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 Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 1:18 pm
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Hivya was just trying to get out a little bit more, though timidly. After encountering Ulfric and learning more about how others viewed her, she was starting to feel like she had more to offer than... well. Nothing at all. Hiding in her den had suited her so far, but now she wanted to start exploring more and more, and she was getting a little bolder about how far out she went in her very tiny journeys.
One small step at a time, it seemed. She was doing her best, but she could not shake the anxiety that clung to her.
She nearly jumped completely out of her fur when she heard a voice behind her, and she turned with her fur bristled and her tail sticking out almost straight behind her, eyes wide and ears flat against her head. She was crouched down to the ground and she stared at the male for a long moment before she remembered how to take a breath. Her lungs thanked her and she was able to calm herself down.
"H...hello," she eeped out. |
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 1:39 pm
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"Th-that's okay," Hivya managed after a moment, her voice very soft. She sat down and sort of sank into herself, feeling very embarrassed and ashamed of her reaction to him. That was exactly what Ulfric had told her was so shameful. Maybe she was not meant to be much of anything, except embarrassing.
"My name is Hivya. I'm... I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to panic. I'm just a little... quiet."
She took a breath and tried to calm herself further, sitting up and smiling at him sheepishly. She knew she must have looked like a fool, but she supposed that was something she was going to have to get used to, since she was allowing herself to be seen at all. A Pink Shadow did not really make sense, so camouflage was out of the question anyway. At least he had pink to his fur, as if that was something she could take comfort in, because her fur was so bright.
Anything to help her view him as something safe, and not someone trying to steal her away.
"It's nice to meet you, Blomkvist. Are you... are you one of the Reavers?" |
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 1:51 pm
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"You certainly are quiet," Blomkvist agreed. "I can barely hear you over the water."
Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration. But it was true that Blomkvist had to lean in a bit to hear the lioness's soft voice, but he tried to do so subtly, so it wouldn't look as if he was looming. He wasn't sure how successful he was in that. Stormborn lions didn't tend to go in for subtlety too much, and looming came a lot easier than active listening, even for a confirmed gossip like Blomkvist.
"Yes. Not that I go out viking very often. Some people think I talk too much, but I think the real problem is that I talk too fast and their slow brains just can't keep up." He smiled again. It was a joke. Ha ha. Funny.
"Someone quiet like you...not a reaver, I'm guessing. Training to be a priestess?"
He knew better than that. He knew all of the priestesses and their apprentices, if they had them. If there had been a Hivya among them, he would have known. But he was just trying to get her talking. New people meant new information, if you could just get it from them.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 2:22 pm
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Blomkvist wasn't really sure what to do with that information. He was certain that wasn't her way of saying she was attracted to him, but really he just didn't see why she was apologizing. So he sat and listened and waited for her to talk her way back to some sort of sensible subject.
As he listened he came to the conclusion that she really didn't get out much, and that he probably wouldn't be getting much in the way of new information from her. Instead, he would probably be sharing new information with her. Well, new-to-her information. That was okay, too. Knowledge was no good if you just sat on it.
At last she came up with something he could chime in on, but he waited just a little longer to see if she was going to add anything after just. When she did, he sighed mentally and answered her, "I do like to talk. People tell me things, I tell them things. For instance, you're a freeborn, right? I mean, neither of your parents was a thrall? As long as you're a freeborn, no one with any sense will do those things you're worried about to you. Not even really nasty pieces of work like Turisas, who killed a few thralls just for annoying him once."
Blomkvist really hated Turisas. When they'd been young, that red and black lion had made his life miserable. It was truly unfair when someone like that was born gigantic and turned out to be a gifted fighter. Blomkvist may have been behind the rumour that Turisas put poison on his claws before fights, which everyone knew was a cowardly thing to do.
"Anyway, what do you like to do when you're keeping to yourself and not getting into trouble?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 2:45 pm
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"I am," she said, nodding her head. Well, she thought she was, and as far as she understood things, she was. Still, she did not feel safe. Any female being abused meant that the mentality that it was okay was set in for males. It would not stop at thralls, and she doubted an angry male took the time to ask when they got on a tear. She was just not willing to take the risk.
She did not say so, though, listening to him and nodding along with what he was telling her. It was news to her, so much as anything else would be. She was glad she'd run into him and not that other male that he mentioned, at any rate.
Chances were good things would not be going so well.
She had to think a bit about his question, shaking her head slowly after a moment. She was terribly boring, she realized, and this lion seemed to like to hear interesting things. She had nothing interesting to tell him, and suddenly she felt very ashamed of herself for it.
"I just sit around... doing nothing much at all. To be honest, now that I'm out and about... I wonder how I managed to stay sane in that little cave all by myself. Or if I did, I guess. I just... I want to see more things now, but I'm scared about it. A lion, his name is Ulfric, is trying to help me be a bit bolder but... I'm not sure he's going to succeed." |
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 3:05 pm
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If she had explained her reasoning to Blomkvist he probably would have been stumped. The thought had never occurred to him, since he was male and it wasn't really a problem he had to deal with. Tue, he was called a wuss more than many males in the pride, but he could easily prove the name-caller wrong. Ignorance is bliss and all that.
"He's not doing anything...untoward is he?" Blomkvist asked, all concern and solicitation.
Naturally he would repeat anything interesting he heard to Valena, but there was genuine concern, too. She was a freeborn lioness, and that meant she was entitled to a certain amount of respect. If some reaver was taking advantage of her timid nature, Blomkvist wanted to know about it. He might not do anything about it. But he definitely wanted to know about it.
"Well," he said, sounding reasonable as anything. "Do you want him to succeed? In making you bolder, that is. Not in doing untoward things. Obviously."
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 3:18 pm
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"No, no, I don't think he even thinks of me as a female... just... someone he does not think should be so... pathetic, I guess. Most of the time he just stands there and tells me I'm not doing things right." She sighed, not sure she had learned anything about herself or how to be bolder yet, though she still met up with that lion.
Maybe she just did not understand what he was trying to do. She had to admit, she was out here now, talking to others, and that was more than she did before.
"But I think... I think I do want to be less scared of everything. I don't like hiding any more, I feel like I've wasted a lot of time. I'm not doing anything, or learning anything. I just... I feel like I'm miles behind everyone else, and I have nothing to offer anyone. So if I do more and force myself to branch out more... I don't know. Maybe I'll be worthwhile after that?"
She shook her head, flopping her tail on the ground thoughtfully.
"It sounds dumb now." |
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 3:42 pm
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 4:32 pm
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"No, it doesn't sound all that helpful, does it?"
Hivya was not too sure what she was thinking, asking him for help. Okay, maybe he had some good points, and he was helping her to at least present herself a bit better to others and not hide in the shadows all the time, but was that really enough? She was not sure what the end game was here, but she was going to do her best while he was willing to offer her some advice, at least. Even if she did not understand it.
She watched Blomkvist but did not know enough about mannerisms and different lion personalities to realize he was shaking his head at anything but the bad training she was potentially getting. She was glad he was so understanding, though, and she thought he was very kind to be so concerned. She decided she liked him, which was a brand new experience for her and she was thrilled by the new turn.
"Uhm. Well. I thought... because my pelt is so bright... well. I thought someone might steal me away, like I've heard they'd done to other lionesses... I didn't realize that being a Freeborn meant... well, I just got it in my head that everyone is dangerous and... it's hard to get out of that. But you seem very nice. I just... feel a lot of anxiety, being out in the open."
She shuffled her paws again, a nervous gesture.
"Sometimes I imagine things happening and I can't get it out of my head, so I just... hide somewhere dark until they go away." |
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 4:48 pm
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"I don't think your parents would let someone steal you away," Blomkvist said.
Too late it occurred to him that her parents might be dead. Oh, well. Probably they hadn't died in a shameful way, so there was nothing wrong with that. Except maybe a lioness as quiet as she was might also be really sensitive about things like dead parents. He hoped not. Weepy, wet, wailing women were outside his comfort zone.
"Though - and I mean no offense to your parents - it doesn't sound like they taught you very much. Maybe you should convince Ulfric to teach you to fight so you'll know if anyone tries anything, you can defend yourself."
Blomkvist was very careful to suggest that Ulfric do the instructing. He didn't want to get saddled with a pupil. He had no patience for instruction, and no particular desire to attempt it even if he had any sort of patience. And, frankly, Hivya seemed nice enough, but she sounded pretty flower-blooded for a Stormborn. It would do his reputation little good to be seen with her.
"Might even help with the things in your head," he added nonchalantly.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 5:06 pm
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Hivya looked thoughtful, shaking her head.
"I was very withdrawn as a cub. That was probably part of it," she said at length, not really used to pointing out all the things that made her so weird. She was getting a better picture of herself, though it was not one she really wanted to see. She took a breath, trying not to upset herself. When she was upset she just hid in a hole.
That would be counter productive at this point.
"Well, I'll ask him," she said, about fighting. She was not sure she was ready for that, and Ulfric seemed to be like three times her size and she was sure he could smack her head off with one swipe of his paw if he wanted to. And sometimes she was not sure if he wanted to or not, which was disconcerting at best.
"Anyway, thank you for speaking with me. I think I'll be on my way now..." She was getting the vibe that this guy did not actually give a s**t about anything but himself, so she was taking back her earlier assessment about him. She just wanted to get away from him, and go back to bettering herself in peace. |
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Blomkvist supposed there were better ways for a reaver to spend his time than hanging about on the beach and betting with himself about how high the tide would come, but most of them also involved a good deal of work and tedium. Not that watching the tide come in was exciting, but it was a tedium of his own choosing, and that made all the difference.
