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 Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 9:08 am
 Zsaria drew in the cool air as she ascended the cliffs for what seemed like the hundredth time since the beginning of the year. She hadn't stayed long in her home between reavings, marred by memories and dark dreams of her brothers which she feared would come to pass. Fate had already frowned on her, for reasons she did not know or care to question. Her daughter, once a promising lawspeaker, had fallen in with exiles and been banished from their home. And worse still when the exiles returned she was not among them. She had fallen in no honorable way, she would not see her again.
Home had a very different color now, one she wasn't sure she could love. And yet, she returned all the same. Bjorn was here, that was true enough, but their meetings had been fleeting since and had lacked the warmth she knew he desired. What grave mistake it would be to bring new life into the world when the cold hand of death was reaching out so closely toward her and her kin. No, sooner she conquer it on the battlefield should it choose to raise itself to her. But death had not come to her in her reavings, she had instead been rather successful. Goods and thralls had fallen in around their band, but she had taken none for herself. New scars littered her white pelt, rimmed with dirt from the roads. One such crossed over her eye, a swipe she had thought would end her life, but had only marred her vision. She was no longer the beauty nor the strength of her youth, but she was Stormborn all the same.
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 9:31 am
 Thus far, Piripi had decided that he rather liked his new home. While not a place he could call uneventful, it was a place that gave his heart peace. He had a home. He didn't have to wander and scurry any longer.
Really, it was a marvelous feeling.
Humming contentedly under his breath, the pink maned lion had decided to take some time and explore the pridal lands. And if he encountered more experienced pride members who wouldn't mind talkign to him, so much the better!
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 9:36 am
Zsaria found herself beginning to hum as she approached the pride's borders, though she couldn't seem to place the tune. As she came over the ridge it struck her that the song was not her own, but rather that of the bright creature that stood before her. Whoever he was, he was decidedly not kin. She thought to turn around and head back the other way, but something pulled her to stay. It had been a long while since she'd had a real conversation beyond battle orders and squabbles over rations. "A catchy tune," she called out, dropping the bundle she had carried up in her teeth. It was nothing valuable, a bit of mint and old meat, but it was all she considered hers at that moment. "Not one I've heard before I think, from somewhere foreign?"
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 10:37 am
Brought up short by the lioness' words, Piripi scuffled his paws slightly in embarrassment at having been heard. Offering a sheepish grin, he gave the scarred lioness a nod of his head.
"Ah, yes, I suppose it is. I used to hear it a lot when I was a cub, though I couldn't tell you if it was my mother or one of my sister who sung it. It's been a while since I've heard it, you see."
His ears flattened a little as he spoke, mentally berating himself for sounding like a true idiot in front of a people who, by all appearances, was quite capable indeed. Still, it would be rude to bolt, so he forced himself to stay calm.
"My name is Piripi," he offered. "I'm afraid I haven't been a Stormborn for very long."
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 10:50 am
"Not looking like that, for sure," she added with a laugh, nodding her head to him, "I'm only joking of course, any with the heart for it are welcome here, as I'm sure you've come to know. There's quite a... circus of new blood as of late." It didn't bother her, but it was an adjustment. Growing up the pride had not been particularly large, at least not nearly so as it had become, and the families were much tighter knit. You did for your own first, and the rest second. Unless your own were marked as killers or cowards, of course. Her kin had been declared both in their time. "Zsaria, I'm afraid I've been here since the day my father conceived a dream of great and honorable sons." She paused, a frown crossing her face, "It would seem I'm all that's left, a shame." And she'd had no sons of her own that had gone on to greatness, at least none that bore true Stormborn blood. There was time yet, she tried to remind herself, if Bjorn would still have her. "How did you come to this place then Piripi, if not by kin?"
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 11:26 am
Smiling and feeling slightly more at ease, once she'd laughed, Piripi sat and listened as she spoke, head tilting.
"Well, there were one or two growing pains when I arrived," he said. "But I would like to think that I proved I have the heart for this place. Your father's dream seems a worthy one to me."
He decided to let her words about being the only one left of that dream alone for the time being. It was none of his business and since he didn't know her story, he could hardly go offering up opinions! Instead he focused on her questions.
"A lifetime of wandering and a streak of very good luck brought me here, Zsaria. I heard second hand tales of this place from, what I have to assume now, were lions who'd failed to gain entry. I simply followed the directions they gave me to reach this place."
He decided to leave out the details of his first, disastrous 'challenge'. He was still amazed that the tawny lion hadn't pounded him into the dirt for his stupidity. Instead, he focused on Zsaria, taking note of the scars and bundle she'd dropped to speak with him.
"You are one of those permitted to leave and travel? Do you enjoy it?"
Truly, he was curious. He had been traveling all his life looking for a home and couldn't imagine that anyone who had a home to begin with would ever want to leave it.
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 11:36 am
She nodded, gesturing toward the caves she had come to call home whenever she returned, "I am, I've been a reaver since I came of age, nothing more prestigious I'm afraid." Her eldest brother would have been a Captain, perhaps challenged the Warlord, but instead he lay beneath the surf bleached bones and forgotten by all but those who had known him. Their numbers dwindled, she supposed, a reaver's life was not always a long one. "We bring home thralls to tend the land, serve great families, protect. And the spoils of war, I suppose," she added, feeling a rare glimmer of pride. It faded as she remembered, and once in a while a belly full of bastards.
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 12:01 pm
Eyes narrowing in thought, Piripi considered this. Prestige he could understand to a point. He did like the hint of pride he'd caught though. Clearly Zsaria's way of life contented her.
"You must have a lot of interesting stories," he said musingly. "I would be honored to hear them someday, if you're ever so inclined."
He really was interested. She was the first one in the pride to just talk with him and he liked that. Besdies, if nothing else, he could glean more information about the life he'd chosen. And maybe avoid further embarrassment. That would be good.
"I mean that, you know," he continued. "But if I'm overstepping my manners, please let me know. I'm afraid that I'm still not quite used to things here."
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 12:15 pm
"I'm afraid I'm not one for stories of valor and heroic deeds," she admitted, "I've taken just one thrall in my lifetime, a pitiful mute thing, and my intent was not honorable." She hoped to change that, if she could. There would be much need to thralls in the future if they planned to expand their family, and while she cared for Misae dearly and she had done well raising her cubs, she wasn't sure she'd trust the mute with raising true Stormborn. There was a great deal to be passed on. "I can enlighten you on the history of the great families, perhaps, or of weathers and diseases that have touched this place, but for great battles or the history of the rule you ought to find a lawspeaker."
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 12:39 pm
Nodding solemnly, Piripi privately thought that one dishonorable act out of an entire lifetime wasn't such a bad track record. Clearly she felt otherwise, and since he didn't know the circumstances, he felt he couldn't exactly pass judgement. So he opted for silence.
Nevertheless, his ears perked up with interest as she continued to speak.
"I should be happy to hear anything that you'd care to share with me, Zsaria. Though I have a sneaking suspicion that some family history might be the most helpful, if only so I don't offend someone unthinkingly."
He gave a low, growling chuckle and shook his head lightly. Knowing his luck, he'd need those stories to keep from sticking his paws in where they had no business.
But... "Please, what's a lawspeaker? I'm afraid that I haven't run into anyone who has used that title yet."
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 1:09 pm
Settling in, she thought best how to explain something she'd been taught as a cub. It was odd, to think of herself as some sort of teacher. It was not a role she had ever fit in, but she supposed it would be similar when she had cubs to raise herself. "Lawspeakers carry with them the laws and history of the pride, any with questions need only find one. They are well versed, well tested, and though they do not fight or take sides they are not to be trifled with," she paused, considering her next words, "I have a daughter who aspired to be a lawspeaker, it is a difficult path to walk." Nevermind that she had strayed from that path in a way that would be difficult to forgive. "Many lawspeakers come from the old blood, families that can trace their line back many generations here. My own was one such family, although I'm afraid I'm the last of my family's true blood. I had three brothers before me, but they've all gone to the halls of the gods." She raised a paw and scratched a line in the ground out of a faded respect for their memory. "It has been that way for many of the old families, but the pride thrives all the same."
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 1:27 pm
NOdding slowly, Piripi filed the information away. He would most certainly need to track down a lawspeaker and talk to them at some point.
"I suppose it makes sense that they come from the old families if they carry the laws and history. And i can well imagine that it would not be the easiest path to walk. I know I couldn't do it. I'm far too vain and easily distracted."
Chuckling again, he stretched slightly, tail flicking twice before going perfectly still.
"I am very sorry for your loss, Zsaria," he said quietly. "It is never easy to lose those we love."
Not for the first time, he wondered sadly what had become of his own family after he'd lost them. He would have liked to know, but suspected that it would forever be a mystery. Closing his eyes briefly, he mulled over the last words she'd said, repeating them quietly and liking the sound of them.
"The pride thrives."
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 1:38 pm
"It is my home, and yours now, is it not? We cannot dwell on those that are no longer here with us, they battle the ancestors and feast in the beyond, they do not think of us." At least, she hoped not. She shuddered to thin what her father would say if he could see her now, or her mother for that matter. Well, her mother had been right in one regard, she wasn't fit to be anyone's wife. She smelled of blood, not roses, and she was hardly a welcome sight for a returning warrior. "You cannot harbor sadness, it will be your end in this life. Death in battle is the best we can hope to end with, those that achieve that are to be celebrated, not mourned." It was a harsh thought still. She hoped to live much longer. "The pride thrives, and we thrive with it. You will have safety here, and strength to surround yourself and any cubs you might choose to bring into the world."
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 1:52 pm
Opening his eyes, he gazed at Zsaria for a moment in silence. He could see the sense in her words and they warmed a cold place deep in his heart. Smiling softly, he nodded.
"You are the wisest beast I have ever met, Zsaria. Thank you. It's hard to not miss my family, but you're right. I can't let that become all I think of. Yes, very wise words."
Though, in spite of the sense in her speech, the thought of either or his sisters dying in battle was a hugely funny one. Of course, he didn't remember much about them, but he had a gut feeling that they were better suited for peaceful times and places.
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 2:10 pm
"You will make a new family in time, it may just be quite a long time," she said with a laugh, comforting herself in the sentiment. "The pride needs lions like you Piripi, it has been refreshing to meet you." With a paw she nudged the bundle she had brought with her, "I've been on the road a long time, it's good to be home. I've got a great number of things I need to make amends for. I hope I'll be seeing you again." She wasn't sure her apologies would be accepted, nor that they should be, but this was her home. She remembered that now, and she didn't want that to change.
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