Post by Elimnyama on Feb 21, 2008 19:25:45 GMT -5
Characters Involved:
Elimnyama, Adult Lion, King of Tyne
Kale'Kizuka, Adolescent Lion, Prince of Tyne
Summary: Elimnyama steps into his brother's shoes to tell Kale'Kizuka that he's been chosen to be one of Tyne's future kings.
Location: [Tyne] Jungle Clearing
Another hot day, another endless (and seemingly pointless) patrol for Kale'kizuka- not that he'd readily admit such a fact. The teen lion flicks his emo-quiff of white fur out of eyes that are screwed against the sunlight, seeking shade under one of the larger patches of undergrowth at the edge of the clearing. A quick scent-marking, after a shy look around to make sure noone is watching, and then his best impression of a roar. And noooow.. time to take five. The boy plonks his butt down and stre-e-e-etches his forelimbs.
Such emo-ness! If Elimnyama could see the innards of Kale's brain, he might reflect on how awfully similar teen-Kale is now to teen-Elim'. The big dark prince was always a moper, albeit with a much more formidable, nasty attitude than the white prince has been cultivating, lucky for Tyne. Elimnyama himself is just coming from a cat-nap up at the main cavern. He has a vague notion of heading south in a while to relieve Kiapo from his ever-vigilant border duty.. but just now, the King has a more important bullet-point on his agenda. He sees his brother less and less these days, and while Elim' has been steadily taking care of kingdom affairs on his end, he has no idea how much his brother will have discussed with his nephew. Today is the day to test those waters, for so much time has past since he last saw Aitan, Elim' doesn't feel he can wait any longer to know. The roar was very helpful -- minutes later Elim' is on the scene, having followed the noise to Kale's exact position. Spotting the white prince through the trees, the older lion chuffs a greeting and continues his approach.
The chuff causes an instant start to run through the shaggy-fringed teenager. His hindlegs straighten almost unbidden, springing him to his feet. "Uncle Elim!" He calls to the approaching king, managing to at the same time look guilty and pleased to see him. "I wasn't slacking! I just wanted to sit down for a moment while on my patrols.. Sorry!" The words come out in what's little more than an over-eager babble; it would seem that young Kale' is somewhat starved of practice in the conversational arts these days. "I've done most of this side of the border, and was jsut heading back in to the rock- you can check my scent marks if you want, see I've done my homework!" Almost overly eager to please.
Honey-green eyes blink once and then a great grin spreads over Elimynama's face as he navigates the last few tree trunks separating him from his nephew. "I know you weren't slacking, Kale', don't be ridiculous," he replies good-naturedly. "You're all entitled to take it a bit easy while it's still this hot out. We don't want you to get heat stroke and die, afterall. Where could we find another guard at this time of the year?" Elim', whether he understands or suspects that it is due to a lack of social contact, does not seem at all bothered by Kale's babble or by his eagerness. He seats himself comfortably on the soft green ground, looking for all intents and purposes as though he plans to stay for a good while. "How have you been, nephie-poo? Other than busting your butt on patrols like a good little minion." His big, toothy grin remains in place to assure the sensitive youth that he's only kidding.
"Nephie-poo. Huh. It beats 'Runt', I guess." Kale' comments, mostly to himself, before giving a patented teenaged shrug. "I've been.. okay. Lonely, I guess. Not seen dad for weeks, and mom's disappeared back off to Kivuli for a bit, I think." He shrugs a bit sadly. "So i've just been doing the patrols like a good little minion. Keeps me fit, keeps me away from the goon-squad.." That being his other, younger uncles. "Keeps me from getting teased. I guess it's important training, too."
Elimnyama reflects on whether he ever called Kale' 'runt'. Deciding that, afterall, he probably did, Elim' chuckles low in his throat and lifts an attentive ear to Kale's following words. As soon as Aitan is mentioned, the smile on his face fades away. Elim' sighs quietly, just as miserable as Kale' over the veritable disappearance of Tyne's other king. They were close brothers, afterall. Did almost everything together up until the time that Elim' started pursuing Waset. Ukomobasi.. Elim' never really did get too chummy with her, and spends no time today sighing over her absence. But the mention of her highlights in Elim's mind Kale's real alone-ness. A frown begins to make its way across his dark visage and Elim' clears his throat, preparing himself to cross over into more serious matters. "It /is/ important training. I'm glad you've been keeping up with it. A lot of the others haven't got your dedication." A long pause ensues as Elim' works out just how to begin such a conversation. "Kale'," he begins, tenatively, "I wanted to.. discuss something with you." Man. He's been saying that a lot to folks lately. His honey-colored eyes focus soberly on his nephew. "It shouldn't be me doing it, either. Your father should be the one to talk to you about it, but.. I guess I've got to step into his pawprints for a little while here."
"Oh jeez." Kale' is already blushing as he talks, the skin going bright pink beneath his white fur and giving him an all over glow. "Uncle Elim, if this is the talk about where cubs come from, it's okay.. I think I got the basics figured out. I'm not blind or anything, and I /am/ old enough to start looking at girls and stuff." He hides his face under his paw, convinced that this most awkward and painful of topics for a teenaged boy is about to rear its ugly head.
"Oh!" Elim' blurts out, a crimson flush creeping into his own face - but thankfully, due to the darkness of his fur, it's not visible although Elim' can certainly feel the heat. "Uh- no! No! I wasn't going to.. to talk about /that/. Although if you need to know, I suppose I can tell you- I mean, you need to know the specifics SOMETIME-- but no!" He clears his throat again, very awkwardly, and curls his tail tight around his forepaws as if trying to bolster his nerve. "Kale', what I really needed to talk to you about was.. Well, Aitan and I aren't going to be the kings around here forever. We both need to get started training those who are going to rule Tyne once we step down. And.. we both thought that it worked so well, my father naming two heirs, that we might do the same thing this time around. Do you.. see where I'm going with this now?"
That only seems to make matters worse for a few moments. "Details? Ack! No! Please! Let me work THOSE out myself!" He protests, before calming down some with a few slow, hard breaths. "I guess I do, yeah." He finally admits after considering his uncle's words. "You're gonna have Kamau and Ona be king, right? I mean.. they're both big and tough, even if they do have heads full of rocks. But they can learn, I'm sure. Maybe even stop picking on me now they've got responsibility. I'm small and weak and isolated and frankly, /wierd/; and your own kids, well, I've hardly even seen them to get to know." He takes a deep breath. "It makes sense, and it's not something I'm gonna fight about or complain or anything. Dad's been.. well, I know he's on the lands SOMEWHERE but I haven't seen him for so damned long, and I don't think anyone else has.. it makes sense for this line to come to an end here." The really scary thing is, despite the sadness the words are spoken with, there's absolutely no bitterness whatsoever;
Elimnyama stares blankly at Kale' for a moment or two after hearing the boy's assumptions. He'd expected a reaction more like his own children's had been: breathless anticipation of hearing the name, who it would be who would follow in the long line of Tyne rulers. He's glad not to hear bitterness from Kale', but the expectation of hearing something totally different throws him off for a minute. Blinking again, Elim' jolts out of his confusion and shakes his head, a frown on his face. "No, no, Kale'.. We're each picking our own heir, that's true, but you've got it a little wrong. I /have/ picked Kamau as my heir, but as he's my brother and Fuadi's both of our fathers, that's hardly ending the line. Your dad's absence is unfortunate, because obviously I'd rather him have been able to tell you this than me, but I don't mind telling you. /You're/ going to be your father's heir, and one of the next kings of Tyne." Elim' watches Kale' closely, still frowning, curious as to the kind of reaction the boy will come upwith now when confronted by such startling news.
That was definitely unexpected, yes. Kale' blinks a few times, looking down at his paws. A deep breath is taken, a deep slow one. "Well, dad's been absent for almost every important event of my life so far.. No surprises it's you who had to give the news." He comments, mostly to himself, before looking back up to Elim with a deadly seirous expression. "..Are you both sure I'm the lion you both want in the job?" He asks simply. "I'm.. Well, like I said. I'm not that big. I don't know how to interact with people. I'm just not sure I'd be able to do the pride the justice it needs in a leader." He licks his lips. "It's not that I'm not proud to be chosen.. but I don't know if I'd be the best for our pride, our family."
Here at least, Elimnyama can regain his confidence. "You don't need to be big to be a good leader, Kale'. What's more important is your internal strength and your ability to make intelligent and wise decisions. Aitan and I, if he ever turns up, will teach you everything you need to know about being a king. And all the male's of the pride will help in teaching you more advanced guarding techniques and combat." He smiles at the younger male, and isn't sorry at all over Aitan's choice. The only thing Elimnyama regrets is that Aitan probably won't be there to teach his son what he needs to know to be king. But Elim' won't let his brother down there. Wherever he is, Aitan will be proud of Kale' and appreciative of Elim's efforts. "Don't underestimate yourself. You'll be a fine king. The only thing I'm worried about is you and Kamau not getting along!" This is spoken in a joking way. He's sure both boys will put aside whatever it is that's rough between them for the sake of Tyne. They're really great kids. "You two'd better not rip up the kingdom with your spats or I'll have to kick both your butts, even in my scraggly old age."
"See, that's the thing, Uncle Elim. We don't /have/ spats. He just sorta enjoys bullying me." Kale' shrugs a little sadly. "Maybe I /was/ annoying when I was a cub, but I just wanted to keep up with and play with the bigger boys. He just.. I dunno. He seems to hate me, and I don't know how to change it." He lifts himself up to a seated position, head held a little higher. "I can.. work with him, try to understand him- I do already. But it's like he just hates me, and I don't know if I can change that. I'll try- for the good of the pride, and so I don't let you or Dad down, by the kings of the past, I'll /try/. But.." His voice is very low here. "I don't know if trying is going to be enough."
"Well, I still need to speak to Kamau about being my heir, anyway, so I'll make sure he's aware of the butt-kicking rule too," Elim' replies without concern. "Kamau's a smart kid and he'll get more mature as time goes on, so I wouldn't worry about the bullying. I'll bully him and we'll see how he likes it. I /know/ he doesn't hate you, Kale'." The big lion is growing rather adept at acting the father-figure, having had to raise his little brothers as his sons in addition to his biological children. "I appreciate your willingness to try and make it work. I know you'll do well, Kale', don't worry." Grinning, he reaches out a paw to ruffle the boy's emo-mane. "I'm not your dad, but if you ever need anything or have any problems, come let me know. We'll train you and Kamau to be great kings, I have no doubt."
"I.. might. Sometimes the loneliness really DOES get too much." Kale' admits, before rising to his paws and giving the older lion a small smile, the actual meaning of what he's just been told beginning to sink in for the first time- perhaps it's not all bad. He pauses, and then tilts his head. "As I'm gonna be king and dad isn't here to do it.. Do you mind telling me how my roar's coming along? I've been kinda practicing, quiet-like.." He pauses. "Or perhaps you'd like to join me?" And then he takes a few steps away, inhales deeply and roars as best he can. The pitch is still high, the notes not that bass thrum of an adult- but the feeling is there. And the volume. Kale' puts his head back and roars loud and clear for the first time in his young life.
<!> In [Tyne] Jungle Clearing, Kale'Kizuka roars.
Elimnyama tilts his head back and laugh loudly at the request. "It's definitely coming along!" he shouts as the sound ricochets off of the trees and fills the whole of the jungle. It will certainly rouse other members of the pride, but as everyone's been so down on account of the weather lately, Elim' is happy to seize the opportunity to stir them up a bit. He gets to his paws and moves until he stands beside Kale'. Filling his lungs with air he releases a roar much deeper than Kale's, but with the same vibrancy and clearness. WAKE UP, CITIZENS OF TYNE!
<!> In [Tyne] Jungle Clearing, Elimnyama roars.
Elimnyama, Adult Lion, King of Tyne
Kale'Kizuka, Adolescent Lion, Prince of Tyne
Summary: Elimnyama steps into his brother's shoes to tell Kale'Kizuka that he's been chosen to be one of Tyne's future kings.
Location: [Tyne] Jungle Clearing
Another hot day, another endless (and seemingly pointless) patrol for Kale'kizuka- not that he'd readily admit such a fact. The teen lion flicks his emo-quiff of white fur out of eyes that are screwed against the sunlight, seeking shade under one of the larger patches of undergrowth at the edge of the clearing. A quick scent-marking, after a shy look around to make sure noone is watching, and then his best impression of a roar. And noooow.. time to take five. The boy plonks his butt down and stre-e-e-etches his forelimbs.
Such emo-ness! If Elimnyama could see the innards of Kale's brain, he might reflect on how awfully similar teen-Kale is now to teen-Elim'. The big dark prince was always a moper, albeit with a much more formidable, nasty attitude than the white prince has been cultivating, lucky for Tyne. Elimnyama himself is just coming from a cat-nap up at the main cavern. He has a vague notion of heading south in a while to relieve Kiapo from his ever-vigilant border duty.. but just now, the King has a more important bullet-point on his agenda. He sees his brother less and less these days, and while Elim' has been steadily taking care of kingdom affairs on his end, he has no idea how much his brother will have discussed with his nephew. Today is the day to test those waters, for so much time has past since he last saw Aitan, Elim' doesn't feel he can wait any longer to know. The roar was very helpful -- minutes later Elim' is on the scene, having followed the noise to Kale's exact position. Spotting the white prince through the trees, the older lion chuffs a greeting and continues his approach.
The chuff causes an instant start to run through the shaggy-fringed teenager. His hindlegs straighten almost unbidden, springing him to his feet. "Uncle Elim!" He calls to the approaching king, managing to at the same time look guilty and pleased to see him. "I wasn't slacking! I just wanted to sit down for a moment while on my patrols.. Sorry!" The words come out in what's little more than an over-eager babble; it would seem that young Kale' is somewhat starved of practice in the conversational arts these days. "I've done most of this side of the border, and was jsut heading back in to the rock- you can check my scent marks if you want, see I've done my homework!" Almost overly eager to please.
Honey-green eyes blink once and then a great grin spreads over Elimynama's face as he navigates the last few tree trunks separating him from his nephew. "I know you weren't slacking, Kale', don't be ridiculous," he replies good-naturedly. "You're all entitled to take it a bit easy while it's still this hot out. We don't want you to get heat stroke and die, afterall. Where could we find another guard at this time of the year?" Elim', whether he understands or suspects that it is due to a lack of social contact, does not seem at all bothered by Kale's babble or by his eagerness. He seats himself comfortably on the soft green ground, looking for all intents and purposes as though he plans to stay for a good while. "How have you been, nephie-poo? Other than busting your butt on patrols like a good little minion." His big, toothy grin remains in place to assure the sensitive youth that he's only kidding.
"Nephie-poo. Huh. It beats 'Runt', I guess." Kale' comments, mostly to himself, before giving a patented teenaged shrug. "I've been.. okay. Lonely, I guess. Not seen dad for weeks, and mom's disappeared back off to Kivuli for a bit, I think." He shrugs a bit sadly. "So i've just been doing the patrols like a good little minion. Keeps me fit, keeps me away from the goon-squad.." That being his other, younger uncles. "Keeps me from getting teased. I guess it's important training, too."
Elimnyama reflects on whether he ever called Kale' 'runt'. Deciding that, afterall, he probably did, Elim' chuckles low in his throat and lifts an attentive ear to Kale's following words. As soon as Aitan is mentioned, the smile on his face fades away. Elim' sighs quietly, just as miserable as Kale' over the veritable disappearance of Tyne's other king. They were close brothers, afterall. Did almost everything together up until the time that Elim' started pursuing Waset. Ukomobasi.. Elim' never really did get too chummy with her, and spends no time today sighing over her absence. But the mention of her highlights in Elim's mind Kale's real alone-ness. A frown begins to make its way across his dark visage and Elim' clears his throat, preparing himself to cross over into more serious matters. "It /is/ important training. I'm glad you've been keeping up with it. A lot of the others haven't got your dedication." A long pause ensues as Elim' works out just how to begin such a conversation. "Kale'," he begins, tenatively, "I wanted to.. discuss something with you." Man. He's been saying that a lot to folks lately. His honey-colored eyes focus soberly on his nephew. "It shouldn't be me doing it, either. Your father should be the one to talk to you about it, but.. I guess I've got to step into his pawprints for a little while here."
"Oh jeez." Kale' is already blushing as he talks, the skin going bright pink beneath his white fur and giving him an all over glow. "Uncle Elim, if this is the talk about where cubs come from, it's okay.. I think I got the basics figured out. I'm not blind or anything, and I /am/ old enough to start looking at girls and stuff." He hides his face under his paw, convinced that this most awkward and painful of topics for a teenaged boy is about to rear its ugly head.
"Oh!" Elim' blurts out, a crimson flush creeping into his own face - but thankfully, due to the darkness of his fur, it's not visible although Elim' can certainly feel the heat. "Uh- no! No! I wasn't going to.. to talk about /that/. Although if you need to know, I suppose I can tell you- I mean, you need to know the specifics SOMETIME-- but no!" He clears his throat again, very awkwardly, and curls his tail tight around his forepaws as if trying to bolster his nerve. "Kale', what I really needed to talk to you about was.. Well, Aitan and I aren't going to be the kings around here forever. We both need to get started training those who are going to rule Tyne once we step down. And.. we both thought that it worked so well, my father naming two heirs, that we might do the same thing this time around. Do you.. see where I'm going with this now?"
That only seems to make matters worse for a few moments. "Details? Ack! No! Please! Let me work THOSE out myself!" He protests, before calming down some with a few slow, hard breaths. "I guess I do, yeah." He finally admits after considering his uncle's words. "You're gonna have Kamau and Ona be king, right? I mean.. they're both big and tough, even if they do have heads full of rocks. But they can learn, I'm sure. Maybe even stop picking on me now they've got responsibility. I'm small and weak and isolated and frankly, /wierd/; and your own kids, well, I've hardly even seen them to get to know." He takes a deep breath. "It makes sense, and it's not something I'm gonna fight about or complain or anything. Dad's been.. well, I know he's on the lands SOMEWHERE but I haven't seen him for so damned long, and I don't think anyone else has.. it makes sense for this line to come to an end here." The really scary thing is, despite the sadness the words are spoken with, there's absolutely no bitterness whatsoever;
Elimnyama stares blankly at Kale' for a moment or two after hearing the boy's assumptions. He'd expected a reaction more like his own children's had been: breathless anticipation of hearing the name, who it would be who would follow in the long line of Tyne rulers. He's glad not to hear bitterness from Kale', but the expectation of hearing something totally different throws him off for a minute. Blinking again, Elim' jolts out of his confusion and shakes his head, a frown on his face. "No, no, Kale'.. We're each picking our own heir, that's true, but you've got it a little wrong. I /have/ picked Kamau as my heir, but as he's my brother and Fuadi's both of our fathers, that's hardly ending the line. Your dad's absence is unfortunate, because obviously I'd rather him have been able to tell you this than me, but I don't mind telling you. /You're/ going to be your father's heir, and one of the next kings of Tyne." Elim' watches Kale' closely, still frowning, curious as to the kind of reaction the boy will come upwith now when confronted by such startling news.
That was definitely unexpected, yes. Kale' blinks a few times, looking down at his paws. A deep breath is taken, a deep slow one. "Well, dad's been absent for almost every important event of my life so far.. No surprises it's you who had to give the news." He comments, mostly to himself, before looking back up to Elim with a deadly seirous expression. "..Are you both sure I'm the lion you both want in the job?" He asks simply. "I'm.. Well, like I said. I'm not that big. I don't know how to interact with people. I'm just not sure I'd be able to do the pride the justice it needs in a leader." He licks his lips. "It's not that I'm not proud to be chosen.. but I don't know if I'd be the best for our pride, our family."
Here at least, Elimnyama can regain his confidence. "You don't need to be big to be a good leader, Kale'. What's more important is your internal strength and your ability to make intelligent and wise decisions. Aitan and I, if he ever turns up, will teach you everything you need to know about being a king. And all the male's of the pride will help in teaching you more advanced guarding techniques and combat." He smiles at the younger male, and isn't sorry at all over Aitan's choice. The only thing Elimnyama regrets is that Aitan probably won't be there to teach his son what he needs to know to be king. But Elim' won't let his brother down there. Wherever he is, Aitan will be proud of Kale' and appreciative of Elim's efforts. "Don't underestimate yourself. You'll be a fine king. The only thing I'm worried about is you and Kamau not getting along!" This is spoken in a joking way. He's sure both boys will put aside whatever it is that's rough between them for the sake of Tyne. They're really great kids. "You two'd better not rip up the kingdom with your spats or I'll have to kick both your butts, even in my scraggly old age."
"See, that's the thing, Uncle Elim. We don't /have/ spats. He just sorta enjoys bullying me." Kale' shrugs a little sadly. "Maybe I /was/ annoying when I was a cub, but I just wanted to keep up with and play with the bigger boys. He just.. I dunno. He seems to hate me, and I don't know how to change it." He lifts himself up to a seated position, head held a little higher. "I can.. work with him, try to understand him- I do already. But it's like he just hates me, and I don't know if I can change that. I'll try- for the good of the pride, and so I don't let you or Dad down, by the kings of the past, I'll /try/. But.." His voice is very low here. "I don't know if trying is going to be enough."
"Well, I still need to speak to Kamau about being my heir, anyway, so I'll make sure he's aware of the butt-kicking rule too," Elim' replies without concern. "Kamau's a smart kid and he'll get more mature as time goes on, so I wouldn't worry about the bullying. I'll bully him and we'll see how he likes it. I /know/ he doesn't hate you, Kale'." The big lion is growing rather adept at acting the father-figure, having had to raise his little brothers as his sons in addition to his biological children. "I appreciate your willingness to try and make it work. I know you'll do well, Kale', don't worry." Grinning, he reaches out a paw to ruffle the boy's emo-mane. "I'm not your dad, but if you ever need anything or have any problems, come let me know. We'll train you and Kamau to be great kings, I have no doubt."
"I.. might. Sometimes the loneliness really DOES get too much." Kale' admits, before rising to his paws and giving the older lion a small smile, the actual meaning of what he's just been told beginning to sink in for the first time- perhaps it's not all bad. He pauses, and then tilts his head. "As I'm gonna be king and dad isn't here to do it.. Do you mind telling me how my roar's coming along? I've been kinda practicing, quiet-like.." He pauses. "Or perhaps you'd like to join me?" And then he takes a few steps away, inhales deeply and roars as best he can. The pitch is still high, the notes not that bass thrum of an adult- but the feeling is there. And the volume. Kale' puts his head back and roars loud and clear for the first time in his young life.
<!> In [Tyne] Jungle Clearing, Kale'Kizuka roars.
Elimnyama tilts his head back and laugh loudly at the request. "It's definitely coming along!" he shouts as the sound ricochets off of the trees and fills the whole of the jungle. It will certainly rouse other members of the pride, but as everyone's been so down on account of the weather lately, Elim' is happy to seize the opportunity to stir them up a bit. He gets to his paws and moves until he stands beside Kale'. Filling his lungs with air he releases a roar much deeper than Kale's, but with the same vibrancy and clearness. WAKE UP, CITIZENS OF TYNE!
<!> In [Tyne] Jungle Clearing, Elimnyama roars.