Perfide Militum
Number of Lions: 4 | Next Ancestor Visit: Now | Mod Notes: Descriptions instead of color-ins please!
The past moon had been good to Saeva. The mountains were rich with prey, and the once-thin lioness's pelt now rippled with muscle. She'd been dealing with intruders lately - a gang of young males, likely brothers. They likely thought they could chase a single lion like Saeva out with their numerical advantage, but she was tough, thoroughly trained in combat by her former pride.
Patrolling the borders today, Saeva caught a fresh scent of the lion gang. She tracked them deeper into her territory, keeping low in the bushes to stay unseen. She drew closer and closer, and before long she heard voices on the wind. She caught a new scent too, a lioness'.
"After we're done with her, why don't we string her up like the shrikes do? Let her be a warning to anyone who would disrespect us!" The lion laughed, and two other voices joined in. Saeva raced ahead, closing the distance between her and the others. Within moments, she was close enough to see that three lions had the lioness backed up against a cliff wall. The males didn't see Saeva, but the lioness did, a glimmer of hope appearing in her eyes as she made eye contact.
Saeva had no mercy for lions who disrespected her borders like this. She fell to a hunting crouch, slowly creeping up on the largest of the three. When she came within range, she leapt onto his back. He let out a roar of surprise that was cut short with a hard bite to the back of his neck. The other two whirled around to face Saeva, enraged. One charged at Saeva, she darted to the side and let him crash into his companion. As the two sat there, momentarily dazed, Saeva grabbed the closer one by the throat and bit down. Blood poured into her throat and she let go, letting him flop to the ground. The final lion began backing away, but he was too slow to flee as Saeva turned on him, knocking him onto his back. She swiped her claws across his throat, soaking her paw in the process.
Saeva expected to see fear and horror in the lioness' face when she turned her attention to her, but instead she saw nothing but adoration.
"You saved me, I owe you my life!" the lioness exclaimed. "I don't know what I could possibly do to repay you."
Seems like I've got a lioness with undying loyalty to me on my paws, Saeva mused. Seems like my ancestors are holding up their end of the deal. I could use her life debt to my advantage in so many ways... Putting all of her charisma to use, with a friendly wave of her tail Saeva said, "Well, you can start by telling me your name. My name's Saeva, and this is my territory. You're plenty welcome to be here, by the way."
"O-oh, of course! My name's Runt. Sorry to intrude, one of those awful lions chased me here," she explained.
Saeva shook her head. "Who would give you such an insulting name? A beautiful lioness like you deserves a beautiful name. I can suggest one, if you'd like."
Runt looked down shyly. "I would love that. A-and I would love to join your pride, if there's room for me. You're so kind!"
"Of course there's room for you! Actually, I've been alone for a while. I'd really love to have your company." As many lionesses as I can get, actually. But one is fine to start. "As for your new name, I'm thinking... Fiducia."
"I love that name!" Fiducia looked back up at Saeva. "And I'd like to head to your camp now and rest, if that's alright. Nearly dying is rather tiring."
"Of course!" Saeva replied. "Follow me, queen consort Fiducia."
Hearing her new title clearly exited her, because despite her exhaustion there was still an excited spring in her step as she followed Saeva home.
---
"How much farther is it until we reach the next pride?" Ayaan whined as the midday sun beat down.
"I don't know, I hope it's not far." Cali and his little sister had been looking to join a new pride after being kicked out of their old one when their mother's infidelity had come to light. Their mother had not had the fortune of exile, so now Cali took care of Ayaan instead. The lion had zero ambition of his own, and wanted nothing more than to find a new pride to serve.
As they trudged forward, it became clear that the mountains looming in the distance were going to be an obstacle. But Cali spotted a pass cutting through the mountains, so they turned and headed towards it. A scent border blocked their path, so Cali sat down just outside the border.
Ayaan wiggled around excitedly. "Another pride! Maybe this one will let us join!"
Cali doubted it, but he couldn't bring himself to crush his sister's excitement. The two waited at the border for a patrol, idly chatting about the weather and the terrain.
Soon, Cali spotted a pair of lions approaching along the border. One darkly striped with a thick dark mane, the other pale spotted and maneless. He nudged Ayaan to stand up straight, as he called out to the pair.
"Greetings! My name is Cali, and this is my sister Ayaan. We're looking for a new pride to join, would you be willing to have us?"
The maned one scowled at the tawny and cream pair. "I don't allow males in my pride. Too much risk of competition."
Ayaan's face fell. "But we've been travelling for so long!" Cali nudged her to be quiet, but she ignored him. "I should have started training a moon ago, but we haven't had the time."
The striped one was unmoved, but the spotted lioness showed a bit of sympathy in her expression. "Are you sure we can't make a spot for a single male in the pride? Just for the cub's sake, if not his." She then whispered something Cali couldn't hear.
The striped lion grumbled something quietly in response. Then spoke louder. "The only way I'd let a male like you in would be as a shaman. Shamans aren't allowed to take mates or have cubs, so as long as you abide by the laws you're no threat to me. And I should warn you that punishments for breaking my laws are very harsh. But this all hinges on you already having knowledge of healing herbs already. Do you?"
Excitement coursed through Cali's veins. "I do! In my old pride, we didn't have shamans. All lions were to learn healing herbs. I can be your shaman!"
The leader sat down and curled her tail around her paws. "Then prove it. Bring me five herbs and tell me their uses. We'll be waiting here for you to return."
Cali and Ayaan dashed off, and eagerly searched for the herbs. By the time they returned, the sun hung low on the horizon.
"We're baaaaaack!" Ayaan announced. Cali couldn't speak through his bundle of herbs, but he nodded at the pair of lions before placing the herbs on the ground.
Cali pointed to one of the herbs. "This is a canyo plant. You chew it into a poultice and apply it to the teats of a mother who's having trouble producing milk." He pointed to a bundle of leaves. "This is ara'ar, mothers eat it to help them give birth." Then he pointed to a different bundle of leaves. "Fil-fil awliyaad is used to treat coughs that come from deep in the chest," pointing to some roots he added, "and meeceey kaamuun is used to treat coughs that come from the throat." Finally, he pointed to some fruits. "This is the kali fruit, you make a poultice out of it to treat wounds." He looked up at the leader eagerly, hoping he'd proven his worth.
"You've proven yourself as a shaman, at least on the healing front. I can direct you where you can learn the spiritual aspects." The leader stood up and turned around. "Follow me to camp. I'm Saeva, by the way." She gestured to her companion, who was also ready to leave. "This is my queen consort, Fiducia. She'll be training Ayaan."
"Welcome to the pride!" Fiducia added cheerfully.
Saeva, Fiducia, and Ayaan go hunting
Saeva, Fiducia, and Ayaan patrol the borders
Cali looks for herbs
Saeva asks the ancestors for a lioness
Queen:
Saeva | 29 | Female (trans) | X
Queen consort:
Fiducia | 21 | Female (cis) | X
Shaman:
Cali | 18 | Male (cis) | X
Guards:
Name | Age | Gender | [url=link]X[/url]
Name | Age | Gender | [url=link]X[/url]
Hunters:
Name | Age | Gender | [url=link]X[/url]
Name | Age | Gender | [url=link]X[/url]
Trainees:
Ayaan | 7 | Female (cis) | X
Name | Age | Gender | [url=link]X[/url]
Mothers:
Name | Age | Gender | [url=link]X[/url]
Name | Age | Gender | [url=link]X[/url]
Cubs:
Name | Age | Gender | [url=link]X[/url]
Name | Age | Gender | [url=link]X[/url]
Elders:
Name | Age | Gender | [url=link]X[/url]
Name | Age | Gender | [url=link]X[/url]
Ally Prides:
Enye Damu | broken*
Pride Name | Username
Enemy Prides
Pride Name | Username
Pride Name | Username
Borders
North | Pride Name | Username
East | Pride Name | Username
South | Enye Damu | broken*
West | Pride Name | Username
Fresh-Kill Pile:
Mouse | x0 | 1 serving
Goat | x1 | 2 servings
Scraps | x0 | 3 servings
Impala | x0 | 4 servings
Warthog | x0 | 5 servings
Medicine Store
Ara’ar (1) | Leaves are eaten to assist in birthing
Bur-bur (0) | Entire plant is chewed into a poultice
and applied to reduce swelling
Canyo (1) | Entire plant is chewed into a poultice
and applied to aid lactation
Dhunkal (0) | Gum is a poison
Doer (0) | Sap is applied to eye injuries
Dubdele (0) | Leaves are eaten to treat fevers
Fil-fil awliyaad (1) | Leaves are eaten to treat pneumonia
Jijimoole (0) | Leaves are eaten as a sedative
Kali (1) | Fruits are made into a poultice for wounds
Kaliginoze (0) | Dried leaves are applied to scratches
Kaxar-marood (0) | Roots are used to treat allergies
Makarumbey (0) | Leaves are eaten to treat stomach upset
Meeceey kaamuun (1) | Roots are eaten to treat URIs
Mentors:
Fiducia | Ayaan | 0 | Moves
Mentor | Trainee | No. of training sessions | Moves
Deceased Lions:
Lion Name | Cause of Death
Lion Name | Cause of Death
Family:
Name and Name | Cubs
Name and Name | Cubs
