A lone lioness traversed the room of dog, deftly avoiding the places that were treacherous and could cause death at a single step. The dull ache in her heart was still there but growing manageable day by day and the lioness found it easier to cut off the emotions at certain points. How? By simply lifting her nose and allowing her senses to fully take over. It was easy to let the lion part of her brain take the driver's seat while she followed the scent of a cave deer. No emotions. No thoughts. Just raw instincts.

Paws flitted silently over the ground while she stalked, the herd of deer were leading her straight towards the Groves which she didn't take a conscious note of. The only thing she bothered to note was her proximity to the deer, the way their ears moved when they thought the heard her, and how her body responded to this information. Clear-blue eyes watched with predatory intent, tail twitched with the anticipation of the kill while the deer lowered their heads to nibble at the short grass.

After a few mental calculations the lioness set off at a run. The startled deer let off an alarm call but it was too late. The lioness leaped and landed full on the back of one of the smaller deer and toppled it to the ground. Quickly she clawed her way to its front and clasped her jaws over its muzzle to cut off its air supply. It was only a few minutes before the deer took its last breathe and lioness was free to eat. The feline did so quickly and only ate a little bit, not wanting to leave her chrysali alone for too long.

---

words: 290
tagged: @Rinaotei
ooc: ---
muse: 5/10

"Talking looks like this!"
"Thinking is this!"

The somewhat underweight lupine who travelled around the caves like she was a dandelion seed drifting freely to wherever the wind decides to take it, finds herself within this new part of the caves. The description of this area seems to match to what other Gembounds referred to as Cetus, while she has heard some rather positive things such as this rather soothing mist she has heard of a disturbing cult within it although there's apparently another group that's to her liking... Who knows what she'll find in this heavy mist. Treading on forward while this mist is nice, she still needs her guard up, some may take advantage of the limits her vision has and jump at her, she can't have that happen.

Moving on towards to what she sees to believe is water she chooses to go in that direction, the distance isn't particularly far so for once she chooses to not dash to it like she always does. Although now that she's getting closer, this water looks a bit... unusual and not in a particularly positive way as she would think when finding something new. By the time she reaches the shore she sees why it wasn't a positive thing, finally looking down for a closer inspection and quickly sniffing it... "Yeah... No... If the tainted sight of it isn't obvious enough, the rancid smell reveals just how bad this water is...” Rina murmurs to herself with this obvious conclusion finally lifting her head back up once again with her eyes closed showing some slight disgust at how revolting it is.

Deciding to turn around and look somewhere else, her ears perked up when hearing what sounded to be something being attacked. She silently walks towards to find the source, she knows that is a bad idea but Rina is a curious one and if she does have an advantage is she gets detected and attempt to go after her. For Rina may be lacking in bulk, but her light weight she has gained from only taking small doses of food since she almost only targets fish & since she's a type of wolf that can eat fruit & veg she tries those as well makes Rina have little weight to carry making her an extremely agile wolf not to add clever as there's some things one can be capable of in a physical environment if they rely on their brain instead of instinct only. Continuing on she sees the source to find a bright sun coloured large feline in her sights, with a dead deer that it was feeding upon. Hm... This is nothing new, though to her surprise she watches this feline finish with its kill with only small amounts to eat, it has barely touched it. “That's fairly wasteful...” she mumbles to herself, she fails to see the logic behind this action if it wanted something small then it should've went after fish, then again she doesn't know if fish are even in this area. Still she can't help but slightly pity that deer it was killed and was eaten only a little, almost like it was a senseless death... Curious she is about this confusing illogical action, however Rina prefers not to cause trouble so she'll continue to keep her distance.

_____________

words| 548
tagged| @Makyna
ooc| ---
muse| 8/10
"Talking looks like this!"
Thinking looks like this...

Like a weight lifter would raise a barbell the lioness did this for the cave deer. It's bald, green body was lifted straight from the ground by its neck with the lion's jaws clasped around it. She would not eat the whole thing here, no, that left her growing children alone for too long so instead she would take the meal with her and eat on it throughout the day. It would save her time later as she wouldn't have to hunt for a while and could sit in the one location while the gemlings grew.

So, with the cave deer dangling from her jaws the lioness began to wander away but stopped with ears raised. Had she heard something? Tassled tail twitched behind her as she looked around but could hardly see a thing in the mist. Except... In the slight distance she could faintly make out a dark shape watching her. With the poor visibility which was offered by the fog she could hardly make out what it was and she certainly couldn't tell whether it was friendly or not. The lioness could feel her hackles raise at the thought of someone watching and trying to attack her while her guard was down.

Should she attack? No... No. She would not attack first, she would not claim another life unless it was absolutely necessary but if it came between the two she knew what she would do as she'd already done it once before. Still, she didn't like the creature staring at her and while she managed to lower her fur into a less-aggressive position she still stared and lifted her head confidently. She was no greenhorn to be frightened off by figures in the distance, even if this figure was here to come after her for Arkrael she would not cower away.

But what about her children?

Well, if it came to that she would certainly kill if necessary.

Not wanting to leave everything up to chance and luck with so much riding on her back the lioness stretched out her mind towards the figure and attempted to communicate... However, her magic bubbled up and then fizzled out, leaving her staring wordlessly at the creature.

A growl of annoyance rumbled up in her throat before she shook her head and dropped the deer. One paw she placed protectively over it before she raised her voice in a rumble that would easily be heard across the distance. "It is unwise to stare from the mists, many foul creatures plot from the shadows." Her voice was not unfriendly as she addressed the mysterious figure. "If you mean no harm then either continue on your way or step forward... if you are attempting to hurt me or plot against me then I will be forced to take action." Again, her voice wasn't aggressive but she certainly was not making idle threats. The days of her being overtly kind to everyone was gone, it was now time to be smart and show that she meant business.

---

words: 505
tagged: @Rinaotei
ooc: ---
muse: 7/10

"Talking looks like this!"
"Thinking is this!"

Continuing to watch Rina witnesses this particular one taking its prize away... Ah well looks like she was merely incorrect, it really wasn’t the best of ideas to eat the kill out in the open where others could claim it as theirs if they wish to have it all of themselves. Well if that's all there is then Rina should just go somewhere else, this water isn't ideal and she wants to explore more new things. Just about to turn away, but then she notices the feline seems to have detected something, What was it? she wonders if there's another presence in this area that Rina is unaware of? Although finally on further inspection Rina sees that this one was staring at her, not surprising really the black parts of her coat must stick out from in this white mist.

Preferring to maintain distance she quietly continues to watch on, running may not be the best after all, that invokes a chase instinct in some. Continuing to look on with half-lidded eyes that were completely calm & neutral she sees the feline lift its head up towards the direction where Rina is standing, causing her tail to twitch & stretch out straight for a brief second with her ears knitting closer together, making her earring swing around slightly. Wait... Is it trying magic? Stepping to the side somewhat, though then she sees that whatever it was intending it was a complete dud leaving it to stare back at Rina again, since she didn't know which spell it was planning to use Rina felt a slight relief.

Watching on she sees this one was irritated and temporarily gives up its kill from the clutches of its jaws but pinning it with one of its paws, perhaps she really shouldn't bother this one... But she listens as this one who sounds female too gave her some advice. Ah... yes irony she really should've thought of that, her black coat are probably the only parts of her that are visible to her so staring like she was some fool in a trance isn't really clever, unless she was hiding somewhere very obscure. She proceeds to respond in the usual tone of her voice that possesses a calm serenity to it, lacking any indication of aggression to the point of being soothing. "Understandable, I have heard of rumours of a foul cult that was established here. Apologies, I may be new here but I really should've known, it's only logical after all..." Listening on to this one, she continues with the usual serene sounding voice in an attempt to ensure nothing negative such as violence comes out of it, Rina despises violence... "I intend no harm, for I am not a fan of violence, reason is my preference, violence just breeds more... But if you wish for me to be gone I shall do so..." Her eyes still half-lidded alongside her calm voice in tow, she does what this one asks of her and steps forward making the slightly underweight wolf easier to see, displaying Rina as one who is the complete opposite of a harmful threat.

_____________

words| 522
tagged| @Makyna
ooc| ---
muse| 7/10

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

The creature, when she spoke, had a quite soothing voice. It was calm, collected and like music on the ears. To a tattered heart like her own it was calming and her twitching tail seemed to still as it washed over her. Visibly she seemed to relax but those blue eyes remained focused on the other just visible in the mists. The lioness made no reply to the "cult" talk as she had heard of the same group when Maji Walezi was still alive. Nothing had ever come of the group, not that she'd heard of anyway, but she wouldn't put it past them... she wouldn't put anything past anyone nowadays. All the lioness said was, "No harm done..." For now and in this instance.

The creature spoke more words, soothing words... meaningless without action to back them up. Was she truly as passive as she said or would she turn on her as soon as she turned her back? If it was the latter then she would be ready. "But here it is sometimes necessary. I wish it were not so but passiveness only goes so far when another is intent on your throat." She spoke like a seasoned vet which in a way was true. The lioness had experienced these sorts of things firsthand even before she'd taken Arkrael's life. The great dragon, Cancer, herself, countless gems that had been mercilessly killed in the caves... the cycle continued on and on. "Stay, if you wish. I do not own Cetus, I own nothing and you can choose to stay or to go. I was merely giving you a fair warning if you meant harm." When she saw the creature, canine... wolf, step out of the mists and clearly into her sight she nearly snarled but bit her tongue and held in the reaction.

Why was she plagued by black wolves? It was like the ghost of Arkrael was haunting her, taunting her for what she'd done. Confess... Confess and tell her that you are one of the terrible beasts you speak of! But she couldn't... As true as it was she wouldn't let the words come out to a complete stranger. A beast she would also not turn into unless pushed as Arkrael had pushed her. Still, unlike the other wolf she'd put down this one was tiny even compared to her own frame. Underweight and what looked like in need of food. Briefly she contemplated sharing... in the past she might have but now...

She would wait.

The lioness lowered her head after she spoke her last words and picked up the deer by its neck again. Her ears angled in the direction she intended to go and was a silent invitation that if the wolf wished to follow then she could. If she wished to then perhaps the lioness could learn more about who she was and why she was here.

---

words: 485
tagged: @Rinaotei
ooc: ---
muse: 7/10

"Talking looks like this!"
"Thinking is this!"

Continuing to look on with her usual stoic expression, waiting to see what this feline decides even though... Ugh... She really does not like to wait, she'll simply have to push through in the end though as her impatience shouldn't be why problems arise. Although from seeing Rina has noticed a slight drop in guard even if the 2 orbs are still staring at her very strongly, even if there was a moment of silence, Rina can see some ease in her so there's some progress, when she finally answers to her this concludes that she is making some slight progress.

...This one continues with their own point of view, speaking of her thoughts how being passive will not end well for her. Oh Rina knows that very much. Rina is just the one who refuses to provoke one with violence, she'll never instigate it herself for she has no reason due to her disapproval of it, in spite of this if one did intent to go for Rina's throat she won't lie there and take it. Her response will be to self-defend since self-defence has reason to it, it's protecting oneself, while yes she dislikes violence & her build says otherwise, she is still no stranger to combat she is a warrior in her own way, having a particularly creative thinking that assists her when rendered no choice to battle & trying to end as fast as possible. Not to add while yes she is underweight it was somewhat generated from the amount of adventures she goes on, that was like her own training & it helped her gain her own experience & cynicism towards reality so much she's desensitized to its horrors, however Rina is stoic so she can handle it. Rina remains silent and leaves this unsaid however, bragging about combat capability is really not smart in this situation, not to add she feels she has already said too much out of her usual comfort zone, she is after all under no obligation that commands her that she must speak more, no matter what others say in regards to that as she really doesn't care.

Listening to her answer on how Rina may stay if she so wishes, closing her eyes she answers quietly "...Very well then.” Leaving out the part on how that kill is technically something the feline owns, but that really isn't warranted. Looking on with her observant eyes though Rina sees that this one was fairly... off-put to her appearance when it came clearer in the felines vision, which lead to a brief tension she sensed although it passed by fairly quickly. When the feline decides to return to wherever she came from and sees that she's been invited, while she in a way can have other things to do, sadly due to her adventurous spirit of this young wolf has been made a bit too curious, so she decides to quietly follow along, with a slight distance between them since she is someone who needs to show that she has no intention to go with violence or harm in general, getting too close from behind may give the incorrect indication otherwise.

_____________

words| 529
tagged| @Makyna
ooc| Sorry if this was slow I fell asleep ^^ ;
muse| 8/10

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

The lioness at first wondered if the wolfess would be on her way or if she would have the company. It seemed that the latter would be true as the she-wolf fell into step behind her. The golden cat kept one ear cocked towards the gal as a way to show that she was listening should she say anything, it was also a precautionary measure just in case a sneak attack was launched on her. In an instant she would be able to react no matter what happened. There was also another measure she placed...

When she'd tried a spell before it had peetered out and failed but now as she tapped into the magicka held within her gem she felt it bubble up and pool out like a freshly tapped spring. Soundlessly, wordlessly she pushed the magic towards the wolf and without using any words she communicated. In this way she could keep from having to talk around or drop the deer when she spoke with the canine. It would also keep them from walking in complete silence as she would like to get to know the gal. For now she was just wandering Cetus, going in no particular direction. No need to lead a potential aggressor back to her chrysali. "Who are you, she-wolf? I have wandered the caves for many cycles and our paths have never crossed." And yet this one was fully grown, curious that. Perhaps the caves were just bigger than she'd previously anticipated or perhaps something else had gone on in the "big sleep" or whatever the gems were calling it. Why had some woken up in that period and others... like her own husband who still lay dormant.

Or dead...

Or what if he's just avoiding you?

That second thought briefly had her reeling and she shook her head to clear it lest those doubts creep over through the temporary link she'd created with the wolf.

Instead of focusing any more on those self-destructive thoughts she projected something else, "Think what you want to say and I will hear it." The lioness informed the wolf, if she hadn't already guessed or inadvertently done so.

---

words: 361
tagged: @Rinaotei
ooc: ---
muse: 6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
"Thinking is this!"

The tread on following the feline was a silent one, for while yes she can see that the lioness has her ear pointing in her direction she won't be saying anything as the big cat in front of her does have her mouth full. After all it was either speak and have to wait for a response, Rina is already quiet enough and doesn't see the point of speaking now if she needs to wait for response. That or the feline will have to drop this deer again to respond which makes reaching wherever their destination is a little longer and sitting around isn't her thing either. So either way if she speaks now she'll have to wait, which she really does not like to do.

Although in these thoughts and deciding to not speak now, she hears a voice just like the feline's asking her questions in her mind, remembering from her travels and research made her realize the lioness is an Arcane and is speaking to her through the mind. Huh, this will definitely make things a bit more convenient, no need to wait which is really nice. Listening to the older one's questions she uses her own mind to respond to them "Ah, the name is Rinaotei. Yes, it is understandable how we have never crossed paths until now, I'm a lone wolf and I usually just spend my time going to different parts of the caves in seeing what I can discover, some strange desire for adventure I possess... Due to that I'm never in the same place for too long."

In some silence after her first phrase she waits for the thoughts to go through the lioness' mind to see how things turn out. With her statement to think what Rina wishes to say, Rina thinks again for the communication "Will do so." Now she just needs to wait for a reply.

_____________

words| 317
tagged| @Makyna
ooc| ---
muse| 8/10

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

Ah, it seemed as if this wolf was not a stranger to the Arcane. There had been many reactions she'd gauged to her magic, some good and some bad, a lot of gembounds found that the sudden contact of the mind was startling and too alien for comfort. They did not know that she didn't pry into the mind where she wanted... she wasn't even sure if she could really do that. Never before had she ever forced herself into the intimate thoughts of others to guzzle their secrets like some sort of mind leech. The thought was unappealing to her and even in her state of mind now she knew she wouldn't do so unless absolutely necessary. There was just something about someone's mind, an unspoken rule, that you shouldn't pry where you weren't wanted.

"Ah, adventure... I used to love adventuring when I was younger." But once you'd been once around the caves you saw that there wasn't much else to see. But, this also explained why she never saw the wolf before. Living in Pisces she only went out for hunting and on the off chance that she wanted to go out to meet new gems or go to an event. "Unlike you though, I was never a loner until recently." Although she knew what everyone was deep down she actually missed being around others. The thought twinkled in her mind to make a new place for others to join her. "In any case, it is nice to meet you Rinaotei. I'd give you my name but I no longer have one... so call me what you will." "Makyna" just didn't seem to fit her anymore. It belonged to a different lion from a different time.

As far as she was concerned that lioness was dead.

---

words: 299
tagged: @Rinaotei
ooc: Going to assume because she rolled a success once and hasn't broken the contact that the spell/mind bridging is still in tact, if this is wrong please let me know and I will change it.
muse: 6/10

"Talking looks like this!"
"Thinking is this!"

Constant travelling and her curiosity, not to add just being one who prefers to improve her brains over power she has researched about some of the various different magicika that is in this world. Even if that wasn't the case, while yes some other Gembounds will react negatively she's a bit different and it'll take a lot more than this to make Rina lose her composure, if she was unaware she'd most likely ask some things to sate her curiosity. While she herself doesn't know about the level one can read minds, she's a Water user after all she probably doesn't have to worry about that either if she's still composed then it'll be easy to get thoughts that she wants to keep to herself to be temporarily silent.

"There is be something fascinating about it when finding new things..." Although she does wonder about when she has seen everything... It's almost like an open world video game in here you can find lots of new things on your own, and yet with the apparition of Glaciate recently being a part of her arsenal of spells now she has seen some new things she never found till recently. Who knows really... maybe she can find some more things when she learns more spells. "Huh..." she thinks quietly in response to how this lioness is a loner now. With the topic of names now back, Rina does admit she is a little curious about not possessing one anymore however it is not her place to violate this one's privacy so she'll just give her response "Very well then lioness I'll probably think of one soon... Speaking as- well more thinking as someone who prefers to be referred to as 'Rina' more than 'Rinaotei'. So alright then."

_____________

words| 295
tagged| @Makyna
ooc| ---
muse| 6/10

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