[PRP] Hate is a 4 letter word (Vaina, Tallskog, Truls)

[Annchen]

Truls was conflicted. On one paw, he was on his first viking - exciting! On the other paw, his captain was Tallskog. As if it wasn't enough to know that his brother had beaten him to becoming a reaver, Tall had actually managed to become a captain before Truls even had a chance to leave the pride. It sucked. Why was Tallskog in such a hurry? He could at least have the decency to be somewhat slow about it, but Nooo he just had to spend all waking time out reaving and being impressive. ********. On the third paw, he couldn't act too excited or Tall might... something. On the fourth paw... Adventure! Excitement! Treasure! Lady thralls! And he was running out of paws...

So far they'd mostly walked. Not a bad thing since Truls was busy being distracted by his rambling thoughts and conflicting feelings.



Vaina was minding her own business unaware of the young lion and his woes. Not that she'd have cared had she known about his 'problems'. She had finally hunted successfully after a long dry spell and had dragged the carcass up the tree she temporarily called home. It wasn't a very tall tree, but she felt much safer above ground, so if she had a choice she tried to get off the ground before resting. The leopard didn't have a set territory, perhaps because she didn't like any one place enough to fight for it if challenged. She didn't know how long she'd get to stay here, but it didn't really matter. Today her belly was full, and she had leftovers for later.

She scratched an itch and settled in for a nap. The fur on her head was slightly matted, and there were remains of a wreath made from herbs and flowers. Vaina liked it enough to avoid grooming too intensely, but the dry old herbs were slowly turning into dust. She touched what was left of a flower and watched it fall apart. Maybe she'd go back there, and see if the nice lady would give her another... But if she didn't go, the nice lady couldn't say no.

Princess_Feylin

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Tall could have been more of an a** to his brother, but to be honest, his heart wasn't in it right now. He was still fuming over the nerve of Naaja's b*****d of a thrall, who had challenged him for his freedom while Tall was talking to Naaja. Of course Tall hadn't responded then, because if he had, he probably would have just ripped the thrall's throat out, but then he was reminded that he was supposed to be taking Truls viking, now that he was a captain. It was a family responsibility or something.

So at this point he was more concerned with the fact that he had to get back to the pride before the specified period of time elapsed, or else he would be named a coward and that b*****d would be a freeborn once more. He didn't think that would go over very well with the warlord at all. He really hoped he and Truls would find someone to take as a thrall soon, or even some leavings from another band that hadn't been able to carry all of their loot back with them. Anything to get him back to the pride in time to keep his honor.

"Could you hurry it up?" he snapped at Truls. "You're moving like a glacier."  

[Annchen]

Truls didn't particularly like being snapped at so he changed his pace to a quick jog. It was really tempting to snap back at Tallskog, but right now his annoying brother was also his annoying Captain, and you didn't mouth off to your Captain. he decided then and there to work towards becoming a captain as fast as he could to even out the dynamic between them again. It couldn't be that hard to accomplice... Tallskog had managed to do it, and he was in no way better than Truls!

"So, where are we going Captain," he asked. With the pace they were going he wouldn't be able to talk a lot, but he wasn't running so he wasn't completely breathless. And he did want to know what Tall's great plan was, since they were obviously in a hurry getting there.

---

If Vaina hadn't been napping, she might have seen the two lions, or at least the dust they stirred in their wake. But since she had her eyes closed, and since the two Stormborn were downwind from her she couldn't scent or see them. That left her hearing. Her ears moved now and then, mostly to try to get rid of the irritation of a particularly annoying flea. If she heard something out of the ordinary, she didn't act on it. She felt secure up her tree.

Princess_Feylin

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Where were they going? Where were they going? Tallskog hadn't given that much thought. He was only doing this because he didn't want his stupid brother to be a freeborn and shame the family. He still couldn't believe Truls hadn't gotten off his butt and gone viking before this. How lazy could one lion be?

Oh, right. Tall still hadn't decided where they were going. It would have to be somewhere nearby so he could get home in time. He wracked his brain, trying to think where they could go and coming up with very little. They'd basically set out in the wrong direction. Which was all on him. What a pain in the a**.

"There's a tree ahead," Tall said, trying to make it sound as if he had known the tree would be there. "From there we'll be able to scout the best direction. With all the rain we've been getting, I want to make sure we don't accidentally wander into a seasonal swamp or something."

He was stalling. Maybe Truls wouldn't notice. Maybe.

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

The half-eaten carcass had started to attract flies, but then any dead body did that shortly after ceasing to be alive. Vaina's tail twitched, but did little to discourage the flying pests. Never mind, it would still be edible when she was done napping.

Flies were no danger to her, merely an annoyance. Vaina didn't know this, but a few larger animals would soon catch the scent of her dinner too.

---

Truls knew as much about raids as the next Stormborn. But since most of the stories that made it back home detailed the exciting parts, and not always the "getting there" parts, he had no reason to question his brother's decision. He just hoped Tall wouldn't want him to climb that tree to scout. Monkeys climbed trees (or so he heard) and he was no monkey.

"Sure," he said, and headed for the tree. Something bothered him however, but it took a few heartbeats for him to figure out what.

"Huh," he said, "Smells like food."

Princess_Feylin

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Tall sighed softly, relieved that his ploy had worked and he had not yet been shown to be an incompetent captain. Not that he actually thought he was an incompetent captain, but he didn't want his brother saying so. Not to him ,and especially not to anyone who mattered.

"You're right." He didn't say anything more for a few seconds while he debated the merits of stopping to eat now, when he wasn't really hungry, versus having to hunt for something later, when he was. Hunting would take longer, and it was unlikely the creature responsible for making that kill would be willing to defend it from two lions. If it was even still around. Probably it wouldn't be by now.

His decision made, Tall put on his "I'm in charge" attitude once more and said to his brother, "Let's go have lunch. You can lead the way."

Annchen

I am a terrible person.

 

[Annchen]

Truls made a mental shrug and scented the air more carefully before trotting off again. He didn't mind leading the way. This seemed much more like proper raiding... Stealing lunch! The scent led him to the same tree they'd been going towards, and when he couldn't see anything behind said tree he looked up. Score.

"Leopard," he said. You know, in case Tall should have missed the obvious.

---

Vaina's ear moved as footsteps approached, and the tip of her tail started to twitch slightly. But even if she hadn't noticed the footfalls she couldn't have missed the voice from below. She hissed, and her tail tip moved more rapidly. The leopard rarely felt like random chatting, and she was not at all keen on it when she was guarding a kill.

Princess_Feylin

No worries!

 

[Princess_Feylin]

"Brilliant observation," Tall muttered, although he hadn't realized the leopard was there until she was pointed out to him. He had other things on his mind, and he actually did trust Truls not to be an idiot and get them into trouble, so he was relying on him to pick up on things that he might have missed, and bring them to his attention. Not that he would ever let his stupid brother know that.

"So, feel like bringing home a thrall?" he asked, exposing the tips of his canines in a grin which made it clear there was only one right answer.

He had heard her hiss, of course, but that didn't bother him. He and his brother numbered two to her one, and they were larger cats, better fighters. This wouldn't take too long. Then they could have lunch, and after that they could probably head back to the pride, counting the viking a success. They would be returning with a thrall, after all.

"Get her down from there," he told Truls. Once the leopard was on the ground, he would see to it she didn't escape.

Annchen

The usual apologies go here. I'm such a flake. I want to be better.

 

[Annchen]

Truls looked up, not terribly excited by the prospect of going leopard-picking. He tried to remember the last time he climbed a tree and decided the answer might be "never". He was sure he'd be good at it, but he still decided to check how far brute strength got him. After a bit of a running start he slammed both front paws into the tree. The tree shook but the only part of the leopard that moved was her tail. After one more go he realized that the leopard seemed intent to hold on, and decided it would take too long to topple the tree. Climbing it was.

This time he took a longer running start since he figured that it would be easier to try to jump up a bit before starting to climb. He actually managed to scramble up and get a grip around a lower branch, but his bulk worked against him. He was much stronger than a leopard, but also heavier. Luckily for his ego the leopard hissed at him and jumped down on her own accord. A controlled tumble took him back to ground level where he wasted some time perfecting the look of 'yeah, totally meant to do that'.

---

Vaina wasn't deaf, and she had heard the dark lion tell the brown one to get "her" down. She couldn't imagine that they were after anything other than her leftovers, however. For all she knew they were some of those weird sorts who called their meals "he" or "she". Lions didn't eat leopard, as far as she knew. Killed them to get rid of competition, sure, but they had a choice between a free meal and a fight they usually took the meal and let the leopard run.

That was why she decided to sacrifice her food and find a better tree. A higher one, and one without lions jumping all around it. She pushed off from the branch, sending the half eaten carcass tumbling towards the darker lion. She expected the pair to fight over her kill and leave her alone, but she decided to take off running just in case.

Princess_Feylin

I think we are playing "who can be the flakiest" here... Sorry! (Am I winning?) Feel free to godmod the takedown as long as you don't hurt her too badly.

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Tall didn't even bother trying to hide his amusement as he watched his brother slam into the trunk of the tree. Lions weren't tree climbers, by and large, and there wasn't a great deal of opportunity to practice it in the Stormborn, so the fact that Truls was terrible at it shouldn't have come as a surprise, and it didn't. Tall just hadn't expected it to be so hilarious to watch him fail.

He wasn't so overcome with amusement that he failed to notice the leopardess dropping down from the tree - obviously of her own volition. He wasn't distracted by the falling carcass, however. That would be a reward for later. Instead he took off running after the leopard, using his superior size and longer stride length to overtake her and cut her off.

"Get her," he called to his brother. He couldn't see Truls, but he had to assume that he had eventually joined him in the pursuit. He had better not be sitting back at the tree, eating.

Annchen

If that's what we're playing, I think I win now. Muahaha? But at least we've nearly finished? Poor Truls...

 

[Annchen]

Truls was a bit late in the start after wasting time trying to look like he failed to climb the tree on purpose. If it had been just him trying to chase down the white leopard she would probably had managed to escape. However, when Tall cut her off she backpedaled giving him a better chance. A few powerful leaps got him in range and a blow to the leopard's head stopped her very effectively. She was still breathing but he'd knocked her out good.

His pleased grin turned into a frown when he remembered something from his training. Thralls were much easier to bring back if you made sure they were still able to walk back on their own.

"Oh, ********," he groaned, "I get to carry her back, right?"

Princess_Feylin

The end?

 

[Princess_Feylin]

Annchen

Fin! cool