"Go that way." The hissed whisper from around her neck, a reptilian companion thus far through their travels visible only to herself, directed Nonoyo past the last few rocks between out there and the supposed paradise Hiashin had told her of. Amaryllis--the land under another god's power, a lion god, and yet somehow Hiashin was not afraid of losing her to him if they did this.

Nonoyo wondered how this was going to work. Would she have to hide her devotion to Hiashin, the spirit who kept all the others away from her, or could she be open about it? Could anyone else see him, ever? Would this land have as many unresting dead as her last homeland, and would she be able to protect herself without her mother's firmly guiding paw?

"That way I said, you fool! I will bite you!" Well. Maybe Hiashin was a good substitute for that last. He sounded a lot like her, at any rate--and as Nonoyo turned and finally saw what he'd been trying to point out to her, she was relieved all over again that she wasn't alone in all of this.

There were definitely other lions here, and they'd been through recently. This place, in fact, was frequently traveled--there were paw prints everywhere. All she had to do was wait. Most likely, she was already out of time to run.

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GOD KILLS INDISCRIMINATELY AND SO SHALL WE

Vermier followed in the trail of other pawprints but he fancied that his were bigger. And if not bigger, then neater, more purely formed, somehow obviously best. Just as he was. He walked like he was the tastiest thing in the world, his perfection only improved by his limping arm that made him lumber, muscles rolling like someone heavier and clumsier than he was - but he enjoyed being misunderstood. What was misunderstood was often feared. What he understood today... a distant figure seeming uncertain whether to venture travel upon the sand bar... was this was potential prey. Anything hesitant was weak. Even if this had been a male it was too small. It must be female somehow. He knew even before he smelled the key scent.

The king approached all swagger and arrogance, more than enough to compensate for his injury. His head heft so he could look down his nose, his lips freely curling in a sneer. Maned lionesses. Didn't like them. Unnatural. "Hallo lioness," he greeted, not entreating her with any displays of more eloquent French. His accent was heavy even in these two words. "I am Vermier Dieudonné. New king! Who you? You good?" she was young enough that she might have dispersed naturally from her birth pride. Someone older would be under more suspicion of exile. He paused standing and glanced around as though her mere presence was not enough to hold his attention, but really he was looking around for other recruiters that might want to whine about something or maybe fight if he was lucky. But probably they'd whine. Bunch of gazelle around here.

@Nonoyo

She wasn't left alone long; a large lion, nearly a foot taller than herself and broader, approached with enough swagger to have her slinking back on instinct. Ears flattening into her mane, head ducking low as if to avoid a blow, though it turned into a more properly executed bow when he spoke and revealed himself for what he was. She had been worried about a bully, not royalty. Still, his disinterested glance and the light sneer on his face had Hiashin laughing in her mane, his own hissing taking on an eery doubled quality as it seemed multiple other voices picked them up as well. "You screwed everything up already. He'll send you back through the pass and give you a wallop for good measure, you deserve it."

"I don't," She mumbled, head still bowed, but quickly backed a little more away, just in case. "King Die-Dieudonné. I'm Nonoyo Noyo. I'm..." Good? Was she? She didn't know how to answer his question, and she flinched a little when she stumbled over his name, sure that he would be more annoyed by that. Whatever mild dislike he might have conveyed in his sneer had been blown entirely out of proportion in her mind, and she watched him with wary eyes and a stance more ready to flee than fight. Her mother had taught her well what it meant to earn someone else's displeasure, and she didn't want to do so with someone so much larger than her, being on the smaller side of medium as she was.

Hiashin tightened his coils around her throat to an almost choking degree, and she thought maybe she wouldn't have a choice. If her god was demanding she stay, she had to stay. She tried again, not sure what he wanted to hear but hoping her answer was correct. Her voice still came out small. "I'm good."

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GOD KILLS INDISCRIMINATELY AND SO SHALL WE

Oh, he liked this one! There seemed to be no nobility in her for her servile nature to betray. Without shame she shied away from him, trying to provide him with no excuse to snap at her, and once she heard his title she tidied herself into a practiced bow. He didn't recognize its exact customs of origins but it was very neat and formal. "Discipline!" he purred, approving, adding in more bass than he really needed because ok have you met Verm he likes to be intimidating with the huff and puff and growl.

He didn't understand what I don't was supposed to mean. He raced toward the worst conclusion - "No want go?" he pressed, ears leaning forward as though they were additional canines. "Oh, nonononoNOnono?" he seemed to mimic, drawing out some whining quality that he seemed to find in her. She seemed ready to run and the impulsive part of him wanted her to try. The practical part of him said he'd never catch her with his injured arm, and furthermore that it wasn't worth it, but his practical-minded thoughts had been outsourced to his sister for most of his life and his sister was gone.

"You be good! You hunt, hm?" he tilted his head, deliberately appraising her. He compared her to Mishio, who had vanished, but who had never been worth anything to begin with. Although she had deprived him of a meal. But he had learned to make sure the seemingly useless ones were at least able to hunt.

@Nonoyo

He was pleased with her submission, which had the tension relaxing just a little in her shoulders. As long as people were pleased she was safe; if they weren't pleased, she wasn't cowering enough. The relaxation stretched further with his approving growl, though the deep rumble put her to mind of roaring thunder and she reiterated in her head--this was definitely not a lion she wanted to cross.

"This is going to go so well," Hiashin drawled sarcastically, and indeed it felt like they were both having issues communicating. The mimicry of her name had her ducking her head again, but it was more of a nod than anything. Nono was something she'd been called before, and folks had taunted her with a similar drawn-out whine in the past, so it was a familiar calling. He was a king, and he spoke as though another language were his first--not one she knew, but she could recognize the edges of some foreign nobility in him. She wasn't going to say anything if he called her Nonono for the rest of her life.

"NononononoNOnono," Hiashin began to hum, and it transformed into something other than her name, more of a pleading on the edge of her hearing, no, no, please, no...

She was used to ignoring it, but it still sent a tremor through her.

Nonoyo didn't have anything to say, but it did sound as if she had passed some sort of test, as he spoke again. She perked up just a little, lifting her head higher than she had yet and looking him in the eye for the first time. A brief look, and then she had broken it, just a flash of pink and teal meeting red. "I'm good at hunting."

Her tone sort of lifted at the end, a hopeful question injected in her voice. Was that what he was looking for?

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GOD KILLS INDISCRIMINATELY AND SO SHALL WE

Highly attuned was the predator to the struggles of his prey. The little quivers of the dying must be distinguished from the fake destitution of those who still intended to fight. She appeared perturbed by the iteration of her name NONONO he would call her, he decided, cementing this knowledge in a stilled second of sneer. So then what would his name be but YES?

Not verbally but in spirit did she perk up, offering him a show of willingness to serve. He would take that as a yes. As soon as she moved he didn't expect her to contradict him. Yet he would still eye her to see if she intended to run between here and the lagoon. He doubted he would. He thought he had a good enough hunting sense to know when someone was beaten. The most danger would be interception by some good Samaritan who thought the world was better off when a king such as him had fewer subjects. (This went against the nature of things; a king was to be served.)

He glanced around again. It was never truly eerie or still here, but the crashing of waves eventually became background thunder. Let her have a second to ponder whether her final answer pleased him while he made sure he was safe. His ember eyes fixed back on her, not deigning to answer her by any softening of their character but his words flowed immediately. Vermier did like words. Did like fighting. He liked everything that he liked. "Hunt good! Other servant, she no hunt. She cry all time. Oh, she fear hunt leetle baby gazelle. Now... she eez no here. Sad!" She had probably run off or fallen in a hole somewhere. The gazelle of these lands were kind, but nature was not. Maybe she had starved from her incompetence. That was more likely than coming across another like him.

Any way, she was probably dead, and he had no issue taking credit for that. "Here! Yes!" Oh Vermier was he forgetting? He was very sorry. ""My home. Your home. Skeela Lagoon. You stay, hunt, no run. All the things and you eat." The eternal exchange. He receive worship and service befitting his rank, and those under his command got safe borders and food.

@Nonoyo

Hiashin hissed, and the noises stopped entirely. It was a little bit of a jarring experience, had Nonoyo jumping at nothing as the king spoke and she did her best to pay attention. It was easier, then, and she tracked...that he would treat her perhaps as a servant? Or was that just the way he viewed all the pride members? She would have to find out. They were two different situations, and she knew how to act in either one but knowing was important.

"The babies are delicious, though," She responded, even though really you weren't supposed to hunt the babies anyway, to keep the herds alive. At least that's what her mother said, whenever they indulged anyway and she wanted to lay on the guilt. It didn't really work on Nonoyo to begin with when she was so clearly contradicting herself--and she'd gotten distracted again. He was going to think she was horribly oblivious, if he even noticed. Mostly it seemed she had failed to pass some test to earn regard, and she felt it was likely her quirks would fly beneath his notice for the most part unless they interfered in work she would need to do.

Skeela Lagoon? It sounded nice. Promising--and Hiashin had loosened his coils now as well, a sure sign that things were going to be okay again. The world wasn't tightening around her anymore. His words, though--they were important. There were promises she had to make here that she had a feeling she wouldn't get away with breaking.

"Yes. King @Vermier," His first name was a lot easier for her to say, thankfully, and she pronounced it more carefully, trying to be formal about things as she sketched another, slightly deeper bow. "I'd like to join your home, and I'll hunt."

Then came the bigger one, the implied order that had her hesitating a long moment before adding, "I won't run."

She was better at making the best of things where she was at anyway; there was only one circumstance that would make her run, and that was fear for her life. Otherwise, she preferred to make herself useful and hope for the best--and speaking of which-- "I can...sing and tell stories, entertain. Also."

Maybe she would try to keep the spirits secret for a while. Things were usually better before people knew; and it's not like it was going to last long, anyway. Hiashin tightened a little around her neck as the thought crossed her mind, and she knew the secret showed on her face, but she wondered if he would let her get away with it.

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GOD KILLS INDISCRIMINATELY AND SO SHALL WE

This one was twitchy. Delightful to keep around, but also tempting to devour? Maybe he should take bets on how long she would last. It would please him for her to fall down the maw of the Dieudonné yearlings but he decided right now with his magnificent gift of foresight that he would pretend to be a little miffed if their passion deprived him of a new, unproven servant. He would love to see that Manes' influence had not stifled their cannibal nature but... little ankle-biters should also fear him, a little.

He gazed down on her and briefly succumbed to this delicious fantasy, nearly drooling - only not drooling because he was summoned so quickly back to reality, and that with a swatch of his tail in annoyance before he processed what was even said. "Oh, oui? Very taste." He smirked with that air of i know something ominous you don't know. He liked keeping their cannibalism a secret, sometimes. Or just dropping it like a bomb, sometimes. Sometimes he dropped it as though speculating on the weather. It was more fun to be unpredictable and he thought it would be the most fun to soothe her nerves just a teensy bit before she found out.

She was very careful to speak his title properly and give him another bow in the form of exotic lands. So nod, Vermier, soothe with lips decently covering your fangs. "Is good! You more good servant, I think." Of course she would not run. He murmured, accepting this as though appreciative of the evident weight it had taken her to offer it. However... she continued to debase herself, begging of skills that she evidently did not have. The fear on her face betrayed her. That she could lie so bold-faced... oh, it was flattery, and he laughed. "You bad artiste! I know! I know when see!" It was the worst shame that any of the arts could feel. To recognize beauty, and know oneself deficient in creating it. So not only did he have a twitchy, fearful worm, but a terrible bard. "Oh very good prize for Skeela! Come come, is no wait!" still laughing, he backed up swinging around with his skull to gesture that she should get moving. It would pain him to have to fight off competitors for this most grotesque gazelle.

@Nonoyo

"This will turn out poorly for everyone involved," Hiashin hissed to her as she examined her new King's face. The way he responded, sometimes...yeah. She wasn't the only one with secrets here, and maybe that would be enough to keep her safe. A sort of mutual respect of not...treading on each other's privacy. Nonoyo really, highly doubted she would earn any kind of respect from this male, ever, actually, but she could dream.

"Shut up, Hiashin," She muttered as quietly as she could, nodding along--until he called her a bad artist. She wanted to protest, a feeling of deep offense--she worked hard at the craft she had chosen--but...well. It was better than the alternative, for now. Nonoyo bowed her head in apparent shame as he called her out and laughed, and nodded when he beckoned her to follow him.

Into the future, no going back. She followed where her new King led.

- Exit Nonoyo with Vermier -

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GOD KILLS INDISCRIMINATELY AND SO SHALL WE

She nodded along as though beaten, mumbling once as though compelled. He didn't take it as defiance. Some mumbled, some sang, some twitched, there were a great many wretches in the world whose infinite variety was yet to be tasted. He took her as overwhelmingly weak in a way he would like to poke at further, when they were safe from prying eyes. She appeared so wounded when he called her out! He wondered if she had been a great artist in the past. But oh, how fallen! Or maybe she never had been, was only a common failure instead of a broken genius. Vermier intended, no matter what, to never be either. He pressed his ears forward as though forcing his mind to attend to the present and not to speculations he couldn't taste. He urged her onward by eager gesture. The Lagoon was close.

=exit