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 Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 12:17 pm
The Guide was done with her duties for the day. She had visited with her friend Sutala briefly, and now she was making her slow, careful way back to the dens. As she walked she reflected that it was a pity Sutala was so reclusive. It must get a bit lonely, sleeping out there at the shrine ... but she had the souls to keep her company. Anyways, it wasn't Pumzi's place to judge.
Spotting another person, Pumzi altered her course and began approaching them. It was a lion, vaguely familiar but not immediately recognizable. Someone new, perhaps. It was often hard for Pumzi to keep track of the pride members, especially new ones.
She knew that many folk found her company a little ... dull, or perhaps off-putting, but she didn't mind. She would go and introduce herself (assuming she hadn't already done so and forgotten about it). It was nice to be friendly. If he didn't desire her companionship after that, she would leave as peacefully as she had come. "Hello," Pumzi called softly as she approached the other lion. "I am Guide Pumzi."
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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 6:29 pm
Ishekhesi had been sitting quietly, and overlooking the dens. He had a large piece of bark, procured off a fallen tree, with symbols scratched in it. When he heard someone else approaching, he flipped the bark over and put his paw on it.
"Hello, Guide Pumzi. I'm Ishekhesi. I'm a shifter."
He turned properly to look at the newcomer. Too his dismay, it was another female. And not a wild dog female this time, but a feline female. The only thing that could have made him more nervous was a cub. Or a feline female with cubs. Or a pregnant feline female.
He backed up a little bit from the guide, revealing his hidden bark, but he didn't notice. He was busy trying to think of something else to say; how did you talk to a lioness? What did lionesses like to talk about? Cubs? No, not cubs. That would sound like he was coming on to her, and he wasn't. Not that he wouldn't, she was nice looking, not that anyone good enough to become a guide would be interested in him, but that wasn't the point.
Wait, she was a guide! That was it. They could talk about duties and what not.
"Do you enjoy being a guide, Pumzi?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 8:38 pm
Pumzi nodded as the strange lion spoke. Ishekhesi the Shifter ... it sounded familiar. Maybe someone had mentioned him in passing. He seemed not to know her, so probably they hadn't already met. That was good. Sometimes people were offended when you forgot about them. Pumzi would have to make an effort to remember him now, to prevent that from happening.
Ishekhesi seemed nervous. There wasn't much reason for anyone to be nervous around the mild-mannered lioness, but it didn't discomfit her. Her friend Sutala was far more skittish and shy than this new lion. Although his question could have been answered with a simple 'yes', she took a moment to mull it over. "Yes, I enjoy being a guide," she said slowly. "Most people are happy to visit us. I like to visit the shrines as well." She shrugged. "It is the way I serve the Gods."
Pumzi didn't want to ramble on and on about herself, though. She didn't have a whole lot to say, for one thing. "I hope you enjoy your duties as well, Ishekhesi," the lioness said. "That is a nice piece of bark," she added politely.
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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 8:58 pm
Ishekhesi looked down in horror. His bark was showing! He looked back up at Pumzi and tried to decide - would she be interested in the bark if he tried to hide it? She seemed nice enough - surely she wouldn't poke into his bark scratchings.
"Er - yes. It is a nice piece of bark. Very big."
He put his paw back on the bark, just in case. If necessary, he could stomp it; he didn't think she'd try and get it though. It would be hard to read his picture symbols anyway.
"If you don't mind me asking, what lead you here? To this pride and to serving the gods? Why did you pick this life over what you did before?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 9:20 pm
The lion looked even more appalled when she mentioned his bark. Maybe it was a secret. Maybe it was an offering to some shrine or other. None of her business, in any case.
Pumzi didn't know why he might be interested in her life. It wasn't her favorite subject. She didn't mind talking about herself, but it seemed very dull. She would satisfy his curiosity, though. "I don't remember what I did before," she said simply. She smiled at the shifter, her blue eyes crinkling slightly at the corners. "What we were before doesn't matter, does it? We are what we do now." That was the truest thing in Pumzi's life, perhaps the only thing that mattered. Everything that came before faded and crumbled away, like a riverbank under a flood. Everything was lost eventually.
"And you, Ishekhesi? Why did you become a Shifter? You must be very strong." It wasn't said in a flirtatious manner, just very matter-of-fact.
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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 9:40 pm
At first, Ishekhesi didn't know what to make of Pumzi's statement. He was so sure his past life mattered. He had been a bad guy. Everything in the future would be about making up for that fact - and the lives he had taken. It was why the gods had let him live. It had to be.
As he though about it, he decided it was proof of how good the lions - and everyone else - of this pride were. Only among pure folk like his pridemates would it not matter what you had been beforehand. Only they would not think to judge. Only they would ignore his past.
"I became a Shifter because of my strength and my voice. I wanted to serve . . . And yes. I am very strong. Very strong."
Ishekhesi thought of how he had used his strength - the lions he had killed, or crippled - and shuddered a little. It was much better to put his shoulder to a stone and force it, or allow himself to be wrapped in a vine harness to help drag the great shrine stones into place.
"I look forward to putting up more stones. It's good work to do."
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 5:48 am
Pumzi often had difficulty reading others correctly, understanding how they felt and why they felt that way. It was easy, however, for her to sense distress and confusion. There felt like a little of both in the strong, quiet shifter. She wondered if it was something she had said that distressed him so, or just his nature.
"Your voice is not bad," Pumzi said kindly. It seemed she had met several among the Shrinekepers with one problem or another. A bit of trouble speaking didn't seem like such a harsh fate. "It is smaller than others, but it is a nice voice. What you say matters more than the voice you use."
It was nice that Ishekhesi thought putting up the stones was good work. If Pumzi had been stronger, she might have thought about becoming a shifter herself. There was something honest about simple work. She would never know, of course, but a flicker of delight at the thought of testing herself against the stones made her think that in her other life she must have enjoyed testing herself physically.
"Putting up the stones is good work, yes. A good way to use one's strength." She reached out one slightly twisted paw to touch the larger lion's, sympathetic. She didn't know why he was distressed, but he seemed like a very nice fellow. The golden-brown lioness smiled peaceably at Ishekhesi.
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 8:52 am
Ishekhesi sat very still and made sure not to twitch away from Pumzi's paw. He was not used to being touched.
"Thank you for saying that. It is very different from my old voice."
He looked down, over to the dens and the work area from the carvers.
"They are supposed to be working on a new shrine soon, but I don't know who this shrine is dedicated too. Or where it is going." Ishekhesi frowned for a moment.
"It seems to me that there must be many more gods then we have shrines for, and I wonder if we will ever have enough for them all. And I wonder that the ones without shrines do not get jealous. And I wonder that more do not come to pay homage or to serve them, and that the gods are not angry over that. Even if I spend the rest of my life moving the stones, I am sure that would not be enough for all the gods."
That was the longest speech anyone in the pride had ever heard Ihekhesi give.
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 9:19 am
Ishekhesi's speech sounded very serious. Pumzi hadn't expected such a serious train of thought, but she was always willing to consider things. She frowned slightly, thinking it over. The lioness herself had never really thought about how Gods might be jealous of others' shrines, or might be angry at those that did not come to visit.
"I do not know if the Gods would be jealous," she said slowly. It was a worrisome thought, really. But it wasn't a thought that would do much good, was it? If they spent their time fretting about who didn't have a shrine, none would get built, and then no Gods would be pleased.
A nicer thought occurred to Pumzi. "I am sure that the Gods know we do our best. If a God is concerned that their shrine isn't built yet, they can surely inspire one of their followers to join us." She nodded to herself, pleased with this reasoning. "Do you follow a particular God, Ishekhesi?"
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 1:49 pm
Ishekhesi opened his mouth to answer- and realized he didn't know. He came here to serve the gods - in general. He hummed along when there was chanting or singing, but did not worship any god. He just . . .worshiped.
"No. I have heard that there are some that meet gods, face to face, or feel the call of one. I never have. I just felt that I should do what I could. I hope that by helping with the shrines, I serve them all."
Now that Pumzi had mentioned gods in specifics, Ishekhesi felt that he should worship one. Perhaps if their was a god of forgiveness. Or recovery. Or even fighters. He would have to pay more attention next time he was near a shrine and the Keepers were preforming their worship. Maybe he would find the right god to follow.
"Do you serve a certain god, Pumzi? Or do you just hope to serve them all?"
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 5:44 pm
Pumzi nodded agreeably as Ishekhesi spoke. She herself had met a Goddess, once, but she had never felt the call to worship any particular God. She too felt that she served all of the Gods. Perhaps if she dedicated herself to one God she could curry favor and earn her soul back ... but that was really a very un-Pumzi-like thought. It seemed ... dishonest. If she felt the call to a God, she would follow, but as of now she was happy to serve them all.
"I am like you. I serve them all," Pumzi said. She smiled gently. "I am not very strong, but I have enough energy to serve as a Guide. Maybe when I am older one of the Gods will speak to me and I will become a Keeper." A shrug, as though it didn't much matter one way or the other.
Pumzi was getting a bit hungry. She didn't want to be rude. Social interaction was a bit perplexing to her, but she knew well enough that simply wandering away in the middle of a conversation would probably be offensive to Ishekhesi. "Are you on your way to get something to eat?" She asked politely. "I am sure dinner would do us both good." Ishekhesi didn't seem put off by her, and that was nice. It would be nice to eat with a friend if he was hungry. If he wasn't ... oh well. If Pumzi's friend Sutala wasn't so skittish, she would invite the wild dog to dinner with her often.
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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 9:58 pm
Dinner? Ishekhesi once again eyed Pumzi carefully, as he had when he first saw her. She wasn't coming on to him. She was just being friendly. It wouldn't be bad to eat around other people. But first he had to hide his bark away.
"If the Hunters are back with dinner, I would like to eat. I just have to, uh, stop by my den first. But I could meet you down in the commons."
He pulled his bark toward him and flipped it over, glancing down to make sure his scratches were covered up. He was starting to get hungry, even though he hadn't really done anything all day. The bark had to be hidden away properly, though.
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Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 8:01 pm
Pumzi was aware that Ishekhesi was looking her over, but it didn't bother her much. She simply waited patiently to see what he would decide. Her invitation to dinner hadn't been flirtatious at all. There shouldn't be anything there to alarm the seemingly shy lion.
She nodded at his acceptance, pleased. Pumzi wasn't bothered by loneliness, but it was always nice to have company. She supposed he had to go take care of his piece of bark. "All right. I will see you then." She rose, smiling at Ishekhesi amiably. "That piece of bark will make a nice decoration at one of the shrines." What else could it be for?
The lioness began to walk down towards the common area at her usual leisurely pace, looking forward to a nice calm dinner with the quiet lion.
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Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 8:48 pm
As Ishekhesi hurried away, he realized Pumzi had given him an excellent idea. That was how he would apoligize to Sutala for upsetting her. He would give her something to put in her shrine. Maybe a song. He would work on it once he was done this piece.
Once the bark was hidden away in his den, he trotted out to the open space where the pridemembers gathered to eat, looking around for Pumzi and hoping it wasn't antelope again.
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