Post by Safiye on Mar 9, 2007 23:33:52 GMT -5
Involved:
Safiye, Rogue Lioness
Lutalo, Kivuli(?) Lioness
She's got to eat, preferably sooner rather than later. Safiye can't remember the last time she had a decent meal; since she arrived in Kivuli, it's been nothing but skinny hares and the occasional guineafowl. If she was only worried about feeding herself, she'd be quite content with what little she's been able to scrounge out--but, alas, such is not the case. Safiye's litter needs nourishment, or the cubs won't be born alive. Stepping gingerly, she stalks the underbrush on the trail of a plump little impala. She's been following it for close to an hour now, and has yet to summon the courage required for a sprinting charge. Where she comes from, duikers are the bread-and-butter of her pride; she's never had to hunt something quite so... pointy.
Lutalo has been on her own lately, no reason to go find anyone to be buddybuddy with seeing how she never had many friends here. The barbary is settled down under a tree, head on her forepaws while she just eyes the ground watching some ants as they wander by while her mind ticks over on another important.. That is until she hears the movement of something coming her way. Her maw twitches while she lifts her head, silvery gaze drifting about to try and figure out what it is until she catches sight of the impala moving towards the trail and heading her way it seems. Humm..
Safiye's ears prick forward as the impala stops and raises its nose to the breeze, sensing something amiss. It swivels its head in Lutalo's direction and stares at the tree with big brown eyes unblinking. Chances are it hasn't seen detected the Barbary's presence; if it did, it probably would have bolted. Instead it stands stock-still, tall legs stiff and erect. Safiye, sensing her chance, crouches low in the bushes and sucks in a slow, trembling breath. She's so uncertain!
Lutalo's maw twitches as she eyes the impala, ears slicking back while she slowly shifts up onto her paws starting to creep froward, though off to the side to not be right in the impala's line of sight. Seems another is interested in hunting tonight, not that she is in much need as Safiye though.
With a crazed and reckless shout to help bolster her courage, Safiye explodes from the bushes and launches herself at the impala, claws unsheathed and teeth flashing. As impressive as the display is, she's too slow for it to be very effective. The impala nimbly springs away before the lioness can close the distance. But Safiye's loss is Lutalo's gain; the impala's chosen escape route happens to intersect the Barbary's path. It's headed straight for her.
Lutalo's ears snap forward as she hears the movement coming towards her.. She figures it's just the impala though. The large feline crouches down and waits the few moments hidden within the shadows making sure her prey gets close enough.. When the impala steps near enough she lunges forward, forepaws grasping around the impala's neck while she just uses her greater weight to work on pulling the prey down.
The impala, taken by surprise, rears back onto its hind legs, kicking out its hooves in a feeble attempt to fend Lutalo off. Unfortunately, the predator greatly outweighs its prey; the impala hits the dirt with a low bleat as the wind is knocked from its lungs. It thrashes under Lutalo's claws, swinging its head from side to side in the desperate hope that the aim of its horns is true.
Lutalo takes a few kicks from the hooves, but lets face it that won't stop her. A horn swings by her face and she pulls her head to the side just in time to not get gored in the cheek. That would have been bad. Her jaws latch onto the impala's throat and she bites down hard while just keeping it pinned down with her weight. It can kick all it wants but she won't be letting go.
Slowly, gradually, the life seeps out of the impala. By the time Safiye has caught up, huffing and puffing, the creature's kicks have dwindled to an occasional twitch. As its tongue swells in its mouth, its eyes roll back into its head and, with one final convulsion, it stops. The dark lioness keeps her distance from Lutalo and the kill, breathing too heavily to get any words out except, "Bothersome, hoofbeast!"
Lutalo keeps her attention on the impala until she is very sure that it is dead. A slight pant escapes the lioness as she lifts her head, bright gaze resting on Safiye curiously a few moments before she licks across her bloody maw. "Most of them are very bothersome." The barbary offers while slowly pushing herself up, a few new bruises but that's about it. She gives herself a shake as she rests on her haunches, a rather large forepaw resting upon the now very dead impala. "Who are you?" She figures it's just another Kivuli lioness, to many of them to keep track of anymore.
Safiye gazes longingly at the impala, speechless until her shoulders and chest have stopped heaving in exhaustion. "Safiye," she wheezes huskily, gulping down air. "Perhaps the Lady Khamisa has spoken to you of me?" She's careful to stay well out of Lutalo's personal space. Never having seen a lioness quite so large, she doesn't know what to expect; the only Barbary she's ever known was the old, unpredictable male responsible for her current predicament. "Are you of the Kivuli?"
Lutalo's claws dig into the impala's dead, yet still warm hide, her maw twitching upwards to show a bit of fang for a moment. A faint huff escapes her. "No.. Can't say that she has.. I don't know her that well." The lioness offers with a shrug before glancing down at her catch and is sure her brother will enjoy a meal. "I was.. at one point an time. Now no one holds my leash." She's her own lioness, she heard the King died but that's about it. Khamisa and she are related, but then who isn't in Kivuli? "You part of the pride then I take it?"
For the briefest moment, Safiye ponders lying. Even if this monster of a lioness doesn't belong to Kivuli, there's still a chance that she might share her kill if she thought Safiye was one of her former pridesisters. She hesitates, but it's honesty that wins out in the end. Shaking her head, she retreats several paces and plops down in the dirt. If she can't eat, she'll at least rest her haunches until her energy has returned. "No, I am, most unfortunately, not." Huff!
Lutalo humms only while her gaze ticks over the other lioness watching her curiously a few moment. "Such a pity.. Though I'm sure there be asking you to join up when ever they get you cornered again." She is somewhat mad at her home pride, but then she is a bit insane to so that doesn't count. Her gaze drifts to the impala. "I take it you was the one chase down this poor beast, right into my jaws no less."
Safiye puzzles over Lutalo's words, trying to find meaning in her cryptic message. Her train of thought, however, is interrupted when the Barbary directs her attention back to the kill. "That was something of an accident," she admits with no small amount of quiet disdain. "You caught it, so I suppose you ought to keep it. That -is- how things work here, is it not?"
Lutalo doesn't make any comments about trying to fix what she said about the pride, she merely shrugs while her claws grip at the carcass once more in though it seems. She licks across her maw before leaning down and grabs hold of the impala's haunch and suddenly yanks back with such a force that a sickening crack is heard. It takes a few hard yanks and tugs before the whole haunch and hind leg is ripped free from the body. The leg is then tossed over towards Safiye. "Consider it a gift then for helping me."
Safiye is so skittish that she hurriedly retreats several paces when Lutalo flings the meat at her. The way she's acting, that isn't dinner; it's a venomous snake poised to strike. Eek! She stretches her neck, edges closer to the leg to sniff the still-warm flesh and, once she's satisfied that it isn't going to bite, drags her tongue over a loose flap of skin to taste. "I thank you," she murmurs with a grateful bow of her head. "For my little ones."
Lutalo tilts her head, brow lifting as she eyes the other before a deep laugh escapes her. "You act as if it will bite you.." She takes in a breath an nods to her. "Your welcome, glad I could help out." The rest of the kill she will give to her brother though. "How long have you been here?"
"Not long," Safiye says, poking the leg with her forepaw. She's always been a picky eater, hesitant to trust the strange textures of foreign foods. "Lady Khamisa and her agha, Nabana, have been very good to me during my stay, but no one has asked me to join the pride." She chuckles lowly, sinking her teeth in and speaking around the bone, "I cannot blame them."
Lutalo's ear twitches some as she listens, tail flicking about while she nods a bit. "I see.." She offers softly while tilting her head. "Why do you think they would not ask you to join?" Her tail lashes a few times. "They have always allowed ones to join here, unless the new king changes the rules."
Safiye tears off a strip of meat and hungrily swallows it down, licking the blood from her lips and whiskers before offering Lutalo a reply. "I have come a very long way and have asked many prides if they would take me. All the kings that I have met are vain and fickle creatures, so why should Kivuli's monarch differ? The cubs growing in my belly do not belong to your Mizuka, and he would have to be very generous indeed to support youngsters that are not his own."
Lutalo shrugs at tis while settling down on her stomach, basicly laying upon the dead impala. "Dono.. never asking another pride to take me in." She offers with a faint chuff escaping her. "True I suppose.. But one never knows, this pride like I said has taken in many over the years. If you want a safe place to give birth and raise your cubs this would be the place."
"I shall think on it," Safiye concedes, "but make no promise. If his Majesty allows me to remain in his kingdom until my cubs to be born, I will be grateful. Little ones grow so quick." A small, sad smile curls across her muzzle at the thought. "When they are old and strong enough to walk, I expect to bid Kivuli a fond farewell."
Lutalo maw twitches at the talk of cubs, not that she would know. She shrugs while her tail lashes, her gaze drifting off. "I'm sure you all could make some agreement. If the king is anything like his father he will understand I'm sure."
This piques Safiye's curiosity. She leans forward, ears pricked, expectant. "You knew Kiet?" she asks in a tiny voice. No sooner are the words out of her mouth does she scold herself. Of course she knew Kiet, you fool! Who filled the space between your ears with air? "I've heard so much about him in so very few words. What was he like?"
Lutalo blinks and glances over to Safiye curiously a few moments before a thick chuckle escapes her. "I only met him a few times.. he was mate to my cousin." She shrugs some. "He was an alright king.. Nothing like my uncle though." The lioness murmurs a bit.
"Your uncle?" Safiye gets the distinct impression from Lutalo's description that the Kivuli family tree is a complicated one. She shifts her weight from haunch to haunch, getting comfortable--always a difficult task with her protruding stomach. "Tell me about him."
Lutalo ohs faintly, a forepaw lifting to scratch at her cheek. "You want me to tell you of King Xian?" She questions curiously, bright gaze drifting some in thought, as if attempting to remember. "His still around here somewhere. My father Ronan and he were brothers." There's a pause after she says her father's name, a pang of sadness gripping her chest for a moment before she shakes it off. "King Xian was a fair ruler, the best one to speak to would be Khamisa though. She knows everything about the pride.. Better able to answer your questions.."
"Oh yes," Safiye agrees. "She seemed quite knowledgeable when I spoke with her before, but I did not wish to press her for information. The agha tells me that she is still in mourning for Kiet, and I can understand why it might be painful for her to speak of him so soon after he has passed." The very tip of her tail flicks back and forth, containing her excitement. "Has the pride lived on these lands for very long, do you know?"
Lutalo nods slowly while taking in a faint breath. "She'll get over it, everyone deals with hardship in there life and either have to move on or die themselves if they do know." She glances off once more, mind wandering it seems. "Yes.. For a good many generations I've heard."
Excellent news. A stable pride is a healthy pride, as Safiye knows. Wincing at the pang in her belly, she pushes herself to her feet and shakes the dirt from her coat with a brisk, girlish wriggle. "I shan't intrude on your meal any longer, but I will remember your kindness and take it to heart. Thank you again, Red One."
Lutalo tilts her head while watching the other curiously a few moments before nodding. "You have no bothered it.. An my name is Lutalo." Though she doesn't mind red one either.
"Farewell then, Lutalo." Safiye dips her head and seizes the haunch in her jaws. The Barbary may not mind the company but -she- does, preferring to eat in solitude. With a swish of her tail and a spring in her step that wasn't there before, she vanishes into the jungle, her dark shape swallowed whole by the misty shadows at its fringe.
Safiye, Rogue Lioness
Lutalo, Kivuli(?) Lioness
Kivuli - West Mountain
She's got to eat, preferably sooner rather than later. Safiye can't remember the last time she had a decent meal; since she arrived in Kivuli, it's been nothing but skinny hares and the occasional guineafowl. If she was only worried about feeding herself, she'd be quite content with what little she's been able to scrounge out--but, alas, such is not the case. Safiye's litter needs nourishment, or the cubs won't be born alive. Stepping gingerly, she stalks the underbrush on the trail of a plump little impala. She's been following it for close to an hour now, and has yet to summon the courage required for a sprinting charge. Where she comes from, duikers are the bread-and-butter of her pride; she's never had to hunt something quite so... pointy.
Lutalo has been on her own lately, no reason to go find anyone to be buddybuddy with seeing how she never had many friends here. The barbary is settled down under a tree, head on her forepaws while she just eyes the ground watching some ants as they wander by while her mind ticks over on another important.. That is until she hears the movement of something coming her way. Her maw twitches while she lifts her head, silvery gaze drifting about to try and figure out what it is until she catches sight of the impala moving towards the trail and heading her way it seems. Humm..
Safiye's ears prick forward as the impala stops and raises its nose to the breeze, sensing something amiss. It swivels its head in Lutalo's direction and stares at the tree with big brown eyes unblinking. Chances are it hasn't seen detected the Barbary's presence; if it did, it probably would have bolted. Instead it stands stock-still, tall legs stiff and erect. Safiye, sensing her chance, crouches low in the bushes and sucks in a slow, trembling breath. She's so uncertain!
Lutalo's maw twitches as she eyes the impala, ears slicking back while she slowly shifts up onto her paws starting to creep froward, though off to the side to not be right in the impala's line of sight. Seems another is interested in hunting tonight, not that she is in much need as Safiye though.
With a crazed and reckless shout to help bolster her courage, Safiye explodes from the bushes and launches herself at the impala, claws unsheathed and teeth flashing. As impressive as the display is, she's too slow for it to be very effective. The impala nimbly springs away before the lioness can close the distance. But Safiye's loss is Lutalo's gain; the impala's chosen escape route happens to intersect the Barbary's path. It's headed straight for her.
Lutalo's ears snap forward as she hears the movement coming towards her.. She figures it's just the impala though. The large feline crouches down and waits the few moments hidden within the shadows making sure her prey gets close enough.. When the impala steps near enough she lunges forward, forepaws grasping around the impala's neck while she just uses her greater weight to work on pulling the prey down.
The impala, taken by surprise, rears back onto its hind legs, kicking out its hooves in a feeble attempt to fend Lutalo off. Unfortunately, the predator greatly outweighs its prey; the impala hits the dirt with a low bleat as the wind is knocked from its lungs. It thrashes under Lutalo's claws, swinging its head from side to side in the desperate hope that the aim of its horns is true.
Lutalo takes a few kicks from the hooves, but lets face it that won't stop her. A horn swings by her face and she pulls her head to the side just in time to not get gored in the cheek. That would have been bad. Her jaws latch onto the impala's throat and she bites down hard while just keeping it pinned down with her weight. It can kick all it wants but she won't be letting go.
Slowly, gradually, the life seeps out of the impala. By the time Safiye has caught up, huffing and puffing, the creature's kicks have dwindled to an occasional twitch. As its tongue swells in its mouth, its eyes roll back into its head and, with one final convulsion, it stops. The dark lioness keeps her distance from Lutalo and the kill, breathing too heavily to get any words out except, "Bothersome, hoofbeast!"
Lutalo keeps her attention on the impala until she is very sure that it is dead. A slight pant escapes the lioness as she lifts her head, bright gaze resting on Safiye curiously a few moments before she licks across her bloody maw. "Most of them are very bothersome." The barbary offers while slowly pushing herself up, a few new bruises but that's about it. She gives herself a shake as she rests on her haunches, a rather large forepaw resting upon the now very dead impala. "Who are you?" She figures it's just another Kivuli lioness, to many of them to keep track of anymore.
Safiye gazes longingly at the impala, speechless until her shoulders and chest have stopped heaving in exhaustion. "Safiye," she wheezes huskily, gulping down air. "Perhaps the Lady Khamisa has spoken to you of me?" She's careful to stay well out of Lutalo's personal space. Never having seen a lioness quite so large, she doesn't know what to expect; the only Barbary she's ever known was the old, unpredictable male responsible for her current predicament. "Are you of the Kivuli?"
Lutalo's claws dig into the impala's dead, yet still warm hide, her maw twitching upwards to show a bit of fang for a moment. A faint huff escapes her. "No.. Can't say that she has.. I don't know her that well." The lioness offers with a shrug before glancing down at her catch and is sure her brother will enjoy a meal. "I was.. at one point an time. Now no one holds my leash." She's her own lioness, she heard the King died but that's about it. Khamisa and she are related, but then who isn't in Kivuli? "You part of the pride then I take it?"
For the briefest moment, Safiye ponders lying. Even if this monster of a lioness doesn't belong to Kivuli, there's still a chance that she might share her kill if she thought Safiye was one of her former pridesisters. She hesitates, but it's honesty that wins out in the end. Shaking her head, she retreats several paces and plops down in the dirt. If she can't eat, she'll at least rest her haunches until her energy has returned. "No, I am, most unfortunately, not." Huff!
Lutalo humms only while her gaze ticks over the other lioness watching her curiously a few moment. "Such a pity.. Though I'm sure there be asking you to join up when ever they get you cornered again." She is somewhat mad at her home pride, but then she is a bit insane to so that doesn't count. Her gaze drifts to the impala. "I take it you was the one chase down this poor beast, right into my jaws no less."
Safiye puzzles over Lutalo's words, trying to find meaning in her cryptic message. Her train of thought, however, is interrupted when the Barbary directs her attention back to the kill. "That was something of an accident," she admits with no small amount of quiet disdain. "You caught it, so I suppose you ought to keep it. That -is- how things work here, is it not?"
Lutalo doesn't make any comments about trying to fix what she said about the pride, she merely shrugs while her claws grip at the carcass once more in though it seems. She licks across her maw before leaning down and grabs hold of the impala's haunch and suddenly yanks back with such a force that a sickening crack is heard. It takes a few hard yanks and tugs before the whole haunch and hind leg is ripped free from the body. The leg is then tossed over towards Safiye. "Consider it a gift then for helping me."
Safiye is so skittish that she hurriedly retreats several paces when Lutalo flings the meat at her. The way she's acting, that isn't dinner; it's a venomous snake poised to strike. Eek! She stretches her neck, edges closer to the leg to sniff the still-warm flesh and, once she's satisfied that it isn't going to bite, drags her tongue over a loose flap of skin to taste. "I thank you," she murmurs with a grateful bow of her head. "For my little ones."
Lutalo tilts her head, brow lifting as she eyes the other before a deep laugh escapes her. "You act as if it will bite you.." She takes in a breath an nods to her. "Your welcome, glad I could help out." The rest of the kill she will give to her brother though. "How long have you been here?"
"Not long," Safiye says, poking the leg with her forepaw. She's always been a picky eater, hesitant to trust the strange textures of foreign foods. "Lady Khamisa and her agha, Nabana, have been very good to me during my stay, but no one has asked me to join the pride." She chuckles lowly, sinking her teeth in and speaking around the bone, "I cannot blame them."
Lutalo's ear twitches some as she listens, tail flicking about while she nods a bit. "I see.." She offers softly while tilting her head. "Why do you think they would not ask you to join?" Her tail lashes a few times. "They have always allowed ones to join here, unless the new king changes the rules."
Safiye tears off a strip of meat and hungrily swallows it down, licking the blood from her lips and whiskers before offering Lutalo a reply. "I have come a very long way and have asked many prides if they would take me. All the kings that I have met are vain and fickle creatures, so why should Kivuli's monarch differ? The cubs growing in my belly do not belong to your Mizuka, and he would have to be very generous indeed to support youngsters that are not his own."
Lutalo shrugs at tis while settling down on her stomach, basicly laying upon the dead impala. "Dono.. never asking another pride to take me in." She offers with a faint chuff escaping her. "True I suppose.. But one never knows, this pride like I said has taken in many over the years. If you want a safe place to give birth and raise your cubs this would be the place."
"I shall think on it," Safiye concedes, "but make no promise. If his Majesty allows me to remain in his kingdom until my cubs to be born, I will be grateful. Little ones grow so quick." A small, sad smile curls across her muzzle at the thought. "When they are old and strong enough to walk, I expect to bid Kivuli a fond farewell."
Lutalo maw twitches at the talk of cubs, not that she would know. She shrugs while her tail lashes, her gaze drifting off. "I'm sure you all could make some agreement. If the king is anything like his father he will understand I'm sure."
This piques Safiye's curiosity. She leans forward, ears pricked, expectant. "You knew Kiet?" she asks in a tiny voice. No sooner are the words out of her mouth does she scold herself. Of course she knew Kiet, you fool! Who filled the space between your ears with air? "I've heard so much about him in so very few words. What was he like?"
Lutalo blinks and glances over to Safiye curiously a few moments before a thick chuckle escapes her. "I only met him a few times.. he was mate to my cousin." She shrugs some. "He was an alright king.. Nothing like my uncle though." The lioness murmurs a bit.
"Your uncle?" Safiye gets the distinct impression from Lutalo's description that the Kivuli family tree is a complicated one. She shifts her weight from haunch to haunch, getting comfortable--always a difficult task with her protruding stomach. "Tell me about him."
Lutalo ohs faintly, a forepaw lifting to scratch at her cheek. "You want me to tell you of King Xian?" She questions curiously, bright gaze drifting some in thought, as if attempting to remember. "His still around here somewhere. My father Ronan and he were brothers." There's a pause after she says her father's name, a pang of sadness gripping her chest for a moment before she shakes it off. "King Xian was a fair ruler, the best one to speak to would be Khamisa though. She knows everything about the pride.. Better able to answer your questions.."
"Oh yes," Safiye agrees. "She seemed quite knowledgeable when I spoke with her before, but I did not wish to press her for information. The agha tells me that she is still in mourning for Kiet, and I can understand why it might be painful for her to speak of him so soon after he has passed." The very tip of her tail flicks back and forth, containing her excitement. "Has the pride lived on these lands for very long, do you know?"
Lutalo nods slowly while taking in a faint breath. "She'll get over it, everyone deals with hardship in there life and either have to move on or die themselves if they do know." She glances off once more, mind wandering it seems. "Yes.. For a good many generations I've heard."
Excellent news. A stable pride is a healthy pride, as Safiye knows. Wincing at the pang in her belly, she pushes herself to her feet and shakes the dirt from her coat with a brisk, girlish wriggle. "I shan't intrude on your meal any longer, but I will remember your kindness and take it to heart. Thank you again, Red One."
Lutalo tilts her head while watching the other curiously a few moments before nodding. "You have no bothered it.. An my name is Lutalo." Though she doesn't mind red one either.
"Farewell then, Lutalo." Safiye dips her head and seizes the haunch in her jaws. The Barbary may not mind the company but -she- does, preferring to eat in solitude. With a swish of her tail and a spring in her step that wasn't there before, she vanishes into the jungle, her dark shape swallowed whole by the misty shadows at its fringe.