ToT--A Visit to the Palandasya

[Zazu]

In which Chioh and Tunu meet with unfortunate fates.

[Zazu]

Palandasya - Majestic Kopje
Three huge slabs of stone form the base of this majestic sculpture, accentuated by multiple smaller stones along the sides - making climbing at least partway up this structure possible. Acacia trees grow around the base of these giant monoliths, and one or two have found root further up the rock. Entry to the inner cavern is made possible by balanced slabs of rock, accentuated by fallen branches. It's obvious that this space is well-used.

Exits:
[East] to the Baobab Grove
[West] to Lake Kweupe
[Into] the kopje

The air stirs with a bitter feeling. Leaves rustle, but cannot agree on a direction, marking this as something more than a mere burst of wind.

The co-king of the Palandasya, Chioh, lays onthe ledge in front of the den in the Kopje. With a curious glance, he watches the leaves dance in the wind, trying to figure out where to go. "They've never done that before."

Uzuri zooms right out of the den heading straight for the leaves! Play!

Adhama doesn't see the leaves. All he sees is his father, distracted. Maybe he could surprise him two days in a row. Adhama quietly sneaks in the tall grass, watching his footing.

The rustling subsides quietly. All is silence. But it picks up several seconds later, this time as a beeline being cut through the grass, parting it. The grass is supple and swings back into place, but still...to anyone who happens to notice it, this must seem more like a snake than a breeze. Its course swings against Adhama's and veers off.

Chioh lays his head on his paws, watching the leaves fall to the ground. With the second breeze cutting throuh the air, Chioh looks over at the grass...just as it looks...nothing different. The king looks to the side slightly, getting slightly on edge now.

Muttering comes from the king.

Uzuri keeps chasing the leaves, leaping up every now and then to grab at one, although she hasn't caught one yet, she doesn't pay any attentioin to her uncle or her cousin, so focused is she on catching a leaf. "Hey! Come back here! Stupid leaves!" she calls out!

Adhama feels the wind against his back and feels a shiver go up his spine. Weird. Even weirder how the grass parted. But Adhama shrugged, and hoped that the parting of the grass didn't give away his position to his father. He crept closer.

"Who is in control?" If the wind had a voice, that would be it on a surly day. It's only a whisper, and it blows over the kopje uniformly. The grass rustles just a tiny bit, but the total effect is unmistakable. Someone is talking to the Palandasya. Someone...who should not be talking.

Chioh ears perk up, not to Adhama's approach but to the whisper that was in the winds. With a low growl, the king stands up where he is and looks from side to side. To try and catch who spoke in his gaze. With a low growl, he says, "I am in charge. Who demands this information?" Growl.

Uzuri pounces up onto the rock before the den and stops suddenly before she crashes into Uncle Chioh. Then she hears the voice and is immediately creeped out and turns and looks for the source of the voice, all the while backing cautiously into Chioh's forepaws, shivering.
Adhama jumps at the voice, turning around quickly and giving his best growl, which, sadly, isn't much. He hears his dad yell out and realizes that he wasn't the only one to hear it, even though it did sound like a whisper. He forgets about trying to scare his father and instead makes his way to the bigger lion.

Now the wind seems to return, but from a localized vicinity. It's one of the three great slabs of stone making up the kopje. It's...rocking. Or perhaps that's mere illusion--perhaps the air before it is rocking. Somehow. And below it stands the faintest hint of a leonine figure, which to most appears as a miasma of gray and green mist. To Chioh, however, it is far more vivid. It is a lion, great in stature, round in head and great in mane. His legs are tense and deeply jointed, and his body is stalwart. "You may believe you rule. But are you truly in control?" asks the lion. His voice is merely a wispy whisper to all but Chioh--to him, the voice is portentious, but real, just deeper than tenor in tone. The eyes are focused on the Palandasya monarch.

Ok, that is definitely new. Chioh takes a step back from the ghostly appirition and growls lowly as he steps around the cubs. His hackles go up as he says, "I am a king of this pride. Of course I am control!" His tail lashes to the side as he growls at the ghostly lion. His eyes narrow slightly as he stares at the lion.

All the noise has rousted Katibu, who was sleeping in one of the nearby acacias. The caracal lifts his head just in time to spot the others, and the strange apparition before the rock. His blue eyes go wide, and he's immediately diving from the tree and rushing forward to place himself between the ghost and the cubs. Cubs first, cubs first!

Uzuri shrieks and her next move is to dive behing the only adult around, her Uncle Chioh. She is visibly shaking and scared to death of this...mist thing.

Adhama huddles behind Chioh's hind leg. He felt bad; he was supposed to be brave...but mist lions? Some things were just too much for a cub.

Speaking of rousing, the quality of the air, too, as drawn the attention of Sambria. She comes up to the side, ears slicking back and bulking shoulders sporting rows of spiked fur. She moves her stature to Katibu, in front of him and whatever younguns he rounds up. If anything's going after anyone, they kinda hafta go through her first. The churning mists are scrutinized with extreme prejudice. "What.. is it?"

The shriek is what brings in the queen from where she had been resting. Akase moves quickly, pausing at the sight before her, "What's going on? Who screamed?"

At the approach of the barbary lion, the rustling and waving fades mostly away. Things seem calm and serene again, with just a hint of danger. Somehow, Sambria seems to have a neutralizing effect on the supernatural presence, whatever it is. But now Chioh's fur is gently wavering just as the grass did and the stone of the kopje after it. Into his ears play that leonine voice: "What is your name, king? What is the name of your land? Do you know the name of Olumide? Have you ever exiled anyone from your kingdom?"

[OOC] Chioh gasps! Sambria sprayed her fur with Anti-Ghost!
[OOC] Akase laughs.
[OOC] Adhama steals Samria's Anti-Ghost and swims in it.
[OOC] Talmaleki says, "No fair guys. :<"
[OOC] Sambria flexes. Anti-ghost, anti-rogue, anti-ambush...
[OOC] Adhama is going to travel with Sam more often- she's invincible!
[OOC] Sambria has but one weakness.
[OOC] Adhama says, "Sand?"
[OOC] Sambria says, "Psh."
[OOC] Katibu says, "Caracals! XD"
[OOC] Sambria shivers.
[OOC] Katibu flexflexstruteyebrowquiver.

Chioh growls slightly as he watches the ghost dissapear from veiw and he turns his head everywhich way to try and locate it again. When the voice speaks into his ears, he growls again. From his mouth comes the words, "My name
is Chioh. King of the Palandasya pride. Why do you care if I know the name of the dead king and the pride that I exiled off of my lands?" Another low growl as he felt the presence making his fur waver to and fro. He was getting pissed off.

Uzuri is still unaware of what the hell is going on. She clings cubbeh style to Adhama, not wanting to be left alone. What is this thing? why is Chioh talking to it? Is it going to kill them? What is she going to do? Where's her momma?

Adhama should have felt proud that Uzuri had chose him to protect her, that is, if he wasn't scared thoughtless too. The disappearance of the mist thing only heightened his fear, and butterflies decided to inhabit his stomach.
What scared him most was his father talking, when Adhama had heard to question.

Sambria pauses a moment. Okay. Let's analyze the situation. Chioh is facing some whacky green goo, the cubs are
scared, Katibu is trying to herd them up and maintain sanity. And. Sam is in the middle. Between Green-Go and
Chioh, and the rest. "Uh, sir?" She's no genius, but.. Chioh shouldn't be talking to himself. "Is there someone
there..?"

The voice laughs, but as it does, it is a very distant thing, as from miles and miles away. When it speaks, it is as before--a full voice to Chioh, a whisper to the others assembled around the kopje. "Then you #have# ruled. Then you #are# a king. Why did you exile Olumide's people, Chioh, King of the Palandasya? Did they displease you?" There are no further disturbances for now--aside from the fact that the wind is still just a little louder than one would expect it to be.

Katibu does his best to usher the cubs into one easy-to-keep-track of group. He goes to Adhama first, nuzzling the young prince and attempting to pull him away. "Come over here, Adhama," he murmurs. "Uzuri, you too. Come along." He gives a grateful look to Sambria. At least they've got a guard here.

Uzuri is too scared to move now. This is just not normal. Here she was enjoying time chasing after some leaves and now...*Stuff* is happening that the cub can't even comprehend. She doesn't move an inch even when Katibu beckons to her.

Chioh looks over at Sambria and is about to answer here, when the voice speaks up again. He growls a bit louder and looks up at the sky, "They would have revolted against me and my brother. We did what we thought was right to protect the pride that we have started." He looks over at his mate, his eyes expressing concern for her. He looks back at the cubs and then back up at the sky. "Tell me why you torment me, phantom."

Adhama shakes his head, the only movement his petrified body would allow, in response to Katibu. He couldn't leave his dad to face. . whatever it was alone. He might not be able to do much, but he wouldn't abandon his dad. Trying to figure out what all was going on, seems to be pointless to Akase. But it was obvious that something happened. Seeing that Katibu was looking after the cubs, she now turns her attention to her mate... who was talking... out loud... to... no one. Only a mist was near him. She takes a few steps towards him as he glances at her, "Chioh... who are you talking to, love?"

Talmaleki appears in the flesh, or what is left of its memory, directly in front of Chioh. His feet are set an inch into the ground, apparently unnoticed. His outline ranges from turquoise to starlight yellow from flicker to flicker. He is only vaguely visible to everyone aside from Chioh, somewhat more so to Sambria and Akase. To Chioh, he is clearly the ghost of a lion. "I only want to know you," the lion says plainly. "I am not angry at you. I want to know why you would exile a pride whose only crime is that you believe they #would# have revolted." The mane billows silently. "Please explain this to me."

Chioh looks at his mate and says, "It's a ghost of a dead king, love." He looks back at the ghost, who has his feet sunk into the ground....odd.

Tunu has connected.
[OOC] Tunu says, "Talk about your OOC party. Sheesh."
[OOC] Uzuri grabs her sister and holds her in front so the ghost is in between.
[!] Adhama has changed their status to 'IC'.
[OOC] Tunu says, "DUDE. You are ALL OOC."
[!] Uzuri has changed their status to 'IC'.
[!] Chioh has changed their status to 'IC'.
[OOC] Talmaleki is TP!
[!] Uzuri has changed their status to 'TP'.
[OOC] Tunu says, "Are you RPing? You LIED to me in find! ;_;"
[!] Adhama has changed their status to 'TP'.
[OOC] Talmaleki says, "We were hiding from you, Tunu. Because we hate you now."
[!] Akase has changed their status to 'IC'.
[OOC] Tunu says, "Yeah, I know. ._."
[OOC] Tunu won't join. Out of SPITE.
[OOC] Akase awws

Chioh looks at his mate and says, "It's a ghost of a dead king, love." He looks back at the ghost, who has his feet sunk into the ground....odd. He mutters something as he says, "I exiled that pride because they were still loyal to Olumide when my brother and I overthrew him. If we let them stay here, they would have revolted out of spite against us." His tone of voice serious as he looks at the phantom lion.

Public> Nikashi says, "Yes?"
Public> Chukizo says, "Dude. Panabutts lied to me. You want TzikieRP?"

"Uzuri, come on," Katibu urges again, moving to nudge the youngster with a paw. "Adhama!" He gives the young prince a tug, this one a bit harsher than the first. "Your father will be fine. Your mother is with him. Come /
along/."

[OOC] Adhama will pose(?)
[OOC] Tunu would pose. But was LIED to.
[OOC] Uzuri eats Tunu.
[OOC] Tunu gnaws on Uzuri.
[OOC] Talmaleki ties a pretty bow is Tunu's hair.
[!] Chioh has changed their status to 'TP'.
[OOC] Adhama will pose out of sptie of Tunu.

When Adhama saw something, though still vague, appear in front of his dad, and therefore, only feet from himself, he freaked. Ok, now time to go. He turned and ran towards Katibu, trying to drag Uzuri along with him.

[OOC] Chioh says, "Note to self. Teach son how to handle composure."
[OOC] Akase hehes.
[OOC] Adhama says, "Note to Chioh. Teach son how to fight Ghosts."
[OOC] Tunu poses to spite the spite!

Sambria backs her position up, one of her massive hind paws very near Katibu and the cubs. She reaches over with a paw the size of a stir-fry skillet, and attempted to nudge Uzuri toward where she ought to be, aiding Adhama's plight. The vision clears and Sambria's eyes narrow at the see-through critter. "What does it want, Chioh?" One ear comes up, turning forward. The dark fur rolling over the plane of the barbary's body is all frizzy. Guard sense.. tingling.

Uzuri is finally pulled back to Katibu. She's shaking very *very* violently and is scared to death at the
manifestation of this...ghost and she buries as much of herself into Katibu as possible.

[OOC] Akase says, "Call the GhostBusters."
[OOC] Uzuri Ooh! Do I get to use the nifty vacuum?

Padding along completely unaware of what is going on comes Tunu, her eyes closed. She sings at the top of her lungs as she nears the kopje: "Fiddle-dee-DEEEEEEE, Fiddle-dee-DOOOOOOOOOO Tralalalalah!" Yes, she will ruin the mood.

[OOC] Tunu spites.
[OOC] Adhama XXDD
[OOC] Chioh laughs!
[OOC] Adhama thinks the spirit should abduct Tunu.
[OOC] Tunu says, "I know I'm not on the list, but I am open to anything, yes. XD"

Now, if anything, the atmosphere around the majestic kopje is the opposite of what it was. There is no longer any wind, even though a very faint, muffled whoosing sound persists. But the air seems stagnant, even overprotective. as if...daring anyone to try to leave. As for Talmaleki, he flicks one his his heavy ears. "Is there some reason they were not permitted to exercise their right of revolt before you exercised your right of subdual and exile?" he asks. The voice can be made out by everyone, but some words may be obscured, except to the king.

[OOC] Tunu points. "Didn't phase mister ghostie.

Talmaleki winces for a split second at the cub's warbling, but does his noble best to ignore it.

[OOC] Katibu XD
[OOC] Adhama XD
[OOC] Tunu says, "Oh. And she shall WARBLEMORE."
[OOC] Sambria says, "There we go. Found our ghostbuster."

Akase's bluegreen eyes widen at her mate's words. A ghost of a dead king? Did she doubt what he said? No. Having been born here, she had seen all sorts of odd things. There was no need to ask what the spirit wanted, Sam having just asked. "Why is he just talking to you? Is he too afraid to have us all see him?"

Chioh stays standing, his ears flicking as he says, while still looking at the ghost, "Sambria, go get Tunu, and shut her up please." With a clearing of his throat, he looks up at the ghost once more after looking down at the ground to clear his throat. "Phantom, as the new king. I wouldn't want them to excersise their right to revolt after I, with a joint effort from my brother, just overthrew their king. I wouldn't want them in my lands. Hence is why I threw them out." He looks back at his mate and says, "I don't know. But that is a good question." With a glance back at the phantom, he says, "Why is that you are only showing yourself to me, and not the rest of my pride?"

[OOC] Uzuri says, "He's shy!"
[OOC] Chioh says, "Nah, that can't be it."
[OOC] Tunu says, "He has pimples."
[OOC] Adhama says, "He's ugly!"
[OOC] Uzuri says, "He's thinking of what to give Me and my sisters for haloween?"

Katibu curls his forelegs around Uzuri and Adhama comfortingly, purring softly to assure them. However, when Tunu makes her loud appearance, the caracal's head shoots up. With the other cubs buried in his bellyfur, he's unable to go chasing the adventurous young lioness, so he can only resort to shouting at her: "Tunu, get back here!"

[OOC] You say, "He's awed by Sambria's buffness!"

Talmaleki looks behind him, and he pauses in that position for some time. The tension extends...and Tunu's song is jarringly at odds with the oversomber mood. But then he looks back, expression slightly stymied, and says, "I wanted to spare them. Would you rather that all see me completely?" He nods slowly to Akase, with narrowed eyes, and for a few moments his full body is visible to her as well. He is young now, as young as he can remember being while still in control, and then a moment later he is ageless again. "Why did you conquer?" he now asks.

Adhama takes advantage of Katibu's distraction to look over his body, watching his father and whatever it was. He wanted to see, just not from that close.

[OOC] Chioh says, "Crrrap...Hukumu and I never did get that reason. :x"
[OOC] Talmaleki says, "Make it up?"
[OOC] Adhama says, "Cuz he could."
[OOC] Katibu says, "Because you're lions!"
[OOC] Chioh says, "I'll wing it!"

Tunu opens her eyes wide to see... everyone standing around. "Whatcha'all so...so...*stony* for?" She frowns at her reprimands. "I didn't do nuthin' wrong!" And oh, it becomes another song - "Ahh dih-dant do nuffeeen wraaaahong! Ahheem tha best ly-o-nesss aahhhrooaaaond~!"

[OOC] Talmaleki bursts out laughing.

Bowing her head, Sambria takes her leave of Katibu and his charges for a brief moment. Tunu will find herself in the shadow of the dark barbary within a few quick moments, jaws slipping wide to close around her small body. Secure, sans fangs, the guard hefts the young thing and wheels herself back to her post and deposits Tunu among the other cubs. "Keep quiet." Is her gruff, though conscious, order. "We're playing the quiet game. Can't have the boys winning, can we?" She offers to soften the command. A quick glance to Katibu and a wordless plea: Make sure she plays the game and wins.

[OOC] Uzuri tackles her little sister! STOP SINGING OR HE'LL CUT US OPEN AND EAT OUR INSIDES!
[OOC] Katibu giggles.
[OOC] Tunu sings, "Aahh wannah see Zurrrreeee's insaaaaaheeedes~!"
[OOC] Adhama XD

Chioh looks back at the cubs and then over at the ghost once more. "I don't want you visible to the cubs. Them, I don't want exposed to this. But for the reason my brother and I conquered this pride was so that we can have a home to live in. Olumide wasn't doing a particulary great job leading his pride. Though they were loyal to him, and that they would die for him, they were not living like they would have if Olumide would have led this pride the way he should have. Hukumu and I took over this pride to save them, but when we say how loyal they were to their now dead king, we have no choice. But to exile them."

[OOC] Tunu says, "The worst part is.. it's stuck in my head now. With a tune and everything. o.o"
[OOC] Tunu says, "Do you know the song Henry the 8th?"
[OOC] Katibu knos it.
[OOC] Tunu says, "Yeah, sing Tunu's last song to that tune. xD"

Katibu nods his head discreetly to Sambria, thankful that she'd fetch the troublesome Tunu, and as an affirmation that he'd do his best to keep her quiet. With three lion cubs all huddled against and around him, it might be difficult for one so small, but he'll certainly try. He reaches out the forepaw that was previously securing Adhama and attempts to scoop Tunu towards him to hold her there.

Akase lets her gaze look over Talaleki as he reveals a younger form to her. "Thank you, Great King." she murmurs softly, bowing her head as she'd been taught and grows quiet. She always feared there would be some retribution when Chioh and his brother took over.

The spectral lion nods solemnly, with fair speed. "I respect your wish, Chioh King. The youths of the
Palandasya will not be exposed to the obscenity that is a thing such as myself." And he stares straight ahead, waving his tail slowly as it hangs behind his large haunches, and as he does, his shape, until now vaguely visible in greens and grays to the cubs of the pride, fades away entirely. The air wavers strangely where he stands, but only if they look closely. Katibu can still see the blob, as can Sambria, and the royal couple continues to see him as he sees himself. "And now. You have told you that you decided to improve the lot of an entire tribe of people. You destroyed their social order. You deposed their leader and occupied their lands. And then, you failed to give them what you had intended to give them--a better life--even though this was the only rationale you could offer for upsetting what they had." He pauses and narrows his eyes, and tilts his head slowly, and asks..."Are you happy with what you and your brother have done?"

[OOC] Uzuri confesses. "It was me! I killed him!"
[OOC] Adhama gives the ghost Uzuri. "Well, now that's out of the way...."
[OOC] Chioh says, "I don't think Hukumu will be happy about that."
[OOC] Adhama waves his paw. "We'll just say she was trampled by wildebeest or something.."
[OOC] Talmaleki puts Uzuri in a cereal bowl and pours milk on her.
[OOC] Akase hehes, "Poor Uzuri."

[Zazu]

Chioh looks at the ghost and says, "I thank you for that." He looks back his cubs and grins slightly at them. Everything will be fine. He looks back at the ghost, the grin gone and a more serious face placed on. "I would have let them try and get used to our reign. But Hukumu forced my hand and pushed my descion to exile them." He was always one for more direct action. He sighs slightly as he says, "If I couuld, I would let them try to come back into the pride. But they would have already joined other prides and assimilated themselves into those." Chioh's not that big of a jerk.

As the spectre makes himself seen, Sam's posture changes drastically. From stiff, burly guard-mode to.. whoa, what the HECK?! She backs up, her white undersides soaring over Katibu and the cubs' heads as she stands over them like an awning. It isn't until Chioh begins speaking again that Sam's vacant expression churns into one of sheer annoyance. If Chioh turns, he will recognize this face: It's the 'I TOLD YOU SO' glare of the dark barbary. Her tail leans down, dusting over the stone and coiling partially about Katibu and his feet, which are cluttered with munchkins.

Game. HA! Tunu knows when she's being punished, because frankly, it happens a lot. She flails when picked up, but doesn't stop singing until she's put down and scolded by the large lioness, pinning her ears back against her head. After Sambria moves away, she takes a deep breath as if to start her song again - but is cut off by Katibu's scooping paw! Ack! Well, if she's going to be punished, let's make it for a good reason. The cub turns her head and opens her mouth to BITE down on the caracal's offending paw. She hadn't been looking where the ghost was, so doesn't notice when his faint image goes away.

A loud YOWL! from the caracal snaps through the air as Tunu's little cubby teeth connect with his tender underpaw. Katibu jumps a bit and lets out a soft growl at the youngster, baring his teeth angrily. "Tunu!" he snaps sharply, lifting his injured paw to examine it. The little cur bit hard enough to draw blood. He swings it down again to cuff the girlcub.

Talmaleki smiles with a knowing glint. "Then perhaps your brother is the one who is truly in control, if anyone else," he says, and his voice chokes. "But regardless. You upset their way of life, thinking that you were doing it for their own good, and then they did not accept you. I wonder...I do wonder about such things. Whether you were really justified, assuming all you have said...is true." The ghost looks behind again at the sound of teeth, the smell of blood...when he turns back, his eyes are dark. "Then you have no real experience with exile, yourself. That is your brother's domain, not yours."

Chioh indeed looks behind him and is reminded of what Sambria did to him that day. The pain still there. He looks back at the ghost and his hackles raise at the smell of blood, but when he senses where it comes from, he calms down...slightly. He growls lowly as he says, "I have known what exile was. I was exiled from my father's pride. I know how it feels." his eyes narrow as he looks into the ghost's dark eyes and growls once more. "Both my brother and I have felt exile." Granted, hukumu has felt it more.

Akase was listening quietly when the yowl reaches her ears and she looks over at the group. One glance at seeing Tunu, and the lioness knew who was responsible. She wanted to go over to check on Kat, but she didn't want to leave her mate's side. This was a side of him she didn't know.

Tunu is not prepared for the cuff, and winces as she takes it full on. But retaliation, revenge shall be hers! The cub lifts a paw to swat back at the cubsitter feline, ears pinned. Rawr!

"Good." The ancient lion is looking older now, his mane long and raggedy, his outline more dark than turquoise, and shifting unpredictably. He comes one step closer to Chioh, which makes him close indeed. He is still visible and audible to Akase, though he ignores her. "Then you know one end of exile. Now it is time to learn the other. Exile one of your pride." A gust of low wind rattles the vegetation upon the kopje, and a few pebbles from it come clattering down to the ground.


Katibu manages to jerk his paw out of the way before he's swatted by the girlcub, and he glowers down at her with a stern frown. "Cut it out, Tunu," he commands shortly. "Behave yourself." Ugh. He sounds like a lioness.

[OOC] Chioh gulps.
[OOC] Hasani says, "Oooh! Me! Me! Oooh! Exile me!"
[OOC] Chioh says, "You serious?"
[OOC] Adhama says, "If you don't exile anyone, maybe that will cause the ghost to curse you....?"
[OOC] Uzuri says, "Curses!"
[OOC] Akase says, "Exhile your brother."
[OOC] Akase duhs, exile.
[OOC] Hasani snickers.
[OOC] Hasani will just move in with daddy in the Pridelands.
[OOC] Chioh says, "Hukumu will kill me. XD"
[OOC] Tunu will be currrrrsed.
[OOC] Tunu says, "With a great singing voice. XD"
[OOC] Katibu says, "Nooooo!"
[OOC] Tunu says, "OOO!"
[OOC] Tunu says, "Or the inability to say anything without sing-songy rhyming it? XD"
[OOC] Hasani snerks.

Chioh looks at the ghost, his eyes narrow as the phantom comes closer. He doesn't move from his spot as he says, "I will /not/ exile one of my own lions from this pride. No matter what you do to me will make me change my mind about that." He looks down at Akase next to him, and then back at the lion with his hackles up. "My pride will stay together. I will not exile one of them."

[OOC] Adhama has a great idea! Exile Tunu!
[OOC] Uzuri clingtunus. "NO!"
[OOC] Tunu runs away with Shetani early!
[OOC] Talmaleki loves the verb 'clingtunu'.
[OOC] Katibu XD

That's it. She's not about to be bossed around by a caracal! Tunu cub-roars and lunges at Katibu with guts and glory, teeth and claws splayed. Gonna bite your EAR!

Akase was pleased that her mate refused to do as the ghost demanded, but inside she cringes, for not doing as told was not a wise thing indeed. She was about to say jsut such a thing when Tunu's cub-roar reaches her ears and she turns around, roaring as only a mother can, "TUNU, sit down!"

If Katibu's learned anything in his stint as a cubsitter, it's to bear random attacks. Tunu, though, is a fierce little thing, and she can cause damage. By the grace of a higher power, he manages to keep his feet, but his ear gets a good chewing upon, and his face takes quite a few scratches. With a curse, he gives himself a violent shake--rather comical, since he attempts to disturb Uzuri as little as possible. The result is some kind of strange half-body shake. It looks like he's having a seizure or something.

Talmaleki turns suddenly and abruptly in time with Akase. It looks like it may have been an involuntary action. His mane stands tall, his hackles up...and he grows in size. Quite simply, his ghostly body expands, and now his paws are invisible under the ground. "Who is that reckless child?" he demands, and this time everyone--the whole kopje--can hear his voice.

[OOC] Uzuri says, "SATAN!"
[OOC] Talmaleki says, "Oh, okay then, just checking."
[OOC] Adhama backpaws Tunu again. "See what you've done?"

Tunu falls off the ear, mostly of her own accord. Not because of Akase. Pfft. She's just a silly adult who's not her mama. Nn. Strange voices. Strange, booming voices. Tunu GULPS.

[OOC] Tunu bites Adhamapaw. <3
[OOC] Chioh is laughign so hard IRL.
[OOC] Katibu XDD

Uzuri bats at her little sister and glares. "Stupid!" she says.

Hasani wakes up and blinks at that voice that seems to echo all the way from the Kopje. "BE QUIET! Tryin'
t'sleep!" He yells as he glances back towards the cave for just a moment and then yawns and rests his head back on his paws. z.z

[OOC] Uzuri cackles.

Tunu turns to look at Uzuri, and frowns. Ah, sweet resolve! "You're MADE'uh stupid!"

Chioh growls at Tunu as he turns in time with Akase and the ghost. He looks back at the Ghost and says, "That little cub's name is Tunu. She is my brother's cub." With a growl back at the small cub, he roars a command at the cubs. "Be quiet!" Ghost and now cubs. His temper has flared.

Uzuri grrrs at her sister. "What you say is what you are!" Then she thinks about that for a moment.

Katibu scrambles to shush the sisters. In frustration, he moves to administer sharp, disciplining nips to the both of them. The ghost doesn't seem pleased with them at all, and that fuels the caracal's urgency. "Quiet, both of you!" he snaps.

[OOC] Adhama says, "I thought this TP was supposed to be scary...XD"
[OOC] Uzuri says, "Tunu's fault."
[OOC] Adhama says, "I know XD"
[OOC] Tunu bows.
[OOC] Chioh eats Tunu.
[OOC] Akase hopes when she has a daughter, she's better behaved.
[OOC] Tunu has to grow up snarky, yo!

Talmaleki rises now, steady and then twirling, so that his body rotates halfway around in the course of rising five inches. His feet are now just above the ground instead of just below it. He scowls, then smiles, then scowls again at the little troublemaker, only now gone quiet. He recognizes that it was his authority, and not
the queen's, that made the difference. He leaps, and suddenly he is gone from Chioh's promixity, sailing through the air, and then he lands beside the tree near Tunu, Adhama, and Katibu. "Do you know, you talk too much," he informs the girlcub. "Do you have anything to say to #that#, I wonder?" He leans in close to Tunu. But, true to his word, she cannot see a thing but displaced strangeness in the air before her. She certainly hears, though. And the rumble of the distant air fades away into an unearthly stillness, as if sounds from outside the realm of the kopje are now muted.

Tunu is shushed by Katibu and Chioh before the ghost's voice gets closer - not that it would have needed to. Tunu's eyes grow wide and her ears slick back tight. She cowers, then gulps. "I dunno who you are, but I don't like you," she says in a very quiet voice.

Uzuri bats at Tunu again, and quietly whispers, "Shut up, stupid!"

"Realllly," whispers the ghost lion, whose voice flows menacingly over Tunu's entire body. "Then let's not talk to one another, shall we?" He peers into her eyes...deeply.

Katibu bristles, baring his teeth at the entity. It seems like a stupid thing to do, but he'll defend the cubs with his life. Not that he can really /do/ anything. "Away, spirit!" he snaps as ferociously as one of his size can. "Leave the cub alone."

Tunu frowns and kicks out a hind leg at her sister, albeit weakly. Just cause some weird crap is going on doesn't mean you get to boss me! But all the same, if she can't see him.. then how can he see her? So she speaks again in that same small voice, as all her fur starts to stand on end: "But if I don't talk, then how'muh gonna find out who you *aaare*?" Whimper.

Chioh growls slightly as he bounds from his spot and land on the ground near the group. He growls and yells, "Phantom. Step away from the cubs, now!" His eyes narrowed as his claws are unsheathed. He knows that he can't harm it, but he can try and drive it away from the cubs.

Talmaleki frowns deeply, and it's quite evident in his disappointed voice. "You don't seem to understand...at
your age, you have no hope of ever learning who people...#are#." The last word echoes ominously and seems to visibly flow through Tunu and out the other side, enveloping her for a moment before vanishing into thin air. With that, he turns and paces back toward Chioh and Akase.

Akase could begin to feel an unease growing within her. This was not looking good at all. She leans over to her mate and says softly, "I want to remain here with you, love, but I am weary from an early hunt. Will you be alright?"

Tunu grows very cold for a moment, shivering. She gulps, then nods. "Suh.." She blinks, then just remains silent. Something is odd. VERY odd.

Once Chioh gets back to the ledge, he looks over at Akase and says, "If you are weary, then head to the den. I don't want you to exert yourself too much." He looks back at the ghost and growls.

Uzuri feels evil flow past, but not through her, but she instantly senses something is wrong. "Tunu! Are you okay! What happened? What did that mean thing do?" she asks, frantic.

Katibu crouches over the two cubs as best as he can, trying to shield them. When the phantom moves away, he relaxes a bit, then looks to Tunu and Uzuri, assessing them. Tunu looks a bit . . . creeped out. Before he can pose the question, Uzuri does it for him.

Hasani mmmmhs? He's been resting on the ledge just outside the mouth of the cavern and once again lifts his head from his forepaws as he blinks his eyes blearily and looks back towards the darkness of the cavern as he seems to sense the strange goings on in the cave. Part of it is from the voices he hears in his ears but the other half is due to some strange, deep feeling of 'wrongness' that emenates from the pridal cavern. "What's goin' on?" The aloof boycub asks as he peers into the yawning opening behind him.

Akase nuzzles Chioh, then bows again to the Ghost and turns to head inside, she would tell of her feelings
tomorow. Adhama shivered. Something happened to Tunu. /IT/ had done something to Tunu. He could feel it as whatever it was passed by.

Talmaleki meets the growl that comes from Chioh with a stony face, quite the contrast from the random shifting that the rest of his body goes through. He's a thing made of wisps black and grey-green curls, like huge individual hairs of fur, but his head, and his face, to Chioh, are nearly like those of a normal lion. To the
other adults, he appears as a dimness in the air, waving ths way and that. "Do you know what I think, King of the Palandasya?" he retorts harshly. "I think your subjects do not fear you enough. Behold, your children do not obey your mate's commands! Your brother overrules your commands! You are unwilling even to consider the possibility of exile, even faced...with me." On the word me, he grows, and grows, and grows...and in doing so, the specter grows straight into Chioh's body. Where its translucent essence intersect the mortal lion, there is chill, and there is a sense of great wrongness.

Chioh smiles at the nuzzle, and then looks over at the ghost, then he sees it come closer to him. He takes a step back when the ghost enteres him, and he closes his eyes. His teeth are clenched as a visible shiver runs over his body. "I won't exile one of my own. No matter what you do to me." He re-states.

Tunu clamps her eyes tightly shut and flops over onto her side. She opens them again to look at her sister and the caracal. "I dunno..." she says softly.

Adhama forgets about Tunu; his dad is more important. The cub sees what looks like a gust of wind pass over his father and he sees Chioh shiver. He has a bad feeling that whatever happened to Tunu was happening to his dad.

Katibu is worried. Very worried. His attention remains on Tunu, oblivious to Chioh's plight. "Are you in pain?" he inquires.

Hasani blinks for a second as he hears Chioh and notices the King shiver like that. "Huh?" He squints his eyes as he stares at the adult lion, not seeing anything strange except for a wierd kind of disturbance in the air. He shakes his head for a moment, guessing he's still just not quite awake after being woken up from his afternoon snooze. "What's goin' on?!" He asks again, voice louder as he shifts his sapphire eyes from one Pridemember to the next. Not that he really expects to be answered, he's the odd cub out, at least in his own mind.

Uzuri is of course more worried about her little sister than anything. This evil stupid ghost thing! "Tunu! Sis! Talk to me!" she says, hysterical.

The ghost, who floats farther and farther into Chioh, whispers in his ears in passing. "Then you leave no other choice. If you will not exile one of them, we shall have to see whether they will exile you. But don't worry... it is not such a bad thing to be feared." His laugh resounds over the kopje with a tranquil malevolence, audible to everyone. He goes completely into Chioh, whose whole form seemed to be draped in unnatural shadow.

"Zu-" Tunu grimaces, then sets her teeth and tries again. "ZUH-" ... "Katibu, I'm...ok. I think." She rolls back over onto her belly and stares at her forepaws. At least she's physically ok. But then the laugh comes, and Tunu hides her face under her paws in a quick gesture. MEEP!

[OOC] Uzuri says, "OMG! She couldn't say my name! "

Adhama's worry about his father overrode his fear. He climbed over Katibu and ran to his father, tackling the bigger lions leg, when the fur turns dark. "Uhh..Dad?" he says, backing up.

[OOC] Talmaleki says, "Chioh is teh_cursed!"
[OOC] Tunu says, "You shall become Uzu. XD"
[OOC] Katibu says, "Whoo!"
[OOC] Uzuri

Katibu doesn't think Tunu /looks/ okay, and he's about to say so when Adhama makes a break for it. The caracal's head whips up and he shouts for the young prince to come back. Only then does he see Chioh, and he's struck dumb at the sight.

Chioh doesn't answer any of the questions that are sent towards him as he growls to himself again. He widens his stance and growls a bit louder as he tries to swipe at the shadow around him, a full on swipe. When it hits nothing, he shivers greatly again and looks around him. He looks over at Adhama and doesn't answer him as he shivers once more. As he shivers, you can almost literally see waves of darker shades go across his fur.

Uzuri nudges Tunu. "What's wrong?" she asks. Sister first, then uncle. "Why can't you say my name?" she asks, panicking.

Hasani's hackles raise and he quickly darts to the side out of view of the entrance to the cavern as that voice echoes through the Kopje and Chioh growls and swipes at the air in front of him. Not really being able to see the spirit form of the former King, Hasani made the logical assumption that the growl and the swipe were directed at him as a sign of annoyance for his questioning. He skids to a stop behind a small outcropping of rock, shielded from view. Congratulations, Talmaleki, you've scared your first Palandasya before the curse even began to show.

"I *dunno*," Tunu whines, keeping her face hidden. Thankfully, this means she doesn't see Chioh or his strange behavior. "I dunno..."

Talmaleki rolls in time with the dark shades of pigment, or are they shadow? washing over the monarch. He roils, and then his body seems to disappear...or melt away...from the feet upward. His swishing tail continues to swish even when it's only half a tail. Then he leaps and clears Chioh, but an aspect of the strange shadow remains upon him. He prances around the kopje at a blinding speed that only Chioh can perceive, but everyone can see and hear and smell the wind blowing in a sudden, harsh circle, all around the majestic kopje. WHOOOOOSHH!!!

[OOC] Uzuri is blown over!
[OOC] Talmaleki says, "Yay! Not a gutterball!"

Adhama's eyes widen and his words come out slow. "Uhh..dad? What's happening? Why do you look like that?"
His simple cub mind only had one explanation: his father had rolled in mud, but that couldn't be right. Then the wind
started.

"Adhama!" yells Chioh as he looks over at his son, leaping at him and standing above him, to block most of the wind from knocking his son over. "Stay there, son." Meanwhile, darker and darker shades continue to roll over his amber fur. Already his fur was becoming more and more darker. It was already caught up with the color of his mane and tail tuft, and it showed no signs of stopping.

Like thunder that's hovered so long that it's been caught in the net of a local sky, the voice of Talmaleki booms over the kopje, and somehow those present can tell that no one outside of this region would even be able hear it. The crackling voice that sets the grass to fleeing in its place is just for them--but especially for Chioh. "You
will do battle, Chioh King! You will rule through fear, or fall victim to it! The choice depends on your
strength in the face of adversity--are you #truly# in control?!" The wind rises still further, causing a branch to crack and fall from the caracal's tree. "You and the moon above have one thing in common--you are both growing dark! But when the moon is half light again, you will take the impudent child, cross the river to the north and wait in the valley, if you still live. #There#, you will be undressed at last, Chioh King!" And the tempest reaches its peak.

Uzuri snuggles up to her sister, scared to death of what just happened.

Tunu shivers more as the voice is heard again. She flops over onto her side and curls up against Uzuri. Make it STOP!

Adhama didn't mind the wind, mostly because his father was blocking most of it, or what was his father, anyway. "Dad, is that still you? Or are you that. . Thing?" He took a few more steps back, his tail lashing wildly. "Dad, what's going on?"

Hasani ducks down behind the rock he's hiding behind as the ill wind blows around the Kopje and then whirls and whistles its way up high into the sky before that powerful, dark voice rumbles like thunder over the Palandasya lands. The young cub feels a chill roll through his body and he swallows a slight lump in his throat as he keeps as hidden and protected as he thinks he can be. Impudent child? Valley? What does that mean and where is that voice coming from? The youth definately doesn't know the answers to those questions but he definately knows he's confused, scared and hopes whatever all of this is it's all a dream.

Chioh roars back to the ghost. "Leave my lands now! You Malevolent Phantom!!" He growls loudly as another shiver runs over his body and his fur takes on another slightly darker shade then before. He looks down at Adhama, a low growl still in his throat until he gets that out. "It is still me, Adaha. Your father. Just stay there until the wind dies down." He widens his stance more to secure his footing more. The growl back in his throat as he roars again. "You heard me! Leave my lands!!"

Uzuri clings to her poor sister even harder. What did that thing do to her? She's angry and scared and very confused. She licks her sister and purrs. "It's okay, Tunu. I'm here." she says. If there's one thing Uzuri is the most, she is the most protective of her sisters. She rests her head on Tunu.

The visage is gone. The form is gone. The mighty wind continues, and a rock tumbles from the kopje's top. When it strikes the ground, the noise begins to fade, as does the wind, as does the cloud of darkness that hovers overhead--what remains of the ghost king's presence here. It takes several minutes for the wind to disappear completely and for things to return to normal, but in good time, they do. Except, of course, for those who were touched by the Starseeker, and will now share in his story.

Tunu jumps into Uzuri's hold on her when the rock falls. "Zuh-...mff. Is it gone?"

Adhama sits shaking, watching the thing that called himself his father, wide eyed. He could see how it could be his father, but the color has so /different/. He takes a deep breath and wishes that his mom was here. "Is it really you?" he asks, "Cuz you look really. . .different."

Once the rock hits the ground, Chioh moves from his spot over Adhama and turns to stand in front of him. He looks down at his son and says, "It is me, Adhama." He stops a bit as he shivers once more, a remnant of the ghost as his fur takes on another darker shade. He lets out a ragged breath before he drops to his belly and lets out a very big sigh. With a groan, he puts a paw over his muzzle. He feels like crap now.

Uzuri nuzles her sister. "It's gone, Tunu. I promise! I promise!!!" she says, and starts to cry.

Adhama stands looking at the dark shape in front of him. If it was his dad, he looked tired and sad. Adhama nuzzled him, slowly and tentatively at first. That's when he realized that it was his dad. "Dad.." he trails off.

Tunu shivers. "If it's ok, then why ah.." Tunu winces again. "...why c-..." UGH! "Don't be sad!"

[OOC] Uzuri says, "What is the full extent of this curse?"
[OOC] Tunu says, "Mine?"
[OOC] Uzuri nods.
[OOC] Tunu says, "Can I tell? "
[OOC] Talmaleki says, "If you like."
[OOC] Tunu can't say words with the letter r in them.
[OOC] Uzuri says, "Ah..."

Chioh moves his paw from his muzzle and looks up at his son with a small on his face. "Atleast you can't sneak up on me anymore in the dark anyway." He chuckles weakly as he then nuzzles his son softly on his neck. He whispers something to his son and then looks at him, waiting for the answer.

[OOC] Chioh sprays Ghost-Away at the ghost.
[OOC] Talmaleki says, "You and your spraycans!"
[OOC] Katibu says, "Fear the aerosol!"
[OOC] Chioh keeps on spraying it*
[OOC] Sarafina pffs. Puny mortal. P: