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 Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 2:27 pm
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The white lion had successfully returned to the Stormborn without a scratch on him, well, this wasn't technically true. He had lost quite a bit of fur from his back but this wasn't from the Viking expedition. Truthfully, it had come from one very brave little lioness finally proving her worth. He couldn't fault her for her success and he would wear his scars with pride, she'd work hard and it had paid off...even if he desperately wanted to find a tree and scratch the scabs off his back so badly.
Nevertheless, he had returned home with a huge amount on his mind.
Not only had he successfully tracked down his mother, but he had also encountered his father. More still, his father had finally told him the very reason for his own existence. What he had been told had been a lot to take in, some of it he still hadn't absorbed, and he suspected that he wouldn't fully process everything he had been given for a while yet.
He would eventually need counsel, he would speak with his sister in due time but right now he needed to be on his own. He needed a moment to breathe and consequently, he retreated to the cliffs where he could be left in peace. With only the sea breeze to gust against his cheeks, the lion was finally able to close his eyes, take a deep breath and think.
"Well..." he murmured to the empty expanse.
"How does one fight an enemy they can't see..." he pondered and heaved a sigh. "Tell me the secrets of the sea, madam gale. As timeless as you are, you should know the answers surely..."
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 2:56 pm
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 She had come to like this place especially. The feeling of mist on her fur had become a welcome one. There was comfort to be found in getting lost of the sea breeze and ocean fog. The cool air settled inside her and the sound of the crashing waves below were a soothing white noise far more preferable than the hustle and bustle of the more populated areas of the pride.
There would have been days in the past where Arina found areas like these not to be enough. Days where the aching hunger of something new and exciting gnawed at the pit of her. That was then. These days were different.
The pale lioness moved slowly. Her eyes looked over the various plants and greenery found sporadically around the cliffs, keeping watch for any that might be of use to her. She wasn't seeking anything in particular, her steps slow and languid. No destination. No agenda. Oh, how the times had changed her.
Had it been a more foggy day, she would had been lost completely in the mist. As it were, she was visible against the green-grays of the surroundings. As was the lion that she spotted at the cliffs. Her first instinct was to turn back. To sneak away before she was spotted and pulled into a conversation she didn't want to have. Arina couldn't help but hear the murmur of words, and though she couldn't quite pick out what the white lion spoke she found herself continuing on her path closer.
"You should be careful about speaking to the waves. Some might label you mad." Her voice wasn't the beautiful bell-like tones of some, nor the harsh rasping of others. Arina spoke in murmurs, the voice of a lioness not used to speaking loudly. She looked at him. Her eyes were a pale blue, one glassy where scars over the side of her face made her half-blindness uncomfortable obvious. A longer tuft of hair hung there in a pale attempt to hide the marred flesh. "Though I do hope you are only speaking to the sea and are not intending to meet it." Perhaps he was an unhappy thrall intending to jump. Undoubtedly it wouldn't be the only case of such a thing happening, though it certainly wasn't something that she wished to deal with on this day.
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 3:09 pm
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Yeah, he had a feeling the peace and tranquility wasn't going to last. There was just something about his general way of existing that ensured that every god and every part of the universe made it so that he was never quite alone. He would have said he found it rather rude but in the grand scheme of things, there were more important things for him to complain about.
Rather than ignore the interruption, the lion elected instead to face the lioness as she approached him. She was in possession of decidedly dulcet tones, quite the difference from his sister who could sound like a foghorn in his ear when she was feeling truly enthusiastic. It was a curious thing - so far the majority of those he had met from within this pride had been the sort to speak with a harsher tongue, evidently this one was not one of those.
...A thrall perhaps?
He knew better than to make assumptions, but they were generally the more assuming type.
"Mad would be a bit of a stretch," he said with a mild smile. "I would go so far as to say I'm just a touch overworked and in dire need of well... I'm not really sure," he pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I imagine if I asked a fellow reaver to walk along my back I might find myself a cripple, and my darling sibling would probably have more than just 'fun' attempting to do the same."
"Rest assured that I have no intention of dying today though," he tilted his head to the side and gave her a more thorough inspection. Perhaps she was a thrall with those scars, but for her to be in the condition she was, it would seem ownership had been changed at some point in her life.
"I was just looking for..."
Inspiration?
Clarity?
"Frankly I don't know, it's like consulting a false oracle at the moment I wouldn't be able to work out the right question to ask that would prevent me from getting a riddle back as an 'answer'," he stated and gave a slight nod of his head.
"Who are you, anyway? Sent to keep an eye on the cliffs in case anyone wants to make their life more exciting?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 3:35 pm
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no intention of dying today.
That was probably for a best. The statement made her ears perk and she found herself almost amused. So many here seemed hard-wired to accept death for the sake of glory.
A reaver, then. Talking to reavers made the fur on her spine bristle. Most of the ones she had the pleasure of conversing with were haughty and prideful creatures. Second to the chatty, gossip-fueled wives of the pride in taking pleasure in giving her a hard time when they learned the story of her scar.
Those loud-mouthed drunks were hardly the type to have conversation with the sea, though. At least not in the well-spoken manner of this lion. And he didn't seem to know of her, so on that front at least she was safe.
Arina's brow creased. Sent to keep an eye on the cliffs. Hah. The dry laugh that left her was singular and brief. Her eyes looked over the grey see. "Hardly. I imagine those who are the type to keep a thrall that has been driven to seek an end wouldn't be the type to leave a leash long enough to where they could get here. That, or the thrall would hardly be missed." That is to say, she doubted there was anyone to watch the cliffs. She doubted there was anyone that cared enough.
Her gaze lingered for a moment, out to where the grey of the ocean and the sea blended in to one another, before pale blue eyes turned back towards him. "Though I can't say I have much better reason to be here. You seek answers when you know no query. I am simply…"
She released a breath, a tired-sounding sigh. Arina shrugged. "Simply here, I suppose." The white lioness shook her head, finding that she had spoken more than she expected that she would. No matter. "I am Arina." Arina Akedottir, she added in her head. A surname she would have used when she didn't imagine herself a failure to her family.
"And you… You are unfamiliar to me. New to these lands?" It was likely enough that he wasn't new. That she had simply avoided the large population the pride was becoming and had grown distant from the families of old.
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 3:46 pm
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"Oof, that's a tad depressing," Tethys remarked, a lilt in his tone that seemed to indicate he was a good humoured creature. "I came here looking for some sort of optimism, hope, you know that sort of thing?" he waved his paw off towards the distance and then peered down towards the base of the cliffs. It was only then that he noticed that it was rather jagged down there. Ah, why yes, that would certainly be a rather brutal end to a very unfortunate day wouldn't it?
"I have never quite understood the necessity for brutal methods of slavery," he dismissed the notion that he might topple from the cliff's edge. At this stage in his life he was going to have to be really unlucky to stumble. He was sat down after all, frankly if he fell now, that would pose far more questions than it did answers...
Truth be told, he had two thralls of his own. Neither had been dragged in to the pride against their will, and seemed happy. Granted, one was barely off her milk and she had been taken into his custody for the sake of her own survival, but the other had been under agreement. Nanabe did truly appear to be happy, even he had been taken by surprise.
"A lot of time is wasted in breaking something, after which point you can never guarantee absolute obedience or loyalty," he shrugged his shoulders. Lips pursed, he regarded the lioness, it would appear she was not a thrall by the very manner in which she spoke. Thralls were typically a lot more careful with their words around strangers. "All it would take is one stronger individual to gain their favour and suddenly their master may find themselves vulnerable."
"You can't buy loyalty, nor can you force it."
Another pause followed.
"I've been around for quite some time but never so far up the cliff's, I have spent a large portion of my time beyond the pride lands looking for resources," he raised a paw and gave a small salute. "My name is Tethys."
"That aside there's nothing wrong with simply 'being'," he leant towards her a little and raised both eyebrows. "But you could show a little bit of enthusiasm about it, unless you're actually a spirit of some description and you lost your life on said shores," his brow waggled. "In which case hallucinations are incredibly unhealthy and I should absolutely go and have that looked at."
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 4:19 pm
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"Good grief you and my sister would get along spectacularly well," he raised a brow at her declaration that the pride could be depressing. Perhaps she saw things differently than he did, his sister most certainly did. She had always been highly practical, so much so that she had never possessed the ability to lighten up and let anyone in.
Tethys hadn't been blind to the fact that there were certainly plenty of asses in his new home, but a careful balance seemed to be maintained between them and those who weren't without heart. He could only surmise that perhaps she had been around a specific section of society and that had been more than enough to cement her belief that the pride sucked.
Lady optimism she was not.
"At least you aren't dead, my sanity is assured for one more day," he seemed to give a 'thumbs up' with his paw and chuckled. Though when she looked away from him, he did afford a slight narrowing of his eyes. He knew that face, it was that unusual emotion that sat between somewhere in between sadness and guilt. He couldn't quite put his paw on it but lions only ever did that when they were 'haunted' for want of a better word.
"They go well?" he shrugged his shoulders. "We find resources, we retrieve resources, then yay we all celebrate, wooo!" he waved both front paws and wiggled the toes on each. With his mouth in a small 'o' from his previous 'woo', he cast a sidelong gaze to the lioness again and gave her a nudge with his tail.
"Unless you know something I don't about Mistress Gale then I'm fairly confident she has no idea about resour -" he was interrupted, as what could only be described as a freak gust of wind thrust the waters higher and deposited a small fish on top of his head.
"Ces...?" he finished and clucked his tongue. "I stand corrected, perhaps I should consult her on my future endeavours," he remarked and lifted the fish from his head. "Hungry?" he hazarded before tossing it back 'overboard'.
"But in all seriousness, Vikings go as well as they should go. I was seeking advice for other things, things that don't necessarily have obvious answers. For example -" he sat back on his hindpaws again and turned his gaze back off into the fog. "How do you fight an enemy you can't see?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 4:50 pm
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A laugh, this one even more genuine than the last. Such a happy-go-lucky reaver she hadn't come across, before. Oh, how things had changed. His antics, if that was the right word for them, were a welcome breath of fresh air. She found herself entertained by his little mannerisms enough to where she didn't seem to notice the physical nudge that might have otherwise made her uncomfortable at best.
"It seems the Lady of the Sea doesn't appreciate her capabilities being doubted," she mused watching as the fish went sailing back into the sea. Resources. At least this mistress had a sense of humor. "As well it seems our endeavors outside the pride are about the same. Some things change, some remain the same."
Seeking resources. It was a way of putting it that she didn't hear often. More often it was seeking glory, or something of the like. Even from her father. It was these glorious endeavors that had drawn her to the prospect of reaving in the first place. This fact was far too embarrassing for Arina to admit, now.
How do you fight an enemy you cannot see?
His words drew her gaze to him quickly, pale blues framed by a knitted brow. It was a strange query. "It seems you are finding yourself in a rather specific conundrum," she responded, considering him and his question once more. Arina let loose another breath and glanced outward again. In the position in which she stood, she couldn't see him. He stood on the side of her where he were was scarred and glassy.
"Not being able to see is a bother. And I'm only half blind. But I find that… that would-be opponents think less of you when you are in a detrimental position. And any situation where an opponent makes assumptions is a situation that can be used to your advantage, if you approach it the right way." She was well enough used to getting a certain sort of treatment, being half-blind in a pride of warriors. On top of the claims that she was mentally and physically unfit to the job she once sought… Well. The songs the bards would sing of her would not be kind.
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Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 2:05 am
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The vast majority of Reavers probably did go out to seek glory, but it wasn't his most important requirement. There were things he needed, things his sister needed, and things the pride needed. So long as he acquired them it meant he would eventually acquire glory. Both things typically came hand in hand, and to ignore one would guarantee you would fall flat on your face when you took steps to claim that glory.
He'd let the more vocal, the more brutish, and those who possessed no brain make as much noise as they liked. He on the other hand would continue as he always had, and in the future, he would find he would be able to cash that 'service' in.
In a manner of speaking things hadn't changed much, Arina had simply met a Reaver with a different approach!
"Are you? I would have never known," Tethys supposed that explained the hair flopped over her eye, but he knew better than to pry. Prying got a smack to the ears from his sibling when it was unwelcome, not that he was around her thumb, but there were manners to remember.
"The problem with your particular scenario is that I don't think they think less of me," he sighed softly. "It is simply their tactic, one that no one has been able to counter successfully," he explained. "They strike before you have a second to see them, in essence you are dead before you can get up," he furrowed his brow thoughtfully.
"Not that your points aren't valid, you have a unique perspective that I don't," he added and cleared his throat. "But how are you meant to form any kind of tactical advantage when you can't even evaluate where they're going to be?" he hazarded. "I'm not entirely certain guess work is the smartest way to go about it, but that's all I've got going for me at the moment..."
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Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 11:24 am
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What had she just said?
The lion stared at her in surprise and for a long while he seemed to be at a loss for words. There were certain things he simply didn't know because he had never been exposed to them, but in a mere few phrases her had been introduced to not one, but two concepts that he should really have given thought to. His silence continued for quite some time, at a loss for words as he scrambled to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
"Run that by me again?" he said faintly. "Some snakes don't use light?" he repeated and shook his head. "They use heat...?" he sounded almost strangled as if he had just watched a tiny mouse fell a gigantic beast. He hadn't even considered that this would be a possibility; he had been seeking a method of seeing for himself... a way to think, act, fight.
"And what do you mean by 'feeling'?" he knew what gut instinct was, he had that. However he was beginning to suspect that she was referring to something a little more specific, something he may not have been capable of experiencing at this point in his life; he'd never been deprived of a sense that would require it after all.
"You may have just solved a problem, on the fly," he stated bluntly. "Give yourself some credit."
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Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 12:10 pm
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His response—the sound of his voice when he asked more about the snakes—caught her off guard. It was just something that she had heard in passing once. Someone had brought back serpents as companion thalls. Said they could see in the dark because they saw the heat of their prey, or something like that. Arina hadn't investigated it much further than that, having no real interest in the matter at the time. She didn't feel particularly wise on the subject, and his praise made her cheeks flush under the white fur.
"I… As far as I know, that's the case. I don't know the specifics, really, but some out there might." A shrug. Distractedly, she brushed her hair out of her face with a paw. It wasn't a common gesture, one only done when her mind was drawn from hiding that side of her face. It wasn't much information at all, but hopefully it would prove to have some use.
As he asked about sensing in the dark, she looked thoughtful. Her nose wrinkled a touch, a quirk she had picked up over the years. "It's… Well. Hard to put into words, I'm afraid. Maybe I'm misreading my own perspective and it's some combination of smell and sound. Maybe it's something to be discovered with practice. Have you considered it? I'm sure there's a cave or somewhere dark on the pridal lands to spar."
Was she making an offer of continued help? Her own words caught her a bit by surprise. Why was it, she wondered, that she was feeling invested in the quest of a stranger. Perhaps she just liked the feeling of being useful.
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Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 12:22 pm
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The male was positively giddy as she clarified what she had said before, she may not have been absolutely certain of her words but it was something. It was a line of questioning that he could investigate, perhaps find those who did in fact have these thralls, and request further information. If it were to work, then he would singlehandedly ensure that anyone who asked knew that this strange lioness had been the one to lead him to the solution.
He was not a lion who took credit for insights that were not his own.
Still, he was well mannered enough to continue to listen to her. His mind may have started to become very vocal, but he would acknowledge what else she had to say. Admittedly what she did have to say didn't make much sense to him at the moment and probably wouldn't until he had settled and given himself the opportunity to regroup. Regardless, it was yet another line of investigation for him to follow.
"Hold that thought," he said as he stretched out a paw to pat her shoulder in gratitude. "I have a lot to think about," he added as he strode away, however he begin to walk backwards after a moment so that he could speak one final time.
"We will see each other again, Arina -" he promised. "Not right away, but soon. It seems Mistress Gale gave me the answers I was looking for after all!" he called as he spun round once more and bounced off into the fog...
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