Li Wei:The desert was no place for him. The lions there were mountains of crimson muscle. Only their tempers stood shoulder to shoulder with their bulk. Their intolrence for someone they deemed as 'weak' had left a weight around the young god's neck. He might have died if not for Maua...
He'd run as fast as his hooves would let him. He could still feel the scorching sun on his back, the hot air swirling through his lungs- even as his hooves touched down on the cold stone of the mountain side. He was quite a ways from the peak, but high enough from the grasslands to, hopefully, avoid the gaze of any other mortals.
His 'mother' would kill him for his recent stunt. Perhaps it was dishonest to keep it from her...but she had enough to worry about. He'd not stopped to think over his course since the desert. Maua had said run- and run he did. Mindless and swift, he'd caught a breeze under his hooves and rode it until his body ached.
The young god heaved a sigh and settled himself down against the stone. The cool, hard surface was a welcome contrast to the hot shifting sands of the desert.
Añuli:Anni had been out hunting, specifically birds that didn't include her "uncle's" friend. She'd been bird hunting simply for the reason... well, it was mean to say she wanted the accomplishment to her name, but that really was the reason. She hadn't had breakfast yet, but had also passed up the option of hunting easier game in order to find a bird. And why was that?
So she could tell Koda.
It was a stupid reason. No, a REALLY stupid reason. But it was something she wanted to do. He'd been trying to catch one when she saw him once, said he never had before. Maybe if she managed to, he'd be impressed.
She was just coming over a rise when she saw another creature flopped down. Its back was to her and at first she thought it was another Ela. But the tail was strange... And the closer she got, she could see that what she thought was a pattern on its back was actually scales, like on a lizard. She kept her distance.
"Are you well?" she asked, getting the feeling that whatever it was, it might be hurt or something. She didn't know what it was that gave her the feeling, she just felt... uneasy.
Li Wei:
Li's eyes slowly began falling closed as the warmth of the sun and the cool of the stone relaxed his tense body. He'd run for so long, as fast as he could manage.... he could run for days- perhaps longer -if he felt like it. Between anxiety, panic, and the physical strain, he'd been left absolutely wiped.
He had half-dozed, expecting that at long last he'd found some solitude in which he could rest. He missed the gentle footsteps and the scent of an approaching female. When her voice called out, waking him from his daze, it was too late. She'd seen him.
The godling scrambled against the ground, flipping himself around to get up to his paws. Unfortunately, his mane didn't co-operate with him and he stood up with a golden curtain hanging over his eyes. "I was just resting I promse!"
Añuli:
Anni blinked at the male, for now she could tell he was one by the sound of his voice. He had the body and relative size of a lion, but... But he had a horn and hooves and... And so much that screamed he was not actually a lion.
And then it hit her.
"Are... Are you a dragon?" Oh, gods, did that sound stupid! He was smaller than she would have expected if he was, hadn't Koda said they were huge, with wings that blocked out the sun? Well, maybe this was a young one... And maybe they didn't all have wings. Oh, that didn't make sense. Even the birds that couldn't fly had wings. Surely dragons did, too.
"What I mean to say... Er... A friend of mine told me about huge lions with wings that live on the mountain with the spirits. I've never seen a lion like you before, so I... I kinda assumed... I'm sorry, I don't mean any offense or anything." Oh, goodness, was she rambling? Her mouth clamped shut and she looked a bit uncomfortable.
thalion koi connected
Li Wei:
"A dragon?" The god's ears rolled forward. Now that was a new word. He'd been called many things- a fish being one of them. A fish unique. A gazelle was the second one. And one of the most interesting. There were others, but they were beginning to mesh together.
"I don't think so.... I might be. Maybe. I think..." He sat back and slowly pulled the hair away from his face. Much of it clung to his horn, tangled around the glowing orb.
"Oh...you mean gods! Some got wings."
Añuli:
"Gods? Is that what the gods look like? I... I never really thought, I mean, I believe in the gods, but... Great river..." Anni replied, her eyes growing a few fractions wider. Wait, if that's what the gods looked like (Oh, goodness, Koda had met gods! She had to wonder how many Elas could boast that one!), then wouldn't that make...?
The young lioness blinked at the strange-looking male. half of her wanted to reach out and help him with his mane, as it looked a frightful mess, and yet the other half was too terrified to move from her spot. It was as if her paws were rooted to the ground.
"Does that mean... Are you a god?"
Li Wei:
"Some of them!" He replied. By his tone, he could have been talking about the weather rather than divine beings. To him, they were just like anyone else. Just...bigger. And shaped differently.
"Oh...yeah. I'm not very scary. Promise." He tugged at his mane a little more, grunting as it tightened further. What a mess...'heve would have fixed it for him. Maua would have laughed- then fix it.
"What's your name? I like your stripes."
Añuli:
He wasn't scary... Well, that was certain. And he seemed pretty... Well, normal. Anni suddenly felt able to move again and she slowly approached.
"Do you want some help with that? I'd probably have an easier time untangling it from my perspective," she said, pausing in her strides for permission to continue. She had to wonder what he was god of. Or did they have domains? She thought they did, but maybe what mortals thought was a little different.
"Oh, my name's Añuli, of the Shadow Clan of the Ela'wadiyi," she added with a little bit of a bow of her head. A small blush came to her cheeks at his compliment to her coat. Nothing like when she and her sister had been talking about Koda, but a blush all the same.
"My mother says my stripes look like my grandmother's."
Li Wei:
"Oh yes please! I can't see..." He slowly lowered his paws and dipped his head. He didn't need to lower his head too terribly much. For a god, he was downright pathetic stature-wise. If he knew better, he'd feel reel right at home with the Ela pride. They were about his height at least.
"My name's Li Wei...of....the...uh.....sky?" He blinked. She had a big, important name didn't she? He felt a little insufficiant.
Añuli:
Anni giggled a bit when she approached, sitting down so she could reach a paw up to fix his mane.
"You can just call me Anni, though, everyone does. I figured it was best to introduce my clan and pride and whatnot, in case... I donno, it seemed like the right thing to do," she explained while she fixed it. The ball at the base of his horn fascinated her. It was really very pretty.
"I can't wait to tell my friend that you're gods and not dragons. Then again, both are rather fantastic, so I guess it works either way," she added when she finished, backing away a bit.
"There, all done. I... hope you don't mind me asking, but are you fully grown? Normal Ela are about your size when they're adults, but my friend said drag- I mean gods were very big?"
Li Wei:
"I have a bad memory for names." He admitted through a sheepish smile. "My friend, Mut, he has a long name. I don't remember anything past 'Mut'. Not many people do though. Not...that I know anyway, heh."
He sat quietly as she fussed with the mane tangled up in his horn. Every slight brush of her paw against the delicate structure had him tensing up. He hated having his horn touched. It was the source of his abilities, his tie to life. If it was damaged... well he didn't know what happened. He just felt that it was a terrible idea to allow any hurt to come to it.
"Your friend thinks we're dragons? What are dragons?" He looked upwards and blew at his bangs as she withdrew. He made a mental note to visit 'heve the next chance he got. She always knew how to fix his mane.
"Oh me? I think so... My horn's done growing so I think I am..." He rubbed at one of his arms. "But...peace isn't...big. It's not something big and scary. It's small and vaunerable. So I guess that's how I'm supposed to be. My friend, Mut? He's courage, and he's huge. Bigger than any lions I've ever seen. And scary- but he's nice."
Añuli:
Li was downright adorable. Anni sat down across from him, smiling pleasantly. Peace? So they did have singular domains. Oh, that made a lot of sense. He was a cute, if timid little guy, and she felt... relaxed. She'd forgotten all about the bird she'd been hunting for and it wasn't until that moment that she realized she been just a little stressed about the whole new-pride, new rules and Koda-crush issues. It was like the little lion radiated peace.
Which all in all didn't surprise her.
"I'm not really sure what a dragon is. He makes up such wonderful stories. Well, not all of them are made up, but a number of them are exaggerations. Apparently gods and crocodiles are dragons. He said he was saved from falling off the mountain by an adult god and talked to a young goddess. Oh, I can tell him about meeting you, right? He'd be so excited to hear about a different god and that you aren't dragons after all, you're even better." And, she was rambling again.
Li Wei:
"I like stories." He admitted quietly. He'd sit close by the sages back in his home pride and listen to their tales. Most had to do with the pride and times past. Sometimes they mentioned villians, angry gods, and natural disastors. He could only imagine the kind of stories lions living close to a mountain had to tell... so far, the place was a nice one. If the rest of the lions were as kindly as Anni, they were certainly due for a blessing.
"You can tell him. It's my job to see all the prides. And if it makes someone else happy that's all the better." He staightened himself up and began scratching at his shoulder. "Here, help me get one off- a scale I mean. You need proof for good stories."
Añuli:
"Oh, then you'd love our pride. Stories are a big part of the culture." She moved a bit so that he could see the marks tattooed on her leg.
"We have members who tattoo our coats with the stories of our lives. I only have a little bit because I was born a rogue and joined when I was young with my family. Members that were born in the pride have tattoos all over their bodies."
Anni's eyes widened when he started scratching , trying to take a scale off.
"But won't that hurt? I've accidentally pulled fur out before and it hurt a lot. Oh, he'll believe me without proof, really he will." It warmed her a bit just thinking about it. She could tell Koda that the stars were fireflies that had flown too high and had to live up there now, and he'd probably believe her. Not many others would, she didn't think many believed his stories. But she did.
Even more so now.
Li Wei:
Li slowly lowered his paw, his eyes going wide. It did hurt, but he never told anyone. He'd given scales here and there to kindly mortals he'd met as a token of his appreciation. It was proper by some god's standards- though they had feathers. Scales hurt a bit more and took a little longer to grow back than feathers did, but he liked the color and so far, so did everyone else.
He chuckled softly and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe it's a story you can tell. I do need to come here and... watch for a while. It's my job."
Añuli:
"Oh, no one will believe me, no one but Koda. But I'm okay with that, I don't want you hurting yourself just so that I can prove I met you," Anni replied with a soft smile. Of course, she probably wasn't going to tell anyone but Koda. And Tsiya, she definitely wanted something on her pelt signifying this, since he said he would do a bit more.
"I'm definitely going to tell him, though. He'll be so excited to hear I met a god, too. I bet he'll want to meet you, too, but that's up to you and all." She paused there with a little shrug, considering his offer of the scale.
"Do you give your scales away often?"
Li Wei:
Li's expression softened. "Koda sounds like a good friend then." He understood, mostly through observation, how skeptical the mortals could be. If not for his appearence, Squall likely would have been added to the number of lions who kept their paws on the ground and never turned a thoughtful eye up to the heavens.
He turned his head and began nibbling at a scale on his shoulder. With a grunt, he tugged a decent sized oval of soft blue free and set it on the ground at his paws.
"Only to those that deserve them."
Añuli:
Anni's face softened as Li commented on Koda.
"Yeah, I think so," she replied, looking off slightly, her gaze traveling down and to the side. Where most saw him as a bother, she liked hearing about his adventures. She didn't like going on them herself, it was like he made up for that. He had enough adventures for the both of them.
Her gaze shot back up as he began biting at his shoulder, her ears flicking back. Before she could say anything to stop him, he'd pulled off a scale and set it down at his paws. Her face turned contrite, hoping that gods didn't feel pain. He was so nice, she didn't want him hurting because he wanted to give her something.
"I told you you didn't have to..." She paused there to allow her face to shift into a thankful, if a little sad, smile. "But thank you. I'll certainly treasure it."
Li Wei:
"I know." He gently pushed the scale forward and offered her a soft smile. "But...you were nice to me. And you told me about your pride a little. No good deed goes unrewarded. Besides, if you want to tell a story to the others, you'll have a piece of proof."
He slowly settled himself back down against the ground and took a deep breath. His body still ached. It would be a long run to En Gedi- and he didn't want to show up in his present state. 'Heve had enough to worry about.
"I'm real tired...can I just nap here?"
Añuli:
Oh, Anni really liked this god. She hoped he would come by again sometime, it was always nice to meet pleasant lions.
"Thank you Li Wei," she said sweetly, taking the scale. She would certainly tell her family and Tsiya and especially Koda. She might even ask if someone could put the scare on a band or something so that she could carry it with her always. Or maybe she would put it in the pouch Ela females carried, after she got hers.
She watched him lie down and tilted her head with a soft smile on her face.
"Yeah. And you're safe here." She added the last part just as a sort of afterthought and moved away from him. She thought about staying around, to keep an eye on him. But in the end she decided to give him his space and headed away, unaware that Li couldn't protect himself. It was a good thing the Ela lands were pretty peaceful of late.
