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None of the pride knew where Redtop, as they called the young sub-male, had come from... but they liked him. They first noticed the young but mature male on the very fringes of the outlying pridelands, but it did not take him long to circle in closer, and closer... it was said he sometimes spirited away starving cubs, or perhaps FED them, behind the very KING's back- and once, he was seen walking with a cub that the king had /chased/ from the lands- it had been too hot and dry for him to bother killing it, so it had escaped, if only barely... and then he came close enough again, to return it to it's mother, unnoticed... little acts of... well, one might call them /kindness/, but the Lionesses noticed other traits far more valuable than his dedication to a strange pride's wellbeing...
For example, one day, the sub-male Ulmash had so loved for his submissive, obedient nature... simply disappeared. Some of the adolescent females thought the male usurper might have slain him, but there were no such traces found. Another suggested she'd had a dream in which, of all the ludicrous things, the new red topped male had actually /paid/ the reticent submale off, to leave for better hunting and /safer/ places... yes. Much Safer.
Much Safer, because Ulmash had grown old, arthritic, and a little unstable. Unlike his predecessor, he had not gone rage-filled, but the opposite- he was lazy and bored, nothing amused him /enough/ anymore. He did not even have the energy to slay the cubs he disliked, but sometimes chased them off time and time again until they died of the lack of food and water that the Great Hunger had brought, or until another lion had snatched them up. SOME had been seen at the enclave of the gorillas, of all places! Ulmash's cubs! Unfathomable!!
There was really only EVER one way that this could end, the pride knew... all the pride /except/ Ulmash, perhaps. Because he seemed blissfully unaware as the young male came so close, so daring, as to mate with females and leave his scent on the nearby rocks of a dried up riverbed. The nerve, they whispered- the sheer gall of it... it was titilating, and thrilling, and he soon had a bit of a a smile or smirk apon his lips as he passed by... so CLOSE to the slumbering warrior-lion Ulmash that he surely should have scented him! ...but he did not.
Ulmash was sleeping heavily one bright full moon night, when Redtop made his move.
It was an ambush in the very center of the pride, and Ulmash roared in outrage! He took claw and fang to the younger warrior as if he would be satisfied with nothing less than wearing his hide for a robe! ...but it was not /Redtop/ whose blood quite suddenly filled the dry dust in rivulets... tho Redtop took many wounds, particularly the ugly scar upon his very lips, his muzzle... it was Ulmash who took a fatal blow. The younger male had slashed deeply, and had caught more than one vital artery... the limping Ulmash staggered, and then the blood that poured from under his mane joined the blood puddling from the inside of one hind leg... and he simply toppled and FELL.
The young male did not seem to take a great deal of pride in his win, despite the thrill of the pride's females, most of whom had all but openly cheered him on. He simply left the great male to his closest females, the old queens... and he limped to a spot near the caves and ledges, where the younger females could lick HIS wounds, and let THEIR cubs come to sniff him, and be sniffed, in return. Not a single one was killed. (although a cynical female noted none of them were MALE either) A few even found comfort in his body, pressing themselves to him and sharing the kill the females had brought back from the hunt- discovering one ruler deposed and a new one in his place... a stunning change.
What they did with Ulmash he did not ask. Some things are private, he told the cubs, and some things do not pay to brag about.
He was a bit of an enigma. So gentle to his new pride, and so soft with the lionesses who were still stiff and standoffish after the battle. Some did not care for him, but he allowed it. In fact, one young lioness used to whisper he'd even seemed smug or pleased- and she thought it might have been that those grieving lionesses had been reluctant to toss HIM out... in leaving them their grudges and grief, he also gave them room to accept HIM as the new King.
In time, they no longer called him 'Redtop'... they called him Abatu. Abatu, "To Do"... because if there was one thing the huge male was known for, it was getting things DONE. In the years that followed Ulmash's reign, Abatu proved to be a fine leader. He was ruthless and strong, and his cubs often inherited some of the celestial markings he had upon his coat. Sometimes even, they inherited his complex, stunning Jasper eyes. They almost always inherited his quiet intensity too... and one day, he saw one of his male cubs begin to shine, in a way that made him think of the future, and the decline of his own time on this world began.
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1 GB = Sex-changer
5 GB= Base Changer
4 GB = 4 Marking Opacity Changers
2 GB (value) = Random Marking Applicators
1 GB (actual) = Random Marking Applicators
2 GB = Marking Removal Tool (see above. argh)
3 GB = Marking Replacer
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Names waiting to be used/re-used/etc
((Dinum "Verdict" as in "one who has had a verdict passed on them, or has passed a verdict apon another. ...or both."))
(( Sillu = "Shade" ))
Tabalu "Take Away" + Ultu "From" = more or less "Stolen" or taken from someone/someplace
(( Niksum "cutting" + Adaru "fear" = Cutting Fear ))
(( Ki "earth" + Redu "lead" = Name context, she Leads in an Earthly, Practical, 'down to earth' way. "She leads on Earth." ))
(( Seru "Back" + Sidru "Battle Line" = In this name-context, she who considers the battle line behind her- or crosses it without mind, or otherwise charges right in past the front lines. She's a charging can of whoop-ass. ;) ))
Her mother, Etu-Agu, was growing older by the time Niksum-Adaru was born... but Enkanu bred true, and her little cublet had been born with the sparkling marks of the night sky upon her coat... it did not take long for that little pest to grow, and grow... and begin to assert some of her Father's best traits. He was a Savage thing, but not foolishly so- not cruel for cruelty's sake, and neither was his fine daughter, Niksum-adaru.
It had been a very difficult stand off, between a pack of your Lionesses and the Hyenas they had crossed too near to... and the tension was thick indeed. she earned her name from that moment- when her companions and sisters did not move, when tails twitched and growls and cackles mingled... quite suddenly Niksum-Adaru had had ENOUGH. She lurched forward, a spitting, clawing wash of power, as she hurled herself into the mass of Hyenas, and her sisters followed. It was a good day. They reclaimed the territory to hunt, and hunt successfully they did. Bellies full, even the cubs had a haunch to maul back at the Pride's dens.
(( (( O1: Onyx Lionesses with Celestial Speckles as a marking. ))
(( Sisitu = "summons" + Muli "stars" = in name context, "She who summons the stars" in reference to her colors. ))
(( Adaru "fear" + Kua "fish" = She fears fish - hey, don't judge, you didn't SEE the fish they brought home for dinner that time!))
Zu "Flesh" + Uri "Blood" = flesh and blood
"Parasu = "cut" + Epru "dust" - to actively cut 'through' the dust or obscurement
(( Anbar = heavenly metal - in this context, she is like a heaven-made/obtained metal, as in weaponry use )) This was a sub-queen who died very shortly after Ulmash.)
(( Gir "foot/feet" + Babbar "white" = "she has white feet" ))
(( Kima "like" + Zabar - a type of gleaming, double-metal, like the edge of a samurai sword, double tempered))
Zabar= "Gleaming Metal" named for the shine of her coat
(( Pa "Leaf" + Gi-Lim "Murder/er" = Leaf Murderer )) <-- named for her silly cub antics, as they took her in from another pride and she was full of 'hunt all the things'!
Igisum "gift" + Emuqa "by force" = essentially a gift that was taken, not freely given. He stole her from Wadi's pride!
(( Parasu "cutting/cuts" + Sinnis "female" = Yeah... she'll cut a... female. yes.))
Essuru "Bird" + Titi "Belly" or "Bird Belly" one who eats very small meals. So petite!
Salmu "Black" + Anpa "Zenith" (of the sky/stars) = roughly, The Black at the Zenith of the Sky- referring to her starry/cloudy coat which is black overall even so.
(( Alka (come) + Qitrubu (close/near) = "Come close" ))
Her name, alluringly soft and subtle, is a fib of sorts... Alka-Qitrubu is a wicked, strong young Lioness who has a throaty purring rumble to her speech, and whose eyes whisper promises she may or may not keep... tho her name speaks of coming near, one might not want to take that offer...
Asku "dangerous" + Uznum "ear" = Dangerous Ear, as in, don't tell her things unless you want, you know, top be pranked or gossiped about or taken advantage of. She probably earned this name!
Mummu "born" + Etu "dark"/"to be dark" = She who was born dark, with a double meaning of 'to be dark' as in not quite evil, but... kinda. ;)
((Az "little" + El "death" = In this context, "little bringer/hoarder of death" ))
Even as a tiny cub, Az-El had a strange an amusing little habit... she would hunt the locust or the tiny lizards, or grapple a feather or perhaps a precious egg or two... but then she would carefully cache them away. It was a habit, a hobby, or perhaps a hint of the wiser Lioness she might later become- but even now, while she is young, Az-El is known as the hoarder of little deaths, of things which can be safely cached away for later use... if not a carcass, then a skull, a feather, a locust wing... these things bring her joy- as much joy as a dragon gets from it's own horde of gold... Best not to encroach on that, her littermates have quickly learned! Tiny claws and fangs are SHARP!
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((Sinister, all Onyx, do something with this one's bio/apparel/etc))
((Ispur = "he sent" + Adaru "fear" = He Sent Fear, as in 'to me' and 'to them' at the same time))
There was something /about/ the solid onyx cubbin when she was born to her otherwise unremarkable mother... She had a snarl about her, and her Father's cold Ice eyes... he was amused. He was pleased. He rolled the little jellybean cub around under one paw, and pushed until she squeaked, and then BIT him. OH yes... She had something about her, and he didn't know what, but Ulmash knew she would grow up to become something different, something special. A fire in her eyes, even wet and newborn, that delighted him. Perfect.
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((Immaru = "orphan" or "alone"))
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You levelled up successfully and gained +1 Smarts & +1 Stamina & +2 Agility !
You levelled up successfully and gained +3 Speed & +3 Stamina !
You levelled up successfully and gained +1 Strength & +1 Speed & +5 Smarts & +1 Stamina !
You levelled up successfully and gained +3 Strength & +2 Speed & +2 Smarts & +3 Stamina !
You levelled up successfully and gained +5 Strength & +5 Speed & +1 Stamina & +1 Agility !
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You levelled up successfully and gained +11 Strength & +3 Speed & +2 Smarts !
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You levelled up successfully and gained +7 Strength & +3 Speed & +7 Smarts & +1 Stamina & +4 Agility !
You levelled up successfully and gained +5 Strength & +1 Smarts & +4 Stamina & +14 Agility !
You levelled up successfully and gained +5 Strength & +6 Speed & +5 Smarts & +10 Stamina !
You levelled up successfully and gained +5 Strength & +13 Smarts & +7 Stamina & +3 Agility !
You levelled up successfully and gained +2 Speed & +8 Smarts & +17 Stamina & +3 Agility !
You levelled up successfully and gained: +5 Strength, +3 Speed, +10 Smarts, +9 Stamina, +5 Agility!
You levelled up successfully and gained: +10 Strength, +1 Speed, +8 Smarts, +7 Stamina, +8 Agility!
You levelled up successfully and gained: +10 Strength, +2 Speed, +3 Smarts, +5 Stamina, +16 Agility!
You levelled up successfully and gained: +7 Strength, +1 Speed, +16 Smarts, +8 Stamina, +6 Agility!
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You levelled up successfully and gained: +2 Strength, +4 Speed, +4 Smarts, +2 Stamina, +32 Agility!
Impression levels raised 31
Expression: Smug
Primal (Ferus)
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