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It was a deery sort of day, overcast but not quite raining. Cool, but not really cold. In such an in-between day, there was no telling what might happen. Maybe, just maybe... today would be the day.

At least, that was Matsai's hope, as he sat in an out of the way place. He was unlikely to be disturbed here, which was the purpose, and there was little in the way of distractions. A perfect place to practice his abilities, which is what he happened to be doing at the moment. Green eyes closed, sitting upright and steady, he struggled to command his visions to come to him. A fierce frown moved over his face as he concentrated, an ache forming behind his eyes with how hard he worked at it.

"Damn it." He murmured to himself as he sighed and opened his eyes, blinking to try and ease some of the pain. Another failed attempted and another heavy dose of frustration.

Matsai sighed as he lifted a white-tipped paw to scrub at his face, brushing over the falling star that rested between his eyes. It was quite a marking, that star... phrophetic, almost. Out of all his siblings, the visions that came with being the child of a god seemed to come to him the most. Ahai, his twin, had no such dreams that he knew of, nor did Mastema, the brother that fit the Pridelands most with his tan pelt. Red Belial was a bit unhinged from the force of his sight, thought it appeared to come more a voices in his head than visions. And then there was Kali, the only daughter... she had never seemed to have visions, but he hadn't seen her since she was a cub, before she'd been stolen away by their uncle. Matsai shook his head as he dropped his paw again, pushing away the thoughts on his strange family.


The sweep of his gaze brushed over a dark form, then snapped back to it, eyes narrowing suspiciously as his face went blank. A black goddess, sitting so innocently a short distance away, her own gaze on him. He'd never had a truly good meeting with any god, not to mention the fact that he passed out whenever he touched one, so it wasn't suprising that he didn't look favorably on this one.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" He called as he rose to stand, glad of the larger-than-normal size he'd inherited from his father. His voice was cool, dispassionate, and lacking in anything that might give away how he felt or what he might be thinking.

The mention that this goddess called the Pridelands home brought a shift of his brow into a subtle frown. He'd heard nothing of this and it made him wonder if she usually cloaked herself in illusion, or if everyone just knew who and what she was. Rhin-yi... he didn't know the name either, though he would admit that he didn't know a lot of gods and his father hadn't been exactly forthcoming with names and information. He stood patiently, solid as a stone and with as much emotion, to listen to her, considering his own response carefully.

"I had no idea there were gods among the Pridelanders. I might be reclusive, but I'm suprised I've heard, and seen, nothing." A black ear twitched as he idly checked to see if they were alone, searching for the sound of anyone nearby. He was rather thankful that his twin was occupied today. It kept him out of the way, but he missed his solid prescence. "My name is Matsailema. I was born into the royal line of this pride and spent my childhood here. I've recently returned from some travel in the lands beyond, so perhaps you're just new. As for what I'm doing... I'm practicing." He left it at that, really not feeling to share more if she didn't specifically ask for it. "What's your domain? What do you rule over?"

Matsai took in her explainations, mulling over them for a moment. So she wasn't an offical pridemember then. That made him feel a little better about her.

"So all you can do is hunt better than anyone else?" He said blankly, his tail twitching. "Well, that's... nice." He wasn't sure what else to say about it, though he was relieved again that it wasn't something more... inconvenient. There was little she could do to him unless she decided to touch him or 'hunt' him. "I'm really not much of a traveler. I traveled out of necessity and an effort to broaden my experiences. I think I would much rather have one place to call home and have other come to me."

His mouth twitched in what could be called a smile, for him. "Its easier to control when my future is more stable. When there are less possibilities."

The blue lion saw the goddess stiffen, but he brushed it off, ignoreing what seemed to be an expression of indignation. It actually rather pleased him, that he could goad her like that, whatever it was he had said. The boredom she spoke of... he knew the feeling better than he would have liked. Despite wanting to settle down, there was something about the Pridelands that repelled that thought from him. Like a plant, he wanted to put down roots and become stable, but just like a plant, he felt like he kneeded the right sort of soil under his paws, the right sort of pride, before he could.

Of course, she picked up right away on what he didn't say. Clever little goddess. "Less varied futures. The less stable my life is, the more different paths my life can take from this point, and the more visions of them plague me." He said, trying to make it as simple as possible. How to explain the sleepless nights, afraid to sleep and dream? Or the nights where he did and they played unendingly over anything and everything till he work in the moring? How a simple touch could send him into convulsions as visions threatened to overwhelm his mind... Too much to put into meer words, all the pain and chaos in his mind.

The male stiffened visibly as she moved closer, poised to move away should she get too close. He wouldn't let her touch him if he could help it. Green eyes narrowed a little at her question, his mind debating if he should keep it simple, or add some glamour to it like he had been lately. Not knowing what she knew, it was a hard choice, so he felt his way carefully.

"I've seen myself in various futures. Dead, lost, torn from my twin, settled down with a lioness and cubs... raised to glory or torn to nameless shreds. I see myself in places all over, in every pride that exists, and all alone." He listed off a few of the things he'd seen, again, keeping them simple. "I've also seen my past, my cubhood, the time with my family and the places I've been. Sometimes, I see an orange lioness I know from cubhood, grown to be an adult. I knew what she would look like before I even returned to see her again, and she was the same as I'd seen in my vision of her." He said softly, the smallest touch of warmth entering his voice at the mention of Verdad, the Pridelander's nanny.

"Have you never heard of a Seer before, Rhin? I'm surpised. It was a god like you that brought me these visions."

The questions that poured from her grated on his nerves, forcing him to look at the 'gift' that so bothered him throughout his life.

"From what I know, no god has visions. But its obvious enough that they can gift mortals with this ability when they mate with a mortal. All the offspring have these visions, in some form. I'm... lucky that mine are limited to when I sleep and when I touch another living being. What is shown to me through them is not under my control... thus what I was doing when you stumbled on me. I plan on forcing them to obey me so I have some measure of control over the chaos."

He grumbled a little as he said it, frustrated all over again with how little progress he'd made in controling his visions. They still wouldn't come when he wasn't touching someone, and he still counldn't command them to show him something specific.

Safely within the Pridelands Rhin could maintain her composure, far from the smell of death that would often bring her aggression at the slightest disrespect. Here she was far more capable of letting out a soft, growling chuckle, a sound that carried her desire to simply patronize the mortal.

"There is far more to hunting than simply killing. One must be able to lure prey, know when to push or pull; when to chase or retreat. If all my domain meant was that I simply brought death...well, I suppose I'd be the goddess of killing then," it was difficult, but she withheld the cocky grin, as wearing it was a display of pride she no longer needed to feel confident. "The idea may or may not work, but it could atleast serve as practice for your odd gift."

Her eyes drifted from the male to their surroundings, realizing that a lone lion of the pride this far out was not something she'd have expected. Even her companion had always been a short race from the majority of the pride.

"Enjoy the solitude, or is it absolutely necessary for your work?" The question was likely a little nosey, but she felt awkward having come upon him when it was clear he'd gone to lengths to remove himself from others.