[PRP] A New Dawn (Nimhglas x Loko o Ka)

[Atheare]

She had been up all night once again, and for the third day in a row Loko o Ka sat watching the sunrise from her perch on a small rock just outside the valley where the pack lived. She couldn't sleep, there was too much to be done, too much on her mind, no time for her to relax anymore. She was thrilled at the progress her pack was making, but it was a hard life, out on her own. At least back where she had grown up her mother had always provided her with food. As much as she despised her mother, she was grateful for that.

Here, in this new pack, feeding all of the members took a great deal of effort on everyone's part. Only the very young were permitted to stay home and not hunt, all of the adults had to work constantly. Their numbers were small but their bellies were hungry, and so Loko o Ka often went without eating. It was by choice, and she was always offered her share of the food, but the others needed it more than she. She was from the graveyard, a land of scarcity, and was used to going hungry for a few days at a time during the lean season.

"We will be alright." She assured herself, yawning softly. "The hunters learn quickly, they get more skilled each day. Food will not be an issue for much longer." She nodded. She had seen the hunters working together, using their reasoning skills to create new strategies to catch prey with a higher rate of success, but it was a process of trial and error, hence the food shortage. They were improving though, and she was quite sure that once they perfected their techniques, they would have more than enough food for all of them.

"Another day..." She glanced around in the half-light of dawn and stood up, "Hopefully a productive one." She added halfheartedly. As much as she tried, she rarely got much accomplished in the way of recruiting or hunting, mostly because she preferred to go alone on these expeditions. "We will see where my paws lead me today."  

[Jikde Bonyac]

Pacing a furrow into the grass, humming offkey to himself, Nimhglas examined the inside of his head and the aura of his senses. He'd felt unusual of late, as if he carried an imbalance between chaos and order. Normally he'd just indulge in some fierce hunting or skulk the darker corners of the land to even the score, but he'd done that already, and conversed with the dead to boot, and he only felt worse. Logically, the scale must be tilted in the other way, with order lacking.

That had never happened to him before. He avoided normalcy by habit, uncomfortable in the expectations that accompanied it. But now that he'd pinned the thought down he realized, truthfully, he was a little lonely. He was desiring a little orderly social structure, if only for a short while. Well, there was no point to argue with what was fact. He would just have to find an outlet.

He knew where to seek it, too. He could see from here the mountains that the brown grumpy Kafil had pointed out to him, where his pack lived in caves. When he'd met the hyena, he'd had a fleeting urge to visit what sounded like an interesting community, and now the urge returned. Satisfied that the universe had aligned to his needs, he hopped out of the furrow and set out for higher terrain.  

[Atheare]

Loko o Ka had not even taken two steps off of her rock before she caught an unfamiliar scent in the air. It was a bit far off, but already she could tell that it was a hyena. Suddenly Loko o Ka was no longer tired, but excited. She bounded eagerly in the direction of the smell, her ears forward and listening for what ever sounds might give her a hint to where the unknown visitor was located.

"Hello?" She called out, glancing around. She could tell that the new hyena was close, but she could not seem to pinpoint where exactly he or she was. "My name is Loko o Ka, I mean no harm." She chimed, holding her tail down in a non-threatening fashion.

She eagerly awaited a response, thoroughly pleased with the fact that she was off to such a good start today. She often went days or weeks without meeting a new hyena, and this one had apparently appeared out of nowhere. Now, if she could only locate where exactly it was so that she could speak with it.  

[Jikde Bonyac]

Though he'd chosen his direction, Nimhglas took the journey leisurely, pausing to admire the scenery at points or to examine a peculiar stone. He breathed in the soft breeze, enjoying the sensation of it tickling his fur. He kept the mountains in sight though, trying to remember where Kafil had gestured to.

As he walked, he worked through his thoughts and selected a few choice stories and riddles, measuring them for appeal. Kafil had suggested that his people liked them, afterall, and he certainly liked to tell them, though he'd noticed that when he told them, people's eyes tended to cross. The one he'd told to a genet about two moons dueling had made it fall out of the tree, poor thing.

He was brought out of his head by the sound of a voice calling. He paused and peered about him, but didn't see anyone. He was almost convinced he was hearing spirits when it spoke again, and he recognized that it was clearly mundane. But with a lack of speaker, Nimhglas absently stared straight up, and addressed the clouds in return. "No harm is caused, Loko o Ka unseen," he spoke loudly, giving away his presence.  

[Atheare]

Loko o Ka jumped slightly as she realized that the voice was quite near to her, but it was coming from a very well camouflaged hyena. It took all of her willpower to keep herself from laughing when she saw him speaking to the sky.

"I am over here." She grinned, stepping closer to him and taking a seat in front of him. "No longer unseen." She added, her tail wagging in spite of her. She generally did not like to show how excited she was, especially to someone she had just met, but she couldn't help it. It had been so long since finding a new face, possibly one who would be interested in her pack. Little did she know, this one had already been found.

"So, green cloudspeaker, what business do you have here?" Her tone was not accusing, simply curious. She tilted her head to one side and continued to smile, making it obvious that she was trying to make a light conversation rather than to interrogate. "It is not often that we get visitors to this area. Not that my pack minds, we do enjoy seeing new faces and gaining new knowledge, as well as sharing ours, if it is desired."  

[Jikde Bonyac]

Reorienting to the sound as it neared, Nimhglas finally spotted the brown and blue female approaching. She seemed very happy to see him, abnormally so, and he adjusted his mindset appropriately. She was happy, therefore so was he. He soaked in joy wherever it was found, and currently it was present in a very pretty hyena lady. He could do alot worse for company. Crocodile, last week. Ornery fellow.

"Seen and not a cloud," he greeted, grinning broadly. "Speaker of clouds, no, they don't discourse with the green. Fickle." He eyed her over... her brown coat jarred something in his memory, but the blue was overpowering his eyes and distracting him.

He glanced away, and his eyes fell on the mountains, and he placed the rememberance. Ah, Kafil. She would be of his pack, then. His kin even, if the color was a clue. His grin widened. "Loko o Ka seen is of the meerkats, then, that store stories in little places. Kafil said to speak of him. This one is Nimhglas, born of wetlands."  

[Atheare]

Loko o Ka giggled softly. The way this hyena spoke was quite... Interesting wasn't really the right word, but rather stimulating. Yes, it made her think about what he meant, forced her to use her mind, which was just fine with her. She loved to have a good conversation, but one that required some interpretation was a great deal more fun.

"Meerkats?" She gave him a puzzled look. "Where did you...?" Wait, had he said Kafil? "You have met my father, then." She was surprised. Her father was generally even less successful in regard to starting up conversations or finding hyenas to recruit, though her father had not spoken of him. Perhaps this hyena did not intend to join the pack? A slightly disheartening fact, but at least he seemed friendly. Her father had done one thing right, he had left a good impression for once.

"Welcome, Nimhglas." She bowed her head respectfully for a moment, "This is the land of Illud per Altus Sententia." She spoke the name of her pack with pride, a name she had come up with herself. 'Those who have high thoughts' yes, the meaning described the members quite well. Each and every one of them had an exceptional mind in one way or another, and each as valuable as the next.

"I am Kafil's daughter and the leader of this pack, along with Xue Lin. My father is on a council of sorts, and assists us in leading." She explained, "I assume he told you some of what our pack is like? You speak of stories being stored, and of meerkats. I imagine that you know of our appreciation for knowledge, then?" She did not fully understand the meerkat reference, but she didn't really care. Maybe it would be explained through more conversation.  

[Jikde Bonyac]

Nimhglas nearly laughed as he recognized the similarities in the father and daughter. Both of them eager to recruit. Though where Kafil had done so with an air of reluctance, this female seemed much more adamant about it. He returned her bow, and mouthed the name of the pack to help him remember it. Quite a lot of name, too. He absently mouthed it backwards as well, to see what it felt like. Just as big. Well, he'd asked for order.

"Knowledge, stories, riddles, the grumpy Kafil's pack hunts for them," he agreed. "Put them in caves, stone underworlds, cold hollow rock. This one has not seen caves," he added wistfully. "Loko o Ka seen's pack possessive appreciate the knowing. Do they appreciate the not knowing, and in between? Does seen care for the unseen?" He glanced up, noticing the clouds he'd looked at before had dissipated and warped. "See, fickle."  

[Atheare]

"Grumpy Kafil?" Loko o Ka smirked. Yep, this hyena had certainly met her father. He was generally a grump, except around her, and she was surprised that he had managed to make a decent impression on someone. Perhaps she did not give him enough credit.

"We like to know, but we also like the journey to more knowledge." She nodded, "The not knowing keeps us driven, gives us a purpose. Without the unknown and the unseen, the known and the seen lose their importance." She blinked at him, surprised at how quickly his mind could jump from one topic to another. She had nearly forgotten his comment about the clouds before, but obviously Nimhglas had not.

"Fickle isn't always bad." She shrugged, looking up at the clouds as well, "It means change, but change can be good. A bit more rapid than we may like, but it leads us new places."  

[Jikde Bonyac]

Flexing his toes on the ground thoughtfully, Nimhgas pondered this new female. Where he usually had difficulty pinning down a straight conversation with people, she was more than keeping up with him. He absently wondered if she was afflicted with his gift as well. "Loko o Ka seen could be raised in wetland, and the green in rock," he teased. "The mind of brown and blue dances."

Well, after meeting her he had to admit that Kafil's talk of a pack based on knowledge wasn't just propaganda. This could be very interesting. "Balance, yes, the lack of paints the shape of the having. Traces the form of. Shadow resembles its caster." He made a face at the clouds high above. "Noble symbols of change, the white sky lands, but they could be civil."

He turned his attention back to the female then, and leaned in conspiratively. "Does the seen chase knowledge or pack holes to fill this day? Kafil says many holes are in holes."  

[Atheare]

"Could be, but was not." Loko o Ka nodded, "I was raised in the graveyard, a land of dust and bones, death all around. This place where I find myself now is far more pleasant and holds more possibilities for learning, as well as life."

Loko o Ka laughed softly at the idea of clouds being civil, though she supposed that they occasionally were not, "They appear civil now, at least more so than during their stormy tantrums." Loko o Ka despised rain storms, because it made it hard to go out and get food, but on the other hand it gave her a good reason to stay in her cave and think.

"The seen always seeks both, but rarely finds either." She wondered to herself just how much Kafil had told this hyena. He was clearly doing a better job than she had originally thought. "There are plenty of holes left unfilled, if you wish to see them and perhaps stay a while." She offered, "It's quite near here."  

[Jikde Bonyac]

Surprised by her revelation of her birthplace, Nimhglas found himeslf impressed. A graveyard? A land of decay. She surely knew chaos and death intimately then. Some people shunned them, but he embraced any part of life, even the negative bits. There was a beauty in destruction. He wondered what reason she'd had for leaving that place. Had she tired of it, and longed for a cleaner existence?

"Does the Seen miss the dust and bones, or breathe free without it?" he queried, but then corrected himself. He was probably being too nosey once again. He smiled apologetically and pranced in place to distract her in case she angered. "Does the Loko gambol?" He demonstrated with some long legged dance steps, weaving a half circle around her with his head bobbing to an unheard internal music.  

[Atheare]

"I had no true connection to those lands. It is as lonely place, and I wished for something more." Loko o Ka had no problem discussing her past, or her reasons for leaving her old home. It is what it is, and nothing can change it. Besides, she had nothing to be ashamed of.

"Gambol?" Loko o Ka watched him and giggled, "I'm afraid that I never have before, but it looks... Amusing." She tried to mimic his steps. She was fairly good at the steps themselves, though she seemed stiff, as though she wasn't entirely sure what she should be doing or what the purpose was. She appreciated the art of dance, but had never much participated in it herself.

"Am I doing this correctly?" She asked before anticipating his answer, "Or is there even a right or wrong way?" She laughed, stumbling slightly and nearly falling over. "You are much better at this than I am."  

[Jikde Bonyac]

Nimhglas sympathized with her loneliness. He was usually too distracted with the majesty of the world to feel lonely, but he recognized the need for social interactions. Other creatures especially seemed to flock together for comfort, something that fascinated him. He himself enjoyed good companionship and bonds, but the bonds never seemed strong enough to keep him from straying.

Pleased that she'd joined in, he leapt about enthusiastically. "The right way is abandon!" he shouted, and demonstrated by flailing sporadically, then flopped down onto the grass and rolled about, wriggling with his feet tucked. He paused to observe her methods, and clucked his tongue. "The Seen holds back. She is not a stork." He mimicked her stiff movements teasingly, legs jutting out sharply as he lay on his back.  

[Atheare]

"Abandon?" She asked, wondering slightly about this. Was it truly best to simply let go and do what ever her body felt like? That seemed to be how Nimhglas was doing it, and he was clearly enjoying himself. She burst out laughing as he mocked her, the comparison was perfect.

"Not a stork, no. But you, friend, are not an overturned beetle." She smirked as she continued to dance, trying to loosen up and let her movements flow. "Would it be better for me to be a gazelle?" She inquired, beginning to bound around him with as high leaps as she could manage, trying to mimic the way they ran.

Loko o Ka could not remember ever feeling this free, this relaxed. Everything and everyone around her had been so serious lately, and she herself had been serious most of her life, it was an odd feeling to be expressing herself in this way with a complete stranger. It felt nice though, as though she finally knew what it was like to have fun.

"Tell me, Nimhglas, what is the best animal to be for this dance?"