[PRP] Lifeless

[Mimsey]

The first rains of the drought brought with them aftershocks. Small, sometimes minute long bursts of rain that sprinkled the thirsty earth and caused cracks to form on the earth and stale sand.

It was raining again- but just a brief misting that swirled around as though it didn't know in what direction it wanted to fall. But it didn't matter if it was a sunshower or a rainstorm, the skeletal Miah observed it all with a kind of flat apathy that the pride had come to expect of him. He was hardly even considered an enemy these days...but not entirely kin either. A strange hostage as the firekin played war with the nergui. Had he been biding his time to escape, surely now would have been the time.

Miah didn't get many visitors out on his lonely rock on the far outskirts of the pride. There had been a guard posted there once- and officially, there should always be. But patrols were a bit lax, and guarding Miah was hardly a glamorous job. This wasn't to say he spent his days in complete solitude, however.

"- and you see, that's when the Akadian cult collapsed. An entire group that had existed for centuries, just like that! All over some pair of iron shackles that no doubt were nothing but trash, but still they-" It was no secret to anyone that Elcca liked the sound of her own voice.

Lecturing Miah was mostly an exercise in her own speaking voice. Or maybe she thought by deluging him with information, at some point he'd offer some up of his own. This had yet to happen, so she just enjoyed rambling on with no cause or reason to it.

Miah flicked his ears, not really listening or not listening. He sighed, a faint sign of some figures approaching in the distance.  

[Kimaria]

The figures belonged to that of the young male, Kerra, and a strange lioness only recently arrived in the lands. The young guard-in-training had been given the task of escorting her across the borders to find an opponent to duel with. He was a little saddened that he wasn't older so that he might have been able to duel her. Or perhaps sad that she wasn't a little younger. Still, rules were rules and it could not be helped. An adult could not fully test herself against an adolescent not yet grown into his mane. It made sense, even if he did believe himself capable enough to prove a challenge.

The odd-eyed youth was moving slowly across the dunes to allow the female to keep pace with him. It amused him to no end that she seemed to need to take great care and precision to traverse the shifting tide of gold. Poor rogues and their safe, firm ground out beyond the desert. How sad they must be to be forced to learn to walk all over again.

"We're almost there." He said, in a weak attempt to strike up conversation. She'd been oddly quiet the past hour or so - perhaps trying to focus on the task that would soon await her. "Ah, look, there we are!" His head lifted as he spotted Miah and Elcca up ahead - though he did not yet recognise who they were. It would be safe to say that he was not all that familiar with Miah.

Elcca, on the other hand...

The moment he caught word of her voice on the wind he knew who it was. And, as the distance closed, the black silhouettes became bright with colour (or Elcca's did, anyway).

He called out her name cheerfully as they moved within earshot and beside him, the white female seemed to perk up.

"Elcca! I've brought a rogue. She wants to join our ranks! Perhaps you can help? Or maybe...your friend?" Oh. Wait. He thought he knew who the bizarre male was now. The hostage? The traitor? The Nergui? So many rumours flitted about that he wasn't quite sure what might be true and might not. Still, he was not rude enough to gape - not for long, anyway.

"This is..." He trailed, trying to recall the female's name.

Thankfully, the rogue filled in for him. "Chisisi." She dipped her head, smiling. "Charmed." Her voice was high and trill, like a song, and one could not quite be sure whether she was being genuine or not. She was mostly white with a dark tuft of fur between her ears and a scattering of red about the face. Not exceptionally pretty, though her face-markings kept her from being 'plain'.  

[Mimsey]

Elcca stopped in midsentence, her mind lost somewhere between ancient cult history and magic. She might have hated interruptions, but she never got tired of hearing her name called. She made sure to wait a desirable amount of time before looking over. There was no need to seem desperate for company, after all!

As the two approached, Miah simply nodded his head before resting it back on his paws. He wasn't one for greetings... not that that was too surprising. His strange eyes fell upon this Chisisi, listening to her lilting speech. Then to Kerra. He had seen this one grow since his time in the pride. It was an odd marking of the passage of time.

Elcca, on the other hand, decided she didn't like the other female from the get go. Maybe it was because of the all-too-familiar expression on her face, or the sweet words. Or that name. Or maybe Elcca was just in the mood for a spat herself. In any case, she stood up, her shoulders rolling as she estimated the peculiar rogue. Her bright eyes narrowed, as she hopped off Miah's lonely little stone.

"I'm sure you are," the seeress thrummed. "I don't often lend my paw to such barbaric rituals. But I suppose I can't reject such a direct request!"  

[Kimaria]

Move 1: Miss

For a moment it wasn't quite clear who was more pleased at the prospect of hearing that Elcca was up for dueling. Both Kerra and Chisisi seemed to brighten at hearing the news.

"Excellent!" She chirped, eyes skittering across to where Miah lounged. "I have heard that Firekin warriors are the stuff of legends. Still, I shall try to do my best. It wouldn't do to make a poor first impression." Her smile widened and, with a short glance at Kerra (who had shifted to seat himself closer to Miah) stepped out to meet her fate. "Make sure to take notes, young lion."

Kerra's nose wrinkled very faintly at that. Just because he wasn't a soldier didn't mean he couldn't fight. One day, they would all see that for themselves. Still, it couldn't hurt to pay attention and see if he could pick up any tricks. One never did stop learning - or so his teacher had always told him.

And, in the next moment, the white female had launched herself towards the brightly-coloured female, swinging out with an eager paw. One that would prove a little too eager when it met nothing but air...
 

[Mimsey]

Elcca dodged the wayward attack, feeling a small thrill of delight as the wind sang against her coat. Elcca had her egomaniacal side, but she knew very well she was no fighter. She grinned, her tail swatting as she lazily took a step off her rock. "Come on now, if you can't hit me you're not going to make a very good firekin!"

Her bright eyes seared. "This lot are brutes, they won't care much for charming words or pretty faces." Not entirely true, but firekin were if anything staunch when it came to admittance to the pride. Even some of those Hongshan had had to prove their worth before being welcomed into this desert home.

Even she had earned her place, although the combat was by now a distant memory.

"I'll tell you what, I'll give you another shot..." she thrummed. "Try and hit a bit better this time!"
 

[Kimaria]

Move 2: Hit

She danced to the side as Elcca spoke, clearly unwilling to stay still - as if afraid that she might be caught unawares and lose this challenge. Her footwork seemed more suited to a dance step than a fighting step, however; its pattern so predictable she would have been better off standing still.

Kerra took note of this.

"It's very nice of you to give me the opportunity, Elcca." The lioness thrummed, moving around in the opposite direction now. "Let's see..."

For a moment longer she threw her weight from one side to the next, her paws rising and falling so often that it was more likely the heat of the sand that kept her moving than any attempt at thwarting her opponent.

And then, at last, she lunged again, throwing out her other paw this time and calling out with delight when it struck true.  

[Mimsey]

Miah blinked slowly, watching the fight commenced. It was strange, in the nergui there were no structured fights like this. If a fight broke out it broke out, and the results were usually devastating. Even Miah had needed to defend his position in the group on occasion. But he certainly wouldn't have sat there with his face stuck out, waiting for a blow to collide.

And in retrospect, Elcca wondered that herself. This rogue's paw struck her face, lacing it with pain that she felt all the way down to her feet. s**t. Who was she kidding, she didn't take blows to the face like that! She growled, feeling a surge of bitterness flood through her.

But still, she smiled. "Well, that was... adequate!" she chimed, suddenly lashing back with a slap of her own. "But, you will have to defend yourself you realize..."

Miah slowly pulled himself into a seated position. His strange eyes bounced from Elcca to Chisisi. Had this been the nergui, it would be likely they'd both be dead by now.  

[Kimaria]

Move 3: Miss

The compliment distracted her. A foolish mistake but one that Chisisi was likely to make again. This was a game. A performance. And so far it was going well - or had been until she'd let her guard down.

The strike resounded in her ears, forcing her into a hasty retreat until the noise had cleared.

When it had, she pranced a moment, trying to figure out her next move and her 'enemy's' weakness. "Sound advice, to be sure." She set her hind legs firmly in the sand - a sign that she was preparing her next advance - and launched at the other female once more.

Kerra almost winced. Even with his lack of experience, he could tell that the move was destined to fail. His tail beat once against the sand, agitation filling him. She lacked training and discipline.  

[Mimsey]

It took a bit of restraint not to laugh with delight as the female missed her mark. She edged to the side, skipping about in a manner hardly becoming of a firekin warrior.

[Luckily, it was a title very few would ever bestow upon her.]

"Uh oh, its quite a bit different when the opponent is actually fighting back, isn't it! You shouldn't be too hard on yourself. I often know things before they happen." A fact that she delighted in reminding everyone, despite the pride's somewhat unfortunate stance on seers. Ah well: less competition! Not like the nergui, who valued their seers to the point that all they did was fumble in their tangled webs. All scheming, all manipulating, all going nowhere.

Elcca straightened, planning her next retaliation. But not wanting to give this rogue a chance to make a fool of her- she decided to keep letting Chisisi come to her. She didn't doubt that the other female would have figured it out by now.

Miah's tail pulsed, one of the few signs of life left in him. He spoke, somewhat flatly: "They seem well suited."

 

[Kimaria]

Move 4: glancing blow

"Seems like that could give you an unfair advantage." Chisisi replied with a smile. "Though I suppose that will make my victory all the sweeter." If she realised she was losing - and pretty clearly at that - she gave no sign. Her mother had always told her that her confidence would be her downfall and yet it had not led her astray before. She still lived, didn't she?

Shifting her weight again, tail swaying behind her, she tried to size up her opponent anew. Neither of them had the big bulk of a male but that made them quicker, more able to slip out of harm's way. It was a shame, in truth, that she hadn't ever had much practise at this. If she had, perhaps she'd have thought of a good way to win this.

Their audience wasn't being particularly helpful, either. She'd rather hoped that one of them would have provided her with a distraction. Rules, she supposed. Rules always got in the way of fun.

"Well, since you're waiting so politely for me to have another turn." And she leapt again, losing her balance a little on the uneven ground as she did so.

It was an attack barely worth making.

Kerra gave a short sigh. "Perhaps too well suited. They could be dancing around one another for hours, at this rate."

 

[Mimsey]

"At times," Elcca sighed dramatically, as though burdened by her visions. Elcca was many things, but 'burdened' wasn't one of them. If anything she could stand to know a little less about the world around her. "Things get so dull when you know which way the webs are going."

As anticipated, Chisisi had returned for another attempted attack- and this time, her claws were not as forgiving. Elcca had to hop back rather quickly to avoid taking the full brunt of it. Elcca really only had her tongue to her advantage- when it came to fighting, she was mostly a hit and run-fast sort of player.

She attempted to use that to her advantage, leading Chisisi on a chase around Miah's rock. A couple of times she tried to back around and land a hit on the white lioness- but each time, her hit missed in the flurry of movement.

Watching them circle, even Miah found himself getting a bit dizzy.  

[Kimaria]

Move 5: Miss

"The spider could always reweave those webs." She replied. It wasn't quite clear whether she knew what Elcca was speaking of or not. More likely she thought it some amusing banter to liven up the duel.

Still, Kerra was wrong in his observation. This could not last for hours. There was a downside to all that dancing around. She was tiring and was not being given a chance to rest and catch her breath - not with Elcca luring her in dizzying circles across the sand. Back and forth she went - withdrawing when a bright paw came swinging her way and advancing when the other female took off again.

By the time she made her own move, she was breathing hard. The motion was sluggish and with Elcca still ahead of her, it was clearly made through sheer desperation more than anything else. As with most things made without much thought, the attempt failed miserably.

The adolescent shook his head in dismay, inching closer to Miah to make sure he didn't get caught in the path of the dueling females.  

[Mimsey]

The constant running in circles was beginning to drain on Elcca as well. Even though the sky was a rare overcast, it was still hot. Luckily her complete lack of good sense seemed to be winning her the fight. At about the fifth lap they were both dizzy and exhausted, and Elcca made a final pass to strike.

Ignoring the whiplash she got from changing directions so quickly, Elcca plowed into the female- her paws aiming directly for the other's shoulders to toss her back on the sand. Although she hadn't connected yet she could sense a kind of impending victory from it all...

...although as Chisisi drew close, she realized that by stopping her charge, she'd be absorbing most of the energy into the blow itself. This was something Elcca might have learned if she had paid half as much attention to the firekin as she forced them to her.

Miah watched the impending collision with a kind of stoic stare. Kerra was ducking behind beside him.

This could only end well.  

[Kimaria]

All in all, Elcca's plan had gone quite smoothly.

The impact sent the white feline reeling backwards in the sand, kicking up a sand of gold as she fought to keep her paws and failed. Her balance thrown roughly to one side, she found herself meeting the ground all too soon, flailing for a moment as she tried to right herself.

In the end, she contented herself with lying on her belly, her sides heaving as she panted her exhaustion.

"The day seems to have swung in your favour." She breathed, ears flat. "I suppose that means we'll have to dance again?"

"It doesn't have to be Elcca." Kerra piped up. "But yes, to join us you have to win."

Oh well, looked like some training was in order.  

[Mimsey]

Elcca coughed, spitting out a mixture of sand and fur in the aftermath of the collision. She was dizzy, her shoulders hurt. But also, she was victorious! How marvelous. She made a mental note to never do that again, lest she critically endanger her pride.

She sat up and rubbed her chin, doing her best to seem as though the entire thing was planned. "Yes, that is how they do things around here! Very unfortunate though. Firekin memberships are not handed out to just anyone."

Miah shook his head, stepping off his forlorn home. It was so strange to see movement out of him that Elcca hardly noticed it at first. He peered at Chisisi curiously, before stepping past Kerra and Elcca. "Not all the time," he said flatly. Then, he started meandering off towards the red quarter.

Elcca shrugged, peering back at the other two. "Well, in any case. Perhaps some other day!"