Ember smirked to herself as she shifted on the solid branch below her, claws flexing and digging into the rough bark. It had been quite some time since she had been out here, away from the pride. She was a full grown adult and being a priestess in such a suspicious pride kept her plenty busy even without the bigger distractions of formal occasions. Reavers came to her for their fortunes, wives came for her blessings. Even the odd Thrall turned up on an errand from his or her master or mistress. Still, she required ingredients for her readings and potions and that required for her to leave the pride to seek such things out. Of course she could have sent a thrall to do it for her, but it would have taken twice as long just to explain what it was they needed to look for than if she simply went out and found them herself. Besides, she enjoyed coming out into the wild forest, it was her home, the place she had been born and raised for those first few months of her life. Nothing would ever quite match up to this world of deep forest and the rich life that filled it. She loved her pride, but this would always be home to her.
Shifting again on her branch, sleek body stretched out as if there was not a 10ft drop below her, she seemed entirely at home in her precarious perch. So much so that the crimson and black leopard passing below never suspected there might be a large predator suspended high above his head.
Brier was far too busy looking over his shoulder to bother looking up. He had been so very careful since the run-in with a certain spotted, evil tempered leopard, but it seemed bad luck was determined to stick to him like a burr. Though this time it had come in the form of a very cocky and unpleasant lion who seemed to have only one goal in life, and that was to annoy everyone else around him. Brier had possessed the misfortune of running into him while hunting on the edge of this forest, seeking a meal for himself and his sister. The large black-and grey patched male had not only blundered into the middle of Brier's hunt and scared away all possible prey, but had promptly tried to challenge the ex-guard on the spot, which had not endeared him into the leopard's good graces. Thankfully for Brier though, the lion had been more than a little unsteady on his paws and reeked of the pungent scent of freshly rotted fruit. Had the blond-maned lion been in his right mind, Brier doubted he would have won the brief scuffle that had ensued.. simply because the lion, while evidently drunk, had been shockingly strong and a half decent fighter.
Shaking his head at the lion’s conduct, Brier strove to push the unwanted thoughts from his mind. He had far more important things to think about, like hunting. Hopefully the intoxicated male would stay away this time… Though Brier had his suspicions that his unwanted company was lingering somewhere behind him. Shaking himself roughly, as if the physical motion would dislodge his mental musings, he forced himself to focus his senses outwards rather than inwards. Almost immediately he knew he was in trouble, unless he wanted to spend the day hunting down a dozen hares for his dinner, all the big game had long ago cleared out. Withholding a deep sigh he gave up on the idea of hunting for four-legged prey and instead turned his mind towards herbs. After all, while he was no healer, he knew the very basics and surely this rich environment would offer a novice like him some hope of finding a useful plant or two.
Up above the lazing lioness watched as the red-panda coloured leopard started searching about on the forest floor for.. well, she was not sure what he was looking for, but it appeared that he wasn’t very good at finding it as his search was sweeping and non-specific. But more importantly, he was disturbing the delicate plants she needed. Pulling herself upright on her branch she balanced carefully, claws digging into the bark, and called down to the stranger below.
“Greetings, down there. Are you looking for something?”
The sudden voice from high above him, female and most certainly feline, made him start and crane his head back, expecting to see a leopard like himself but instead he got an eye full of a grey-fox coloured lioness with an amazing shock of flame-coloured mane. Blinking he took several steps backwards though it didn’t do much to ease the strain in his neck from the angle it was forced into. “Uh… Hello.” Momentarily startled out of his typically polite manners, he could only stare at her for a long moment, then mentally shook himself as her wide smile grew swiftly amused.
“Umm.. I am, but I don’t really know what it is I seek.” He admitted finally, giving a slow shrug. With a chuckle Ember gathered herself and jumped, landing in front of the leopard near silently. “You seek what you do not recognise?” She returned, pacing in a gliding circle around the male, studying him from each angle before drawing up in front of him once again. Brier shifted uncomfortably but didn’t move away, so far she hadn’t been aggressive like the male of earlier and she seemed to know something about this lush landscape. Besides, he still had his pride as a male and a guard.
Amused by his steadfast determination to remain still and impassive before her, Ember circled him once again. “Well.. if you seek something you do not know, why don’t you ask someone who does?” Flashing her pearly white fangs in a sharp smile she stopped in front of him again, amused when this time he took a step back, though he didn’t seem afraid of her, only cautious. Indeed, she knew she had never been a ‘normal’ lioness, with her mother being a fey creature of the forest and her father the Chief of the Stormborn, descendants of the gods, she had never had the chance to be normal, nor did she desire such a thing. Ember knew she had always been different, more in touch with her forest home, more whimsical perhaps than the other stormborn and she had never wished it otherwise. She even used it to her advantage in her rank as Priestess, enhancing the natural mystique the role already possessed. Arching a brow at the near-silent leopard she chuckled, giving him a curious look.
“Well.. I guess that seems most sensible, but how do you know what I am seeking if I do not myself?” He didn’t understand her term of speech nor did he know how to react to her. She was so different from the other lions he had met in his lifetime…
“But that is easy.. why do you wish the plants. Answer that and I will find them for you.” She knew she had extensive knowledge of the plant life to be found in this forest and most of their useful applications. Even before she had taken her vows to the priesthood she had known farm more than the average lioness about the forest and its treasures, courtesy of her fey-born mother. That knowledge had always been useful but she had discovered that it allowed her to be more creative and take a different approach to things than many of the other priestesses. Turning her attention back to the leopard before her, she waited patiently while he considered his reply. Finally Brier gave a tiny nod and settled, seemingly having come to terms with his fate, at least for the time being.
“I was hoping to find some basic stuff for healing.” He confessed, lowering his gaze briefly, shamed that he had not even the most simple of knowledge about what he would require. Yet the lioness smiled, her expression warmer now that it had been earlier. “That is simple enough.” She replied before turning round and setting off down a path Brier had not noticed previously. Pausing she looked back over one grey shoulder, expression expectant. “Come along then, let me show you.”
Nodding Brier followed her into the deep forest, relieved that at least some part of his day could be rescued.
(Words = 1,405)
