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 Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 3:10 pm
Today he had his sights set on a jutting hillside quite a distance from the warband's camp. It was said to be a favorite stopping place for traders and caravans, as there was water nearby, shelter, and it was reasonably defensible. He wanted to see it for himself, so that he could plan how to handle it if it was indeed hard to attack. He arrived just as the last of the light sank from the sky, leaving the heavens brightly starred. The shimmering band of light that some called the Spirits Path, and others the Milky Way, and still others the Trail of Light, was especially brilliant this night, since the moon hadn't yet risen.
Thus he had enough light to see that someone was already at the rumored campsite. Opting to play the card of a normal traveler, at least for now, Hroarr slowed his steps, drooped his shoulders, and hung his head just a touch as he padded in. A single individual was there, and Hroarr licked his dry lips before asking, "Can you point me to the water?" His deep voice was plaintive and hopeful, though his eyes were sharp and attentive.
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Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 9:16 am
 Skydas would soon be carrying more loot than usual. He'd recently hoodwinked a small pack of hyenas out of a great deal of sticky white stuff they used to make their manes stand on end, as well as the recipe to make more. He wasn't sure he would ever want to do such a thing to his own glorious mane, but he was certain he could convince someone else to do it, and give him nice things in exchange for the means by which to do it. The recipe was the important part, because that meant he could always replenish his stores when they got low. He would never teach it to anyone else. Best way to protect his product, after all.
Anyway, now he was loading himself up with the goop and the other goods he had for trading. He was hoping to unburden himself of most of them soon, since they were heavy, cumbersome, and generally not much good to eat. Skydas was a lion who knew how to trade and bargain and barter, but he really only did so at need. It was easier to intimidate, and lately he'd been very successful at that, giving him a surplus of product that he largely didn't need. The first stuff to go, he decided, would be the white goop because in its goopy form (it hardened in the sun) it stank.
It was just as he was struggling into the awkward harness he'd rigged up that a large, dark lion appeared and asked about water. Sky frowned as he struggled with the awkward straps and answered, "Er...That way a bit. Behind me a short ways. I'm surprised you can't see it from where you are."Talencia Sorry it took me so long to reply to this. Family was horrible this year.
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Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 1:30 pm
Hroarr's yellow eyes glittered through the slits of his lids. Ahhh, now that was a welcome sight for a captain's eyes! Here, standing obliviously before him, was proof that this was indeed on some sort of trade route! He shuffled forward, continuing to play the weary traveler, but his eyes were roving over the heavy harness, the distracted lion, and all the things that could be weighing that harness down. He took two more steps, drawing even with other male, before he pivoted and reached a paw to grip the not-quite-settled harness. "I'll just be having that, my boy," he rumbled in a deep voice, his tone almost jolly, though his body was coiled for action now.
The question was, what would this lion do? Hroarr was braced for battle, his broad chest and heavy shoulders tensed, scarred skin taut with muscle. But was this trader a fighter, a fleer, or a whiner? He gave the harness a sharp tug. "Now be a good boy," he said quietly, leaning forward menacingly, "or things will be getting rough." His expression was a promise, not a threat. "Is it worth your life, hmm?" In truth, Hroarr was spoiling for a fight. He silently willed the sea-colored male to take exception, to be too greedy to be smart, to try to put Hroarr in his place. Then the captain would have an excuse to use this rogue as a training dummy.Princess_Feylin So I was an idiot and didn't quote you. Sorry!
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Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 7:19 am
"You've got to be kidding me," Skydas grumbled. Louder and more firmly he answered, "Thanks, but I can manage."
It wasn't that he didn't recognize that the offer hadn't been made in a spirit of generosity, but he felt it only fair to give a person the opportunity to reconsider before he had to teach them that he was not a lion to be bullies. Unfortunately, it seemed the stranger had no interest in turning back. This was definitely a threat being made. Violence and theft. That was just so...irritating.
Well, no. Irritating would have been if the threats had come from someone smaller who looked less warlike. In this case it was worrisome. He was relatively certain that he could hold his own against a lion even this large in fair combat, but right now he was still half-entangled in the straps of his harness and weighted down by his pack. There was no way any combat that followed would be fair.
"I sincerely doubt my life is in any danger," he answered. "There's only one of you, after all."
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Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2013 1:00 pm
Hroarr arched one brow at the merchant's defiance. Had he been a more bloodthirsty lion, more like most of the reavers he knew, the unfortunate result would have been one very dead merchant. However, spoiling for a fight as he was, this was not Hroarr's way. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, slicking back his whiskers with a soft hiss that showed off his formidable fangs. In two strides, he reached a paw towards the blue male, claws extended. The movement was deliberate, the keen glitter in the Captain's eyes fierce.
Whatever the other lion expected him to do, what Hroarr actually did was place that paw very firmly against the pack his opponent was still tangled in. Putting his bulk to good use, he closed his claws on the burden, then leaned. His weight pressed the pack to the ground, taking the straps and whatever parts of the merchant were still attached with it. Leaning close, Hroarr smiled into the face of the smaller lion. "I think one is enough, don't you?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 1:00 pm
"Yes, yes. You have teeth and claws. Very nice. I have those, too," Skydas pointed out, baring his teeth and letting his claws slide out of their sheathes. Ordinarily he would have allowed them to slide back in afterward, but in this situation it seemed prudent to remain armed, as it were.
It took a great deal of self-control for him not to follow the large lion's paw with his eyes, but he wasn't moving fast enough for Sky to concern himself. Much. Unfortunately, Sky had absolutely not anticipated the approach that the other lion would take, using the weight of his pack and his own weight to press Sky to the ground. By the time it occurred to Sky to fight back, it was too late. His tail swished furiously across the ground as he crouched unwillingly.
"Try me in a fair fight and we'll see," he spat.
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Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2013 2:50 pm
"Fair?" Hroarr cocked an ear, arched an eyebrow, and quirked a smile. "Since when is life ever fair, my boy?" He moved his head from confronting the other male, dipping his head to bite firmly into one of the straps that held him captive. "If you look for things to always be fair, you will be sorely disappointed." Perhaps this male was younger than he looked? It amused Hroarr that the word "fair" has entered into a conversation about confrontation. If the Stormborn ever played fair, they'd have suffered greatly as a pride. Oh, there was a place for honor, and a great need for law. But fairness? His eyes glittered suddenly as his mood soured. No, fair did not enter into it whatsoever.
He bit through another strap. "For us to have a fair fight," he said conversationally, but with a darker tinge to his voice now, "I would have to have been born smaller... or you bigger." Another strap was bitten through, then a last. Hroarr leaned back onto his haunches, claws still firmly gripping the pack, drawing it after himself and off the smaller male. "For a fair fight, we'd need an area cleared of all rocks, all grass, all brush and branches." He tucked the pack beneath himself and gave the merchant a narrow-eyed look. "But then, for thing to be truly fair, you'd have given me half of what you had, as I have none." His tone was mocking, his expression challenging. "Fair. Fair is for the weak-minded, who cannot think how to use situations and circumstances to their own advantage, or find ways around what difficulties they face." Voice hard, eyes glittering, it might or might not have been obvious that the situation here and now was not the only one he spoke of.
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Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2013 4:21 pm
Life wasn't fair. Skydas knew that perfectly well. After all, he was a trader (when it suited him). Trade was all about getting more for something than it was actually worth and making the other person think that they had done the same. But Sky was really unaccustomed to actually coming out the worst in any exchange. And to be called boy was really just too much. He snarled wordlessly.
He did his best to ignore the jibes about his size and the requirements for fairness. He wouldn't have minded being a bit larger, particularly not if he was going to fight this fluffy fartknocker. Larger, he would be able to dent that other lion's skull, which would be satisfying. Unfortunately, he was not likely to get any larger in the next few seconds.
When his attacker began to bite at the straps that had taken so much work to design and form Sky began to struggle again. "Stop that! Those are damnably difficult to mend." A thought occurred to him about an argument that would probably be more effective. "Wouldn't you maybe like to know what you're stealing before you carry on your wanton destruction?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2013 4:29 pm
Hroarr eyed the blueish lion speculatively. He certainly was feisty, an admirably quality even when one was clearly over-matched. Too bad he was just a merchant. "You are welcome to tell me about what I now own," he replied mildly, unperturbed by his yelping about the straps. Hroarr had no intention of attempting to strap the thing on his back, even if it could conceivably fit around his larger body. "There is little you would consider valuable that I would not desire to keep." Entirely the truth. Be it cloth, metals, unique rocks, shells, rope, medicines... he could use any and all of it for his band.
Granted, there were things he'd consider completely worthless, or very nearly so. Grass, feces, dried lizards... he supposed the list would be infinite. However, this merchant didn't seem to be the sort to haul worthless things around in his precious pack. Hroarr wasn't at all worried that he'd taken something that wasn't worth the attempt. "Go on, tell me how lucky... or unlucky... I was to find you and these trinkets." He patted the pack with one large paw, giving the smaller lion a smirk.
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Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2013 4:39 pm
Skydas smiled grimly and insisted. "No, you should really see for yourself. I would hate for a customer to leave unsatisfied, even though at these prices I will surely perish. My four wives will beat me and then feed my corpse to my starving seventeen cubs."
He preferred to get things through bullying because it was easier, but he really did know his trade as a merchant. There were many ways to play things, and it just so happened that most of what he was carrying at the moment was really foul-smelling and had the consistency of paste. He doubted anyone who didn't know its potential worth would want it. He went into oily and obsequious mode.
"For instance, if you notice the quality of those pots bound up in my fine monkey-made net. They are very strong and sturdy. You could throw them to the ground and bash them against rocks and tree trunks and not break them." He was lying. He was leading up to a nasty surprise.
"I insist you attempt it, so that you will see for yourself the high quality of the craftsmanship." Because when he did, the pots would break and then the arse would find himself with a paw covered in foul-scented gunk that would soon harden and form a crust over his paw and make him reek. It was made with urine, after all.
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Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2013 4:55 pm
Startled by the remarks about four wives and thirteen children and the abuse he'd endure, Hroarr gave a short growl of laughter, his eyes crinkling at the corners for a brief moment. Sassy and comedic! Perhaps he should take this one in as a thrall to entertain the others with his antics. However, those very antics proceeded further, much to Hroarr's annoyance. Regardless of what the pack contained, he'd find a use for it. Besides that, the merchant's urgent press to try smashing things seemed... suspicious, to say the least.
"Insisting, are you?" He tipped his head, jutting his muscled jaw forward. "I thought we already established you weren't in much of a position to protest, much less insist on anything at all." He glowered at the other male, brows lowering. "One might think you were up to something, if you keep that up." This time it was definitely a threatening growl. "Personally, I think it best I be on my way." He placed one paw on the pack, sinking his claws into it again possessively. "You have a pleasant evening. I insist you remain here in comfort, beside this convenient and very useful waterhole." He flashed a fanged grin, then sank those sharp teeth into the pack, leaving the straps to drag however they might, then turned and padded away. One ear remained canted his direction, but beyond that, he clearly had dismissed the merchant and was headed home with his prize, whatever it ended up being.
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