Sebor padded through the rogue lands slowly, a bit of a distance away from the band she was with. Vikings had become second place to her. When she had joined they were exciting and full of adventure, now they were something she did as often as she could to stretch her legs. Occasionally Vikings were profitable, full of treasure and adventure, but lately they consisted of patrolling the area and finding the occasional rogue. She wished something fun and exciting would happen again. She had battled gods - she was victorious once and failed horribly another time - and found treasures to decorate her den with, and sometimes it felt like she had hit the top far too soon. Still, it was her duty to join others and venture out from the pride, and since she was a Reaver she felt as though she owed it to herself to exercise her rights that went along with the title she had earned.

The wind shifted and something made her pause. A strange yet familiar scent carried on the wind to her nose. Someone from her band had gone beyond her? No...she would have seen them. Curious, she deviated from her course. It led her to a sheer drop of about twenty feet down a rocky cliff, but she jumped down without much difficulty. She landed lightly despite the drop and realized a bit too late she had jumped into a nice sheltered area that anyone could have made as a makeshift home. Indeed, the smell was stronger here. Why was it so familiar?

Arwach Môr had been sleeping peacefully in the rocky den he'd been calling home for the past week when the presence of another startled him awake. He narrowed his eyes as he lifted himself from the ground, his coloration helping him blend in with the shadows. The lioness that had dropped down on him didn't see him just yet. Good...he'd attack and dispatch her without a moment's thought. He was about to strike when she turned, her nose twitching, and he froze.

"Sebor," he said, his voice deep and rumbly. He lifted himself from his crouch, a surprised expression on his normally stoic face. "What a surprise."

The voice alerted Sebor to Arwach's presence long before her eyes or nose did. She recognized the smell instantly as soon as she heard the voice and a smile crossed her muzzle. "Arwach...is that you?"

The lion moved from the shadows towards the lioness, pausing to bump his head affectionately against her's. "It is indeed I," he returned, just as surprised to see his sister as she was to see him. "I haven't seen you in years. What turn of events has brought you here?" The rogue lands in this area weren't particularly kind or plentiful. There was game and water, yes, but there were far more fertile lands elsewhere. Sebor shook her head slightly, taking a step back so she could look at her brother as she spoke to him.

"I could ask you the same thing," she said with a little snort. "I'm a part of a pride that lives near here."

That made Arwach's eyes widen in surprise. A pride? Sebor? They had grown up with their parents and two other siblings in the rogue lands. Their parents had been born rogues and had lived their lives as such. Arwach had never once entertained the idea of belonging to a pride and he had thought his siblings felt the same. "You're not there by force, are you?" he asked, the gruff tone of his voice returning at the thought of his sister imprisoned.

Sebor let out a bark of laughter. "Do you honestly think I would let someone keep me against my will? I'd sooner die," she said, a little hiss to her voice. "We've been apart too long, Arwach Môr. You've forgotten who is the elder sibling here." She flicked her tail before shaking her head. "No, I joined this pride on my own.I have free reign, I do as I please, I have wonderful treasure and you even have some nieces and nephews."

That also came as a surprise to Arwach. He shook his head in disbelief. His rough and tumble older sister, the only one that could best him in fights as they grew up, now a pride lion and a mother? It wasn't something he could believe without seeing it. "I can't help but doubt you. Why would you have children? Why would you stay in a pride? That isn't like you at all."

"That's what I thought," Sebor admitted. "But this pride...it's wonderful. There's so much to do and to see. You can climb the ranks, control your own band of lions...I could see you doing that," she admitted with a little snort. "Why don't you come back?" she asked suddenly. "I could get you in. I know you're strong, you wouldn't need to do the traditional fight."

Arwach was quite for a while as he mulled over his decision. He loved his life as a rogue, but the lure of power was too great. He could climb the ranks without issue. He could control other lions. He could be a king of sorts...and he liked that idea a lot. The only downside was having to live among strangers. That was something he couldn't stand. Perhaps he could build up a reputation and others would want to simply stay away from him, and then when the time came to make one of these 'bands' they would respect his power enough to join him and listen to him. It was a tantalizing offer, that much was sure.

"Perhaps I shall do this," he said after a while. "I have felt the need from time to time to continue our line as well. There's probably enough lions there to find a suitable female or two."

Sebor had to laugh at that as she stared to head out of the strange rocky den. "There's more than enough females. They're a lot like me, though, so you'd better not piss them off. They'll be quick to let you know when they're not pleased with you."

"Fair enough. I wouldn't want a pushover to be a mother to my children," Arwach said with a snort as he followed his sister. The climb out of the den was a bit precarious but they made it and he followed Sebor as she headed back in the direction she had come from. He glanced behind him only once to the life he had known before. He could always return to it, he supposed...but maybe Sebor was on to something with this pride thing. He'd trust her and try it out, at the very least.

FIN
WC: 1129