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 Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 12:57 pm
 Sylwanin was trying to track down her brother Eytucan's cubs. The first thing was getting the names of the grown nieces and nephews. That had been easy as her brother had readily provide them. But she had requested he not say much to them about her yet. She wanted to make an impression on each of them based on her own merits without the shared blood interfering. She knew her brother thought of her very well just for being his sister and not acting like their other brother, and she did not want her other relatives to be so biased by his opinion. A father's opinion could sway them greatly she was sure, and she would rather earn any affection and respect on her own. Her first target she had decided would be Saagar'Tarang. He had a special place in the pride, a place as the Whisperer. He kept an eye on the well being of the animals around the pride, and this was something that Sylwanin, as a priestess, could respect greatly. Her time out in the rogue lands had shown her what could happen if a pride did not take care of that which was around them. She walked as quietly as a shadow, and when she was nearly beside her nephew she gave the greeting. "I see you, Brother." For now she would just pretend to not be related.
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 1:15 pm
 Saagar’Tarang was staring to realize that it was pretty easy for someone to sneak up on him when he was focused on something. Which, he was afraid to say, was pretty much all the time. He nearly jumped when the lioness spoke – she was almost next to him! – but apart from some bristled hairs, he managed to keep his composure and he threw the blue bird above his head an annoyed look. Sure, Sata was easily sidetracked by the natural world around him but he expected Sipho to at least warn him when someone was approaching him.
“I see you, Sister.” He returned the greeting in a pleasant voice though there was a hint of curiosity in his eyes. She looked so... familiar. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I know your name. I’m Saagar’Tarang.”
---
Sipho took Sata’s stare with a knowing smile in a very, very amused expression. It was obvious he’d seen the lioness slowly move closer to his lion but hey! It was not his job to be Sata’s guard dog. It served him right for being so distracted all the time. He dropped from above with ease and landed on the Whisperer’s fluffy head.
“Oooooh, pretty feathers.” He said between a few singing notes. Feathers were the kind of thing a bird could appreciate, after all. The lions in the pride looked so similar that it was a relief to see a black lioness that he could easily distinguish from the rest of them.
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 1:40 pm
Sylwanin smiled at her nephew. "I know you are the Whisperer Saagar'Taraang. Your father speaks fondly of you." She gives him a moment for that to sink in while she addresses the bird. "I See you, Little Brother, and I thank you for the appreciation of the feathers I have collected in my journeys. Their brilliance has reminded me of home even when I was not here." She had seen many lions with birds and other creatures that followed them about out in the rogue lands, so it was nice to see her people continue their connection to their home in such a manner. She thought her people did a better job of these partnerships than the rogues, but she was a bit biased.
The lioness turned her attention back to the young lion and bowed her head gravely as she lifted a paw. "I am Sylwanin, a Priestess of Ewya." She wondered how much her brother had told the cubs about her since he had thought her dead. He might have told them nothing, since it was painful for him to lose family. She still had the same bead strands on her tail and leg that had been given to her by family members so long ago. And they still gleamed as if new. It was hard to tell she was an old member returned, she was sure. It could be an interesting game she played if that was so.
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 4:31 pm
How odd… even her name sounded familiar. It was if he’d heard it before in a story while growing up but unfortunately, like so many other things, Sata had trouble remembering anything that was not somehow related to the jungle creatures. Not that he had bad memory, on the contrary. He could tell you the location of every herd, den and nest he had discovered in his youth, how many eggs some species of birds usually laid or how long it took to build a weaving bird’s nest. He’s just forgotten about most of things found outside the denser parts of the jungle.
“Ah! You look a lot like my uncle! That’s why I thought you looked so familiar. My father too, I suppose.” A lot of pride members shared physical similarities so it wasn’t that much of a surprise. Though his father’s markings so not quite as common as the typical stripy blue look of the People. He found it a little strange that she knew his name but there weren’t many Whisperers around, now were there? “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Priestess.”
-------
Sipho chirped happily. It always amused him when grown lions called him Little Brother. In a way, it actually made him feel rather… big.
“Always nice to find someone who can appreciate beautiful feathers.” He paused, wondering why the lioness would approach Sata in such a way. “You can’t date my lion. He’s taken.” There, that was what they called fair warning, right? That way , there really wouldn’t be any misunderstandings.
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 4:54 pm
"You mean Kersuy and Eyctucan? Yes, I do share markings with them both. It is a pleasure to meet you as well, young Saagar." Sylwanin looks at the bird again with a grin. "Beautiful feathers and other things are always better when they hold dear memories." She chuckled at the bird's warning. "I think it would be very frowned on for me to try to date your lion even if he was not taken." It did not seem he was picking up on it very quickly. This was quite amusing. All the more so for the bird's warning about dating the male. Ah the little pleasures in life.
As much fun as it was though, she really should clue him in on what was going on. He was likely to just sit there in confusion. "I should get more to the point, should I not? I came out here to meet you as I have heard quite the glowing report of you from your father. He seems quite proud of you and since I have not had the delight of meeting all these children he has now, I thought it only right to come and introduce myself. I do hope you do not mind such a long delay in meeting your own aunt." She wondered just how much of a shock it was going to be to him. It could be very... interesting.
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 5:16 pm
Sata took one step back even before the lioness had properly introduced herself. Why would the pride frown on the two of them being mated? Because she was older than him? That thought annoyed Sata greatly as Clerm was also older than him. Even Clerm’s children were older than him but he didn’t care and it bothered him that others might make his mate feel bad about it. Thankfully, that wasn’t what the lioness was implying and all the pieces quickly fell into place.
“I am so sorry. The name, of course. I should’ve remembered it. Honestly, I thought you were…” dead. He was feeling quite miserable now. Not recognizing a relative didn’t sound like a very nice thing to do and Sata took great pride in his family. “It’s reeally nice to meet you!” his mouth slowly opened in a small abashed smile as he returned to normal.
----------
“Oooooh, aunt! I get it!” Obviously Sata hadn’t known about her otherwise he wouldn’t have looked so shocked at the revelation. He supposed she did look like that annoying Mr-Serious-Face of an uncle that Sata also had. “So you were away? And now back? Where were you all this time?” The line of questioning might sound rude – as Sata did try to quietly point out to him – but the blue cat didn’t seem to be in a state to ask questions and Sipho was curious just trying to be helpful. Someone had to ask the questions!
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 6:14 pm
Sylwanin chuckled and put her paw on the male's shoulder. "Thought I was dead? I am quite aware of the status I was assumed. I do not blame everyone for believing me dead. I was away for quite a long time." She also was aware her own pride was part of the reason she was gone for so long. Old demons were hard to fight, but she had made it back. That was the important part if anyone asked the dark lioness. "We lost so much in the war that I was not sure anyone would have wished to discuss me to you cubs." She smiled softly. "I am glad to be mistaken."
She had to chuckle at the bird yet again. He was something else to be sure. "I, my dear little friend, was out in the rogue lands. Part of the time I lost my way after being split off from the pride during the war so long ago... and the other part of that time I was lurking close to the borders trying to build up the nerve to return and failing." She looks slightly sheepish, but not too much so. "Pride nearly kept me from returning to the People. I am glad that I did return, though. Look at the wonderful nephews and nieces I have here."
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Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 4:24 pm
“Ah yes…” Sata admitted, still looking a little embarrassed. The friendly gesture seemed to relax him somewhat and it wasn’t long before his confident smile was back. “I’m glad you returned safely. Dad must be so relieved but he didn’t tell me anything. When did you arrive?”
He looked simply delighted now as if his aunt’s arrival was something he’d been expecting all his life which he obviously wasn’t but the return of a close family member did bring the blue lion a great amount of happiness. He couldn’t wait to go talk to his father about it.
“Oh… hum…” his smile wavered before it became somewhat.. mischievous. “About what Sipho said. Me being taken and all… I haven’t told anyone yet so…” he chuckled, looking very much like a cub that had been caught misbehaving.
-----------------
Sipho was eyeing the lioness with a curious expression.
“Why didn’t you come right away? Why did you need courage to come back? You’re a big cat… I don’t understand.” It was during moments like these that Sata realized just how young Sipho really was. Pride was a concept he had some trouble grasping. “You don’t look that much alike…” Well, there were those black siblings that Sipho didn’t know that well yet but from where he was standing… ”You don’t look that much like family.” At which point, Sata shook his head violently and Sipho went tumbling down the blue lion’s back.
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 2:01 pm
Sylwanin held out a paw and caught the bird, gently setting it upright again. She knew that it's questions were a bit rude, but she also could see it was a young bird. There were so many things that did not bother her anymore that used to irritate her so much before. She had been stuck up for sure. Now, it was just another thing to make her extend kindness to another. "I arrived perhaps a week or two ago. It has not been long, but I asked that my brother not say too much to his children about me just yet, since I wished to make a first impression based on my own merits rather than my brother's overly flattering accounts."
"So you have found a lioness to settle down with? This is wonderful news, and I am sure when you choose to share it with the rest of the family, they will be delighted to hear it." She took a deep breath to gather her composure for explaining things to the bird. "I did not return right away because I believed I had failed Eywa. I was given a task in the war which was not fighting, and abandoned it to fight... only to become lost and separated from my people. I thought this a sign of failure and had trouble bringing myself to face such failure." She stretched one of her paws and admired it for a moment. "Even big cats have things to fear."
"I may not have many of the same colors as my nephew, but when you put his father and I side by side, you can see where I belong." The lioness smiled softly. She liked how the majority of the cubs had the stripes from their mother. To her it was better than all of them having the mostly black coloring of her family. "Saagar favors his mother, but I am sure somewhere along the way he will have a few cubs that will look more like his father's side. Let us just hope none of them act as full of themselves and proud as his one aunt used to be." She rolls her eyes at herself and chuckles.
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 3:38 pm
Sata turned his head quickly, feeling a little guilty that Sipho had actually fallen quite a bit before Syl-… his aunt caught the bird. He sent her a small appreciative smile as he listened to her words in a respectful silence.
“Ah, yes.” He lit up when Sylwanin mentioned Clerm but he reserved his words mostly for the blue bird fussing in his ear. “Easy there, little brother. Stop doing that, Sipho.”
As the bird removed himself from the conversation – after using Pikelis’ nickname for Sata which he actually found amusing – the blue lion was quiet for a few moments but then finally whispered quietly, meeting his aunt’s gaze firmly with his bright blue eyes.
“If I ever have cubs, I would be honored if they resembled you in any way.”
---------
Sipho had to admit he was glad the lioness was always smiling and speaking in a soft voice. Otherwise he was certain that he – like any normal bird – would’ve had a good amount of sleepless nights plagued by nightmares where a looming dark sharp-fanged monster reached out to grab him. His trust in Sata did not extend to the rest of the pride just yet. He hopped and fluttered back to his place from where he screeched angrily into the blue lion’s ear.
“Gah! I could’ve hurt myself! You threw me off! You, you… CLOUDHEAD!!” And he kept spouting mild offenses until Sata finally apologized, though the fact that the blue lion was smiling didn’t pacify him completely. He did, however, very obviously, remove himself from the conversation and he waited for all the chatting to end from a tree branch, his back turned to the lions. He would still occasionally look back at the dark lioness as if to say she wasn’t the one he was ignoring.
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 11:39 am
Sylwanin grinned at her nephew. "Such a flatterer, no wonder you found a female that adores you. With such sweet words, any lioness will be lucky to have you." She kept an eye on the bird as she spoke to her nephew. Sipho had rather amused her during this whole conversation. He was so young and so spirited. It was something she could relate to and respect, but she knew he would have to do some hard growing up sooner or later. She did find the nickname for Sata rather cute. "Cloudhead, hmm? Interesting name for a lion and yet somewhat fitting."
Sylwanin ruffled the fur on top of Sata's head. "You do look like your mane is made of clouds at the top." The lioness took a moment to stretch and heard a few things pop. She swore she was getting old. "Do not wish for cubs that do more than look like me, dear nephew. You will have a hard time if you have any that acted like I used to... serious all the time, too full of herself to listen to advice, and unappreciative of what she had been given in life." She figured she probably should leave soon and let the lion and bird make their peace together. "Friends should never be taken for granted. That was my greatest crime."
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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2012 5:46 am
Sata smiled, as he always did when the conversation turned to Clerm, tilting his head contently as his aunt ruffled his mane. He had to admit the long hairs did look like a fluffy cloud in a bright blue sky and he tried not to look too pleased as he was given a good amount of serious advice for the future.
“I’ll take your words to heart.” Cubs were still a distant prospect as far as the young lion was concerned even though part of him couldn’t wait to have a few mini-Clerms and mini-Satas running around at his paws. He looked up at the sulking bird and decided this was the best moment to make peace with his little feathered friend. “Come down, Sipho. It’s time to go. Let’s go home.”
----------
Sipho pretended not to listen as the lions spoke but it was clear he was paying attention to every word. If the constant glances over his wings weren’t enough of a clue, the little blue bird turned his head almost 180 degrees to take in Sylwanin’s last words. He looked at Sata, the lion who had seemed like such a nice pushover the first time they’d met and who now made no ceremony before bossing him around. Somehow, they barely knew each other but they were already friends. And home… that did sound pretty good.
“Yeah, let’s go.” He said as he flew back to his usual perch, his tone indifferent. “Pikelis might be looking for me.” He gave the blue lion a nasty peck when Sata chuckled at his statement.
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