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 Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 8:14 pm
 Distance had made the journey long but grief had made the journey hard. The faces of those lost played through the minds of the fallen king and queen as they limped their way from the scorched lands that had been their home. Neither he or his queen were young lions, nor were they worldly enough to be considered old or particularly wise, but they had made the journey with the strength of youth and had found the guidance of the elders to lead them here.
It wasn't home...but it would certainly have to do. A land of mist and cool stone. A land that would hide them from the eyes of the angry gods above and below. They had betrayed them... they had all the rights in the world to be angry. He only hoped that some were merciful enough to have spared a few of them.... On his part, the journey wasn't nearly as long as it might have been. During the day he would lay beside the lady he'd met by the sea and watch the sky. The clouds had pointed them here and the watchful eyes of his avian companion had kept them far from harm. It was reassuring to travel with both the tides of fate and the winged ones on his side. As the mist swirled around him Durian felt his sixth sense come alive. They were walking through literal cloud. The shapes almost became dancing figures in the back of his mind's eye, graceful and terrible all at the same time. "This place... it feels alive." He commented, his breath nearly taken away. "It's old..."
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Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 8:36 pm
Traveling was proving to be more peaceful then Pitsiark first would have thought. She had never been one to thirst for adventure away from her pride or seek out new lions that were not of her pride. The female had been content in her pride with her family and friends. It was still hard to believe that they were gone. All gone, every last one of the prides members were gone as far as the females knowledge went.
Some how she managed to keep moving and keep a calm head on her shoulders. The time to cry had past. Dwelling on the pain would only stunt her growth in this world. Her pride memebers were now on their own journey and she was on hers.
There was no time to sit and think on such sad things though. Durian spoke so Pitsiark stopped to listen and look around.
"Old?" She looked around and then back at the male, "What do you mean by old?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 2:23 pm
"It feels so old." He commented. "The mists here... they feel sad. Kind of...distant, afraid." His ears rolled back. There really was no way he could explain this other sense to her. Clouds, and by extension the low-sitting ones known best as 'mist' , spoke to him. It triggered something in the back of his mind and touched somewhere in his spirit. There were voices in every swirl of the formations, every movement of the phantom water, everything had a small meaning.
There had been death here. Treachery. Pain. The stones rose out of the mists like great standing monuments, some with markings, far too intricate to be natural, carved right out of their faces.
---
Rochban turned his head slowly. His queen had needed to rest and he, as her protector and husband, was out scouting the mists for food, for shelter, for anything. A voice touched his ears, soft and distant...
Narrowing his eyes, the older male lowered himself to the ground. If the voice belonged to someone hostile, he'd not want to be detected. The mists masked his scent and blurred the vision.
"Who goes?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 2:29 pm
Pitsiark felt troubled by what Durion was saying. These mists were a place of sadness according to him yet Pitsiark could not feel what he was feeling. The lioness could only watch the male with great concern in her eyes.
"I believe you," She whispered. But there was no time to dwell on such things as sadness. A voice broke the females grip on such a faraway feeling only to drag her back to reality. Some one else was in these mists with them. Pitsiark could not smell nor see any shape of another which alarmed her and worried her. Her first thought was maybe they had happened upon a land of the dead. Spirits may have been what Durion had picked up on.
"Are you of the living!?" Was the first question that came from her maw.
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 2:33 pm
Durian shifted a little closer to his companion as a voice broke out from the mists. His ears flattened back and his chest swelled up. On his shoulder, his avian stirred and began chattering, clicking his beak and peering hard into the swirling mists. There was someone here...
Pitsiark, taking the initiative in the situation, spoke up to address the voice. "Caution." He whispered over to her.
---
Rochban's brow creased. That voice...he knew that voice! Or he thought he did. Perhaps the mists were playing tricks on him as well. Daring a few steps forward, he tipped his head to one side and rose an ear.
"I am." He answered, then cautiously added the well-known greeting of his fallen people, "Do you walk the road of the gods?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 3:06 pm
Pitsiark felt her own ears flatten as a figure emerged from the mists. It took her a minute to really gather exactly who she was seeing. Then the greeting. Pitsiark gasped and said nothing for a moment just standing there. Was this really..?
"..Y-yes!" She felt tears welling up behinds her eyes. Was this really happening, "Are there others?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 3:55 pm
Rochben threw all caution to the wind and rose up off the ground. Eager paws carried him forward through the mists, following where he'd last heard the voice. As the swirling veil gave way, two figures, not one, stood facing him. The male was a complete stranger but nothing about his posture threatened violence. Beside him stood one of the oracles, frightened but alive.
"Pitsiark... thank the gods you live." He approached her and gave her shoulder a short bump with his. Durian watched him with the protective intensity of a falcon.
"Yes... myself and my queen live. We've not found anyone else. Not yet..."
--
Durian's posture relaxed slightly. "Ah you know eachother?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 4:17 pm
And there the figure emerged giving the female a good look at exactly who this voice was. Rochben bumped her shoulder. It felt like a dream of some sort. Were these mists playing tricks on her or was this really happening right now. Had the gods really spared another?
"Your queen is safe too?" Tears started to stream down the females cheeks. Not tears of sorrow but true tears of happiness. Relief spread over the females heart causing it to soften quite a bit. The tears she was aware of but could not stop them from falling.
"Oh. How rude of me Durian," She looked to her companion and then back to Rochben.
"Durian this is Rochben. He's from my pride," She didn't feel the need to explain anymore then that. Just saying he was from her pride should be enough after having to drag dead bodies to a peaceful resting place for most of a day.
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 4:37 pm
Rochben took a slow step away and regarded the two for a moment. Durian, the stranger, watched him with a cool but still leery pair of eyes. He must have fallen into a protector role since his meeting with Pitsiark. The lion was silent but stuck to her side like a burr. "You must have kept her safe, and I thank you for that."
"It's a pleasure. Pitsiark has had nothing to say but good things about her pride. You have my condolences for what transpired." He dipped his head shortly. He meant every word of it... all members gathered had lost their loved ones and their homelands. "But...such a strange place to find you. We walked for many days to get from the sea."
"Ah yes... well the gods are angry. Even here...it seems we may hide from their wrath."
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 4:43 pm
Pitsiark lowered her head a little.
"There must be some god out there that has us in their favor to find you in a place like this. It is a strange place to find a ghost," Or it was the perfect place to find a ghost. She fell silent. The tears at the very least had stopped falling leaving Pitsiark a little peace to gather her thoughts.
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 4:51 pm
"Perhaps...", He smiled a little and gave a nod forward. "Come. We've been without kind company for long enough. We've found a nice spot to rest for now... the two of you can cool your paws and your throats in the waters here. It's not home...but it will do for now."
Ghosts... ghosts indeed. A perfect title for those that had escaped death's gaze.
He couldn't agree more. They could use a good rest, some cold water, and a soak in the nearest body of water. As much as he wasn't a fan of being...completely damp, his paws were aching terribly. Durian nudged the lioness gently. "Be at peace. Let's get ourselves rested up."
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 4:56 pm
The two were offered to spend company with Rochban and his queen there was no passing that up. Pitsiark had so many questions for the both of them starting with how they'd escaped. Rochban had at least answered he was unsure if there were more but Pitsiark knew there were a few bodies missing from the carnage. It was possible if Rochban was standing here that there could be more.
But for now the lioness bottled this excitement and machine gun of questions away with in her. A nice lap of water and resting of paws seemed like the best thing to do at the moment. The soft nudge from Durian brought a smile on the females maw.
"Alright then lead the way."
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Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 5:14 pm
Rochben gave Pitsiark another short nudge to her shoulder before turning himself back to face the mist. "Now...this place isn't easy to navigate. Keep your eyes on the formations above us and recognize the landmarks. We've found that the mists are as powerful an ally as they are an enemy."
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