The sunlight was bright, causing the red coloured male to squint irritably. His eyes disliked direct sunlight, but the savanna was known for such light. Harsh and unyielding, as well as hot temperatures. It didn't improve his mood any and his boredom was growing. It was an empty type of landscape, though he saw trees in the distance which would provide him shade and perhaps water, hopefully improving his foul mood. He hadn't seen many creatures around, nor prey beasts to 'play' with or seriously hunt, not that he was hungry, simply bored.He approached the collection of trees, pleased to slip beneath the shade and giving a loud sigh as his fur stopped burning in the direct sun. Better, he mused to himself, stretching and eying his surroundings with a critical gaze. Not the best place to stop, but it would do. The small pond nearby was just big enough to supply water, but little else. He huffed.
Kanya had spent the majority of the day in a small collection of trees after traveling for three days. After spending around two weeks with the kind lepon, Berhanu, and his mother Kanya knew it was time to move on. She had no place in mind, not since getting so desperately lost from her pride. So she wandered from place to place letting her sense be her guide.At that moment she was relaxing in the tallest branch of the center tree. It was the oldest tree and the only one that provided her with the most spots to lounge on. She smiled softly as she thought of what her brother would say if he saw her now, 'blind as a bat and she is in a tree... How she got there I have no clue.' Her family must really be worried about her. They knew where she was going but after her disappearance... only the gods knew what was going through their minds.
With her family on her mind Kanya began to hum her mother's favorite song, her voice drifting on the faint breeze that played with the leaves and grass. It wasn't until she was halfway done the song that she spoke any of the words:
"Let this be our prayer
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe
We ask that life be kind
And watch us from above
We hope each soul will find
Another soul to love"
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe
We ask that life be kind
And watch us from above
We hope each soul will find
Another soul to love"
There were still more words but she drifted back into humming the song, wrapped in her own world of music.
("The Prayer" by Celtic Women. Kanya's voice is much like her's but in this case a bit softer, think lullaby type soft.)
Sozin moved towards the water, lowering his head to drink before he even heard the starting words of an unfamiliar song sound across the little oasis. He scowled, lifting his head to try to see who had disturbed him. For a moment, he saw nothing out of the ordinary, and the song faded to gentle humming. It was only after a moment or two that he saw a shock of red in one of the trees. The colour, similar to his own, belonged to a leopard. He scowled. Useless creatures. The male had never been fond of leopards, but perhaps this one would provide some entertainment for a while.
She was up in the tree, so he couldn't attack her for fun. Perhaps some mind games were in order? He smirked, and shifted back, so he could see her properly, neck craned upwards to see. “Hello miss,” he called out in his best 'nice guy' voice. “You have a lovely voice,” he complimented smoothly. Perhaps if he was nice enough, she would come down and he could start playing some more fun games, like seeing how fast she could run.
Kanya was enjoying the feel of firm bark under her paws, a warm breeze tugging at her fur, the soft rustling of the leaves around her head, and someone calling out below her... wait what? With a slight gasp of surprise the red leopardess realized she wasn't as alone as she thought. Where and when did this other, this male judging by his voice, come from?
Not wanting to sound unfriendly or mean Kanya spoke down to her unexpected company. "Afternoon sir. Thank you but my singing pales in comparison to the song that surrounds one every day." Kanya never really thought of her singing as particularly good. Birds sing well, she sings ok, but just listening to the world around you is the best music possible. Even if she could never 'see' the world around her Kanya knew that she saw the best world ever.
Sozin smirked as she spoke back, but kept his face carefully pleasant as he tilted his face up to her, trying to look her over more carefully. He didn't want to give away his game. “Ah, but how many of those other singers can say they have such beauty outwards as well as through song?” He complimented, not meaning a word of it, but his tone was polite and gentle. He was a good actor, he thought to himself, having tricked people many times before.
“Might you gift me with your presence on the ground so we could talk more easily?” He asked, his tone staying light. He couldn't really attack her if she was up a tree. He was a lion, not a leopard, and had no skills when it came to climbing trees, nor did he really want skills in that area.
"But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or in this case the mind of the beholder." She smiled as she replied. Bantering with this male was interesting, she wondered what else he would say even if she didn't believe a word he said about her looks or singing. "And does that mean that you have encountered many singers in your travels good sir?" That was one thing that Kanya wished she could do, meet other singers and learn new songs. Her list of songs was small, only what her mother taught her and what her friends the birds remembered. She hoped that one day she could learn hundreds of new songs.
Kanya cocked her head when the stranger asked her to join him on the ground. Logically she knew there was no reason to say no, after all he had been nothing but polite so far but there was that little, nearly invisible, voice whispering caution. Shrugging that voice away Kanya laughed, "You could always come up." She really was happy where she was and was in no hurry to get down... caution had nothing to do with her suggestion, much.
Sozin was rather...amused by this female. She was not stupid and while she could sing, she seemed to have a clever mind to her as well, which was always entertaining. "Ah, but true beauty is not expressed outwards, it is something felt through spirit, so songs could be considered just a way of channeling such inner beauty," he remarked casually. He enjoyed banter, almost as much as fighting. "I have heard many singers, but none with such beauty in both voice and body, sweet lady," he said, without a hint of lie. Sozin was good at lying. He could change the truth to sound beautiful, without having to lie. Sozin had heard singers, and he had seen beauty, but he had never met one attractive and gifted. Not that she was that stunning, but most lyrical females he met were not beautiful either.
Sozin scowled at the ground, making sure to hide his face from hers in case she glanced down to see it. Why couldn't she just come down? It would be so much easier. "But I am a lion, sweet lady," he said, keeping his voice calm. "I cannot climb like you can. I would simply fall on my face, should I attempt it."
Kanya smiled at his words but asked, "If song can be considered a way of channeling inner beauty then what of those who are unable to sing even if they have inner beauty as well. Is it expressed in other ways? What if it can't be expressed? Are those unfortunate souls considered ugly?" With a paw she reached out and casually stirred a small bunch of leaves. When the male mentioned hearing many singers she glanced down at him in excitement before quickly masking it so she wouldn't seem so interested. "Oh? Many singers hum?" She just ignored the complement and instead focused on the part of his sentence that she was really intresed in. "And where might you have heard many singers?" Maybe if he told her one day Kanya could find the singers as well.
"Oh I didn't know." She looked slightly shamed when he said that he was a lion and could not climb. Kanya knew lions could not climb, well most couldn't, but she still felt bad that he had to point it out even though she was unable to see him to know. "To land on ones face is never fun so I can understand your understandable reluctance when it comes to climbing." She knew the feeling of taking a unintended tumble and hoped that she would not repeat such events any time soon even though Kanya knew falling was part of her life in the darkness.
Sozin was almost coming to regret that he would hurt her. She was smart. He rarely found that in any companions, let alone female companions, but perhaps she would be more fun as a toy, then a companion? He smirked. He was only almost regretting her fate as soon as she hit the ground. "Singing is not the only way,” he said calmly. “There are other ways, but singing is the most...vocal.” He was making this up as he went along, but she seemed to be lapping up his opinion.
She seemed rather interested in hearing about other singers. “Oh, around,” he remarked casually, waving a paw dismissively. “I have traveled quite far, and seem to stumble upon them occasionally,” he said. If he kept her interested in singers, perhaps she would not be eager to leave and may come down from that blasted tree of hers. “Are you interested in singers?”
He quirked a look up at her, amused by the fact she seemed to shrug off his offer, diverting his attention towards what he had said afterwards, rather then his request for her to slip down. “How could you not know?” He asked. “I would have thought it rather obvious.” He was proud of his mane and knew it was a prime example of what a male lion should have – or so he thought.
Kanya laughed at his little joke. "One would hope singing was vocal other wise it would be called humming or just plain disturbing. After all to hear songs in your head without being able to release them is not a good thing." She couldn't even imagine being afflicted that way and oddly enough she was glad that she was blind and not mute.
"A traveler. One who can see the world as it pleases them." Kanya wondered what it would be like to travel like this male seemed to do when it occurred to her, she was. She never really thought about it but Kanya really was a traveler now since she got lost from both her family and pride. She was on her own with no desires to fulfill other then her own. Smiling widely she answered his question, "I would love to learn new songs and to learn more about singing in general." And now that she was free to do as she pleased maybe she could finally find another singer to learn from.
Her smile faded to more of a embarrass half smile. She forgot that for most others her lack of sight was not apparent, normally her careful moves were a clue but she was in a tree on a branch she was conferable on so she didn't move much. "Well you see, I can't see you. If I was on the ground maybe your sent, the sound of your main in the breeze, or even the vibrations of your larger form as you walk would have given me a idea that you are a lion. But here on my branch I can just here you. I am unable to tell anything more then you are male and by the depth of your voice, a large male. Not something small like a serval or genet."
Sozin's mouth quirked slightly. She was...interesting. Amusing. Perhaps she would be better as a mental play thing, then a physical one...he did love to play with his claws though. “A growl can be just as pleasing as a song, if the right person growls,” he pointed out, voice light. “It is all a matter of opinion. When birds call, they could be singing lullabies or calling threats, but if the right person hears, they could be a beautiful song that bests all worded lyics.” No one could say that Sozin was not silver tongued, even if it rarely came out.
She was too smile-y, Sozin decided. Happy people were...daunting. Always bubbly and cheerful, they were painfully sweet and Sozin had never appreciated smiling, unless it was to get what he wanted. “Indeed,” he said, to her comment of his wandering ways. “Then why don't you? You will never hear new songs sitting in a tree, unless you expect the singers to come to you.” Another dig, hopefully she'd get out of her damn tree soon. Sozin was loosing interest, which meant he was loosing patience.
The smile he had been forcing to his face quickly dropped away when she mentioned her...affliction. She was blind. He had not needed to look 'pleasant' or 'nonthreatening'. He could throw his voice to sound light, without actually having to smile. Perfect. Why didn't he try to interact with blind people more? It would make his life so much easier. “A pity, for one such as yourself to loose you sight!” He said, sounding sympathetic. “Have you always been blind?”
"You do have a point sir. Everyone hears the world differently. For me each tree has its own sound, each bird its own song. The wind paints the picture in scents and sounds while the feel of dirt under ones paws gives that picture texture. For those that are able to truly see the world..." Kanay paused for a moment, her face turned into the slight breeze, "it is a beautiful song made up of many, many small parts each important in there own way."
When the male asked why she had never traveled before, Kanya really had to think about it a moment. "I really dont know why I haven't. But you are right if I wont hear new songs or meet singers unless I come down from tree." She wasn't thinking literally but more metaphorically. She had nothing stopping her now so why not go and see the world. Getting to her feet she called down, "Do me a favor and don't move."
She slowly made her way down the tree disappearing behind the trunk right before she reached the ground, it was the way she got up so she had to return the same way. Once on the ground Kanya used the males voice to round the tree and stop a short distance away. "Ahhh but if one has never known what one is missing is it such a pity? I was born blind so I can't tell you what color the ground is or even what color is. If asked 'what is it like being blind' I can only reply 'what is it like being able to see'. For you the world is mainly what you can see, for me its everything else but that. I believe that of the two of us I might have the better part of the deal." She smiled softly and after a moment of lquiet she asked, "Did you know there are fish in the water? That there are bird eggs hatching nearby? And that there is a storm brewing?"
