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 Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 6:52 pm
When the lioness, Xinavane, started laughing, Zuru winced at first at the loud sound, but found that he was soon laughing right alongside her. Despite his headache, it actually felt good to just let loose and laugh for awhile, even though their previous circumstances hadn't exactly been a laughing matter. It was just suddenly funny.
After they had both died down, Zuru smiled as Xinavane declared them equal on the rescuing front, and winked at her.
"Well, Ah don' know, Ah'd say that Ah still feel I'm much obliged to ya for rescuin' me." he said, his eyes probing hers with a serious sincerity. "If'ns there's anythin' Ah can do for ya, jus' give me the say-so, an Ah'll do my right best to see it through. S'truth."
Zuru winced as the headache wound up a notch, and laid his head upon the cool stones. But his eyebrows rose back up when she mentioned another God.
"Now, Ah reckon that's a bit of a rarity there. Not many of you honest types meet Gods, an' here you've met two? Mind if Ah ask who was the first?"
He managed a roguish smile, attempting to coax her into the story, since he sensed there was something about it that put her on guard.
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Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 9:43 pm
Xinavane saw him wince, and kept her voice down as she lay down on the cool stones as well, closing her eyes, "I don't even know what his name was... He was very odd. Didn't talk a lot... it was just by chance that I met him, really. He looked like he was made of clouds..." She opened her eyes, "Really, he wasn't very chatty, not like you. It was like... someone had left something somewhere that he wanted to get back too, but he couldn't remember where it was." She glanced at the God, "Honestly, you're way better than he was... I thought he was going to fall asleep talking to me. I think he might have."
She snorted, but kept it quiet, "I used to hate Gods." She wasn't entirely sure where she planned to go with that... she had hated Gods, then she had convinced herself they didn't really exist... but after meeting two of them, it seemed to be getting harder to do, "I had reasons... but you're not so bad... not the ones I've met... but I guess there must be bad ones and good ones too... right?" She asked, sighing.
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 12:13 pm
Zuru lifted his head a bit to listen as Xinavane told him about the previous God she had met. At the mention of clouds, he grinned, and interrupted for a bit. "Well, a good rule of dewclaw is that if there's somethin' ya can readily see on a God, he's pro'bly the God of tha' bailiwick. So, Ah'm guessin' God o' Clouds. Ah haven't met 'im. From the way you describe 'im, 'e might 'ave been God a Daydreamin', though." he added thoughtfully, after she had finished.
Her admittance surprised Zuru, though he did his best to remain calm and cool, well, as much as he could with his mane dripping water onto his nose. But he maintained an open, 'Ah'm listenin' expression. It seemed this was the source of her hesitation that he'd felt. He couldn't read her mind, but her voice seemed to speak for the facts she wasn't telling.
"You've been hurt."
It wasn't a question.
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 3:42 pm
Xinavane blinked, a little shocked at his openness. Expressing her 'feelings' had never really been a big part of her life. Admitting she had been hurt... well, that wasn't even a concept, "Maybe... sort of a... a family hurt. Where we were from... because of the Gods they worshipped, they wanted to sacrifice my mother or my aunt... but my father refused to kill them... So we spent most of my childhood on the run... They wanted us all to pay, because my father couldn't kill an innocent lioness in the name of a God..." She looked away, knowing this was the first time she had ever shared the 'story of her life' so to speak, "Gods... prides... I hated them all for such a long time..."
She shook her head, "But after I traveled a bit... I kept meeting lions from good prides... and then I met that cloud-God, and now I've met you... which is kinda... Spinning my head a bit. It makes the world harder to see in black and white."
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Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:39 am
Zuru closed his eyes and shook his head. It was impossible to know whether or not her family had been praying to any actual God, but live sacrifices... That made him angry. But there wasn't much he could do about it. For one thing, it was in the past, and even if she knew where to find them, Zuru wasn't the type to go specifically looking for a certain place. If he happened to wander into them, however...
One other problem was, if their God was real, and there was a good chance he/she was, since the faith of the mortal lions was sustenance to Gods, he/she wouldn't take too kindly to the God of Wanderlust intruding on their bailiwick. There were, indeed, Good and Evil Gods.
What Zuru could do now was support Xinavane. He could tell she'd been wandering for a time, and, just as any such journey should do, it had broadened her horizons. It brought him ease of mind to know his domain still had a positive influence on the mortal lions.
"Black an' white is what you see when all the other choices 'ave been taken from ya." he agreed, laying his head back upon his paws, and closing his eyes against his headache. "Wanderin', well, it's freedom, plain an' simple. Though if ya happen ta meet a God o' Freedom, don' tell him Ah said that. An' part of why yor able to see some other colors, is 'cause you were given a choice to meet those lions, Xinavane."
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Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 3:48 pm
"For someone who talks so funny, you certainly do have a lot of interesting things to say." Xinavane said, laying her head down on her paws and looking at him, "And don't worry, I try to avoid Gods when I can... though for some reason that doesn't seem to be working so well for me. But I won't tell the God of Freedom anything, promise..." She said, crossing her paw over her heart, "Cross my heart and hope to die."
She took a better, thoughtful look at him. Really, he was a good guy. "You're quite a piece of work... not in a bad way or anything, but you aren't want what I expected. I mean... my only experience with Gods comes from the crazy one my parents used to worship, and the cloud god... who was a bit... you know, odd." She laughed a little, "I don't know, you just seem very reasonable, that's all." She stared off a little, "So... thanks for being normal."
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Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 7:40 pm
Zuru's mouth pulled back in a grin as Xinavane crossed her heart, and he chuckled.
"Ah thank ye, kindly." he replied. "But, considerin' the past hour, let's leave the dyin' part out."
He met her eyes as she sorted out her thoughts, and smiled warmly, but with apparent amusement at being called 'normal'. It wasn't often that anyone called him normal, God or mortal. Still, coming from her to him, he knew it was compliment, so he nodded, accepting it in the spirit it was given.
"Thanks for bein' crazy 'nough to help out a fool lion, Xinavane. You were pretty darn resourceful back there, y'know. As well as jus' bein' pretty darn pretty."
He smiled roguishly at the last bit. In truth, the headache had started to fade, and Zuru could feel his body slowly restoring its reserves of energy. Along with it came a renewed optimism. With an experimental twitch, though, he learned that his foot would need a bit more time. It wouldn't take too long, thankfully. Being a God did have its perks.
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Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 3:44 pm
"Right, no dying." Xinavane agreed, with a short snort, "Might not be such a big deal for you... but I think it might be a bit of an issue for me. I can't go dying just now. Still young and all." She mentioned, with a short laugh.
"Yeah well, I've always been a resourceful one." She said with pride, but his next comment made her blush. And blush a lot. She had never well... no, she was quite certain that she had never been called pretty before. And she had never been called pretty by a God, "Well... I... I'm not really pretty..." She said quietly, not entirely sure how to respond to that particular compliment. She was used to being called 'tough' or maybe even 'cold' or 'resourceful'. Pretty was new. It was girly. She didn't know what to do with it.
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 2:32 pm
The blush the spread across Xinavane's face at Zuru's compliment was something to behold. Zuru watched with great amusement and fascination as she changed color, and the stuttered protest was downright adorable. He laughed in good humor, teasing her a little, as he nudged her slightly with his paw.
"Now, don' tell me no one's ever told you, you were pretty!" he exclaimed, incredulously. "With those fiery orange eyes, cute pink nose, and those speckles on yor flanks there? You remind me of the small fires two-leggers make to keep themselves warm up high in the mountains. Somethin' any male lion worth his mane would like to snuggle up against on a cold night."
Zuru conjured up a small illusion as he spoke. Soft, white flakes began to fall against the suddenly dark sky. Pine trees surrounded them, wearing tidy white caps of snow on their branches. In front of them, a small campfire cast a warm glow across the snow. The orange light mixed against the purple shadows, creating a color tapestry that echoed Xinavane's pelt.
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 8:22 pm
If Xinavane could have turned a deeper shade of red, she likely would have, "But I... I'm not... No, no one has ever... I mean... I'm... I'm just... I'm not anything special... I mean... I just... well I'm..." Xinavane would have rather fought off six demon prides than this. She had never felt so embaressed in her entire life! And the illusion wasn't improving it. She just looked down.
"I'm just... I'm reckless... I'm a fighter... I'm not supposed to be..." But what was she supposed to be? Anything? Nothing? No one had ever told her. She looked away, "Why are you saying all this? I'm just... I thought I was..." What? What was she supposed to say to all this praise? Really?
But the illusion was so beautiful, and she had never seen one before, "I'm sorry... I don't know what I'm saying." Really, that was the truth. No clue. She was completely lost. "I mean... no males have ever... They didn't... No one ever paid any attention to me... you know... that way... before..." Charmed. She was being charmed. Won over. And by a God. She just wasn't sure how she felt about it yet.
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 9:23 pm
When Xinavane's sentences broke down into unintelligible jibberish, Zuru listened patiently, his smile turning into a gentle glow in the firelight. She was a fighter, alright. Fast and resourceful when the going was tough, hesitant and afraid when it came to opening herself up to another. It had probably been necessary, considering what she'd told him about her former pride. Dropping her defenses, and learning to trust someone wasn't easy, when you lived in the same head as those kind of memories.
"You don' have to be anythin' you don' wanna be." Zuru told her simply, his voice dropped low, only for her ears to hear. "An' you don' have to do anythin' you don' wanna do."
He caught her orange eyes with his own blue ones. They spoke with complete sincerity the invitation that was left unsaid. Zuru held her gaze for a moment, then turned away to stare into the illusionary flame. She looked like she needed time to think. So, he gave her that time, and waited for her to make her decision.
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:02 pm
Xinavane finally took a deep breath and calmed herself down. Her blush dissapeared and she gave a short nod, "Sorry. I shouldn't have been... I was..." She sighed again, rubbing her head, "No one ever told me things like that. Maybe I never gave anyone the oppertunity..." She sighed.
"Sorry. I need to stop saying that." Xinavane said, standing up, "I'm not sorry. And you know what? I AM pretty." She smirked at that, "I happened to be very pretty. In fact, I'm excellent. I'm better than excellent." No... no, that was no good. She sighed and hung her head, "I'm a flop at being vain..." She looked back at him, smiling sadly, "Sorry... I didn't think..."
She looked down, "I'm no good at this..." She shook her head, "I'm being stupid and you're trying to be nice to me. I don't know how to take a compliment. Or give one. Or do much of anything... I would have gotten us both killed if you weren't a God... Why am I such an idiot?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 4:52 pm
"You were takin' a step in the right direction there, Xinavane." Zuru said, kindly, rising to three legs, and gently putting the fourth foot down. Nearly there. He sat on his haunches gingerly, and swept his long tail around to cover his paws. "An' really, it was mah fault for gettin' in that fool's mess. Ifn's there's anyone who should be called an idiot in this scene, it's me, darlin'."
"S'truth." he said, with some amount of force behind the word, to forestall any protests on her part. "It's not that you didn' know what to do, it's that ya came to help, in spite o' that."
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Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 6:57 pm
"Thanks..." Xinavane said, honestly, "It's wierd... you're the first person who has ever told me that I'm pretty... but you're also the first lion to tell me I did the right thing. And I did. I'm glad I did... I'm glad I helped." She nodded, grinning at him, "And that's all something special isn't it? I've never... I've never done anything by myself like that before. Just gone right out and done it."
She bowed her head a little. A step in the right direction... towards helping others, and making sure that no one else would ever suffer as she and her family had. This was a sign. It had to be. A sign that she was on the right path. That she could help. That maybe she could make a difference... one way or another.
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Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 7:48 pm
Zuru's grin and eyes shone brighter than the firelight as he listened to Xinavane work things out for the better. He'd hoped that she would gain some confidence from this. Honestly, he wouldn't have known what to do if she'd remained in her funk. It was not just obligation he felt towards her, for freeing him, but he really did think she was pretty.
There was also some professional pride in his grin. He'd been aware of her recent wandering right from the moment he'd called out to her. She was growing to enjoy the essence of what it meant to wander, to see new things, and gain new perspectives. She wasn't a true kindred spirit, he could also tell, since, from what he said, and what he could sense, she had another purpose in life that would eventually call her to other things. But that was the way of the world, and truthfully, Zuru felt she needed it.
The adolescent God let the illusion slowly fade away, as he turned his attention to rising to his feet. The illusion of warm fire was lovely, but the reality was that they had been sitting on the shore for quite awhile now, and the cold Zuru had been feeling was not an illusion. Cautiously, he placed his back foot down, and found that it would accept his weight.
"Ah'm glad yor glad." he said, with a slightly pained smile as he limped, only slightly, over to stand beside her. "An yor darn right, it's special. Not many honest folk'd risk it, but you did. Ya didn't even think 'bout leavin' me, either. Ah'd say that shows yer real character right there. So, Ah reckon you should 'ave a bit more faith in yerself."
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