Duskfire Glacier She hides like a child but she’s always a woman to me

Lilia needs a caretaker. If not, she gets three more threads and then she’ll die.

 

The water carried her away from the two dangerous wolves- and to a flat point in the terrain from which she could see the glacier of her home in the distance. She was exhausted and starving, but she fully expected her mother to dote on her as soon as she reached her home.

”MAMA!!!” She screeched loudly, as she dragged herself to a halt, sprawled across where the borders had been- now, devoid of markings. She was furious. Her eyes were glistening and red  around the edges. Her nose ran. ”MAMAAA!” She shrieked again. 

Only now did it begin to hit her, and fill with her spite, to know her entire family was gone

the illustrious mountain mistress - as mademoiselle in peasantly summer dress - walked the autumnal gardens of her summer palace, the canopy her parasol, songbirds her court.

with graceful leap and another, she went from stone to heavy branches of most ancient pine ( which politely bent only slightly beneath her, as to not reveal a lady's weight ).

another leap and she held the bark of felled oak within her claws, toppled so it overlooking the land. her face raised to the heavens, and a single lightbean speared the clouds to bathe it - whiskers glistening, lavalier reflective. how sunlight caressed her most beautiful belle fille!

and then the lovely symphony of her ladies-in-waiting, was quieted by a screech most sudden and discordant.

mannerless! the mistress turned her head, aghast at it. impolite! the once-queen descended her balcony in a flurry of gown, fury and finery, crinoline hoisted up as she raced to the epicenter - made obvious by another horrid noise - at a pace dictated by a sheer fiery rage!

the mountain mistress emerged from the treeline, announced by crashing of branches and foliage, and it took such small effort to leap onto the petulant hearth-keeper, and loom over it with powerful forelimbs slammed onto either side of its dwarfish frame.

"paysan!" shrieked the mistress, face pushed forward so her gemstone eyes would show the insult inflicted, flickering teeth the threat. "oot right, oot pom-pouz-znezz-" one paw slammed down again, claws raking the earth. "-maek yow dizrezpah ma cour?!"

She wept bitterly, to be left so alone. It enraged her to think that her mother had left, and taken all her siblings with her- but hadn’t made sure to account for Lilia. How dare she?! Lilia uttered an ugly, angry squall, but the noise caught in her mouth as she heard someone approaching- hurtling through the wilderness toward her.

The indignant princess wouldn’t be caught wailing and lying on the ground like a baby, so she sat up, ready to unleash hell upon her guardians for letting her get lost, and get accosted by rude strangers-

But the beast that came down upon her was not her mother. This was not her mother- nor was this a wolf. On either side of her was a tawny leg as thick and solid as the trunk of a poplar. The mouth that gaped above her had fangs longer than those belonging to any wolf she had ever seen. And the eyes that glared at her were narrowed to slits. 

She flinched under the hot breath and angry words. She shook her head when a bit of spittle hit her nose. 

”You awe WUDE!! I’n a PINTHETH!” she shrieked in return. She too stomped the ground with one foot- though in comparison, her paw was much tinier.

the woman's head pulled away, her mouth ajar and eyes wide, pupils dilating with shock!

...before first a snort, then a chuckle, rising into cackling and crescendoing into a laugh - had her elegant head throw back, droplets of mirth gathering beneath her lashes.

a peasant talking back at her, with tone and gesture as if it that had suffered most horrid offense at hands of a lesser. c'est amusant!

still chuckling, the mistress leaned back onto her haunches, raising a paw to her countenance.

"ow, ow, 'ow ah-myu-zing!" she swiped away a tear in one fluid motion. her glistening eyes blessed the promeneur de jour with their attention. "and who is zis petit, unimportant lutin? 'ave i wronged ze king ouf ze leetle folk?" she asked with a toothy, mocking grin. a twitch briefly unsheathed the claws of one paw.

The creature’s massive head lifted back and away from her own, to her relief. Lilia knew the sound of laughter, but she’d not said anything funny. She had the feeling she was being mocked even before the panther leaned in to speak again, amusement gleaming in those gemstone eyes of hers. 

Her voice was a velveteen purr, her words writhed and coiled like a pile of snakes. There was something graceful about the feline’s movements that momentarily impressed the child, whose brow furrowed again as soon as she was deemed “little folk.” 

”Nod widdle fuck, I’m dwathe-ful.” As though being graceful was an excuse for being so small in comparison. ”I’m pintheth Lee-Lee-a,” She squeaked indignantly. ”Who you?” She asked the feline, eyeing her up and down skeptically.

how about we steer this toward MT guiding or dropping the kid off near the rise? :)

bejeweled eyes gleamed, entertained, as le petit lutin spoke.

they grew as wide as great indian diamonds, when the elf gave a title.

"princesse?" the mistress purred, leaning forward. she looked the small thing - a she! - over with a more admiring gaze; the cut of her dress, the quality of her wig, the craftsmanship of her jewelry...

the mistress pouted, finding what she saw... très insuffisant.

"ma, ma, princesse lee-lee-ah," the great cat chuckled, fanning a clawed paw over her smile. "and what ees le royaume... zhe kingdom, you are 'eir to?"

sure! Would love an updated thread sometime too :)

She felt as though she were being appraised, and the young, weak thing did what she could to summon her strength and hold herself with poise under the cougar’s gemlike gaze. For all she lacked in glorious coat and shapely curves, the skinny girl had a gleam to her eyes that sought to match the magnitude of the creature before her.

”Duthkfiaw Glathieaw,” She declared. ”Now. What’th yowa name?” She asked again, still keen on learning what to call the cat.

delicate earlobes pirouetted. soft surprise made her lips into an "o".

le glacier?

the royal head rose, surveyed the land, briefly concerned - then was made to feel silly. loups had been gone for months.

she looked down again. la petite princesse. what was her claim to royalty? a trick? someone's attempt at comedy? and yet just as the supple, royal lips curled for a joke, something caught the queen's eye.

a glint. vanishingly brief. the exact way the light breaks off of a well-cut gem.

did she imagine it?

it was known that in kings, with all the confidence and self-assuredness removed, there remained a pea beneath the mattresses and eider-down beds, a small thing that only a true royal might notice.

she must've seen it-

with a blink, she realized that in thinking of the girl, she had ignored the girl.

"...je suis la reine de la montagne." her majesty said, without the grandeur with which one would impress a peasant. "you may call me zhe mo'n'ta'n queen, until you've learned zhe royal lang'uage, of coh'se."

gracefully, the queen rose to her full height, seemingly invigorated, expression warm and amused. "boot i zee yoh're in une situation difficile, zeeing as ah've annexed your kinghdom! most dramatique, oui."

Her words meant nothing to Lilia, who did not comprehend the language. She struggled enough with the feline's accent, though the intention was clear, and Lilia set her jaw when the cougar proclaimed herself queen. It was a claim Lilia could not dispute, given the disappearance of her family, but something that the Mon-tayne Queen said caused Lilia to pause. Her bravado did not flag, but her interest her been summoned. 

"Did...you chathe my family away?" She asked tentatively. Hurt showed in her voice. While she wanted the territory for herself...Some part of her wanted to have her family back as well.

the great regal cat began circling the young princesse. each eye sparkled with the catching of light.

"oui." 

a shine, as she looked at the back of the thin, ruddy neck.

"yes. boot, be not ah-fred, princesse lilia! ee am no barbare. true royalty ees 'ard to come by, so i-" the queen stopped, placing a paw by the child. her claws unsheathed like a quartet of well-polished daggers.

"-shall show you a new kingdom. would you like zat?"

I like allowing them to have a positive, open tie so that we can have future threads <3<3<3

Wee.

The sound meant nothing to her, but the intention was there. The cat's cheshire grin was proud, and it mocked her and everything her family had founded on the Glacier. The circling was something she felt was meant to inspire fear; she could taste it on the tip of her tongue, but she wouldn't allow herself to freeze. Lilia pivoted, not willing to allow the panther to leave her sight. She remained skeptical, wary of the creature who claimed to have dispersed her family.

Her familial ties had been rattled, to find them gone. Whether or not the panther was the cause...She still did not forgive them for not coming for her. They'd not looked, not called out for her- nor had they tried to come back to see if her bones could be found, smelling of cougar. Freshest in her memories were the squabbles that she had, constantly, with her sister. The absence of a father, and the way her mother had cast aside any mention of his name in spite. The family had been broken apart even before the remainders of it had disappeared.

She kept herself still as a large paw- at least the size of her skull- was placed caringly beside her, claws revealed. She did not know what a barbare was, but she thought she had an idea of its meaning. The mountain queen, perhaps, had been trying to sort the royal from the common. She was promised a new kingdom. She lifted her chin and pursed her lips for a moment. Leave the mountain and the ice to the cat- it meant little to her now.

"Vewy well. You be Mountain Queen, I'na be queen...Of a new kingdom." She recited carefully. Where her kingdom would be, the panther had yet to reveal.

the reaction caused a pause. the queen spent a moment comprehending the magnitude of this offense- then demurely laughed. a courtier's giggle.

it took only a few leaps to catch up to the runaway princesse. she slapped a paw over the wriggling coal-and-ember body, flattening it to the ground.

"now now, petite princesse. ees rude to decline simple gifts! boot, i take no offense..." the queen purred on, almost maternal in tone.

her head lowered, lips near the pressed little ear. "west and north, petite. you will thank me~" whiskers brushed the side of the girl's face.

"and come spring, i'd hope to see you queen."

the queenly paw rose, permitting the enfant loup's leave.

she would watch her retreat with much enjoyment.

She did not to be scolded, so she would have to be more grateful the next time the cougar offered her anything. The fact the cougar was even giving her her life to walk away with was something that went underappreciated but...Lilia was a princess, after all. 

She was offered directions, and while the Mountain Queen's muzzle still remained there, she pressed her temple affectionately against the cat's lower jaw; a way to show appreciation and respect. The cat pulled back, and Lilia knew that now was the time to go. She turned, but paused. Swept her head low. Fank you, Mountain Queen." She said, before she began to rove toward the woodlands.