[FIN] Wherever I Stand (Nemanja'janan & Veri)

[Annchen]

It was a huge relief when Nemanja agreed to her proposal. She had come to the Gods' Haven with a vague plan to entrust her companion to someone she could trust (she couldn't very well drape him over a tree in the snow). But this was much better than to nag one of her more superficial acquaintances into an agreement. She knew Apathy, and she knew he would do his best without trying to snare her into some complicated agreement about counter favours. Oh, she owed him a huge favour after this, but she expected to be the one that had to keep track of it. People demanding things from her made her cranky, but she was willing to give all she got if she got to do it on her own terms.

"He's fed recently and shouldn't need to for a while," she said, "And he won't bother you if I know him right. There, go on."

The last part was directed at the snake, and it must possess some comprehension of the Goddess wishes or language, because as she sat down right next to Nemanja he started to slide over to the large God instead. It slid slowly and surely, the strong muscular body finding purchase on this new unfamiliar body. When the snake had finally settled his red scales were almost completely obscured by Nemanjas thick fur. There was just one more thing...

"Ah, I hope it doesn't feel too strange," she said, without showing any signs to move away just yet. Their sides were almost touching, and she could feel some of his body heat radiate against her own fur. She looked away, and realised she did not want to leave, "I'd like to sit with you for a while, if I may."

It wasn't just the numbing and almost peaceful aura of indifference, even if that seemed to be just what she needed at the moment. It was also really nice to sit with her friend for a while, without having to do anything else. A memory broke through, of a much smaller god and goddess, motionless like this.

"We used to sit like this," she said softly, "didn't we? After I was finished biting your tail."  

[Uta]

As if Nemanja would even think bout demanding a favor in return. That had never been his type, and as far as he was concerned, taking care of the nameless serpent was nothing. Veri requested some help, and he was obliging. No . . .not obliging. He was . . accepting her request for aid. Obliging made it sound like he didn't want---

Hmm. His thoughts stopped right there.

Strange really, how he was doing his best to be non-chalant, to not care, and yet here was mulling over the slightest and most foreign sensation. Feeling. It was rare and something he did his best to push away, but at the moment, he couldn't. Strange really. Veri could have plopped the snake upon him and walked away, and he would have dealt with it. But she had asked, and he had found himself much more receptive to her request than he might have been with another.

Perhaps he wasn't as cold as he pretended to be. Ah, but what did it matter? So a rogue emotion slipped, it was Veri. She was allowed that much from him, wasn't she? The Goddess of Blood had been his only real companion when he'd been so small and much more vulnerable. Old habits died hard, so they said.

He wouldn't think about it and, he knew, as far as Veri understood he felt nothing over this deal. It was what it was.

The sensation of the snake, as well as the added weight, was unusual. With how tangled and matted his fur had turned out to be, due to his neglect, it was amazing the serpent could find a place to slither at all. Thankfully though, Nemanja possessed a very thick pelt, so the snake wouldn't ever have to worry about growing too cold. There were spikes to coil around and wings to drape upon if needed. Nemanja made a perfect jungle gym.

As the snake settled upon him, his head tilted ever so slightly as Veri made her second request. To sit with him. "I have no where to be. Stay as long as you wish." It was the truth. Veri was the one who seemed to have some sort of agenda. Nemanja himself . . . what was his schedule? To exist. And even that sometimes seemed much too to handle.

How long had it been since he'd had company? Well . . .now and again a mortal would cross his path, and they'd attempt to get him to feel. Poke at him. Prod him. Try to get him to respond or react. . . but if boredom didn't strike, than his powers would. Sometimes he'd lie with a mortal for a day or two, for no reason except he was too uncaring to move. Sometimes he woke next to starved and dehydrated corpses, those who succumbed to his apathy and let themselves expire.

But that wouldn't happen with Veri. She was strong enough to withstand his powers, as any god or goddess would be. But finding them outside of the mountain wasn't easy, nor was it often. Usually they left out of sheer boredom, but . . . thus far . . . Veri had yet to leave. It wasn't what usually happened, certainly.

. . . cubhood. The male god stayed quiet as he thought about the past. She was right - she often tried to tease him, tried to get him to respond and react. Sometimes it actually worked, as he hadn't been quite as cold at that age. But sitting here with her, it almost could have been a new memory. He gave a small snort, though there was almost a smile creeping upon the edge of his muzzle. It was slight, brief, but there. "If not the tail, than plucking my feathers or tugging my ear. You'd have to be careful now, as the spikes have grown longer." In a surprising act over motion, he brought his tail around waves it lightly in front of her, almost as an offering. There were four spikes at the tip, sharper since the days of old, but the rest was smooth and fair game.

From the scars on it, and teeth marks, it looked as if Veri wasn't the only one who had chomped upon his tail during his lifetime. ". . . I'd thought to get you back one day. I suppose I'm still considering it." He added quietly, giving the slightest shrug of his shoulders. He used to spend hours brooding over what he'd do to surprise the winged goddess. But age and apathy and escaping to the mortal world had interrupted such plans.
 

[Annchen]

"Oooh, should I take that as a threat," Veri said and laughed. "Or is it a promise? Awh... You let someone else bite your tail. That's my job!"

The spikes were indeed longer, but she doubted it would have deterred her as a cub. They didn't scare her now either. What could he do, take an eye out? She grabbed the teasingly waving tail gently between her teeth, holding it hostage, but without breaking the skin. All the while making sure that she wouldn't poke herself in the eye or something equally silly. She growled playfully and then settled down with her 'prey'. For lack of anything better to do with it she started to clean Nemanja's tail, or at least the small part she could reach. Boy, he was filthy...

"What kind of God gets scars," she murmured, "Who did this one? I know it wasn't me. I think that one over here might be mine, I knew I chewed until I tasted blood one time..." She smiled fondly at the memory and cleaned 'her' scar. Perhaps it was a bit twisted to smile at a memory like that, but then she was a bit twisted at times. Ask any mortal who had caught her on a bad day...  

[Uta]

The white and black god did nothing as Veri took hold of his tail. He wouldn't have objected or made movement even if she had decided to play rough, though the sensation of touch was rather foreign to the lion. Neither bad, nor good, just a little unusual. The times he had been used as a jungle gym or something to harass and pick on (once others realized he wouldn't easily defend himself) were rare moments, and had been particularly few and far between in these most recent years. For the most part he was left to his own devices in both the mortal realm as well as the gods haven, so to feel another's touch or closeness, even if it was just the tip of his tail, was different.

But to each their own.

Heaving a slow breath, the large lion considered Veri's words. A threat. He wasn't exactly the most threatening of creatures, and certainly didn't wish to respond to her in such a manner. Not that, of course, she would likely take his words as such. But a promise? That seemed to involve too much effort, too much care for him to say such a thing. He had intended to do much as a cub, had much more life and zest (if you could ever use such a word with Nemanja) than he currently possessed. ". . . I suppose you could call it neither, simply an intention. I'd rather not break a promise to you, should I never come through, and threatening isn't exactly my style."

Without realizing he, he had walked once more the path of emotion. He needn't have granted her an explanation, and to admit his distaste of breaking a promise, well . . . . that was unusual for him. But deep down, the lion had to quietly admit that Veri wasn't just someone. She had been one of his few friends, and thus, she was granted more clearance when it came to his thoughts and legitimate feelings. It wasn't quite so easy to remain emotionless around those whom had once been involved with him on some level as a cub.

Thankfully though, such creatures were rare. This meeting with Veri was completely unexpected, and life would soon return to how it had been as soon as she took her leave. Granted, he now had a temporary serpent companion, but that was neither here nor there. Veri would soon return to remove the creature, and none would ever need know of the falter of his great facade.

As Veri settled with her prey and began to groom him, Nemanja said and did nothing. It was only when she began to question the marks that he had allowed to mar his body that he turned his dark eyes upon her. It was almost like old times, though her rough-housing with his tail had transformed in to speculation and grooming. Not that it really mattered. "I'm sure if I desired, I could heal the wounds of my body." Just speaking of such a thing seemed to exhaust him. He didn't care about his body or physical well being enough. It was amazing he managed to hunt at all, much less keep himself alive. Thankfully, he was a god, and didn't have nearly as demanding a regimen as mortals.

" . . . . I know for a fact that there are a few marks you made that I have kept." Given, he looked as if he seemed to keep any and all scar or mark that went unhealed. But Veri had been the first, after all, to truly leave a reminder of her presence. Maybe it had been she who had started such a trend. "The others are insignificant. I recall not when or how; the sources of the marks meant nothing to me and I remember not."
 

[Annchen]

It occurred to her that Nemanja was a very honest God. He didn't really lie, as if the act of lying required caring. But there were more to it than that, even if it might have started as indifference. Sometimes she could swear he tried to make an effort to be honest. At any rate it was another reason she liked Nemanja. He didn't twist his words to deceive others and he didn't want to make promises he couldn't keep. Fair enough. It sounded an awful lot like caring, but Veri knew that there was more to her old friend than the cold indifferent facade he displayed. She gave his tail a last lick and released it.

"Cleaning you is like travelling back in time," she said with a grin, "I swear I could taste some of the mischief we got in when we were younger."

She sighed contently and stretched as she got to her feet. It was time for her to leave if she was going to catch up with the mortal she had promised to help. She would prefer not to teleport there, but if she stayed here too long she wouldn't have time to get there on foot.

"I'll see you around," she said casually, but then rubbed her cheek against his, "I will go to the pride that calls itself Kitwana'antara with the mortal I met. Don't ask me why, but he wants to see the disease pride. Send someone to find me if you need me."

She didn't really think he would, but if something serious happened she wanted Nemanja to be able to find her. With a final nod she extended her wings and prepared to leave the mountain.  

[Uta]

((Gah! So sorry this took me so long to respond to. x_x I hope we can let the two of them meet up again. It's nice for Nemanja to have a friend.))

The large lion considered her words, a small part of him actually surprised she would posses such memories. There was much he could remember, but a majority didn't stir much feeling or response. Faces of the past blurred with his everyday surroundings. Not many stood out, and few experiences colored him. But then again, that was a lie, for deep down Nemanja'janan did remember Veri and a large portion of his youth. Sitting with her he could almost recall their antics, the trouble they stirred. .

But that didn't matter now, did it? Not particularly. Nemanja wasn't the sort to linger on the past - he had written everything off. Yes, he could recall actions, but the emotions he may have once felt were long since wiped. He remembered Veri as a cub, but that didn't mean anything. Not then, not now. . . It was about as important as the shade of green, or a speck of sand.

So why would Veri choose to remember? It had been years ago since they had caused any sort of trouble. . . but Nemanja had noticed her smile. Those days had been good. . . and if he let himself really feel, if he dropped his facade, perhaps he too would remember the feelings of that time, the reason he never went out of his way to avoid Veri. They had been friends, and he had once cared.

As Veri rose to take her leave, Nemanja looked as apathetic as ever. Even when she leaned and nuzzled her cheek against his own, his expression hardly changed. His tail twitched some, which perhaps gave away a small facet of surprise. Touch was a bit foreign to the god . . . Not many in the rogue lands bothered to get close to him in any manner of speaking. If his ring of apathy didn't stop them, then his size, and likely his disheveled looks alone kept others away.

"I'll be around." His voice finally spoke up as she turned. He tucked the pride's name away though he doubted he would need to know such a thing. Where she traveled was her own business and he wasn't exactly the sort to follow or track someone down. It really wouldn't be necessary.

"Safe travels." His words were so quiet they might not have actually been spoken. Surely he couldn't have wished her well, as that would mean, somewhere deep in his heart, he did still care and had feelings. It was the most forward he had been in a long time . . . but for once, the lion meant what he said. It wasn't a mimicry of feeling, it was sincere.

And just as Veri prepared to leave, Nemanja himself flopped back to his side in the snow drift, as if nothing had changed. Thankfully, her snake would be kept warm in his thick mane. Heaving a breath, he let life once again resume without interruption.