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Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:16 pm
"I don't know why you insist on coming with me." Fia complained to her companion, Itzcóatl. "I told you, I beat that rogue in the duel with no problem at all. Besides, I don't intend to go near the borders today. I'm just going to stretch my legs for a while and then I'm planning to visit Mzaa." She tipped her muzzle down to regard the serpent keeping pace with her. "You'll find it boring and you're dreadfully annoying when you're bored." The corner of her mouth twitched with the slightest of smiles.
The black cobra raised his sleek head to look up at her and gave a small hiss of disbelief. "How long have we been together, Fia? I am here to keep you sssafe."
"No you're not. That was never the deal. You chose me because you thought the markings on my pelt were ominous. You wanted to see what fate dealt to me because of the bloody tears imprinted on my face." Her tone was harsh but the serpent was used to it by now. Besides, it was the truth.
"That wasss the reassson at firssst. Yesss." He replied a little quieter than usual. "Even ssstill, if you die ssso doesss my purpossse."
"Oh no! How awful! Your purpose must be protected at all costs!" She threw a paw out sideways and sent him sprawling in the sand. "Be quiet, Itz."
The snake hissed with surprising fury as he gathered his coils beneath him and drew himself upright. He was a large cobra and drawn up like that, he was rather intimidating, too. However, his attempts at being scary were lost on the young female - who had grown up with his companionship since she had been a cub.
Fia continued onwards.
Allowing his hiss to die out, Itzcóatl paused to glance around them to check that the coast was clear.
It wasn't.
The pounding of small paws became suddenly audible and a moment later a shrill voice of a young cub came piercing across the expanse of quiet. "Wait up! Wait up, Auntie Fee-Fee!" Nur'yu was bounding as fast as his little paws could carry him, using the compact sand to propel him forwards. In fact, he was so fast that he gained with great speed, passing the cobra without a second glance and hurtling after Fia.
"Auntie Fee!"
The dark female's ears flicked back but she did not stop or even hesitate to see who it was. She recognised his voice, of course, so why did she not at least slow down so he could catch up? Was she too busy to speak with him?
Puffing out a ragged breath, he put on an extra burst of speed, realising too late that his legs had a speed limit and he'd just broken it. He flew forwards, head over heels, tumbling straight into the back of Fia's legs. The impact was so strong that it bowled the legs out from under her, rump connecting sharply with the firm ground beneath her.
Lying a few paces away, Nur'yu groaned and started to pick himself up off of the sand, casting a look over his shoulder to look at his now sitting relative.
"Where are you going?" He asked without apologising. "Can I come?"
Fia, ears flattening, just groaned in response.
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 5:46 am
Far out in the distance, if one cared to look at such things, a bold looking crow sat perched upon dusty remains. From a distance it seemed warped and misshapen by heat lines- it even seemed to pulse with the heat. Sometimes larger, sometimes smaller, sometimes... something entirely nameless. But whatever the shape, it was dark. Unnaturally dark for such a bright place.
It seemed well aware of the lions in the distance. The bird hardly moved from it's black-eyed staring, even though they were still quite far off. A cunning sort might have noticed the bird's genuinely...unbirdlike manner, even from this far off. Once it had attention [for surely, she would], the bird gave a low caw. She had always been one for the dramatics.
The bird was on top of a dune crest, so much of what lay behind it was obscured by the slope of the sand. It was clear that the bird seemed to be resting upon the skeleton of something quite large. Almost too large. There was another shape too; but that, was mostly hidden by the glare of the sun and the arch of the dune.
As the crow waited, she thought to herself. For she was not one taken to being silent, even when she had no ears to listen to her: Oh look, the little amazon.
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 2:23 pm
"No." Fia's response came out flat, though she immediately regretted it to see his little face fall. Ugh, what was this? She didn't like cubs and she didn't have to take care of her sister's spawn. So why did her stomach pull with guilt to see his large, sad eyes staring at her like that?
Luckily, the cobra softened the blow somewhat.
"Adultsss have work to do, cub. You will underssstand when you grow up." Even still, the snake's bright green eyes and close proximity had Nur'yu backing up a little. After all, weren't snakes dangerous? They did have sharp fangs and they didn't really look very friendly...
"Oh." Nur'yu's whiskers drooped dejectedly. "Okay..." And as he began to turn away, it was the cawing 'crow' that stopped him from heading back the way he had come. His head snapped up, ears drawing forwards with interest: stalker-mode engaging in an instant. Earlier disappointment forgotten in seconds, the little Firekin lowered his head and charged towards the bird perched on the skeleton that was draped somewhat casually across the slope of gold.
Itz, who had watched him go, gave an amused laugh. "Looksss like our little hunter hasss turned hisss attention elsssewhere."
"What?" Fia's head snapped around (she had been about to make a quick escape) just in time to see the cub charging off on his own. "Nur'yu! Nur'yu, get back here!" She hissed angrily. "Cubs, Itz, they're not worth the trouble they bring." Then, raising her voice: "Nur'yu! Come back here! You can't run off alone like that!" And, much to her irritation, his refusal to obey meant that she had to run after him.
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:35 am
The crow watched as the young lion charged her. There was a twinkling in her dark eyes as she appraised him. Hmm. This desert had taken a servant from her, she reasoned. Perhaps she would claim another for herself. Unlike a normal bird of the sands, she waited. She waited until the cub was almost upon her.
Just as he was a few feet from her, she fluttered upwards. A single black feather plucked from her weathered shape, darting down and piercing the earth like a blade. A careful sort would notice the land greyed, just slightly, were it fell. She left the cub down below; her job was done. But as she watched the events unfold, she spiraled slowly, watching. She had meant to see where this went, but already a little plan was forming in her mind. She liked this little black cub. Just like she had liked Versailles, and Miramar. And just as she had liked Vlam.
Speaking of her 'spirit guide' [or, whatever the reverse of such thing was!], as the black cub stumbled around the skeletons, he would soon become aware that he was not alone. Beyond the black bird wheeling slowly overhead, the crushed body of a white lion lay stretched in the shadow of some unknown skeleton.
Perhaps Amaret had been a bit dramatic with the skeleton. Ah well, it wasn't as though they were going to question her set design.
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 12:38 pm
Nur'yu heard Fia's voice only as a distant irritation, like the buzz of an insect. His focus, after all, was on catching prey! Probably, if he'd been quick enough to get close to her before she'd taken to the sky, the beak and the talons would have had him hesitate. After all, the crow was no delicate little songbird. She could peck and she could hurt. Luckily for him, then, that the crow had spotted them long before they had spotted her and she was ready for his clumsy attempt at catching dinner.
His paws sent up a small cloud of dust as they hit the ground and he sneezed loudly, shaking his head to clear the air. Then, with innocent hope, he lifted his paws slowly, almost as if expecting to finding a small and flat crow hidden beneath them. Alas, as he feared, there was nothing there but a faint paw print in the compact sand.
Then the feather struck the ground.
Nur'yu leapt backwards as if stung by a bee, the fur along his back standing on end. Then, when it was clear that the feather was not going to move to attack him, he drew close, brushing his nose close.
"You little troublemaker." Fia hissed, coming up alongside the cub and giving him a cuff across the ears. "Don't ignore me when I'm talking to you."
"You weren't talking, Auntie Fee." Nur'yu corrected. "You were yelling. You didn't want to play."
The female sighed, curling her tail as she stood over the cub, her mis-matched eyes watching as he tried to succeed in a balancing act across the spine of one of the large skeletons. She could not help but wonder whether she had been this annoying as a cub. She had, after all, taken delight in rebelling against the wishes of her parents and rampaging across the desert with her twin. It had been so much fun at the time and part of her yearned for those days to return. Yet, even knowing that, the fact that this little cub was disobeying her as she had done all that time ago was not lessened at all. It was annoying and she'd much rather be listened to, particularly by cubs that weren't her own.
Nur'yu, who had completed his balancing task, was disappearing amongst the bones again, squeezing himself between the protruding bones of a rib cage and hopping up to stand on a large skull with gaping eyes. That was when he spotted the lion lying on the sand, his body cast into shadow by death itself. "Fee! Fee! Look! There's a dead lion! Quick! Quick!" He was jumping up and down on the skull and, as a result, lost his footing and landed head-first into the seemingly life-less lion's mane.
Fia, startled at the cub's proclamation was there in an instant, eyes widening as she recognised the one who lay there.
"Dead?" She whispered. "Is he really dead?"
The snake drew silently up alongside her as Nur'yu pulled himself free from the 'carcass' and turned to look. He was more curious than afraid, not really understanding death and its true meaning. "Crow killed him?" He queried, looking up into the sky in search of her wheeling shape.
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 4:41 am
Veru wasn't dead, although at this point he might as well be. He felt sick. Sicker then...felt right, to be honest. It didn't feel like heat exhaustion, and surely he hadn't been beaten so brutally as to cripple him. But ever since his duel with Fia, Veru had been slipping down a long slope. He no longer heard his spirit guide's callings. His dreams, which had once been vivid, now were a blank slate.
He'd managed to drag himself beneath the skeletons, hoping to find a few scraps of something to eat. Unfortunately, it seemed as though he might be joining the poor skeletal ghost sooner then later. Which was unfortunate to be certain. It didn't really seem fair.
But for what it was worth, life did stirr in the white lion when he sensed others near. He was not used to the desert; so his immediate assumption might be that the hyenas were about to descend upon him. Which was poor irony if he'd ever heard it. Shuddering against the fever pitch, he lurched forward and dumbly grazed the air with his paw. Too weak to follow through with the motion, he collapsed back down with a wheeze.
The flurry of motion did have his blood moving a bit, and for a moment he was able to focus his eyes well enough to see that he'd been mistaken. It was that lioness with the wild eyes! He couldn't help but laugh. It was a sad laugh. But there it was. "...looks like I didn't think this through very well-"
Up above, the crow settled down on one of the bones, and cawed appreciatively.
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 1:13 pm
"Crows can't kill lions." Fia snapped, shoving the cub back behind her. After all, she might not like kids but that didn't mean she wouldn't keep them safe if need be. Besides, Azar would probably be super mad if she let someone hurt one of her precious children. "Now, stay back! I don't want you getting in the way." She turned to give the cub a meaningful glare, but the cub was looking past her shoulder, not even listening. Gritting her teeth, she hissed. "Nur'yu wi--"
"--Fee!" The little one's eyes had grown wide and scared. "Fee, his paw is moving!!"
Fia's head snapped back around and sure enough, the lion's eyes were open and he seemed to have regained some sort of consciousness. What was this then? Sickness? Fever from an injury? Surely not from their duel. She certainly would have noticed if she had cut him badly enough to cause sickness. But if not from injury, then from what? Heat stroke? Lack of water? Poisonous bite? There were so many dangers out here in this harsh environment.
"Can dead lions talk, Auntie Fee?" Nur'yu was creeping forwards again and, impatiently, she shoved him right back.
"He's not dead." She replied sharply, ignoring his mewl of irritation at being kept from getting a good look. Then with a huff, she moved towards the white lion, sniffing cautiously and added under her breath: "Sadly." Her eyes flicked across to the bird perched ominously on the skeleton and the black cobra hissed angrily at it.
Ignoring them, she focused on the male. "Apparently you did not." She made an unimpressed face. "Would you care to explain to me why you are out here, surrounded by skeletons and... and apparently sun-maddened? Firekin don't normally babysit the rogues that come by here, but that doesn't mean you won't be the first. Not something to be proud of, mind." She narrowed her eyes. "What's wrong with you, anyway? Do you need to see a healer? Or is it too far gone to bother with?" She sounded gruff, but if he really was sick, she wouldn't turn her back on him. After all, he was a reasonable duellist and had potential. Besides he probably didn't deserve to die. Probably...
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Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 7:22 am
"Me?" He wheezed out. "Much too far gone I think! I was just chatting with my friends here..." Although the white lion's voice was weak, it was clear he still found himself rather amusing. In fact, if one listened close enough, they might have heard him chuckling. Weakly, but there.
"They're uh- not big on talking though," He explained, one of his eyes drifting towards the forlorn skeletons. He had another joke; but for a moment, he couldn't help noticing the crow up on one of the bleached bones. "Ah, it's the bird. It won't talk to me anymore, you know..."
His shoulder flinched, as though he was making some attempt at getting up. For what it was worth, he managed to at least sit up. Somewhat. Dully, he noticed the little cub running around. "She's a momma? I didn't know that-" He mumbled dreamily.
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Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 6:20 am
Fia made a face. “Your friends? Riiight…” She cast another glance down at Nur’yu who had moved to sit between her front paws, leaning against her a little. He seemed to think that this was a compromise. He could see from here, but was protected in case the mad lion decided to attack. Fia decided to let him sit there – for now, anyway. “Friends?” The cub piped up. “With the skelingtons?” “Skeletons.” Fia corrected with a sigh. “He’s delirious.” “What’s that?” “It means his sickness made him mad.” She replied. “Nur’yu, can you do me a big favour, please? If you do this for me, then I’ll…I’ll play a game with you later, okay?” The cub’s eyes widened and he nodded. “Will you go and tell Auntie Ea that I’m going to be bringing a rogue to see her?” “Easy.” The cub puffed out his chest. “Well, go on then.” She gave Nur’yu a shove and he set off at a clumsy gallop. “Itz, go with him, will you?” The cobra, who had been quietly hissing under his breath, nodded his sleek head and, without a word, lowered himself to the sand and moved swiftly off after the cub. Fia watched them go before turning back to the white lion. “I’m not a mother. He belongs to my sister.” And, with that, she moved up to his side, offering him a shoulder to lean on. “Luckily for you, I also have a sister in the healing business. Come on, get up. I’m not going to carry you.” She gave him an impatient nudge. “It’s not too far a walk.” Meanwhile… “Eaaa~ Eaaaa~!” Nur’yu skidded to a halt outside of the ‘hospital’ den and peered hopefully inside, his breath puffing from his mouth after the short run. It was dark and his eyes would take a while to adjust to the change in light. Even still, he barrelled half-blindly down into the den, clearly desperate to deliver the message he’d been sent with. The cobra remained at the entrance, pooling his coils around him so that they warmed evenly in the sun. “Eaaa! I’ve been sent on a mission to find you!”
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Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 5:13 am
Standing up was easier said than done. For a moment he stared bleary eyed at Fia, as though she had asked him something in some foreign language. She was a good mom though! Look how fast he ran off to do as she asked! He wasn't half as good a son. Come to think of it, it'd been a while since he'd seen his family...
Oh, yes. Standing up. Veru furrowed his brow and counted his toes. "You seem to have a overestimated view of what I'm capable of!" Apparently his self depreciating humor had not yet been infected. His shoulders tensed as though he might be considering standing... but backed off once everything seemed to spiral. "So hot here. Hot in the shade..."
"I'm sure my friends will carry me," he chimed, glancing over warily at the skeletons.
---
Elsewhere, Ea was in a bad mood. Not that this was a particular surprise these days... it was always difficult to determine if she was legitimately morose, or simply power mad. Local bets were on the latter. As far as the hospital dens were concerned, Ea ruled over them with an iron fist. And for a lioness who claimed to never know what she was doing- she did not do too badly.
But that didn't mean she was happy to see Nur'yu running up. She could tell by the look in his eyes and the proud excitement on his face that he wasn't about to be brightening her day. Before the cub even arrived, she turned her neck around and barked a few orders at An. [Who, despite being a few mere weeks from her own departure from the pride, had yet again managed to earn herself hospital duty]. "Why does everyone keep dying?! Can't they stay out of trouble for five seconds? No. That's too much, isn't it! AN. Go dig up some of those roots and drag them back."
An made a face. "Ugh, but they smell so bad-"
Ea was already turning her attention back to the cub. Her face soured. "WELL. Who is it? What idiot has done themselves in this time?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 6:19 am
"Okay, let's get moving!" Fia's patience was gone. With a growl, she shoved some of the bones aside so that she could get behind him and gave him a hard push to get him going. "Move now or I leave you here to die. You do understand that death is forever, right?"
With another growl she gave him a slightly less aggressive push.
--
Nur'yu beamed up at Ea, seemingly unaware of her bad mood or the fact that she probably wouldn't enjoy the news he had to tell her. "There's a dead lion out in the desert! Auntie Fee is with him right now. Except that he's not dead. He's talking. And there's skellingtons which are his friends and a crow. A big crow!" He scrunched up his nose with thought. "Fee said he was deliri-icious! She's trying to get him to come here now, but I don't know whether he will or not. He was weird."
There was something else, right? Oh yes! "Um, he's a rogue lion, I think. But he looks like one of us."
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Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 9:49 am
Ea scowled. What, were they just adopting people now? Methodically, her claws began to pulse into the sandstone beneath her. "A rogue? Oh, well let me drop everything I'm doing then! Goodness knows we need more of them! We might as well just open up the desert, and let the poor bedraggled masses run single file right into my paws!"
Unfortunately, her ranting was so much less satisfying when it was only a couple of cubs to hear it. She hung her head, heaving a low sigh. Fia wasn't one to coddle some rogue. If she felt her help was needed, then Ea was certain that it was. At least the caves were empty. He wouldn't exactly be taking her time away from any other patients.
"Skellingtons, huh?" she said. Despite the cub's exuberance, Ea was anything but. "Well. We might as well see what my sister has gotten herself into. An, make sure things are ready here. Where's that other brute? Might as well find Vlam while we're at it, I'm not carrying anyone!"
----
The crow shrieked in outrage as Fia kicked away the skeleton that had been her perch. How rude! She took to the air, a few loose black feathers darting to the earth. She wouldn't forget that!
As the skeletons rolled, Veru tilted his head forlornly. He didn't actually think they were friendly, but he mourned the lack of shade. He didn't exactly want to die...but, he certainly did not relish the idea of being dragged halfway across the desert to a pride of amazons. [Well...the sick part anyways!] He winced as her head forced underneath him, pushing him up.
"Yes, I am aware of that- owch, you don't need to be so rough, you know. These could be my last days!" He winced as she gave him another rough push. His body lurched at the thought of standing, but through Fia's insistence and the last remnants of his own strength, he finally managed to get on his feet.
Staying there, unfortunately, was another thing. He wobbled a bit and half fell onto Fia- but luckily, the other lion's bulk was enough to keep himself upright. At least long enough for Ea and Nur'yu to arrive.
----
And thanks to Nur'yu's directions and Ea's quick pace, it hadn't been long at all. Before departing she'd tracked down Vlam, which wasn't much of a task. The new water-seeker was predictable to an extreme, and following the water trails lead straight to the silent fellow. He didn't put up much of an argument, voice or not. Ea had a tendency to get her way.
But now the three were closing in, and Veru became suddenly aware of something quite remarkable. "Hey!" he said. "There's two of you! How did you do that?"
Ea gave an exasperated sigh. "Are you sure he requires saving, sister?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 12:59 pm
Nur'yu beamed proudly and stepped aside to let his aunt pass, dwindling there only a moment longer before moving up to the entrance. The cobra was there, curled up but still alert. His piercing green eyes turned to regard the cub. His distaste for the youngsters seemed to match that of his bonded's.
"Are we done here?" He asked.
"Yup!" Nur'yu replied, flopping down next to the serpent. "You coming, too?"
"I think I will ssstay here. You will be coming back here, after all, and Ea isss with you now." He wasn't sure exactly why but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. He watched the cub charge off in Ea's footsteps and settled himself once more on the sand. He was rather grateful that Fia had not decided to have children of her own. They did have a tendency to be rather...tiresome.
--
Fia growled at Veru's lack of ability to stand upright and braced herself more firmly against the sand so that she was better able to support herself and him. Luckily, the three lions arrived on the scene a moment later, and she was able to breath a small sigh of relief.
At last!
"Well he's certainly sick, that's for sure, but whether he's worth bothering with...I'm starting to wonder..." She gave the white lion another small shove, but remained at his side in case his legs gave up on him again. "Normally I wouldn't have bothered, but he fancies himself a potential Firekin. I duelled him a few days ago - and won, of course - but he was totally fine then. Still an idiot, but not delirious." She shook her head. "He's totally nutso, Ea. Is it just sun-madness, do you think?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 1:21 pm
Ea squinted her eyes. Sick indeed! "Probably thinks he can figure out some loophole! Well, he should know we don't have a disability policy." It was true enough. It wouldn't have been the first time they'd healed up a rogue only to give it a firm boot in the behind. Firekin did not coddle the weak. Any compassion they gave was simply a show of being able to afford it.
At least under Ea's policy, anyways. She charged towards her sister and the white lion, all but pouncing on him as she began her crude evaluation. Veru stumbled backwards, and probably would have toppled if not for Fia's support. He seemed a bit more concerned over the fact that there were two of them. "It's... it's a miracle-"
"Indeed," Ea muttered. She hooked a paw under his chin, forcing his neck up. Stupid males and all their fur. Luckily this one was not as endowed as some. "Probably sun mad...except, hnn. Some throat swelling. Bah."
She withdrew, and spun around in a circle. By the way she stomped her feet, one might have thought she was having a tantrum. "Fine! Alright, let's just bring him and get it over with. Ugh, if it's not our people poking their eyes out, it's rogues getting heatstroke! BAH. Pick him up, I'm not carrying him!"
Apparently this was directed at Vlam, who seemed a bit indignant about being involved with a rogue. He didn't argue [not that he could], but did not hide a low growl as he slipped himself low beneath the belly of the injured lion. Then, he stood up, the other lion draping clumsily on either side. Veru blinked peculiarly. It was another white lion.
"There's another of me too?" He thought, as though this were some revelation. Vlam simply gave another low growl.
Ea scrunched her nose and took a few back steps. "There! Very good. Come on, we'll go back. Don't want him dying. That's all I'd need is to hear mom and dad go on and ooonnnn..." She dramatized. "I hope he's worth the effort."
"I'm always worth the effort," Veru said in a bizarre, half coy, half sick voice.
The young lioness's expression soured, and she fell into stride with Fia. "If he does live though, you know I'm blaming you."
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Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 1:37 pm
Glad to be relieved of her burden, Fia left the brute of a lion, Vlam, to carry the weakened rogue and moved back out across the sand. She was rather glad, in fact, to be leaving the sun-bleached skeletons behind. Casting a wry look across at her sister, she seemed to be more amused than anything.
"I do envy you of your job satisfaction, Ea." She teased lightly. "First Vlam and now..." Actually, she didn't think she'd ever been given or asked for the rogue's name. Sort of rude now that she'd thought about it. Ah well, if he lived to duel his way into the pride she'd ask then. And if he didn't...well, it wouldn't matter. She gave a small shrug and remembered, at the last moment, that her nephew ought to still be with them. She turned her head back to see the cub still by the skeletons, head raised to the sky. What was he doing?
"For crying out loud...shouldn't Azar be looking for that little fuzzball right about now?" She muttered under her breath. "NUR'YU!!"
The cub startled and turned to dash after them, slowing only when he was walking by the adults.
"What were you doing?"
"Looking for the crow." Nur'yu replied. "So, is it time for the game you promised?" He asked with a wide smile.
Fia groaned, dropping her head in dismay. And to think that the day had started out with nothing more than the desire for a nice morning stroll.
Things had taken a rather unexpected turn...
/fin.
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