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 Posted: Tue May 29, 2012 6:09 am
 Being a captain on a viking was unlike being a reaver under a captain. Ru had known this would be the case, naturally, but he had not expected that there would be so little time for solitary reflection. He wasn't a loner, but he did his best thinking on his own when he could take as long as he needed to work through problems without others' speech interrupting him and forcing him to fight through the confusion that sometimes arose between what people said and what he heard.
Now, as the band was heading back to the pride with thralls and treasure, Ru finally was able to find a brief period of time to be alone that would subtract no time from his already curtailed slumber. It was true that he usually managed quite well on little sleep, but he had slept less this viking than he could ever remember having done on past vikings where he was not the head of the band.
It had been, Ru reflected, a successful viking overall. He and his band would be bringing back a number of thralls to the pride as well as some hides and other assorted things that were of worth. That was good. No one had died or gone missing. In fact, they had recovered a Stormborn who had been presumed to be missing for some time. That was good. Thinking of Halvdan's recovery pleased Ru.
"This is a good start," he told himself. "A very good start."
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 3:09 am
 Aruná was traveling in dangerous lands, she knew that. Many of the animals she met had encountered or heard about the Vikings and their raids. It wasn't wise to travel alone here, but it was the best lead she had at the moment. Her relentless search for her sister was starting to look like an impossible mission. Any tracks from her abduction were long gone, and by now she was searching blindly and hoping for the best. The Viking lead was based on rumours from a vulture and a cowardly lion, but it was all she had. She wasn't even sure she'd recognise the scent of the young lion that had abducted Udongo since the scene had been disturbed by scavengers. She pretty much relied on finding her sisters scent, or finding someone who had actually seen her.
Cythraul kept her company at times, helping her hunt and sharing meals, but he seemed uneasy when she insisted on searching in areas frequently raided by these Viking warriors. When she coaxed him to talk about the Vikings he only had bad things to tell her. He was a bit vague on the subject, but she guessed that he might have had a bad experience. Most of the time they talked about other things, and he always managed to make her feel better.
She was alone today, and growing increasingly frustrated. She had grown up without knowing her parents, and she had been fine with that. Her Sacrifice siblings and most of her friends were either lost or dead, and it hadn't crushed her. Aruná was a survivor, and she took pride in handling whatever the Spirits had in store for her. Udongo was the sister she was closest to, however, and losing her was not an option. She would find her or die.
"Udongoooo," she roared, not really expecting anything to come out of it.
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Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 5:39 am
"Udongooooo!"
Ru's ears flattened at the sound. The way it was enunciated it was impossible for him to make out what word was being howled. Even if he had been able to recognize the syllables as a name it was very unlikely he ever would have realized that he knew the person being called for. He had captured her and brought her back to the Stormborn as a thrall some time back, when he was still a reaver.
He hadn't planned to take any more thralls on this viking. They had done well enough and had a good ratio of reavers to thralls. With too many more thralls difficulties might arise in maintaining order. So far he did not know of any attempted escapes or uprisings on his viking, but he'd heard of them happening in the past when there were too many thralls and insufficient reavers.
So he had not thought to take anymore, but when he heard this plaintive howl he was still tempted. Just one more. They were, after all, very close to the pride and it couldn't be that difficult to keep order for another day or two. He could bring this one back on his own and find a moment for silent contemplation at some other time. Perhaps when he returned to the pride.
With a sigh Ru set off in the direction of the disconsolate roar, hoping he could take care of this quickly. He really just wanted to get home to the Stormborn. And Kazul. Fortunately he hadn't far to go before coming across what had to be a very foolish lioness. Wise lions did not wander through these lands alone.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 3:29 pm
Distraught - yes. Reckless - yes. Actively suicidal - no. Aruná heard someone approach and tensed up. The sight of a lone lion approaching made her relax a notch, but she was still wary. From what she had gathered the Vikings travelled in packs, and that was how they did so much damage. If this was one of them he was acting alone, and that meant she should be able to fight him or run from him if she had to. But first she needed to see if he could get any answers, and that meant taking a risk.
"You're a Viking," she stated, taking a wild guess. She needed to handle this with care, because his soul was an old one, and he was hard to read.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 4:07 pm
Ru drew up short when confronted with this question disguised as a statement presented by a lioness who looked somehow familiar. His tail twitched a wary cadence by his hind paws but he did not give too many other signals that this encounter was putting him on guard.
"Viking's a verb, you know. One goes a-viking," he said. The response came automatically because he'd heard it so often from Kazul, who had apparently picked it up from the lawspeaker who'd trained her in the pride's laws and history when she was a cub.
He sneezed and shook his head, reminding himself that this was probably not the time to get cute. There was something about this lioness that told him he really ought to tread with caution.
"I'm one of the Stormborn though, if that's what you're asking."
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 5:08 pm
Aruná narrowed her eyes when the dark male didn't answer her question straight away. She had heard different names for the Vikings, or Stormborn, or whatever, on her travels. Most of them weren't really fit for polite conversation so she had opted for "Vikings". She was threading dangerous grounds, and she knew it.
"You're a Stormborn," she said, and then added, "On a Viking?
She didn't enjoy being lectured, especially not by a prime suspect for her sister's disappearance. It might not have been this one, but someone - probably viking, or stormborn on a viking - had abducted her. This male represented his kin, and since there was no one else around he'd have to take the blame for everything bad that had ever happened during a viking. Aruná wanted the truth, and she wanted revenge.
"Your kin stole something from me," she said, keeping eye contact. The statement and the staring might be considered a provocation, but she needed something. A reaction, a confession, anything.
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Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 6:03 pm
When the lioness narrowed her eyes, Ru's ears twisted backward as though they would soon lay flat against his skull in preparation for a biting attack. He wasn't planning any sort of attack at the moment, but putting on an aggressive front could forestall the need to defend against one.
"Yes," he agreed.
She knew about the Stormborn, at least a little, and yet she was in lands they were known to frequent. He did not know why she would deliberately risk death or capture. It seemed to him a foolish thing, and he wondered if it was because she was a foolish lioness, or if there was something else going on.
The answer was shortly forthcoming. The lioness had a bone to pick with one of the Stormborn, and apparently Ru would now be acting as a representative of the pride. He grinned toothily. He could handle that.
"If something was taken from you by one of us, it is because you failed to defend it."
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 3:06 am
Aruná gritted her teeth. The male's aggressive stance didn't deter her at all, it just made her angry. She would have loved to tear into him, but if there was any chance of learning something worthwhile she had to try not to do anything stupid. Nothing stupid yet. Udongo needed her.
"I wasn't aware she needed defending," she growled, but guilt twitched inside her. Udongo was strong, but she was too gentle for her own good. "I want her back and there's nothing you can do to stop me."
There was probably much he could do to stop her, but a bit of confidence had never hurt her before. Well maybe that one time... Her ears were almost completely flat against her skull, and the snarl on her face couldn't be misinterpreted.
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Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 12:57 pm
"'She'?" Ru repeated. "You're talking about a person?"
Oh, hells. That complicated things. He had never had a lion show up and demand justice or freedom for a captured relative, but he knew it had happened in the past to other lions. He couldn't remember if there was a specific procedure for dealing with such situations, or if it was just left up to the discretion of the reavers involved.
He'd nearly instigated a similar situation early in his life when he accidentally took captive the pregnant outlander mother of an outlander-born reaver named Yu, but that was in the past. She had come out of it all right and borne a litter of perfectly healthy cubs within the pride's stronghold. Vol told him that one of the cubs had taken to tailing him and trying to convince him to train with him. Ru had found the situation amusing. But this wasn't the time to reflect on it.
"Actually, there's probably a great deal I can do to stop you," he said. "Most notably I can call out to the rest of my band and tell them to get a move on to back me up. There are five of them."
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 6:35 am
Five of them? Aruná's ears flattened even more against her skull. She was furious, but she couldn't fight six lions even if she wanted to. If she was killed Udongo would be all alone in the world, and getting into a fight with that many would accomplish nothing more than a one way trip to the spirit realm. She wasn't old or frail enough to wish for a honorable death right this instant.
She snarled and made a mock attack towards the stranger before trying to make a quick exit. She didn't really intend to fight him, but she needed to do something or explode from her anger and frustration. The sudden attack wasn't meant to hit its target, but hopefully it'd make him think twice about trying to follow her.
"I'll KILL you some day," she shouted as she ran. Even if he wasn't the viking that had abducted her sister he was the first stormborn she'd ever met. And as such, he was a convenient target for all her anger.
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 8:12 am
Ru watched her warily as she processed the information that he had five lions to back him up at need. If she cared to smell him more closely, which he was not about to permit, she would be able to detect the scent of other lions about him. More than five, in fact, but since he did not count the thralls they'd captured as helpful, he had not included them in his tally.
He snarled at her feint without withdrawing, but a feint had apparently been all it was. She turned and fled before he could do anything else, and while it might have been tempting to pursue her, Ru wanted to go home. He was tired and ready for some of that glory he and his band had earned on this viking.
"Not today," he murmured, unable to help himself as he smiled. Perhaps she would make a Stormborn someday. Or perhaps she would find her sister and live happily ever after some other place. The gods only knew.
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