[PRP] Gossip Fodder (Vidar x Chakora)

[Hopefolly]

Chakora wasn't a wuss, a suck-up, or a daddy's girl. She just didn't want to deal with the interrogating and accusations that would never cease if somebody happened to spot them in the midst of their mischief. During lulls in their bouts of superficial conversation — on her end she'd talked about her family's thrall, Anana, her mother's eagle friend, Dira, and how annoying her sister Elise was — she dreaded the inevitable lectures. It seemed to her near impossible someone wouldn't have noticed them going out of bounds, and between her family and that of her father's captain, they knew a lot of lions big-mouthed lions around here.

Dust in the wind, all of it, when she took her first step into the copse of trees and suddenly only scratching the itch for adventure mattered. A path forged by paws before their own led into a deeper, darker woods. It was here she clambered over rocks and logs, ran through puddles and clouds of dirt. She couldn't have said exactly how this started or what did it, but one minute they were chattering and the next they were racing without a known destination. Chakora figured they had a mutual, yet unspoken agreement whoever stopped first was the loser.

The hour was later, but it wasn't late enough to urge her back.

Quote:

As always, feel free to fling me a PM if you need anything edited! I figured they wouldn't have walked in silence all the way there and that the impulse to race was sort of inevitable between these two. lolol

 

[SilverLutz]

The way to the forest was long and a bit tedious, although both adols attempted to make small talk to kill the time. Vidar chimed in about the god spawn he had teased a while ago and how stupid she was, that she had thought he was a friend and not making fun of her, as well as his dreams about becoming a captain. This would certainly help broaden his horizons, he thought to himself as they finally left the borders of the pride. It was his first time out and about, but as it wasn't a viking, he knew he wouldn't be able to share this story with many until he was an adult. Then he could brag about his adventures and how they started before he was really supposed to be out of the pride.

Once Chakora and he set foot into the woods, they were off like two blurs. It was an unspoken race to an unspoken destination, but Vidar was more than happy to race. He dodged trees and puddles and kept even with Chakora, a grin on his face. He was tripped up by a root here or there, but despite the stumbling, he kept on going.

"What's so bad about these trees?" he asked with a laugh, bumping into Chakora as they ran side by side. "They're nice obstacles!" This woods was off-limits, wasn't it? Surely there had to be something 'bad' to keep it that way.

Hopefolly

Looks fine to me!

 

[Hopefolly]

SilverLutz

Outcasts hid here when Warlord Njal was running this place, for one. She'd been born right around the Breytast Vindar and so her memory for the details wasn't exactly precise. Had they not been sprinting across the forest she'd have told him all this, but catching her breath was enough of a struggle without adding a bunch of chatter to the mix.

She settled with some swift revenge for that intentional contact (or so she'd have claimed), knocking into him with enough force to more than likely make both of them stumble just a bit. If not him, she certainly did. Her footing was corrected hurriedly enough that if she had fallen behind, it had only been slightly. For now.  

[SilverLutz]

When no reply came Vidar snickered softly. She had no answer for him huh? Maybe this was just a ploy to get him to come out here and then act like cubs. Hey, he didn't mind! He was out of the pride, starting to make a name for himself. Once he was a Captain he could begin to weave stories about how brave and daring he was, leaving the protection of the pride and the orders of the Warlord. Ha!

The shove sent him stumbling in surprise, his mind elsewhere and unable to keep the pace going. Thankfully Chakora stumbled as well, and he took the opportunity to charge ahead. She was hot on his heels, though, and sensing that this would be the best time to break away, he put on another burst of speed.

"C'mon, girl! Keep up!" he said with a laugh, which turned into a surprised yelp as the incline they'd been running up suddenly dropped off. It wasn't much of a drop - perhaps a five foot steep grade to an old den of some kind - but it was enough to make his paws flail in the air as he was sent to the ground. He slid a few feet before getting back up, looking around in surprise. The place had the faint smell of lions. Perhaps this was where those exiled had sought shelter? Or perhaps it was the current den of a rouge.

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

Chakora would have joined him in the ditch if not for some quick problem solving. Her mind was a bit more agile than her paws; they worked in tandem to send her careening off into a detour. She slowed to a trot, then a walk, and took a deep breath as she turned to head back the way she'd last seen her companion.

Maybe she'd have managed to stop fast enough to keep from toppling over the ledge if she'd kept going in a straight line, but maybe she wouldn't have.

She hesitated to go far enough she could peer over the edge. A gruesome sight just might await her if there happened to be lots of space between up above and down below, or sharp rocks at the bottom, or piles of bones...

"Vidar?" she beckoned cautiously. "You alive?"

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Vidar's ears turned forward as he sniffed the den he'd fallen into, trying to pick up any trace of a recent visitor. It definitely smelled like lions, but when they were here last, he had no idea. A voice caught his interest and he glanced up to the lip of the ditch.

"Of course I'm alive! No little fall is powerful enough to take me down," he said with a cocky laugh. Still, there was something unnerving about being in a den that wasn't your own, even if it was old. He crouched down and pounced, getting a good start on the wall as he climbed up and out. He shook himself free of any loose dirt before flashing Chakora a grin.

"See? Nice and alive. Kind of a weird place for a den, though," he said, looking around them. They were certainly in the thick of the forest now, with no open spaces between the trees or the smell of open air coming from any direction.

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

No little fall— What a load. "Dumbshit." Chakora's slander was a murmur drowned out by the crunch of leaves and snaps of twigs. She wasn't holding her breath and standing on the tips of her toes anymore, so her steps were heavier and no longer delayed.

She reached the edge just as he was pulling himself up and over it, with plenty enough time to see that smug grin. After narrowly avoiding an eye full of dirt cloud, "Yeah," she agreed. "I bet one of the exiles lived here. After Ru became Warlord he told some lions to go look for them and bring 'em back." This she remembered because still today her father and her uncle occasionally brought up the fact their captain had refused. "You see any bones down there? Or some s**t? If anyone still lives around here, I bet there's a pile of s**t somewhere."

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Vidar snickered softly at Chakora's language, finding it amusing more than offensive. He was glad he had a companion that wasn't a goody-goody like some of the cubs he'd been hanging around. It was a breath of fresh air, really, having someone his own age to pal around and compete with.

"Ah, that's probably it," he said with a little nod, trotting forward a few paces to see if they could find more dens. "Nope, nothing. It didn't smell very fresh down there, more like dirt than like lions. But I bet there's more around here. Maybe we can find something to bring back as a little token of our adventure!"

He had seen other lions weave bones and furs into their mane of victories in the rouge lands and he couldn't wait to get his paws on a first kill to be proud of. He hoped it was something with an amazing coat. He'd be sure to turn it into a fine pelt to throw over his shoulders. Glancing over his shoulder at Chakora, Vidar gave her another grin. "Wanna try to find something? Or do you just wanna keep racing?"

They decided to keep racing until they were so exhausted they had to head home. Ah well...they'd explore more another day. It's not like the forest was going anywhere.

FIN