Ah to return to youth. A laugh. Would he take the chance, given it? No, probably not. He enjoyed being as he was, even if the future suddenly seemed much closer. The world was spinning fast these days.
It had been his plan all along, he knew, to wander and tell his tales until one day the sun set on his ending, and rose with another's beginning. If he was lucky, a few souls would remember him. Zari would, he knew. He looked over to her once more, as pleased as any father could be with the cub. A shame it was just the two of them. Still, she didn't seem to mind much.
Deciding he'd spent enough time moping, or brooding, or whatever it was he'd been to doing a moment ago, the misty lion yawned and stretched. Maybe he'd be able to find something for Zari to eat when she woke.
Posca walked along through the grass slowly, her eyes heavy. Her bones creaked and moaned as she moved, making her feet feel heavier. She was not as young as she used to be, that was for sure. She was much older than Bombei, but she had aged fairly well. There was only the occasional patch of grey fur on her, mostly around her lips and paws. She was still able to walk, at least.
And walk she did. Posca was always traveling. Always wandering, her only happiness sparked by seeing the world's beauty. Nature was a wonder to her, and she loved looking at flowers and trees... Until her powers inevitably rotted them away to nothing. It was a bittersweet relationship she had with the world.
Sometimes she wondered if her curse was slowly starting to turn on her. Perhaps her muscles were starting to decay away, leaving her weaker. But if she could not travel, she had nothing to live for... So she had to continue on, until she couldn't anymore.
Hmm, perhaps a small rest... She settled down in the dirt, the grass around her turning brown and dry. She sighed and curled up, her wings fluttering anxiously. She did not notice the two mortals just further down the hillside...
Bombei had just spotted a small herd of antelope when he smelled it. A carcass nearby? That was odd, usually the living didn't graze so near to death. And obviously the antelope agreed, springing away as the smell reached them. Cursing his luck, the male turned to head back. "Follow the scent and get upwind," He mumbled. Maybe then he'd find something to eat.
As he went back up the hill, he began to realize the stink wasn't all that bad. If it was a carcass, it was a clean one at least. It smelled more like bones bleaching in the sun than rotting meat. And something else...like herbs, almost, but wrong. Maybe the grass around it had spoiled. Ugh. That'd do him no good.
Returning to Zari, he was glad to find that the wind shifted right before reaching her, keeping his sleeping girl from the smell. He'd have moved her if it was here too. She seemed alright, and so he decided to try the other side of the hill.
A movement. A feather? Something with a wing caught his eye. "Biggest bird I've ever seen." He automatically found himself thinking up a story for 'The Giant Bird of the Graveyard', or something equally as interesting, but he shook his head free of the thoughts. Food first, then stories. Still, the sudden inspiration lifted his spirits, and he resolved to inspect the 'bird' further once he'd made a kill.
Posca yawned, her mouth opening wide, exposing gums that had been stained black by the constant stream of tar that bubbled from her throat. A bit of it dribbled off of her chin when her mouth closed. Her eyes, half lidded and weary, glanced around at the grass around her. It was then that she finally noticed the lion approaching her. She blinked, eyes widening slightly larger to inspect him.
He did not see menacing... Merely curious. Well, most were either afraid or curious when they met her. She was certainly... unusual. As he came closer she pushed herself to her feet, letting out a soft groan as she did so. He empty eyes again turned towards him, her large wings twitching still.
"Good afternoon, mortal." Her voice was soft and aged.
If Bombei hadn't spent most of his life weaving stories of the gods, he surely would have turn tail and run at the sight of this being. But for a story to be the best, to really be believable, it had to be good enough to make even the storyteller believe. Bombie almost felt a small glimmer of pride, seeing what could only be a god, and knowing his depictions hadn't been to very far off after all.
Still, she uneased him a bit. The tar on her mouth and the dead grass nearby...a chill ran over him, fear for his daughter more than himself. Still...she seemed kindly enough. Surely a go of death would be more...threatening? There was something disconcerting about her, but not terrifying. Almost...sad. "Good afternoon," He managed after a moment more, finally remembering his manners.
"I'm sorry if we disturbed you. And I'm sorry for my stare. I must admit...I've never seen a god before." Her calling him a mortal made him all the more certain, and in a flash his natural fear was replaced by the almost painful curiosity he felt, and the interest he had in her. The storyteller in him was going wild with wonder.
She bowed her head slightly in greeting, her wings fluttering slightly. Almost as if she were sweeping back a cape to bow towards him. Her movements were elegant and graceful, but slow due to her age.
"Most have not." She said softly, standing straighter to look up at him. "You have nothing to fear though, I am not here to hurt you..." She glanced past him, down the hill where she saw a glimpse of fur. "Or your kin. I am merely passing through, and settled here to rest." With the greeting over, she settled back down onto the grass, her short tail twitching slightly.
"You may stay, if you wish. My presence should not harm you unless you linger for too long..." She shifted until she was completely comfortable, letting out an aged pur like sound. "My name is Posca. It is a pleasure to meet you, dear mortal."
Bombei smiled. She was friendly. He was a little concerned, hearing her say that he couldn't be near too long, but she didn't seem too worried...and after all, gods, being immortal, probably reckoned time differently. A 'while' to them might be years and years for mortals, right?
"Bombei. And I'm afraid the pleasure's all mine." May as well enjoy the experience. Something about this goddess seemed familiar to him. Maybe it was how she seemed so calm, like she'd seen enough to last her, and wasn't worried about getting anywhere too quickly. Sort of like himself.
Careful to stay outside the ring of deadened grass, he lay down beside the goddess, even his usually large frame dwarfed by her. He sat quietly a moment, wondering just how one made conversation with a god. Just talk, he supposed. "You look tired. Been traveling long?"
She nodded a little, her eyes falling closed for a moment. Her ears and tail occasionally twitched, revealing that she was still awake. "I have been traveling all of my life, dear mortal..." She said softly, tiredly. "Most of my kind wander. The land changes so quickly to us that it is unusual for our kind to settle down in one place for long... And it is my duty to tend to all things dead and decaying, so I must travel to where I am needed."
Her eyes opened then and she blinked over at him, smiling softly, though it was a tad sad. "I do not mind though... I enjoy traveling, and seeing new things... Though I find that the years have made my travels harder going... Ah, old age is never very pleasing."
Bombei nodded at the Goddess's words. "A life, even a mortal one, is a long time to wander." He would know. It was funny, that he'd meet her now, just when the truth of his life had settled upon him. He'd never been able to settle down, and that hadn't bothered him. It still didn't really. But he'd begun to realize that he wasn't that young any more, and he'd made no permanent home to return to once his final days came.
"I'm surprised to hear that the gods roam too. For all my travels, I've never met one." He let his gaze linger on her wings. For all their aged, strange look, they were magnificent. "Are there many gods? Pardon if it's a private matter. Mother once told me I'm too curious for being just one lion."
She watched him curiously, her dark eyes scanning over his aging body as well. Ah, a kindred spirit. She smiled gently towards him, listening and welcoming his questions without judgement.
"Do not apologize for being curious. Curiousity is a blessing, and I would not fault you for using it... I do not mind questions. If there is one I do not want to answer, I simply will not answer it." Her feathers twitched and swayed in the breeze that darted around them. "Ah... well, there are very many, actually. I do believe there is a god or goddess for... everything, pretty much... We usually keep to our selves and our duties."
"For everything? Well I suppose that makes sense." There were an unlimited number in his tales and stories, from one to hundreds, but it seemed to fit that there had to be one for each thing in the world around them. He couldn't expect a God of...of trees or something to understand how to make a turtle, or anything. He nearly laughed, wondering what a Turtle-god would look like.
"If I was a god, I'd probably have it the same way. I just thought it was strange...you're very noticeable, you see. And I've never seen any God or Goddess but you." By now he'd gathered what sort of Goddess she was. He'd been watching the grass around her steadily wilt. "Your job must be hard, sometimes. But we need it, even if we rarely say thank you, you know."
She nodded a little, her eye lids suddenly heavy. It was a hard burden to bare, at times... For a moment she looked a bit sad, but it passed quickly. She smiled again towards him gently. "It's alright. The world would not be beautiful if there was not an end to some thing... My duty is to clear the way for things to be reborn... And they'll be beautiful again."
She stretched a little and let out a slight grown, eyes falling closed now. "Well, we can change our shape as well... We can appear as a normal lion too. Perhaps you have seen one, and just not known it." She smiled wider, eyes still closed. Even as she spoke, her wings started to fade away and whisp away in the wind, and her tail grew longer until it seemed like a normal lion's.
Bomei let himself slouch a bit, though he sat up straight when the Goddess's wings began to simply...fade away. Dust to dust...that was what it was like. Watching the wind catch ash and toss it away, thinning as it went. Her tail was harder to see, through the grass, but it didn't matter. Such an open display of power was astonishing.
"And you say all gods can do this?" He couldn't help himself. He stood, and skirting the dead grass by mere inches, circled around to peer at her back. Not even a feather left. "Can you become other things? A bird maybe? Or...well I don't see how being something like a tree would help.."
The goddess couldn't help but chuckle softly when he seemed so curious and entranced.
"Yes, I suppose I could turn into anything I liked... But to be honest, I never have." Her wings suddenly faded back into existance, spreading wide enough to nearly block out the sun before they folded back against her. "It's... never really occured to me to hide my true nature... I am what I am. I can never change it, even if my powers sadden me at times."
She tilted her head towards him, smiling gently. "What would you become, if you could?"
Bombei sat back and thought. It was true that she should just be what she was. Especially with a domain so...demanding, it was inspiring to know she did not begrudge the world for making her whom she was.
As to who he would be? He leapt to say 'Myself, of course!' That was how he had always felt, always. His life was his own and he'd lived it hw he wanted. But for probably the first time ever, something nagged at him. A noise behind drew his attention--Zari turning over in the grass. A faint smile stole his lips at the sight. "I suppose I'd like to be a decent sort of father. I'm sure you would understand...it's the first time I've had to take care of someone other than me." Speaking of which, he really should get back to hunting for his dear daughter soon.
"I see..." She smiled more, looking upon him warmly. "That is a very noble wish, dear one..." Her gaze followed his, down towards the small adopted cub. "But I do not think it is something you're lacking in... You seem quite capable. She is lucky to have you, I'd say..."
She stood then, wing tips drooping against the ground. "I must leave you, I'm afraid... I do not wish to drain you of life, when you have so much you need to do for her. Thank you for our talk though... It was very pleasent."
Bombei couldn't help but watch his dear girl sleeping so soundly. She really was more dear to him than he'd ever imagined she'd come to be. "It means a great deal to hear that from you. And not just because you're a goddess."
He watched her rise and nodded, stepping back to be sure he was out of the reach of her withering touch. "It was my pleasure. Any time you would like a chat with another old wanderer...well I guess I'm like a cub to you, really, I'd be happy to find you. Or be found." He turned then, and skirted the ring of dead grass, to continue on to find food. "I'll see you again," he called back over a shoulder with a kindly smile. "Though not for a while, I think."
She watched him walk off, smiling still. It was rare that she found someone that could make her feel.... content. She let out a breathy chuckle and nodded. "No, I do not think so... But someday, most defenitly. Good luck to you and your daughter, and to your hunting." With that, she let her open wings beat a couple of times, and off she went, soaring up into the skies until she was nothing more than a dot amoung the clouds.
Fin.
