T a l i s a

The last few days had certainly left Talisa feeling a lot of different things. With the change of the season and the weather she couldn't possibly begin to think that things could be alright okay but she was certain she would try. Losing life after life and never knowing if they would choose to be a spirit in the afterlife for their lived ones that were still alive was difficult and it wore on her. Alas, she pushed her way through the crimson rocks where it was nice and cool within. The walls smooth and reddened, leaving her to just walk and not think about where she was going but what she should or could do about the issues she was facing both internally and externally. A walk that didn't give her much room to see where she was going, either. @Eskel

He moved quietly. It was not an unusual state of being for him, he preferred the silence to the noise of large crowds and gatherings. It allowed him the chance to think, and process the thoughts within his mind. It also allowed him to listen to those around him. Except, here in along this red rock- for the longest he believed himself alone. Strolling along, pretending that he was doing something- until he rounded a corner and stumbled to a surprised halt.

It wasn't often that someone snuck up on him, especially when they probably weren't trying. It was just the way the rock face bent, and the way the wind was blowing today.

He blinks at the lioness in surprise, before apologizing. "Sorry. The rocks- I didn't realize someone else was here." He says, his head tilted slightly to the right so that his good eye can focus on her, see her clearly. A strange scent clings to her- a scent he doesn't rightly recognize... the new pride in the lands perhaps?

@Talisa

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T a l i s a

The war within her mind was just as dangerous internally as it was externally. Legs moving on autopilot as she stared at the ground in front of her while her peripherals were keeping her from knocking into the walls. Only when she began to reach an intersection and she saw paw-movement on her side did she, too, come to an abrupt halt with her face mere inches from his own.

Talisa swiftly took an embarrassed step back despite being a very physical woman as she instantly believed it was a stranger. That was until he spoke and she was able to see his darkened face. For the briefest moment her mind shot to Farrow but it was erased almost too quickly for her to even make the distinction. He was not, but he was remembered! Oh hey... Rabbit, right? she asked, not having the slightest idea that that actually was not his name but it wouldn't've mattered if it were or weren't. If someone preferred a name, that was their business. So Talisa remained happily unaware that that was not his birth-given name. Uh, Talisa Valour. I was Sovereign of Vermeda for a while. I think we may have hunted together once or twice? Talisa had, sadly, not attended as many hunts as she should have near the end of her reign there but she had attended enough to know who she'd hunted with and what for. @Eskel

He studies her silently, noting that there is something vaguely familiar to him about her. When she speaks, and knows his alias- he merely tilts his head- considering, but she does not leave him to puzzle it out for long. Talisa- the former Sovreign of Vermeda. Ah, he hadn't met her- but he does indeed recognize her from hunts. He offers a polite dip of his head.

"Sovreign before Cassandra?" He questions, curiously. "Rabbit is what I go by," He confirms- not stating that it is his name- merely what he's chosen to go by, because that is without a falsehood. "You no longer smell of the brook - or of a pride I readily recognize, Cassandra mentioned her mothers had got to a new pride, when I spoke with her- did you join them?" He asks politely- completely unaware that it was the mother of his Sovreign before him.

"Am I slow you down, or halting your progress? I can get out of the way- if you wish to go on." He offers kindly.
@Talisa

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Talisa does not miss the inference that Rabbit may not be his name but it was the name that he chose to go by. Before the wars and ravaged lands she would have paid no mind to it but the years had made her a little more astute. A little more aware that there were many lions who might go by a different name to avoid being caught. Like a Rike pretending to be a stranger in the midst of enemies. Correct, before Cassandra. She smiled, feeling that drive to proudly address that she was the mother of the daughter who was crowned Sovereign. Mother of a young lady that had certainly grown into her own.

I did, in a way. She smiled, I am one of Cassandra's mothers. We made our home in the Summit, Morrigan and I. Even though the last few years had been filled with turmoil and strife, she would always be ready and proud to be the mother of her children. More proud of that title than any other that could be given to her and she knew that Morrigan would feel the same. Even when she was young she had always envisioned that she was to be a mother to any who would let her. To help, nurture and protect as it were.

Not at all. In fact, I would be thankful if you would join me. Because it would be nice to get to know @Eskel since she hadn't gotten the time to do so before. Now seemed a good time to put a foot in the world again and try and make it seem a bit more normal than it had been. Rabbit seemed quite nice and had been in the Brook for a while now, long enough that he knew Cassandra which meant that he wasn't a flight risk and wouldn't leave the second she got to know him.

Sometimes, Eskel wishes for a simpler life. A life that he hasn't always live shrouded in secrets and lies. Yet, that is who is he, and who has always been, and he does not fathom that is changing anytime soon. So, he does not dwell on his alias for much longer, and instead focuses on what @Talisa has to say. When she confirms that she was indeed the Sovreign before Cassandra, he nods thoughtfully and finally is glad to put a face to the name- though she recognizes her from hunts and such, he hadn't know her.

He listens intently, as Talisa speaks, and notes the name of a Summit- that must be part of the name of one of the new prides in the land. "The Summit?" He confirms, curious about it. "Where is it? I haven't seen it in my travels yet- however Cassandra did mention two new ones." He had been a bit of a home-body as of late. "Congratulations to you and your wife," He says kindly, with a warm smile.

"I'd be glad to join you," He agrees readily, curious to get to know more about her, and happy to enjoy some conversation. "Was your wife a part of the Brook as well?" He asks conversationally.

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Mhm, she offers as he questions the name that she gave her newest home. A place that she had never envisioned herself living and yet it seemed like the perfect place to do so. As long as she had Morrigan, she knew she would always be happy. It is just northeast of Vermeda. My wife came across it after the first of the mad weather disappeared and knew it was our next adventure. The two of them had always planned to embark on their own journey together but they hadn't exactly nailed down the where or when until that very moment. Talisa was certainly not one to stamp her paw down on what her wife saw as their big opportunity. If she saw it, then Talisa saw it, too.

Yes, Morrigan lived with me for some time in Vermeda as our Lead Fighter. As that had always been her main rank aside from leading when the opportunity came. The Greyflood-Tollaire had never been afraid of being a leader and so it made sense both ways. She has also lived for a time in Obsidian Hollow as well as led Caladan Cove once. Whereas Talisa had lived nearly her entire life in Vermeda and was only just now seeing what it was like to be anywhere else more permanently. Have you lived in any of the other prides aside from Vermeda? she asked as they walked and talked, glad to have company that felt easy and simple. Company that didn't feel pressured or with a purpose. It had been a long time since she had had a conversation so smooth and she was hesitant to ever let it go. @Eskel

He listens carefully as she speaks of the new pride and makes a plan to explore in that area to see it. In his mind, he wonders what part of the land shifted and changed- so that they found this place. "I will have to make a point to explore that area and see this change soon. I fear I'm definitely failing in my scouting abilities that Cassandra and you have told me of it, and I didn't come tell you." He said with a chuckle, and a shake of his head.

He listens as he walks with her, in an easy silence nodding along with her. "I must have missed out on meeting her. Perhaps one day." He rumbles. Though he hadn't met Talisa herself until she had left the pride- the Brook had large numbers, and meeting them all was quite the feat. At @Talisa 's question, he shakes his head. "The Brook is the first pride that I've lived in this land." He confirms. "I am from a land far from here- my father ruled a kingdom with an iron fist, and he was not a good male. I was his scout and spy master- which kept me from being cast out, because it was useful to him. When he was killed, I ended up here." Okay, so he skipped a few details. "That's the short version, at least." He adds, politely to her, with a sigh. "When I came here, I was a rouge for a while- then the weather... The Brook is one of the largest prides." He let her figure out the rest, he could tell she was smart, and didn't need him to piece it all together for her.

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While Talisa had also questioned what had suddenly made this land accessible, Talisa believed that it was the mountain that had been there previously. A mountain that had lived on Amaryllis for a very long time but that Maua had opened it up for them that it was far less treacherous to wander in and even less treacherous to live within. Truthfully she might not have ever found the snowy summit to attract her but given its proximity to Vermeda and the likeness it had with Morrigan's birth place, who was she to say no? I doubt it will be going anywhere any time soon, she reminds @Eskel and hopes this eases any worry he might have for having failed in any duties. Scouting was a hard job and it meant covering a lot of ground so he couldn't be expected to know all. Not when there was so much in his job to cover. Oh, you will. She's lovely. Hard to miss -- dark fur with white underneath. A dark chest with white marks, one purple eye close to mine and one silver eye. Perfection in every way. The perfect yin to her yang. Thought, she is not without the glee in knowing that Rabbit's first pride had been Vermeda after all the hard days he seemed to have potentially endured to get here. I am sorry about your father's rule and what you were made to do to survive, but I am happy that you have found Vermeda. It, as you said, is one of the largest prides and always has been. It's a good place for starting fresh or wanting a change of pace. It had always been a sanctuary for anyone who needed to catch their breath or feel as though they had folks at their backs. Nurturers that had turned into warriors but never losing where they began. Humble and just, they looked out for those that would not cause them harm.

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He wondered if her comment about the land not going anywhere anytime soon was true. With all the changes that had wrought Amaryllis since his arrival, he couldn't be too sure. Eskel had never been particularly spiritual or religious but since the nightmares that had plagued his sleep and chased not only him but others awake- the voices that had hounded them all, voices entities that had claimed dominion over the land they stood on. "I hope that is the case but..." He sighs. "It feels like something is brewing." He admits. "I had a nightmare, and I wasn't the only one in the pride- I met a male, Caligula- Aquila's mate? He had it to- that night." ** He said. "It just feels.... like something is about to happen, like the world we stand on is about to be jerked from beneath our paws." A fear he is almost ashamed to admit to her, yet something about her is soothing- and he finds himself readily able to speak it.

A soft smile, pulls at his lips as she talks of her wife and he teases her- his tone gentle. "Not biased are you?" He says. "I am sure she is a lovely female and I look forward to one day meeting her. She must be if she's enraptured your heart so." A compliment, in there somewhere- surely, or he was trying to make it one.

He nods, and sighs, troubled- yet that is a thought he isn't ready to divulge to her yet. His worries, his reasons, the secrets he feels he must keep- the loyalties to the one he holds the most dear in the world. "I strive to be a better male than my father was. One day, hopefully I will make up for what I have done in his name." He said simply, and to him that was that.

@Talisa

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