Welcome to Gaia! ::

*Tu stared up into the giant round hole of an elephant's eye socket, a tiny shiver running down her spine. Though she lived amongst these hulking piles of bones, she had never seen the animal that left them here. She often wondered if someday one of them would come to die here and maybe then she could see what they looked like. The best she could imagine was giant lions with big fangs sticking straight out of their faces...

Maybe this graveyard was really the place the Lion Gods and Goddesses came to die... If they could die, that was...

Tu figured she still had a lot to learn about....well, everything really. She touched the side of a cracked white tusk with her paw.*

If Tu becomes bones... will she become a house for someone too?

*She wondered aloud. Her den consisted of a large elphant rib cage with ancient leathery skin still stretched over it in places. The bronw cub tried to imagine something living inside her bones... The thought made her squirm.*

*On the other side of the enormous skull, Tu caught the small flash of blue as it appeared above her. Her bowl-shaped ears perked up at the whisper of strange half words... Who was there?

Could it be...one of the bone creatures? Coming to mourn their dead- or to die themselves? But they had to be huge creatures- how could she have not heard them coming?

The ashen wind swirled past her nose, leaving behind a familiar scent- that of one of her own kind. A lion? Carefully, the little brown cub pulled herself up the side of the white skull, claws scratching at the bone. Peeking over the edge she found a young male lion standing near a tiny blue flower. Her crippled paw began to ache.*

Are you... a Lion God?

*Tu asked, too young to be anything but blunt when it came to her curiosity.*

*The cub cringed at the growl, her ruined paw curling instinctivly closer to her chest. But when he spoke his voice was calm and passive- she began to think that he must have been startled by her sudden appearance. Tu pulled herself up a little more, but remained a wary distance from the male. She looked down at the flower as she spoke.*

Tu is Tu...

*Came the shy response, though she wished her voice could have sounded less timid.*

Why is Malawa bringing flower?

*She asked, excited by the beauty of the object- the blue, like her eyes, that she rarely saw anymore in the graveyard- where the sky was not blue, but ash grey.*

*Deciding it was alright if she came a little closer, Tu edged forward a few steps, but didn't sit down. She nodded to his polite response, unsure of how else to answer.*

Respects...

*Tu repeated, rolling the word around on her tounge.*

Yes... Tu lives inside bones of animal she has never saw...

*The brown cub answered, still wondering what he meant by 'paying respects'... and if he'd seen an elephant before.*

*Tu listened attentivly to the other lion's description of the great animal, amazed that he knew so much about them. A lot of elephants must live out there in sun... She suddenly felt stupid for having never seen one- it seemed wrong for her to be living among their dead.

Normally the cub would have delighted in chasing the mouse that hurried past, but this new lion was much more interesting, so she stayed put.*

Tu's parents are gone...

*Again, the crippled paw twitched, seemingly of its own accord. She gave it an embarassed glance and sat down, tucking it away beneath her chest fur as if it were shameful.*

But Tu thinks 'Shara will let her go... 'Shara is being too busy alot these days to show Tu things.

*She replied, extremely excited about the prospect of meeting a real elephant and hoping he wouldn't turn her away. Tu had much to learn, and she was always looking for someone who would show her new things.*

They are?

*The cub's ears perked a little upon finding out that Malawa's parents were dead- just like hers. It was surprising, as well as a little comforting, to know that there were other lions that were on their own at a young age. It made her feel slightly better about being an orphan.*

As long as Tu comes back not eaten- 'Shara will not mind.

*Tu got up and padded towards him, her tail swinging behind her, ready to go. She was so excited and thankful to Mawa that she almost forgot and nuzzled him in thanks. But that wouldn't do- he was older and a stranger- she needed to stop thinking like a little cub.*

Can Tu watch Mawa' hunt also?

*She asked, blue eyes swiveling upwards pleadingly at him. The cub had been watching others hunt lately, trying to learn the basics so that she could provide for herself someday soon.*

*Tu followed after him obediantly, her little chest swelling with excitement at every step that took them towards the light. She marveled quietly at the unending stretches of green grass that spread themselves out before her. Animals moved in the sunlight far off on the horizon, filling Tu with a sense of awe and envy.

In the graveyard, things rarely moved- especially not in such a eaceful and languid way. Anything alive in the grey land skittered past as fast as it could, hiding between the bones.*

Mother...

*The cub whispered softly, the scene having evoked vauge memories of the lioness when they both were living in the light... The time before the graveyard.*

*Her thoughts interrupted by her companion's question, Tu raised her head and instantly her eyes grew as large as lily-pads. Even at a distance, the huge creature that loomed before them was easily ten times the cub's size. The elephant's ears were enormous...and what was that? An absurdly long, thick tail seemed to dangle from the middle of the animal's face.

Tu looked up at Mawa apprehensivly.*

...Elephants eating cubs?