Continuation of Lost Performers
The river had been far too swollen at the normal crossing, so they'd had to go upstream, even farther from the pridelands. At the pace they were going, it would add days to the trip. Nemeios was going to kill him, of that Barth was certain. Auslief wasn't used to this much walking and though she'd been excited for it at first, by now she was sprawled out over Dou's back, yawning every so often as the heat of the day made her drowsy.Their pretty captive walked along beside Dou, the vine noose still around her neck, the other end in his jaws and Minuit walked at his side, still having one of her little tantrums. She'd been going on through bouts of silence and feminine grumbling for hours now.
A tree above them rustled as they passed and something landed on Minuit with a thud. On instinct, Bart jumped away, eyes wide in surprise as he exclaimed, "Good gods! That rat-killer is gonna freeze someone's heart someday!"
The snake that had landed on Minuit's back, her ever-faithful Akasha, hissed in pleasure over having startled such a large predator and Min let out a somewhat sinister laugh.
"Why, Bart, tha's the point," Min hissed as well, turning to give her snake a bit of a nuzzle.
Auslief's eyes had snapped open to see what had made Barth startled, but closed when she saw that it had just been Mini's silly snake. Even Mini's dad didn't like the creature, though she couldn't figure out why. It was just a snake, what was the big deal? Her dad had a snake on him, so did her uncle and her brother. Granted, they weren't real snakes, but still. Maybe it was because she came from a line of snake-marked lions, but she honestly didn't think they were that big of a deal.
If Auslief was intrigued but confused, Dou was flat out ambivalent. He didn't even flinch when the snake dropped down, nor when Barth reacted. The snake didn't bother him, he didn't care, so what was the purpose in reacting to it? He knew, just like her mistress, Akasha liked attention. Best to just not give her any.Now Nikki, on the other hand, oh their poor captive. The only snakes she knew about were ones that could kill if not severely injure a lion with a single bite. She was terrified! Especially since it looked like this creature was bonded with the female who didn't like her, the one who wanted her scarf. What would happen if Bart lost control of that one? Could Minuit's snake bite and hurt her? Kill her? If she could turn any paler, she would have from the drain of blood from her face.
Min tilted her head slightly as Akasha hissed something in her ear. She wore a mild look of interest at first, one that swiftly changed to grim satisfaction as the snake moved to curl around her neck and shoulders like a shawl.
"Oh Bart~?" she asked, her voice having taken on a sort of sing-song quality. She had to stop herself from wiggling in anticipation.
"What, Minuit?" he growled, one eyebrow raised. He had just taken a step to get the party moving again when Min had spoken again, so naturally he paused to look at her. His frown told her he wasn't pleased by the smug look on her face.
"We were away from everyt'in' when we caught her?"
"Aye."
"An' she was all alone?"
"Rime?"
"Didn' see nobody else, nope. She was all alone."
"Then why, if that's true, is there someone followin' us?"
"What? That's ridiculous. Akasha, don' be playin' games," Bart snapped, sending a glare towards the snake. She returned it with a movement that looked a little bit like a shrug.
"Believe me or not, there issssomeone following usss, of that I am ccccccertian," the snake finally said loud enough for everyone else to hear. Nikki did her absolute best to not let her feelings show. If someone was following them, might it be that this was her chance to escape? Or perhaps that someone could help get her free, that would be wonderful!
She felt a tug on the vine around her neck and saw that the big one, Dou, was looking at her, his eyes half-closed and yet somehow alert.
"I wouldn't be getting my hopes up if I were you," he told her softly even though his mouth was still somewhat full. Meanwhile, Bart continued to try and rationalize the new information.
"It's just another lion out huntin', nae reason to be thinkin' too long o'er it. Come on, we need to keep movin'," he finally said and started forward again. Did he push the pace faster than earlier? Perhaps...
((Depending on how long Pardel's been part of the pride (Or he could have been a rogue "pirate")... Auslief/Rime he wouldn't know as she hasn't been out of the den and looks nothing like her parents. Bart and Dou probably not, either as they're rarely in the pride's lands. Minuit and Akasha could know/recognize him, though. They wouldn't tell the others because it could be advantageous to see what he wants.))
