ORIGIN

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The white lion cub was asleep, fast asleep, for the first time since his hatching. He was curled into a crevice in the stone, his breathing rattling ever-so-slightly in a faint but audible snore, likely due to his strange position: his head curled beneath his body, paws covering the sides of his face. It left him looking like a tiny lump of white fur, aside from the blood.

He hadn't had a meal, yet. Hadn't eaten. His mind was far from here, far from the angry stag that had been at his hatching and guided him with a firm hoof. Instead, Beast had other dreams: dreams of a cave of pale blue that extended as far as the eye could see, with soft green long meadow-grass flowing underfoot, tousled by a gentle breeze. A bright golden light shone down on it all, and the song of birds and distant flow of water added only peace to the empty scene. Beast sat, joy filling his heart, looking around with half-lidded eyes and a gentle purr as he took in this paradise.

Back in reality, he was cold, shivering a little, and his tiny stomach rumbled. A laceration torn by Vazi's antler tines left blood matted and stained over his flank, ribs and chest, the scent picked up and carried through the air all around him.

Vazi had been shouting at him to leave, to get something, but Beast didn't quite comprehend language and Vazi certainly hadn't been teaching him. Not yet, anyway. He'd been screaming about berries, quite a lot, and something called "food" which made Beast's stomach eat at him--but he wasn't quite sure what that meant.

For now, the white cub had a brief and merciful respite, a moment of peace in a life thus far plagued by violence.

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@Hasira

VAZI HASIRA

"shattered innocence"

After he'd left Malakai, left him to do whatever the little one wanted he'd set off to find the thing. That stupid thing which had yet to come back with the desired food. It infuriated him, burned his gut. So, he'd set off and followed the scent of blood to the spot a nearby spot where he found the creature sleeping. At first his rage had boiled even more, coloring his gemstone a livid crimson until he all at once relaxed. Perhaps... Perhaps the thing didn't know what he wanted of him. Since hatching the creature had shown very limited knowledge and no speaking at all.

Perhaps... He should show it.

"You! Filthy thing! Up! Get up now!" He barked sharply. He waited a moment for the beast to rise while he studied it. There was a new scar across his body and Vazi was happy for it. It helped to calm the rising pool of emotions in him that likened this unworthy imposter to Wynry. Ugh... The white fur and his sounds. He hated them.. Hated them, hated them...

He glowered down at the beast and finally said. "Do you know what I asked of you?" His voice though sharp was surprisingly calm for once... or for what it could have been for disobedience. After all, if it was disobedience borne from ignorance perhaps he could be a little more understanding. So long as it didn't happen again.

words: 239
tagged: @Beast
ooc: ---
muse: 5/10

"Talking looks like this."
Thinking looks like this...

Beast awoke abruptly, jerking and thumping into the side of the little alcove he was in and then turning, blinking bleary eyes toward the open air of Orion. As his vision cleared, his third eyelids slowly retracting, he realized that he was staring a long, slender brown legs.

Stag's legs.

Vazi's legs.

With a start the white lion cub jerked again, trembling back and flattening ears against his head in fear--but it seemed he wasn't being pursued, wasn't going to be attacked. Instead, Vazi was speaking to him, questioning him. He didn't understand the words, exactly, but he understood the tone, so he thought maybe he should listen closely.

Beast crawled forth from his space, limping a little where the antlers had grazed across his shoulder, and slowly sat to peer up at Vazi.

Do you know what I asked of you.

Beast listened, and thought. His mind worked the sounds over, the nonsense syllables, and some distant memory in his mind latched on and struggled to make sense of it. Do you know...

The cub curled his short tail slowly around his haunches, then blinked at Vazi, struggling to form his answer.

"N-... No...?"

______________

@Hasira

VAZI HASIRA

"shattered innocence"

His ears tilted forward at first then pinned when the meek word was spoken. "Speak up!" He growled but despite his command he'd heard it. His ears raised once more to perk towards the little cub then towards the left as his head slowly followed. He peered around and with his height over the cub was able to see something of interest in the distance. "Follow me." He commanded.

He walked away, stilt-like legs carrying him gracefully over the ground. He stopped finally when he was a few feet away from a large bush laden with blue berries. He considered them for a moment then tilted his antlers towards the bush. "These and things like them are berries. Get it, fool? Berries!" He stepped to the side so that the lion could come up and take a better look at them. "From this day forward you will go out and collect these and the leaves from around the berries. After you collect them you will place them at the throne for my and any other herbivore's easy consumption." He sneered at the cub. "Get it now, simpleton?"

words: 187
tagged: @Beast
ooc: ---
muse: 5/10

"Talking looks like this."
Thinking looks like this...

Beast shrunk back as he was shouted at, wincing, then--as Vazi began to stalk away--he followed, head bowed and hindquarters low. He was practically cowering as the stag stopped, speaking in overly-complicated words that the young one couldn't understand, something about--berries. Berries.

Were these things berries?

Beast looked at the stag's stern face, then shifted uneasily beneath his gaze and instead approached the bush, tentatively sniffing at the berries. They were large, and blue, and rather pretty, all in all; but what did Vazi want him to do with them?

His stomach growled again, and Beast immediately wondered if perhaps these berries were any good to eat. He opened his jaws, delicately plucking one from the bush, biting into it and feeling the juices flow over his tongue--and then winced and spat it back out, wrinkling up his snout.

No, this wasn't food.

With a plaintive mewl he sat back on his haunches--then immediately flinched away, scrambling sideways and away from Vazi, expecting the lash of a hoof.

Vazi didn't like his mewls.

He was learning.

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@Hasira

VAZI HASIRA

"shattered innocence"

Vazi watched as the cub evaluated the bush, sniffing and finally taking a bite from it. Before he could chastise the cub for eating before his superiors he was already spitting it back out. The nerve! The stag lashed out with one of his hooves but the cub was already hopping away to dodge the blow. The gem at his chest glowed red as he narrowed his eyes at the hapless cub, looking quite insane. That was three infringements in one... It did not look good for the white cub.

"You insolent brat! First of all you better be thankful for the food you are getting because if you do not eat it then tough luck! Catching prey is evil and eating meat is as well! You will never taste meat so long as you live with me! While we are on the subject of eating you will not eat before you have collected your rations for the day! Are you listening? YOU WILL NEVER EAT BEFORE I DO AGAIN! Also..." He stepped forward and suddenly lashed out with his antlers, not intending to gore the cub with the sharp ends but hit him with the side of his brow tines."If I want to hit you then I will do so! You do not dodge and you do not move out of the way! If you do I will hit you again for each time you manage to dodge!" He snorted, eyes angrily staring down at the cub as he looked for a flicker of recognition. Anything. That would show the cub understood him.

words: 264
tagged: @Beast
ooc: ---
muse: 5/10

"Talking looks like this."
Thinking looks like this...

Beast let out a soft squeal and pulled away as he was struck, limping back a bit and cowering down.

What did I do wrong?!

He remained trembling for a moment, eyes squeezed shut and body half-flattened, as if expecting to be struck again. When no hit came he opened his eyes a crack, and he could see Vazi standing, Vazi's legs. When he dared to glance higher, he saw the stag staring down at him.

Waiting.

But for what?

The cub's mind was somewhat fuzzy. He'd endured constant fear since his hatching, and now a bit of blood loss, and he was ravenous to boot. But he knew he'd some something wrong. The berries were to be avoided--he could see that, now. They'd tasted terrible--maybe that's what his guide was trying to impress upon him? That they were poisonous...?

Beast stared at the berries for awhile, summoning the courage to speak--to try and speak. To try to do anything, risking being struck again, being torn, being kicked, or stomped. His voice was shaking and soft, again--after all, Vazi had hit him, last time he'd dared speak--as he tried to ask a question.

"Berr--ies... Bad?" he tried, glancing up at Vazi. His fear was verging on terror, now; maybe lions couldn't cry, but this one seemed very close, water filling his large, wide eyes. The stag would strike out at him again, he was sure of it.

He had to avoid the berries. Surely that was the lesson the stag wanted him to learn?

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@Hasira

VAZI HASIRA

"shattered innocence"

Vazi stared down at the cringing creature, eyes boring hatred into his tiny form. What didn't this idiot get? Could he not understand words? Was he that stupid? Yelling wasn't working. He just seemed to learn bad behavior. He was just so stupid! Angered the stag snorted, raised a hoof to stomp the cub but lowered it again. Instead he let out an annoyed bark and began to pace back and forth in front of the cub. Yelling and beating wasn't working...

He stopped and glared at the white cub, ears pinned and nostrils flaring. "No, idiot." He said through clenched teeth. Patience. Would patience work? Patience to teach the idiotic creature... Patience to wait for troops... Patience to kill his enemies... Calm. Cool. Collected. He could do that. He took a breath then looked at the bush. He grabbed a few berries in his mouth and dropped them in front of Beast. Collected. "Berries. Good. Eat." He was no longer clenching his teeth and hissing through them but his words were still rough. He hated this thing. Hated having to be patient... But patient he would attempt to be. He would see if that got results instead.

words: 194
tagged: @Beast
ooc: ---
muse: 5/10

"Talking looks like this."
Thinking looks like this...

Beast listened quietly. He'd flinched away when Vazi lifted his hoof--but calmed when it lowered, raising his ears and sitting half back upright again to listen once more.

Idiot? Is that my name, too? he wondered, ignorant in his innocence. Berries are good... to eat?

Beast hesitated. He looked down at the pretty, blue berries. He didn't like the taste; he didn't want to eat them. Was Vazi mocking him? He glanced up uncertainly at the stag, then back down. No... he didn't look amused. Was this a test, then? He'd been struck the last time he'd eaten one. So maybe he wasn't meant to. Yet surely Vazi had brought him here for a reason.

Beast gathered first his courage, and then--with some effort--his words. He didn't know how to speak, fully; he couldn't understand half of the impressive words that his stag guardian rattled off with such ease. But a few words, here and there, seemed to come back to him at times like long-forgotten memory, and right now he had to sift and search and choose, finding one that would fit. Finally he opened his mouth, staring at the small, bright blue orbs as he did, concentrating on the words.

"Berries. Good. Eat. ...Now?"

He'd repeated what Vazi said, and then clarified, adding the "now" as his question. Was he meant to eat them now? Was he meant to do something else? Wait for something?

He feared acting without asking first... yet even as he spoke, he found that he feared even that. The wrong words, he knew, might bring violence just as much as the wrong actions--and so, after speaking, he squeezed his eyes shut and tensed, waiting for his punishment.

______________

@Hasira

VAZI HASIRA

"shattered innocence"

Progress. The cub seemed to comprehend the simple things. Would he have to speak so plainly his entire life? Well... He was a carnivore. Still, he seemed to learn and he even asked first. A reward for asking? Perhaps he should. The stag lowered his head but instead of striking him he reached forward and touched the cub on the forehead, gently. He could strike or he would reward, the power was in his hooves. "Berries, good, yes." More simple words for his simple mind. "Good, you ask first, good. Always, ask." He lifted his head, smug that his little training session was working. Patience. That was key. "Eat now." Another reward.

words: 194
tagged: @Beast
ooc: ---
muse: 5/10

"Talking looks like this."
Thinking looks like this...

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Mercy

Hasira

Mercy

Hasira

Mercy

Hasira

Mercy

Hasira

Mercy

Hasira