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 Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 10:06 pm
Abeni walked threw the tunnels of the volcano slowly, at a quick trot. For the past few days she had spent her days merely exploring and getting to know her new pride's members. She'd made several discoverys, and met many interesting people. Well... mostly cubs, but they were still interesting.
Her favorite place had become the Priest's pool room. Though the first few times she'd wandered in there she had no idea it was a sacred place... She'd merely found it interesting, and the thick warm air inviting. The hot steam made her feel more powerful, in a way... Closer to her beast. Her visions had also become more frequent, especially when she was in that chamber. They were all small mostly meaningless visions, so she didn't bother telling anyone about them. She, after all, was very used to them. It was different this time though... And she needed to find one of the Kings as soon as possible.
She paused once outside of the volcano, sniffing at the ground and walking slowly towards the dens that the kings lived in. Hopefully she would find him there, his scent was fresh...
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 11:15 pm
Iartuupe was, indeed, in his den at the moment - taking a little while to rest from near-constant excursions and teaching of the young ones. He didn't mind doing all of that, but he was definitely looking forward to a day when there would be more adults about that could take over some of his duties.
Yawning a bit, Iar got up and stretched, then poked his nose out into the night, and wandered over to flop down on a large, flat, sun-warmed rock just outside. He'd chosen this particular den just for that rock... loving the way it felt when the night air was cooler.
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 11:30 pm
After a bit of sniffing around and searching, she managed to spot the king. Letting out a sharp breath of relief, she trotted at a quicker pace. When she got closer he might notice that her front left paw was a bit burnt. Not badly, but the fur was a bit thinned and showed reddened flesh underneath.
"Ira..." She said, a bit out of breath as she approached him. She took a moment to compose herself, then stopped and bowed her head quickly at him. "I do hope I am not disturbing you, but I have something urgent to speak to you about..."
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Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 3:40 pm
Iar blinked a bit lazily and shifted a little so he was turned a bit more toward the lioness. "What is it, Abeni?" He was quite obviously in a good mood now, and so perhaps more receptive to being interrupted.
His pride was doing very well ... he had heard through rumor that another new lion had been found and brought in - assumed that sooner or later, he would see that newcomer as well.
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Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 1:04 pm
She, obviously, was not in such a good mood. She let in a slow breath and let it out, then continued on.
"I was in the Priests' den just a few moments ago..." She didn't pause to explain why she was in a sacred place, but continued in with her hasty tale. "I was looking in the top pool, just curious, and... something happened." She held up her paw, which was slightly wet and a bit reddened. "The vision startled me, and my paw fell into the water." Which would explain the burning. "Anyway... I saw fire reflected in the water, and my reflection wasn't... me... well, it was me, but the skin was burned from my flesh. And then after my paw fell into the fire covered water the vision intensified, and I was in it... I saw..." She paused and shuddered, eyes closing for a moment... Then she opened her eyes. "I think the lava is about to erupt somewhere in the volcano... If my vision was right, it'll burn all of our territory to the ground. Please... You must come with me to check it. You know the tunnels better than I do."
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Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 11:11 pm
Iar blinked at that, started to frown when she admitted she'd been in the Priests' dens. No one was supposed to be going in there yet - as the pride had no priests. But as she went on, the Aran'shale's ears went back against his head.
What in the ...? A vision?
Was Abeni seeing messages from the gods...?
"If it's going to erupt, what do you believe we can do to stop it?" he asked, but he heaved himself to his feet - ready to follow her. It certainly wouldn't hurt to at least check it out.
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Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 4:35 pm
"I'm not sure... but we have to do something." She stepped back and then turned, starting back towards the volcano. She walked slow enough for him to walk beside her, perhaps a bit in front of her if he wished, but she was too much in a hurry to be completely respectful.
"I think it is somewhere on the edge of the volcano, around the outside... Perhaps there is a way we could move the rocks some, to keep the lava from reaching the forest. It would stop a fire from starting..."
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Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 9:46 pm
Iar considered that for a moment and then nodded. It was good that she wasn't panicking - had apparently thought this through a bit before running to him. Or even if not that, she was thinking now.
"Show me," he said simply. If there really was a danger, her claim of visions would be validated...
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 11:15 pm
The dark lioness nodded, heading back towards the Priest's dens. Once she was close to the volcano she paused and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. Where was it...? The rocks had looked familiar, but she wasn't quite used to the territory yet... A large boulder with a deep crack... Her eyes snapped open and she started again at a run. The previous day she had found a dead bird beside the boulder, perhaps she should have guessed that it was an ill omen. She stopped beside the rock and glanced around. "I... think it's here..."
After narrowing her eyes and looking over the cliff wall to the side of her, she walked closer and put a paw against a rock. "It's hot..." Closed her eyes again, trying to remember the vision... She'd put her hand in the pool... Inside... inside? She moved to the boulder with a crack and brushed her paw over the crack. There was air coming up from it. "I think there is a tunnel under this boulder." Growing more confident and urgent, she jumped onto the boulder and attempted to look behind it for a cave opening.
Iar followed her, glancing around in an almost bored sort of fashion. Sure, he was concerned about the volcano... but a leader must never really be -seen- to be concerned. Not that it would create any sort of panic in -this- pride, but he must not ever look weak or uncertain.
Padding up beside the dark lioness, her also put a paw on that rock and nodded carefully. "There could be," he replied then, and stepped back a bit to let her look - after all, there wasn't really room for them both on that boulder.
Her nose poked at the crack between the rocks, then started digging with her claws outstretched, eyes narrowed in determination. Yes, there was air coming up, more of it... Though it was almost unbearingly hot... Not a good sign. After a few minutes she managed to wiggle her way threw a crack she had created. There was darkness all around her, though she could see that the tunnel continued on threw the mountain. But to where... she wasn't sure. Abeni looked over her shoulder and called back threw the hole. "Can you fit in here?"
Iar jumped up onto the rock then, and peered at the crack, frowning slight. Then he hooked claws into the edge and yanked - widening it just a little more. "Now I can," he replied with a faint smirk and wriggled through. Nose wrinkled at the hot stench of the air, and he found himself mentally agreeing ... something was wrong here.
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 11:29 pm
For a moment Abeni wondered if going into a tunnel of an active volcano was a smart idea... Especially is the lava was close. But... what could they do? They couldn't let the volcano overflow into the forests that were so dangerously close to them. They'd all starve if the lands were burnt to the ground. So she continued on. The tunnel got darker and hotter the deeper they went. Then finally, after seemingly to walk for forever, there was a dot of red glow up ahead, lighting the way. She approached it with caution, slowly stepping up to the edge of what was a steep drop off. Below them was a river of flowing molten rock... Abeni whinced from the heat that blew up to them, her eyes stinging.
After blinking past the heat, she looked around. It was a large room with a tall ceiling. The lava was flowing smoothly from one end to the other, out of a larger tunnel. Then why would it change now? How could the lava come up from down there, to flood over into the tunnel, then into the forest? Abeni frowned, confused. Then something happened. There was a loud bang, causing to cave to tremble slightly. The lioness' eyes widened as the rocks around the exit of the room cracked and toppled over, blocking the flow of the river. Was this what they were suppose to stop? If the lava could not flow out that way, the room would slowly flood, and her vision would surely come true...
Iar also looked around, coming up beside Abeni and trying very hard not to blink at the intense heat from below. He had seen the chamber the cubs found before... with the bridges and the lava far below. But this... this was different. The lava here was much closer to the surface - which explained a lot of why the hot pools were so warm here. Eyeing those rocks, he dug claws into the ground and shook his head slightly. That ... can't be good."
"No... it can't." She frowned deeper, thinking. Abeni was clever, but even this situation was stumping her. How could they stop a volcano..? She looked to the king, mind running a mile a minute. "Do you think we could somehow block this tunnel? Or unblock that?" She gestured with her paw to the rocks that had tumbled down in front of the exit of the river. The lava was already starting to inch higher, towards them.
"That could be... difficult," Iar muttered. At least, without help, it would be. But he didn't particularly want anyone else to see this. So now ... hm. A light came into his eyes and he turned to Abeni. "You said that you had a vision that warned of this... " he said, the words not exactly a question.
"Yes... I did." She frowned. If only her vision had given her a solution to this problem. The lioness stared down at the approaching lava. Her gold eyes closed again, thinking... Trying her hardest to remember every detail of the vision. Her mind was clouded by the pain, the sensation of burning... But there was something there. Something. She opened her eyes and looked around once again, trying to reevaluate the situation... Yes, that might work. She walked past him and to the edge of the cliff, and started to slowly walk along the smalle walks. There was a small ledge that wrapped around the room, that would bring her closer to the other side, where the rocks had fallen. "I think I can stop it."
Iar tilted head and watched her. If she did manage to stop this ... then he would likely have to accept that her visions came from the gods. Probably two in specific. He wondered... if she knew that - if she even suspected it. "What are you going to do?" he asked, slowly following - though keeping his distance.
"If those rocks can be shifted, the pressure from the lava might move them the rest of the way..." It was dangerous, to be sure. But again, she had no choice. She walked on along the edge, careful to not fall. It wrapped around to the pile of rocks and started to climb down, getting closer to the lava... She paused then and looked back at him. "You should stay up there, if you can... I would not want to be responsible for the loose of a King, or Kasdeya's father." Turned again, hoping down onto one of the large rocks just above the lava. She trusted the Gods and her demon to guide her... And she knew, she felt that this would work. It had to. She shifted closer to where two large boulders met and reached her burnt paw into a crack, much like she had in the cracked boulder.
Iar watched her for a moment or two, and then nodded slowly. He didn't tell her to be careful - sure that she knew the danger well enough on her own. He simply watched... ears tilted forward and tail-tip flicking back and forth a bit.
She closed her eyes and pushed... At first nothing happened. Abeni frowned and pushed harder... Then, like before, the rocks under her started to shift and tremble. Everything happened so quickly then... She found herself becoming hotter, and red filled her vision. Besides her usually cool and composed demeanor, she couldn't help but let out a startled yelp. It was so close... The rocks were falling all around her, pushing her down towards the liquid fire. But she would not die here, no.
Growling, she strained the muscles of her front legs and pulled herself up. She climbed and ran along the rocks as they fell down around her. The ledge-it was so far up. Could the reach it now, or would she fall with the rocks? She jumped as hard and as far as she could, claws extended to the ledge... Was her vision not a prophecy of the fire... But her own demise?
Iar's eyes widened as the rocks suddenly started to collapse - and it was as if he was watching it in slow-motion. Then, without really thinking, he was moving - running up along that same ledge - and reaching down toward Abeni with a paw. Her vision had been true. Already he could see the rocks doing what she had said they would. And he would not leave one who could hear the gods to die.
Her paws reached his, eyes wide and glowing as they reflected the light of the lava. Her sharp claws unconciously dug into his arm, giving her a moment to compose herself and get her balance back. The claws of her back legs scrambled at the rocks wildly, and she was able to pull herself up onto the ledge beside him. The lioness panted and gasped for breath, laying on her stomach. She was unharmed, save for the fact that the fur on her back legs had been singed, and a bit of steam was rolling off her pelt...
Abeni got her breath back after a few moments, and was able to look down again. The lava was flowing out threw the exit, the rocks having fallen away. Everything was normal, and working as it should. They had done it.
Once Abeni was safely on the ledge, Iar pulled back a bit - though he paid no attention at all to the blood running down his leg now from her claws. He simply stared at the lava as it flowed back, his own eyes seeming to glow for a moment or two. "Thank you," he said quietly - and the timbre of his voice was just slightly different. He stood taller and dipped a very small bow in the direction of the lava.
Then blinked, and turned back to Abeni as if nothing at all had happened. "Are you all right?"
She let out a soft, relieved breath, then looked up at him. "Yeah... I think so." Legs shaking a bit, she pushed herself up and cleared her throat. All was well now, and she could relax... "Thank you... For saving me." She bowed to him, lower than she ever had before. Certainly with more respect than she had ever given him... Not that she had really been disrespectful...
"I think everything will be ok now... Are you ok?" She said, glancing down at his bleeding legs.
Iar glanced down. "That...?" he asked, tilting head with a faint smirk. "It's nothing." Truly, it didn't even hurt. As for saving her... "Abeni... I think that your visions mean something," he said slowly, gaze flicking to the lava again.
She held her head higher, acting as if nothing had happened as well. "It would seem so... But did I not tell you when I arrived that my visions guided me here?" She tilted her head slightly, smiling softly, if not a bit coyly. "I was not lieing, dear king." Now that thier work was done she walked past him along the ledge and walked back towards the tunnel.
Iar blinked... and then actually laughed softly - moving to follow her. "I believe... this pride needs those who can talk with the gods," he said slowly. Then, "Abeni," he rumbled softly. "I would like to give you a new rank... I think it is what the gods desire. From now on... you shall be our first priestess. Ele'aine."
She stopped in the entrance to the tunnel, looking back at him. "Ele'aine?" Abeni glanced away, seeming to think about the offer. As if she'd really turn it down. Then she smiled slyly and looked back to him, tail swishing. "I suppose I could.... Thank you. I do appreciate it." She purred in a satisfied way and started down the tunnel. She was eager to get out of the heat, and to where she could get some fresh air.
Iar smiled in return and followed her. Now... though he suspected she had already been in them without really having permission... Abeni would be able to move into the priests' dens. And it would be good to have her there. He could only hope that the other ranks needed in the pride would fill out so easily as this.
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