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 Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 8:40 pm
Mtima watched Shemshi silently, sadly, taking a hesitant step closer but then stopping and letting the yellow lioness decide for herself how she was going to handle it. This was why Mtima couldn't have let Amadet off the hook, why she'd done what she had done, why she went through with finding them instead of leaving them alone. Perhaps they were better off not knowing, but they as much as Wahabu had a right to know the truth and know each other.
When Shemshi stepped closer and buried her face into her chest, Mtima could have cried herself. But this was not meant to be an entirely sad union, no- there was a happy, bright side to the whole conversation. She put on a sad smile and with a gentle nuzzle she leaned back a bit to speak to Shemshi.
"There is some good news, jini," she said, using an affectionate term she had not used in a long time and clearing her throat to regain a more hopeful tone, "Your brother and sisters are going to the Pridelands to meet your real father. Wahabu is a good lion, he is eager to meet you all! You still have them, you still have your siblings and now you have us."
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Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 7:33 pm
Shemshi pulled back a little bit to a more comfortable distance for talking. She sighed lightly, sniffled and blinked several times. One of the good things about red eyes was they didn't change when she cried. She rubbed the right side of her face on her left front leg, and then looked up at Mtima. The pet name she used, jini, made Shemmie smile. She wasn't sure why, but it just seemed to have a nice ring to it. Something about it seemed right, like it fit into a puzzle. It was like the song of a bird on a bright blue day, or a bell ringing in the dark. It just stuck out as something good and something to like. Of course, there were far too many other things on her mind for her to pay too much attention to it.
The little yellow lioness managed to smile softly at her grandma. It was true, really. Shemshi might be losing something here, but really, she was gaining much more. With the truth came a sense of new direction. And, with a different father, came family. Family outside of siblings. Family who didn't abandon. "Wahabu." She repeated the name quietly, testing how it felt to say it. "Are they... already going? To the Pridelands, I mean. My sisters and brother." She was beginning to get back that bright light in her eyes, visibley cheering up. Mtima was right. Shemmie had them to lean on. She had them to count on. And, as far as meeting her father went, she had something to look forward to.
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Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 7:48 pm
Shemshi's smile reinforced Mtima's own, and she brightened up considerably not that the yellow lioness seemed to be looking on the brighter side of things. Wahabu and his family were good lions to know, they were a large family in themselves and she knew that they put a high value on all family.
She nodded when Shemshi asked more about it, cheering up more visibly.
"Yes, Pepo was the last to leave your home in the Swamp and I caught him nearing a time he expected to be leaving," she explained, "They are considerably closer to the Pridelands from there than you are from here. It is a large pride with distinct landmarks, even at a greater distance you should have no trouble finding it- if you wish to meet them there."
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Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 8:09 pm
So, Shemmie concluded, it should take her longer to reach the Pridelands than her siblings. She didn't mind that one bit, though. Sure, she was excited to be able to see her siblings so soon. She was so close to them and she missed them so much it was only natural. And she was now excited to meet this Wahabu, her father. Her real father. At the same time, though, she was nervous. After all, she was meeting her DAD! There was nothing to compare that to. She hadn't even known this lion existed until a few moments ago, and now she was going to go meet him.
Then, on top of that, she couldn't help but think about the possibility that her siblings might've already found their names. She was hopeful to discover her own soon, especially now with all of this new knowledge. She felt practically like a new lioness. Though she was still obviously upset over the circumstances, and her skin had yet to stop prickling, she truely felt like this gave her life a new direction. With this feeling, it seemed like Shemshi was falling behind, and whoever she was now was just waiting to jump out in the open.
"Grandma..." She paused for a second, smiling. It was nice to call somebody that. "Does Wahabu - Does my dad have a family?" She was a little afraid of the answer, but also excited. After all, she couldn't hold it against him. She didn't even know him! Yet. She wondered if this was a small family she was now a part of, or if it was much larger.
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Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 8:23 pm
All Mtima had left to do now was explain and answer any questions that Shemshi might ask. She didn't have to worry so much, it was actually quite the relief. She did not like that she had caused such distress, and perhaps it would return later on when Shemshi had a chance to think about it herself.. but it would work out in the end, Shemshi would find her family, find out how good this truly could be.
"W-well," she paused, almost laughing at the question for the simple answer that the answer was actual on the extreme end of the scale of possibilities, and it wasn't zero. But it was also a little worrisome, she wasn't sure what answer Shemshi wanted to hear.
"Well, yes he does," she said finally, "He and his mate have eight cubs, all grown by now, I'd say." My, it'd been a while since she'd run into Manuku and Jasiri'maji. But she was certain they must have grown up considerably since then.
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Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 3:55 pm
"Eight." She stared at Mtima, a little stunned. Of course, she herself was from a rather large litter, too, but EIGHT? Why, she'd never heard of such a large group before. "Goodness." She shook her head a little. Wahabu and his mate must've had a pawfull when their kids were young! And to think, now she and her five siblings were going to go meet them all. That'd certainly be an interesting situation, to say the very least. Were they still around the den, she wondered to herself. After all, she and her siblings had all left their home when they came of age. Of course, there were different customs in the swamps than in the Pridelands, she assumed. Perhaps in the Pridelands, kids stayed with their parents a lot longer.
"Well, of course they're expecting us, right? I'm sure they're all wonderful." She tried to picture the ten lions in her head. She pictured a bunch of lions with familiar-yellow and maybe even some of that Pepo-purple mixed in. She didn't have a clue as to what to picture for Wahabu's mate, so she just picked a generic tan. "How far away is this place?" Her voice was getting dreamy as she imagined the first meeting.
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Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 7:26 pm
Mtima couldn't help but giggle when Shemshi repeated the number in amazement. It was a reaction she was sure Wahabu and Intombi got reasonably often. At least Shemshi didn't appear horrified or disappointed. It might make it harder to adjust, make it harder to meet everybody and learn all the names.. but Wahabu, without a doubt, would make sure everybody got to talk to him privately if they wanted. And as everyone was grown, they were sure to start dispersing a bit themselves.
"They are expecting you," she confirmed cheerily, and then looked off in the direction she had come. It was hard for her to judge the distance where she was flying a lot of the time now. Flight or teleportation would make it very quick, but on foot..
"Forgive me if I'm off, I didn't walk the whole way myself," she apologized beforehand and looked back at Shemshi after another slight hesitation, "By paw, depending how fast you go, several days minimum. It's quite the ways, it's fortunate I spotted you even after this amount of time!"
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Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 6:51 pm
Shemshi her mind wander again and nodded slowly. Several days. She felt like that was too soon, almost. She was super excited about meeting her real father, and meeting a family and even being a part of a family. Especially a family so large, for that matter. Somewhere in her mind, off to the side, she made a huge note to sit down and have a nice chat with every single one of those eight siblings she never knew she had. Hopefully, they were all still at home. Or at least close by home. Then, on top of that, she was even more excited about seeing the siblings she knew she had again. It'd been so long since the last time she'd looked at any of them, talked to any of them, had a chance to tell them how she felt about this or that. She practically ached to see them again.
At the same time, though, it all just seemed too fast. She felt like she was being pulled forward, tugged by the fur that connected her to this family. She tried not to let it show as much as the warmth and excitement did, but it was hard for her to hide her emotions. It wasn't that she didn't want to see all of them. It was just... the poor girl needed time to digest everything. She'd just had such a load dropped on her, and for now she was swallowing it and just moving on to the next topic. Later, however, it would come back. It was impossible for it not to.
Also, she was feeling like an entirely new lioness now. Her view on the world had been changed by this one meeting. "Several days. Hmmm." She nodded again. Somehow, she knew it would take her longer than the minimum amount. She needed time out here in the open, alone, to think all of this over.
Cocking her head to the side, she made eye contact with her grandma again. "Where are you going now? Once you leave here, I mean."
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 11:11 pm
Mtima could see the wonder and worry on Shemshi's face, the little lioness was very expressive even if she didn't want to be. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, though. The goddess found it quite endearing, and part of her had to wonder just how much of Amadet's genetics this lovely girl had really gotten. Crazy thing that that brown lioness was. She watched Shemshi and waited patiently for her response, nodding when she spoke again.
"Several days, if you were in a hurry," she said, "And I don't expect there is a great need to rush. They aren't going anywhere." At least, the Prideland's bunch wasn't. Wahabu, at least.
"Where am I going?" Mtima repeated thoughtfully, then shrugged and smiled, "I don't know, I've been working at figuring this whole messy situation out for a while it might be nice to take a break. You need no more divine intervention, do you?" She asked with a laugh, joking.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 5:27 pm
"Oh, I see. I think it might take me a bit more than several days..." In fact, she would purposely take her time. She just needed a little time to herself to think all of this over before she met her father. And her eight half siblings. And saw her five siblings again. Then again, would she even be seeing all five of them? It bothered her to think that she might not see some of them for an even longer period of time. For the moment, she just assumed she'd end up back in the swamplands some day and that all of her siblings would be back there as well, so she didn't think she'd never see some of them again. She did, however, think it could be quite the while.
The little lioness couldn't help but wince a tad at her grandma's wording. Messy situation. Yes, it was quite the mess. She felt bad for the goddess, though, having to go around out of her way, searching for grandchildren she had never met before, being the bearer of bad news and all. It was a job Shemmie herself wouldn't have wanted to do. She might've done it if it was absolutely neccesary, but she wouldn't have liked it at all. She tried to recover from the wince by chuckling. "No, I suppose I can keep myself out of trouble. Just so you can have a break." She winked, getting a little bit more of her cheerfulness back ever few moments. It was difficult to stay glum.
All of a sudden, her expression changed. She looked as if an idea had physically smacked into her skull. "Oh! Well. Maybe not intervention, but..." She paused, biting the corner of her bottom lip with a single sharp canine. "Maybe some imagination?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 6:05 pm
There were very few things that Mtima'safi would not do for her mortal family, top of the list was watching the die and nearby was living permanently with them. She loved them, she wanted to see them, know them, be known by them.. so she was happy to get this worked out. They would all be happier, or they should be. Wahabu was good family. Especially compared to Amadet, but then Mtima was biased.
She almost regretted her wording when Shemshi flinched, but waited- and smiled brightly when Shemshi said she'd stay out of trouble and winked.
"Very good, then," she laughed. Then she tilted her head curiously at the change of expression and very sudden and.. unusual request. "Imagination?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 6:15 pm
Ever since she had learned she would be finding a new name some day, Shemmie had wondered endlessly about how such a thing would happen. Would a little spirit hidden in a flower whisper it to her? Would she find it in the leaves of a foreign tree? Would it be shaped out somehow in the puddles of her swampy homelands? Would she meet some mysterious creature in the middle of the night who would speak one word to her, her new title, and then disappear in the blink of an eye? Of course, she had been known to have quite the imagination. Especially as a youngster. So most of these scenarios seemed a tad ridiculous. Still, though, now that she had spent such a very long time searching, she couldn't help but continue to wonder exactly what she was searching for. Now, however, she was beginning to understand. This whole new name thing, it wasn't just a name. It was like growing up, really, and making sure the end result was different from the beginning. Of course, Shemmie knew she had changed, but the world couldn't tell by simply looking at her. So a new name would mark her as a changed girl.
After such a simple meeting, the lioness had clearly grown up some. It hadn't all happened in this one little conversation, of course, but still this meeting had been like the climax. It was like the beginning of a ripple. From here on out, things were going to be different for her. There was no doubt in that. She already felt new. Now, all she needed was that symbol of change. And why not have her grandma help her with that? It made sense to Shemmie. After all, her grandma was almost a symbol herself of what change had gone through this small yellow lioness. "Mhmm. I don't know how much traveling you've done, but back home - back where I'm from, we go out and find new names when we've grown up. I always wondered how that would happen. How do you find a new name? But now I get it. Grandma... can you name me?" She looked up at the goddess, everything about her smiling, her red eyes bright.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 7:22 pm
The conversation was lighter now, less tense and considerably more cheerful. So the goddess took a seat, folding her wings neatly on her back as she Shemshi explained- almost guessing where it was going when she mentioned finding new names. Pepo had mentioned this already, it was a curious traditions that Mtima rather liked. She was smiling as Shemshi got through her explanation and finally asked if the goddess would give her her new name.
It was an unusual request, and quite the honor to be asked to help with something so meaningful. And finally it was help she was more than happy to offer.
"Oh my," she said brightly, her smile wide, "It's been a while since I've named anybody." The goddess thought back to the birth of her two babies, Wahabu and Kilango. It wasn't so long ago as far as gods go, but it was quite the ways. She had named Wahabu, her little love.. and Kizamaji had named Kilango, a watery name for the blue girl, following a tradition within his family. And then she thought about names that would suit Shemshi, looking her over but seeming to focus on her eyes most thoughtfully.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 7:38 pm
It hadn't occured to Shemshi until just then that this very goddess had named the father she was soon to meet. That would be something they would have in common, then! Maybe even a good thing to talk about. 'Hi, Dad... Did you know Grandma named me, too?' She bit back a giggle at the thought of that, but still filed it away for later. After all, what else was she going to talk about with him when they finally met? Maybe she could tell him what it's like to grow up in a swamp. Or maybe she could talk to him about the spirits? She wondered if Pridelanders believed in such things as spirits. Maybe she could teach him all about it, if he didn't already know it! And he could teach her about his family. About their family.
She raised her head a bit and curled her tail around her as Mtima gave her the look over. It was an automatic response to being observed. She held eye contact, still bright and cheery. It couldn't be very easy to come up with a name, so she sat there in pleseant silence, not wanting to disrupt her grandma's train of thought.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:02 pm
Shemshi reminded Mtima a great deal of Wahabu. She was yellow, their yellow, she had his eyes- well, one color of them but still his eyes. She was an extremely good soul as far as Mtima could tell, and she had handled all of this quite well all things considered. And she had the spots.
The pressure was on, Shemshi was waiting patiently for a response and this was not the same as naming a cub. A cub grew up with the name, they didn't have a chance to not like their name it just was..
So it had to be perfect.
"Jini," she said suddenly, glancing from a second looking-over back to Shemshi's eyes, remembering the out-of-use affectionate term that had popped back into use in their conversation. And here she paused thoughtfully, and it was quite evident she wasn't done.
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