Thalion:
The lion drew in a long, deep breath of salty sea air as he emerged from his cave. There were stories of the sea bringing with it a freshness. Some days, that was true, then there were other days when the smell of brine and washed up fish mingled in with the near constant smell of rain and salt. Still- it was a smell that defined his homeland. His past long forgotten, and good riddance to it, this was his domain now.
He licked his dry lips and carefully adjusted the violet headband over his brow. While he wasn't the most egotistical of lions, Riddle Mouth was very fond of his appearance and often toyed with the females in his pride simply to get a rise out of them. It was one of his personal hobbies. An empty one thus far, but a hobby none the less. One day he'd see a belly or two rounded up, but perhaps that was best saved for the spring time.
It was close enough. The Bahari's cubs would be old enough to find mates now, and several of his own pride's litters were almost at that point. Chuckling, he loped forward, proud but loose and comfortable.
DFA:
Muhali was... frustrated. Scared, really, in a sense, because not only had her daughter's reappearance changed her, but also the hold she'd had over her powers and the blessing she'd cast over her 'children of the seas'. During the journey over to the pride, the goddess had fretted over the outcome of her minor mental breakdown. How was the pride fairing? Had it been for the better, or for the worse? And if the later, was it still salvageable? Could she even pick up the pieces?
After discussing things with her daughter, the two females had decided that entering the pride incognito was probably the best idea to fulfill both their goals. Hence why Muhali and Mauaji found themselves padding towards the beach in disguise, their wings missing, making them look simply like leopards, or perhaps leopons due to their larger sizes and obviously lion-like heads and body shapes. In fact, the only leopard like features were their long, fluffy tails, which Muhali kept flicking nervously as she padded into Kizingo territory. She wasn’t scared of her children, but rather, of the disaster she might be met with due to her irresponsibility and though the darker female beside her had rolled her eyes and voiced her annoyance (and reassurance that this was probably not the case), the tiger striped goddess could not shake the feeling of unease.
At least until a rather large, head banded lion pretty much crossed both females’ paths, making Muhali blink and Mauaji grin, “Well, he looks distinctly unperturbed, wouldn’t you say so, mother?” the soft, silky voice came from the dark, mohawked female, whom after stating her point, apparently lost interest in the lion and began scanning the distance, sniffing the air for a known scent.
Meanwhile, Muhali arched a brow, “Hey! Hey there! You! You with the...” a pause, “With the thing on your head, whatever that might be. Can you tell us whose in charge around here? We’d like to gain access to the pride!”
“She means we’d like to join,” Mauaji snorted a bit, “Gain access... I think you’re a bit old, mother.”
Thalion:
The lion froze, his shoulders going from slack to tense and his posture filling out with a simple breath. He knew his pride. Knew every face, every set of eyes, every voice. He did not know those lionesses. What was worse was he did not know how they came to just...appear in the territory. The lion frowned, though thankfully that was hidden behind a turned back, and mentally cursed. Perhaps the patrons were slacking off. Perhaps Lewenharto's little tricks had been passed by. Perhaps a lot of things that didn't matter. Perhaps the sky was pink and his tongue was blue. The fact was they were here. And peaceful at least.
The male turned himself around, the tension gone just as quickly as it could come. His mannerism was that of a wary fox but there was a playful sort of authority in his eyes. One that promised to be a very good friend- or a very dangerous foe.
"Oh? Two lovely ladies looking for some attention. Blown in by the north wind or up with the tide. No matter, here you are." He snorted. "And I am in charge. So to speak. I handle the paws and claws of the pride- the heart's a little deeper in but I'm afraid she's busy." With what, he wouldn’t say. Not to two strangers.
"They call me Riddle Mouth here. That will do better than 'you with the-' whatever head piece I choose to wear from now on."
DFA:
The dark pelted female blinked and faced the king for just a moment, her gaze lifting to look him up and down, then back up again before she frowned, apparently deciding that he was either missing something or... that he simply wasn’t enough to hold her interest very well. In fact, it was probable that it was something of a mix of both reasons, given the fact Mauaji could ‘sense’, out of a lack of better word, that Li was nearby, and thus... this conversation was useless, not to mention a complete waste of time. Time she could be using to go find the god of Peace. She did, however, remain firmly and politely seated on the ground, for she’d learned quite a bit of patience over time, though there was still something distinctly ‘off’ about her. An aura around her that seemed to signal she was dangerous and that those around her should be wary.
“You’re in charge?” Muhali paused as she looked him over, going so far as getting up, and walking a full semi circle around him before looking back at him, “You don’t look much like the family that used to be in charge here, last I visited,” an ear flicked at the mention of the heart and again she paused, followed by a head tilt, “Hmmm... so you’re the Story keeper. I take it the
purple stripped boy’s no longer song keeper then,” another pause and a distressed look was shoot towards the dark female, whom just yawned in response, “Riddle mouth,” she blinked, tilted her head and then looked around, “My.... things have changed around here, haven’t they? I’m M-”
“She’s Mali,” this came from the dark female, whom had focused her feral gaze upon the king, “I’m Maua. We’re old members, returning after a long migration. We’ve been gone many, many moons, and my dear mother here suffered a bit of a mental breakdown recently. She’s recently just awakened from a.... long bout of insanity, you could say. She yearned for her lands and me, well... I’m looking for someone.”
Thalion:
"Story-keeper? You must be from the old days." The male watched, but seemed completely at ease, as the females inspected him. One in a dull, detatched fashion and the other with a little more interest. He raised a brow and shifted his dark eyes to the seemingly more collected of the two. The other could use some manners.
...he liked her.
But, it was the older lioness that was pressing the questions, veiled and not so veiled.
"Ah, seems we have much in common. Insanity was my curse as well. A burden that has been lifted recently. You are in good company." He flicked his tail. "The old royals left. Whining and complaining, most of them. Various reasons, but I'm not one to discuss such matters with newcomers. Learn our ways and you'll hear the story off the lips of a mummer."
They knew enough to confirm their identity but he wouldn't risk a thing. Not his name, not the nature of his pride- none of it - until he could trust them. "Things are not as they were. I am the gypsy king. The gypsy queen has taken up the role that was formally a...song keeper. We've found a new way to survive here. Clear, sharp minds and even sharper claws if push comes to shove."
He leaned in a little closer to the older female and smirked. "But we try to keep our paws clean. For the most part."
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1388 - This post
