[ JRP - Border ] Two little bastards

[Thalion]

No matter how long he sat and stared, she wasn't coming back. At first, he didn't quite believe his mother when she told them that they were to go on without her, just to walk straight ahead. That this was their new home. Maybe it was a joke, or a game of some sort? But as time passed it became more and more clear that he and his brother were truly on their own.

He shuddered and looked around himself, not knowing which way was 'forward'. A thick mist had rolled in, cloaking his mother's escape and leaving he and his brother sitting inside of a thick swell of endless white. There were no scents, nothing to see, nothing to mark the direction that they were to move in. Pure pride alone kept him from breaking into a sobbing mess of frustration and confusion. Instead, he bore his teeth down and started walking in a small circle. It was better than standing there looking hopeless and lost. It kept his paws busy and so it kept his mind busy.

"We're on our own now." He mused out loud, his voice something between a whimper and a growl. "That...that means we gotta be strong, okay? We're gonna be fine. Just fine. I just gotta... we gotta figure out which direction is best. Yeah." Yeah that was it. He wasn't lost, he just didn't know which way was the best way to move forward- that's all.

Princess_Feylin

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Kraken had been staring at the last spot he'd seen their mother for several minutes. It was not until Kjell shook himself and began walking in a circle that his attention wavered and he gave his surroundings any thought. It was really difficult to see much of anything through the mist, and he didn't like that. It made him anxious, which would have made him testy under normal circumstances but the strangeness of the situation had robbed him of his ability to be grouchy, at least for the time being.

I don't think that's what she meant for us to do, he thought as he watched his brother. His gaze drifted back toward where their mother had vanished into the mist. He didn't say it aloud though because he hoped that Kjell had a better idea of what was going on. Not that he knew how that could be, but it was possible. Kraken really hoped Kjell had some sort of idea what to do next.

"Okay," he agreed. As plans went, it wasn't much, but it was at least a good starting point, this figuring out the best direction thing. "Do you think there are ghosty-things here?"  

[Thalion]

Ghosts?

Kjell glaned back over a shoulder, some of his hair slowly rising up off of his back. His mother came from a pride where trickery and myths protected them. The lionesses were seen as mysterious, creatures that emerged from the sea, and some even believed they had magical powers. With how she vanished... he half believed it. If she was magic, then maybe there were other beings that were able to use magic.

But... he couldn't let that phase him. Feinting a scoff, the cub flicked his tail. "Of course not, that's silly. There's no such thing."

He ate his words a second later as a large form began towards them. A shadow outlined in mist, several times their size. There was no smell, thanks to the fog, and there was no features that he could distinguish either. Stepping between the shadow and his younger brother, the cub mewled a growl.

Lazarus stepped slowly, his dull eyes on his paws. He was sent out to gather a few more things for his mistress- a new potion she was working on apparently -and he had to mind his paws. Some of the ingredients weren't easy to come by nor were they in great numbers. It would be too easy to step on them an crush them into a useless oblivion or over-step them entirely.

So when a pair of small, fuzzy things stared back at him, he was quietly startled. Frowning, his eyes went wide. Cubs?

There were rumors of cubs being left at the border for the ghosts to swallow up. Sometimes the ghosts could return them after 'cleansing' them. Others said that the ghosts offered entirely new cubs to replace the worthless ones left behind. Perhaps these were some such cubs.

Princess_Feylin

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Kraken regretted his question about ghosts instantly. He wasn't even sure why he'd asked in the first place. He'd never given a thought to ghosts in his life before, other than hearing about them once or twice from his older half-sister Lysende. He didn't even know what had made him think of them now.

"You're right. Ghosts probably don't like mist. I bet it makes them too heavy to float right." He tried sound convincing. He very much wanted to believe what he was saying. He didn't like the idea of being surrounded by ghosts. But the more he tried not to think about ghosts, the more ghostly the mists felt against his whiskers.

He didn't notice the shadow approaching until he saw his brother react to it, and then he was embarrassed at his relief when Kjell placed himself between Kraken and the approaching monster. When he did notice it he managed to growl as well, though with no more ferocity than Kjell had done. They were not very old cubs, after all.

"You had better keep back," he growled.  

[Thalion]

Kjell fluffed himself up as big as he could manage, swelling his chest and lifting every strand of fur along his mantle that he could. In his mind, he must have looked like a terrifying monster but to the stranger, he just looked like an overly inflated hairball with teeth. "I warn you! We're the sons of a magic-user! I'll curse you! Then I'll eat your toes off! Try walking like that!"

Did ghosts have toes? Well if they did, they'd be sorry they crossed him!

The 'ghost' took a few more steps forward, brushing past the foggy veil and revealing a very unghostly, physical body. He had dark circles under his eyes and a gaunt form with paws that seemed a little too large for his body in comparison. He narrowed his eyes and leaned down a bit. They looked...familiar. Their markings were common- or had been -among some of the pride members. Perhaps they were lost?

He lifted his head and glanced over his shoulder. Well... maybe his mistress would know who they belonged to. He couldn't just leave them here.

"Come." Was all he said, his voice harsh and raspy. Without another word or glance, he turned his back and started the way he'd came.

Princess_Feylin

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Kraken would have been very impressed by his brother's fluffiness at another time, but at the moment he was mostly concerned with trying to be just as fluffy. There was no way he'd manage to look bigger than the ghost, but he might be able to intimidate it by proving how not-scared he was. It might have helped if he hadn't been terrified, but that was much harder to achieve than fluffing up.

Kjell's description of their parent's powers made Kraken frown in confusion before he remembered that it might even be true. They didn't know who their father was. The frown might have made him look more fierce, but probably it didn't. He just wasn't very fierce-looking at this point in his life, no matter how hard he tried. He was big though, and fluffy, so fluffing up his fur at least had an effect.

"You can't just tell us to follow you," he protested, although he couldn't think of a good reason not to do as the lion said, except that he might be a ghost. "How do we know we can trust you?"  

[Thalion]

The lion stopped and looked over his shoulder. Kjell was still all fluff and teeth, frozen in place with a wild pair of eyes. His brother, the more vocal of the two apparently, was growing in fluffy size as well.

Laz's lips twisted and he turned to face them. "You're lost. Come." He turned his back. "I won't wait." And once more, he started forward. He wasn't the sort to sit there and explain himself. If they didn't come- oh well, he could get back to work. If they did, his mistress would know what to do and they'd be off his paws.


Kjell took a deep breath and shot an uncertain look over to his brother. They were lost, true, and they had no idea where to go but... he didn't know this lion. He certainly didn't trust him, and the dead look in his eyes was almost concerning. What kind of pride was this if the lions looked like that?!

"...I... am gonna get hungry soon." He offered. "Maybe he knows where food is...?"  

[Princess_Feylin]

Kraken wanted to argue that they weren't lost, but that wasn't the truth. He and Kjell were supposed to be joining this warrior pride. Maybe the lion who urged them to follow was one of that pride. Even if he wasn't, Kraken supposed it didn't make much difference. They would have had to start walking in one direction or another at some point. Why not follow the big lion?

He looked to Kjell for guidance. He didn't want to do anything if his brother wasn't doing it, too. It was bad enough to be without their mum and sisters. The thought of being deprived of his brother as well was a bad one. Frustratingly, Kjell didn't seem any more sure than he was about the whole thing. Kraken shrugged in what he hoped looked like a carefree manner.

"He might." He crept closer to Kjell and whispered. "We can always eat and leave if we don't like him. I bet he's not very fast. Not like us."

Probably he was faster. Longer legs and all that. But Kraken was ignoring that likelihood.  

[Thalion]

He was too proud to admit it, but having something, someone to follow was more comforting than sitting and wondering what they should do. He had no idea, but his brother couldn't know that.They were lost, clueless as to why they were here, where they should go, or what they should do. Having some direction was a gods send. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was quietly relieved not to have to be the one to lead the way through the fog.

Standing up, he nodded his agreement and padded after the stranger. "Yeah... yeah we're small too- and agile. We can hide behind things, in things, and vanish like mum did. Take what we can and run- that's a good idea." He nodded firmly.

"We're smarter too. He looked dumb."

Lazarus only rolled his eyes. Whatever. How he looked to a pair of cubs was outside of his concern.

Princess_Feylin

 

[Princess_Feylin]

In response to Kjell's assessment that the older lion looked dumb, Kraken could not really bring himself to disagree. His colors were nice and almost reminded Kraken of the lionesses at home, some of them, but there was just something weird about his eyes. They were kind of creepy. But Kraken wasn't going to let himself be creeped out, so instead he decided that kind of look meant Laz was dumb.

"Hey, what's your name?" Kraken asked. Having a plan made him bolder. And he still had Kjell beside him. The two of them could probably take the bigger lion. They were wily. Their mother had raised them to be so.

He was going to follow the lion whether or not he knew his name, but it was more or less habit to ask. Outside the pride, few mermaids cared about names, but within the pride he had been rather proud of knowing everyone. Kraken was convinced that he could accomplish the same in this new warrior pride, but he would have to start right away.  

[Thalion]

The lion continued on, his boney shoulders hunched up over his sloped back, his mane shifting from side to side. The cubs were behind him, he could hear their clumsy paws over the uneven ground, and then one of them spoke up.

He turned his head, his eyes moving from one of the cubs to the other. Kjell perked his ears, eager for the answer as well. In a land of strangers, one name was priceless. Even if it was the name of a weirdo such as this.

The adult sighed and looked ahead. "Lazarus." He said simply, his voice like water over gravel. "You will meet my mistress. She will know what to do with you." Beyond that, it was out of his paws. None of his concern.


Kjell's nose wrinkled up as he walked. What a strange sounding name... but the lion was strange already. It was fitting in a way. He turned to his brother to share a dubious stare before rolling his shoulders to continue on. The landscape was changing, opening up beyond the veil of fog. Soon details sharpened out and a good chunk of the pride's territory became visible.

It was harsh, a place along the living stone. There were claw marks in the rock and markers above the dens.

"...they claw the stones... and leave marks here."

Princess_Feylin

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Kraken mouthed the name the lion had given them. Lazarus was a really strange name. He hoped the rest of the pride had more normal names. He was quickly distracted from thoughts of nomenclature, however, by Lazarus's use of the phrase "mistress." That was a familiar term for him. Katerina was sometimes called mistress. Mostly lady, but sometimes mistress.

His gaze followed Kjell's once his brother pointed out the marks on the stones. He narrowed his eyes at the marks, not sure if they meant anything other than that a lion had staked their claim or shown off their strength using that rock, and wondering if he was going to get in trouble for what he was about to do.

He looked at Lazarus, making sure he wouldn't lose sight of him as he paused, and then very deliberately moved to a stone and set both of his forepaws against it with his claws extended. He was going to leave his mark, too, and if Lazarus wanted to stop him, he'd have to make him. Their mother had told them the pride was full of warriors, and Kraken knew with warriors it was important to make an initial show of strength.

"You next," he told Kjell without looking away from Lazarus.  

[Thalion]

Kjell slowed as his brother did and arched a brow as the other cub scrambled over to one of the stones sitting against the face of the cliff, a little off to the side of their current path, and stretched his paws up to prop himself up against it. For a moment, he wasn't sure what Kraken was implying, but after he loosed his claws and whispered him over, Kjell mouthed an "oh" and crept over.

Lazarus wasn't exactly moving quickly, so he figured he could spare a moment. If needed, they could sprint to catch up, he was sure the older lion wouldn't mind it so much.

Kjell stretched his claws out and pressed his paws against the rock, bearing his weight down into his shoulders and down into his paws. While the marks were shallow, and the friction sent a bolt of lightning through his paws, he managed to cross his brother's mark, forming a near perfect 'X' on the face of the stone.

Hissing, he shook his paws out and rocked back to sit on his haunches. He'd shaved quite a bit off of the tips of his claws, it smarted, but he regarded his mark with pride.

Princess_Feylin

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Kraken grinned, pleased by his brother supporting him in his minor act of vandalism. His own claws were tingling oddly from attempting to dig deeply into stone, having been significantly blunted by the experience, and that tingling reached to his toes even. Still, he was pleased. They were here for real.

He turned his grin on Lazarus and nodded. Things would work out, he decided, inexplicably confident after committing a small act of defiance which proved not only to any audience he might have, but also to Kraken himself that he was not afraid.

"Let's do this," he whispered to Kjell as he began to trot after the older lion.

Thalion

Finished, do you think?