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The Viking party has split into groups, each having a seasoned leader assigned to help guide the newer party members. Midas had been named the leader of the party that was currently in search of food for the entire band. In his party, Midas had Casp the jovial reaver whom he trusted greatly, Astrid his adopted son and Satinka a daughter of the idiot Bast’ion back home. It was the two ‘children’ that Midas was more or less worried about causing trouble.

Almost on cue, Satinka could be heard bellowing, chasing after her ‘brother’ Astrid. “Excuse me for doing a better job than you!” Satinka was chastising her brother Astrid again, following after him like an angry mother as he attempted to swerve between Casp and Midas. Astrid hadn’t even complained about his sister, nor her abilities, he was just a bit mopey from his failed hunting attempt.

“Satinka, come on. Just leave me alone!” Astrid was close to Casp now, looking desperate for help.

“You two need to calm down before you scare away all the potential game!” Casp was glaring at the cyan colored lioness, daring her to challenge him. Taking the hint, Satinka stopped and slunk back behind Astrid and Casp, mouth closed tight and eyes on the ground a little ahead of her.

Astrid now watched his sister and looked a bit uncomfortable. He had made her upset… not something he liked doing, especially with how close they were. Slowing his pace, Astrid bumped into Satinka, showing her that it was going to be alright. The lioness looked up at him and scowled for a moment but offered some affection back.

Smiling, Midas nodded a thank you to Casp who gave the lion a nod. Casp knew the younger lions were capable, they just lacked the maturity needed sometimes. Looking back at the two siblings, Casp smiled softly and looked ahead, first taking notice of the water and then the pink and grey lioness beyond.

“Midas…. Look.”

Black eyes searched the area that Casp had mentioned, stopping short of the lioness to stare at the water for a few moments. It looked so inviting, save the crocodiles that had made it their home. Frowning, he tossed the idea of hunting one of the large lizards. It would be a win-win for the group. Water and tasty lizard… however it could also end up with a side of drowning, something he rather not deal with. Huffing a sigh, he continued to search the area, black eyes stopping on the pink maned lioness a distance away.

“Oh.”

Casp rolled his eyes and wandered past Midas, stopping a few feet short of the lioness. “Are you from these parts miss?” Casp made no indication that he was going to move closer to her. Rather, he was trying to maintain a neutral stance in case the lioness wasn’t friendly.

Satinka and Astrid stood away from Midas and Casp. The last thing the group need at this time was a fight, especially after the failed attempt to hunt. Both siblings looked at each other before watching Casp and the stranger. What would happen? Everything seemed so out of sorts lately, what with the Gods being at war or whatever. Every meeting seemed to bring more chaos for the group.

“You think we will be alright?” Satinka whispered to Astrid, who just sort of watched everything around him. “I don’t kn-“

And suddenly there was darkness as the sun disappear and a silver of the moon appear in the sky. Day was now night, as though time had skipped ahead without them.

Shivering with fear, Satinka shrunk away, closing the space entirely between her and her brother, nearly pushing him over. Whatever beef she had with him definitely dissipated when the sky went dark. Astrid looked at his sister and held his ground, having to hold himself steady a couple times as she pushed against him. “It’ll be okay, sis.” Astrid whispered gently in his sister’s ear as she shivered again. Unlike her, he had been through a paranormal event previously. It was still unsettled but he was starting to realize anything was possible with the gods at war.

“We are a travelling group looking for others to join our ranks.” Midas addressed the defensive lioness, he had goosebumps from the sudden shift from daylight to night, but he attempted to keep it in check. “I am Midas, this is my crew, Casp, Astrid and Satinka. We mean no harm and didn’t want to intrude.” Feeling his stomach rumble, Midas looked at Casp who was ahead of him nodding for him to come back to the group.

Casp stood still for a moment, ignoring Midas’ nod and instead kept his attention on the lioness he now knew as Lorelei. “We were in search of a meal for us and others we are travelling with, it has been hard to follow game with the odd events out here. The lands seem to be more dangerous… Would you care to come with us?” Casp looked at the sky and huffed a sigh, he had been excited to be out in the sunlight.

The entire group could feel the tension in Lorelei’s words, making them feel less than inclined to continue the conversation they were having. After a brief, awkward pause, it was Satinka that spoke next, directing her words towards Midas. “I am sure our Captain is thrilled right now… Especially with most of the Stormborn considering you a magnet for paranormal activity due to the last Viking you had, ‘dad’.” Her voice was teasing, an attempt to lighten the awkward and slightly scary situation the party was currently in.

Grumbling, Astrid, her step-brother shoulder nudged Satinka, obviously frustrated. “Why would you mention our pride so openly, Satinka?!” Astrid attempted to whisper, but for whatever reason darkness carried even the quietest of voices making it fairly easy for the rest of the party to hear. Midas rolled his eyes before finally continuing the conversation with Lorelei.

“Lorelei, I can’t help but notice the tension in your voice…” The potential captain kept a gentleness in his voice as he spoke to the lioness. He wasn’t like others in the pride who’d capture thralls by force if coercion didn’t work. “My party and I will be taking its leave from the area… however, we will be circling back before we join the rest of our Viking party.”

Casp, whose eyes were now partly adjusted to the darkness, stared at the figure he knew to be Midas, wondering what exactly the lion had planned. There was one thing the slightly older lion could say about, Midas, and that was his overall out-of-box thinking and problem solving abilities.

Midas, who had let the lioness digest what he was saying, finally continued, first with an offer followed by an assumption, “If you are still here when we return, I will offer you some of our bounty and safety within our group. I don’t follow the moral code most stormborn have adopted, which surely you have heard of?”

Satinka and Astrid were both frowning, the lioness wasn’t the most pleasant to be around. Why would their adoptive father be ‘wasting’ so much time on her?

“Either way… I can’t blame you for your leeriness. The lands here have probably treated you unkindly… I met someone like you before….” He could still see Hesper in his mind, when he first met her, when she left her children and his and his friends care, and again when the heavens rained hell upon them. “We are actually searching for her now…”

Astrid felt a tug in his chest, now understanding just why his father was spending so much time on the stranger. Sighing, he leaned into Satinka who rested her head on his shoulder. It was now that the young starry male was thankful for the dark. He’d hate for the party to see the tears trickling down his face.

“We don’t try and make things uncomfortable or hide information from others, we have just found time and time again that mentioning we are stormborn makes others uneasy.” Standing, Midas moved closed to the two siblings now, nodding for Casp to follow suit. Taking another look back at the lioness, Midas nodded a goodbye as Casp closed into the party.

“Hope to see you again, Lorelei, however if we don’t cross paths again I wish you a long healthy life.” Turning to face the moon and what little light was produced from the sky, Midas pressed onward towards what he hoped was bigger game. The scent of herding beasts was lingering, which was promising for the group.

Astrid looked at Satinka and smirked, “I won’t screw up this time.” Satinka snickered as her brows knit together in amusement. “We will see about that.” Both stared at each other for a moment before laughing and continuing forward.