[JRP] Rattle the old bones (Skuld & Zebaki) [DONE]

[Annchen]

Skuld was throwing her bones again, a familiar sight to the members of the Mizimu'Tungika. She was always carrying them around, and when she was not, she buried them in one of her secret places to keep them safe. No one messed with Skuld's bones and got away with it. No one. She had used them to read the will of the spirits so long they were almost a part of her. In fact, she rarely did anything without tossing them in the air first anymore. When she was a young scryer the bones had been a blunt tool, only capable of "yes", "no", "we don't want to talk" and perhaps a direction if she was lucky. With age she had gradually become more and more familiar with her bones, and the answers she got were much more tailed.

Today she had no particular question in mind so the answers she got made little sense. She just threw the bones over and over again, absentmindedly noting what the spirits told her. It was a familiar ritual that sometimes even managed to put her in a light trance. Usually, no one bothered her while she was reading.  

[Slander]

It's easier here. More food. Quiet, safe. No worries about the grey lioness yelling at him, swatting him, leaving him behind, refusing to feed him... vague memories of the brown one - the one that brought food, the one that didn't yell - still linger. No names, even their faces are fading now. Because it's easier here, quiet, safe.

But it's a little scary, too. Now that he's feeling a bit more confident, the quiet grey cub has taken to exploring his surroundings. The Minders keep talking about what an honour he will hold some day, when he becomes a Sacrifice. How that's the highest honour he could ever earn, even better than being a Warrior. How he should be proud that they're allowing him to considering giving his life for the pride. And the spirits? As the cub wanders towards the more secluded areas that the members of the Heart favour he kicks at a rock, flinching at the noise it makes. The spirits. Hah! All around them, influencing everything. Listening. Watching. Zebaki really doesn't know what to think about that, as he watches the rock roll to a gentle stop.

But then another clattering noise captures his attention. Small ears perk towards it, then press against his skull in an involuntary flinch. Curious, he pads towards the noise and settles to the ground, at a safe distance from the lioness. Clearly visible, his pelt bright against the dark earth, he stares with wide eyes as Skuld throws the bones.  

[Annchen]

Skuld took her sweet time studying the bones before even acknowledging that she was no longer alone. One could of course argue that a lion is never truly alone since the spirits are always watching, but there was a subtle difference between the company of spirits and the company of lions in the realm of the living.

"Ah," she finally said, and turned to the bright little boy, "The spirits told me you'd come by."

It was impossible to know if the old lioness read about Zebaki in her bones or if she simply saw and heard him coming. If you should ask her it’s always the bones or the spirits telling her things. If you ask certain members of the heart Skuld is just an old scryer who lacks the talent needed to advance to anything more qualified.  

[Slander]

"W-w-what?" he stammers, startled, after recovering from the instinctive flinch to the ground that her words and attention elicited from the small cub. Hesitant and shy, he darts a quick look behind as if he's tempted to run. Dark lioness. Bones. Spirits. S-she must b-be one of the ones that do sacrifices, he thinks, momentarily panicked beyond rational thought.

And, as he has always done when he is afraid, he cowers and holds still. Still and small and silent, that way she yells at one of his siblings instead. But there are no siblings to hide behind, and no exasperated growls are forthcoming. So eventually he uncoils, swallowing so hard that he's certain she must be able to hear it, and dares to look directly at her for a brief moment before his gaze drifts to the bones.

"Th-the spirits? I been learning 'bout the spirits, b-but I'm still so new, and, and..." His voice trails off, his explanation derailed while he stares at the bones she'd been tossing moments before. "S'at like a game or something?"  

[Annchen]

She could smell the fear radiating from the small body and had to resist the temptation to creep him out further. Too easy. He provided an interesting interruption, and making him flee would be no fun in the long run.

"Th-the spirits? I been learning 'bout the spirits, b-but I'm still so new, and, and..."

The way he was using the term "new" instead of something like "young" made Skuld wonder. Could this be one of the cubs from outside? She knew very little about them, but had heard gossip about some cubs that had been left in the pride's care by a passing rogue. This one sure looked like a young soul, and she couldn't help admiring his light coloured pelt. New blood, new spirit. Good. And he seemed to finally recover enough to admire her bones...

"S'at like a game or something?"

"A game?" she said, and tried to look at the bones she had scattered from his perspective. Cubs could be surprisingly wise. "A game... You could say that, perhaps. It's not how I would have described it. But yes... I'm playing a game with the spirits. I ask them something, and they answer by letting the bones fall in special patterns."

She grinned now, and gathered the bones yet again, putting them down in a tidy heap between her forelegs as she settled down near the little one.

"They told me you would ask many questions," she added with a mischievous grin.  

[Slander]

"Th-the spirits play games?" He stammers, surprised enough by this revelation that he forgets to be afraid of the creepy-looking lioness. The innate curiousity of a cub has definitely won the battle of his inborn hesitation and fear, and Zebaki creeps closer. Just to get a closer look, that's all. Just close enough so he can see - not so close that she could hit him, he's always careful to stay out of paw's reach.

Skuld has trapped his attention, sure and true. Her grin (while still a little frightening, since he is only just now learning that bared teeth do not always mean a fight on the horizon) distracts him for a moment before he stares intently at the bones, watching her pile them. "W-what pattern means that I'll ask many questions? How do they know? Why do they talk to you in bones instead of words? That seems silly, 'less they're trying to keep secrets from everyone else. Do the spirits keep secrets?"

He manages not to flinch after unleashing his barrage of questions, but only just. And then he watches, expectant, trying very hard to keep his attention on the lioness. But his gaze drifts, inevitably, towards the bones.
 

[Annchen]

There was no easy way to answer all questions at once, so Skuld just addressed them in her own way and at her own pace, ignoring what she didn't feel like talking about. Selective hearing was something she had perfected over the seasons, and it could be very useful.

"Spirits and mortals can't just speak to each other like you and I are doing now," she starts, "If we want to know what they are doing and if they are angry or happy or sad, we need to study their tracks as they move in the mortal world. We can't see them, most of the time, but we can read their tracks."

She pushed the bones around with her paw, and in doing so some of them were moved closer to Zebaki, close enough for him to get a better look of the old worn bones. There were bones of many shapes and sizes, apparently coming from different kinds of creatures.

"There are all kinds of lions," she continued, "Some are playful, some are mean, some are silent and some are good at hunting. All kinds kiddo. What was your name again?"

Skuld stretched, very carefully to avoid spooking the skittish cub, and then continued.

"So when those playful or mean or skilled lions die and their spirits move to the spirit realm, what do you think will happen?"  

[Slander]

Fortunately, the selective memory of the young goes hand-in-hand with the selective hearing of the aged. Too flighty in mind (and body) to recognize that she hadn't answered all of his questions, the bright cub doesn't even think to take offence at that happenstance. He just nods, slowly, staring at the bones as she nudges them closer.

"B-but how do you know that the spirits did it?" Ah, and her answers have allowed him to get at the crux of his dilemma - where's the proof? How can all of these adults believe in things that they can't see or hear? One of his siblings had started talking to an imaginary friend, before the mean one made her shut up, but something tells him that isn't quite the same thing.

"Zebaki," he mumbles, rubbing his paw against the side of his muzzle and hunkering down to peer at the bones, "m'Zebaki. And... I'unno. Um. I guess they'd be playful or mean or skilled spirits?"  

[Annchen]

"Very good answer," she said and smiled, "They are much like they were in life, and we can be helped by that. For example... the spirit of a lion that was a very good huntress can be used to find prey. If I find such a spirit she can affect my bones and make them point out a good direction to hunt. Unfortunately we can be harmed by mean spirits, and they can even be a threat to the whole pride. As for your other question..."

Skuld barely remembered if she had ever doubted that the spirits were really out there. It was like asking if the clouds were really up there or if the sun would really come up again tomorrow. She could feel the spirits in her bones and in her heart, but she could also understand that someone as young as Zebaki or perhaps someone from outside without the proper education might doubt their existence at first. She put her big paw on the bone closest to her, comforted by its presence.

"We're not perfect, Zebaki," she said slowly, "And it's a known fact that not everyone can feel the spirits as easily. If a lion tells you the spirits speak of danger when there is none, or if you are otherwise misled by something the spirits supposedly said, it's usually a problem with the lion interpreting their will and not a problem with the spirits. There are also the Greater Spirits. If you are ever lucky enough to meet one you will no longer doubt the existence of the spirits."

((OOC: I blame any weird spelling mistakes on my pain meds... Sorry!))  

[Slander]

Praise is something that he is still growing used to, and as a result it has far more than the intended effect. The young cub smiles brightly, just for a moment, pleased to have done something right. But the outward signs of his pleasure are as short-lived as his nervousness and skittish reactions - swiftly quelled, dampened down to the safety of neutrality.

He nods, listening carefully, absorbing each word and explanation with the guileless innocence of youth. "Oh," Zebaki replies simply, his gaze distant as he considers, "that makes sense. So i-it's not the same for... for everyone? So it's okay if I don't feel them the same way that some of the others do?"

This question, thinly-disguised as it is behind the casual questions of a cub, reveals more of his concern than he had intended. But what happens if he is wrong, if he is supposed to feel things like everyone else, and he just doesn't? Does that mean he has to leave, that he'll be abandoned again? The idea of losing his family (such as it is) brings a slight welling of fear within his belly, but he struggles gamely to push it down.
 

[Annchen]

Watching the cub smile was like watching clouds part to reveal the sun on a rainy day. He should really do that more often, Skuld mused. She had to think for a while before answering this time, rolling the bone back and forth with her paw.

"Females are often drawn to the Heart," she said, "because they are usually closer to the spirits. And similarly males are more likely to be found among the ranks of the Warriors because of their physical strength. We all have different strengths, and that's what makes us strong as a pride."

What she said didn't really answer the question, but who was she to tell him what or how to feel? Skuld was certain that the cub would learn to recognise the presence of the spirits given a bit of time and education. There was no need to rush it.

"But remember that even the most skilled haruspex can only tell us what the spirits want," she said, deciding to change the subject slightly, "If we want to send a message to the spirits we need to send someone over to the spirit realm, and that's the greatest honour of them all."  

[Slander]

He watches the bone roll back and forth, transfixed - both by it, and by the strange shiny thing about her leg. The tentative cub won't ask about that particular decoration, not yet. Maybe some day.

But the information she offers, the revelation... oh, what a relief! It's normal for the males to be less connected? He's not strange, not going to be cast out for his failure? That alone is enough to bring new light to his eyes, to give the confused cub some measure of hope. He's so uplifted by her words that it takes him a short time to realize what she has said, as she continues on. And then he falters, glancing aside.

"O-oh, y-yeah..." Zebaki mutters, rubbing at the ground with one paw, refusing to meet her eyes, "t-they said that, before, w-when they w-were telling me th... that it'd be an h-honour for me to..." and he trails off, unable to continue.  

[Annchen]

Skuld follows Zebaki's gaze without any comment. Sometimes people ask about it. Sometimes she tells them the truth, and sometimes she tells them a story. It all depends. Ah, so he is being groomed to be a Sacrifice, and not too happy about it yet. Everyone knows that an unhappy or unwilling Sacrifice is worse than no sacrifice at all, but Skuld is not too worried about Zebaki's reaction to the subject. He is young and will live a full life before it's time to serve the clan. He will learn.

"I've travelled outside our lands at times," she says, "And I've met lions and other soulless creatures that knew nothing of the spirits. Some outsiders that have only heard a little about it think that we kill the weak ones by sacrificing them. But only a fool would send a weak or unintelligent lion as a protector of the clan or messenger to the spirits."

She stretches and nips at something on her front leg, a flea or some other small pest perhaps?

"And it would be silly to send a cub," she says and pins him with her gaze, "You have some growing to do first, and you'll have to work for it before you're ever going to be considered. It is a great honour, that's right. I can only hope that someday I'll be allowed to serve Mizimu as a sacrifice, before I grow too old and useless to throw my bones."  

[Slander]

Oh crap, she saw! He pulls his gaze away from the strange shiny thing on her leg, looking for something else to stare at, to hide his interest in something safe... and settles on the bones again. But his nervousness melts away when she speaks of interesting things - the outside? He'd never heard anything of this pride before they arrived here, but then he didn't really hear much of anything at all.

"Oh," he replies quietly, struggling against the urge to defend himself and say that he could totally be a good Sacrifice right now if he wanted to, "I see." But he doesn't, not yet. This conversation has made quite the impression upon his young mind, but now he's afraid of over-staying his welcome. So Zebaki rises, dips his head in an awkward bow, and backs away. "T-thank you."

Before he leaves, he pauses. "I- I like you. You're not as scary as y-you look." And then he is gone, dashing away into the tall grasses with the energy of youth.

It's only later that night, before sleep claims him, that he realizes he'd never asked for her name.  

[Annchen]

Skuld doesn't rise, but she bows her head and in doing so she gives him a better view of the skull she wears as a headdress. A token from her first reading with a Haruspex, but she don't expect the cub to realise that. The weight of the skull on her own is so familiar she usually doesn't notice, or even mind the way it restricts her vision.

"Why thank you," she says and smiles a little as she watches the cub run. Being scary has its advantages, but she doesn't mind company. Perhaps she will see him again if that's the Spirits' intention. She gets up, stretches and then gathers all the bones in her mouth. Time to go dig up another of her old friends perhaps? She too leaves, walking with the slower dignity of a mature lioness.