Normally a creature that embraced the nighttime, Nimhglas wasn't used to the glaring sun pounding down on his oversensitive eyes. He'd been woken by the local wildlife's enthusiasm that morning, and hadn't been able to sleep while such fascinating events unfolded, so he'd watched the gazelles spar until they'd sorted all the females out, then he'd tried taking down a weaker one, but without much fervor. It felt almost a cruelty to interrupt such a beautiful event, and in the end he'd let the buck get away.
Now he wandered in the brightness, taking the opportunity to get a feel for the day. It didn't fit naturally, it chafed like uncomfortable terrain, and the details and colors were much too vivid. Unless anything else interesting happened soon, he'd probably choose a bed soon and try to rest until twilight. Settling down to lay in the grass, his stripes blending him in wonderfully, he listened to the sounds of the world, searching for his next entertainment.
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Dysi had snuck away from Nyoka again, to his own amusement. It was getting easier to slip away form her, she wa sbusy with the pride and he could disappear for a day or so without her noticing. It made things easy, and less strained between them, since he knew she hated it when he left. Now she didn't know, so she couldn't be upset by it. He would get an earful when she found out what he'd been doing though, and he hid a grin as he walked.
He didn't attempt to hide the sound of his approach from anything. He wasn't hunting, he wasn't hungry, and he wasn't in the mood to attack anyone, so he didn't need to hide. He was swaying his hips as he walked, humming. He wasn't musical though, so it was not a pleasant sound. It had no tune and his voice was more like a rumbling purr than a musical sound.
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Relaxing into himself, Nimhglas closed his eyes, and mused on how they still glowed on the inside from the sun. But he put that aside to focus himself, absorb himself into the noises around him. Laying so still and so focused came naturally to him, being his favorite passtime as it was. He felt most at home when hidden among the plants, a silent observer and nonparticipant. It was almost voyeurism.
Though the sounds weren't the ones he was used to, still he picked out one that didn't fit. A strange sort of vibration, like an insect's hum, but rising and falling in a way he found curious. He got to a crouch and slunk through the grass towards it, uncaring of danger. He had to see what was making it, or he wouldn't be able to sleep not knowing. He stayed low and cautious, though, not wanting to give away his location.
-
Dysi continued to hum as he walked, tail flicking eagerly behind him. He wasn't keeping a close watch on where he was going, or his surrounding area. He was just walking for the sake of walking, like he usually did. However, a laugh bubbled out of his throat as he seemed to mock his own humming.
“You're making the bird's deaf,” he told himself, still chuckling. He was in a good mood. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, or they had been before he started humming and all was well in the world. What a lovely day to be around, he thought, but couldn't help but miss his little girls back in the pride. His shoulders slumped a little, as he remembered his girls back at the pride. Instead of walking, he could be playing games with them, but here he was, out alone. He frowned. When had his priorities changed?
-
Spotting a white movement some ways off, Nimhglas picked up his pace, and soon he had spotted the source of the noise. Predator cat, large, but not a lion. The wind was too still to pick up much besides that, but the body language said not on the hunt. He had to blink furiously after staring too long, though; the bold whiteness was putting a burning glow in his vision that physically stung.
But the sound had caught his curiosity. He had no way to classify it, really. It wasn't a growl or purr, or buzz like insects now that he was close enough to hear properly. It had a sort of off-key quality to it that jarred in a wonderfully dissonant way. Forget the melodic tunes of the night creatures, this was amazing! Forgetting altogether the need for hiding, he stood up and moved closer, trying to catch the cat's attention. He wanted to know more.
-
Dysi caught a flash of movment from the corner of his eyes, and he paused, his humming, which he had continued after a moment's pause, now disappeared. He tensed a little, worried that he tredded into a preditor's territory but when his eyes adjusted, he noticed it was a hyena.
Odd. He hadn't come across many, in his travels, not that he could remember anyway. His posture didn't appear threatening, and Dysi could not see his expression, so he purposely relaxed his body so that the male would not come to any bad conclusions of Dysi. “Hello,” he called out in greeting, his voice cautious but not threatening.
-
Nimhglas stared for a long moment, standing still by default, but it seemed the feline had stopped the noise. Alot of noises had stopped, now that two predators were so boldly in the open. He inched closer, drawn to the source of the strangeness that so appealed, but then remembered some of his previous encounters and backed away again. He mustn't seem aggressive, that was the wrong way about it.
He cracked a wide hyena grin, and began to speak. But the words, like always, were filtered through his somewhat skewed view of the world. "The white ghost grinds like insect wings," he mused. "Is this how his people learn to sing?" He shook his head. "Absolve this green one if he speaks out of manner. It is an affliction and a gift."
-
Dysi peered at the odd male, a little confused by what he was saying, but happy to see a grin, even if it looked a little odd. Hyena's were such strange creatures, but this male seemed even more so. “You mean my humming?” He asked, trying to clarify. “No,” he laughed, his voice more lyrical than if he had tried to hum. “Most people can sing far better than I can,” he told him, “I was simply making a mockery of the process.”
He peered at him, looking curious. “Do you sing?”
-
"Making a mockery, a noble goal," Nimhglas nodded knowingly. "You have mocked the making, and in mocking, making the making a mockery." He chuckled to himself. "It is good to know there are those of you that bring disharmony to the world, for without it, we are uniform and lifeless." Now this was worth staying up for, what an interesting creature he'd found.
He pondered the question, trying to associate the concept of singing and his own voice. "No, I listen. The land does the singing. I am halftruth, and it is the whispers for me. This one is Nimhglas. So I listen." He made an encouraging nod towards the other. "And I listen, if you wish, to make more music?"
-
Dysi shook his head, looking amused. This male...was odd, to say the least. “That's true,” he said, understanding what he was getting at, even if he was saying it in a slightly confusing way. “Life would be terribly boring if we were all well behaved.” He winked the hyena, and chuckled lightly.
He tilted his head, “you would listen to me hum and sing? My, you must be tone deaf,” he chuckled. “Nimhglas? What is that, if you don't mind me asking?” He didn't realise it was the male's name, too confused by his way of speaking to truly understand what he was getting at.
-
"Yes!" Pleased that the other got it, he did a quick gambol, bouncing about in celebration of life's joy. "Yes, it is a cacophony, the beauty and the horror are one and glorious. There is grace in the decay. We are all made that way." He felt a spontaneous kinship with this white glowing creature he'd only just met. In his thumping heart that cared too eagerly, they were already like blood brothers.
He understood that the other didn't know it was his name, and he tried to explain. "Nimhglas is green poison, born in wet land, taught in twilight. It is this on, and he is before you. Do you gambol, white brightness?"
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Dysi watched him bound around and smiled, glad to find someone who shared the same ideals that he had. “You speak the truth, and quite poetically, hyena!” He chuckled again, shaking his head. He was not a poetic creature, he was more playful, and fun loving, than poetic and deep thinking. He was amazed at this hyena's ability to rationalize everything verbally.
He tilted his head, but soon realised what the male was saying. “You are Nimhglas?” He said, to make sure, then smiled. “I am Dysini'mbus, but call me Dysi, it is easy to pronounce.” He shook his head at his last question. “No, I don't think I have. Is it fun?” He shot him a smile.
-
Encouraged, Nimhglas demonstrated by leaping and dancing a circle around the leopard. "It is expression of joy!" He threw in some wild kicks to be dramatic, and for the first time that morning didn't feel out of place in the sunlight."Dysini... mbus..." Nimhglas crooned, and tested the syllables in his mouth, pondering over their texture. "Dysi. One is the whole, one the part. Which part have you chosen to be, white brightness? Do you abscond the entirety, to shake off the undesirable?"
Sensing he might be too pushy, he smiled to show no harm was meant. "Bright Dysi should gambol at least once. To not revel is to deny the wellspring of all bliss. If you know anything in life, you should know this."
-
Dysi was delighted at the carefree actions of the other male, and hid a grin at the gamboling. However, his questions soon stumped him again. He was a simple creature. He didn't know fancy words, or complex phrases, so he was a little lost at the conversation the other male seemed to favour. He tilted his head to the side, then took a stab at what the male was saying, “I don't dislike my name, but some people find it too long, so it is simply easier to be 'Dysi'.”
He smiled back at the male. “Should I? Is it a life-changing experience?” He asked, sounding amused. He had never done it before, but it seemed fun, when the other male had done it, so maybe he would give in and try to gambol, sometime.
-
Stepping on a thorn in the middle of his dancing, Nimhglas hopped and limped along, but tried to keep up the adrenaline. Perhaps he could inspire by example. He embraced the slight stinging in his foot and the new rhythm it gave his moves. "Life changing," he mused. "It changes life, it weaves life. All things weave and are woven. To gambol is to experience. But without pain, normally."
"Dysi, Isyd," he muttered, and hesitantly tried to mimic the humming he'd heard before. "Dysi, Isyd, Bright white and blue and shorter than before," he sang, "Shortened to be fast, fast to say and go, fast to learn and know. Bright speed gives of himself for others' ease, yet becomes no less."
-
Dysi watched him, now he was dancing a little oddly but he chuckled anyway at his words. His hips were swaying as the male attempted to sing. He was making up a song about Dysi, which was such an odd thing on it's own, add in that the Hyena was dancing as he did it and trying to encourage Dysi to do the same, it just became bizzare.
He didn't try to resist though. When someone made up a song and danced to a tune that was about you, you tended to follow along. He began to hop and mimic the other male, feeling like a fool but his laugh was delighted as he followed Nimhglas.
-
All the exertion was making the already weary hyena very lethargic, and his dance steps slowed gradually until he was merely walking along, swaying and crooning. He delighted in this new music method. Humming had never occured to him before, he'd never heard it done, but it was very interesting. He paced the notes separately, listening to the keyshifts as his vocal cords shifted. Fascinating.
But as unusual and entertaining as the leopard was, he hadn't made his kill today, and his energy was waning. He needed to rest up for nightfall. "Bright Dysi, Dark Nimhglas," he explained. "This one is more to the shadows, and now he must merge with the grasses until the sun flees." Giving a small bow of gratitude, he wandered away, humming softly to himself. Learning to produce those essential off-key notes would take him days to learn.
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