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 Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 10:24 pm
She was so incredibly... bored.
Yes, that was the proper word - 'bored'. She had left her home in the Mwezi'Johari while the pride looked for a new place to settle, all because she had gotten bored with it. But now the rogue lands were beginning to get boring, and she couldn't stand being alone and with nothing to do but walk, eat, drink, and sleep. It was a terrifically boring regime, and one that she would gladly shed. But, for now she had no means in which to change it. There was no pride nearby that she could check out, and there was no one around that was interesting enough to chat to.
She didn't want to chat with the little yellow bird that was drinking from the same watering hole as her, standing right beside her as if it did not realize that it could potentially make a tasty snack. But, no, it had too many bones and not enough meat. Maisha'joto wasn't going to waste her time trying to capture and eat that thing, and the bird knew that. So, together they drank from the watering hole, the dark purple lioness's throat being soothed by the cool water.
It really was a relief to have something to drink - a boring relief, but a relief never-the-less.
It wasn't his custom to startle others, but for the first time in a while Rio was uncaring if anyone was in viewing range of him as he flew in low enough for his chest feathers to nick the top of the grass. His wings were semi tucked as he few straight on, dipping even lower as he neared his destination. Almost too late he noticed the lioness at the watering hole, just suddenly THERE, a blur of purple that was rapidly approaching amidst the sea of green! GAH! Backwingbackwing!!! The god finally came to a rather comical stop in mid air, as if screeching to a hault as he beat his wings furiously to slow his approach. With an indignant squawk he lost his hover, and SPLASH!!!
....
For a few moments after, only bubbles on the surface would indicate where the winged idiot had gone down. It would be about ten seconds before he managed to use his legs to paddle back to the surface with a desperate gasp for air.
It came completely unexpected. Something approached her, a brown blurr zooming through the air. It came closer, and closer... and didn't seem like it was ready to stop, and all Maisha could do was stare blankly ahead, stunned by the sight of seeing something so huge flying. Only until the thing was a few yards away did she realize she was in danger of getting run over. Even her bird companion had flown off to get out of the way. Oh dear! She was going to get smashed by that brown blurr!
She screwed her purple eyes shut and cowered, mentally preparing herself for the impact that was soon to come. But, it didn't, and slowly she opened her eyes to see a strange lion with wings hovering over the watering hole. She watched a few seconds longer, and the lion plummeted down into the cold water below. Maisha was absolutely shocked, and with a soft gasp she stood up and waded into the cold water. She couldn't just let the thing drown... but then again, she wasn't liking swimming in the water. So, uncertainly she padded back to the more shallow water, where her feet could touch the dirt and the water-grass. She could wait a few more seconds for whatever it was that had fallen into the pool of water to come up.
Waiting for that little bit longer paid off, because whatever it was that had fallen into the watering hole came back up. At least she didn't drown in the process of trying to stupidly rescue the creature. She stuck close to the shallows still, watching him curiously and waiting for him to get control over the situation. "...Are you... all right?"
What a show he put on without meaning to! Coughing, and sputtering just a bit too, Rio clambered out of the water and let his water logged wings slosh onto the banks of the watering hole. Those alone had nearly dragged him under with no way up! Geez! They were made to handle short doses of water, but not anywhere near that much!
"I'm... f-fine..." COUGH. "Ugh... ai yi yi..." He sighed as he carefully rolled onto his back, wings splayed out to catch as much sun as possible to dry, disguise... non-existant right then.
She followed him out of the water, and then proceeded to shake her fur as dry as she could get it. Maisha took a few moments to take measure of Rio, of his feathers and talon-like feet. His true appearance didn't seem to surprise her that much at all. Instead... she seemed vaguely intrigued. He was, well, he was interesting, that was certain. He was a winged lion... a god. She knew that much, and believed fully in gods. Her pride worshipped one or two of them - she couldn't be bothered to remember at this point. She wasn't a member of the Mwezi'Johari anymore.
She approached him carefully, and laid down on her belly next to him. She then proceeded to lick her paws clean of the extra droplets of water. "Maybe you have water logged in your lungs. I've heard it happens occassionally. I have to say, you did present me with a... rather comical sight." She smiled at him, but seemed a little more interested in drying her fur. "I'm Maisha'joto, and you?"
Despite his embarassment and slightly sore chest, Rio did laugh a bit at that, glad to hear he'd made someone's day with that spectacle. It must've been an embarrassment to gods everywhere, and for the god of FLIGHT, no less, to go bumbling about like an idiot? It was laughable for real.
"I'm Rio." The male grinned weakly, front "paws" resting against his feathered chest, which was currently still rather damp as it heaved gently with inhales and deflated with exhales. "I'm glad I could make your day. Just... promise me you won't tell anyone else about that, could you? If word got out that the god of flight couldn't handle his own domain I'd never be taken seriously again." He joked with an impish wink.
Oh yes, he was definitely interesting. At least he wasn't being serious and gruff with her. His attitude was something she could appreciate when she had been away from other lions for such a long time. Besides, he was a god. What couldn't be interesting about him? So, she was perfectly content to spend the next few minutes chatting with him, at least until he decided that he was done talking with her and went off on his way. With a critical eye, she examined her paw for another few moments, just to make sure that it was really as dry as she wanted it to be. Knowing now that it was, she began to lick her other paw dry.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Rio." A wicked little smile graced her face when he tried to make her promise to keep the incident a secret. With a light, airy voice, she teased him. "Oh, but I'm sure all my friends would love to hear such a high tale, of how I met a god, and he was so bewildered and stunned by my beauty that he forgot how to fly and fell into a watering hole." Of course, it was an exaggerated tale, but when it was time for some good fun, everything was exaggerated. "My friends would all just die to hear such a tale."
So she liked to play, was it? Rio smirked, lifting a paw to start grooming down the water from his own thick fur on the sides not covered by "plating". His voice was a suggestively flirtatious little purr as he responded.
"Now I wouldn't mind that version, yeah, let's run with that excuse. After all, who could blame a guy for getting stopped in his tracks? You are quite the gem, after all. It's to be expected, not my fault at all! In fact, shame on you for catching me off guard!" He teased finally at the end of his flirt. He liked a girl that could play the game, and she was witty to boot. He wasn't exaggerating on her looks either, as he took another glance to be sure.
This definitely was becoming fun, especially since he was a kindred soul when it came to playing games. Truthfully, she would have been disappointed if he was anything less. He may be a god, but gods could still be boring. It was just harder for them to be, seeing as a lot of mortals could become entranced by the sight of them. No one would ever notice a god who was boring, because they were just too pretty and mind boggling.
"Oh, but you simply cannot blame me for being born with gorgeous looks! You instead must put the blame on my horrible parents, who dared to birth such a fine creature as myself." She laughed softly to herself, rolling her eyes over so she could instead gaze at his face. "But, shame on you, Rio! You shouldn't be staring at a woman, so. I may be pretty, but that doesn't give you the right to feast your eyes. It is your own fault for getting distracted. You should be able to resist my natural good looks and my sweet charm."
"Blame your parents? No! If anything I should track them down and thank them for contributing such a specimen to the gene pool!"
Rio finished with one paw and moved to the next then.
"Hmm, si, seniorita, please forgive me for my rudeness, taken or not it's impolite to stare, this is true." He consented between grooming licks. As he twisted his leg this way and that he wondered how far their little game would go before realizing that he had, for now, run out of clever quips, so he moved onto the next topic. "So, Maisha, do you mind if I call you Maisha? Are you a traveler or a wanderer?"
"I'm sure my parents would proceed to demand where I was, because they must surely be saddened to have lost such a precious jewel as myself." She knew she was pretty, though she never complimented herself so outside of play. She was a little vain, but truly not so much that she thought she was the greatest and most beautiful creature in existence. She knew she wasn't. She had seen plenty of lionesses that were more gorgeous than she was. It wasn't something she was jealous over.
"You are forgiven. I don't need to mention that I don't mind being stared at every now and again, especially by such a handsome god as yourself." She could probably still pull a few more intelligent quips off the tip of her tongue, but she was easily distracted by his next question. The lioness thought to herself for a few moments, and then settled on a decision. "I think I'm a wanderer. A traveler has someplace in mind where they want to go. I have no place in mind... I'm just wandering aimlessly until someplace suits my fancy and I choose to stay there."
"Then it would be a difficult choice I'd face, to betray your location for them to drag you back, as I'm sure they are indeed saddened, or to lie and let you continue to roam free. What a situation I'd face, and in light of that, I do hope I never get the chance to thank your parents, my dear." Rio ended that bit of banter at last with a soft chuckle, rolling onto his side to sit up, pulling his wings back to his sides for the time. He regarded her quietly as he now sat on his haunches, eyes glued to her own. Such had been the excact ton of his question, and he was even more pleased to realize she was more of a kindred spirit than just in play and wit. She had the right mindset as well! "My my, beautiful and wise, I think I'm in over my head here. You took the thoughts right out of my head. Does this wanderer have any place that she's wandered from then?"
She smiled kindly at him, personally happy that even in their playful bantering he wouldn't betray her location to her parents. She was sure they wouldn't come and forcibly drag her back, but she didn't want to give them the chance. The Mwezi'Johari bored her still, and until it became a place that was interesting, she would not venture back there. Her parents had Sini'ngozi, anyways, and they should be far more than satisfied with their priestess daughter. Maisha had the right to leave the pride if she wanted to, it had been expected even, for members to disappear during the pride's move.
She contented herself with laying down still, simply too lazy to get up. That did not mean she couldn't let her eyes meet his, and she was surprised that her gaze did not waver, that she instead let it get caught up in his own for a few moments. "Of course, someone as beautiful as me has to be just as witty as they are beautiful. You definitely are in over your head. You stand no chance against my charm." She shrugged her shoulders casually at his next question. "I come from the Mwezi'Johari. I left while they were searching for new lands to call their home."
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 12:10 am
"But I know you won't let me drown, right?" He smiled softly, speaking figuratively of course,and poking a bit of fun already at how they met, with him floundering like an idiot in the watering hole, which really wasn't all THAT deep, just enough that it'd be logical if he drowned there but mortifying at the same time. "Hmm... I can't say I'm familiar with that pride, but I'm not all that familiar with most of them either. I have little to do with them usually, and you can probably imagine I don't spend much time in any one land." The male purred, stretching out his forelegs again as he slid down onto his belly for a long, languid, but otherwise slightly short lived stretch.
"Of course I wouldn't. I haven't let a soul down in my life." Finally she rose to her feet, shaking her head to relieve her bangs of a few more droplets. She was already drying out underneath the savannah sun, and soon she would even be hot and seeking shelter underneath a tree. It was midday, and it was around this time that the savannah was at its hottest. This was why Maisha preferred to move around at night. It was a lot cooler, and it made travelling quicker and less hard on her body. She hadn't been raised a wanderer, after all.
"It's a pride that's centered around the moon and its stages. It's not terribly interesting, so I wouldn't bother yourself with going there for a visit." She had left for that very reason - it wasn't interesting enough for her. Would anything ever be? She wasn't sure. Rio was certainly interesting enough for her right now, though. She was enjoying his company thoroughly, and she was beginning to believe that she would be sorry to see him go. He certainly knew how to pass the time, at least.
"I wouldn't dare dream of saying otherwise, even though I'm sure you've broken your fair of hearts, mi seniorita." Rio teased, straightening up so as to move to follow her for now to find some shade. In fact, with a careful, firm shake of one wing he dislodged most of the water from his coated feathers before reaching it up and over to offer some shade as they walked. Mkodi only knew that his wings were big enough for it. "Well then, I will take the lady's advice for now and see what else I can find..."
Though it might be a good place to search for Rosh.
"Are you ready to get out of this heat?"
"I have, but none intentionally. I can't help it when lions fall head over heels in love with me. Now, Rio, don't make it so that I have to break your heart, okay?" She grinned teasingly at him. Maisha mumbled a 'thank you' to him as he offered his wing up as some useful shade. It really was getting hot out, and having his wing spread out above her made the temperature at least a few degrees cooler. It was a welcome relief, at the very least, from the heat that this time of day brought. "I give advice only with the full intention that someone will take it."
She walked alongside of him, heading for a tree with a branches thickened with leaves. That would provide adequate shelter from the sun, and then she could continue to travel when it was later in the day, and not so blessedly hot. "I'm more than ready to get out of this heat. It really is insufferable. I think I'll just become permanently nocturnal, so I never have to deal with this kind of weather. At least at night the temperature is bearable."
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Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:17 pm
"I see, I will have to be careful to do my best then." The grinning adolescent replied. He managed to see her to the tree, dripping water the whole way from the rest of himself, and ignoring it for the time. The sun would help dry that quick enough. "Mind if I share that shade with you until the sun passes, oh Noctural one? Maybe it's in your blood, being from a pride that worships the moon and all?"
He let his eyes wander ahead then so that he could focus on the distance between them and the trees.
"Any less than your best, and I'm certain that you'll fall head over heels in love with me. Now, you wouldn't want that. I'm a fine lady, of course, but it isn't wise to love someone you have just met." She walked in silence for the time being after that comment, making her way towards the tree of her choice. Coming to stand underneath the large overhanging branches, she sighed in relief. It was definitely a few degrees cooler in the shade, and she was very much pleased to be in it rather than out in the sun.
"I don't mind if you share the shade with me. Nocturnal one? Hardly. And, my pride was out in the day as much as they were out in the night. We just appreciate the god of the moon, and the moon plays such a big roll in how things are done in the pride, what rank you, what job you can do... stuff like that. As I said, it was boring." She shrugged her shoulders, and made herself comfortable, resting up against the tree. Her tail flicked lazily against her side, and she yawned slowly.
"Well, it sounds like an interesting culture, but I can see how that would be dull, to not be able to chose anything for yourself? To have it all dictated by the moon?" He wondered what the pale god would think or if he even already knew he had an entire pride revolving their world around him. It was an interesting train of thought. "Why don't you tell me a little more about it, if you don't mind?"
Maisha sighed softly to herself, and was at this point barely listening to what Rio was saying. She wasn't intending to be rude, but now that she had laid down and was comfortable, she could feel fatigue crawl up on her. "Yes, all dictated by the moon. The moon was kind to me and my sister, though... we were upper-middle class - very well off." She yawned again, and proceeded to curl up into a loose ball. "I'll tell you all about it later. Right now, I think I want to sleep, if you don't mind."
"Hmm... Sounds good to me. I'll be here when you wake up." He smiled, eyes mirthful as he watched her settle down and curl up for her doze. Maybe he could catch a little sleep himself, but for now he opted to stay awake and keep watch over his new friend. At least it was a positive improvement on an embarrassing start to this little encounter.
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