[ORP] Strangers and Kings (Done)

[Andranis]

Ever just a bit late to the party, Izinyathi restrained herself from charging at her brother. There wasn't aggression in her step, but it also didn't lack some agitation. Her gaze moved from Umkhombo to the two males he'd brought, then back to her brother. "Umkhombo!" She had entirely missed their sister's words to the dark male. "You come back, depose Bangizwe and Andhaka, and bring with you such utterly pale lions!" She paused, before her face cracked into a grin at the ridiculousness of such a complaint. Like their grandmother, Wodi, she was almost entirely white. She wouldn't be surprised if one of the much older lionesses called her Wodi by mistake! "What kind of s**t have you three-" She paused, realizing the rather heavily scarred brown lioness with them was new. "FOUR... Been through?" Izinyathi's gaze flicked again to the two males who had shown up, taking in their own scars. While they didn't meet the pride's old believed proper dark mane, they had clearly proven their worth in some form of combat.

Meepfur

Somewhere around the fringes of the group, Imvula watched the goings-on. Her interest in the group of males was different from everybody else's. With a mother who'd been a Busisa and an unknown father thanks to a rogue swap, her only family in the pride was in the form of her two sisters, Ilanga and Ukungcola, and Ilanga's cubs. Her sister's cubs, of course, were no longer cubs by now, long grown up since their father, Jasiri, had been defeated as Inselelo. She smiled, somewhat to herself, as she contemplated. Beside her, a much younger lioness took a resting spot. "You're in a good position right now, Amancane. None of those males are related to you!"

Sitting and watching, Amancane had been curious. She'd only known, of course, of the change of Inselelo. Never in her life had she ever witnessed the changing of Abaholi. She wanted to know, naturally, more about these lions. One was known to the pride - The son of a former Umholi, she'd heard - while the other two were completely new. While her father had been an Umholi, himself, her mother was a Busisa. She had no compunctions, as a result, about new males and dark manes versus light manes. She also knew Imvula had none of those frets, though she did still adhere to many of the old ways. The tan lioness, watching the three Abaholi with interest, asked, "Why haven't you had cubs with any Abaholi before now, Imvula? Or any of the Inseleli that have been through."

The dust-brown lioness cleared her throat, shifting slightly. "None have really appealed to me, I suppose." Pale manes were fine and all, no sign of weak genes in the least, but there was something she was looking for she couldn't quite place her paw on.  

[Meepfur]

Sinir frowned at Kasirga's response, not satisfied with it at all. It was all well and good if she wanted to insult the Abaholi who weren't family, but if she was lumping Umkhombo in there as one to be insulted, that didn't sit well with her. The temptation to argue was enormous, and her frown deepened to a scowl while she weighed whether or not it was worth it to start a fight with her sister right this very moment. In the middle of the crowd, it was sure to cause a scene. Finally, she huffed out, "Don't let Khazine hear you talk like that, or you'll have a fight on your paws."

Her tension and undertone suggested just how tempted she was, but she'd become marginally better at practicing restraint after they'd settled in their new home. There hadn't been much use for it when they were living as rogues, but now she forced herself to follow the change of topic. As she opened her mouth to say something, however, a lioness who bore a strong resemblance to Khazine's great-grandmother marched up to Umkhombo and his little band, speaking loudly about the paleness of his partners and questioning what they'd been through. Very direct. Nice.

"If they answer, maybe we'll find out." She canted her ears forward intently, hopeful but also doubtful. Umkhombo had been fairly evasive about answering questions thus far. "If not, somebody else is bound to know him." They could question their mother, or aunts, or any of the rest of the older Qyrhy. They'd find out one way or another.

((Meanwhile Sinir is ready to FIGHT. ...not that she is ever really not ready to fight.))

Ecavi

 

[Meepfur]

A not insignificant part of Sinir was positively gleeful that Kasirga read the threat in her words, because she really hadn't wanted to drop the subject. She'd made a half-assed, passive-aggressive effort, sure, just enough that she could say she'd tried later when Sabit inevitably laid into her if they caused a scene. Such a turn of events was looking increasingly likely, as Sinir went from argumentative to downright insulting, "Can you? Or have you gone soft since we got here? You want to insult them, but where are your scars?"

While Sinir would be among the first to spring to her sister's defense or aid if someone else threatened or insulted her, she was perfectly happy to provoke her - not because she didn't love her, but because no one was a better fight than her kin, especially when they were riled up, and the opportunities for that were few and far between.

Ecavi

emotion_facepalm

 

[In Good Faith]

Isobana began to purr contentedly, surrounded by all the young cubs. She began cleaning the nearest cub's forehead, one that had just arrived named Nkosenye. Watching all of them run around, she noticed Amakhaza and her litter. The surge of jealousy that boiled in her stomach was shocking and Isobana was forced to look away. She'd been watching Ama for some time, having been familiar with her well enough through the lioness that had invited Isobana to join the pride. She also knew, from having been around the lioness, the preference she would have for her daughters over her son. If it wouldn't cause a stir, Isobana would have taken the little boy without question. Unfortunately, that simply wasn't possible given the nutritional needs of young cubs from their mother's milk--not to mention the expectation of sons to leave at the earliest possible time.

Isobana watched the boy in her peripheral, pretending to be gazing at something else entirely when the new umholi spoke up. Her attention turned directly to them and she immediately attempted to stomp her expectations down as to not be disappointed by anything he might have to say. Faust and Ahlaq Sim... something. What an odd grouping of lions. Iso realized she didn't even know the new leader's name who had just spoken.

Tanakako

Thabisa had locked her eyes on Isi's form that was turned away from her. Hind in the air, she was readying herself for attack by wiggling her butt in preparation--when her mother spoke up. Deflated by the distraction, Thabisa--not so gracefully--thumped to the ground and laid, looking up at Chiko. "Why did they come here?" Thabisa was much less concerned with the events of this morning, already fading behind in her memory, now that she was surrounded by family. She began cleaning her paws again, waiting for her mothers explanation. She already had a million more questions lined up when a deep, loud voice drew her attention. Unnerved again, the little lion cub stayed close to the ground and repositioned herself between her mother's front two legs. Once he sat back down, the little lion looked around for a better understanding. It didn't seem like too many lionesses were upset so she quickly relaxed herself back into grooming, her question directed at her mother forgotten.

AstoriaFallen

 

[Meepfur]

"Izinyathi." Umhombo greeted his blue-eyed sister with a grin to mirror hers. He'd traded the company of one sibling for another, it seemed, and it was a trade he had no objections to. Direct, less caustic, more sarcastic...easier to get along with. "If you really want an answer to that question, you'd better ask it when you have a lot of time on your paws, because it's a long damn story, and that's just speaking for myself." Whether or not they were all willing to tell their stories at some point, well, that was up to them.

Andranis

Got her. Sinir knew just where to apply pressure, and it got her exactly what she wanted: one pissed off sister. This was going to be totally worth getting her hide tanned by Sabit later (she had no doubts that, even heavily pregnant, the massive lioness would still whup her) for making a scene in the middle of the pride and upstaging the arrival of the new Abaholi. Good, let everyone have something else to talk about!

The spotted lioness accompanied the excited lashing of her crooked tail with an all-over wriggle of her body as though she were loosening up to pounce, a reckless grin spreading across her face. "Hell yes it is!"

((they are never invited to anything ever again, omg.))

Ecavi

 

[ABVirus]

Ezinothuzi eventually had to come back to the rejoin the rest of the group. She kept a close watch on all of the cubs in her line of sight.
She was losing track of who was whose cubs, especially since the pride took care of the cubs as a whole, rather than just the mother being the sole care-giver. It was one of Ezino's favorite things about living here, that she got to help take care of the little ones.

There was a lot of bustle going on at that moment, she realized. For example,
it appeared that there were newcomers to their migrating group once more.
New males and a female, too, she had come to realize. She wondered where the males before them had gone, briefly sending them a good thoughts, be for resuming her gazing upon the cubs. They, as always, were her top priority.  

[belloblossom]

Safura's ears perked up at the new information that was given her. This lioness was the new Umholi's sister? Well, then.
"Oh my, I didn't realize." She admitted. "I hope you don't think me completely daft." She smiled, sheepishly.

Moving her gaze from Uheshe to the new males in the pride, she regarded their manes carefully.
"I hope I don't sound shallow, but their manes aren't much to look at."
She went on to add quickly, "Well, nothing in comparison to your brother,
anyway. It seems like we're gaining a theme of light-maned leaders, these days." She said to her companion, thinking of the pale-featured Kuhasa.
Had it been a mistake to court him with these new males present?

Meepfur

 

[Annchen]

Jagazi couldn't stop staring at the younger lionesses, at each others throats over scars if she heard right. Really? She knew that their family group acted as if they were proud of their scars, but it seemed silly to be riled up over who had the most. Hunting was dangerous enough, and several lionesses in the pride had scars to prove their near misses. Looking like a battle tested male wasn't something to aspire to in her opinion.

"That's a stupid thing to argue over," she blurted, never one to think much before speaking. "Woah! Hey!"

She had to take a step back to avoid the sudden brawl.

Meepfur"[/quote]

[quote="Ecavi

---

Ilantshi was still off sulking somewhere, but Ukufa didn't want to miss the arrival of the male that would lead the pride with Umhombo. Her friend would be ok. Many lionesses had lost a father today, so she'd surely be able to seek comfort with one of her many siblings, half-siblings and aunts.

And so the other Abaholi arrived. There were two of them, as it turned out, both kind of exotic-looking compared to the males she was used to seeing around. This was the first change of power she'd experienced, but it would probably not be the last. With a few exceptions the Inselele usually weren't very long lived, so to speak.

The new males and the Busisa that came with them was almost exciting enough for her to forget about her Ukuzalwa. Not quite, however. She couldn't wait to have it over with and finally be an adult.  

[SilverLutz]

Faust rolled his eyes slightly at Nike's comment. Had it been anyone other than the two males that stood with them he might have been concerned that she'd start a row before they even officially began their rule within the pride, but given that it was Umkhombo and Ahlaq, he knew that they knew how Nike worked. She was a valuable ally and friend but could be quite abrasive to those who didn't know her.

As they were introduced to those gathered, Faust gave a little bob of his head at his name in recognition towards the large gathering of females and cubs so they'd know who was who. Nike went without saying, of course, as the only female of the group. He could feel uncountable sets of eyes on them, weighing them and judging them on looks alone. Khombo had told them of the strange beliefs the pride held - dark pelts were 'stronger' than pale, for instance - but none of it was terribly harmful and there were always those that thought differently to every group.

"Don't test me," Nike sneered at the dark male, her tail twitching in amusement despite the rather unpleasant look on her face. While she had been friends with Faust the longest, Umkhombo and Ahlaq were the only other two lions she trusted and would kill for.

She turned her intense gaze to the females as Umkhombo spoke, taking her turn in judging them. If she didn't like the pride she would go, as she had told Faust, and so far she wasn't terribly impressed. The lands were a bit more forgiving than what she had been used to for the past few years, but the lionesses gathered were rather...well. Lazy looking. They were all just standing around or laying with cubs and speaking quietly to one another. Had there been a shift in power back in their old pride everyone would have been challenging the new Warlord to prove him or herself in battle. Here they just sort of accepted it.

A snarl caught her attention and immediately Nike turned to see where the noise had come from. Two lionesses had gotten into a tussle over something and it was far more interesting than standing by the three males as everyone stared at them.

"You boys have fun," she said, tossing a glance back towards the three males before trotting off to get a better view of the scrap going on. She pushed her way passed a few other females, not at all caring if she as breaking etiquette in doing so.

Meepfur

oo DeD

Ecavi

Andranis

Izinyathi can have gotten pushed by Nike if you want~
She's close enough that she could have gotten a bump on the way by.
You can do with it as you wish ^^

 

[In Good Faith]

Purely based on reactive instincts, Isobana let loose a snarl and a snap of her teeth at the lioness that nearly bowled her over. It was defense of herself, but also the young cubs that sat before her. Stupid women she thought, snarling as her hackles rose head to tail. She repositioned her body above the cubs, Ibp’nenkinga, Ikenna, and Nkosenye, bristling at the lionesses who paid her no mind that she could tell.

Ecavi

Puhterodactyl

Tanakako

Thabisa gaped at the scuffle, her little eyes wide as she stared at the lionesses go at each other. Scuffles here and there were not unheard of, but it was scarier to see it happen so soon after the events of this morning. While young and not fully aware of her own emotions, Thabisa was feeling what one day she would recognize as being overwhelmed. It was enough to have new leaders, but now lionesses were fighting amongst themselves so soon after? It was too much and she slunk back, closer to her mother and hid her face into her mother's belly, hoping mama would take them away soon, away from all of the others.

AstoriaFallen

 

[Puhterodactyl]

Quote:

Ibe glowed– and gloated– in the grooming from Isobana, leering at her brother trying to inspire jealousy. He would get his own attention later, though, so she didn't feel guilty for depriving him at this moment. She mewled at Nkosenye in greeting, then shrugged in response to her sister's question, then found herself quite hurt over her sister getting the grooming spotlight. She still hadn't caught up with what was going on, but would be sure to bother her mother about it later with a barrage of questions. It was somewhat Umlotha's fault, though, as she nurtured their troublemaking habits.

Worse still, she found herself caught amidst the tangle of legs and feet as ??? something??? was happening? Why couldn't adults control themselves?! She hissed and slunk a retreat with her ears pointed back and her fur bristling.

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In Good Faith

Tanakako

Quote:

Kwanele followed Kosan and nipped gently at his tail to alert her brother to her presence. While she was at least lucky enough to be a female, she also lost love for being born brown. However, the cub was resilient and all the more determined to prove herself to her mother. She gave Kgabu a steely look for bullying him, but didn't say anything.

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belloblossom

Quote:

Ikenna, always a little overwhelmed by his sisters, chose to ignore Ibe's taunting to headbutt-greet Nkosenye before carefully picking his way to say hello to Buyisiwe. It was nice to get a little break from all the estrogen.

"Hi, Isi, I'm Ikenna. Those are my sisters, Ibe'nenkinga and Nkosenye."
He watched (with some amount of relief) as he was spared the bumbling squall of lionesses, but he pretended he didn't see his sisters getting stepped on.

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AstoriaFallen

Quote:

Uzuri grinned at Isobana.
"You'll have your chance yet," she said and winked. She had hardly the time to get comfortable for all the cubs clambering over her before Kasriga and Sinir headed their way. Her eyes grew wide and her tail was stepped on and her shoulder bumped by who-knows-who and she opened her mouth, as if to roar, but could not manage to get a sound out for how confused and startled she was. She managed to throw her companions a glance as if to say 'who does that??'

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Ecavi