[ PRP ] The voices in the mist | Durian, & Pitsiark |

[Thalion]

Oracle...

It was a flattering title to be certain and Durian wasn't entirely sure that he was deserving of it. There had been something of a test before he'd been given the title and while he quietly had his doubts about the accuracy of the test itself, Durian resigned himself to the rank. He was no slouch with the fang and claw but he wasn't a warring sort. If anything, he tried to avoid conflict through words. The patrons were a strong lot with fire glowing bright in their bellies and bodies solid as boulders. The Magi were far wiser than he. They wrote in strange symbols, learned how to mix inks and dyes from the natural ingredients of the earth provided within the valley of the mists. It was a respectable job but one suited to those that had more of an objective look on reality.

No, his head was in the clouds. It was there he saw his visions. It took time to decipher their exact meaning but his visions had almost always been accurate to the point of almost being hazardous in nature. Here the heavens touched the earth. Clouds swirled through the haunted stones and through those swirling mists came the voices of the ancients who had once lived there.

Early morning was the loudest. Phantoms passed through the mist, reliving scenes from the territory's ancient history. There were cubs that would move like wisps past his paws as he walked, laughing and playing without a care in the world. Lionesses lounged on the rocks, chatting about their most recent hunt or laughing lightly as younger males worked in the distance to catch their eye. They appeared in the corner of his eye and in another moment they were gone once more. Such a sad place... so many memories.

Chobi_Chocobo

 

[Chobi_Chocobo]

Thalion

An orcale was not what Pitsiark could even dream of being. Magi had been her calling. The female had grown up with knowledge of ancient writings and symbols. A lot still was left to be learned but Pitsiark humbly took her role as a magi and swore to uphold the role with virtue.

Memories did not choose her to haunt in the way they had chosen Durian. At least not in the way the mists swayed. Instead, the ancient records told stories of the old history of the pride which said enough to Pitsiark to know these were sad lands. Where there was sadness there was also happiness. At least at one point these lands were not dreary as the carvings and paintings stated. There had once been a period of happiness and oneness. Pitsiark liked to read, or try to read, those stories.

Even with the aid of a small portion of happiness, the unpleasant blood shed was still there. In the back of the lands mind. Lions had died here in this pride. Been murdered or died of illness. Was it possible that the lions once thought of as ghosts were now among them as such? Pitsiark sure hoped that the souls had gone free.

As of right now the female busied her self in the practice of ink. She hoped one day the ink would be used to record happier tales of the mistwalkers as two prides come to one. Something moving in the mists made her posture stiffen. For just a moment she could have sworn that the ghosts of the pride were prowling. For that moment her heart stopped. But only Durian was there which relaxed her a little.

"You look deep in thought." She continued her task of practicing ink.  

[Thalion]

Durian sat elegantly at the mouth of the cave where Pitsiark was practicing her inking. It was a trade that she seemed to be enjoying well enough and one that would often carry her mind away from the horror of the past. It took a decent amount of focus and many long hours of study to master, but she seemed to be a natural at it. She was learning quickly and the master magi had showered her with complements loud enough for the others within the small but growing pride to hear.

He sighed and turned his head as Pitsiark's quiet voice broke the relative silence of the moment. "Hmm? Oh yes." He looked back out to the valley beyond their small cave. "A beautiful place that we've found our way to...but one heavy with memory. You see such things in the stone, I see it in the air. We truly are of the land and the sky."

Chobi_Chocobo

 

[Chobi_Chocobo]

This got a small chuckle from Pitsiark. Durian was not trying to be funny by any means but it was still nice to hear such a comparison. Her chuckle was more of the fact she had not man such a comparison her self. Durian was quite clever. The female couldn't hide her amusement by this.

"You would have made quite a story teller," She dipped her paw in to the ink she was mixing and stirred. "I don't mean to laugh. I just think its nice you are such a poet. Poets can make even the fiercest words bend to their will you know," She was getting a little off topic. Pitsiark knew this. She sighed.

"The dark times though. They haunt this place. I am sad to see such sorrow in the earth . I am afraid of what you see in the air. Ghosts maybe. Ghosts. Ironic this pride used to thrive off of being believed to be as ghosts," She continued her mixing. The lioness only used the tips of her claws. Gently she stirred.

"Are you troubled?" This went with out saying. But it seemed like the question to ask.

Thalion

 

[Thalion]

A story-teller? The sentiment earned a wry smirk out of him and touched the corners of his eyes. Part of the cool, sagely exterior melted away into something a little softer, perhaps even a little younger. He might have liked that at one point. His tribe was one rich with stories. Their culture had flourished out of them, thrived on them, and eventually- crumbled because of them. It had been a strange but poetic cycle.

“Oh you can laugh all you want. I should learn to speak with more of a common tongue. Flowery words sometimes tend to hide a more harsh undertone. Some of the most beautiful stories are actually quite dark.”

He sobered almost instantly and gave a short nod of his head. Ghosts is what he’d best name them. Faces, sometimes scenes emerged before his eyes in the swirling mists. Lions coughing as life fled their bodies, cubs crying out for their mothers or nuzzling up close to a cold body, and the worst of all- the red beasts that tore through the clouds.

“The mists are full of sorrow and death. So much that it’s difficult to see the life that must have once filled these caves with laughter.” He glanced her way and shook his head. “No. I’m simply growing accustomed to the place. I’m sorry if I’ve dampened a warm mood. I believe once the land has told me what it has to say, it will let my mind settle.”

Chobi Chocobo

 

[Chobi_Chocobo]

Thalion

"Its hard to have a warm mood when there is so much sorrow," The ink mixing continued. It was like Pitsiark had forgotten she was still doing it. The mixture would be over mixed and have too thick of a texture if she continued. But the lioness was troubled talking by the past. Mixing was soothing. The lioness must have realized this as she quickly lifted her paw out of the ink.

"Its hard not to be troubled. So much sorrow from our own past now united with sorrow that belongs to another pride. It is still our burden and our duty to maybe one day rid these lands of it. I am sure that we will have plenty of happier memories for these damp mists to absorb and soon there will be happier stories recorded. The past will always be lurking but so will our future," She held a small but sad smile on her maw. It was as if she was trying to also convince her self of this yet not fully believing her words. Still, she put on a smile for Durian.

"Listen with all your might and then let your mind settle," She patted an ink covered paw to his cheek and grinned wide.  

[Thalion]

He shrugged a shoulder and gathered himself up from the stone floor. It was cold and damp and while it felt good during the heat of the day, in the early and late hours it was a little cold for his tastes. Perhaps that too would change over time and he'd find comfort in it but at present, he felt he needed to dry his fur and move his limbs about.

"It's strange... we have three distinct groups of us all living here." He observed, happily changing the subject away from the haunting memories of the place. "Rogues like myself, your people, and the survivors of this place. Your pride's king has been making frequent tributes to the gods, hoping that at least a few will return. The old ones from these lands are... well they seem like weary travelers finally come home."

He smirked a little. "I admit, I'm at a loss as to what I should be doing. Tributes? Cloud-reading? Getting my paws damp?"

Chobi_Chocobo

 

[Chobi_Chocobo]

Thalion

The lioness nodded.

"I think do what ever is best for the pride as a hole right now. What ever calls upon you." She yawned, "What ever our survival calls on the most. We have a healthy amount of recruited hunters. We have defenses. What is it that you think we need right now?"

Pitsiark felt it was not her place to say what it was the pride needed right now from Durian. That was only his call.  

[Thalion]

She had a point... one that brought up another very good train of thought in fact. He didn't know what the pride needed at the moment. Their hunters and huntresses had been fairly successful in their rounds and the patrons had the borders well under control. The magi were learning how to read and write under their elder... that left the oracles. Wait for a vision? Wait for a god to communicate with? It seemed... terribly frustrating.

"Perhaps I should find out what it is they need." He spoke quietly. "Then work from there. I doubt that they need to be reminded of the blood bath here. The illness... if I'm to inform a magi of what I've seen, I suppose you'll have to do." He glanced over and attempted a playful smirk. "Perhaps I have to give this... socializing a shot. I can leave my avian here with you. If something's a miss, he can send for me."

Chobi_Chocobo

 

[Chobi_Chocobo]

Thalion

Pitsiark gave him a little nod. She understood. He needed time to think on the subject and perhaps a grander magi or even another oracle one just what it was that the pride called for him. Pitsiark had faith he'd find what it the pride needed. She already knew what it was the pride needed from her and was going to preform her task as perfectly as she was able to. She'd master her craft and learn all the knowledge that was readily available for her.

"I understand." She confirmed. There was nothing more to say than that. She gave him a mirrored playful smile of her own and went back to work.

*fin?*  

[Thalion]

He nodded shortly then turned to the mouth of the cave. His deep blue eyes scanned the mists for a moment longer, pushing the images and memories aside to look at the real world itself. It took some effort to do so, but soon the mist became just that- swirling clouds of water. "Adain." He called out calmly.

A few moments later, the crimson wings of his falcon clapped into the cave and the avian found himself a rock to perch on. His talons scraped the surface of the stone while he settled his wings and finally came to seat himself.

"Stay here. If she needs me then I should be within the pride's territories."

The bird gave a single short nod of understanding.

"The two of you behave now. I don't expect to be long."

With that, Durian padded his way from the cave and stepped onto the dampened, plush grass that carpeted the landscape beyond the caves.

Chobi_Chocobo

Fin! :3