[PRP] Kitten in my Hair (Ru & Luci)

[Princess_Feylin]

Well, his first fight against a Stormborn opponent had turned out to be a fluke. Ru learned that in his second fight, which was against a dark, dark grey Reaver named Voldemaras who had taken an interest in him shortly after he gained admittance to the pride. That fight had been an eye-opener for Ru.

Kazul, watching it, had laughed but softened the impact of her mirth by pointing out two things. First, that he had won his askorun, and that was the most important thing. Second, Voldemaras made a game out of trouncing new Freeborn soundly, and Ru could do worse than to spar with him regularly. He was good, had a solid technique and a good eye for others' mistakes. Ru was also finding that he had a sharp tongue when it came to pointing these mistakes out.

He was improving though. At least, it seemed like he was until Voldemaras or another Reaver pulled out a new trick he'd never seen before and showed him how much more improvement he needed to make. As a result, he spent a great deal of time being bruised and scraped, but that wasn't anything unusual he was learning. Most Stormborn didn't seem to be wholly whole at any point.

Right now, however, Ru was not fighting. He was exploring the pride by moonlight, still plagued by insomnia that had been with him all his life, and deciding to put it to constructive use.  

[Tanakako]

Lucivar was awake again. It was not an uncommon state of affairs, for the young reaver-in-training had trained himself into quite the fight with one of his mentors, a grizzled old captain by the name of Lögmaðr. The old lion had beaten him black and blue, every muscle hurt and it wasn't the good kind of hurt that a really thorough workout gave you, it was the 'you have done actual damage' kind of hurt, one that would have him limping for days.

For the time being, it was also preventing him from sleeping. So the young male was up and about, padding along the cliffs of his homeland, enjoying the crisp night air and the scent of salt on the wind. It was so quiet at night, when most everyone else was asleep or otherwise occupied. It was one of Lucivar's favorite times of the day. Pausing he tossed his head high, ignoring the stab of pain that coursed down his spine from the motion, and gazed out across the rolling, white-tipped waves.

The sound of another close by tickled his sensitive hearing and he turned, pale eyes sharp in the darkness as he sought out the one responsible. it didn't take long for him to recognize the darker shape in the shadows, his outline picked out in the silvery light of the nearly full moon. It was Ruzanski, the rogue he had challenged not long ago, and whose claws had added a new set of scars to Lucivar's growing collection.
 

[Princess_Feylin]

Ru's green eyes glowed as they picked up the light from the moon and reflected it. The light was sufficient to show him a lion standing above on the heights. Ru had not yet gone up to the heights yet. They were, well, rather high, and while Ru would not have admitted it to anyone he didn't like heights. Part of the reason he'd never admitted it was that he had never encountered them before and so he had not realized that he had a problem with them until he came to the Stormborn and looked off the lower cliffs.

"'Evening," Ru said softly. "Lucivar, yes?"

He knew it was Lucivar, actually. His scent was familiar, and for that matter Ru had pretty good night vision. It wasn't that hard, really. He smirked, thinking of how one of the younger Freeborn who had followed him a few nights ago and asked how he had identified him so quickly. The orange cub had actually been identifiable by his stealthiness, which amused both of them when Ru told him that.  

[Tanakako]

Without anything better to do and more than happy to speak to the dark lion for a time, Lucivar nimbly bounced down the side of the bluff and landed close to where Ru stood. Padding forwards a couple of paces in order to prevent any need for shouting at each other, the young reaver-in-training dipped his head in acknowledgment.

"Well met Brother." He returned in a friendly tone. "Aye, Lucivar it is. I see you have been training..?" Glancing pointedly at the telltale signs of classic reaver training on the other's dark fur, Lucivar gave him a knowing smile. "How are you settling in with us?" He remembered Ru's askorun, after all it had taken some time for his wounds to heal from that particular Challenge fight so it would have been pretty hard to forget. And he hoped the other youth had found whatever it was that had brought him to the stormborn's boarders in the first place.
 

[Princess_Feylin]

Ru shrugged in response to Lucivar's observation. It would have been pointless to deny that. The scratches and scrapes were healing, but there were always new ones to take their place, and he knew at least a few of the lions he fought were holding themselves back. That frustrated him more than when he lost fights. He would rather win - or lose - honestly.

"Aye," Ru answered. "Training as much as I can. It seems to be the best way to meet people around the pride. From what I can tell, everyone spends some time sparring or watching others spar."

That much was certainly true. The cubs watched the older lions and mimicked them and lions his age trained against each other or more experienced fighters if they were fortunate. The best fighters mostly fought each other, but a few of them would deliberately pick younger or less talented lions as their partners so that they could teach them. Or bully them. It was a fine line with some. Ru had come very close to losing his temper once or twice.

"So I guess you could say I'm settling in all right. One of the Warlord's sons has taken it upon himself to show me around, and where he goes, so goes his sister. Or half-sister? There's not a lot of resemblance there, honestly." He shrugged again.  

[Tanakako]

Luicvar nodded, having grown up in the pride its ways and habits were second nature to the young reaver, but he was astute enough to know that it was no the usual way of doing things in a pride. But then, no other pride was quite like the stormborn were they. f asked he would have been able to reassure Ru at least a little. Some of the older males would hold back because if they did not, the trainee would be healing for weeks, not days, and that would only set the younger back in his training rather than help him any, and a little humility was oft not a bad thing in a pride full of razor clawed males with a taste for blood..

Shifting a little to ease the dull throb of his own wounds, the blue-eyed male allowed himself an amused quirk of his muzzle. "To meet the warriors, most assuredly. Though some of the thralls are worth talking to. Most come from beyond our pride and have their own unique stories. And I'd recommend being at least on speaking-terms with the priestesses.... they can be a scary bunch if you cross them."

Padding along the cliff for a few paces Lucivar enjoyed the col breeze tugging at his mane and the scent of salt strong on the wind. The air was clear and sharp and he briefly wondered if a storm was rolling in. "Ahh.. Odd, I believe you mean? I've seen you both around the pride. Yes... he is from an outside litter. The mini-Aesir-in-green cub is Kazul, one of the priestess's litter, the legitimate ones. They are half-siblings through Aesir himself. But truth be told, there are so many half-relatives in this pride.. Lennart, a friend of mine, has several running around. I don't see why it would be otherwise." Bright blue eyes regarded the darker lion as Lucivar studied him, mind casually trying to think of all the half-siblings he personally knew.
 

[Princess_Feylin]

"You think so?" Ru asked. "Most of the lions I have spoken to don't feel the Thralls are good for anything except as servants."

The difference with Lucivar did interest Ru, because he had been raised to be conscious of differences between himself and other lions. His sisters, he had been raised to understand, were somehow more important than he was because they had purple on their coats, and that was just a small portion of the myriad class distinctions he was conscious of, and couldn't help buying into to an extent.

It was hard to argue that their stories might be new and interesting, but at the same time Ru was new enough to the pride that he really thought he ought to focus on learning the stories the Stormborn told, their histories and legends, before he began to fill his mind with stories from the outside. His mother had been one for stories and had encouraged her children to play pretend, but he hadn't thought of her stories or the games of pretend he used to play in ages.

"I've heard that about the priestesses, actually," Ru said. Kazul's mother was the Head Priestess and Odd's mother was also a priestess. "Kazul and Odd told me."

The pride's attitude toward half-siblings and bastards was rather strange. They seemed to accept them readily and easily as long as someone admitted to being their parent, and many times they lived together in harmony or as friends. He had been raised to believe that there could only be legitimate and illegitimate cubs, and that illegitimate ones were inherently inferior. He knew now that he and his sisters had been illegitimate, though he had not really been conscious of it when he was younger. He wasn't ashamed of it, but it was...strange.

"Lennart...he has a mostly white coat, yes?"  

[Tanakako]

Lucivar shrugged. "Some aren't, but some are... There is a lot out there and I believe we can always learn and improve ourselves.. limiting ourselves to only what we experience as individuals seems a little narrow minded when there is a whole diverse library of experiences we may never share. At any rate, I can't see how it would hurt, plus, how else ar we to find out about other prides that exist out there? And if we don't know, we can't prepare and that is just asking to fail out there. I'd rather have some idea of whats beyond so when I go out viking I wont be taken by surprise." Lifting one shoulder he gave the other a smile. "Though you have been out there so I guess its more for those like me. Having been born here I think its quite possible that we can become blinkered in our expectations."

Trailing off he screwed up his muzzle, realizing he had been sprouting what was likely unwanted theory at the other male. Pulling his thoughts back he grinned. "Aye, I've been chased out of certain areas before now, when I was a cub." Sneaking about their ritual areas had not been his brightest idea ever, but it sure had been fun.

Unaware of Ru's thoughts about bastards and half-sinlings, indeed almost unaware of the fact that in other prides, such would be considered unwelcome rather than normal, Lennart nodded. "Yup with yellow stripes, son of Taraxa and an outlander female. His half siblings are by Nymph, the big pink lioness."
 

[Princess_Feylin]

Ru could understand Lucivar's concerns about the pride blinkering itself by refusing to learn about other prides, but the other adolescent wasn't wholly incorrect in guessing that Ru wasn't all that interested in hearing about that theory.

Truth be told, Ru wasn't one hundred percent certain he wanted to entangle himself in a long, drawn-out conversation even if it was on another subject altogether. His insomnia was usually better handled with action, rather than conversation.

At Lucivar's mention of his cubhood antics Ru could only nod. He remembered only too well the sorts of trouble he would get into as a cub, when his mother had still been there to scold him. If he had known that Lucivar had been mostly raised by his father, he would have been a little surprised. It wasn't a very masculine activity, raising cubs.

"I've seen her around. She's mated to some other lion, isn't she? Is it usually accepted in this pride, for lionesses to bear other lions' cubs?" Because that would be completely alien to him, and he didn't know how well he'd be able to reconcile himself to that in a mate.  

[Tanakako]

Lucivar opened and then closed his maw without speaking as he considered Ru's words for a moment. "I think so, but I am not totally sure. I haven't seen her fr a while and am not especially close to that half of the family." That was probably something he should rectify when he had some time for socializing again. It was always good to know your pridemates. "I don't think its much looked down upon, so long as the cubs are raised right and all. Though its certainly not entirely common in my experience." Though again he had to admit to lacking in such a thing, having been so utterly focused on training with other males, he had possibly neglected some of the finer points of his pride's general daily goings on.

"I think so long as everyone is ok with it, it doesn't really matter. And having cubs without mating is very common. Though usually it is out-of-pride." He mused thoughtfully, going over in his mind all the cubs he knew who's parents weren't together. After a moment he looked back at Ruzanski. "I'm not totally sure though, to be honest." Yup, he would have to find out, and maybe he would be able to give Ru a better answer next time. Not worried about the other youth knowing he wasn't infallible, Lucivar let out a deep, healthy yawn and stretched, dropping his chest to the rocks as he stretched his aching body. "Kazul may know better..." He offered after a moment's thought.
 

[Princess_Feylin]

"I see." It would still take some getting used to, but Ru shrugged anyway. He hadn't any family left to be close to. He had only caught the barest glimpse of his father as a cub, and while his mother undoubtedly had family in whatever pride she came from, he was not interested in being a part of it. Whatever family he had from this point on would be among the Stormborn.

As far as that went, Ru conceded mentally that he had much to learn of the pride. He'd known that to begin with, but it had not occurred to him how much there was for him to learn, and how little of it he could rely on others to tell him. The suggestion of asking Kazul to explain to him the intricacies of legitimacy according to the Stormborn was laughable, though perhaps she would know a good deal about it, having her own family of half-sibings running around.

"Probably she would," he said. "And perhaps I'll ask her sometime."

He squinted at the moon, gauging how far the night had progressed. He really ought to try sleeping, or else he'd be in a miserable condition come morning. So probably he ought to bid Lucivar good night. They would talk again, he had no doubt.

"I think I'll be heading to sleep," he said, wondering if Lucivar would take offense. The Stormborn were generally blunt, and that was the basis for his statement, but he could be misreading them. "Good evening."  

[Tanakako]

Pausing where he stood to scratch at a particularly annoying half-healed wound on his shoulder, he nodded absently at his companion's reply. Well, if not her, someone will know for sure. Though... I'm not inclined to bother the priestesses..." Scary bunch they were, and not ones that he really wished to be close to for any reason outside of pride wide festivals and the like. It was always in one's interest to stay on their good side, but he was never sure which side that was so.. it seemed silly to risk his hide and possibly his future on a random whim. No, best to let them alone until he had no other options.

Blinking round as Ru made to take his leave, Lucivar nodded. "Aye, I should try that also. See you around." Watching as the darker youth left,. Lucivar stood gazing out across the rolling ocean for a time before eventually turning his back on the view and retreating down the landward side of the cliffs to his own den.