[W2 BORDER] Hello - Goodbye (Skuld, Rauro) - DONE

[Annchen]

Skuld had been even more reclusive than normal lately, and had even gone out of her way to avoid other lions. She didn’t quite trust herself to stay calm and not give away what troubled her if she spent too much time around others. And she still needed to talk to Skadi. The girl must have calmed down by now, but Skuld wanted some time to think about how she should best approach her. Skadi had a mind of her own, even more now than when she was a cub, and their last meeting hadn't exactly been cordial.

Hopefully blood would be thicker than water in the end, because what Skuld had to tell Skadi was very important. And very hard. It was a cowardly way to do it, but Skuld had sent word with another of the followers, saying that she wanted to see her niece in a few days. Setting a date would be a good way to force herself to follow through, and she intended to talk to her niece as soon as she had talked to the spirits. But knowing Skadi she would soon try to find her aunt and demand to know what she wanted NOW... Better to talk to the spirits outside Mizimu lands then. There would be fewer interruptions, and she found that going on a walk carrying her favourite bones gave her a certain peace of mind.

It was not the first time Skuld had left for a while to seek new Spirits to talk to, and she was usually not stopped at the border when she came padding along, mouth full of bones.  

[Lithiasaur]

Raruo yawned, padding his way across the border, as he often did. He kept his eyes open, though, knowing that walking the path with his eyes closed wasn't exactly the best way to keep a look out. After all, things were changing, moving, and he needed to stay as alert as possible.

He looked up when he heard someone approaching from an off direction, heading out of the lands rather than in. Not what he had been looking for, but still enough to draw his attention. He recognized the lioness, familiar with her wandering. It wasn't the first time he had seen her heading out for something or another. He had never questioned her before, but now he felt compelled to.

Plus, he was pretty much standing in her path and he couldn't really ignore her. She was right there. He had made eye contact. That would just be weird.

"Hello," he said stiffly, tilting his big head at her in greeting. He stood straight, not to block her but at least to encourage her to slow and speak to him, "what brings you out here?" He eyed the bones in her mouth, wondering about those, too.  

[Annchen]

Skuld recognised the Veteran, of course, and any other day she wouldn't mind meeting him like this. However, today the encounter made her nervous, even if she tried her best to hide it. It had been better to just slip away uninterrupted after giving her message to the follower. But brushing him off without talking at all would be even more suspicious so Skuld put her bones down in a neat pile in front of her and gave Rauro a polite if somewhat stiff smile.

"Rauro," she greeted him, "How nice to meet you."

Her first instinct told her to dodge his question, but she doubted the Veteran would have any patience with her selective hearing. Better give him an explanation, perhaps chat a little, and then be off before she said something she would regret.

"The Spirits of the land are stubborn," she said, as if it would explain everything, "I'm going to consult the Spirits outside our lands to see if they give me more insight."

It wasn't a lie, really, but she didn't tell him everything either, and he might realise that she was hiding something.  

[Lithiasaur]

Raruo tilted his head. He wasn't a skeptical lion, by nature, but recently things had been getting more tense, and he needed to be careful. Apparently that theory was applying itself to every aspect of his day, including greeting others from his home, rather than just limiting itself to his rounds.

He tilted his head. Of course he felt and trusted the spirits around them, but maybe his skills at reading them were even more poor than he had assumed. They had never struck him as being stubborn, per se. Obnoxiously quiet around him, maybe. Was that the kind of stubborn she meant?

Some how, he doubted it. She was a Scryer. She, at least, knew what she was doing.

"Is that what the bones are for, then?" he asked, sitting down. His body language said he intended to keep her there for a moment, and had no intention of letting her wander out just yet. He focused his red eyes on her, examining her face and eyes. He got the feeling she was hiding something.

"What kind of insight are you looking for that spirits around the pride can't offer?"  

[Annchen]

"That's what my bones are for, yes," she confirmed, looking down at the pile at her feet. She sat down, mirroring Rauro's movement, but with a slight delay that suggested that she had considered staying standing and after much debating found it rude to do so. She draped one paw possessively over the bones and seemed to watch them fondly, but it was hard to tell since her bone mask obscured her eyes from this angle.

"Oh, this and that," she said airily, stroking one of the newer looking bones absentmindedly with her paw. It looked big enough to come from a large animal, or a lion. "Sometimes I'm lucky and find a really chatty one. Sometimes it's the spirit of a hunter who can lead me to prey. Sometimes..."

She trailed off, suddenly looking even more absent minded than she had done before. If Rauro should tilt his head just right and catch a glimpse of her eyes through the mask he might be able to see that they seemed oddly vacant.  

[Lithiasaur]

The Veteran watched her. He almost smiled at how possessive she seemed over the bones, but the expression never made it to his face. It was more a twitch of his muzzle and then it died even before it had much of a chance at life. Still, he was amused to see it, though he couldn't say why. Maybe because he didn't have anything like that to want to keep from others.

Except, maybe, Kaihdin. But she didn't count.

He was listening when it seemed his conversation partner got a bit distracted. Arching an eyebrow, he couldn't quite see what she was doing under that mask but it didn't look like she was looking at him directly. Where had her mind wandered?

"Sometimes?" he prompted, trying to bring her back to the present, "sometimes what?"  

[Annchen]

It took some time for Rauro to get any response at all from Skuld, and it almost looked as if the old lioness had nodded off during their conversation. It might have been excusable if she had been ancient but she wasn't old enough to warrant this kind of behaviour. Unless she was ill or injured in some way that didn't show.

"I'm sorry," she said, slowly lifting her head as if waking from a dream, "You were saying?"  

[Lithiasaur]

Raruo frowned.

"Are you okay?" he asked, not really meaning it in a friendly way. He wanted to know what she was doing, what had distracted her so much. It wasn't anything he said, at any rate, because he just wasn't that interesting. He shook his head.

"In any case, it's dangerous to go beyond the borders now. Things are moving, and not in a good way. I don't think it's safe for you to be wandering anywhere. Spirits or not. You could be putting yourself in unnecessary danger."

Particularly if you space out at random times, he managed not to add out loud.  

[Annchen]

Skuld frowned. Dangerous? Not safe? Pfff. He might be a Veteran but he did not know what was safe for her or not. And she needed to leave for a while to try to make sense of what had happened lately, danger or not.

"I'm fine," she said, "I will be fine. Of course it's dangerous, but I'm not a cub. The Spirits will guide me, and to anyone I meet I will just be a harmless old lioness that's not worth fighting. No one has bothered me in the past. The Spirits have always protected me."

She tilted her head to be able to meet his gaze and gave him a look as if she was daring him to disagree. He did have faith in the Spirits, didn't he?  

[Lithiasaur]

The veteran sighed. He had expected something like that as an answer, though he wasn't happy to hear it. Still, he wasn't really a babysitter, and she was right: she wasn't a cub. He couldn't force her to stay, though he could try a bit harder to convince her.

Still, it was her decision.

"Not in the past, sure, but things aren't like they were before. It's more dangerous not than ever before. But I trust your judgment, I guess. I'll keep an eye out for you. How long will you be? If you don't come back, I'll come to find you. I won't be responsible for you going off and getting killed."

Or captured? He didn't know what to expect, but it was better to be ready for anything.

"Of course the spirits will protect you. But it doesn't hurt if you have a corporeal body looking out for you, too, just in case." He grinned slightly.  

[Annchen]

Skuld hesitated for a moment before answering. She needed to leave, and it looked as if he'd let her do so as long as he knew when she'd come back. Fair enough she supposed.

"I'm going to meet my niece Skadi in two days," she said, and then reluctantly added, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt if you watched for my return. I sent one of the followers with a message for her to meet me, and hopefully he did his job."

If the follower had failed to find Skadi or failed to remember the message it would be good that one more lion had heard that she wished to meet her niece. Skuld rose to signal that the little chat was over, as far as she was concern. She wasn't rude enough to leave before the Veteran let her, however. Rauro could easily prevent her from leaving, and she knew it.  

[Lithiasaur]

Raruo nodded. He didn't ask what she was meeting about, though something in the back of his head told him he should. For now, however, he didn't think grilling this older lioness was his top priority. Plus, he could see she was getting a bit antsy.

He noticed this because she stood. That meant the conversation was done. He understood that: it was a tactic he often used.

"Alright then," he said, a bit reluctantly. He nodded slowly, trying to keep from looking skeptical. He could monitor things without throwing himself right in the middle of them, after all. A bit of tact never hurt.

"Well, I hope to see you in a couple of days, then," he nodded his head in a rather polite gesture of parting.  

[Annchen]

Skuld tried not to look too relieved as it became apparent that Rauro was letting her off the hook. Better go before he changed his mind! She gave him a crooked smile and bowed her head as a parting greeting. She picked up the bones, but then realised that she should probably say something before she left. And mother always told her not to talk with her mouth full. She put her burden down again, looking a bit sheepish.

"Good bye Rauro, I'll see you when I get back," she said before carefully picking up her bones again. With that she continued her slow stroll away from Mizimu lands, apparently in no hurry to get anywhere in particular. She didn't know if the Spirits would tell her what she needed, or be able to help her with her niece, but it was worth a shot.  

[Lithiasaur]

Raruo canted his head when she picked up the bones only to put them down again. He had expected her to leave right then, so her stopping caught him in a half turn to walk away. Adjusting himself awkwardly, he nodded at her, trying not to laugh at her expression under the skull.

"Goodbye," he said lowly, not bothering to try too hard to get her to hear him. He watched her go now, since he was turned around again anyway, then shook his head thoughtfully. He would have to remember to come back here in two days.

Sighing, he turned again to continue on his rounds, eyes scanning the land keenly once more.

End!