Around this time, Tshila was always out. It was morning. A perfect time to go out and explore. Gather food, play a few games with himself, then depart after a few run-ins with some strangers. That was the schedule he often went by. The last part was usually something he had a hard time coming by, but he still made a mark on someone each day. Even if it meant failure, he still had a relatively good day aside that meeting, right?
Well today he was growing bored by the minute. With nothing else to do after doing what he usually did, he draped himself over a rock as a sigh left his throat. No one was around. No one to bother, no one to upset, nothing. Nada. Zip.
Living on the border of the Pridelands he expected more lions. More animals. Others to bother, but no one was seen around the part he and his family took shelter in. If anyone did, he didn't see them for long until they departed. For the Pridelands, for something else.
It was ridiculous at the latest.
The afternoon sun somehow seemed to be rippling in the sky, its orange light heating up the world. Clotho smiled at the warmth as she walked, grateful that the sun existed. Despite some incredibly hot days, the sun was the key to life. Without it, all would die. It was those small moments of reflection she had that made her day seem brighter.
It took her away from her painful memories...
Clotho was walking along the savanna, having strayed away from her jungle home. There was much she wanted to think about, and the stench of dried blood was still very much present in her home. So she decided to leave for a while on a bit of a soul-search quest. Sometimes such things were necessary. And sometimes you came across people who would change your life. Without knowing it, Clotho was about to stumble upon one such person.
Jumping over a dead, fallen tree, Clotho landed on the ground in front of a small, black lion cub.
"Oh..." she breathed, surprised at seeing someone. She stared, unsure of what to do.
Home was something he didn't really like to venture near. If anything, he should feel guilty for worrying his parents as much as he did. Who cared? Usually he reported back to them around dinner time. He ate and stayed with his family until morning hit. Then he was off. That was the choice he chose when he was old enough to walk. What was the point of being tormented by five other siblings if you could wander and find a silent place to think? He even met others who understood him, yet that came so rarely he hardly met anyone like that. Family... He sometimes imagined that he was adopted, but it was obvious that he wasn't. His twin was the first that beat that question to the ground. Then, the marking he inherited from his parents. The only thing that sparked curiosity was the green markings he had. His twin and him could the considered the black sheep of the family. They were the ones who had green markings, only them.
He stared up at the sky as he came close to a yawn. Being so secluded, he longed for silence more than he did anything now. No one to blame it on, no one to point a paw at. Either it be his grumpy self, or his trickster-like self that was slowly vanishing, he was becoming more understanding of the wor-
"What?"
Eyes suddenly snapping up from where he lay, claws extended out in surprise. He stared at the pink leopardess before him. If he had one word that could describe her; he would say hurt. Long scratches marred her pink and white coat, and the distinctive scent of blood was still there. Somewhere.
"Who are you?" His tone was guarded and angry, but he hadn't intended to be.
Clotho's face relaxed.
The cub was a lion, but there was no reason for her to question him. After all, it wasn't this small cub who had attacked her.
Clotho sat down, back legs easily tired those days from the strain she had put on them just a couple of weeks ago. Scabs still remained in the places that had received the deepest gouges, but other than that she felt she was healing nicely, thanks to the kind maned wolf who had aided her.
Yes, there was still good in the world...
"I did not mean to frighten you, child." the leopardess said calmly. "I am Clotho." she bowed her head in greeting, but could not bow it too much due to the last remnants of bruising in her neck. She smiled, hoping to take the edge off of her slightly beat-up appearance. "What is your name?" she asked.
Tshila wasn't planning on asking where this leopardess - Clotho - got all those injuries. Now that wasn't any of his business, and with the condition she currently was in he felt a streak of pity hit him. He regretted how he spoke to her. If he had scared her, what type of damage could he have caused? Something he quickly pushed from his mind.
Gaze wandering her body with a look of pure shock, he shook his head quickly to brush away his surprise. His manners were well - he had no manners. Without manners was probably the cause of his grumpiness, his mean. But today the leopardess caught him in a particularly good mood. If not, he probably would have made sure that she would be out of here, quickly. He wouldn't have noticed those injuries, just the heated rage he would've been in. Now that would have been bad.
Noticing it, realizing it- he was often in a grumpy mood. Ready to rampage and destroy anyone that came in his path, he hardly opened up to anyone. If he put his mind to it more often, he should open up. Make a friend and open up to them, or say what he needed to say to a sibling. His twin.
"My name's Tshila," he murmured quietly, but loud enough for her to hear. Sometimes he hated his whispering problem. He couldn't talk like normal people, where he could shout and yell all he wanted. If he tried that, he wouldn't be able to speak for a week. Heck, he couldn't try it anyway. "Sorry if I was a little surprised." He wasn't exactly frightened... just, taken aback.
"Ahhh," Clotho breathed, eyes narrowing in a kind smile. "a lovely name." She was a little surprised when she first heard his whispery voice. But somehow, it had an appealing quality. Was he born with that, or was it caused? Maybe she would be able to "see" the answer to her own questions.
The tip of the leopardess's tail twitched slightly and she glanced at the sky, once again enraptured by the beauty of the sun. Of course, she didn't stare directly into it. That would be harmful. But if one stared just to the left or right of it, one could see its beauty all the same.
The planets...The stars...Clotho loved them all. Truly, earth was a beautiful place.
"You have wandered away from your family, young Tshila." Clotho said knowingly. "Won't they be missing you?" she asked.
"It's not really 'cool' to me." Tshila's name was girly to him. Probably having the longest name in the family he often shortened it. His nickname was enough for him. He even liked it, yes, he liked it. Now if only others liked it. This leopardess was probably the only one to even like his name, but strangely he declined it. "My name is longer, but I'm not going to say it." Who would want to hear his name anyways? A name meaning 'dirty green' was enough for him. He understood the meaning quite clearly as he shot a glance toward his back, eyes landing on the strange green. It was like a swamp color- just lighter. Sometimes he lusted for another green, but this green was quite unique, with how he and his twin shared it.
He ignored her glance towards the sun- the sky, all the wonders up there. What she was doing was less of a mysterious than the small bugs that wandered below his paws. He didn't care. She was doing what she wanted to do and he wasn't going to intrude, after all, he was going to try acting civilian to someone. At least once in his life before another tragedy struck.
A glint of annoyance shown clearly in his gaze as she spoke. Obviously he didn't like being called young.
"No," and it was true, to him. Like his family would miss him. "I bet they hardly care about me. Who would care about a cub that wanders all hours of the day?"
He had a lot of lessons of family-love to learn.
Clotho looked away from the sky to rest her eyes on the cub. He was very young still. She knew there was much he had yet to learn. He wasn't a loud, obnoxious cub like so many mothers complained about. It would probably be wonderful to have him as a son, especially with how mature he acted; well, more mature than most cubs. She could see that he had obvious doubts about himself and his loved ones. Most cubs did when they were that age. She hoped he would discover his place in life soon. But then...What was stopping her from helping him along?
Smiling, suddenly feeling brighter, Clotho swayed her tail once behind her in thought.
"Ah, but they do care, Tshila." she said knowledgeably. Her smile faded slightly. "And they will care even more in the future...After many incidents occur."
"What do you mean incidents?" Tshila wasn't going to admit it, but that frightened him. He was bewildered and taken aback by her... well, he didn't know. But it freaked him out! She didn't know his life. They had just met. What could she know about his future? His past? What did you know about him?
A swirl of questions suddenly burst from his head. "Who are you?" He growled. No. He wasn't pointing towards her name- just what she was. No one could read the future. There was no one like that in the world, not that he knew of. If his parents were hiding more from him than he had another reason to blame why they hated him so. People shouldn't hide things from him, he'd just find a way to dig up that secret- that answer. Right now, his anger was starting to come out. In waves. His fur was bristling furiously, and his eyes glared down.
Well, so much for being Mr. Nice guy.
But with Clotho saying what she was saying, and on intending, he hardly believed her. Everyone hated him. No matter what he did, everyone began to loathe him and push him away. Sometimes he did the unexplainable to catch someone's attention. In the end, nothing worked. His hate was always redirected towards everyone after he failed, and he couldn't control his anger.
Anything he did, he couldn't control the waves of anger that often left him.
The sudden fear and anger that came forth from the cub was what Clotho had expected. The young cub was obviously uncomfortable with what he didn't understand. But she would ease his curiosities soon enough. Already she was beginning to "see" something...
Clotho closed her eyes, concentrating hard, thoughts coming and going quickly. She was beginning to "see" something...But Clotho didn't understand that whenever she had a "vision", it was really only the result of her vast imagination and whatever conclusion she could come to by reading someone. She had no idea that her visions were fake. She truly believed she was a powerful seer, able to have visions whenever she chose to.
"You will leave home when you are older...You will leave your family." Clotho said calmly, eyes still closed and face still tense with concentration. "You will leave without there knowing and travel far away. I cannot see where..." she said, voice trailing off. She paused. Then spoke again. "You will meet up with an old enemy and you will fight. But love will stop you...Very soon after, you will return to your family." she said. "You will realize your place is important in their lives. This realization will cause you to become a great leader..."
Clotho opened her eyes and stared down at the cub, her smile returning.
"That is all I See for now."
Tshila tensed.
He didn't know if he could believe her or trust her even more. What she was saying brought a whole new light to him, because the truth was, he was planning on leaving his family soon. He couldn't stand them anymore. He wanted out as soon as he was a juvenile, and he was going to make it happen. Without their approval or not, he was going to leave. Making that decision was not incredibly hard- he had wanted to leave as soon as he was born. It was his nature. He wanted an adventure, something to do. Not to sit around here and torment others!
"Is that so?" He hissed, tension becoming clear. It was obvious because he was shaking. Shaking. What she had said was obviously affecting him. No one had told him his 'future'- let alone had the guts to explain it. If they could.
Really, Clotho was extremely lucky. She did make a great decision with her imagination. Anyone would believe she was a seer, with her imagination running wild like that.
He growled suddenly. "What are you?!" Again, he hissed. His eyes were starting to look more the less deranged now. He wanted answers. He wanted answers now. What was she? How could she do that?
Why couldn't he do that?
Clotho frowned at the more-than-noticeable shaking that had begun to rattle the lion cub's body. It wasn't often that someone responded badly to her "visions". Sometimes they did, but usually they responded quite well, or just nodded in silence and left. She hadn't meant to cause the cub any mental anguish.
Sighing, Clotho tried to ease the cub's mind a bit. She reached out a paw, trying to comfort him. She liked to think she was good with cubs, but was unaware of the fact that she could be a little overbearing at times.
"I am a seer, Tshila." Clotho said, knowing the title very well since it was what she had been raised to believe she was. "I can see deep into the past, present, and future. It is not something easily explained." Pink eyes drooping a bit, Clotho remembered what had happened the last time she explained her "seer abilities".
It had not ended well.
But this was a lion cub...Surely it would be alright. Surely.
"It is nothing to fear." she chided quietly, hoping for the best. "Some are born this way."
Tshila frown intensified while he glared at her. Already had he lost his trust in this leopardess. Either it be from her being able to read his future, or him going into denial. A seer. She was a seer. Something that they were born with, and they could see into the future, and blah blah blah... He shook his head as his teeth grounded together, frustrated. Why was he believing her? Well, with how she was able to read his future, who wouldn't believe her?
Over all, he wished he could be a seer.
That jealous feeling. That craving feeling. He wanted it, oh, he wanted it. Why couldn't he have it?
This just proved his point even further: Everyone was special in their own way. They had something that always made them seem unique, and what about him? He was left to the dirt as a lesser being. Someone like a slave- someone no one ever appreciated.
He felt the hot rage wash over him so badly, he almost wanted to attack her. His jealously was growing more. He couldn't restrain for long.
"Why can't I have something like that!?" He hissed loudly, almost normal voice range. Suddenly he turned around a ran. Away from Clotho. Away from her nonsense.
He couldn't take it anymore, and if he stayed near her, he would have attacked her. Even as a cub he could have done some damage. Enough damage to leave his mark.
Did he want that?
No, no...
He didn't.
Never did he want that.
So Tshila ran, from her. The future she predicted still rang so clearly through his mind. Even if he wanted to throw it away, he wondered secretly, if it was true.
