|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:12 pm
Behind the wall, Abasi could not have been any closer to his brother. The two were squeezed so tightly into the wall that their breaths were mixing.
Too loud, the brother was thinking. His throat was beginning to dry from the effort of not breathing. He clamped his jaw shut and refused to start panting. Sema did not make any moves to exit, and so Abasi made no effort to unpin them both from their hiding place.
Uuni wished Roka had the sense of those two brothers. No sooner had she open her mouth to object than Roka had flashed away. Who was the magician now?
The goddess pulled in her best breath, and tiptoed her way down the first step. Who invented this bullshit? The goddess opted to fly the rest of the way down to the base; which might have surprised a lion if there had been any looking.
You were supposed to run away from the source of roars.
When her feet touched sand, the goddess had enough care to break into a slow jog after the brown lioness. What would it be this time? More cousins?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:40 pm
Roka once tussled with her sister. Did that count as a fight? If not, her grand total of battles versus other predators was an astounding 0. She had no idea what she'd do when she got there. Just run away again, possibly. Had her cousins not been present, she'd have done that to start with.
Where were they? Where were they? There were too many walls around here!
There weren't enough walls around here.
Sema swallowed and closed his eyes. He sent up a prayer and opened them again. "We don't want any trouble," he pleaded. "Please, just leave us be."
Ajia had to admit that didn't sound very volatile. She glanced at Ure then back toward the voice. "Why are you sneaking around? Come out here."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:55 pm
Abasi was nearly falling over himself with fear. If he'd been able to, he would have pressed the air out of Sema's lungs so he couldn't say a word. He stopped trying to breathe, and simply sucked in one, last breath and held it tight in his chest.
The inevitable backlash did not come. Rather, the booming voice was markably calmer. Abasi was not convinced it was nice, yet. Perhaps it was luring them out.
The white lion stopped trying to compress his brother's body into a thin film. His nose peeked around the corner. As he was not left with a mucous-filled void for what was once his muzzle, Abasi peeked the rest of his face around the wall.
"Uh, hi."
Smooth.
Ure blinked back at him. Still safely behind Ajia, she responded with a simple, calm, "Hello."
-
It was no wonder she couldn't find the cousin's mother. In addition to maintaining eye contact, this family had a knack for disappearing.
One second, Roka was in her sight and the next she'd vanished. The goddess was forced to pursue her on foot, lest a sudden change in scenery keep her from finding the next corner Roka turned.
And after a few minutes, the goddess was as lost as she'd ever been in her life. Not that she was worried. She could simply teleport out. But, she had no idea where to teleport to in the event Roka stuck herself permanently in this maze of a temple.
If the roar had been dangerous, things could get very messy, very fast. The goddess stomach churned.
"Well, ******** waited a half-second, and then, "Roka," just loud enough to echo.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 10:30 pm
Sema only planned to reason with them. Introductions and showing his face? Not so much. Abasi took the liberty of doing both. The responder was female, but not the same one from before. "How many?" he whispered.
One, two...
"Who are you?" Ajia asked.
Three.
Having a Goddess around really did wonders to embolden the cowardly and the sensible. That didn't mean Roka was going to answer her. More important matters to attend to.
She would have sworn she had at least two more turns before she found anything. The next dash around a corner and she stopped dead. In front of her stood two intruders; she could see her cousin's face peeking out from the right.
Ajia backed up just enough to bump into Ure. s**t. That whole running thing was getting more and more appealing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 10:51 pm
Abasi would have liked to tell his brother how many there were. He really would have. At the moment he was trying not to choke on the wad of cotton building in his throat.
His tail swished and smacked Sema on the side. Once. Twice.
"Ah--" He started. The thickness in his throat dislodged and his began watering. Abasi swallowed it down. "Abasi," he managed, the end just beginning to squeak.
His eyes darted to a flash of color. Part of him debated running to her in relief, but his paws remained firmly planted. The wall was safe. Sema was safe. As long as he could remain glued to either, no harm would come to either of them.
Ajia's retreat did nothing to absolve the tension. Ure could feel the tension pulse through the room and the jolt caused her hackles to raise.
A snarl echoed through the cavernous assemblage of walls. Ure's ears went flat and she, too, took a step backwards. Body posture told her to run, but Ajia stayed and so Ure held her ground.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 11:02 pm
Roka's sisters used to kick stones at birds. Hit one and they'd all take flight. This was like that only the stone was her nearly barreling into their unwanted company and the flying was snarling. Ure started, then Ajia sounded off; in retaliation, Roka growled as fierce as she could hope to.
Three voices, but two lionesses? Sema didn't know Roka well enough to recognize that ferocity as hers. He did, however, know his brother. That swipe of the tail hadn't been an accident. Putting two and two together didn't take him long.
They weren't growling at Abasi. Gods, they'd just been talking! And Roka was around here.
"Wait!" Sema implored. This was no longer a matter of hiding or safety. Now, his job was peacemaking. He was rounding his brother, stepping off the stone and onto the sand, staring right at the strangers. "Please, wait."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 11:28 pm
"Oh, great."
The snarls did not go without audience. Uuni tried another corner, swept up a flight of stairs. The voices sounded further away. Back down the stairs.
Wait! Please, wait.
The goddess came to a halt. The voice sounded urgent, but it was not screaming, or terrified. Uuni began to creep, pads placed one silent step after another.
-
Sema's voice had an immediate affect on Ure. In a heartbeat, the focus in the room was on him.
An encouraging step was taken forward, lightly pushing against Ajia. Slowly, her ears swayed forwards. Only a glance was spared to Roka.
As intent as a cub waiting for a story, Ure waited for Sema's timely explanation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2014 7:50 pm
Sometimes, you can't beat the classics.
"We don't mean you any harm," Sema offered, his tone the very definition of sincerity. He wasn't especially dainty or disarming to look at, but those baby blues served him well. He inherited more than the hue, likewise bestowed a wisdom beyond his years and an inclination to bring order without the intrusive, heavy-handed method so many relied on willingly or out of necessity. The weathered soul that kept his grandfather telling stories to cubs in the Firekin, that kept his aunt searching for her siblings against all odds without bitterness, this was shared by him. It couldn't be taught, it just was.
Ajia seemed to respond agreeably to it. She didn't let her guard down entirely, no, but her fur wasn't as bristled, and she answered after Sema asked their names. "I'm Ajia. This is Ure." What did startle her was the alarmed responses to it. They all looked some degree of surprised, awestruck, or apprehensive.
"Ure?" Roka repeated, staring at the aforementioned lioness like the answer to the implied question could be anymore obvious than it already was.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2014 8:15 pm
Ure's head swiveled towards Roka, as jerky and mechanical as a bird watching a bug creep across the ground. The lionesses chin raised and her tail dropped beneath her.
The family's blue eyes looked back at the brown lioness. However, Ure offered no form of confirmation. Her body had gone still, though her muscles remained relaxed. It was as if she were waiting for something.
Abasi, finding the coast was clear, dislodged himself from where he'd become attached to the tall stone. He was careful not to get any closer to the two lionesses, but he side-stepped, three quick, groggy movements.
The white lion's head dropped, tilting slightly. "Hm," he said out loud. His throat was already dry, and his tongue smacked into the roof of his mouth. He glanced at Ure and then to Ajia. Better let Roka take care of this one.
"Nice to meet you, girls." His muzzle split, revealing a jaw missing a tooth (or two). Overall, however, it was a very fantastic attempt at a smile.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2014 8:41 pm
A fantastic wasted effort on Abasi's part. Out of the cousins, no one had more to gain or lose (fate was too fickle to say for certain) than Roka, but all eyes were either fixated on her, Ure, or alternating between them; Sema's due to personal investment and Ajia's out of curiosity. The latter did spare an instinctive glance to Abasi, just not long enough to truly comprehend and appreciate his goodwill gesture.
"Are you my mother's --" How could she possibly answer that? It was unlike Roka to make such a glaring mistake, nevermind how long it would take to rectify it. Just a second's worth of pause, but a second more than it should have been. "Are you Tanana's sister?" Suddenly, she sounded breathlessly exasperated. After years of being harried by relentless 'what if' and memories of a mother who had sacrificed what family she'd been given for one taken away, could it really be as easy as meeting her aunts and their children out in this wasteland?
While Ure answered — or didn't — Roka stared into the trademark blue of her eyes. It dawned on her all those present who shared blood (unless this lioness accompanying her was also somehow related) likewise shared this trait. Try as she might, she couldn't stave off the resentment that came with knowing which of her other aunts did too. Mom had drilled into them every feature, ofttimes in excruciating detail, compensating for what she couldn't tell them: Everything else.
If this was the Ure, what was the Ure really like? Was she worth the squandered childhood of three of her nieces and a nephew?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2014 8:42 am
At the base of her skull, Ure's ears twitched and fluttered. Her gaze did not move from Roka when she spoke, though her head began to tip to the side when exasperation reached Roka's voice. The black rogue took one step backwards.
"Yes." One ear pulled back, investigating the sounds behind her and Ure's body slowly grew more rigid.
"Who are you?" The words are pronounced slowly as though Ure were forcing them--perhaps she simply had difficulty with language, or she was apprehensive about speaking.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2014 11:55 am
Roka wished away almost every lion from the meddling Goddess to the apprehensive stranger at Ure's side. Just a little while with her aunt was all she wanted — and everything she knew she couldn't have. This reunion would be done with an audience, like it or not.
"My name's Roka," she said, watching Ure's every breath as if her own depended on it. "We've got a lot to talk about."
End. Kaelyndra /o/ Woo! Let me know if Uuni is going to show herself for the intro for the follow-up RP and I'll start that one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
