Naps Interrupted (Sheika)

[Zuzana]

90th of Summer, 510 AV


The bough of the large, old tree sagged slightly under the weight of the Myrian Tiger. It was a thick limb, but the weight of the tiger stressed the wood to creak slightly when the large cat moved. Her tail was wrapped around the thinner end of the branch, while the tigers face stayed close to the heart of the tree. Bored eyes opened slightly to look down across her territory. This was her tree, and damned be anything if it decided to come and mess up her home. Golden eyes shut behind orange-furred eyelids as long, thick whiskers prickled forward, her lips pulled back to expose large, pointed, yellowed teeth. Her sand-paper tongue arched in her mouth as a low grumbling yawn escaped the creatures throat.

The bough creaked while the tiger moved, stretching her front paws against the heart of the tree, thick black claws extended in and out of Zuzana's new scratching post. A low purr bubbling in her throat as she scratched and kneaded, pieces of bark falling from the tree. After a few moments of destruction, Zuzana looked around, the sun that had been warming her a few hours ago had moved and left her nap time to be a cold and lonely thing.

With a small huff, golden eyes looked around the tree she was occupying to find another branch that held some light for her to bask in. A few feet to the side and much closer to the ground than she currently resided. Another huff was all that left the large creature and she moved quickly and fluidly down from branch to branch to reach the one that promised a good sunning.

The cat seemed to smile once she reached the branch. "Perfect, a few more hours of sleep, and then I will find a delicious monkey to have for dinner. Or maybe I will have luck in a stream? Fish would be delicious." She licked her lips at her thought as her began to settle on the new chosen branch, position her large, orange face to be in the sun, her tail hung loosely from the branch, swinging slightly as she slowly drifted back into her kitty dreams.

[Sheika]

It was very odd for Sheika to wander into the wilderness of Falyndar, even when he was this close to Taloba. Then again though, Sheika was an odd man to behold. As he stalked slowly through the forest, his eyes, dark, deep, brown as moist mud, jumped from branch to shadow to tree to sky, to his rear to his front, left and right. Sheika was not eccentric, since such a word did not accurately describe a person like this. He was bizarre, strange, perhaps even slightly psychotic, but he had proven long ago not to be directly harmful towards the Myrians as a race, thus they did not kill him (however there were several that wouldn't hesitate about performing such a task). In his hand, as always when he was on guard, was the steel knife, which was rare amongst the Myrians, certainly not constructed by them. As he walked slowly, Sheika caught sight and sound of a large majestic (and terrifying) beast. Gold and black stripes, a fiercely powerful set of jaws, and the paws were so large. Sheika found himself staring for several moments. he wasn't unfamiliar with Myrian Tigers, there were several to be seen around Taloba actually, but this one was alone, which meant it was probably wild. Which meant Sheika was just as likely to be prey as anything in the damned jungle. Sheika, after processing these rather life threatening thoughts, quickly moved behind a tree to block sight between the two, though his feet were hardly silent. Sheika, no matter how hard he tried, never seemed skilled enough to be silent as a breeze. His mother was, but it was clear that he was not his mother. 'The tiger separates you from Taloba. It's not far, but you can't outrun a tiger, especially not a Myrian cat. You'll need to sneak by. Be like mother, be like mother.' Move! Sheika moved from behind the tree, moving in a crude semicircular path around the tiger, though he was forced to stand as still as a statue as his foot landed on a stranded twig, which snapped and echoed through the Falyndar jungle. Or perhaps it only echoed in his mind, but it felt very loud. He slowly cranked the muscles in his neck as he turned his head towards the tiger, hoping that it somehow wasn't really a tiger, or happened to be both blind, deaf, and insensitive to smell. Hell, it'd be a miracle if he wasn't picked up via scent a good two miles away. Twenty yards away, it was almost guaranteed that she'd pick him up if she woke.

[Zuzana]

Zuzana was asleep enough to not notice the scent that followed Shieka, scents passed the tiger by frequently enough that while she was napping they usually went ignored. A dull purr emanated from the creatures throat, she was quite content with the warm sun on her face. The Kelvic was a fairly light sleeper, but she did not awake as Shieka hid behind a tree, the Tiger did not awake until Shieka stepped on a twig.

Crack. Golden eyes flashed open, the Kelvic’s eyes bore into Shieka’s back as his head slowly turned. Zuzana had frozen as well, she could smell the fear off of him. The woman did not remain frozen for long, fluidly and quickly she jumped from her perch, landing on the ground with a hard thump.

She did not chase him, she simply looked at him, pacing slowly back and forth, watching his eyes through the skull of his mother. His eyes were muddy, like the stream after a hard rain, Zuzana hated fishing when the stream was muddy, she could never see the fish.

The Kelvic found it strange, even with how close she was to Tabola, it was not a thing she often, if ever, saw; a man walking alone in the jungle. The jungle was a dangerous place, it wasn't common for a Myrian to enter it without their fang. The woman made a small growl, as if to ask why he was there. Of course, her attempt to communicate would likely fail.

Black, thick claws dug into the dirt as she paced, kicking up particles of the ground. Her eyes continued to look over the strange man, he was not like the rest of the Myrians she had come in contact with. Oddly, Zuzana found herself amused with the man, mostly the idea of him rather than the actuality of him. He carried a strange weapon, made of steel, he wore a mask made from a skull, these things were strange, unique. He was not just another burly Myrian with a large pointy stick.

With a final small growl, fur was replaced with dark skin and long brown hair, her human figure was crouched on the ground, her eyes remained their deep gold as she continued to watch the man. Silence fell over her area of the jungle for only a short while, once the tiger was gone, birds began to make noise again. Zuzana's lip twitched, she did not care for the chirping.

"Why are you here?" She slowly stood to her full height, taking a few small steps toward the man.

[Sheika]

Sheika remained in that frozen state for a long moment as he watched. His heart beat in his breast like the drums of Taloba as he waited. Did the beast hear him? Was his cover blown? Yes, it would appear so. As the sounds of broken twig made its way into Zuzana's ears, she lifted her head, dropped to the ground, and glared at him. Sheika felt like it was a glare at least, those cat-like predatory eyes always looked like a glare, stalking a prey, even when teh prey was more or less simply trying to avoid the predator before it caught his presence. Then the unexpected happened. She did not run, pounce, and tear his head right off his neck, but rather she shifted into a human. Nudity was not something that particularly appealed to Sheika, he was not so shallow as to be swayed by such things as the humanoid anatomy, but a Kelvic! A Myrian Tiger Kelvic! This was so strange, so exotic. Sheika had never really been close to a Myrian Tiger itself, and Kelvics were fairly uncommon to be found around here (most races of Kelvic simply cannot live here), but this Kelvic, now woman in appearance, was watching him, questioning him. And Sheika was drawn to her. He slowly stood tall, or at least as tall as he was, the hand holding the dagger lowered itself to his waist as he loosely held it, watching as she slowly stalked towards him with those eyes. Stalked, as if Sheika still expected her to try and maul him. It wouldn't be too ridiculous to believe, she was a Tiger after all. Sheika, upon recognizing the language as his own, grinned foolishly, and ultimately dropped his guard. He knew she could kill him if she wished it, running might aggravate her, saying the wrong thing might as well. But there was still that intrigue he felt. That sense of wonder that nulled his sense of fear. He took a few steps towards Zuzana. "Sheika talks to spirits. Sometimes the spirits wander into the trees. I must follow. There are things spirits must do to exist. Sheika helps them. I help them." Sheika left out the part where he was actually possessed and more or less dragged out into the wilderness. By the time the ghost weakened enough to be expelled from his body, Sheika was already a few miles out of Taloba, and now was his return journey back home. "I am not here to harm you, hunt you, capture you, or enslave you. A spirit of your kind once told me that you live your lives by your own bonds to this world. Sheika will not break this." Sheika felt a lump in his throat as he took a single side step towards Taloba, as if that single step would give him just enough distance to reach Taloba before Zuzana shifted, chased him down, and shredded his life from his miserable corpse. "What do you call yourself?" Sheika was not certain whether a Kelvic was named by its parents, or even if a Kelvic was born from other Kelvics or just animals. This could be tricky on asking how they were named.

[Zuzana]

Sheika's words were strange to the Kelvic, she did not understand what he meant, at least not fully. A strange grin peered out from under the mask as he looked at her. Zuzana had no dignity, she felt no need for it, it was simply prefered while she was in Tabola. "Sheika talks to spirits." It took Zuzana a moment to realize what this meant, and the kelivc had a sudden desire and hope. Could he speak with her mother? "Sometimes the spirits wander to trees. I must follow. There are things spirits must do to exist. Sheika helps them. I help them."

"Help them?" Zuzana asked, she resumed her pacing, golden eyes remained on the strange man. "You followed a spirit out here? Why would it bring you here?" The Tiger was confused, why would a Myrian go out here alone? Even if he wanted to help a spirit, it would be a foolish endeavor.

Zuzana froze in mid pace at Sheika's next words. Her eyes locked onto the man and narrowed. Strange. He respected her. This was an odd thing for Zuzana, her kind was usually treated well, the Myrian tiger side of her, but they were still owned. Her lip twitched slightly as he took a step, her body tensed. "A spirit of my kind? A kelvic?" If he had no desire to harm her, hunt her, capture her or enslave her, then she had no fear of him. But what if he were to send a fang for her? Then she would be owned, controlled, she would serve another against her own desires."

"What do you call yourself?" Zuzana did not particularly call herself anything, she was her and that was that. Others called her a variety of things but the name her colorful mother had bestowed upon her was Zuzana, or Zuz for short. Zuz was not a name she would let others say, unless those select few wanted their throats ripped in a quick instant after muttering that name. "My mother named me Zuzana. You are Shieka." Zuzana crouched down against the earth, her sharp nails dug into the rich soil.

"Why do you not desire to own me?" Zuzana seemed confused, she only knew Myrian Tigers who were kept as mounts, her knowledge of the tigers was little, her knowledge of their treatment was even less. She knew they were devoted to their master, this was a thought that terrified Zuzana, being controlled by another without any control over ones self. At the same time that she feared a master, she also found herself desiring a leader, someone for her to serve, but also someone who would allow her her own pleasures, which were few and simple at best.

[Sheika]

Sheika placed his dagger in his backpack, to help ease whatever tension that may have been lingering in the vicinity around these two. Rather than stepped towards Taloba more, he found the Myrian Tiger to be almost adolescent, puzzled, maybe even as intrigued as he was, and took another step towards Zuzana. "Yes, I help the spirits. Many who die cannot leave this world to be born again until some lingering task is completed. Each spirit has a different task before they embark into reincarnation, but few know or recognize what this is. For some, vengeance is required. Others demand to hear the words of their loved ones forgiving them before they can peacefully rest. Some even linger until those they are bound to die, so that they might embark into life together, as they were in life before. I try to help them find this task. Myrians to not like to deal with spirits though. The others prefer to push them away, which Sheika cannot frown upon. But I sympathize." Sheika blinked slowly, realizing he was now staring at the sun above through slivers of openings in the tree canopy. "Some spirits try to lead me to the trees for malicious intent. To control my body is almost to be alive again. Sheika cannot help a malicious spirits like that." Sheika shrugged slightly, he recognized the tensing of the woman, and even though she was not in her feline form, it could still see the tension. He just nodded. "There was a Kelvic male, a bear. Not a creature you see around these parts. He did not recognize death, thus he was searching for his master. Perhaps when he finds the master, his spirit will be released. Sheika can only hope." A small smile spread across his face as she shared her name, then pointed out his own. He had not introduced himself, but his speech, the constant shifting from first person to third person, was obviously giving away his identity. No matter, he had not intended to hid himself. "You are Zuzana, I am Sheika." Sheika whispered right after she spoke, a confirmation. Though her sudden questioning confused him. Perhaps she was suspicious. It would make sense, even though Sheika was unfamiliar with tactics used to obtain Myrian Tigers (Kelvics not included), as he had never personally assisted in it, it could assume that it could be a struggle for both parties. Something Zuzana may have been warned about since she was a cub. Was that the correct word? Cub? Catling? Tiger-child? Whatever, Sheika didn't have to dwell on that at this moment. "Ownership is not a thing Sheika desires. Friendship is always welcome. Sheika does not own others nor does he own Tigers, Sheika does not own Spirits, neither does Sheika own his mother." As he mentioned his mother, Sheika lightly tapped on the skull head ornament. "Sheika does not desire to own Zuzana. I wish to learn from you. Zuzana is free."

[Zuzana]

Golden eyes watched the iron dagger as Sheika returned it to his pack, Zuzana had never seen a weapon like that before, it was shiny, metallic, strange. Her attention quickly snapped back to Sheika's face as he stepped towards her. Strange, usually this was the time when people went running.
Those who cannot leave this world after they die? He was helping these poor beings find peace, helping them complete their tasks. Zuzana understood what he was doing, but at the same time, her bestial side had little understanding of what spirits were, even with Sheika's explanation. This man was strange, far different from the other Myrian's Zuzana had encountered during her life. He wore a mask over his face and helped spirits, and he talked funny.

The negative space between the leaves of the trees created small, moving patterns over his face and shoulders. Zuzana found herself slowly stepped forward, her eyes inspecting, of all things, the mask he wore over his face. "What do you do when a spirit does that? Can you kill it?" Her attention remained on the mask, her eyes zoning in on one of the glass beads which held a slight glow from the sun, a desire to attack the small object made her fingers twitch. "You cannot always help them?" She frowned slightly at the story, she found the bear to be weak, while it was bred into her as well as all kelvics, the need to serve, how could one be so blind? A twinge of jealousy hit her, but the stubborn Tiger quickly pushed it away.

"You are Zuzana, I am Sheika." Golden eyes snapped from the glimmering bead to Sheika's eyes as he whispered. Her expression was puzzled, why did he repeat it, did he have poor memory? Maybe it was from all the spirits taking over his being. Zuzana did not know and cared little, she simply found it strange to hear another say her name. The kelvic gave the myrian a simple nod as she straightened up.

The creature slowly circled Sheika as he spoke, mostly she was watching for him to tense, to do something foolish, the Kelvic was not stupid, she knew the jungle was not a safe place, it was moronic to let ones guard down. She made a full circle around him just as he tapped is mask, the beads clinked and Zuzana's pupils became slits, the beads were enticing, but the creature held back. "You wear your mother too?" Zuzana gave him a sharp, toothy grin.

"Sheika does not desire to own Zuzana. I wish to learn from you. Zuzana is free." He said. Zuzana cocked her head, her body had relaxed over the course of Sheika's speaking. "Learn? What would you learn?" She blinked a few times. Zuzana was not a teacher, she had no idea how to teach, why would she start now?

Zuzana turned, moving back towards her tree. "Tabola is a ways from here. It is dangerous to go alone, it's surprising you have no become lunch yet. I will go with you, I have wanted to visit the market for a while now anyways. We can talk while we walk." Zuzana reached the base of her tree, shifting some leaves and dirt off of an old, dirty bag. She picked up the article that held some clothes, shoes and other items.

[Sheika]

Sheika stopped moving as she began to interrogate him about the spirits, or malicious intent in spirits really. He had to pause because it caught him off guard. He never really imagined a Kelvic would be interested in spirits, or if they would even understand. Zuzana was actually interested in them though, and whether or not she understood the concept of ghosts or not, she actually tried to seek more knowledge from Sheika. It was a first in his life that somebody actually came to him seeking knowledge about something like this. Sheika smiled as he lightly tapped the mask carved from his mother's skull. "When cruel spirits try to take the body, Sheika can only fight inside the body..." Sheika made a strange motion of waving his open palm hand over his chest. "... and push the spirit away. Some spirits are stronger than Sheika, some are weaker than Sheika. When a strong spirit possesses the body, it must be allowed to use the body until it becomes weak again, then Sheika pushes it out. This is why Sheika is out here. The spirit was strong, but became weak." Did Zuzana understand? Could she? Sheika wasn't sure. How could a Myrian understand if a Kelvic held the capacity to understand what he tried to help her understand? It was all too difficult to understand at that moment. But Sheika wanted to know, now just what a Kelvic could in fact learn. Nature taught the Kelvics to live like animals, to survive like animals, yet there was Humanity in there. Could they be taught to learn more? "No, Sheika cannot help all spirits. Sheika cannot even help many spirits but to talk to them. Some won't listen, some can't listen. Some won't understand, some cannot understand. A spirit cannot be helped by Sheika if it does not seek help from Sheika. A malicious spirit does not seek help." Sheika smiled as the questions continued, before too long he would be finding questions himself he wanted to know about spirits, simply because of what she was asking. Oh the possibilities. "Sheika cannot kill a spirit. If it can be done, I do not know how it can be done. Perhaps Sheika is too weak, but he tries to be strong to help spirits, and fight bad spirits. Ah, mother..." Zuzana mentioned his mother. Did he mention her to Zuzana? He had forgotten already, perhaps he slipped a little. Regardless, judging by the way his eyes looked upwards in futility towards his scalp and lifted his fingers to trace the various grooves and circular carvings in the skull-mask. Sheika nodded slowly. "Sheika's mother was strong. She is dead now, but she is always with me. Mother is always with Sheika. But Zuzana is with Sheika, for a little while at least. Many things can be learned. Sheika has already learned Zuzana is no tiger, but a Kelvic. Not a man, but a girl. Sheika had learned Zuzana is curious, beautiful, and will be respected in Taloba. Sheika knows these things, learned that which he would not learn if he did not meet Zuzana. Sheika has not learned what can be learned though. When the knowledge comes, I will keep it. It is my way." Sheika looked over his shoulder as Zuzana mentioned Taloba, he stood up straight for a moment, realizing the logic in her words. It was dangerous to be out here, and evil spirits weren't even the least of his worries in such a place. He was very lucky to have survived, though couldn't help but consider that maybe it was the evil spirit itself that spooked away most threats of the jungle from him, or at least for the time being. Sheika moved his head to watch Zuzana again, who was retrieving belongings of hers. He nodded, although he wanted to stay just where they were. Survival was always top priority. "I would like that." As if holding some sort of mystical control over him, the mention of Taloba corrected his odd speech almost instantly. That place, though home and though he loved it there, wasn't particularly welcoming to him. He held little, if any, respect or honor there. He was a self-proclaimed witch doctor, a maledictor and a spirit shaman, he was no warrior, which is something the Myrians took tremendous pride in. Still, if it meant he could be around the Myrian Tiger Kelvic for a few more hours as they traveled, he could enjoy it.

[Zuzana]

“Fight inside the body?” Zuzana seemed to perk up slightly, she loved fighting, but she had never heard of fighting inside of a body. The Kelvic found the thought of fighting internally a mixture of confusing and intriguing, she loved to fight, she loved learning to fight, a part of the Tiger wanted Sheika to show her how. “You were not strong enough,” Zuzana understood, mostly, but her comprehension was from a different point of view, her mind wandered to the prey she had killed easily, they were not strong, but Zuzana was. To the Kelvic she saw what happened to Sheika entirely different from what actually happened, to her Sheika danced around the spirit, avoiding punches while it slowly wore itself out to the point where Sheika was stronger. “You will have to practice to get better.” Zuzana flashed a sharp-toothed grin at the Myrian.

Zuzana didn’t understand Sheika’s words, they glazed over her like morning dew. She understood that he wanted to help spirits, but she did not understand why someone in need would ignore helpful words, or how one would not be able to hear them. “Are they deaf? Yes… That must be it.” “They ones that want to cause harm can’t hear you?” She blinked, confusion was obviously held in her eyes, in the way her mouth curled slightly downward.

The perplexed looked that resided on the Kelvic’s face only grew as Sheika continued to speak. How could you not kill it? It was a thing, it could be banished, beaten, why not killed? Why not destroyed? There had to be a way. “Cannot kill one? There has to be a way to, everything can be destroyed, I do not see a reason why a spirit could not.”

The shorter man’s fingers traced over his mother’s skull, feeling the carvings that had been chiseled into the bone. Zuzana was not surprised that Sheika’s mother was strong, most Myrian woman were very strong, Zuzana wished to be like them. The strange phrases of the Witch Doctor continued to flow to the Tiger’s ears, strange phrases, but Zuzana preferred the way Sheika spoke to the way most humans she met spoke. He was strange, like Zuzana was.

The Kelvic’s lip twitched as he called her a girl. The woman took it as an insult. Yes, Zuzana was young, but she was not a fool, not a child. She was far from defenseless, far from needing protection or help. The Tiger would probably refuse help even if she did need it; she was not one to be dependent on another. The cat did not say it, but she did think that if it were not for her, he would likely be lunch soon, that was something Zuzana knew. The Myrian still had not learned what he wished to learn; what was it he wanted to know? “What is it you’re trying to learn, Sheika?”

After Zuzana had gathered her things, she walked towards Sheika. The Kelvic would not dress until she was just outside of Tabola, it would be foolish to dress then need to shift. The Kelvic said nothing as she slowly passed the man; sharp golden eyes watched him as she walked past, heading towards Tabola. “You will owe me a fish for this.” She grinned slightly at the thought of a fish, fresh, maybe still moving. “Why do you want to help Spirits, Sheika?” Zuzana seemed to care little about the plants and twigs she was stepping on, making a significant amount of noise, she was not worried about something attacking, not now anyways, most things that would look at her as food would change their minds after a quick shift in forms.

“Why is Sheika alone, anyways? Even if you were being… Controlled or however that works, do you not have another Myrian to keep you from doing something foolish,” She smirked slightly, glancing at the man before speaking again. “Like this?”

[Sheika]

oocI'm so sorry, I had somehow forgotten about this thread. I promise I'll do better to post here. Sheika grinned lightly as Zuzana pointed out his obvious flaws. He was weak, too pathetic to combat the spirits that had carried him out here. He knew it, and he wasn't even embarrassed. Sure, it was a sign of weakness for a Myrian to be unable to defend himself, but he wasn't typical, he wasn't exactly one to fit in with the Myrian people. He was so different, almost a scholar amongst barbarians. "Practice with spirits is what Sheika was doing. Sheika does not understand the spirits like he wants, but tries." Sheika could tell there was both understanding and confusion in Zuzana. She had some grasp on what he was talking about, yet it wasn't quite there. No matter, it was probably better she didn't bother herself too much over it. Zuzana continued to poke and prod about the spirits Sheika had mentioned. It was quite refreshing to the Witch Doctor to hear somebody else as intrigued about the metaphysical world as he was. He smiled, truly excited she asked more about them. "Spirits can hear, or some can. Sometimes they are so old that they were before our language was born, so they cannot understand. Others are from faraway lands, and they cannot understand words, and I cannot understand their words. Some can hear, some can understand, but choose not to think. The spirits that are malicious, they want to feel life again, through Sheika, through anybody." Did that answer her question, Sheika assumed so. He felt that he explained it very well, or at least well enough to where he would have been able to understand. "An angry spirit tried to take Sheika deep into the jungle." Perhaps he wasn't good enough to evade possession altogether, but at least he managed to shake the ghost before anything terrible happened. Sheika's eyes bounced back towards Zuzana as she continued to explore the subject at hand, a faint chuckled rumbled in his throat as she spoke. Slaying a ghost? As far as he knew, it wasn't possible. He was just an amateur though. "A spirit is already dead. When a Myrian, a Kelvic, or foreigner dies, usually they leave this world and return again, alive once more. The spirits are those that died, but did not leave. They have become trapped. Sheika does not know why some stay, but he knows they need something to be free and become alive once again. Sheika tries to help them find it, to help them understand. Kill a spirit, Sheika cannot. A spirit is not seen unless it chooses to, a spirit is not touched unless it chooses to." Sheika lifted his hand and examined his fingers. He was obviously recollecting the chilling feel he had once experienced. "I mean, young Tigress." Sheika grew slightly nervous as he observed the signs of annoyance, and tried to amend the situation before he was devoured. "Sheika does not particularly wish to learn anything, but everything." A very large and bold task. "Sheika does not desire to know, but hungers for it nevertheless. Does he make sense?" It was difficult to describe just how he felt, it was more a curiosity that drove him to ask questions, to explore magics frowned upon, not so much a yearned to know. It almost felt like a necessity. "Sheika will offer a fish to Zuzana if she allows him to live." Sheika grinned sarcastically. He already had a feeling she wouldn't kill him, she had plenty of time to do that already. "Sheika does not think his mother became a spirit in death, but he has seen many Myrian warriors that do become spirits. Sheika cannot believe that his Goddess, Myri, would be pleased with wandering warriors in death." Sheika spoke, but it wasn't the full truth. There was more, a personal reason that existed that he didn't want to reveal. It was probably something that would have given him trouble, or to be looked down even more than he was. He glanced at Zuzana, who was now ready to travel to Taloba. Sheika wondered what it was like to feel more comfortable naked than clothed (not that he really wore much anyway). "Sheika has always been alone. Sheika's father was worthless, early death, weak in sickness, but smart. Sheika's mother was a warrior, but did not love Sheika as she would a daughter. Sheika was... neglected." Neglected almost rolled off as ignored, which was probably more accurate and painful than anything. He grinned again, masking the sudden shift in emotion. "Nobody understand Sheika, and Sheika does not have the patience to explain to everyone his reasons or beliefs." Again, a cover up. Perhaps he forgot just how long he had been trying to explain spirits to a Myrian Tigress.