|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 12:31 pm
Njalo padded along damp earth. It was raining lightly yet persistently. Njalo was fed up with his failure of a journey. Since setting out, he had not met even one immortal, and though his spirits were high when he first began his search, the hopelessness of thee matter finally seemed to be sinking in. He saw a flash of lightning and it began to rain harder. The green lion looked for a place to hide, but this time there was none. He sat down in the middle of the soggy, exposed plain and closed his eyes. He could feel the anger bubbling inside him, the desire to do something wrong just for fun--to hurt--to steal--to kill. No; that wasn't right. Njalo was a kind, polite, and caring lion that would help any stranger in need. But then what this want--this need--that now engulfed him? It was something foreign, as if he had found it along his travels when he had found no gods.
Njalo took a deep breath in, then out. The rain grew thicker, and large rain drops smashed onto his head and burrowed in his mane, drenching him to the bone. The burning wish to break and maim was put out as if it too had been splashed by the water. His mind was focused again, on immortals, but he was still frustrated with his current situation.
"Why?" he shouted into the sky, while the rain filled his mouth as if it was a cup, "Why must it rain so hard? Why when I'm out of sight of any cover? Why?"
His questions were almost immediately drowned by the crashing sound of rain on the expanse of the yellow field, and Njalo collapsed, shielding his face from the heavy droplets with his fore paws.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 2:30 pm
She'd been beating her way through the rainstorm on her fragile and seemingly crystalline wings, hovering above the ground, when her great sense of empathy picked up on despair and impatience. The rain at this precise moment, was not brought on by the goddess itself, but was beginning to receive influence from Nyesha, from the feelings she had picked up from a nearby lion, one which she hoped would be calmed by the rain falling from the darkened sky. When she swooped down to meet the soggy earth, her blue eyes widened as she found the green male cowering, body close to the ground, clearly drenched to the bone.
Nyesha frowned, clearly, she must have frightened the male.. Perhaps it was not something calming for this particular lion, she understood her domain could be a nuisance to some. Stepping foward, she focused hard on the sky. Putting rain to ease was much harder than starting a shower itself, and quite often she was incapable, she had to let nature run its course. Guilty and hoping it would clear up soon, the rain began to fade to tiny droplets, that ran down her nose and dripped onto the saturated ground. Nyesha looked to the male, Embarassed and lowered her head. She was partially to blame, and felt bad. "Hey, Sorry about that." She said gently.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 7:51 pm
Due to the sudden decrease of water lashing down, Njalo was able to hear a voice, and stood up hesitantly to face the creature. What had she said? he thought dully. He opened his eyes. At first glance he saw a pale blue lioness. It took him a moment to connect her presence with the heavy rain turning to a drizzle, and then his eyes dilated as he noticed her fragile wings and unnaturally crafted jewelry. His mouth opened slightly in awe, but when he spoke, hoarse from travel and disbelief, all he managed to choke out was "You're... a goddess!"
Then he realized what she had said upon her arrival--she had apologized. He looked up at the sky, then back down at her, and up again. He now felt considerably worse about having yelled at the sky only a few minutes previously.
The green lion had subconsciously begun to lick a muddy paw (he finally meets a goddess and he's in such a terrible state!), but quickly stopped. "You're..." he whispered, trailing off. How was he supposed to greet the most significant creature he had met on journey? A hello seemed obsolete. Njalo's mind flicked back to his only other encounter with an immortal: Primitus. But the god had been a cub, and he had been younger himself, manners hadn't mattered as much. But this... she was a fully fledged goddess, in fact, as he took a closer look, he realized she was standing almost fifteen feet away, not the ten he had previously thought. Something clicked in his brain (Primitus had been larger than Njalo, though much younger): Immortals were a size up from all other lions.
Njalo's tail flicked nervously, thinking it best that she greet him first. That way, he figured, if she called him a lowly mortal, he could greet her as... a noble goddess, but if she greeted him casually... well, he'd call her noble anyhow; no risk to offend that way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2008 11:10 am
She lowered her body, so she was on the same level as the cowering green lion and smiled gently, a little embarassed and half wishing she'd disguised herself, but the male seemed so mesmerised that she simply nodded and stood, eyes shifting around for a moment. She'd never been one for really distinguishing and setting boundaries between mortals and immortals, she hadn't been one to discriminate, or to believe she was better. She simply viewed herself as different in a physical term, but every creature that walked the earth was worthy of anything she was worthy of. She had not chosen to be this way, she was lucky; in most respects. Ever friendly she let out a calm laugh, that sounded almost like the chiming of metal against itself. "I'm Nyesha'Densi. But you can call me Nye."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 10:34 am
"Nye--Nyesha'Densi," murmured Njalo, letting the name flow, "that's a--a beautiful name." He nodded, as if to emphasize the truth to his statement, and then added, I'm Njalo'Umdlalo. It is an honor to meet you." He pulled back into a sort of bow before the goddess. Then with a nervous lurch in his stomach, he realized that she had shortened her name for him, and he had been so careless as not to. "I go by just Njalo, though," he admitted hurriedly, raising his head to see the lioness's expression.
He then tried to compose himself somewhat, and asked in a would-be matter-of-fact tone, if his voice wasn't quavering so much, "I--so you're the goddess of Rain or Weather or..." he faltered, "or something like that?" His eyes were both hopeful and slightly nervous, and he didn't meet Nye's eyes when he spoke.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:48 pm
Still looking softly at the male, she smiled, and a blush spread underneath her blue fur. "Why, thankyou, Njalo.. and yes, I am Rain." She said, a hint of pride in her voice. Although he avoided eye contact, she didn't, and was gentle in doing do, her sapphire eyes following his slowly, calmly. She bowed back at him, her headdress jingling as she did so. "Are you always this nervous?" She smiled. The goddess' attempt at humour was terrible.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:09 pm
Njalo glanced back at Nyesha when she bowed back to him--he was utterly surprised. A god... bowing to him? The confusion that waddled into Njalo's head nearly made him shout out "WHY?" one final time, but he refrained; it was awfully polite of her--almost too polite, which is what irked him.
"Nevous?" the green lion gulped, "I... not really?" Njalo spoke in a questioning tone, convinced he should give an answer, but unsure if the one he chose was correct. "It's just... you're the Goddess of... Rain. You just, "he motioned upward with a paw, "stopped it--the rain--has stopped." His hardly coherent, awe-filled explanations were all that escaped from the maw of the lion, who had completely missed any humor in his venture to answer whatever was asked of him.
"And your wings," he blurted out, accidently vocalizing only part of an inner monologue. Coming to this realization, Njalo hunched his shoulders and sat, looking wide-eyed at the goddess, his mouth firmly closed, and in a faint frown of concentration; he would not humiliate himself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 3:09 am
She found the lions display of behaviour rather adorable she must admit, and refrained from giggling slightly at his confused expression. She picked up on why he was confused and smiled. "I may be a Goddess, and may look different, but inside, I am no different to you." Okay, she was a little moody sometimes, like the weather, but that came with the job. She cast her gaze behind the male, looking a little lost in though for a moment before she brought herself back to reality. "I guess you haven't met many of my kind?" Nye wondered if she seemed patronising, so fell onto the ground in a graceful but still rather undignified way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 10:45 pm
"Just one," Njalo allowed himself, "A cub by the name of Primitus; Leadership."
Njalo's tail flicked nervously; he wanted to say more, but his instinct to be inferior wouldn't let him; finally, he convinced himself he should speak: “I suppose I’m not showing much leadership at the moment, even though I’m only leading myself.” A nervous chuckle escaped the green lion’s maw.
“Anyway, though, he was just a cub, about my size when I met him—though I was much smaller then—where as you are much… you’re fully grown.” Njalo was whacking himself in the forehead mentally; he had always practiced what he would say upon finding a god, but now he had met one and could barely form a sentence. He was pathetic, thought Njalo, and she was not, no matter what she said.
“How can you say we’re equals on the inside—will you die of age soon, are you tethered to this ground… this world? You can… influence the weather; that is no small feat.
“I am weak, I admit, and mortal. I know I’ll die eventually, and I’m not even fortunate enough to be a seer, so I have no powers at all. I cannot fly, and though I seek the knowledge that you and your fellows retain, what good will they do me if I never apply them directly? How shall I make a mark in this world, if even after I gain all knowledge I can I am still unworthy of such immortality?”
Njalo sighed, why was he getting so worked up over a kind, loving goddess? She deserved better. Well, obviously, she was a goddess, after all. The green lion grunted at the realization he was doing it again. While still antsy, Njalo was beginning to loosen up, encouraged by the goddess’s words.
“I’m so sorry; I shouldn’t have said that. I overreacted. Thank you for treating me like an equal. Despite what you say, it feels… unnatural.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 4:00 pm
Primitus.. Nope, the name didn't ring a bell. But she had lived a rather secluded live, in honesty. "No, I don't think I've met him."
As she listened to his fears, his.. insecurities, her eyes glazed over. She gazed intently at the green lion for a moment, wondering if she could ever truly express what she wanted to say in that moment.
"You are not weak." She said simply. Her wings moved slowly and delicately the way they did when she was grounded, drifting down almost against her body and pulling up again.
"You can experience many many beautiful things. Family, love. And all those hard times you will eventually be rewarded for, and you are strong. Simply by surviving." Nyesha eyes were wide. "Nothing last forever, one day even this very ground beneath us will be no longer. Those who cannot physically live forever, find other paths of immortality." She smiled. "I, for one, may never forget you for hundreds of years. You will live on in the hearts of others, and despite your lack of wings or powers, a strong mind is the most beautiful and powerful thing in the world."
She stopped, wondering if she had just made things worse. Her attempt at reassuring people wasn't usually very good, but she was strong in her beliefs. And this was what she believed in.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 10:16 am
Njalo smiled. Although the thought of the ground reaching an end seemed a gloomy notion to Njalo, the goddess's speech was, in a way inspiring. The first, infantile thought that popped into the green lion's head was "I'll be remembered by a goddess!" and then confronted that thought, and sent it away to get eaten by another, more logical thought.
"Family, love... I've never had those," then with a small smile, "but someday I will." With a fore-claw, he carved a circle in the ground. Nothing artistic, but the meaning was clear: eternity. "And I think... if I spread what I learn from the gods, then I will be remembered, at least a little. And the world would be better for it. I guess... physical immortality is not the only form... You know about a great deal more than just rain." Njalo allowed a pause, and then asked, "About which, I can't help but ask: What are clouds? They look fluffy, but I've heard you would fall through one if you tried to walk on it. Is it just floating water? If it is, could you swim in them... And how do they float?"
The green lion was feeling considerably more upbeat, and he would never forgive himself he missed the opportunity to ask about clouds, which he knew always came right before rain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:42 am
"I'm sure one day you will, we will all have emotional experiences, and beautiful ones." The Goddess smiled, My, she was feeling optimistic today. "You are right, we are only truely gone, when we are no longer remembered." She was highly flattered that he had deemed her as knowlegably, as sometimes she felt as if she had no much to learn, it was probably the first time she had sounded wise in her life!
At his question about clouds,Nyesha laughed sweetly. He was a very nice young male, she'd be sad to part from him.
"I think you'd have to ask Devu, the God of Clouds." She joked. "Well, they do look fluffy, but its basically just rain before it falls from the sky, but it doesn't feel like water, its less than water really. But it turns into rain at some point or another and falls." She paused, musing and looking up at the sky. "It would be rather interesting to walk on them, though! I suppose they float as the water is so light, and its just up there, waiting to fall."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2009 7:56 pm
"I hope so. I want to feel it. I want love. But I haven't found it yet," sighed Njalo, trying not to dwell very long on his lack of time-tested relationships.
On hearing the explanation of clouds, Njalo glanced upward nervously. Waiting to fall? That sounded somewhat hazardous. What if it all were to fall at once? No matter; it hadn't happened in all the years until now, and probably would happen after. Njalo noted the reference to another god, and added him to a mental list he kept.
"You say it would be interesting to walk on the clouds--you actually could, you know, since you could fly up there and all." He didn't say this as a rude comment or an obvious statement, just a surprised observation. Njalo liked wings, and he was constantly amazed at the wide variety of forms they took. Nyesha was the first lion Njalo had seen with then, filmy wings. They were radically different from Primitus's starry feathered wings, but just as beautiful in their own way. Spinning around once quickly out of excitement, Njalo asked some questions he hadn't thought of before: "What's your favorite part of being of being, well, a goddess?"
He had fantasized about being a god often enough that he hadn't really thought of what he would enjoy doing other than... being a god. Not only that, but it would interesting to try to comprehend not only the domains of gods he met better, but the gods themselves. He was endlessly intrigued by their very existence, and their thoughts were thus of the utmost importance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 1:35 pm
The goddess gaze was downcast for a moment. She didn't want to admit it, but she had never truly felt love either, and she was alot older than Njalo. Perhaps it would find her some day, she had to remain optimistic about these things.
"I wish I could walk on the clouds, you can fly through them, but they aren't solid I'm afraid." It was a dream that shattered as soon as she had learnt to fly, she really expected them to be like huge wads of cotton.
"My favourite part of being a Goddess?..." She repeated. "I'm really not that different to you and I, you know..." Okay, she was, but she didn't feel like she was actually anything paticularly special. What made her the happiest about who she was? And then it hit her. "Being at one with my domain, as it is the thing I love most in this world, to experience it, and to some extent control it, gives me great joy." It was a simple thing, something which to some meant nothing, but to Nyesha, it meant everything.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
