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 Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 9:30 pm
 Knowledge. Power. Recognition. Soon, soon he would have it all. But first there were things to be done. Steps to be taken, roles to play and scenes to act out. Life would go on. He had time. He had all the time he’d need. Patience, endless as the darkening sky stretched on above, the thick clouds dyed red in the late twilight. He could wait, and watch, and prepare for the moment when his opportunity was come. To act too soon was rash, to miss the chance pure foolishness. Precision. Patience.
But there was more to life than mere waiting. Actions needed taking, to learn one must put forth an effort. He would learn nothing letting himself be lost to silly dreams and sleep. His brother was the lucky one, the gifted one, the one who learned even in his dreams. Anwar hated the drowsiness, fought sleep claw and fang for it deprived him of the time he could be spending elsewhere. Learning. Preparing. Obi was the lucky one. He could See other places, other times... Anwar envied him his 'curse'. He wanted more. He needed to know more.
The dark-furred youth prowled through the grasses, utterly unafraid of leaving his new Banu behind with his brother and the young leopardess, with her piles of cubs, that were going to be joining Obadias' harem. None of them, as far as Anwar could guess, possessed the Sight. How did that even work anyway? Why did Obadias inherit it and Anwar not? His mother didn't seem to know... but then who would? He wasn't inclined to bother her before he left, she was still sore from that fight with mother Otep over his father. But perhaps she'd be in a better mood when he returned... he could ask then.
For now, all there was to do was watch the stars and wonder in frustration.
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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 1:12 am
Then, silence.
Mto was an intricate lioness and in turn a tiresome friendship to maintain. No one else had been up to the chore, though Ariza never accused them of anything but being too normal. In her opinion, it would take someone with endless patience and endless free time alike to abrade the wall of defense her feline companion had built, bit by bit. Your typical predator just wasn't able to dedicate themselves to such exhausting efforts.
Truth be told, the only reason she felt up to the task was because she'd been there when the first mental brick had been laid. They'd met shortly after Mto had stepped foot outside her pride. To quote, when her 'pilgrimage began.' Had it been left at that, things would have been simple. Stayed simple. But life had a funny way of hitting you in the face with a curveball when you least expected it.
Or, in Mto's case, a vision.
Her powers had awakened and she'd slowly changed. Mto had always been the type to feel she was never doing enough; she never stopped to relish in her accomplishments no matter how worthy of grandeur they were. With a constant supply of problems consuming her dreams, taking control of her eyes and her very soul, it could only get worse. It did get worse. It was still getting worse.
"I think you need some romance in your life," Ariza suggested one day, innocently enough Mto had dismissed her with a grunt and left it at that.
The next morning, she brought it up again: "Really, who ever heard of a love seer without their own love?"
Mto had acknowledged her more that time. Just enough to grouse, "I'm probably the only one, so that's not saying much."
Ariza did not have visions, but she had memories. She remembered clearly that soft-spoken, albeit unusually large adolescent that had freed her from beneath a fallen tree - that had helped her wing to heal and above all else saved her life. That life now involved Mto, would always involve Mto. There was just no imaginable alternative.
That was why she felt no shame in taking matters into her own hands - er, wings. If she was stuck with her until the end of their days, she'd rather it be with the quiet, content version. Unfortunately, Mto did not take her brilliant idea of a blind date well at all.
"I was helping!" the bird chirped from up in the air. Not too high, just enough that she was out of reach.
"You were helping?" Mto echoed in disgust, sneering. "Dragging some stranger of a male to my den without telling me is helping, is it?"
"It would have if you'd been more friendly with him. I didn't expect you to be sleeping at this time of night! Most times you've had a vision or two by now to wake you up!"
This was her life now, Mto noted with disdain; being conned by annoying birds and having arguments with them over drifter males in front of other drifter males was her life now. She would have liked to think Anwar was just passing by, and it wasn't that he had been there the entire time. Woe to the fact his stargazing position suggested him someone who had been settled in before they'd invaded his quiet time.
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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 2:36 pm
Anwar could hardly help but notice the sheer volume coming from nearby. Several voices, settling down into two. It was an odd argument, but he had very little else to do at the moment to be sure. The sooner they got home the better, the more likely he would beat his other brothers. He wanted to be the first... though as time dragged on it seemed less and less likely. He had his star though, none of the others would have found a fallen star...
Abruptly his ears, which he'd kept deliberately relaxed in spite of eavesdropping, swiveled towards the females as one of them yelled something about... visions. Visions. There was...no way... was there? Truely?
It was unexpected to be sure, but he wasn't half bad at thinking on his feet. He was clever enough, he could probably pull it off. But how would he talk two girls into joining him at once? Star was safely in his grasp now, but what would happen if... Well, there was only one way to find out wasn't there. He could figure something out, she was already coming with him but what was to say that he couldn't swing winning two girls? A seer and his falling Star, perhaps he might still be earlier home than his siblings too.
"Good evening, miss," Anwar said warmly, his paws carrying him towards the arguing pair. His leg was still sore, but it seemed he was healing well enough to keep the limp from showing. Abruptly his shoulder felt empty when he spotted the bird arguing with the lioness, but Kydrimm was keeping an eye on the rest of them. Couldn't have it both ways. "My apologies, I couldn't help but overhear...did she say you have visions?" the young lion asked. He stopped a short distance away, mindful of not encroaching on personal space or seeming threatening...or imposing or anything like that. The more comfortable someone felt, the more likely he was to get the answers he wanted after all.
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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 4:23 pm
Mto's answer prior to turning away from him was brisk. "Yes, now excuse me."
Without missing a beat, Ariza's voice came again, "Hey, wait!"
The lioness was shifting from irritated to irate, and her mood was not lightened by being smacked in the face with a wing. She had a grouchy disposition, and she'd admit it, but her temper was not this fiery unless it was for a good reason. Not to mention a lengthy one. Emotions she'd done so well to keep under control flared out of nerve-wracking frustration as much as anger. Mto didn't like surprises, good or bad. They made her feel uneasy and cornered.
"Don't act mad at everyone," Ariza scolded.
Mto's nostrils flared, her ears pinned back and she leaned forward to murmur to the bird, "He's bad news, you chatty little pest."
"You say that about everyone," accused the bird.
"And I'm always right." Mto's tone was overwhelmed by conviction, but she still backtracked; still faced the other lion she had wanted to be leave behind and still she repeated herself in a more conversational (though obviously forced) tone. "Yes, I have visions. I'm a seer."
"The Love Seer!" Ariza corrected.
Her larger, less genial friend was trying to be sociable. That was something - all she could ask, if nothing else. And Ariza took some comfort in that muttering from before; Mto had once been so unwilling to start any kind of disagreement with anyone. It warmed her heart to know she was still hesitating to be outright mean to strangers. What she considered mean, that is.
Blowing him off over a harmless question wasn't exactly friendly either, but she knew Mto didn't see the harm in just up and leaving. They'd debated their conflicting views on the issue before, with the lioness assuring her no one was silly enough to their feelings hurt by a stranger so easily. Ariza would argue there were those that sensitive. They would bicker about it until one or the other gave up.
Most of the time, Mto surrendered. Just as she'd done that night.
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