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 Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 8:38 am
 Shibasa had been traveling southward for weeks, looking for someone or something that could give him a clue about getting that little part of his soul back. But he was getting the feeling he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A war was going on in this area. It was all he could do to avoid getting dragged into it. He took to traveling mainly at night, sleeping in the shadows of whatever outcropping or dead grotto was available. He was doing just that at the moment, with one ear twitching at every slight sound. He had a feather braided into his mane that hadn't been there before. A reminder to himself.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 10:09 am
 Shibasa wasn't the only lion trying to dodge the dangers in this war-zone, but Skuld had some advantages compared to him. The first was her knowledge of the area and the second was that only the lions on one of the sides currently fighting were her enemies. She was also travelling with a companion, but since Dumanla was currently off hunting elsewhere she couldn't really rely on his help at the moment.
Skuld froze when she spotted the unfamiliar sleeping lion, not sure what she should do about it. He wasn't Mizimu, that much was clear, but was he one of the filthy traitors or just a rogue passing by? Running from him seemed unwise since her Spiritless friend expected to find her in this area when he came back. And if she fled she might run into something worse than this male. In the end she decided to try to bluff herself out of this situation. The other lion had a strong spirit, a fighter's spirit, but hopefully he wasn't too bright.
She adjusted her bone mask and did her best to move quietly towards the sleeping form. The metal chain dragged in the dust and made it impossible to move completely soundless but hopefully she would get close enough to be able to loom over him, looking properly intimidating, when he woke up.
"Friend or foe," she boomed when she determined she wouldn't be able to get closer without alerting the male. Hopefully he wouldn't attack first and answer questions later because she was not fit for a fight. She couldn't take on a cub in her current state, and absolutely not a grown lion. Perhaps old age was making her restless, or perhaps this was a flirt with the Spirits to see if they would let her die in battle and not just waste away in the wilderness.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 10:19 am
He moved faster than expected, shock and his constant paranoia switching his body into an upright, crouching position, fangs bared at the demand. The creature in front of him was unlike any he had ever seen before. On a logical level he knew it had to be a lion, but the skull--
"I don't know," he responded to her question. "What are you?" Although crouched and ready to attack, he didn't seem as if he would jump her without speaking first. "Are you one of those fighters?" He didn't think she was a goddess. He at least hoped she wasn't. He'd had enough of goddesses for the moment.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 10:38 am
Skuld recoiled slightly at the violent reaction, and a trained eye should be able to catch the slight limp at the sudden move. But she quickly straightened up, doing her best to hide her flaws from the stranger. His response made her even more sure that this one wasn't part of the rebel group. One of the rebels would have phrased the question differently, or so she imagined.
"I'm not looking for trouble," she said, trying to sound as sinister as possible, "Unless you are."
Skuld knew she was pushing it, but if she could convince this male not to put up a fight they might both get some rest without too much worry.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 10:46 am
He caught sight of the limp and straightened at her words, relaxing. There was still a hint of wariness in his motions, but he sat, keeping his eyes on her. "I'm only looking for one thing," he said quietly. "Trouble isn't it."
There was another pause as he debated before going on. "My name is Shibasa. I belong to no pride, not any longer and not for a very long time. I have nothing to do with the warring going on here."
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 11:49 am
Good. Her risky bluff seemed to have paid off. Skuld remained standing for a moment longer, but soon she too settled down. The distance between them was carefully calculated... Close enough to talk, but not close enough to imply that they were suddenly friends.
"I'm Skuld, Scryer of the Mizimu'Tungika," she said proudly, but she offered no explanation of the title just yet. "And I have very little to do with the war at the moment."
It wasn't a lie, but she was stretching the truth. As a member of the Mizimu'Tungika she was a part of this war whether she liked it or not, but she wasn't actively fighting at the moment. If she was attacked by a member of the Dhati again she would do her best, but in her already injured state she didn't need to be a Scryer to foresee who would win such a fight.
"Lost something," she asked casually, finally letting her curiosity get the better of her. She might as well try to figure out who this wanderer was and what he was looking for.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 12:30 pm
He jerked, surprised. "How did you know that?" he asked her, torn between wonder and being creeped out. "How do you know I lost something?" Well, technically he hadn't lost it, it had been taken away. No, not even taken, given.
He was such a moron.
Which is why he would go along with the word "lost." He didn't feel like explaining just what he had done.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 1:02 pm
Skuld smiled inwardly at Shibasa's reaction. He had all but told her that he was looking for something, and the rest was just lucky guessing on her part. But she didn't have to tell him that... Oh, no. She was well versed in this game and knew how to take the tiny pieces of information that others gave her without thinking and turning them to her own advantage. Most of the time this skill was used to freak out cubs, and Skuld rarely had any malicious intent.
"The Spirits told me," she said as if it was the most natural thing in the world, "You've lost something, something dear to you and now you're trying to find it."
She was guessing again. Whatever this lost item or person was it had to have some importance to the lion if he was willing to risk travelling through war ridden lands to get it back.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 1:39 pm
"Spirits, huh?" he said. "Can these spirits of yours get back a piece of soul?" he asked her. "From a goddess," he added, as if that hadn't been obvious. Maybe, just maybe, he had found someone that could help him in this strange lioness with even stranger fashion sense.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 2:09 pm
What other lions referred to as the soul was what Mizimu lions believed to be the Spirit. A piece of his Spirit missing? Skuld had never heard of anything like it, and to think that a goddess, a Greater Spirit, now had it... She got up and studied Shibasa from every angle, no longer bothering to try to hide her small but noticeable limp.
"A piece of your Spirit is missing," she asked, "Is that why your mane is white?"
To Skuld the colour of the pelt was directly connected to the nature of a lions spirit, but to someone like Shibasa who wasn't familiar with Mizimu belief her statement might not make much sense. His spirit looked strong and energetic to her, but she didn't know how to tell if part of it was missing or not.
"I'm not sure if I could help you," she said slowly, "I would have to consult the spirits to get an answer."
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 8:05 pm
He blinked, completely confused. What did having white in his mane have to do with anything? "Um, no, it was that way before she took a piece of my soul," he said. "It's always been like that?" As if he wasn't sure of it himself, now. Hell, after the past few weeks, who could blame him?
He watched her limp with a slight frown. "You okay?" he asked. "You can sit down if it helps. And seriously, this isn't the kind of place you should be in wounded like that."
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Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 2:10 pm
"What?" Skuld said absentmindedly, "Oh, it's nothing. I'll be fine."
Her curiosity was piqued and this new mystery made her forget all aches and pains as she inspected Shibasa's pelt. Perhaps a piece of missing soul wouldn't manifest on the outside. What was the colour of no spirit? Her mind wandered to her spiritless companion but she shook it off. No, only lions had spirit and the colour of spiritless felines was not important, everyone knew that.
"Do you feel any different," she asked, "Since it went missing I mean."
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Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 2:17 pm
"A little more callous," he admitted. "I used to actually check if prey had a cub still weaning, but I keep forgetting to now." He didn't sound very happy with that fact. "I eat better, though," he added. "But what happens if I get worse?"
He was very young, and it showed by this statement. But there was still something to be said about a kind lion, no matter what he looked like. "I killed a bird along the way here, only to see its hatchling call for it from the tree above. It fell and died."
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Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 4:52 am
"You've got a very strong spirit Shibasa," Skuld said, trying to comfort him in her own way, "Strong colour. The Greater Spirit might have tried to do you a favour by removing a weak part of it."
She managed to stop herself before starting to reassure him that it'd probably get better in his next life, since she suspected such a statement might not be much of a comfort to an outsider. And just how would he manage in the spirit realm if his spirit was crippled? Not all Greater Spirits were benevolent after all. She could only guess what had happened and before she met this lion she hadn't even known that part of the spirit could be removed while the lion still lived. Everyone knew that you could be stripped of your spirit if you died dishonourably, but this was something else.
"Wait here," she said and quickly left the way she had come. "I'll be right back!" She needed to consult the spirits.
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Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 7:07 am
He blinked, so confused by the first statement that he didn't even think to reply to her telling him to wait. "What the hell?" he finally managed to say, but she wasn't there to hear him. This lady was confusing! Done him a favor? No matter how he looked at it, Ubuge had tricked him, and he got the feeling she would trick him again and again if he never got his soul back.
But he still sat there, waiting for the crazy lioness to come back. It wasn't as if he was making much more progress on his own, after all.
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