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Hopefolly rolled 5 4-sided dice:
1, 1, 2, 1, 1
Total: 6 (5-20)
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 Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 6:47 pm
"Please, I love her - don't!"
When Uss D'mzil set out on her first hunt, she never expected the prey to be so damn whiny. That weepy little hare had taught her that food did not fall from the sky as dead - or as quiet - as it fell from the jaws of her caretakers in youth. She'd slain the fuzzball without remorse (and his mate, too), but the final, helpless cry had stirred a curiosity that could only be sedated by the equivalent of her God.
Meaing, her mother.
The question had been simple enough: "What's 'love' exactly, Mom?"
Likewise, Xi's answer had been clear and effortless: "It's when you want to possess something more than usual. When you want something near you, that's love."
Zilly had decided she didn't love her siblings; she didn't want them anywhere near her. She had also decided she loved lots of other things, though: hares and zebras, for instance. Yum! And, recently, she'd discovered her "love" of meerkats. Most lions never bothered with them, but as far as she was concerned, they were missing out.
Speaking of which, she had passed two earlier yammering about the "Pridelands". Her inquiry had been met with some hostility, but they'd answered her none the less, explaining it was where they were heading. A place of peace, so she was told by one of the vagabonds. A place where there was food, family and happiness to be found.
All in all, it sounded really boring.
Zilly's mind returned to the present and she wrinkled her nose. "Do you know if I'm near the Pridelands?"
"Please, just let him go!" the meerkat pinned in her grasp shrieked.
The daughter of a God was not a small daughter, and the weight of her massive paw was almost enough to kill him as it was. Canting her head and appearing genuinely perplexed, Zilly wiggled the toes of her other paw - the one the younger meerkat was trapped under. They looked a lot alike, she realized, so this was probably his son.
"Please!"
"You're loud!" the lioness complained, shifting her weight forward. "Be quiet already. I'm trying to ask you a question!"
"Let him go and I'll tell you anything you want!"
Zilly huffed at the prospect of bargaining with some scrawny little thing like this. "Why? Because you love him? I love him too, you know."
"Wha-"
Two sets of claws extended and lashed out, resulting in two very dead - and thank the stars, mute! - meerkats. She would have sat down to enjoy her meal and proceed with her ongoing search later if not for the fact a scent and a sound suggested she was no longer alone.
"Hey! You! I have a question!"
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troll toll rolled 5 4-sided dice:
2, 1, 4, 3, 3
Total: 13 (5-20)
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 6:48 pm
The blond lion was out patrolling, looking for intruders. Intruders that needed to be challenged, driven off ... or disposed of. He flexed his muscles as he walked, happily imagining what he would do if and when he found someone out here. Beating one lonely skulking lion wasn't the glory that a viking was, but it was something to boast about nevertheless.
Gunnar knew these lands like the back of his paw, and when he caught sight of movement out of the corner of his eye he knew that it must a stranger. His heart began to beat faster, ready for battle. Even if it proved to be one of Gunnar's comrades, the lion would be in for a duel. He moved into an easy run, approaching the stranger.
The other lion scented him at the same time that he scented her. Her. A stranger, and a strange female to boot. Gunnar's lip curled in a snarl at her question. He wasn't accustomed to being questioned by soft, weak outside females. Biting back a roar, Gunnar snarled at her. "You question me? You should be asking if you'll make it home alive, female!"
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 7:42 pm
Under different circumstances, the devotion to his pride's indemnity would have been something she found enticing. That scenario would have had to start with him not growling at her, for one thing. Zilly had never really been snarled at before. Not like this. Her siblings had groused at her every now and then, but the way this stranger acted was how lions were supposed to act toward prey. Or, alternatively, other lions. But not her.
Inappropriate as it was (and was it ever), she couldn't suppress the laughter. Nothing about this was amusing, but that's what made her chuckle so hard. It was the equivalent of an awkward dinner table laugh. The sound spawned from being startled, confused and - though she didn't recognize it - a hint nervous.
"Why would I ask you that? I'm a seer, you know. I can see for myself if I'm going home or not."
True, she was a seer; however, it was a lie to say she could see the future. Her powers were dormant and useless; she couldn't say for sure she even inherited them, being left in the dark about her father's origin.
"I thought you Pridelanders were supposed to be nice!"
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 7:53 pm
The laughter was maddening. Gunnar had been irritated before, bordering on angry, but that laughter was infuriating. How dare she laugh at him? He was a warrior, a Stormborn, a male, and she was some uppity foreign female. Gunnar attempted to stifle his rage, reminding himself that she was a foreigner and therefore probably ignorant. She was clearly too stupid to be a threat. He wouldn't fight as effectively if he lost his head over her foolishness, and he now dearly wanted to fight her.
"A seer?" Gunnar spat, disdainful. "Women's powers." In truth, he was quite cautious around the pride's priestesses, respecting their powers, but he would not extend that courtesy to this female. She was probably lying in any case.
The blond lion was somewhat boggled at being called a Pridelander. He knew of the pride vaguely, as he knew of many prides. They were all weak, measly little foreigners, not important enough to be remembered. Gunnar was certainly no Pridelander, and he wasn't too happy at being mistaken for one. "You are even stupider than I thought, woman," he snarled. "You are trespassing on the lands of the Stormborn!"
With no further warning, Gunnar leapt at her, claws extended. It wasn't at full force. He didn't believe her strong enough to resist. Perhaps he would simply beat her unconscious and then drag her home as a gift for one of his fellow reavers.
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 8:03 pm
Seer or not, she should have seen that coming.
She didn't, and it wasn't entirely her fault. Xi's radical and holier-than-thou behavior had instilled in Zilly a superiority complex unknowingly stuck to her personality like high quality superglue. The only threats she had faced back home were the squabbles with some of her siblings. They could be violent, bloody and at times almost life-threatening. 'Almost' being the keyword. She'd never really take advantage of an opportunity to kill them. Mother wouldn't have it.
Xi was, in addition, the only other thing she had to be afraid of should she choose not to listen. Since Zilly always listened, there was no danger in her creator's company.
Fighting was nothing new to her, but this...
The lioness reacted to being restrained in a way that could only be described as flailing. Her limbs thrashed about, her eyes widened in shock, and it took a good number of cuts before she'd managed to shove him off her. If nothing else, she put that gargantuan size of hers to good use.
A quick stumble up and she was hissing at him something certain to exacerbate her problem: "Are you stupid?!"
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 8:10 pm
This female was feistier than he'd expected. She was every bit as uncoordinated, flailing, and pathetic as he had thought, but she was also strong. He pulled back, sucking in a breath at the hot pain of the slashes her claws had left in him. They weren't serious, mere kitten-scratches, really, but they stung.
The blond lion narrowed his eyes, reassessing the big female. Big. Strong. Dumb. She would be a perfect slave once she'd been tamed. Not for him - he didn't like big angry females. One of the other reavers would surely be amused by her, though. Gunnar's lips peeled back in another snarl as the wretched beast spoke to him.
"Stupid?" He repeated, his voice choked with rage. Still trying to restrain himself from crushing her, he struck out, lightning quick, aiming to smack some sense into her foolish head. If she didn't stop running her mouth, and quickly, he would have to stop it himself.
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 8:20 pm
Zilly jerked away, but it wasn't fast enough. His claws raked her side and she felt as if, somehow, her own breath was choking her. More than before, her eyes were large and alarmed. The lioness was taken aback by the ferocity of his assault.
It hurt.
It hurt.
It hurts!
Her mind was deranged and disordered. Not to mention stuck on replay, chanting a reminder of her suffering without offering any aid to help prevent further harm. But where her brain failed her, her body took responsibility instead.
Zilly lunged for him, teeth bared, fully intent on digging into his flesh. The problem with listening to your instincts over your brain was instincts were unreasonable and repetitive. It was instinct for her to go for an area that would cause less harm - such as the shoulder - because that's how she'd grown up fighting with her siblings.
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 8:34 pm
Like his opponent, Gunnar was operating mostly on instinct. He was prepared for a harsher attack, an attack meant to seriously maim or even kill. The impact to the shoulder was unexpected. He staggered slightly, put off balance by the lioness' weight and power. Her teeth ground into him, the pain bright and shocking but not crippling.
Gunnar roared, invigorated by the shock of pain. He tore away from her, letting out another roar as his flesh ripped beneath her sharp teeth. Now he struck at her with full force, striking at her head with his heavy paws, claws bare. No longer testing, the blond lion was now aiming to overpower the irritating and altogether too uppity lioness. If he had to hurt or even maim her to do so, he no longer cared. She deserved the pain for daring to laugh at him.
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 8:47 pm
Zilly alternated between doing her best to avoid him (which usually was not good enough) and mauling him in retaliation. The outcome of her side was starting to look grim around the point she discerned more of her efforts were being spent on protecting than attacking. He'd nearly clawed through her right eye; luck and a fast-paced twitch would allow her to keep her sight, not his mercy. He had abandoned that.
Instinct told her how to fight and instinct told her how to submit.
The lioness dodged an incoming swipe and reeled back - very quickly - backing up more and more and more until she was a safe enough distance to flop down on the ground. Her stomach pressed against the dirt and her posture was humbled, almost meek. Her ears pinned back, as did her shoulders.
This pose was one of surrender she had learned early on was the best way to respond to her mother's anger.
"Fine, I'll go," she bellowed savagely. But before she tried to do that or allowed another second to tick by, she still had a question.
Only this time it was different.
"What's your name?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 9:08 pm
Gunnar had not come through the fight unscathed, but he had soundly beaten the lioness that cowered meekly before him. He stood, glaring at her, panting with the effort of the fight. She was hardly the most ferocious opponent he'd ever faced, but he had fought her as though she was, wringing every ounce of power from his muscles as he drove her back.
He was almost disappointed that the lioness had given in so suddenly and completely. She had lost, but she had fought, and done her best. It hardly felt honorable now to continue beating her. In fact ... a slow grin spread across his face. Perhaps she would come back, and issue a true challenge for a place in the pride. Ha! He'd like to see his friend Taraxa beat this obnoxious female.
She had been beaten in body but not in spirit. Her voice was as fierce as ever. Gunnar felt a tiny, very tiny, amount of grudging respect for her. "I am Gunnar, of the Myrsky Syntynyt," He said proudly. "The Stormborn," Gunnar added. This female might not have known of his glorious pride before she met him, but now she surely did. He bared his teeth at her in a ferocious grin. "The next time you come to our lands, be prepared for a challenge."
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Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 9:28 pm
The lioness gave herself permission to stand and did so, trembling under the strain of her injuries. She'd survive, and her "feisty" nature as he referred to it would remain in tact. Zilly had never learned enough about failure to entirely comprehend the shame one was supposed to feel in the face of it.
She felt things that were different, but she felt them just as strongly. The overwhelming emotion had her stomach in knots and her one-track mind finally daring to consider possibilities that did not center around her mother.
Yet, Xi was to thank - or to blame - for providing her daughter with false information. Zilly had been told 'love' was possessiveness - something you wanted really bad. Aside from wanting to appease her mother, nothing had she ever wanted more than to take this male down and grind his face into the dirt. Not out of spite, but something akin to obligation. Why she felt that, she didn't understand. She wasn't interested in trying to.
With her ill-begotten knowledge on the subject and having not yet been informed said knowledge was wrong, Zilly told him curtly, "I'll be back because I'm in love with you."
That being said, the clueless lioness slithered off like a snake.
She'd return. He was right about that.
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