[PRP] Silver Tongues (Ta x Odijo)

[Pandorus Sphinx]

Ta was frustrated.

Maybe frustrated wasn't the right word. Did she even have a word for the emotions she had swelling within her? Maybe not. She felt like her mind was on fire, swirling with a mixture of anger and grievance. Outrage plagued her mind as her eyes raced across the border of the Outlands. She was sure she could find him if she looked hard enough. She had to find him. How could he just run off without telling her? Taj ******** up big time.

"Degenerate." She hissed as she slowed her walk to a stop, fuming silently. He had left, off on some grand adventure without telling anyone. Without telling her. How could he do this to her? She felt utterly betrayed. He would have the devil to pay when he returned, Ta would make sure of that.

Still seething with anger the lioness sat herself down on a large rock and let out a scream. Sometimes it helped to just... decompress. This was normal, right? She flicked her tail in annoyance.  

[KasaiLoki]

Pandorus Sphinx

The siblings had parted ways from their traveling companions. Both Jigen and Arsene had joined the ranks of their mystery pride, but his sister Sahani would not be able to with her coloration. Odijo and her had bid the pair farewell, hoping their paths would cross again.

But in that time, Odijo found himself separated from his sister. For the first time in a long time the male truly felt…alone. He was so use to having the slightly older female with him to be his backbone on situations. She brought amusement to his otherwise rather dully life.

So lost in thought, the male didn’t realize the change in terrain. The tall grasses were getting lower, and the grayish brown dirt was turning more into a red clay. If he was hyperaware, he’d noticed the scents in the area as well. But, so lost in thought, Odijo wandered on into the Outlands territory, a frown on his maw.  

[Pandorus Sphinx]

Ta was almost too delighted when her sight switched from the annoying betrayal of her brother to one more convenient. A beastly grin grossed her maw as she turned her gaze toward a new scent that neared, claws extended as she crept along the rusty ground, mud covered her paws and stomach, dust followed in toe.

"Mmm..." She spotted the figure of someone new approaching and stood up tall, calling out with a rather assertive tone.

"Lost?" If he was lost it was her luck. She was like a child, she enjoyed pulling the wings off of butterflies. It was a sport for her. Taj wasn't here to annoy or peruse, this male would have to do.

She licked her muzzle and walked closer to him, keeping at a safe distantce for now. Sizing him up would be her first task.  

[KasaiLoki]

Odijo was brought out of his thoughts with the sound of another speaking. "Huh? What?" He found himself fumbling over his words, as his blue eyes focused on the lioness.

"Lost? Um. I don't think so." Odijo took a moment to look around, to try and get a bearing on his surroundings. "Oh...uhm... Maybe I might be just a bit..." He found himself muttering. When did the land change?

"Where am I? What is this place?" He finally asked, eyes turning back towards the lioness. He frowned as she moved in closer. Odijo found himself unconsciously taking a step back. No need to get too close for comfort now in the strange territory.  

[Pandorus Sphinx]

"You are intruding on the Outlands now, my home. My families home." Ta smirked and moved herself forward again, closing any gap he tried to make between the two. She had very little sense of space and in all honesty didn't respect it when she did. She flashed a wild smile at him and inched closer.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" She seemed more intrigued than anything. She wasn't about to start calling alarms or anything. She wanted to have her fun first. Her tail danced wildly behind her as she stood tall with red eyes that never left his.  

[KasaiLoki]

”You are intruding on the Outlands now. My home.”

Maybe it was the way she said ‘My Home’ or ‘my family’s home’ that made a small shiver run the length of his spine.

As he moved away, Odijo found the lioness inching closer to him. Oh, this wasn’t good. The frown on his maw increased, an obvious growing sign of his discomfort.

“I don’t mean to intrude on...these lands.” He paused to look around. Truthfully, he had been so distracted to even notice the change in the terrain. “I uh--- must’ve been too lost in through while roaming. I wander from land to land learning about their culture. I am usually a bit more observant.” Did his father ever mention the Outlands? The dark male was unsure, and did not want to recollect while the female was here.

“I should get going. So I am no longer intruding on your or your families territory.”  

[Pandorus Sphinx]

The back of her neck bristled as the male motioned to move. Ta wasn't ready to have him leave yet, not yet. Her teeth flashed for a second as she smiled wildly pushing herself closer to him, the space between the two nearly vanishing completely.

"You can stay. I just had to let you know." Her words came out like a snake in the grass, hunting a rabbit. She was so lost in his features she could hardly think about any sort of actual punishment she might receive speaking to him like this.

Ta was such a mess, but he was the first male outside of the pride she had met, so being enthralled in everything that he was seemed perfectly normal to her. She spoke again, this time a little more... welcoming.

"Where did you come from?"  

[KasaiLoki]

Pandorus Sphinx

"Oh." Still, the closeness that other was to Odijo made the hair stand on the back of his neck. too close. too close. Odijo should have known this however. Growing up with three sisters, they didn't seem to know the meaning of personal space. He enjoyed traveling with the two blue males. At least they did.

"Well I uh...thank you for letting me know. I probably shouldn't stay long though..." but then again, if he did he could learn about the Outlands. He was sure the name hadn't crossed his mind or in his father's stories.

"I come from nowhere. My father was from the swamps. My mother from a land of birds. Both prides are gone, so we were left to wander growing up." He explained. "Can you tell me more of this place?"  

[Pandorus Sphinx]

Taj wasn't a complex creature, to be frank. Her motor would spin for just about any male that looked her way, she was thirsty for attention almost one hundred percent of the time. She grew up in the shadow of her brother Taj, never being good enough to be trained by her father - never being smart enough to keep up with her mother's wit. Ta was... lost in some middle ground she had created for herself. She felt like such a failure deep down inside. Maybe it's what drove her to act out like this.

Maybe her faults had become her personality. She felt some shame come over her as she dove deeper into her own thoughts, sighing as the outsider spoke. He seemed more put together than she did, it made her frown in frustration.

"This place is a pile of s**t." She spat out with a rather bitter tone, she envied him and his travels. She was stuck here, unable to move. At least... in her head that was reality.

"We won't chase you off- but if you stay you will have to fight your way into our ranks." She spoke frankly. She seemed more.... cold somehow. Was talking to someone who had lived a life away from family and duty really that hard for her? She gave him a rather pathetic look as she flipped her tail.

"I come from a proud family. Maybe a family that is too proud for it's own good." She muttered. Ta felt so small.  

[KasaiLoki]

Pandorus Sphinx

Odijo seemed taken aback when the lioness seemed to lash out about her pride. She seemed so...protective of it at first, now this? His ears perked with somewhat curiosity at the sudden change in demeanor.

"Oh...I'm not a fighter." No way. He was a scholar. He did not have time for the brutish acts of battle. "Besides, my feet wander too much. If I stay, it wouldn't be very long." The dark male admitted. How fair would that be if he was to be accepted (on the rare account he could actually fight) and then leave on a whim.

"There's nothing wrong with coming from a proud family." Odijo, came from more of a humble family. Both his parents had some kind of tragic back story to their tale. "But you don't sound thrilled about that. Why do you stay?"  

[Pandorus Sphinx]

For a moment she forgot herself, lost in his last question. She had always wondered what life was like away from her home and family, in true the fantasy excited her, yet... she couldn't see herself leaving. She wasn't as brave as she liked to pretend, nor was she as clever as her brother Taj who left the pride often to parade himself in the Pridelands. His colors made him fit in and he seemed at home wherever he went, unlike herself who felt out of place without her family, without her pride. It was a complex issue she was struggling with alone and in silence.

"I envy you, I think and that's not an easy thing for me to admit." Her words came out a littler softer now.

"I stay because this is my home." She didn't have a better answer to that question, not yet at least. Maybe someday she would be able to answer it honestly.

"...You can stay around a while, I won't let anyone bother you if you need a place to rest for a bit." This was the kindest she had ever been to anyone else, it was very unlike her normal self. Today maybe though... she didn't feel very normal. Today she wanted to be someone else. being frustrated wasn't how she wanted to spend her evening after all.  

[KasaiLoki]

Pandorus Sphinx

Odijo watched as her attitude changed again before his eyes.

She was a conundrum, that was for sure. "Home is where your heart is." Now it was Odi's turn for a quieter tone. "And it doesn't seem like it's here." He gave the female a small, reassuring smile, before his head bobbed.

"Maybe I could rest for just a day or so. I do not wish to impose, and...offer my skills to a battle if I don't have to." He joked. "I'd rather make it out of this place alive." He rolled his shoulders to give a sheepish grin. "Perhaps you can show me a quiet place for me to stay, so not to make notice of the other pride members?"  

[Pandorus Sphinx]

She took his words in like air, smirking under a soft sigh. She needed to figure this problem she had out soon, it was emotionally draining typing to keep up with it herself. In truth she was starting to feel crushed by the weight of it all. Her eyes eyes moved to look him over once more before she spoke again.

"Up on the cliff side behind you, It's where I go when I want to be alone."

She wouldn't tell anyone about this. He seemed well and it had honestly been enjoyable meeting him, even if it was by chance - even if it was fleeting. It was nice having someone to talk to. Well, to try to talk to. Expressing emotions was exhausting.

"I'll be around if you want company." She added with the flick of her tail. He was the first lion she had been friendly to outside of her family. This was progress.