Welcome to Gaia! ::

"You know, you really don't have to go quite so fast. The rogue lands will still be there even if you were to, say, walk to get there," Fast pointed out as he trailed after a blond reaver a season or two younger than he was.

He wasn't actually sure why he had decided to follow him, except that the lion had seemed to be in such a thunderously bad mood, Fast couldn't help but be curious. His curiosity had prompted him to follow the stomping lion beyond the pride's borders and into the rogue lands. So, really, they were already in the rogue lands, proving for a certainty that they would still be there if they were to slow their pace.

"Seriously. Unless someone's hurt or in need of rescue, I don't know wy you would go charging off like this. You could get in trouble."

Tall slowed his pace momentarily so that he could sneer over his shoulder at his unasked-for companion. He didn't even know the lion's name, although his markings reminded him somewhat of a family of lions he almost never encountered in the pride. One of them had been on that quest-thing of Captain Ruzanski's. Was this the same lion? He would have sworn that lion was older.

"Since I didn't ask you to follow me, I really don't see why I ought to slow down to accommodate your pace," he grumbled.

He had been storming out of the stronghold in a justifiable snit following news from his grandfather that he had been betrothed without his knowledge, let alone his permission, and that he was now expected to become a captain and marry some girl he didn't even know. Then this other lion had just started following him and yapping at him.

"I'm not going to get in trouble. I'm a reaver. I'm allowed to leave the stronghold as I choose. But if you're worried, feel free to bugger right off."

Fast frowned and took advantage of the younger reaver's momentarily slower pace to gain a little ground. In a cheerful tone that was completely at odds with what he was saying, he asked, "You're kind of a d**k, aren't you?"

This actually made the other lion stop dead in his tracks and fix him with an impressive glower that didn't faze Fast in the least. Being glowered at was something he had forced himself to become accustomed to when he was brought to his father's pride all those seasons ago. At this point he was basically unaffected by attempts to intimidate him using facial expressions alone.

"And, for your information, I'm a reaver, too, so leaving the stronghold isn't a big deal for me." Except it kind of was. He hadn't done it since he'd gotten so badly hurt by an outlander he thought he might die. He would have, if not for Vitania.

Tall couldn't believe a complete stranger had just called him a d**k. Well, "kind of a d**k," to be technical, but the qualifier was just a polite technicality, Tall had no doubt. It occurred to him that it could be a great deal of fun to hurt his tag-along. It wasn't as if he didn't deserve it for calling him a d**k.

"Is there a reason you're following me?" Tall demanded. It was not the first time he had asked, but he had not gotten a response before. Now that they were both standing still and facing one another he thought he might stand a better chance of getting an answer. And if he didn't like it, then the beat-down could happen.

"In case you couldn't tell, I am in a foul mood and your continued presence is exacerbating the condition. I would be very happy to tear some holes in your hide right now, so maybe you should consider giving me a reason not to do that."

Fast shrugged. Now that violence had been threatened he was no feeling quite so confident, despite the training he had put himself through after his recuperation. It was obvious that the lion he was dealing with had a mean streak which he was looking to indulge. Fast supposed he ought to consider himself lucky: he had been given a warning and a chance to avoid being attacked. Probably he should take advantage of those things.

"You looked like you were angry and in a hurry to get somewhere. I wasn't sure if there was maybe trouble, and if you needed assistance dealing with it."

He thought, but did not mention, that if the lion was in as bad a mood as all that, there had to be some sort of trouble, even if it wasn't the kind Fast could help with. At this point Fast was pretty sure he should have just minded his own business and let the other lion go his way, but it was too late to do that now, and he would not retreat just because he had been threatened. That would be unforgivably craven.

"I am in absolutely no need of assistance," Tall assured the other lion.

In the face of the blue-eyed lion's persistent good humor, Tall found it a struggle to remain angry. At least to the degree he had been angry an hour ago. He still wouldn't mind killing something, or at least getting into a fight, but the urge was diminishing. He huffed and shook his mane out of his eyes.

"Why would you follow a complete stranger, anyway? You don't even know my name." Unless he did. That would be unexpected and a mite creepy. "At any rate, I definitely don't know your name, and even if I did, I wouldn't have invited you to tag along. Especially if you're always so ******** cheerful."

Although Tall could probably benefit from some cheering up, he really wanted to indulge in some cathartic acts of violence first, as a Stormborn reaver ought to do. Cheering up could come later, after he'd brooded and smashed some things.

"All right," Fast agreed. "I'm Fastklump, son of Skremmende Galning, one of the reavers who went with Captain Ruzanski on his quest."

He, himself, had nothing to contribute to the family legacy, as yet, but Fast did intend to bring fame to the family. It occurred to him, finally, that by attaching himself to this blond lion with the foul temper he might stand a better chance of finding some fame. The lion had an ambitious sort of air about him. He was getting tired of being insulted though, and of being reminded that his presence was unwelcome.

"I'm not being cheerful, I'm being agreeable. It's a way of interacting with people that doesn't cause fights. Assuming you're interacting with someone rational anyway. If you'd rather I be argumentative like you, I can do that." Except he would really rather not, because that would lead to a fight that he would assuredly lose.

"Tallskog," he grunted grudgingly. He didn't add any flowery untruths about it being good to meet the other lion though, because he still wasn't convinced that it was a good thing. At least Fastklump had a bit of a family history in the pride, although there was something about his name...

"Wait. Your father gave you a name that means 'immovable lump'?" Tall sniggered. "You know what? I think I can put up with you for one outing anyway. You can be as agreeable or disagreeable as you want."

It wouldn't matter. Tall was going to needle him about his name until the joke got old. And it never would. Now that he thought about it, Fastklump's father's name was unusual, too. "Screaming madman." Tall smirked, his mood improved measurably by his companion's unfortunate name. Tall's family was awful, but they weren't that awful.

"You're joking," he said. Please let him have been joking. Unfortunately, the look on Tallskog's face was genuine schadenfreude. There was no way that expression could be faked. Fast's name really did mean "immovable lump."

"No. My father named me Yollalunta. The captain who took me on my first viking gave me the name Fastklump."

Nobody had ever translated Fastklump's name for him. It had been given to him by Captain Erling when he asked the captain to give him a new reaver's name because the name his father had given him, Yollalunta, was a pain to pronounce. Suddenly Fast felt horribly embarrassed of all the times he had introduced himself with pride.

"I'm going to kill Captain Erling."

Tall winced in sympathy even while he was amused by Fastklump's anguish. It would be pretty awful to find out that his name meant something stupid like that.

"You should have stuck with Yollalunta. 'Night snow.'" He almost managed to sound sympathetic as he offered this advice, but his irrepressible smirk gave lie to his tone. He wondered if Fastklump's father spoke the old tongue, or if he'd just made up a name. As he wondered, Fastklump swore an oath to kill one of Tallskog's relatives.

"That's my great-uncle you're threatening to kill, you know," Tall remarked mildly, taking pleasure in the suddenly stricken expression on Fastklump's face.

"I didn't mean. I mean, well, I've been going around since I first became a reaver talking about how Captain Erling gave me a reaver's name, and everyone's been smiling and congratulating me, but now I wonder how many of them knew what he had really called me." Dejected, Fast plopped onto his butt. "You do understand why I might want to kill him?"

Not that Tallskog had sounded all that upset by Fast's declaration, but he didn't want to have to fight about it. If he was going to fight anyone, he'd rather it was the a*****e who had given him a ridiculous name and then let him become an object of ridicule. Gods. That was really a wretched thing to do to someone who looked up to you. It didn't cross Fast's mind that maybe he should have asked what the name meant.

"I know all about wanting to kill the older members of my family. Believe me," Tall replied dryly, answering Fastklump's question about understanding. He thought his great-uncle's trick had been funny, but he could see why Fastklump might not agree.

"You could always challenge him to a holmgang. It'd be a little unorthodox, but they've occurred for sillier reasons." That was a fight Fastklump would lose in a hurry. Erling might not go viking all that often, but he was still formidable. Tall wouldn't have wanted to take him on unless he knew Erling was having a bad day, joint pain-wise.

"Or you could let it slide and convince people to call you Fast. That's the part that means 'immovable.' It's not a bad name." He grinned and it wasn't the least bit smirky. "Anyway, let's get a move-on. You can think about it while we're taking out our frustrations on some deserving inferior beast."