Participants:
Gadi - juvenile lion, son of Kori and Nonceba.
Kaidi - juvenile lioness, Kikora's half-sister.
Kikora - juvenile lioness, pride youth.
Lailen - juvenile lioness, daughter of Kori and Nonceba.
Msasi - juvenile lioness, pride youth.
Kopje Valley
You come down from the edge of the Valley into a large open plain. Small baobab trees dot the landscape. You can see the cliff edge looming above you, sending a shadow over your body. To the north you can see a large cliff with a waterfall flowing from it. To the west you see some beautiful plains, and there is a large and expansive savannah to the south.
[UP] to the edge of the valley [W]aterfall [C]liff
[L]ukesia's and [S]iombe's [P]lace [P]ath of rememberance
[Sh]aded [P]atch
You can also see a 'runoff stream'.
A fallen 'umbrella thorn' tree lies across the stream.
Lailen ran across the valley jumping behind trees chuckling as she chased bugs and generally just had some fun roaming around. The girl batted her paws as the bugs tried to fly away.
Kikora is sprawled across the felled acacia, limbs dangling on either side of the tree's trunk. Her chin is resting on a gnarled spot on the acacia, eyes half-lidded in either sleepiness or boredom. Yawn. It sure has been quiet without 'Goo or Kor' around lately!
Gadi is curled up in one of the ideal napping spots - the small dirt hollow that once houses the roots of the tree that now lies across the stream, said roots now spreading like a tangled roof over the shallow ditch. Sprawled out on his belly, the young lion, showing a recent spurt of leggy growth and a spinal mowhawk, appears sound asleep, eyes shut and sides rising and falling with slow breaths.
Msasi comes slowly down from the top of the valley to join you.
Msasi has arrived.
Lailen smiles and looks over seeing Gadi asleep, she quickly darts over and noses at her brother playfully. "Gadi…Gadi wake up I wanna play." She licks at his cheek as her tail waves quickly in an excited manner.
What was that? Kikora lifts her head, though she's loathe to do it … and glances over her shoulder, brown eyes barely making out what looks to be like Lailen right at the snarl of roots. "Hey 'Len! What's doin'?" She asks in rather lax slang, giving the slightly younger lioness a toothy half-grin.
As typical for a growing boy, Gadi utterly refuses to stir any more than is required to aim a limp, half-hearted swing of his paw to try and shoo off his sister. "Dun' wanna…. tired." He mutters, closed eyes squeezing tighter to try and ward off the light invading his sleep-fogged brain. He tries to curl himself up into a ball, warm and snug against the damp coolness of the exposed soil.
Trudging up from the lake, eyes watching her feet, Msasi appears. She seems to be off in a world of her own, paying little attention to her surroundings. The juvenile seems to be making a beeline for the slope leading up to the acacia and the Kopje Valley's border.
Lailen looks up hearing Kikora and chuckles where she sleeps, "Oh nothing just trying to get sleepy here to play with me." She bats a paw at Gadi's side before walking over to Kikora, "Do you wanna play?"
"Sure!" comes Kikora's eager response, her black-ringed ears curving forward in interest. She slowly lifts her forepaws up, bracing herself as she stands … very … carefully! Finally she hoists her hindpaws up beneath her, exposing her dark claws to help her stay balanced. Only one problem — she's facing the opposite direction! Not to worry, for Kiko' catwalks toward the branches and, finding a spot large enough to turn around in, heads toward 'Len and Gadi expertly. "Gadi not wakin'?" She asks as she moves, keeping her eyes on her forepaws cautiously.
Kaidi comes slowly down from the top of the valley to join you.
Kaidi has arrived.
Msasi continues on her direct path, looking up once and spotting a group of cubs up ahead. As she comes closer, Sas greets Lailen and Gadi quietly, although she doesn't remember their names. She follows Lailen's gaze up into the tree and spots a third cub. "Hey, Kikora," the juvenile says.
Lailen chuckles and shakes her head, "Nope I guess not." Hearing the voice she turns to see Msasi, she walks over and nods softly to the lion only having met him maybe once.
Kikora finally makes it to the base of the tree, hopping down to the ground with a soft thud of her paws. "Hiya 'Sasi," Kiko' says in a quiet voice, trying her best to tiptoe around Lailen to get closer to Gadi. Remembering her technique on waking up Korzar — and how grumpy he was after the fact — she sticks a paw into the hovel and bats at Gadi's ears. "Gaaaaadi?"
Msasi smiles breifly at Kik as she climbs out of the tree. She watches quietly as the juvenile sneaks around to Gadi, a small frown on her face. After Kikora yells in Gadi's ear, Msasi thinks to herself, 'Hope that never happens to me. I'd probably be up with claws swinging…' "What are you guys doing?" She asks after a moment.
Coming down the path leading from the edge to the valley's floor is a young lioness, looking as if she's had a pack of hyenas at her heels. She lopes down the steep path haphazardously, her ears turned back and her blue eyes wide — she spares only a fleeting glance over her shoulder before she makes it to the bottom of the trail, losing steam. She collapses to her haunches, her sides, back and chest heaving as she tries to regulate her breath. Kaidi's eyes become semi-lidded and she huffs and puffs, not bothering to glance around her in the slightest.
Gadi had thought he was free of pesky sisters. He's got his nose tucked under upturned paw, curled up into a warm and snug ball. There's even the soft sounds of snoring from the juvenile. But then, his ear's assaulted, and the sharper shine of his one green eye opens, fixating on Kikora while the copper eye remains stubbornly closed. "Mmmmrff…whaaat?" He mumbles with a note of a whine, ever so regretfully unburying his face from his paws, showing the smear of dirt across one cheek. But then the copper eye is opening, pupils wide in the darkness of his little cave of roots, and he's looking past Kikora to the movement in the grass beyond. He's hauling himself up to his paws then, crawling out past his friend. "Who's there?" He calls out, ears firmly pressed forward, a serious look on his face not all too unlike the more severe expression of his father.
Lailen lowers her ears as Kikora yells at her brother half expecting Gadi to claw at her. Hearing the huffing and puffing of another lion she looks over curious and eyes Kaidi run near. She tilts her head wondering what is the matter but too wary to approach just in case.
Kikora giggles at Gadi's sleepy and reclusive additude, about to reach in toward him with another playful swat when something draws her attention — and every one else's — away. "Huh?" She asks, her brown eyes turning between Lailen, Gadi and Msasi with a hint of fear. "What … what do you think happened?" She trails after the boy somewhat hesitantly, her ears folding back in concern and fright.
Msasi's glance quickly flicks to the newcomer, tearing down the slope to the valley floor. Two question appear in the juvenile's mind. Who is she? And what is she running from? Even though she is the oldest here, Sas remains where she stands, ears perked in curiosity, and eyes searching the slope for any pursuers. For now she remains quiet.
Kaidi remains where she is, panting heavily — there doesn't seem to be anything else in the world right now except her. When the blood beating in her ears calms some, she is suddenly aware of the other cubs staring at her owlishly. She frowns pointedly at him and half-turns until all they can see is her side and her back. Hmmph!
Gadi flicks back one ear, a soft snort coming from his nostrils. He doesn't recognize the other juvenile, and well, as the only male he supposes it's his duty to ensure his pridemates are safe. Right? Slow steps carry him towards Kaidi, black-tipped tail slowly swinging side to side. "…who are you?" He repeats, less demanding this time as he gets a better look at her at sees her exhaustion, but there's no missing the wary look in parti-colored eyes.
Lailen shrugs to Kikora. As Gadi stands and walks over she slowly follows behind her protective brother curious as to who the newcomer is.
Kikora is quick to join in on the slowly-advancing gang of cubs, peering between Lailen and Gadi with curious and wide brown eyes. "Yeah, who are you?" Though she's put on her 'tough-girl' exterior, she's a little hesitant to get much closer. What if the other cub is just a distraction for some bad lions to get into the valley? She gulps, shaky paws bringing her near Kaidi.
Msasi still remains at the rear of the group, sitting herself down and looking all around her, with a seemingly blank look on her face. Should she go find Vikali or Mashaka? Maybe. But the juvenile doesn't move. Perhaps its better to just find out what is even going on, before leaping into any action.
"Princess Kaidi, y'got it?" Kaidi says in a snappy voice, turning her sharp gaze on the advancing cubs. "What's it to ya?" Well, for a princess, she sure doesn't -act- like one! She grunts and turns her back to them again, trying her hardest to hide the tears that streak her dirty cheeks. From what's readily visible to the others, it's apparent that she hasn't been eating very well lately, nor has she had anyone to groom the dust and muck out of her fur. "Leave me alone."
Lailen lowers her ears as the 'princess' speaks. She stays put a moment before walking up and looking down to the girl, "Hi.." she says in a small voice. "My name is Lailen…are you ok?" She wondered if the girl was hurt and whether or not one of them should go fetch an adult.
"Well, to me, it's a lot." Gadi remarks, a faint frown ticking at his muzzle and cheek, though he restrains it. "Cuz' you seem to be a long way from home. I'm Gadi, oldest grandson a' the King, Mzohari." The boy remarks, looking to Lailen as she introduces herself. "She's my sister." He then says to his younger sibling, "Go get one of the grownups.. and dad or Uncle Kiini if ya can find 'em." And then he looks back to Kaidi, shifting a paw as thoughts cross his features. "Well.. um… you thirsty? Look like you were running a lot."
Kikora's little ears turn back almost immediately when she hears the other cub's name. "…Kaidi?" She asks, her voice almost a whisper. "-Kaaaaidi-?" She asks again, stressing the name, hoping that the other cub will at least -look- in their direction. She expression she wears is one of confusion and hurt, her whiskers and ears drooped, shoulders slumped. Gadi's words are almost muted — but she does take a special interest in learning the King's name, Mzohari — as she tries to take in the seriousness of this particular situation. Apparently it means quite a lot to her, as well.
Msasi observes the conversation from her seated position, skeptical thoughts crossing her mind. She wacthes the 'princess' with narrowed eyes, but still remains silent, letting Gadi take charge. He was, after all, the closest thing to a leader here. Then Kikora speaks up, and the juvenile's gaze switches to her. Standing up, she pads over to Kikora, standing close to her. "You okay?" She asks quietly in her ear.
Kaidi sniffles some, her frown deepening as one of them keeps saying her name. This great annoyance causes her to turn her head, finally taking a good look at the foursome around her — first Lailen, followed by Gadi, then Msasi … and finally, Kikora. "…Huh?" She says, her deep frown remaining on her otherwise dirty (yet pretty) face. "You!?" She cries out in a mixture of relief, despair and confusion. "What are -you- doing here?!" She hops to her paws and takes a few steps in reverse, her blue eyes hopping across the other young lions, almost as if this were some … some conspiracy!
Lailen nods to Gadi and runs off to find an adult
Gadi folds back both ears then as his brows furrow, a frown touching his muzzle as he falls briefly quiet, looking between Kikora and Kaidi with a sharp, irritated sideways flick of his tail. "…you… know each other?" He murmurs, not so much a question Do they, but more an unspoken question of How. A quick sideways glance is passed over to Msasi, briefly questioning as if wondering if she knew any of this, but his attention is quickly stolen back to the two 'acquaintances'?
Kikora doesn't seem to be capable of saying anything for the time being — her eyes are opened so much that they look like they'd just fall right out of her face if given enough time. "I … She …" she starts, clamping her teeth together briskly. How -should- she feel? Relief? Horror? Anger? Well, she feels -all- of those things, but mostly she just feels surprised. "That's my sister." That seems to be the only legible thing she's able to say, rocking a bit until she plops gracelessly on to her haunches. Whaaaat?
Msasi blinks once or twice, still standing by the youth. "Oh," she says, looking at one, then the other. "So you're a princess?" She asks Kikora. And then looking back to Kaidi, "And what were you running from?"
"You're… /what/?" Gadi utters in a tone almost dismayed. Oh this is fantastic. Where was Lailen?! Shaking his head to try and get his thoughts in order, the boy utters a quiet huff. "This sounds like a long story." He mutters as he looks between the apparent sisters, noticing the thick, knife-cuttable tension. "Look, um… let's just all go sit down, get a drink, and then talk… kay?"
Kaidi is still frowning, her brows creased and her blue eyes shining with apparent ire. "No! We're not -sisters-, dummy! Only Kota was my -sister-." She huffs, her chest puffing out a bit, black-ringed ears turned back in displeasure. "You don't count. Thanks to you and your dumb mommy, daddy was killed! She didn't even try to get -us-!" Uh oh — seems like the tension might escalate to a rather nasty fight if someone doesn't intervene pretty quickly.
Kikora is able to spare a look to both Gadi and Msasi before Kaidi starts throwing out hurtful accusations. With her half-sister berating her, bringing up painful memories, it isn't surprising that the poor cub's eyes start to well with tears. She doesn't lash out or even try to interject, just … taking it. Almost as if it's something she's done her whole short life. When Kaidi finally stops, Kikora glares at her, her own black-ringed ears folding back neatly against her skull. "I may not count, but who'd wanna be your sister -anyway-? And my mama didn't kill daddy, the bad lions did! So -shut up-!" Her voice gradually rises until it's classified as a 'yell', her hindquarters rising off the ground as she gets worked up. "Shut up, Kaidi!" She nearly screams, ready to claw the other cub's face off! This may not be out of character for her here in the valley, but it may take her sister for surprise. After all, she's no longer the lonely little cub she once was.
Msasi watches, a little taken back at the two siblings verbal conflict. "Hey," she says quietly to Kaidi when she starts yelling at Kikora, but to no avail. As Kikora starts up, Msasi tries again. "HEY!" She shouts, tail lashing back and forth, and a frown plastered on her face. "Sit down, Kikora," she orders, trying to bring her voice down to a calm level but not quite getting it. She stops to take a breathe, and looks at Kaidi. "And you stop upsetting her," she says, in a quieter voice.
Mention of family turmoils and lost kin strikes an inevitable chord with Gadi, and his quieter attempts to retain peace quickly dissolve, and the young male becomes the hauntingly spitting image of his father, his eyes growing hard and cold and ivory claws slip from his paws. "Hey!" He barks to Kaidi, the scruffy growth along the top of his neck bristling as he steps between the half-sisters, lip curling up in a snarl. "Look, I don't care what happened, but I'm not ganna sit here and listen to you scream at Kikora! She's apart of our family now, whatever happened doesn't matter here. So you can either talk normal or go back the way you came!"
Onaedo slowly comes into view, travelling from the waterfall.
Onaedo has arrived.
Kaidi is taken aback by Kikora's sudden assertive display, pulling her shoulders in some, collarbone clearly visible beneath her pale chest-fur. When both Msasi and Gadi raise their voices, the young lioness first frowns … and then bursts into tears, not bothering with turning or even hiding her face. Her salty tears run down her cheeks in miniscule rivulets, leaving relatively clean streaks in their wake. "Muh-mmmama!" She calls out to no-one in particular, and at first it seems as though she's calling for her mother as a reflex … but her sobs seem deeper than that, almost as if something bad had taken place beyond the acknowledged slaughter of her father.
Kikora seems to calm down a bit when both Msasi and Gadi intervene, though her own tears have begun to run silently from her brown eyes. She keeps a death glare on the other cub, though she leans back on her haunches and gives a few half-hearted sniffles. Just when the wound of her mother's death seemed to be fully healed, here Kaidi came to reopen it without even the slightest hesitation. "Where's your mama?" She manages to ask, though her question is only out of formality. She knows exactly what happened to their father.
Seeing the young lioness burst into tears prompts a sigh from Msasi. "Well she brought it upon herself," the juvenile mutters, giving Kikora a look to make sure she'll be okay, before stepping back quietly and turning to slip away. 'Let Gadi sort this out,' she thinks to herself, not looking back. 'I'm no good at this stuff anyway.'
Onaedo is making his way into the valley glancing around as he goes. His ears perk forward and a yawn escapes him. Voices catch his attention and he glances over while his maw twitches. "What's going on guys?" Is questioned while he moves on towards where the cubs are.
Gadi looks briefly taken aback. First she's screaming and then she's crying. Geeeeez. His ears reflect his faltering spurt of anger, leaning backwards on his skull as his muzzle wrinkles but teeth disappear behind lips. "I… uh…hm." He sighs, tail twitching restlessly behind him. "Look, come on, just… let's just go sit, alright? We got a stream over here, or.. a waterfall…" But he soon trails off, seemingly unsure of what to say, and he ends up just going quiet as Kikora speaks back up. He shifts his eyes over towards his uncle, ears against his skull, a faintly pleading look passed to the older male. Girls are confusing.
Though the two cubs share a father, they are quite different … but, perhaps because they -do- share a father, they are quite in tune with each other, whether they like it or not. "Mama was with me an' Kota. She just caught a wildebeest when a whole pack of hyenas …" Kaidi's voice trails off, and she frowns. Why is she even explaining this to -her-? She gives Gadi a brief look before her eyes pick up Onaedo's approach. She is quick to shy down, crouching in a submissive position, one both from her mother's teachings and instinct. "Wanna sleep." She spares one final glare to the others around her before she trots off a few feet, flopping down on her side … with her back facing the trio, of course. Hmmph.