The sound was different here. Deeper, cradled like a silenced shout. Every little scampering of tiny feet or flapping of wings was amplified within the walls. Metzli knew the sound of a cave, and if anything they proved to be more informative environments than most. The sound was trapped here where it couldn't escape up into the air and away, but she loved the sky as well. The feeling of sun or the deep mystery of night with its smells and sounds. Wind from the cavern opening behind her brushed against the slopes and protrusions of the cave, guiding her along as she took in the scent of bird droppings and more distantly the ghostly vapor of water. Yes, there was much to be found here if she dared to explore further. @Pistis

BG Stock | Lion Stock | Manip by Taboo | Coding by Werge

Pistis had been unable to sleep. Again. This time though, it was due to her nausea. So she’d went on a walk to help relieve it. She’d decided to go to the place she’d found the gem for her son’s necklace. Perhaps she could collect them to give as gifts. Lord knows she’d need it to make people less angry at Gwyn, she was sure. Slowly she went there. Before stopping short. Noticing a figure. She was absolutely beautiful, Pistis noted. The swirling of colors along her pelt... her face was scarred but pretty nonetheless. Noticing the scarred eyes, she chuffed to alert her presence to the woman. Coming to stand a few feet in front of her. “Are you lost?” She asked quietly, head tilting slightly as she examined the scars along her neck. She was lucky to be alive, by the looks of that. @Metzli

Code by CloudyNight

She wasn't alone here, and it wasn't just a bird or mouse. The alerting chuff was appreciated and only slightly startled the lioness, it gave her the proper direction to turn her head in though. It was followed by a light, gentle voice. The higher toned, feminine pitch briefly sent a zap of cold electricity into her chest but she buried it just as quickly. If she was about to be attacked, it would have been a poor choice to warn her first. Not that things couldn't always change for the worse. Lost...she had to be seeking something or moving with somewhere in mind to be lost didn't she? No, this was more wandering. She had nowhere to go and nowhere to be. Metzli tilted her head before shaking it. Not lost, no. Just exploring. Indicating to the stranger with her nose, Metzli tilted her head to the other side questioningly. Who other than she would find a cave and think to explore it? @Pistis

BG Stock | Lion Stock | Manip by Taboo | Coding by Werge

Hm, it seemed she was quiet. But that was alright, Pistis hardly spoke herself. The woman shook her head and indicated the area around them. “Oh, I can help you get through the caves if you’d just like to explore! I live in a nearby pride, I know these passages like the back of my paw.” She offered, smiling, more to herself, obviously. Curiously she wondered where the lioness was from. She sort of looked like she could be from somewhere with snow. What with the fluffy fur and monochromatic colors. She had half a mind to ask but... that could be sensitive, she supposed. Instead she just quietly hummed, partly from nerves and partly to let the female know where she was at all times. @Metzli

Code by CloudyNight

So she knew the cave? From the sounds of it, there was definitely an entire system then. Metzli wasn't sure about following a stranger deeper into the caverns. It sounded ridiculous even as she thought it, but visions of being led off a ledge or drowned in a underground stream filled her head. But, on the other paw. It would be useful to know the area even a bit better, every little advantage she gained in these new lands was worth more than a month's rations back home. Inhaling through her nose, the silent lioness finally nodded her agreement to the offer. It would be in her best interest, which in itself felt strange. But she was still learning, she had to. Humming echoed gently off the walls, doing more than just telling Metzli where the lioness was. Where it faded out or echoed back told of openings and walls. Dripping from somewhere further in the cave joined, along with the whisper of air flowing across stone from the outside. It was a song in it's own right, and it filled her with something old and wild. Something familiar. She couldn't help but join in, in her own way. Tapping her front paws one after another against the stony cave floor, keeping them at just the right tempo to not disrupt the existing menagerie of sound but rather add to it. @Pistis [No need to mirror!]

BG Stock | Lion Stock | Manip by Taboo | Coding by Werge

Her fellow silver lioness nodded, and she smiled. Standing, she walked near the other, though not extremely close. She continued to hum, noting the rhythmic tapping, though it took her a while. She began to him more than a singular note. At one point, Pistis had been interested in becoming professional in singing, but it’d never happened. Even now, she didn’t sing, fearful of the criticism. Seeing people’s faces cringe as she missed a note. Ugh, that would be utterly embarrassing. Perhaps she should try again, sometime. Perhaps now? At least her audience would be mute and therefore not criticize her? Oh that was sort of a rude thought. “La la la la la la la...” She sang quietly as they walked. Her voice was a bit shaky but surprisingly good. Not jaw-dropping, but better than the average singer, to be sure. She continued singing the notes. Remembering the chorus to a song about Hades and Persephone. Oh, that song was quite good. It had been interesting to hear tales turned into song so easily. Her cousins had sang that one together, their voices harmonizing, she’d joined in a few times, when they were teaching their younger family their myths. It brought her back to that time, a homesickness settling in her chest. But it was also comforting. She’d not sang in front of anyone for a long time... (If you’re curious, she’s singing ‘Epic III’ from Hadestown) @Metzli

Code by CloudyNight

The song shifted, morphing from an incidental tune to something more defined. Her guide's vocalizations rose and fell in a bittersweet but lovely song, almost like a lullaby but not quite. It wreathed around them like something alive, echoed back to them twice or thricefold as the caverns lent their own borrowed voices. The entire cave was singing along. Every drip of condensation from a stalactite, every rush of air, flap of wings or chirp from an unseen bird. And Metzli's own prance as she trailed after the lioness, rhythmic and just as echoed like gentle drumming in the dark. For a moment her inhibitions were shed, and she dared to skip along until she was walking alongside rather than behind. Metzli's body twisted gracefully as she leaped to one side, the motion of her form swaying as though she were beneath waves. She then circled back again, spinning in the air for a heartbeat before landing on her paws and tap, tap, tapping to the opposite side. Her heart was beating in her throat, but a smile graced the scarred dancer's throat as she flitted ahead and stopped in front of the stranger. Metzli then bowed dramatically, one paw tucked back before she turned her face up to the other lady with clear invitation in her expression. Dance with me! @Pistis

BG Stock | Lion Stock | Manip by Taboo | Coding by Werge

She needed to come to this part of the caverns more often! The area was perfect for acoustics, wasn’t it? She continued to sing softly, noticing Metzli’s dancing with a smile. Oh, that was quite wonderful, wasn’t it? She’d never seen anything like it! But there was something exciting and happy about it. At the clear invitation, she hesitated, song pausing for a moment. “oh... I’m not sure if...” But she didn’t want to let the other woman down! She’d looked quite uncertain before, and now she was dancing! Slowly Pistis came to stand closer, mimicking some of the movements, humming the tune instead of singing, knowing the movement would cause her voice to waver otherwise. Though the hums still did their own dance upon the walls. “You may have to show me how.” She stated, before her humming continued. Her body moved for her, mostly swaying as she hummed, with a spin here or there, careful not to knock into her new companion. That would be quite unfortunate! Her family had always been a bit serious. She’d never seen anyone but cubs dance as this woman did now. They were quite bad at it, too. But she was great at conveying the story through her body! Absolutely wonderful. @Metzli

Code by CloudyNight

The lady was making a good attempt, her movements sounded uncertain but not entirely without merit. Her paws just had to find the right rhythm, her body would then follow with a more confident sway surely. At the request for assistance, Metzli nodded. It wasn't exactly something she'd witnessed come naturally to many. But there was a fine start here, she could work with it. The fog of song had slightly cleared from her mind, allowing a bit more fear through again. But it was still faint, easily drowned out if only she let it be. Taking steps forward again, she flitted with light steps around the lioness. Bracing herself, Metzli slid to a stop. A paw ventured forward to try and guide her stance into something that would allow for more free movement, but something else caught her attention while she was so close. An underlying scent that was known well from her yearling training days, and not one she'd smelled in awhile. It didn't quite saturate the lioness, but it was there. The scent of a pregnant female. Something about the signature of a cub-bearer always changed, even if it was early on. A pheromone of some sort, she'd been told. Certainly, depending on where she was at, Metzli couldn't expect her to do anything too wild. Prancing backwards and clicking her claws against the stone as she did. Metzli let herself sway, keeping her head and tail rolling at opposite sides of each other in order to let her entire body join the rhythm. @Pistis [Some artistic liberty was taken with with bg, as far as I know there are no giant geode walls!]

BG Stock | Lion Stock | Manip by Taboo | Coding by Werge

The woman helped adjust her dancing, and Pistis grinned, though only to herself. Mimicking the other’s movements, perhaps a bit more cautiously, nervous about her pregnancy still. But she was having fun. Her paws tapping along the stone to keep the rhythm as she continued to hum. Though the song was near its end, unfortunately. But she continued to sway and twirl. Trying her best not to giggle and ruin the fun, but she was perfectly happy. It was nice to meet someone knew and have her mind taken off all her worries. Whether her past, her present, or her future, she was normally quite nervous. But today it seemed Metzli had put a trance on her. The song did come to its end, and she paused. Pondering if she should hum a different one. Still dancing to the rhythm that was kept in her head, rather than in the air. “I must ask, miss, what is your name? And how did you learn to dance like that!” She let out a laugh finally, still a bit unaware her companion was all but mute. Thinking she was just quiet. Even if she learned the other’s voice was painful to use, she’d still dance and hum with her. It was no problem for the silver lioness. @Metzli

Code by CloudyNight