"Yoska!"
It was not said fondly. It was not said nicely. It wasn't even said, it was shouted. Fireheart found that speaking kindly to this small batch of cubs she currently had didn't work. Nor did yelling, nor did anything. It drove her mad and she wondered where she and her mate had gone wrong. Their last litter had all turned out so well, and these four...well. They hadn't.
Fireheart tore through the jungle after her son, following the snickers and taunts that led her on. He was old enough now to be allowed to go where he pleased, within reason, and the Dreamer's cave was not one of them. Only those that were old enough to have cubs were allowed in the cave, and while Yoska was nearly of age, there was still a few more weeks to losing his baby fat and starting to grow his mane in.
When one of the pride members had told her that they'd seen the gypsy prince disappear into the cave, Fireheart had been livid. Nothing Vodnitvar had said could have kept her from finding her son and teaching him a lesson. Unfortunately, the lessons she had taught him - how to evade capture, blend in with his surroundings, use the jungle to his advantage - he remembered very well.
The queen narrowed her eyes as she realized where she was being led. Putting on a bit more speed, she burst out of the jungle and onto the beach in time to see Yoska's orange brown tail disappear into the Dreamers cave. She tore in after him, and taking a deep breath, bellowed his named again.
"YOSKA!"
And then everything went a bit fuzzy. She realized with the last of her sanity that she shouldn't have gone in, and after that, her mind was lost. Things, while being a bit fuzzy, were very bright and vibrant. Little flecks of light danced around her at the edge of her vision, and she forgot all about her son. Something called to her - beckoned enticingly even - and she left the cave. The little spots of light bounced before her eyes, leading her slowly back through the jungle. She walked for hours, the sun moving above her, until she stopped by a partly dried up watering hole in the rouge lands. Stopping to take a drink, Fireheart looked around. The calling had ceased. Whatever she was looking for was here. But...where?
It had been a very long time since Daima had last wandered particularly close to another god's territory - even while technically still outside it. Of course, this was with good reason. You could never be certain whether a god would react negatively to another of their kind so close to a pride they frequented or had even blessed. He vaguely remembered being killed by one many rebirth cycles ago for stepping foot on the lands of a pride that was now long dead. But he'd felt like snooping a bit today, and even if he wasn't about to enter the lands there was still always the chance that he'd run into a member of the pride.
So, here he was. In the rogue lands a very calculated distance away from the border of the pride, his wings folded at his side and the flames that made up his primaries flickering in the dim evening light. Surely, if he waited long enough, someone would come to entertain him. And if not, he could always go bother his brother in the Aegnor.
Fireheart waited a bit as the darkness settled. To her it was as bright as daytime, though, the little balls of light growing brighter in her eyes. She realized as she sat there that they were tiny balls of fire, and it made her smile. Ah...she was fond of the flickering flames she was partly named after, but never had they seemed so beautiful before.
Finally whatever it was that was calling her spoke up again, and she turned her attention to the west. Against the setting sun she saw a massive form settle on the ground, the little specks of fire she could see fading away as more fire, real fire came into sight. That lion...had fire on him.
Interested and impressed, Fireheart stood and walked slowly in the direction of the huge beast. She was quite large herself, but she felt like a young female again in his presence.
"Hello," she said once she got close enough, completely unlike her usual way of greeting someone unknown. "You have fire on you," she pointed out, nodding to his vast wings.
It didn't take very long for Daima to notice the approaching lioness. She was impressively sized for a mortal - he wouldn't be surprised to find out she had some god blood in her line somewhere. And, judging by what she wore, he wouldn't at all be surprised to find out she was a member of the nearby pride he'd intended to snoop on.
Her greeting was met with a polite nod, and he almost chuckled when she continued. He was always amazed at how some mortals reacted to his wings - some had even asked why the fire didn't burn him. It was a good question, and he had always suspected it was because it was a part of him.
"Do I?" Daima mused lightly, stretching out one of his wings and turning to look at it in mock-bewilderment. "Well, look at that! My wings are all aflame. I'd never have known if you hadn't pointed it out to me."
Fireheart nodded as the male questioned her statement and, when he spoke, she had to laugh. It was obvious that he had known before hand, but his teasing was amusing. It came easily to her in this altered state, as the sane Fireheart wasn't much of a laugher. When she did, it usually sounded strained.
"Well you're welcome, then," she said, moving a little closer to the god. "What's your name? I'm Fireheart." At least she hadn't given her real name. That much had been engrained in her mind from her youth that not even insanity could make her slip up.
Daima flashed a grin in response to the female's laughter, settling his wing back against his side with a small rustling of his coverts. It was good to see someone in such good spirits around him. Oftentimes his aura seemed to have the unfortunate side effect of making his conversations with mortals much more serious than they needed to be. You could be determined and still have fun, after all.
"I'm Daimaishi. It's a pleasure to meet you, Fireheart." He nodded towards her politely, his solid-colored eyes bright with amusement. "What brings you so far out into the rogue lands? Or am I mistaken in assuming you're part of a nearby pride?"
Daima wasn't wrong in thinking his aura was affecting her, although it was doing some strange things while mixing with the 'blessing' that was temporarily upon her. Where it normally would have made her even more driven than she usually was, right now it just made her want to closer to him, his fiery wings, and his mesmerizing eyes. They looked like fire all on their own. Fire was nice.
"Daimaishi," she repeated, a little grin still on her lips. "That's fun to say. Daimaishi. Oh! Yes, I'm from the Kizingo'Zaa. I'm the queen, in fact," she said with a proud smirk. "Queen Fireheart. Impressive, yes?" She was never one to toot her own horn, but under the effects of these strange vapors, she seemed to be a completely different lioness.
"The queen?"
Now there was a surprise. Daima certainly hadn't expected anyone of such important to venture out into the rogue lands unattended. That didn't seem like something very common among the prides he'd spied in the past. Typically, a queen and most other royals were kept safely within the lands, weren't they? So what could have brought this queen so far from the borders of her pride and so close to him...
"Well, it would appear I have been terribly rude. Had I known you were so important, I would have introduced myself much earlier!" He cracked a small grin, spreading his wings and jokingly bowing low to the earth, until his nose was almost touching the ground. "It's a pleasure, your majesty."
Fireheart lifted her head high as the god bowed to her. Yes, this was the proper order of things, certainly. She moved forward and patted his fluffy mane with a paw, letting him know that his folly was pardoned.
"The pleasure is mine. I must assume you are a god with wings like those," she added, dipping her paw to tap his chin, letting him know he should stand up again. "Might I ask what you're the god of?" She had only met the goddess of insanity and she wasn't very fond of her. She tolerated her at best, but right now all thoughts of disliking gods and goddesses were far from her mind. Especially since this god was all fiery. She liked fire. A lot. Had she had the time to think about it she probably would have realized fire was her muse, but she had better things to dwell on.
Like handsome gods with fire wings. Hm.
There was a low rumble of amusement on Daima's part when Fireheart patted him on the mane, and his gaze drifted briefly over the lioness when he rose from his bow as indicated.
"Why, I'm the god of determination. I hold sway over the drive to reach a goal in all creatures," he purred, lips twitching into a smirk. He could easily recognize the fire that burned in this particular queen's heart. Oh, she was determined. She had goals of her own, and he doubted anything could stand in her way once she set her mind to something. And he had the sneaking suspicion he might be that next something, if the way she was looking at him was any indication.
Tonight would be an interesting night...