PM to join The Bitter and the Sweet [Lacerta]

[Litani]

"I have not," she replied softly, turning her eyes to the exhibits which were passing before their eyes - collections of housed birds, small exotic rodents, beautiful displays replete with native trees and plant species, each placed and engineered to make the resident feel most at home. She paused near a glass plane which let them see in on the secret devices of a particularly intricate form of lizard. "I confess I have been but a distant daughter to Laviku... we needs must speak again, before I would seek His embrace."

She paused, then, reflecting back on the times most recent that she had sought His guidance... the hand of Laviku. Was it only because of Tromik's death? Was it because she needed it? Or was it the city that brought it out, in her...? She remembered back on the meetings she'd had here, the many conversations. "I would relish the opportunity, however," she murmured then, reflecting internally as she walked beside the Ethaefal. "There are such beauties in the deep... beauties I have only imagined."

With a gentle sigh, the Konti fell quiet. In truth, she was a world apart from the Gods of her birth. As much as she reached and dreamed and devoted, still she was estranged. Or so she felt.

Just as her mind folded back on itself to look inward, Litani's eyes caught sight of a small, stocky, striped cat that was stalking around an ornate enclosure - all at once, she laughed softly, as bewitched and transfixed as a girl. The placard near the exhibit stated the creature for a 'Water Cat', the kind of hunter that kept feline habits in their most primal... awake by night, living in caves, stalking fish and hunting from streams. And that was just what this creature was engaged in, just now: the waterfall in its habitat was apparently stocked with small silvery fish, and the 'Water Cat' skillfully reached down with a deft paw and batted one from the current as easily as one might reach upon a shelf for a needed object. Litani chuckled briefly and caught herself speaking to the cat as if he could hear her - "That is some reach you have..!" As if realizing herself after the fact, she blushed and fell silent, but still she smiled broadly at the enchanting creature before her. Girlish or not, she seemed to make no apologies for the genuineness of spirit that brought about the outburst. Instead, she glanced at Lacerta and said quietly, "Isn't such a thing amazing...? That we can see them, as we might if they were wild..."

[Lacerta]

Lacerta smiled softly at Litani's comment about Laviku, but let it sit. It the Konti had never been to sea, or Mura, it was likely that her connection with the sea god would be slight. She let the woman muse about the ocean out loud, while she did the same inside, contemplating life, sailing, and the sea. The smile stayed on her face as she thought, and she slightly didn't mind being inside, though mostly because of the magnificent domed roof above them. Soon after, however, Litani seemed to spot something. A small cat was wandering around in an enclosure... fishing. There was actually a river, with fish in it. Strange... Still, the Eth watched it hop around and attempt to catch some dinner, stretching its paws and batting a fish. Her companion laughed at this, and talked a bit to the cat, as if pretending it could hear her. The Ethaefal mentally shrugged at this, not really finding anything too strange. A lot of people were animal lovers. However, the next comment surprised her, and brought back a vivid memory. She thought back over a hundred years ago, to... an owl, which she met in the wild. She'd seen it out of an enclosure... actually touched it... She sighed momentarily, and nodded in agreement. "Yes... animals in the wild are.. amazing, to say the least... But here is the second best substitute, wouldn't you say?" she turned to the Konti expectantly, the image of the owl still in her mind. "Though cats are amazing in general... this is like... a miniature of what we will see, no?" She grinned, a rare occurrence, but Lacerta was truly beginning to enjoy herself here, especially with a fond memory at hand. She waited patiently for a bit, wondering if the Konti would rather continue watching the cat, or move on to another attraction. Common Fravata Arumenic Someone else

[Magpie]

OOCSorry I'm late! Feel free to do what you like with this, just giving you something to bounce off of.

A short way up the corridor, the pair of women would see a scattering of people clustered around one particular exhibit. The number of people could hardly be called a crowd, and the glass was more than big enough for everyone to have a front row seat, but the exhibit was clearly the most popular. A konti healer was inside, just packing up her things: potions, bandages, and clippers; apparently having strong, but hushed words with the Zookeeper standing beside her.

The main attraction behind the glass however, was a massive tiger, stretched out in a deep sleep on the exhibit’s grassy floor. The great chest moved up and down slowly with its breaths, and a small twitch ran occasionally through the tail. Against the bright green grass, striped orange and white creature stood out like a sore thumb. There were high reeds and trees to the left of the exhibit, and a small, rocky waterfall to the right. With the sun shining down from the dome above, it appeared to be a small paradise.

The jungle beast itself was enormous, as long as two horses end to end, though one would notice that the creature appeared somewhat diminished, despite the sheer size. The fur was dull and matted in places, and it was very thin. There were bandages on two of its legs, and some greasy lotion appeared to have been applied to one side of its head.

The strong words between the zookeeper and the healer seemed to come to a head, and they stared each other down for a moment. Finally, appearing to have been defeated, the Konti turned to glare shortly at the staring audience, and bent to remove the bandages. The zookeeper huffed impatiently and left the exhibit via a hidden doorway in the rock. Bandages removed, the healer pulled a vial from her bag and hesitated a moment, one small hand gently touching the striped head. As if under duress, she tipped the potion into the tiger’s mouth, tilting its head upward. As soon as she finished, she put the empty vial in her bag and hurried from the exhibit.

There was a sign posted outside the glass in front of the exhibit:

Meet the newest member of the Menagerie family – Dojo, the great Myrian Tiger! He’s a bit weak from his travels right now, so bear with him as he sleeps. Please do not shout or tap on the glass, as he’s still getting used to his surroundings and this may frighten him.

Inside, moments after the healer had left, the tiger began to stir, the irritable wakefulness one may associate with an invigoration potion. With a start and a huff of breath, the golden eyes popped open and slowly regarded the new surroundings.

[Litani]

Drawn by the excited sense of the small crowd, Litani's head raised to see the cluster of people around the Myrian tiger's exhibit and she found her steps drifting her closer, determinedly, towards them. She was curious and her eyes were wide, eager to take everything in... but as she watched over a stranger's shoulder, her face began to pale. Her brows knit together with compassion for the great cat's pain as she saw the other Konti unwind the bandages from around the creature's wounds. She winced faintly as she saw the Konti and the zookeeper exchange words; in the back of her mind, Litani chastised herself for coming in, for this is exactly what had stalled her at the door - this fear of seeing an animal be, by her standards, mistreated. The sign by the tiger's display clearly indicated that he should be treated with respect, but yet the zookeeper's insistence that he be roused seemed at odds with that. Litani frowned, uncertain what to do.

When the other Konti did her duty and disappeared through the hidden door, Litani gently shouldered her way forward through the crowd - trying not to upset or displace anyone in the process - and pressed her hand against the glass. She stared into the Myrian tiger's eyes and felt herself melt inside, reaching out to him as if she could somehow heal his pain. As open and sensitive as she was, she felt foolish for seeming so weak and girlish - doubtlessly doubly so before the great Ethaefal - but she could not help herself. The backs of her eyes started to burn with tears unrealized and unshed... she felt herself become both sad and angry that the great cat be so demoralized and stripped of dignity that, while wounded, he must put forward some sort of show for his onlookers. Bad enough that he was in a cage to begin with, surely he should be afforded some comfort?

Restless, Litani turned away and began to look for something, or someone, official-looking. Some door upon which to knock, some employee with which to speak, something. Anything. Briefly, her eyes met Lacerta's. She pressed her lips together and murmured softly, "Forgive me... someone must be told of this. He is suffering. He should be allowed to rest. Someone must be told."

Perhaps the young Konti thought this gesture from the zookeeper was a solo endeavor - perhaps she thought that the zoo's management would frown upon his behavior. Perhaps she thought she could right the wrong with her heart and words, alone. Whatever the case, the fire of purpose was lit behind her eyes and she resumed her search, seemingly intent on seeing this beautiful creature be treated as humanely as was possible, under the circumstances.

[Lacerta]

~|--|~ The sight of the tiger worried Lacerta. The zookeeper had seemed to have... Forced the Konti healer to do something she didn't want to do to the cat. Knowing Konti as she did, this was never a good sign. Their medical and animal knowledge, in general, rivaled that of the Akalaks, any day. If the woman was doing something she didn't agree with.... It was possibly a bad idea. The Eth watched the scrawny creature warily, standing back from the glass and watching from above the heads of most. When Litani began speaking to her, Lacerta moved her attention to focus on the unhappy woman. The statement caused her to nod and smile sadly. "Yes... He's very obviously in bad condition. And I think.... Some one has been told. The zookeeper.... By the Konti. It didn't seem like he listened though, from what I saw..." She'd only seen a bit of the conversation, but from the argument and their expressions... It wasn't too hard to figure out. With a small sigh she turned back to the tiger, a small scowl on her face. She wanted to help her companion, and the tiger. It wasn't looking well, and it made her feel bad to just stand here... Doing nothing. What was the point of being older than most, and not being able to do anything... She thought on something, paused, and began to mutter to the crowd just within hearing. She tried to make it sound more like she was talking to herself, but get the message out. "That tiger looks bad. Very bad. He should be left to sleep... Some one should give him something to help him sleep. The Zookeeper. Tell the zookeeper. It's no fun watching an exhausted cat..." Her scowl deepened, and she looked around obviously for the zookeeper. Hopefully someone who knew the man would go do something... This done, she turned back to her friend and grinned slightly, before turning away. She walked around, peering down the halls, in an obvious attempt at finding the man. "Where are you...?" she muttered in that obvious but quiet voice, narrowing her eyes. Thou it was mostly an act, she was finding it... Fun, almost, and it was good to do something. A small smirk touched her features, but she quickly returned to the scowl. Have to keep the image... ~|--|~

[Litani]

At first, Litani cringed as she listened to Lacerta. The expression was subtle and brief, almost not there at all, but her pristine blue eyes were all too clear to hide the truth of her emotion if truly looked for. She felt for the cat. She felt deeply... perhaps too much so. And as she heard the Ethaefal's words, she initially thought that Lacerta meant to forget the matter as having already been dealt with.

But then, as Litani watched, the crowd started to hear what Lacerta was murmuring and people started to nod slightly, chatting quietly to themselves, dispersing as a natural phenomenon. The Konti smiled briefly at Lacerta for her subtle but effective efforts, then turned with knit brows and worried eyes back to the Myrian tiger. Her palm pressed against the glass and she pressed her lips together, feeling helpless.

And then Lacerta started to move away.

Curious, Litani turned to follow her and although she found her glance stealing back to the tiger once or twice, she was deeply interested in what the Ethaefal had in mind. Softly, not wishing to distract her new friend's train of thought, she asked, "Do you think she would know what to do for him...? The Konti, I mean. If we can even find her."

She sighed quietly then, uncertain. Part of her wanted to stay and defend the cat from onlookers and shoo them away, and part of her wanted to stalk down the zookeeper and give him a flaming piece of her mind for treating a living creature so thoughtlessly. And yet another part of her wanted to find the Konti, to speak with her as a sister, to help soothe the angst she felt when the woman had turned to stare at the audience that looked on. Somewhat lost with regards to what to do, Litani followed after Lacerta but lingered back some steps, casting her glance about herself and her companion as if searching for the stray thought that would give her the answer to the situation.

[Magpie]

OOCSo, so late! Sorry, sorry, sorry!

Just a few turns of corners away, outside a tall exhibit of cliff goats, heated words were continuing in hushed tones.

"It's unconscionable! He needs to sleep." The words were hissed angrily and met with a deep, masculine sigh.

"You said he's healthy-"

"Relatively healthy-"

"And that he was fit to be shown."

If one were to peer around the corner, they'd see the zookeeper and the Konti healer, the healer with one delicately scaled hand fisted into the fabric of the zookeeper's sleeve. "I said he was fit to be moved into the display, not that he had to be forced awake for it!"

"Ulana..." The Akalak was clearly striving for calm, and he pried the woman's hand from his shirt. "You know how much damage the storm last Spring cost us. Akajia knows you and I both worked enough nights without pay to keep everything together. And then the upgrades this spring to accommodate all the new births? The fostering program-"

"Which I told you was a ridiculous idea-"

"Didn't drum up nearly enough interest. The budget gets tighter every year. Nobody wants to pay to see a tiger sleeping in the reeds. Dojo's new now, but he won't be big news forever. We have to get the people in here now, while the city's still talking about him." He squeezed her hand pleadingly.

"Mizas!" The Konti, Ulana, wrenched her hand out of his. "It's all mizas now, isn't it, Ivanu? It should be about that poor tiger out there, hurt and wandering around tired because it's not profitable to let him sleep."

"But-" Before Ivanu could get more than a word out, Ulana had stormed down the hall, deeper into the Menagerie. Ivanu sighed in heavy misery and raked his fingers through his hair as he watched her turn the corner and out of sight.

[Lacerta]

~|--|~ OOCIt doesn't matter too much! I wouldn't have been able to post anyways... Aaand this is going to be fun. So fun. XD Lacerta stopped at a corner, hearing raised voices. She wasn't sure who it was arguing, but it sounded like a man and a woman, from what she could tell. She paused at the corner, overhearing the conversation, and spotted Litani behind her. Realizing it would be best at the moment not to make their presence known, she raised a single finger to her lips before leaning nonchalantly against the wall. From there she listened to the debated, taking in both sides. It was a good argument. Both people had a point, and from what she could figure out from the end, it was probably the Konti and the Zookeeper, apparently called Ulana and Ivanu. While they fought, the Eth, partially because she felt bad for the two, and partially for the mental challenge, tried to come up with a compromise. One of the only things she came up was having opened the tiger's exhibit after he'd recovered. But it was too late for that now. She thought about the money situation. This would be solved if they had more money, right? Where did you get money... the public. The visitors. Well, if people grew to love the tiger... you could use that, right? Lacerta blinked at this revelation, surprised at herself for coming up with it. You make the people feel bad for the tiger... and they give you money. It was manipulation, for sure, but... was it REALLY lying? You were using the money to help the zoo, and the tiger, for sure. Determined to tell the Ivanu about her idea, she turned around the corner, forgetting that she wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. She leaned against the wall again, trying to look calm, as she proposed this new idea. "So... you want money... but you want the tiger happy. What if you got people to feel bad for the tiger, then donate some money to help him? Wouldn't that be a win-win situation? Help the tiger, make money?" She shrugged, and waited for an answer to her proposal. There was a possibility that it was stupid, but still... she kept coming up with good ideas for it. Like saying it was the Myrians who caused the creature's help problems... there were so many possibilities. OOCPlease tell me if I'm metagaming by having Lacerta come up with this, and I'll change my post... but it's really fun for me to come up with a solution in a situation like this ~|--|~

[Magpie]

OOCSo I think we've lost Litani... Sorry I let this lapse so long. Onward!

The wheels in Ivanu's head were spinning uselessly as he watched the corner where Ulana had disappeared. Dojo was a Myrian Tiger for gods' sakes, he'd be okay if he slept that night instead of at that very moment...wouldn't he? Revar growled irritably in the back of his mind, pushing him to brush Ulana off and continue with the plan.

Lost in thought, he didn't hear Lacerta's footsteps until she spoke, causing him to start violently. He sighed and mumbled an apology. She'd overheard it seemed, and had ideas of her own. Problems were bad enough, but at least the visitors weren't supposed to know about them. Rubbing one hand over his face, he listened, but his burdened expression did not lift.

"Thank you, but... Fundraisers take time. We're understaffed as it is, and we just don't have time to coordinate the kind of effort we'd need to make a difference. It's been hard enough to generate visitors, let alone people willing to outright donate. Nothing short of a door to door..." He shook his head, and his expression softened into one of practiced professionalism.

"Myrian Tigers are one of the fiercest predators in the Falyndar jungles. Dojo is..." The mask betrayed a brief expression of pain and he glanced away. "Dojo is tired from his journey, but we have healers on him around the clock. He will heal. Now, I'm late for... I'm running late, but please, do enjoy the rest of your visit at the Menagerie." Bowing slightly, he turned and started to walk down the cooridor towards where Ulana had gone.

[Lacerta]

~|--|~ Lacerta sighed after the man left, feeling slightly stressed herself. It was an awkward dilemma for sure, and one with no obvious answer. She watched him walk away into the distance, before turning herself, off to see more animals. Maybe by looking back at the tiger, or some of the other more interesting exhibits, would she rid her mind of that weight. It wasn't her problem... she didn't need to help. And Syna knew she wouldn't be in Riverfall for much longer, with the Syka expedition going on. She returned to the tiger's exhibit, staring at the poor creature along with the rest of the crowd for another few chimes. It was wandering around, looking obviously sick and tired, his fur hanging limply off visible ribs. The Eth sighed again, wanting to get away from this too, and moved off deeper into the Menagerie. She would stop at the first interesting exhibit she saw, and watch whatever creatures were in there for a while. ~|--|~