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 Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 5:57 am
Wow. Just wow.
It seemed like such a long time ago when she had been here last, entering into the time of her teenage years, playing pranks, laughing and playing; unaware of what was about to occur. She had been seperated, made new friends. New family. And all they had ever wanted was to get home, even if it was a scary sort of notion.
Had it worried Jahina?
Well...actually. No. Not until she was here and she was faced with a land both familiar and...different. A land with lions she had once known and some she didn't. So, for now she was getting to grips with having her very own den!! And also, listening to the voices of lions she didn't know.
Ngeu was off somewheres, clearly not as affected by coming home as her bonded was. Even still, Jahina was almost glad she had some time without her. Ngeu was good at encouraging her to indulge in mischief and right now, she figured, she'd be best to stick away from any sort of thing until she'd settled and people knew her better. So, well behaved with everyone...except, of course, the group of lions who knew her best. Boring old Chewy. Sikivu. Yamini and Tilifika. She could still be herself with them. After all, they'd probably have a heart attack or something if she started acting 'behaved' around them.
She laughed, stretching, and padded out into the open, stretching again under the sun. It was a good morning. So...what should she do?
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 6:12 am
Everywhere around her, Tilifika noticed things that bore an air of familiarity, though try as she might, she could barely remember anything. There were fleeting memories, of course, of days spent frolicking in the sun and the cool shelter of the dens, and exploring the valley while pretending to be on grand adventures, like heroes of some sort that only a cub could think up. But beyond that, there wasn't much.
It was as if her life had begun at the earthquake. It was likely the most vivid memory the young lioness could recall - the total chaos that had ensued, the dust, the rocks, the loneliness... And then, finally, being found by Sikivu and their small band of survivors: her new family. There was nothing, Tilifika realized, that had been before the earthquake that she could take for granted. She had nothing and no one in the world except for that little, unlikely group of friends. The ones that she had taken for granted for so long; but finally coming home had helped to put things in perspective. Already, things had begun to change, and she had realized, finally, that she couldn't expect them simply to be there.
The bright lioness padded along, lost in her own thoughts as she went and soaking in the feeling of home that she had been missing and craving for so long. So this was what it felt like. There was a pleasant ring to it, though she couldn't quite place a finger on what it was, exactly. Granted, it was weird, but it was a nice kind of weird - one that she could get used to. She thought, at least.
Still, it didn't stop her from wondering how the pride was taking their return. They were practically strangers, after having been gone for so long - she, at least, was. The thoughts reverberated within her head, demanding her full attention. The bright morning and cloudless sky were lost on the bright lioness as she wandered rather aimlessly through the valley. But at least, she thought, they were still home.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 6:24 am
She yawned - tongue curling in her jaws - and then stood, soaking in the peace and quiet of home for just the briefest of moments. Only then did she set off, leaving behind the comfort of her little den to venture through the lands changed by time. It would be interesting to see what had been affected by the shifting of the lands and what had not.
Almost like entering some weird dream world where things were not quite as they seemed.
She moved out swiftly, her trotting gait as bouncy as it had always been. Her paws hurt from all the walking, but she was too happy and excited right now to move as if they did. She could rest them later. For now, she had some exploring to do! Maybe she'd go and find one of the others to join her. Not Chewy, since he was probably grouching somewhere. Not Sikivu, either. He'd seemed very tired and was probably dead to the world right now. So, Yamini or Tilifika it was then. She wondered how close they had chosen their densites to her own. Hopefully not too far!
Luckily, however, she spotted the flash of pink fur just up ahead. Pink fur that could belong to no one but her friend, Tili. And, excited, she quickened her pace, calling out in case she lost sight of her and had to keep up the search.
"Tili!! Wait up!"
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 6:32 am
The familiar sound of Jahina's voice brightened Tilifika far more than she would have expected - yet another sign that the young lioness should not take these friends of hers for granted. If she had to be completely honest, she had little idea as to what she would do if, in fact, the tight bonds that existed within their small group were to dissipate as they all became accustomed to life within the pride again.
"Jah!" A bright grin split the lioness's face as she paused, turning to greet her friend. Oh, she had missed Jahina. All of the others, too, but the sight of the other lioness and the wave of familiarity that washed over her made her suddenly realize it. And it was a strange realization too, that Jahina's face brought her more comfort that the simple act of being home. It worried her a little, but she heard Pisha's voice in her head: don't worry, just take some time, and relax. Perhaps, for once in her life, Tili would heed the vulture's advice.
"How's it going?" Her grin widened as Jahina neared. "Adjusting okay? Have you seen the others? ...Chewy?" She added, though it had been more a slip of the tongue than anything. Real subtle, she thought to herself.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 6:40 am
She closed the gap swiftly, grinning like a mad thing as Tili called back to her, hearing her own joy reflected in the other female's voice. She slowed to a halt just short of crashing head-long into the other and paused a moment to catch her breath, beaming all the while.
"Tili!" She purred, her tail swaying. "Boy am I glad to see you! I was worried that I might not see any of you for a while. But here you are!" She made it sound like they'd been apart for days or weeks, even. Not the couple of days it had been in reality. She nudged her head against the other's shoulder and sat, briefly, to take her weight off of her paws.
"It's going okay. I've not really been out and about much since we got back. Was actually going to go out for a tour by myself right now. But since you're here, too, how about we go together?" She smiled warmly. "You're the first I've seen since we got back. I guess the others must still be resting, huh? Or Sikivu and Yamini will be, at least. Not sure about Chewy. He's probably off being grouchy somewhere, right?" She laughed.
"Soooo, how about it? You ready to take the amazing tour of the shifting lands of the Aka'mleli?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 6:51 am
"So am I!" She sat as well and leaned against Jahina with an answering purr. Contentment fairly radiated from the pink lioness - who wore her emotions on her sleeves and rarely bothered to even attempt to conceal them anyway - as she did so, indescribably glad to be the in presence of the other lioness. She had come to see Jahina as something of a sister, and no amount of reasoning would convince her otherwise.
"I guess we decided to pick neighboring dens," she added, equally pleased with the discovery. It was a relief to know that if ever Tili needed her, Jahina was but moments away, and even though she knew that they couldn't possibly see each other every day, knowing that they would at least have the chance to run into each other periodically was good enough for her.
"I'll bet," she giggled, agreeing with a nod. "He's probably sitting somewhere worrying, trying to make sure we didn't accidentally end up at the wrong pride or something." It didn't sound too far off from anything the serious lion would be doing - at least not their traveling companion, and Tili doubted that a couple of days back with the pride had changed him so radically.
"I've been ready since we started trying to get back to this place!" The pink lioness declared, rising to her paws and nudging her friend as she did so. "Hey, we'd better discover something new, huh?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:02 am
"I'm hoping so." She replied, eagerly, moving forwards to begin their tour of the lands. "Everyone we knew before...I wonder what they're doing now. We've been gone for a while...some might even have families of their own. I think we'll have a lot to catch up on." She paused, thinking on that a moment. Wow...they really had been away for a long time...
"Maybe if we find out where Chewy is staying, we can drop in on him and cheer him up on our way through." She laughed. "I'm sure he'd love some company, even if he doesn't admit it." She nodded briefly, determined to track down that stone-faced Chewy and make sure that he didn't spend the rest of his time moping when he should have been out enjoying the fact that he'd helped them all get home.
She moved out across a shaky looking pathway leading down into the valley and breathed in the air here. Had it always been so fresh and clean here? Or...was that something new? Her heart soared as she descended, feeling almost as if it had unfurled great wings and was preparing to take flight.
"Ngeu is out there somewhere." She spoke softly. "Sometimes I envy her for her wings. Can you imagine being above all of this? Looking down at the world from so far up? At the very least, I wish I could see through her eyes. She's so lucky." She tipped her head. "Hey, where's Pisha?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:13 am
"Right, otherwise, we'd just be two lionesses on a tour, and that's just..." She didn't want to say mediocre, but it was the first word that had popped into her head. "Too ordinary," she finished, nodding her head once with conviction. And they didn't want to be that. No, they were, for sure, going to discover something new today, something that nobody else had yet... or at least just something exciting. They could just pretend they had seen it first, or something, if it came down to it.
"Honestly, though, I don't... really remember all that many lions from before," Tili admitted with a small shake of her head. And she wondered if she would even recognize many of the ones that she did remember. It wasn't the first time that she wished she had been older when the earthquake had struck. She would have been less of a burden of Sikivu and the others, and perhaps she wouldn't have felt quite so... lost back home.
"We should do that. And maybe even try to convince him to come along." And if not today, then another day. The next day, or the one after that, it didn't matter. As long as he came along and they got to see him, Tili would be happy. After all, just hearing Jahina's voice moments before had brought her enough joy to last the day, and more.
And, in any case, Chewa had been a large part of the reason they had made it home in the first place. He deserved to get to enjoy the valley, even if they had to make him realize it. He was too serious, that lion, even if it was in an... endearing way. Kind of.
"I wish I could imagine," She answered wishfully, raising her gaze to the skies. What would it be like to be up there, so far from the boundaries of the earth and the land, watching over everything? How high could they go? "Pisha?" She echoed. "Oh he's probably... off preening or something." She rolled her eyes. That bird was always concerned about the way he looked. Every feather had to be simply perfect at all times. She really didn't know why he bothered. "I don't get why it matters so much to him, looking pretty."
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:23 am
"Yes, and we certainly don't do ordinary." Jah agreed with a grin, flipping the tuft of fur out of her eyes so she could better see where she was going.
Jahina glanced in Tili's direction, then, understanding lighting there in her eyes. "Don't worry. We'll find something you remember. If not another lion, then a landmark or some description." She nudged gently against the pink female's side in an attempt to encourage her. "I promise, okay?" Perhaps she should not have gone about making such promises, but she never made them lightly and she was positive that Tili would find something that would remind her of the time before. Even if it was something as mediocre as a rock!
"We'll force him to come with us if convincing doesn't work." Jahina grinned. "He'll thanks us later, even if not at the time. Hopefully now that he's lost some responsibility he'll lighten up a bit. After all, we're back in the pride now. Not so much danger lurking around and the valley isn't exactly easy to find. I mean, we live here and even we struggled to navigate those pathways!"
She grinned. "Pisha is funny, Tili. He sounds like the complete opposite of Ngeu. Sometimes that bird is even more dust-covered than I am!" And that was saying a lot... Some used to joke that her markings were not, in fact markings, but mud - stuck there for all eternity because she spent so much time in it.
Pah! Meanies!
"Look!" She pointed suddenly. "Even from here you can see where all the rocks fell down." She gulped then, her excitement receding a little as she realised how far some of those rocks had fallen....and probably at such a force.
And poor Yamini's kite...
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:35 am
"Okay," she nodded. Jahina was right, even just a landmark or a simple description would be better than nothing. Tili imagined that finding anything that she could relate to from her youth would be enough to curb some of the aimlessness she was feeling - just anything to connect her to this place she called her home. She refused to believe that it could feel so strangely foreign. She had been born here, and had spent the beginning of her life here; it couldn't feel like any old place. It had to feel like a home, and she would make it happen. With Jah's help, it would happen, she was sure.
"That's right," the lioness brightened at the image of the two of them shoving the gray lion out of his den and into the sunlight. Oh, they would get him out, alright. Together, the two of them could move mountains if they wanted to. Nothing was impossible. "Maybe if we get him out and about, he'll realize how much safer we are, and he'll loosen up a bit. Or maybe a lot. Maybe deep down he's got a little prankster running around inside."
At the mention of the two birds, Tili shook her head in exasperation. "If he was like Ngeu, he would be so much easier to get along with!" She half-sighed, knowing that wishful thinking wouldn't make it so. And, in any case, she couldn't imagine Pisha being anything but what he was. "He's always sitting there grooming, and when he runs out of feathers to clean, he comes and does my fur. He can be such a pain." She glanced up at the lock of mane that covered her forehead. At the moment, it lay relatively tangle-free - Pisha had had much more time to groom her against her will, now that they were no longer travelling. "And I swear, I have holes in shoulders from his stupid claws," she added, thinking of all the times he had landed on her shoulders and squeezed them with his talons to straighten her posture.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:41 am
"You know, I think you might be right about that. Maybe he felt like he needed to be the sensible one, because we were out on our own and he was the young, strong male of the band." Weird how she had never thought of that before now. Maybe if she hadn't been so busy winding him up in an attempt to get him to grin she might have considered that a valid reason.
But he hadn't seemed that happy about getting home, she realised. She had looekd back to see him looking somewhat...well, she couldn't place the expression, but it wasn't anything like the one she had been wearing.
She grinned, then, thinking of the vultures and their apparent differences. Much like the both of them and ol' Chewy. "Hey, you know, maybe we could set Ngeu the task of trying to get Pisha to lighten up, too?" She laughed. "You never know, it might work! And then no more claw-marked shoulders!" She tipped her head, wondering if Ngeu would be game for that. She couldn't think why not. The two of them were so alike, it was actually a little scary.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:51 am
Tili grinned. Everybody had an inner prankster - she refused to believe otherwise. The world would be a very dull place indeed if it was filled to the brim with lions that didn't know how to have fun and enjoy life, and she firmly believed that the only reason this was not so was because everybody was innately fun-loving, and those who weren't simply chose to bury their inner children. That was what had happened to Pisha, she supposed, although she couldn't for the life of her imagine why. She would have thought that, having grown up with her, he would have figured out a way to have some fun.
"Hey, you know what, that might actually work!" She perked at Jah's suggestion. Well. If Ngeu's attempt to coax that inner prankster out of Pisha succeeded, then there would be all the more joy to share around, and if it failed then that would be nothing new, and old Peesh would be as boring and preachy as ever. And if that was the case, she could live with it. She had for so long already that she supposed she could go on doing it for the rest of her life. "And yea, no more clawed shoulders!" The idea was an exciting one, to say the least.
She paused, finally, to survey the valley before them, and noted where the rocks had fallen, shaken loose by the power of the earth, and suddenly it was as if she could feel the ground's terrible tremor beneath her paws again. That was a feeling she would never forget. She took a breath. "Geez..." She whispered, taking in the damage that had been done to the valley. It was a dreadful display of the world's natural power, both terrible and beautiful at the same time.
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 8:05 am
"You think so? Well, okay then! Next time Ngeu's about, I'll see what she thinks. I'm certain she'll be up for the challenge seeing as she adores teasing Chewy so much." She bounced a little, excited about the prospect of turning their group into a fun-loving little band.
"Poor Pisha! He's not going to know what's going on!" She giggled to herself, wondering if perhaps Ngeu hadn't already tried something like this before without her knowing it. After all, the vulture was clearly doing other things when she wasn't with the lioness.
She paused beside her friend - her sister - and peered down at the ruin left by the quake. She shook her head, subdued by the view of it and nodded in agreement to her friend's whispered word.
"We were lucky..." She replied. "Very lucky. To think...the whole pride could have been..." No, don't say it. There was no point deliberating on what could have happened. They had survived. All was well. But just how many had made it? How many bodies were...
No. No. Stop it.
"You think its safe, to go walking by it?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 8:13 am
"I hope she'll manage to make some headway at least," Tili said with a chuckle. She would be surprised if the vulture ever converted completely to being lighthearted and cheerful and easy to get along with, but she could at least hope for an improvement. He wouldn't be extremely happy with Ngeu's efforts, though, the lioness knew. If anything, they would probably make him even more cranky, at least for the first couple of days. But she could live with that too. The heavens knew Pisha had little mood swings at times.
"Yea..." Tili agreed, still in awe at the sight. Jahina was right, they had been so lucky, so much luckier than Tili had ever imagined. The thought of the rocks crushing down on her was painful enough, and the bright lioness didn't want to imagine what it would actually have been like for those unfortunate enough to have been caught under them.
For a moment, she hung her head in silent reverence to those who had suffered under the wrath of the falling rocks, trying to push away the thoughts of the bodies likely still trapped underneath the piles of stone.
"I guess it should be," she said finally, regarding the rocks cautiously. "It's been quite a while since the earthquake, so I guess if anything was unstable down there, things would have happened long ago."
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Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 8:28 am
"Hmm, I guess you're right." Even still, as she descended and came close to where the rock had fallen, she dropping the skipping trot and practically crept, afraid that one wrong step would send the rest of the valley into a crumbling heap upon her head. Just think! After all this time of wanting to get home and finally reaching it only to get flattened shortly after. Oh what a sorry story that would be!
She dared not speak for a while, and then, unable to bear the silence, decided to risk it.
"Do you think maybe we should try and find Umoja again? Ask him about...well...what happened with everyone whilst we were away? He might be the best one to talk to, do you think? Since he welcomed us home and everything..."
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