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 Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 9:09 am
 Orla wasn't entirely sure what she'd been expecting of the pride. She certainly hadn't been expecting it to be so... populated, nor had she been expecting it to be so violent. There were spars, and sometimes (she'd seen three) there were drunken fights between big, brawny lions who had imbibed a little too much. It was not what she was used to, but Corallus and Aagen were safe with their family - which was rather large, quite honestly, and a little intimidating. Having spent most of her life in a pride filled with weak and sick lions, Orla was certainly not used to the burly, brawny lions of the Stormborn. And so, as soon as she was satisfied the children were safe, Orla made her way to the forest that bordered the pride. It was much quieter there, and Orla enjoyed the solitude. It didn't take her long to make a little den for herself between two thick, fallen trees. It was peaceful and for the first time in a long time, the lioness felt content.
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 9:32 am
 Odd was following a trail that wasn't a trail. When he was younger he used to do that a lot, trying to sense something out of place or striking enough that he would go toward it until he ended up somewhere. His mother had told him that this was one of the ways spirits spoke to lions who knew how to listen. Right now, Odd very much needed guidance, and so he was doing his best to remember how he had played this game.
It was more difficult as an adult because you were supposed to play it either without any expectations of what you would find, or with a particular question you wanted answered. Adults rarely had but a single thing on their mind, and Odd was no exception. He wasn't sure what to do about his niece, Klona, or his half-sister, or her cubs, or any of the rest of the family, which he felt inexplicably responsible for.
So, naturally, the spirits led him to a den that smelled of strangers. Because what he really needed in his life were more things to worry about. Thanks, Obama spirits.
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 9:50 am
Having spent quite a lot of time on her own in the roguelands, Orla always slept with one eye open. Even when she was utterly exhausted she was on alert. The content feeling that warmed her chest gave way to a light doze. She roused only when a stranger's scent invaded her nostrils, and once she realized she wasn't alone Orla rose to her feet.
It took her a moment to shake off the haze of sleep, and a moment longer to catch sight of the orange male that stood a little too close for comfort. She took a step back and debated her next action. Probably she shouldn't have moved to her feet, but it was too late to go back now. If she'd remained on the ground there was the chance he might have overlooked her. Now that she was on her feet, though, the likelihood of that happening had slimmed dramatically.
"Stay back. This is my den, and I've got Stormborn family."
Well, she didn't really have blood-family in the pride, but she considered Corallus and Aagen to be a part of her family. It wasn't a lie, really. Just... a stretch.
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 10:01 am
Odd was taken aback by the lioness before him. He had only smelled her before, which gave him no clue as to her appearance, but now that he saw her, he wasn't sure what to make of her. Her markings and coloration were so very, very similar to his own and those of his brothers, he was given to wonder if their mother had gone off and had another child sometime and neglected to mention it to anyone. It was the sort of thing she would do.
"I don't doubt it," he answered, stepping forward so that she wouldn't be so alarmed by him. People didn't like to be crept up on, he knew from experience, and he didn't get quite the same pleasure out of startling people with his stealth that he had as a youngster.
"I would very much like to know the name of your mother."
Because if it was Raven, he had a bone to pick with her. Well, no. But he should probably hunt her up sometime and see how she was getting along anyway. It had been a very, very long time since he had seen her, and he wasn't sure any of his nieces and nephews had met her at all. One more thing to weigh on his mind. And another: it was wholly possible she wasn't even living in pride lands anymore, and hadn't bothered to mention that to anyone either.
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 10:44 am
Orla finally took a moment to really look at the male, and she narrowed her eyes at him briefly. He didn't appear to be out for blood which immediately calmed her a small margin. He was striking in the sense that he looked quite similar to herself. This fact, paired with the question he asked her, led Orla to believe that she must look much like his mother.
"Gerda. She is.. not from these lands."
No, her mother would never leave the pride lands to which Orla had been born. In truth, the sick lioness might not even be alive even as Orla drew breath. That thought was mildly depressing - just as life had been back in the pride - and Orla banished the thought from her mind. This was the time for new beginnings, and to let her thoughts linger on the family she'd been forced to leave behind, well.
It was all rather depressing.
"Why do you ask? It's an odd question to ask a complete stranger."
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 11:22 am
"So you're vikingborn?" he asked, and winced mentally. Asking if someone was vikingborn wasn't quite rude, but it certainly wasn't a polite way to open up a conversation, since it pretty much implied a level of illegitimacy surrounding the lion's conception. "You don't have to answer that."
Odd gave a self-deprecating half-smile.
"I was struck by the similarities between our coloration, and since mine comes from my mother, who is a lioness disinclined toward settling down, I wanted to make sure that I was not meeting some half-sibling I never knew existed. Although I suppose it's possible you could be the child of one of my mother's offspring." He shut up. Again, he was venturing into not-quite-polite territory there.
"Could we start again? I'm Odd Haleifr. It's very unsettling to meet you in this part of the woods....?" he trailed off so that the lioness could fill in her own name.
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 4:00 pm
"Orla," she responded, probably a little curtly. He was polite enough, which was odd ... no pun intended ... considering the pride that they were in.
"I'm not vikingborn," Orla answered the question, a curious look in her eyes. "I come from a pride far from here. My mother is Gerda, as I've said, and my father is named Jozo. My mother is quite ill, and my ...sister," it wasn't entirely true, as Cor wasn't her sister despite the way that Orla felt responsible for the cubs she'd taken under her wing, "birthed cubs that belonged to a lion in this pride. Asper," she clarified, just in case Odd was wondering.
"I brought them here to him per my sister's request, and I decided to make my home here. So," she smiled a little, her eyes finally warming, "I can assure you we are in no way related. Mere coincidence, our physical similarities. I did not think to find another out here in the woods," there was a tinge of curiosity in her voice then, a question that went unasked.
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 4:30 pm
He nodded and committed the lioness's name to memory. Orla. It even sounded like one of his sisters' names. Ormarr. But she wasn't related to him even a little bit it seemed. She wasn't vikingborn, but an outlander, which was good. He didn't really have a good reason for feeling that was a positive thing, but he did, and he was used to his instincts.
Asper had accompanied Ru on his quest, and that was probably when he had met Orla's sister. He wondered why it had fallen to Orla to bring the cubs here, but he didn't say anything about it. He had already trodden close to offering offense several times already, and he felt strongly that he would not want to be on her bad side in the future.
"I live in the woods as well. We are not the only ones who do so, but most of the people who choose to live here like their privacy. I did not mean to intrude on yours. Shall I go?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:51 am
"No, no," Orla found herself actually enjoying the company of another adult lion. She'd spent so much time travelling with Aagen and Corallus, and while Aagen could assuredly hold his own in conversation his sister most certainly could not. Odd seemed nice enough, but it was a curious that he'd chosen to live his life in the forest.
"Why do you call the forest home, then? Why do you not live a more comfortable life with..." her expression changed, as if she were trying to remember something, "thralls? That is what the slaves here are called? Surely it would be easier to live in the pride than out here in the forest."
It was only polite that she list her own reasons at that point, and so Orla continued.
"I am here in the forest because I find the," she waved a paw as if searching for a proper way to put things, "brutality? Of the pride a little unnerving."
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Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2014 2:37 pm
He'd intended the remark about privacy mostly as a subtle warning that she shouldn't seek out the woods' other denizens. Odd didn't think she posed a threat, but given the status of his family in the pride, he was cognizant of the fact that other members of the family who had taken up residence here might not care about that. Kazul, he knew for a fact, would treat any stranger as a potential threat and probably do her best to kill them on sight, or turn it into a training exercise for her cubs.
"I was raised here," he answered truthfully. "My siblings and I are the vikingborn children of a captain in the pride, and my mother preferred to raise us here, near enough to the pride that we could learn their ways, but separate enough to learn hers as well."
All of that was true, but didn't actually mention the fact that the captain he referred to was actually the warlord and that he and his family had been exiled and threatened with death or enthrallment should they return. It didn't seem like Orla knew about any of that, and he saw no reason to bring it up. Though he would have to convince her not to mention having seen him to anyone in the pride, he supposed.
"There is also that," he conceded, referring to the brutality. He didn't find it unnerving, but he could see where a true outlander would. "Do you ever go into the stronghold, then?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 6:44 pm
In truth, she'd merely dropped off her wards before high-tailing it to the forest. Orla hadn't been back since, and she had no desire to return to the stronghold.
"No. I stay in the forest and keep to myself. How many of you are there out here, then?"
She looked around briefly, curiously, as though by doing so might reveal any other hidden occupants. Orla smiled as her attention came back to Odd. It was a little nice to know that there were others here in the forest, even if they might not all be friendly. She'd looked after herself for a long time, and had even been responsible for those unable to defend themselves. Orla had little doubt she'd be able to handle herself should the need arise.
"You're lucky to have family," Orla continued, her voice dulling only the slightest.
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 8:05 am
"Just my family, really. Maybe a few others," he said, keeping it vague.
Odd wanted to trust this lioness. His instincts told him that he could, and his instincts were very rarely wrong about anything. The problem was, he had to second-guess himself because it wasn't just his safety that depended on keeping the family's whereabouts secrets. His whole family was potentially endangered, and it was hard enough to live with the knowledge that he had siblings and a nephew who had been enthralled. He could not bring himself to risk any more, no matter how willing he was to trust Orla, personally.
"I'm not sure lucky is quite the word though," he joked. "Almost all the difficulties in my life can be directly traced to some member of my family. But...they are my kin and I would die for them." He left unsaid that he would also kill for them, because that was needlessly threatening.
"This has quickly turned far too serious for a first encounter, Orla, and I suppose I'm at least partly to blame. It has been some time since I've met someone new and my manners have suffered."
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Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 8:23 am
"My family back home is all sick," Orla tried to keep her voice level, and when Odd mentioned that the conversation had grown too serious, she graced him with a relieved smile. A topic change would be most welcome. She didn't want to think about the family she'd left behind. It was depressing, and this was supposed to be a fresh start for her. "But you're right. This has gotten a little to heavy for me. Topics I'd much rather leave alone. It's a nice day and peaceful here in the forest, and I'd like to think I've made a new friend," she gave Odd a pointed look, offering him another smile. "All in all, not a bad day. I have to say, I'm relieved it was you that stumbled across me, and not someone from the stronghold."
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Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 9:34 am
Odd wasn't really sure what to make of that revelation, about Orla's family. It was tragic, certainly, but he was enough of a Stormborn to feel that they had probably done something to deserve it. Either them or their ancestors. Whole families did not get sick by accident.
Fortunately, his mixed views on the matter never needed to be aired because Orla was willing to change the subject. She was even willing to consider him a friend, which he thought might be a little too hasty, but perhaps she was of a more incautious nature than Odd was.
"People from the stronghold don't tend to come into the woods. They think they're haunted." Thinking of the so-called forest ghost made him smirk, since he knew exactly where the pride had gotten that idea. "I don't think you have anything to worry about as far as ghosts go, in case you were worried. I'll be sure to tell them to leave you alone."
"I could stop by again and check in on you sometime, if you like," he suggested, figuring that would stop her from coming in search of him. He would do his best to keep his family from discovering her, because he didn't trust them not to decide she wouldn't be missed.
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Posted: Fri May 02, 2014 9:50 am
Orla was quiet for a long stretch of time, a slow smile toying with her muzzle. Haunted? Orla didn't believe in such things, but if the superstitions kept the lions from the stronghold at bay then Orla would gladly accept such beliefs. She might even encourage them in whatever way was necessary. Her russet coat blended in well enough with the underbrush that coated the forest floor. "I would like that, I think," Orla dipped her head in a nod, "having you stop by. It's been nice." Orla was well aware of the dangers that threatened, but there was something about Odd that made her feel at ease. Perhaps it was the way he acted, well-spoken and kind enough. It had been a long time she'd had a place to call home, a place that was hers and hers alone. She'd never really made friends, and for the first time in a long time Orla was feeling excited by the prospect of settling down.
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