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 Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 10:18 am
((This is a continuation of Song of the Lions))  Karroo followed Odd over to the mud. Unlike Odd she couldn't make heads or tails of it so she stayed silent as he pointed them to the path. She followed him readly into the green light of the forest.
Silently she kept running his words though her mind, Watch for signs of passage that don't seem right. The next marker was up to her to find, that's what she was thinking as she searched for something that marked the passage of the Shadowed one or one of his minions.
"Odd." Karroo called out softly, she thought she saw something that could be the next track to follow. In a patch of moss nestled in between two large tree roots a tumble of pebbles had scattered in a seemingly random pattern. After taking a moment to study Karroo pointed out how the rocks are all scattered in one direction. "That way right Odd?" Reading tracks was not her thing so she differed to her tracker, hoping she had found the next track and not false trail to slow them down.
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Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 11:04 am
 Odd obediently came over to inspect the tracks Lady Karroo had found. The scattered pebbles on the moss. Of course, that would make a fine sign, especially since they all seemed to indicate one direction.
"It's undeniably evidence," he said. "The question is whether it's real or something they laid down to lead us astray. Do you think they know we're following them?"
It was vitally important to know that, because if they knew they were being followed it was likely they would try to lay a false trail. If they didn't know, probably the track was genuine and they could follow it in the direction Lady Karroo had indicated. If it was a false trail, though, that became more difficult because it only showed that one of the minions had been here and didn't really show anything about which way they truly went. Unless they were very clever and lay the trail in their actual direction imagining that their trackers would think it was false and choose another. He expressed these concerns to Lady Karroo.
"So you see, it's important to know if they know we're after them. Valuable time could be lost." Which made him curious: "What will be done to her if we don't arrive in time to rescue her?"
In Odd's mind death wasn't the worst thing possible. He had a great imagination and a mother who had a way with spirits. He knew that there were definitely things worse than death, and a cruel overlord would certainly know of them and feel no compunction about inflicting them on the princess. But it would be best to know for certain. Maybe. Or maybe it wouldn't.
"I'm sorry. It was thoughtless of me to ask. We'll find her before that becomes a problem."
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Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:20 pm
Karroo's face puckered in thought. Did they know that they were being followed? With a sigh she admitted, "Its possible. Even if they don't know that we are following right now they have to know that I will follow them to the ends of time." The green cub growled slightly and dug her claws into the soft dirt. They were wasting time but there was little she could do about it since rushing right now would only screw them up.
She was pacing a little when Odd's other question stopped her flat. What would happened to the princess. Mentally stepping out of her character Karroo tried to think of something that would be bad other then death, but with her up bringing and the slightly sheltered life she led death was the best she could come up with. "I...I'm not sure. I fear that she would welcome death. But I don't know what the Shadowed One wants with Princess Imani. It is true that she is the only daughter to the King but her brother is the heir."
Karroo glanced at Odd and nodded. "Its ok Odd. The more we know the better we have a chance at finding her."
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Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:29 pm
Odd nodded. Vague answers when it came to Princess Imani's fate were better. They created less of a sense of doom and foreboding. Not that he felt any decrease in the pressure to find her. That was obviously of paramount importance, no matter what Lady Karroo's answer might have been.
He broke character for a moment though to ask several questions stemming from a misunderstanding of the word heir, which was unfamiliar to him: "Is she a spirit, too? Couldn't her brother find her easily enough. The air is everywhere isn't it?"
"In the mean time, let's treat this as if it's a real part of the minion's trail. If it isn't we can return to this spot if we have to, but I think you're probably correct about the way it indicates. I think we'll know pretty soon whether it's real or not anyway, since they probably can't waste too much time laying false trails, any more than we can waste time following them."
He set off in the direction the stones directed them, moving as quickly as his careful, stealthy steps would permit. He didn't want to accidentally disturb anything or miss something important.
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Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:05 pm
Karroo knew when Odd asked his questions he was asking for real and not part of the game so she answered in the same way. "A spirit? No I was thinking more like she was a lion like us although if you wanted I guess we could have her a spirit. H-E-I-R, the h is silent. Its the person who will take over for the leader, in this case for the king." That was what Karroo was told by her mother and father as they told the young cub stories. Her mother always could create some interesting tales and half the time young Karroo couldn't tell if she was telling the truth or making something up.
It took her a moment to menially fit herself back into Lady Karroo but she soon answered Odd in character. "I think your right. If they know we are following they know they don't have much time." She followed close behind Odd.
"Odd whats that?" She pointed to a spot in the distance. Did that shadow just move?
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Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 1:21 pm
Oh. Odd felt momentarily stupid, like he should have known that somehow, but how could he have known? And what kind of stupid idea was it to have two words sound exactly alike and mean different things? It was not, he decided, his fault that language was a ridiculous thing.
"Regular lion's fine," he said. And a part of his brain pointed out that she had claimed to be a regular lion. He still didn't quite believe it though. Cubs didn't just appear out of nowhere. They either had parents or they weren't really cubs, just spirits that had decided to look like cubs.
He had an easier time returning to his character after this interruption than he had initially now that he was getting a feel for it, though he felt like maybe he was talking too much. Should a tracker be quieter, or sterner? He'd never really met one, and was just sort of making it up as he went along. He supposed even the most taciturn of trackers would want to know more about what he was tracking for safety's sake.
Her sudden query, "what's that?" caught him by surprise. Immediately he felt a bit irritated. Not really at her, but because her question was so very vague. They were in a forest. "That" could be pretty much anything either one of them could imagine, and probably a good many things they couldn't. And because he'd only barely glimpsed something that might've been movement in the distance he really hadn't the faintest idea, assuming that was what she meant at all.
"We're close," he said firmly. "Stealth is still more important than speed though. They won't do anything to her out of hand, and we need to come up on them in a place of our choosing."
In other words, on the off-chance that whatever they were actually chasing was unpleasant, it would be much better to find out from a distance, rather than by blundering into it full speed.
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Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 2:05 pm
Val disliked it when she turned around and found her young daughter wandering away into the distant forest. Rather then call her back Val followed at a distance. Keeping silent and hidden she saw the meeting between her daughter and the two boys. The game that followed didn't surprise her, Karroo always did enjoy pretending. Keeping a eye on the cubs, Val stayed hidden until her daughter hinted at something ahead of them.
With a smile Val kept to the trees and cut in front of the cubs. She waited just out of sight on the other side of the lit clearing and just before the cubs were about to enter the clearing Val steped into it. The light making her appear a deeper green."A clearing is best. They don't like the light." As they got slowly closer she spotted a flash of light ahead. "There. If we can catch up to them over there we can beat them." She moved as quietly as she could but still did her best to keep a decent speed up.
She didn't see anything wrong with the clearing until something large steps into the clearing. Her jaw dropped and she couldn't help but say softly, "Mom?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 8:42 am
"That makes sense," Odd said softly. Since they were being stealthy he was barely whispering. Being silent was something his mother had made sure all of her cubs were very good at. With his own siblings he could communicate without any speech at all, just using motions and expressions as signals, but Lady Karroo had not been brought up that way and wouldn't be able to make any sense of the signals he and his family had learned to use and develop.
He knew where several clearings were, not the least of them being the clearing where he and his family lived, but there was no way he was bringing her back there. His mother would skin him alive if he did that. They were absolutely discouraged from bringing people back to the den. Doing so put the whole family at risk. It never did to let people know where they slept, and especially if those people were spirits. Fortunately there seemed to be a clearing ahead anyway, so he wouldn't have to find another.
Keeping up with Lady Karroo as they forged ahead wasn't difficult. He knew these woods fairly well, though not nearly as well as his mother and her sister did. He was younger, after all, and usually navigated by strange signs and pathways that didn't tend to take regular trails and paths into account. He could follow other people's trails though. He just found them boring and obvious.
They drew nearer the clearing and he saw that the clearing was pretty ideal for their purposes, and they had even arrived just moments before their quarry set foot in the clearing. He expected it to move quickly to cross it, not liking the light, but that wasn't how it happened. Instead a large, dark-coated forest spirit stepped into the clearing, causing his golden eyes to widen in amazement. He'd never seen a real, live spirit before.
"Don't - " he began, about to advise Lady Karroo not to do anything, but she was already acting. Or speaking, rather, an astounded exclamation of "Mom?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 2:50 pm
Val silently watched the two cubs. The surprise on her daughters face was almost worth the near hart attack the young cub caused by wandering away again. The young male looked surprised but not afraid. In fact if she didn't know better Val would have thought that he was amazed to see her.
Smiling, her amusement clear, Val posed in the sunlight a moment before speaking. "Young adventurers. To advise you, I have come." She tried to make her speech pattern different to make the feel of it more in line of the game. "While worthwhile, the quest is, futile you shall find. Destined they are, daughter of the light and son of the dark. None shall sunder what has been forged. True love, it is." Bowing slightly Val continued in her 'cryptic' speech, "Must be made, apologies young adventurers. Was sworn to secrecy, daughter of the light was. Intended it was not, fear and heartache. Rest easy young adventurers, all shall be told in due time."
Karroo hadn't yet gotten over her shock of seeing her mom when Val started to talk oddly. Confusion was clear in her eyes and body language. It wasn't until the cub realized that her mom was playing in the game that it became clear to her. Stepping back into her character Karroo approached her mom. "Great Goddess I humbly ask, what has happened to my Princess? I was to protect her but she was taken from me by the Shadowed one. She must be found safely."
Val just smiled softly and mysteriously. As the mystical all knowing spirit she has said all she would say. Now it was time for the young male to speak. He seemed very bright and Val was interested to see what he would do with this little bit of information her daughter had provided, 'Great Goddess' indeed.
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 5:55 am
Odd was relieved that Karroo was able to deal with the spirit while he took the time to gather his wits. He really had not expected to come across anything more mystical than a lost herdbeast of some sort. An enormous winged lion really had not factored into his suppositions at all. It had definitely taken him several seconds to come to terms with what he saw in the clearing before him and reconcile it with Karroo's exclamation of "Mom."
Then it all came together and he realized that the lioness - well, the spirit who mostly looked like a lioness - was attempting to join in their game. He wasn't going to remark on the relationship between Karroo and the green spirit. That would be stupid and obvious of him, and Odd tried not to be too stupid and obvious if he could help it. His mother and aunt and family didn't really encourage it. They tended to encourage a cat to be quick on his feet and adapt quickly to new situations.
"Sometimes oracular spirits require offerings before they'll reveal their visions," Odd observed, mostly to Karroo, but there was a question implied that the spirit could answer if she chose. "But it may be that we're meant to figure out what she said first."
His upbringing was such that Odd was perfectly comfortable discussing the possibility of making offerings to spirits to achieve a certain goal or receive some sort of aid or reward. So the fact that "oracular spirits" was part of his vocabulary wasn't anything he would have considered unusual.
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 9:34 pm
The only outward show of surprise was Val blinking slowly a few times. Oracular spirits? Where did this cub pick up stuff like that? she thought. That was not a term that was very common, she had actually only encountered the term oracle once, she knew for a fact that Karroo had no idea what it was.
Karroo was confused. "Whats a oracular? and she isn't a spirit she is a god." She looked over at her mom, "You mean that its just about time to go home don't you?" Karroo had a feeling that was why her mom stepped into the game.
Val smiled softly, "Sorry darling but it really is just about time to go. But first I believe introductions are in order young lady."
Karroo shifted slightly in embarrassed. "Sorry." She turned to look at Odd and said with a silent apology, "Odd this is Valetudo'sero, goddess of herblore." She faced her mom again, "Mom this is my friend Odd. We were just playing around, I didn't mean to wander away... again."
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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 7:57 am
Odd was about to explain to Karroo what oracular meant, that it wasn't "a oracular," just "oracular" because it described a certain kind of spirit, like being fat or young or skittish, but then Karroo added her own piece of information. And that little trivium more or less took the words right out of Odd's mouth.
The little forest lion was not as well-versed in gods as he was in spirits, but he knew they tended to be more powerful, and in some ways more dangerous because they were more like normal lions in their actions, most of the time. Apparently they even had cubs, which probably should not have surprised Odd as much as it did, but he had never met a god before and he knew spirits did not usually take on physical forms and rarely produced offspring of any sort.
He could understand the part of the conversation between Karroo and her mum about going home though. God or mortal, it seemed all mothers had the ability to locate their children and put an end to their games when it was time to go home. Despite the suddenly strange turn their game had taken, Odd was disappointed to learn that Karroo would be leaving with her mum, even though he was also dying to see if her mum could fly with those wings, or if she would just vanish into the air.
"It is an honor to be in your presence, Valetudo'sero," Odd said solemnly, making things up as he went along. He would ask his mother about the proper way to talk to gods, but he didn't think the situation likely to occur again.
"It was a great...fun to meet Karroo and play with her, too." Fun hadn't been the word he was going for, but it would just have to do.
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 12:57 pm
Val smile at Odd. The cub was quite polite even if he seemed to be a bit surprised and just a touch disappointed that his new friend would be leaving. "Its a honor to meet you as well Odd. I thank you for playing with my daughter, I am aware that she can be a bit overbearing and for that I am sorry." Her smile was wide and teasing as she looked down at her daughter's sky blue eyes
"Mamma!" The green cub was quite mortified with her mother. "I am not overbearing."
"Ahhh but you are my daughter, you are. Or have you forgotten 'Moe'?" When her daughter looked down with a touch of shame Val looked back at Odd. "It truly is time for us to return, Karroo's father will be waiting." After a moment of though the goddess removed her herb bag and fished a small bundle of herbs out. They were simple plants that the smell would help promote calmness and when crushed and mixed with water could be used for healing. But most importantly for Val was it contained a herb very hard to find, meaning that by using her powers Val could find this herb after a few moments of thought. It hadn't been tested for truth but the few tries Val had done it worked pretty well.
Snagging the bundle with a claw Val placed it on the ground between herself and Odd. "For your kindness, bravery, and honer I give you this. If ever you need my help just call for me." With a nod she stepped over to her daughter and picked her up by her scruff. She nodded again as she turned and strolled into the forest shadow.
Karroo waved good bye to her friend just as her mom was picking her up. "Bye Odd." She watched as he was hidden from her view by the trees. Her voice drifted back from the trees asking her mom, "Mom what is a 'a oracular'?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:37 am
Odd hadn't noticed that Karroo was particularly overbearing, but he was also fairly accustomed to strong-willed females who did as they pleased and expected the men in their lives to deal with it. It didn't strike him as anything out of the ordinary for a female to be a bit bossy. As long as her ideas were sound, he didn't mind going along with them. There seemed to be no way to make this point however, and so he kept it to himself.
He nodded in acceptance of their imminent departure. He was sorry to lose his erstwhile playmate, but maybe he'd see her again. Sometimes the spirits liked to have things work out that way. He hoped they would, even if it was a long time in the future, when he and Karroo were grown-ups maybe. And then they both would have had real adventures to tell the other about. Odd would like that.
It startled him when the goddess took a bundle from the unusual thing she wore and passed it to him before picking Karroo up by the scruff of her neck. Kindness, bravery, and honor. He liked that. It seemed like a good way to live life. When life let you. He already knew that life sometimes didn't allow for any of them if you wanted to keep living it. He did not move to touch the pouch until Karroo and her mother were out of sight, and then he almost forgot completely, still astounded by the turn of events for the day.
At last he carefully picked the pouch up in his teeth and began to make his way home, taking a different route than the one he and Karroo had used to reach this place. The spirits would show him the way, so he didn't need to try to remember the way they had come. He could, but he also liked to explore. When he got home he intended to ask his mother about the pouch's contents, but forgot and so it ended up stashed in a Safe Place.
Fin!
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