth, where she supposedly met with the Akida... had she met with Warithi?
"It's said she meets with the Akida of our people.. but.. I haven't asked Warithi if she's met with her since we were much younger.."
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