[PRP] Company

[Polette]

It had been awhile since Siiri had taken a nighttime stroll. She had almost forgotten how pleasant and calming they could be. Things had been so hectic, everyone had been caught up in so much chaos, and Siiri had barely had any time alone to take a breather. So tonight, she'd decided she stay up and enjoy the company of the night sky and the quiet lands. Sure, there were some still awake, but it was no where near as bustling as during the day.

As she walked, she would smile and nod at the odd passerby, but otherwise didn't say much. She padded calmly along, taking a slow pace as she took moments to look at the night sky.

Ctrl F Greenie

(( wow this is not my best moment ))

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

The sun had set yet again and as with many other evenings its beauty was lost on the lioness that walked the beaten paths of the Stormborn. Makuu couldn't settle for the night as with most nights, and decided that a walk might help to clear her mind. She had thought that with time her raw feelings of hate and anger alongside despair would pass, but every single individual who told her that was either wrong or didn't tell her it would take nearly a lifetime.

So she found her way to a spot she'd been before. A lone tree along one of the less used paths that was large enough to lean against, but allowed bits of the moonlight to trickle through it's leaves. Most often folks left her alone, most likely due to her lineage, and she expected this night to be no different.

"I wonder if the forest will show her to me tonight." Makuu had taken to wandering, so much so that she had wandered to the forest nearby. It was notably haunted and she shared the same feelings for it as most Stormborn children did - do not enter. Recently, in one of her passings, she could have sworn she saw her mother in the shadows of that same forest. But she didn't dare to enter it.  

[Polette]

Siiri had been rather absent-minded in her night wanderings, and had found herself heading towards a place she had never been near - towards the forest. Her mother had never wanted her wandering near it when she was younger. She had stayed away until now, but it seemed fascinating now that she was headed towards it.

But, old fears rung true, and Siiri didn't venture too close. As her eyes ran along it, though, she caught sight of a figure. It was dark, and shadowy, and if it wasn't for the splash of red she probably would've just thought that it was a figment of her imagination. Her eyes squinted, and she wondered who it could be. Against her instincts, she took a few steps closer, but kept her eyes aware of the impending treeline.

"C-careful..." She almost didn't utter the words, but she worried that the other was getting too close. Perhaps she was just being overly cautious, but her bones said that no one should get too close.

 

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Lost in thought and memories she nearly didn't hear the words of warning. 'C-Careful...' The word itself seemed to whisper to her in a haunted fashion and she lifted her bright pink eyes, a beautiful trait of her mothers, to find a lioness - pale as the moonlight itself - standing a cautious distance from her and the forests edge.

The word of warning told Makuu one thing - the lioness grew up here.

"I'll be fine." Makuu callously replied back to the lioness while turning her gaze back to the forest. Her reaction probably wasn't warranted, the sudden company was just being wary, as most were. "The forest isn't going to harm anyone, in fact it holds gifts." She forced a much sweeter tone to surface and even made an attempt to make eye contact.

"Have you ever been near enough to hear the whispers?" Based on the caution the other was showing Makuu had to guess the answer would be no, but she pressed the subject anyway. "It's really beautiful if you give it a chance." She wanted to silently smack herself for sounding like a viking lost to the sirens - curse them.  

[Polette]

Siiri wasn't sure whether she should approach or not. She wasn't sure whether the lioness wanted company - but her words intrigued Siiri.

"Gifts?" She took a few steps closer. If the lioness didn't want company, she was going to get it, at least for a few moments. She hadn't ever heard anyone say such things about the forest - what kind of view did she hold of it?

"Whispers?" Her brow was slightly nervously furrowed, and her eyes kept glancing at the treeline as she approached. "This is the closest I've ever been, actually." Did this lioness come here often? It seemed so odd, to frequent such a frightening place.

"But you...you come here often?" She wasn't sure what kind of lioness she was talking to, if she was saying such things about the forest.

 

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"Yes."

Makuu didn't make any move to wave her away as the lioness approached, in fact she seemed eager to share in the possible joys that the forest could offer. "Yes, gifts and whispers." Repeating the words made her feel wonderful. This is what she needed, to share the story.

"I come here infrequently, but frequently enough to see what there is to see." Makuu mused out loud to answer (kind of) the questions that the lioness had. "I never used to come here, like you I had a healthy fear of the woods." Admitting this made her shiver, the stories they had been told were likely very similar to those that the lioness with her were told. "From birth my..." She paused briefly in inhaled. "My mother told us about these woods. They were not to be provoked, or taunted, and that they held the souls of lost vikings."

"Those were old wives tales I'm learning." She said, sadly, and her gaze flickered between the lioness and the woods once again. "Now it holds her soul." Makuu let her eyes drop to the ground. She couldn't think of the day that tragedy stole her mother from her. Of course it was always a possibility and the debate was whether or not she fought honorably. There wasn't a doubt that she died in battle though. Her brow furrowed as she considered the new Warlord.

"How could a place so haunted have her?" Makuu cringed slightly at her own question and finally returned her gaze to the lioness as though the question was posed for her.  

[Polette]

"How nostalgic..." Siiri could remember the tales. All the cubs knew them. It almost seemed silly to keep believing in them as an adult, but everyone did. And she was no different. As she listened, her eyes kept glancing over, never able to stay off the treeline for too long.

"Someone you know?" Most of them knew someone who had died valiantly, though some definitely had closer connections than others. Siiri had been lucky, not losing anyone too close to her. But this lioness sounded pained, and Siiri hurt for her.

She took steps closer, wanting to be a brave comfort for this lioness. "Perhaps...the souls are just still in battle." Siiri wasn't sure what to say; the forest still intimidated her, but she knew the parts of the stories about the lost souls being here, and that didn't sound so bad.

 

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Relief washed over her in an odd way. The lioness was oblivious to her lineage and that granted her the freedom to speak without judgement. No eyes gazing at her in pity or wondering what stunt might be pulled if she was given the chance. Unable to grieve in peace had given her the idea to leave, but then she saw her mothers gaze staring back at her from the forest. That had put a stop to her plans, but they always lingered in the back of her mind.

"Someone very dear to me, yes." Makuu answered this quietly and didn't dare to provide any details. In silence she offered thanks to the Stormlords above that the marking she bore on her flank was nearly as dark as her pelt. This hid the paw print slapped onto her pelt during the dark night. "You could be right, she wasn't one to back down from a fight. Perhaps she is leading some sort of war among the ghosts that haunt the forest." She sighed softly. "Stormlords know that the souls likely have more to fight about than the living." The light danced over the forest and a breeze shook the leaves of the trees.

"Perhaps those were the whispers I heard too." Makuu didn't believe those words for a second. She could still hear her mothers voice. You don't know this yet, but everything is fine. They were words of comfort that had echoed in her head time and time again. They were simple and nearly comforting, but not entirely, as she was still gone.

"Would you ever go in?" The question hit her suddenly and she couldn't stop herself from asking it. "I've always wondered what would happen."  

[Polette]

"I'm sorry for that. They must have been valiant." Siiri tried to be comforting to this stranger. She let her eyes return to the forest, considering it in a slightly different light. It wouldn't surprise her if viking spirits were restless - after all, it was in their nature to be passionate, unrelenting.

It was hard for Siiri to truly empathize. She had never heard anything from the forest, never considered it more than what she'd heard from her mother when she was a cub. Perhaps it was a symptom of such loss that this lioness was finding whispers and comfort in something so haunting. After all, if the soul of someone she loved resided within, she'd probably look at it in a different light.

"I...I'm not sure." Siiri dropped her head, looking at her paws. As it stood presently, she didn't think she could ever step foot in there. "Are you planning on going in?" Her eyes returned to the dark lioness, and she had some concern for her. If she went in, would something terrible happen to her?

 

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The comfort was well received and Makuu felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips. "They were." She replied and decided to pull herself away from the tree to be closer to the stranger. "They have been and will always be an inspiration." Her eyes glistened lightly as she stared hard into the forest.

"I do plan to eventually go in, but probably not today. I want to wait until I see her image once again, then I may follow it." Makuu wondered if she would see her mother in the forest one day. Or perhaps that sighting had been a coincidence. "My only fear is that if I go in there, unguided, that I will end up a lost soul in a physical form and I'm not sure what happens to those who end up like that." Another spine tingling shiver crept down her back and left her trembling for a quick second before she was able to get herself under control again.

"Until I see something to push me that way, I won't enter, and I hope that you won't soon be considering these things. They tell you that it is honorable to die in battle, this is always our goal, but they don't discuss the mourning period of those left behind when the battle is gone." She closed her eyes briefly. "Or I suppose they do, but you don't know until you suffer a loss." Makuu hadn't sat down when she moved closer, her heart began to feel the weight of her loss once again.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone for a while." She moved back to the tree and sat down, eyes glued to the forest in front of her.  

[Polette]

"I'm glad you were able to have someone like that in your life." Siiri smiled, feeling herself slightly relaxed for the first time since being this close to the forest. "I hope the spirit only guides you." She didn't dare mention anything further - she feared that any spirits might wish harm on those who entered. She was glad that the lioness would stay away for now, but she couldn't help but feel a sense of impending danger. But perhaps that was just her biased viewpoint.

"I think I'll keep my distance." She let a small smile creep up, but it didn't look overly joyous. She was grateful that she hadn't suffered a loss like this lioness had, pushing her towards this mythic place.

"Oh, of...of course." She offered a soft smile, dipping her head slightly to respect the other's wishes. She could feel the pain coming off of her, and she wanted to give her the spaced she so desired. At least, she could rest easy knowing she wasn't about to wander into the forest. "I wish you well on this night." Siiri gave one final parting before turning to head back on her way. She paused for a moment a few paces away, glancing back at the lioness, but then continued on.