The morning had just started, with the red ridges of the sunrise finally peaking over the cliffs, and yet Thokk had been up all night. The priestess had work to do, and a ritual to prepare for. It would likely take her the rest of the morning to completely gather all the materials needed as well. That was not something the young lioness was looking forward to, but the sooner it was done, the better. Perhaps it was a bit selfish of her to wish it gone so suddenly, but Thokk did not want to take any chances when it came to curses. Especially when it came to curses that were placed on her. Her claws clicked against the stone floor of her dark, dank den as she continued to reflect over what was to come in the next couple of days. Did she finally have everything she needed? ... Almost. Just a few more-Gala hadn’t meant to interrupt the young priestess in her thoughts, but to be honest she was surprised to see Thokk was up this early in the morning. Goodness! And Gala had thought to be in and out without any trouble. "Pardon the intrusion, Priestess Thokk, but I was just dropping off the trinkets you asked for”, she spoke softly, her teeth loosely clamped over a pair of rune necklaces. Around her neck Gala also wore a carved leather herb pouch, and an old, almost musty clasped pelt hung over her back. The older lioness smiled somewhat sheepishly from the mouth of the priestess’ den, before trodding carefully in to where Thokk sat.
Indeed, Thokk thought with an internal sigh. She hadn’t been expecting Gala until later that afternoon, and had been planning on clearing a space to prepare the ritual components. Unfortunately there was no sense in sending the old silver lioness away just to call her back a few hours later, so Thokk forced a pleasant smile and a nod as Gala approached. "No need for apologies Gala, I’m hardly one to turn away a guest.” She stood and stretched, her tired muscles begging to be put to bed after a night of no sleep. "You can set them right over here, if you don’t mind?” Gods, it was almost too early in the morning to be playing friendly with some simple-headed freeborn, but Thokk endured. Gala was only staying for a moment.
Gala returned Thokk’s pleasantness with a warm smile of her own. Such a beautiful little girl, her mother would have been proud. Come to think of it, the stuff Thokk had asked for had belonged to her mother: Gala’s best friend back when they were young. Her warmness faded into an expression of fond remembrance as she displaced the items carefully where Thokk had pointed out. Gala took a few moments to smooth out the fur, studying the carved bone clasp that held it in place at the end. "These were your mother’s, you know. Before she had you we would spend the whole day together, just watching the reaver’s spar and making fun of the most boisterous of the lot”, she spoke aloud, remembering the old days. A quick, soft burst of laughter escaped her and she said, "That’s actually how she met your father. He was the most boisterous reaver of the bunch, and we spent hours making fun of him! Until he wound up stomping over to us. Goodness darling, I thought he would start screaming at us to shut up, but he surprised us both by asking your mother out to dinner with him. Oh he was full of surprises!” Gala certainly missed those two.
To say the least Thokk was taken aback when Gala suddenly started ranting about her mother and the ‘old days’. How on earth had the old lion gotten on that subject? Thokk could do nothing but nod politely, the muscles in her shoulders tensing up. She hoped if she didn’t say anything Gala would get off the subject herself, but unfortunately she was not that lucky. By the warlords sweaty balls, this had turned into a disaster that Thokk was none too fond of.
Gala’s eyes remained transfixed on the trinkets, drinking in every little claw-carved crevice. "She made these herself. Carved every rune from scratch, and strung every fiber of them together. That one fancied herself quite the crafter, your mother”, she chuckled, but there was a somber sound to it. There were days where Gala remembered the old days, and found herself longing for her best friend more than ever. It had been quite the shock to wake up one morning and find Thokk’s mother had died during the night. No more shocking than it was to Thokk, she reminded herself, and quickly took a few flustered steps away from the forgotten treasures. "Oh dear! I didn’t mean to ramble like that, I know it must have been hard for you as well,” she paused to smile sheepishly at Thokk once more. "She’d be proud of you I think, to follow in her paw-prints so diligently. You’ve grown into a fine young lady.”
Before she could stop it Gala had gone and given her a headache. Ugh, she could have gagged at all the sweet coddling and remembering the old lioness was subjecting her to. Thokk cleared her throat, biting back the bitter hatred for her mother that swelled up in her chest and swirled there like a pool of acid. "Yes, I think so as well”, she lied, dryly. It was too early in the morning for this s**t, and Thokk was growing ever impatient with the soft-spoken Gala. "You’ll have to pardon the quick good-bye, but I have much work to do and very little time to do it”, she explained, casting her gaze to the small, neat pile Gala had fixed for her. Hmph. It was because of her mother that she had go through with all this preparation for a ritual she wasn’t even sure would work. Love, after all, was a difficult curse to break. Especially the kind uttered on one’s dying breath; now, those were tricky. Thanks mom, she rumbled inwardly.
Oh dear, it seems like she had gone and upset the poor dear. Gala couldn’t help but feel guilty, after all she should have known better than to bring up the memory of Thokk’s mother’s death so off-handedly. Mistaking the priestess’ distant demeanor for one of sadness or pain, Gala stepped up and briefly nudged her with her cheek. "It’s okay, I miss her too. We’ll just have to remember how much she loved us.” She smiled warmly at Thokk once more, seeing more of her mother in her than she had previously realized. "Take care darling, I’m right down the path if you ever want to talk about her.”
Just leave already. Leave. Leave. Leave! Thokk wanted to scream at the old bat, but she settled for a dismal utterance of good-bye. There were a few lions she couldn’t stand to be around, and Gala just happened to be one of them. Something about her stupid mother’s best friend doting all over her rubbed the priestess wrong. It was a relief to see Gala leave on her own accord, but Thokk was left all the more driven to finally be rid of her mother’s last legacy: her ‘curse’. True love, who the hell needed that? Weak females. And Thokk was far from weak.
The old lioness parted ways with her best friend’s daughter, but her thoughts were still very heavily on her old memories. It really was a shame that Thokk had grown up alone, old enough to take care of herself, but still young and easily hurt. The silver lioness sighed, regret and longing taking hold in her heart. Those days were long off, back when she was young and the world had been laid out at their paws. Now look at her. Old, slow, and with no man to call her own. She laughed sadly to herself, smiling up at the sky. Oh dear, how did time slip away from her so quickly? Her best friend was surely laughing at her some where in the heavens, no doubt!
(Word Count: 1360)
