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 Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 2:29 pm
 Ment and Chopoa were on the move again. They had promised that they wouldn't be more than a week or two in their material gathering. With only two working crafters that were currently in the pride, it was more imperative that they get back to their home as quickly as they possibly could.
The pouch around his neck clanked against his body loudly and each time it did, Chopoa would look down to see if anything had fallen out. Ment was never very careful with the things he gathered, and frequently Chopoa had to double-back in order to pick it up and bring it to him. She was growing tired of this repeating sequence.
"Be careful Peremende, you're going to lose something again," The bird chided, giving off a trill and grooming one of her wings.
"Chopoa stop acting like my mother, alright? I am fine without your instruction," Ment muttered, contemplating taking one of these shiny rocks and lobbing it at the bird the best he could. Chances were that he'd end up hitting himself in the head with it, considering that's where she usually perched herself, but at this point he was willing to risk it.
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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 2:58 pm
Sutala had promised herself that she would leave the shrines, just for a day. She needed to find offerings for the shrine itself. Other shrines in the pride boasted pretty rocks and bright flowers that were placed there by the keepers who looked after the shrine. Sutala's assignment was looking a little dull in comparison, and it brought Sutala great anxiety that her shrine was looking so boring. The only things that decorated it were cobwebs and dust. It was shameful.
She'd skittered from the sanctity of her pride in the early morning, dodging between shadows as she haphazardly nabbed a rock that was kind of pretty, a leaf, a feather. She could only hold so much in her mouth, and she was nervously making her way back to her shrine, carrying her findings carefully in her mouth. Sutala could feel the feather getting a bit soggy, and she mourned that while hastily making her way back home.
She was close, so close, when she spotted the lion with the bright mane and his little bird. Frozen in her tracks, terrified, she didn't know whether to bolt from him, or run past him. Sutala whimpered in terror, her body taut with fear, and she prayed he wouldn't notice her.
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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 3:26 pm
 Chopoa had noticed the wild dog quickly and clicked her tongue against her beak as a sign to Ment that they had company. She was a ghostly looking thing and truth be told, Chopoa wasn't sure if the wild dog she was looking at currently was truly a living creature or a spirit cast from the other side.
When Ment looked over, he greeted Sutala with a smile. He had seen wild dogs before but they always managed to escape him before he could even manage to try and talk to them. They didn't seem very trustung in the felines and he could understand that sentiment, considering they were far larger than the dogs or the hyena.
"Hello there!" Ment said cheerfully, approaching the wild dog slowly. He and Chopoa were unaware they had stumble upon pride grounds. Or grounds close to a pride. Ment had simply following Chopoa where she had indicated there was an interesting quary of milky looking stones and he had thought they were look good with some hide jewelry.
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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 3:34 pm
If she ran, she'd have to drop the things in her mouth or risk choking on the stone. Then she'd just be forced drag herself once more from the sanctity of her pride in order to find things to replace the ones she'd dropped. Her brow furrowed as she weighed her options. She could drop what she had and try and have a conversation with the duo. The male seemed friendly enough, but Sutala knew it could be faked. She really didn't want to have to come back out here again. Sutala whined again.
Bowing her head, she carefully placed the rock, the feather and the leaf at her feet. The leaf was mangled, the feather sopping with saliva, and the rock wasn't as pretty as she remembered. Defeated, her shoulders dropped. Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, she leaned from side to side in despair as she peered down at the things she'd collected.
It wasn't until she heard the lion step closer that she was jerked from her reverie, terrified to find that he'd come uncomfortably close. Nervously she took a few steps back, eyes wide with terror as she was frozen in her tracks. Obediently a soft, "Hello," whispered forth from Sutala's skittish, tense body. It was too late to run.
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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 3:58 pm
"You ok?" Ment asked, wondering if perhaps she had seen something terrifying or was running from something that was chasing after her. He looked down and noticed her little trinkets. The destroyed leaf, the sopping feather and the pretty rock she had collected. Perhaps she was a crafter as well gathering her materials? How exciting!
"You look as if you've seen death," Chopoa commented swiftly. Not one to be the most polite bird in existence; however, she couldn't like this instance go. The thing looked as if she was going to be beaten and eaten. The farthest thing from the truth.
"Chopoa, be nice," Ment commented, rolling his eyes at his companion's less than proper introductions, "I'm Ment and this is Chopoa. We're hunting for materials. Who're you, miss?"
Ment would be cordial and leave his charm (his delusioned charm) at the door, especially considering she was a dog and not a feline. This only made his mind wander back to Jua'taka and he shook his head to himself, a slight bit of movement. His mind needed to get off of her; he wasn't going to see her again.
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 10:07 am
Those hollow eyes twitched from the lion to the bird. Too many questions too fast. She was barely capable of keeping a conversation with just one other, and now she had two to handle? They seemed friendly enough, but they always did.
She shot a look behind the duo. She could see the large rocks that indicated the entrance of her pridelands, but she really didn't think that she could outrun the lion if he decided to give chase. Sutala gave a resigned sigh. She would focus on the big one and ignore the bird. That would be easy enough, right?
"Yes," she replied in that ghostly voice, answering his first question. "Sutala," she continued in response to his second. He'd mentioned what he was doing, so Sutala supposed it was only fair of her to offer the same information.
"I was..." she cleared her throat, indicating the pile of supplies she'd collected. "The same. For my shrine."
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 10:44 am
"Sutala's a pretty name," Ment commented, giving her a smile. She seemed skittish, this was going to be a tough conversation. Taking into consideration Chopoa's strong personality, the two might end up scaring the poor wild dog off before they even managed to establish any semblance of proper dialogue.
"Shrine?" Chopoa chirped up, ignoring the fact that Sutala had not addressed or acknowledged her in the slightest. Chopoa knew what shrines were, and at one point in time had actually lived in one as its resident. it was intriguing to find out they had stumbled upon some shrines and she was now tempted to suggest going to see them.
"Collecting things for your shrine?" Ment asked, quirking his head that recieved a sharp peck for almost toppling Chopoa over, "Ow. So, why are you collecting things for your shrine, Sutala? Are they like offerings?"
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 10:54 am
This was so much easier when she just had to answer questions. It was such a relief. Conversation wasn't hard when you didn't have to participate too much. And he'd complimented her name; that was a first. Nobody had ever done that before, had they? Sutala's forehead creased as she tried to remember. She couldn't.
"I.. yes. Offerings for the shrine." She cleared her throat, the sound almost becoming a whine that she bit back. "Souls, shrine of souls." Sutala gave Ment a look that begged him to understand what she was trying to say. "We.. at the Ulili-Mlindaji. That's what we do." So many words in one string. They didn't make much sense. "My shrine is bare. Others keep theirs... decorated."
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 11:13 am
"Oh, so you're decorating your shrine?" Chopoa asked rhetorically, letting Sutala's lack of acknowledgment slide for a second time, though she was becoming agitated by it. How rude was it to ignore someone's traveling companion while they're sitting right there? She was no pet and was not going to be treated like one by anybody. She'd give the dog one more chance, than she was going to voice her agitation.
"Your one objects looks like it's completely destroyed," Ment commented, giving off a face. How sad, she had no pouch like he did and was unable to carry as many little trinkets as he could. Maybe he could give her something to replace the ruined leaf, something shiny.
"Hmnn. Souls, huh? That's cool," Ment said, pulling his pouch open and rooting around inside it and pulling out a dirt encrusted large ring thing that was gold like the sun and hard like a rock, "Here. For your shrine."
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 1:07 pm
Sutala did glance with those silvery eyes at the bird, offering the little feathered creature a slight node before she turned her attention back to Ment. This wasn't so bad. They seemed interested in her job, and she did like talking about her duties, just.. not much. Not to strangers, really.
She glanced mournfully at the mangled leaf. Once shiny and green, now tattered and limp. It was the worst of the three objects she'd frantically grabbed as she darted about. The feather wasn't much better, and the rock was... well, it was a rock. Plain as plain could be. "It was a leaf," she mumbled, nudging the ruined plant with a toe.
"Cool?" She watched him open his pouch and her eyes widened with surprise when he offered her the golden ring. "That's.. I.." a deep breath and a swift blink later, she could finish the sentence. "Thank you." Nobody had ever given her a gift before. This was turning out to be a nice meeting, after all. She should offer something back, but she didn't think they'd want the rock or the feather.
"If.. if you need a place to rest." She gestured behind them. "My pride will welcome you." That wasn't so hard to do.
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 3:29 pm
Ment gave Sutala a smile as she accepted his gift and offered them a place to stay if they ever needed it. If he happened to be around these parts again he would gladly take Sutala up on her offer, especially considering she seemed so nice despite her shyness.
"That's very kind of you, Sutala," Ment said with a smile, before noticing that Chopoa looked highly agitated. He glanced up to the sky and quickly noticed what she had noticed. A large vulture, which had seemingly spotted Chopoa and was going to use her as dinner.
"I need to go Sutala," Ment said with great caution, "Something seems to hav- AHHH."
Ment screamed, and Chopoa was squawking madly as the vulture had decided to take its chance at her halfway through Ment's sentence. Chopoa had taken refuge underneath Ment's body, making Ment the target of the attack now. In attempts to get rid of the vulture, he took off, a couople other of his shiny things falling out of his pouch at Sutala's feet before he disappeared.
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