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 Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 11:20 pm
Eurimewn'niwl:
A young lion who looked like he just grew into his mane lay beneath a tree, his heavy-lidded golden eyes lazily watching a blood-red cub sitting nearby.
Euri loved it here.
No really, he didn't think there was any place that suited him more. The mist of his visions were becoming more frequent and surprisingly talkative, but then again he wasn't quite sure. Things had started melding together once he'd stepped into the pridelands. Phae and the cubs had pointed out that he had started talking about things that hadn't happened lately. But he didn't really care. Here he was safe and he didn't have to worry about demons.
Kindoro:
Kindoro, on the other paw, had to deal with demons a lot. Well, he thought so. His father and uncle Euri had told them about the demons their families hunted and it terrified him. Not because he was afraid of them, but because he thought he might have one within him. There were whisperings in his mind, a sinister voice that told him terrible things. Stories of blood and death and...
His pinkish eyes squeezed tightly shut and he dipped his head down, his little scruff of a mane covering one eye. Uncle Euri seemed so relaxed and Papa and his sisters were fine. So why was he different?
Laf'lari:
Laf'lari had relaxed into her role as a mother – again – and being a part of the pride was surprising ease. She had never thought she'd be happy in a pride, but then Rai went and changed her mind about it all, not to mention her four little ones who absolutely tormented her mate. Lari made it a practice to leave her mate alone with them as often as possible. Why? Because he needed to realise they weren't out to kill him. Of course, her little shadow was tagging along.
Glancing down at the cub walking close to her paws, Lari smiled at Talu. She nearly tripped over her often, but she wasn't that fussed. Looking up, Lari carefully guided the youth away from the beach towards the more forested areas. They were more fun to play in, she always thought.
Talu:
Talu disagreed with that, and the further from the ocean she got, the more jumpy she became. Her eyes were wide, and her steps drew her closer and closer to her mother until she was practically beneath the elder lioness. Her tail dragged on the ground and her shoulders were hunched in worry. She didn't like the forested areas, they were scary, she decided, and jumped at the sound of a bird taking flight nearby.
“Can we go home, Mama?” Talu begged, but Lari shushed her, promising her she'd have fun eventually. Talu didn't believe that. She eyed one of the nearby rocks with worry. What if it was hiding a dangerous foe? She'd be killed!
Kindoro:
Euri was the first to hear sounds, but he was too mellow to really mind it, so it was 'Doro who was the first to move at the sound of a voice nearby. It sounded like someone pleading.
There were two sides to the young lion, one to keep everyone as far away from himself as possible because he was afraid his demon would someday take over and he would hurt those around him. The other wanted nothing more than to protect everyone. Well, maybe it was just one side that seemed like two.
Regardless, his eyes opened and his ears perked up. He turned back to Uncle Euri, but he looked a bit dazed and he was muttering to himself, probably another vision. So he took it upon himself to find the source of the voice. He stood and padded in the direction until he had to stick his head through a bush to see, finding it to be a lioness with a very yellow lioness-cub about his age, maybe a little younger.
He blinked once. Twice. And the voice whispered in his mind, but he couldn't hear it.
Eurimewn'niwl:
Euri didn't see 'Doro wander off. He was watching a lioness, Lari, passing into the clearing with a young cub. She introduced her as her daughter, Talu. He just smiled back and dipped his head.
"Hi, I'm Euri," he replied softly, in his mind a calm tone while in reality it was barely a whisper. He had no idea that what he was seeing wasn't the present and in fact was something that should occur in the future. He wouldn't see it that way, but he would deal with it. Dealing with it was starting to become a specialty of his in general.
Talu:
If Talu had not been paying such close attention to the surroundings, she likely would have missed the head sticking out of the bush, watching them – but her paranoia was striking her hard and the switft glances at the area made the cub's face plainly visible. Having been worried about hidden enemies, she was stunned to see a face peering out at her from a bush.
She screamed. “I don't want to die!” She shrieked and dove behind her mother, stopping Lari in her tracks. “Don't eat me, Mr. Monster!”
Laf'lari:
Lari was aware that her daughters was more high-strung than most, but she had not been expecting her to scream. She jumped, swinging her eyes around to see her daughter dive behind her, trembling behind her back paw, and looking utterly terrified. Her eyes were wide as she glanced around, trying to see what had startled Talu so badly.
Spotting the cub, she smiled. Oh, so that's all it was. “Oh darling,” she said, trying to hide her amusement and failing. “It's only a cub. Hush, hush,” she tried to quieten the whimpers. “It's not a monster at all.” She moved, removing herself as her daughter's hiding place and tried to nudge her back to her feet. “C'mon, we can't be rude. Come say hello to the cub.”
Kindoro:
At the girl-cub's scream, 'Doro jumped, hitting his back on a branch he had crawled under. She called him a monster! Did she see his demon? Did she know? Could she tell?
Eyes wide in fear, worry, and a bit of sadness, he jerked back into the bush and ran back to Uncle Euri, skidding into the older male's side. It seemed to jerk the white demigod out of his trance, because the lion jerked as 'Doro curled up at his side.
He shivered a bit, ears back. Was he really a monster? Of course you are, the voice purred in his mind as it showed him a faint image of him, older, attacking someone else. He squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face into Euri's side.
Eurimewn'niwl:
A weight at his side jolted Euri and he looked down to see Kindoro at his side. The cub looked terrified and he was shivering a bit. He frowned as the cub stared blankly at his fur and then there was a little body pressed into his side.
"Do? What's wrong?" he asked, frowning in concern and perking his ears up to figure out where Lari and Talu went. Much as he would seem like he was lazy and a bit slow, he was actually a very clever and even sometimes arrogant individual. He was just relaxed here. He didn't have to be the moody grump he was when he had to worry about hunting and training with his dodgy visions, not here. And 'Doro's actions certainly rang warning bells in his head.
Talu:
When Talu finally summoned the strength to open her eyes, the cub had disappeared and she unconsciously relaxed. The evil shrub monsters was gone! She felt cheered, and raised her gaze to her mother, but her happy expression dropped away at the disappointed look on Lari's face.
Laf'lari:
“You scared him away,” she said, reproachfully. “We're going to find him. You must apologise for scaring him, and say sorry for calling him a monster.” She raised a paw as her daughter went to protest. “No buts. We're going. Up!” She pushed her daughter to her feet and moved confidently towards where the cub must have fleed through. She stepped passed the bush and began to glance around, hoping to find out where he went.
“Little one?” She called out gently. “Where are you little one? We're not going to hurt you.” Goodness, she'd never thought this would happen on her walk. She felt bad for the little one, who had gotten so afraid of Talu. Talu had to get used to this fear of hers! It was hurting others.
She glanced down at her cub who was walking closely by her side, looking terrified, and heaved a sigh. She paused to nuzzle her cub, reassuring her that why Lari was disappointed, she was not angry, before she resumed her search for the other cub.
Eurimewn'niwl:
Euri looked up at the sound of another's approach and saw Lari come back with her daughter. He smiled pleasantly at them from behind his still-filling-in mane.
"Well, hello again. Is something wrong?" Lari seemed to have a tired look on her face and her daughter seemed rather afraid. Could it be something to do with why 'Doro was trying to push his face deep into his side? Had he missed something? Hadn't they just been here?
Kindoro:
'Doro's shoulders hunched and he pressed himself closer to Uncle Euri. He was a bit like his lifeline. Uncle Euri wasn't a warrior, he was the son of a god, he was all about lying around and finding pretty lionesses to wait on him and to talk to and Seeing things. Good things, 'Doro was sure. Not like what the demon showed him. He was certain Uncle Euri saw only good, helpful things, while he only saw himself doing horrible things.
The lioness and her daughter were back, he didn't want them to see him. He was a monster, he had to hide!
Without a word, he scrambled over his uncle's back, hiding on the other side of the lion.
Laf'lari:
Lari smiled at Euri, recognizing him as the young male who had helped her when she was pregnant and hunting. Ah, she was glad to see him again. “Hello Euri!” She greeted him, not noticing the 'again' at the end of his greeting. She looked surprised to see the little one pressing against Euri's side. Oh! Perhaps Euri was babysitting him? “My daughter Talu was frightened by the little one there,” she murmured to Euri, apologetically, “ and I'm afraid she rather startled him in return. I was hoping to find him, so that Talu could apologize.”
She gave her daughter a sharp look, and pushed her gently with her paw, towards where the youth huddled against the elder boy.
Talu:
Talu was pushed, and didn't move as her mother shifted her towards the pair. She was shaking lightly, and stared up at the elder boy with wide- terrified eyes, before shifting the gaze down to where the cub – not a monster, she realised, but a boy – was resting.
Her ears were drooped low to her head, and her tail curled defensively around her. “M'sorry,” she mumbled to the boy, doing a poor job of apologizing. “I thought'chu were a monster.”
Eurimewn'niwl:
Euri looked a bit sad when he looked down at Doro, now understanding what had happened. This place was strange, it made strange things happen to the mind but he still loved it here. His poor "nephew" on the other paw... Sometimes Euri saw Doro when the cub thought he was alone. He would growl at himself, hold his head and tell someone to leave him alone, that he wasn't a monster, to stop showing him things. The older male thought Doro might be a seer after seeing this occur several times, but the boy seemed to trust him of a sort. He didn't want to break that trust by telling the cub he had been spying on him.
"Come on, 'Do, the little miss apologized," he said, trying to coax the somewhat larger than average cub out of his hiding. Euri and Phae, Doro's father, were both sons of gods, huge lions that passed down their genes. Doro would probably get just as big as he would when he grew up.
Kindoro:
Doro didn't want to come out. She had apologized but she was right, wasn't she? He was a monster and she should be afraid of him, even if Uncle Euri wasn't and the lady wasn't.
But Uncle Euri was still nudging him, so Doro turned around to face the girl-cub, his ears down though he did his very best to not look scary or let her see the monster in his head, if it could look through his eyes.
"S'okay," was all he said in reply.
Laf'lari:
Lari beamed with Talu apologized and the little boy – Do? He probably had a longer name, but the cute, short name suited him, Lari decided - accepted Talu's apology. “There,” she said soothingly to both cubs, although her paw brushed her daughter's forelock affectionately. “All sorted! That wasn't so scary, was it?” She asked Talu, who gave her a dull look.
Lari shook her head in amusement and glanced back at Euri. “Babysitting, Euri?” She asked, motioning to the little one. “Or did you find some lucky girl to have cubs of your own with already?” She teased.
Talu:
Talu didn't agree with her mother that it hadn't been scary. Everything was scary. Why didn't her mother see that? She peered at the boy though, who didn't seem to be that scary now that his bush body was gone and his normal cub body was revealed. He was big though, bigger than her brothers.
“Why's you so big?” She demanded suddenly, her eyes wide as she peered up at him. She was on the small size, since she had inherited her mother's frame, which had always been a little tiny. She paused, and looked contemplative. “I bet you'd be real good at chasin' off monsters,” she mumbled, more to herself than to him. He'd probably terrify even the most terrifying monsters!
Eurimewn'niwl:
Euri chuckled a bit at the cubs. What a pair they were making, and both seemed obsessed with monsters.
"I am, Kindoro is my friend's son, the one I came here with. All the time with the cubs, I'm Uncle Euri now," he replied, shaking his head at the idea of having cubs of his own. Sure, he liked Phae's son and daughters, but he couldn't really see himself with a brood of his own. Mostly because he couldn't see a nice lady in the picture, either, but maybe he just wasn't looking well enough.
"And how have you been? Your litter was a bit smaller than I had expected. Big boys?"
Kindoro:
Doro's head sunk down a bit, almost as if he was trying to imitate a turtle.
"Papa's papa is a god and gods are big," he replied in an almost timid tone. She started asking him about monsters again and the voice started to chuckle again, only it was softer now. He decided to lay down so that he wouldn't seem so big anymore, which brought him a bit closer to Talu and the voice got quieter.
"Maybe, I guess. Papa use to hunt monsters (Like me...), so maybe I could chase some away too, for you..." he replied, though it was rather mumbly as he looked up at her, pink eyes peeking though his sandy mane.
Laf'lari:
Lari smiled at Euri. “How cute,” she said. Family was so important, and it seemed like Euri and the cubs were getting something out of Euri tagging along with his friend, which was good to see. “How many cubs did your friend have?” She asked, out of curiousity.
She had to laugh at that comment. “Are you saying I was fat then, Euri?” She teased. “You be careful who you go saying that too! A lady might take offense.” She didn't. She had only four cubs, when she had put on a fair bit of weight. She still had some around her middle, which was probably due to the fact she had been plumping up Rai so much, she'd started eating a lot more too. “The girls are a little on the small size, but the boys are fair sized, yes,” she agreed, with a smile. “I expected six, with the weight I carried around!” She bemoaned.
Talu:
Her eyes went even wider, looking far too big for her face for a moment. “Your grand-daddy was a god?” She asked, with awe. “Lucky! My grand-daddy's just dead.” It was said with all the innocence of a cub, unaware that it might be inappropriate to compare the two.
She appreciated him lying closer to the ground, and she shifted out from beneath her mother, less afraid of him now that he wasn't towering over her – not that he was giant, just bigger than her and her mind liked to exaggerate. She looked pleased. “I'd like that,” she annoucned. “Monsters are everywhere but no one else seems to believe me,” she sulked a little. Even her mother didn't. Her sister thought she was crazy, that was for sure.
Eurimewn'niwl:
"Phae had three, Do and his two sisters," Euri replied and to his credit he didn't even look a bit flustered for his words. Why should he?
"Nothing of the sort, cubs take up a lot of room I've seen and it just appeared that you were more overburdened than usual," he added, smiling rather charmingly. He was good at that.
He looked to Talu and tilted his head a bit.
"Well, she's not that small. And I'm sure some day she'll grow to be a lovely, strong lioness like her mother." He left out the part of what she would be strong in, be it mind, body, or both.
Kindoro:
Doro nodded a bit.
"At least, I think it's Papa's papa. Maybe his mama..." He honestly wasn't sure he could remember. His father and Uncle Euri had told him a lot of things, mostly in passing, so they tended to get a little muddled. But it didn't really matter. One of his father's parents was a god and that's why he was big. Euri's father was a god, too, and that's why he was so big, too.
And there she was, talking about monsters again. She had crawled a bit away from her mama, he watched as she did so. After a moment, he looked away, ears sort of down a bit.
"I believe you."
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Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 10:42 am
Laf'lari:
“The only boy of the litter?” Lari mused, with a slight grin. “He must look up to you and his father a lot then.” Her son certainly had looked up to his father, even if he had come to resent him in time, Lari thought, slightly saddened by the thought of Oua. She glanced at Doro, a thoughtful expression on her face before she shook her head firmly, trying to dispel the thoughts. What was done was done, and she could not change that, she told herself firmly, before refocusing on Euri.
She laughed. “Oh, Euri, such a charmer,” she said, with a girlish giggle. “How is it that you do not have the hoards of eligible ladies chasing you down?” She teased, shifting on her feet. Talu would grow up beautiful, she mused, she'd look a lot like Ili'ella.
Talu:
“That's pretty cool,” she told him, nodding her head, as to emphasis how cool she thought it was. She had pushed herself up, as she had been hunched to the ground before as she hid. Her fear of this odd not-monster was dissipating, since he had yet to attack her, but her body was still tense and ready to bolt if he tried to attack.
As he spoke again, her face lit up into a beaming grin – the first of the day. “I knew you would!” She said, confidently, though she had known nothing of the sort. “You're not silly!”
Talu was unaware of her mother grinning and trying not to laugh nearby, and continued to beam at the boy.
Eurimewn'niwl:
Euri nodded a bit.
"I think I feel more badly for his sisters. Their mother stayed behind in our old pride, so they have no feminine influence that I'm aware of," he paused there to glance at the little red cub. "At least Do has a couple of guys to teach him."
He chuckled again and shrugged.
"Must be because I'm still new here. None of the ladies have managed to find me." He tilted his head in thought for a moment.
"Unless it's because some see me and thing Do and the girls are mine and don't want to hang around a male with cubs." He finished his musing with a smooth shrug. Oh, he hoped that would change soon, but that didn't mean he would stop spending time with his nieces and nephew.
Kindoro:
Doro smiled a bit, a real, actual smile! She said his family was cool. And he had made her happy by saying that he believed her. Well, that was a good thing and a bad thing. Good in that he had made her happy (Monsters didn't make others happy, did they?) and bad in that the only reason he did believe her was because he really was a monster, so he proved it.
He was just really similar to normal lions, so he could hide his monster-ness really well.
"I didn't think I was silly, either," he replied, never having had the word associated with him in any context before. He was a very... not-silly individual.
Laf'lari:
Lari looked contemplative. "Girls are tougher than you'd think," she mused, "and there are plenty of females for them to look up to in the pride, if given the chance." She smiled. "The pride is quite welcoming, or so I've found."
Lari nodded, with a smile. "I'm sure you'll be followed by the hoards soon enough," she teased, but took his next comment rather seriously. "Well, that's quite likely. My daughter, Ili'ella - not from this litter, clearly - has seven cubs of her own and most males seem less than impressed with getting tagged with 'baggage' as they term it, such as a single parent with cubs." She frowned, obviously disagreeing with that mentality.
Talu:
Talu was impressed with his smile, she decided. It made him look even less scary, and she crept away from her mother just a little bit more, moving closer to him. "Good. Silly people are silly," she said, with the utmost seriousness. "Silly people get eaten by monsters, 'cause their not careful enough." She frowned.
There were many, many silly people in the pride who were going to get eaten by monsters, sadly, but no one listened to her! Except this boy. "You're now my favourite not-monster," she announced. At least he listened to her.
Eurimewn'niwl:
Euri pondered this for a moment.
"I don't think I would have such a problem. As long as they didn't try to pull any 'You're not my father, I don't have to listen' arguments. Thank the gods I don't get that already," he replied, shaking his head a bit. Doro and the girls didn't really argue with him, mostly because he never gave them much reason to. Usually when he told them to do something, it was most certainly for their own good.
He did nod, though, over Phae's daughters.
"I do think they'll grow up fine. At least, I hope so."
Kindoro:
Well, he didn't think he was going to be eaten by monsters, monsters didn't eat their own, did they? Doro tried to bury the thought in his mind that he was a monster. He didn't want to be one and Talu didn't think he was one. He really didn't want to disappoint her in that respect.
"I'll make sure the monsters don't get you either, mmkay?" he replied, wanting to protect others rather than hurt them like his demon wanted him to.
He blinked at her last comment. Her favorite? He didn't think he had or even would ever be someone's favorite.
"F-favorite?"
Laf'lari:
Lari chuckled, "I don't think you'd ever let them get away with the 'you're not my father' stuff, would you?" She shook her head in amusement. "Plus, I think they care about you enough not to pull that sort of thing. After all, you're still family, even if you're not their father." Family had little to do with blood, in Lari's mind, though that was always something to treasure.
"With you and their father to watch out for them? I'm sure they'll grow up perfectly," she said, nodding.
Talu:
Talu nodded, clearly appreciating his assurance. "I know you won't," she said firmly. "You're too clever for that." He had known their was monsters, so he had to be clever, though she couldn't understand why he was so confused over her announcing he was her favourite now.
"Yes, favourite," she said, pronouncing the word carefully, to make sure she hadn't said something silly before and messed it up. She didn't thinks he had. "And as my favourite, I will make sure to warn you if I see any monsters lurking around." She blanched. "I'd hate for my favourite to get eaten."
Eurimewn'niwl:
Euri smiled and shook his head.
"No, I don't think I would. I just hope it never has to come to that. Makes everything so much easier," he replied, smirking a bit. Now that he was in a peaceful, relaxed place, he didn't think he minded the thought of having a family of his own. And now he understood a reason why Phae might have left. The Hunters had been no place for cubs to be raised. In a pride devoted to hunting monsters? Yeah, no way would he have raised any of his cubs there. Here was much better.
Kindoro:
"I... I've never been a favorite..." Doro replied, still blinking up at her. His father and Uncle Euri loved him, but there were no favorites in their family. And he didn't know anyone else. A favorite was something you liked most of all. He didn't understand that at all. He wasn't really the favorite type, was he? He certainly didn't think so. If Papa and Uncle Euri had favorites, he didn't really think he would be one of them.
"I promise I won't get eaten, mmkay?"
Laf'lari:
Lari smiled at Euri. She had a feeling, even without being an actual seer, that things would turn out alright for the family. It had to. They were nice people, and good things happened to nice people. "I'm sure it'll be fine," she murmured to him, before refocusing on her cub who seemed to be getting along well with the young boy now.
She managed to catch part of their conversation, and looked amused. "Chosing favourites so young! Talu'll be a handful when she's older," she joked lightly, before brushing her paw along her daughter's forelock.
Talu:
"Of course you haven't been a favourite yet," she said, looking confused as to why he'd say that. "You've only just become my favourite. I don't think you can be favourite of more than one person..." she paused. "At least, I don't think you should. So you're my favourite now."
She nodded, pleased that he was planning to be safe, when her mother spoke, distracting her from Doro. She frowned at her mother. "Huh?" She asked, not getting what her mother had said. She shook her head, and glanced at Doro. "Adults are weird," she mumbled to Doro, as if sharing a secret.
Eurimewn'niwl:
Euri's attention also wandered its way back to the cubs and he grinned, sending a wink to Lari.
"Of course you can only be one person's favorite. It's in the rules," he said, his gold eyes amused. Oh, it was nice seeing Doro getting along with another cub. Even better that she was getting on so well with him! From what he had seen, little Talu was very timid. As was Doro. And yet here they were, talking fine with one another.
He moved closer to Lari so that he could whisper his thoughts to her instead of talking that the cubs could hear.
"Perhaps some more play-dates for them?"
Kindoro:
"Oh... I didn't know it worked that way," Doro replied, a little surprised. Was favorite even more special, then? He looked up at Talu's mom and Uncle Euri again when they started whispering. Only now Talu was kind of whispering, but to him. He nodded a bit in agreement.
"Yeah, they kinda are pretty weird."
Laf'lari:
Lari nodded along with Euri. "Yes, it's most definately in the rules," she agreed, making sure to play along with Euri. Oh, this was so cute, she thought, with amusement. Talu had never been a big fan of interacting with others, and yet she was quite content with the boy she'd thought was originally a monster. The fates were having fun with this, she just knew it.
"Yes," Lari agreed in a whisper as Euri suggested the playdates. "I haven't seen Talu this open since...well, ever." She laughed. "I think we need to get these two together more often." Perhaps she'd even bring along her other daughter too - though with how Talu and Doro had bonded, she wasn't sure if the other girl's presence would be that appreciated.
Talu:
Talu was surprised as well, but was ready to accept the words of Doro's Uncle and her mother. Plus, her mother was quite clever, even if she was silly about the monsters. She cast her mother a paranoid glance when she began to whisper with Doro's Uncle and shifted, nervously.
"What do you think they're talking 'bout?" She asked, in a whisper, to her new favourite. "I don't like whispers." Except, she was whispering at that moment, but her own didn't count! She didn't like others whispering.
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