Bayhas was happy. She was going to visit her aunt today. Mal was one of the few people that the rarely lucid Bayhas admitted was more than an apparition. She hadn't been so sure at first of course, but as she grew older, it became clear that Mal was real, and Bayhas simply loved her for it."Mal~" She called as she got closer to her aunt's favourite place, grinning from ear to ear.
Mal had been resting under a tree but when she heard her neice's voice she smiled and rolled over so she could look at the girl."Oh Bayhas~ My have you grown. Where have you been all this time little girl?"
She beamed at her aunt and flopped down next to her, leaning over to lick her affectionately. "I've been exploring!" she said happily. "Its a big world out there, you know. I wanted to see more of it~" Too bad she doubted most of what she saw anyway.
"It is," Malaika smiled. "Have you been taking life lessons from your uncle, dearie?"
No matter how hard they'd tried to stop him Steken had always seemed to wander off at the most inconvenient times. At least this girl, despite her odd visions, was bright enough.
She giggled at that, and flopped over on to her back. "I like Uncle Steken," she said, yawning a little. "I met a boy, Aunt Mal! He's very nice. But I think he's an apparition. Even if he says he's not..." She frowned a bit as she thought about that.
Mal got up and moved over so she could nuzzle the younger lioness, "That's nice to hear. Is he coming today, Bee?"
One had to be a little careful with Bayhas' appiritions. It was impossible to tell by her reaction if they were real or not. Or what they had or would do if they were real.
"Oh, I don't think so." She frowned, leaning into Mal's nuzzles. "I didn't ask him if he wanted to... Oh.. I should have done that, shouldn't I?" She sighed softly, turning to look sadly at Mal. "I don't think he likes me very much sometimes. He gets mad when I call him apparition."
"If you're unsure how real someone is you're always welcome to bring them to meet me," Mal said with a kindhearted laugh. "I'm always glad to meet your friends and your apperitions are often intresting enough even though I can 't see them myself."
"Really?" Her eyes lit up and she leaped to her feet in her excitement. "Aunt Mal! That's perfect! Oh, I hope he's real. I like him."
"If you like him so much I hope he's real too," she lay down. If he was real maybe she'd have someone who could keep up with her on her wanderings now. Keep her safe.
"So tell me about him. Is he a big, strong man of a lion?"
Bayhas lay back down as well, setting her chin on her paws. "He's very nice. He says his name is Chane. He's kind of skinny, and he limps. Cause his paw was hurt. He didn't tell me how though."
Really? They sounded like quite a pair. A lioness out of her mind and a lion who's body was near falling apart.
"How long have the two of you been together then?" it was starting to sound like it was a miracle they'd managed not to die so far.
"Um." She scrunched up her face, trying to figure out how long. "A while... But not that long... Oh, Aunt Mal, I really don't know.." She sighed unhappily.
"Aunt Mal.."
She tilted her head at that but said nothing. The girl could barely keep track of her own tail, it wasn't a surprise to learn that she couldn't keep track of the moon's cycles.
"That's alright. I was just wondering that's all. What is it dear?"
She shifted unhappily, looking down at her paws. After a moment, she turned to look at her aunt. "Aunt Mal... Why am I like this? I don't want to be."
"I don't know... I've always wondered if one of the gods wasn't having themselves a laugh," she frowned. She'd also always thought that if that was so it wasn't very funny.
"We all still love you, though. Don't forget it~"
tbc~
