|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2018 1:32 pm
 |
|
|
 |
Kerra wasn't sure what was worse. Being picked to track along the most boring patrol route on the borders or the company he had been stuck with. Elda was neither a bubbly personality or a guard and, when he occassionally turned to see her sullen face drawing up behind him, he wished that he'd not decided to be a martyr and leave his grandfather's patrol to try and help out whilst their numbers were - temporarily - lowered.
She was...a sentinel, he recalled. A loyal follower of the old legate. A grumpy creature with no ambition, no ability to laugh and steadfast in her gait.
She was impossible to outrun.
"Don't you ever tire?" he asked, at last, feeling his own strength beginning to dwindle from the pace he had kept up.
She looked at him as if he'd asked her how she'd grown an extra head and then looked down at her paws as if honestly considering his question. Then,
after a moment, she seemed to realise what he meant and gave him a light shrug, never slowing for a moment.
"Look," Kerra replied, "I'm going to need to take a break in a bit."
"That's fine," she replied dully.
"Good, how about over there?"
Over there was a piece of scraggly shrubland decorated with an array of boulders. There was no real water source there, but enough shade for them to take a moment's respite until they did reach the next watering hole. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2018 1:46 pm
|
|
|
|
She wasn't supposed to be here, or that was the lesson she would discover as she wandered about the barren landscape. Nevertheless, this was the paw they had been dealt and in the months that had followed, her small family had adapted to their new 'home'. It was a lonely sort of place, deliberately selected by their pale mother in an attempt to shroud them from view of...something.
She'd never gone in to details and at such a young age, Ymir didn't have the capacity to place two and two together. Eventually she would age, she would gain further insights into the behaviour of others, but for the time being the cub was as naive as the next. Though not a new born, she was by no means a teenager either, and as a consequence she had plenty to learn.
Nevertheless, she found herself with a rare opportunity to explore this afternoon. Her mother had been clear that she wasn't to wander too far and much to her changrine, her brother had decided that he much preferred to remain in the shade. It seemed that the majority of her siblings (of which she had three) were less than inclined to explore in this heat and thusly, she was left to her own devices. Unfortunately this did mean that she had to judge how far 'too far' was on her own and given her small stature...that might prove a little difficult.
It was for this reason that Ymir had simply kept wandering, padding comfortably along the sands as she observed the otherwise beige and rocky expanse. The young cub was fortunate that her mother had the capacity to find her if need be, but for the time being she was free to do as she pleased. On this occasion, that would mean that the little cub 's paws would meander towards the unsuspecting guard and his companion...and they would receive quite the surprise from a border that really shouldn't have contained any life!
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 12:33 pm
|
|
|
|
"There's something there," Elda replied in monotone, her heavy brow falling further over her eyes. For, indeed, there was a small shape moving amongst the rocks ahead. She assumed something of the feathered kind. Maybe an eagle or vulture, but as they drew closer the shape was bigger than that.
"Whaa?" Kerra replied through a yawn, panting heavily now as the tantilising shade drew closer. "No one's ever out this way."
Elda gave a low huff and overtook him, powering her limbs onward as if newly rested. Kerra moved after her, close at her heel. A few minutes later and he felt the pleasing shade from the rocks falling over his back. Such respite from the sun was a thing of true pleasure. With a sigh, he threw himself into the cooler sand at the base of the rock and started to ease himself into a relaxed sprawl.
This was well-earned.
Elda, however, dutifully began to wind through the rocks, in search of the pale figure she had seen, huffing noisily through her nose.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2018 1:08 pm
|
|
|
|
The snuffling of the Sentinel was enough to cause the cub's ears to perk, at first she thought it was a scavenger of sorts, but just like the Firekin she had concluded that very little lived out here. Thus, it gave the pale cub pause and she glanced here and there until her gaze suddenly settled on what appeared to be a very large form. At first she wasn't entirely sure what it was, but after a while she realised that it was a lioness.
Her ears perked, and despite what her father probably would have told her, she followed her mother's inclinations and padded towards Elda out of sheer curiosity. She was absolutely fearless, or it might have been better to assume that the cub simply didn't have exposure to external threats. It wasn't an entirely accurate assumption but it was one of the few ways to explain how and why a cub might disregard their own safety despite several lessons that should have been instilled in them by this age.
...That being said, Arimathras wasn't exactly a normal mother.
For the time being the cub was unaware of Kerra's presence, but at the very least he would hear her high pitched squeak of a voice as she greeted the peculiar and much larger lioness.
"Hello!" she sang merrily, not one to keep her presence hidden...and quite frankly against the beige she rather stuck out at the moment.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 1:14 pm
|
|
|
|
So the odd shape she had spotted had been a cub. A cub...way out here in the middle of nowhere. Alone. Seemingly healthy. Elda blinked dumbly down at the cub and, for a moment, did not know what to do or say. Part of her wondered whether she was imagining the cub. A mirage. Brain addled by too much sun.
"Do you...see the cub?" She asked of Kerra uncertainly.
The red lion blinked across and, when he, too, saw the cub, was startled back to his paws. "Don't worry," he confirmed, "you're not imagining things."
And then, to the cub he said: "what are you doing way out here in the middle of nowhere? Where are your parents?" She certainly wasn't a Firekin cub.
He was familiar with most markings found amongst his kin and he'd not seen any amongst their number with that which she bore on her pelt./size]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 3:58 am
|
|
|
|
Her fate would have been sealed within the Firekin and she most likely would have found herself out on her backside as a result of her colouring. Ymir was still naive to the world, but perhaps in time she might come to realise the place that her mother had chosen to settle by, would have been somewhat hostile to her existence simply due to the nature of her fur colour.
For now though, ignorance was bliss, and the cub saw no reason not to approach either of the two lions who were seemingly non-hostile. They weren't perfectly friendly, one seemed a bit taken aback, but they didn't give off harmful vibes and as per her mother's instructions...one was to always follow their instincts.
She'd run if the circumstances changed.
"Daddy is faaaaar away," she sang, though she didn't specify whether this was because he wasn't involved in their lives, or if he was simply absent for the time being. "Mummy is...somewhere," she glanced over her shoulder briefly and giggled. "She'll come find me when I've been gone too long," she reassured them and shook her head. "She's real good at finding things, so I'm no trouble at all!" she declared merrily.
"But we live out here right now - not forever, just for now, that's what mummy says. We have to stay here for a little bit until some things happen and then poof, we go home!"
"What are you doing out here?" she asked curiously.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 2:01 pm
|
|
|
|
"You...are living way out here?" Kerra echoed, raising a brow in question. Beside him, Elda shifted uneasily and glanced around, as if half-expecting some sort of sneak attack. But the desert was as empty and quiet as it always was - save for them. "Doesn't seem like the best place to raise a family."
Unless they were trying to hide from someone, of course. Still, it seemed to Kerra like there would be better places than this barren landscape.
"We're on patrol," Elda replied to the cub's question, furrowing her brow. "You're on the edge of Motoujamii lands."
"True enough," Kerra added, "but this border is quiet and the guards won't be hostile unless given reason."
"I wasn't trying to scare her," Elda muttered, taking a step back.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2018 10:30 am
|
|
|
|
Kerra laughed. The cub could talk and she certainly seemed lively enough that her health wasn't a concern. Some how or other, her mother was doing a good job at keeping her cubs well cared for, even out here.
"We're quite a ways from the heart of the pride where we're from." He replied after a moment.
"We are of the Motoujamii," Elda clarified with a slow blink.
"Also known as the Firekin," Kerra added, "we're many things. Territorial, too. We patrol to keep out potential enemies and make sure no one moves into our land. But don't worry, we won't need to report on you and your family."
"That might not be tru--"
Kerra interrupted, "--unless you have a whole pride living on our borders, you're perfectly safe -- from us, anyway. I imagine the land is more of a threat than we are right now."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2018 11:16 am
|
|
|
|
"Nope, we got no pride out here," the little one confirmed and shook her head. "We're hiding from the mean black ones though, so if you see any of them we gotta be careful," she didn't really understand the significance of her own words, but her mother had been very firm in her instructions that she run if she saw anything black. It wasn't that Arimathras was teaching her children to be racist, but she was ensuring that they didn't get themselves into unnecessary danger.
...Ironically, such a dangerous and barren environment was the safest place for them.
"We're only staying here for a little while, until the thingy happens and we can go home again," she nodded and then pursed her lips. "But if you do see any of the black ones don't tell them we're here, that would be really bad," she confessed. "Even if they seem really nice you can't tell them, ok?"
It was a strange question for her to ask, that was for sure, but she did appear to be genuine in her concern...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2018 3:10 pm
|
|
|
|
Shade sounded like a good idea, and it was something that her mother would have encouraged. It was for this reason that the little cub seemed to invite herself along into this shade. Her mother would be along when it was time to go home, and if Kerra and his companion were still here then they might very well have the opportunity to meet her.
For the time being though, she would simply hound them for stories and information about their pride. She was a curious about them, as she was with most things, and if there was ever a time to learn anything in this isolated environment it was now. Thus she settled herself where Kerra had motioned, coiling her tail around her hind paws as she did so.
It was then that she gave him an expectant look and waved her paw in a motion she had clearly learnt from an adult, probably one who could be relatively arrogant when they wished to be.
"So... Tell me about this pride of yours," she asked, again in a style she was clearly mimicking, though it was meant to be entirely conversational and was probably comical on a child. Ah, well Elda might not be impressed but perhaps by the end of their rest, Kerra might be more amused than when he had started off on his patrol.
Only time would tell, for now though, they had her company...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
