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 Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:09 am
The herd mulled around quietly, they were a good distance from the river yet, the most dangerous place on their journey, but today, they felt calmer and more confident, excitement flowed amongst the herd. They were migrating witht he herds god, the god of prey had joined them and he was at their head.
Palahala smiled as he listened to the herd, they were confident and he was the reason, it always made him feel strong when he was at the head of a herd, when he was leading them to safety, he had certainly gone from timid follower to strong leader, he was a herd beast still but now he was head of the herd. At his right hoof, as always, stood the tiny, zebra stripped figure of Zebadie, she too looked confident and Palaha couldn't help but chuckle, she would lead this herd on her own if they allowed. The huge hulking wilderness would probably follow her too she was so confident.
The tall, but slim male god smiled to his other companion, the little cub god, rhetoric, he leans down and nudges the young males ear "Are you ready? They are getting restless." He whispers "Would you like me to carry you? I don't want you to get stood on, wildebeest are wonderful, but they don't really watch where they are going." He chuckles looking around at the sea of dark browns and near black mass of bodies.
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:18 am
It was a comfortable feeling moving being with Palahahal. Every morning he woke up and he was there, and going to bed, he was not alone. He was even getting use to Zebadie and the entire herd. There was something about a massive crowd that made him feel right at home. Still, he wasn’t about to say he felt safe most of the time. The herd animals were larger than he was, with horns and stomping hooves, and he oftentimes went flying to avoid them.
Today was no exception, and the godling stuck close to Palahala, heading his words as he noticed the herd being more active as usual. He liked it better when they were resting and grazing. Traveling by foot was tiring to the point he often got annoyed the herd did not have wings.
As they started to get up, Khuluma pressed against the brown god, smiling as he was nudged. The small action never failed to perk his nervousness, and he looked back at the wildebeest. “I don’t want to get stood on either.” He thought out loud, going over to crawl upon Palahala’s back. It was something he was finding he was comfortable with and use to. “Where are we going?” He asked, leaning his head to talk into the god’s ear as he held on as softly but as tightly as he could.
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:36 am
Palahala smiled lightly and rolled his shoulders lightly. "Every year the wildebeest move south to greener pastures, thats why we are away from my herd, I wanted to show you a community, working together." He smiles and fastens his wings against his sides, pressing them against the small god on his back, using them as a sort of buffer.
"The herd has to go across a very dangerous river, but it is the only way the bulk of them will survive. Today, they will all be okay, but the next herd wont be so lucky, it's a part of the circle of life that some of them have to die, they feed the scavengers and the roamers, the rogues who are alone. They know that, but today they are protected, thats why they feel so good."
Taking a deep breath he looked down at Zebadie and gave a nod.
The Zebra-stripped klippy gave a nod and looked at the herd "Move out people!" She calls leaping off ahead with her short spritely boings.
Palahala chuckles and leaps after her, his own leaps were almost like flying, but he never used his wings, he knew how to move like the antelope, he knew how to lead this herd to it's destination and he hoped Khuluma would learn from it.
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:49 am
The jerk made him pull closer to the god as they started to move. Despite not seeing Palahala ever using his wings, he still managed to leap to great heights and perform a degree of elegance in the air that impressed the smaller god. While better at flying than he had been before, he still was not as graceful as the birds in the air, and was even less on the ground. This was made worse by his hair, which he made sure to take off one of his tail loops and use it to pull his hair back this time around. The last thing he wanted was to fall off Palahala’s back and into the pushing herd behind them.
Looking back, Khuluma could see the rolling backs of the wildebeests move together, following behind the god.
“They move often. It must be hard to keep moving all the time just to live. Why don’t they just claim a large patch of land and stay? Wouldn’t it be safer to keep a territory for the herd at all times than risk moving and getting hurt?” Khuluma has no sense of how much a herd ate, or how much anyone really had to eat for that matter. To him, the prairies were wide and spacious. To run out of something like grass seemed almost impossible.
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 12:07 pm
Palahala gave a quiet chuckle as they moved "The rains replenish the earth Khuluma and grass grows, the herd eats the grass, but soon, the grass is gone and the rains are not due again for another season so the herd must move to a place where the rains are falling and the grass is green. Unlike you and me, this herd needs to eat, needs to replenish itself and so they must move."
The sound of water met their ears and Palahala gave a grunt slowing Zebadie down. She hopped beside him, looking up breifly with her bright yellow eyes at the small god "We can't hesitate Khuluma or the herd will stop, hope you don't mind having a bath." She puffs her chest out, hopping between Palahala's legs swiftly and easily, a black and white sprite, swift and bouncy.
Palahala folds his his wings tighter around Khulima, his leathery membranes folding close to the soft yellow cub "Don't worry, I won't let you fall in." He whispers.
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 12:17 pm
His eyes went back out to the heard, a sea of large beasts, and the heavy smell coming off their sun-heated backs. It looked like an unorganized procession at first, but they all knew to stay close, together, and did not loose what direction they went. Actually, what they did know was that. Stay close and follow the leader. Seeing that he was on the back of that leader, it felt overpowering to see such a large mass trusting themselves all to Palahala. He certainly was an impressive god to have all of them trusting him with their lives. It made the god wonder how Palahala could do it all.
“I wonder if the God of Rain knows about this. Maybe they could help.” He wondered if there was more rain, there would be more grass, and then the herd wouldn’t be in danger as much as they were when they traveled. He never met the God of Rain, but he wondered if they knew about the poor wildebeests that had to move in the hot sun all the time to just eat. It made Khuluma secretly glad he did not have to depend on food, but when he saw a small wildebeest panting nearby, he felt guilty and turned his head back to the god in time to hear about water.
"Water?!” He said, looking up. Indeed it was. A murky river ahead of them, deep and very wet. When Zebadie teased him, he glared back at her. He hated water, but Zebadie said they could not hesitate, and he knew Palahala probably didn’t want to hear him complain. Instead, he brought himself closer and curled his wings about him as Palahala’s went over his. “I hate water.” He whined, burying his face into Palahala’s back as they moved.
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 12:50 pm
Palahala's deep brown eyes smiled as they approached the deep, fast flowing water. "We have to keep going Khuluma, to lead you have to be brave, you have to keep moving against adversity or you will be pushed aside. Leaders are the ones who know when to go and when to stop, if we pause the herd will loose heart, so we have to press on." He pauses and looks ahead "The goddess of rain can only do so much Khuluma, the rains have to move so that every where gets a share, it's the way life is."
Zebadie dropped back, hopping at Palahalas heels she looks up at Khuluma "It'll be over soon kid, just close your eyes." She chuckles.
"Take a deep breath." Palahala whispers as he leaps from the bank and plummets in to the fast moving river, water splashed around him, soaking his long half mane, he soon surfaced a bit, his back mostly out of the water, his antelope like tail flowing out behind him.
The small black and white figure of the klisperinger bobbed up directly behind Palahala, swimming in his wake. a smile on her muzzle, she was closely followed by a stream of wildebeest, their bodies bobbing throught he waves carving a slip stream where the smaller creatures swam, calming the high fast waters.
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 1:03 pm
Leaders. It was a new thought, leading a large group to a destination. Here he wanted to see if there was a way to keep everyone safe in one place, but that was out of the question. Keeping everyone happy would be too much for the God of rain, or spoil their herd. That must mean if someone had lots of rain, someone else had little. The God of Rain must know that, and Palahala did too. He knew lots more than Khuluma did, and he soaked up all the lessons he could from the god. Being a leader meant having to do something you didn’t want to that could be dangerous. When Khuluma first met Palahala, he felt that being a god of Prey would be sad. Prey died and was food for other animals. It was hunted. Still, the older god knew this and accepted it. Khuluma didn’t know if he could handle knowing the creatures he was looking after would die, but still here he was, leading the group and protecting them despite what he knew.
His thoughts were interrupted by the oncoming river, and Khuluma shrank when it drew near, the sound of the water rippling pressing on his ears. With a high jump from Palahala, and a tight squeeze of his eyes and limbs, they plunged into the water. Even though the water did not overtake him, it splashed up on the first plunge and ten raced around his legs, chest, and his lowered head. He held his head up and already felt the sheer dislike of the water. Ew, Ew, and a million times YUCK!
When they reached the shore, eh was glad it was over. The wildebeests didn’t seem to mind at all, checking the bank, trusting their leader, and pushing into the water. They didn’t have a back to keep somewhat dry on.
“Aren’t you scared?” He asked Palahala as they reached the bank. “What if you hesitated? Aren’t you scared you might make a mistake when so many of them are following you?”
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 1:19 pm
Palahala paused for only a moment to check that Zebadie had arrived ont he shore behind him and to make sure the front few beasts had made it to land before he leaped away towards the open expanse of the Savannah. "Of course I am afraid, but without fear what is there to overcome?" He smiles settling down to the ground to allow Khuluma to get off his back.
Zebadie trotted straight up to them both, shaking her small body of water creating a tiny rainbow around her form "Psh, I'm never afraid." She grins and laus down turning her head around to groom her own back of water.
The older god chuckles "Zebadie doesn't know the meaning of the word, but to fear is a part of being alive, and you have to make mistakes to grow. When I was younger, I made mistakes, but i know now they were mistakes that taught me how to be what I am now. All leaders have a few hick ups, it doesn't make them any less leaders. In fact, it probably makes them better leaders because they learn by their mistakes and know to pass advice on to the next leaders so they too can learn. You will see, time fixes everything, even mistakes." He turns his gaze to Zebadie and grooms her with his rough tongue, quickly taking away the water from her thing hairs as the rest of the great wildebeest herd milled about them and started to feed on the already low cropped ground, they still had a way to travel, but with the river crossed they could rest for a while before continuing onwards.
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 1:31 pm
Khuluma hopped off Palahala’s back, landing with a wet thud that made him look at himself. His eyes trailed to Zebadie who, even though she took the river without assistance, didn’t seem phased by being drenched. Wanting to beat her, he decided not to make a fuss either, though he did start licking himself to get the water off. Already the tips of his mane was wet and dripping, curling and fizzing in a way that only a wet mane could.
Listening, he looked back to Palahala, pausing once mid-lick to watch the male clean off the little klipspringer. It made him jealous, and he nuzzled Palahala for attention. “I hope I make lost of mistakes then to become as good as leader as you.” He puffed at the idea despite what he was saying. Funny. He didn’t recall mistakes being a good thing, but with how Palahala put it, it sounded like a necessity in becoming better.
“Palahala, how old do you have to be to be a leader? ”
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 1:38 pm
Having finished drying Zebadie off, Palahala turns his attention to Khuluma grooming the cubs mane and ridding it of water fairly quickly before replying. "Just make sure you learn from your mistakes so you don't make the same one twice." He smiles and nuzzles the little god in to his side, his own fur was still wet but he would take care of his charges first.
"I believe a good leader becomes a leader when he is ready." He smiles, perhaps it was a little bit of a cryptic reply, but he felt that there was no age limit on becoming a leader, but there was an age limit on becoming a good leader, he didn't know how long it would take any particular creature to take charge.
Zebadie rolls her golden eyes but turns her attention to the cub grazing one of his shoulders in the way that beasts of prey groomed one another in the herd. "Anyone can be a leader cub, it's being a good leader thats the hardest part." She grumped going back to helping to groom the young gods damp fur.
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 1:53 pm
He took in the attention, grinning as he was cleaned. He had little shame when it came to getting Palahala to notice him, or anyone for that matter. As he groomed, Khuluma leaned over to lick some of the Prey God’s fur in a clumsier fashion than the older god did. The godling then turned his attention to Zebadie, who was brushing against him, and he gave her a lick of thanks as she passed. He got angry with her at times, and she was the competition for Palahala’s attention, but he could never hate her.
”I hope I know when I’m ready, and that I know what to do. I don’t want to be a bad leader.” The idea of having a large group like the herd following him was both exciting in it’s sense of duty and purpose, but frightening in all the ways it could go wrong. There would be no one he could blame or share in the responsibilities when he was a leader, and that meant all the punishment went to him. He’d just have to take it all if he made a mistake. As much as he wanted to learn, he didn’t want to screw up either.
Going back to preening the other god’s fur, he looked back at the herd. He didn’t feel ready now, but he did feel better with a role model like Palahala with him. Even Zebadie was a leader in her own right. Right now, he was okay with being less of a burden and learning. “I’m going to try, but I can help you, right? I might not be ready yet, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help a leader. I think I’m ready to do that.” It was a small step, but he wanted to go on his own four feet too. Well, as much as he could without getting stepped on by wildebeest.
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 2:01 pm
Palahala smiled and nuzzled the little god affectionately, he was very fond of Khuluma, he felt like part of his herd even though technically he wasn't, he was a part of the herd for the moment, one of it's charges. "You've already helped Khuluma, by facing your fears of the water and maybe when we get home you can take charge of a small group hmm? I can't be every where at once you know." He looks to Zebadie nudging the Klippy with an equal, though different affection, the affection of a close friend. he appreciated her blunt honesty and the fact thats he had taken Khuluma under her proverbial wing.
Zebadie yawns slightly turning her attention to Palahala "Good job you can't catch your death of cold." She chuckles.
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 2:08 pm
Khuluma’s eyes went big at the prospect of a small herd of his own, very much wanting to do everything like what Palahala did. Grinning, he was overtaken by excitement and jumped up, his paws pressed on the god’s chest. “Really? You think can do it? I really do want to help as much as I can!” The fact that Palahala had many charges that he needed to protect was something that felt overwhelming that even Khuluma didn’t think he could wrap his head around how many prey animals there were for the god to look over, but he still felt the same idea of not wanting them to be harmed. It wasn’t his domain, but he had adopted it as a concern of his every since he had met the god. Just like how the rain couldn’t be there in once all the time, Palahala couldn’t, and if Khuluma could be a small little shower to make up for it, he would try and help.
When Zebadie mentioned the wet god, the godling giggled, already giddy from what Palahala proposed. “Now THAT is something I can help with!” And the little godling took it as his first task to attack the god and make him as dry as he could.
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