|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 8:20 pm
 Sekizen had been wondering, pondering for a very long while now... would he stay put in the Pridelands forever? Or should he meander away to distant lands to learn all there is to know? Conflict raged behind the recently-moody Juve's mask.
He'd been tiring of the boundaries of his homeland. Sekizen felt he'd seen all there was to see, known all there was to know... that he was interested in, anyway. The Juvenile knew that one could never understand everything, or get to know every blade of grass in an area, but that was no solace for his sudden urge. He felt no desire to linger here any more. His mother was the only thing keeping at his home.
Perhaps he'd make it a quick trip, perhaps he'd never return, and yet, perhaps he'd never get beyond the boundaries in the first place, even though he sat on the edge of them now... Something held him here, and something else pushed. Deep inside, Sekizen felt like he was being squished, but you couldn't tell from the outside. His face was calm and pensive.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 9:12 pm
The lioness had been up and about for a few hours now, making her rounds through the borders of the pridelands. She had decided that she'd like to do something more than hunting, with the abundance the pride already had, so she'd see about a Scouting position, or maybe better yet, head Scout. It would give her an excuse to be out and about and her family could tag along now and then. Just the solution for her otherwise bored state of mind.
Now she was making her way back along for the umpteenth time, spending most of her day between taking care of the recent litter and patrolling. She almost didn't spot the juvenille up ahead, but his mostly white fur did help him stand out amongst the lush grasses.
"Can't make up your mind?" She questioned, referring to his spot on the border, a place she'd found herself many a time before and after settling in with her family.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 9:28 pm
Sekizen's eyes didn't leave the horizon as he answered. "Yes." His voice was distant as he finished for a moment his contemplations. He pulled his mind away and looked up toward the adult. "I can't seem to make up my mind at all," He said much more attentively now. Sekizen had a habit of confiding in those whom he had never met, so he didn't mind spilling his plans to the stranger. "Part of me wants to leave, but something won't let me take another step. I do want to see what's out there..." his voice trailed off as he turned his emerald gaze back to that broad, endless horizon.
"There was a while when I thought I'd leave and never come back, but now, it seems that I've got an unseverable tie to these lands," he continued, his voice hazy again. For one so young, he seemed relatively troubled. Did most strike out at his age? Or was he, as always, being ahead of the game as far as mental development went? He couldn't help but silently wonder.
"I'm Sekizen, by the way," he added, looking back up to the lioness. She no doubt would be the one to sway him one way or the other, whether she liked it or not. He was confident, though, that she wouldn't lead him down the wrong path. The adult looked wise to him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 9:45 pm
"Mosi." She answered with her name.
No doubt if Mosi had come across the youth just a little over half a year ago she wouldn't have known where to start, having been so inexperienced with kids back then. Hell, she still thought their little squirts were a handful, but she loved them all the same.
"It's not that easy, leaving home the first time. I actually had the same exact problem when I was your age."
Her parents weren't exactly naturals. Her mother probably would've worried if they ever disappeared but she'd never indicated that they couldn't wander off either.
"You know what I realized, is you should try to follow your feelings the best way you can. If you feel like it's not time to go yet, then stay until it does feel right. It probably means you have something you're supposed to do here that you haven't yet. But look at it this way, when you get older nothing is stopping you from exploring either."
She wasn't usually this.... she didn't usually give advice, Ezzy had been the only one she ever talked to like this, but she was taking her own words to heart, doing what felt right and that was sharing a little self-educated wisdom with someone not too much unlike herself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 10:00 pm
Sekizen watched her while she spoke, practically hanging on the lioness's every word. He greatly valued the opinions of those who had seen more days than he had. He was glad to hear that he was neither early nor late in his urge to leave- he was not different. The very thought was beautiful to the juvenile. He didn't like how different from other cubs he was, when he was a cub. Even now, he was different than most in his age bracket. At any rate, that was Sekizen's problem to tackle.
He nodded as she finished. "I don't think I'm ready to leave yet, then," he admitted truthfully, making up his mind. It was a rare glimpse for anyone to delve this deep into the lion, but he felt there was no other way around it, and it wasn't like this was a major emotion. He rose to his feet and aimed himself inwards, back to the Pridelands. He gave a last look over his shoulder, as if to say, I shall conquer you some other day, looked up to Mosi, and asked her, "Shall we?" implying a walk back inlands.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:17 am
Mosi grinned a bit, watching the cub get to his paws again and turn to head back, easily moving into a slow stride so he could keep up.
"Traveling must be in your blood. Most of the families here are made up of rogue bloodlines." And more parents from those families wandered back out, at least that used to be the case. It was impossible to keep up with the very vast majority of lions in the pride, and there were a great many. "My folks were rogues, or grew up rogues anyway. Once my brother and I grew up they left to travel again themselves. How about your family, Sekizen?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 2:14 pm
His family... could they even be called that? It didn't matter what others said, he didn't consider his family to be whole; he didn't consider them to be real.
"My mother was a rogue, though, she didn't wander. She apparently lived just off the border most of her life, then finally joined the pride," Sekizen said, repeating the story just as he'd heard it. "My five siblings and I live with her, but I've only once glimpsed my father," Sekizen said, remembering those bright green eyes as clearly as he could see them now. All he needed to do to see his father was look into the water at his reflection- his own eyes were identical to those of his dad. "I'm not sure I want to track him down, but I think it would be nice to run into him again," Sekizen admitted.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:24 am
((By the way, O: is there anything Mosi might pick up from him at all as they're talking? (She's a seer, her visions and dreams tend to be random, triggered by her senses when she's awake.) Or anything you'd maybe like for her to notice or anything,))
Wow, he was pretty somber for a cub... or maybe it was the topic. He kind of reminded her of Ezeoha in his youth, except the youth beside her seemed genuinely serious, where as to Ezzy she was sure it had mostly just been sort of like a game. Sekizen was obviously completely serious when it came to this subject. It was a little akward talking so deeply about these kind of things with someone other than Juhudi, but she didn't feel so out of place that she changed the subject just yet.
"Five siblings, hm? Sounds like your mother has her paws full."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 3:52 pm
((He's been developing a secret crush on Nix, Dragons' goddess of lightning, though for now, he's in a bit of denial. She could see something like that, perhaps.))
"Yeah," he said, brightening considerably. His siblings brought him great joy, they truly did. "I don't hang out with them as often as I should, but they're great," He said, recalling the time Shin saved his life from bunches of hungry crocodiles. Yes, his siblings truly were appreciated by Sekizen, more than he let on.
"Mom surprisingly manages to keep tabs on all of us. I'm amazed by it, how she can manage to keep track of everyone, all the time, and go about her life as normal." He smiled up to the adult. It must be a mother thing, he thought to himself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 9:15 pm
"It's a mom thing." Mosi laughed, taking in his words with a grin, eyes smiling. "Which is a good thing since otherwise, I'd never keep my sanity intact. You should try to hang out with your brothers and sisters more while you can though. My brother and I have kind of grown apart since he found himself a girl and, well. Eventually it gets a little harder to find time... Do it while life is still simple."
She smiled over at the young male in an encouraging manner, ears twitching as a pair of antelope bound past in the direction of their herd in the distance, not too worried about a pair of lions moving at such a slow pace.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 9:29 pm
This Mosi seemed very wise to Sekizen. She seemed to have been through a lot of common issues, and had lots of good advice. "Yes, that seems smart," said the lightning-marked lion, looking up to the older female with a smile. He felt much more comfortable off the topic of his father, who caused him much unnecessary distress. Sekizen, too, took notice of the herd, but only out of the corner of his eye.
"How many cubs do you have?" He asked randomly; perhaps, if they were his age, he'd met them. Maybe Mosi knew his mom, he wouldn't know til he asked.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 9:55 pm
"Six all together if you count my first two, who still have a tendency to act like big babies from time to time. A son and a daughter, and they fight like a pair of three month old pups."
Though Mosi did snicker, perhaps an indication that she was exaggerating on at least some part of that.
"Four in the den right now, close to your age. Three girls and one boy. They could all stand to get out and make some friends yet, I think it won't be too much longer before they get tired of sitting around our tree."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 1:33 pm
"They must look something like you," he said, thinking of the few similarities he shared with his mother. Most could identify him as her son, anyway, due to his lightning-like marks that the two of them shared. "If I run into one of them, I'll definitely talk to them." Sekizen said with a nod.
"Have you ever met a goddess," He asked, before he could stop the words from coming out. He had been thinking about Nix a lot lately. More than was normal, even for such a cool experience as he had with her, going flying. Sekizen couldn't help but wonder if the gods and goddesses only blessed a few with their presence.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:16 pm
"Hmm... sort of. My sons, Shin'jougen and Kivuli, definitely favor my side of the family in color, but all of our daughters have varying shades of tan and brown, like their father. Most of them have leg markings like mine, or these weird symbols, so they wouldn't be too hard to find either." Mosi paused, taking in his second question, realizing she had never been so lucky. "Can't say I have, but... my great Aunt, Tai, the pride's storyteller, says that she's met two, and I think one of her sons did as well. There are all kinds of stories about the gods visiting the Pridelands. I've personally never seen one before though, so I can't say for sure I believe it."
With that, she drew her long winded replies to a close, simply choosing to leap atop of and walk over some bolders half buried in the ground in her path.
"Rumor has it, too, that there's a goddess that visits Pride Rock every so often. Kiva or something." Well, technically it was a rumor, and technically it was a vision, but that didn't really matter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:51 pm
"Kiva," He said quietly, trying to remember the name. Perhaps one day he'd run into her, whatever she was goddess of. He wasn't sure, though, he'd want to.
He also stored away the name, Tai, into his memory. Perhaps she'd met Nix, the individual she wanted to talk to others about, but he wanted them to know who he was talking about.
He was so involved in thought that he tripped over a rock and face-planted into the dirt, completely knocking off his train of thought and embarassing him pretty badly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
