[PRP] And Then There Were— (Shikeen + Medea)

[medigel]

It was an odd day indeed when Shik asked Shaheen, after spending some time getting ready, if he looked presentable. A very odd day indeed. Since moving into the tower, they had upgraded from their hut to a more desirable home in the trees, and as such he had upgraded his wardrobe and collection accordingly.

He still appeared as hairy and wild as before, but even his tangled hair had been tamed into tied back dreadlocks and a somewhat flattened mohawk, though it was clear that in minutes it'd stick right back up. The feathers, piercings, and other sundry accessories he wore were somehow cleaner and in some cases even polished; he had taken to doing so with the metal portion of their hoard as a means of cooling down from the day.

(Appropriately, their trophy collection had grown with their status, almost to the point that they would soon need to divide what would stay here and what would follow them to their soon-to-be-new lair in the Amazon.)

The way Shik had dressed, one could almost say he appeared formal. Well, at least until the mohawk sprung back up, which he shrugged off. They needed to look somewhat good for their trip to Medea, but not Conquest level of detail tyrannism. Respectable, one could say. After all, it was their work behind the scenes that had helped ensure Death would fall.

The conversion part, not so much. But they would get a chance to ask Medea about what to do about that, along with many other things.

When Shaheen was ready, he did the mature thing and challenged her to a race up the steps. Yes, even after all that preparation. "What's the point of wings if we don't use them?" was his solid reasoning before, grinning, he shot up the steps without so much as a countdown.

Seussi

idfk this is what happens when you trust me to do things

 

[Seussi]

Shik's attempts at making himself somewhat more presentable than the norm were not lost upon Shaheen, who viewed the slight changes with a sense of silent amusement that she dared not speak out loud lest she incur her mates wrath. Despite finding it funny, however, she found herself doing her best to match him. Her hair was clean and brushed, there was no dirt or blood staining her skin or lodged beneath her fingernails. Her clothing was not quite so rag-tag motley and torn, and again checked for spots of filth that were quickly washed away. If Shik was going to go through the work appearing slightly more tame, than she certainly could do so as well. And since he had asked for her opinion, well, answering such a question with a change of appearance herself was not such a terrible way to reply, was it?

But no matter how she scrubbed and washed, no matter how carefully she chose to adorn herself, there was a side of Shaheen that could not be hidden away by soap, water, and material goods. She was a wild yet proud figure, a free spirit that was more than evident in how she poised herself, her stance, her posture, her movements, her words.

And so, when a challenge was issued, one that came at the bottom of a long set of stairs that led upwards towards Medea's dwelling, Shaheen could do nothing but accept, and readily so.

He had taken off shortly after his words, and with a wide grin, she followed, her wings aiding her as she zoomed up the steps, hardly hoping to win considering his advantage of speed and surprise, but finding great joy in putting her all into it anyways.

But as they raced, she found herself neck and neck with Shikoba, and her competitive instincts kicked into high gear as she pushed herself to her limit, her foot landing on the top step a split second before his own.

"Indeed." She breathed, with a grin, her head held high as she took in a deep breath to calm the adrenaline that raced through her veins. Golden eyes turned towards the man of war, the grin shifting to a cocky smirk. "Perhaps yours could use some more exercise."

medigel

 

[medigel]

"Bah!" After landing, he swatted her with a wing. "I was weighed down by my own importance, that is all." "Importance" being made of an extra layer of beaded and leather jewelry around his neck and ankles.

Hair now sticking up with its usual impudence, Shik turned to the doors before them. "What should we call her again? Queen? Or still High Priestess?" he asked as an aside. "She's been shut up in there so long I half expect to find her lounging with those minipets again."

Seussi

 

[Seussi]

Shaheen blocked the swat with a raised wing, though feathers still managed to ruffle up what was once smoothed out hair, now a mass of waves and loose curls that spilled down her back in a tangled mess. She let out a bark of laughter, before ducking and jabbing at his ribs with an index finger.

"Weighed down by something, yes, but I do not believe it is called importance."

She was most definitely implying that Shik was getting fat.

She too turned towards the doors, than, fingers lifting to rake back through her hair, in an attempt to regain some sense of decorum. "Queen, I suppose." She shrugged, "Honestly, I do not care which title she chooses, as long as she is of sound enough mind to speak with us." She then reached forward with a hand closed into a fist to rap against the door smartly, before hollering.

"MEDEA! IT IS SHAHEEN! AND SHIKOBA LEN! COME TO SPEAK WITH YOU!"

zoobey

hi have sum poniez

 

[Zoobey]

The door opened and there was the Queen in all her majesty, a foxfire in each hand. The foxfires looked a bit sad but mostly blissfully unaware, and their tails bobbed a bit as Medea looked from Shik to Shaheen, back to Shik. "You are overweight." She confirmed, to Shik, lacking both tact, and moral understanding of why it was wrong to be weighed down. "I, as Queen, give you my blessings to lose weight."

She began to close the door.

Seussi

ol-j-man

 

[medigel]

Snorting, Shik retorted haughtily, "And what does that mean for you, that you barely beat me?" He probably would have said more had the door not opened and Medea...oh gods damn it he knew it he knew the foxfires were back.

A close look would reveal that, just for a second, his feathers had a little extra poof of indignity at their disingenuous insinuations.

The horseman lodged his foot against the door before it closed.

"We have been meaning to speak with you, Queen," Shik said with barely restrained annoyance. "Unless you are busy?"

Zoobey

 

[Seussi]

"It means that---" She began, but the door opened, and Medea was there to finish the sentence for her. A smug look came across Shaheen's face immediately, a sudden urge to stick her tongue out at Shik welling up inside of her but quickly stifled in the face of them suddenly standing in front of their new....Well, Queen, it appeared. No more argument over that necessary.

While Shaheen was not at all prepared for such a quick dismissal, however, Shik was ready to leap to the rescue.

"Actually even if you are busy. It is of utmost importance." She chimed in, not wanting to give the woman any excuse to send them away.

Zoobey

 

[Zoobey]

"Utmost importance," Medea chimed from behind the door, "is relative."

There was a long pause and finally, the door opened a crack again, enough to reveal one eye staring at them, judging them. "Speak as you wish."

Seussi

I just tried to quote shaheen...

medigel

 

[medigel]

He wanted to ask for their reward (a Tower was for all, but they must have earned something more valuable than that by now), but bit his tongue for the moment. "What Shaheen means," Shik began, "is that we have been curious as to whether our jobs are done, or if there is still more left." The words were docile, but the hungry light in his eyes were anything but. "We saw what happened to Charon, Medea, and we know of what you did to Death. Surely there are still more meaningful tasks we can accomplish to ensure our rise."

Something beyond merely raiding the Human World as was the horsemen's wont anyway. The pair longed for a more satisfying rush so to speak.

Zoobey

 

[Zoobey]

Medea remained interested and the door hadn't closed yet, this was a good sign.

"You speak," she began, leaning forward, "of destruction. It is our essence it defines us, we cannot live without it. There are always tasks, but beyond simple tasks, beyond destruction defining us, is how we define destruction. We have become what we sought, and it is our time, in turn, to teach others what we have learned. Surely, even as War horsemen, you understand what I allude to, do you not?"

Seussi

medigel