Red Eagle - VoK Pride Writing

[Nia The Elf]

S7 - 4 points - claimed

Fire by Kimya Dawson
“It seemed like everyone I knew was dying”
When Sabira was a cub, she lived in a different pride. She was born and raised in a pride that often found themselves at war with other prides or animals. To Sabira, it seemed like everyone that she knew in the pride was dying, since they were fighting so often.

“I looked in the mirror, and I was on fire - Somebody yelled out “Hey, stop drop and roll” I said “That might save my skin, but it won’t save my soul””
Being on fire, having these problems in the pride affect you, it’s damages you on a deeper level. Someone telling you to just stop, drop and roll might put out that fire on the surface, but it does nothing to heal the damage inside. So Sabira can be told to fight back in small ways against Barak, but it will not be enough to fully heal the wrongdoings against her and others.

“You swallow hard and you bottle it up - Try to pretend you’re a half full cup”
Having to grow up amongst so much fighting and so many deaths, the danger of the wars and everything on top of that was terrifying to her. However, she could not complain or stop anything that was happening, so she swallowed down her fear and worry, bottling up her emotions. She tried to pretend she was the “half full” kind of person; optimistic and happy, despite how she truly felt.

“Believe what they’re feeding, you’re eating it up - While I’m reading books about how they’re corrupt”
It seemed like everyone else didn’t even notice the toxicity within the pride. They all seemed content with the fighting they were forced to do, the way the leader of the pride was controlling. It was as if she was the only lion to recognise and learn about the corruption within the pride. Everyone is eating up the falsehoods and doing nothing to change anything.

“He says he’s protecting us but he’s a liar - And I know deep down that it’s down to the wire”
The leader of the pride, Barak, was a strong and proud lion. He uses his strength and power to try and show that what he is doing is in the best interests for the pride. The wars he forces them through and the rules he puts in place. Forcing cubs to partake in warrior training barely after they’ve been born to increase the numbers of fighters, chasing out the entire animal kingdom from their massive territory of wasted space. He promises protection but he lies.

“My heart will stop if I put out the fire - As long as I’m burning, I’ll keep on yearning - To save the world, not sure how but I’m learning.”
The fire being the pride’s mess of a predicament, if Sabira tried anything to put out the fire and clean up the mess, challenge Barak’s leadership and counteract against the corruption and toxicity, she would surely be killed for her attempt. Barak would never let her challenge his leadership. So all Sabira can do is keep yearning to save her pride and not follow in Barak’s footsteps. She didn’t know how to do that, since she was young at the time, but it was at that time when the Red Eagle himself approached her and started teaching her a more positive way of living. She was learning.

“Since what they call the beginning….Blood has been shed… They call it civilized, I call it crap”
Since the start of Barak’s leadership, he had caused blood to be shed to better the pride and the land. The pride calls it civilised, but Sabira sees it not at all that way, she believes that what Barak has done and has caused it horrible.

“If we really want for this world to survive - We’ll just take what we need to stay alive - It’s a mistake to just take and not give - It’s not true that we must murder to live”
Her pride took way more than they ever needed. They constantly chased out and killed off any prides nearby and then moved onto different packs and clans of all other animals. It was never enough for Barak, he always wanted more. Sabira’s mindset, however, is that you don’t need to be so aggressive and murderous to have your pride survive. You can be diplomatic, make allegiances and be friendly rather than be aggressive to everyone and everything. You can’t just take, take, take - you need to give back too. You don’t need to murder to live and thrive.

“And telling the truth the best way that I’m able - I’m placing my cards all face up on the table - It’s ok to be scared, you don’t have to act tough - Just take all that pain and turn it into love”
When Sabira finally decided she wanted to leave, start up her own pride and create a loving family environment, she wanted to let everyone in the pride know the truth about what Barak has been doing. Even though they see it on a day to day basis, having someone finally speak the issues out loud and announce what is wrong and how/why it should be fixed is much different. Sabira places her cards - or her plans and feelings - face up on the table for everyone in the pride to see. It’s okay to be scared of Barak, she was after all, and you don’t have to act tough - she never did at the start - but you can take all of the pain that his leadership has caused you and turn it into love, begin to change things and fight back with the love that you have for one another.

“And let your emotions be fuel to your flame - Being on fire will keep you awake - If somebody yells out “Hey, stop drop and roll” - Say “That might save my skin but it won’t save my soul””
Sabira, having been affected and hurt for so long by Barak, was able to stay awake and aware of his wrongdoings. If you continue to be hurt by him, you will continue to see past his lies.
Sabira, though she didn’t want to stay in the pride for much longer - knowing what Barak would do to her, she lets the rest of the pride know about everything, tries to elicit a reaction or a change from them before she leaves. She doesn’t know if they will change or follow her lead, but by living and experiencing his rule with an awoken and clear mind, she is able to advise her friends and family the best she can before fleeing.

Perhaps this song is more of what Sabira wishes she could have been, rather than what she fully was. Though she wanted to fight back against Barak, she was scared and didn’t know how the others would take to it. She wanted to start some sort of revolutionary change like the song implies the singer did, but instead all she could do was try to get the pride to wake up and smell the roses and initiate change before it went too far. Then, after she laid her feelings and thoughts out in the open before her pridemates, she fled. Taking with her the learnt morals and hopes that she and the Red Eagle had created together. In hindsight, she looks back and wishes she could be strong like the song implies, but she can only improve on that and be strong for her new pride.

1014 words

[Nia The Elf]

S7 - 2p - claimed


This song is basically a metaphor for guilt. Enaid is a very skilled and strong fighter; when she needs to fight, she - like a barbarian - will go into a merciless rage. It is almost an unnatural strength that she seems to possess, but despite this skill; she absolutely hates the violence.

Before Red Eagle, Enaid was in a pride that made the most of her abilities. Any hunting needed to be done? Get Enaid in that patrol. Hyenas or other lions threatening the pride? Get Enaid on the front lines. As acts of loyalty to her pride - her family - she didn’t complain and she did as they asked.

It was a lot of bloodshed. A lot. And she was unlucky enough to have been in such a pride that allowed a death penalty for wrongdoing and disloyalty. You can guess who was the go-to to carry out those.
Though brave and strong, she was never strong enough to fight back against the acts she was asked to do, so instead - one day - she managed to leave. She could no longer handle staying there, the guilt was adding up, so she steeled herself and left.

“Well I didn’t tell anyone, but a bird flew by - Saw what I’d done he set up a nest outside, And he sang about what I’d become”
When Enaid left her pride, she found Red Eagle. She never spoke of what she had done in her past, she hated that part of her and wouldn’t ever willingly mention it. But a bird flew by and learnt what she had done in her past, and began to tell.

“He sang so loud, sang so clear - I was afraid all the neighbours would hear, So I invited him in, just to reason with him - I promised I wouldn’t do it again”
The bird sang of her past wrongdoings so loud, she was worried that her new pridemates would hear and think bad things of her because of her regretful past. So, she invited the bird to chat and promised to it that she would never be like that again.

“But he sang louder and louder inside the house, And no I couldn’t get him out - So I trapped him under a cardboard box - Stood on it to make him stop …. That’s the last song you’ll ever sing…. Taught him a lesson he wouldn’t forget”
The bird refused to listen to and trust her word, so it continued to sing out her sins louder and louder, to get anyone else to hear. In order to get it to stop, she resorts to drastic measures; trying to stop it the best she can and allows herself to be violent. As the bird is a metaphor for her guilt, it just won't die down or shut up, constantly making her feel bad about herself and what she had done - even though she said she would leave that life behind, her conscience hounded her constantly about her past. Allowing an act of violence now towards herself - despite how much she despised it - she just wanted the guilt to leave..

“But in my dreams began to creep - That old familiar tweet tweet tweet”
But it never would leave. Even in the safety of slumber, the guilt is there, always gnawing at the back of her mind, chipping away.

“I opened my mouth to scream and shout, I waved my arms and flapped about - But I couldn’t scream and I couldn’t shout. The song was coming from my mouth.”

She tried to fight the guilt, to fight her past, but it wasn’t working. The song, singing her sins to everyone, it came from her own mouth.

Enaid will always be wracked by the guilt of the bloodshed and violence she had partaken in, but she will fight back as much as she can every time.

503 words

[Nia The Elf]

S13 - 1 point - claimed

“Urricea is joining our patrol? Really?” A chorus of small moans sounded.
When Urricea joined the pride, the lions who had been at Red Eagle the longest seemed to warm to her like a basking lizard on a sun rock. However, the younger the members and the newer they were; the rumours of her bitter behaviour spread concern through the ranks.

“She is an experienced warrior, so should you get into any trouble - which hopefully will not happen - you will at least have someone who can handle the situation,” Anhora’s tongue was sharp so as to quell the discomfort and sounds of complaint, but he turned his back and smiled as he padded away. They would definitely need luck handling the lioness, that was for sure.

Urricea snaked her way to the gathering patrol. At a glance, she saw only younger lions who shuffled awkwardly on their paws and wouldn’t meet her gaze. They stood in silence.

“Right!” She barked out, stunning nearly half of them and causing the other half to stumble over clumsy paws to stand to attention. “Are we going?”
It was enough to get two lions to lead the way out of camp.

Naturally, Urricea fell into place at the back. She smirked when her eyes could see the hairs on the back of some members begin to rise - she was able to watch them from where she was, after all.

The patrol stalked quietly around the northern border, and they head back in quite the same way.
As they reached the entrance to camp, Urricea roughly shouldered past the line to get in first; turning back, she smiled “Good job today everyone,” before retreating down the steps and into the darkness of her den.

It was taking time, but they would warm up to her.

300 words

[Nia The Elf]

S13 - 1 point - claimed

Clarine was like a myth to Red Eagle.
Of course, she was a member of the pride, had been for a little while. But, she seemed to flitter from place to place, manipulating shadows in her wake to shroud her path.

Most lions had not really experienced a proper interaction with the dark lioness, instead only hearing her name or stories of her on patrols.
It was when the meteor had fallen from the sky and the “Uuk’oks” attack that the story of Clarine had caused even more interest.

What little words anyone had heard from her, were unique in their dialect. She spoke in a more sophisticated and perhaps confusing dialect that nobody else really seemed to have - speaking in short sentences, long terms of vocabulary, unusual phrases and idioms.

But, despite such individual behaviour, she was surprisingly easy to work with. Being much more of a follower than a leader, she sits back and observes - yellow eyes hardly closed. On patrols, she appeared to teleport beside different lions at different times; close your eyes for a second and she had left your side to go walk with someone else many steps ahead.

Lions that joined her patrols viewed it as a godsend. For knowing very little about her - though they never learnt any more from those patrols - they could see that she knew her stuff.
Clarine made sure to alert anyone of tracks, which she followed with the ease and expertise of a master.

She never argued. Never discussed. Simply, she lurked in the darkness or stood silently beside her friends - a lone wolf whose eyes never stopped meeting your own gaze.

274 words