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 Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 6:44 am
He moved with incredible agility for one so large, his brilliant blue eyes like ice fires framed by black. These eyes were linked perhaps to the one he served.
His Master Mrost.
He had not seen the God in a while but he had a feeling a meeting between them would be nigh. He had a lot to report about his increase in strength, his willingness to take on foes for his Master and to begin war.
But he also had another responsibility now.
His daughter.
He loved her with all of his heart and it warmed his soul to think that she had chosen to stay with him over Mbaya. It was like a miniature war one all by himself with his daughter as the prize. She would grow to be a strong and beautiful lady with all the grace that she deserved. She already seemed to be growing strong even in this juvenile state.
"Come on now Kimondo'Arista." He chuckled, "If you want to live in this big wide world you need to learn to be strong. If you want to protect those you love it's an essential part of growing."
He paused in step to glance back at her. "Physical strength is as important as the strength of the heart. They are both the same...pretty much."
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Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 6:59 am
Arista bounded after her father. Her tiny form dwarfed by his own as she attempted to keep up with Hakan's large mighty steps. It was certainly a challenge but there were times she wished her father would just slow down. All she could do was run to keep up with him. Her little tail trailing behind her as a way to keep her balanced. She loved her father dearly, more than mother perhaps, but she wanted to rest.
Finally when Hakan had slowed down to turn back at her, Arista panted up to him. Her chest heaved as she plopped her rear end down on the ground. "But...father...I am so...tired of...running." She hitched a breath, head hung low. After a few moments she was able to appease her screaming lungs. Looking back up at Hakan she licked her lips. "I know I need physical strength to protect them, but do I have to wear myself out every day just to get that physical strength?" It was true, Arista was being worn out every day to the point where she collapsed each night into slumber. Unbeknowst the the young cub though, her body was changing with the increased workout and her staminsa had improved since first leaving the graveyard with Hakan. She just was unable to see it herself.
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Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 7:06 am
He stretched his limbs and lowered himself onto the ground, closing his eyes in a long blink. When he opened them again there was a soft expression on his face, one that was kindly and loving. It was so strange to think that such a great warrior could also be so gentle.
"I'm sorry." He paused and shook the strands of mane from his face, "How about we take a couple of days rest? I could do with a bit of relaxation myself. I have someone I must meet soon and I don't want to be tired out." He laughed. "Don't worry. All good guardians need rest and once you have you'll realise how much stronger you've become."
His expression took on a proud look, "your muscles will soon become strong, walking will become easier. Running will take hardly any effort and soon you will be strong enough to beat me...perhaps." He smiled at her and found his thoughts again turning to Mrost.
He loved the God like a father but truly he did not wish his daughter to be involved with war.
He wanted to protect her from harm, not throw her into its waiting jaws. Yet what if fate truly ad chosen her destiny already?
He did not want to think of that.
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Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 7:41 am
Arista smiled up at her father. "Yea! It'll be fun taking a rest! We could play and all!" The prospect of playing with her father was wonderful in Arista's eyes. It didn't matter that he was bigger than her and could probably topple her over in a game of tag with little problem. No waht mattered to her was that she would be playing with her -father-. IT was a marvelous thought!
At the mention of meeting someone though ARista's mind did a complete turn about as she grew curious. "Meet someone? Who? Can I meet this someone?! Please?!" She rose to all four paws as she begged him. Teeth glistened as she smiled widely and ears laid back on her head as she attempted to use those blue eyes of her to woo her father.
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Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 8:02 am
Playing had never been something that Hakan had ever done but for his daughter he would do anything. He nodded and agreed, "Sure. You choose the game and we'll play." He extended one ebony claw and drew patterns in the ground with it, grinning mischeviously. "Though I must warn you, I'm a pretty tough lion to beat."
Then the conversation seemed to take a turn and the smile slipped from his maw - very slightly. "Well..." He stared into that face. Those eyes, that smile. NO! He had to be tough, he had to stand up to his daughter...but hell he didn't like to see her upset.
"Listen Arista..." He flicked an ear and glanced away from her, "There's things about me you don't know about. Things I'd rather not get you involved in...do you...understand?"
Sure. That was the way. Ger her curious and wanting to know even more. Grand way to be a good parent Hakan!
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Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 10:43 am
Mrost was actually busy. It was an unfamiliar feeling but at the same time one which brought back so many memories, memories of the times when it was up to him to keep the metaphorical plates spinning, keep everyone under control, weave plots, wage battles, teach others how to tend to their superficial wounds, everything. Laziness didn't suit him as much as this did. As things were he had Kali to take to Storm Valley, one of Na's runts to haul in, the fortress to rearrange, Eir to keep company and keep safe and, the most pressing matter of all at the moment, his generals to inform of the state of play.
First on his list, most obviously was Hakan, he didn't even have to think about the decision to go find the dark lion, Na would never be a son of War but Hakan was the lion held in warmest regard in Mrost's eyes. Trust was hard to come by in this world but he trusted him. Tracing the ambition and faint aura of his follower was simple, even for Mrost whose skills of the non-physical realm were strictly limited. He had a link to the other lion that he'd only ever had to his generals before. Hakan probably didn't know the strength that Mrost actually derived from his existance and Mrost would never admit it. Without his generals he was as weak as any other normal lion.
As it was he was flying fast, actually really exerting himself, throwing his once again well-honed muscle into it, making the trip take as little time as possible, there was so much to do, so many places to be, no time to waste in-between. As he drew nearer, he alighted on the ground, switching to a run, cloaking his appearance entirely in illusion, not wanting to leave Hakan in a difficult to explain situation should he be with someone else. As it was he looked the way he always dis in terms of colour, just missing his armour, wings, spikes and horns, the armour on his legs and head concealed simply as darker markings.
He didn't call out a greeting right away, stayed a short distance away, as incognito as a blue lion could be, he had faith that Hakan would know he was nearby, he didn't doubt the link went both ways.
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Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 5:58 pm
Brows furrowed as her father tried to explain this someone..well...she though it was the someone he had mentioned. Now she wasn't sure. With a tip of her head she watched her father for a moment before replying. "But...but...what are you doing? Why can't I know? I am with you now. I left mother to be wit you. Why can't I know?" Arista looked up at Hakan with one of her other methods that she dubbed 'the guilt trip.' Sometimes the cute look didn't work and a few tears and a trembling lips was enough to sway just about anyone she found. Even her brothers would do as she wished with such a look upon her face. She just hoped that her father would be similar. After all. She -was- with him now. There was no way he cuold keep a secret form her. That was one trick Arista was good at and enjoyed. She liked finding out things she was never suppose to know. It all made life more interesting.
"Please daddy." She said again in a soft voice, her blue eyes sparkling up at him before she rose to her paws and rubbed up against his side, tail flicking his chest in the process.
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 9:38 am
He looked into her little face and his heart shivered. He couldn't bare to see her looking like that but he also couldn't bare to put her in harm's way.
"Arista..." He began slowly, moving over to wrap a forearm around her little shoulders. "Secrets are sometimes good things. I'd only ever keep something from you if I thought it would bring you harm."
His ear flicked as if to rid itself of the irritating buzz of a fly and suddenly the large black lion found himself feeling distracted. He turned momentarily from his daughter to gaze around, realising then what this feeling was.
Mrost.
The presence of the God always seemed to bring with it a strange feeling, a feeling that did not allow him to relax. Because when the War God was around it often meant something was happening, something that would mean relaxing was impossible.
Was there a fight at paw? Or was this just a simple catch up?
His stomach twisted as he realised that perhaps this was a secret he would never be able to keep.
"Arista...your father...he is not all he appears to be." He got to his paws and bowed his head towards her. "Come. I will show you." Then he moved across the ground at a slow pace, his great paws moving with surprising stealth.
The blue lion was not far away and as Hakan topped a rise in the groundthe God became visible to his eyes.
"Mrost." He gave a low bow of his head, "Master. What can I do for you this day?" He was certain that this greeting would alert Arista into showing the blue lion some respect too, for if a creature could have this mighty black rogue bowing then he was definately something to fear.
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 12:13 pm
Mrost stayed where he was as he felt Hakan approach, curling his tail behind him in his usual, almost playful manner, it was as though it had a mind of it's own sometimes, exulting in gleeful thoughts of battle and carnage even while Mrost looked stern. He tried to look at ease, as though he had just been in the area, casual. As it was it was an effort just to look as if he wasn't out of breath from the flight there. He smiled approvingly as he looked over the grand adult his prodigy had grown into, only to have his gaze drawn to the little girl by his side, the similarity was notable and he automatically drew a conclusion from this but said nothing of it for the time being.
"Greetings Hakan." he said calmly, his cold blue eyes more alive with the prospects of battle and events than they had been in a very long time. There was something electric about the way he sat, tail constantly fidgeting, he was obviously far from at ease at the moment. "What can you do for me?" he smirked "Many things, though none of which are urgent or of importance right now. I sought you out to bring you up to date with..things." he looked pointedly at the girl, flicking mane out of his eyes to do so. "Though it can wait if you would have it such." he quirked a brow slightly "Is she....?"
He left the question to curl in the air like the tail of the cheshire cat, not about to ask a question which had a possibility of being wrong.
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 12:15 pm
Arista looked at her father for a moment, a bit surprised that he wasn't bending to her sad, pouting face. He was certainly stronger than her brothers. Well, he was her father afterall, so he -shouild- be stronger. With that train of thought completed she moved on to the next portion that puzzled her. HArm? What could possibly harm her? Especially with her father around? No, she simply couldn't believe it. -No- lion was stronger than her father, at least none that she had seen. Nope, her father would always be the stronger in her eyes until someone proved otherwise.
At Hakan's sudden change in body posture and attention, Arista tipped her head slight, ears perked up as she watched him. What was going on? Was there something hiding in the grasses?
Not all he appears...what? Now Arista was beyond puzzlement, she was outright confused. She followed behind her father with ears low and tail dangling behind her. What was going on? What was Hakan talking about? What...
That was when her eyes laid upon the large blue lion in front of her. This lion made her father look like nothing in stature. It was amazing! She never thought a lion could get so large but here she was standing before the largest lion she'd ever seen! In her state of staring, Arista didn't really notice her father bowing before the blue beast. Even her father's words were barely heard as her child mind still tried to grasp the idea of a lion of such a state. She did catch a few words though. The name of the lion and master, which caused Arista to glance to her father and a baffled expression crossed her face as she noticed Hakan bowing. She looked from her father to Mrost but made no motion to bow before him. No, she didn't understand the predicament she was in at that moment.
As Mrost spoke, Arista's eyes returned to the lion full on before she finally huffed and sat her rear-end down and studied the God as her tail flicked back and forth. The look in her direction didn't go unnoticed. Arista was young yes but she grew up with three brothers and lived in the graveyard. She knew to pay attention to everything around because a slip up could be fatal in the graveyard. She looked back at Mrost with unwavering eyes. Despite his size she felt as if he wqouldn't harm her, especially with her father around. She looked from his face to his large paws...well...she had been proven wrong before...but surely father wouldn't let her get hurt...right?
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Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 9:07 am
Hakan's face revealed interest at Mrost's words. It seemed plotting was in the air and he desperately wanted to be involved in things.
"Of course. An update would be appreciated and I have things I must speak to you about also." Then with a small nod at Mrost's question he completed it for him.
"My daughter, yes. Meet Kimondo'Arista." He looked back at his child and could not mask the pride from his face. She was a fine young lioness and of his blood no less. She was right, he would never let any harm befall her, not whilst he still lived. In her he saw himself, as if they were connected by some invisible thread.
"Arista, this is my Master, Mrost. He is the lion who made me what I am today. A warrior." He turned back to gaze at the blue lion and nodded firmly, "My allegiance lies with him." He drew in a great breath and looked to the God with a small tilt of his head. "She shows promise and I have taken her under my wing, speak freely in her presence unless she or you wishes otherwise."
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Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2007 6:41 pm
Mrost calmly listened to what Hakan had to say, as he did so, once again appearing almost disinterested, to a lion who knew him as well as Hakan did he didn't doubt that he'd know that it was when he looked disinterested he was often paying the most attention. He eyed Kimondo for the last time as she was introduced to him, seeing her father in her appearance. The evident pride that Hakan had in her was unusual to him, he could hardly imagine what it would be like to have such pride in one's offspring, his had never lived up to his impossible standards.
However, Hakan's word was as good as his own and deciding that speaking in front of the girl made no difference he said simply. "As you wish it." and with a shrug, he cast aside the illusion that had cloaked him prior, revealing his true appearance. He smirked "I hate trying to maintain an illusion needlessly. But yes, your daughter, you say? Let us hope she follows the same path as her father, eh?" He addressed Arista with a nod. "Pleasure to meet you Kimondo'Arista, daughter of Hakan. You have a lot to be proud of in your father, he is ranked highest of all the mortals allied with me. I hope you will do him proud and not speak of anything you hear here today." in everything Mrost said, there was always that horrible hint of a threat, like the rustle of a cloak over steel.
He turned his attention back to Hakan, looking more at ease than he had, having caught his breath again and sunk into his usual mannerisms. "Yes. Where to begin? I have gathered up several of my former errant generals, some of them found themselves reborn for whatever reason, so are young but still bear the experience that once sustained them. I have also found Storm Valley once again, it is about a weeks walk east of here to the salt flats that border it, should you wish to visit it in the near future, simply contact me and I will lead you there. Oh yes, a way to contact me in that event would be via this." Reaching back, he reluctantly plucked one of his meagre feathers from behind the illusion that hid them from view almost all of the time. It was dark blue, fading white at the tip in appearance and he casually handed it over to Hakan.
"If you need me, holding that will provide a vocal link."
He looked thoughtful for a moment and added matter-of-factly. "Yes, I also managed to pick up a mate of sorts along the way, still not sure how. So if you come across a white goddess called Eir who claims to know me, she is not being deceptive." he figured Hakan should be filled in on most things.
"There are other things to mention but first yourself, what have you been up to? Besides having children, that is?" he said with laughter evident in his tone.
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Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 1:13 am
((sorry for posting out of turn, I wanted to move this threadback to the top of the forum.))
"Paths take many twists and turns but I believe in fate...of sorts." Hakan replied, puffing out his chest. It did indeed seem like he had been fated to meet this God of War.
Then he listened, taking in all what his Master had to say. He remembered Mrost speaking of the valley before and he had been eager to set eyes upon this 'holy place' the moment it had been mentioned. He shifted his weight from one paw to the other and settled, trying to surpress his eagerness.
"I would very much like to make a pligrimage to this valley and pay a visit to these generals." Hakan replied with a firm nod. "Are the generals there already? Or do they make travel elsewhere?" He had to admit he felt a little jealous of these reborns. Would they be closer to Mrost than he? Would he be pushed to the back of the line? No. No that could not happen. He would not allow his status to dimish. He would prove himself again and again if he had to.
His loyalty would never waver.
He took the offered feather delicately from Mrost as if it were the most prized treasure. "I shall Master." He gave a small bow of his head before replying further.
"She must be quite a Goddess. I look forward to meeting her and do not worry; those who travel with Mrost as friends are my friends too."
Then slowly he moved on to the things that had happened to himself. "Yes, having children was a surprise I must admit. Me and the mother, however, are not on good terms. She has the others with her unless they decided to run away. Young Arista decided to travel by my side once she learned of who I was. She reminds me so much of myself it's scary." He laughed and rested and turned to glance affectionatelyat his daughter. "Other than becoming a father I have been keeping an ear out for rumours, I have heard the world is filling with other Gods and Goddesses, appearing from the upper realm. I have yet to meet any others but this I do not doubt. The appearance of other deities worries me a little - though I know we will hold strong. Competition for worshippers has arrived but I do not doubt that we will find those willing to follow the path of war. Everyone has something to fight for."
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Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2007 11:53 am
((SOrry I haven't posted. I've just been so busy. Here's a nice little post to get the RP moving again.))
Arista watched her father then turned her blue gaze to this Mrost. She watched the lion as he studied her with those shocking blue eyes of his before his image wavered slightly before revealing a God. Arista's eyes widened in shock and fascination. She couldn't take her eyes off the God as she tried to understand what had just happened. How had he been able to change his form? Could she do that too? Maybe it was something she had to learn? But..wait...Father couldn't do it, or at least he hasn't shown her he could do that, nor Mother. Maybe this lion was unique. With the way Father spoke to this Mrost he must be special.
As she was addressed, Arista broke out of her stupor to payattention to what Mrost said before a smile spread accross her face. "I am proud of Father and I promise I won't say a word about anything. Promise." She nodded her little head as her tail flicked. She'd make sure to keep her maw sealed for if this special lion was wishing her to remain secretive she would. AFter all she really had no one to reveal such things to anyway. Her brothers were with her mother and she only had Father to keep her entertained and happy which was more than enough for her.
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