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Census
The Pridelanders
Scar & Zira
♂04 ♀05

The Outlanders
Kiume & --
♂04 ♀02

The Coldlanders
Ismahel & --
♂03 ♀03

The Shadowlanders
Ni & Abuto
♂07 ♀03

The Desertlanders
-- & Quanna
♂02 ♀03

The Lowlanders
Nyota & Duara
♂02 ♀09

The Ashlanders
Nako & Heshima
♂02 ♀03

The Rogues
♂04 ♀04

The Other Species
♂03 ♀00

Total: 63
♂31 ♀32

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 Twisting Road

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Tao

Tao


Posts : 52
Pride Points : 443468
Join date : 2012-02-07

Twisting Road Empty
PostSubject: Twisting Road   Twisting Road EmptySat May 12, 2012 9:21 pm

The sun was beginning its rapid descent towards the western horizon, and the peach princess was walking alone near the swamp that signified the border of her father's lands. She would not cross the border, just as she had assured her father – unless there was an emergency, of course, but she didn't anticipate anything out of the ordinary to happen to her on her solo walk. Every day in the Outlands was basically the same: wake up, be uncomfortably warm, chase a lizard, pounce a brother. It was only while she slept that Tao was able to escape the confines of her dull life. There, she saw kingdoms vastly different from the one she called home. One was filled with big, giant trees and cascading waterfalls unlike any Tao had ever seen in person, but she was certain they existed somewhere. Another was nothing but rolling sand dunes, as far as the eye could see, and this is where her mother made her special appearances while Tao slumbered. This, she knew, was the desert.

True, Tao had never laid eyes open her mother, but she was certain that’s who the smiling lioness of who dreams was. She shone like the moon, with pale silvery fur, and Tao's eyes, just as Kiume had attempted to describe. These dreams were the cub's favorite, for she always felt comforted when she woke. Sometimes, her mother even spoke to her through her dreams, but Tao could never make out what was being said. The gentle tones were always garbled, like listening to a conversation from too great a distance. She hoped that one day, it would be different, and she would hear her mother speak. These thoughts consumed Tao as she padded along, looking at nothing in particular as she traveled, but careful to stay away from the edge of the cliff that would send her into many hungry, snapping jaws below.

Suddenly, Tao felt an unexpected chill in the air, enough to cause her to stop and shiver, despite the lingering heat of the afternoon. She peered cautiously around, wondering what it could mean, for Tao was a lioness who believed everything meant something. Stepping cautiously towards the edge of the ravine, Tao looked across the swamp to the stretch of grassy plain that she knew to be the Pridelands. Unsure how to feel about the neighboring kingdom after conversing with her father, Tao sighed softly and questioned if she would even exist today, had Kiume remained a Pridelander instead of finding himself king of the exiles.

It was a wonder that she existed all, Tao thought to herself, as she continued her trek, but more slowly now. If it were not for the Outlands, she was quite certain her mother would never have found her father. At least then, the lioness would still be alive, though her three cubs would not. Would it be better to never have existed, so that her mother would have a chance to live her own life before her litter ended it prematurely? But Tao was certain her mother loved her, even if she was no longer there.
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Nuka

Nuka


Posts : 30
Pride Points : 441142
Join date : 2012-03-01
Age : 28

Twisting Road Empty
PostSubject: Re: Twisting Road   Twisting Road EmptyFri Jun 01, 2012 8:01 pm

Even with increased rations, Nuka still always found himself hungry. Even though he was growing larger and stronger, he still always found himself weak. And due to his hunger and weakness Nuka for some reason found himself at the border of the Pridelands. Maybe the neighboring kingdom would have an extra scrap of food to give the young cub but then again, weren't these lands full of exiles? The young cub wondered if Sarafina or Mheetu were here. No, Mheetu was dead, Sarabi had said she had saw him fall into the gorge, but others thought differently. What about Giza? Had she found her way to the land of the exiles as well as unknowingly Tama had? Either or, Nuka was hungry and he thought he would be able to find himself some food. The hyenas weren't around the border and he lost the eyes of the last hyena a while back and couldn't believe that they weren't patrolling the borders enough. Oh his father was sure to hear about this was he not? Well, if Nuka complained about the hyenas to his father again, maybe he would have his meal rations revoked? It was a scary thought to the cub, even if he was growing older and stronger he needed the extra food that his father was giving him or else he would be scrawny like his older half-brother Kifu. But as Nuka thought about it, maybe his father should let the lionesses hunt outside of the lands? Just so the land's inhabitants didn't have to starve?

The log that connected the two lands was long and narrow, but after a minute or so of making sure he didn't slip off, Nuka was out of his homelands and into the forbidden Outlands. The prince stepped carefully off of the log and onto the lands of the exiles. But as soon as he did it, he regretted it for right in front of him was a light peach colored cub. She was clearly older than the Prideland heir but it somewhat scared him. Nuka was clearly on their territory and he wasn't protected by any laws or status. He was a prince out of his lands, no stupid hyena in sight to protect him if this older cub meant harm. So Nuka rushed to the nearest thicket and hid, his dusty russet coat blending in with the dying branches of the plant easily. He stay hidden as he curiously watched the cub look into the direction that he had just come from. Had she been an exile as well? Did she miss the Pridelands that Nuka so widely adored? Well, it wasn't much of the lands themselves since they were dying just like the Outlands were, but he loved his pride and his family. Especially his family, that was the most important thing in Nuka's life. Even if he had a plethora of elder half-siblings, and he may be the youngest of his siblings, he still loved them all. Well, maybe not all of them. He was irritated to say the least about Giza and her brother Kifu as well as Uma. He hadn't had direct confrontation with the russet female, but Nuka just seemed perturbed by her.

Nuka then saw that this female cub had the same bright cerulean eyes as his elder sister Giza had. Maybe this was a forgotten cub of Heshima? No, his father would never exile any members of the royal family. But maybe this was just another half sibling of Giza and her siblings that came from Heshima's first mate? Wait, his father was her first mate wasn't he? Yeah, Heshima only had four cubs, now three since Giza had gone missing. Nuka took a small step forward and tumbled out of the thicket, creating a large crashing sound which would surely make the cub turn around and possibly defend her lands. After the initial oomph, Nuka got up quickly and backed away quickly. Horror flew through the cub's eyes as he was caught in another lion's lands. Nuka wasn't a prince here, and his father could do nothing to help him.
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Tao

Tao


Posts : 52
Pride Points : 443468
Join date : 2012-02-07

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PostSubject: Re: Twisting Road   Twisting Road EmptyFri Jun 01, 2012 11:59 pm

Hunting beyond one's borders was asking for trouble, and so was a wandering prince. The Outlanders were not as vicious or violent as some would suggest, but it was probably best that the docile daughter of the dry lands found Nuka first. His scent on the breeze had barely caught her attention when the cub came crashing out of his hiding place, and Tao wiped around to see that she wasn't alone. The fear was obvious in the strange cub: from his stance to the frightened look in his strange crimson eyes, Tao could sense that Nuka was more afraid of her than vice versa. On the contrary, Tao seemed hardly nervous at all in the younger cub's presence. This was probably due to the fact that the other was nervous enough for the both of them, and was clearly no threat to her own well-being.

She took a minute to look over Nuka, inspecting his dusty coat. Why, he was small, just like Tao! The peach cub herself had never had much of an appetite, which worked well in a territory without enough food to go around. Tao often took less than her fair share and hardly seemed to notice the way her ribs protruded just slightly beneath her pale coat. The chubby cubbishness was vanishing from her features daily as she grew. She was well on her way to reaching adolescence. "No one's going to hurt you." She found it impossible to resist chuckling. Of all the lions on the savanna, Tao was probably the very least threatening, and so his reaction was rather amusing. "Not from around here, I take it?"

Her light sapphire eyes danced away from the male to the neighboring kingdom, where she assumed he had traveled from. Once before, near that area, she had met another cub from the Pridelands, and she remembered the encounter in such great detail. It haunted her. She remembered Tasa, the sorrow and emptiness Tao had witness in the daughter of Scar, not realizing that the russet cub was in fact her half-brother. "It's okay," she offered, taking a few hesitant steps in his direction. "What's your name?"
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Nuka

Nuka


Posts : 30
Pride Points : 441142
Join date : 2012-03-01
Age : 28

Twisting Road Empty
PostSubject: Re: Twisting Road   Twisting Road EmptySat Jun 02, 2012 1:16 pm

When Tao spoke, Nuka's tenseness fell away and he softened up to the kind cub he was. When asked if he wasn't from here he shook his head, although the peach colored cub in front of him knew the answer. Nuka was from the Pridelands, and the cub in front of him was from the Outlands, they were enemies by one single exile, this cub's father. Although, Nuka had no idea about that. Nuka waited until the cub was done speaking before telling her his name. The cub stood tall and puffed out his chest slightly. "I am Nuka, pr-," but he stopped there, he didn't want to reveal who his lineage was right then and there so he changed tactics, "protector of the Pridelands and their royal family!" The cub looked to the elder cub who only was older by five mere months and narrowed his eyes. "You can't feed me to your pride you know, my father wouldn't allow it! He'd have King Scar send the hyenas on you and your exiled pride," Nuka wasn't one for being as rude and harsh as he was sounding, especially since this cub was showing nothing but compassion, it was a change in the dusky prince's life, the only one who was nice to him was Sarabi and Kata. Well, and Ari as well. But Nuka was scared, especially for his life right now even though the peachy cub said that nothing would harm him. But, Nuka never really trusted strangers, he didn't wish to get into even more trouble with his father.

Nuka tried to stand as tall and strong as he could with his nervousness trying not to show. "Well, who are you then, Outsider?" The official term for the Outland pride was the Outlanders, but Nuka had heard his father use that term many a time. It flowed better than Outlander did off of the cub's tongue and Nuka favored it more than the official term. He wondered if this female had ever heard of the term before, but the cub realized she probably hadn't. The male padded around the surrounding area and started to sniff around, he couldn't smell any sign of meat in the immediate area and the lands looked almost parallel to his own. "You don't happen to have any extra food sitting around do 'ya? That's the only reason I'm here, to scout out the lands and see if the herds had moved on to here. Maybe there could be some agreement. I doubt it though, King Scar is adamant about staying out of the Outlands." Nuka played his cards right, he kept up with his little lie about not being the prince. It felt weird to use his father's name and not just say 'father' or the occasional 'dad', but after a while Nuka would have no idea that he would kill all ties he had to the russet lion. And then, Nuka lied once more, he wasn't a scout, he slipped off to find something to bring back to the pride to show that there was food somewhere.

Yes, Nuka would probably be yelled at by his mother, but he would most likely receive praise from his father. Yes, that's all Nuka wanted, praise from his father and to show him he had what it took to be king. Nuka had no idea that the cub in front of him was also in line for her own throne, but she came from a different view of family. Her father loved her, her mother -although deceased- loved her, her brothers were full-blooded and loved her. The only thing with this female was that her sister was adopted, not half-blooded like the rest of Nuka's siblings. No, Nuka loved his life back in the Pridelands, but did he really? He wanted so much love from his parents, but would he really give it all away if he had the chance? It was some food for thought, but Nuka wouldn't think too hard on that right now. Right now, he needed to find food, in order for him, his mother, his father, his brother and sisters, and his pride to survive.
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Tao

Tao


Posts : 52
Pride Points : 443468
Join date : 2012-02-07

Twisting Road Empty
PostSubject: Re: Twisting Road   Twisting Road EmptyTue Jun 05, 2012 10:51 pm

Tao's expression remained calm, though inwardly, she felt a surge of panic as Nuka introduced himself. If he was the protector of the Pridelands, he was the protector of everything that they represented. Tao hated to seem unfriendly or rude, but she remembered everything her father had told her about their neighbors. She wasn't certain if she should offer her name in return, but after a lingering minute, she decided it wouldn't do any harm. No one in the Pridelands knew who she was, as far as she was aware, but for safety's sake, Tao would withhold some information of her own. Just like Nuka, she wouldn't share her royal identity with a stranger. "My name is Tao."

An incredulous laugh bubbled forth as Nuka worried about becoming someone’s meal. "No one is going to feed you to anyone else, Nuka! Goodness, I can't imagine what they're telling you over there in the Pridelands." Tao had met only one other Pridelander in her lifestime, and memories of that meeting had already surfaced. Tasa had acted as if the Outlanders were vicious cannibals, while Tao held similar views of the pride across the border. There was something else that had been bothering the young lioness, and so she asked, "Why is your king friends with the hyenas?"

Never before had Tao been called an 'Outsider;' the term was entirely new to the princess of the exiles. While she was certainly aware of the circumstances that had led to her father's exile and coronation, being called an Outsider caused Tao to frown. "Outsider," she repeated thoughtfully. Then the other cub had the nerve to ask if they had food in the Outlands to spare. Surely he knew that the kingdom was a punishment, and Tao wondered if he was mocking her. Her usual friendly tone hardened. "We hardly have enough to keep ourselves alive, thanks to your king. He sent us here to starve. Maybe he doesn't want anyone to come here because they'll see what has happened to us. Lots of them used to live there, you know." With a huff, Tao tried to calm the temper she hadn't realized she possessed.
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Nuka

Nuka


Posts : 30
Pride Points : 441142
Join date : 2012-03-01
Age : 28

Twisting Road Empty
PostSubject: Re: Twisting Road   Twisting Road EmptySat Jun 16, 2012 3:10 pm

The cub nodded as the lioness revealed her name as Tao, and he repeated it over in his head a few times in order to make sure he remembered it. But when the peachy female laughed about how Nuka feared being eaten, he snarled and narrowed his eyes. "My father says that you're all blood-thirsty savages that defy King Scar's rule! I've lost my sister since she stumbled into the Outlands, I'm surprised you all haven't touched me yet!" But Nuka's eyes widened and he cocked his head, "Wait, you, you aren't going to eat me? But father said," Had Scar been telling lies to the cubs? About how the Outlands were their mortal enemies, and how Giza had stumbled into these lands and didn't return. She was dead on all accords and Nuka couldn't be happier. The lands were much better off without her, without any of his siblings for that matter. It would only be a matter of time before there was only Nuka and Uma left in the Pridelands, all others dead or exiled. It would be a sweet day in Nuka's mind, but the thought of losing Ari would kill him as much as it did his father. He wasn't close to the russet female, not by a long shot, but she was always the nicest to the prince. When Nuka became king, he would let Ari be queen until he found himself a mate. But of course, that would never happen, only in Nuka's dreams. But then Tao asked a question that Nuka wasn't sure he could answer.

Why was his father affiliated with the hyenas? All they ever seemed to do was cause trouble, but was there another side to the story? He would have to ask his father once he returned unharmed. If he returned unharmed that is. But until then, Nuka stood proudly and stood his ground against the Outlander female. "The hyenas protect the royal family as much as I and my father do. And in return we give them food for them to protect us. My father says that the hyenas are the only safe way to survive now-a-days, since everyone but my family hates King Scar. Why do you ask? Do you eat our hyenas too?" Nuka was unaware that Tao's father Kiume would kill and bring home one of the canines if it stumbled too far away from the pack. No one would notice them missing, the hyena pack was hundreds strong it seemed, and new hyenas were being bred daily. Shenzi seemed to lead the pack, and she was too infatuated with Banzai and Ed to notice anyone else. Did she have any pups of her own? Nuka didn't know, he didn't care for his father's alliance with the hyenas but he couldn't let Tao know that. If he was supposed to be the protector of the royal family as he claimed to be, he had to agree with everything his father did and said. Even if it meant hurting the ones that were closest to him. His father was a mad man to some, but a god to others like Nuka.

But the young cub quickly regretted asking Tao if she had any food when she retaliated, and Nuka fired back, "You lot deserve to be here! You defied my father's reign! You're all just lucky that he's letting you live a petty existence out here. If he wanted to, he could have the hyenas come and attack at any time and wipe you all out of existence! Everyone knows what would happen if they were to come here, lead by a stupid lion who thinks he's king. You all may be exiled, but my father's still owns you! He still had every right to come in and kill you himself. The land of exiles, that's what this place is. And you're here just with the rest of them Tao, no one wants you," Nuka didn't realize that he had let the fact that his father was king slip, and soon he would regret it. But would he regret calling Tao's father a stupid lion? Of course Nuka had no idea that she was the princess of these lands, but was he in for a rude awakening. This first encounter between the two royal lions was harsh, and who knew if it was going to turn into a fun one either. But the Great Kings were contemplating something for the pair, the two children of kings, about to lose their title to the throne. It was an ironic thought that both of these cubs were going to be common lions soon enough, and that something would happen to bring the two closer together than they ever would have expected.
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Tao

Tao


Posts : 52
Pride Points : 443468
Join date : 2012-02-07

Twisting Road Empty
PostSubject: Re: Twisting Road   Twisting Road EmptyMon Jun 18, 2012 2:47 pm

When Nuka snarled at her, Tao was clearly not amused. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she remained perfectly still, simply looking at Nuka. The only other Pridelander she had ever met had been equally rude and unpleasant, and Tao wondered if they were all so mean. It took a lot of Tao to keep her wits about her when Nuka said such awful things about her pride, and she waited until he was done speaking to offer a response. "Do I look like a savage? You're the one trespassing and making a scene, not I." From her well-groomed peach coat to calm blue eyes, Tao was the exact opposite of an Outsider. Whether or not the Outlands were a punishment, Tao had pride. "We don't eat other lions here. I don't know what you've heard about us, but I suspect it isn't even half true."

Nuka seemed to take a moment before he could come up with a decent reply to Tao's question about the hyenas. She said nothing in regards to eating the mangy beasts, because it was something Tao seldom did, even in desperation, but the others were guilty of it. "Maybe he uses hyenas to do his dirty work because no one else wants to. Shouldn't a king have a pride willing to do as he pleases, instead of those stupid animals? And have you ever stopped to wonder why everyone hates Scar? He doesn't even deserve to be king." Then, Nuka let slip the truth: Scar was his father. Nuka was the brother of Tasa, and the missing cub Giza, who Tao had tried to find herself. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly reigned in her shock as Nuka ranted on and on about how bad the Outlanders were, and how nobody wanted Tao. But Tao knew she had done nothing wrong in her life to deserve punishment of any kind, and Kiume had already informed her about the circumstances that had lead to his exile.

Finally, Tao lost her patience when Nuka called her father a stupid lion. Her lip curled back into a snarl. She had never been this angry with another living thing before, and she wasn't sure what to do. Fighting wasn't in her nature though, and she kept her distance from the dark prince. "My mother came to the Outlands by choice. Some of us are here because your father can't handle the competition of bigger, better lions in the Pridelands, but I was born here. I'm not ashamed of my pride - or my father, King Kiume. He's a better king than Scar will ever be, he doesn't even need hyenas. Scar is only king because his brother died, and before that, the Pridelands were a great place. Now they're no better than the Outlands." There. Now the secret was out for both. Tao knew that it was stupid to let on that she was part of the despised royal family of the Outlands, but she felt a deep sense of pride, and a need to defend her family and her homeland.
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