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 Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 8:51 pm
AIM LOG: demonstrationevil & _ p a o cx Xinavane sighed, watching the sun set thoughtfully on the pride. She wasn't in the mood for bed just yet... it was still too strange now that he daughters and sons had decided to move into their own dens. She would just have to get over it sooner or later, but she hated sleeping alone. She had only done so for a few months when she had been a child... when she had gotten lost without her parents, and before she met Zuru. And she had to say, she didn't much like it.
So she decided to wait for the sun to set so that she would be able to stargaze. It had been a long time since she had done that sort of thing, so why not? She could see if she remembered any of the constellations from her youth, when she and her sisters had picked out the stars at random and named them. She had done it all such a long time ago... she would have to see what she remembered.Nighttime in the mortal realm was strangely relaxing. The blistering heat from the sun was gone, and it wasn't irritatingly bright as it was in the daytime. In fact, the view of the moon from down there was nicer than it was from the haven. For these reasons, and a few others he'd never admit to anyone, Tarik made his way down. His landing brought about a chill breeze, and once he was firmly on the ground he folded up his heavy wings and started walking.
"I should come down at night more often.." the god mused as he walked, a small smirk on his maw. "Quiet, cold, and no one else around. My kind of scenery." With that he disguised himself as a mortal, though this time he had a dark pelt as opposed to his usual white one so as not to attract any unwanted attention.But Tarik did attract someone's attention. When she spotted the dark lion on the horizon, she was about to speak up, possibly yell because someone so dark had gotten a little too close for comfort to the pride, but then she paused. His eyes... she knew those eyes, and a certain "God" who could change his pelt color. Whom she had also invited back. It would be awfully rude, wouldn't it? To invite him to stay, and then call the demon hunters on him? No... that didn't really fall under the nicer things she'd ever done.
"Tarik?" She called, just to make sure. After all, it was entirely possible that there was a dark lion out there with the same eyes he had. But she doubted that they'd have the same voice, unless he decided he wanted to disguise that too. Which would have been a very big pain, because then how on earth was she supposed to tell who he was? Gods could be such pains... Probably why she still didn't really believe in them. Powerful lions with wings? Sure. She believed in evil demons after all. But Gods? Really? No way. "Tarik? Is that you?"His ears caught a familiar voice toward his left, and glancing in that direction he saw an acquaintance he'd made not too long ago. The male put on an intrigued look and padded over calmly, not answering her question until he'd taken a seat. "Yes, it's me," came his reply. Tarik looked around, squinting his eyes a bit to try and get a better look at his surroundings. He hadn't noticed that he'd flown in this direction since it was already dark out.
"I like the weather here at night, so sometimes I come down to relax a little bit." The god shrugged. "What brings you out here at this hour?"Xinavane smiled, happy to see him again. As weird as that seemed, because she had never really liked Gods. But she did like him, he hadn't acted very high and mighty when it came down to it. "Yes... the skys get really clear around here at night. It's part of why I like it." She mentioned... though, another reason was that she was close to the demons so that she could fight against them. But then again... the sky was always so nice and clear...
"I was looking at the stars. My sisters and I used to name them when we were younger... and I... when my children were small, we used to lie down and see if we can count them all." She told him, looking up and smiling thoughtfully, "Sometimes we'd try and name them, remember what we called them all. But you know how it is... not everyone's memories are all that great." She explained with a helpless shrug. She was in such a good mood now. The stars were out, and she had a perfectly rational being to talk with. As long as she didn't think of him as a God... just a rational, powerful lion. With wings.
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 8:53 pm
Curious. Tarik raised a brow, slightly amused. He'd never given much thought about the stars. They were there, sure, but much like mortals he never paid attention before. Not that much.. anyway. Tarik glanced skyward, nodding his head in approval. "Well I usually watched the moon at night, but stars are pretty nice too I guess." The male took a seat, tail swaying slowly behind him as he watched her. "But even then I don't really look up all that often."
Though he said that, Tarik looked up again. "Why would you want to count those though? There's too many of them to do that, let alone name them.." He moved his gaze down the female again and raised a brow. "Just a past-time, I'm guessing?"
Xinavane glanced at him, and then smiled back up towards the sky. "The moon is nice, but you can count on it to always be there... the stars are always different, in different places." She told him, grinning and shrugging. "They come out at different times, in different patterns... and it can be weeks before you see them all the same way again. That's why I like the stars. Maybe you could predict them if you watched them every night... but I like to think they're unpredictable."
And she nodded, "There doesn't always have to be a point to things. Sure, sometimes it's better that way... but when you just want to spend time with someone, or just do something fun... there isn't always a reason. Sometimes it's just because it's fun." She told him with a shrug. "I like to think my family is looking at the stars, the same ones I am... who knows? Maybe my sisters are even trying to remember what we named them when we were young." She tilted her head towards him, "Didn't you ever do stuff like that?"
Tarik's expression changed to that of a curious one, glancing up one more time to look at the stars. He wasn't convinced that they were better than the moon, but it was true that they held their own splendor. With a shrug the god returned his gaze to the lioness, a small smile on his maw. "I'm not a fan of unpredictability, but everyone sees things differently. I imagine the stars are convenient when the moon is nowhere in sight."
He'd never done anything for no reason. At least as far as things beyond casual conversation, but even then he interacted with others mainly to curb his boredom. Of all beings he probably needed the most help with that. With a shake of his head he replied, "No. I'd go into all the details, but it's a boring story. I found other ways to amuse myself."
Xinavane watched him thoughtfully. She supposed that everyone had their own opinion on that kind of thing, but that was what made people interesting, wasn't it? "Fair enough. Honestly, I don't like unpredictability too much, but every now and then change is good." Her kids were good like that. Each one could see, miraculously, the past, present and future... life had become a lot more predictable since they had been around. But they hadn't taken the stars from her... in fact, they had added more than they had taken as far as she was concerned. "The stars and the moon are both important, I think."
Xinavane tilted her head, teasing him a little. "Oh? You mean Gods know how to have fun and not sit around on their clouds all day?" She felt a little bad after that. "Sorry... I always do that. Be so damn rude when you're being a perfectly nice guy. How do you have fun? You seem so serious..." She mentioned, though she supposed generally... she did tend to be very serious, and she had ways to unwind after a long day. That was what everyone did, wasn't it?
Tarik nodded at her statement concerning the moon and the stars, but frowned somewhat at her next question. She recovered well enough from it though, and with a sigh he dismissed it with a small wave of his paw. "No, it's fine," he said, though he didn't sound all too pleased about it. "That sort of thing slips every now and again." And with a shrug Tarik answered her question. "I wouldn't really call it fun," he said, putting a paw to his chin as he thought. "I'd say more like.. curbing my boredom. Freezing over the top of a lake here, sculpting if there was enough ice, harassing random strangers even. If I got bored enough though. Things like that, but I never had.. 'fun'."
The god looked at her, raising a brow. "I think I was even more of a.. how did I hear it once? A 'stick in the mud'? When I was younger." As a grin spread itself across his maw he said, "Believe it or not I'm more fun now than I used to be."
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 8:56 pm
Xinavane laughed a little, "Sorry, again, for the slip. I'm just used to... well, it was wrong of me." She admitted with a shrug, obviously still angry with herself for it. Tarik had been nothing but polite. The least she could do was return the favor. But then he said something interesting, "You can sculpt? Like... turn a block of rock or ice into something?" She asked him, tilting her head, actually looking impressed. "I'd think that would be interesting... I wish I could do something artistic. All I can do is... organize and tell people what to do really well." Xinavane admitted, because it was true. She didn't have an artistic bone in her body.
She grinned a little, "Hey, so was I... I mean, except for naming stars, I didn't really hang around much with my siblings. I didn't know I would wind up leaving them so soon." She looked at him, tapping her lip thoughtfully. "What do you say we find you something fun to do? Being a stick in the mud can't be good for you." She offered, though she wasn't sure what to tell him. She enjoyed plotting ways to over-throw demons and training her children to be killers, while occasionally going on long walks under the stars. Having "fun" had never been her fortee. "Except... I don't know how much help I'll be." She joked.
Tarik let the subject go with a smile and a shake of his head. She's already apologized, and while he appreciated it he wasn't used to hearing the word 'sorry'. In his younger years he'd been too much of a jerk for people to ever both apologizing. Usually he'd harass someone until they got smart enough to push past time, then he'd wait for his next victim. That being said, he wasn't used to apologizing either. He never liked admitting he was wrong - even now.
The idea of finding something 'fun' to do perked his interest, and he watched the other with a curious look. What sorts of things could be done this late at night anyhow? For a second he thought she might have an idea, but after her little joke he dismissed the thought and chuckled. "Well I'm no expert either," he said, "But it might be easier if we rack our brains and think of something together. There's bound to be something.. I think."
Xinavane sighed, glad that Tarik had let her rudeness slip. She didn't want him to think poorly of her. There was a time when she wouldn't have cared much one way or the other what anyone thought of her... but time had mellowed her out a lot in that regard, and she discovered that it was far better to make a friend than an enemy.
"Hum.. Well... Have you ever tried naming the stars?" She asked him, tilting her head and looking up. "It isn't exactly much... but it's something I've always enjoyed. You'd be surprised... you can see all kinds of funny patterns up there." She pointed with a claw at a group of stars, "Like that one! My sister used to call it, 'baby hare on fire'. You see? There's the fire..." She tried tracing it with her paws, "And the hare's ears... and it's little tale... and it's arms and legs flailing..." She laughed a little. "Okay, it's a little stupid I know..."
At her question Tarik shook his head. He did mention earlier that he'd never paid much attention to the stars, so the question seems a little unecessary, but he wouldn't point it out. Instead he let his gaze follow her paw up to the group of stars, and as she explain why her sister had named it 'baby hare on fire' he raised his brow in slight amusement. "I see. Well it seems more a cub's game to play, no?" The god looked back at Xinavane and shrugged. "I suppose I could give it a shot."
So he returned his gaze to the stars, searching for a shape of some sort to name, just to try it out. "Um...over there," he said, pointing a group of stars out with his paw. "It kind of looks like a bird no? See.." and he traced the body and wings out with a claw.. only to find that it lacked a head. "Ah. Well maybe a headless bird..."
Xinavane watched him thoughtfully, and snorted when he pointed it out, "Maybe it's a child's game... but since neither of us played much as children, perhaps it's the best place to start, don't you think?" She mentioned thoughtfully, "With the basics... best way to lean anything I find." Or at least, that was what she had always tried to teach. It worked for being a warrior, why wouldn't it work for adults learning to have fun as well? Well, he wasn't an adult yet she didn't think... but either way, they both had something to learn.
"Alright..." She grinned, "I dub thee constellation... Headless Bird." She told it, bowing to the constellation, just because... well, better to get into character a little bit, wasn't it? "Let me see... Oh! That star, over there. Looks a bit like a... boar with it's head stuck in a tree? See, there's... maybe a bush, not a tree. Would be a lousy tree." She mentioned, trying to trace the outline with her paw and discovering that it didn't work as well as she'd hoped.
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 8:58 pm
True, they did need to learn how to have a bit more fun, and since he'd never done this before it was probably a good place to start. New experiences were always interesting, after all. As she spoke Tarik was already on the look out for another picture, but stopped for a second to see the stars she was pointing out. The image of a boar getting stuck made him snort in amusement, then nod his head. "I see it. Hah.. that'd be a sight to see.."
And then he was looking again. "What about that one over there? It looks something like a lion on its hind legs. I think.." He traced the stars with his paw again, trying to make a picture out of them. "There's the mane, the forelegs, and then there's its hind legs and its...tail? It's a bit disfigured but it could work." It was actually a lot more disfigured that he wanted to admit. The tail was about halfway up the back of the 'lion', and its hind legs were too far forward to even be considered a part of the main body. After thinking for a second Tarik shook his head. "Or, you know. Not.. this game is harder than you let on earlier."
Xinavane nodded, "It would be quite a sight." And followed what he pointed out and laughed a little under her breath, nodding, "Yeah... a little different from a lion, but I think I can see it... maybe a lion that got in a fight and lost?" She suggested thoughtfully. Honestly she had never been as creative at this game as her sister had been. But she had laughed, and had gotten a laugh, out of Tarik. So that was something to be proud of, she supposed.
"I never said it was easy. You can't just pick any constalation." She told him with a small laugh and a smile, "You have to spot just the right one for the perfect picture, otherwise it's no good at all." She explained, "We used to have points for whoever could find the biggest collection of stars, and name it something that actually made sense... it was a lot of fun. But you lost points if what you were doing didn't make any sense."
He smiled sheepishly, nodding his head at her suggestion. "I guess that'd make sense.." he murmured before going in search again. Tarik couldn't see himself playing this game alone, though with pleasant company he might with a bit of convincing. Like just now.. still, he was happy to find something to amusing to do. And with someone who was a lot like him. After another moment or two he shook his head and heaved a sigh.
"Forget it," he said with a bit of annoyance. "Staring at all those twinkling things is giving me a headache."
Xinavane tilted her head, a little worried that he seemed so annoyed. She wasn't afraid that he would run off or the like, because she liked to think he was a little more reasonable than that. But she still had an idea. "Well... that's a shame, because I was just about to point out one that looks a lot like you." She grinned a little, lifting her paw into the sky to trace one out.
"You see there? Your wings, from before, and your scowley face right now," She joked, lightly butting his shoulder with her head as she pointed, "And the thing you wear around your neck right there... See?" She said. Sure, it wasn't exactly perfect... and she probably wouldn't have actually noticed if he hadn't scowled right then. Somehow, it made the picture complete, and certainly made her laugh.
At her words he glanced up to where she was pointing, following her paw as she traced it out. It took him a few seconds, but the picture did eventually come to him, and despite himself it did get a chuckle out of him. "Well I'm glad to see that you're so amused by my scowling face," he said jokingly, still looking at the image in the heavens. "Still, it's a strange likeness. Incomplete without the look on my face, but still something of a likeness." He put on an irritated expression to try and imitate the picture, then looked back at the lioness. "How's this? Do I look something like it again?" And he went from one expression to the next, laughing a little in between as he tried to look once more like his portrait in the sky. Imperfect as it was, it was still amusing..
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 9:00 pm
Xinavane couldn't help herself, she laughed outright then, clutching her sides as he made funny faces at her. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed like that. Not since her children had been little, and had still been pulling funny faces at her. And before that... not since Zuru. Weird how she kept comparing them, but she quite liked Tarik. He was a much better person than the credit she had given him when they had first met. "Tarik... when you..." She tried to get a hold of herself, "When you try... you know, you're very funny... very... very funny..." She laughed loudly, trying to fight the stitch in her side. "Sorry... sorry... you just make such funny faces when you try..."
He'd never met someone he could get comfortable enough to make embarrassing faces at, but once she burst out laughing he stopped making faces and smiled. Tarik laughed at her.. sort-of compliment and shrugged. "I've never tried before, but I'll take your word for it. Don't count on it happening again anytime soon," he said with a grin. "Anyway, I'm not usually this relaxed. Also, I've never made anyone laugh before. It's nice to know that I can." At that he stood and shook his mane a bit and stretched. "It's a bit late now though, so I think I'm gonna go. You should too, we can play this constellation game another night." And so he started off, turning around for a moment, a smile on his face. "Good night, Xinavane." Then he was off again, and once he was far enough he dropped his disguise, spread his wings and flew up the haven for a bit of rest.
Xinavane smiled as she watched him. He really did seem more relaxed, and frankly, much happier. And that... weirdly made her a whole lot happier as well. "I'm glad that you're relaxed... but don't worry. I won't count on the funny faces again, I promise." She solemnly swore. Then she waved as he headed on his way, "I'll see you around Tarik. Have a nice night, and good luck with wherever you're going." She should be heading home... it would be a long day tomorrow.
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