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 Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 11:42 am
There was so little water here, still, but some had been secured elsewhere. Regardless, Ryujin made patrols, looking anywhere he could for water, fair game for prey, but today's search was for something else...someone else. Where was she? Naar? It had been a short while since they had last seen one another, and he felt comfortable around her. He hoped she had been fairing well with the heat and lack of water. Hoped she was doing all right as it seem so many were not and were agitated by this drought and now the threat of war.
Ryujin would fight, and he would protect.
He had a family..and now, perhaps, something more.
He had something to fight for.
Walking across a dune in the shadow of the curved edge, Ryujin searched with silver eyes trying to find the bright pelt of Naar, who he saw as a fallen orange flame of the sun.
Bright, strong, and so much more.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 11:48 am
And if Naar had been able to read his thoughts she would have been flustered at first and then she would have laughed at the ridiculousness of it. She had very little self-esteem and wouldn't have believed those things at all. After all, what was she? A scruffy, useless female who got to stay in the lands because of her pelt colour.
And then there was her sister; bright, proud and everything a Firekin should be. But, because of her pelt, was tossed out into the sand to be forgotten. The thought of that made her hate herself more.
Ryujin would come across her a moment later for she had left a nice trail of pawprints in her wake as she had navigated along the dunes, pausing to glance around every now and then. She shouldn't have been off on her own but she didn't want to practise memorising the land with others in case they might turn and laugh if she made a mistake.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 11:52 am
If only she knew his secrets, that of his family, and she would think so much more of herself as Ryujin saw so much in her than any other. Greater than those he had known back in the pridelands, she had a fire in her, deep, that he could sense. If only she could feel it too. They were both strange, having rifts in their family life, but perhaps, that was what made them feel at ease with one another.
Soon he saw her pawprints and he smiled, stopped, and watched as they traveled up and out of one dip in the dunes to the next.
He follow, seeing where she was going. But she seemed to have no clear destination.
Was she...going to the outpost?
His heart sank, he couldn't bring himself to leave, he wouldn't want her to either.
He wanted her here...where she could be safe.
He had no wings like his mother to fly to her with ease.
"Trying to get away?" he called ahead, once she was within view, within a few strides. His black self a spot against the sand. "away from the pride...the stress, I mean?" he asked walking closer, trying to get side by side.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:00 pm
His stark, black pelt might have been void of any identifying marks but the lack of them was enough to tell her that this was no foe. This was her friend, Ryujin. She couldn't help but give a loose, sheepish smile at his voice, turning to glance across at him as she waited for him to catch up. There was even the slightest - slightest - purr in her voice as she greeted him.
"Tracking the tracker?" She jested. "No. I'm...practising. For my job." She explained, somewhat disjointedly. "Trying to learn the land. But with it changing all the time, it is hard." Even still, she felt as if she were not as lost as she might have been before.
And she continued on, allowing him to walk beside her. "No. I...thought about it. I'm a tracker. So...I should maybe have gone with them to that outpost but..." Her eyes looked suddenly trapped. "I was...afraid." She winced at that, knowing how weak it sounded. "What if it's horrible out there? What if--" She caught herself.
What if Nakama lived in a horrible land now? One void of sun and gold and skies as blue as blue could be.
"I need to stay here. At home."
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:07 pm
At her quip, he smiled at her, with a hint of a smirk, "Perhaps, but you aren't easy to find you know," she could evade him, even if she wasn't trying. With was a good talent to have for a tracker, if one wished to be stealthy on the borders and mislead an intruder. Especially someone from the nergui. As she spoke, he gulped, as silently as he could. He appeared nervous as she spoke about leaving to go to the outpost, and his eyes, for a brief moment, looked away.
"I've seen whats out there, before I came here, and this is my home." Ryujin thought of his birthhome, the pridelands, how green it was, how much water, "perhaps she went to where I was born, there was a lot of open space, friendly faces, water, food. She might be happy there, but I wasn't," he said. He hadn't been happy because of who his mother was and what she was doing to his twin siblings.
"Staying here will have you be safe...close," he said looking at her, her eyes. "There may not be a lot of water, plentiful prey, right now, but hopefully soon...but there are...other things here."
He watched her.
Took a gulp of air.
"I'm..." his voice was shakey, nervous, not knowing how she'd react, "glad...you stayed..."
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:20 pm
"Really?" She brightened at that. Being difficult to track might be useful...
She paused to listen to him speak of his home, feeling a little guilty that she was so against going out there. But at least he seemed content here and not homesick, at all. Although did that confirm her worries about her sister? "I...hope so." She replied after a moment, wondering what it would be like to live in a land of green instead of gold. Naar couldn't help but shudder at the thought of it. It all sounded cold.
She met his eyes, blinking steadily as if trying to work out why he was nervous. It wasn't hard to pick up on the tension and her stomach began to flip-flop as he spoke, dragging out his words. "There are." She agreed. She had a friend now. And her family. She didn't have any of that out there. Why would she want to go outside of her home just to get an extra mouthful of water? No. She was going to wait this out. It couldn't last too much longer, in any case.
But he was still watching her.
And then he spoke.
"Of course." She replied after a moment. "You...thought I would go? I'm not going, Ryujin. I'm going to stay here."
And then: "Are you...okay?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:24 pm
"I wasn't sure if you would-" he said quickly, rubbing his paws together. "You're a good tracker, whether you believe it or not, you are valueable to the pride..." and to him, she meant a lt to him.
But how to say so without having him sound weird, or dumb, as Ka would tell him.
"I'm fine I just..." he looked up, his silver eyes meeting, capturing hers in his glance and he stopped and just looked at them for a brief second, "I'd miss you, if you were gone."
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:29 pm
He said such nice things and though he was right - she didn't believe them - she was beginning to think that someday, with enough practise, she might be as good and valuable as he said. If she could work hard enough to earn her keep - to earn her water - then maybe she wouldn't...feel so awful about her being able to stay here.
"Well...maybe." She replied, not wanting to outright disagree with him. That wouldn't be nice and he was trying to make her feel better - which he was.
And then he was looking at her again with those silvery eyes and she felt a strange tension in her chest. She almost felt sick with nerves and her stomach churned again. She swallowed as if to try and make herself feel better and then his words came and she almost choked on emotion.
"Really?" Her voice sounded hoarse from the strain of holding that back. "N-no one has said that...to me before." Well, except her mother, of course. But mothers were supposed to love and care for their children. Other lions weren't. She sniffed, rather pathetically, and looked up at him to add: "I'd...miss you, too. You're my only friend."
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:48 pm
When she asked maybe, he nodded and took a step towards her. HIs black mane falling into his eyes some, and he smiled at her, genuinely, and he felt a warmth in the heart of his chest. He was glad no one had said that before, besides family, it made him almost feel proud and strong, as if he was worthy. If he didn't want to seem like a fool he might have even let his chest puff out a little bit.
But he wasn't like his brother, he didn't like to boast, didn't like to make funny quips, Ryujin was plain, simple, genuine, just as his pelt was.
Friend.
They were friends.
He fidgeted a little, and came a bit closer to her, shy look in his eyes and he let them fall to the sand. "Would you ever" and he stopped, try different words he thought, "I mean, would you want-" no, that wasn't working either.
He squinted his eyes shut, standing close to her and took a breath, "would you ever want to go...on a walk with me...at night," be more than friends, he wanted to ask, but he couldn't, he was too shy yet. He didn't know if she felt the same way.
The lack of water was getting to him, he was definitely feeling really, really hot.
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:57 am
Why was her heart pounding so quick and so loud? It felt as if it were trying to burst from her chest and it took all her effort not to press a paw over it in an attempt to calm it. Surely he must be able to hear it? She could hear it in her ears, so loud that she almost didn't hear his words.
They seemed to take a while to form in his mouth and when he spoke them at last, she gave him a confused sort of smile.
It seemed a rather specific request.
"Well, uh, of course." Perhaps he meant to teach her how to navigate the sands using the stars? She had heard that this was possible and already could identify a couple of the 'main' stars. Yes, that would explain the strangeness of the question. And so her tail curled as she responded, realising how close he was and feeling a need to take another step towards him, even though that might have been too close.
"Are we going to go stargazing?" She asked. "Do you know much about the stars, Ryujin?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 1:43 pm
As she took a step closer he tried to swallow, but he couldn't Now his throat felt really dry, his tongue, and his brain almost felt a fizzle. She wanted to go! That was good, right? Surely with the lack of water, nergui threat and everything else, he could handle this, couldn't he?
He swished his tail, thought for a moment, and nodded, "we could, I could show you what I remember," his mother, though hated his siblings that carried her marking, often tried to have him learn the stars. He remembered looking up at them at night as a cub resting on one of his mother's feathered wings.
Ryujin wondered, if he ever told Naar, what she might think, if she'd think him a monster...or what might happen if his mother ever came here.
He'd protect her...no matter what.
He smiled at her then, a soft expression in his eyes, "I know how to find what's beautiful, even in the dark," he said looking at her. Then averted his eyes. "W-when, would you like to go...with me?" he asked stuttering.
Did he really say that line?
He'd hit himself...if she wasn't standing right there.
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Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 9:56 am
"I'd like that." Naar replied with a crooked sort of smile, her tail swaying slowly side to side as she listened to him. He still sounded nervous and his nervousness was affecting her, too. Her heart was still pounding and she was increasingly aware of his closeness and the warmth that emanated from him.
His expression softened but she didn't truly catch the meaning of his words. She wasn't a particularly quick-minded female. "When? Oh, well...tonight?" Maybe that was too soon. "Or...tomorrow? Or, well, any night, really. I'm...always free." Her head dipped a little, ears flicking back against her head.
She shuffled a paw against the sand and glanced up at him again. "You could...come meet me at my den? I might not be able to find you...in the dark." She gestured at him and his dark fur. He'd probably disappear completely, unless the moon was bright enough to catch in his eyes.
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Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 10:23 am
He smiled at her when she said she'd like it. He felt warm. This heat was intense.
If only he had someone to tell him it wasn't the drought and heat affecting him now, but something else entirely.
Ryujin could be a bit naive...and soft, but in the best sense possible.
"I'll come find you then, on a night where the stars are clear, I'll want to make sure I remember first before I tell you things though," he said with a soft chuckle, "but yes, I'll come find you, Naar," he, wasn't sure what to do then. They were close and he leaned towards her a litte then stopped, and did the only thing that felt right.
He rested his head atop hers against the curve of her neck, and gave a low, almost thrumming purr from his throat.
This felt right.
It felt like home.
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Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 11:39 am
She felt giddy.
The sun was warm, her heart was pounding, and he was leant forwards, his head against hers. His purr made her tremble, though likewise, she was unaware of what was happening. She didn't really know what love was. Or what it was to be in a relationship. She barely even knew what friendship was, so it was hardly a surprise.
Even still...it felt nice and a purr thrummed in her throat - albeit briefly.
"Okay." She said at last. "I...I'll look forward to it." She still hadn't moved and she gave a nervous sort of giggle. "I...I guess I should...get back to work."
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Posted: Fri Apr 13, 2012 11:44 am
Ryujin pulled back as she spoke and nodded at her words.
He'd look forward to it too...so much.
Smiling at her his silver eyes watched her own, and he felt truly content. He'd not utter a word to his siblings about this...not yet. True, Kai had Ra'd, but Ka had...no one in particular, so he didn't need his brother getting on him or ruining anything.
"I should as well," he turned to leave but stopped, peered over his shoulder and gave her one last smile, "I'll come find you before the sun dips below the horizon, Naar," and he was off across the dunes.
He felt light upon his paws, joyful, and alive.
This was right.
It was true happiness.
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