ORIGIN

She traveled onwards, aimlessly now, looking for something --she didn't know what-- but something that she could latch onto. First it was one of the gems she failed to look after, Niru, and then another had come out of the woodworks. So, everyone wasn't dead... just the one that she'd pledged her soul to...

And the one she murdered.

The lioness shivered under her fur as if a sudden breeze had erupted from the enclosed caverns but she knew the reason why she trembled. Blue eyes turned to the flickering lights at the corner of her eyes. She must be nearing Orion, a place that held memories but not nearly as many as Pisces. There she could never return to, not until everything was back to the way it was and --pfft-- that would never happen. One could not undo the past, not until the caves split beneath their paws and the skys shone above them. In other words...

Never.

Her eyes squeezed shut as she drew to a stop, head lowering as she stared at the ground. If only she could live as a cave deer, never having to think and know pain... Wouldn't that be nice. Ears twitched as a she heard a new sound behind her, what was that? Water? Walking? Bugs crawling? Who knew?

Who cared?

---

Narrow passageways rarely seemed welcoming, but today, the wolf felt excessively venturous. There wasn't a time he could recall having actually left Polaris, thus today seemed like as good a time as any. He bounded through the little tunnel, taking a tumble now and then as he grazed rocks like the overgrown clutz that he was. That pup in him had yet to pack up and leave, even if age brought some rather unusual feelings. For now, though, those feelings were on break and he was - for all intents and purposes - himself.

The large brute took a heaving jump over a boulder, which ended rather... pitifully. He collided with something, rolling away with plenty of bruises and welts under his thick black coat. There was a mild yelping, but it dissolved into useless laughter than filled the caves like water. After picking himself up off the ground and shaking the fall off, Menzier took a peek at his surroundings, curious of what he might find after nearly killing himself over a boulder.

----

"Speech." Thoughts.
"To Damian From Damian

OOC: words
Tag: @Makyna

Perhaps she should have cared when the sound began to increase in volume until she found that it was right upon her. Not just in a metaphorical sense but quite literally upon her. One moment she had her head bowed staring unseeingly at the ground then the next she found herself run over by something rather large. Was she being attacked? Had the thing that Arkrael had mothered finally caught up to her? Foolish! She was downright foolish! Why did she not think that the wolf's child would seek revenge?!

With a snarl the lioness was back on her feet from where she'd been bowled over. Surprisingly enough instead of being apologetic and try to seek sympathy from Arkrael's spawn she felt a surge of defiance within her. If Arkrael had fought her with no remorse then that meant her child would fight even harder for revenge! While she deserved nothing more than to feel fangs at her throat the lioness would not let it happen, no, not that easily. Life was far too precious for her to roll over and be killed.

When she rose into a crouch with claws unsheathed and paws spread apart for balance she saw through her slitted blue eyes the form of a black wolf. At first she felt a surge of panic because this surely must be Arkrael back from the dead --stranger things had happened here-- but no, this one had a strange gem on its forehead as if it were mocking her own. The wolf wasn't snarling but who else could this creature be from than the one she'd killed? It was almost the spitting image of her once-friend.

With her fangs bared she hissed through clenched fangs, "So, have you finally found me? Have you come to put me in the ground for what I did to your mother?" The vehemence in her words shocked her but this was what she'd come to now... Fighting first and asking questions later.

That's how it was in these caves now.

---

Turns out it hadn't been a thing, but rather a she! A big cat! He'd observed other cats from afar, but she was the first up close. It was all tail wags for him until it really dawned on him what he posture suggested. Thankfully she didn't swing first and ask later. An apologetic expression crossed his face until those words rolled out from her mouth and seemingly fell flat onto the ground in front of him. Was this woman... delusional?

With a dramatic tilt of his head, he replied with no amount of grace, "Wait, what?"

Those words felt to have fallen flat on the ground as well, utter confusion permeating the air worse than the musk of moss. The question marks were practically visible above his head and would of been flashing like neon signs had they really existed there. The only one he'd ever socialized with outside of Damian and she was fucking bonkers. Great.

"Uhh... my name is Menzier and, well, I never had a mother. I'll, uhm, not ask about the other person's mother though. Not my business, really. Oh! And sorry for the tumble, I'm not named Gracie for a reason."

The big black mass perched up on his haunches, glowing green eyes resembling the gem between them. It was still in his sub-conscious how he looked to have three eyes. That fear that suppressed him was horrifying and the self-loathing bloomed quicker than blood from prey. Luckily it wasn't too fresh on his mind, finding a new person to maybe try acquainting himself with (regardless of how many marbles she might be missing).

----

"Speech." Thoughts.
"To Damian From Damian

OOC: words
Tag: @Makyna

The lioness' mouth remained pulled back from her fangs even when the wolf seemed to feign ignorance. Except... He didn't seem to be faking anything, just genuinely confused at her words. Did she have the wrong wolf? It could be quite possible, wolves were never rare in the caves so this one could just have an uncanny resemblance to Arkrael. Now that she thought about it... The voice which had come after her foul deed did not match this one's.

Oh no...

Makyna's ears pushed themselves forward in a far less aggressive posture while her claws began to sheathe. He certainly had some manners, far more manners than someone who was out seeking revenge for a fallen parent. No. This one was indeed completely unrelated to the entire situation. He even sounded as if the cave had yet to taint him...

Pity.

The lioness rose out of her crouched posture as her brow began to furrow before she turned her head away, obviously embarrassed at the misunderstanding. "Indeed." Was all she said at first, seemingly at a loss for words as she shook her head. "Forgive me, Menzier. I'm not as I once was." No name was offered as she truly didn't feel that she had one now, not since all of the events that occurred. Her eyes met his now as she looked into them as if seeking for something, perhaps the depth of naivete or some sort of sign of his taint but she was no mind reader...

Not unless she wanted to invade his privacy with her magick... but no, it was not worth it at this point in time.

Finally she broke the contact and stared instead at a spot behind him, not wanting to stare anymore into a face that was once like her own. "It's best if you didn't ask, the answer might ruin you... then again, the cave eventually ruins everyone either physically or emotionally." Her words were spoken with a defeated sigh because she knew her words held an unfortunate depth of truth.

---

The feline was quite the odd one. How was he to know who she ever was or was not? The wolf mentally shrugged it off, finding that her following statement was very dark. His head did a dramatic tilt to the other side, bright eyes full of anticipation. Although she was right, he had yet to truly understand or know of any dark corners in these caves. The sentence gave him a chill, fur fluffing around his cheeks a bit before his jaw dropped and tongue lolled out, panting ensuing.

"Well, that sounds... unpleasant. What's your name, anyway? Paranoico maybe?"

Argh, why you gotta be so mean, Menzier, she's just confused.

The wolf closed his mouth, teeth gently clicking together. He seemed to contemplate the idea of what to call her, then it was whisked away with the stale breeze of the cave.

----

"Speech." Thoughts.
"To Damian From Damian

OOC: words
Tag: @Makyna

Unpleasant? That was the understatement of the century but even she could not think of an appropriate word to describe it beyond that so she supposed "unpleasant" would have to do. At his inquiry of her name the lioness inwardly flinched. Her name? Makyna? No... She was no Makyna no longer, everything about her past needed to stay that way. She was a nameless creature, floating along the wind at the whims of the cave. Until everything went back to the way it was she would no longer go by that name. At his little "joke" or whatever it was --Makyna cared not if he was trying to insult her or not for what did insults matter at the face of the entire destruction of her family? -- she gave an unamused snort before turning those sad blue eyes to look into his green ones.

"Perhaps... Call me what you wish for I bear no name any longer." Truly, anything he wanted to give to her she would take. For now she was simply the lion or the nameless one, perhaps she'd think of something permanent later... perhaps she'd go with whatever he said but she couldn't take something from happier days. It only made her sad to think about.

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