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 Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 11:20 am
Wasn't life just ******** grand?
Niruzu let out a frustrated groan as he stared across the rogue lands, sitting atop a rather nondescript rock, tail tucked around his paws. It would be just like him to think he was living in hell, only to find out once he had escaped that hell had actually been heaven. His heart ached at the loss of Shetani, and wherever he was, he found himself just hoping that she was alright. It was a step up from the sad, miserable, and grumpy b*****d he had once been - he was actually thinking of someone else's well being for once. On top of the ache of missing her, he found the sudden openness of the roguelands daunting compared to his temporary jungle home.
All in all, Niruzu just found himself wishing for the time when he had his cubs at his feet and Shetani at his side - big hulking overprotective father or not.
With a sigh, he pushed himself off the rock, shaking out his mane, and starting to trek across the land. It was the beginning of a new life, but in so many ways, simply him reverting back into the typical Niruzu. Alone and irritable, only this time he had a fresh dose of sorrow to pile on top.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 11:57 am
Ohhh... she was bored, bored, booooored.
A sigh ripped through the goddess' maw as she flew across the savannah sky. She'd only just gone to visit her brother, and the family he had; it made her vaguely jealous that she'd never thought to experience that. At least... not really. She'd given Kianga and her siblings to a pride, and thought she'd watched them grow from afar, it wasn't quite the same thing.
Dili's wings pressed against her sides as she descended down upon what she was sure were the roguelands; for such a large, blindingly pink creature, she was extremely graceful. Her feet touched the earth with extreme delicacy, as if the lioness were scared of harming the grass she stepped on. And that done, her wings folded over her back; unlike most gods, she did not assume a disguise, but merely padded the grasslands in her original form, for her domain rarely allowed her to appear mortal. She could only disguise herself when she went to the Mistweaver's land, where her brother's powers clashed with her own, allowing her to evade her domain.
As it was though, the goddess did not look happy, merely troubled, and entirely unaware of her 'audience' as she paused to reach a wing with her maw, grooming the feathers of the extended wing, ruffled from flight. Her eyes suddenly spotted movement and met with that of the male lion's only a few meters away. She stopped her grooming and preening and merely blinked, caught off guard for once.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 12:03 pm
He had stopped as soon as his eyes had seen the large pink figure descending from the heavens above him, caught off guard and slightly slack jawed from surprise. He had never met a god or goddess before and if he had believed in them, he had certainly never pictured them as flying, pink, and rather pretty to top it all off.
Great, now he was going crazy, wasn't he?
"Damn you, Shetani," he muttered under his breath, only to himself, though his pale gray eyes never faltered from the figure in front of him. What to do now? Ignore her and hope that the delusion went away or talk to her? If she were real, he supposed it would assure him he wasn't crazy, but if she were indeed a figment of his imagination, then talking to the delusion was even worse wasn't it?
He finally opted to simply take a few more steps and sit, eyes narrowed at her as if he expected her to disappear at any moment. "That was unexpected," he commented, deep voice a bit skeptic, even as he made his decision.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 12:18 pm
For a long moment, the goddess remain still, as if expecting that by doing it, the lion would simply get up and leave. After all, it wouldn't have been the first time that would have happened; wings had that effect on some people. Especially those that were not keen believers, and if anything, it seemed that this male was not particularly religious in any way whatsoever. At least, if his skeptic words were any indication.
Usually, Audilifu was rather flamboyant and enjoyed her time spent with mortals, however, something about the way the day had been going had caught her off guard and she didn't seem high pressed to enjoy any sort of 'game' with this one. Then again, turning around and leaving in flurry of feathers was quite rude too. So thus, the goddess retracted her head from her wing, tucking the large feathered appendage back over her back before facing the male, "Unexpected?" the word sounded almost innocent, very unlike Shetani in that it was clear she was hiding nothing, "It would be expected of you not to expect me dropping by, would it not?"
That said, she padded a bit closer, her eyes looking him over till she frowned, "My, my, finally figured out the 'truth' to your life, huh? Seems as if it's come like quite the shock to you. Finally noticed how much you loved what you had.... but only did so once you lost it, mmmm? Happens a lot," it was as if she could see within his mind. Which was true, to a point.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 12:38 pm
"I.. guess?" he answered to her rambling sentence about expecting and not expecting and all that mumbo jumbo. He didn't have a head for following complex thoughts like that, at least when he was as grumpy and upset as he was at the moment. Although, it's likely he wouldn't admit to being 'upset'. He prided himself on his moody demeanor.
Just as he was about to make some retort to her, however, she started digging at the honest truth of his current mood. For a moment, he was simply shocked, convinced that the only was she'd know that was if she really was a figment of his cracked mind. However, he'd heard once that these god things could have extraordinary powers, and the more he watched her, the more he realized that his dark, distraught mind could never conjure up something so innocent and good.
"Who are you?" he asked, eyes narrowing as she frowned at him. There was no question as to 'how' she was doing what she was, because he didn't want to know what she was actually doing to him. He just wanted to know who she was, and why she could do it. At least she was distracting him somewhat from his own self pity.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 12:52 pm
"My name is Audilifu," came the answer, but the small smile she offered forth after talking betrayed the fact she knew perfectly well he'd not been asking for her name. The lioness allowed a moment to pass, just long enough to baffle him just a notch further before leaning in till her nose pressed lightly against his, "Truth," she told him, "I am Truth, personified," which explained a lot, really, especially the fact that had Niruzu cared to try, he'd have found himself utterly unable to lie in her presence.
"You're upset," came the next set of words, "Why? You got what you wanted; freedom. There's no one else here and you're free to start over... so why are you sad?" she drew her nose away from him, "I guess you valued your freedom too highly... and overlooked that what you'd gained in exchange," a small sigh escaped her maw then, "It's sad, that we're alike," well, it was true she'd met Samsara, but the large god had not really expressed any liking for her. At least not 'that' way, that she knew of.
After a moment, the goddess turned back to him, her ears lowering a tad, "Don't pity yourself. She wasn't the right one for you. Someone that makes you miserable even while she makes you happy... is not the answer to the riddle."
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 1:00 pm
He was about to snap at her and tell her that he didn't actually want to know her name, when she leaned forward and pressed her nose against his. The words that passed her mouth then made him grimace, though he knew instantly why she was so aware of everything about him. He also had a sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't be able to talk his way out of this encounter or the things she was digging into.
"I.." he grimaced, knowing suddenly he'd either have to not answer her or tell the truth - those were the only possibilities at this point. "I loved her," he said with a sigh, gritting his jaws, "and I never expected her to just leave me behind, not now." His eyes were angry for a moment, though it was probably obvious his anger was only covering up a deep rooted pain. "Alike, huh? What would you know of heartbreak?"
He was getting sour, but it wasn't just because of her. She was making him talk about something he had been repressing and it was bound to happen to the first person that did it. "Maybe it was the answer to my riddle," his words were irritated, just as much at the fact that she spoke in stupid little riddles as it was at himself, "maybe deep down I'm a masochist." He dropped his eyes at this point, staring down to where his claws dug into the earth. He loved her, oh god, but he did.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 1:17 pm
"Oh," she said in a soft voice, "More than you'd think. Love is not something that comes along once in a lifetime. Even for a mortal... love comes along as many times as you let it come. Now take me for example; I'm immortal. How many times do you think I've fallen in love? Sure more than you have. Essentially, due to my singular... condition, they end up in heart ache. I remain while my loved ones pass away and leave," a small shrug followed the words, a smile ghosting over her maw, however, it was sad, "Such is the way of life."
She'd considered laying down and simply passing away at some point in the past, letting herself be pulled into nothingness, be reborn and have not a glimpse of a memory of the past heartaches, but oh, she'd never been able to. Dili had soon realised that her own heart would not let her do such a think; it had hope for the future, and throwing all hope away went against her nature. She'd lived for a very long time... longer now than it had once seemed, really, "I don't know about that," she told him and then, in a small burst of genuine care leaned forward to groom his mane; the fact the male was down because his 'mate' had abandoned him tore at her. She'd watched this scene many a time, but usually it was from the other perspective.
Usually it was the male that left the female and she was forced to mourn, "Love is something hard to understand. I don't think I understand it, and I've lived longer than you," she very much doubted the very goddess of love understood her domain, "It doesn't make you a masochist that you cared for her. As strange as she was... they say love is blind. I think it's probably deaf too, and quite possibly lacking in the brain department," at this point, the goddess had drawn back, as if pondering her own words, however, she shook her head, "Either way, it'll feel better... later," she knew that talking about it would alter make him feel better; at least, that's what she thought to be true.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 1:24 pm
"I.." he began, but then shut his mouth. He had been wrong to assume that she knew nothing, and as she spoke, it sounded like her heart was full of more scars than his could even imagine. Who was he to assume what an immortal had known in all their time? That was just it, though, he'd never known one and had no idea what to assume. He was going to apologize, but he simply shut up, letting the silence stretch for a moment. Apologizing wasn't his forte, as he usually just made more of an a** of himself than he already had.
He was caught off guard by her sudden grooming, his eyes snapping up and his body tensing. It was strange to be talking to a goddess, it would have been strange to have even a normal, mortal stranger groom him that way, but both together shocked him. He gave in, finally, and simply leaned into it - it was comfort he'd not noticed he sorely needed.
"That's no comfort," he muttered softly, half shutting his eyes as he tried to consider a way to understand love. If she hadn't figured it out, then surely he never would. Her next comment earned a bark of laughter from him though, as he couldn't have said it better. "Oh, love is certainly blind, def, and stupid," he shook his head at that, thinking for a moment why it had to be that she-devil of all lionesses. "I'll take your word on it," he finally muttered, not sure the pain of losing her would ever ebb.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 2:10 pm
"It's not meant to be comfort," she told him with a sigh, "Just a reassurance that you're not alone in the world. I think no one understands it, and if you think about it, there's no reason to. It hurts now, but it will get better," she leaned in, "Believe me, I know," as if her words could simply not be berated, as if whatever she said were the truth and nothing could be said against it.
Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Maybe it'd get better, maybe it wouldn't... time would tell him.
A shrug rolled her shoulder, fluid, the movement accompanied by a soft smile, "We all fall prey to bad choices. It's your choice to move forward or... bask in it. You did the right thing though, did you not? You stayed, your children grew, and now left to have lives of their own. You did your part, and there is nothing more to it. Move forward now," after a moment, her smile grew a notch, "I'll tell you a secret," and she moved forward with almost child-like innocence, her paw raising to shield her maw as she placed it against his ear, "Karma is real."
As soon as she'd spoken, she drew back away from him, offering him another smile; it was her attempt to cheer him up, but oh, the words carried truth, "He's very much real. Believe me. I've travelled with him, and if I've found my way to you.... something tells me he'll find his way to you very soon," again she leaned in but this time comically, "He has this strange habit of following me around a bit. Truth and Karma go hand in hand, it'll get better," her tail curled around her form then, "You're gruff, and you try to make up for your size with your attitude... but I can see past it, and you're good, when and where it matters. Things will look up."
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 2:16 pm
He simply nodded then, taking her word for truth. What else was he supposed to do? He didn't honestly figure that Truth could lie - that would be a little counterproductive, wouldn't it? He just had to hope that time went quickly and it got better as fast as possible. He disliked to be in this kind of pain.
He blinked at her with a little surprise as she leaned in, his head tilting towards her maw a bit to hear her. When she finally told him and pulled away, he just snorted. Karma, was it? "Oh, I believe well enough in Karma. He's bitten me in the a** plenty of times before, if you couldn't tell." It was half amused, half grumpy, but at least that was a step up from pitying himself.
"If he has something good for me, I do wish he'd hurry his arse up," he said with a little sigh, though his mood was lightened. Finally, he glanced up at her, eyes narrowed slightly. "What does it matter to you, though? I mean, why are you bothering with this, with me?" He wouldn't have bothered with him, that was for sure.
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 2:29 pm
A small chuckle escaped him, "Yes well, now... I don't think he'll see it fit to 'bite you in the a**'," it sounded almost strange that she'd used such a term. In a way, she looked far too innocent to be talking in such ways, "Oh, he'll hurry his 'arse on over' soon enough, you be patient now. Patience is a virtue," it was clear she was not snapping at him, and nor was she offended. In fact, she seemed almost amused, for mirth shone in her eyes.
As he spoke, her lids hooded her eyes and she looked up to the sky, "Because I saw me in you," she told him truthfully, "I've felt what you have, before, and it's not something anyone should feel. Besides," she turned over towards him, smiling softly again, "That means someone, at least, cares, doesn't it? It means not everyone is the same... not everyone will treat you the same. There are second chances, are there not?" after a moment, she leaned in again to continue the grooming she'd started, "I've been feeling lonely too. If I can't be happy, why not try to cheer someone else up? It's better that way. Maybe Karma will find me too."
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 2:39 pm
"Patience," he muttered thickly, though his tone was edging on amused. Something about the way the goddess spoke the rather vulgar phrases sounded unnatural, to the point that he had nearly laughed aloud at her. At least she was good at lifting his spirits.
His pale eyes swung up to her, staring at her for a moment. Here was a goddess, ages older than him, and yet she was talking to him in a manner he'd dare call 'equal'. She hurt, though her wounds were healed over scars. What was it about others that led them to try and help those who didn't deserve it? Whatever it was, for the moment he was thankful it existed. "You've done a good job at cheering me up, or at least making me think the world won't end without her," he said softly, his own eyes lidding as she went back to grooming him again. "I suppose we'll both see what Karma has in store for us, won't we?" His eyes shut then, content to take pleasure from his momentary comfort.
The world would keep going without her, and that's all he'd needed to hear. It hurt, but it would heal, the goddess at his side was a proof of that.
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