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 Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 12:08 am
Takatifu'moja: The sun had sunk down, leaving twilight in its wake as Takatifu'moja made her way across the savanna. She had since left her father, heartbreaking, but necessary. The revelation of her parentage had been too hard to handle on her part, she needed distance. And he was too busy with the other girl anyways. So there she was, on her own.
It wasn't so bad. Lonely, yeah, but it wasn't like she wasn't used to it. She never really made friends after leaving her pride. All she had was her father. And he had tried to be aloof even though he was mostly incapable of it. Besides, she was a grown lioness now. She couldn't stick around her papa for the rest of her life. She needed to find a place where she could stay, raise a family of her own, carrying on her mother's blood and traditions.
Family... Tifu scoffed out loud at that one. She had enough worries when she was hunting. Goddess bless her not to have a vision while trying to bring down a meal. It hadn't happened yet, but there was a first time for everything. If she worried about it even when she was hunting, there was no way she could start a family. Not when touching another creature meant risking Seeing something she didn't want to.
Kisulisuli: Hunting had occupied much of his day and had been what had brought him across the grasslands. It had taken days. Even with how experienced he was in hunting and fighting- he was only one lion. He'd brought down a young Zebra earlier and had made fast work of cleaning off the bones of the zebra.
Presently, the dusty-maned lion had the leg in his mouth, growling aggressively to keep the vultures at bay. Four of the birds stood at a safe distance, watching with hungry eyes as the male ravaged his kill. He hated scavangers...
Takatifu'moja: As Tifu walked, she noticed a small group of vultures not far from her, and it looked like they had found something. Or someone she should say. Knowing how annoying they could be, and pretty good sport, she set her ears back and ran at the vultures, teeth bared in a grin.
She took the preoccupied birds by surprise. One was quick enough to take off, but his fellows weren't so lucky. One got swatted into another and the third was pounced by the trim lioness. She growled down at it before moving to one side and swatting it, too, away with another growl.
When they were all back in the air, she finally looked to the lion they had been stalking.
And frowned.
It was that one guy, the rude and jerk-y one. Fun...
Kisulisuli: Suli, in spite of himself, jumped as something lunged out and drove off the scavangers. Perhaps a hyena- or a pack. Damn things didn't miss a chance to pick off another's kill. He'd had half of an impalla stolen once- and after his hunt he had been too tired to retrieve it.
Instead- a lioness burst through the feathers and the aggrivated birds. He growled, hunching over what remained of his kill. Reconition finally struck. It was that...bubbly twit.
The aggression melted into simple frusteration. "...what do you want?"
Takatifu'moja: "Nothing from you," Tifu snapped back with a shrug as she started picking feathers from off of her fur. Still surly. Was this guy ever happy? Probably not.
All the more reason to stay away, her inner voice said. He whapped her once before, there was not telling what he might do. And no telling what she might see.
She scooted a few more paces from him and sat down, a downy feather unknowingly still on her head.
"I was just chasing the buzzards away. I know what it's like to have to fend them off alone and figured I could get back at them by lending a paw," she added, continuing to idly groom herself.
"Didn't count on it being you."
Kisulisuli: "...didn't we talk about your ....", he waved a paw around in the air, "Thing with helping random rogues? For all you knew I could have been a bloodthirsty beast without shame. I could have pounced you here and now." He flicked his tail.
Creatures like that existed...the damnable firekin. Monsters of lions, towering a head over any of his kin and four times as vicious. He'd seen their handiwork and watched them drag cubs from the lands- not that he could have done anything. He quite liked his pelt intact.
Takatifu'moja: "That's your opinion. I don't have to take your advice if I don't want to," Tifu replied and immediately regretted the statement. Goddess, she sounded like a rebellious adolescent. She slowly shook her head, causing the feather to float down to land on her muzzle. She frowned at it and wiped it away with her paw, sighing as she did so.
"Look, I'm sorry I interrupted your meal. I only wanted to chase off the vultures. If I leave, they'll come back, but if you don't care, I'll go," she said in an almost defeated tone. She looked up and sure enough they were circling above them. Since when had she gotten so tired? She had that burst of energy when she scared off the birds, but as soon as the older lion started talking, it was as if he sucked the life right out of her. She could admit, she didn't want to think of the world as a horrible place, even though she knew some of the things that made it so bad. But geez, was that all this guy thought about?
Eh, he was probably right, she'd probably end up dead or worse at the paws of someone she had tried to help. But she supposed it would be a good way to go, trying to help someone. That's what Mother had... kinda done. Did it count if they made her sacrifice herself?
He'd probably just think her mother was an idiot.
Kisulisuli: He rolled his eyes and tossed the bone out for her. "There. Your reward. I'm full anyway." He grumbled. Whether he was trying to get her off his back or thank her was up to her to interpret. He didn't really care either way. Too much meat and he'd likely be too tired to do much else. He already thought of simply rolling over for a nap. Of course- he'd have to relocate. The corpse would attract more scavangers, more rogues, and perhaps some of the wild dogs of the grassland. He didn't need that much attention.
"Think what you want." He grumbled, "I'm older than you and I know how things go. You've probibly never seen a lion lay a paw on another lion. Not pretty."
Takatifu'moja: Tifu looked to the bone and smiled sadly a bit. She always put on a brave face when talking about her mother. She had been a strong high-priestess of their pride and Tifu wanted to be strong, just like her. Was it that hard for her mother, too?
"Just because you're older, doesn't mean you know everything. I watched them take my mother away against her will. The other priestesses said she was going away to talk to the goddess, but I knew what sacrifice meant."
She looked up, then, her look passive as she tilted her head to one side in an almost birdlike manner.
"Were you ever left in the desert alone to die before you learned how to hunt or take care of yourself?"
Kisulisuli: "Sacrifice." He snorted. What a stupid idea. He'd heard of such things through Taban, the cheetah seemed to have a paw in -everything-. Either he had a seer in his company or he was damn good at extracting the right information from the right sources.
"Why would anyone just die like that? 'Ooh it'll make the gods happy'- Bullshit." He snapped and threw his paw into a nearby bone, sending it flying. One of the more bold vultures drifted down to pick off what it could from the discarded bit.
"The gods aren't doing their jobs. Why should we do anything for them? Idiot. No offense- but idiot."
He snorted and lifted an eyebrow. "Damn near it. Our pride abandoned us during a drought. We had to fight rogues off every day... eventually we lost and were driven out. Life's great, isn't it?"
Takatifu'moja: Tifu shrugged. She didn't like the idea, either. Neither did her mother. They knew it was wrong. But the priest had convinced them it would save them from the great shaking that was to come. Tifu had no idea the goddess, her grandmother, had deliberately destroyed the pride by abandoning them during the earthquake for killing her daughter. If she had known... She might have been a mixture of happy and sad. Wasted lives.
"My goddess saved me. She came to me and told me where to go for water and eventually to my father. My mother didn't want that. She knew it was wrong. But all the past need be is a reminder of what to do," she paused there, looking over at the vulture.
"It taught me to trust my instincts. I know when to be wary."
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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:15 pm
Kisulisuli:: "Your goddess." He spat the words from his mouth the way he might spoiled meat. "Our god turned his back on us. Our whole lives we lived in his lands, protecting them with our lives. One by one the others left but we stood against all that came our way. Fammine, drought, and invadors alike. When did he show again? When a pretender to the throne came and pushed myself and my prince to the boarders. He was killed by a firekin, killed still trying to protect the lands that had betrayed him."
He snorted and tossed his mane out of his eyes. "Gods indeed. Gods be damned if you ask me."
Tifu:: Tifu stood and paced a little bit, avoiding his eyes. How fortunate she was to have her goddess. She had been unable to stop the death of her mother, but she had given Tifu safety in return. Safety and guidance. She paused and frowned slightly in thought.
"I cannot presume to know what the gods decide." She looked at him, her head tilted a bit. "I'm sure even they make mistakes."
She glanced away again, wondering. A nagging thought had planted itself in the back of her mind, but she didn't want to act upon it. It wanted her to try and See. She doubted she could even get close if she wanted to.
Kisulisuli:: "Feh. They always make mistakes..." Maybe the odd cheetah was right. Perhaps the gods were nothing more than another species with special abilities...like seers only different. Larger, more powerful. It didn't give them any right to boss them around like that and ruin their pride.
"Eat up. You never know what meal will be your last."
Tifu:: "'M not hungry," Tifu replied in a somewhat distracted manner and she continued to think. Some part of her brain caught on to the other statement and she shrugged again.
"Perhaps. My mother taught me to never believe there was anything completely perfect in the world. Faults make things real. Anything without fault is lying." Still the thought persisted. What WOULD she See, if she Saw anything? She wanted to know more about the prince. It kinda sounded like he had been this male's friend. Sounded like there were a lot of reasons for the older lion to be grumpy.
At least she wasn't completely in the dark anymore.
Kisulisuli:: He snorted. "Fine. Leave it for the birds then. I'm not hanging around here much longer."
He pushed himself to all fours and shook his mane out. It was time to move along anyway. Staying in one place left his scent too strongly. While he wasn't entirely sure just what he was avoiding, he -was- certain that he didn't want to find out. Maji and Obi both mentioned that the outside world was more brutal...and he'd seen some small part of that. While he'd been large within his pride, for their kin, he was small compared to the lions of the wilds.
Tifu:: Tifu nodded and picked up the food, flinging it towards where the vultures had re-congregated. He was leaving, it looked like, which was good. She needed to get going too. Find someplace where she could sleep comfortably once morning came again, what she had been doing before running into him. So she walked past him in a nonchalant manner, her tail swaying back and forth.
Until it hit his paw.
And she froze.
Tifu's eyes widened, a look of shock on her face as they glazed over, taking on the color of her irises completely, as if she no longer had whites in her eyes. She shivered a small bit as the vision took its course, her tail unable to move from where it had landed.
It wouldn't stop him from breaking the connection, though. Just on her end.
Kisulisuli:: Suli stood still, looking distantly towards the horizon. He was a rogue...which meant he didn't need to go in any certain direction, just to keep moving on. He supposed the most logical way to travel was somewhere near water... at least he could rest a day or two near water and restore his strength.
The female froze as she brushed him- which didn't strike him as odd until she didn't continue forward. "What? You scared of the-....." He frowned. She looked... odd. Like everything just...stopped.
Tifu:: Tifu shook one more time and then jerk away from him. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. It always took a toll on her, tensing her muscles to almost painful levels, increasing her heartbeat.
"Your prince," she panted softly, eyes still shut as she tried to both calm herself and sort through what she had Seen. "Was he kinda gray... white mane?"
For once it hadn't been clear. Mostly flashes, of a few instances. But that last one stood out. Would it be good news? Or would it turn out she was simply mistaken?
Kisulisuli:: He blinked and narrowed his orange eyes her way. "...he was....with runes on his face and left side. Why?"
She was...so strange. One moment she was mouthing off about some goddess, the next she was frozen with a dumbfounded look on her maw, almost witless. Now she seemed..as if she'd just run for a few hours.
Tifu:: "I... don't think he died," Tifu explained, finally opening her eyes and looking wary of how he'd take her words.
"I think... I saw the fight," among other things. She closed her eyes, a stupid thing to do, but she needed to "see" it better, something aided by focusing on the darkness against her eyelids. She set aside the flashes she had gotten of the two males' interactions together and did her best to focus on the fight.
"Lots of gray and red. But they both went away, the red first. I didn't See the gray stop moving. I think... I would have, if he were dead. It stopped there."
She opened her eyes again to look at the older lion, unsure of what more to say or do.
Kisulisuli:: Suli met her gaze with a supicious, almost angry glare. His head was tipped to one side and his tail flashed sharply behind him. "...you're a seer then." he commented dryly. He'd heard of them. The valley had been crawling with them for a time just before the pride's division. Maji had spoken to one of them often- she saw things in puddles. Apparently she predicted that everything would be alright.
His nose wrinkled. Well that could very well be the source of her 'goddess'. Some vision. After a moment he turned away and looked to his paws. He was alive? Then...why hadn't he come back?
Tifu:: Tifu nodded, though he didn't catch it. He had already turned away from her.
"Someone told me that's what it was. I didn't mean to, it was an accident," she explained, or at least attempted to. Why did she even bother? Would it make any difference?
She raised one paw to look at it and would have growled if it had been in her to do so. Instead, she just frowned at the paw. She didn't like seeing things, not at all. They did nothing good and she was sick of it. She'd be a hermit if she didn't think the solitude would kill her.
Kisulisuli:: "...I have to find him. He's not a fighter, he's as good as dead out there. And he needs to know what happened to the pride." He snorted and stood himself upright. "Did...you see where I could start looking? I don't know the territory out here. I've been......guessing."
He hated admitting that. He hated even more that he was indirectly asking for help. Especially from her of all creatures.
Tifu:: Tifu shook her head slowly.
"I didn't. I'm surprised I saw that. Usually it's just a piece of the past of whomever I touch... I'm sorry," she replied, but trailed off, wrinkling her muzzle. She remembered Seeing the fight... and the sun.
"The gr- your friend went north, I think. The other, east... ish. Maybe..." She wanted to be more helpful than that, but she had nothing more to give. She doubted he would allow her to help any more, anyways.
Kisulisuli:: "North...", he turned his head in that direction and frowned. North....he could have gone anywhere beyond that. It wasn't exactly specific.
"...how good are you in navigation anyway? You've bumped into me twice- obviously you don't have anywhere else to be."
Tifu:: Tifu shrugged.
"I wasn't trained to navigate, but I'm not terrible. I know how to continue in a general direction by the sky," she replied and nodded almost begrudgingly. She didn't have anywhere else to be, not any more. If she stuck by him, at least she'd have a purpose. Plus, though she was loath to admit it, she wasn't a fighter either and being without her Abu scared her sometimes, especially at night when she couldn't get to sleep and kept hearing unidentifiable sounds. Sticking with another would help.
"No, I guess I don't have anywhere to be."
Kisulisuli:: "Then lead the way. I...don't know the land." That was as close to a request for help as he'd come. His expression made it that obvious at least. At least with a traveling companion hunts wouldn't be as difficult, someone could keep their ears open when the other rested, and he'd have another set of eyes looking for his friends. If he found either Maji or Obi dead...well...
He swallowed the thought. Nonsense.
Tifu:: Tifu gave him a small smile, looked up at the sky for a moment, and then started walking northwards. Was it really that difficult for him to ask for assistance? Yes, she supposed it was. But... that was the way of things sometimes. The least she could do was help him find his friend. Maybe then things would get better.
"My name is Takatifu'moja, by the way. But... most other just call me Tifu," she introduced herself after she realized neither knew the other's name.
Kisulisuli:: He follwed after her hesitantly, glancing to the side so it would appear s if he was interested in something elsewhere. He was curious as to just how the abilities of a seer worked. If he'd not seen it a few times prior to his meeting, he might have shrugged the female off as being...'underdeveloped'.
"...Mine's Kisulisuli. You can crop that as you want. I'll answer to whatever."
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