[FIN] Far Traveler (S'chor and Avahk)

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S'chor was getting frustrated. She'd been traveling for so long and it seemed she was no closer to finding her true name than she'd been when she left the Jini-msemi!

She'd also met a lot of people, but none of them had done or said anything to really help her out with the whole name problem. This was unfortunate, but she didn't really know what she could do differently.

Why was this so hard?  

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The pride was buzzing with rumor. It seemed that the Heiress, Selene, was pregnant. The succession would be more assured than it had been since long before Avahk was born. Since before his father was born too, to hear his grandfather tell it. Not that the grey lion really knew any royalty that well, or was interested in it. He was happy for the pride though. It was good to know that things were going well.

The adolescent looked up to see a black shape before him. He blinked, and it resolved itself into a lioness, black with white markings. She didn't look like anyone he'd ever met before, and the way she was walking suggested that she was unsure of something.

"Are you looking for someone?" the grey lion called out.  

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The lioness started as the unexpected voice rang out. She glanced around and gave a little sigh of relief as her gaze landed on the grey adolescent. She didn't feel nearly as threatened by someone her own age. Not to mention he looked friendly! That was always a good sign. In her journeys, S'chor had met those who were happy to meet her, and those who were not nearly so pleased. The former were her preference, given the choice.

"No, not at all," she admitted. "What about you?" The lioness wondered if he lived around here, whether as a rogue or a member of some pride. Or maybe he was a traveler like herself? She wouldn't know until she asked though!  

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She wasn't looking for someone? Then...maybe she was lost. That was the only other explanation Avahk could think of for a lioness he'd never seen before, whose markings bore no resemblance to anyone in the Mwezi'Johari, to be walking around here looking so confused.

But she'd asked him a question, so he should answer her, if only to be polite.

"No, I'm just wandering around. Maybe looking for some adventure, that sort of thing," Avahk replied.

"You're...not from around here, are you?" the grey lion pressed her.  

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"...no, no I'm not," the black lioness admitted, turning away slightly. It was a little embarrassing that she'd been so obviously lost. And he was kind to not ask her that directly. Not that she had any real destination in mind, still being without her name.

"So, you live around here?" S'chor asked, deflecting the conversation back to the grey male before her. She hoped he didn't find her annoying. Or boring. Or really anything negative. He did seem nice, and a bit handsome.  

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"Uh, yeah," Avahk told the lioness. "I'm from the Mwezi'Johari pride, it's over that way." He jerked his head in the appropriate direction. "Technically, you're already inside the borders here, but not by that much. So, uh, welcome!"

He wasn't usually in this position, talking to a rogue who had no idea there was a pride around. Actually, he'd never been in this situation at all before! It was a completely new experience, and the grey lion had no real idea what he was doing.

"Where are you from?"  

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So there was a pride around here! That made sense, this seemed like a good and fertile land, with plenty of game to hunt. S'chor nodded in acknowledgement. At least it seemed like a good pride, if this lion was a good example of its members.

"I come from the Jini-msemi, in the swamplands," she answered. Then the lioness paused, unsure of what to say next. She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of the grey lion...

"What kind of pride is the Mwezi'Johari? I've never heard of it."  

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Avahk blinked. How did he explain his homeland to someone who'd never even heard of it before? He scrunched up his nose, considering the problem.

"Well, we're divided into different classes, based on the phase of the moon we were born under," he explained as best he could. "Those born under the full moon are most blessed by the Great Lion, and the new moon are the least. The higher classes protect the pride and share their blessings with those who aren't so privileged." He had to pause then, for breath. It was a long explanation, and yet the shortest way he could tell the tale.

"But I've never heard of the Jini-msemi, so now it's your turn to tell!" he told the lioness with a grin.  

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S'chor blinked as she considered what the grey lion had said. She wasn't sure how to explain the way of life she'd known in just a few short sentences, the way he had. But she'd have to try.

"Um. We live in the swamps. There are no classes, just lions and the vijini - spirits. The spirits are capricious and willful. A god could direct them, but mere mortals can only ask of them and hope they will be inclined towards us." She wondered if she should add something about the pilgrimage she was on, but wasn't sure.

"I have never heard of the Great Lion," she went on. "Is he a god? We also pray to Mama Asali, the Goddess of Swamps. She can command the vijini," the black lioness added, reminding the stranger that the spirits were, in a way, between mortals and gods.  

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She'd...never heard of the Great Lion? He didn't really understand what she was saying about spirits, but they didn't seem nearly as important at the moment. And there was a Goddess of Swamps? Why? And how?

"The Great Lion is...is the Great Lion. The moon is His eye, with which he watches over us all. I don't know any Goddess of Swamps," Avahk admitted. Not something he really wanted to say to a nice lioness, but still...he couldn't think of anything better!

"Look, religion is kind of complicated and doesn't have much to do with every day life except for what class you're in...do we really have to talk about it?" Not to mention that it was religion that seemed to get his dad in trouble half the time. Avahk loved Yareha, but he couldn't be blind to the fact that so much of the pride seemed to have a problem with the white lion.  

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S'chor blinked. From what she could tell, the Great Lion was probably the God of the Moon, just as Mama Asali was the Goddess of Swamps. She didn't understand why he wouldn't have as close a relationship with the Mwezi'Johari as the Goddess did with the Jini-msemi (even if she really wasn't around anymore), but she could respect that the grey lion didn't want to talk about it anymore. The black lioness gave a mental shrug. She supposed it didn't really matter in the end.

"That's fair," was all she said aloud on the subject.

"So since you don't want to talk about that...what about telling me about yourself?" the lioness inquired, changing the subject.  

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He gave a mental sigh of relief as the lioness accepted his preferences on the subject and changed topics. But he was caught offguard by her new request.

"Uh...well, my name's Avahk. I'm a Hunter." Boy, did that sound lame. Every pride had to have dedicated hunters in order to support a large population of lions, he might as well have said "I'm no one in particular and there's a hundred of me in every pride." But since he couldn't think of anything worth saying about himself (at least, nothing that wasn't potentially embarrassing) he decieded to turn that question back on his guest.

"What's your name?"  

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Avahk. S'chor rolled the sound of the grey lion's name around in her head. It wasn't quite like anyhting she'd heard before, but that didn't make it a bad name. There was a harshness to its syllables that was distinctive, and unlike most of what she'd seen in the swamps.

But that led into the question she'd learned to dread on this pilgrimage. What was her name? She still had no real idea what it was, or how to find it. If only she could just ask someone else for help...

...but then again, why couldn't she? She'd never even considered the idea before, but what if she just did it? Asked Avahk? It...could work! The lioness felt herself getting excited as she contemplated the idea.

"What do you think my name is?" the lioness asked him, brown eyes focused on his own blue.  

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She...wanted him to tell her what he thought her name was? He'd never even met her before! How could he possibly have any idea at all? But...those brown eyes looked serious. Which meant he really should answer. And since he didn't have any idea what her name could be, that meant he should make something up. And since she was so pretty, it should be a very good name.

"Uh...I think your name is Tseva Reygehl," the grey lion answered at last. "It means 'colored paw'," he added softly.  

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It was a different name, in the same way that his was. She rolled the syllables and meaning around in her mouth, considering how they felt. In the end, the black lioness gave Avahk a big smile.

"Do you know, I think it is," she told him. Tseva Reygehl. It wasn't the same as S'chor, and it didn't quite fit her yet, but she knew that this was the name she was meant to have. Perhaps the God of the Moon that the Mwezi'Johari worshipped had aided her, directing the vijini to help Avahk find an appropriate name for her.