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 Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 1:57 pm
She was...snuggling up to him. This was odd. Sure, Duma was a bit of a flirt - he always flirted with the ladies, but Skuld had been different. She was older, and hurt. He hadn't meant to...he hadn't expected her to get closer. Wow, uhm, this was awkward... Trying not to make it obvious that he was feeling a little confused by the current situation.
He relaxed when she started talking more sense, though, a bright smile lighting up his face. See! Always look on the bright side of life! That was something else his mother said. "That's fine! We'll go whenever you're ready!"
He noticed her surveying glance, and had to agree. They were in a rathe exposed spot. He nodded, shuffling around a little to show he was ready to leave whenever, "When I was hunting, there wasa little cavern. Not great, but much more sheltered than this. I'll keep watch while you rest."
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Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:17 pm
If Skuld noticed Duma's awkwardness she didn't show it, but she didn't get any closer. She tried closing her eyes, but couldn't decide if the way it made her feel was better or worse than keeping them open. At the mention of a cavern she opened her eyes and looked at him attentively, ears perking up.
"How far from here?" Skuld asked, allowing herself to feel a spark of hope again. A cave for the night would be wonderful, and much better than spending her remaining hours in life here in the wilderness.
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Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:19 pm
How far? He smiled, pleased she seemed to like his idea. The cavern was fairly closed, and only had one entrance, so guarding it shouldn't have been difficult. "Not far at all! Shouldn't take too long, we'll be there before dark."
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Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:41 pm
Skuld nodded, and then winced as her head protested from the sudden movement. Perhaps she could do this. Her head needed to stop spinning first, but she should be able to make it.
"Good, good," she said, when the throbbing in her head had lessened somewhat, "I'll rest for a short while and then we can try to get to this cave of yours. "
She looked around trying to get her bearings and make sense of exactly where she was and where her attackers had come from. Last time she had travelled here there hadn't been dissenters lurking around, but that had changed.
"I think I came from that direction," she said and used one of her front paws to show the directions as she spoke, "And unfortunately there might be unfriendly lions that way. It is the shortest way to Mizimu territory but from the looks of it there's a hostile pack of cowards between us and them. I didn't know that."
She was unable to hide the bitterness in her voice. She should have paid better attention to her surroundings and the gentle guidance of the Spirits.
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Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 1:39 pm
Duma smiled brightly, his maw seeming to be permanantly fixed in such a way. He liked smiling, especially since it seemed to be making her feel happy. He could almost see the channel of happy energy, flowing from his smile...no wait, that sounded stupid. But at least she was willing to try moving, now. This was an improvement on the willingness to just lay there and die. Did she ever think perhaps the spirits didn't want her to die? ...Maybe that was why he was here! The spirits had somehow made his subconscious decide to go left instead of right and so he'd run into Skuld and...and now his head hurt.
Hmm? He glanced in the direction she pointed, nodding to show he understood. As much as he believed she needed to travel as little as possible, so the shortest way back was best...he wasn't the best fighter. Duma was far better at tree-climbing and running. "We can find a way around them tomorrow. I'm good at scouting, I'll find a way. We should just rest for tonight, though."
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Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 4:44 am
Sneaking, scouting, going around the problem. That sounded like the right approach for this. The thought of an unknown group of hostile lions so close to Mizimu sent a chill down her spine, but hopefully there weren't too many of them and they would be able to get past them without further skirmishes.
"You could be of use to the Mizimu," she said thoughtfully, "We will always need good scouts in times like this."
Especially if this turns into a war, she mused, but didn't say that out loud. In wartime spiritless invisible scouts would be high in demand because of their lack of spirit and not despite it. Their enemies would not notice the spiritless as easily as they spotted a lion, and someone without a spirit was admittedly more expendable than a lion. This unrest among the Spirits was unfortunate, but it might end up working in Duma's favour. But talking and thinking about this was just another way of stalling the inevitable, and Skuld knew it.
It was time. She wanted and needed to rest more, but this was not the time or the place for that. She would use what strength she had got to get to the cave Duma had talked about before the cold from the ground made her cramp up completely.
"Let's go," she said abruptly and took a deep breath before struggling to her feet. "We need to get to the cave."
And she needed to bring her mask and her bones, but the mere thought of the effort it would take to pick them up left her standing frozen in place with a forlorn look on her face.
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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 6:36 am
Of use? That was a good thing, right? It would be interesting, to join a pride. He'd never been part of such a large group before. But surely it would only continue to fuel his slight...insecurities about his species? Duma didn't like being a hybrid. He wanted to be a cheetah, like his mother and...ugh, like Murdoc. But Skuld didn't seem to mind. She seemed to think his hybrid species could be useful. Maybe the fact that he was a hybrid could be a blessing. Maybe this pride might see him as useful, as opposed to useless.
That would be nice.
Go? He blinked, blowing a stray strand of fur from his eyes, instantly moving to her side so she could lean on him, using his support to help her walk. She shouldn't be walking - he knew that, she knew that. Rest was what she needed, not travel, but they needed to get somewhere safe. Whoever had done this could come back, and even Dumanla knew he was a pretty rubbish fighter. He was more lithe, with strength for speed and climbing. She seemed to freeze, and the Leotah followed her gaze, spotting the bones. She wanted to bring them? "Can you manage just for a...second?" he asked, gently testing as he moved from her slightly, wanting to make sure she didn't collapse the moment his support was no longer there.
Once he was sure she'd manage, he quickly fetched the bones, struggling slightly to carry them all. The mask he put on his face, since it was the easiest place to carry it. With his teeth he carefully fetched the bones, making sure not to crush them with his powerful jaws. Grinning through the bones, unable to speak in much more than mumbles due to their intrusion, he returned to his place as her support, beginning to shuffle forwards in an indication that they were leaving.
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Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:26 pm
"Yes," she said gruffly, "Don't worry, I'm not going to fall on my face." She was only swaying slightly, and did not appear to be in any danger of falling over.
Dumanlas warm flank against her side had helped tremendously and it actually seemed possible to make it to the cave. If the Spirits wanted she'd make it there and then just pass quietly during the night. It was not a good way to die, but no one was going to sacrifice her out here, and she would rather wander aimlessly in the spirit world than let those cowards and dissenters have the pleasure of killing her. Come to think about it, their enemies might know enough about the Spirit realm to kill her in a manner that would send her spirit wandering. She shuddered at the thought, but the sight of Duma - burdened under her bones and awkwardly juggling her mask - tricked her into smiling and lifted her spirits.
"See," she said, "I know you could be useful."
She had no way to know about the hybrid's insecurities about his species. To her he was an oddity, but right now he was comfort and company and perhaps (but she hardly dared to think the thought) a shot at survival.
It was a long shot, but one she was willing to take if it meant dying on Mizimu territory instead of in the wilderness and saying a proper good bye to Skadi. Keeping that thought in her mind she took one step, and another. And she would keep placing one paw in front of the other, ignoring her pain, until they reached the cave.
((OOC: Should we wrap it up with one more post from you perhaps? We could fade to black here.))
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Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 9:07 am
She seemed a little gruff, perhaps not pleased with his suggestion she might fall over. But he didn't say anything, merely remaining quiet as he fetched her things and returned to her side. He could kind of forgive it - he knew he wouldn't like being so weak, so vulnerable that he had no choice but to accept help from a stranger. But he did hope he'd made it clear he didn't think less of her, or that he wasn't doing this for any reason other than to help her. He didn't want anything in return - although he did have to admit, this pride...it sounded pretty cool. Sure, he wouldn't be a regular member. He wouldn't have a spirit. Only lions had them, right?
But maybe he could earn one. Get one. And he'd be doing something useful for a change. He turned his gaze forwards, having to shift his head a little in order to see under the mask, but he could see the safety of the cave ahead, and he smiled.
"We're nearly there, Skuld. Nearly."
And they were. They'd rest overnight, and he'd help her find her pride tomorrow. Hey, maybe he'd even stay there for a few days.
Fin.
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