(Songs used in the RP are "Heal" by Faith and the Muse and "Cartouche" by Blackmore's Night.)
Nyx hummed and danced about, a little more understanding of what was growing in her towards the dark god Katana'k. The first feather he'd gifted her hung around her neck with her gemstones to make her rank marker, the second made an earring at her left ear with more of her rank stones. And she began to sing as she passed a large stump.
"Salute the essence
Perfection's humor
Conversed so often: mute
Oh my dear
I'm always near
Oh my dear."
Kawaakari had been wandering along for a little while now - just poking her nose into various parts of the pride lands. She wasn't exaaaactly bored, but she had nothing better to do, really. So she was kind of looking for something. Someone to talk to, or maybe a spot to dance. Her ears perked up when she heard that little song, though. After a moment or two, she moved toward the sound - curious.
"Heal
We can't conceive
A child's peace
Belief our direction
Salute the essence:
The essence of two performers
A pleasure ridden torture."
She continued to sing, following her own beat, her own tune. Her paws followed the drum of her heart and her words, until she scented someone else. Blinking, she stopped and looked around, ears up. "Hello?"
Kawaa instantly slinked out from behind a rock and grinned at the other. "Oh don't stop! I was just getting the beat..." she begged, tapping a paw on the ground a few times. She loved to dance, really... and the other's song sounded pretty neat.
Nyx blinked and grinned back. "Well...that was the end of that one, but I can make another one!" She always could. She thought a moment, before pounding out a beat with her paws and beginning to dance as she launched into song.
"If I share this with you never speak a word
They would never understand if they ever heard
Gemini, Capricorn, rising in the east
Dancing through the witchwood we began to sing..."
Kawaa blinked... and then laughed in delight and started dancing. It was an odd sort of dance - involving drumming with her paws and shaking her head around a lot. Then she started moving from side to side along with the rest - tail tip flicking around in time to the upbeats.
Nyx rather enjoyed the sort of dance the darker lioness was doing. It was interesting to watch, and so different from her own spinning and leaping and prancing.
"In between dark and light in the underworld
Wrapped around your finger like a string of pearls
Smiling face, empty hand, 7 golden rings
Dancing through the starlight we began to sing..."
And she was liking the song as it flowed from her, creating the picture in her mind as she danced around Kawaa, her heavy pawfalls keeping the beat.
Kawaa grinned and started lifting her paws up higher, shaking each one around a bit before setting them down a bit. The brighter colors in her pelt almost seemed to streak into odd shapes and patterns as she moved faster. The sun was also beginning to go down ... so it seemed as if parts of her glowed.
She found herself entranced, and certain she needed to hang out with this lioness more. Such a strange phenomenon...one she'd have to shuffle away in her memory for a later date. Maybe for a song, or a craft....
"Ahh, still I hear the whisper...'Cartouche'..."
She spun about the younger one, the beads of her earring and rank marker clicking together, adding to the 'music'.
"Caramel colored leaves spiral in the air
Diving right into the ground 'round the winding hill..."
Quite suddenly, Kawaa jumped into the air and did a quick spin herself - shaking her whole body in a long sort of shiver as she landed. Bobbing her head then, she started the whole dance over again. But there were variations on it now - an extra pawshake here, another little spin there. This was fun!
"Stories carved out of wood, jester and the king
Dancing through the moonlight, we began to sing
Ahh, still I hear the whisper...'Cartouche'..."
And she launched into a complex dance, humming the bits she imagined being drummed out and accompanied by other voices. And then she had to stop. She was out of breath, and her legs were protesting...she'd not done something like that before. The dances had always been simpler, meant to be done over long periods of time. But that...She'd been inspired by the other lioness' dancing.
Kawaa stopped when the other lioness did, panting a bit. But she wasn't quite as out of breath as the other, since she tended to do this kind of thing all the time. Even if she had no one else singing, she could make up her own songs in her head. "You're ... really good," she said, smiling at the other. "I'm Kawaakari~ What's your name?"
Nyx felt that surge of pride in her, that warmth that a compliment from another left. "Thanks. I'm Nyx." She panted a bit between each couple of words. "Nice to meet you, Kawaakari." She grinned. "You're really good, too! I've not met anyone else who loves dancing like I do. Let alone dance to my songs." She giggled happily. "My family listens, but never dances. Or...did..." She only had Shu'reh left now. Her and Usiku. And now Katana'k. He...he was family. She hoped.
Kawaa blinked at her hesitation, but chose not to mention it - when it was pretty obvious the other didn't want to talk about it. "Oh that's kind of sad... I think that dancing just makes the music even better!"
She smiled again. "Yeah...Music and dancing are best as partners!" She stretched, muscles aching to relax. "Hey....let's go cool off! Get some water in our systems!" She started towards the river. Maybe she'd found a friend! "So....your markings and colors look a little familiar...who're your parents?"
"Sure~ That sounds great," Kawaa replied with a smile. Padding of beside the other, she flicked her ears forward and back before replying. "Well... my mom is Na'ima. I've never really seen my dad, but my mom has talked about him a little..."
"Ah! I know Miss Na'ima, kinda! She's patched me up before, when I was younger and doing all sorts of stupid stuff." She giggled. "I don't really know much about my own father either. But...my mother is Mioyo." IS. Her mother was just missing...not dead. That hadn't been confirmed.
Kawaa thought for a moment, then nodded at that. "I think that I've heard her name before..." she murmrued. Ah, but there was the river! Grinning suddenly, the young lioness got a running start and then jumped into a calmer part of that river, splashing around a bit. Clearly, she had no lack of energy.
For now, Nyx let her sadness retreat to the back of her mind, and just enjoyed the moment. She followed at a more sedate gait, and belly flopped into the water. And just enjoyed the coolness. "Don't worry too much about it." She grinned. "We should do this more often. Maybe I'll start lasting longer."
Kawaa grinned at that and nudged the other just a bit. "Practice makes perfect," she recited primly. Then she laughed and splashed a bit of water at Nyx. "I dance all the time... even without anyone singing."
Nyx nodded. "That's right! Well now...you can have singing to go with your dancing!" Maybe she could construct something to recreate that...GLOW. It had intrigued her. She giggled and splashed water back.
"That'd be great!" Kawaa replied with a grin. Then she sighed softly and lapped up a bit of water. "It's nice to meet someone around here... who likes to have some fun. So many of the others are so ... serious. Even though there was -clearly- no threat for them to fight now, they were focused on training, and hunting, and all that stuff...
Nyx nodded. "Yeah...too much serious. Not enough fun. I mean...what good is all that training and stuff if you don't enjoy life a little?" She smiled and stretched. "Well...Sadly, I must go be responsible. Need to check up on my adopted little brother." She chuckled. "And I've got someone to show around. Maybe you'll meet him at some point."
"Sounds good," Kawaa replied with a quick smile. "I hope that your friend likes it here..." Glancing up at the sky, she shook her head a bit. "I should probably be going too. I'm supposed to be listening to a lecture on how important keeping the food stores kept up is." She rolled her eyes at the thought, but moved to head toward the bank. "I hope we can dance again sometime!"
Nyx started towards the dens, a grin on her face. "Definitely! And have fun with that! It's not as bad as it seems!" Depending on the teacher. She trotted off, feeling even happier than when she'd started her singing and dancing. "Life is good..."
