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 Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:09 pm
Ili'ella had claimed a cave the night before as her den. The sun was high in the sky already but she had yet to move. She was tired of walking, she had been wandering the whole day yesterday. She was used to walking of course, being nomadic she had to be.
Half curled in her cave, her head was poking out of the collection of rocks that made it up. Watching a particularly happy bird flying across the clear sky, Ili'ella's eyes sparkled merrily as it curved down towards her. "Hello Mr Bird," she said softly as it landed in front of her.
She gasped as two smaller birds landed beside it. "Oh, I'm sorry, Missus Bird." She laughed lightly, lowering her head to watching them closely. "My, you're a beautiful bird." They were vivid colours of the rainbow and seemed happy enough to have her nearby. Perhaps they thought she was simply a large bird because of her colours.
Crawling along the ground a little, trying to get closer, she scared them. Taking to the sky, they were gone before she'd realised it. "Wait! Come back," she called out, easily saddened by their disappearance. "I didn't mean to scare you."
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Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:28 pm
It was a good thing he wasn’t a royal lion so used to getting everything served to him that he didn’t know how to hunt for himself. Yes, in such cases as this, it was actually a good thing that he had run away from his family when he was young and lived on his own in the rogue lands for so long. He had been able to learn all he needed living a completely normal life.
It was just the whole ‘letting his father destroy things because he was too selfish to stick around and try to help’ that really bothered him. Better late than never, he imagined, as he was going back to his pride to try and set things straight. The two animals he was traveling with, his servant and his guard, had faith that he would make a good king. He, however, remained skeptic.
As he walked birds fluttered into his paths, damn near scaring the crap out of him. Opening his eyes again after a moment, he looked around, pretty confused until she noticed the creature against the ground. How could he miss such a bright coat?
“Hello miss,” he said lightly, “how are you? You startled me.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:48 pm
She hadn't noticed the approaching male, too entranced by the birds and then too saddened by them leaving to notice much else. Glancing up with surprise as someone spoke, she spotted the male. He was such a dark, rich purple color that she had to pause before she replied. "Hello sir," She responded softly, climbing to her feet.
Shaking herself off, she dispelled the few lingering spots of dirt clinging to her coat. "I am well, merely enjoying the beautiful day in rest." She glanced at him, tilted to the side. "I startled you? I'm sorry! I didn't realise anyone else was around, else I would have been more careful."
She sat down, eyeing him curiously. She hadn't seen anyone who looked like him before. His colour was dark, but still, "Your coat is quite beautiful, Sir."' She wondered what he was doing out here alone. She had found many people would travel in groups, which was a lot safer. Especially those with such bold colours, which tended to make hunting much more difficult if alone.
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Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 6:09 pm
“Well, I suppose you weren’t really the one to startle me, now that I think about it,” he said with a light smile, “it was the birds, wasn’t it? You have nothing to be sorry about.” He didn’t like seeing ladies looking upset, even if it was only for a fleeting moment. Perhaps that’s why he had enjoyed spending so much time in his youth making them laugh.
Among other things.
“Oh, you think so? Why thank you, I appreciate that. Your coat is quite lovely as well, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one so bright and warm.” He smiled at that. Yes, she had a very unique coat. It was quite different from his. Like day and night. Or a sunburn and a bruise.
“So do you live here, then?” He asked, indicating the den behind her. If she didn’t live there, then she was just crashing for the day. Not that he minded that: he had to find various places to sleep as he made his way back to his home. “My name is Bwana. And you, my dear?”
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Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 7:59 pm
She tilted her head to the side with a soft look, "but I scared the birds which startled you, so I was still the one to cause you distress. I am truely sorry." She didn't look too upset by it, but her manners wouldn't let her allow what she'd done slide by unnoticed. It was rude to not take responsibility for something that had been her fault.
Ili'ella preened lightly at his compliment, her eyes sparkling happily. Her coat really was her pride and joy, it was everything she had and was the only thing she always took with her. "Thank you," she said softly, "my colours are my everything." Why she said that, she wasn't sure. He looked like someone who might understand it.
Glancing back at her den, she crinkled her nose slightly in a childish gesture. "No, I merely stayed here last night. I have no place to live yet, I don't think I could stand staying in one place for very long," she laughed lightly, smiling at him slightly. "My name is Ili'ella, Kind Sir Bwana." She inclined her head lightly, a light-hearted feeling filling her chest. She loved meeting new people. "Were you going anywhere in particular, Kind Sir Bwana?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 9:05 pm
“I know what you mean,” he replied, “where I come from, fur colors is entirely important. Perhaps too much so, in fact. I do love my coat color, of course, but I wonder if I shouldn’t try to change some of the rules in my pride.” He let his thoughts carry away his tone for a moment, before blinking and looking back at the other. Smiling faintly, he appeared embarrassed for a moment, not having meant to lose himself to easily to his own thoughts.
Shifting, he sighed.
“Ah, I know that feeling very well,” he said faintly, “not wanting to stay in one place for long. However, I found that I was just running from my life. But I know you’re not doing the same. Lots of lions just like to roam, right? I understand. I’m actually heading back to my pride lands at the moment, to reclaim my title as king. It’s in ruins, I hear, and so I must return to bring things back to where they belong.” He chuckled faintly.
“I think I’m not going to be a great king. I’m so used to lively freely. I hope I can make those who are still in the lands feel free again, you know?”
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Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 4:48 pm
Ili'ella enjoyed listening to him talk. He spoke with ease, which many other lions struggle to do. Perking up at the little tid-bits of his past she learnt about as he spoke, she tilted her head to the side. Prides. She knew what they were, had even passed through a few at night when no one knew, but she didn't like the idea of settling down. Much too much work trying to stay in one place.
"Your pride favours coat colours?" She peered at her coat and asked playfully, "what would my coat mean in your pride, kind sir?"
She looked surprised when he mentioned that he was reclaiming his title as king. "You're a king?" She bowed to him, eyes sparkling. "Should be calling you King Bwana instead of Kind Sir then?"
"I'm sure you will be a great king," she said simply, looking at him with kind eyes. "You have wandered and learnt from your mistakes and you know now that you were only running. It has made you stronger, I'm sure. If you are used to being free, then set your pride free. If you are meant to be there, a pride shouldn't be a cage. It should be somewhere you want to be." She ruined the wise image as she crinkled her nose at the thought of her settling down in a pride though.
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Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 12:49 pm
“Yes, very much. I hope to ease that, too.” He smiled faintly, looking her over, “my pride favors purple, but other colors are not frowned upon. I’m sure the members of my pride would find your coat as lovely as I do.” His father, however, would be a different story.
The lion only liked purple. All other pelts were disgraceful.
Bwana was actually glad the lion had been killed. Did that make him a bad son for thinking such a terrible thing about his father?
Laughing lightly, he shook his head, mane bouncing around. “Why no! I’m not really one for such titles. Please, call me what you want, as long as I can continue to call you my dear.” He smiled at that, happy this lioness wasn’t a brute. Some of the rogues he had met had been a little less than friendly.
“I know, it’s not the pride that makes me feel caged. My pride will be very open for animals to come and go as they please. I’m going to make sure of that. No, it’s my responsibilities as king that will tie me down.” He chuckled lightly, thinking about what the pride should be. What he had heard it was like before his father came to power. “It’s a pride where a lot of the members love to sing and dance and perform for each other in various ways. Entertainment used to be the primary focus of my home. Laughter. But my father ruined it all with his dark ways. I intend to return things to how they should be. I do so love performances and arts.”
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Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2009 10:51 pm
"Purple?" She said, perking up rather obviously at the mention of such a generally pretty colour. "Are many of your pride members purple?" What a pretty pride they must be, if they had shades of purple on them. much better than boring colours in the pride. She shifted, looking rather pleased at his compliment on her coat, her eyes glimmering.
"You're very sweet, Kind Sir," she said, almost as a tease but it was true.
"Kind sir, then," she decided, nodding firmly as if to assure him that she was serious. "You're welcome to call me whatever you like."
She looked amazed as he spoke of his pride. It sounded...wonderful. A pride that was about enjoying oneself and one that didn't cage you in, leaving you there for life. Why, it was a wonderful idea. The thought that it had been corrupted by the kind male's father was a sad idea, but she knew it happened. It was easy to be corrupted.
"Must you stay there all the time? Would you not have someone you trust to leave the pride in so you can walk away, if only for a day or two? A pride that doesn't cage in it's members should not cage in it's kind."
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 5:19 pm
“Yes, actually,” Bwana chuckled, “many of the pride members are purple. It’s quite fun to bump into people when it’s dark and you’re eyes have not adjusted yet.” Most of the animals were pretty purple, not to mention black as well. It was very easy to lose track of one another in that crowd.
Though, not everyone was like that. Some where white and others were bright colors indeed. Or they had been, anyway. He still wasn’t sure what he was going to see when he got back home.
Maybe no one at all.
“I suppose I don’t have to stay there all the time,” he replied, “but I have an obligation to my subjects. I want to make sure they are happy and feel free to do as they please. The chaos left by my father must be lifted. I just think, for a while anyway, I will need to spend a lot of time within the pride making it the wonderful place I know it can be.”
HE chuckled after a moment, shaking his head. “Enough sadness! We don’t need to talk about my worries. Tell me something about you. Anything.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:12 pm
Ili'ella laughed softly at his comment of them being purple. That would be an amusing sight to see, an entire pride getting lost in the darkness and unable to walk around without bumping into each other. "That must provide great amusement at gatherings," she said, tilting her head to the side with a smile.
She looked at him, pleasantly surprised by his dedication to the fallen pride. He must have really cared about the people and the place, to be this strongly determined to fix what his father had done. It was a wonderful thing to see. "I wish you all the best," she said honestly, "in fixing your pride. With you leading them, I'm sure the place will blossom into being the best it can be."
She looked bemused when he requested she tell him something about her. She didn't find herself that interesting and for a second, she was stumped as to what to say. She could have told him something nonsensical, like she made up her own songs, or something sad, like she was lonely, but she didn't want something like that. He'd told her a lot about himself, it was only fair to reply with something of importance, not just babble. She peered at him, and said rather simply, "when I was younger, I used to see things when I went to sleep that used to come true. It confused me for a while, but they stopped when I was older." She smiled, "I suppose that doesn't count as telling you something about me, since it's not true anymore. Sorry," she laughed softly.
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:29 pm
He waited patiently for her to come up with a response, his tail curling around his body as one head tilted to the side. She seemed to be thinking hard about something to say about herself, though he imagined it was just because she didn’t want to say something about herself that was too personal. As a king, he knew a thing or two about secrets. Not that he really kept them himself, but he knew his father had been one for hiding things. And he used to hide things from his father, too. Good or bad, secrets were bound to happen.
Maybe she had secrets too. It wouldn’t be a bad thing.
“Really? Like a Seer might?’ He mused. His teachers, some well to do scholars of his pride, had told him about God children living in the world of the lion. They had dreams that were of future events. But he hadn’t thought children who weren’t born from Gods could have such an ability. He also hadn’t realized that the powers could fade. Maybe they couldn’t. What she had experienced could have been a unique case of something entirely different.
“No no! That’s very interesting. I think I would be quite confused if I had the ability to see the future. Do you miss being able to dream things like that?”
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 7:29 pm
She was faintly surprised when she discovered that he found what she had said interesting. Shouldn't it be boring, because it no longer happened to her? She didn't mind that he asked questions about it either, it drew her mind away from her earlier sadness of his fallen pride.
"A seer? I suppose," she said, looking a little bemused. "My mother used to tell me I was like a Fortune Teller or a Mystic, which I suppose is the same thing as a Seer. She used to See as well, but her Sight faded too." She left out that her mother had pretended to See for years later, swindling people out of their food and gifts because of it.
"Miss it? Sometimes," her eyes glittered in amusement. "I mean, who wouldn't want to know things about what will happen to them, but in general no." She shook her head, staring back into the sky. "I used to see things that scared me, or made me sad, I don't want to see them anymore. Most were frightful things to a cub, I'm sure you'd understand. "
She smiled and laughed. "How is it we got back to a sad conversation again?" It was like their whole meeting was shrouded in heavy subjects and a type of sadness that dwelt around them. Where the spirits trying to sadden them for a reason, or was it just a game they played with them?
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 7:38 pm
“Ah, well, perhaps then it is just genetic.” He still thought it was an interesting gift, even if it ran in the family. The ability to see the future… that sounded like a good way to entertain the pride. Perhaps he would need to find a fortune teller who would like to be a part of it.
Listening, he frowned, nodding slowly.
“I wonder,” he sighed, “it must have been frightening to see things you had no control over. I see your point.” If she saw animals dying or something, then that would be horrible for a cub to have to witness, even in dreams. Particularly if it happened many times over. He would probably also start to wonder if things happened that he saw, or his seeing things made them happen.
“I fear we may be cursed,” Bwana said softly, smiling pleasantly as he curled his tail around his body after shifting it around to the other side of his frame, “two sad poets destined to keep to the same line of conversation, perhaps? No. That’s too sad. Perhaps, instead, we were compelled to get the sadness out of the way first, so that out next encounter, should we meet again, will be an entirely happy one.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 8:45 pm
"It didn't happen often," she added, hoping he wouldn't feel bad for her. She had lived with it when she was younger, and had lived with it as she grew older, she was used to the memories of the things she'd seen. It had scared her silly as a child, but she was happy now. They were gone. "Only every few nights, at least it wasn't every night or anything," she said, with a lighthearted laugh. She counted herself lucky with her visions.
"Cursed?" She repeated, and laughed softly. It should have seemed like a scary thought, but he had said it with a smile, so she knew it wasn't so. She smiled at the idea that they would meet again, under happier circumstances. "I'm sure we will," she agreed firmly. "We will meet when we are both happy and will only share happy memories, not the sad ones we dwell on now."
She would like to see him again, she decided with firm determination.
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