It was love, but it wasn’t, that’s the only way the pale yellow lioness could explain her feelings for Hewa and Lala. They were her best friends and her lovers. They’d made their choice to return to Hewa’s home the same day that Indu decided to return to her own. She missed Nerit, as much as she wanted to admit, she missed her brown furred mother a whole heck of a lot.
Looking to the sky she realized that it was a new moon, not a fantastic sign to her pride, the Great Lion was not standing vigil on this night and that made her nervous. Would coming home now ruin everything for her mother? Why did it matter? Indu found herself profoundly changed during her absent, she wasn’t -as- whiney as she once was, and now she cared for family.
As clean as the now adult lioness could possibly make herself she started toward the edge of her home land.
Dalila’abadi in her new found freedom of being able to teleport where she wanted, when she wanted found herself “poofing” into a random location. The adolescent goddess was trying very hard to find people that might be in need of her assistance, and from a memory she picked up on her travels she thought that perhaps she could help someone in this location.
Looking around Dalila’s jaw dropped, “This isn’t where I wanted to be at all.” She couldn’t help but laugh at herself, of course she would appear in a random location…why did her teleportation never seem to work? She could remember everything she’d ever known..but somehow locations were a mystery.
“Make the best of it,” she grinned and looked out into the cool night. This was the kind of night she wanted to remember forever, and of course she would. Perfect breeze, perfet temperature, perfect..well you get the picture.
Just as Dalila’abadi’s jaw had dropped Indu’s jaw grazed the ground, had that lion just appeared out of nowhere? Were those wings? Indu couldn’t believe her ruby red eyes. The lion with wings did not seem to know she was behind her clearing her throat the pale lioness stood dumbstruck in awe.
“What…are you?” She blinked multiple times and thought perhaps she’d dosed off on her way home, she was feeling slightly tired, this just happened to be a dream, that was all. “Wake up Indu, you’re sleeping, wake up you silly girl.”
Dalila tensed and turned slowly to see who had cleared their throat, did she land right in the middle of something? The pale lion before her seemed to be…well Dali wasn’t sure what the lioness seemed to be, but she didn’t seem to be completely normal.
“I am Dalila’abadi…I am a goddess, the one of memories to be exact...I don’t think you’re dreaming dear, unless I fell asleep too,” Dalila greeted her and bowed deeply, her wings gently in the breeze.
"No, you see lions don't have wings..they just don't," Indu babbled and blinked her eyes some more as if she was trying to erase the goddess from her sight.
"I've got to go..got to meet someone..got to go.." Indu started to walk jerkily in another direction.
"Actually.." she looked at Indu.."You knew a male, he spoke of winged lions, you thought he was just playing with you. I can assure you, I am as real as you are." Dalila didn't often use her powers to know things once remembered, and this lioness had obviously repressed that memory. Tilting her head to one side she smiled poliltly at the lioness, the other female was older than her, she could see that with the size and shape of the pale female.
"We're not that hard to believe in I assure you, I have an entire family of gods back home..home is in.." she turned in a circle thinking...which direction was that again? "One of these directions, near the Pride Lands."
Dali followed along beside the lioness not wanting to cause her any more trouble..but still wanting her to understand what was happening.
"I'm dreami- how did you know what Hewa told me?" a look of bewilderment, something that was probably soon to be permanent came over her face. "You're..one of the things that Hewa knew about..one of the gods..I thought he made them up to entertain me while I couldn't sleep..how is that possible?"
The blue lioness did not stop walking, walking would mean she completely accepted that something that couldn't exist did. The blue lioness only knew of one powerful being and that was the Great Lion, the one that wasn't present in the sky today.
"I'm sorry..you'll have to...just go away...disappear like you came." Perhaps she was as bratty as she used to be.
"I told you I am the goddess of remembrance, that was a memory that you had..something in the past, I could tell from you." Dalila'abadi didn't know what to think, irrefutable proof was standing right beside her, looking into her face.
"I most certainly will not, I came here to..to..well I came here, and I have every right to be standing here as you do." Dali paused, "Now, would you like to stop for a moment and have a decent conversation..or do I have to..to turn you into.." oh what was something menacing she saw another god do once, "into a bird!" Dalila didn't like threats, but she didn't like being told to go away either.
"What?" Indu exclaimed and stopped in her tracks, she most certainly did not want to be turned into some kind of bird!
"I am on my way home, after a long, long time..And actually you don't have a right to be here, you're almost on Mwezi'Johari lands, that means that they're my pride lands..not yours." The pale yellow lioness didn't know why she was bothering yelling at something that was obviously a figment of her imagination, those wings? Come on, they're so not real!
Indu sat down, why was she feeling so angry? Why did she feel so argumentative toward this goddess, who had already proven she had the power to delve into her mind? Well, for one she could've fallen asleep, and then the memory would have just been drudged up, her subconscious would know her thoughts and memories.
"I might be sleeping, and if I am that means you're not real, you don't have any real proof you're not real. Anything you can tell me will be something in my head..and if you're in my head then...then you're not telling me anything at all." Indu's expression changed from bewilderment to one of anger.
"Well then, you're logic is sound," Dalila nodded, "I can give you my word that I am as real as you are. The only way I could prove such a thing would be to cause you physical pain, when you do not wake up then it will be proof that we are both standing around during one of he most beautiful nights of the year."
Dalila sat down beside the pale lionss, "May I have your name? Why have you not returned home?" She chose not to peek inside of the female's mind again, the goddess of remembering wanted to hear the story from Indu.
Leave it to a mortal not to appreciate a pristine autumn night like this one, she thought and shook her wings again, dust floating off of them to the grass.
"I am not going to allow you to hurt me," she paused and slowly a smirk spread across her smile, "so I'll believe you, what harm could be done to me if I was talking to myself afterall?"
"My name? Indu, I am the daughter of Nerit a slave in the Mwezi'Johari pride," Indu continued talking about herself, "My mother and the king of this pride fell in love and I thought was one of the silliest things I had ever heard, why would a king give everything up for a slave, right?"
Indu laughed and shrugged her shoulders the best a lion could, "So..one night my mother told me about their love, I thought my mother was stupid, she always wanted to boss me around....so I ran away. I-I realize now that it was a dumb thing to do, my friends Hewa and Lalakesha explained that to me, but I thought it was a good idea at the time. And now I'm back to make everything right..hopefully."
"Now who's trying to pull wool over whose eyes?" Dalila laughed there was happiness in her eyes, what a tale the lioness was trying to spin! "Indu, do you think it's best for you to go home right now? In the middle of the night? What if your mother is angry with you?"
Dalila peeked for a moment into memories and listened to the fight the lioness had had with her mother, "Do you feel, you're any different than you were? Your mother said everything was about you. Is it?" Dalila crinkled her nose, "I'm not a good one to give advice, I've been in love with the same male for lifetimes and each time one of us dies..so..perhaps..you shouldn't listen to a figment of your imagination."
"I know I am different now, I have been through a lot more than I had been through..and..I'm not a whiney teenager any longer, I promise," Indu looked at the goddess worried, had she seen something in Indu that made her think differently? Could she do that? Who was this stranger to say anything like that to her?
"A male for life times?" She thought of her feelings for Lala and Hewa..they weren't going to be with her any longer. Would they even stand a chance at lifetimes, let alone standing a chance at a full year? Short answer: No.
"That takes some dedication, my friend," Indu had the look of awe return to her face. "Are you together in this lifetime?"
Dalila beamed, Indu hadn't even heard the best part, in the last lifetime he couldn't even remember who she was! What irony! She laughed loudly and didn't move, she wasn't going to continue walking with Indu, the lioness'd have to stop and talk.
"I have loved him forever, and I'll continue loving him until...well forever and more. Gods die and become reborn, I will die and come back over and over, he will as well. Every time I die I remember everything from the lifetimes before..he does not always remember me..sometimes..but this time he doesn't. Should I force him to remember?"
"I-"
"OF COURSE!" Indu shouted interrupting the light blue goddess, 'You said you'll love him forever, he's got to feel the same way if it has been lifetimes!" Indu was completely enthralled with the goddess' tale, what a wonderful story! Nothing like her own sad hissy fit, loving a lion for your entire existence? That took time, that took energy, that took selflessness!
"Go after him, he'll thank you for it..I'm pretty sure. But, who am I to say? I'm just someone talking to an imaginary friend.
"I wont stand for you talking any long, you're to head straight to him and tell him everything...and then come back, to these lands here, and find me to tell me how it went."
"Besides..what does an imaginary friend have to lose?"
"But-"
"Go!"
"I don-"
"Go!"
"Please, I jus-"
"Go, go, go!"
Dalila looked at the lioness, she thought this mortal was snooty, he couldn't recognize the most beautiful night of the season, and now? She was bossing a goddess around! What a fool this lioness was! But...she did have a point, didn't she? Dalila'abadi had loved Uhai for so long she didn't think this lifetime would be complete without him. She had a moral dilemma on her paws. Mess with his memory, he might recall something he did not want to or live a lifetime without him..her choice...her choice..
Dalila tilted her head and then poofed out, hoping she would land in the correct location.
