It was a beautiful day for a Viking, Arwach thought to himself as pressed on from the little cave he had found to spend the night in. He'd been out on his own for a few days now, poking about here and there to see what there was to find. As a Captain he probably should have a loyal band that went around with him, but he couldn't be bothered to find lions that were willing to put up with his bossy nature. He generally picked newer Reavers or Freeborn that wanted to claim the title and then left them to their own devices in the rogue lands while he did his own thing.

A smell caught his attention and he turned in the direction the wind was blowing from. A lion wasn't far from him, and from the smell they weren't injured or terribly old. Curious, he decided to go see who it was that was out and about on their own. It certainly wasn't a Stormborn out this far - he was generally the only one that would venture completely alone this far out.

Not far from where Arwach stood, Pazi stretched and rolled about in the grass, scratching a hard to reach itch on her back. Once it was satisfied she stretched her paws up into the air, a little grin on her face as she watched a few birds fly overhead. It had been quite some time now that she had been on her own and she was glad to be independent and free. She had made a few friends in her travels and loved life on her own. She did enjoy the company of others, though, and sometimes being alone was hard. One of the friends she had made - a leopard - had told her about the place she lived. It was a whole group of creatures living together that could come and go as they pleased. That truly sounded like a life Pazi would enjoy, although she wasn't too sure about which pride she should join.

As she contemplated this, Arwach slowly approached the patch of grass where she was laying. He surveyed the small lioness with interest, his eyes drawn to her markings on her back and the coloration of her mane. He prided himself on only taking the most beautiful creatures as his Thralls, but he was starting to become a bit irritated by the fact that he still only had one. The Captain dreamed of having a whole army of gorgeous Thralls of all genders and breeds, but so far he still just had the one with the curly fur. Today might change that.

"Hello," he said, his voice deep and gruff as he approached. Pazi jerked a bit in surprise and rolled to her stomach, staring up at the large male before her. Her eyes widened before she gave him a tiny smile, a little unsure but trying to be friendly. It had worked in the past.

"Hi there," she said, her voice a little wobbly but cheerful. "Didn't hear you coming, ha ha! For a big guy you're pretty quiet."

"I try," Arwach said with a smile that was nowhere near as pleasant as Pazi's. The little lioness swallowed thickly and got to her feet, hopeful to make a friend rather than needing to resort to her surprising speed to get away.

"My name is Arwach," the male said as he stepped forward, keeping their distance short. "I was just out for a stroll from my pride, looking to recruit a few new faces." That seemed to be the magic word because Pazi's nervousness quickly left and an excited look crossed her features.

"Oh! Really? I've never been in a pride before," she said, looking up at Arwach with a grin. "But I've been hearing about them lately and have been very curious about them. What pride are you from?"

"We are most known as the Stormborn," Arwach said with a little smirk, pleased that she was much more responsive now than she had been before. "I am a Captain there, one of the higher ranking lions, and am looking for more help for my day to day activities. I already have one lioness who is very kind that helps me, but as my duties grow so do the things I need help with. You would be well cared for and protected, fed, there would be many friends for you to meet-"

"Oh!" Pazi was nearly vibrating with excitement. This sounded like the perfect place for her. "That sounds wonderful Arwach! I'm Pazi, by the way," she added with a light laugh. "How silly of me to forget!" She took a step forward, closing the distance a bit more between her and the blue lion. "I would be quite interested in seeing this pride of yours and learning about it. Are we terribly far?"

"It's a few days walk from here, but if we were to return immediately I'd say we'd make it back before sunset tomorrow," Arwach said conversationally. He really wasn't that charismatic of a lion but he had won over both of his Thralls now by just casual conversation. Perhaps he should work a little harder on his 'charming' ways to see if he could lure more that way. There was some sort of saying about luring bees with honey rather than piss and it seemed to be holding true.

"Oh, that's great! I've been lazing about the past few days so I have lots of energy to get going if you want," Pazi offered, already shifting to walk in the direction Arwach had come from. He chuckled quietly and nodded, turning to head back home. This had been a successful trip to be sure. He had been hoping for some sort of treasure but had caught himself a Thrall. Pazi chattered away as they walked, keeping the conversation going without fail. Arwach thought with amusement that she would get along well with Igagasi for certain - he just hoped they wouldn't talk so much that he'd go mad. Off they went, Arwach with delight and Pazi in a similar way, unaware of the life she had just signed herself up for.

FIN
WC: 1012