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 Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 3:09 pm
He had tried thinking about other things.
It didn't work.
He had tried sleeping it off.
It didn't work.
He tried thinking of other (prettier) lionesses and leopardesses cheetahs and...it didn't work.
Every time Apollo tried to think of something else, he kept coming back to /her/...Oboe.
That crazy, branch stealing, annoying, name calling leopardess. And even when he called her that in his mind, Apollo couldn't find himself being mad. She was a nice, had been nice, in her own way, and he had been defensive. But she had scared him. She was a variable he couldn't control! She had come out of no where, he had not sought her out, and she had interrupted his life. And now she was gone.
And she had left his odd spot where those one night stands had easily filled before.
Now Apollo felt loneliness, something he had hoped never to feel again.
"Argh," the large violet lion lamented, thrashing around on the ground, creating dusty clouds to rise around him as he did so. It wasn't fair! He was still young, barely grown into his full mane, and she had come and trampled his lifestyle.
And he hated it! (Or so he told himself!)
After a bit more dramatic flailing, the young lion soon lay on his back, still as stone, staring through the branches of his tree (or so he believed it to be his tree), and watched the clouds. There was a storm on the way, the clouds in the distance were darkening, and it frightened him. Storms were unpredictable.
"Awe man..." Apollo moaned, and flopped onto his stomach, staring out into the grassy savannah. He wondered what Oboe was doing, and thusly started another train of thoughts about her, and whined pathetically.
Wouldn't someone please save him from this torment!?
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 7:28 pm
Just a little distance away, Nima'baha was also watching that storm roll in, having stopped for a moment to sniff the air. Eyes lidded slightly as he smelled the rain coming, a light breeze ruffling up his fur and mane.
Then he lowered his gaze again and glanced around... searching for some kind of shelter. There wasn't likely to be much out here - but he didn't fancy having to sleep in the rain and getting soaked.
So when he spotted what looked like a tree in the distance, he headed that direction, the wind behind him as he walked along.
It wasn't until he was very nearly under that tree itself that he realized someone else was here too - a younger male, from what he could tell. Blinking slightly, he paused ... then set paws on the ground and dipped his head slightly.
"Excuse me ..." he said politely - hiding his inner expectations to be shoved away very well. "Might I share your shelter tonight..?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 8:16 pm
Apollo had nearly fallen asleep, the sound of the sighing grass and the brush of a storm-wind tickling his thick mane. It was so calm, so peaceful...so...
Lion-sounding?
The young male quickly jumped upright, on his paws and backpedaling in seconds flat. He always disliked others, because they would say things and he wasn't ever sure how to respond, but to have another male come out of no where while he was sleeping, and just suddenly talk?
Apollo's heart was racing.
He kept his ground now, out of reach of a striking paw, and eyed the pale lion before him. His fur was pure white, but he was covered in scars. It was frightening, but Apollo was eased quickly by the kind voice and friendly eyes.
But, what to say?
"Uuuh..." he looked stupid, and quickly ran a paw over his face, thinking over his words.
"I...I suppose?"
That was articulate.
"I mean, it is better then being in the rain right? I am, umm..I am Apollo." Apollo quickly bobbed his head, figuring that the other male must be older. "And you?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 8:42 pm
Nima blinked at the way the other scrambled away and his ears flicked back for a moment, then forward again. Really, he wished that his collection of scars and his sheer size didn't put others off so much. It wasn't his fault that he'd had a rough life. Had he been any less determined to survive... he wouldn't even be alive now.
But he smiled faintly as the other answered, then gave his name. And Nima slowly stepped forward with a little nod of his head. "Thank you, Apollo. I am Nima'baha, though most tend to simply shorten it to Nima."
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Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 8:25 pm
Apollo let a small flicker of a smile crease his lips and nodded his head in return, his mane falling into his eyes and then back away as he lifted his head. He felt kinda stupid, bobbing his head, BUT he was trying to be polite. "Nima'baha?" the way the last name sounded, it reminded Apollo of a laugh, which quickly reminded him of his current romantic situation (THAT HE DID NOT WANT!). Apollo sighed loudly, ears flicking back, and then quickly attempted to NOT look so depressed.
Because looking depressed would mean being depressed, which would mean Nima asking him WHY he was depressed.
"You're welcome," the violet lion quickly inserted into the awkward silence, and then gave a small smile. "I like Nima, it is a nice name. And it also nice to meet another male, I see so few as of late."
All this was said in a rush, in a hope to dissuade Nima from asking Apollo what was wrong, because from the way he body language spoke, it was obvious he was far from happy.
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Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 8:44 pm
Nima was nothing if not perceptive, though ... so he didn't quite ask outright what was wrong. Instead he moved a little closer - as if getting farther under shelter. Then he tilted head and asked softly, "There aren't many males around here?"
Probably ... the other had some kind of trouble with a female. And Nima was willing to listen, but he wouldn't force Apollo to talk.
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Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 9:01 pm
"Y-yeah," Apollo mumbled, eying the ground, pawing it as a frown formed on his face. He was good at telling when people knew something, and he could tell Nima noticed his weird actions, and was thankful that the other didn't ask; instead it seemed Nima opted to silently ask, not demand, what was wrong.
But for now, Apollo didn't want to blab, first...he would like to know who was speaking to.
"I have met very few lions or any others before you. I lived a sheltered life, you could say..." the violet lion grinned, and then looked up as a crack of thunder echoed across the land, a sharp spark of lightening tracing the sky. The rain would be upon them soon.
"So....Nima...what brings you out this way?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 9:28 pm
Nima shrugged one shoulder slightly and glanced toward that flash of light in the sky. "Mostly just ... wandering," he admitted with a little smile.
"For some time, I've been searching for someone to travel with for a long period of time... to ... stay with, I suppose." It might have been odd, to simply say it straight out like that. But he was tired of mincing words and dancing around the issue - at least where his own search was concerned.
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Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:09 pm
Apollo glimpsed up again, he could smell, and now hear rain in the background, a soft patter, and lightening crashed again. He instinctively crouched closer to his tree and then looked back at Nima.
"I am afraid," he said softly, and wasn't sure what he meant. Afraid of the lightening? No. Afraid of traveling? Perhaps...but maybe. Maybe what he meant was he was afraid of staying with someone. So he edged on the issue, trying to drop into this vat of boiling feelings in his heart slowly, so he didn't frighten himself off.
"I mean...why must one feel like they must be with someone? I always...felt I could survive alone...Do we really need to have someone else with us to be happy?"
He wasn't sure. He had felt annoyed with Oboe, she had been rude sometimes, and teasing. But he felt worse when she left. It was scary, feeling like he needed her there for his happiness. "What does it mean when you feel lonely, even when before meeting the person who caused that feeling, you had never felt lonely before?"
And why was he blabbing this to a lion he barely knew?
Maybe it was because he needed to.
And Nima seemed to want to listen.
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Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 8:56 pm
Nima tilted his head at that, one ear flicking back toward the sounds of the storm as the other male crouched down. At first, he did think that Apollo meant he was afraid of the storm, but then again... there was more to that statement, so he held his tongue.
And was glad that he had when the other went on to explain more. Well, in a way. In any case, it helped him to understand better.
Sounded like female trouble, basically. Which he didn't have much experience with but...
"I think ... it just means that before, you probably didn't know what you were missing," he said finally, slowly. "It's not a bad thing, I don't think. Just... something that you've never experienced before."
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 5:11 pm
Apollo looked out again at the dark sky, the grey cloud tinged with green, the lightening blue as it traced the sky, never touching-at least not yet-, and sighed, only to have the sound ripped away by a gust of fierce wind.
The storm started as his feelings rose, the water crashing down like gods crying in heaven, spilling across the dry savannah. The plants savoured it, and the creatures had mixed feelings. Apollo was just glad that they hid beneath the tree, that, with it's thick foliage (thanks to the nearly constant water supply so close by), kept them nearly dry.
His ear flicked as a droplet landed upon it, and nodded a little. "I...see..." it would make sense, that if he never had it before, he would miss it once it was gone. It was much like what his mother used to say. 'Be thankful for what you have, never will never know how important it is till it is gone', and she always said it in a way that had never made sense to Apollo. Until now. She had still loved their (him and Artemis's) father, and...
"Not bad," he mumbled, and frowned. How could these feeling of pain, this fear of unsability, not be bad? But he bit back that retort and sighed again. "What am I supposed to do? I chased her off, and I can't go out there," there being the world, because Apollo was afraid still. Out in the expanse was a land he couldn't control; while here there was some stability. "I am in conflict with wanting her here, and wanting her gone. I am edgy. What if she doesn't want to be here with me? What if she gets bored? I can't control what she decides to do...."
There was the problem. Apollo feared the lack of control he felt in lifes reglar activities.
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 1:55 am
Aah... he had been right. Nima turned to watch the storm for a moment or two - glad that they were under here, and not out there. As fascinating as weather could be, he didn't have the need to experience it all first-hand. Idly, he wondered if the gods were warring up above - he'd heard once that that was the cause of storms. But he wasn't sure if he believed it or not.
"Relationships... of any kind... aren't really about control, though. Or they aren't supposed to be," he said finally, slowly. Though he had never been in a real lasting relationship himself, he was a watcher - an observer. And he had seen good and bad in his life.
Smiling faintly at the other male, he tilted head. "It's special because of the choices that both parties make. Each one chooses to stay with the other, and then there are constant choices all along the way. One gives in, and the other backs off... but then, it may be different the next time. No one wins, but it works."
Moving over a bit closer, he made as if to nudge Apollo. "It can be scary, but I've seen it work very well. Communication is important too, though. If you feel something for another, you have to tell them so."
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Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 6:55 pm
Why was he being such a baby? Opening up to some stranger? Letting this male close and not getting nervous.
...
He needed this.
Apollo smiled at the larger lion, enjoying the reassuring tone in his voice. It was like having a father, or a brother, and he charished it. For so long he had been the only male, the single lion in his life. Only himself. Many females, sure, but...never another like him. So Nima was...refreshing. He, in a cub-like manner (for he was still young!), quickly pressed himself against the others side as lightning broke the sky again and thunder roared, then sighed, head slumping down as he mulled this new things over.
Communication. Choices. Works. Feel something....
"I think I do feel something for her," he mumbled, body trembling. It was scary, trying to accept these feelings, and his tail twitched in an agitated manner. And the way Nima spoke, Apollo could tell he had seen this before, and was sure it worked.
But what if she doesn't care for me? he thought glumly, and his heart sank with dread. What if she hates me, or finds me revolting, or boring orOROR--
But she didn't leave before, and surly, she didn't find you revolting.
Apollo gave another sigh, that was eagerly gobbled up by the winds, and then looked at his companion. "So...I should try then?" he whispered. It would take along time for him to warm up to the idea, and he knew that once Nima left, he would try to eradicate these feelings stirring in him. Maybe he would succeed, or maybe Oboe would come back and those feelings would burst forth, like rain from the heavens.
"It is lovely, isn't it?" he said suddenly, looking into the raging savannah, "So wild, so uncontr--" he paused, mouth open. It seemed to make sense now, what Nima said. The weather worked with the earth, the earth sometimes gave in, and sometimes the weather gave in, but either way....it worked. It wasn't controlled, but it worked. "Relationships are like the earth and sky," he whispered, and then laughed, pushing himself to his paws.
"It is like the storm and the ground. They may seem at odds, but they aren't! Are they!?" he said loudly, excitedly, eyes glowing. Then with a laugh, the young lion sprinted out, and laughed again as the rain crashed upon his pelt. Apollo cared little for this though, because for now, at this moment, he was free from his fear; even if it came back later. He danced in the ran like he was a cub again, leaping into the air, rolling into the mud.
It was like the weather, and well...Apollo always secretly loved storms.
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Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 8:40 pm
Nima smiled faintly when the other leaned on him and just nodded at the question about trying. "I think that you should," he answered softly.
Then he looked out at the storm with the other and nodded - but jumped just slightly when Apollo quite suddenly had his little realization. After a moment, though, Nima was laughing too. "Yes, that's a really good way of putting it!" he encouraged, though he didn't think the other was even listening to him by this point.
He didn't mind though, smiling as the younger lion ran out into the storm, playing like he was cub. Nima was content to watch from beneath the tree... but he was glad the other felt better.
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 2:25 pm
The skies roared and Apollo replied, and continued to roll and run till his fur was so heavy he could barely move, and then he trotted, panting, back to tree's protective reach, and looked upon his white furred companion with a smile. "I...I think I am better, for now," the lion whispered, and crouched down behind Nima, though careful not to touch him. He may not mind being wet right now, but Nima might.
"I....I think I am tired now," Apollo chuckled, and then rested his head upon his paws and yawned, "Thank you Nima...thank you....so much...": his words faded as his eyes drifted, and the lion quickly fell asleep.
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