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 Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 12:27 am
Shaitani wandered through the jungle in a seemingly random fashion, following a trail only she could see, for a purpose that she probably didn't event know. It wasn't an odd thing, to see her slipping through the undergrowth like a ghost in the shadows, this restless travel a usual habit for her.
As she paced, she hummed to herself, a tuneless little ditty she'd either heared somewhere, or more likely, made up. It soothed her when she hummed, and other creatures probably liked it because it warned them of her approach and let them stay out of sight. Shai was erratic at the best of times, and down right deadly at the worst.
But for now, the red and white lioness had adopted her more innocent persona, taking simple pleasure in humming and wandering, eyes wide and staring at the many dancing shadows around her.
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 12:44 am
 Chui yawned, stretching his limbs whilst still resting lazily atop a low branch on the tree that happened to be closest to him at the time. He refused to open his eyes, afraid to be fully awake as he still felt like sleeping. After all, there was almost never anything to do but eat, sleep, and get fat and lazy in the jungle anyway. Perhaps that leopardess had been right, perhaps he was finally getting tired of the place..
He snorted at the thought, then finally opened an eye as a pleasant tune caused his ear to twitch a little bit. With a smile on his maw he looked down to see a lioness passing by. "Hello down there!" he greeted, subconsciously assuming that she wasn't the very hostile type judging from what she was humming.
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 1:23 am
Shai froze as she heard a voice calling to her. Her head swung as she darted a glance around her.
"Ah, see now... Shaitani is hearing voices now, that's certainly new." She growled, before it disolved into a not-too-stable giggle. "Shai might be crazy, but she never heard voices before. See now, my love? Its gotten worse!" Laughter poured from her, bubbling like a river over rapids.
Assuming the voice came from her own head, the lioness turned to go and flop down beside a tree, enjoying the velvety darkness around her. Ironicly, the same tree the caller lazed in, though the lioness had not chosen it for that reason. She only wanted a comfortable to lay and ponder this new development, maybe see if the voices would speak to her again. It was a novel thing, and she planned to enjoy it... It wasn't every day that one got their very own disembodied voice to talk to them!
"Speak again, of voice of insanity! Your daughter is listening!" She called out, falling into giggles.
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 10:44 pm
The leopard chuckled aloud, her response definitely not something he'd expected. It was, to him, nothing short of amusing, and it had made him a lot less tired than he had initially forced himself to believe. Perhaps he'd finally met someone a lot stranger than himself, and with continued laughter he swiftly made his way down off the branch and landed gently on the other side of the trunk.
"No," he said with a broad smile, "I'm not an inner voice. The name's Chui, nice to meet you."
In two fluid motions he was about two feet away from her, in a sitting position, the smile now beginning to fade. His amusement from her silliness, however, was still reflected in his salmon pink eyes. It wasn't everyday that he ran into such a lioness, or into any lioness for that matter. Perhaps lions weren't always as intimidating as most of the stories he'd heard let on. But then again....
"That was a nice tune," the leopard continued, pushing all but pleasant thoughts to the back of his mind. "Might I ask where you heard it? Or did you come up with it yourself?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 5:29 pm
Shaitani stared as the voice became embodied, and that body set itself... or, himself, right before her eyes. For a long moment, she stared, then began to giggle, a hint of something not-quite-right in the sound.
"Oh, how rich... now I'm seeing things. Look, dear, there's a leopard there, came right out of my mind to speak to me!" She laughed as she slapped a paw against the ground, her tail curling and flicking against her flank.
"You're not real." She told him matter-of-factly. "You can't be. I heard you inside my head, and now my head has created you a body of your own!" Her giggles died down as she looked him over, turning her head this way and that, as though thinking he might disappear on her. "I'm insane, everyone knows that, so of course you're part of my insanity..."
A little smile curved on her face, but it was slightly sad, as though this was all just a joke at her expense, and though she tried to laugh at it... it still wasn't all that funny anymore. Seems Shai was vaguely lucid today... enough, at least, to recognize it and to know herself for what she was.
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 12:39 pm
Chui scrunched his face a little, wondering how he was going to get somebody with such a demeanor to believe that he was, in fact, real. The leopard kept his eyes on the lioness, "I'm real, trust me.." he said, not really knowing what else to say. "Uhm....what exactly would I have to do to prove it?"
As he couldn't think of anything, he got a little closer and lifted his paw. With an odd face he poked her softly, several times. "Real enough?" he asked.
"Now, will you answer me?" Chui still felt a bit weird, being though of as a figment of her imagination.
She certainly seemed insane, but maybe it was just something she'd eaten. Chui was never one to judge anyone simply by how they make their first impression. Especially not if it seemed to be that acquaintance's expense. He was never the cruel type, after all. He didn't laugh at her small joke not long ago, and he wouldn't anytime soon.
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Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 3:02 pm
Shaitani watched him solemnly as he questioned her, unable to offer more than a lift of a shoulder in a shrug.
"All my imaginings seem real, at one time or another... its the things I know aren't real that I have to watch out for..." A cryptic remark, perhaps.
The pokes had an effect that the leopard probably didn't expect, and that was to distract the lioness enough that she lost her fragile grip on what little sanity she'd had. With a shriek, she flailed her paws, ducking and rolling out of his reach. She ended up butting up against the tree rather hard and tumbling over backwards to land flat on her spine, paws thrashing in the air as she mewled pittifully.
"My king... Master! Master, please do not beat Shaitani, she begs you!" She whimpered, lost in some half-memory long past. "Shaitani is a worm, a grub, fit only to please you... forgive the lowly one! She squirms in the dirt, begging you..." A soft moan slipped from her, and she trembled violently, looking for all the world like he'd attacked her, rather than poked her gently. Poor leopard, he had no idea what he'd gotten himself into here.
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 10:45 pm
Chui, extremely surprised by her sudden gestures, growled and leaped, quite frightened, toward the trunk of the tree, quickly making his way to the low branch from which he'd originally jumped off of. What in the world!? his mind raced as he tried to take control of his rapidly beating heart. She'd definitely taken him by surprise. He looked at the odd lioness with a quirked brow, then sighed. She's a nutter... he finally decided. A bit of quick thinking brought him to ask for her name; she had, after all, called him 'king.' It had to mean something right?
"So...uhh..." he started hesitantly. "What is your name?" It felt strange to sound like royalty, all proper and such.
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Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 11:00 am
The pale lioness squirmed pathetically for a moment more before she stilled, blinking up into the darkness of the jungle's canopy.
"The voice has gone and lost its body again..." She mused, her head tilting one way then the other. She seemed calm now, if a trifle confused. "Name? Name...? Why Shaitani is Shaitani, lowly female of the Coven. She is King's slave and lover, creeper in the jungle, singer in the night!" She giggled as she pronounced her made-up titles, a silly sort of expression moving over her face. Now, she seemed entirely child-like, sweet and innocent as she pawed gently at the air, deadly claws sheathed in velvet.
"And you, phantom voice? My imaginary friend must have a name, yes! If you do not have one, I shall give you one, because even imaginary, I must have a name to call you by if we are to be friends." She smiled as she looked around the seemingly empty area between the trees, missing the caramel form among the branches.
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Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 4:04 pm
Certainly a strange lioness, and at this point the male refused to deny the fact. "I go by Chui, it's a pleasure, Shaitani." Funny he never encountered her once before, as he'd lived in the jungle for as long as he could remember. Ever since he met that one leopardess all those moons ago. With a sigh Chui lay down, his figure stretched along the sturdy branch, tail swishing gently behind him. "So, what brings you to my uh...territory, then?" he asked, head lowered to his paws, muffling his voice.
Chui had once thought that lions always had a good head on their shoulders, but...perhaps there was always that exception or two every now and then. Hey, he wasn't all that normal when he was younger either. That old imaginary friend of his practically drove him insane.
"And who's this...king?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 12:49 pm
"Chui.... chu-i... chu-i, chu-i, chu-i!" She sang out his name as she rocked side to side, her paws curled up against her stomach. Laughter rolled from her, none too stable in tone.
"Shai has been wandering, for Shai is a wanderer, a stalker, a prowler. She creeps through the jungle by shadow, from shadow to shadow, darkness to darkness. Like a ghost, she haunts between the mighty trees, ever moving never stopping..." Her voice was sing-song, lilting up into the dark canopy. She mused as she hummed a little, finally picking up on is last question.
"Ah, King... King Moses, King Drakul, ruler of the Coven, of the Pride, of the Chilren of the Night." She sighed, sounding almost love-sick. "He is beauty of form, deadly of claw, eyes the color of blood and fur the color of bones... mane as dark as the heart of the night." She sighed again, a silly smile on her face.
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 9:30 pm
The male shifted uncomfortably as the seemingly crazed lioness rocked too and fro, somewhat singing what would be considered her job description. He felt his muscles tense at the thought of a pride of lions living in the jungle, knowing well that he was no match for a species much larger than he was. Chui gulped at her description of her king, ears tilted back and tail hanging limp behind him.
With a strained voice he asked, "So this pride of yours...it's situated here in the jungle?"
He flinched while waiting for an answer. It was one thing to imagine a pride with that sort of name and appearance, but to be within its territory was a thought that was just a bit too frightening for Chui. If they were situated in the jungle, he'd make up his mind to leave the place for a long while, maybe even for good. The life of a wanderer would be better than living a life of fear in his own home.
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Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:24 pm
Shai hummed a little song as she rocked herself, red eyes open wide and unblinking. "The Children haunt the dark places, the deep places.... so dark, and so deep, that the burning rays of the sun never reach them. The jungle shelters all under its spreading arms, leaves turning away the harsh light. They dance under the canopy at the birth and death of each day, when the goddess herself turns the very air red to bless her children."
A laugh broke from the crazed lioness as she rolled onto her stomach and up onto her paws, stretching out to dig claws into the undergrowth and tear at it. "Like sentinels, the trees stand watch, branches woven loving together, like the limbs of mates in courting. A silver thread of water runs through the bower of the children, giving liquid we cannot get otherwhere.... It is a beautiful place, the realm of the Coven. You should come see it, Chui, I think you would like it..." A giggle broke from her as she lifted her tail in the air, letting it sway side to side. "I should like to introduce my imaginary friend to the others, and laugh at them. They said I was crazy, but you shall prove to them I am not!" She seemed galvanized by the idea and bounced to stand, running in small circles under the limbs of the trees.
Her body was a streak of red and white, a flash between the trunks as she ran and circled, never moving far from where the leopard hid.
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Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 1:34 pm
Chui gulped, watching the lionesses swift movements with ever growing nervousness. His muscles started to tense, breathing growing a bit shaky and unsteady. He kept his salmon eyes upon her bright coat, waiting for her to be in just the right spot - opposite the direction he was planning on running off to. The leopard then stood on all fours, tail swishing behind him, ears low and body ready to pounce to the next nearby branch to his left.
"Um, yeah, don't think so. Bye."
And with that, he quickly pounced to the next branch, each motion swift and smooth, and as quiet as possible so she wouldn't be able to follow. Lucky for him lions couldn't climb trees, otherwise he was probably doomed. His heart was still racing by the time he stopped running (or bouncing from branch to branch, more like). Chui slowly made himself comfortable on the thick branch he'd hopped to last, eyes closing as his heart began to steady itself.
"Never again..." he muttered. "I gotta get outta here....."
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 2:00 am
Shai came to a suprised halt as Chui said good bye, blinking as she looked around, searching for him. "Wait... you don't want to meet the pride? Well, that's okay, I guess... you don't have to..." She completely missed his diparture and continued to speak to the air as she picked up her pacing again.
"You know... you're the only imaginary friend I've actually heard with my real ears. Isn't that odd? If I can hear you, then why shouldn't I be able to hear all of them?" She huffed and hummed softly, her tail flicking back and forth.
For a long while, she spoke to the trees, thinking her new friend could hear her, when he was in fact, far away by now. Her voice rambled, and might have for longer, if a falling branch nearby hadn't snapped her attention out of it. Without a voice to draw her back, she went to investigate, and forgot completely about her imaginary friend. Well... easy come, easy go.
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