He wasn't sure what it was - Perhaps it was the allure of everything dark and twisted, or maybe the assurance that trouble meant many asking for things. Whatever it was, Xavier was beginning to find delight in the troubles of prides. His previous life had been a more peaceful one, seeking to remove curses... Perhaps that had to do with the fact he'd been female before. But now he enjoyed trouble, knowing that unless it involved another god... He could get out of it by simply being a god. The god paused near the desert's edge, looking to the sky and curling his lip back in something between a dark grin and a grimace. His eyes in the sky should be back soon...
He'd stuck around the Nergui long enough to regrow his ripped-out flight feathers, and then it was time to wing it south again. The vulture hung in the air for a bit, keen eyes and nose scanning the land below. Sand as far as the eye could see and nose could smell... But then something popped out - A spot of green and black amid the pale gold. Ah, there was his target! He circled lazily, not wanting to go down QUITE yet. He had to think about how he was going to word things, after all. Looping back to his starting point, Vunde began his descent, continuing to lazily circle around and around the god's position.
The green lion scowled, claws digging into the sandy dirt as he watched the vulture. Lazy animal... The only reason he kept Vunde around and didn't eat him was because the vulture's flight was very useful to him. The bird could carry word elsewhere for him, and bring him back word from far away. Xavier found no desire to run so far, and his lack of wings in his mind always meant no flight. Violet eyes remained trained on the bird, until Vunde had settled on the god's back. The way he shifted as he gripped the mane that ran down the god's back was strangely comforting for Xavier, and he could tell that Vunde missed it, too. As he began to walk, keeping the desert to his left and the grassland to his right, he finally addressed the bird. "So... 'Ow are things up north?"
He preened at his feathers, before fluffing them a moment. "Sorry it's been a while..." If he could, he'd grimace, but having a beak versus a muzzle made that hard to do. "Some tri-colored lion ripped some of my feathers out, and I had to wait for them to grow back." He stretched his wing out, examining it. Still good again. "The Firekin sent a group into the northern reaches to scout and check things out... Hrafn was there, too..." The vulture clacked his beak in amusement. "It took the stupid louts a while to realize he wasn't such a safe bird to have around."
One long ear flicked, before Xavier looked back. "One of them injured you? Point me to the curr, I will remove 'is teeth one at a time." He didn't stop or turn around, though, continuing his slow walk. He knew he was leaving the lusher areas behind, but this also meant less chance of snow and ice. The lands were coming into summer, which meant the hot and dry times were coming upon them. He tilted his head, contemplating Vunde's words. "Are you sure the Firekin sent them? They do not... Seem the time, as it were... The Firekin I remember do not send scouting groups, they simply invade and take slaves back." How much had things changed since he'd last been in this region? That seemed so long ago... "Do you know 'ho the current king is, by the way?"
Vunde shook his head. "Nope, no king." He didn't miss the confused look. "Wow, it HAS been a while for you, hasn't it? Okay, so..." He motioned with a wing. "This is what I heard from Ngoma. When Ngoma's older sister was just into her adult years, the Firekin had a civil war - Kimeti's son, Kidondo, was exhiled for taking a slave for a mate, and Kidondo returned with an army, even getting some of the Firekin to defect to his side. He overthrew his father, circumstances of Kimeti's death are unknown, and the pride split in two. Ngoma was born post-split, but the prides re-merged when Ngoma was an adolescent, so he and many of his littermates left. But what was put in place by Kidondo was a regency... Which I guess is another way of saying he's still a king, but with a different title. And I'm not exactly sure if the Firekin actually sent the group or not, I just know a group was heading north, and then went south after they heard some words and Godlum let them go."
What a long-winded story... The god let out a huff. "Okay, so what else 'appened while you were up north? Will the 'Orde be moving soon, or are they waiting for the Firekin to move?" Despite them being a pride, if the word could be applied to them, that detested gods, Xavier found them... Fascinating. All that he knew, though, was what Vunde had brought him. Ever since the vulture had had a run-in with a raven, he'd been visiting the horde. At first, Vunde had been gone for days without explanation, until Xavier had pinned him down and threatened a broken wing if he wasn't told what was going on. That was when Vunde had stated where he'd been, and why. Which reminded him... "What of your little... Nose peckers?"
The vulture fluffed up with pride. "I'm so happy, my little nose pickers found homes!" He paused. "Well, three of them did. Baa's off being Baa, at least..." So long as she didn't start pecking at Xavier's ears... "Graos Oma hasn't heard that his promised little prizes flittered off with some of the Firekin yet, though... It'd be best not to mention that to anyone..." He wasn't sure how their mother would handle it, at least. "As for what else happened... The Firekin that Godlum let go left with two cubs... They also went digging in some rotting corpses, which I don't know WHY they made so much of a fuss about it... The more rotten it is, the better! Of course, I'm a vulture, and we LIVE on that kind of stuff..."
Xavier made a face, both at the rotting corpses and the mention of Baa. Of the little pests, she had to be the worst offender. "So long as she's not pecking my ears..." They had scabs on them, evidence of a chick that liked to peck at them. Why were HIS ears the targets? Why not Yutu's ears? Surely the rabbit had much better ears to peck at than the god did! He started climbing a rise, something he knew would make him more easily spotted. He let out a low, rumbling sound, and his coat seemed to shiver from nose to tail tip as he shifted form. The coloring changed with a ripple, going from a seafoam green to red, as his muzzle, belly, and toes gained cream marks and his legs seemed to sprout red markings reminescent of his cubhood and prior lifetime's markings. His ears, too, changed, becoming small and rounded instead of long and pointed. His hair and eyes, though, remained the same, the only indication to those who knew him well as to who he was. In the Hoard's lands... He was going to need the guise.
Vunde clacked his beak, lifting his head and shifting on his claws as the god's form shifted. When it was finally done, he slightly ruffled his feathers. "Must you insist on doing that while I'm on your back?"
The lion grinned at him, a dangerous thing for him to do toward anyone he didn't already show some form of affection for. "Of course I do... I know you 'ate it when I do that under you."
The vulture only gave him a sour look, before tucking his head under his wing in rest. He may have just come from the north, but he was more than willing to go back if he was getting a free ride of it.
