Somehow, Lumina had guided Mwisho towards the land of shrines. She was doing her best to satisfy the awakening gods' desires, but the fear that nipped at her heels kept her from fully completing his request. There was nothing she could see past his final confrontation with his father....would that mean she even lived to see it? Or were her visions just giving her enough to keep her going forward?
The small black lioness walked slowly, picking at the grass as the trees above them began to block out much of the sun. Mwisho was next to her, thankfully having finally learned how to mask much of his markings of godhood. He was still very large, and the unsettling look in his eyes persisted...but at least the black holes of his wings didn't envelop everyone's attention as they picked past random guides and keepers. Lumina knew little about this place, other than it offered worship to all of the gods, regardless of if they really existed or not. Perhaps they could find enough information to keep Mwisho satisfied, at least for the moment. She would live another day, and find another lie to tell to keep herself alive.
Not too far away, Mo'onasi was visiting her son who tended to her shrine. He was still in fine health, although older; a reality that she hadn't considered when she willingly had mortal offspring. Still...knowing that one of her own god children had rescinded his powers for another, she learned rather quickly that life was fragile, god or mortal. He had wandered off to get some food, and the goddess was reclining near her shrine. There was one large, very pretty shrine stone that he had polished beautifully. She was gently feeling the soft surface with her paw, her wings hanging down her sides as she lay on top of the stone. Her tail was brushing the tops of some other small shrines to her honor, and she felt...at peace, for a moment.
Her eyes opened up to see a small black lioness with a large companion seemingly wandering aimlessly. Strange....shouldn't they have a guide with them? It was true that visitors were not required to have a guide, but these rocky, mountainous lands were easy to get lost in, if one wasn't careful enough. Some of the shrines were more hidden than others, although with her being Love, it was one of the largest and most central shrines in the Ulili'Mlinaji.
Lumina glanced over towards what appeared to be one of the largest shrines here. Really, everything that seemed to grow in size was fluffy, annoying domains; things she had been deprived of her entire life. Who wanted fertility, love, even happiness? It made her ears pin against her skull, the idea that others actually received those things willingly, all their lives, and couldn't be bothered to share. Just praise the gods, like it was entirely the gods' will that Lumina's life had been awful.
And right before her was Love's shrine. Her blue eyes locked onto the olive ones of the lion that was sitting on the shrine, but it took her too long to notice the wings. As Mwisho had been her sole company for nearly her entire life, the little mortal Seer didn't think much of anything whenever she saw lion-sized wings.
Mwisho noticed them immediately.
The power that began to radiate from her companion made Lumina's fur stand on end. "No, no nonono," she whispered at him, hissing as quietly as she could. "Don't do this here, you're going to blow our cover." They had never attempted to infiltrate a pride so deeply, and the little lioness had no idea how they would both get out of a populated place safely. She feared that he would leave her, and she would be left alone to suffer the consequences.
"Finally," Mwisho growled, his wings unfurling from out of no where, the horns emerging on his skull. His voice was deep and full of venom, like the walls that had held him back released the cascade of fury for so many years. "Finally, Lumina, you have fulfilled part of your promise. It is not the prize that I desire, but it is half of what must be done." He lunged towards the shrine, his eyes nearly vibrating with the anger that had consumed him for all the years he had slept.
"No!" Lumina yelled, trying to run after him even as many eyes turned her way with her cry. One of those pairs of eyes was Mo'onasi's, and she quickly realized that danger was rushing towards her. She hadn't a clue what was happening, but that large companion of the small female's had clearly been hiding what he was. She lunged behind the large shrine, keeping her wings tight to her body to fly upwards. She had gotten better at avoiding danger over the years, but the large size of her attack mirrored the large size of Dath, the male that she hadn't attempted to see in many, many years.
Mwisho stopped just short of crashing into the shrine, snapping his wings wide open as they cast an even deeper shadow onto the shrine. He could see glimpses of his mother's form, her body tense as she was ready to flee. And yet, she didn't. "Mother." To see her hiding was something that infuriating him and validated his feelings altogether. Here she was, hiding from him, like she had left him to be sealed, so long ago.
"Mother?" Momo whispered, her eyes glancing up enough to meet with the strange, dark god's own. Who was he? She didn't remember birthing anything like him. The darkest child she had ever carried was poor, sweet Kituko, weak to her own source of power. What was he talking about? She was being very careful to keep herself away from him, watching his body movements as best she could.
Lumina finally reached them, and tried to push Mwisho away. "What are you doing?? We can't do this here," she hissed, but he pushed her away. He was completely focused on the goddess in front of him. Her eyes darted around, but she caught sight of the pendant that rested on the striped goddess' chest. It wasn't the same, of course, but it was jarringly similar to the one that He kept with him at all times.
So...was this really his mother?
"Don't pretend you've forgotten," he snarled, anger rising into his chest. "You were the one who abandoned me to him, and yet you plea that you do not know me? Foolish." He rushed towards her, and the striped goddess seemingly disappeared in a flash.
Momo's thoughts were folding in upon themselves. Who was this? Why did he call her mother? She had god children, yes, but none of them were like him....she had to get away, to spare this place of worship. So she fled. She had a feeling he would follow, but she had learned over the years how best to flea from other gods; there was no way he could follow her quickly enough.
"Damn it," Mwisho growled. He snatched up Lumina, his only key to following his mother, and disappeared instantly.
It was eerily quiet near Love's shrine, except there was a small crack on the top of Momo's shrine.
(1,221 words)