[SRP] Family Reunited in Shadows? (Zanzibar, Zavari, Firiel)

[sesshiyasha]

This is a Solo RP for Zanzibar, Zavari, and Firiel.

& &

Teepee

 

[sesshiyasha]

Zavari had walked a long way, the only good thing was the friend that was at her side. Firiel was a friend to not only her, but to her brother as well. She was amazed that the mare had decided to come with her when she made the decision to leave. Firiel hadn't really been a member of their old pack, but she was a very dear friend and had permission to come and go as she pleased. Zavari could not believe that things had happened as they did. Zanzibar had been banished, their father had passed, and their uncle had taken control.

Zavari's uncle was a ruthless male who felt that any weakness should be left for dead. He did not see the need to hold the weak in the pack. His voice still rang true in her ears. 'The weak need not worry about life, they should either sink or swim. If they were not strong enough to survive on their own then they were not needed!' She cringed at the thought and shivered outwardly. Their father and mother never shared those ideals, and never would have supported them. When this all came to light Zavari decided that she had to do what was right and bring back her brother who was the true heir to the pack. He was the one who could be the rightful Leader. He could fix everything, she was certain of it! She just had to find him.

They had been searching for Zanzibar since they had left the Pack, no one had any idea about him, and it got to be very disheartening on their journey. Firiel was great, it was the little things and comments she did and said that made it bearable. Zavari had been a warrior, she was used to hardships and dealing with things, but this, she needed to find him and bring him back. She couldn't give up.

She let out a sigh and took in the surroundings around her, it would seem that they had wandered into a deep and dense forest full of all kinds of trees. Her ears stayed on alert and she could hear the sounds of game around them. Both Firiel and herself ate meat in addition to other things, so hunting was something they did when needed. It would seem that this would be a good place to break for the night. She sighed as she looked over to her friend.

"I think this forest would be a good place to bunk down for the night..." She said aloud to her companion. "We should find someplace sheltered in order to ensure our safety, not that anyone would dare." She said it hoping to pull a laugh from both her companion and herself. The laugh did manage to escape her lips. It had worked at least a little bit to lighten the mood. 'Just what is in this forest?' she wondered to herself.  

[sesshiyasha]

Firiel was always alert to her surroundings. She had made the decision to follow her friend and see that she was reunited with her brother. She knew the mare wanted to bring Zanzibar back to the Pack and have him right the wrongs that the current Alpha was making, and she fully supported Zavari's plan. She just wasn't sure that it would work. When she last saw Zanz on his way out of the pack lands, he wasn't in any shape mentally to take on the current alpha who was his uncle. Let alone stand up to those that supported him. Whether he was the rightful heir or not, his uncle wouldn't go down without a fight.

She thought back to her time with the pack, she was never an official member, but she was around long enough to pick up on a lot of things. Zanzibar had a sort of bad luck for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and so was blamed with anything that had happened in that wrong place. She had always felt sorry for him, but could never speak up because she wasn't one of the pack. She was heartbroken when Zanz was sent away from them. She couldn't follow him even though she had wanted too. She knew Zavari had needed her and would need her, she would never leave one of her friends to fend for themselves.

She caught the sigh from Zavari and felt the same within her. It really had been disheartening that they had yet to find Zanzibar. 'How long do we have to search before we find you?' her mind wondered. They had entered this forest a short while ago, but Firiel had taken stock of all of the game and things that were around them. She had found this forest surprisingly full of game and prey. They wouldn't have to search long for dinner tonight. She knew Zavi was in her own world and thinking about Zanz, but the only thing she could do was to throw out little comments here and there to try and draw the mares mind off of the situation back home. 'What will she do if she doesn't find him?' She wondered to herself. She wouldn't dare utter those words aloud but she knew very well that if Zanzibar didn't want to be found then it would be almost impossible to do. She just hoped that he might actually want to be found by them.

When she heard Zavi speak about the forest being a good place to spend the night, she smiled. She even laughed at the comment that followed. "Aye, We are quite the fearsome bunch aren't we?" She said with the laugh still persisting through the talk. It had been a while since they had both laughed. It felt surprisingly good. Maybe just maybe their luck was changing. This was when she found the river by the cliff side. She gestured with her head as she said "There looks to be as good a place as any..." She adjusted her course to go over to the river, it would give them a bit of shelter, while not taking them far off course. She wanted to be sure that they wouldn't get lost in this dense forest. That would not do anyone any good.  

[sesshiyasha]

Zanzibar walked through his forest. This was his home, it was the place he had found when he was banished from the pack. He missed his homelands and he missed being with his family and friends. His mind wandered as he traveled through the shadows. He longed for news from home, but knew it would never come. In his mind he pictured his sister. 'How is she doing? I hope they aren't being too hard on her....' were the thoughts that ran through his mind. His mind then wandered to his mother. Was she staying healthy? How was she handling the pack? He worried about her more then most, as she was a fierce fighter, but she had come down with an illness right before he left. He never got to find out if she had made it through and gotten better. His last family thoughts were of his father. He had loved his father and knew that it wasn't his choice to banish him. He never held animosity towards his father, only love. He never blamed his father for anything. If anyone was to blame it would have been his uncle. He growled low thinking about his uncle. He had disliked his uncle with a passion. There were things his uncle was hiding and Zanz had been determined to figure them all out. He never got the chance too. That was the thing he probably regretted the most.

His mind swirled with thoughts of his family, and of Firiel, his steadfast friend and companion. She had accompanied him on many a hunt and patrol. She was basically an extension of the pack, without being a full member of it. It wasn't often that his mind wandered to his past, but for some reason it had today. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it of the past. There was no sense thinking about things he would never know or find the answers too. He was banished and that was all there was to it. He couldn't return home to a happy welcoming, or even know anything about his family. So why think about it now?

He continued through the forest, until a strange but yet familiar scent drifted to his nostrils. His eyes narrowed as he realized there were others in the forest. It was time to play "The Game" and see just what had wandered into the forest of demons now. He unfurled his wings from his sides. They stretched out beside him before he made them flap in an effort to lift his body off the ground. Once he got to the air he went into the treetops. It was always much easier to go from tree to tree and encircle your prey than it was to head into them headfirst. He would play the game, and see just who was in his forest.

He made his way in the direction of the scent. He still couldn't place it even though it seemed oddly familiar. He finally saw them below him, at the edge of the cliff side, and before a small river that ran through the forest. His eyes narrowed as he let out the call that would alert them to his presence.

"Just who wanders into the Forest of Monsters?" His voice boomed, with just a touch of anger behind it. He always made sure to keep the anger right at the edge so that it sounded even more menacing. After all his goal was to keep others out and to keep them safe from his "curse." "Have you come to challenge the monster? Or perhaps you have come to feed it....?" His tone changed ever so slightly to have just a hint of amusement in it. He would see what these two would do. From the looks of it, they were both mares. The game had begun!  

[sesshiyasha]

Zavari was so distraught at the thought that she may never find her brother. This land, what did they call it, Kawani! Yes yes that was it, the Kawani lands. She got momentarily happy at remembering the name of this strange land. Her brother had been out in this strange land for a long while. He could be anywhere. She was learning exactly how large this land truly was. 'Are we ever going to actually find him?' Was the thought that ran through her mind. She lived with the fear that they would never find him, and that they would never be able to return and unseat their uncle who had taken control of the pack. There was only so much she and Firiel were able to do.

She smiled at Firiel when she made the return comment to the earlier statement. "Yes I am sure we can take any one or any thing that might happen to come along!" She laughed a bit as they continued walking. It wasn't long after that when she heard Firiel's voice once more, she had found a River with a bit of a clearing around it. She nodded to Firiel. "Yes I do believe it is a good a place as any... Let's get a drink and rest our hooves for a little while..." She was trying to stay up beat but it was hard to do.

It was then that she heard it, that booming voice that rang down from the tree tops. She listened to what it said, and how it spoke of monsters and why they had come to the forest. She glared as she glanced around the forest. The voice seemed to bounce from one place to the next, but there was something oddly familiar about it.

"We are simply looking for someone... We are not here to challenge anyone or to feed anything, we simply wish to be granted passage through the forest so we may continue on our search..." She spoke the truth. It was easier to use the truth, at this point she could only look to Firiel to see what the other Mare made of the situation they currently found themselves in. She would take her cues from the other Mare. After all, If they weren't a united front then it would be harder to win in any fights that could be forthcoming in the near future. She poised herself for the attack. She wouldn't be caught off guard, after all it was her brother who had taught her to fight, and she hadn't come all this way just to let him down by getting killed by some strange forest monster. She would fight until her body wouldn't allow her to anymore. She would not go down easily.  

[sesshiyasha]

Firiel watched everything around them. It was her job to protect Zavari, and it had seemed that her joke had managed to make Zavari laugh, at least a little bit. She wanted to pull the other mare out of her mind, and break the silence, it was what she assumed would hopefully help. It was true that they both wished for this journey to be over, for them to find Zanzibar and be able to return home, unseat the current head of the pack, and right everything that had gone wrong in the past, oh so many years and be able to relax and just have a good time for once. It couldn't come soon enough.

She heard the other mare's second comment and laughed a bit. "Aye, A good rest would do us both wonders. After all, sore hooves means we travel at half speed. That ain't good for any one or any body." She laughed at this. She hoped her laughter would help her friend to calm down and start the relaxation process.

It was here that she too heard the booming voice from the surrounding area. It definitely was familiar, she just needed to place it. She thought to herself for a moment 'Why would a voice this far out be familiar to me? I know of no one from this strange land and yet....' her thoughts trailed off as she listened to the voice's next statement. The voice was definitely familiar. 'I just need to place this voice... I know it.... Where from do I know this...?' Her brown knit as she tried to figure out a way to put a face to the voice. It couldn't possibly be that the one they had been searching for had stumbled upon them? Could they be that lucky? So lucky as to walk right into the forest home of the brother of her dear friend? She listened as Zavari returned the banter and told him that they were looking for someone. This was the time. She decided this would be the best course of action for the moment.

"Aye, We are looking for one who wears bones for armor, his body is imbued with the glow of the runes, similar to how my friend's marking are upon her coat... Around his neck should hang an Ankh to show his family ties..." Her voice dropped here, would he have kept the ankh? Would he have let it remain around his neck to continue to try to keep him connected to his family that was so far away? "Mayhaps you might know him? He claims to have a curse about him, but I am not one who believes such witch tales..." She would see how this voice reacted to this, hopefully Zavari would pick up on her cues, and understand the direction in which she was going. If this was Zanzibar, maybe he would recognize them. She hoped against all hope that this might just become truth.  

[sesshiyasha]

Zanzibar circled in the tops of the trees. It had been a while since he had company. Demi would be back at the cave, or out on a hunt while he was here. He wouldn't be long, he was sure of it, after all these are the only two mares, how hard would they be to frighten off. He moved silently from branch to branch making sure nothing around him moved as he did. He didn't want to give away his location by making a wrong move. He wouldn't even allow for a leaf to move as he moved past it. He refused to accept anything other than his best. He wanted to make sure the game was played correctly and that he was giving them a fair shot. After all it would be no fun if it were to end too soon.

There was something though. Something in his mind that told him that something was off about this particular game. There was a feeling that wasn't quite right, and he couldn't quite put his hoof on it. He narrowed his eyes as he stopped for a brief moment. It was ever so slight, but something caught at the back of his memory as if triggered by their voices. He studied them now, let the silence soak in around them. He would wait and see what they would do. He needed to see why his memory was toying with him.

He watched and he waited, he kept the circle going, that way his voice would never come from the same place twice. That was how the game worked best. It made it so they couldn't pin point him, but that he could get a full read on them. It was something he had learned shortly after coming to this forest. He needed the game, it was how he could easily tell innocents from those that would seek to cause immense pain and harm to him and anything else in the forest. This wasn't just his home, this was his domain. Everything in this forest was under his protection.

It was when the second mare spoke and gave a description of who they were looking for. It would seem they were looking for him. He was the one who carried bone, he carried the ankh, and he carried the runes upon his pelt. Her description matched him. He narrowed his eyes once more, trying to recall the reason his memory clicked for this particular set of mares.

"And what exactly do you plan to do with him when you find him...?" His voice was low it was even and he was able to keep it completely emotionless. He needed to find out exactly who these mares were and exactly why they were looking for him. He would find the answers to all of these questions and more, it just took time!  

[sesshiyasha]

Zavari was growing impatient with this "Monster of the Night" who roamed this forest. She did understand the fact that they had trespassed on his territory, but it didn't mean that he could take up so much of their time. Just who did he think he was?! She huffed to herself and lightly stomped her front right foot. She would get to the bottom of this and figure out just what was wrong with this "Monster."

She didn't for a moment believe that he truly was a monster, after all her brother had said similar things before he was banished. She watched the tops of the trees, waiting and looking for any movement or motion to see if she could pinpoint the location of the threat. It was when his reply came that she took a slight step back. She knew this voice. She was certain of it. Her eyes narrowed as she thought. Had it been someone they had come into contact with in this strange kawani lands? Or could it be.... Her mind sparked, she remembered something and she found it in the back of her mind. This voice was familiar, it wasn't because she had just met someone here in these lands, it was because they were from the previous lands. They were from the pack. She was sure of it.

Why wouldn't they come right out and say it? Why wouldn't they want to be known? Perhaps he hadn't recognized them? She suddenly had so many questions that it was hard to keep her mind focused on the course she had to take. She needed to clear her mind, she needed to respond to him. She hadn't really thought about what she would do once she found him. Well she had, of course, because that was the plan. though for some reason the question of "What will you do with him?" had her confused and quite frankly dumbfounded.

She stammered for a few seconds "I.... I well.... I plan on reuniting with him and seeing how he is... then I wish to tell him about our home lands and what has happened with our family...." She would leave the particular details about the fact the one she was looking for was her brother, or that their father passed on to the other side, or that their uncle had taken power and their mother was still there. She cringed internally there was so much she needed to tell her brother, so much he needed to fix. He was the rightful heir to the pack, and he should take up that mantle and save everyone. She never thought for a moment of the fact that her brother wouldn't want to return. She had pushed those thoughts from her mind. She had too. She couldn't think of what else to say, she looked at Firiel and hoped that her friend would understand her plea.  

[sesshiyasha]

Firiel shifted her weight as she stood there waiting for a response from the mysterious voice. She had noticed that Zavari seemed to understand the fact that the voice was familiar, she thought perhaps that the other mare had figured out that Firiel suspected that this was indeed Zanzibar that they were dealing with. Though knowing Zavari as she did, she figured her mind was probably swimming with possible ideas of what could be happening, what had happened, who this was, what would happen when they actually confronted Zanz. It was all too much to think about, it was why she had decided to basically keep her mind calm and clear. She didn't want to upset the owner of the voice, and she followed Zavi's gaze to the tree tops.

She heard Zavi's shaky reply and saw the silent plea in her eyes. Yes it seemed she had indeed put everything together. It was now her job to see that the firm voice could be added to the mix. She needed to convince him that they were friends. She needed to remind him of who they were. Where did she start? She didn't know but there was something that caught in her mind. Zanzibar had once hunted a Pronghorn back home by stalking his prey from the tree tops. It all clicked. this almost confirmed her suspicions. This had to be Zanzibar.

She nodded to her companion before she opened her mouth to speak. "He is a very dear friend and we are hoping to find him, since we believe that he was wrongly treated in the past... He was my best friend... How could I leave him alone to fend for himself?" Everything she said was true. "When I find him, I plan on giving him a hug and keeping myself and my friend here from crying. We have been searching everywhere...." Her voice remained calm and steady, it was what she had needed. "My only regret is that we had not come for him sooner. He should never have been made to be alone, and I only hope he is not alone now!" She hadn't voiced her concerns before. This was the first time she had openly voiced anything about Zanzibar that she had been feeling. Her fears, her regrets, her disappointment. It all welled inside her as she waited hoping that it had been enough to convince him, and maybe just maybe it could convince him to come out and show himself instead of hiding. She just hoped that he remembered them.

She wasn't sure what they would do if he had pushed everything from his memory, but knowing Zanz, this was not something he would do. He was to proud of his heritage. He wouldn't turn his back on his family. His pride wouldn't allow for that to happen. She missed his compassionate and caring soul extremely and longed for this to be over.  

[sesshiyasha]

Zanzibar continued circling in the trees, stopping momentarily to watch the females below him. He knew them. He just needed to place it. He wished the shadows hadn't concealed their markings so much, and that the one with wings would lift them. He didn't recognize the mask she wore, but he did notice that it was bone, similar to his armor. 'Could it be?' was the voice inside his mind. He wasn't certain but their responses made him even more certain. He heard the love in each of their voices as they spoke. He was taken aback. They had come looking for him. They had come to find him. He wasn't sure what to say or what to do, but he stopped his circles. He just stood there for a few short moments.

His thoughts raced around them. He was sure they were Zavari and Firiel, his sister and best friend. He wasn't sure how they had managed to find him, but tears started to well up in the corners of his eyes. He never imagined he would set his eyes on the sights of his sister or his friend again. They had come together to find him. They came for him. He couldn't wrap his mind around the thought. He unfurled his large wings once more. He shook his head in order to clear it as was his habit. He flapped his wings once or twice, before taking to the air. He felt the caress of the leaves on the trees as he passed them. He went out into the open quickly and landed in front of the mares with a rush of wind from his wings. He made sure his movements were all swift and smooth. The armor he wore clacked slightly as he landed. He folded his wings back to his sides.

"So it seems you have found who you are looking for...." was his response, he had kept the emotion from his voice in hopes that it wouldn't show how scared he was. He wasn't sure why, but fear was now the thing that ran through his mind. What if his curse struck them just for him being there with them? He knew Firiel would call it hogwash, but he couldn't help it. He had lived with it for so long. "It has been too long Zavi.... Firiel..... I have missed you!" He looked to them each as he said their names. His eyes revealed how truly happy he was to have them here, he pushed the fear away and stepped closer to them. He waited for them to come to him. It was always hard for him, there were so many emotions that he didn't quite know what to do with them. He would deal with everything else later, he was here, and so were they, they had been reunited!  

[sesshiyasha]

Zavari waited and watched and hoped for some sort of answer. She couldn't stand the wait. It wasn't that she was impatient, it was simply that she wasn't sure if Firiel was right and this really was her brother. If it was him, then her search would be over. If it wasn't then, what would she do? 'Yeah it's just like you to walk headlong into some random beast's lair and get caught' she thought to herself. She tried to keep her face as emotionless as possible, even though all of the emotions she could ever feel were coursing through her veins and her body. She wasn't sure how she should feel, and she wasn't sure how this would go. What if it was her brother and he didn't want to see them? What if he had decided never to go back to them because of the banishment? What if he was angry that they hadn't gone with him? Her head swam with all of the what ifs that seemed to go through it in only a matter of seconds.

Through all of the what ifs and the haze in her mind she heard Firiel's words. They rang true, and they were very smart. She always knew exactly how to express everything she was feeling, Zavi envied her for it. Through it all Firiel's voice had remained calm and steady. How could she manage it? Zavi was almost awestruck, she looked at her friend, her eyes wide. Just the thought of "How can you manage that?!" going through her mind. She was right in every word though, Zavi wanted nothing more than to find her brother and correct the wrong that happened so long ago. Nothing had been Zanz's fault, but yet he had been blamed for it. She had lived with that internal struggle for far too long.

When she heard his voice again, it just settled her mind. She was now sure it was him, there was no more guessing, this was her brother. The words he said, were exactly as he would have said them before he was banished from the pack. Her eyes grew big and she tried not to let the water that formed in them gather for too long. All of this effort to keep the tears from over flowing was nullified when she looked up after the rush of wind and the clacking of armor to see him standing there in front of them. She couldn't help it. Her search was done.

"It has been entirely too long....." she choked through the tears. It was a happy cry not a sad cry, for they had managed to finally find her brother. Her search was finally over. She walked over to him and nuzzled her head against him. She was trying to take things slow, but she wanted to be near him. He was her big brother, the person she looked up to the longest, she knew he would move away, but just for a moment, she wanted that closeness.  

[sesshiyasha]

Firiel watched everything around her. She wasn't about to let anything happen that she didn't mean for. She knew Zanz would be cautious about coming out to them because of that hogswash of him having a "Curse" that effected those around him. She would be damned if she would let that effect their friendship. She had told him this much when he first told her about it. The memories of that time crept into her mind's eye. She recalled the time and smiled a big. To think someone as big as he and as adorned as he would be so afraid of hurting those around him. It always made her laugh.

She caught the look from Zavi, the amazement and the fear all wrapped up in one, she knew the emotions all around were going to be running a lot stronger than normal, but she couldn't help it. It was the nature of the beast. The emotions came with the territory. She wasn't sure exactly why she was getting the look, except perhaps, it could have been because she had managed to keep her voice calm and level when she had spoken before. She silently gave the mare a nod of encouragement. They would most definitely see this done. After all this is what they had set out to do, and they had found him.

It was the rush of wind and the clank of bone against bone that drew her attention to the one who now stood in front of her. She smiled as he spoke. He was indeed the same as when he left, maybe he was slightly more... what was the word for it... mature? Dignified? no that wasn't it.... Confident! That was what she was looking for, confident. She smiled as she watched him and when he spoke she simply nodded her head to him. She knew Zavi would need time with her brother and she could wait. She did not want to interfere with the reunion of siblings, but she did long for her friend. He had been her best friend and the one she had shared the most with. At one point she had considered telling him she liked him as more than a friend, but she hadn't known where that would go and if they would have been good for each other. Then before she had a chance to admit anything to him, one way or the other, he was banished, and she wouldn't see him again. Even though she wasn't a part of the Pack she still roamed most of the pack lands. She was simply free to go where she pleased when she pleased.

She stood her ground and waited patiently for the two of them to be done with their reunion. She knew her turn was coming, they most definitely had accomplished the mission they had set out to do.  

[sesshiyasha]

Zanzibar stood there oddly out of place in the forest he called home. It seemed so surreal to him that his sister and friend would be here standing in front of him. Reminding him of where he came from and what had happened so long ago. He could remember the days of the pack perfectly and they still haunted him to this day. He would forever be haunted and reminded of the curse he bore upon his own hide. Firiel had called it being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that could not account for all the time. Things happened so often around him that she could not have been right about that.

There was always something that seemed to go wrong for him. He wondered now how that all could have happened in the first place. He pushed it from his mind for the moment. His sister was here, and his friend. They had come for him. They had come to find him, and what was even more, they had escaped from the pack. They had managed to slip away from their father and to escape out here. He knew that if his father had know his sister's true intentions that he never would have allowed her to leave the pack. She would have been under guard, or under fear of banishment if she were to leave. This made him question exactly why they had come.

He watched her, his strong sister. 'Has she lost weight?' He wondered silently to himself. He had no problems with food in the forest, they could definitely take their fill from the land. It was bountiful enough to support a small pack. The worry crossed his face for a split moment before being replaced by something completely different.

His sister had crossed the short distance between them and was nuzzling with him. This was something they would do when they were smaller. He knew she had always cared about him, but for her to be doing this now? At their ages? And with the fact that they had just been reunited. The shock was evident on his face, and his body froze for a moment. What was he going to do? What was proper? He had completely forgotten. The look of shock was almost turned to a look of horror, as he thought about what their father would say. Even worse, what their uncle would say.

He lowered his head for a moment to return the nuzzle. It had really been too long. Then he turned his head away, trying to hide the water that was collecting near his eyes. Oh yes, he had indeed missed them. He then took a step back to break the connection between his sister and himself. It was only proper, and he refused to let the curse take it's payment from his sister. He would not allow for that to happen.

"You will have to eventually tell me how you came to be here, how you escaped from father and the pack... What has brought you to come and seek me out...." He still hadn't turned his face back to them at the moment. He cleared his mind a bit and calmed himself once more. Then turned to face them once again. He needed to know what they had to say. He needed to know why they had come for him.