A not so fortunate fortune | In Progress |

[Thalion]

Half the time Chi was out learning how to mix herbs Myuto was unsure as to what to do with himself. There wasn't much to straighten up around their den, nor was he the sort to spend hours grooming himself. Napping was...

Well it didn't seem right without the little bundle of warmth beside him. The steady rise and fall of her ribs as she slept, the way she would somehow end up with his cloak at the end of the night, and how...somehow, he woke up with a pink ribbon tied in his mane. Perhaps the last bit he could live without but it was something he was growing used to. Even little shenanigans like that were somehow...comforting. Perhaps he was growing used to this place, his new companion, his new life.

Still, some things never really changed. He had found a position within the pride as a fortune-teller but thus far, none had left him happy. Word was spreading of the dark nature of his predictions. It was, after all, one of his predictions that had announced the arrival of the dreamers. It was outside of his control, but if they wanted the fortune, he'd not hesitate to give one.

The lion walked quietly along the border, his dark eyes scanning the horizonline. It wasn't over... the dreamers were here but the storm clouds continued to sit along the border. What was it?

mouselet

 

[mouselet]

Surprisingly enough, Pas had discovered that he really enjoyed traveling. He hadn't been on his name quest too long yet, but the lack of knowing (or caring) about where he was headed each day brought back nostalgic memories of the pride's trek from the swamps to the mountain. He'd been only a cub at the time, and so looked back on those days fondly.

Now, however, he had been cut totally free - free to choose where he roamed, free to set his own pace, and free to stop wherever he chose for whatever reason.

Speaking of, there was an interestingly shaped lion-sized lump not too far away. Clearly worth investigating! Humming to himself, Pas headed for the lump that looked like it had a sandy mane and a dark...most of it.

Words were not his strongest suit.  

[Thalion]

The lion tensed. He wasn't alone...

He turned his head, his eyes shifting slightly. Another male, much younger and smaller than himself, was standing not too far off. How strange... from what he understood, few actually sought out the borders of their pride. There were the Bahari, but from what he understood, they only approached during the festival. It was still a little early for that...

He turned towards the stranger and ducked his head, further concealing his muzzle behind the neck of his cloak. "Stranger." He greeted the other male with a simple nod of acknowledgement.  

[mouselet]

The white lion jumped as the lump spoke to him. It still wasn't particularly lion-shaped, but he supposed that it made some sense given that it was lion-sized. Or did it? Well, it had spoken, had said stranger. Pas looked around furtively to see if there was anyone else before deciding that yes, the lump had meant him.

"Uhhh...hi there," he replied. "You are a lion, right? Not a talking rock?" He wanted to be sure. Before he'd left the Jini-msemi, some of the older lions (who weren't always very nice) had told horror stories of Pilgrims who got so lost they heard people talking to them who didn't really exist at all! So Pas wanted to make sure that he wasn't going crazy or anything. Since, you know, that would be bad.  

[Thalion]

The lion stared, his expression suggesting that perhaps he was waiting for the punchline to a joke he still wouldn't find much amusement in. When the punchline never came the scowl deepened and he turned himself around to face the stranger. He was a massive lion cloaked in a deep violet cloak. Where much of his appearance had taken after his mortal mother, his size was a shadow of his godly father.

"...rocks. Don't speak." He said simply, his tone clipped.

Wait... hadn't the dreamers mention muse? The king seemed to be under the impression that the source of these 'muses' was a deep insanity or delusion. Perhaps this individual was falling under that spell.

"Is there something you came here for?"  

[mouselet]

Pas waited nervously until the other finally answered him. It was sort of weirdly phrased, but he supposed it made sense. Well, it made sense if he wasn't hearing things. Which he certainly hoped he wasn't. So he'd just operate on the assumption that yes, this was a lion with something big draped over him and he wasn't hearing voices.

The white lion was so engaged with this inner struggle that he nearly missed the other's next words. When he did realize what had been asked, he had to think about it. He had no idea if this was where he'd find his name, but he had randomly picked a direction to walk in.

"Not really," the younger lion answered with a grin. "What about you?" He wasn't actually that curious, but it seemed like a polite thing to say and his mother was big on polite.  

[Thalion]

The stranger was looking off into the distance again, his eyes vacant and his posture slowly slumping. Myuto stood, waiting for his answer. Sadly, the wait took several moments and the lion slowly lost faith in the sanity of the stranger. He must be one of the dreamers... perhaps a little late to their 'invasion' but present regardless.

He sighed. What kind of question was that? "I live here." He said simply, barely swallowing his frustration. "I am a fortune-teller, I take walks to clear my head. It's not exactly strange to see me in the area."  

[mouselet]

"Oh!" It hadn't occurred to Pas that the lumpy not-rock lion might live in the area. He'd heard stories from older lions who'd returned from their name quests about rogue lions, who lived out in the middle of nowhere, all by themselves. They seemed to range, in the stories, from rude and inhospitable to kind and welcoming and everything in between.

Then something else the other lion had said penetrated through Pas' simple confusion.

"A fortune-teller? What's that?" the younger lion asked eagerly.  

[Thalion]

Well... at least that was a reasonable question. He had known what fortune-tellers were, but only because he was born in a pride that held such a rank. It had been a different name, but it had been something he could relate the odd title to. Still, from what he understood, it wasn't a well-known title among other prides. The Bahari certainly hadn't had one, and Chi hadn't heard of anyone else who had...

The lion glanced off to one side. "I see the future. Sometimes the present or the past... I can give you a reading to give you insight into your life. I'm afraid that's all the information I am permitted to give to a stranger in regards to the profession."  

[mouselet]

He could see the future? That was...wooooow. Like a Seer! Pas knew that the Jini-msemi had some Seers, lions who sometimes had visions of things that they couldn't otherwise know. But it sounded like this "fortune-teller" was a profession made just for them! It was a bit strange, since the seers the white lion knew had regular duties and didn't make a huge fuss over their abilities.

It didn't occur to him that fortune-teller might be a rank in a foreign pride.

"That'd be really neat!" Pas continued on just as eager as before. He wouldn't have thought to ask the Seers back home for insight on what might happen on his quest, in his life. That wasn't what they did.  

[Thalion]

"Neat" wasn't a word that he was entirely fond of in regards to his powers. Cryptic. Depressing. ...Dark.

The fortune-teller winced, his expression tightening. He didn't like giving fortunes ... but then again, it had led them here. He was comfortable here. "I suppose it comes in handy on occasion. Sometimes you learn something that you might wish you hadn't."

He glanced over to the stranger. "I wouldn't linger here if I was you though... a storm is gathering."  

[mouselet]

Pale lavender eyes saw the shifting of the older lion's expression, but the brain behind them failed to interpret it in any meaningful way. Maybe a bug had landed on the darker lion's nose. A small one, since Pas hadn't noticed any himself, but that didn't mean it couldn't be there, to make the other lion twitch that way.

He also failed to heed the warning he was given. How could you learn something you wished you hadn't? Mom always said knowledge was a strength! Of course, she also said that his head was full of holes, but that wasn't something he'd repeat to anyone. So instead the white lion focused on the last sentence the stranger spoke.

"A storm? What kind of storm? Is that my fortune?" Pas' enthusiasm had yet to abate, despite the older lion's expression shift and warning.  

[Thalion]

... he was one of those lions then. Well, there was another way to approach this. It was a little patronizing but perhaps it was the only way he could get to the other lion.

Turning to the stranger, the lion softened his tone and leaned down so he was a little closer to the stranger's height. "Storms symbolize danger or strife. When I see a storm, normally that means that trouble is approaching." He narrowed his eyes. "It wasn't your fortune... I don't do readings without permission. But- if you give me permission to give you insight, you give me permission to be the bearer of bad news. You cannot hold me at fault. I have no control. Understand?"  

[mouselet]

"Ooooh," Pas wasn't even thinking as he allowed the impressed sound to slip from his lips. The storm sounded really incredibly neat even if the stranger said it meant bad stuff. Maybe the fortune-teller would call the fire a storm? But it wasn't a storm, really, just a fire...

Anyway, it seemed like the storm wasn't his fortune, and the older lion said he had to give permission in order to get his own. That seemed silly. He was already asking for it, so why did he have to give his permission?

"That's fine! I really want you to tell me my fortune!" the white lion replied. Bad stuff only happened to other people or was in the past anyway. It slipped his mind completely that bad stuff had to happen in the present before it could be past.  

[Thalion]

...well he hadn't expected that. Perhaps a cold splash of reality was what the simple-minded lion needed at the moment. It was a small miracle that he'd survived this long. Life in the rougelands had been brutal. Every day was a challenge, the toss of a bone, and it could be over just as quickly.

He sighed and turned back to the stranger. "Very well." He closed his eyes and dipped his chin. His mind drifted, swallowed by a shadow. Shapes slowly began to form, rising out of the blackness as if traced by a claw. He fell silent, his brow creasing as his mind reeled with images- all of them symbolic. There was never a direct meaning to his visions and perhaps they were meant to be that way...

"You are seeking something...that will grow your mane out in the eyes of your peers. You wish to return to your homeland, a wandering thing somehow. It is not as it was... and when you return it will not be as you left it. Someone you wish to see again will not be there to welcome you home."