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 Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 2:34 pm
In the midst of a sunny, cloudless afternoon, only the on-and-off buzzing sound of red locusts flying here and there broke the dead silence. But there was one more thing that broke the silence...
A dreamy sigh.
"Certainly this is the coziest branch in all of Africa..." Oboé drawled quietly, eyes closed, tail swaying gracefully beneath her from where she lay; on a tree branch. After a long search under the hot sun, the sight of the large tree and its shade was quite welcome in the eyes of the leopardess. But it wasn't only the shade...It was the tree itself and the memories that came along with it. But still, not only that. It was the thought of the one who was always found around that tree.
The one she had been searching for.
A lazy grin stretched across Oboé's face and she sighed again, nestling her chin deeper into her pillow of paws. All she could do was wait. But that was fine with her. She really did want a nap after all that walking...
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 2:57 pm
 A long day.
Such a long, pointless, lonely, hating life day.
And he had spent it, just as he had the last three days before, doing something equally as pointless.
He was out, every day, looking from sunrise to sunset for a leopardess, who supposedly, cared little to none for him. Apollo wasn't sure as to why he was out every day meandering pointless around, and he was sure why he wanted to find her. What would he say? What did he want? A clean break? A fight? Proof that this niggling feeling that that several was lying was true?
What ever it was, he had spent his whole morning searching for her, and hadn't found anything. Not even a trace. So he decided to go home and rest for a while, then go out and search again.
When he saw her, Apollo was sure it was a dream. It was to...real to be real. It was to much like the first day they met. She was snoozing in his branch, as if it was hers. Her pelt glimmered and shone just as beautifully as it had before. He was just as tired, stressed and angry as he had been that day, and the heat. It was most definitely just as hot as it had been. So it couldn't be real could it?
"Hey!?" he yelled, and the voice seemed to leap from the past, as if he had stumbled backwards in time. Which was a silly notion, but Apollo's mind was muddled and confused, and he wasn't to sure on what was silly and what wasn't anymore. "YOU!" he added, and choked on the familiarity of those words, and as he came closer to the tree, every paw step felt heavier and heavier, and his heart raced. He feared this would be a mirage, and at the right angle, Oboe would just...disappear.
"You're real, aren't you?"
Please be real.
Let me end this torment.
Apollo started up into the sleeping face of that leopardess who had exploded into his life such a short while ago, who had flipped his world. He his only wish was that she do it again. He didn't think he could go back to his old ways.
He didn't want to.
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 3:12 pm
In the few moments that Oboé had been dozing, she'd slipped off into a dream. But no sooner did she fall asleep than wake up again. A coarse, choking voice interrupted her nap and she squinted her eyes, at first unsure that she had heard anything at all. Something in the back of her mind recognized this annoyed voice...But it didn't recognize the desperate tone of question that followed. It probably wasn't anyone she knew...No one important, of course.
But then a sense of familiarity washed over Oboé. Slowly, she opened her golden eyes. She blinked, flicking her ears back to listen to the stiff, approaching pawsteps. Something in her chest fluttered. Inside, she smiled. But outwardly, she remained sleepy-looking, continuing to look straight ahead rather than in the direction of the voice.
"My," she said at length, her voice deep and surprised. "such angry tones Ratels have."
Then she turned her head to stare into the face of who she knew to be Apollo. Eyes meeting with his, she smirked with half-lidded eyes.
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 3:23 pm
"Why shouldn't I be angry, you are in my tree," he said, though the tone lacked venom and bite. "And I am not a Ratel."
There was a smile on his lips, but his heart and head were confused. Why was she here? That serval, Bevin, said she didn't care. That she wouldn't come back. That she had moved on. Why was she here?
Apollo blinked slow, for his scar across his eye was still fresh, and it still hurt, which then reminded him of his embarrassing scars, which made him frown suddenly.
"Why are you here, Oboe?" the purple lion questioned, and sat down, for his paws hurt. "Bevin said you wouldn't come back. That you did not care of remember me..." Apollo sounded hurt, and he looked away, "Did you come to laugh at my injuries perhaps? To tell me I am not worth you time." He didn't even try to reason as to how Oboe would have learned of his injuries, because there was a hurt inside him from what Bevin said, and he had to let it out, and as he did so, he tried to squelch the feeling that screamed 'BEVIN LIED'. He tried to ignore the look in Oboe's eyes that told something far different than what the serval said, and he turned his head away.
"You don't need to. I know how horrible I look now. Trust me, I have been told."
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 3:51 pm
"Your tree, your tree," Oboé repeated, nodding her head left and right each time. "always your tree. But perhaps it isn't your tree?" she asked to seemingly no one. "Perhaps it is my tree." But one word; name, rather, switched her attention to a different topic immediately.
"Bevin?" Oboé whispered. She shifted her position and narrowed her eyes. "Why...?" she murmured. She remained still for many moments in silence, thinking carefully. The childish spark in her eyes and her smirk were gone. She took on an unusual expression. Her claws flexed and she shook her head, looking as though she were disagreeing with her thoughts, whatever they were. "You'll find..." Oboé said quietly after a while. "...That Bevin often says things that are not. It is within his nature."
Then her train of though shifted yet again.
Leaning further away from the branch to peer closer at the face of the purple lion below, Oboé finally noticed his scars.
"Hmmm..." she hummed, observing. A smile itched to come onto her face, but she tried desperately to suppress it. She failed. "A scar in such a spot right on your pretty face..." she mumbled. Her tail swayed. "...I find scars very..." She waved her paw, searching for the word. "...attractive."
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Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 4:09 pm
Apollo pouted as she teased him about the ownership of the tree, and then blinked when she changed demeanor. The look on her face now was...frightening. He almost felt bad for Bevin, and when she explained that Bevin and no less then lied to him, he felt anger bubble in his stomach. But along with it came a rush of relief. He buried the anger away for later. There would one sorry serval soon in Apollo's future; that he was sure of.
"I see," he mumbled, then glanced up at Oboe, and flushed under his fur. It was awkward, her staring at him, and he became a little cross eyed as he started back, and when she said 'attractive;, he stuttered all over his words and nearly choked on air. "A-attractive!?" he managed in a mouse like squeak. Never had he heard someone say scars were attractive.
But, this was Oboe.
And it made him smile.
"So...you were looking for me?" he mused, "Was there some reason?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:53 am
Oboé blinked slowly, one eye closing faster than the other. Then she turned her head away stiffly, gazing up at the sky. Her mouth opened slightly and she stared at the clouds, looking as though she were thinking, but also looking as though she wasn't thinking about anything.
"Looking..." she said fluidly. "Ah! Yes," she said sharply as she remembered. "I was--" Her body rolled to the side and she slipped off the branch, landing heavily on her feet. It appeared for a moment that she was stone-like, but she recovered and looked relaxed again. She ignored the strange feeling of deja vu that came along with her landing. "What was I saying...?" she wondered aloud. "Oh, yes, I was looking for you." Oboé then turned to face Apollo fully for the first time that meeting. She sauntered her way over to him, limbs moving elegantly and tail swaying behind her. She didn't stop until she was mere inches away from the lion's face. She opened her eyes a bit wider, moving her head even closer to him and gazing at the scar that stretched along his eye. "Hmmmmm...I do like that scar...Quite a bit..." she murmured, perhaps more to herself than to Apollo. Then she moved even closer still until her nose brushed against the scar. She didn't wait for his reaction before continuing to speak. "I was looking for you," she said in conclusion, tired of meandering over the same train of thought. "because I began to miss you." She smiled, eyes lighting up, and realized how happy she was to be there again; To be with the silly purple lion again.
The lion she was most fond of in the entire world.
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Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 12:59 pm
Oboe.
Apollo couldn't but wince when the leopardess dropped from his-her- branch. It was all to familiar, and deja vu danced on his spine, making the large lion shudder.
Or maybe what made her shudder was the way their eyes met. Hers were still just as golden as her jewlery, and they told all kinds of stories. Sad ones, happy ones, lonely ones. And he blinked, glancing away before he lost his mind. But even now, as he stared at a piece of grass beside him, Apollo could tell she was closer. She jingled with every step, and it was like some kind of slow dance.
She was so close now Apollo was engulfed in her aura, it pulsed around him and he swallowed around a dry tongue, his fur standing on edge, unsure as to what was to come.
Her words were a little odd, and threw him off, but what had Apollo sitting as stiff as a tree in a windless day was Oboe's nose touching the sensitive still pink skin of his scar. It was shockingly cold, and he turned to look at her as she pulled away. They were so close he felt slightly cross eyed as he stared, and then he blushed under his fur. She was...
She missed him.
She was looking for him.
She liked his scar.
Missed.
Looking...
liked...
lonely...
miss...
Him.
HIM!
Apollo wasn't sure how to react, his brain seemed to have over heated, but his body was quiet willing to make up for his mind, and the next moment the rather clumsy, usually horribly nervous and loud lion was quiet happily pressing his face into the spot just beneath Oboe's ear. She smelled like forest and rain and something sweetly bitter, and Apollo found himself sighing happily into that fur.
"Iwffmiffguuchoo," he mumbled into her fur, and then pulled back, looking rather embarrassed, and tried again. "I was missing you too," the lion stuttered, his tail twitching sporadically behind him, far less graceful the Oboe.
"So...you really like my scar?"
Hey, a lion could use a little ego boost once in a while! Could you blame him?
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Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 2:07 pm
At the sudden clumsy nuzzle, Oboé grinned and returned the gesture. Her heart swelled with happiness and she sighed dreamily, listening to his slurred words. Such a silly lion...He interested her to no end. She wondered why he amused her so much, and why she liked to tease him. But she put that aside. The only important fact was that they both liked each other very much. Or was it love? And they had missed each other. That was all that mattered.
"Of course~," Oboé drawled, waving a paw lazily in the air, as if the question Apollo had asked had an obvious answer. "Scars are signs of power, I think. If one has a scar, it means one has been in a fight. And if one isn't dead, then the scar is a symbol of strength." she rambled. "And if you have very few scars, it can mean that you're so skilled that you can barely be touched." Oboé continued, unconsciously pumping up the lion's ego, but happy to give him compliments. She walked closer to him and sat down nearly on top of his foot, and pressed her head under his chin. "Perhaps I should get myself a scar or two..." the leopardess mused softly. "After all I've said, I suppose it means I'm weak for not having any?" Oboé smiled at the words she had just said, knowing full well she wasn't weak. Her body was firm and muscular from hours on end of dancing and training. She wasn't weak, she just hadn't gotten into many fights. But why did she need to fight when there was nothing she had to fight for other than her own life?
An image of a lioness acting suggestively to Apollo came into her head and Oboé pouted her lip. Well, if something like that happened...She wouldn't receive scars...
She'd be giving them out.
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Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 11:48 pm
Apolloe felt his chest swell at Oboe's praise. Sure, he had been far from brave, and most definitely not that great a fighter, but she made him feel as if he could crush a million lions like Jehara with one swipe of his claw. He even pawed at the ground, imagining such a scenario. But when she mentioned getting scars herself, he felt...anger? Not at her, but...towards who ever would give her scars. He felt as if he could rip them apart, and this roaring fire in his chest, this urge to keep Oboe safe, this need shocked and frightened Apollo a little. He grew stiff as he thought of her hurt, but melted when she continued to nuzzle under his chin. Nothing could hurt her, he wouldn't let it.
...
Was this love? Was this the feeling Nima had told him about, told him to accept? It was like the feelings he had for Hadaya and Laika, but...stronger. So much stronger. And definitely not a thing to think over, because thinking brought fear and fear brought loneliness.
"I don't think you are weak," the lion mumbled, and brought a paw up, trying to pull the leopardess closer. He felt funny and sick and dizzy on the inside, but it was a good feeling. It was like when he was a cub and he stood atop a big rock, staring down at the pool of gleaming water below. It was a queasy feeling that was strangely soothing. It was the feeling of fear and excitement one got right before they took a leap into uncertain waters. The pounding of the heart and the dryness of the mouth. His whole body gave a little shake, and Apollo continued, "You are probably the strongest," he inhaled, "most amazing," again there was a pause, as he urged himself to leap off the proverbial edge into the dark waters below, "beautiful leopardess ever. You don't need any scars."
Apollo nuzzled Oboe again, purring contently, and licked her cheek, smiling, "Let me take the scars." Words that seem to silently promise that he wasn't leaving, or letting Oboe leave, any time soon.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 12:51 am
Oboé felt herself flush at his compliments. She had been complimented many times when she was a dancer, but this was different. Now, it was coming from Apollo. And Apollo was different.
But it turned to relief. It flooded through Oboé at Apollo's statement. She wondered why, but didn't know. She felt very relieved to hear him say that. It told her that he'd be there for a long time. It told her that she would no longer be wandering alone anymore. Even if Apollo didn't like to travel, now he would.
Now they would travel together.
Oboé tilted her head up and quickly licked his scarred cheek before returning to nuzzle the lion's neck again. She sighed and involuntarily curled her tail around his foreleg. "I believe I'm in love with you." she sighed suddenly, staring lazily ahead from where she sat, huddled close to the purple lion. "And I suppose there's nothing I can do about that. Except for one thing..." she murmured, smiling sleepily. Then she stood and beckoned him with her eyes to go to the tree. She walked towards it, confident that he was following.
Light fur turned darker as it entered the deep shade, but got darker still as she slipped into the darkest of the shade directly behind the tree, out of sight.
For right then, it was just him and her. Oboé and Apollo. Apollo and Oboé.
And she would never leave.
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