[PRP] Nerves [Milele x Law]

[Ctrl F Greenie]

Methods of learning to keep herself calm had begun to work, only a small amount, but work none the less. The pride had become a home, though she felt a little weird about it still yet safety had it's price and she was willing to pay it for the time being.

Milele had noted that day in and day out she retained the feeling of an outcast looking in on the members of this place she had come to call home. Those pride members had been nothing but kind to her and yet she felt no inkling of need to feel anything towards them (beyond thankful). Those emotions sat with the quiet lioness as she moved from the prides core to it's outskirts, seeking the borders for a feeling of escape. The borders had begun to make her feel comfortable and that scared her more than anything.

Heck, she hadn't even bonded to a vulture yet, which seemed to be a need for certain tasks. Of course she wasn't sure that she desired to be a companion to such a creature but it was again, just something on her mind.

Finally reaching the border she was able to breath a sigh of relief at it's feeling of freedom. "I may just be swallowed whole by the entire ordeal." She spoke to herself quietly as she wandered towards a group of trees that provided ample amounts of shade from the glowering sun.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

He was (finally) one of the Vikings.

They had embraced him wholeheartedly and when he had won his challenge they had celebrated long in to the night. Just like that, he had gone from ally to brother and he couldn't be happier. Oh he might have had some bumps and bruises, but those had all healed up nicely while they had waited for Tethys's injuries to heal themselves. When everyone ad a clean bill of health, the Captain had immediately called for them to leave again - this time on a final march which they would not be coming home from until they had finished what they had started.

It was on this march that Lawsonia had been given a much greater role and he found himself far ahead of the warband. His duties were clear, he needed to scope out potential sites to remain (like all scouts), but he also needed to see whether or not he could find any signs of the phantoms. He had picked Ni'it's brain more than enough to grasp how he was meant to track them, but as of yet he hadn't picked up their 'scent'.

...He did however pick up another one.

With his increased freedom he had also gained a greater sense of curiosity, and he temporarily deviated from his course. If worst came to worse, he could simply query whoever or whatever it was that was over in that general direction. They might have seen or heard something... but given he hadn't smelled this type of scent before he had quite the urge to inspect it.

Ah, but to be in a region where not everything was dying or sick, everything was bound to smell a little different!

Mysses Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

Upon reaching those trees she turned, facing the directions she had come from, and dropped her rump hard before flopping to her side and soon her back. Soon she was settled, laying back with her tail pulled up between her legs. The whole image was incredibly unlady like, but she was alone and the only thing that mattered to her was the comfort in this particular moment.

Then a series of events occurred, none made her appear much better, all of which was done within the presence of another, a male with whom she didn't recognize nor had she seen prior to her whole lay down, stretch out and simply appear very disorderly. The events began with a widening of an already rather large pair of sky blue eyes in recognition of a mass resembling a lion. That mass suddenly began clouded over as she clambered on the spot trying to gather herself up and prepare for some form of attack. That cloud tickled her nose and in the middle of trying to right herself she nearly collapsed once more at a mighty sneeze.

Though the moment felt incredibly long for her she knew it was likely seconds and if the mass resembling a lion had taken notice he'd likely have a good laugh, as for her she was burning up in embarrassment and was prepared to bury herself in the sand to cover up such a scene.

Of course she couldn't bury herself so she closed her eyes tight for a moment attempting to hide with the 'if I can't see him, he can't see me' tactics. After a moment she slowly opened an eye and peered out towards the 'invader'.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

She had been very pretty...

He had taken some time to admire her as she came in to his line of sight, she might have deemed herself unladylike in those moments but there was something to be said for absolute comfort. He hadn't intended to surprise her, it really wasn't his style, but it seemed that when she had caught sight of him, he set off a series of events that caused his own eyes to widen in surprise. First she began to scamper, and then, well... Let it just be said that she let the loudest sneeze he had ever heard come out of her nose and then she had promptly fallen over.

Any other time he would have laughed; hell, in the back of his mind he had started laughing. However on this occasion it seemed he had unsettled her enough to realise that he really should apologise. Thus he had drawn closer to her, paw steps soft as always and came to a halt in front of her. He wasn't usually bad at personal space, but on this occasion he found himself rather close.

Suffice it to say that her tactic hadn't worked!

Nevertheless when she eventually opened an eye to see if he was still there, she would find him a mere inch from her nose with his own eyes widened in surprise.

"Bless you..?" he offered meekly.

Mysses Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

When her one sky blue eye opened to reveal the stranger to be right in front of her face she inhaled so quickly that it immediately set off a bout of hiccups. The first hiccup she slammed both of her eyes shut again, as if that would make any form of difference and she realized that primarily when he spoke. "Thank -hic- you." She said in the smallest voice as her eyes opened up again.

Just seconds after speaking she began to right herself, very aware of the fact that the lion was very much in her personal space. "Pardon me." She said, with that small voice again. With her words she used a paw to pat at her sides and then worked up to her cheeks. The dust that puffed originally had settled onto various parts of her pelt and she fought off another sneeze for as long as she could. Unfortunately it would not be her day and she inhale softly, blue eyes widening at the sudden horrific fact that his face was .. right there.

Deep deep down she hoped he had good reflexes or his choice would be a poor one in a few seconds because headbutts were a win for no one.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

He was fast, but he wasn't that fast. No sooner had she sucked in an impromptu breath to sneeze, than her head had collided with his nose and he was sent reeling backwards. He was too mild mannered to swear, he didn't even have those words in his vocabulary (yet), thus he did nothing except suck in a breath of his own and hiss. To any passerby, the sounds of his breathing would have been similar to a female in labour as he attempted to prevent the pain from overwhelming him.

...It failed though.

"Oh my gods my nose!" he declared in a strained voice, cupping his paws over it and giving a pained groan. He knew she hadn't intended to causing him any harm, based on her behaviour she was too shy, but forget ever having to defend herself properly. All she had to do to keep herself safe was ramp her head into someone else's nose and she'd be golden, she could have run and he wouldn't have recovered in enough time.

"Oh man I think it's broken," he whined and touched it tenderly with his paw before wincing. "Is it crooked? Does it look crooked to you?" he queried.

Mysses Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

The pain she felt as they collided numbed her briefly and all she could do was stare as the silence between them filled with his agony, shortly followed by a hiss and words spoken in a voice that made her shrink away. "I am SO sorry." Milele said, finally finding her voice. "Are you okay?"

"What a dumb question, I'm so sorry!"

She stood quickly and almost stumbled as she attempted to get to him. "Let me see." Her big blue eyes were wide again, trying to take in the scene and watched those big, dark paws clasping his nose move free only to dab at the wounded area. "Let me see." She said again, finally getting within range to try and help him out.

"Move those paws out of the way." She demanded, though her tone was gentle and quiet. She sat back and laid her tail motionless behind her, fearing what could happen if she chose to move it at all. "Let me see." Third time repeating the statement, but this time it was accompanied with a gentle touch. She raised her paws to his face, slowly moving his own so that she could inspect his nose carefully. "I don't think it's broken, nor crooked." She admitted, still shy but trying very hard to be helpful.

"I really am sorry about that."

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

He'd been doing well to maintain most of his composure, despite the tears welling up in his eyes as was often the consequence of receiving a battering of one's nose. However this all went out the window when the lioness came closer and began to poke and prod at his face; it wasn't that it hurt overly much, it was all about the same level of 'pain' at this particular moment in time... It was more than he was now faced with a pair of very large, and very blue eyes. It was as though she had stolen the sky and placed them into those orbs, it left him just a touch dumbfounded.

A facepalm worthy moment for any onlooker, but a very real response for the lion.

He eventually moved automatically, responding to her ministrations obediently as she inspected the damage she had done. Truth be told the lioness hadn't really done any damage at all, the pain on this occasion was most assuredly worse than the overall injury. He'd recover in due to time from that but whether he'd recover from his stupor was another matter entirely...

"You have really pretty eyes," he cooed stupidly.

Mysses Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

Milele continued her methodical motions as though she'd been a practiced healer of some kind, though in truth she hadn't the foggiest what she was looking for. Her relief came when she didn't see a drop of blood, that was a blessing in disguise and she sent a silent prayer to the Gods.

At first, when he spoke, she didn't really hear what he had said and so there was a moment of silence where she had stopped moving and simply kept staring. What felt like minutes, but was really seconds she blinked then immediately looked down, nearly resting her head on him as she tried to hide herself - becoming incredibly shy.

"I.. I.." Milele stuggled to form a sentence, not making it very far. "Thank you." She finally managed to blurt out at him - the words were a touch muffled though, but she didn't dare repeat herself out of pure anxiety. If she had gone back to the start of her day and been told this would be the outcome she'd have nearly been brave enough to laugh in their faces.

"You have a very nice nose." Was all she could think to say as she got up the nerve to raise her head again.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

Her bizarre compliment was enough to knock him out of his stupor, if only because it had been a source of confusion for him. He had a nice nose? He momentarily went cross-eyed as he attempted to inspect it, but to no avail. Well, in a way, he was fortunate that he hadn't battered his nose so badly that it was crooked and comical? Perhaps that was what she meant and she was simply reassuring him that her head hadn't left any lasting damage.

...At last damage that wouldn't heal.

"Uh..." He murmured and then shook his head, immediately regretting such an action as dizziness over took him. "Woooo," he cooed and raised one paw to hold his forehead while holding out the other towards her. Apparently somewhere along the way he had remembered himself and now an awkward smile lay on his lips.

"Perhaps we should start again, our introduction was a bit abrupt," he began and cleared his throat. "Hello, I'm Lawsonia. Lovely weather we;re having, yes?"

...Classic; weather conversations. Just what everyone wanted to talk about!

Mysses Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

Milele reached out as the lion shook his head and appeared to immediately regret the action. "Whoa there." She commented quietly as she brought a paw to his cheek, just a simple reaction to assist in simply slowing him down. "You have to be still for a little while longer." Her blue eyes stayed focused on him and only strayed when he began to speak again - his voice seemed to bring her back to reality and she realized her paw was touching, she had spoken and that shy feeling prickled beneath her pelt in such a way that she shrunk back a small amount.

"Milele." She said, quietly. Weather? Had he really gone to weather, in these parts? "I suppose it's nice, if you're just passing by." Of course their weather had improved a small amount, but it wasn't nearly anything to desire, perhaps that was only her experience. There were a million questions she wanted to ask and a million thoughts going through her mind, but her piece was said - she settled.

Instead she spent the remainder of what little silence she had left composing herself, relaxing her limbs and even attempted to convince herself it was alright to look his way. Instead her eyes stayed in their natural subordinate behavior of seeking out other things to look at.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

"Uh..." Lawsonia squinted and peered upwards at the sky, then down at the grass beneath his paws. So it wasn't pure green, but then again very little of the savannah was. Was he missing something, did he miss a memo somewhere from another scout? No one had really said there was anything important of note in this region, weather wise it had seemed to be standard. Was she expecting something else, maybe something a little more exotic?

"You don't like the sun...?" he hazarded slowly as he peered down at the lioness. He was making her uncomfortable, the very manner in which she stood made that all too apparently. "s**t, sorry, sorry..." he murmured and shuffled backwards. It had been him who had come up to her after all, this was her tree, not his! He really should have backed away ages ago, all right so it wasn't working so well for his new headache but he'd live.

...it was his first 'war wound', he'd go with that.

"Am I missing something? I thought this was supposed to be nice weather, I should know I'm not exactly cooking in my fur here..."

Mysses Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

"To much, sun - I find the place to be dry and lackluster." Memories of her travels in the rogue lands brought her back to green grass, sandy beaches and plenty of other natural beauty the world have to offer. None of which she found here without a ridiculous amount of effort. The sights were worth the effort in most cases, but seeking things out seemed that much harder when she didn't feel at home with herself. "I don't know what my expectations were when I came here, I knew what these lands could be like and yet I stayed." She replied in a very quiet tone.

Every part of her had tensed up now, tail wrapped around all four of her paws as she had taken away the paw that touched him and replaced it on the ground.

Speaking her mind was a struggle.

"What about you? What is the weather like where you come from?" Milele was staring at the ground, the sky, a bug - anywhere but at him. Her nerves were shot.

Epine de Rose

 

[Epine de Rose]

He was definitely missing something but it had nothing to do with the weather. Just what kind of pride had he walked in to that had left the lioness feeling like she couldn't leave? He definitely wasn't in a land riddled with disease that was for sure, he'd know because he would have recognised the bloody smell. Still, there seemed to be something holding her here and based on her downtrodden look he had to wonder if it was nearby...

"I uh..." he paused and shook his head. "It's really windy, kinda cold," he said and frowned. "Fairly grey, it's a rugged sort of place, lots of water," he finished. Rather than press her immediately for anything else he simply observed the lioness who was doing her best to look at anything but him; clearly a large part of the problem was him.

"You know, coming from a stranger this is probably no big deal but I did the whole 'trapped in a place I hate' thing and it didn't really work out," he confessed. "Dunno how easy it is for you to just up and leave again, explore the world and all that, but no use sticking around here if you're unhappy -" he paused and glanced over her shoulder.

"...Unless you can't leave," he murmured and then took a breath. "Or I'm the problem in which case I can totally go, I was just passing through, scout and all that."

Mysses Greenie

 

[Ctrl F Greenie]

"No no no..."

She hadn't really identified which question she had answered as she rapidly shook her head while repeating 'no'. "It's not that the pride has done anything, not that the weather has done anything, heck maybe it's me." Milele furrowed her brows and opened those blue eyes to look back at him in a look of pure frustration at the world.

"In fact I guarantee that it's me. I chose a home far to quickly, there were kind faces that lead me here - very very kind. So don't go thinking that this place was harsh or that you've caused me any alarm." Though of course the end portion of that statement was mildly true given she was alarmed, but not because of him while at the same time it was because of him. Her whole world was falling around her and she inhaled quickly. Then another breath.

And another.

Milele stopped that as quickly as she could before an incredibly awkward panic attack took hold over the whole scenario. "I just want to find somewhere that could be home. Could you save me?" She asked, her voice returning to a fearful whisper. It was clear by this point that in all likelihood her fears. whispered turns and glancing about were part of her personality - she was weak and fragile. At times the strong side of her lit up and took over, so perhaps over time she could gain that confidence, but at this moment she was almost pathetic.

Epine de Rose