"How is that even possible...?" For now Thrymr had once again cast aside his own issues, namely the reunion with his own brother, and had focused more on the manner in which they found themselves reunited. Tethys had spent the last several minutes explaining his issues to his mother and Arimathras had sat in relative silence. Her expression had become grave as his tale had continued, and then her gaze had finally shifted towards the gathered group of lions who she now realised were her own blood. It seemed much had happened in the Stormborn since she had left and none of it appeared to be good.
"It is possible in the same way that it is possible that I can bury the fallen simply by standing near them," Arimathras replied at last as she continued to regarded the young lions who lay just behind one of her eldest sons. "It seems that a deity has decided you are their play things, or it seems they have been provoked," she clucked her tongue. "Unfortunately the symptoms you describe are not ones I can protect you from; the pride doesn't lack for food which I could have resolved," she lifted a paw and sighed. "You would need to find a deity who possessed the ability to sustain others," she admitted.
...Not that in the future she might not be able to develop those abilities in the future, but she certainly didn't possess them at the moment and she wouldn't any time soon. Developing her own divine strengths had not been on her radar and beyond her two children she hadn't had much invested within the Stormborn to exert herself in that manner. Thus, loathe as she was to admit it, the Stormborn were very much on their own in their fight against this divine being and should they have provoked its fury... then she sincerely hoped they isolated the problem and addressed it.
"So you're saying one of your kind did this?" Ymir wrinkled her nose. "Why?"
"As mother says, it depends on the deity you find," Tethys muttered bitterly and shook his head. He'd had his fair share of divine meetings and they had all been pleasant, he had nothing unkind to say about any of those he had stumbled across, but he knew better than to assume they were all so benevolent. One of these beings had taken upon itself to fixate upon the Stormborn and now they were paying the price. More importantly, he sincerely doubted this was on a mere whim, they had done something to cause it.
Arrogance had always been their hubris.
"So you're saying 'just cause'?" Ymir seemed unimpressed.
"I suspect this is less of a whim and more of a punishment," Tethys admitted and shook his head. "I've been away for far too long to know exactly who we messed up this time, but it happened after we ended up with another female warlord," he snorted. "And before you say anything on behalf of female kind," he raised a paw towards his sister. "Any time their has been a female in that position we have achieved nothing and all she has had is wave upon wave of b*****d children; the title is not there to throw about and sit on a throne. You are meant to do something with it and the only reason she won is because the last female warlord forfeited."
"So why didn't another person challenge her when she won?"
"We weren't there," he snapped, and it was true. The Breytast had been held when a significant portion of the Captains had been out of the pride on Vikings. Zjarr had essentially usurped the position and then done exactly what the previous lioness had done; nothing. Actually, it seemed she'd done worse than just 'nothing', she'd brought disaster upon the pride too - he could only hope Dione got to the bottom of it.
"Oh..." Ymir would be the first to admit that she didn't understand the culture her brother had chosen to adopt.
"So, might I ask whose idea it was to bring the young out here?" Thrymr nodded towards the loitering adolescents, some just on the threshold of adulthood.
"Dione, our sister," he glanced at his mother briefly. "She summoned me back from where I was to collect them and bring them to safety. Rather than succumb to the whims of an angry god, it was simply easier to extract them," he snorted. "I am fairly confident they didn't provoke its wrath and therefore they don't deserve to suffer due to the stupidity of another," he paused and then spoke again. "But Dione chose to stay behind, she wanted to see if she could locate the source."
Arimathras raised a brow, though she didn't seem alarmed, Dione had always been quite the politician and she'd pick her battles.
"Her aim seems to find that source, and then address the reason it was provoked, though I don't know how successful she might prove to be," he admitted.
"The children will be safe here," Arimathras reassured him, if only because she was determined to ensure it on a personal level. "However, it is difficult to change the mentality of a pride, some would sooner die than admit they are wrong and change for the better," Arimathras warned gently. "Does she have a plan if she finds it's impossible to address the cause of the disquiet?"
"She always does, you know that as well as I do," Tethys smiled wryly and nodded towards his two siblings. "So am I going to get an introduction or are we going for 'hey you' going forward?" he asked curiously before glancing over his shoulder towards his children and his nieces and nephews. "You introduce me, and I'll introduce you to the rest of your extended family," he offered before glancing towards the work that his siblings had started.
"...And then perhaps I can help you finish that," he added softly. The fact his bands had never had the chance to offer the fallen a final, deserved send off, hadn't been forgotten. It was fitting that he help send them on their way and it was the very least he could do for those who had lost their lives on his behalf, he knew they were still in those caves somewhere.
"That sounds like a plan," Thrymr was the first to speak as he glanced round his brother's shoulder to look at his relatives.
"Well you know mother," Ymir mused with a smirk. "But I'm Ymir and that's Thrymr..."
"Good start," Tethys nodded. "Now I sincerely hope your memories are good because you've more than two names to remember," he warned as he turned away to collect his group of refugees...
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