[ORP] An Omen of Uncertain Type (closed!)

[Kimaria]

Rules
- Open to ALL Nergui members
- Familiars can also be used by those without members (just keep them distanced to avoid being hunted!)
- Slaves can be 'listening in' from a distance and talking amongst themselves. Try not to draw attention to avoid being 'scolded' for pausing in your duties.

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And the prize for this RP is:

 

[Kimaria]

Tömörbaatar returned to a cacophony of sounds and an array of curious eyes. Surprising, perhaps, but not daunting considering his task had been completed. The Kaar Oma had proven her good judgement, once again, by entrusting this task to him. Still, he wondered how word had gotten around the horde. Wondered whether there was any truth in the rumours that had circulated.

Perched precariously on his shoulder was the source of the rumours. The black, 'three-eyed' raven who called himself Qara. He had done nothing but sit in mulling silence, breaking it only to utter some sort of ominous threat. Or promise? Still, it was easy to believe that he was some sort of promised harbinger, especially with how many Kaar had spied him in their visions as of late. This raven was important, but it was still unknown whether he would comply to their demands.

"Get back." The Shuko snapped in the Nergui's rough, garbled tongue. He laid bare his teeth at a lion stepping into his path and shoved forwards.

The raven said nothing at all.  

[SilverLutz]

Word had been spreading as of late that something was coming. No one knew what, or when, just that something out of sight was starting to stir, bringing rumors on the wind. Furchtlos wasn't so sure how he felt about rumors. It was best to hear things from a reliable source, after all. He wouldn't let the whispering of the slaves or other 'low' pride members tell him what to do or how to act. He only took orders from those who were high enough to give them.

When a lion returned from his patrol with a raven on his back, Los was one of many to stare curiously. It wasn't often a lion would allow a bird to ride him like that. He followed at a safe distance, ears forward to catch any sort of sound.

Trailing behind was a small pup, her green eyes piercing and intense. She remained silent, odd for a young pup, and stuck to her father's heels. There was an old soul in those young paws. Kriegerisch was young, but knew her place and what was expected of her. She didn't play with other pups and cubs, instead spending the time with her father to watch and learn from him. Her brothers and sisters, including a litter that was slightly older than she, offered her no entertainment. She delighted in the screams of the slaves when her father was set upon them as punishment, and little else.  

[Andranis]

Dark paws scurried along as Tirnak followed her sister and father. If she was sad to have left her mother and other littermates, she showed no signs of it. Serving the Hoard and Kaar and Xakaav Oma made her plenty happy and left her feeling like she had a purpose in life. When she saw the blue Shuko, her eyes shone with delight, as she scurried over and bowed to him. "Shuko Tomorbaatar! You grace us with your presence!" Anybody the Kaar Oma saw fit to have in her presence was worthy of bowing to in the pup's view.

Nuri, more listening to the noise and chaos that had been going on, looked up with the Shuko appeared, then stepped back a bit as he yelled. The dark lioness narrowed her eyes, ears folded back amid the ragged cloak she wore. She eyed the three-eyed raven, suspicious of the creature since it first showed up. A frown graced her maw and a 'hm' rose up in her throat as she watched, wondering just what Tomorbaatar was up to. For now, she figured, it was best to simply listen, sparing a glance at the birds perched on her back.

Nuri wasn't the only one suspicious of the 'three-eyed' raven. Baa shifted where she perched, green eyes narrowed not at the blue Shuko but at the raven. She ruffled her wings, before preening a bit, then hopped up to Nuri's head. "The three-eyed one does not sit well with me... I cannot place my wing on why..." She imagined, for a moment, feeding the other raven to the cursed one. Then she thought of the rabbit that followed him and thought better of it. The rabbit would complain, he would complain a LOT. "What do you know of it, spotted one?"

"Truthfully... Not much..."

On the lioness' rump sat another bird, almost a brightly-colored counterpart to Baa. Almost as large, Kukwanyua katika'macho had the benefit of growing up following older-blood lions of the hoard around. If a raven was fast to preach about the hoard, he was. He fluffed his feathers. "The Three-eyed One does not bother me, Baa. Your worries are unfounded." He hopped up, draping a wing around her a moment, then looked to the Shuko. "What brings you here, Shuko Tomorbatar?" He swept a wing to motion to everyone present, including a few slaves and Nohoi.  

[mouselet]

Tesak was following his father and his sisters, though he really wasn't paying any attention at all. Not to where they were going, who they were going to see, the tense undercurrents...none of it made any impression at all on the young hyena.

He was much more interested in the prize that he was oh-so-carefully bringing with - a big old SKULL. It was easily the neatest thing he'd ever found. And he was certain that after he cleaned most of the dirt off, it would be the BEST adornment in the WHOLE PRIDE.

Once the family came to a halt, Tesak immediatly dropped the SKULL and began working on it some more.  

[Kimaria]

The shuko would never admit it, but he liked hyenas. Perhaps it was because they were of different species - and therefore not so likely to clash for dominance. Or maybe it was that he had spent so much time out on scouting trips with them. Whatever the cause, he was glad that - for now at least - the canines outnumbered the lions.

"I have returned from the hunt," he exclaimed, his face void of any emotion, though he was likely elated at his success. "and this; the prize." He paused, though whether he was about to elaborate or not would never be known.

Sarangerel chose that moment to interrupt.



The Emkurcar appeared from nowhere, stepping over the young pup, Tesak as she did so. Her haughty expression told her she was not impressed with the shuko's find.

"And this?" She sneered in the Nergui tongue. "This is the Bringer of Doom? The Winged Death? How frightful, indeed, the Kulukadok will surely shudder at the sight of such a thing." Her bark of laughter was as unwelcome as her words and the steel-blue male curled a lip.

"I will let you judge that for yourselves. I did only as I was bid."

The raven blinked his large, dark eyes, focusing them on the other ravens who had come to see his arrival.

"Has anyone seen the Xakaav Oma or the Kaar Oma?" Tomorbataar continued.

 

[SilverLutz]

Los flicked his tail back and forth while he waited for more pride members to show up, and he was pleased to see a pawful of his pups had tagged along with him. He was raising them to be good Nohoi, fierce and strong and fearless, and a good asset to the pride. Hyenas were valuable to the lions, he knew that, and while some of the lions looked down on them, enough thought highly of them that they were a powerful force in and out of the pride.

When the lion spoke, his ears pricked up in interest. Back from a hunt with a prize? He turned his gaze to the raven, its significance lost on him.

Krieg glanced behind her while her older siblings toddled along with her and their father. They were only a few months older, and many thought they were all from the same litter, but that was far from the truth. About half of the older litter had remained with their mother, while all of Krieg's litter was here in the pride. She snorted at the thought of others confusing them for full siblings rather than half. She might look like them, but her white mane and bright green eyes were a dead give away that there was a difference. Her brothers and sisters were too unique to be lumped in with the decorated cubs...their mother must have been some kind of hoarder and they all seemed to take after her.

As a female spoke up, Los turned and narrowed his eyes at her. Why the lions always bickered with one another was beyond him. They were all striving for the same goal, after all.  

[mouselet]

Tesak was not paying any attention to the goings on of adults, so engaged with his SKULL was he. But he did notice, once it had already happened, that the lioness stepped over him. Lions were big, the young hyena decided. She hadn't even had to lift her paws particularly high to go over him and his SKULL.

But that did cause him to actually look up to where the bluish gray lion was standing. With a bird on his shoulder. That was kind of unusual, there weren't a lot of smaller creatures around. And if they were, they tended to not stay alive for very long.

But it was interesting to hear the lioness call the bird Bringer of Doom and Winged Death. It must be a very special bird to be so dangerous!  

[Kimaria]

”You think they would be in the company of hyenas?” Sarangerel laughed, glancing around at the canines, both large and small.

“Better than your company.” Tomor replied in perfect southern, his accent dropping the roughened tones of their northern garble. Sarangerel was not bilingual and it amused him to see her face screw up in fury. She might have been of Founder heritage, but at that moment, the shuko wondered what male would want to put up with her for any length of time. He almost felt sorry for that ‘mate’ of hers. No wonder there was little love to be found between them.

“Never matter, I’ll find her myself.”

He made to step around her, when, without warning, the three-eyed-raven leapt from his shoulder, cawing raucously as he circled over the gathering.

The scout lifted his head to watch him, seemingly concerned that the avian might just fly away and leave him empty-pawed. Still, he needn’t have worried. If they had known how much fun the raven was having, they would have realised he intended to stay – for a while, at least.

Back-winging hard, he settled on a rock close to the adult hyena, Los, and turned a full circle, meeting the eyes of all who cared to look his way. Then, in a low croak, he addressed the ‘crowd’ in the common tongue.

“Do you feel it? He is here. Death walks amongst you, both seen and unseen, leaving his touch upon the land, upon your very souls. If I were you, I would not linger all too long.” He clacked his beak and gave a barking caw. “Though it matters little, in the end. For some of us, death comes swifter and there is no denying him.”

After a silent moment, the shuko translated for Sarangerel – and any others who did not speak the common tongue.

Sarangerel’s face transformed in an instant. The irritation was replaced by shock and horror and suddenly she was backing away from them, her head shaking from side to side.

The Nergui, for the most part, were a superstitious people and even the calm and collected scout was looking unnerved.

“Someone find the Kaar Oma. Now.”

“You think she can prevent the inevitable?” the raven asked. “What did the female call me? ‘The Bringer of Doom’? You knew what you were bringing here. Did you think I would bring joyful news?”

“Not joyful, no, but you do have some knowledge of worth.”

“Ah,” the raven had a smile in his voice. “Perhaps I do.”

((Apologies for the wait. I’ll be closing this RP in my next post – or maybe two depending on your responses. RP can, of course, continue after the prize has been drawn if you would like to get your quota of posts. ))

mouselet

Andranis

SilverLutz

 

[mouselet]

Tesak was trying to pay attention to what was being said by the bird and the grownups - really, he was! But it didn't make a lot of sense to the young hyena. So he focused on rubbing a bit more of the dirt off of his SKULL.

It didn't sound good that they wanted the Kaar Oma though. That meant that whatever it was was really important. Even if Tesak didn't understand whatever it was. At all.

But he had a SKULL!  

[SilverLutz]

The lioness' words made Los' ears flatten back against his head, her laugh making his lips curl up into a snarl. The Kaar Oma was rarely seen by the pride, not just the hyenas. Did she not know the importance of the canines around her? Probably not. While their numbers were few in relation to the felines of the pride, the hyenas did the dirty work for the lions when they weren't in the mood for it.

He turned his attention to Tomor as he spoke again, this time in the more common tongue used by those not raised in the Nergui, nor those that picked up their language easily. Thankfully for him it had come naturally, but he knew his children didn't speak southern very well yet, even though he was trying to teach them. Once they interacted with the slaves more they'd pick it up, he was sure.

A burst of movement caught his eye and he watched the raven circle around, tail wagging slowly. Once it landed on a rock not too far from him, he gave the bird his full attention. His ears flicked forward to hear what he had to say, but quickly pressed against his head once more. The raven's omen wasn't a good one. Los didn't fear pain or death, but the thought of the pride dying off...well. It wasn't something he was fond of.

Krieg was a little lost. She only spoke a few words of southern - surrender, stupid, join us or die - so she had no idea what the scout had said. She glanced over his shoulder to her brother, watching him with a frown as he played with his skull. Psh...he shouldn't be so fascinated with such a simple object. Everyone had a skull already, after all!

As the bird spoke she turned her attention forward again and tilted her head. Death? Hm...death was good. Death meant food and glory for the Kaar Oma. The adults didn't seem to think of it the same way, though, and she stood up to see if she could spot the lion they were looking for. With the constant talking in southern she had no idea what was being said, and she narrowed her eyes just a bit.

"Vater, what did they say?"

Los looked down at his daughter, letting the worry melt off his face.

"Nothing that concerns you, Krieg." Not yet, anyway. Lifting his head again, he glanced at the raven, keeping his eyes on the bird. "Well? Are you not going to share it with us?"  

[ShinosBee]

Daud'r was frankly not that interested in all this superstition and omens. She was a lioness of the claw and had only recently come to join the Nergui, looking for something worthwhile to fight for. Frankly her new pride's strange ways were more amusing to her than anything - most of the lions she called her friends now reacted so strongly to things she often overlooked or disregarded.

Probably they thought she was a bit slow-minded. The truth was that little moved her beyond the physical world. She'd never met a god, but she didn't really care to. She'd gotten by just fine without them, and she was more concerned with falling in battle to a worthy foe than the wrath of the unseen.

Still, she'd chosen to come along with this pride, and that meant having a rough idea of what they were fighting for and why. She hadn't come running when Tömör brought the bird, this 'three-eyed-raven' but still she lingered close, looking pointedly elsewhere though her ears still angled towards the small throng. The bird was rambling. Death? Sounded like a battle to her. Uninterested in really anything more than that, she pondered going off to find someone to sharpen her claws on. Get ready to face this 'death' that 'walked among them'.

In contrast to the green female, Doxailol was fascinated with the strange bird that had come riding in atop the lion. She wormed her way through the little throng of gathered souls to sneer at the fluttering 'portent'. Not so long ago the Kaar had joined the Nergui, but she'd taken well to its beliefs and style. She understood the weight such words would have with her brethren. But that didn't mean that she felt the same soul-touching depth of meaning that they did.

"Yes indeed, someone do go find the Kaar Oma," She half-chuckled. "Perhaps in the meantime you'd be willing to share this knowledge with us." She smiled at the bird, but it was an ugly thing, and didn't reach her eyes. She was not very good at being friendly, but she managed to remember to regard the Shuko who'd brought the bird and at least acknowledge him with a nod. He at least had done his job well.  

[mouselet]

They kept talking about the Kaar Oma. Even though Tesak had only a minimal undesrtanding of what was going on, the fact that they kept mentioning this very important person didn't sound good. At all. He looked up a bit more from his SKULL, over at his dad. His Dad didn't look too worried, but he did look serious.

Well, his Dad always looked serious. So it was hard to tell. But Tesak was getting a bit nervous now.  

[Kimaria]

The shuko, for a time, had been indecisive; shifting his weight from side to side as he regarded the raven and absorbed the effect that his words were having. What he had to say was probably for the Kaar Oma alone and here he was, about to spill secrets before people were ready to know. Gossip spread like wildfire and he'd already set enough seeds to keep the horde going for a while.

"Enough," he barked in the common tongue.

The raven clacked his beak together, not bothering to hold back another laugh.

Sarangerel bristled and took another small step back.

But the shuko was having no more of this talk from the raven. He pushed forwards and clamped his teeth - firmly but not too tight - around the dark bird's body, lifting him up - wings pinned.

The raven, understandably, began to shriek, attempting to open his wings now pinned down by the lion's mouth. Sarangerel leapt back and away, hissing and growling like a mad thing. "It was wrong to bring it here!" She screeched in the northern tongue.

"My, my." A new voice entered, "you are causing quite a stir with your find, Tomorbaatar." The sleek, dangerous voice was laced with amusement and poison both.

The Kaar Oma descended quickly. "Release him now. Then follow me. This is a matter for the Xakaav Oma. She will want to be informed and it seems as if our new little friend has much to say." She offered her shoulder to the raven and smiled as he took a perch there. He was a familiar suited for a female who took pleasure in frightening others. "Now, let us go. Brothers and sisters, get back to work."

She turned elegantly and moved off again, not even looking back. Sarangerel glared at her as she went and Tomor, with a huff, made to follow - as seemed to be expected.

Things were developing now, it seemed.  

[Kimaria]

Ok, and for the winner (excluding Silver and my posts):

Andranis 1
mouselet 2
mouselet 3
mouselet 4
ShinosBee 5
mouselet 6