[PRP] Catch your Breath ( Fedha / Rokopelli )

[Kimaria]

The young Goddess was under her illusion. Her wings were gone, her wig was gone. All that was left where her 'jangles'. The bracelets clasped around her forearms glittered, the necklace glamed and the little golden snake sat neatly between her eyes.

She was pawing at something green on the sand, pushing it testily as if she feared it would bite her.

It probably would too.

It was Nyoka, her green, snake familiar. His body coiled as he slept in the sun, using it's heat to warm his cold blood.

"Nyoka, wake up now. We want to play!" She pouted. "Nyoka!" She shoved the snake hard, knocking it across the ground

Poison pulsed from his fangs as he pulled himself upright, hissing angrily at being disturbed. He swayed gently, his eyes cold and harsh as he regarded the little godling.

"Get losssst." He warned.

"Play with us now? Hide and seek?" She moved to pick up Nyoka in her jaws, finding the coiled body sliding out from underneath her and wrapping it's way up around her neck.

"You ssshould be back there watching over Janja." He warned angrily. He had no love for that other snake, not romantic love. He did however, respect her and was glad that she, over any other serpent, had chosen to bare his young ones.

Really she was a fine creature.

"We're bored of that. Bored, bored, bored." She tugged at Nyoka's body but the snake tightened his coils around her neck. "Ny-oh-kah!" Why did he keep strangling her like this? She knew why, it was his way of telling her off, of punishing her.

Then, just as she thought she would pass out, the snake receded, dropped down from her neck and slithered up to the den to check on his mate.

Roko, wheezing, flopped onto the sand, panting. In this condition, with her mind distracted by the pain, the image of her wings flickered into sight, but she quickly shielded them again, remembering Koya's warning.

They had to stay undercover!  

[Kaytla]

The lithe silver female strolled casually through the greenery of her new oasis home. Lightly, she hummed to herself, a jaunty, made up tune that went in time with her steps in the grass. She was currently observing all the different plants that were growing here. So far, she had seen many that were useful, and her eyes continued to run critically over the foliage. They didn't match the rest of her almost playful body language, those eyes. Instead, they were serious and focused, taking in every detail, taking notes of all the medicinal herbs she saw and filing them away for later use.

But while such behaviour from her usually meant her trip was a foraging expedition, today it simply meant she was observing and learning where she could find what she needed when she would happen to need it. She had simply found too many things to carry back with her at once, as she had expected to. But she was doing something just as useful and vital with this trip. She was learning exactly where she needed to look for the essential medicines she was likely to need. Many different herbs often cured the same ailments, and depending on where she happened to be, there were some she could reach quicker than others. Knowing exactly where each plant and fungi grew would shave minutes off her collection time, allowing her to cure illnesses quicker.

She was so engrossed in her searching that she almost didn't hear Rokopelli's distress. When she finally did, however, her ears perked and she finally pulled her eyes away from the plants. The sound was coming from behind a bush up ahead, as far as she could tell, so she trotted over to it and pushed herself through. When she finally saw the source of those sounds of difficult breathing, her blue eyes momentarily widened. Then the healer in her kicked in, and she rushed to the disguised godling's side.

"It's all right; just stay calm, little one." Quickly, she pushed one of her paws under Rokopelli, up against the young female's chest, the paws of her paws pressing firmly into the fur to feel the rhythm of her breathing, to try and diagnose just what kind of breathing trouble Rokopelli was having. She couldn't tell what had caused the problem, though, and was forced to ask and hope Roko was able to tell her. "Sweetheart, what happened? Can you tell me?"

 

[Kimaria]

The little juvenile, who was coughing to try and free up the tightness of her windpipe, didn't notice Fedha until she had approached to begin her examination.

She opened her mouth to speak, drew in a shaky breath and tried to speak, though the words were hoarse and sparse between. "Strr-angle!" She chirped as best as she could. She found comfort in Fedha's gentle touch, and voice. She also found comfort in her grey pelt, so much like Mummy Koya's pelt.

"Snake strr-angle." She patted a paw to her throat and all but flopped over onto her side, peering up at the female with her bi-coloured eyes.

Was she dieing?

Her eyes filled with tears at the thought. Would she go into another one of those long, trapped sleeps? Would she wake up confused and alone all over again? No, no she couldn't go back to that prison. She couldn't! But her panicked thoughts didn't help her state and her sides heaved as she tried desperately to breathe.  

[Kaytla]

Watching Rokopelli, listening to her words (she had understood that a snake had strangled the little godling), Fedha cursed softly in the back of her mind. Oh, it wasn't what had happened that made her use some pretty colourful language in her head. No, that could easily be fixed with the right herbs. It was how Roko seemed to be panicking that made Fedha worry; panic could make even the simplest of problems morph into something very serious. Rokopelli's best chance was to remain calm... and in Fedha's experience, most young lions weren't ones to stay calm when things like this happened.

She gently moved her paw away from Roko's chest and instead gently held the youngster's face, making the tiny goddess look her in the eyes. "Listen, little one. I need you to stay calm for me. You're going to be all right. I'm going to help you. Just stop panicking for me."

Without waiting for a reply, Fedha let Roko's face go and began moving back the way she had come at a fast trot, hopping through the bush and not caring at the way the little twig branches tugged at her fur. Back along the path somewhere, she knew she'd seen the right herb that would solve the problem. She knew exactly what plant she needed to help Roko breathe, and she was sure it was along this winding path somewhere. The question was... where?

After a few moments of eagle-eyed scanning of the greenery, Fedha found what she was looking for. A little shrub with seeds still attached. Taking it in her mouth, she ripped it out of the ground without grace, roots and all. She had no time for delicate work. Glancing around, she also found a long, wide leaf on a low tree branch and yanked it free as well. She placed her small plant on the leaf and gathered both into her mouth, heading back up the path toward Roko. She took a brief stop on the way to tear and bruise the leaves a bit and mash the seeds into powder hurriedly between a stone and a boulder, and scooped up what remained onto the leaf.

This is what she brought back to Roko and laid before the young deity. It looked like nothing special, some seeds mashed up with smaller leaves laying on a bigger leaf, but the smell that rose up from the mess was medicinal and pungent, not altogether pleasant, but not revolting either. It was the additive of the leaves that made it easier on the sinuses.

Pushing the broad leaf closer, Fedha tilted it up closer to Roko's nose. "I need you to take a big sniff of this, little one. It'll help you breathe, I promise."

 

[Kimaria]

Rokopelli looked into Fedha's cool, calm eyes, eyes that seemed so used to seeing others in pain and tried to ease her breathing. There was something about that look she could trust, something that she could put her faith in. This lioness wasn't out to hurt her.

It might have been her childish innocence, the fact that Roko was now completely in control of her two personas, or it might have been the fact that Fedha could be trusted.

She wheezed, but her breathing calmed, though she couldn't help but panic again when the lioness left her. What if she didn't come back?

"H-hello?" She croaked, after a long moment of waiting. There was no response and the cub tried to move, wheezing all the more. Okay, so maybe the lioness couldn't be trusted.

"He--he--"

~How can I expect that fool to raise my young when she's obviously still just a baby.~ Nyoka's thoughts fluttered through to the Goddess completely by accident.

The serpent was coiled up in a tree, well out of harm's way, though he had remained to watch the little drama unfold. Okay, so he hadn't meant to hurt the little one so badly. He'd taken it too far this time, but damn she was annoying! Why couldn't she go and bother someone else with her idiocy!?

"Nee--Nee?" She coughed, and was about to ask where he was when the lioness returned. Yay she had been right after all!

She raised her head to look at the pale female, nodding slowly. She had a dazed expression on her face but seemed to understand because she was nodding and pulling herself towards the offered medicinal herbs.

She drew in a deep breath, choked and stumbled, almost sticking her face into the mix. Some got up her nose and she sneezed, shaking her head violently.

Her illusion failed - but only for a split second - and then it returned again, returned when her senses did. Rokopelli, too busy trying to breathe some oxygen into her starving lungs, was too busy to notice the slip up.

Nyoka hadn't missed it. He had seen the flash of colour, though only for a second, and knew that the rainbows had been the colour of the Goddesses wings.

Dammit! The stupid fool was running everything!

Hissing angrily, the snake knew he had to do something, in case the female had noticed and had gotten suspicious. So, slowly, he slid down the trunk of the tree and headed reluctantly towards them.

(( If you like, you can have Fedha notice the flash of colour and be confused / suspicious / have her theories. I think I'll save the 'real appearance' for another RP though =3 ))  

[Kaytla]

Fedha was keeping such a critical eye on Rokopelli that it was practically impossible for the older lioness to miss it when Roko's illusionary magic slipped and some of the little godling's true colours showed through for the space of a second. Despite how prone she was to playfulness and acting no older than Roko was, Fedha was a very smart lioness. She had to be to practice healing as she did. She knew right then and there that Rokopelli wasn't what she appeared at first sight. However, the silver female made no presumptions about what Rokopelli actually was. She didn't truly believe in gods or goddesses, having never seen one, so she was hesitant to make that guess. Besides... Rokopelli was obviously keeping it a secret, and Fedha saw no necessity to spoil that for the young lioness. She was one of those who were apparently not supposed to know, and that was fine with her.

Fedha lifted a paw to soothingly rub at Roko's back, comforting the younger female while they both waited for the effects of the medicine to really kick in. That powder should open Rokopelli's lungs very soon and make her breathing much easier. "Are you feeling better yet, little one?" she asked softly. As they had been before when handling Roko, the older female's eyes were warm and kind. Almost motherly, in a way, though she didn't have that little extra something there that real mothers did. It was just the attitude that enveloped her whenever she was healing, a need to care for others the best she could.

 

[Kimaria]

The little godling continued breathing in the scent. It had an odd smell to it, a smell that she hadn't ever smelt before. It fileld her lungs and left them tingly, left them feeling almost as if they were refreshed.

She lifted her head and those vibrant bi-coloured eyes found Fedha's softer ones. A smile touched the corner's of her mouth and she nodded. "We feel much better, we thanks you." She bobbed her head and pulled herself onto her belly.

"We are called Rokopelli." She continued in her jibberish manner. "Yup, yup. Me Roko, she Pelli, see?" She beamed widely and the necklace clinked together. "Whose you and..." She waved a paw at the herbs. "What that?"

"Didn't ever think I'd find a lion who could be ussseful." Nyoka's sly voice disturbed Roko's own, his body glistening like polished glass beneath the sun.

His arrow-shaped head rose, black tongue flicking up and down, tasting the scents on the air.  

[Kaytla]

Fedha couldn't help the way her eyebrows twitched just slightly at Roko's manner of speech. Fedha was in her fully critical and alert mindset, and the oddness of this didn't pass her by. Just as the odd flicker of colour that had surrounded Rokopelli hadn't escaped her attention. Something wasn't right about this young lioness, that was for sure. Well... right wasn't the proper word. Something wasn't regular would perhaps be a better choice. Fedha didn't suspect anything divine, but she definitely suspected something. If Roko was part of the pride, she would definitely be keeping an eye on the young girl.

But putting that aside for the time being, she smiled. "I'm Fedha," she replied. "It's nice to meet you, Roko and Pelli both." Until she figured out just what made Rokopelli speak in such a strange manner, she would play along with it and act as though it wasn't out of the ordinary. She glanced down at the herb dust still lying on the leaf. "That's medicine. It makes you feel better. Opens up your lungs and makes it easier to breathe." She might have gone on at that point to explain a bit more about the herbs in question, but at that point, Nyoka's voice interrupted them. Fedha's head turned to observe the snake in the tree with much cooler eyes.

"And I suppose you're the snake that strangled her, am I correct?" It was an assumption only, but she had good grounds. The fact that he happened to be in the area was suspect enough. And there was definitely nothing friendly about his manner; she certainly wouldn't let him anywhere near her, let alone close enough to throttle her. No, Fedha didn't know for sure, but he seemed a safe bet to her.

 

[Kimaria]

If Roko noticed the slght twitch she didn't let on. In fact it was probably safe to say that she didn't notice. She wasn't really very good at reading body language. Besides it took a lot to hurt Rokopelli's feelings, though she did tend to be scared of the word 'freak'. There was something about that word that stabbed pain into her heart.

Though, she couldn't quite remember why.

"Med-ee-siiiine." She replied slowly. Nope, she'd never heard of it! Little godlings didn't often need medicine, other than a good telling off of course. "Our lungs feel much betters now." She agreed with a chirp, pulling herself up into a sitting position to curl her tail around her.

"Nyoka!" Rokopelli chirped. Her ears turned towards the grey female, wondering briefly what she was speaking about. "Strangled?" She echoed, dazed. "No, no. Nyoka wouldn't do that to us. He's our friend!" She glanced towards the snake with a look that said the same thing as her words.

"Aren't you...?"

The snake, realising that the attention was now squarely on him, coiled his body upright, his head swaying slightly back and forth. He hated lions and their stupid mannerisms. How dare this stranger point an accusing paw at him!

However, she was right.

Sometimes Nyoka did underestimate a furry creature's intelligence.

"Don't be ssstupid Rokopelli." It wasn't often Nyoka used her name let alone her full name. "You can't have forgotten!" His tone was scolding, much like a father. "You had sssomething ssstuck in your throat." He cast a sly glance at the adult. "I wasss merely helping to free it and sssqueezed too much."  

[Kaytla]

Fedha smiled again, just glad the little lioness was feeling better. She always found it deeply satisfying to help the injured and sick, to see them well and on their paws (or wings, or whatever else they used for travel) once again. It was the thing that made her keep doing this, instead of just being satisfied with knowing little bits of pieces. It was what made it worthwhile to keep risking her own health to discover new remedies, and keep pushing herself to find more knowledge, and to travel great distances, if need be, to find the herbs she needed.

The intelligent lioness didn't buy Nyoka's story about trying to assist Rokopelli, not even a little bit. She caught that sly look he slid her way. But Rokopelli obviously greatly believed that this slippery snake was her friend, and Fedha had no right to try and shatter that belief. Not that she thought Rokopelli would listen to her if she tried. She was just a stranger, after all, if a stranger that had just saved the little goddess' life, but Nyoka was her companion, it looked like. No, Fedha couldn't say anything mean about the snake, though she might want to. Or, at least... she couldn't say anything obviously mean.

Keeping the frown that wanted to bloom on her face away, she instead casually replied to the snake, "It'll be best not to let that happen again, Nyoka. If it does, then I'll know for sure something is quite wrong here." Her steady, weighty gaze followed the reptile as his head swung back and forth, never once blinking, and never once losing eye contact, and if her words didn't convey her meaning, her eyes certainly did. She was going to keep an eye on Nyoka, and if Rokopelli ever 'got something stuck in her throat' again, the snake would be the one Fedha came to see.

 

[Kimaria]

"Seeee. Nyoka trying to help us!" Rokopelli, seemingly oblivious to Nyoka's sly glances and Fedha's obvious distrust of him, smiled wider. Oh this was wonderful! She had a new friend and her best friend all in one place!

"Saviours!" She chirped. "We're surrounded by people who rescue us from dangers. That's why we love this place." Then, moving closer, she inspected the grey female closely. She was pretty, grey with blue eyes, clear blue eyes like the sky she loved. "You have pretty eyes, Fedha. I wish I had blue eyes! They looks like segments of the sky!" Everything with Rokopelli was childlike and exaggerated, spoken with such enthusiasm.

"Where did you learn that magic, Fee-Fee?" Roko asked. "Med-ee-ciiine magics, we mean." Roko's eyes grew. "Could we learn? Then if Nyoka got a knot in him we could fix it!"

Nyoka was glaring at the grey lioness coldly. It seemed that this Fedha wasn't as stupid as he had thought. He cursed silently, knowing that he shouldn't compare all lions to his own bond.

His eyes snapped fiercely to the little godling and he flinched at the loudness and the idiocy of her words. She was so embarrassing.

"I can't be certain that it won't happen again." The snake replied coldly. "I make no promisssesss to anyone." He slapped his tail angriliy onto the ground. "Come on Rokopelli." The snake hissed. "Ssstop thisss foolissshness. The female obviousssly hasss to much to do than talk to you."  

[Kaytla]

At the compliment given her, the older lioness smiled at Roko and nodded her head gratefully. "Thank you, sweetheart," she said warmly. "I think you are lovely too, though. Two different colours. That's very special, you know. Not as many people have two different colour eyes than have two the same. It's something to be proud of."

Fedha couldn't help but laugh (gently, of course), however, when Roko assumed her medicine was magic. It was an opinion she'd come across before, and one she found as amusing now as she did then. So taking the nickname in stride and overlooking it, she replied, "It's not magic, Rokopelli. It's just knowing what special plants can do to help those who are hurt or sick. And mixing special plants together can help different problems all at once."

Once more, she turned her attention to stare levelly at Nyoka, not in the slightest bit intimidated or affected by the snake's anger. Hell, if Roko wouldn't be so upset, she might consider making the slimy reptile her dinner. "It wasn't a request for a promise, Nyoka. It truly better not happen again." Fedha turned her blue eyes, which could be as soft as the sky in spingtime or as cold as frozen waters, to Rokopelli again and smiled. "There's no rush, Nyoka. Rokopelli can stay here if she wants to. If you have somewhere you wish to be, however, no one is asking you to stay."

 

[Kimaria]

She smiled. "One eye for Roko, one eye for Pelli." Sometimes...sometimes she wished those colours would merge into one, make her whole again and give her peace of mind. But that would be impossible, at least that's what Roko always assumed. No matter how much the 'darker' side of her personality stayed hidden, she could sense it there, hear her voice, feel her anger at being trapped.

Pelli scared her. Pelli wasn't afraid to use her powers. Pelli wasn't afraid to flaunt her wings.

Roko was. Roko as innocence and child-like. She was the one currently in control, but that didn't mean it would always be that way.

"Maybe the plants have magic that makes them help." She nodded, being a Goddess, Rokopelli was a sole believer in magic. In fact she was obsessed with finding good magic in the world since hers had only ever been used for bad in the past. Well, not always, but there were certain bad memories that stuck out more than the good.

She stood then and trotted slowly forwards, shaking herself all over. Her slender body was certainly showing the signs of growing out of her cub years though she'd always be petite.

"We never knew plants could be helpful." She continued, chirping merrily to herself." She blinked. "Is that why you're in the pride? To save peoples?"

Nyoka coiled his body up, hissed, flaring his fangs in an angry display. Determined not to stay any longer, the snake turned his head and slithered away, casting one long look at his bond.

She was a fool, darn irritating with no use other than to transport him from place to place, yet he thought of her as his possession now and he didn't want her getting away.

"I'll be resssting in the sssun." He hissed. "Come find me when you're done with thisss ssstupidity of yoursss." He shot another look at the grey lioness, making a mental note to try and keep Roko away from her in the future - not realising that would probably be a near impossible task.