Sekmes was having a ball. As the African summer began to shift into cooler temperatures, he had taken great liberties in leaving the God’s haven for a little trip. This time it wasn’t to see his cubs, though; no, this one was just for fun. His lady love had been absent as of late, but he had no doubt that at some point she would return to him. She was usually pretty good for that.
Guising himself in the form of a giraffe, he walked around the vast landscape. Sekmes was used to being taller than most, but this was a new experience altogether! He liked the feel of cutting wind as he swung his head back and forth trying to pick leaves from their trees with his long tongue. Ah, if only every day could be as peaceful as this one.
Makoto was less than pleased with the day. Ever since the fall of the Amazon’s she had been despondent. A great plague had swept the lands, forcing what few had survived to seek out shelter elsewhere. As an Elite Guard she should have been at the forefront of the procession seeking out new territory, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Too much had happened, and without being able to find the royal family in the chaos had ended her career.
The one she had been able to find was the Princess Kyria, and the poor female had been broken the moment she came back. There was nothing Makoto could have done to help her. Now she padded the rogue lands alone, walking past herds of elephant and giraffe in her search for something more manageable to eat. She was tough, but not that tough.
Crunching on his leaves, the God happened to look down to see a black spot moving around not so far from where he stood. Upon closer inspection he saw that said spot had pink on it, and was indeed a lioness. A cute one, too, in a butch kind of way.
Unconsciously he moved to follow her. His tall body swayed as he moved, an easy humming tune slipping out. She looked back once, and he said nothing, but on the second look, this time he suspected she was onto him. Sekmes finished his meal, and did his best to smile. “Nice day, isn’t it?”
Makoto had to really focus just to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating. Was this...was this giraffe following her? When it spoke to her the lioness was ready to bite the big one. “Are you aware that I am a predator? A hungry one at that?” Her tone was as condescending as it was surprised. Was he just truly that ignorant?
When he nodded to her, she shook her head. “Now you’re just teasing me. I could very well rip out your throat from this distance and I wouldn’t feel shame in it. So - shoo. Go away. Go back to where you came from and leave me be.”
There was an easy movement to his long strides that made the lioness uneasy. Sekmes could see it all play out in her features, and found himself tempted to see how far he could push her. “If you think you can, go ahead. It might be fun to see how far you can jump. I’m pretty far up, you know.”
He didn’t doubt she couldn’t make it, though! At least part way. The lioness was all muscle and aggression. No his type at all. He preferred the softer sort; a sweet, motherly air and an open mind. Of course this lioness also wasn’t blue, nor did she have wings that looked like ice in just the right light. “If I picked you up in my mouth and threw you I doubt you would be as boisterous as you are now.”
She was tempted to do just that. If she had a little more height then maybe she would be able to reach him, but Makoto was too heavy to get as far as she needed. In a moment of irritation she realized that Tsubaki would have been able to do so easily.
“Do you have a death wish?” The former guard just couldn’t put her paw on why a prey beast would be tempting her so. He was separated from the herd, standing along in the middle of an area where a pride of lions could very easily pounce. “What do you gain by pushing me? Are you so sure that you can win a fight against me?”
“Very much so.” He answered the last question simply. Sekmes lowered his great head so that his gaze was level with hers, showing her just how much larger he was in this form than she. The surprise in her eyes made his smile grow. “I am very large, and very mean when crossed. I just wanted to speak with you, that’s all. I never meant to offend you, but if you were to attack, I will fight back. And that you don’t want.”
If she struck him he would have no choice but to transform back into his God form. That in itself would stun her, and then the fact that he was a massive lion, even to God standards, with horns that could spear would end it all. Really, he never go to have fun anymore. No one wanted to wrestle with a behemoth and no one wanted to make friends. What was this world coming to?
Sighing, Makoto merely shook her head. “Then let’s let this go, hmm? You’ve talked to me, I take no offense, and now I wish to leave.” Turning away from him, she started to walk a few feet, and felt, rather than saw, the damn thing following her. “Would you cut that out! I meant I would like to leave alone. If you don’t mind, go back to the hole from which you crawled out of and leave me be!”
If he made one more move she would find a way to severe his spinal column. This was beyond getting on her nerves at this point.
As sad as he was to see the exchange end, Sekmes halted his steps and nodded his head. “If you’re that sure you want me gone, then I won’t bother you any longer. I really just thought you might need a friend; there are rarely lionesses who wander the roguelands with such a chip on their shoulder.”
Turning his shoulder to her, he also commented, “Or that bear the Tears of Blood scars as you do. I wonder, if someone such as you is out here, then what happened to the Amazons? A mystery.” Sekmes shrugged, and took off at an easy gallop back to where he had previously been eating.
For a hot second Makoto had been so happy to hear he was leaving that she had spaced out. As soon as he commented on her scars, though, her attention was forced back to the giraffe. How would he even know?! The pride was surrounded by trees, he wouldn’t have been able to get to it.
As he walked away she found herself torn. Frowning, Makoto called out, “Wait! Wait, I said!” When he did no such thing she cursed and followed after him, keen on getting some answers out of the over sized oaf.
