Running the patrols with his niece was something of a novelty for Safi. The two were nothing alike, and yet he found her calming presence to be a gift of sorts. His mind was nothing, but a jumbled mess most days so to have her there with him during it all was nothing, if not nice. Iratze trailed behind her Uncle, swatting at his playful tail every time he moved it to waggle in her face. She snorted and snipped at it, receiving a roll of eyes from the leopon. He loved her, she knew it, and it made her feel good. There had been a time when she didn’t question her place in the family, though that time had long since passed. Was she still useful? Adulthood was nothing, but worries.
There was something about the pair that caused Eris to lower her paw from a hanging branch, and alert them to her presence. She had been in the area for a while, simply kicked back with her paws against the trunk of a baobob tree. Now her lusciously blue eyes sought out the pale leopon with his freckled friend. “Blood on snow brings the harbinger of Gods.” Eris rolled her head to the side with a grin. “Are you he, who sends for the doom of lions?”
Safi looked up with a snarl. Their family territory was anything, but exclusive, though he had thought their boundaries well kept. I’ll have to have a talk with Xabryel. “I see my son hasn’t been keeping the watch.” He murmured, looking to Iratze, who was beginning to show signs of unease. He turned his gaze back to the lioness lounging in the tree.
“Excuse me, “ Iratze piped in. She stepped forward, keeping his eyes high but her head hung low. The lioness above her was possibly one of the most gorgeous she had ever seen in her young life. It made her stammer so much that her lips were continuously moist. “W-would you mind telling us what you meant? By the…the doom of lions?”
Safi nodded his agreement. That was a little too cryptic to be anything, but threatening. If she was with others then he would have to alert Isith. With his mother heavy with cubs they had to be extra cautious.
The madness of vague questioning took hold of Eris. As a snake ungulates along the ground to move so did she. Her body moved around the branch like that of a possessed soul seeking comfort. “Eyes like shattered blood on a coat so pure. Your soul is as tainted as that of your grandmother, Safi.”
Watching him still was almost as pleasing as it was to see Iratze step away from the tree itself. “Are you surprised that I know of Tikoto? She is not only a demon to your family, you know.”
“How do you know her? And why have you come?” Safi stepped up. Normally he would have tried to bring about an answer in a much more pleasurable way, especially from such a pretty lioness, but he was beyond that now. This was putting his family’s safety on the line and that he couldn’t risk.
“The Gods told me of her, and what she has done.” Eris rolled on her side, turning her back to the pair now.
Seeing her Uncle’s growing agitation send Iratze to make her move. She climbed the tree closest to the one Eris was perched in, and settled on a limb closest in height. “Please, won’t you tell us why you’re here if you know what kinds of dangers follow us? If you’re looking for safety we can offer it, but you’ll have to cooperate.”
“Do you not think that I have been?” Eris craned her head to look at the cute little leopardess. “I’ve come with a warning; the God Kifunguo hunts for your grandmother’s son, and should he find him here he will fight.”
“Grandmother’s son?” Safi repeated, and bit his lower lip in thought. Did that mean his father, or Hakizimana? Maybe Uncle Roho…? “Which one? Didn’t he give you a name or at least some kind of feature that we can go on?”
The coy look the lioness passed their way was enough for Iratze to know that it was no son they knew of. "Uncle, I think we should be going...." She tried to make herself look small behind the white leopon while still holding her sharp gaze on the lioness. When Eris leapt down from her perch Iratze shrieked, "N-now you-! You stay back!"
Eris cackled, and smiled sweetly, though to the two she was looking at it could have looked as insane as the lioness they hid from. There was so much about Eris that reminded Safi of his grandmother, and it send spasms of terror down his spine.
"Should the God find the demon's son he shall be spared, but the rest will burn. If he is not found then the world will shed blood under his claw alone." Looking between the two, Eris shrugged her shoulders. "Of course, if you choose not to believe me...."
"And if we should, what then?" Safi quipped. "We won't know what God to watch over, and the last son we've seen of Tikoto's was Hakizimana. He's tucked away in the Ela, so who else is there?" The sons of the destroyer held the blood the strongest; for some reason Tikoto's daughters came out more sane. Calculating, vicious, but sane. Her sons had moments of intense rage...Safi had seen his father enough to know it was horrible.
"Wait...you're not trying to scare us off. You're afraid of her too, aren't you?"
"I've told you as much," Eris pointed out.
"If you come back with us we can keep you safe," Iratze meekly peeped her head out of her safe place behind Safi. "I don't know how you know, but if this son is a threat....Uncle, we need her." She caught the dark looks Safi was giving her. Even if Iratze was scared out of her mind by this weird lioness, the female did have a strong case.
"We need to tell Xabryel, and grandpa. Get out a search to find Tikoto and the creature to...to do them in." It made her sick to think about, but it needed to be done.
As much as he may have liked to, Safi couldn't argue against it. With a deep sigh, he looked to Eris and nodded his head. "My niece is right. We can offer you protection for however long you want it in exchange for whatever information you have. Tikoto's enemies are our allies."
So long as she keeps to herself. There was something alluring about Eris. She had a charm about her, this air of seductive mystery, but it made him nervous not to be able to decipher her true character.
Nodding, Eris moved closer to the two. While Iratze seemed to shrink from her, Safi stood firm and allowed the lioness to brush up against him. She wasn't a slight thing. The female had enough meat on her bones to be appetizing in all the right areas and knew it.
"The taint is strong in you, but yet you stand tall as a mountain. Tell me boy, where do you get your spark?" Her voice was a low husky murmur that was barely audible to Safi, let alone Iratze.
"It's none of your damn business," Safi grumbled. He stepped away, a little too quickly, and hid his racing heart behind a gruff front. "Come on now; it's time we got back."
With the two infront of her, the tiny leopardess kept a steady pace as the triad walked on. She wasn't used to someone so strange, and to have that female come on to her Uncle, even with her there? it was enough to cause Iratze to look the other way. She was very much her father's daughter; innocent in the ways of love and flirtations. But what of the things she'd spoken of...? All of this violence. How many of her cousins would die trying to quell that beast? Iratze could only hope they would all be spared and he would simply take his own life, as terrible as that was to think about.
"Let me know when you get tired, Iratze."
"Of course, Uncle!" Eris gave her a curious little grin and the tiny leopardess puffed up. "...You should turn around or...or you might trip."
Eris just shook her head and laughed under her breath. What an interesting pair! If she had only known her flight from the hell beast would lead her here then she would have left months ago. Surely being around such interesting company for a while would assist in her story telling. Gods only knew what sort of secrets their family kept behind closed lips. How exciting.
Looking between the two females, Safi could only sigh. If his son didn't kill him for bringing home another female then his sister or father would. At least he could honestly say he wasn't tupping this one. She's way too weird for that. He clucked his tongue and shook his head. Definitely not going to do that one.
(1543 total; 505 Iratze, 502 Eris)