No longer necessary.
Tears in chromatic eyes as they struggled beneath an iron grasp. Rage in amber with bared fangs and a primal snarl. The Earth Goddess' had became tainted by divine blood, spilled and stained the ground from an impossible bout. With heaving chest, a once pristine white paw now crimson raised high into the whipping air. An inaudible cry of a youth became silent as if by the roar of the Goddesses and Gods as one of their own was taken from them.
----
Wide, alabaster wings took to the air as the morning warmed. The stirring of herds and flocks and prides have taken to the ground below, yet only a shadow gave away his presence. In the past months, his powers have been utilize much more than he could recall, though his memories have remained... incomplete. A large portion of him felt missing and what bothered him more was that his face was what angered him. No - not his face but one quite similar. He recalls very little, not a typical thing he felt familiar with; a puppy and an angry face like his own. Both of which caused mix feelings of worry and anger. Since his travels, he had ignored most feelings of duties, the pulls on his core have been ultimately ignored as his focus seemed to be directed onto this single goal. The god had even taken upon the innate ability to disappear from plain sight.
Mortal distractions.
It seems with each passing day, he has felt weaker and weaker. Was it because he had not eaten? Was it because he had not rest as much as one should? Was it because of Mkodi's curse upon him for meddling in domains not his own? Or was it because the mortals were losing faith. Weak or not, the god pressed on as wings lifted the smallish lion toward the northern territories. Pride Lands were the only familiar locations to him here, but something within stirs for other reasons. Other... familiarities he was unsure of. That alone merited investigations.
----
Eyes glanced beneath lazy lids as the morning air came to rise. Vision blurred, he noted the small cove he had discovered the many nights prior for a shelter to rest in. The roots lined the walls like a cage, holding a beast within, yet holding the landslide behind. A fallen tree that they had frequented before and lucked upon again... A small brown blur that nestled against his flank. Closing his eyes, he noted his racing heart, just like every other morning did it race after each dream. Each dream the same as every other night'. Had grown used to it, his expression did not show his night sweats as he opened wide his maw for a leonine yawn. Loud enough to cause a stir in the little brown ball beside him. The lion chuffed as he kneaded the earth beneath him, contemplating what they were going to do today; hunt? seek another shelter? Find a pride or a pack. It seemed like since the day he had adopted the cub, his motivations have dissipated. Though, he knew by the time the cub would wake up, there would be fuel to the fire that ignited said motivations.
Impatience got the better of him as he reached down - jaws around the neck of the sleeping cub before getting up himself. Wake or not, the cub had no choices or options as long as he was him.
"Mrrr..." a stir. "Nnnnnnnh!" a stretch and sound of one getting the taste of one's mouth from the morning. Hetero-chromatic eyes glanced up at the large, white maw around his scruff, his tail wagging beneath him, though abit between his legs. "Morning, Uncle." Scouting about, and sniffing, he noted that the morning had come, but it was still early. The routine has been so scheduled and structured, he didn't really care that he was up so early.
The lion merely gave a huff through his maw as a reply.
The little maned wolf looked up at him, noting his appearance. His chestnut mane was unkept as usual. His once-pristine white fur was also dirtied, matted, and unkept. But the one thing that hasn't changed was his angered, amber eyes. Though, he realized that he had grown less angry and less 'snarly' since his father had left them....
The lion glanced down to see the cub staring back at him, with a snarl, he put him down. "What?"
The cub walked in a circle on the spot before answering over his shoulder. "Do you think we'll find Dad any time soon before the wet season?" His tail ever swaying behind him.
The lion gave a grin, looking out to the distance. "I don't doubt it, Tamu, but he is a god and they have their ... duties." As far as the maned wolf was concerned, his father had left him under his care to go off to do his 'godly duties' as the God of Connections, but it would be better off without that useless God present in this world. And one less to deal with. However, he had concerns initially taking the cub with him, but he was a splitting image of the youth's father, and he would do a lot better job than the fool could. What concerned him more was the fact that the youngling was present that night...
"Uncle Tegan?"
The lion's mind returned to the pup's voice. "We will find some food, then shelter for tonight. Got to keep moving to keep you safe from them."
The pup nodded his head before leading the way. It would seem the network of lies have been holding the little cub from falling into the truth thus far, and he intended to keep it that way. Killing gods is one thing, a youth is an entirely different matter.
----
A fortnight. Absolutely nothing had come up. An encounter with a local that appeared to know him, even baring one of his feathers, lead to little information but refreshing memories that he held in past lives. It would appear the only thing he learned that there are five of these feathers out there, four belonging to this Pride Lander and his brothers, but the fifth was apparently never discussed to them. What ties they hold to him he did not care for. It would seem the longer he looked, the more his rage swayed to worry and sadness. Could it be that he would never find those he was seeking or was it because they were simply not real? His memories have always been hazy, but some feel true and real. His large, white wings took him through the night sky idly as he flew westward before reaching sandy deserts. The dry air sent him higher. He noted that what he sought was not there, the feeling was not there. With a scoff, the god turned and drifted eastward.
Closing his eyes, sounds of cracking thunder and snarls of disgust. Cries and the pitter padder of rain against the savannah. A sudden sensation startled his eyes wide, scanning the ground below for what caused such sensations. The deity landed upon the ground, heterochromatic eyes looking into the darkness of the night. There was no one around... Kiegan, the God of Connections, turned to a fallen tree that laid alone by its own. Struck by lightning, the unfortunate arbor left scarred and laid - abandoned. The small burrow beneath was just the same. The god's ears fell flat as if a sudden feeling of sadness swept over his heart. Nosing the trunk as he circled it, folding his wings, the tree seeming familiar. The source of that sensation. A rustle behind him jerked him about. Eyes. Eyes appeared one by one, peering at his direction, but he knew they could see nothing. Hyraxes shuffled from the leaves, branch to branch, apparently alert. Though the god may render himself invisible, his presence was not fallible to detection. Kiegan gave a solemn smile at the family, turning to leave them be, but he needed rest. Crawling beneath the tree felt familiar as well, even the visual perception felt as if he had seen it before, yet he could not remember. It was late and he had grown tired. Using his wings, he closed off the shelter from the outside world as the God of Sleep took over.
----
The duo woke again from the tree's burrow and headed down the river, taking a casual stride this day. The maned wolf pup noted the lion's change in disposition as days went on. Though, he never spoke of it. The pup remained ever ignorant and blissfully so as he bounded through the grass toward the river. "Come on, Uncle! Even you need a bath!"
The white lion chuffed, shaking his head at the comment. Though, he would admit he had a reached a level of uncleanliness he has never reached when he was a cub... But as of late his mind had wandered elsewhere. Dreams have drifted from that night to strange happenings elsewhere. Dreams he could only assume to be just that. Just the other night it was a dream of Tamu and himself, simply lounging by the fallen tree - the same fallen tree that was once inhabited by Hyraxes until the recent stampede that had taken off the upper half of the fallen trunk. But it was just that; a simple dream of the two by the tree just like any other day. It would appear that no matter where he wanted to go, he tended to come back to it. Even Tamu admitted that he stayed at such trees before, but he said that about most any tree they visited. Had he grown soft over the days?...
Tegan looked to the river, watching as Tamu lingered around the water's edge. The lone gator there had left them alone before and became a common discussion partner to the young canine. As long as he was safe, he suppose it was alright to leave him be. As young as he was, the pup was quick witted. The lion left the two be to tend to his own needs. Looking into the river, a flick over color flashed over his reflection, drawing his attention to the sky and around him nothing was found. Looking back, he scowled at the realization that was he was looking at was a rippled form of himself, but all was still recognizable as himself but the eyes. The eyes were different and unnatural. The way the mane fell from his head was the same. The marks from his eyes were the same. But the eyes were not his own. Dreams he cannot escape. Reality, he cannot escape. The lion dumped himself into the water, throwing his head back as he surfaced with a deep exhale. No, he is gone now. He is gone and without his memories, there should be no concern. Plus, he was harmless god, his powers were not physical nor offensive. The pup was safer with him than he was with the god. He was safer now.
"Tamu, we should get to hunting." He uttered as he approached them. The pup looked to him, noting another change in attitude. His voice was more... stern than it was just this morning. It seemed like that he changed like the color-changing lizards. Though he still nodded, giving a brief farewell to the gator and off to his uncle's side.
