[PRP] Truth or Lie? (Furchtlos and Ilizi)

[Kimaria]

Ilizi was what the Nergui would describe as an abomination. A monstrosity. A freak of nature. Not a lion but not a leopard either. A limbo feline that shouldn't have existed. And, many of them went out of their way to make sure she never forgot it. She knew she should be thankful. Knew that without the protection of her aunt who was the esteemed kaar oma they would have killed her the moment they set eyes on her.

But still...

It was draining and she missed the days of being a hapless flirt, enjoying life to the fullest and not having to worry about walking into someone's waiting claws.

Mchawi's influence or not, sometimes it felt like the Nergui wouldn't care much for the consequences so long as they could be rid of her. And just how hard would the Xakaav come down on the perpetrator, anyway? She didn't think it would merit execution. Perhaps just a tap across the ear.

Sighing, the hybrid hopped over a trawling vine, all covered in thorns, and moved across the land. Here, the earth had been scrapped free of grass by claws. The claws of slaves, no doubt. She wondered if they had found anything from all the digging or whether the effort had proven fruitless.

SilverLutz

Sorry for the delay in this! Got a bit caught up with Firekin ORP and setting up the new subforum for Nergui <3 should be back on track now!

 

[SilverLutz]

Hybrids were interesting to Los. They were blends of various felines, and he had a hard time telling just what kind of feline they were. He could tell a hybrid from a purebred, of course, and would always stare a bit longer than was probably polite. They were just so...fascinating! Weird, strange, but fascinating.

Here with the Nergui, though, he wasn't allowed to show that fascination. Here they were looked down upon. Here he had to treat them with disdain. That was fine, of course. He was, at his core, a very go with the flow kind of hyena. As long as he prospered from the results, he was happy with it. And so far the Nergui hadn't steered him wrong. This was why, as he patrolled the lands for sport, he paused when he saw a lone female...something. Large, so probably part lion.

Los debated with himself for a few minutes on what to do. Should he go an question the female just for fun? See how hybrids worked? Or rough her up a bit? He had no idea of her relations to the Oma, but if he had that might have changed his decision. He had no fear of the powerful lions in charge, but he did have respect.

"You!" he called out, his voice a bit of a bark. "Stop right there!"

Kimaria

Quite all right!

 

[Kimaria]

She froze immediately and turned her head very slowly, a tremble running through her body. Who would it be this time? Some higher ranking male looking to bite out her throat? Some lower ranking one who wanted to try and beat her because he wasn't good enough to face the top lions?

She swallowed back the immediate bout of fear, knowing that her aunt would be ashamed of her if so, and plastered on a shaky smile as she allowed her eyes to seek out the owner of the voice.

Ilizi couldn't help but be a little relieved that it was a hyena. Perhaps they would not be so...aggressive as their lion friends?

"How can I help you, sir?" She asked, her voice liquid and soft. Before she had come to this place with her aunt she had been quite the sassy flirt.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Los trotted over to the female, tail held high, ears perked, all signs of dominance on display. He wasn't sure if there were others around, but already he had put aside his curious questions and had adopted a true Nergui stance. This was a half-breed, impure and disgusting. She could stand to be roughed up a bit, that much was certain.

"You can help me by getting on the ground and shutting up," Los snapped, strong jaws making a formidable sound as teeth met teeth. "State your name and rank if you wish to remain unharmed." Lions were big and had power, but hyenas were quick, cunning, and a force to be reckoned with. Why else would the pride allow them access? Their jaws could crush skulls, and that was an impressive feat. He knew a few hyenas that had ambushed and killed lions in their day.

"Quickly, now. I haven't got all day!"

Kimaria

 

[Kimaria]

There was a spark of pride in her that said: No. Don't do as he says. Be fierce and brave like your father. Be cunning like your aunt. But, a few seconds later and she did as she was told, lowering herself into the submissive posture ordered of her and dipping her head.

Some days she felt she could cry just from the sheer unfairness of it all. She hadn't asked to be born this way.

"I am Ilizi." She replied automatically, keeping any emotion from her voice. "The Nergui call me abukemoseum." In the common tongue it meant abomination. "I have no true rank, sir. But I am protected by the Kaar Oma." Perhaps that would still him or at least have him holding back. She was an abomination to these people but she also had familial ties to an extremely powerful and well respected seer.

She dipped her head lower still. "I have no wish to cause trouble."

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Los circled the female slowly, ears and tail still perked in dominance. He listened as she gave her name - Ilizi - but abukemoseum was more acceptable in this case. It would help hide the mild interest he still had in getting to know more about hybrids buried.

"Protected by the Kaar Oma?" he repeated, pausing in his circling. Surely she was lying. "Why would the Kaar Oma protect you, abukemoseum?" he snarled pouncing to land beside her head, growling loudly by her ear. "It would do you well not to lie, especially about something as large as this."

Of course, there was the chance she was protected by her. Los had yet to meet the lioness, and he had no knowledge of her other than she was to be respected. Being new was difficult sometimes.

Kimaria

 

[Kimaria]

He was circling and her heart was pounding and she wondered whether, one day, this would be how she died. Cowering on the ground, submissive and pathetic, before teeth opened up her throat and she was bleeding out all around.

"Because." She started, her voice quavering. She paused, cleared her throat, and tried again: "Because she is my aunt. We joined together and out of respect for her, the Nergui allowed me to live." It had never been done before, or so she had been led to believe. But they had wanted her aunt desperately. She'd seen the gleam in their eyes when they realised the truth of her past.

Very few would have been able to stay a Nergui's paw. But her aunt had done that.

"You only need to look upon her to know the truth, s-sir. We look very much alike."

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Los snarled quietly, his hackles raising as Ilizi spoke. Her aunt? What a likely story. He couldn't verify if she was telling the truth, though, since he was still so new. Rather than making a huge mistake and attacking her, he decided to hold the growing urge to bite and rip an tear.

"It would do you well to not speak to superiors in that tone," he growled. "You're acting very bold, and that does not suit you well. If I find out you have lied to me to escape some kind of punishment, you can bet I will hunt you down and tear you limb from limb."

Los was usually a very level headed hyena, but once he got upset, he lost his hold on himself and became a demon.

Kimaria

 

[Kimaria]

"I'm sorry." She flustered, her whole body tensing up. Perhaps these strange canines were worse than the lions after all. He seemed so...so volatile. No different, truly. Perhaps that was why they worked together. They were more similar than she could ever have known despite their physical differences.

"But I promise, sir, I have not lied. If it were not true, the Nergui would have killed me long ago. I live because she holds power here."

Because they needed her.

And if the Nergui killed their Kaar Oma's niece, there was no saying what might happen.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Los narrowed his eyes, staring at the hybrid with an intensity that would make any prey animal begin to shake in terror. He shifted his gaze slightly, from her face to her body, trying to read if she was lying or not. Her body language spok of nothing but uncertainty, and it wasn't from her own words.

"You may just be a very good liar," he growled, moving closer so he could breathe down her neck literally and figuratively. "Again, if I find out you're lying, your neck will be on the line."

He snapped his teeth threateningly right behind her ear. "You're extremely lucky if you are telling the truth. For someone like you to be related to someone like her...what are the odds?"

Kimaria

 

[Kimaria]

And she did shake, averting her eyes as quickly as she was able - as if staring to long might invoke some mad rage in him. "Understood." She said softly, at last. But she was glad that he would find only truth in her words. If there had been a lie she had no doubt that the hyena would have been true to his word.

"I am grateful for my family, sir. I love them with all of my heart. They are all I have."

And her head sank to the ground again, as if hoping he might just step over her and go on his way.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Los gave a harsh laugh, a eerie and haunting as any hyena laugh was. There was no mirth in the sound, and he knew how it unnerved those with weak will.

"Your family is all you have until they realize you're a waste of breath and flesh," he snickered, circling Ilizi once again. "They will abandon you in a heartbeat as soon as you prove useless, which really shouldn't take long. Or if you cause trouble. I expect you to submit this quickly to everyone here."

He stopped in front of the hybrid, lowering his head to glare at her. "Do I make myself clear?"

Kimaria

 

[Kimaria]

She huddled closer to the ground at his laugh, not liking its tone. That was no happy laugh and she wondered whether he even knew what one sounded like. She had laughed with joy once. Long ago.

And though his words cut, she knew - deep down - that her family would never abandon her. They loved her. Surely they loved her too much to allow something bad to happen to her.

"Very clear, sir." She croaked at last, her body so tense that every muscle had begun to ache. Ilizi would not say anything else - not unless prompted. It was best, she had found, to be silent unless spoken to.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Los waved his tail back and forth in triumph as the hybrid spoke, completely satisfied with how the interrogation was going. So satisfied, in fact, that he decided to ease up on her just a bit. Time to satisfy his own desires and get some answers to his questions.

"So. What are you, besides a disgrace to feline nature?" If her aunt was a lion the she had to be half that, but what was the other? It was curious to him since there were no hybrid canines.

Kimaria

sorry about the length, my computer is being a butt so these are all from my phone

 

[Kimaria]

What was she? Hadn't she already--oh. He wanted to know what she was. What mix she was.

"My father was a lion." Although that really didn't need to be said. "My mother, a leopard. I never knew her." She paused, glancing up at the hyena. Perhaps now he had ensured his authority over her, he would be...nicer.

Maybe.

"My father took me away from her when I was very small. I take most of my looks from his side of the family, too, so I do not know what she looks like." She wondered if, deep down, her father regretted siring her. Regretted bringing her with him. But as a rogue, hybrids had not been so hated. Not like here.

SilverLutz

No worries!