Sphinx - brown
Krysin - black
"Figures." Akamu spat as he slowly inched his way deeper into the pride, swearing under hushed breath. "I should have known he would abandon me the second we arrived." The hulking male rolled his eyes in annoyance as he stopped dead in his tracks. This place was so different from his life back home, the heat was something the red lion was starting to miss. Still, he had come this far, he would not turn tail now. His wide emerald eyes shifted as Akamu searched his surroundings for anything that felt familiar, finding very comfort in the unknown that now swept over him. Still, he knew his kin called this place home, this Firekin was going to do his best to fit in.
It seemed though he had arrived during a time of war, thanks to his uncle Vulcan who's timing was never anything short of impeccable, the red lion always seemed to find himself in situations like this. "Mmm-" Akamu muttered as he turned and frowned, gazing out into the distant. Vulcan ran off the second the red pair arrived, who knows where he was now. His uncle was never one for keeping his word.
The red lion stopped and rested his head against a rotten tree, his weight pressed into it until the bark snapped in two and sent the giant toppling down to the ground, face first.
Maybe he had made a mistake leaving home.
She swayed on her feet, the sudden lurch in her stomach making her feel ill. Ruka'sabili was familiar with this feeling, and she tensed with the anticipation of pain. It was no surprise that a vision would start to fester in her mind now that the entire pride was on edge. The Queen had been attacked, and Katiti'manina had called upon the Vessels and her clergy to both predict the future and pray to their ancestors for guidance and protection. Ruka's visions were unpredictable, and worse was that they could fester for days before taking form.
Ruka would inevitably become violently ill, to the point where she would be unable to function or even think coherently. She had not experienced a vision since the birth of her cubs, and now they were nearing the prime of their lives. Adolescents now, and even the children her own mother had dumped on her were growing up into fine members of the pride. All that time, and she had not had to hide herself away from them. Her sons knew that she was a seer, but had never experienced the nature of her abilities.
It made her envious of Katiti'manina, who felt not the least bit of pain for the great gift of sight she had been born with. All that the Monarch's Soul saw came without a price... but perhaps Ruka was paying for it herself.
That would explain the small migraine she so badly wanted to nurse.
The pale lioness left her den, knowing that she would not find the peace she needed there. Her pain was not so bad that it was intolerable, but in time it would get there. Ruka wandered the pride lands, trying to pick out a decent place to hunker down for a while. She would have to let Katiti'manina know that a vision was coming, "Ah... who are you?"
She squinted down at a red male, tsking at the brightness of his pelt. He was clearly not a member of the pride, but not one who was untrusted. If he had no purpose in being here, he would not be around.
Wide eyes gazed back at the pale figure that stood over him. "I-" the Firekin struggled to find his words as a white dipped paw lifted to wave at the stranger incoherently. "Sorry, I had no idea anyone was around." This was embarrassing. Akamu a transplant here, so when his eyes finally focused on the female above him they blinked once in confusion., being taken aback. She was beautiful, not beautiful in the way a flower was, but like a rough sun-stone lost in the blistering sands. Slowly the lion brought himself to stand before her, his large frame standing over hers so that she now stood in his shadow. He was a Firekin through in through, in size and appearance, it was obvious he wasn't from here, if she looked closely the lioness would still be able to see sand between his toes.
"Forgive me." He gave the lioness a half-smile, bowing his head in show of respect. "My name is Akamu, I've come here with my Uncle Vulcan." It was time to explain himself, he didn't want this female to think he was trouble. "We have family here, or so I'm told."
Akamu couldn't help but look her over once, he couldn't remember the last time his eyes had been lucky enough to gaze upon a female, let alone one so stark and striking. His tail slowly swayed from side to side as bright green eyes softened. The Firekin had a kind soul underneath his large frame, it was easy to see.
You would think, for a Firekin, that you would be more aware of your surroundings," Ruka murmured slyly. The red pelt was familiar to her, a shade that indeed resembled some of the members of the pride. A few of the Outlanders carried the same blood that flowed through many Firekins' veins. The Monarch's Soul was undeniably of the bloodline, though she had been a fixture in the pride for such a long time that it was easy to forget.
As he stood, it made his heritage all the more apparent. Ruka took a step back, for a moment uncomfortable with how close he had stood to her. She had changed, though she was loathed to admit just how badly her time spent in the Stormborn had affected her. It was an affliction, this distrust she had of others. The only lions she truly trusted were the Outlanders; this pride had raised her when her mother would not. "There is no need to apologize," she offered with a shrug of her shoulders. Her words were almost distant, polite, but there was no familiarity in the way she spoke to him.
"It is likely that you do, though I am unsure of the specific relations." She realized, belatedly, that she had not introduced herself. Was her distrust so deeply rooted in her mind that was even reluctant to give her name to strangers now? Ruka had almost not caught on to the social blunder she had made. "I am Ruka'sabili, a Vessel here in the Ukuhlwa'Izwe." It was something that she was reminded of a little too painfully as her head throbbed.
She squinted her eyes at the large red male, hoping that it would ease her discomfort. "I have not seen your Uncle, has anyone attended to you recently?" She would not believe he had been left alone for long.
As the lioness spoke Akamu's eyes traced along her figure, studying each imperfection and curve carefully as introductions were made, inspecting her in the same way he assumed she would with him. "I see-" a chuckle escaped his chest as the Firekin stood still. "-Vulcan, my uncle, he came looking for one of his daughters-" as Akamu spoke his eyes narrowed, lost in thoughts far from here. "-Kat-something. I forget her name. I'm awful with them, I'll admit." This was weakness the lion was a little ashamed of. Sometimes simple things like names escaped his mind as quickly as they entered it.
"I am sure that is where he ran off to." Green eyes shifted as the large male glanced back down at the pale lioness. "'A vessel? A seer you mean? We have those were I come from as well." It was small talk, but at least she was able to get him to open up, more often than not the lion kept to himself, finding peace in silence and solitude. Maybe that stemmed from his time lost in the blistering desert.
"No one has addressed us yet, though I was looking for a lion called Kadaj. He was aware of my arrival through a raven we sent a few weeks ago." He paused for a long moment before continuing. "-I hope that our being here hasn't caused any issues?"
Her eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of 'Kat'. Immediately, she knew what lioness the male was trying to refer to. She also did not quite know how she felt about more of the Monarch's Soul's family finding their way to the Ukuhlwa'Izwe. While Katiti'manina was a respectable lioness, she couldn't help but think she was slightly... odd. It did not help that she was the leader of the branch that Ruka belonged to her. Her dealings with the lioness were at times mystifying and frustrating. She suspected that Kat knew some of what she had gone through, but was either being clever or kind by not bringing it up. "Katiti'manina. She is the Monarch's Soul, one of the three viziers. I am sure that if he has come here to see her, she knows."
Eager to duck away from the mention of her superior, Ruka honed in on his next inquiry. "Yes, I suppose you can call it that," she agreed with an effortless shrug of her shoulders. "My abilities are nothing prolific like the Soul's, but it has its use." Her visions were borderline prophetic, which made their occurence rare. The fact that she felt one coming on now was disturbing, and she had no desire to see what it had in store for her. But, she had no choice there. She never had a choice.
"It hasn't," she informed him graciously. Ruka was painstakingly formal, and was well practiced in small talk. "I am sure when someone is meant to find you, they will. It is not me, though, however unlikely that is." Kat had always had a terrible habit of just sending whomever was at her disposal out to the borders of the pride to await 'new arrivals'. She was surprised he had not been intercepted yet, especially since she had received no instructions to do the intercepting. "I do not know where Kadaj is either - all these lions with K names seem awfully elusive to you, hm?"
"I see," the green eyed lion nodded as he found his eyes reaching hers for a moment, quickly looking away as soon as she became aware of this tiny exchange. Maybe he was a little more awkward than he liked to pretend, still, he was trying to fit into a place he didn't know or understand just yet.
"I can't say I understand what you are, but believe in the visions of lions like you." Akamu nodded firmly as his large figure shifted.
"Thank you for your help - I am sure I will eventually find Kadaj, I just am a little confused still and I want to make sure my presence here is known, I am no threat - far from it actually if that was a worry. I've come to join this pride at the will of my Uncle."
The ex-Firekin chuckled as he gave her a slight smirk, nodding in agreement. "In all honesty most names are lost on me, though yours is pretty easy to remember, Ruka'sabili." Akamu was attempting to seem less dimwitted and more self-aware, however successful that was might have been totally lost on the big idiot. Still, it was easy to see he meant no harm, Akamu just felt lost in this new place. He would damn his uncle for abandoning him so quickly after arriving. He felt like a fool in her presence. She held herself so stoically and firm. It was a little intimidating.
"Here, no one doubts a vessel when they are identified as such. Out in the roguelands, however, I have been called a fair few things," she mused wryly. She had not disliked her time spent as a rogue, it was only what came after it that bothered her to the core of her being. Ruka had tried to forget the time she spent in the Myrsky Syntynyt, but her mind seemed to always reflect back upon it. Pain, it seemed, was not a memory so easily lost to time.
She released the breath she had not realized she had held in, and smiled as if that smile could rid her off the dark thoughts that gripped her mind. "It seems like you are in need of a guide, then." It would be wrong of her to just leave the male with no idea of where to go. Besides, she would not be the first then to stumble upon him, and some others might be taken aback by a foreign male in their lands. "I will at least get you an audience with someone more important than I, so none who wander by assume you are out of place here." It was not exactly how she intended her day to go, but she did not necessarily mind this detour. Perhaps it would distract her from the pain in her head, and not only because of the vision that was on its way.
"I will remember you said so, when you happen to forget it," she teased lightly. After returning home, pieces of her old self were starting to drift back towards her. It was moments like this that she clung onto desperately.
The pale vessel inclined her head towards Akamu, "Well, will you accept me as your guide, even if I perhaps am not the one who is meant to be?" She would have to ask forgiveness of the poor soul who had been sent to fetch Akamu, only to find that the Firekin was not there. Perhaps no one had been sent at all, knowing that Ruka had stumbled upon him. It was hard to say what limits there were to the vessels of the Ukuhlwa'Izwe.
His eyes would follow every word she spoke like a cub searching for his parents approval. There was a pull here that made him more alert, the lion wouldn't soon forget the words of Ruka, the first new face to greet him upon entering these new lands. A vessel who against all odds seemed willing to help him on his journey to find Kadaj and get the answers he came searching for. His bright green eyes narrowed as a soft smile crept across his muzzle. "I would be forever thankful to you for your guidance, Ruka." He spoke her name as if he had known her his whole life, it wasn't mean to be rude but the red lion hadn't stopped to think about it, he was far too fixated on the lioness that stood in front of him. Everything she had told him was helpful and forward, perhaps he wasn't expecting this upon arriving here, who knows what Akamu was honestly expecting after such a long journey.
"Thank you, I know it's sudden and without much to go on, but I am grateful for all your help. Maybe my uncle ended up finding what he was looking for, maybe we will run into him on the way to our destination." Akamu could be hopeful, it wasn't like Vulcan to wader off and get himself into trouble, so for now he would worry less about the older lion and more about finding Kadaj. With Ruka's help he hoped to have some answers soon.
The lion moved out of Ruka's way as he bowed at her, out of respect for her being a seer and the time she was taking to help him. find who he came looking for. "Lead the way-"
It is a pleasure to help." The answer was formal but not untrue. The distraction was unexpected but not unpleasant, and enough to distract her from the impending pain her 'gift' brought her. Ruka never understood why she suffered so much for her visions while others never received nearly the same experience as she. The Monarch's Soul had daily visions without the slightest hint of pain, and yet Ruka's own sight visited her only on the rarest of occassions and with the most unfortunate price to pay. For her, they were more of a burden than a gift, but she used it in service to her pride when the visions did appear.
Time was once again something she owned now that her cubs and her mother's cubs were nearly grown. She did not regret the decision to take the other litter on, but it was needless to say that she was exhausted by it. It had hurt a little, though she would never admit it to a soul, to raise her mother's daughters when she had abandoned her own in the Myrsky Syntynyt. Maybe one day she could reconnect with them... but it was wishful thinking. Those children had been raised by a pride that sickened her. They were raised without her, and had no reason to think of her as their mother.
Ruka pushed those thoughts aside to digest another time. Instead, her expression was vaguely amused as the red lion bowed to her. She did not nearly deserve the respect that action gave her. "All right, follow me." The words were followed by a soft chuckle as the lioness turned away to lead Akamu to his destination.
