|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:09 pm
AIM RP Log: Tetemeko and Tilifika
Tete's family was going through some major stress at the moment, with Aadil injured, pregnant and not seeming to improve vastly- and then Ghali was pregnant- well! Things were quite shaky at the moment, and Tete wasn't terribly sure what to make of things. He had a really bad feeling whenever he was around his grandmother, and with her at home he no longer had to sit by her all of the time so he took his chance to go for a walk. Part of him wanted to go and look for Sineri, but then he also was attracted to the idea of a nice peaceful walk alone. Well, hopefully peaceful! He wandered towards the borders a bit, in the general direction his grandmother had come from, deep in thought.
Maybe he did need to go and find Sineri, he hadn't yet told her about his little run in with Boma and she was always good for chatting with. She was his best friend after all. Looking back towards the central Pridelands, Tete stood still and considered his options.
Tilifika was in a daze. She had always lived with her adopted mother, always! The two had been good friends, almost as though Tili was her younger sister, and not a mewling newborn cub the older lioness had come across on that fateful day. But now... now she was gone. Tili was at a loss. She wandered mindlessly, having no further reason to stay near the den that she and her mother had occupied for so long. Her visions haunted her, and she felt as though there was something important she needed to do, but couldn't quite figure out what it was... She was not aware that she had stumbled onto the borders of the Pridelands, nor did she see Tetemeko.
With a sigh of confusion, Tete looked back out over the roguelands one last time before he would, he decided, go and look for his friend. The pale figure that had appeared caught him by surprise, he wasn't sure anyone had been wandering so nearby when he'd turned away, but then he hadn't really been paying too careful attention, had he? He couldn't figure out why, he his dark eyes were stuck on the wandering lioness. She looked lost, the way she walked and just something about her. Hesitating, he took a step out- closer to the lioness and further from home. Perhaps he could be of assistance, there was no harm in checking that out, certainly. She hardly looked dangerous.
"Excuse me-" he called as he jogged closer, but he seemed to cut himself off when he got closer.
Tili jumped a bit at Tete's words, looking up at him in surprise. She must not have been paying attention. Mentally, she scolded herself. What if he had attacked her? Not even grieving was an excuse for the lack of attention she'd paid her surroundings. As she gazed at the other lion, her head began to hurt. Sharp bursts of pain exploded behind her eyes, and she grimaced, crouching to the ground and hoping they would pass quickly. It had been a long time since pain had accompanied her visions, and now there were no visions at all... so why was this happening?
Tete looked on with concern as she crouched low to the ground, and there was a hit of confusion in his expression as well. He wasn't sure what was so surprising, and he opened his mouth to assure her that he meant her no harm, as that seemed to be the main reason someone might make such faces and lower away from someone who approached them. For a moment he could only seem to watch her, though, before he finally found his voice and leaned down a bit, though he seemed reluctant to get too close.
"Are you OK?" he asked.
The lioness squeezed her eyes shut, bringing her paws up to cover her nose as she let out a snarl of pain. Her eyes felt as though they were going to explode out of her skull; her forehead burned sharply. The pain came in waves, and as it ebbed away a bit, she managed to lift her head and eye the stranger. She winced. "I will be." She answered. By now the pain had subsided to a dull ache, punctuated by the occassional sharp stab. She slowly lifted herself into a sitting position, looking at Tetemeko with confusion. It was like the mental equivalent of having a word on the tip of her tongue... but not quite being able to find the right one.
Tetemeko stepped back a bit, part of him wondering if he was somehow causing trouble by being there. It was a terrible coincidence that the moment he stepped forward, she suddenly seemed to be going through some great mental turmoil. He watched with wide brown eyes and she slowly came to a sitting position and looked at him with an expression like she was ready to say something but couldn't quite say it. He soon realized that he was staring again, and quickly he looked away and shook his head.
"You looked lost," he commented, glancing back to her again now.
"I'm always lost." Tili replied easily, wincing slightly and pressing a paw to her head as another needle of pain jabbed her. Indeed she was; she'd been abandoned as a cub and discovered by a wandering lioness who had named her accordingly. Her name meant "lost". And now that she no longer had the only lion who she'd ever been able to depend on, she was lost again. "It's nothing, it happens sometime when important things are going on. It will go away." She added, meaning the ache in her skull.
The lion looked confused at her answer, considering the meanings. There was no way he could know her story, and it did seem like quite the thing to say to someone. There were many possibilities he could formulate, the main one being that she was a rogue. But he'd never seen a rogue look quite as she did, though he couldn't admit to knowing too much about rogues. At least when lions wandered that way through the Pridelands, they had the safety of a pride. He was more confused when she said her reaction was related to important goings-on.
"Oh," he answered, looking around as if looking for an important something to just pop up out of no where- then his eyes snapped back on her as if he might have figured it out, but he truthfully didn't have a conscious clue about it, "My name is Tetemeko, who are you?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. The closer the truth got to her conscious mind, the more the pain in her skull ebbed away. It floated just out of reach, almost surfacing, only to be lost again as she tried to grasp it. She frowned. "Tetemeko..?
hamdrax (12:48:54 AM): " She repeated, thoughtfully. But nothing came of it. She shook her head. "I'm Tilifika."
The reaction she had to his name didn't help the odd feeling he had, and he was staring again but this time he couldn't move his eyes. He did nod when she introduced herself, making note of her name which suddenly gave him the distinct impression he knew her from somewhere, solidified the strange feeling he couldn't place, the reason he seemed to be incapable of normal conversation and so easily stared despite how rude it was. He blinked, and took a moment to get a better look at her, leaning over to look her over completely. The wings catching his interest in particular, and his stare was fixed on them.
"Tilifika," he repeated, then suddenly something seemed to click in his mind- though his immediate reaction was that it was impossible. The only indication of it was that he suddenly seemed more tense, though his gaze remained fixed on the wings.
She turned her body to the side as he stared at her, more fully displaying the wing markings that furled across her shoulders. She, too, felt that they were somehow significant, but couldn't place why. A jab of pain shot through her head, and she winced, closing her eyes tightly. A flash of images were illuminated across the inside of her eyelids, for just a split second, and then her eyes snapped open. She gaped at him. "Were... did you..." She trailed off, and then, quietly, asked, "..Our mother?"
His gaze didn't move even when her posture changed due to the pain or when she spoke- until she said the words 'our mother,' verbalizing the one strange conclusion that he had come to. His dark eyes moved back to her lighter ones, trying to make sense of how this was possible. He'd seen Boma, met her, spoken with her.. why had she not mentioned something like this? It hadn't really come up, no.. they'd only argued, he'd yelled, she'd yelled. Finally, he decided it was a very good time for him to take a seat.
"But-" he stammered, "Wha- How?"
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:32 pm
"I..." Tili frowned again. "I don't know... I was abandoned as a newborn, taken in by a passing lioness..." She eyed her brother, silently asking a number of questions. Had he been raised by their mother? Did he know she had been abandoned? Why hadn't she just left them both? Of course, she supposed it wasn't that odd that she might have siblings, as she knew nothing of her real family, but...
"Abandoned?" Tete repeated, sounding shocked about this. How on earth had he come to be with Tai and then with his.. their.. father, if she had been left behind? What the hell kind of motivaitons would make Boma'burudi do that? He might not have a high opinion of her, but even Tete expected more than that from her. A newborn was helpless, completely and totally.. He snorted back a laugh, the only reaction he could seem to make at first.
"And she said she deserved respect," he remarked, shaking his head.
"Who?" Tili asked sharply, giving him a long look. "Our mother? You've met her?" She had no idea why she had been abandoned and her brother had, apparently, not, but the grudge she had held against the winged lioness from her visions was growing by the second. She wanted to ask Tete if their mother had mentioned her, but no... he didn't even know she existed. She let out a low growl.
"Once," he answered, making it very clear that it had been the only time and that his opinion of her was far from what one might expect for a mother, "Once I met her, and I wouldn't care to again. Especially now. She was surprised when I was mad, when I didn't welcome her.." Tete shook his head, trailing off there. He'd almost thought she might have an excuse, perhaps she had done something right by taking him to the Pridelands to be with his father. But abandoning one cub and saving the other, she didn't make any sense!
"So she didn't raise you? But you weren't..." She trailed off. "Then who did raise you? You had a family?" She had always felt slightly guilty for resenting her mother; after all, she didn't know why she had been abandoned. But now her brother was confirming her worst suspicions. Had she just been a thorn in her mother's side, cast off because her existance was inconvenient?
Tete started to pace as he tried to find a reasonable way to deal with all of this information. His poor father came to mind, he'd have to know about this- he never had to know that Boma had showed up in the Pridelands to talk to Tete, but he'd need to see this, to know this. It might even end up coming out that Tete had spoken with Boma. Pacing, he shook his head occassionally. "I was taken to the Pridelands, I was left with a nanny there until my- until- dad came to get me," he explained, pausing in his pacing to look at her, "I was raised here, father, grandparents, aunts, an uncle.."
"Oh." Tili responded. It was so unfair! Of course, Tete obviously hadn't had a perfect life, and she herself was lucky to have been taken in by a foster mother, but she had never really known her family -- their family. And why had their mother taken him and left her? It didn't make sense. "We... we've got to talk ot her." She said firmly. She frowned at the idea, but it was inevitable. They needed answers, and Tili wouldn't say no to giving their mother a piece of her mind, either.
About ready to resume his anxious pacing, he stumbled to a stop when Tili said that they had to talk to her. There was no way he was going to submit to that idea very easily, he wouldn't know how to find her and he knew he couldn't leave the Pridelands. Aadil needed her family, her whole family, worrying about him would be the last thing she would need. A granddaughter, though, maybe it could help. But then there was so much confusion and stress involved in this.
"I don't know about that," he said, "I wouldn't care if I never saw her again, she'll come up with some insane reason we should forgive her. And I don't imagine she'd be terribly keen on seeing me again either. And unless calling her somehow worked, I wouldn't have the first clue of how to find her."
"We have to." Tili repeated. It was obvious she had made her mind up about this particular idea. "I have to ask her... some things. And don't you, too?" She knew Tete must be just as curious as she was about Boma's motivation for leaving her daughter behind. However, he did have a point. They didn't know where their mother lived, or how to find her. She frowned. "Do you never... see her?" She suspected that her brother must have visions sometimes, as she did, but perhaps he did not.
Tete now stood still, looking at his newfound sister with a calculating look. He understood the need to confront the goddess, he hadn't realized how much he'd wanted to do the same until she'd showed up- but then his problems were mostly from when she dared to comment that his father clearly had raised him improperly. Now it was even more ironic, he had more proof in favor of his father- nothing like this would have happened, Kubwa couldn't have known about this or it wouldn't have happened. He tried to weigh the pros and cons of this, but knew that Aadil's health was really the deciding factor- he was about to comment in such a direction when Tili asked a very odd question.
"See her?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow, "I just said I've only met her once.." He had no idea he was a seer, had no idea he had visions. Everything he saw simply seemed to become vague information stored in his mind that came up at the strangest times, he still had not realized just how many coincidences occured when he followed his gut and wandered at seeming random. Finding his grandmother when she was injured had been one of those moments, and this.
"See her." The lioness repeated with a soft nod. "I... my headaches. They often come when something important is about to happen, and then sometimes I... I see or feel things about...whatever it is." She explained, looking slightly embarrassed. "I've seen her in my dreams, as well. Do you not?" She cocked her head. She had somewhat assumed that, as her brother, he would have the same visions she did, but perhaps that was a silly thing to assume.
The poor confused boy stared as she tried to explain her headaches and what she'd meant about important things. She saw things, felt things and thought that perhaps he might as well. He only stared unblinking for a moment, reluctant to say no but never having quite experienced anything like that. Carefully and slowly he shook his head, not sure how else to respond despite the odd feeling. He blinked, and finally he took a seat.
"I don't know," he confessed, "I don't think so.."
"Oh." Tili was clearly disappointed. "I suppose it's just me, then..." She frowned. Though she saw her mother in her visions occasionally, there was nothing in them that would have helped her find her. It seemed they were back at the beginning. "I suppose you're right, then... I never was very good at finding things." She said finally, shaking her head. "Damn."
Tete was still hesitant, thinking about the question she had asked. It didn't sound right, not how she was describing it but then.. maybe there was no point worrying about it. He'd never heard of such a thing before, and he might have called her crazy but he hardly thought that was something he could claim knowing their mother was a lioness with wings. Besides, he believed her, exactly as she described. He sighed when she gave up on the idea, looking out into the rogue lands.
"Her name is Boma'burudi," he said, trying to provide her with as much information as she might need if she did want to look, "her wings are metallic, I have two feathers from them at home but I stopped wearing them.. stopped after I met her. I couldn't find her, couldn't leave- my grandmother- our grandmother, she was attacked recently. She's not doing very well, I couldn't leave even if I did want to go looking for the lioness who left us, especially now. Gram needs her family here.." He paused looking to Tili, to the Pridelands and back again, "W-would- you want to come back with me?"
Tili nodded. Yes, that sounded like the lioness from her dreams. Tete's apparent resentment of their mother only served to fuel her own. She felt anger bubbling in the pit of her stomach, anger that she had supressed a long time. As Tete mentioned their grandmother, though, it ebbed away. A look of concern crossed her face. "Will she be alright?" She asked softly. She nodded swiftly at his inquery. It was the most sensible course of action, of course. Not only did she want to meet her family at last, but since her foster mother was gone, she had nothing keeping her from wandering to other lands, and no reason to stay.
Tete didn't really realize that he might not be providing much new information other than a name, unaware of the visual and conscious side of visions he didn't know how much detail she might already have and it slipped his mind. His attention was fully turned to their grandmother when Tili asked about her, feeling a twist in his stomach. He'd been avoiding thinking about the final outcome of his grandmother's bad health and pregnancy, because he knew deep down, for some reason, that the answer was not what anybody wanted to here. He glanced to the ground for a moment before looking back up to Tili and shaking his head.
"I don't think she will be," he answered truthfully, "I just don't think so. She was injured and she's pregnant, it makes things so much more complicated. But I'm sure she'd love to meet you, I always thought when I was little that she'd have liked me more if I was a girl." Here Tete tried to smile encouragingly, trying to make her feel like she would be welcome. He didn't have a sweet clue how everyone would respond, but they'd have no one to blame but Boma. Sure, it might further prove that Kubwa had very poor taste when he was young but she was family.
Tili's heart went out to her brother, and the family she had never known. She padded closer and gave her sibling what she hoped was a reassuring nuzzle. It was odd, but she felt very comfortable around him, as though they had grown up together, and not been seperated at birth. "Of course I'll come and see her." She said firmly. "And... and the rest of our family, too. How many are there?" Her tail flicked to and fro thoughtfully. This was quite the sudden change.
Tete smiled sadly when Tili came over and nuzzled him, already feeling a connection with her. He'd only ever had Sineri who seemed to well understand his situation, and perhaps Sineri was a better parallel than Tili but Tili was blood. They shared something, and that was certainly more than enough. Too much, maybe, considering what it was. He wouldn't have been disappointed to be an only child, at least for the litter he was born in. Now on the topic of family, he was trying harder to imagine the reactions to this new addition but was drawing a complete blank. They would all certainly be surprised. Very, very surprised.
"There's Gram and Grandpa, and Dad of course," he said, listing off family members, "Uncle Kip and aunt Ghali and aunt Shani. But that's just it for now, I mean.. Gram is pregnant and Ghali is too." At this comment, he had to smile, "If you knew Ghali, you'd know how funny that really is."
"Wow." She commented, lifting her eyebrows. "So... six, and us." She grinned at his comment about their aunt. Of course she had no idea why that would be funny, but it seemed so, nonetheless. Of course, it was likely that she was grasping at any reason to smile. "Lots of new cubs soon, then." She added, not sure how she felt about that. She hadn't ever really run into other lions besides her foster mother, before now. She felt a bit apprehensive about meeting so many new lions at once, but mostly optimistic. After all, they would be her family. It would be different than meeting a bunch of strangers.
"Six and us," he agreed, realizing it was getting easier to say 'us'. He credited that mostly to how well Tili was taking all of this, and he knew he would help her get introduced and adjusted to the family- assuming she would stay with them. He nodded again at the mention of cubs, and then he sighed. This was a very, very odd turn of events. One that he would never have expected or guessed could happen- he had to wonder if his dad had any idea, if their dad had any idea that he could be a 'their dad'.
"If you're ready now, I'll take you now," he offered, getting up to his feet, "It might be overwhelming or awkward- ok, mostly awkward- but I'll help as much as I can."
She nodded. It probably would be. After all, if she had no idea she had a sibling, and he had no idea he had a sibling, it would probably be equally surprising for the rest of the family. She got to her paws. "I'm ready." She said, nodding the affirmative again. And she did feel ready. For some reason, she felt as though she was floating along easily. Perhaps the news hadn't really sunk in. After all, she had hardly had time to come to terms with the death of her foster mother, and now all this?
Tete turned towards the Pridelands when she agreed that now was a good time to go, trying to mentally prepare something to say to everyone when he found them. Kubwa was going to be surprised, his reaction was probably the one that worried Tete the most- except for the fact that Aadil was not in the healthiest of states, but he did truly believe having a granddaughter would cheer her up a little bit. Tili seemed nice enough, no one would be able to deny that.
"Ok," he smiled at her, and then lead the way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
