take the path less traveled

[ninazu]

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© lexasperated

I WISH YOU COULD SEE THE WICKED TRUTH
CAUGHT UP IN A RUSH, IT'S KILLING YOU

Surprised, the erudite paused – flicking her fire-tipped tail, she nearly fell to the temptation to laugh. Nobody ever accused her of kindness before; how strange that a former slave gave her that complement. But she knew the irony would be lost on the blind woman, so Ninazu stifled the urge; she hated explaining herself to others, especially when it came to her macabre humor. “I would rather you act genuine with me. Kissing up works on people like Stryker, but I prefer to surround myself with those that don’t sugarcoat their feelings.” Honesty came easily to Ninazu, if only because she disliked the chore of maintaining lies. Besides, she saw intelligence in Rhia when they met – she wanted to either validate or throw out her hypothesis as soon as possible, to prevent wasting time.

And Ninazu saw something else in the snow leopard. A mirror image of her younger self, struggling to find a way to fit in with violent groups back when she lacked the advantage of a large body or useful powers. Healing gave her that opportunity, to rise the ranks with nothing but her knowledge as her asset. Most people lacked the drive and intelligence to do the same – especially if they were gifted in the field of battle, at least in the sort of groups that drew Ninazu in. The lioness had to wonder whether Rhiannon would turn out like that – and, if so, she was willing to help the snow leopard get there to further Ninazu’s own goals.

“You’re welcome – and I’ll help you with the physical examples the best I can, as well. If you’d like, we could visit a few spots in the territory for herb hunting or go back to my laboratory. I’ve got some free time now,” Ninazu suggested with a sort of shrug, her tone offhanded. The lioness wanted to help, but she wasn’t willing to make an intense commitment to tutoring the other woman; mostly because she still wasn’t sure if she correctly assessed Rhiannon’s intelligence and because of the time requirements of her own duties. And she hated doing any job half-assed or promising more than she could deliver.

WRITTEN BY AXIOM * TAGS

© LEXASPERATED