Quote:
demonstrationevi (7:30:01 PM): Ilori looked back at the desert behind them and sighed a little. It had felt as though it had been ages since he had come there... It had been, he spent most of his life with the Dawn Walkers. It was strange to leave. But, he and Sepoko had waited for his wounds to heal, and now they were on the move. It was time to go... well, go home, he supposed. A new home for him... a new home with Sepoko. His Sepoko. He excellent, lovely, fantastic, Sepoko. All these opinions, he voiced... along with complaints about having to walk so far, but that was just laziness.
"Man... it's so farrrrr..." He groaned, though he walked briskly anyway, taking one last look at the desert, "But hey, at least I've got you to take care of me, make sure I don't fall down and die somewhere." He grinned, nudging his new mate happily. Really, he was thrilled. He was still in a bit of pain, but he remained thrilled. He had everything he wanted all of a sudden, "Do you think they'll like me? Oh, and your mom. I'm excited to see your mom again. That will be totally wild... she hasn't seen me since I was big enough for her to eat me whole. I bet she never thought she'd run into me again." He laughed loudly, trotting now, "This is going to be great! You and me! Together, the whole way there! Our first time alone!" He tilted his head, "Well... you know... since we chased fireflies when we were kids."
VoiceOfDoom1739 (7:44:44 PM): Sepoko trotted alongside Ilori, taking greater strides to compensate for the difference in size; he didn't want Ilori anywhere but at his side. The older, smaller lion didn't say much; he didn't have much to say. He was content enough to walk and listen and make his way back home, back to where his family was. He never once looked back, not like Ilori did, because for the first time in Sepoko's life, his eyes and mind and heart were all set on the future, and his painful past could be forgotten. Certainly, the pace and the heat and the distance could be tiresome... but even for his laziness and all his complaints, Ilori had an energy that was infectious.
"Don't talk like that," Sepoko chuckled. "As long as I'm here you can put all thoughts like that out of your mind." Poko didn't really like to think of it either; he'd come close to losing Ilori already anyway. He smirked a little at Ilori's next flood of comments and questions, taking it all in. He waited 'til the kid needed to catch a breath, then interjected, "'Lori, these people love... everyone. They will love you. We just... we're supposed to find a 'muse', I guess. Whatever that is. I'm supposed to know it when I find it." He furrowed his brow. It was a perplexing business. He shook his head. No matter--he'd focus on Ilori for now and the rest would come somehow.
Though he did wonder how his mother was doing, all on her own. His mother hadn't been on her own since before Ilori was born. Although... she seemed the loner type, and she had the pride. It couldn't be too bad.
But he couldn't help but smile wide at that last comment. "Yeah. Yeah. Let's make the most of this... 'little walk', huh?" Sepoko for one would savor all of it, as long as Ilori was there with him.
demonstrationevi (7:53:27 PM): Ilori grinned slowly down a little, half because he didn't want to push Sepoko... and half because he didn't really want to agitate his wounds. He had only just recovered... but he had wanted to move forward. Get on with his life, and move in with Sepoko. "Wow... loving everyone. That doesn't sound so bad to me." He grinned, then looked thoughtful, "A muse... a muse a muse a muse... if I were a muse... what would I be?" Ilori said jokingly... well, he was half serious. "I wonder what it is... what it does..." He couldn't help but be a little curious.
"And who needs a 'little' walk?" Ilori grinned, kissing Sepoko's cheek, before he laughed, "The more we rest up, the more time we have alone. And I have no issue with resting up all over the place. You're short, and I'm still covered in sexy wounds." He joked, clearly quite pleased with his logic. The more rest he got, the happier he generally was... and the more rest he got, the more time he had alone with his lover. He was having far too much fun, cripple or no. Really. One shouldn't have as much fun as he was having after recieving nearly fatal wounds.
But frankly, being kept down had never been one of Ilori's strong suits. Unbreakable optimism tended to be.
VoiceOfDoom1739 (8:06:38 PM): Sepoko saw Ilori slow, and slowed a bit himself in kind. "Do you need to stop and rest?" he inquired, brows furrowing. He didn't want Ilori to strain his wounds, after all. If he absolutely had to, Sepoko would carry him. He shook his head. "No, you know what, let's rest." He found a small grove of trees and made for them, seating himself in the shade, waiting for Ilori there. As he sat, he addressed his attention to Ilori's other comments.
"I don't know... a muse could be just about anything," Sepoko muttered. He scanned the horizon with his eyes. Anything was sure a lot to pick from. He shrugged. "It's supposed to guide us or something. I dunno. I think I've been doing pretty well guiding myself so far. Led myself back to you, didn't I?" He smirked at his love, positively beaming at the kiss.
He laughed. "Oh, you're sexy with or without the wounds." He nuzzled his mate's neck, then dropped to the ground and yawned. "Y'know, it should be getting dark soon, anyway." He waved a paw towards the horizon, where the sun was just laying down it's head. Sepoko grinned. "You know what that means..." And surely Ilori did. Night brought a lot of things, but it brought one thing in particular that the both of them held dear.
And Ilori's optimism wasn't so bad; Sepoko needed it to counteract his crippling pessimism. Why, combined they were positively bearable.
demonstrationevi (8:37:16 PM): Ilori smiled. He wouldn't bother protesting... he wanted to rest. Benifit of being lazy, argueing took way too much energy, "Okay...Hum... Here's a good spot." He grinned, sitting under a tree. He didn't really think he needed the rest... but Sepoko was probably right. Working too hard would wreck his newly healed wounds... which was bound to make him all the more tired. And who wanted that? Really. Except him anyway...
"A guide? A guide that could be anything..." Ilori said quietly, leaning his head down, "Hum...So... something special then, I'd assume. Only something special could lead us to something, it couldn't be just anything." He chuckled a little, "I don't think that a log could really lead us anywhere... So it should be something... important..." He smiled, brightening up, "It would be neat it you and I had the same muse." He lit up at the last comment, "You did bring yourself back to me... and I'm so glad you did. I'm sure I would have found you... if I weren't so... well... you know." Lazy.
"And I would also like to say you're probably sexier without wonds, so don't go getting yourself hurt to look like me." Ilori told him, nuzzling his mate back, and glancing towards the sunset, "I can hardly wait to see them when they come outside... My favorite time of night." Made all the better by the fact that Sepoko was there with him. That only made things... well, Ilori couldn't think of it any way except exponentially better.
VoiceOfDoom1739 (8:49:47 PM): Sepoko shrugged as he surveyed the wide world around them, the sky above darkening steadily and the light dying over the parched grass. "If you think about it," Sepoko observed, "Anything could be important to someone. The little cave where I grew up was important to me... but my mother didn't think so. Mother thinks wide open space is important, but I don't care so much. It's gotta be something personal." He stared at the sky's growing pink hue. "I don't think it's somethin' you can find thinkin' about it too much, though. I mean... its a muse. If it's supposed to guide you, it should come to you, huh?" At least, that's how it seemed to Sepoko.
He glanced sideways at his love. "You had things to do. Your family needed you. You had to stay in one place for a while. But staying in one place makes someone easier to find." He smiled a little to encourage him. They both knew he was lazy, but Sepoko liked it better when Ilori was focusing on the positive.
He chuckled a bit and dropped his head, looking down on his paws. "Yes, well, wasn't planning on it," he replied, returning the nuzzle with a gentle nudge. He leaned up against the younger lion and watched the sky with him, paralleling him despite the difference in their coats and sizes. Such differences didn't matter; in this moment they were still perfectly matched.
A bright glint appeared on the horizon. "Oh, I think I see one..."
demonstrationevi (9:01:23 PM): "Probably." Ilori agreed, "I've never put much value on places... For me, it's other lions and creatures like them." He said, looking at Sepoko and kissing his nose, "Like you. Hey, maybe you're secretly my muse?" He shook his head, "Well... you are in some ways. Everything I do, I do for you." He tilkted his head back, "But you're right... we should just let it come to us. Not think too hard."
Ilori lit up as Sepoko praised him more. They were all so much better than being lazy. And had all played a big part too, "Yeah... but now you've found me, and if I have any say in the matter, I won't go anywhere without you." And he wasn't. Anywhere Sepoko went, he would go too. As long as Sepoko wanted him, Ilori would be there. He hoped it would be forever, or as close to forever as they could get it, "After all, you're my soul mate." His new word. He quite liked it.
"Me too," Ilori grinned, leaning his head on Sepoko's shoulder as he watched, "Oh, and there! I see another one!" He pointed, seeing another one as the last rays of the sun dissapeared over the hill, "And a few more... Lovely..." He sighed, settling in and moving beside Sepoko, not wanting to be separated from him, even by an inch, "No matter how many times I see them... they always look so beautiful..."
VoiceOfDoom1739 (9:10:20 PM): Sepoko laughed out loud and nudged Ilori on the shoulder. "Lions can't be muses, silly. That'd be too easy." He shrugged and threw one foreleg over Ilori's shoulders, snuggling in close, sighing. Sometimes he really felt that Ilori was just too good for him... but he knew Ilori would slap him for thinking things like that, so he didn't dwell on it.
"And good," he added, as Ilori spoke, and dropped both paws back on the ground. "Because I'm not going to _let you_ go anywhere without me." Not after all this time without him, anyway; he wasn't going to risk losing track of him again. They had a lot of catching up to do... and, Sepoko supposed, they had the rest of their lives to do it. "Soul mate, huh?" He tried the words out on his tongue and swished them around in his brain for a bit. "Sounds about right..." It didn't really come as a revelation to Poko or anything... just a new word for something he already knew.
Sepoko grew quiet then once more, just watching the fireflies whizz past them and letting Ilori observe aloud. Sepoko was content to just watch and be there with the one he loved; he didn't feel he really needed to say anything at all. He took a moment to step forward from Ilori, very slowly and carefully, and out into the open. He stood stock still there, and lifted up one paw to the air. And there he waited, like just another part of the scenery... until finally one came and landed upon his paw. He cupped the other paw around it, and peered down into the glow between them. "Come here and look," he whispered to Ilori, feeling the thing's wings flickering against the pads of his paws.
demonstrationevi (9:31:59 PM): "It really would be. Then I'd have had my muse since I was only a little cub." Ilori said, oving down and snuggling up underneith Sepoko's foreleg. He almost felt the same way about Sepoko, too good for him. He was too lucky. He didn't deserve it, he was almost certain of that... but he was certainly glad that he had Sepoko. His Sepoko, his shining star... He definitly needed to say more romantic things out loud, but in his mind, they somehow became cheesy the moment he said them out loud. Sometimes he said them anyway.
"I thought so. That's what my mom said about my dad... I never thought I'd know what it meant, but now I do. Wild, huh?" He asked, glad that Sepoko thought so as well, "And it isn't as though I'd go anywhere without you. It would be so... boring." He searched for the right words, "It would be like... I don't know... something should be there, but wasn't... You know?"
Ilori slowly got up and walked towards him, smiling ever-more. "I wish... I could take every moment like this, and have a picture of it in my mind... that I could look back at whenever I wanted too." He said softly, walking up beside Sepoko, and tilting his head to look at the firefly, "Because right now, everything is perfect. You, the fireflies... everything. No one should be allowed to be as happy as we are..." He moved in towards the firefly... but another one moved in and landed on his nose. Ilori blinked, and then grinned widely, "They like me too."
VoiceOfDoom1739 (9:48:13 PM): "My mom never said much about my dad at all, even when he was there," Sepoko observed as he continued to stare into his paws. For perhaps the first time, that didn't hurt to say. Perhaps it had been too long and the wound was finally closed... or maybe it was more that Sepoko had finally found the kind of love he'd always wanted. Either way, it felt good to be content for once. "I know _exactly_ what you mean," he told Ilori. He did. Because all this time Sepoko had been wandering with his mother, and then wandering alone, he'd felt exactly that.
He glanced up at his mate as he approached and lashed his tail. "It'd be kind of nice if there was a way to just... capture images and save them. Iunno." He shrugged. "Closest thing I know is my mom's painting..." He looked back down at the firefly and leaned up against Ilori, giggling a little when the firefly landed upon his nose. "I guess we've got company." Sepoko opened up his paws to let his own little captive fly off... but it seemed content, for the time, to linger upon his paws and explore them. He sighed. Everything really was perfect, wasn't it. So perfect, he could almost hear music in the breeze and the rustling of the grass and the buzz of the insects...
It really was rather melodic.
demonstrationevi (9:54:44 PM): Ilori smiled sadly, blowing the firefly off his nose, "Well, don't worry. I'm your soul mate now..." He grinned, bouncing back to happy in a near-instant, "I'll alwyas have your back. I'll always let you know how much I love you, because I do. With every part of me, in every silly, stupid, brilliant, excellent, manner of the word."
Ilori smiled as the firefly landed back on his nose, "I can't really make any paintings... I can only remember. Most of the time, memory is good enough... But I'm happy to make every new one I have with you." He smiled a little, "They seem to like us as much as we like them. Maybe they've forgiven us for always catching them when we were little, don't you think?" He laughed a little, blowing on the firefly again, which merely landed back on his nose, "You'd think they'd still be a little mad... but I guess we always let them go."
He closed his eyes, listening, "It's like music... there are so many of them..." Just as pretty to listen to the fireflies as it was to see them.
VoiceOfDoom1739 (10:02:41 PM): Sepoko grinned, and pressed his nose to Ilori's, right where the firefly had just fled. "You don't need to do all that. Just as long as you're by my side, I think I'll know the rest." He chuckled a little, pressing a kiss against him, then backing off. "I suppose nothing in the world will stop you from doing and saying all these things, anyway, now that you've got your mind made up." He sat back and watched the lights of the fireflies trace patterns in the sky. Ilori did have a certain way about him that just couldn't be changed.
Sepoko nodded, watching as one firefly circled them and went on its merry way. "I think they just know we mean them no harm. Or maybe they're celebrating for us, who knows."
He paused a little, then looked Ilori in the eyes. "...you hear it too? The music?" And here he'd thought it was just him.
demonstrationevi (10:10:51 PM): "Same with you." Ilori smiled, "We're both very stubborn that way. The Gods themselves couldn't keep us apart." He said decicsvly, kissing Sepoko back, and chuckling, "Abd my mind is made up. I won't leave you unless you ask me too, which as far as I can tell is not your plan." He blew another firefly off his nose, "Doesn't really seem to be theirs either..."
He listened with interest to Sepoko and the fireflies, "Do you think they're making music for us? To help us celebrate the start of our journey?" He looked thoughtful, "I never though that these little bugs could make music... but it's beautiful isn't it?" He had never heard music before... not really good music anyway, "I've never heard anything like this before..."
VoiceOfDoom1739 (10:17:28 PM): Sepoko simpered, recieving the kiss gladly. "I'd like to see them try." He felt he'd been smiling a lot more since he had Ilori back in his life. It made his jaws a little sore sometimes, since he wasn't so accustomed to it... and yet still it felt great. "I would never, ever, ever send you away. I need you too much." He flinched a little as a firefly landed upon his ear. He flicked it and it went away, only to settle again upon his mane. "Man... what is it with them tonight..."
He turned his eyes back on the swarms over the plains. "I don't think they can do something like that, 'Lori... not on purpose..." He stared, and held his ears erect, taking in the song. It did pretty well fit the mood of the evening, though, wherever it came from. It was soothing, all-encompasing... it made him feel at home, in an unfamiliar way.
demonstrationevi (10:22:56 PM): "Good, because I know the same feeling." Ilori smiled... He had always loved to smile, it was something he had done for as long as he could remember... but he normally had things he liked to complain about. Too much work, not enough fun... but here he was, having fun and doing work, and working with Sepoko, and he had nothing to make him sad. Nothing he didn't want to do, as long as Sepoko was there too, "I'm glad... because I'd be useless without you." He blinked as another firefly moved in with them, "Wow... they're really liking us."
Ilori listened, "You don't think so...?" He asked, watching as dozens of pairs of fireflies moved in around them, "Sepoko... Have you ever seen so many in one place before?" He asked, blinking once or twice as he glanced around them. It was so bright... they might as well have been standing in daylight. And the music too... it was such lovely music, "What a beautiful song... What do you think they're trying to tell us?"
VoiceOfDoom1739 (8:45:30 PM): Sepoko blinked and crossed his eyes as a firefly landed square between them. He snorted and shook his head, sending the thing flying, and frowned, watching it depart. "You know," he observed. "It's... hard to have an intimate moment when you're being swarmed." Still, he couldn't help but smirk a little at Ilori's comment though, and told him, "You are never useless, with or without me," and gave him a little nudge with his nose.
Returning his attention to the glitter in the sky, Sepoko found himself reluctantly thinking his position. The way the insects lingered around them certainly did seem purposeful... and for a moment, he could swear he could hear voices amidst the fluttering of their wings. But no. That was silly. Although... there was the numbers. "I really never have," he had to admit. Never once in his life had so many fireflies been in one place. It really did seem like they were there for them. But he couldn't... just couldn't bring himself to answer Ilori's final question... because he didn't know what they were trying to tell. Sepoko had never supposed bugs were capable of telling much of anything.
He shook his head, hard, to try to shake that almost paranoid feeling that a hundred voices were speaking.
demonstrationevi (8:53:11 PM): Ilori nodded in agreement, "No kidding... They're kinda..." He wanted to say ruining the moment... because they weren't exactly. There was something beautiful about it, except that they kept landing on the two lions. Except for that, everything seemed fine. They were pretty, light... and well, they all seemed to be singing. Actually singing, as opposed to 'sounding' like they were singing.
"Do they sound like they're..." He wasn't sure what he wanted to say exactly, "Well, almost like they're.. talking, to you? Not to sound silly or anything, but they do sound like they're trying too... I don't know... like they're all trying to talk to us?" He asked, curiously, "Except all at once... but they aren't all saying the same thing? Maybe?"
VoiceOfDoom1739 (8:58:12 PM): Sepoko sat, frozen in place, his mane growing dotted with specks of light... for he couldn't help but feel that Ilori was exactly right. And that terrified him. He was hearing voices. _Crazy people_ heard voices. Right? Hell, he couldn't even figure out what they were saying. It was deafening. Maddening. He huddled down for just a moment and covered his ears, but it didn't do a thing.
And then... he caught his breath.
And for a stunning moment time seemed to stop. And in that moment, he could hear each and every voice clearly. "Calm down, calm down." "It's going to be okay now." "You're okay." "You are loved." "It's okay." "Just breathe, and you'll be fine." "Just look to your beloved; he's there for you." "You're going to be okay."
And tears flooded his face, because he'd never felt so... supported before. Or so enlightened. And this... this was supposed to be what he was looking for, wasn't it? This is what he'd left to find. He wasn't crazy... he was seeing clearly for the very first time. And he laughed aloud. "Ilori! Ilori! I understand them! I understand!" And he threw his paws around Ilori and hugged him tight because he was so overwhelmed with emotion that he couldn't think what else to do.
demonstrationevi (9:04:26 PM): Ilori was quiet and listened as well, going with the flow and trying to understand what they were saying, letting them be unified. He kept his eyes closed and listening, letting Sepoko choose how he would understand them... but the words were coming to him. They were getting louder... they were getting easier to understand...
"All is well." "You're right where you need to be." "This is where you belong." "You're with him." "You have everything you need." "Just go with the flow, you have everything you need." "You have everything you've ever needed right here."
Ilori's eyes snapped open as Sepoko spoke, a grin spreading across his face as though he had just heard the words of Gods. He had found it too, exactly what he was looking for. He had found what would make him accepted by everyone... and most of all, best of all, the perfect ending to a perfect moment, Sepoko had heard it too, "Me too! I can understand them too!" He tossed himself around Sepoko, accepting the hug, and falling backwards, "We did it! We did it! We found them!"
VoiceOfDoom1739 (9:09:55 PM): Sepoko sat clinging to Ilori for a moment, just catching his breath and letting the moment wash over him. When he was finally calm and his breathing was even, he slipped back and sat, looking Ilori straight in the eye. "I don't think..." he said, faltered, then began again. "I don't think I could've done this without you." It was true. Without Ilori around, Sepoko was too bitter, too cynical, too repressed to hear what the world was trying to tell him. Ilori opened him up. This was why he needed him.
He sighed and eyed the horizon, where the sun had now disintigrated, leaving only the faintest traces of red and purple behind. "You know what this means, right?" He glanced sideways at Ilori. "It means we can really go home now... home to my family..." He smiled, leaned up against his love, adding, "And yours too... now."
Everything was perfect. Everything was as it was supposed to be. He leaned up against Ilori and nestled his head into his mane, resting there. It wasn't long before he fell asleep, wrapped up in his lover's warmth and the song of the fireflies easing his weary heart.
demonstrationevi (9:15:39 PM): Ilori grinned at Sepoko, "Me either. I never would have listened. Not without you." The world spoke to Ilori... he just often chose not to llisten, it was far too much work. With Sepoko, he felt like he had a reason to listen o what the world had to tell him, not like he had to ignore it anymore. Sepoko had given him a reason to wander outside where he could sleep and laze the day away. He could get out of himself now. He could see everything. The whole world, and he liked it. Especially when he had Sepoko with him.
"We have a place for us..." He said quietly, grinning widely, "A place just for us, where we can be us. Just us, with them there too." He grinned, closing his eyes and listening while he nuzzled Sepoko's nose, "My home is wherever you are... Always. Promise."
This was the world he liked... the world he wanted. And as the fireflies sang, he fell asleep wrapped around Sepoko. He had never been happier. Not ever. Suddenly, he had everything he had ever wanted. Maybe one day he could tell his family about it... one day... But for now, he was right where he wanted to be, and nowhere else. He closed his eyes and whispered, "I've never been so happy before, love." And then he was lost in sleep.
"Man... it's so farrrrr..." He groaned, though he walked briskly anyway, taking one last look at the desert, "But hey, at least I've got you to take care of me, make sure I don't fall down and die somewhere." He grinned, nudging his new mate happily. Really, he was thrilled. He was still in a bit of pain, but he remained thrilled. He had everything he wanted all of a sudden, "Do you think they'll like me? Oh, and your mom. I'm excited to see your mom again. That will be totally wild... she hasn't seen me since I was big enough for her to eat me whole. I bet she never thought she'd run into me again." He laughed loudly, trotting now, "This is going to be great! You and me! Together, the whole way there! Our first time alone!" He tilted his head, "Well... you know... since we chased fireflies when we were kids."
VoiceOfDoom1739 (7:44:44 PM): Sepoko trotted alongside Ilori, taking greater strides to compensate for the difference in size; he didn't want Ilori anywhere but at his side. The older, smaller lion didn't say much; he didn't have much to say. He was content enough to walk and listen and make his way back home, back to where his family was. He never once looked back, not like Ilori did, because for the first time in Sepoko's life, his eyes and mind and heart were all set on the future, and his painful past could be forgotten. Certainly, the pace and the heat and the distance could be tiresome... but even for his laziness and all his complaints, Ilori had an energy that was infectious.
"Don't talk like that," Sepoko chuckled. "As long as I'm here you can put all thoughts like that out of your mind." Poko didn't really like to think of it either; he'd come close to losing Ilori already anyway. He smirked a little at Ilori's next flood of comments and questions, taking it all in. He waited 'til the kid needed to catch a breath, then interjected, "'Lori, these people love... everyone. They will love you. We just... we're supposed to find a 'muse', I guess. Whatever that is. I'm supposed to know it when I find it." He furrowed his brow. It was a perplexing business. He shook his head. No matter--he'd focus on Ilori for now and the rest would come somehow.
Though he did wonder how his mother was doing, all on her own. His mother hadn't been on her own since before Ilori was born. Although... she seemed the loner type, and she had the pride. It couldn't be too bad.
But he couldn't help but smile wide at that last comment. "Yeah. Yeah. Let's make the most of this... 'little walk', huh?" Sepoko for one would savor all of it, as long as Ilori was there with him.
demonstrationevi (7:53:27 PM): Ilori grinned slowly down a little, half because he didn't want to push Sepoko... and half because he didn't really want to agitate his wounds. He had only just recovered... but he had wanted to move forward. Get on with his life, and move in with Sepoko. "Wow... loving everyone. That doesn't sound so bad to me." He grinned, then looked thoughtful, "A muse... a muse a muse a muse... if I were a muse... what would I be?" Ilori said jokingly... well, he was half serious. "I wonder what it is... what it does..." He couldn't help but be a little curious.
"And who needs a 'little' walk?" Ilori grinned, kissing Sepoko's cheek, before he laughed, "The more we rest up, the more time we have alone. And I have no issue with resting up all over the place. You're short, and I'm still covered in sexy wounds." He joked, clearly quite pleased with his logic. The more rest he got, the happier he generally was... and the more rest he got, the more time he had alone with his lover. He was having far too much fun, cripple or no. Really. One shouldn't have as much fun as he was having after recieving nearly fatal wounds.
But frankly, being kept down had never been one of Ilori's strong suits. Unbreakable optimism tended to be.
VoiceOfDoom1739 (8:06:38 PM): Sepoko saw Ilori slow, and slowed a bit himself in kind. "Do you need to stop and rest?" he inquired, brows furrowing. He didn't want Ilori to strain his wounds, after all. If he absolutely had to, Sepoko would carry him. He shook his head. "No, you know what, let's rest." He found a small grove of trees and made for them, seating himself in the shade, waiting for Ilori there. As he sat, he addressed his attention to Ilori's other comments.
"I don't know... a muse could be just about anything," Sepoko muttered. He scanned the horizon with his eyes. Anything was sure a lot to pick from. He shrugged. "It's supposed to guide us or something. I dunno. I think I've been doing pretty well guiding myself so far. Led myself back to you, didn't I?" He smirked at his love, positively beaming at the kiss.
He laughed. "Oh, you're sexy with or without the wounds." He nuzzled his mate's neck, then dropped to the ground and yawned. "Y'know, it should be getting dark soon, anyway." He waved a paw towards the horizon, where the sun was just laying down it's head. Sepoko grinned. "You know what that means..." And surely Ilori did. Night brought a lot of things, but it brought one thing in particular that the both of them held dear.
And Ilori's optimism wasn't so bad; Sepoko needed it to counteract his crippling pessimism. Why, combined they were positively bearable.
demonstrationevi (8:37:16 PM): Ilori smiled. He wouldn't bother protesting... he wanted to rest. Benifit of being lazy, argueing took way too much energy, "Okay...Hum... Here's a good spot." He grinned, sitting under a tree. He didn't really think he needed the rest... but Sepoko was probably right. Working too hard would wreck his newly healed wounds... which was bound to make him all the more tired. And who wanted that? Really. Except him anyway...
"A guide? A guide that could be anything..." Ilori said quietly, leaning his head down, "Hum...So... something special then, I'd assume. Only something special could lead us to something, it couldn't be just anything." He chuckled a little, "I don't think that a log could really lead us anywhere... So it should be something... important..." He smiled, brightening up, "It would be neat it you and I had the same muse." He lit up at the last comment, "You did bring yourself back to me... and I'm so glad you did. I'm sure I would have found you... if I weren't so... well... you know." Lazy.
"And I would also like to say you're probably sexier without wonds, so don't go getting yourself hurt to look like me." Ilori told him, nuzzling his mate back, and glancing towards the sunset, "I can hardly wait to see them when they come outside... My favorite time of night." Made all the better by the fact that Sepoko was there with him. That only made things... well, Ilori couldn't think of it any way except exponentially better.
VoiceOfDoom1739 (8:49:47 PM): Sepoko shrugged as he surveyed the wide world around them, the sky above darkening steadily and the light dying over the parched grass. "If you think about it," Sepoko observed, "Anything could be important to someone. The little cave where I grew up was important to me... but my mother didn't think so. Mother thinks wide open space is important, but I don't care so much. It's gotta be something personal." He stared at the sky's growing pink hue. "I don't think it's somethin' you can find thinkin' about it too much, though. I mean... its a muse. If it's supposed to guide you, it should come to you, huh?" At least, that's how it seemed to Sepoko.
He glanced sideways at his love. "You had things to do. Your family needed you. You had to stay in one place for a while. But staying in one place makes someone easier to find." He smiled a little to encourage him. They both knew he was lazy, but Sepoko liked it better when Ilori was focusing on the positive.
He chuckled a bit and dropped his head, looking down on his paws. "Yes, well, wasn't planning on it," he replied, returning the nuzzle with a gentle nudge. He leaned up against the younger lion and watched the sky with him, paralleling him despite the difference in their coats and sizes. Such differences didn't matter; in this moment they were still perfectly matched.
A bright glint appeared on the horizon. "Oh, I think I see one..."
demonstrationevi (9:01:23 PM): "Probably." Ilori agreed, "I've never put much value on places... For me, it's other lions and creatures like them." He said, looking at Sepoko and kissing his nose, "Like you. Hey, maybe you're secretly my muse?" He shook his head, "Well... you are in some ways. Everything I do, I do for you." He tilkted his head back, "But you're right... we should just let it come to us. Not think too hard."
Ilori lit up as Sepoko praised him more. They were all so much better than being lazy. And had all played a big part too, "Yeah... but now you've found me, and if I have any say in the matter, I won't go anywhere without you." And he wasn't. Anywhere Sepoko went, he would go too. As long as Sepoko wanted him, Ilori would be there. He hoped it would be forever, or as close to forever as they could get it, "After all, you're my soul mate." His new word. He quite liked it.
"Me too," Ilori grinned, leaning his head on Sepoko's shoulder as he watched, "Oh, and there! I see another one!" He pointed, seeing another one as the last rays of the sun dissapeared over the hill, "And a few more... Lovely..." He sighed, settling in and moving beside Sepoko, not wanting to be separated from him, even by an inch, "No matter how many times I see them... they always look so beautiful..."
VoiceOfDoom1739 (9:10:20 PM): Sepoko laughed out loud and nudged Ilori on the shoulder. "Lions can't be muses, silly. That'd be too easy." He shrugged and threw one foreleg over Ilori's shoulders, snuggling in close, sighing. Sometimes he really felt that Ilori was just too good for him... but he knew Ilori would slap him for thinking things like that, so he didn't dwell on it.
"And good," he added, as Ilori spoke, and dropped both paws back on the ground. "Because I'm not going to _let you_ go anywhere without me." Not after all this time without him, anyway; he wasn't going to risk losing track of him again. They had a lot of catching up to do... and, Sepoko supposed, they had the rest of their lives to do it. "Soul mate, huh?" He tried the words out on his tongue and swished them around in his brain for a bit. "Sounds about right..." It didn't really come as a revelation to Poko or anything... just a new word for something he already knew.
Sepoko grew quiet then once more, just watching the fireflies whizz past them and letting Ilori observe aloud. Sepoko was content to just watch and be there with the one he loved; he didn't feel he really needed to say anything at all. He took a moment to step forward from Ilori, very slowly and carefully, and out into the open. He stood stock still there, and lifted up one paw to the air. And there he waited, like just another part of the scenery... until finally one came and landed upon his paw. He cupped the other paw around it, and peered down into the glow between them. "Come here and look," he whispered to Ilori, feeling the thing's wings flickering against the pads of his paws.
demonstrationevi (9:31:59 PM): "It really would be. Then I'd have had my muse since I was only a little cub." Ilori said, oving down and snuggling up underneith Sepoko's foreleg. He almost felt the same way about Sepoko, too good for him. He was too lucky. He didn't deserve it, he was almost certain of that... but he was certainly glad that he had Sepoko. His Sepoko, his shining star... He definitly needed to say more romantic things out loud, but in his mind, they somehow became cheesy the moment he said them out loud. Sometimes he said them anyway.
"I thought so. That's what my mom said about my dad... I never thought I'd know what it meant, but now I do. Wild, huh?" He asked, glad that Sepoko thought so as well, "And it isn't as though I'd go anywhere without you. It would be so... boring." He searched for the right words, "It would be like... I don't know... something should be there, but wasn't... You know?"
Ilori slowly got up and walked towards him, smiling ever-more. "I wish... I could take every moment like this, and have a picture of it in my mind... that I could look back at whenever I wanted too." He said softly, walking up beside Sepoko, and tilting his head to look at the firefly, "Because right now, everything is perfect. You, the fireflies... everything. No one should be allowed to be as happy as we are..." He moved in towards the firefly... but another one moved in and landed on his nose. Ilori blinked, and then grinned widely, "They like me too."
VoiceOfDoom1739 (9:48:13 PM): "My mom never said much about my dad at all, even when he was there," Sepoko observed as he continued to stare into his paws. For perhaps the first time, that didn't hurt to say. Perhaps it had been too long and the wound was finally closed... or maybe it was more that Sepoko had finally found the kind of love he'd always wanted. Either way, it felt good to be content for once. "I know _exactly_ what you mean," he told Ilori. He did. Because all this time Sepoko had been wandering with his mother, and then wandering alone, he'd felt exactly that.
He glanced up at his mate as he approached and lashed his tail. "It'd be kind of nice if there was a way to just... capture images and save them. Iunno." He shrugged. "Closest thing I know is my mom's painting..." He looked back down at the firefly and leaned up against Ilori, giggling a little when the firefly landed upon his nose. "I guess we've got company." Sepoko opened up his paws to let his own little captive fly off... but it seemed content, for the time, to linger upon his paws and explore them. He sighed. Everything really was perfect, wasn't it. So perfect, he could almost hear music in the breeze and the rustling of the grass and the buzz of the insects...
It really was rather melodic.
demonstrationevi (9:54:44 PM): Ilori smiled sadly, blowing the firefly off his nose, "Well, don't worry. I'm your soul mate now..." He grinned, bouncing back to happy in a near-instant, "I'll alwyas have your back. I'll always let you know how much I love you, because I do. With every part of me, in every silly, stupid, brilliant, excellent, manner of the word."
Ilori smiled as the firefly landed back on his nose, "I can't really make any paintings... I can only remember. Most of the time, memory is good enough... But I'm happy to make every new one I have with you." He smiled a little, "They seem to like us as much as we like them. Maybe they've forgiven us for always catching them when we were little, don't you think?" He laughed a little, blowing on the firefly again, which merely landed back on his nose, "You'd think they'd still be a little mad... but I guess we always let them go."
He closed his eyes, listening, "It's like music... there are so many of them..." Just as pretty to listen to the fireflies as it was to see them.
VoiceOfDoom1739 (10:02:41 PM): Sepoko grinned, and pressed his nose to Ilori's, right where the firefly had just fled. "You don't need to do all that. Just as long as you're by my side, I think I'll know the rest." He chuckled a little, pressing a kiss against him, then backing off. "I suppose nothing in the world will stop you from doing and saying all these things, anyway, now that you've got your mind made up." He sat back and watched the lights of the fireflies trace patterns in the sky. Ilori did have a certain way about him that just couldn't be changed.
Sepoko nodded, watching as one firefly circled them and went on its merry way. "I think they just know we mean them no harm. Or maybe they're celebrating for us, who knows."
He paused a little, then looked Ilori in the eyes. "...you hear it too? The music?" And here he'd thought it was just him.
demonstrationevi (10:10:51 PM): "Same with you." Ilori smiled, "We're both very stubborn that way. The Gods themselves couldn't keep us apart." He said decicsvly, kissing Sepoko back, and chuckling, "Abd my mind is made up. I won't leave you unless you ask me too, which as far as I can tell is not your plan." He blew another firefly off his nose, "Doesn't really seem to be theirs either..."
He listened with interest to Sepoko and the fireflies, "Do you think they're making music for us? To help us celebrate the start of our journey?" He looked thoughtful, "I never though that these little bugs could make music... but it's beautiful isn't it?" He had never heard music before... not really good music anyway, "I've never heard anything like this before..."
VoiceOfDoom1739 (10:17:28 PM): Sepoko simpered, recieving the kiss gladly. "I'd like to see them try." He felt he'd been smiling a lot more since he had Ilori back in his life. It made his jaws a little sore sometimes, since he wasn't so accustomed to it... and yet still it felt great. "I would never, ever, ever send you away. I need you too much." He flinched a little as a firefly landed upon his ear. He flicked it and it went away, only to settle again upon his mane. "Man... what is it with them tonight..."
He turned his eyes back on the swarms over the plains. "I don't think they can do something like that, 'Lori... not on purpose..." He stared, and held his ears erect, taking in the song. It did pretty well fit the mood of the evening, though, wherever it came from. It was soothing, all-encompasing... it made him feel at home, in an unfamiliar way.
demonstrationevi (10:22:56 PM): "Good, because I know the same feeling." Ilori smiled... He had always loved to smile, it was something he had done for as long as he could remember... but he normally had things he liked to complain about. Too much work, not enough fun... but here he was, having fun and doing work, and working with Sepoko, and he had nothing to make him sad. Nothing he didn't want to do, as long as Sepoko was there too, "I'm glad... because I'd be useless without you." He blinked as another firefly moved in with them, "Wow... they're really liking us."
Ilori listened, "You don't think so...?" He asked, watching as dozens of pairs of fireflies moved in around them, "Sepoko... Have you ever seen so many in one place before?" He asked, blinking once or twice as he glanced around them. It was so bright... they might as well have been standing in daylight. And the music too... it was such lovely music, "What a beautiful song... What do you think they're trying to tell us?"
VoiceOfDoom1739 (8:45:30 PM): Sepoko blinked and crossed his eyes as a firefly landed square between them. He snorted and shook his head, sending the thing flying, and frowned, watching it depart. "You know," he observed. "It's... hard to have an intimate moment when you're being swarmed." Still, he couldn't help but smirk a little at Ilori's comment though, and told him, "You are never useless, with or without me," and gave him a little nudge with his nose.
Returning his attention to the glitter in the sky, Sepoko found himself reluctantly thinking his position. The way the insects lingered around them certainly did seem purposeful... and for a moment, he could swear he could hear voices amidst the fluttering of their wings. But no. That was silly. Although... there was the numbers. "I really never have," he had to admit. Never once in his life had so many fireflies been in one place. It really did seem like they were there for them. But he couldn't... just couldn't bring himself to answer Ilori's final question... because he didn't know what they were trying to tell. Sepoko had never supposed bugs were capable of telling much of anything.
He shook his head, hard, to try to shake that almost paranoid feeling that a hundred voices were speaking.
demonstrationevi (8:53:11 PM): Ilori nodded in agreement, "No kidding... They're kinda..." He wanted to say ruining the moment... because they weren't exactly. There was something beautiful about it, except that they kept landing on the two lions. Except for that, everything seemed fine. They were pretty, light... and well, they all seemed to be singing. Actually singing, as opposed to 'sounding' like they were singing.
"Do they sound like they're..." He wasn't sure what he wanted to say exactly, "Well, almost like they're.. talking, to you? Not to sound silly or anything, but they do sound like they're trying too... I don't know... like they're all trying to talk to us?" He asked, curiously, "Except all at once... but they aren't all saying the same thing? Maybe?"
VoiceOfDoom1739 (8:58:12 PM): Sepoko sat, frozen in place, his mane growing dotted with specks of light... for he couldn't help but feel that Ilori was exactly right. And that terrified him. He was hearing voices. _Crazy people_ heard voices. Right? Hell, he couldn't even figure out what they were saying. It was deafening. Maddening. He huddled down for just a moment and covered his ears, but it didn't do a thing.
And then... he caught his breath.
And for a stunning moment time seemed to stop. And in that moment, he could hear each and every voice clearly. "Calm down, calm down." "It's going to be okay now." "You're okay." "You are loved." "It's okay." "Just breathe, and you'll be fine." "Just look to your beloved; he's there for you." "You're going to be okay."
And tears flooded his face, because he'd never felt so... supported before. Or so enlightened. And this... this was supposed to be what he was looking for, wasn't it? This is what he'd left to find. He wasn't crazy... he was seeing clearly for the very first time. And he laughed aloud. "Ilori! Ilori! I understand them! I understand!" And he threw his paws around Ilori and hugged him tight because he was so overwhelmed with emotion that he couldn't think what else to do.
demonstrationevi (9:04:26 PM): Ilori was quiet and listened as well, going with the flow and trying to understand what they were saying, letting them be unified. He kept his eyes closed and listening, letting Sepoko choose how he would understand them... but the words were coming to him. They were getting louder... they were getting easier to understand...
"All is well." "You're right where you need to be." "This is where you belong." "You're with him." "You have everything you need." "Just go with the flow, you have everything you need." "You have everything you've ever needed right here."
Ilori's eyes snapped open as Sepoko spoke, a grin spreading across his face as though he had just heard the words of Gods. He had found it too, exactly what he was looking for. He had found what would make him accepted by everyone... and most of all, best of all, the perfect ending to a perfect moment, Sepoko had heard it too, "Me too! I can understand them too!" He tossed himself around Sepoko, accepting the hug, and falling backwards, "We did it! We did it! We found them!"
VoiceOfDoom1739 (9:09:55 PM): Sepoko sat clinging to Ilori for a moment, just catching his breath and letting the moment wash over him. When he was finally calm and his breathing was even, he slipped back and sat, looking Ilori straight in the eye. "I don't think..." he said, faltered, then began again. "I don't think I could've done this without you." It was true. Without Ilori around, Sepoko was too bitter, too cynical, too repressed to hear what the world was trying to tell him. Ilori opened him up. This was why he needed him.
He sighed and eyed the horizon, where the sun had now disintigrated, leaving only the faintest traces of red and purple behind. "You know what this means, right?" He glanced sideways at Ilori. "It means we can really go home now... home to my family..." He smiled, leaned up against his love, adding, "And yours too... now."
Everything was perfect. Everything was as it was supposed to be. He leaned up against Ilori and nestled his head into his mane, resting there. It wasn't long before he fell asleep, wrapped up in his lover's warmth and the song of the fireflies easing his weary heart.
demonstrationevi (9:15:39 PM): Ilori grinned at Sepoko, "Me either. I never would have listened. Not without you." The world spoke to Ilori... he just often chose not to llisten, it was far too much work. With Sepoko, he felt like he had a reason to listen o what the world had to tell him, not like he had to ignore it anymore. Sepoko had given him a reason to wander outside where he could sleep and laze the day away. He could get out of himself now. He could see everything. The whole world, and he liked it. Especially when he had Sepoko with him.
"We have a place for us..." He said quietly, grinning widely, "A place just for us, where we can be us. Just us, with them there too." He grinned, closing his eyes and listening while he nuzzled Sepoko's nose, "My home is wherever you are... Always. Promise."
This was the world he liked... the world he wanted. And as the fireflies sang, he fell asleep wrapped around Sepoko. He had never been happier. Not ever. Suddenly, he had everything he had ever wanted. Maybe one day he could tell his family about it... one day... But for now, he was right where he wanted to be, and nowhere else. He closed his eyes and whispered, "I've never been so happy before, love." And then he was lost in sleep.
