[META - Ru] Part 3 - So...now what?

[Myrsky Syntynyt]

What's going on?!

Ru and those who decided to go with him have left the pride at a jog and kept up that pace for about two hours, taking them beyond the pride's borders. Throughout this time Ru has not acknowledged his entourage in any way. Now, however, he has come to a halt and jumped onto one of many large rocks that litter the area. Apparently he is finally going to say something.

So, basic things to know about the setting for this RP:
Time: nearly noon
Weather: still cloudy and windy, average temperature
Surroundings: hilly land with lots of grey stones of varying sizes from pebble to boulder, minimal vegetation above six feet tall

This RP is open to any of the characters who volunteered to come with Ru on his quest as well as any outlanders whose owners wish them to take part. If you are playing an outlander, they will come upon the group after it has stopped, though it's perfectly fine if they've been following them or aware of them before that.

There is no posting order.

Go.

Part 1|Part 2

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Ru waited for another minute while the six lions who had decided to throw their lot in with him caught up with him. He was still doing his level best not to look as surprised as he felt by the morning's events. First being woken by Odd with an unexpected and very helpful present, and then by Aesir's allowance of a band to accompany him, and finally by the fact that people were actually willing to take Aesir up on the challenge and join Ru's band.

He knew most of the lions, or at least recognized them, with the exception of the lioness who had stepped forward. He didn't even know her name, which was something he would have to fix in the near future. What he did not know was why they would choose to accompany him. For honor and glory, some of them had said, but he hoped they didn't really expect to find that. No matter how much it might seem like it, this was not going to be an ordinary band going out viking.

Once they'd caught up he jumped onto a larger rock that would elevate him slightly so that he could be seen and heard more easily while addressing his band. There were, after all, a few things they needed to work out before this viking-quest-thing got too far underway.

"I didn't expect to make this journey with a band, but if I am to do so, I expect that the band following me will obey my orders, is that clear?" So it wasn't exactly rousing and stirring, at least it wasn't weak. Now came the more challenging part, which would only be challenging because he didn't wish to offend people by implying they were weak or quitters.

"This is not going to be a quick jaunt into the rogue lands for some adventure and then home for tea, as I'm sure you all know. However, I am aware that some of you have families and other concerns in the pride, and as I am the only one the warlord has forbidden to return without all the things he has required, the rest of you have my permission to leave my band to return to the pride at any time. If you do not inform me of your intention beforehand, the band will halt for one day and one night to await your return, but after that it will become your job to catch up. Understood?"

Most of these lions had been on vikings before. They knew what they were doing and did not need him to explicitly state rules and guidelines and suchlike. The only one he wasn't entirely sure about was the slim female with the dark coat. The rest had either been born into the pride or fought for their place in it and ought to understand what a viking entailed.

"So...do any of you have suggestions about where to begin?"  

[Princess_Feylin]

Okay, so probably Galning should have felt guilty about leaving his son at home in the pride pretty much on his own to go off on an adventure with Ru from which he was unlikely to come back. He'd shown up this morning mostly because he'd overheard Don interrogating some reavers rather violently about the subject and found himself curious as to how things might go down. The volunteering to go with Ru, it had just been a spur of the moment thing, really. It wasn't as though he and Ru were particularly close, although they did know each other.

The farther he got from the pride, however, the more doubts accumulated in his mind. He hadn't even told Yolla he was leaving. He'd just said that he would go with a disgraced captain on an impossible quest and gone away. He hadn't told Freyja, either, and she would probably be incredibly unhappy about that when she found out, their relationship being what it was.

Glory. He told himself as he drew up even with Ru and sat on the ground beneath him. Glory.  

[wooga Paes]

The fact that she wasn't at her healthiest made the jog a bit more uncomfortable for Aluka than the rest of the band, she imagined, but she kept up well, and after a while she just let her paws go on in a rhythm. It even felt rather weird to stop.

Ugh, this just wouldn't do. Hopefully on this journey she'd manage to get some decent food, and get back to her old, more healthy and fit state. She swallowed and perked her ears up, listening to the captain. She didn't plan on going back just willy-nilly, it wouldn't do her much good. Aluka was in for the ride, the whole ride.

Where to start? She flicked her ears backwards and glanced about. Then shrugged. "A treasure from the pirate king's hoard." Because why not? Wherever the pirate king was. It was probably something this lot could grasp at better anyways, stealing and fighting. "But we might want more numbers."  

[Andranis]

His mother had been furious, but words could not be unsaid, and his promise couldn't be taken back. Munyu was doing this, regardless of how much his family wanted to shelter and coddle him. He wasn't standing for it anymore, and now was following Ru. He looked up, violet eyes flickering for a moment as he contemplated where they WOULD start. His glance turned to Aluka, nodding. "I agree, the treasure might be the easiest thing to get... Unless we wanted to start with the hardest and go after a piece of the sky." Both were something he'd consider hard, but getting a piece of the sky... That was the absolute hardest as far as he could tell.  

[Annchen]

Halvdan's spirits lifted gradually as they left the lands of his birth pride. It wasn't a regular viking, but it gave him the same feeling of anticipation. His main motive for going was to put the past behind him, but even if Captain Ruzanski had lost the Warlords favour he felt indebted to him. Without his band finding him he wouldn't have been back among his kin. And there was a huge difference between being out here on a not-quite-viking with fellow Stormborn, and to be out here on his own. He knew what he preferred.

"I think it would be wise to move towards the sea," he said, "Sea monsters sometimes run ashore all on their own, so while we figure out how to steal from the pirate king we could keep an eye out for toothy monsters."

Halvdan did have some experience with sea monsters, even if it mostly was that they tasted really strange. Unfortunately he couldn't remember exactly where he had seen that monster. There might have been a skeleton left still, if sea monsters had those.

"Some tribes by the sea pick up things like that," he mused, "It might be possible to trade for or steal a tooth instead of slaying the monster first."  

[Princess_Feylin]

Ru really was listening to the suggestions his band made, despite the fact that his posture might imply otherwise. He had lowered himself to his stomach and was now listening with his chin on his forepaws. It brought his head nearly level with the people speaking to him, and it was just more comfortable than standing after a two hour jog.

The idea of going for the pirates was incredibly appealing. He blamed them for his sisters' deaths, and had so far been presented with no opportunity to address the vengeance he had sworn against that pride. That fact had been nagging at his conscience for some time now. And yet he knew they were in for a fight if they were going to go into the pirates' territory, and he wasn't sure his band was ready for that yet.

"Not the pirates yet," he said. It was almost physically painful to speak those words and delay his already long-delayed vengeance, but he had to use his brain, or else he'd get himself and his band killed, which would be a poor reward for all of them. As the slender female had said, more numbers would be advantageous for that assault.

He looked at Halvdan, whose past was still largely a mystery to him even though the reaver had been a part of his band for the last part of his last viking. "That's an interesting suggestion, Halvdan. If you have any particular knowledge of where we would be more or less likely to find such a tribe, I would be interested in hearing it. Meanwhile, what other thoughts have you all?"

Galning had been startled that the first person to voice an opinion after Ru asked for them was the small female who seemed more winded than the rest of the band after the morning's trek. He would have sworn that she was a thrall, though if pressed he would have to admit that he wasn't sure. It wasn't as though the Stormborn made their thralls wear some sort of token denoting their status. It was just something people seemed to know from their demeanor or something.

He did like the idea of going into battle against the pirates to steal their treasure though. That sounded like a glorious undertaking indeed, though he disagreed with the white youth's assessment of it as easy. The fellow did realize they'd be going up against the entire scurvy-ridden pride if they were going to rob it, didn't he? What part of that sounded easy for a band of their size? Glorious, yes. Easy...not so much.

"If there are prides and tribes that pick up that stuff," he said, "won't they always be there? I bet we could probably save that for last. Maybe grab some extra treasure from the pirate king to trade with."  

[Andranis]

If he'd implied getting a treasure from the pirate king's hoard was easy, it wasn't intentional. He'd simply figured it'd be slightly easier than getting a piece of the sky. Which wasn't easy as it was. "Do we actually have to STEAL from the Pirate King? Perhaps we can barter... Trade for his treasure... If sea monster teeth are truly valuable, he'd give anything for one, wouldn't he? We can always save it for last, then, going to the pirates." Munyu tilted his head. "Maybe when we get feathers from a god, we get enough to make it worth his time to trade his treasure for one or two." Whatever Ru's desires were for not going to the pirates first, the white and black male had to agree. While his visions seemed to point him that way, he wasn't yet ready himself to go. What would he find there, exactly?  

[Annchen]

"I'm not sure I could lead you there from here," he said, "I wandered a lot, and didn't always know where I was. But I could hopefully recognise landmarks on the coast. If we stick to the coasts we'll have a greater chance of finding one anyway."

It was the sad truth. Those females had done something to him that had made his memory foggier than a priestess potion. He was pretty sure some of the lionesses he’d met had been the dreadful mermaids, but they had somehow made sure that he couldn’t get back there easily. Halvdan bared his teeth in a snarl at the prospect of trading with pirates. As far as he knew they had never been on friendly terms, and he didn't want to start now.

"I wouldn't trade with a pirate," he rumbled, "If he seemed to truly want something of mine I'd make doubly sure to keep it from him. But that's just me. The Pirate King might be more generous."  

[Princess_Feylin]

Okay, so Ru was a captain who had been on any number of vikings, and up until recently been well thought of by the warlord, Galning wondered if perhaps he wasn't really embracing the Stormborn way. Galning had been born an outlander, too, but he and his family had taken to the pride like alligators to water. One of his cousins was even on this viking with him. He felt secure in speaking a dissenting opinion.

"That's right, Halvdan. I wouldn't trade with a pirate either." He had never been viking with Ru, but this wasn't his first viking, and Ru wasn't turning out to be the captain Galning had expected. Why was he entertaining all these suggestions about trading and stuff?

"Aren't we Stormborn?" he asked the assemblage. "Why talk of trading? We do not sow. We are reavers. We take what we want. Isn't that so?"  

[Jovi of Shadows]

For the most part Don had been listening to the voices around him, but his eyes remained cast in Ru's direction. This may not have been a traditional viking, but Don was still fairly convinced that they should at least consider Ru to be the leader here. Outwardly the large pale faced lion remained calm, almost disinterested in the conversation currently taking place, but he could not hold his tongue back any more than if he were trying to still the raging waves that threw themselves against the cliffs of their homeland.

"Agreed. I've never had need of trading, and I'm not starting now," he replied, in a less confrontational manner than Galning and Halvdan, but he didn't seem particularly wishy-washy over the subject either. As a rogue he had taken what he wanted from others when ever he felt like it, so asking permission and then giving them something of his own in return left a bitter taste on his tongue. That's something that a weak lion would do, not a band of Stormborn. Granted, their situation was slightly skewed in a sense, and Ru had more at stake than any of them. Would that make the young captain cave? Would he favor the non-confrontational approach if it meant the greater outcome of success? Don was not sure, and so his ruby eyes remained transfixed on Ru, looking for some sign of what he might be thinking.

Regardless, he cast his voice one more time, seemily considering the more important question at hand. "We are close to the beach, I say we look for a sea monster's tooth first, and get it out of the way. There's no telling when we'll get back to the coast again." At least, that's how he saw it. Their quest may take them further into the roguelands while in search of the other treasures, such as a god's feather, and a piece of the sky.  

[wooga Paes]

At the suggestion of trade, Aluka quirked a brow. Though easily the weakest lion here, the fact that no one had called her out for being a thrall in a while made her a little daring. She had never even been the timid sort. "I also thought the stormborn way was to take what we want." As had happened with her.

So it might not be time to face the pirates just yet, fine. "Alright. In that case I'll agree with..." Whatever that pale lion's name was. "Him." Aluka shrugged slightly once she failed to produce a name. "We should sweep the beach and see if we find a sea monster. But we also shouldn't just way around for one to wash up."

A lot of their missions relied so heavily on chance! Stumbling upon a sea monster, running into a willing enough god... And how does one get a piece of the sky? "Meanwhile I think we should probably be thinking about what the heck a piece of sky even is." She made a face. All the other things were pretty material and imaginable, but sky... How could you even get something you had never had direct contact with?  

[Princess_Feylin]

A band of Stormborn was not a force to be taken lightly, even one as small as the one he presently led. In fact, with this many warriors he could almost certainly bring to grief a small pride, and ordinarily he would not think twice about doing so.

However, this particular viking had a point to it, and that point was not to capture thralls and bring home booty, and that meant that he would have to keep the viking's actual priorities in mind, and to that end, Ru actually would have been perfectly fine bartering if it came to that, though much would depend on the situation.

"When I decide it is time to go up against the pirate king, I assure you there will be no asking and no bartering, unless it is the pirate king himself begging for mercy," he promised his band. "And at that point I intend there to be enough bloodshed to cure that scum of even thinking about the Stormborn."

He fixed Galning in particular with a hard stare. Whatever the lion thought he had to prove, he was not ingratiating himself to Ru by behaving as he was. And if he went on too much longer in his present vein, Ru would make a demonstration of him, to remind them all who was in charge, ultimately. He had done that subtly just a few moments ago by saying "when I decide" as opposed to "when we decide."

He changed the subject to give himself time to decide whether he wanted to go for the sea monster now or later. As far as he was concerned, it wouldn't make much difference, unless its tooth proved too large to easily transport.

"You all might be somewhat gladdened to know that we won't have to go plucking gods, at least. I already have a feather from one."  

[Andranis]

The white lion glared at Galning, clearly not pleased to be put down so quickly. He'd show that old fogey up yet... Just he wait! His ears shifted and he glared at the lioness as she spoke. So much derision... It was an idea, at least, and that was far more than what any of THEM were offering. He huffed, fur ruffling until Ru spoke. He had a god's feather? "How did you even get one already...?" Unless there was more Ru was letting on about... All this whole thing was doing was making Munyu cynical. He huffed, sitting down. "Why bring anyone along if all anyone's gonna do is shoot down ANY ideas? My ideas are better than NO ideas..." Clearly, this one had been spoiled by his mother. Somewhere back home... Uncle Yu had to be CHEERING about this harsh reality check.  

[Princess_Feylin]

Unaware that his manner was already beginning to irk Ru, Galning was nodding smugly along with everyone who agreed with his challenge that they were Stormborn, and therefore ought not to be trading for what they wanted, but rather taking it.

Of course, then everyone started talking about going to find a sea monster, which wouldn't have required trading anyway, so he felt a little disgruntled at that. He felt more disgruntled that the female thrall (he was fairly certain she was a thrall) had seemingly given credit to Don for stating that the Stormborn were reavers, not traders. Before he could fall into a sulk, Galning reminded himself that fighting a sea monster was nothing to sneeze at. In fact, the reaver was willing to lay good odds that he would be the one to land the killing blow.

He scowled back at the white lion. What was his problem, anyway? So what if everyone was shooting down his ideas? People shot down Galning's ideas all the time. He didn't get all sulky and pouty and...well, he did. But he didn't whine about it.

"Grow up," he muttered. And then, with surprising insight he added, "I don't think Ru intended for any of us to come along. He doesn't have to listen to our ideas at all." And then, just like that, the moment of insight was gone and he was demanding to know where Ru had come by a god's feather.