Rebel Playing by Her Own Rules

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Rebel Playing by Her Own Rules Aug 19, 2019 15:42:23 GMT

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Post by Chuluun on Aug 19, 2019 15:42:23 GMT

(ooc: January 20th, up in the mountains. Open to all who want to either be messed with by or attempt to mess with the so called ghost.)

Guided by careful movements, the seemingly unseen leopardess made her usual arounds through the snow. Another day, another chance to mess with animals or others looking to cross the mountainous terrain. The mere thought sent a trickle of laughter spilling from youthful lips. Oh, yes. Chuluun knew that it wasn't the best use of her talents. Any snow leopard could have made themselves blend in with their surroundings and merely used that for hunting. Why use it for pleasure in addition to that, some might have wondered. Well... for the fun of it, mostly. Chuluun always answered that rhetorical question to herself when nagging bits of whatever that was slipped in. Why did she need a reason beyond having fun? She was the only leopard that lived out that way, at least so far as she could tell, so it wasn't an issue.

A scent caught her attention, and a moment was taken before Chuluun could identify what it was. A hare, all the way out there? Must have been pretty brave.

Well, bravery's overrated, Chuluun thought as a smirk tugged on her lips. She lowered herself so her belly was pressed against the snow and bunched her muscles up as best she could. Up ahead, the hare was nibbling on some little shoots of plants that had miraculously survived the snow. Aw, wasn't that cute?

Wait. Why not have some fun first? The thought made Chuluun's smile all the more wicked. Yes... it was time for the Ghost of the Mountain to have a little fun. She slunk forward, continuing to use her surroundings to her advantage, and did her best not to move the snow around her too much. The last thing she needed was to scare off her unsuspecting foe before she even got a chance to have fun. Closer and closer she slunk until...

Now! The wind had shifted so her scent was blowing away from her prey. Soon, Chuluun was leaping up and out of the snow, toward the poor little hare. Instead of catching him between her jaws, though, she landed behind him and kicked him aside using her hind legs. The poor thing looked scared to death by a movement he probably couldn't see at all. He hadn't been looking up when Chuluun had moved through the air, and thus? She was all but invisible. Her dark spots didn't quite give her away. In fact, they benefited her.

As the rabbit started to question who was there and what was going on, Chuluun let a brattish laugh escape her. She even cupped her paw up to her muzzle in a 'I didn't do that' sort of way.

"You've entered the sacred lands of the Ghost," Chuluun cooed. She started to slink around the hare, continuing to do her best to blend in as completely as she could. She wasn't invisible, per se. Just very good at camouflage. The hare started to sputter about the Ghost of the Mountain, and that made Chuluun laugh more.

"That's right! And the Ghost wants to do... this!" She swung her paw at the hare and knocked him off his paws. Then she started to run circles around him before knocking him into the air again and making him land in one snow bank. As he lay there dazed, Chuluun broke into another fit of laughter.

Then her ears perked and her nose twitched. She'd caught a scent that was unfamiliar, and her ears pined back. A low growl escaped her.

"Who dares enter the land of the Ghost?" She lowered herself into a crouch, claws slid out, and she readied herself. If this stranger had come to help this poor hare, they were going to wish that they hadn't.

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Have you heard that tale about the lion and the jackal?

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Rebel Playing by Her Own Rules Sept 2, 2019 21:06:49 GMT

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Post by Mzuka on Sept 2, 2019 21:06:49 GMT

The lion's breath was heavy, almost wheezing in the cold air. Condensation puffed from his maw, tiny clouds surrounding him every time he took a deep breath. From the moment he had set foot on the trail, it was instantly clear that he was not built for this. After all, it never snowed on the plains -- the mountains were too tall and proud to share it with the grasslands. And despite the fact that he was the same color as it, it was quickly evident to Mzuka that he would have very little luck hunting in the snow. The incline of the mountain itself was another story entirely for his frail constitution. His lungs felt thoroughly taxed by the time he had made it a good long way.

Feeling out of his element was not a new sensation for the lion, but this was something else entirely. In fact, he was beginning to feel proud of himself. Discomfort and chill be damned -- he had never scaled a mountain like this before! He took a moment to sit and catch his breath, taking in the view below.

The scenery stretched for what seemed like an eternity, and his ears perked up as he identified what he could see. There was the village at the foot of the mountain he had skirted around, as well as another valley adorned in brighter colors. Other mountains dotted the landscape, and if he squinted, he could see a forest way out in the distance. From here, his home felt so far away. Entirely separate from where he was now.

And in a way, he was glad for it.

Before he could overwhelm himself too much with thoughts of his pride, the wind shifted, catching his attention. His nose began to twitch; the smell of prey was unmistakable, and unmistakably close. His bushy mane whipped around as he looked for the source. Though he was not the strongest hunter, Mzuka was a fine tracker. He lowered himself into a crouch and began to follow the scent, attempting to locate where it could be. Soon enough, he spotted a hare, lying in a state of shock atop a snowdrift. But before he could approach it, the growls of another predator caught his attention. He froze in his tracks, pulling himself upright.

"Who dares enter the land of the Ghost?"

Mzuka gasped, the response involuntary. He took another sniff, scent faint in the wind. Curiously, he was having a hard time seeing whoever it was -- but then again, they were probably having a hard time seeing him too. He stood his ground, not daring to move any further for the moment. Instead, in a subdued, somewhat gentle tone, he did the last thing Chuluun was probably expecting -- answering her question with another question.

"You... are a ghost too?"

I'm on my way -- look, Mama, on my own!
I lost my way; that was just an episode.
I'm on my way, off to worlds I've never known.
I'm looking for my road.

Georgette || @brunoagnelli || Nuka

Thomas O'Malley || Scamp || Mzuka

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Rebel Playing by Her Own Rules Sept 10, 2019 1:58:04 GMT

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Post by Chuluun on Sept 10, 2019 1:58:04 GMT

A lion? All the way out there? Huh...

He'd done exactly what she hadn't expected him to, and that threw Chuluun off for a beat. Blue eyes sparkled with interest as she looked Mzuka over, though. If he was asking that, and with the way he looked, then the answer was undoubtedly a yes. He probably would have been thought of as a ghost, too, with that pale white fur. Where in the world had he even come from? Curiosity got the better of her, and Chuluun allowed her plaything to escape while she padded a bit closer. In doing so, she moved away from the mountainous coloration and revealed herself a little better behind the snow. Her camouflage was only as good as the mountain coloring allowed her to be. She could blend in well enough, but when she decided to venture closer then anyone would have been able to see that she wasn't truly a ghost.

"That's right," Chuluun answered at last. He didn't strike her as a very fun ghost, though. What sort was he, though? A goody goody, perhaps? Or was she reading just off of his initial vibes. He seemed... not nervous, perhaps, but definitely not as confident as some who would live around that area. Perhaps he was passing through, Chuluun told herself. Perhaps he had heard the rumors of her existence and wanted to see it for himself.

"You're looking at the famed Ghost of the Mountain," she boasted. "Animals will believe anything around here." She flexed one of her paws and observed the claws that slid out. Frankly, she was kind of amazed that some of the locals hadn't been smart enough to figure out that she was just good at camouflaging herself. Oh well. It was more fun for her that way. Striking fear into the hearts of animals living around the mountains? It just was the sort of fun that Chuluun would have sought even as a cub. Perhaps Mzuka was the same way?

"And you... I've never seen a lion your color before," Chuluun admitted. "But if they call you a ghost, they have a good reason to. So what brought you all the way up here? Did you want to see if I existed?" She sounded pretty smug, honestly. Truth be told, she liked to think that her reputation preceded her.

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Rebel Playing by Her Own Rules Feb 16, 2020 8:25:06 GMT

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Post by Mzuka on Feb 16, 2020 8:25:06 GMT

For a moment, Mzuka’s attention was grabbed by the hare as he watched it make its escape, snow kicked up in its wake spattering against his legs. But when he caught sight of the snow-tinted she-cat’s true form, revealed just enough for him to get an idea that there was a face to the voice he had been hearing, his heart caught in his throat. Much like his own introduction had thrown Chuluun, he too found himself off guard. He had never seen one of her kind in the Pridelands before. Leopards of any stripe were a rarity, reserving themselves for the Backlands and not much else beyond that. One that could blend so flawlessly with this environment was beyond his understanding.

He found the bridge of his nose wrinkling involuntarily when she began to address him. Boy, did she sound arrogant as all-get-out. The lion had never been good at hiding his feelings, no matter how hard he tried. It was one of a laundry list of traits his father had found disappointing; his sister was much better at masking her emotions. Always revealing too much, he was told.

His demeanor changed when she mentioned her title again, however. “Ghost of the Mountain.” Now that was something Mzuka could get behind. There was a sense of intrigue to it he couldn’t shake. A power held in those words. Even if the leopard’s purpose for using it as she had explained felt… questionable, at best.

“And you… I’ve never seen a lion your color before. But if they call you a ghost, they have a good reason to. So what brought you all the way up here? Did you want to see if I existed?”

“Oh, no – I-I mean, not – not specifically.”

A chill rippled through the air, making the lion suddenly aware of how cold it really was. His body was trembling lightly, and he could feel his nose starting to stream. He swiped a paw against the back of it, snuffling and swallowing hard. This mountain excursion was evolving into its own questionable idea.

But it was quiet up here. Positively atmospheric. For him, it was something completely new. And all in all, he was glad for the company, in whatever form he could get it.

He paused for a moment, choosing his words very deliberately. There was admittedly very little threat that this relative stranger would run off to tell someone in the Outlands about the white lion she had just met. But one could never be too careful.

“I’m… a traveler.” Mzuka stopped, nodded to himself, and continued. “A wandering spirit, if you will. A nomad. One looking for good stories and good company across the land.” A little flowery, but it would do. After all, none of these statements were untrue by any means. Some details just happened to be more vague than others.

He shifted his paws, trying to attain his own read on her. She seemed… not hostile, per se, but definitely not someone he wanted to mess with. But there was a playful fire in her eyes that he knew all too well. It seemed she craved making mischief more than anything – if her treatment of that hare was anything to go by, it was all-too-likely. And if her game was pranking the locals…

Well…

This was a highly unusual path for him to be heading down.

There was a brief pause between the two; time Mzuka used to gingerly lowered himself to his haunches and daub at his running nose once more. Sitting directly on the snow was even less ideal than standing on it, but his options were limited. He was still shivering like a leaf.

“S-sorry to say, I’ve ne – never heard of any ‘Ghost of the Mountain’ before.” His expression was apologetic, as if he genuinely worried that he would hurt her feelings by saying so. “But – tell me – what exactly does a ghost of your kind do?” Fishing for a story, as per usual. But a story was exactly what he wanted to get out of her. And whatever she was willing to tell him, he already knew it was going be a fascinating tale.

Last Edit: Feb 16, 2020 18:15:37 GMT by Mzuka

I'm on my way -- look, Mama, on my own!
I lost my way; that was just an episode.
I'm on my way, off to worlds I've never known.
I'm looking for my road.