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 Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 3:15 pm
Another quest.
Sometimes Ghalati wondered why he had pledged himself to this service, and why he stayed so stalwart to that pledge. These quests were never dangerous: it seemed all they ever did was go out for days on end, chasing their tails, and then they came back with what Ghalati considered useless information for the King to sit through.
But he supposed it wasn't his job to wonder about the information, or the value in it. Uther continued to listen, and Dokhani continued to go out into the rogue lands. So they both must know something he didn't.
Clearly.
He was not the most political minded, however. He was duty bound, and a loyal companion. If not a bit boring and serious. He was sitting atop a rock, watching the fields around them and waiting for their newest 'adventure' to begin.
He could hardly contain his excitement. He flicked his tail and did his best.
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 3:28 pm
The information Dokhani gathered was important, she imagined. Well, she liked to think it was important at the very least, otherwise she wouldn't spend days at a time away from her homelands, now would she? Dokhani was not a capable lioness beyond her intellect, so it was almost necessary that she bring a companion along that was ready for whatever the world would throw at them. Ghalati had never seemed very enthused about being made to come along with her, though. Dokhani couldn't understand why - she never required too much of him, and they got to see and experience new things that those who stayed in the pride lands would never encounter.
There was absolutely no downside to traveling with her, as far as Dokhani could see!
"Ghalati!" The young lioness called out to the soldier as she made her way over to him. What was he doing sitting about? They should have been on their way a little while ago, and of course she had been distracted herself, but that was no excuse for him sitting about looking bored with the world. "Let's gooo. We're heading north, and yes, I know, we went north a season ago but we hadn't gone nearly far enough!"
Ghalati's troubles, it would seem, were just beginning.
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Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 3:44 pm
Their definitions of just how much she required of Ghalati were quite different. In his perception, she needed him for everything. Literally everything. Beyond talking and getting them into trouble, of course, as she had those things well in hand.
He did his best not to complain.
When he heard her calling to him he looked in her direction and heaved a profound sigh. It all but rattled his chest, his rib cage straining to take in and let out all the air such a heavy sigh required.
"We're going farther?" he asked, though without resistance at least. He might have found their treks exhausting and useless, but he always went on them. He complained in his silent yet obvious way, but he did not speak ill of them or her: he was her guard and protector, and he believed in that task, at least.
He walked up to her, padding slowly, and looked at her expectantly. He sighed again, just to make sure she saw it, then looked to the road ahead. To the north it was. He flicked his tail behind him once more.
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 9:09 am
Dokhani was beginning to suspect that Ghalati suffered a chronic condition where he couldn't help but sigh at everything. She half expected his ribs to break from the pressure of such a heavy breath. The lioness didn't really think she was the cause of his continuous sighing. Ghalati was obviously going to do it no matter what she did, so it certainly was no fault of her's. As he approached her she reached out to push on his face, as if to silently scold him for looking so forlorn. Ghalati had come out with her on a few quests already, and if he genuinely didn't want to, Dokhani believed that he wouldn't. He'd find someone to act as his substitute, since he clearly felt obligated to make sure Dokhani didn't die on one of these lengthy quests.
"Of course. I didn't find as much as I had hoped the last time, but there was promise. We only came back when we did because I was convinced that you were losing breath with how much you sighed." There was no reason to delay any further, and while she talked she turned around to start their journey off. She almost always led the way, at least until Ghalati suspected there was trouble ahead. Dokhani was fearless in these first few moments of a new adventure, and maybe she just trusted Ghalati enough that she knew he could protect her if anything went awry.
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 2:39 pm
Ghalati was probably justly diagnosed by the lady he was slated to serve, but he paid little attention to it. If he was destined to break his ribs with sighs, then so be it. He watched her patiently, or as patiently as he was able to, his expression bland but harmless.
It did not change when she pushed on his face with her paw.
"I do not sigh that much," he sighed. He noted how it came out and cleared his throat, almost holding his breath to keep from doing it again. He watched her evenly, then nodded his head very slowly. She was already walking off by the time he looked up from this mini bow, though, and he let out the air he was holding.
Then he padded along after her, eyes scanning around them. She was a magnet for bad things, and he suspected trouble the moment they crossed out of the pride borders and into the rogue lands. Maybe before, if it was a particularly bad day.
"What are you looking for, anyway?" he asked, for the sake of it, as he did secretly like her conversation and much preferred it to silence any day. but he would confess only to the latter part, if asked.
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 3:01 pm
"You just sighed again," Dokhani pointed out with a small smile that only widened when he seemed to be holding another sigh back. Well, his ribs hadn't broken yet, but she still thought he should beat that habit before it did crack his ribs. She felt that if his ribs were starting to feel threatened, Ghalati would stop for his own sake. He wasn't stupid. He just sighed... a lot. She had to wonder if he thought their adventures boring. In comparison, she found them awfully exciting!
"By now, I would have thought you'd learn what to look for," Dokhani teased her companion. While Ghalati was on the look out for potential danger, Dokhani seemed oblivious to the possibility that there could be trouble. It was why she needed Ghalati to come with her, because there was no way she was strong enough to defend herself... and his thought process was right, she did attract a lot of trouble for one lioness.
She had no idea why, so there was no point in asking.
"Other prides, water sources, bountiful areas of prey, artifacts, intelligence. All sorts of things, Ghalati. The point is to keep an open mind, and two open eyes for anything new and interesting." With a smile, she continued speaking, "I think that's what makes this fun, not knowing what we'll run into."
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 10:57 am
Ghalati almost smiled as she pointed out his sigh, but he mastered himself before it escaped. He nodded and knew he was going to have to suffer her pointing out every single sigh now, and there would be a lot of them. It was just part of his habit now, and he couldn't help himself. Thinking about it was like thinking about breathing or blinking, and he felt weird with the focus.
He'd rather just let it happen.
He smiled at her teasing as well, though the expression was incredibly difficult to locate on his face. It was more a shift in his eyes, brighter and warmer. He nodded his head, knowing she liked to talk about what she was searching for and he liked to listen. He padded along with her, keeping his eyes moving over the lands, just in case anything decided to leap out at them. At her, probably, as for some reason no trouble ever started with him.
"I see. Well, hopefully we run into only good things this time out..." he was still sore from his adventures within the pride, which he had not shared with her yet. He was wearing a band on his leg, to hide his injury. he had been clawed by a leopard he had thrown out of the pride. They were going in the opposite direction of where he had chased the leopard out, though, so he imagined they would at least not run into him.
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