The decision to leave the Stormborn had not been an easy one for Jord, as it had been her home her entire life. Her whole family had been stormborn! Her parents, her grandparents, and well, everyone. And though it had made her sad at times, Jord knew it had been for the best. Her years there had been spent in the same routine, and she had begun to feel as though what she did didn't really matter. Like going through the motions instead of actually living. Maybe it would have been different if she had married and had cubs of her own, but that hadn't happened and she was left feeling lonely and unsteady. When Helle came to her with the idea of leaving to see the wider world, to adventure and experience new things, Jord just couldn't have said 'no'. It had been scary to leave all she had known behind them, but after traveling the roguelands together it seemed they had finally some place to settle down. A little pride of mercenaries, just barely begun and with no long history or traditions to fuss over, and Jord was quite shocked by that. She was use to the structure of a long-standing pride going back generations, with laws and rules to follow. This, well this was very different. Everyone was expected to handle their own business, and the only rules seemed to be "listen to the boss' orders" and "don't be an idiot". The freedom the Tani'Ajiri enjoyed was honestly a little overwhelming for Jord, but she was quickly growing accustomed to it.
A stormborn through and through, Helle hadn't come to the decision to leave lightly. She talked at length with her mother and father, who had both tried to convince her to stay, but even they couldn't ignore her burning desire to see the world. Perhaps she could have become a shield maiden or valkyrie in time, but she'd sooner claw the face of any male who dare say she was beneath him then let herself be subject to such treatment. It just wasn't right, and it made the lioness' blood boil to think about it. She had been born in a time within the pride when females could be reavers, and to have that taken away from them by the new warlord simply on his whim, well, it had left a bitter taste in her mouth. Her father, Magnus, had taught her how to fight since she was a cub, and she was as large and strong as any male! There were no flowers in her blood, Magnus had made sure of that. Inevitably, she had grown fed up with the restrictions her birth pride had thrust upon her, and leaving became her only choice. In the end, Magnus and Gala understood, and though it was hard to leave her family behind she knew it was the right decision. Jord had been one of her only friends that she truly trusted, and when she extended the invitation to go with her, she hadn't honestly expected the other lioness to come with her. It had been a pleasant surprise, and one Helle truly appreciated.
Today Jord had woken up rather early, just in time to catch the sunrise as she emerged from her den. They hadn't been with the mercenaries for very long, but Jord had found her place as one of their hunters. It was an activity that was relatively new to her, as the thralls had been the ones to do most of the hunting, but she found that she enjoyed it quite well. It gave her a purpose and she felt helpful to those who had other duties to attend to. Unlike Helle, Jord had never really been trained to fight, and the thought of doing so made her wrinkle her nose. To her, that was a male's job. Speaking of Helle, she wondered where her friend was today? Had she started her patrol already? Curiously, Jord went to find out if Helle had left her den yet or not. They had chosen to stay fairly close to one another, so it wasn't a very long journey at all. "Helle? Are you there, Helle?" she called softly.
The decision to become a guard had been rather easy for Helle. They accepted female fighters as easily as they accepted males apparently, and the large lioness had been more than happy to pound a few faces into the dirt of the sparring grounds to prove her prowess in battle. She could have become a mercenary, and perhaps in time she may do so, but for now the rank of guard suited her just fine. A voice from the entrance of her den roused her from her sleepy thoughts, and slowly the large lioness shifted to rise to her paws. "I'm here," she called groggily as she shook her mane out. She had never been an early morning riser, and she found it difficult to get going in the morning most days. "What time is it?" she yawned as she made her way out of her den, nearly bumping into Jord as she did so. The dens of the Tani'Ajiri were not nearly as spacious as those of the Stormborn, but she could live with that.
"Just past sunrise," Jord replied quietly as she made room for her friend to exit her den. Maybe she should have let Helle sleep a little longer, but the day was about to begin and Jord wanted to see her friend before they both got busy with responsibilities. Maybe that was a little selfish of her, she realized a little too late. But she didn't really know anyone else around the pride yet, and Jord was a social lioness who preferred to see her friends as much as possible. "I'm sorry it's so early, Helle," she apologized quietly, her ears going back a bit. "Do you want to grab a drink with me before the day begins?" she asked, a little bit of hope coloring her voice.
Helle blinked the sleep from her eyes as she sidled up next to Jord, using her friend's body to support her for a moment as she found her paws. The large lioness was still quite sleepy, and it was difficult for her to resist the urge to flop back down and go back to sleep right there. "Drink? Sure?" she mumbled as she shook her head in an attempt to wake herself further. Her blue eyes drifted to the horizon where she caught the soft colors of the morning sunrise still painting the clouds. It was pretty, but she had no desire to dwell on that. "What's got you up so early?" Helle asked as she yawned loudly. Jord may be trying to stay quiet, but Helle didn't care. If she was up, then everyone else could be up, too.
It wasn't easy to hold her friend up with most of her weight leaned against her, but Jord managed. After all, Helle was much larger than her, nearly larger than a lot of males too it would seem. To be honest though, Jord wasn't surprised. Magnus, Helle's father, had been a goliath brute and it seemed he'd passed that on to his daughter. Luckily, she hadn't inherited her father's crudeness. "No real reason," Jord admitted softly, steading herself as Helle took back her weight. "I just thought it'd been fun to spend some time together before we went our separate ways for the day."
Helle raised her brow at Jord's explanation. "You're lonely," Helle told her friend bluntly, as she began to feel more awake than she had previously. "Honestly, I'm not surprised. You've been longing for a husband since I've met you," the ruddy colored lioness spoke matter-of-factly. Jord was a little older than herself, but not by much, and Helle could remember the many, many days that Jord had spent simply watching the reavers fight on the sparring sands. It was plain for Helle to see, Jord wanted that connection, she just hadn't found it yet. "Why not check out the mercenaries?" Sure, they weren't stormborn, but they had some decent fighters amongst them. Come to think of it, Helle had no idea why Jord had never settled down with anyone before. Surely there had been a reaver or two that had caught her eye?
Jord balked at Helle's observations, her eyes going wide for a moment before she regained her composure. Helle wasn't usually one to mince words, so Jord honestly shouldn't have been surprised. "I just haven't found the right one yet," Jord stammered as she moved past her friend to start towards the river where they could have their drink. Or maybe no one had wanted her? It had been difficult for her to push those thoughts away in recent years, which had been one of the reasons she had so readily agreed to leave their homeland. She had felt stagnant and useless back home, and the Tani'Ajiri had offered her a fresh start with new experiences. Yes, she was lonely, but this was the happiest she'd been in quite some time. "What about you? Are you looking for a male?"
Helle snorted slightly at Jord's response, finding her friend's reaction amusing to say the least. When Jord moved towards the river Helle followed after her. A cool drink would do her some good right now, to help chase away the rest of sleepiness before her patrol began. Me? Naw, it'll happen when it happens," she shrugged, her thick shoulders rolling effortlessly. She was rather muscular for a female, and coupled with her large frame she was quite the impressive sight. Though, she often wondered if that intimidated some males out of approaching her. Oh well. If they weren't brave enough to say hello, then they certainly weren't brave enough to be her husband.
((Word Count: 1,645))