[VIKING] Unexpected visitor [Ran/Sam/Sliabh/Fastny/Tryggr]

[Tanakako]

Ragnvard smiled, a sly stretch across his maw as he spotted Samael walking towards him. It seemed as if his sensative enquiries had born fruit, and the seeds he had planted for the dark-coated reaver to find had finally started to sprout.

Raising to his paws, having been stretched out in a sunbeam relaxing, he waited for Samael to reach him before sitting. Letting Samael know he considered the smaller male inferior and not a threat. "Samael." He purred in greeting, golden eyes knowing as he studied the other male. "I have been waiting for you." Tilting his head he blatently looked the other up and down, assessing him critically. He was muscular, if a little short. His patchy coat would be useful at night, the reaver would be near invisable in the darkness, his outline broken up perfectly by his uneven colour. Only that pale mane was a problem but not so much as to sway Ragnvard's plans. For he wanted Samael less for his hunting skills, and more for how much his loss would weaken Lucivar, and in turn, his brother.

Ignoreing the upwell of rage that accompanion the thought of his elder brother he focused on the reaver before him. Finally standing he smirked at the male. "Let's go then. The day won't last forever."




Still mentally turning over the proposal he wondered if he was breaking some kind of reaver code... But Ragnvard had only offered extra training, and the chance to go out on Vikings when Lucivar was not busy. And honestly, he was bored. He needed something to do. He could feel himself growing fat and lazy sitting about the pride waiting for Lucivar's call.

Spotting the big brown Captain he walked confidently up to him. "Morning captain Ragnvard." Frowning faintly at the assessing look in the other male's eye he was about to snap at him when the Captain continued. Though Samael let his claws dig into the rocky ground, displaying his irritation at such a blatant challange. "I wasn't sure I had time to come. But I figured I'd see what you are offering." He replied, stepping back as the larger male stood.

Damnit, he hadn't realised just how big Ragnvard was... but then he knew his brother, Ronan, so that should have been some kind of clue. He shifted but standing his ground, knowing he was being weighed and measured. Eyeing Ragnvard, brown gaze narrowing, he waited for the male to play his next card. Samael wasn't stupid, though sometimes he acted the part, and he knew that Ragnvard could very well be up to something. Such was the Captain's reputation.

Nodding as Ragnvard moved off he fell into step behind the big male. He would see what the day offered and then decide from there.




Shaking his great maned head he paused, taking a moment to scan the landscape around him. The dry and dusty plains had fallen away behind him, eaten by the miles. Now, the ground under his paws was solid and stoney, more rock than sand. The forest that had shadowed the horizon now loomed high above him, dark and forbiding.

Casting back and forth he caught the faintest trace of lion. It seemed this was the boarder of some pride, for the marks of older activity remained. Bones lay skattered round about, and faint paths had been worn into the rocky soil. Taking another few steps before stopping again. This was no easy-going savannah pride, something about this place whispered to him of blood and danger. And yet.... his vision had shown him this forest, distorted as it had been he recognised it. And he knew, somewhere deep inside where his visions came from, that this was the right place. He needed to be here, though for what reason he still wasn't sure...

Taking a deep breath, both to center his mind and to push back the lingering traces of the vision, he pressed on, padding parralel to the forest edge, not yet feeling the time was right to venture into the shadowed interior.  

[SilverLutz]

Tryggr padded along slowly, his eyes turned in the direction of the rogue lands. He and his siblings were all grown up now and he could tell most of them - as well as himself - were itching to go out into the world. His darkest sibling, Asla, was now a Priestess and was content to stay within the pride, but all of his lighter pelted brothers and sisters had the Reaver bug nibbling at them.

The only problem was finding someone to take them out. A captain that wouldn't mind a few massive lions joining them. In theory it seemed like a thing any captain would like to have in their group, but Trygger had found there was something about a god-born lion that turned some captains away. They thought it was bad luck to run the risk of having one die on their watch. The fact that his sister was with him was another thing. There were some old-fashioned captains that were still against females being able to become Reavers. Tryggr had promised himself he wouldn't go until Fastný could as well.

"We'll find someone," he murmured quietly, noticing two lions not far from them heading in the direction of the rogue lands. "Ah...perhaps them." He lifted his head and called out, his deep voice carrying with ease.

"Hail, brothers! Are you going on a Viking?"

Fastný walked alongside her brother, still rather down-trodden at the latest rejection. This time it had been because of her gender. She knew it was important to respect the wishes of others, but she had grown up with a very female-empowering mother who had told her that anything a male could do, she could do. And then some. Males couldn't have cubs, could they? But her father was the god of chivalry and she had certainly taken more after him than her mother in personality. She was courteous and kind and very willing to help others out. Unfortunately, she also didn't have as thick a skin as her brother.

"Oh, Tryg, it's all right," she said softly as he called out to two males not far from them. "What if they're not even captains?" It was a shame, really. Perhaps they'd have to wait for Vidar to become a captain. The Reaver had already proposed a group of the siblings with him as their leader and, even though he had been very rude to Asla when they had been younger, he had grown up into a rather put-together lion. She just wished she could go out on a few Vikings before then so Vidar would have a skilled group ready to go.

In the blink of an eye a vision washed over her, and she paused where she stood leaving Tryggr to walk on. She had visions fairly infrequently and they were rather jumbled and confusing when she did have them so she usually didn't pay attention to them. This time, however, it was clear. A lion she had never seen before stood on the border of the pride, looking in. Who was that? A threat? No...there was no feeling of fear or anger. Just curiosity.

As soon as it had come, it went, leaving Fastný blinking in surprise. What had that been all about?

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

Ragnvard heard the voice call out to him and paused, having been in the middle of telling Samael an anecdote about his last viking. Lifting his dark head he turned and looked back at whom had called to him.
Ahh, two youngsters. No doubt looking for advice or their first raid. Grinning to himself he turned fully, though stood still and steady. If they wanted to speak to him, they would have to come closer. No Captain would go to them.

He studied the male of the sibling pair, for they could be nothing if not related, as near to identical as any siblings he had ever seen outside of twins. They were big, despite their obvious youth, and he wondered if perhaps they were god-born. Grinning he rather hoped so. Their visions could be very useful in certain situations.

“It is a good day to die.” He called back in recognition of the male’s greeting. “Indeed we are. And we seem to be a little light on reavers….” A broad smile curled across the Captain’s maw. Most of the pride knew Ragnvard on sight, as big and as scared as he was, it was not his appearance that garnered all the gossip, but his reputation. Considered generous by some and down right villainous by others. He would take any freeborn who asked on their first viking, regardless of age, gender or skill level. However, he was also a hard task master, but if you passed his inspection and scored a spot as one of his reavers, you would be trained well, and thoroughly. If you survived you would have a reputation worthy of any Stormborn, for Ragnvard’s protégé were known for their excellent fighting and tracking abilities. Though on the flip side he was also known as a violent and arrogant Captain who encouraged the same qualities in his reavers.

Some reviled him, others revered him. But all agreed that he was an excellent fighter.



Samael listened intently, more so he would remember the tale for later consideration than any true admiration of the Captain beside him. He could not deny that Ragnvard was an excellent Stormborn, and ordinarily Samael would have jumped at the chance for the promotion up to Ragnvard’s band. They went on more Vikings than Lucivar’s and their reputation was excellent, if savage. But he would not be used and he rather suspected Ragnvard’s attention had an ulterior motive beyond recruiting Samael for his reaving abilities.

The call distracted him from his thoughts and he turned with Ragnvard, studying the pair a short way off. Maybe this would be more than just a test then? If they joined them… He was half tempted to tell them to go see Lucivar, as his own Captain was a fair male with great skill and a good, solid reputation for bringing on younger pride members and giving them a good foundation for their reaving careers. But then he was still feeling out Ragnvard so held his tongue.



The liger-size male had turned and was now padding along the invisible boundary that marked off the imposing forest from the open plains. He would have turned around and left, for the forest gave him a sense of danger, though not necessarily towards himself, just a general feeling of violence and blood. But his vision had carried an intense feeling, and not only that but subsequent smaller ones continued to plague him, like an overlay of the unreal over the landscape he could see. If he turned his head one way he saw phantoms of lions passing by, moving in and out of the forest, clearly on some kind of repeating mission. Sometimes new lions were escorted in, some fought, others went willingly. Sliabh didn’t now what to make of it, but he had noticed all the reoccurring lions were large. Not as big as he himself, but solid and muscular. Many carried scars and all were imposing to look at. He wondered if his visions had guided him here for a reason, the obvious being to try and recruit some of these powerful, strong lions for his pride. Or at least to acquire their bloodline. Though he couldn’t actually imagine any scenario in which a female of this pride would agree to such an arrangement. Still, maybe this time was the key to helping his homeland… maybe this pride, this powerful band of lions with their healthy bodies and strong blood, would provide the answer.

SilverLuts

 

[SilverLutz]

Tryggr continued to walk as Fastný paused behind him, intent on seeing who it was that he was talking to. As he got closer he recognized the larger of the two as Ragnvard. He had never met the lion before, but he had certainly heard stories about him, both good and bad. This was perfect, then. Tryggr never passed judgement on someone until he got to know them, and it seemed he would have an opportunity to do just that today.

"I'm afraid my sister and I are not Reavers yet," he said once he was within speaking distance so they didn't have to shout. "But we're eager to claim the title. We're both strong and take orders well, so we wouldn't be a burden on your outing."

Fastný had to trot to catch up with her brother, pulling up beside him as the four lions met. She bobbed her head in greeting, looking from one lion to the other.

"I'm Fastný, this is Tryggr," she offered by way of greeting. "And what he says is true. We will do our best to make your Viking a successful one." She wanted to reach out and swat her brother before he could tell the two that they were godborn as that always seemed to be the reason they were turned away. Godborn were fine to have as Reavers, but so many would-be Reavers were killed or lost on their first adventure that no one wanted the possible wrath of a god coming down on their heads.

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

Ragnvard shook his head, gifting the sibling pair with another broad grin. “Then it is about time you became reavers. Big strong members like you are wasted as freeborn.” His words rang true, for indeed Ragnvard fully believed the strength of the pride was carried by its fighters. Reavers were the lifeblood of the Stormborn, and captains like himself were the heart, directing their bands for the good of the pride. Freeborn, at least male freeborn, were dead weight and therefore useless to Ragnvard. The only time he liked them was such as now, when they came seeking to be reavers. Cubs and youngsters he didn’t judge however, after all they needed time to train and hone the many skills required to make it as a successful reaver.

Motioning for the pair to join him and Samael he looked over at the female of the siblings as they resumed their walk, headed directly towards the pride’s boarder. As they stepped out of the weak sun and into the shade of the thick forest that surrounded their homeland, he sent Fastný a smile. “A pleasure to meet you both. I’m Captain Ragnvard, this here is reaver Samael.” He motioned to the patchy dark male who was now pacing along on Tryggr’s far side.



Samael watched as the pair came over, studying them both with an experienced eye. He might have the reputation of being a bit of a cad and a fool. One he had possibly earned with his half-drunken antics about the pride. But Samael was a very fine reaver in his own right and knew what he was about when it came to fighting. After all, neither Lucivar or Ragnvard would suffer a useless reaver in their band.

As they all resumed their walk towards the boarder he eyed Fastný. She was a very pretty lioness, if a bit on the tall side for his tastes. He preferred the sleek and slender thralls brought in often from the roguelands, not being a particularly large male himself. But she looked capable, as did her brother. There was only one problem though…

“What kind of training have you done?” He asked them, brown eyes assessing them as they moved. It was all very well being naturally strong, but skill was a vital part of reaving.



Having been walking along the strange pride’s boundary for a time he was drawn to a halt by a very strange sight indeed. It was one of his visions of course, but unlike the ghostly procession that didn’t seem to know he was there, this one was far more solid than the rest, and seemed to be interacting with the current environment. She, for it had to be a female despite her large size, had just stepped out from the treeline and was looking directly at him. Experimentally, he took a few steps to the side, but her gaze followed him.

Strange…

Suddenly she was joined by three more. One was an almost exact copy of her, a brother then… But the other two were not. One, a mottly lion with blond mane, was as indistinct as the other ghosts, but the big brown one was almost as clear as the female. He caught sight of Sliabh but instead of simply watching, he let out a silent roar than Sliabh nevertheless felt deep in his bones, and charged.

Having experienced many such visions in his life the huge Kitwana male stood his ground, letting the apparition race towards him. It leaped high, claws and fangs flashing, but just as he was about to land on Sliabh he vanished. The vision wisping away like smoke.

Swallowing to try and dampen his suddenly dry mouth he let out a rush of breath, tensed muscles relaxing. He hated the more violent visions, it was an effort not to react, but to do so was to only make himself look foolish in the proper world. Shaking out his damp mane he looked again to where the other three lions had stood, but they had vanished along with their violent friend.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

Tryggr nodded as Ragnvard introduced himself and the other lion he was with. He turned his gaze to the smaller male as he spoke, listening intently to the question. It was valid, of course, and he knew he had a right to ask. Taking untrained lions into the rogue lands, no matter how big and strong, was a fool's errand and could only end badly. Thankfully, he and all of his siblings had been trained from a young age in preparation to do exactly what they were about to do.

"When we were young our mother trained us. She's a Reaver now," he added to give their mother some credentials. "She joined as a rogue and when we were born the new Warlord took his place at the head of the pride, so once we were old enough to be left alone she went out to claim her new title."

"And we've received a bit of instruction from another Reaver by the name of Vidar," Fastný chimed in. "Although it wasn't physical training we got, more...advice on how to stay alert and pay attention to the Captain.'

She was starting to get a bit excited now that it seemed Ragnvard and Samael were seriously going to take them out. She wasn't sure if her sister had gotten her Reaver title yet, and she knew Asla woudn't, so to be the first female in their family to become one would surely make her mother proud beyond belief.

"I'm afraid that's all, though," she added with a little nod. "Mother always said the best experience is doing, and here we are."

A vision flickered before her eyes once again and she looked away for just a moment as it filled her mind. The same lion, large and with stark coloration, still standing at the edge of the pride. She was shocked that she had another vision so soon and this one so clear. She could make out every detail about him although his surroundings were blurry. There was a sense of urgency with the vision as well, a tugging sensation that made her want to go now. She needed to find this lion, that much was obvious.

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

Ragnvard listened with interest. A mother reaver… that bore thinking about. He already knew he wanted only reavers to bear his own cubs, but the idea had been vague at best. Turing such interesting considerations from his mind he studied the pair as they walked. “I haven’t heard of this ‘Vidar’.” He informed them, returning his gaze to the fore as he led them through the thick forest. “What kind of things did he tell you?” Best to know just what he was dealing with. He almost preferred a totally untrained lion to one who had a head full of half-cocked and useless ideas.

Ducking under the last low-hanging branches he stepped out of the forest’s shadow and into the roguelands. A savage grin curled across his maw as he gazed out across the flat landscape. Today was a good day for reaving, he could feel it.



Like his temporary captain, Samael listened to the two youths with interest. Though he didn’t say anything more but left it up to Ragnvard. After all he was the Captain and it was his orders they would be following. What Samael thought had no impact on the situation until it came time to fight. Then.. well.. he was fully confident that he could cover for the two inexperienced freeborn if need be. After all, between him and Ragnvard, there was no shortage of skill or experience.




Sliabh had stopped to rest, settling under a large boulder to get out of the heat. So when the band emerged from the treeline he had actually been looking directly at them. Shock sizzled through him as he recognised both the big brown male who’s apparition had charged him, and the pale, tall female alongside. The brother and patch male also. So the vision had been true….

Recalling the brown male’s charge he shuffled carefully back behind his boulder, sacrificing its shade for concealment. He had no desire to re-enact the attack in the real world. But that female… something tugged him towards her. He needed to speak to her,. Alone.

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

"Oh, he's fairly green still," Tryggr said with a little nod. "He's just a bit older than us. He's friends with our sister, though, so we see him from time to time. He recently went out on his first Viking and...well. It was exciting, apparently. Two gods attacked the band he was with. So his advice thus far is 'don't go into a fight with a god outnumbered'. I think they were able to chase them off, but they all sustained fairly heavy wounds."

Of course, scars to a Stormborn were something to be worn with pride, especially those given by a worthy adversary. Tryggr only knew of his own father and, as the god of chivalry, he wouldn't have guessed gods would attack mortals. Still, there were many gods out there and not all of them were good.

"Keep your eyes open, anticipate an attack from any direction, even above...just things like that."

Fastný let her brother speak with the captain, content to remain silent like Samael was. She glanced around as they finally left the pride, her heart beating a bit faster in excitement. This was finally happening. When she returned from this outing she would be a Reaver. A little smile touched her maw and she held her head higher as she scanned the immediate area. Something in the forest caught her eye, though, and she paused to look into the wood. There was a bit of movement in the shadows...blue? She gave a little sniff, but no scent nor visions came to her. She eyed the spot a moment longer before pressing on with the band. Perhaps she could investigate later.

Tanakako

 

[Tanakako]

Ragnvard nodded as the brother spoke. "I see. Well, soon enough you will be Reavers too and will have your own advice to share." He paused a moment, checking their surroundings as they started to push into the barren savannah. "Who is his Captain?" Ragnvard possibly sounded a little short, but he had good reason. It was all very well to offer advice, but those new to the business of vikings were not qualified to act as tutors. He wondered if this Vidar was simply being helpful, or setting himself up as something he was not yet worthy of. Making a mental note to find out who he was and what he was up to, Ragnvard turned the conversation away from the unknown male and back to the business at hand.

"From now on keep an eye out for signs. Anything you spot, alert either me or Samael." He glanced behind him at the two siblings to check they heard and understood. In doing so he missed the brief flash of blue off to one side before Sliabh was safely out of sight.



With nothing to add to the conversation Samael had already set himself to searching for any potential prey. Scouting ahead, alternating between catching scents on the breeze and scanning the ground for prints. The faint scent of a stranger reached him and he turned to look, though Sliabh had already vanished from view.

Ordinarily he would have alerted his Captain and gone to invesitigate. But something out the scent didn't seem right. Mixed with the heat of the svannah was something old... The faintest trace of sickness that made Samael recoil. He wasn't to know the scent came from a land far to the north, carried on the visitor's fur and completely harmless. Instead he turned his head, willing to leave the stranger to either leave on his own or to be chased away by some other reaver.




Sliabh stayed very still, incredibly glad that the rock he hid behind was truly gigantic and hid him easily. Also he knew that his vision had saved him from what would have probably been a savage attack, judging by the scars and sheer amount of muscle on the big brown male who was apparently their leader.

The nature of the pride still confused him, but from what he had seen in his visions and the appearance of these four living lions, they had to be some kind of warrior pride. Possibly akin to those red-coated fighters in the desert, the Firekin.

Despite his urge to leave as soon as possible, the vision still lingered, a feeling that if he left, he was making a huge mistake. There was something about that red-backed female he had seen. He simply couldn't leave until he had spoken to her.....

SilverLutz

 

[SilverLutz]

"I haven't a clue who is Captain is," Tryggr said with a shrug. "I didn't ask. But we'll be sure pay attention and call out anything we see. Right, Fast?"

Looking away from the trees, Fastný nodded quickly. "Of course," she said, putting the thought from her mind. She could look later, but right now she was on a mission. She trotted again to catch up with the males, giving her brother a grin. "Sorry, got distracted."

"Well, don't let that happen now that we're out of the pride," Tryggr murmured quietly. He turned his attention back to the Captain and the siblings followed the other two, keeping close and their eyes open.

FIN