[PRIV] Stories of my life (Skuld, Dubu'mwana)

[Annchen]

Being alone in unfamiliar territory was really starting to get on Skuld's nerves, and she both wished for company and dreaded the creatures or lions she might meet. As far as she knew she might still be behind enemy lines, and while she had been lucky with her encounters (after her run in with the two warriors) there was no knowing if she'd finally be hunted down by something unfriendly soon.

Her bruises had started to go down and she wore her mask again, with a matching grim expression under it. The kind attention from Duma had helped her recover some strength, but Skuld still firmly believed that she was just waiting for her inevitable death. Only the Spirits knew when and where it would happen, but Skuld was pessimistic enough to think the time would come sooner rather than later and those grim thoughts put her in a peculiar mood.

She had done a lot of things lately that she would never have even considered a few moons ago, and she feared what the Spirits might say if she tried to communicate with them. She usually didn't mind loneliness, but this kind of loneliness was unfamiliar and actually rather frightening.  

[Truth.Be.Told]

Dubu stretched, having woken up not long ago. It was a clear day, one that wavered between promising heat and offering cool breezes. It hadn't quite made up its mind. But Dubu didn't mind...despite his shaggy coat, he'd grown used to the hotter days on the savanna. Looking about his 'area' near the watering hole and the odd creek that supplemented it, he decided cleaning up was in order.

Broken and worn away hoo-man items littered the ground from all his examining, and other items joined them. Bones as well...Sighing, the hyena set to work getting everything where it belonged once more. It took him a while...but he finished the task without much issue. And just in time...He had company! The creature, a lioness he supposed, made him tilt his head. Such odd decorations.

He simply smiled calmly and walked in her direction. "Good day, m'lady!" Dubu moved slowly, and his voice deep, but he was friendly and smiling.  

[Annchen]

Skuld's attention span had been a bit off lately, and consequently she wasn't as vigilant about her surroundings as she should be. Part of it must be due to fatigue from travelling and from being injured, but part of it might be connected to the... the thing that had led her on this journey in the first place. Either way she had spaced out a bit, again, and Dubu's approach caught her with her guard down.

"Aaaaaaah!" was her surprised answer to the friendly greeting, "Ah-hah-hah... Ahem. Hello."

Hyena. Skuld had encountered scavengers before, but since hyenas weren't welcome in the Mizimu'Tungika she had never interacted with them much. This one looked friendly enough, she supposed, and she hoped he wouldn't see her as a potential meal. They had finally lost those pesky vultures that had followed them around a few days ago and she did not want to deal with something bigger hanging over her shoulder, waiting for her to drop dead.  

[Truth.Be.Told]

Dubu blinked at the lioness' reaction, tilting his head. "I'm sorry for frightening you. It's just nice to see a new face around here. This watering hole tends to attract mostly the same crowd." He gave a bow. "I am Dubu'mwana, scholar at your service. I am a collector of knowledge and artifacts, and am more than willing to part with an item of one or the other if it is what someone seeks."  

[Annchen]

Skuld tilted her head slightly as Dubu introduced himself. A scholar? Artefacts? This hyena seemed civil enough, and it would be nice with some friendly company. The Spirits sure had provided her with interesting company lately, perhaps she should stop being surprised at the trials and unlikely rewards they put in her way. This creature intrigued her and she decided to go with the flow and play nicely for now. Not that she was in any position to pick a fight.

"I'm Skuld," she said, "Scryer of the Mizimu'Tungika, but quite far from home I'm afraid. Pleased to meet you Dubu'mwana. Artefacts you say?"

She sat down and put a protective paw on the single bone she carried with her. The rest of her bones were securely hidden away, but she could carry this around without too much trouble and she didn't like going anywhere without her tools. The bone was a rather large one and Dubu could probably identify it as a lion bone, a leg bone from the looks of it, and not too old.  

[Truth.Be.Told]

Dubu nodded. "A pleasure to meet you as well, Skuld. And yes, atrifacts. Things left behind by those who have found sanctuary here, or the odd furless monkeys called 'hoo-mans'. They leave the most interesting artifacts." He was curious about the bone, but decided it best not to question. Some creatures were private.

"I've never heard of the Mizimu'Tungika. You must be far from home."  

[Annchen]

Skuld was a bit of a collector herself, and she had more bones stashed away throughout her pride's territory than she could possibly use in one reading. She could certainly see the appeal of collecting things, and what were her bones if not artefacts left behind?

"I see," she said, "I must confess I'm not that fond of the hoo-man kind."

She raised her left paw and the short chain jingled. It was easy to miss the shackle against her dark fur, and normally she tried not to draw any attention toward it. However, she was curious to see if this artefact-collecting hyena would recognise it for what it was.

"I took a longer detour than I expected," she said with a crooked grin, before she continued on a more serious note, "My pride is not too friendly toward hyenas so it's not surprising you've never heard of us before. Those that insist on getting close to out home usually don't live to tell about it."

Her face was hard to read behind the mask, but she wasn't trying to intimidate Dubu. If anything it was a warning, should he encounter the Mizimu some day.  

[Truth.Be.Told]

He did recognize it, frowning. He'd heard tales. It was why he was always glad any hoo-mans he saw were from a distance. "Understandably. I suspect you've found no way to remove it? Or perhaps you keep it as a reminder...to yourself and others?" Dubu couldn't assume...only speculate and ask.

And the warning about her pride...he would certainly heed it. "I thank you for the warning. If I encounter them, I shall most surely make my way away from them with haste." Even he could move quickly if the situation called for it. "It is a shame you've found yourself so far from home though. Sounds a bit like you miss it."  

[Annchen]

"No, I don't think I could remove it even if I wanted," she said, "Some links have fallen off this dangling bit, so I suppose it might come loose by itself if I lived long enough. But even if it never comes off it will always remind me that the one holding the end of that chain met a worse fate than I did."

She left it at that, and couldn't help but smile a little at the polite way this hyena expressed himself. She had never sat down and talked to a hyena before, so for all she knew they might all be like this, but either way it was a pleasant surprise.

"I do miss it," she confessed, "I like to wander, but there's no place like home."  

[Truth.Be.Told]

Dubu nodded. "I am glad you have your freedom. No creature deserves enslavement." It never hurt to serve another, but slavery...that was something he'd witnessed and frowned upon. To make one serve oneself by force was something that he would never partake in.

"That is true. I used to have a home. I still consider it home, a bit. But I grew up. And my Mother and Father could use some time without me and my sisters to pester them." Besides...he was liking all the wonderful things he found! So many stories and artifacts...it was amazing!  

[Annchen]

"I think I understand," she said, "My parents are not in this world anymore, but I do have a niece back home. I think she appreciates the time without me... She's not as fond of her old auntie as she used to be."

There was some regret in her voice, and she wondered if she'd ever see Skadi again. She didn't like to think about the way they had parted that last time, and she knew she owed her an explanation or two if she managed to get back. Perhaps it would be easier if she told someone... And if this hyena thought that she was a crazy old lion, so be it.

"This bone is really something," she said and let her paw slide across the surface of the lion bone she held so protectively, "It shows me things that have happened, but it doesn't show it like the other bones I use to divine."  

[Truth.Be.Told]

"Perhaps, when you return home, she'll be ready for you again. Everyone needs a little space, now and again. Perhaps that's all she needed." Dubu intended to visit his parents again one day, once he felt them ready to see him again.

The hyena tilted his head to one side, listening...then nodded. "Maybe the bone is simply waiting. Or is almost finished telling its story." He didn't think her crazy. After all, he learned all sorts of things from inanimate objects himself! It actually rather made sense to learn things from something that was once alive and moving.  

[Annchen]

Skuld nodded. Give the girl some space. Perhaps it was as simple as that. Wasn't that why she wandered on occasion, after all? She loved her pride, but sometimes she needed space and room to think and hear the spirits more clearly. Why shouldn't Skadi be allowed the same? She had almost stopped hoping that her niece would start to show some more interest in the Spirits. With no children of her own she hoped that there would be someone that would pick up the bones after her, so to speak. It would be perfect if Skadi had wanted to be her apprentice, but Skuld doubted that would happen now, no matter how much space she offered.

"I know how it ends," Skuld said and sighed, "This lioness died in what should have been the most honourable of ways, but her bone now tells me she did not want to die. An unwilling sacrifice is a very bad omen and we really try to prevent it."

Her statement might make more sense to someone familiar with the Mizimu ways, but Skuld did not care right now. If Dubu wanted clarification he would have to ask.  

[Truth.Be.Told]

Now Dubu was confused. He tried to puzzle it out on his own a moment, before speaking again, his confusion evident not just in his words, but in his voice and posture. "Why was a sacrifice needed? And...for most creatures, death is a very scary thing, no matter how brave they might be."

He could understand sacrificing oneself to protect their family, or a dear friend...but the way she spoke, it seemed...commonplace. And the things he thought of just weren't really commonplace. After all, it took a lot of bravery to face death.  

[Annchen]

Death was scarier if you didn't know what would come afterwards, Skuld thought. A very scary thing indeed, and the hyena's words got her thinking that maybe the girl had lost her faith or been confused by that lion the bone had showed her. It would explain some of the visions from the bone at least. Of course, it would not explain why this bone was giving her strong visions and not just signs to interpret in the usual way.

"Death doesn't have to be scary," she said, finally taking pity on the confused hyena and at least trying to explain, "Our pride knows there is a spirit world after death, and a new life after the spirit world. It's an unending circle unless your spirit gets lost on the way. Now that's scary."

She wondered how she should explain about sacrifices, or if she should. Skuld had been out and about enough to know that not everyone had it in them to understand the spirit world, and they tended to get all worked up over the way some lions got there. Perhaps it would be different with a soulless creature. A hyena might not care how lions decided to end their current lives.

"Sacrifices volunteer to set things right between the spirit realm and our world," she said, trying to find the right words, "They willingly face death in order to save their pride, but an unwilling sacrifice... They might just as well join the evil spirits threatening us, or upset the good spirits and make matters worse."