[PRP] Discovering Truths (Nguvu and Moma)

[Nuxaz]

Peke had a hard time feeling anything short of...pity for the raven. The idea that she struggled to accept his words, words about a time that nearly destroyed him as it had with the rest of his reality, made him angry. It angered him nearly as much as his sister's death had angered him. It only served to upset him further when Nguvu stepped in to mediate between the two of them, he understood why but he had long since let the raven speak for him.

"Of course she doesn't," Peke snapped, his tone harsher than intended. "Why would the witch care for anyone other than herself or her brother. She cared little for her other brother even, neither truly seemed to care when the dead kept piling up," he snarled, his fury uncontrollable at this point.

"Peke!" Nguvu hissed, head snapping in the direction of the lion.

His call went unheard as Peke moved closer to the female. "Mchwai was the cruelest of them all, her brother was simply the smooth talker but she was the true mastermind behind the turmoil that inflicted my pride. You speak of revenge for your brother against a lioness who nearly destroyed a pride. Had it not been for my abilities as a seer, or the abilities of the other seers within the pride the Aka'meli would have fallen to it's knees."

He paused only to breath.

"You lost a brother but I lost a sister, a father and a mother. At least he was an adult, bird standards or not, he made a choice to commit himself to her even when it was obvious she cared little for him," his blue eyes had darkened with anger and had narrowed into slits. "You are a fool to attempt revenge upon her, or to even promise that she will be punished. You think you have suffered by her paws? Then you are a fool, you think you know what she is capable of but you don't."

"Peke!" Nguvu called again, the urgency in his tone the only thing stopping the lion from continuing on. "That's enough."

Peke snapped his head at the albino raven and gave him a dark glare. "Ngu--" "Peke, I said that is enough," the bird cut him off with a stern look. Things had escalated far past what he had been expecting. "You are no better to insult her as she is to underestimate Mchawi."

The raven then turned towards Moma. "If you wish to pursue your revenge, mind that the witch is not one to be taken lightly. She is excellent in manipulating her pawns into doing exactly what she wishes. For all you know, she could be manipulating you," he warned. "Return if the lands call to you but be warned, talk of the witch is not welcome here after today."  

[Kimaria]

The harshness of Peke's voice startled the raven and she hopped back, spreading her wings as if to make a hasty take-off. She wasn't going to allow herself to be killed here so that Mchawi's deeds would go unpunished. The little heart in her chest pounded against the thin bars of her very fragile ribcage and for a moment she thought she'd made a terrible mistake by coming here. What good was truth, anyway? Nondo was dead and nothing could change that now.

And just as she was about to go skyward, the lion shoved closer to her, freezing her in place - her wings still half unfurled. She was silent, listening to his voice and wincing at the pain of the heart in her chest.

And when the white raven tried to intervene again she remained where she was, letting the hollowness of his words fill her. She was a fool? She had not suffered as he had suffered? Perhaps not. She had lost only one family member, after all, but Nondo was the only family she had ever had. She had no brothers and sisters and her parents were long gone, though it was probably true that they still both lived.

She still had not moved or spoken even as Nguvu turned back towards her. "Then perhaps it is best I do not come back." She replied. Her voice felt hard and cold as stones and she dropped her wings back to her sides and drew herself upright. For a long moment she stared at them and then, quite suddenly, she dipped herself low in preparation for flight.

She could have said more. A lot more. But words seemed to have only made things worse. So, in the head she said only: "I am sorry for your loss." Before pushing off from the rock and snapping out her wings. The wind filled them, propelling her upwards, and she gave a lonely caw as she swirled higher still. Wishing that she could fly high enough that she could leave all of her worries behind. But what went up always came down. The worries would still be waiting for her when she came to roost. There was no escaping them.

And Peke's words stayed with her. "You think you have suffered by her paws? Then you are a fool, you think you know what she is capable of but you don't."

Too many had suffered because of the witch. Even if this cost her her life she had to try. For Nondo. For Peke's lost family. For everyone else who had felt loss because of what that lioness had done.

This was only the beginning.


/fin