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 Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 11:43 am
 Times had been hard and it was taking it's toll on the weary soldier, though it could be said that the lioness was taking the lack of water better than some. She had spent months on her own, out in the desert without clear direction to the lands she now called home. She knew what it was like to be thirsty, she knew how to handle herself when she was dehydrated to the point that exhaustion threatened to overcome her. Mii'ah knew how to survive the threat of hallucinations and how to take things easier when she had the chance.
What Mii'ah did not know was how to deal with grief.
Which made things complicated when Xipil had approached her with a simple request; to be the eyes and ears he could not be in the battlefield because his sister, and fellow Brigadier, was going and he could not see any logic in going with her. He told her that someone needed to stay behind to protect their home and devise strategies in which to help them win the war looming over the horizon.
When she had prodded him for a reason as to why his sister had been so insistence on going, he had told her it was because Azar wished to be the one to serve justice to the murderers who took her son from her. She couldn't give him a response because she didn't understand how he could be so calm and collected when delivering the news of the death of his nephew.
And that was what had led her to seek out Fia. The black lioness was the only person, outside of Xipil, that the former pridelander considered to be a friend. She had never had to deal with the death of a loved one, but she understood the basics. She just needed to offer her condolences and be there if Fia needed anything, besides she needed to talk to the lioness about her conflicted feelings for the red lion.
Mii'ah needed advice and only hoped that Fia wanted company.
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Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 11:55 am
 If Mii'ah had come a day or so before, it was likely that any visit would have been met with either a blank refusal to communicate or a simple lashing out of anger. But, since a talk with her old teacher Karana, she had calmed somewhat. She was seeing and thinking clearer - not so drowned in horrible, horrible grief. Karana had helped her, soothed her, but she was not cured and she was not sure she would ever be. The raw emotions that had plagued her were still there but she could suppress them now. Keep them at bay by focusing her energies elsewhere. Occupying her mind.
And there was one thing that she focused on more often than not.
Vengeance.
All Fia wanted was blood. The blood of the ones who had taken a family member from her. Nur'yu had not even been a soldier. He had been a Watcher, a friendly, happy lion who would have brought no harm to anyone. And yet he had been the first loss, his life cruelly stolen by the Nergui and the fact of it hung bitter in her heart. Fia had never openly admitted it but she had loved that little nephew of hers deeply and now he was gone. Forever. And where had she been whilst all this had gone on? Out searching the dunes for water when she should have been here to support her family.
Well never again.
She wasn't going to go seeking water any more. That much was for certain. There was no water out there now and the hopes for sustenance lay with the band preparing to travel to a neighbouring land. And since Fia wasn't going with this group, she'd set her mind on other tasks.
When Mii'ah came into sight, she would find Fia brushing irritably at the history-stones, attempting to rid their surface of clogging sand.
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 11:18 am
In many ways the red pelted lioness was out of touch with the darker side of things and hadn't been aware of how distraught Fia had truly been. She did not know that the lioness had so coldly rejected the company of others not to long before she made her way to visit. So when she came upon the dark lioness she was surprised to see her so irritated.
"Fia," she called, concern crinkling her brow. "Fia!" She called again when it seemed like the other lioness had not heard her call. She stopped shortly behind the other lioness, head tilted slightly. Her green eyes sparkled with concern as she waited for some sort of response. Then she sucked in a breath trying to figure out how best to approach any of the subjects she wished to speak about with her friend. All would remind her of her loss, how awkward could that be?
"I haven't seen you in a while," she began slowly, doing her best to sound calm and collected. "How..how are you?" That was an okay question right?
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 1:43 pm
She gave the stones another angry brush with her paw and then turned to see who it was who was drawing closer. It pleased her to see it was a familiar face and not some newly joined rogue seeking enlightenment in Firekin history. She certainly was not in any mood to give lessons now. Not with everything that was going on.
"Ah, Mii'ah!" She called back, padding down to close the short distance between them. The question was brushed off with a paw; bouncing off of armour put carefully into place.
"Fine. Fine." From the look of her she certainly wasn't fine, but she wasn't going to let on about that so easily with words. "I've had some sense knocked into me. Now I'm focussing on keeping busy." Her tail whipped against another stone, clouding sand into the air. "I'm glad you came, in fact, I may have need of your skills." She exhaled a short puff of air. "It's been too long. Are you here about the patrol heading to the outside lands? If so, then my answer is no. I'm not going."
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 2:34 pm
"That's..." she hesitated, unsure of what she wanted to say. "Good," she said slowly, concern flickering across her features briefly. Parts of her wanted to push her friend to speak with her, to tell her how she felt but the other parts of her wanted to just let it lie and rest. Conflicted on how to handle the situation she remained quiet for a moment too long.
"Oh, no..." Mii'ah replied quickly shaking her head. She hadn't even thought of asking Fia to come or if the dark lioness would be joining the others at all. "I mean, I did come to talk to you about that but not about whether or not you were coming," she explained quickly, tail flicking behind her nervously as she shifted her weight to her right side. "I actually came to discuss," she paused to shakily smile at the other female. "Xipil, he asked me to go on the patrols in his stead, well not in like a leadership position or anything," she fumbled over her works and embarrassed, she looked to the sand.
She kept her gaze down as she started to talk again. "He spoke with your sister, ah...Azar?" She was still shaky on the various names of Fia's siblings. In truth, she really only knew much of Xipil and Fia. "They worked things out so that Azar was going, and since Xipil thinks that at least one Brigadier must remain behind he asked that I be the eyes and ears he cannot and I accepted but I do not know if I'm very qualified for this."
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 3:17 pm
Fia stood and listened, ears turned to attention. Her bi-coloured eyes were strangely dull that day but it was clear that she was processing all the words coming at her. At the mention of her brother's name, a faint glimmer came into her face. She was still sure, of course, that the pair would be well suited - not having the faintest idea that her best friend was pining after her dear, serious brother.
"He must trust you very much." Fia replied after a moment, dropping into a sit. "And I agree with him." If she was feeling this emotional right now, goodness knows what Azar was feeling like. Fia wanted to rip out throats. Azar probably wanted to cut the hearts from chests. Crush them and tear them and...
Her hackles had lifted at the very thought of it and Fia had to forcibly restrain her own mental path. She couldn't go there right now. Not with company. "Azar, yes." Fia narrowed her eyes a little. As far as she was concerned she didn't blame her sister for wanting to get involved. To keep as busy as possible...
"I'm glad you've all managed to come to a compromise. We can't have all of our officers gallivanting out into the rogue lands and I certainly would not want to be the one to tell Azar that she could not go." Her eyes flicked across the dunes. "She will want to do this and nothing will be able to stop her." And then she realised Mii'ah's concerns. Could anyone, in fact, stop a raging mother from seeking vengeance?
"Is anyone qualified, Mii'ah? If he had come to me and asked and I had said yes, could I block her way? No. No I couldn't. But you are a soldier, Mii'ah, and you are stronger and more able than you realise. You earned your right to be known as kin. And if I know anything about Xipil, it is that he chooses his friends wisely. He trusts in your skills and your ability to defuse a situation." She blinked. "And Xipil has not put a paw wrong, yet."
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 10:54 pm
"You think?" She asked, head snapping up at the confidence in Fia's voice. She hadn't thought that he had asked her because she was one of the few he truly trusted, but now that the statement had been said she could see it. There were few that the lion interacted with outside of any military-related activities. In fact she only ever saw him around a family member, that lioness she had defeated in order to gain entry...Vesta was her name and occasionally Ran. Though she swore, once in a while, she caught him interacting with a dark lioness with a white face and often she wonder who that female was.
She let out a nervous laugh. "I guess I should have realized that, Xipil isn't one who much cares for company outside a few," she mumbled shaking her head. Fia was doing well to calm her nerves but still, she felt as though she still had such a heavy weight upon her shoulders. "I am," she stated firmly, holding her head high Fia praised her. "You're right," she continued, a smile starting to spread across her paw. "I haven't spent all this time training and preparing myself for the worst for nothing," she said, sucking in a deep breath.
It was reassuring to know that not only one, but two lions put their trust and faith in her. "I believe your sister is with a much more level head after Xipil spoke with her," she paused thoughtfully. "If only because I do not believe he would step back and allow her to go otherwise," she finished, though in truth she knew little about Azar but she did not believe that the other Brigadier would step aside if he thought she wasn't fit to go out, not without some sort of brawl at least.
"Along that note," she paused again, hesitating because she was about to tromp all over the sore subject line. "How are you coping with the loss? I know you said you were fine, and it's likely to not be my place to say anything but as your friend..." she swallowed trying to get her words out quickly so Fia could not interrupt her. "I worry."
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 3:30 pm
Fia gave a short nod in response, though it appeared no response was really necessary. The words seemed to have the required affect, in any case, and the historian felt a rise in her spirits to think that she could have helped someone when she could barely help herself at that time.
"Azar will do her best as she always does. I have no doubt that the meeting will go smoothly, especially if she knows there is someone there to look out for her; to lean on if need be." And Mii'ah did have a strange aura about her, something strangely calming in her demeanour. "And so you see, there is no need to worry. You will do what must be done just as she will and her vengeance will be all the more lethal for it."
The wait would build the tension. Would grow and manifest into something bright and deadly. She could feel it burning in her chest and knew Azar must have been feeling something akin to it.
And then Mii'ah asked the question. A direct question that time, which punched through her chest and work its way into her heart. The words stuck in her throat and for a moment she was at a loss. "You don't need to worry about me. He...no longer suffers." Her voice grated and suddenly she tried to push through the conversation to emerge out on the other side of it. "But, that is partly why I am glad to see you. I need to keep busy. I need to see to it that my family is avenged. I was told I had some natural talent in battle as a youth so I'm hoping to find someone who can help me hone it."
She blinked and stated in a completely serious voice: "I want to temporarily enlist in the military."
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:11 pm
"I doubt she will even be aware of my presence but I'll try to keep an eye on her. Xipil wants as much information about the exchanges as possible," she shook her head as though the responsibility was almost too much. "I'm surprised that he didn't try to enlist Ran, that dark pale face male you met the other day when we were water seeking. He has more insight than I do," she admitted, shrugging slightly. "Oh well," she mumbled, "He picked me and I'll be damned if I let him down. He never let it go that he bested me more than once in battle," she laughed lightly at the memory. She was stronger now, more able and if he hadn't pushed her so hard she doubted she would be where she was now. She was a force to be reckoned with. "If I mess up now, I doubt I'd hear the end of it," she shook her head, mildly amused concerning the idea.
Then things returned to the more serious side of things.
"It must be difficult, losing a loved one," her tone was quiet, apologetic because it was all she had to offer. "Don't shut me out," she pleaded though that wasn't what her friend was doing. Yet. "I can only imagine your grief but I want, no need you to know that I am here for you. About anything," she insisted, green eyes meeting blue.
Mii'ah was hardly prepared for the request that came shortly after her words. Surprise blossomed across her features; ears flattened back slightly, eyes widened, eyebrows arched and her mouth hung open to create a small "oh" formation. "Are you serious?" There was no condemnation in her tone, no disbelief but simply surprise. "I can help you do that, but are you sure that Xipil wouldn't be a better candidate for something like this?"
He had more experience, more authority than she did. She was just a lowly soldier.
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:49 am
Fia had decided rather quickly that she liked Mii'ah, almost from the get-go, really, but today only enforced the reasons of why. She was strong and smart but humble with it, too. Not the typical ego that some suffered - particularly with the male soldiers. She did her duty and she did it well and she clearly had been well-placed in this. "That's right. It would be a long time before Xipil let you forget it. But you don't need to worry. You'll be fine and everything will be alright."
In the end.
"I know it."
She gave a short nod in response and forced herself not to bite back. She had to move on and Mii'ah was a friend. She couldn't keep wallowing or raging alone. That wouldn't be any good for her. Or for Nur'yu. "Don't worry. I'm okay. I don't plan on staying hidden away any longer and these old stones have enough caretakers to free some of my time." Although a lot of them were rogues and her OCD couldn't help but kick in when she thought of untrained paws touching upon recorded history. She shook the feeling away. She'd reorganise once she'd finished with her first priority.
She even managed a crooked grin at Mii'ah's initial surprise. "Very." She was up on her paws again. "I wouldn't like to take up more of Xipil's time and, to be honest, I think you could teach me better. I'd just yell at him if I got annoyed but I'd be more restrained with someone I wasn't related to." An honest enough answer, but she also wasn't sure that Xipil would be very happy to learn of her plans. She may have been his sister, but she also found she couldn't predict his reaction to such things."I can't just stand back on the sidelines any longer. I want to play my part. Battle calls and my blood wills that I answer."
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 11:57 am
Coming from what many considered a rogue background did much to keep the lioness humble, she hadn't told anyone that she originally hailed from the pridelands. It wasn't like she was ashamed of her background or heritage but rather she wanted to be judged based solely upon her character and abilities. Coming from where she did only helped to fuel the fire within her and drive her to compete more harshly than those who had been born within the lands of the firekin. All her life Mii'ah had wanted to prove that she was more than just a spoiled child, she felt as though she had finally begun to do just that.
"Thank you," she told Fia, thankful she had such a friend.
When Fia told her that she wasn't going to hide away any longer, the red lioness felt relieved. "Good," she mumbled thought she didn't completely believe the darker female. She felt guilty for doubting her friend but it was her concern that made her do it. "I understand that," she replied, a light laugh leaving her lips. Siblings fought even when they were on good terms, she knew how hard it was to try and learn something from family. It was easier to get angry and storm off if you were siblings.
"You want the justice you think your family deserves," she stated coolly observing the black cat. "I understand that, you want to me more than just a historian because more is at stake. My services are all yours."
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 12:28 pm
Fia wondered what she had done in life to deserve such a friend as this. She could be a difficult creature to get on with at the best of times; angry one moment, teasing and joking the next. And yet something about Mii'ah settled that inside her; had her seeing things clearly. Fia could see, quite perfectly, why Xipil thought a lot of her. She would do well here.
"Thank you, Mii'ah. I wish only that I could offer you something in return. But unless you want to be bored by history lessons I have nothing but my sharp wit and my eternal gratitude." She threw the female a smirk and turned back to look at the stones collecting sand. Pictures of times during the reigns of many kings being reclaimed by the desert slowly but surely.
"I have recorded history for so long." She spoke, perhaps only to herself. "I think it's time I made history instead." And when she looked back at Mii'ah, she was more determined and stronger than she had been before. It was clear that she planned to at least begin her training before Mii'ah and the other 'sentinels' headed out to find water.
Battle was beckoning and she would answer its call.
/fin
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