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 Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 1:26 pm
Oh man. With the kids getting older, Ishida was just feeling weird. When they were younger it seemed easier to control them (even if that was far from the truth), but now that they were at the age where they could make decisions for themselves, and growing closer every day to adulthood, Ishida felt so powerless. Hopefully they would feel safe, but...
He frowned as he wandered the land outside of the caves, hoping to calm his mind. It wouldn't do anyone any good if he let his emotions get the better of him. Worry could eat at the soul like nothing else, especially when there was no real reason to worry.
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Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 1:41 pm
Masaa was a people-watcher, a habit that could sometimes border on rude, but that her adoptive mother could never get her to drop. By now, she'd more or less stopped trying, as it was ultimately harmless, outside of possibly being construed as creepy. Amkia was content to accept 'slightly unsettling,' considering the multitude of things Masaa could have been.
One thing Amkia had actively dissuaded her from was bothering the older lion in the pride to whom she was clearly related in some fashion. Which was a shame, because that definitely made him the most interesting.
So she was quite delighted when, as she lay sunning alone, he came wandering along. She perked up immediately, following him with her eyes, but for the moment said nothing.
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Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 1:54 pm
Ishida continued to walk, still not able to shake his mood. Or was it something else? He glanced behind him, seeing a lioness walking around behind him. He didn't think it was that strange, since she could just happen to be walking in this direction. With the steep terrain in some of the pride's lands, he wouldn't blame anyone wanting to take an easy path.
It was the fact that she was still there made him give her a second look. He felt a little twinge of something, but it could easily be how irritated he felt by being followed with no explination. So he plopped his rump down, waiting to see if she would get closer.
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Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 2:03 pm
Hmm. He was going to be like that, was he? That made it troublesome, since technically she wasn't supposed to 'bother' him (which didn't include staring, at least to her mind). Although she'd still been a child when her mother had told her that, and she was fully-grown now. Maybe she'd...outgrown that rule.
Yeah, she'd go with that. Once she was a little closer, the dark lioness stopped as well, taking a few moments to study him more closely than she'd previously been able. Colors and a few details aside, he really was quite similar. They even had the same front feet.
Head tipped curiously while she looked him over, she finally seemed to make up her mind.
"Hello," she offered quietly.
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Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 2:10 pm
While she was inspecting him, Ishida couldn't help but return the motion. From a distance she only looked black, but on closer inspection she carried distinctive markings that sent small shivers up his spine. This was family, though he didn't know who she was.
"Hello," he replied, his eyes having a little trouble focusing on her's. He willed himself to be firm, as it wasn't like the past was following him. Just... a part of it.
"You..." he tried to form words, but his mind was moving too quickly to grab onto something to say to her.
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Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 2:18 pm
Still staring, her head still slightly tilted, she settled into a sit opposite him. She really didn't mean to be rude, the way she stared at everyone when she looked at them, she just didn't quite grasp that it made them uncomfortable - or why it would. You were, after all, supposed to look at someone when you talked to them.
Her tail dragged absently back and forth through the grass behind her while she waited for him to finish, but he never did. With no real idea how he'd intended to follow up the 'You...' he'd left hanging, she offered, "Masaa."
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Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 3:10 pm
Uhh...oh! He wondered why she had given him her name, but then he remembered. He had stupidly started to say something, and never completed it. "Er, sorry," he said. "Spaced out there for a moment."
When she said her name, it still didn't set off any triggers. Her coat just screamed his family, but she could be a kid to any one of his siblings. Or even further down the line than that? He shuddered to think about that. "I'm Ishida," he replied with a nod, nervous of trying to open his mouth again. He'd probably start listing off his siblings names, hoping for something.
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Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 3:34 pm
Masaa had to wonder if he was normally like that, or if it was particular to the situation. Admittedly, she didn't know what to say, either, or what exactly their relation was. His name wasn't familiar, but she didn't expect it to be; the only name she knew from her blood-family was her mother's. Which, she supposed, she should give him, though she was well aware of what the lioness had been like. Amkia had never kept it from her, and she had a few very faint memories.
She tilted her head in the other direction while she thought about it. He was undoubtedly wondering how they were related, as she was, and probably had a better chance of figuring it out than her - if she supplied him with the necessary information.
So, in the interest of expediting the process, she announced, "I'm Erzebet's daughter."
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Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 4:28 pm
Ishida was shocked. He felt his jaw open, and promptly snapped it. Well, she would obviously know that he certainly knew her mother~! Ishida had plenty of memories of her, but he had to admit that he hadn't thought about her much lately. Or much of his family, either. It had been an awkward childhood, with how their own mother had been.
He just...
"I know her," he said. "She is my sister, which means you are my niece." He looked at her a little differently now, more curious. "Sorry, but it is a little surprising to me." He hadn't heard from her in a very long time, and never thought she would be a mother.
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Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 4:57 pm
Masaa observed his surprise with the continuing curiosity, and a certain amount of satisfaction. She'd wondered for what felt like ages what her relation to this lion was, and now she knew. She was not, however, quite certain what to do now that she had that information. She wasn't exactly looking for or craving some connection to her 'real' family, she'd just wanted to know.
But here she was, staring at her uncle. At least he didn't try to...embrace her or something. That would have been awkward. Uncomfortable silences really didn't bother her, but sudden affection definitely would have.
There wasn't anything further she wanted to know, to be honest, and she lapsed into a thoughtful silence. It was than that the present tense he'd used finally caught her attention, and she decided she might as well inform him, "Was. She's dead."
Something that, by all appearances, didn't bother Masaa at all.
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Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 6:25 pm
This was almost as shocking as finding out that he was an uncle. His ears swiveled forwards and back, not sure how to take this news. He felt a small touch of sad, but mostly because he remembered her as young. His memories would bias him, though he had no idea the intent of her crimes.
"Ah. Two somewhat shocking things in a matter of moments!" He chuckled. "I was never really close, but..." he let his words drop. With how she seemed fine with it, it would be foolish to try and explain his reasoning.
"Do you have anyone you're staying with, here?" He hoped she wasn't alone.
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Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 9:40 pm
Masaa wasn't the least bit surprised to learn that Ishida hadn't been close to Erzebet; if he had been, he probably wouldn't have been the type to choose a place like this to live. It was nice to know he was relatively normal, as far as she could tell. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she'd always worried that she was somehow destined to be crazy. Not the she didn't have her eccentricities, but there was a difference between that and being crazy.
"Amkia," she answered. "She raised me."
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Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 6:27 am
Ishida had heard that name before, but only in passing. Where, though? Finally, it sparked in his mind. "Ah, I think I heard Valerius mention her as his sister." It seemed like there was a lot of family in this pride.
He was thinking about offering things to her. Visits, chats. But really, what would they talk about? Not Erzebet. Otherwise they didn't have anything in common. Still, it was a little nice to know that she was his niece. He knew he wouldn't be able to help himself in the future, and want to keep an eye on her. Just to make sure she was content.
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Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 2:28 pm
The lioness nodded, bobbing her head. "Yeah, that's her brother. I think one of their other sisters is here now, too."
Masaa had never met anyone from that particular set of siblings. Funny, how Kia's family seemed almost like it was following her. Then again, it was probably the most logical place for Justice's children to end up.
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Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 3:46 pm
"Oh?" Perhaps he'd have to ask, since Ishida didn't know exactly who she was talking about. Valerius would, and Ishida knew he'd cross paths with him soon.
"Well, it's a little awkward, I admit, but if you ever want to chat, even about nothing at all, I'm game." He grinned, hoping he didn't sound too over the top. He could tell that she wasn't the most...snuggly? lioness around, but it didn't hurt to throw the offer out there.
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