Alone again, Nquma progressed through the trees hunting for any signs that her idiot ibex had been near. She couldn’t smell him, which was a bit of a worry. His scent was lost in the thicket of other smells massing within the trees. It was a place brimming with life. How annoying- the one time she didn’t want anyone around her and they seemed to be everywhere! Couldn’t they come out when she needed them, not when she needed to find one, solitary creature? Not that it would have made much of a difference- they wouldn’t talk to her either way. She had come to believe most creatures had no interest in speaking to her, God or mortal. Because she was a Goddess without wings. Sure, Seze had spoken to her, but she only stayed because of the missing Ibex. Without that little plot point, she never would have stayed around someone so seemingly cold. The Goddess of Glaciers- of course she was cold. So it was a surprise, with such thoughts, when a voice shot down from the trees.
“You look like you could use some help, missy,” hummed a young, bright voice somewhere inside the foliage above her. Nervous, Nquma took a few steps back, her golden eyes scanning the tree tops carefully. She could not see anyone, which only made her all the more nervous. Gods were one thing, but was a ghost speaking to her now? “What’s the matter,” the voice continued smoothly, “cat got your tongue?” The disembodied voice laughed merrily, before rustling through the leaves drowned her out.
Nquma frowned. “I don’t… know what you’re game is… b-but I’m very busy, so don’t bother me! I have someone I must find!” She was barking in the dark, she knew it, but it was better than just standing there and doing nothing, wasn’t it?
Wasn’t it?
“Hold your zebras, missy, I mean you no harm- in fact, I want to help!” A black and green leopard pounced down from the trees, her slick body shimmering in the faint light slipping through the leaves. She looked at Nquma, bright blue, almost white eyes observing her keenly. Any other day, Nquma might have thought those eyes blind, but she could see very clearly that the leopard was taking in every inch of her body. Sizing her up. “My name is Arisia! I’m kind of in the business of helping others, so I’m more than happy to help you out with whatever you might need. You said you were looking for someone?”
Nquma stared for a long moment, unsure if she should trust the strange leopard or not. However, the friendly atmosphere of those almost clear eyes eventually seemed to win her over. “Yes,” she replied awkwardly, “I’m… looking for an ibex. Have you seen one around here anywhere?”
“What the heck is an ibex?”
The Goddess sighed. “It’s a small prey beast… brown… little horns… it’s only young. You might have seen him laughing for no apparent reason, or speaking to himself?”
“No, sorry, I haven’t seen anyone like that around here,” Arisia replied, “but I’d be happy to help you continue your search if you’d like me too.” She moved closer to the Goddess, her lean body slipping over the ground almost as though she were hovering over it. Leopards were so graceful… not that it was the time to be thinking about that. Nquma shook her head to the offer, if only because it was making her extremely nervous to have so many animals helping her in her search. Honestly, how was she going to pay them back if more and more cats got involved? It was bad enough with just the lioness. She didn’t know how she would repay Seze for everything, even if they didn’t end up finding Isidomu.
“I couldn’t ask you to get involved,” said Nquma blankly, shifting her gaze away from the younger girl, “I… have someone who’s helping me already. It would be rude if I forced you to help, as well.”“True, but you’re not forcing me, since I asked and all. I want to help! I’ll keep an eye out for the little guy, and I’ll be sure to keep him safe until I can find you again if I happen upon him, deal?” The leopard smiled, extending a paw. Nquma, confused by the gesture, did nothing, tilting her head to the side. The high five was a paw maneuver she was not remotely familiar with.
“What… what do you want from me? I don’t… know why everyone seems so interested in helping me… I didn’t think animals could be so kind to one another…”
Arisia looked a bit stunned for a moment, but quickly shrugged it off with a laugh. Such skepticism was clearly not something she had been expecting when she was only looking to help another being out. No matter: she could clear up the misunderstanding in a matter of minutes. “Oh, come on! There are good guys out there. And gals! Like me! I’m not looking for anything in return- if I have the will to help someone, I should act on it, shouldn’t I? What’s that saying? When there’s a will, there’s a way?” She beamed and turned away from Nquma, glancing over her shoulder. “Now, I’ll be off on the search! There’s a friend of mine by the stream in the nearest clearing that I think you should speak to. If you want to know just how kind we can get out here, he’s your guy!” With that, she left, leaving a stunned Nquma to think about what the hell had just happened. There was someone else she should speak to? She didn’t have time to speak to strangers about kindness… she had to find her ibex?
Still, maybe the other had some information on where she might be able to find her little friend. She was starting to think it was far too late to really locate the poor dear.
She was losing hope.
WC: 1004
