[PRP] The Midlands (Kayitz x Tethys)

[RuIerr]

The air smelled of salt and sea and all of the delicious things in between. Situated just between the old Maestro lands and the current Bahari'mtoto territory Kayitz stood taking in deep gulps of the heavenly air. Traveling on her own for some time now, it had taken her a while to reach the land by the sea. Although she wasn't confident enough to actually venture out and find the water (who knows what dangers awaited there), it was lovely to experience it from afar.

A lone rogue lioness, Kayitz spent her days in a rote pattern of finding food, finding water, and walking more. She hadn't always been a rogue; hailing from a modest family in the En Gedi pride, Kayitz had been born into a rather crummy situation, and soon after adulthood ended up off on her own. Since then, she has managed to reunite with one of her sisters, but the others? Who knew.

Despite her scattered family, the lioness tried to remain upbeat - a task that was difficult while left alone with only your thoughts and the inconsistent bit of carryon. Trying not to dwell, Kayitz dipped into a deep stretch, pushing out her front paws and wriggling her rear end as it rose into the air, a quick yawn escaping. The tricky thing about being a lone rogue, she thought, was not knowing when to stop. Any way she could venture she could find herself in pridal lands, and some were not as friendly to rogues as others - a fact she ever learned the hard way. It seemed she'd need another distraction rather than traveling, she realized, coming up from her stretch and glancing around boredly.

(WC: 281)

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

The mood had been somber for the vast majority of his kin as they had moved out; what they had thought was their victory, had in fact been achieved by the intervention of the Bahari's very own king. It had cost him his life, and by extension, it had forced the scourge into a rapid retreat. At first the Captain had placed the blame solely on himself, he hadn't moved quickly enough and more importantly, he never should have involved them.

Yet as his father had appeared over the top of one of several sand dunes in that particular territory, it had become apparent that the blame had not lay solely with him. As Destati had said it had not just been his Vikings Hubris, it had also been the Justicar's hubris, that had caused such a tragedy to occur. While Destati hadn't disputed that his son probably should not have involved the pride in question... he also hadn't denied that their participation hadn't provided a great deal of valuable resources.

...They had restored one of the collective to health after all.

It had been for this reason that the Vikings now found themselves with a choice and it would be a conversation that the Captain sought to have with them before they entered the Maestros. This was where they had found the first signs of devastation all that time ago and to this day, they still hadn't checked on it again. It was time for this to change, now that the collective had identified that everything needed to be reviewed.

For now though, Tethys had already dwelled on his current state of affairs for far too long and with an impending headache on the horizon, it was time for him to find something to distract him. He'd learned from his travels that while the rogue lands seemed empty there was always something or some one around. A laid back conversation regarding the weather really could not have gone amiss at this point in time and thus, he found himself seeking out company.

He hadn't wandered far from the band when his gaze found the form of the lioness. As expected, the roguelands had provided, and he couldn't help but hazard a half smile as he changed direction ever so slightly to cross her path.

"I would extend a traditional greeting but the vast majority of those out here don't grasp the nuances and tend to take it as an insult," he began. "So I'll start with a standard 'hello'."

Ruler of Everything

 

[RuIerr]

Boredom always led to thoughts of her family - where they were, what they were doing, whether or not they missed her. She knew they did, but the insecurity oft nagging her tended to drive her off the negative end of things. Glancing around, the lioness soon spotted someone in the distance.

It wasn't long before Kayitz was approached by the large, striking lion. Although he had large strides, she had caught his image from far enough away to have a moment to appraise him. Although clearly handsome, it wasn't unfair to describe him as bedraggled. While she lollygagged about with all the time in the world to attend to her appearance and sleep schedule, something about this lion seemed as if he had just come back from war. It prompted a quirked brow as he neared her, but nothing more.

"Hello," she greeted, dipping her head slightly in deference. A small laugh escaped her lips, alongside another quirked brow. "Traditional greeting?" Kayitz inquired, cocking her head to the side for effect. "From where do you hail?" By his appearance, it seemed he belonged to one of the, ah, grittier prides, but without much of a proper pridal education she couldn't begin to guess which one. Although it didn't seem like much of a concern, she did hope it was one of the friendlier prides.

(WC: 224)

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"Stormborn," he replied simply. He wasn't entirely confident that she would know who they were, but even without his antics the pride had managed to make a name for itself across the Savannah so the probability would be quite high depending on where she might hail from. "And generally speaking we would start with 'It's a good day to die'," he explained with a lift of his brow. Suffice it to say that he was not from the Stormborn by birth and as such, he still found that greeting to be a touch bizarre.

...Depending on the circumstances it could be a self fulfilling prophecy, but he understood what they meant by it. If they were to perish, then to so in a blaze of glory rather than by through cowardice or mere accident. Not that an outsider would appreciate that sentiment as it definitely didn't sound that way, even he knew that.

"Not exactly comforting," he conceded and motioned towards her. "Some of us aren't particularly pleasant though so if you are more inclined towards peaceful encounters I might suggest you don't head that way," he thrust his paw in the general direction of the Stormborn's lands. They were nearby the Maestros, the former pirates had been their enemies for quite some time and then something had driven them out... to this day, no one was entirely sure what that had been.

The prides in the other direction are decidedly more pleasant," he pulled a face briefly and then smiled. "A coat like yours would suit them too, it's a wonder you aren't from there," he tilted his head to the slight, just a touch. "But by the measure of your fur, it's not curled enough to imply that you frequent any shoreline. You must be from further inland?"

Ruler of Everything

 

[RuIerr]

Another brow quirk. It seemed with him, her brows just couldn't remain still. The pride was definitely an interesting one, but she had no negative connotations towards the name. Until, that is, he repeated the greeting - something that caused her to laugh. "Well, I mean," she started, gesturing around "it is a beautiful day. Any weather is good weather, I like to say." It seemed like an odd thing to say to someone upon first meeting, but then again, she had heard stories enough to justify that they were a strange, if not brutal, group of lions.

"Comforting, no, but who here needs comforting?" She smiled, nodding at his bit of advice. That's definitely something she should heed; not exactly the biggest or feistiest of lionesses, the last thing she needed was trouble. Kayitz glanced in the direction his paw pointed, committing it to memory. That was all she could do to prevent a possibly messy mistake in the future.

Kayitz nodded once more, taking in that bit of information as well. One of the coastal prides she had heard many kind things about - the Bahari'mtoto. A peaceful seaside pride, she wondered how they took to rogue visitors looking for an oceanic escape. In response to his query, Kayitz laughed, "You would be correct! I come from an old pride - the En Gedi - disbanded long ago." As a way of explanation for, well, everything that took place within the pride to lead to its downfall, she flicked her paw about wildly: "Things happen, you know? I've been on my own and wandering these lands for quite some time now. That makes you a welcome face - congratulations!" She smiled, then remembered that she was speaking to a pride-bound lion so far from home. "Speaking of wandering... what brings you out here?"

(WC: 300)

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

En Gedi? He hadn't heard of it. He might have been too young during their existence and given his mother's propensity to wander, as well as his father's particular view points on certain prides, they may simply have been one that was avoided. The lack of familiarity towards the name would have been evident from his expression and she could at least be reassured that on this occasion there would be no malice.

"You'll receive no judgement from me, I recently found out I'm supposed to herald from a pride that seems more inclined towards isolationism and civil wars than... Anything even remotely constructive," he shrugged his shoulders. He was doing a disservice towards his father and by extension the rest of those aiding him but from an outsider's point of view, that was the simplest description of the Al-Siq. The more nuanced and subtle political dramas that played out behind those canyon walls wouldn't be appreciated by anyone out here. To those out here, they were all just weird!

As for her question...

He seemed to give her musings some considerable thought before he pursed his lips and weighed up his options. In the end, he seemed to consider it necessary to be brutally honest, if only to help the lioness relax and realise that she had quite a bit going for her in the grand scheme of things.

"I accidentally killed a pridal ruler after bringing war upon his lands, so... We figured it would be in our best interests to leave them to rebuild," he winced slightly. "Bit of a long story really, but that's the general jist of things," he cleared his throat softly.

"If you're going to be visiting the Bahari'mtoto at any point, might I suggest you bring some flowers as a condolence?" he offered meekly. "It's been a long couple of days..."

Ruler of Everything

 

[RuIerr]

Kayitz could tell from his thoughtful but blank expression that he hadn't heard of her home pride; not something that surprised her very much. Sometimes even she forgot about their once-upon-a-time existence, and she had the pleasure of growing up there.

At the lion's explanation, Kayitz nodded. "That's rather unfortunate, but I'm sure you could say that of quite a few prides out there. Being constructive isn't necessarily a priority... must be why so many end up failing." Her mind was still jumbled from cubhood in regards to the specifics behind the fall of the En Gedi, but they were far from alone in their disbanding.

The lioness was about to interrupt to introduce herself, realizing neither had admitted their names, when the ghostly lion admitted to... killing a pridal leader? A small laugh burst out of Kayitz as she grappled with this new information. Not only did he kill their ruler, he had brought war to this Bahari pride - a pride he previously noted to be among the friendliest. "Well... at least you decided to leave instead of continuing to ravage the lands, hm?" Finding positive spin on situations was one of her strong suits, particularly as she liked to ignore the bad parts of situations and, well, others that she met. It could often get her into trouble. "So now that you've destroyed a pride and left them to their own devices, what's next on your... busy agenda?"

Then, remembering herself, she interjected: "I'm Kayitz, by the way," dipping her head once more in a sort of greeting. "Pleased to meet you!"

(WC: 264)

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"Names, right... Yes," Tethys murmured vaguely. "You would think I would be better at remembering to do that part first given the sheer number of individuals we tend to meet out here," he mused and shook his head. "My name is Tethys, I'm a Captain on behalf of the Stormborn and I currently lead a rag tag band of warriors which will now conveniently lead in to your next query..."

He paused for dramatic effect and smiled.

"I must say that's fabulous timing," he added and waved his paw. "Now that we have accidentally ravaged the land and my brother has very calmly advised me to leave the land and do something constructive with my time..." he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm going to do exactly what I've been doing for the last few years which is to hunt down the sorry bastards who thought it would be logical to attack a pride full of pacifists."

"Yes, technically it was a long series of events that led to it but in the grand scheme of things, they were just being dishonourable with that s**t," he clearly didn't mince his words and despite where he came from, Tethys was one of those Captains who did promote honour. Those who lacked it weren't welcome in his band, those who lost it were heavily disciplined and relieved of their duties. They would need to find another Captain to receive them into a warband if they stepped over the line...

"Coincidentally my father and his strike teams are now here and they were born in to this whole spat generations ago so we might actually get to make some progress," he pulled a face, he was being rather blase about the entire thing but there was little else he could do. It wasn't right for him to be too grave or serious in the presence of a stranger, particularly one who was looking for something more lighthearted. "But seriously, don't skimp on the flowers if you head that way," he advised.

"What about you? he tilted his head to the side. "Are you doing that rogue thing where you just admire the view and contemplate the shape of each cloud, or have you more extravagant plans of your own?"

Ruler of Everything

 

[RuIerr]

Ah, so he was planning on hunting those that had attacked the pride before. That made Kayitz feel better - along with the title. "Captain." It held some sense of authority, of doing what was right. Tethys, the lion before her, seemed to be an honorable one. Regardless of the content of his speech and how violent it seemed, he gave off an air of doing so for a higher purpose, and that higher purpose seemed just to her.

"That's terrible, but I'm glad to hear you're on the case," Kayitz responded, not quite sure what to say. "And yes, lots and lots of beautiful flowers for the poor pride whose leader you offed. Got it!" The lioness smiled, wondering idly if she'd make it to that pride one day. Up until now she had been in avoidance of anyone else - prides and rogues alike - out of fear of a need to protect herself. It wasn't that she was weak, but while growing up learning to fight wasn't one of her priorities. That seemed to be detrimental, now - even taking down some prey proved difficult for her. And here she stood before a lion who had just killed off another lion - life was funny like that sometimes.

"Now, I know you're making fun of me, but I honestly haven't a better answer than that!" she tilted back her head, letting out a loud laugh. "No, honestly, I, ah..." she thought for a second, "My mother and my sisters and I were all split up back when my pride disbanded - I was still rather young - and I haven't seen them since. I'm idle, sure," she stated, "but above finding some grounding - a "home" - I'd love to see them again." Kayitz shrugged, unsure what else to say about it. "It probably sounds silly in comparison to your grand adventures, but I suppose it's all I have. Sad, huh?"

(WC: 315)

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"I was being genuine," Tethys reassured her. He'd met all types of rogue in his time and while there were some dreamers, there were also those who made strides towards something greater. They had aspirations, they had goals, and they'd be damned if you got in their way. More often than not they had provided some fascinating insights into the structure those without prides found, and in large part, they deserved some measure of respect for that.

...They'd never be grand heroes or the stuff of legend without considerable effort and several fateful encounters, but they would certainly achieve something that they would be satisfied with.

"I wasn't always in the Stormborn, my father forced my sister and I into finding what you refer to as 'home'. We wandered with our mother for a considerable amount of time and I can only assume that when we became somewhat lazy he intervened," he hazarded a small chuckle. Destati had been right in the grand scheme of things, Dione's life and his own had improved considerably when they had found where they had fit... But Tethys had his suspicions that Tethys would have remained satisfied with their choices regardless of who they may or may not have joined. So long as the white lion and his sibling didn't simply waste away through inactivity and a lack of direction, that sire would remain content.

"In fact I haven't seen my mother in quite some time either," he openly admitted and shook his head. "My sister would have, she remained there for a while, but I can't fault anyone for contemplating a reunion," he nodded towards her with a thoughtful purse of his lips. "So this begs the question; why have you not sought them out if you muse over it?" he asked.

"No leads, or is something in the way?"

Ruler of Everything

 

[RuIerr]

"Ah, my mistake," she responded, listening to his brief story detailing his background. It was always interesting - everyone you met out here had some sort of story to them. In this case, Tethys' involved a sister and not one, but two prides. She hesitated before asking, "So of all the prides, the Stormborn? What drew the two of your there?" It always piqued Kayitz' interest, why rogues chose to go where they went. Sometimes, it was pelt color, other times the aligning of a belief in certain gods. Tethys simply seemed a natural fit for the pride, but she wondered if there was something more.

"I'm... sorry to hear that," Kayitz spoke, unsure if his tone meant to communicate a level of distaste for his mother or not. Either way, most times family was family - you loved them no matter what. "I have, I have sought them out, but those leads grew stale and no others cropped up." She shrugged, beginning to wonder to herself if reunification or finding "home" was more important to her. She quickly brushed off the thought, not wanting to dwell upon it now.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

It was a valid question, and there were days when Tethys wasn't entirely sure what had drawn him to them. In part it had been fate, he and his sister had simply wandered in that direction and when they had caught wind of these individuals...they'd investigated further. That wasn't to say that he didn't appreciate there were some within the Stormborn that were questionable by nature, but overall...There had been something about them that had called to both of the twins.

...This was long before they had truly been aware of where their father had come from. If Tethys had known that, then perhaps he might have returned to the home of his ancestors instead, but for now, both he and Dione were happy with their lot in life... particularly Dione.

"My father was concerned that we would go through life lacking direction and purpose," he shrugged his shoulders. "Thus he told us to find it, he didn't care how or where, provided that we could both look him in the eye and declare we had found it," he pursed his lips. "Mayhaps you will meet him some day, but he embodies honour in a way I can't," he chuckled. "To the point he's still dutifully trying to resist my mother's temptations despite the fact his fate is unavoidable."

He loved his mother and his father, but when it came to their 'love' story, even he could see it was becoming ridiculous. That said a lot given that Tethys didn't seem to have the capacity for commitment at this period in his life. A blind lion could have seen that his father doted on Ari, and she was much the same to Destati.

"Regardless the Stormborn embodied what we were looking for and so we joined," Tethys concluded. A simple enough story, and one where he conveniently forgot to mention that while he'd won, he'd also knocked himself out after he'd slammed headfirst into a boulder.

"So," he regarded the lioness and shook his head, it was time to switch the subject away from him. "This family of yours," he clucked his tongue. "I get around a bit, why not give me something to go on and maybe... I might find something."

He'd have said 'found', but he doubted he'd have been in the right areas given the circumstances...

Ruler of Everything

 

[RuIerr]

Kayitz nodded, patiently listening to the story that she wished went a it more in-depth. What was it he and his sister were looking for? Why was his father so consistently resisting his mother? These were questions she didn't anticipate getting answers for, considering how much of the information Tethys relayed that he seemed to cherry pick, but she wondered all the same. Particularly why he thought she might run into his father some day; they both knew that would never occur.

"Well, I'm grateful that you found somewhere that suited you. Even if finding a home base meant having to deal with you straying through the rogue lands," she finished with a smile.

At his request for information regarding the other women in her family, Kayitz simply waved a paw. "Honestly, I haven't enough info to give you to be the slightest bit helpful." She pondered for a second, before continuing, "And besides, it seems like you're on your own mission - I'm not up for distracting you with some silly game of pretending that you happening upon them is realistic in the slightest." Then, remembering herself, "Although I am grateful for the offer." Another smile.

"I seem to have taken up quite a bit of your time - I suppose you have things to attend to? Another pridal leader to purge?"

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"While improbable, it's not impossible," Tethys remarked and shook his head. "And trust me when it comes to the improbable, I seem to have a knack for making that possible," he confessed. It was a self deprecating smile that appeared on his lips but fortunately for Kayitz he also knew when to stop pressing. On this occasion he acknowledged that she probably didn't have the information and there was no point in pulling nonsense or guestimates out of her backside.

"As for my time," he glanced over his shoulder. They hadn't been conversing for too long and he was known for lagging behind, then catching up later in the evening. They weren't moving quickly on this occasion, truth be told he was bringing the majority of his band home. What awaited him was unequivocally meant for him alone and he was no longer permitted to draw an army in to it... No matter how determined they were to seek vengeance.

"I have a remarkable amount of it so I wouldn't be worrying quite so much about that," he chuckled and shook his head. "Though I will reassure you that I have little interest in accidentally purging another leader from existence," he added.

Still, if she had need to move on herself...

"If you're headed in the same direction you are welcome to join me," he offered and lifted a brow. "I'll be sure to warn you before you end up in a precarious position, it's the least I can do."

Ruler of Everything

 

[RuIerr]

Kayitz studied him, watching the wry smile appear on his lips, she wondered what it was about. What else in his past did he have to reference like that? He seemed so fascinating, with so much experience under his belt - he had to have stories to go on for days.

"Well, that's reassuring," she clucked, laughing. If she could avoid it, she liked to skirt around dead lions if at all possible - a risk she could possibly be taking hanging out with someone so fresh from murder. Although, she would risk it; particularly if he'd alert her to any potential dangers.

"I shouldn't stay with you too long - I do have my own, ah, endless journeys to get on, but you seem entertaining enough for now," Kayitz said with a grin. "Wherever it is you're headed, Tethys - lead the way." They couldn't be going too far, as she knew he had to be meeting up with others in due time. But she could use the adventure for now.

Epine de Rose

Fin soon? My muse is escaping me, as I'm sure you've noticed xD