|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 11:00 am
Yggdrasil was examining a recently uninhabited area of the forest. Something had happened here, to where almost all predators had left the lands. Only a few brave souls entered an area that had been decimated by a plague.
He would be untouched by it. Walking through the forest calmly, his head bowing here and there so his horns would not tangle with the lower hanging trees. He had come to make sure that the woods themselves were healthy; he did not care if predators lived here or not. The balance would return, and eventually they would be back to make sure that the plant eaters did not overeat their welcome in this now quiet place.
His white coat stuck out like a sore thumb in the darkness, but he was ignorant to that.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 11:41 am
Caught somewhere between wanting to run away and being afraid to leave again, she had left the central lands and lingered around the edge, wandering through the trees, trying to figure everything out. She was alone for a while before she caught sight of the pale figure wandering through the trees and she reacted immediately. She was headed right for Yggdrasil, hoping it was someone from her pride, someone who would explain that as bad as it looked here, she was mistaken to assume the worst.
She realized too late, getting too close to go unnoticed, that the figure was a god- and an unfamiliar one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 12:08 pm
Another white figure approached. At first Yggdrasil thought it may be something like a waterbuck, away from its normal lands but as white as his alternate form. Then the green registered in his mind, and then the fact that it was a lioness. Strange. Why did one return so quickly? He had been expecting to cross paths with a leopard, not a lion.
"What are you doing here?" he asked calmly, if a bit curiously. Was she risking the chance of catching the plague? Or was she merely lost? The confusion of her face told more of a story than what Yggdrasil could come up with himself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 12:15 pm
Stunned, Tidda stared at Yggdrasil for a moment before she registered his question-- it wasn't an easy question to answer where she felt so confused and lost but she answered quickly.
"I live here."
Her words were almost desperate, she was very obviously clinging to the past, to what was once here, what she was still trying to deal with the loss of. Where were her parents? Her brothers and sisters?
"What happened?" she asked, knowing it didn't make sense to ask someone she didn't recognize but he was as close as she was going to get to having someone else to demand answers from.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 12:18 pm
Yggdrasil's emotions didn't change. It was hard to feel...a connection to the predatory mortals, as much of the time they weren't careful with what he held dear. He watched her for a moment, the silence probably forcing her opinion of him down.
"A plague," he said, waiting to see her reaction. He hadn't known who had died, though he was certain that if one looked, one could find bodies. Mainly, though, fear had made everyone else flee for their lives. Probably finding a new life for themselves, and also still missing the home that they would never return to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 12:24 pm
His calm indifference was hard to deal with, it was frustrating and comforting at the same time, though she had no idea how. He obviously didn't care, but he wasn't panicking either. Everything changed, though, when he said what happened. Tidda tensed and felt her stomach twist, imagining what that really meant.
"But- no, that's impossible," she murmured, "Why would- but-"
How did something like this even happen? Did it mean her family was dead or had run away? Why hadn't she found any bodies-- or had she simply refused to see them? She looked dazed as she tried to think back to her wandering through the lands, trying to figure out what she hadn't really taken in.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 12:28 pm
"It crossed many of the lands," Yggdrasil said, his wings rustling against his back. "I see out the health of the woods. Some prides that lingered within them vanished. Some died, but many fled in fear of getting sick themselves."
He paused, not certain what else to say. He didn't want to make it seem worse for her, but he was not one to hide details when one wanted them. "This pride is one of many that have vanished. I do not know when the plague hit these lands. I only came to check and see how the plants fared."
He glanced over to see a small group of deer. They seemed wary of the god, but once they caught sight of the lioness they had vanished. Some health was still here, but he didn't think this lioness would notice, distracted by grief.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 12:40 pm
Tidda stared dumbly off in the distance, still not really reacting properly, though her ears twitched as she listened to what Yggdrasil said about the plague. Was there still a risk of getting sick now that she had wandered through the lands? Maybe it was good she had never stumbled upon any bodies- she only had a vague idea of how illness spread but she knew contact was part of it.
"Do you know where they went?" she asked, looking back to Yggdrasil. It didn't matter how stupid her question felt this time, she had to ask it. She didn't care about the plants, she couldn't focus on anything but the pride just yet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 12:51 pm
Yggdrasil shook his head. "They scattered," he said. "Like the leaves that fall from the trees, you may be able to find some of them, but you will never be able to find all of them. Unless they stuck together in one tight group." He glanced around, and closed his eyes. Using his power to be able to 'see' through the trees in the forest, he tried to see if there was any hint as to where they would be, or where they left.
"The trail is cold. I believe they went north, but I cannot guarantee anything."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 1:00 pm
Tidda frowned, not wanting to think about how she wouldn't be able to find everybody. She wasn't even sure her family would all have stuck together, they weren't exactly young and tightly knit anymore. She herself had been gone for a long time, long enough that she had come back to this.
She looked around the forest and back to Yggdrasil but she couldn't find any words to say anymore. She wanted to thank him for his help but she couldn't say thank you for such bad news, even as he tried to help. The longer they spoke, the more real everything became and the closer she came to cracking. She had to go.
Without a word, she took off- running in the direction the god had indicated. It was better than having nothing to go off of.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
