These lands are where lions come to be free from the tyranny of man. Their familes are being hunted and killed for their skins, their claws, and for trophies. In the direct center of Africa, lies the Onyejekwe Wildlife Reserve. Poachers and Hunters are not allowed to hunt in these parts. Wild lions find sanctuary, raise up their prides, control land, and fight for territory expansion.
From the start of Onyejekwe Reserve, only one lion pride was formed. Dakarai was formed by King Akuma. Will you choose the life of a family, or will you reside all alone and wander the savannah?
< must read this, folks >
updates
< 29 DEC '16 > Welcome to the GRAND OPENING! OTP is now open and accepting joining applications. There are some threads that are not yet completed, but please be patient with us! We are seeking members to have high ranks, and work their way up to control a pride of their very own. - RUE
< TBD > Enjoy the first update ^^
It had only been a few days since entering the reserve and the scent of lions already flooded her senses. A strange mix of excitement and nerves filled her body as Makena traveled on. She forced herself to stop and find somewhere to rest as the sun dropped past the horizon. Buried in the thickets for added defense, the sounds of life filled the air from the smallest insects singing their songs to the predator and prey struggling in the night. It wasn’t until then that she realized just how close she’d come to the new pride. Keeping still through the night, she only hoped they wouldn’t find her before morning. Unfortunately, she didn’t sleep much through the night, too paranoid of the nearby pride.
Once light started to bathe the lands, she arose, giving up on sleep. Slinking from the harsh nest of thicket, the spotted lioness stretched out one leg at a time before shaking out her pelt. Taking in a breath of the air, she slowly started padding towards what she assumed the source of the pride, much of the smell from that direction. Her theory was quickly confirmed as she came upon what she would later learn to be Pride Rock. The area was drenched in the scent of lioness’ as well as a strong scent of a king.
Cautiously edging forward, she kept her head low, not wanting to appear as a threat to anyone who may see her.
Covered in the darkness of the night, Akuma found himself stirred awake. He could not sleep this night, for reasons he was unsure of. He sat up on his fore paws and looked around at the sleeping lionesses and their cubs. There were a few males in the pride, but he thought they would be leaving in due time. The silver eyes looked over the slumbering forms and he smiled. He took a deep breath and stood up on all four of his paws. He moved from the entrance of the large den. He shook his mane out and walked carefully down the rock. As he moved, his eyes scanned the lands around the pride. As he walked, he could feel his throat tightening. He needed to get something to drink. He moved from the pride towards the watering hole. He knew the way well and just how to get there safely. Luckily his eyes could see almost perfectly well in the darkness as they could in the light. Felines were special that way. When he finally made it to the watering hole, he made note in his head how high the water was. The wet season was being kind to them this year. He walked to the shore and lowered his body towards the ground. His stomach hung just inches above the ground. A pink tongue slipped from his mouth and lapped at the water. All the while, his eyes watched the water carefully. He knew what swam in these waters, and how dangerous they were. When he finished, he raised his head up and took a few paces away from the shore.
Now that he was satisfied, he knew he needed to make his way back home. He did not need his pride to worry about him. Wandering back home, he found a surprising smell. It tingled his nose. It was a female, for sure, but it was a new one. He had never smelled this scent before. He grew curious as he moved towards her, but he did not wish to startle her. Silver orbs stared into the darkness as her form came into view. She was lower to the ground than average. Was she a spy? Was she watching them for a long period of time. When he left the rock, he wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings. How long had she been sitting here?
Not trying to be awkward or seem as though he wanted to bring harm to her, he moved to sit beside her, staring at the pride. He did it in a quick movement, not giving her the time to react. He was sitting close to her, but not too close - not wishing to break any space barriers she might have up. He didn't want others to be so close to him, so he made sure he did not get too close to her. Akuma spoke in a soft tone. "Nice night isn't it?" he said with a slight smile. He really didn't mind her being there and he could tell she did not wish them any immediate harm - though if that changed, he would be close enough and ready to strike her down. "I too was having issues with sleep, but I wonder... What brings you out here this late at night? You smell like you're not from the reservation... What's it like on the outside?"
Her attention had been focused on the rock formation before her, curious of what lay ahead. With little attention elsewhere, Makena hadn’t even noticed the large male approach until he spoke, spooking her for a moment, almost falling over as her large paws tried to side step. “N-night?” She muttered, trying to regain her composure which wasn’t the easiest of tasks at the moment with the new arrival of what she thought a dominant male. Taking a deep breath, trying to calm down, she slowly sat back down on the ground. “The uh, the night, yes. Yes it is.” She finally stammered out.
Both ears stood erect, one facing him, the other turned to listen to the surroundings. She hadn’t yet prepared herself to try to socialize with the pride so he’d completely through her off guard and in a result, her mind in a flurry. “Too much around for sleep, too new, unsure.” She wasn’t sure why she was telling him things, but what was she supposed to do, ignore him? “The reserve? Oh, human smell. Yes off reserve.” Mumbling that more so to herself as she collected her thoughts. “I’m from a very far off land. Very far indeed. It was different? Kinda. Not as much human smell.” Her nose wrinkled slightly at the thought. “All the lands were different. Mine had lots of, um…” It had been so long ago, she was trying to remember before the incident. “Lots of tall grass. Open. A couple of trees spread out… Why do you want to you know?” That thought suddenly hit her in the middle of talking to him.
“And who are you? Why did you approach me?” Makena’s speech became more normal and concise the longer she spoke, settling back in, but not removing her gaze from the large king whose size far exceeded her own.
He smiled as he had startled her as planned. It was funny to see what a lioness was truly like. Anyone could say that they were a certain way or pretend they were. Akuma liked to see the true side of others. Although she seemed to be spooked a little longer than he had hoped. "You can relax... Just think of me as just another lion." He gave a soft smile to her, and turned his head back to look at the pride. "I actually never lived off the reserve, ever. My mother was impregnated there, but she moved here soon after. I was born here and I plan to live here the rest of my days." She seemed to be sputtering a little too much, still trying to get over her shock. He wanted her to feel comfortable with him. He dropped his chest to the ground, and rested his front weight on his elbows.
"My name is Akuma. I am the King of these lands. Before you is Pride Rock of Dakarai. Most of the lionesses and lions are sleeping within the den. I don't know how much experience you have outside or with a Pride, but I would be willing to allow you entrance into the Pride. It would be a nice change to have a companion to go star gazing with every now and then. You know, for the nights when sleep is evading the both of us. What are your skills? Hunting or possibly healing? If you could just tell me a little bit about yourself, I would love to hear it."
“Lions don’t really like me.” She mumbled. Though they could see well in the dark it still made it difficult to see her spot covered pelt. She looked like an overgrown cub in most aspects. “So sorry if I’m a bit jumpy.” She wasn’t aggressive towards him, in fact she seemed a bit scared of him, on the defense in her body language.
“I’ve only been here a few days. It’s just like other parts off the reserve just… without the human smell.” With his gaze returned to the Pride Rock, she glanced up at him, taking a moment to study his expression, how he carried himself. He was impressive physically for sure, no questioning that, but so were many of the Kings she’d met and been rejected by. “I never wanted to leave my own home. I wanted to do like you have and stayed in one place, but life got in the way. I’ve been traveling alone for awhile now.”
It held great surprise to her though when he dropped himself to the ground, laying down with a strange lioness in his presence. She couldn’t tell if he was trying to be friendly or if he thought she was just so weak she didn’t even pose a threat. Hoping it was the first, Makena cautiously lowered herself down. Though he was still bigger, they were much closer to eye level now. She relaxed a bit, growing more comfortable with his presence.
“King Akuma?” The tasted the name curiously, though adding king to his name on purpose after a recent fiasco with a sub male of a pride. She listened carefully to him speak, feeling it only fair to answer him with how kind he was treating her currently. “I grew up in a pride up until I was almost fully grown, but… something… happened.” She paused a moment, not sure if she was comfortable sharing that yet with the strange lion. Deciding against it, she continued. “I was separated from my pride and I’ve been on my own since then. I’m pretty god at hunting I suppose, but I haven’t hunted in a group in a long time. I probably wouldn’t be much help now if I tried.” She stopped, realizing she didn’t really sound very appealing to any pride. “But I can try!” She suddenly exclaimed, startling herself this time. Lowering her head, looking away embarrassed at her outburst. “If you’ll, um, have me that is.” She spoke quieter this time. She didn’t even realize she’d never introduced herself.
It seemed as though with his relaxed nature, she too was calming down. She was getting less and less of a stutter - even after learning that he was the king of the pride. He spoke tenderly to her, making sure he was not threatening at all with his voice. Akuma liked the sound of her voice - as she was calming down. She seemed to have lived a rough life. That was something he really didn't understand. The only rough part about his past was never meeting his own father, or getting to know him. His mother and the other lionesses raised him and his siblings. He had seen males every now and then, but none had truly given him too much trouble. "I am sorry to hear about your family. I know what it's like to lose. I never knew my father. But don't worry about the humans. They don't really interfere with us. My mother told me about some other humans that tried to kill her, they killed my father. But none have tried to harm the pride, or gotten close." Akuma smiled to her and nodded his head one time. "Well, if you are not comfortable hunting in a group, then you really need to go with the others when they hunt. It will be good for you. You just might be better than you think you are." He picked himself up from the ground and took a few steps to be in front of her. He turned himself around to face her. "If you would like to like in Dakarai, I will accept you. Just as long as you promise to do your very best for the pride at all times. That you will serve me justly, and help those that require it."
Words: 293 Tags: Makena Notes: She will be accepted after your reply
tag: Akuma // words: 192 // notes: Sorry for the short post
She was grateful to hear him speak of acceptance, though it made her a bit skeptical. This seemed easy, too easy. Don't look a gift zebra in the mouth, she thought, nodding to him. "Hunting with the others?" Makena wasn't asking about hunting, but more so that he was including her."They'd let me join as well?" The light had every so slowly continued to bathe more and more of the land as they spoke, giving her quite the dramatic view of her new king as he stood before her, offering her a place among the pride. Both ears perked and facing Akuma, she nodded."I promise to do my best."
She rose back up slowly, standing on her paws, looking up at him. The young lioness was more than willing to follow him, still intimidated, but not necessarily afraid of him as she was upon his first appearance. Cautiously, she took a few steps towards him, close, but unsure if she was allowed to touch him, rather tempted to brush against him to show gratitude. He may not appear much older than she, but his maturity appeared to exceed her own.
RUE: Hey everyone in Dakarai, if you could please post in the thread you are tagged in, that would be great! Akuma is trying to claim a territory!
Feb 25, 2017 14:21:13 GMT -5
astrid: Someone message me XD
Feb 25, 2017 16:24:48 GMT -5
Meeko: Do you need help with something?
Feb 25, 2017 16:27:37 GMT -5
Meeko: I suggest getting started with a quick read through the gudebook/rules
Feb 25, 2017 16:27:49 GMT -5
astrid: Alright thanks
Feb 25, 2017 16:29:59 GMT -5
Meeko: No problem. If theres anything you don't understand just let me know
Feb 25, 2017 16:34:08 GMT -5
Cora: *Waves* Hey everyone!
Feb 26, 2017 11:13:35 GMT -5
The skin OTHERWORLD was made by JAWN of WICKED WONDERLAND.
ONE TRUE PRIDE was created by RUE. The sample background image was created by MOGUMO.
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