[PRP] Indifference all around [Nquma and Mushkeli]

[Cajanic]

It was a nice day, as far as days went. The weather wasn’t terrible and there didn’t seem to be anyone around. She didn’t have to worry about her little Ibex buddy getting into some kind of trouble if there wasn’t anyone to get into trouble with. He was… prone to being a bit of a rough-and-tumble child. Strange for an animal so many other animals found delicious. Perhaps having a lioness God around made him feel a bit more secure.

More likely, though, it was because he was a complete idiot.

Sighing softly to herself, the large lioness sat herself down in the snow, frowning thoughtfully as she debated how much she wanted a nap. Closing her eyes was a gateway for him to cause chaos.

So she ended up just sitting there, a perplexed expression on her face that made it seem like she was talking to someone and was quite confused by what was being said to her.
 

[Ameh]

The day was turning slowly, and the large, hulking form of a black, ruffled beast slowly sauntered through the grasses. Though his size was enormous, his presence often went unnoticed. His domain allowed him this gracious ability, though it also molded his character. He never understood the need for company or attention - any form or quantity of it - and lived his days in as much loneliness as he could obtain.

It was hard, though. His sense told him that something was nearby; he turned to peer at a small and very young horned and hoofed creature. It piqued his curiosity just a little, for it was without a present mother. The youthful color of his brown body didn't make quite a bad blend into the scenery, but still, it was vulnerable. He grunted, vague displeasure emitting from his body, but his abilities still made his presence known to none.

Then, without further introspection, he continued on his walk.

It was strange; the further the steps he took, the... colder the air seemed to be. There were more patches of snow-covered terrain as he stepped forwards, and though he wasn't curious, he still did not care to stop.

And then he saw her: she was a soft, pastel blue, striped, and had large horns protruding from her head. And it seemed like... there was a familiar brown coating her back as well. The god lowered his defenses then, and grunted lightly once more, except the sound held a different nature. While he still did not speak, he stopped in his tracks far aways from the goddess. A thought came to wonder what she was all about, as he was sure she was not related to him in any way despite his rather large family.

Regardless of the thought, he remained still, impassioned, and almost as motionless as a statue near the blue figure ahead of him.  

[Cajanic]

Nquma sighed heavily, watching as the Ibex sprang about like he was made of energy, playing games only he knew the rules of. He sprang into large mounds in the snow, sifting through the white powder like a lion on the prowl, his front hooves awkwardly out in front of him as he squatted suddenly, like he had found the animal he had been stalking and was ready to attack. With a very non-lion roar, the Ibex sprang from this hole in the snow, leaping at absolutely nothing and laughing once he again collapsed into powder. Whatever ghost he had been hunting, it appeared as though he had managed to catch it without too much trouble. If only real food were as easy to kill.

The lioness was rather amused, in a way, to see him playing like he was some kind of lion cub. Poor thing was going to grow up to be so confused- he would probably never be able to leave her side. Which was fine, she imagined, as he wouldn’t have survived at all if she hadn’t gotten involved. It made sense for him to stay near her now.

Then again, he might have actually had a completely normal life… since she killed his mother and all.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” she almost ordered the Ibex, “I don’t want to have to dig your bleeding body out of the snow, do you hear me Isidomu?”

“Yeah yeah! Whatever!” the boy laughed, “I’m not going to hurt myself in the snow, am I? You worry too much!” She chuckled faintly, shaking her mass of hair about her face. The child would hurt himself, as he always did, and she would be there to comfort him.

It was strange, though. Suddenly it felt like she was being watched… how long had that feeling been tickling the back of her spine? Looking around, she frowned, scanning the area to see what she could find.
 

[Ameh]

Something behind the black mass called for him to turn his head. It was these annoying little tugs that the god trained himself to ignore. But this something nagged at him quite urgently... what was it? He reluctantly turned around... and the small brown creature on hooves was pouncing towards him!

Experience taught him to not be alarmed and jerk out of necessity, but still, he stepped sideways out of the little one's path, letting his attention wander from the blue lioness. The small creature was amused and still did not notice him, as it should have been. Even if he did not have his powers, perhaps the small thing may have still gone on oblivious to his surroundings. Such was the fate of many youth; it was lucky that the large god had no need for an earthly chain such as hunger.

When he was about to turn away, a feminine voice broke into the air with its direction aimed curiously at the young animal. He realized it was the lioness he had been briefly observing; he could have been worried or so sure that she would capture the creature as a small snack even if she didn't need to, but her words denied that notion. In fact, the words seemed almost reminiscent of ones he would hear as a child, except these were harsher and less patient than his own mother.

More curious, the tiny thing responded, acknowledging a relationship to the lioness, who was infinitely bigger than it. Did it not understand fear? That it was something that lions favored in an unfriendly way?

This connection served to perplex the large god, and he moved closer to the two, unaware that he was stepping into view.

But he did notice the lioness's vision when it came over him, and he turned to match the gaze almost surprisingly. She had quickly spotted him, he thought, and he was caught at a rather bad moment of watching the two. She seemed like the acting mother, so he knew to act more cautious than normal, remembering and respecting the care his own mother had for him.

"I am sorry," he mumbled out, voice unclear for his lack of speaking on a normal basis, "Passing through..."  

[Cajanic]

“Hello!” All but screamed Isidomu, rushing to the male lion, “how are you? Who are you? Why are you just passing through WAY out here in the middle of nowhere? Where are you going to?”

“Whoa, whoa,” Nquma huffed, “enough out of you- you’re being rude!” She frowned, her voice having grown weaker the longer she spoke. Her ears flattened against her head, the female watching the other lion carefully. He was so much bigger than Isidomu- the little ibex would be dead in a second if he attacked. More than that, why was he there? Had he been the strange sensation he felt? The eyes of this lion?

It made her so very nervous.

“Um… who are you?” she offered faintly, her eyes dancing away from his frame before she could make contact with his, “w-why are you here?” Not like she owned the place or anything, but it might have come across that way. Like she was somehow annoyed he had come into her territory.

She was so bad at talking to others.
 

[Ameh]

After he had spoken, the black god moved a large paw to step out of the way, continuing on his path... but then the little voice of the brown prey called to him, bringing his head back to the loud noise coming from the very small thing. In an instant, it had appeared at his paws, that he had to be careful moving his lifted one so as to not squish the creature. It emitted another flurry of questions that caught him off-guard, making the god hesitate just a bit longer than normal for the goddess to come.

He supposed he could answer the more clear and simple questions first.

Still sitting in place, he responded to the blue goddess, ignoring whatever the brown creature might have been doing way below him, "I am Mushkeli. I reign over obscurity... I step to wherever my paws take me, and leave no prints behind. I imagine I won't be here in the next few minutes."

He cleared his throat, then looking back to the "Isidomu" below him. Perhaps he had accidentally wandered through the home of these two company, though he hadn't seen any signs of it being someone else's territory. And what would a goddess have been doing with this brown thing, anyways? It didn't seem like she was cruel enough to be the sort to play with her food before she ate it, though she had seen manipulation far more compelling than this.

"It seems this little one is quite bold in death's company," he murmured, squinting his blue eyes at the seemingly small speck in front of him, "Though with a chilling figure as its guardian, I would suspect no other. Was it you who brought this weather?"  

[Cajanic]

“I do not control the weather,” Nquma replied, “only the glaciers.” She wasn’t surprised by this thought, though- she looked like she could be more of a snow goddess. Sitting down, she looked over this wandering God. Not a bad domain, all things considered. She was horrible around others, so maybe a domain like that would have been better suited for her, anyway. Glaciers was no excuse for not being able to communicate.

She only had herself to blame.

“Isidomu, come over here,” she added after a moment, remembering he had said something about death. Never something she wanted to hear with her idiot ibex the center of attention. “He is indeed under my protection, as strange as that may seem.” She sighed softly. Having to explain the ibex was always such a chore. Still, she wasn’t willing to have anything happen to him, so she placed a paw on his tail when he did finally sit back down beside her. That’ll keep him in place.

“You domain… it must be very interesting,” the lioness said faintly, “do you see a lot of different things, if you’re always moving around?” Oh Gods! She had asked a question. It made her a bit nervous, the female looking down at the ground.

She had never really spoken to another God before.
 

[Ameh]

Glaciers? With a slow turn of the head, he looked around and saw no such thing. He couldn't say that he had a chance to happen upon one of those things, nor was it ever mentioned in a topic of conversation. However, being affiliated in his family with other things of nature made Mushkeli able to at least identify what the word was.

...It was a little appealing, he had to admit, to be able to control such a thing that was a rarity in the mortal realm. If only he had a more... obscure domain such as that. Then the weight of many things and responsibilities wouldn't be on him.

He suspected the goddess would call her "Isidomu" back over to her. The sight was still strange: the brown creature scrambling to be held by her paw... But now, with the thing gone from his paws, he was able to at least continue his walk. He set a slow pace - slow enough to address any last words or questions the other goddess had. He was a god of solitude also, and did not wish to intrude further on her and her charge's space.

"I see many things, yes... But that which I see does not see me. A burden and blessing of this domain. If someone does not see me, does that mean I was ever there in the first place? Those questions I cannot quite answer. Perhaps our kind can find greater atonement in something other than our bound duties... Such as yourself."  

[Cajanic]

Nquma frowned. “Well… I’ve seen you,” she replied, “so at least you know you’ve been here. Ice is not the most interesting of things, but you can always see your reflection in it…. If you ever feel like… not walking around… you can come back and I’ll show you the ice. You know, if you get lonely… if you like being alone, then you don’t need to come back. I… don’t want to be a bother to you… glaciers just don’t make for very good company…” She kept her eyes off the dark lion, watching the clouds, the ground, the small ibex in front of her and anything other than Mushkeli.

“My name is Nquma,” she added as an after thought. She wasn’t sure she had introduced herself. So rude! No wonder he wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

She wouldn’t want to be around the Goddess of Glaciers, either.

Watching the other, she made no move to follow him, unsure of whether or not he would appreciate the company. He seemed to have a great many things on his mind, and perhaps he needed his time alone to muse over them.
 

[Ameh]

The goddess's words... They seemed to be stretching, searching, hoping for something. But at the moment, Mushkeli could not give to any, and had nothing to offer. It was a pity; he turned his head around in that trademark slow motion again, locking his gaze on the blue goddess of glaciers, to see that it was not returned. Perhaps... That was a good thing.

"The obscure keep its own company..." he mumbled out, head turning from its last vision of her.

"Perhaps..."

His walk continued, word lingering in the air. Perhaps there could be time in the future. Perhaps there could be another moment, another meeting. But that was all given to fate.

"Perhaps, Nquma, the chill will beckon. For now... Heed your mortal youth, for what you cannot control may be your own undoing."