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 Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 6:22 am
She was lost.
She was utterly and hopelessly lost. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't have worried an Outlander much, however... Tamaa had long since realised she wasn't particularly the best specimen her pride had to offer. In fact, she was meek, small and amusingly enough not all that fit for the life in the termite mounds. To top it all off, she had a horrible sense of direction.
Technically, Tamaa hadn't noticed that her sense of direction was poor till she'd gotten separated from her parents during a hunting trip. It'd been a couple of days since she'd last seen them, or any form of familiar landscape. She'd realised too late, that she had been walking in the wrong direction; likely walking further and further away from her homelands, if not in circles.
Now, rather than open land, she was trapped within a dark, gloomy, misty jungle and she had no idea if she should go left, right.... ahead or back again. EVERYTHING looked similar, from her point of view! And hadn't she just passed by that tree over there a few hours ago? Waaaaahhhh~~ The young lioness lifted her gaze up to the sky, where the bright moon hung sullenly in, partially hidden behind some clouds before letting out a sigh. Her mother was probably wondering where she was at this point. Tamaa was scared, lonely, hungry and mildly thirsty.
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 6:36 am
Things have been better since they left. Much better, he even dares admit to himself. Without that same landscape surrounding him, day after day, Hewa can finally begin to forget the visions (and memory of visions) that plagues him. These new lands are fresh, untested, untainted... and yet tantalizingly familiar.
When the highest-ranked members of the new pride began to talk about roles and responsibilities, Hewa found himself torn. He is a seer, true, and he can see beyond what others can. But the duplicitous nature of his visions is dangerous, not to be trusted. What if he gave counsel based on them, only to find that what he saw was a lie? No, that is not the life for him. So instead he opted for the mists, for the life of a Ghost. Out here, nobody will be harmed if his visions speak of lies. Out here, he doesn't have to look at his siblings and wonder if any of them saw the death of their parents. Out here, he doesn't have to wonder if they are thinking the same of him.
His idle daydreams turned to visions, showing him a lioness lost in the mist. Truth, or fiction? He does not know, but he can find out. And so the young Ghost makes his way silently towards the landscape shown in his dreams, moving effortlessly through the mist. When he sees her - young, afraid, alone - he pauses. His visions spoke true, and so he is pleased. But this... this is now the first time he's had to act in his role as protector of the pride. Not quite sure how to begin, he starts out slowly.
First, he prepares some stones. A small pile, easily jarred loose, at the edge of a rocky slope. He moves away, carrying one rock in his jaws, before throwing it back at the pile to knock it down. At the same time he begins to lope in a circle about the lioness, beginning with a deep and startling hiss that seems to come from every direction at once.
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 1:52 pm
She jumped when she heard the movement located somewhere to her right. She couldn't have helped it, really. Not even her mother's voice, resounding deep within her skull, telling her to be brave seemed to help. In fact, it only made the lioness more nervous, her tail coming to hide between her legs as she took several steps back, eyes wide with fear.
It was likely she would've kept taking steps back, however, the sudden hissing sounds that seemed to come from behind... and technically, all around her, stopped her short in her tracks. With a quiet 'eep', of fear, the lioness jumped forward, attempting to outrun whatever creature was haunting her. Fear was evident in her eyes as she rushed forward, jumping over bushes and foliage, "Noooooooo~~!!" she whine as she turned her head to look over her shoulder.
That was, of course, a big mistake, because the moment Tamaa turned her gaze away from the path she was following, she lost her footing and was thus, sent tumbling into a roll forward. She stumbled down a hill, through mist and plants, her pelt humid, marred with mud till she came to a stop by crashing into a tree. The force of the impact forced the air out of her as she lifted her head, disoriented and gasping.
She would have left the stupid valley quite happily if she could have! However... she had no idea which way was 'out'. Not only that, but when she tried to stand again, her body toppled over, her left foreleg hurting from the fall she'd taken.
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 2:20 pm
Excited at first, Hewa watched while his plan had the desired effect. Look, she's scared! Will she run, now, or try to fight? He's so excited that he loses track of what he's doing, continuing to emit that terrifying gravelly hiss, only stopping when he realizes that she's fleeing.
...wait, no. She's not fleeing, exactly. Actually, she's coming right for him!
The hiss ends in a startled yelp as he flings himself out of the way, a noise that she may miss as she goes tumbling down the slope. What she won't be able to miss, however, is the loud crashing noises that follow her down. Just out of sight within the mist, Hewa loses his own footing and begins his own ungainly descent.
He lands with a grunt, followed by a few groans and grumbles, as he pulls himself to his feet. "Ow," the adolescent mutters, raising a paw to brush the worst of the damp earth from his face and mane. Testing out his limbs - yep, all there and all okay, if a little bruised - he pads towards the gasping lioness, staying back enough that she would only be able to see a vague silhouette within the mist. And he watches, silently, while he catches his breath.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 6:25 am
A small whine escaped her throat as she sat up, her paws coming up to rub her head, her eyes watering mildly. Sobs were threatening to spill from the small female, though it was hard to tell if they were due to fear or pain... possibly a mixture of both factors, really.
Then of course, the noise returned, and a figure stumbled right after her, crashing nearby. A squeal signals that she had, indeed heard the sounds, and even in her disoriented state, Tamaa jumped to her feet again, wildly looking around for the source of the crash. For a moment she was afraid it might have been her attacker, but then her mind offered her a second possibility; what if there'd been another lion that had been frightened in JUST the same way she had? He or she probably needed help escaping from the valley (and whatever monsters haunted it) too!!
That in mind, the young lioness rushed over towards where she was SURE the crashing sounds had come from, finally stumbling across Hewa's form, "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Oooooooh, Gods, I hope you're okay!" it never seemed to occur to her that perhaps Hewa had been the 'monster' that had frightened her!
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 6:50 am
"W-what?" he stammers, hop-stepping away at first when she approaches. The temptation to draw further back within the mists is high - it's safer there, and easier to frighten would-be trespassers - but she's moved too quickly and now he can't draw away without it being really... awkward.
Startled enough that words fail him at first, he doesn't do much more than stare blankly. She's younger than he thought. Hell, she's practically a cub! All of a sudden Hewa feels a lot less proud of his accomplishment. Big man, scaring the little lioness. Ashamed, he turns his gaze aside and mumbles. "M'okay, yeah. I.. uh.. I didn't fall as far as you did."
Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he looks directly at Tamaa. "Are you okay?" For now, he'll hold the requisite 'who are you/why are you here' questions.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 7:11 am
His reaction to her seemed to further dispel any doubts she might've had that he was as much a victim in this scenario as she was, "I'm so glad you're okay!" it was clear she wasn't lying either; her mellow personality was one of the reasons she never seemed to fit in back home, "Nonsense! You took as much a nasty fall as I did! I think the mists played us a nasty trick, is all."
After all... there was no such thing as ghosts or monsters. Right...?
"Uh...." at his question, she looked up at him, almost confused, "I'm... uuuuh... lost. Actually, very lost... I can't find my way back home. I don't even know where home is, actually. It's right by the Pridelands, but something tells me we're nowhere near the Pridelands," she'd used the name of her rival pride as a reference point because it was a fairly well known landmark. The Outlands weren't really well known; in fact, the inhabitants of those lands liked to remain undisturbed, so it was just as well.
"I got lost in a hunting trip and... now I can't get out of this forest," it was clear that no, she was not at all 'okay'.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 7:17 am
"Heh, the mists. Yeah, that sounds about right." He grins shyly, bobbing his head and trying not to look too awkward. Unfortunately for the youth, he's not doing a terribly convincing job. Fortunately for the youth, she seems to be too polite to mention it (if she even notices).
At her explanation he frowns, lifting his gaze to their misty environs. "Yeah, these forests can be pretty tricky. Especially at night - must've been a long hunting trip, unless you've been lost for a while. Isn't there anyone out there who'd be looking for you?" It's easier than he thought to mask the interrogation he should be delivering in the form of a concerned question. But then nobody could fault him for being nice to her, right? She's young, and lost, and obviously isn't a Firekin since she's all soft and grey and... kinda pretty, actually.
"The Pridelands? Um, yeah. Kinda got a bit far afield, I think." Well, s**t. What should he do now? "I'm Hewa. Hewa'Takata."
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 9:07 am
The small female was, in fact, either too polite to mention how awkward the male was acting, or was too preoccupied to really notice. Either way, once interrogated, she flopped her ears to the sides, "I've been padding around for a couple of days... three or so.... I think I've been walking in the opposite direction. Or in circles. I'm not sure," it was obvious this was one girl with a horrible sense of direction if what she was saying was true.
As if too somehow voice the fact she was indeed telling the truth, her stomach chose that moment to growl and voice it's displeasure at not having been fed in several days. Now looking horribly embarrassed, the young female looked up awkwardly, "I'm sure they ARE looking for me, but I think I've wandered a bit far... I don't recall my father telling me about a Mist valley being anywhere near home... and he comes from the jungles up north, soooo...."
A pause followed as she shifted her position about awkwardly once more, obvious that she had no clue what to do or say to make things 'right', "I'm Tamaa," she told him in return, finally daring to look up into his eyes once more.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 9:44 am
"Three days?" His voice is plainly startled, as if the sudden lifting of his head and widening of his eyes wasn't clue enough. Three days wandering, lost, with no food? Even in the leanest times he can remember Hewa's never had to go that long without a meal. "What are y--, I mean how are y--, I mean, aren't you hungry?" And then the growling of her stomach answers his question, and he can't help but laugh.
It seems as though the decision has been made for him - she's clearly no danger to anyone but herself, after all, and there's no way she could make it back home without a meal in her belly and some directions that he can't provide. "C'mon, follow me. I'm not much of a hunter, but I know where you can at least get a drink to settle your belly."
Hewa begins to lead her off, deeper into the mists, before he pauses to look back over his shoulder. "I can bring you to my pride, my family. Someone there should be able to help you better than I can."
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2009 9:50 am
Her ears perked and her eyes widened at the offered help; honestly, she didn't look all that used to seeing such kindness. After all, the pride she came from was harsh and rather ruthless where outsiders were concerned. Within their ranks, they were also rather.... conservative. Somehow, the idea of helping a perfect stranger was not something she was used to, and yet seemed perfectly happy to accept, all at the same time.
"Thank you! That would be lovely!" Without further question or explanation, she jumped up to her feet in order to follow him, her encounter with the 'ghosts' from earlier apparently forgotten in favour of having access to a meal and perhaps... directions on how to get back home.
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