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 Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 2:12 pm
((For Shomoro and Sarabi. ^^))
As she put one black-toed forepaw before the other, Shomoro was buried deep in thought, enveloped by brooding uncertainty that the beautiful lands through which she now traveled could not dispel. Though they were truly a sight, though she wanted to lay herself down and rest her head in the grasses, they were also a part of her grimness' cause.
The Pridelands. The place of her birth, away from which she had been spirited by her mother before her eyes had even opened, as the huntress fled the domain of dark rogues. It was from one of them, who remained nameless to Shomoro, she had inherited the black that ran down her spine, and her luridly green eyes.
'Your eyes! Must you have his eyes?' Her mother's repeated murmurrings rang through her head, and her tail lashed once. But she had not been unloved, if perhaps somewhat regretted, and there were pleasanter words from Dini held in her memory, even words of a home and pride she had never known. A pride painted shining by the timid lioness, only to fall to the terrors of rule by rogues.
A pride and a land to which Dini would never return, for fear of them, for the hatred of green eyes that haunted her sleep, convinced until the end that she would see them set in that dark face if she ever dared venture home. But Dini was gone, and Shomoro remained, freed now from her mother's stifling paranoia.
And for Shomoro, what remained was to dare what her mother had not, although uncertainty weighted her steps. If Dini had been right in her fear, then she went towards cruelty; but then, if she was so unmistakably the child of one of those cruel ones, need she fear? Would she be punished for her mother's flight, or accepted as a daughter?
If Dini had been wrong...would she be accepted into a gentle and noble pride, or cursed and turned away as a usurper's issue?
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 2:53 pm
The bright sun shown down on the Pridelands as it had done for countless generations, warming the savanah and bringing life to all. That life in turn brought forth more life, and on wards in the circle for which the resident Pride took is philosophy on life. And it was on that very circle that an frail queen's thoughts rested. So much has been happening... the pride growing by leaps and bounds as rogues trickled in to join and cubs were born to those already here. The Pridelanders numbered near 40 now, all told, and Sarabi could only shake her head as she contemplated ruling over them. Mufasa had been gone for so long now... her heart ached with missing him, but she carried on, like she always had. It was to her fortune that thus far the pride was easy to guide and rule. Frail and sickly as she was, it was only at the wishes of the rest of the pride that keep the Queen in her lofty position. Any of them could have killed her and taken the throne for themselves... A shiver swept down Sarabi's spine and she dismissed those thoughts with an impatient flick of her rounded ears. They were nothing more than the foolish rambling of a lioness past her prime. The Queen couldn't afford to get lost in them now. Soon a heir would have to be appointed, since first-born Kamilika had disappeared with her father. Another gaping hole left in Sarabi's heart. Any more, she mused, and it would be riddled like a field with Meercat burrows. The creamy lioness sighed softly, glancing back over her shoulder at the empty den. Of her children, only Rehani had remained with her. Kiuma and Uumikaji had left, and Kijito was often times as missing as Kami... Poor, shy Rehani. Did she really have that core of steal that was needed to lead a pride, especially one as big as this one was becoming? There now... she was drifting again. Sighing, Sarabi snapped her mind back and turned to gaze down at the lands far below Priderock as she let the soothing warmth of the sun penetrate her bones and dull her aches.
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 3:11 pm
Shomoro padded on across the savannah under the sun's rays, hot against her dark back, until gradually, what had been a silhouette in the distance grew larger, its features more defined. She would have said it loomed, but it was only her own uncertainty that made it seem so.
The lioness paused for a moment to gaze up at it, forcing herself briefly to look at it without the doubt that had settled itself in her stomach. So this, then, must be Pride Rock. She could not deny that it was beautiful, and...not so imposing as she had imagined it might be; on the other hand, it looked quite welcoming, standing there silent and sun-warmed.
There were no prowling, hostile figures guarding its base, none there to snarl and threaten, just as there had been none all the way. She had had all her life to imagine the land pinned beneath the paws of evil, visions fueled by her mother's wild fears, and as yet had found nothing but brightness and tranquility.
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 3:55 pm
With the pride off doing whatever it was they chose to do during the heat of the day, Sarabi was left much to her own devices. It was times like these that her worries plagued her the most... but with the sun warming her like it did, they were fast being pushed aside by the inevitable drowsyness. Secure on the rocky outcropping, the creamy golden queen sank down to press her stomach to the sun-kissed rock, eventually letting gravity pull her down till she sprawled across its face. It was in that pose that she let sleep claim her, sleeping into darkness that was still full of light, a place where her body didn't weigh her down, and her love stood tall and proud at her side with the wind in his rusty mane.
Sarabi's heart swelled at the sight of him. So strong, so wise, so proud... He was everything a good king should be. But then, even as she watched, he grew younger, becoming nothing more than a stripling youth with the barest beginings of a mane. The lioness cried out in her sleep as two dark shapes charged for him and chases him from her side. No! They couldn't take him from her again... Not again!
And then they were back, looming over her with their glowing eyes, one set as bright as the sun through leaves. No...! She wailed in her mind, paws twitching as she tried to run and could find no purchaise. Then... darkness again, and an overwhelming lonliness...
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 4:23 pm
As her tail swayed in time to her thinking, she lost sense of time, carried away on sun-warmed visions until a cry from above startled her from her thoughts. It pulled her abruptly into the present, but also into memory, the distressed outcry ringing familiar.
She focused her eyes sharply upwards, confronted with a dreadful choice -- to go up there, where she knew not what waited. But...she could not sit here at the base now, nor turn her tail and go. The only way to go for her was up. Paws sought purchase on the smooth rock, following the path formed up to the outcropping itself, pads landing soft and quiet on the warm stone as she scaled to the top.
What she expected to find there, even she did not know...but it was only a lioness, frail and golden, dreaming dark things. The setting was changed, and the individual, but the scene itself was nothing but familiar. It reminded Shomoro of her mother.
Ears tipping shyly back, she stepped softly forward until she came to the sleeper's side, and almost reflexively touched one forepaw to hers, gentle but firm. It was how she had taken to waking Dini, and it was the same habit that kept her from going to the lioness' front; as a cub, once, she had made the mistake of peering into her mother's eyes as she woke, and had terrified her in a way Shomoro would not soon forget. The words that formed were habit too, in a rich whisper of a voice, "Wake up..it's only a dream, m-"
'Mama,' she had nearly said, and the realization shook off reverie. As soon as it came to her, she backed away, dipping her head.
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 5:08 pm
Sarabi woke with a violent start, gasping as her eyes flew open. Dark with her dreams, they darted around to take in the familiar, sun bright vista. Calm slowly crept over the creamy lioness to slow the frantic pace of her heart. Everything was the way it should be... save one.
Crimson eyes met the emerald ones of a stranger lioness, and memory squeezed at her heart once more. But no... after all, this was a lioness, her pelt a bright golden color. He'd been darker, and those leaf-green eyes hadn't been filled with a shy, quiet alertness like these. Gathering up what little strength she had, Sarabi pulled her failing body up onto its haunches, curling her tail neatly around her large paws. The wooden beads of her necklace scraped over the rock, then clicked softly as they swung free. "I... I'm sorry... I was sleeping, I didn't hear you approach. May I be so forward as to ask who you are, and why you're here?" Push away those dark memories, put them in the box that is their home. That time was far, far in the past, and now she had a rogue lioness she must greet and deal with.
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 5:23 pm
The lioness' stance was tense with uncertainty, her posture slightly submissive before the older female. Ears flicked sideways, back, and to the sides again, a visible expression of her nervousness, as those bright eyes met red ones only to be cast downwards.
"Forgive me, I..I was below, and I heard." A twitch of her black tail. "Shomoro. I'm Shomoro. I came because..because my mother, she told me stories, and I...followed them."
Edged ears came forward, then fell back again. "She was from here."
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 5:34 pm
Soft, round ears perked at that last part. "Welcome to the Pridelands, Shomoro. My name is Sarabi, and I am the queen of this pride. Your... mother was from these lands...?" Curiosity pricked at her, as well as a sort of dread. This lioness was only a bit younger than herself... but not young enough. From her look, she could only have been born during the time of the rogue brothers...
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 5:43 pm
"Thank you, lady." Her head and shoulders dipped in a small, respectful bow, before she nodded. "It is what she told me. Dini was her name, she..left with me when I was born."
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 5:55 pm
"Dini..." Sarabi breathed, her eyes widening. Oh, she knew that name well, a name straight from the memories that plagued her so lately, a name from her youth. Dini... hadn't been as lucky as she had. So... this was the cub that had swelled that golden belly and brougth fear into the soft eyes of the lioness she had once known? This glimpse into the past was unnerving, to say the least.
For a time, the queen studied the younger female. There was much of her childhood friend to her, but there was also far too much of that Terror. The green eyes only emphasized the resemblance there. Finally, she sighed. "I knew Dini, once upon a time. Back when I was quite young."
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Posted: Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:14 pm
With a shuffling of her paws, Shomoro sat, tail brushing forward to rest alongside her. Listening to her mother's name on Sarabi's tongue, watching memory dawn, she smiled with a soft, genuine curiosity.
"You knew her?" Despite her mother's faults, she'd loved her, and now and then missed her. "Sickness took her, not long ago." A rueful smile flitted across her features, though it was not without fondness. "She was never much of a fighter, my mother."
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:55 am
Sarabi nodded slowly, her gentle face solemn. At the mention of her death, a shadow of pain etched over those noble features, then faded only to be replaced by a touch of sarrow. "It seems that sickness shall be what takes all of use that lived through the time of the rogues... I myself am not long for this world, I'm afraid. I hear the stars calling to be at night." She shook her creamy golden head, the beads of her necklace clicking softly. "I hope Dini's last years of life were pleasant ones, with you there with her. She at least deserved to enjoy the attentions of her daughter, after what happened. And don't judge her too harshly by her nature to flee from a fight. She didn't learn that habit from the kindest of teachers, I'm afraid." The queen sighed gently, her bright eyes dark as they gazed at her forepaws, dark with old memories and old fears. How lucky she'd been to escape that fate, to not be the one beaten and cowed into submission, though they certainly tried.
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Posted: Mon May 01, 2006 8:23 am
As the queen admitted to her own failing health, Shomoro's bright eyes saddened, and her black-edged ears canted back just slightly. There was nothing she could say to such a thing, she could only nod, and let her expression speak.
"I did my best to please, to be a proper daughter," she assured, gaze falling to the tuft of her own tail. "I did what I could, and can only hope that it was enough."
"But I'm sorry that she never came back, and saw this place safe."
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 8:04 pm
Sarabi smiled, her features clearing of the past that haunted them. She'd put that behind her a long time ago. No need to go digging up old pain to relive. She had enough to worry about in the present. "I regret that as well. A pity she had to spend the end of her life in exile. But that time is passed now, and the circle has turned. Even in her death came new life, in the form of you, Shomoro. Its your time now, to live on as she would have wanted you to." The golden queen settled down to her stomach, paws stretched out sphinx-like before her. "What are you plans now, my dear? You are more than welcome to stay, to take up your place in the pride."
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Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 7:53 am
"I will," the pronunciation was as quiet as it was convicted. With Sarabi's words, Shomoro felt at once proud and yet daunted. She had a responsibility she'd never thought of, almsot a continuation of her life as a dutiful daughter. Free to be her own, to do as she wished, but to meet expectation. To honor Dini with more than fond memory, to do so with her very life. Not to become another version of her, no, Shomoro could never do that, anyway. But to live fully and happily, and to cherish that life, knowing how precious it was.
She bowed her head then, only to raise it, eyes shining, perhaps even with a tear or two collecting in those green depths. "I...I would like to stay, your highness. I can think of no better home than the one I was told of and dreamed of."
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