this is unlike me.

11-23-2020, 08:48 PM - Word count:

Helayne,

Lioness of Prideless

Played by violetta

helayne wondered if this was insanity. if she was mentally weak and imagined the event like the nervous wreck that she was. it kept running through her head. again, and again. the rock beneath the lioness' paws cracked open like a delicate egg. she was sucked in. helly had yet to see her again. that happened, she knew it did. but, the woman didn't even pause to see if there was shock on anyone else's faces, she ran, as fast as possible to escape what could've happened only in her head.

and yet, her paw pads still tingled. her muscles still quivered with the force of those vibrations. the evidence was in her shivering body. for the last few hours, she was only focused on escape; helayne scaled-down Mount Crescentia far quicker than she went up. her rushed steps sent her past the catacombs, she spared nothing but a glance for the pitch-black descent — as if she was foolish enough to go down there — it didn't even cross her mind that the challenger might've been sucked down there. in her mind, the other lioness was dead.

dead, not dead, oh no. she gasped, a shuddery breath that seemed to get stuck in her throat. perched on the edge of water, hela stared into the unrealistically blue water. a reflection of the sky? it was gloomy today, and yet the water seemed so clear. so fresh. she waded a few feet into the lake, letting the cool relax her tense muscles. it sunk into her curls, made her fur feel weighted, heavy. heavier than her panicked thoughts. another breath, her eyes closed, her quarters sat in the deep water - it was up to her shoulders. the woman cared little for her surroundings, this was her temporary peace. would she be allowed to enjoy it?

set a few hours after 'unwakeable'
@Cairidan

Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash

11-24-2020, 02:55 PM - Word count:

Cairidan,

Lion of Prideless

Played by dusk

The gloominess of an Aesseldaren winter provided little comfort. Cairidan remembered the days of his youth, wide-eyed and peering out across the meadows dusted in blistery white. The jungle had been sheltered from the bitter wind, tangling canopies of vines steadfast against the onslaught of snow weighing down on her gnarled, tangled vines. The glistening blue flowers that bloomed around his paws began to fade, shriveling yet not quite dying—as if they were sleeping. And above all, Cairidan could remember the silence. Each word, each last call of birds as they swept across the sky to head for southwardly lands, muffled by the snow that littered the ground as if it were hungry for every conversation.

Here, the lake still shimmered. The sky was not nearly as pregnant with snow, though its gloomy overcast mimicked an enlightened night. As he trailed across the line of the shore, where snow had not quite touched, he could hear the boisterous yet muffled bantering of the pride that lived along its massive shore, distant yet distinct, completely avoidable. Cairidan turned in the other direction, and began to follow the shoreline where it lead to blissful silence. But even that silence, too, was swiftly razed by gentle heaving breaths, panicked, frightened, a tamponade reminiscent to sweet little sobs. And yet, as he approached, the silhouette's shoulders did not tremble the way a did when a lioness cried.

She sat there, staring into the glistening lake, just as Cairidan himself had done now countless time. Except, unlike the beast approaching, she had submerged herself into the water, allowing its brutal cold to swallow her almost entirely. Cairidan's nose twitched in displeasure at the idea, remembering keenly how the rains of this land often made him far more wet than he would like. “You're going to catch a cold, woman,” he stated rather gruffly, yet not quite unkindly. His tone was even, matter-of-fact. He remembered the many times his sisters would dare him to wander out into the snow, and as soon as he'd fell into a snowbank high enough to reach over his head, he'd always been subjected to a runny, wet nose.

Art by AleTie

11-24-2020, 03:55 PM - Word count:

Helayne,

Lioness of Prideless

Played by violetta

helayne had plenty of experience with water. still, she's rarely endured it as cold as this lake. as a cub, she'd splash around the pride beach in hottest days of summer, secure in herself and her future. despite nobody's fate being as clear as she was lead to believe, the cradling sensation of the waved calmed her. it took her mind off the enigma thay was life. mosmori lake was no nicé beach; no waves splashed or sun beamed overhead, but it was the closest feeling of home that she's had in awhile.

the frigidity of the water caused an ache that went unbeknownst to her for a while. it froze up her muscles and was the only reason the lioness didn't jerk when the sound of another creature reached her. her ears swiveled and chin over a shoulder, she stared at the man. he was of large stature and his eyes reminded her of frozen dew. her heart began to quicken again, rabbit-fast. well.... helly started nervously. her nostrils flared, it wouldn't do well to panic again.

her gaze shifted back to the lake, though she kept him in her peripheral. i rarely get sick. the woman shrugged, doubting it was concern that made him speak to her. did she need to cry stranger danger? perhaps — things continued to go wrong the more she hung around the weirdos of aesseldar. winter itself can cause anyone to fall ill.

@Cairidan

Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash