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 Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 10:11 am
 Note: Masuka is explicitly ignoring the new rules regarding the border. This RP is with Safaia, so she is indeed aware of it.
Walking quietly along, she daydreamed about discovering her mate there waiting for her. She knew he had decided to take up residence in a pride by the sea, it was probably the reason he hadn't visited in so long now. It still stung to think about him settling down and not picking her home, but she was far from a reluctant party in this relationship. This arrangement allowed her to remain independent and it was hard to be lonely in a pride this size.
If he was already here, it would make warning him about the border and filling him in on what had been happening a lot easier. Her hopes were much higher than normal.
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Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 7:30 pm
"I said that the watering hole looks smaller now!" the male protested loudly. He had shed his little trinkets from his home pride, left at home as he was out on scouting duty. Hard to be quiet and wear metal and jewels that were loud when you didn't want them to be. "Oh, it is fine," Haribu said with a snap of her jaw. She didn't need much water herself, as she had a habit of chewing on grass when she was thirsty on the job.
Hasani opened his jaws to retort against Haribu when he noticed a lioness walking... along the border? On the Pridelands side, but she didn't seem to have that heavy weight of duty (and requirements) on her shoulders like a soldier or a scout. "Hey!" he called, not giving Haribu a moment to shut him up before hailing the pale lioness.
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Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2019 9:19 pm
Masuka was watching for scouts, she needed to know if any were around if she was going to sneak past them and figure out if Feruzi had managed to get by unnoticed, after all! She just.. wasn't watching carefully enough and nearly jumped out of her fur at the sharp call. Her determined march came to a very abrupt stop and she turned to look at the two scouts who had found her. She recognized one, he looked vaguely familiar in the way the farther branches of the royal family often did.. but the younger lioness with him was foreign looking. Masuka was certainly more worried about getting caught by the border patrols than any of the trouble those patrols were watching for but Hasani's presence especially put her at ease.
She smiled at them, looking more patronizing than sheepish.
"Hello," she said, allowing them to close the distance but not moving herself, "Can I help you?"
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 2:05 pm
Haribu watched Hasani's frustration grow on his face as the female seemed rather.... unrepentant in her obvious mistake. She decided to let the male lead the conversation, her eyes glancing between the lioness and the lands beyond the border.
"You do not appear to be a scout or a soldier," Hasani said with a confused tone. "Did you not hear the king's decree, that the border is closed? We work in pairs, if possible, to keep the lands safe. Why are you alone here?" Their numbers were still too small, and Hasani was considering just the numbers of scouts and soldiers; not those that held those positions and believed in the cult. Those numbers were even fewer.
"Easy," Haribu said quietly, knowing that Hasani had good intentions but was poor with his word choices. Something caught her attention, approaching towards them. It was hardly more than a speck, but she knew that something was going to happen if they continued to stand around talking.
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 2:27 pm
Masuka took a moment to appreciate that it was not a younger lion trying to scold her for breaking the rules. The lioness looked younger than her or Hasani, but not by much. Still, that didn't change that he was treating her like a cub.
"I am not a scout or soldier but this is a well-worn path," Masuka argued calmly, focusing on Hasani since he was the one so intent on arguing, "It's never been dangerous here, the attacks were in the other direction."
She knew the rules and the risks and despite that, some part of her had decided this area was safe. It had to be. Kohaku and Rinj were not near here when they were attacked, if Biskuti had been then she had not heard (but who had heard enough about that attack?) .. it wasn't where the gods had been spotted, they were not near the hyenas..
But most importantly.. this was where Feruzi would be. It couldn't be dangerous here.
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 3:04 pm
"There are no guarantees anymore," Haribu said quietly, turning her attention more towards the female. She was rather pretty, her confidence radiating from her face. Older that she, sure, but Haribu didn't consider any of that as important as her posture.
"If you really have to be here, you should have a guard with you, at least." Hasani wasn't convinced that this side of the Pridelands was safe. Sure, if you continued out towards the way she was looking, you'd eventually hit the sand of the Firekin, but that didn't mean it was safe.
---
Jehanum was not built for endurance, obvious by his sides pounding and his pace slowing. Ama was rather indifferent to the red male's suffering, and nipped at his heels to keep him going. "You will deal with the repercussions if we aren't there in time" The day was warm, but he always kept his lion pelt tucked around his shoulders. It helped to mask his of hyena smell when they were moving outside of the Mava'bunda, a skill needed when his Alpha assigned him mundane tasks such as these. Jehanum's father had made a request, and Masuko obliged. They were to be on the other side of the Pridelands; a trek that would take a few days, but they made it in less.
Jehanum knew that there was more to this mission than 'just a request' from his father. Dath was plotting something, and his visions had only given him bits and pieces to put together. They were going to make it just in time, and some sort of fight with lions was going to start. He wasn't a fighter, and Dath knew this; Jehanum wondered if his father just wanted to see how much he could toy with him before he died. By lion paw or by his heart giving out, he wouldn't know. He was already missing a chunk of his own fur; he would probably lose more soon.
"We.... are...." Jahnum breathed, trying to keep his pace up before another snap came from Ama. "Almost... there.... "
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 3:13 pm
Masuka looked at Haribu and then back at Hasani as he continued to push that she should not be here alone. She didn't relish in having guests or observers when she was hoping to meet her mate, especially after a long absence. After a short staring contest, she knew it wasn't fair to blame them, they were doing their job.
Maybe not a very good one, unless they were spectacular at pretending they did not suspect her of being a part of the chaos building within their pride. She was a bad candidate for it, but she was still out here alone.
"I can't go back yet," she said, ultimately choosing honesty, "My mate is outside the pride, if he's out here alone then he's in more danger than any of us. We at least know something is going on."
She had no idea there were hyenas approaching.
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 4:15 pm
Hasani was rather impressed at her explanation. He eyed her carefully, taking a long moment to consider her words. Haribu's eyes moved over towards the hyenas, as they slowly were drawing closer and closer. This had to have been the mark she was given; no other words had been exchanged since that time.
"Oh.... I guess that makes sense," Hasani replied, oblivious to what Haribu was looking at. Probably watching the border, since he was carrying most of the conversation with this lioness. He didn't have a mate, and didn't really know what it would be like to have one, but he also realized that part of the king's decree was about relationships like this. "Did you tell anyone you were here, like the king asked?" he began, trying to extract a bit more information from her before deciding what to do.
---
"Shh." Ama knew that the younger male was exhausted, but they were beginning to get close enough to being heard. It would be another poor mistake if they were alerting the lions to their positioning before they were ready.
Jehanum did his best to slow his breathing, keeping himself lower to the ground as they drew closer. He finally stopped, feeling the grasses around him as he sunk to the ground. His coat colour could give them away if he wasn't careful, but he wanted to review everything with Ama first.
"We're to make a ruckus, nothing more. I wish we had more than you, but we will make due," Ama grumbled. Jehanum was too flighty, too empathetic, too... not the right fit. He was an awkward spot in the Mava'bunda lions, and the older male assumed that his father wanted him to toughen up, hence all the assignments that Jehanum was given.
The grey and red hyena swallowed hard, hoping that today wasn't the day that he died.
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 4:31 pm
"No," she answered plainly, shrugging, "I've traveled out here numerous times by myself, it has always been safe. And if Feruzi was out here.."
Well, Masuka wasn't lying to say she was worried that Feruzi would stumble around the border while it was dangerous but she would be lying if she hadn't expected it to be the same as always. The danger for her mate came from the gods that were playing cruel games with them and the border patrols that would not trust just anybody.. and both seemed so unreal and unlikely that this could have been just another visit.
Not everything had to be falling apart at once.
"Will you come with me?" she said finally, guessing it to be the only way she could get a move on from here and at least check if her long-absent mate was finally stopping by again.
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 5:18 pm
Hasani would have rather the lioness wished to turn back. What was one day for another? She could return, find a more skilled escort (as well as warn others of her trip, and obtain permission), and he could carry on with continuing his patrol with Haribu in splendid uneventful fashion. As much as he dreamed of some action on his patrols, he rather liked being alive, so he hoped it would continue to be boring. Instead, she had to go and invite trouble, as far as he was concerned. Still... "Yes, we shall," he sighed.
Haribu shot a look at Hasani for volunteering her to go with them. She had her own mission to deal with, as well as completing their shift. "How far is it?" she asked, glancing outwards again to see if anything had changed. It was quiet, to be honest, and it seemed like there wasn't anyone else too close around Not enough to overhear anything, anyway.
"What's his name?" Hasani asked, blissfully unaware of anything unusual happening. Bless his heart, at least Haribu could count on him for being helpful, if obtuse.
---
"They're getting closer," Jahenum whined, his ears pinned against his skull. He did not want to be here. He did not want to do this. He was screaming at himself internally about just running away. If he ran off, surely he would be safe? But he worried that his father would somehow find him and make him regret running. He had already regretted enough of his actions in his short live, and he was petrified of what his father was capable of.
"So we move," Ama replied, and tightened his haunches. He blasted out of the mid-level grass with an explosion of sound, charging for the lions. Jehanum scrambled to follow after the hyena, exhausted from the long trek around the Pridelands. Fear kept him moving at this point.
---
There wasn't much time for anyone to react. Haribu had been keeping her eye on the pair, but she nearly missed their initial movements if not for the sudden sound it made.
"Get down!" she yelled, attempting to push Masuka onto the ground as Hasani looked shocked.
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 5:39 pm
She could see and hear his reluctance but she was glad he agreed. And she ignored that Haribu didn't look happy about it. They could leave her be, she made an informed decision when she came out here by herself. Still, she was starting to grow uneasy. If things were going to go as she expected, she would have made it to their meeting spot uninterrupted and could potentially have been on her way back by now. Maybe it was Hasani's insistence or the reminder that the rules were being taken seriously by others, that they should be taken seriously..
But at least, as she realized it, she wasn't alone now.
"Feruzi," she said, "If you can believe it, he has family members here in the Pridelands. Aside from me and our children, I mean. And he had family in the desert, where I'm guessing you are from."
She eyed what little of his jewelry he wore.
And then the hyenas came out of nowhere and she was shoved to the ground unexpectedly by the escort she had been paying the least attention to. Her heart beat loudly in her ears and she did exactly as she was told- she got down.
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 7:34 pm
Hasani knew something of his birthlands, but it was hard to say if he had bothered trying to remember it. They had moved to the Pridelands because his father's family was here, and so here they were. It had been an adjustment for him, and he had lost some of his jewelry along the way (with little concern as to where it went).
"Ah, really? That's interesting..." Hasani began to pry further into her concerns when they were suddenly rushed by hyenas. He didn't have a moment to do anything other than look stupid as Haribu reacted swiftly, shoving the lioness onto the ground while the darker hyena snapped its jaws at them. Thankfully, it jarred him back to his senses, and the gold male snarled his anger in return.
"Hyenas? We aren't facing the side of the graveyard!" Haribu exclaimed; this was clearly the mark she was told about. The issue was she didn't know anything about hyenas, but the red that dotted the grey hyena made her stomach churn.
"Keep her safe," Hasani barked, trying to figure out a way to push off the darker male. It was obvious that one knew how to fight more than the other, but Hasani himself didn't know much other than the basics of defending oneself. He kept himself between the ladies and the hyenas, swatting at the stronger hyena while trying to not get hit with teeth or claws.
Ama didn't quite realize that there would be three lions; in fact, they didn't know that there would be much of anything here other than Jehanum's odd reassurances that they'd find what they were looking for here. To confront the Pridelands on a border that wasn't shared with the Mava'bunda would keep them on their toes; there was more to a border than just a shared boundary. These pitiful, foolish lions clearly did not think that a hyena could just walk around, as they had.
Jehanum did not want to fight. He wanted to go home, to hide. But to fight was to survive, and so he did what Ama had done to him; he snapped at the male's legs. In turn, the male lion went after him just long enough to lose his focus on the larger male; Ama was skilled, and his name meant 'slaughter of the lions' for a reason. He slammed himself into the gold mae, knocking him clear off his feet. Jehanum circled around to the lionesses as Hasani scrambled back up on his feet.
"Chase him off!" Haribu yelled, swirling back to face the meeker male that was trying to jump their backs. "I can take this one; he isn't much of a fighter." She snarled at the hyena, feeling herself giving in to her anger rather than pinning it back as usual.
Ama spared his focus on the male lion for one moment, to see that Jehanum must have found what he was looking for. So he began the dance with the male lion; a snap of jaws here, a few feet to run left, a swipe of the claws, a bit more running. It was pitifully easy to get the male lion to follow after him, to make him feel like he was winning. It was a pity that he may not get the chance to kill him.
Jehanum tried to watch as Ama's form faded off to the horizon, the male lion following him all the way. He felt his legs shaking a bit, hoping that the information he had been fed, and what bits of visions he had picked up would keep him alive.
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Posted: Sun May 05, 2019 9:48 pm
Masuka was frozen in place as the world around her erupted into chaos. Things had been going just fine until these two scouts showed up and interfered! She was starting to think they invited trouble by traveling in groups. She wasn't colored to hide well in the grass but on her own, at least she was just one lion.
She growled and lifted herself up off the ground, watching as Hasani and Haribu faced off against Ama and Jehanum. The hyenas were small but they could still do a lot of damage, Masuka was old enough to remember the last war with the Mava'Bunda. She had been a young lioness then, it was before she had met Feruzi, before her boys were born..
She wasn't a warrior but she wasn't helpless either, a hunter could fight back-- but even she could see that she would get in the way trying to join the fray as it was. The hyenas were outnumbered and should be easily overpowered, they were fools for picking a fight like this! But.. she eyed the distinct fur draped over the darker hyena and the determination in the red one, the chunk of his mane that was missing..
There as no getting into the middle of this, but she could make sure nothing else was coming their way. So she backed up, giving the others some room and looked around, watching for signs of other hyenas.. or the gods that haunted their lands.
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Posted: Mon May 13, 2019 8:23 pm
He could still feel himself trembling as he was gored with the vicious glares from the lionesses. Every morning, he wasn't certain if he would survive the day; would he be able to return, to sleep tonight? "Are y-you the.." He was cut off before he could even begin to finish his sentence.
"You reek of him," Haribu snarled. When he got closer, the brown lioness visibly drew back, her claws unsheathed and ready to attack. Her ears were pinned against her skull, her red eyes looking rather vicious at the hyena. "Thankfully you don't have his eyes." Still, she had a hard time believing that this was the message that she had been waiting for. A hyena?
On the flip side, Jehanum knew more about this brown lioness than he wished. His father knew about Jehanum's secret, and weaponized it against the meek male. To find himself compared to this lioness as a pebble to a mountain, he did not want to spend a moment longer in her company if he could help it. If there was a creature that his father approved of, that meant horrors would unfold shortly.
And Dath did not elaborate on her part after he delivered the message.
"Oh well, I don't need anything more than this," she shrugged. Her demenor changed from defensive, to dismissive, to destructive, all within heartbeats of one another. Jehanum didnt have a moment to blink before he felt himself on the ground, pain stabbing through both of his sides from the impact of her claws paired with slamming into the earth. The grasses padded the smaller rocks, but the red-maned hyena knew that the larger ones had at minimum bruised him. Eir would have to help him, if her survived this.
As the hyena blinked the stars out of his eyes, Haribu swiveled around to face Masuka. She seemed innocent enough, even if she was mouthy and more opinionated than Haribu would have liked. Still, one such as her would be missed, and the stone dropped in the water would cause the ripples that her father desired.
"You are safe from the hyenas," she said as she approached Masuka. "But who says you are safe from me...?"
She did not give another moment for the pale lioness to recover, to process her words. She leaped onto her back, her teeth sinking into the back of Masuka's neck as she tried to snap her neck. Haribu would have rather gone for the soft part of her neck, to watch the lioness slowly suffocate, but there was too much risk of failure; Masuka would be able to fight back if Haribu wasn't pinning her down with her weight. Haribu wasn't a massive lioness, but her bloodline and hidden lust for violence kept her in shape.
A hyena murdered this lioness, Haribu thought as she wrestled with Masuka. A hyena that will be brought as proof. She glanced over to the little half-breed mutant, still struggling to upright himself.
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Posted: Fri May 17, 2019 10:04 am
It was a slow realization that one of the hyenas had led away one of the scouts who had found her, but that left only Haribu and the smaller of the two hyenas. The odds now were even more overwhelmingly in the lions favor and the tension left Masuka. She didn't really hear what Haribu and Jehanum were saying but it was appropriately hostile so she didn't realize something was wrong until the lioness suddenly turned on her.
Masuka felt a rush of fear go through her, instinct correcting the relief she had let herself feel just seconds before but it was too late. There was no time left. She didn't get a chance to react, Haribu was too quick and her attack too precise. She struggled but it was ultimately pointless.
Masuka had come out here hoping to find Feruzi waiting for her. Now, as she was dying, she hoped he was far away from this nightmare.
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