Irit trotted towards the grove, a slight frown on her face. She liked the pale lady her brother was hanging around well enough but..well, Irit worried. He really was a dufus at times. Finding the grove, she cleared her throat. She'd be nice and not go in uninvited.
"Muscail? I'm Tama's sister, Irit...'member me?" She spoke loud enough that she was certain she could be heard. She wanted to talk to the lady. Make sure Tama wasn't getting himself into something stupid again.
"Of course I remember you, Irit," Múscail said absently, calmly stepping out of the grove and smiling at the youngster. In a way, Irit reminded her of her own dear Ia'eh. They were both protective of their brothers, after all... "Did you need something?"
Irit nodded. "I...no offense, lady, but I wanna make sure Tama hanging around you is safe." Today, she was blunt. In her mind, she needed to be. "He's too nice for his own good, isn't usually the brightest gem in the necklace." Despite her lack of age, she sounded like a mother hen. "Why are you here? And how'd you get here?"
"I'm here because I need a place to stay for now. I was led in this direction by my visions. I think I'm supposed to go a bit further northwest, but I want to give the little ones a break from traveling," Múscail replied, not even taken aback by how blunt Irit was.
Irit nodded. "Visions? Like...dreams?" She was curious, both for her sake and Tama's. "And...what's northwest?" Another pride? Another home? Maybe the rest of her family? Irit wanted to know!
"Visions are like... Waking dreams that tell me things I wouldn't otherwise be able to know. And northwest is a direction. To be more specific, it's that way," Múscail said, pointing northwest for Irit's sake.
Irit nodded. "Ah...So...you know things that you personally haven't known?" That...was a bit confusing. Irit knew a lot of things that went on in her home...but she got all that info from her family and her few friends. When Muscail pointed to the direction, Irit's red eyes widened. "That's where the ghosts live..." The pale ghostly lions she'd heard stories of. Ghosts that came with the mists.
"Ghosts? I can see why you'd think they're ghosts. In my dreams, I see them. Pale and unearthly, wandering a land that reminds me of my long lost home..." Múscail said softly, closing her eyes and imagining the lands she'd seen.
"Like you and Tama." So far, this lady passed Irit's tests. "You...you just feel like you're not quite here. Maybe it's because you can see things others can't. And Tama..." She sighed. "He's not the brightest gem...but somedays, I look in his eyes and I see something strange....something far older than his body is."
"He is probably an old soul. You see, my pride believes in something called reincarnation. After any creature passes, their soul goes to Summerland, a place where they can rest until it is their time to live on earth again. The soul is then reborn in a new body. Reincarnated souls don't always retain their memories of their past lives," Múscail explained gently, smiling down at Irit.
Irit sat and nodded. "That...that sounds interesting. Kinda like the Circle of Life. 'Cept...longer." Maybe Tama was an 'old soul'. Well, whatever he was, he was still her brother. And...she didn't mind this lioness hanging around him and vice versa. "Ya know, I think you're okay." She grinned. "You might be good for him. Maybe knock some sense into that thick good-two-paws skull of his."
"I'll do my best to do just that," Múscail laughing softly, smiling at Irit good-naturedly.
Irit laughed. "Awesome!" She stretched. "Maybe, between the two of us, we'll finally get him to think more!" She frowned. "Maybe get him to stop having Narci-moments." Oh how she HATED when he went damn-near Narci-vain. The moments didn't last long but...UGH.
"Narcissus is just... Well, we can't fault him for being so vain," Múscail said absently, laughing softly. Really, Narci wasn't horrible. But he wasn't that good either.
Irit shrugged. "I think he's a vain jerk who needs a severe attitude adjustment...but I won't prank him" She sighed. "He's Tama's friend, and therefore is currently immune from me knocking him down a bit." Oh how she wanted to kick his ego down into the ground...But, then Tama would never forgive her.
"He's a jerk who at least pretends to be polite when Tama is around. That's more than I can say for some," Múscail said teasingly, smiling at Irit jokingly.
Irit gained a fake look of surprise. "Why I...I have been nothing but good!" She giggled and then grinned. "Sure...I can be jerky...But I have good intentions." She sighed. "And...well...someone's gotta keep the ego-driven ones in check." She did what mothers and leaders couldn't...SHE got down and dirty and coated them with honey or had them hanging upside down.
"Just don't get too naughty," Múscail teased, grinning and winking at Irit playfully.
Irit nodded. "Of course! Too naughty means I can't make anymore bully-traps!" Bullies. Oh how she LOATHED bullies. "Sorry for being so...abrupt."
"It's alright, Irit. To be honest, you kind of remind me of Ia'eh," Múscail said lightly, smiling at Irit good naturedly.
Irit blinked. "I...do?" That...was a compliment, Irit supposed. She smiled. "Thanks. Well...I...gotta go. Before Mom gets worried about where I've gone off to."
"You have a nice day, Irit," Múscail hummed lightly, seeing the young lioness off before returning to her improvised den.
