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 Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 8:40 am
Laini had found herself in the long grass, Jicho still asleep back in the den they'd camped in. She'd crept out without him, the first time she'd done so - it was a big moment for the young Goddess. The first time she'd been without her bat familiar, who she depended on to guide her. But with the discovery of her new power, allowing her to regain her sight for short periods of time, she figured that if she ran into any mortals she should be alright.
Shuddering as she remembered that event, she pushed it to the back of her mind, continuing through the long grass, giggling as it tickled her body. She'd imagine this would be great place to play hide and seek, if...well, she could do the seeking part. It would be a bit of an unfair game, with Laini participating.
The juvenile continued onwards, unfolding her small wings to allow them to catch the wing, airing the feathers. It felt quite nice, actually - next thing, she'd be flying. That was what she was looking forwards to! Her wings weren't quite big enough yet - gliding, she could do, but not quite flying. When she was older, Pala had told her. Her wings would be big and beautiful and she'd finally soar in the skies!
...Hopefully with her mother beside her.
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Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2010 9:38 pm
He needed distractions and well, there were clouds that looked like different things to keep him busy. It was between spotting a cloud that looked like a rabbit and one that looked like a rock that he heard the rustle of plants. While he wasn’t any good at picking up god signals, he at least knew when something was coming close. Rolling on his stomach, he crouched low and looked about. “Is anyone there?”
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Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 2:21 pm
...Was that a voice?
Frowning, Laini paused, all rustling ceasing as she froze, waiting to hear if it spoke again. No more words followed, however, and so she stretched her wings to rustle the surrounding grass again, before pulling them in, seeing if that would ellicite a response. Nothing still. Curiosity got the better of the young goddess, however, as she continued walking forwards in the voice she believed the voice had come from, taking cautious steps - after all, she couldn't see where she was going, and her ears were straining to hear the slightest of sounds. Her nose picked up a scent, twitching.
Someone was definitely there.
"Hi?" she called out, trying to search for the same power she'd used before - if she could regain her sight she could tell who was there. She hadn't thought about the distress it might cause for a mortal to lose their sight in the process. She also had yet to learn the power didn't work on other deities.
"...I'm Laini?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 4:08 pm
It was defiantly someone who was walking around, and he was more and more on edge as the silence only stretched out longer. If he didn't get a response soon, he would start to feel as if he was in trouble. Maybe someone was mistaking him as prey or worse, saw he was a god and wanted to kill him. Who knew if there were crazy mortals who would be against him, and he made the mistake to have his wings exposed while on ground. Right now, he wondered if he should hide them, but if he was in trouble, then having them ready to take flight would be best. Right now, he was really hoping he wouldn't have to leap up and make a hasty rush to the skies above.
So much for relaxing.
When at long last someone spoke, he perked his head up. The voice sounded young and unsure, not at all the type of tone someone who wanted a fight would use. Rising his head more and more, he started to see a dark figure in the grass. Close too that he didn't even need to squint to see her.
Wings!
"Oh, you're a goddess!" He stood up fully, breathing out a sigh of relief. "I thought you were some mortal that was out and about. What a relief!" Moving out to be better seen, he started to step closer to the other godling. "Greetings, Lani. I'm Khuluma! Are you relaxing in the grass, too?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 1:33 pm
Goddess? Mortal? ...Oh, so he was a God too! Was that why she couldn't feel the same power, couldn't find out how to remove his sight? Oh, perhaps it didn't work on Gods...bummer. Frowning a little bit, the young Goddess' expression soon perked up at Khuluma's happy-tone, allowing herself to grin as she tried to use his voice to guide her where to look. She just about managed - although her faded, blind eyes were focused a little to the left of where he actually stood.
"Hi Khuluma," she smiled, bouncing on the spot. Relaxing in the grass? "No, I'm exploring!" she answered excitedly, clearly quite proud of herself. Whilst exploring seemed like something obvious or common to any other young creature, for the blind Goddess it was the first time she'd properly done so, and so this was a special moment for her. "All by myself!"
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Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 8:18 am
If Laini could see, she would probably pick up on how confused Khuluma looked when he saw the goddess look in another direction to his left. Looking about, he turned his head to look off in the direction that she was looking to see nothing there, and then looked back to the girl. Why was she not looking at him? It was very rude to not make direct eye contact with who you were talking to, and worse yet, he was prettier than any shrub or bundle of weeds that might be holding her interest. “Exploring? I suppose this is a nice place since there is lots of space, but I don’t see much you can do around here.” He slowly stepped to the left to stay in her eyesight and noticed she still looked off in the distance. Frowning, he moved closer to her and noticed she did not pull back naturally when someone came into your personal space.
“What are you looking at?” He asked, his voice closer to her now as he inspected her. Was there really something interesting in this field that he missed? The golden godling looked over his shoulder again to make sure he wasn’t missing out on anything. Nope. It was just a grassy field.
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Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 11:24 am
He didn't see much you could do? Well...she didn't see anything, so this was really exciting, and plenty to do for the young Goddess. She began to shuffle about on the spot awkwardly - she didn't like telling others she was blind. Usually they picked up on it themselves, or she had Jicho with her to help guide her, but being alone she was suddenly aware of how much she still had to perfect. Especially when his voice was suddenly a lot closer - she noticeably flinched, stumbling backwards with a yelp.
"Don't!" she yelped, frightened as she took another few steps back, wanting to keep her distance now. He wasn't going to hurt her, was he? "Nothing! I'm not looking at anything! ...I can't see, I'm blind." Her voice became quieter as she continued to speak, fiddling with her own paws. She wasn't embarrassed - she was fine with being blind, even though she now knew what she was missing. She just didn't like it when others then treated her like she was inferior. Or when they pulled mean pranks like Khuluma had, creeping up on her like that.
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Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2010 7:54 am
When Laini yelped, he shouted in turn, stepping back in surprise. What had he done to frighten her so suddenly? Of course he wasn’t aware that she was blind as this was the first person he ever met who couldn’t see, and he was confused until she admitted her handicap. Stilling, he turned his head, something he now noticed she probably couldn’t see, and then looked at her more intensely. So she couldn’t see him?! What a downright crime! He was the prettiest thing to behold.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. You’re the first person I’ve ever met that was blind. I thought you were interested in something else. That’s a relief to me now. I thought I wasn’t interesting.” He decided to stay put as moving seemed to frighten her. He looked at her and how she moved, then furrowed his brow. “For someone who is blind, you’re very good at getting around. I didn’t notice at all!” Then again, she was a goddess. He just wondered how she dealt with being blind, and it also gave him a challenge. He couldn’t impress her with looks and gestures now, but with speech only.
It now made sense why she was exploring alone for the first time. “It’s a real shame. You can’t enjoy what I see. You have a very pretty pelt. You’re spots are almost like mine, but I’m gold, not blue.” Did he have to describe himself to her?
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Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2010 2:24 pm
Oh, had she scared him now? Whining softly at his shout, she lowered her head, expressing how sorry she was merely with her posture, though the apologetic whimpers also got the message across. "Its not your fault," she mumbled, not wanting her new friend to feel bad, "Pala says I should always tell people, so they don't get confused. But I...I like people treated me like Laini, instead of treating me like blind-Laini."
Did she make sense? Smiling a little brighter, she began to wag her tail in a soft sway, "You're interesting, honest! I'm sorry, I just have trouble focussing sometimes - I'm getting better, though!" Her smiled widened further as she bounded forwards, a little closer to where she believed Khuluma was from the sound of his footsteps. "Oh, I've gotten used to it," she shrugged off the compliments, "I just like...listen really carefully and feel my way and stuff."
She shuffled her wings on her back, sitting herself down again, curling her tail around herself. "I can see sometimes," she added, as he began to explain his appearance, "Like...I can steal sight off of mortals sometimes. But I can't seem to make it work on you - maybe because you're a God?" She smiled brighter still, "If we can find a mortal I can see you?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2010 3:27 pm
It was good for Khuluma that Laini could not see his reaction at the name ‘Pala’. The godling curled his lip at the name, surprised but bitter at the Prey God. The wounds were still fresh in his heart and it did not do well for Laini to mention that vital detail. Of course, she probably didn’t know he knew, which left him with the decision if he should tell her or not. Seeing as appearing to be a friend would work and that Laini would probably mention Khuluma’s name to the Prey God at some point, it was better to make it known. He wanted to know exactly how this goddess knew about Pala. Seeing as Pala was giving her advice, she might be more than just a passing goddess she met. Maybe she was, and here he had to keep his claws in, one of THOSE children that he created with that unknown goddess.
“There is no need to bring mortals about. I don’t even think there are any about. I don’t see any reason why you need sight right now when you are getting by so well.” Why bring mortals into a discussion between immortals. “I think that it’s good you mention you’re blind as it will come up if you really can’t see. You can’t very well lie about it as the truth will come out soon enough. When you can steal sight from a mortal, then you can lie all you want. If you can’t, then you are setting yourself up to be embarrassed by having someone ask.” He was only proving a very obvious flaw in her plan. “That’s not to say that people see you as blind-Laini. Isn’t being blind part of you? You make it sound like it’s the only part, but even I don’t need my sight to see that you’re more than just a small difference.”
He felt a small smile crawling on his face, and his tail curled from side to side. “Now your friend Pala seems like he has good advice. I briefly met the God of Prey. How do you know him?”
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 12:58 pm
Oh - did Khuluma not like mortals? Since she didn't have sight to distract her, the tone of voice used was what the young lioness used to determine what facial expression or emotion her companion might be feeling. "Oh...okay," she mumbled, shrugging a little. She'd thought it might be nice - he sounded like he was really proud of his coat, and she kind of wanted to see it. It sounded pretty - Laini had liked her own coat, the only time she'd seen it. It was a pretty blue, lots of different shades all melting together.
He made...sense, but Laini still frowned. It was sort of like he was lecturing her, and she didn't really like it. Laini didn't like being told off, not even by Pala or Jicho. "Yeah...okay," she mumbled a little grumpily, glad he he finally finished. Her tail curled a little tighter around herself, face brightening as conversation turned to a nicer topic. "Pala's my papa!" she proudly declared with a toothy grin, though it soon faltered, "Well...not really my Papa-Papa. I was really really small and could find my Momma, but Pala found me and looked after me! He still does, but like...less, 'cause I'm looking for my Momma more. Have you seen her?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 7:51 am
His expression widened more and more, and he felt himself at a loss for words at the complete similarity of their predicament. She was also looking for her mother, was found by Pala, and associated him as her father. She was on her own quest for family, but wasn’t directly close to Pala by blood. Was…was this something Pala did often? Did…did that mean that Khuluma was only one of many adoptive godlings that he had found and accepted into his herd? Then…then it would explain why he hadn’t been special enough to keep. Why Pala left to create his own family. He..he grew bored and tired of having children that were not his by blood and wanted some of his own. Something that Khuluma thought was special in it’s uniqueness could just be something commonplace to Pala, and he found what little bit of liking he had at the memory of Pala further ruined. He had been delusional all along in his feelings from the very start.
The juvenile stepped back, feeling the breath taken from him, until he finally sat down, unable to stand. “He…he adopted you?” His voice sounded clear in it’s disbelief and the godling wished she could see him just so that he wouldn’t have to say how he felt. “I thought he only did so….only rarely.” Only with him. He’d been a complete fool! Tricked from the very beginning! To think he had been special in Pala’s eyes!
The tender wound on his heart further twisted and bleed inside, and he felt himself choke up. “I haven’t seen your mother. I haven’t seen anyone that looks like you from all the gods and goddess I’ve met. ….if you’re anything like me, you’ll probably never find her. If they aren’t looking for you, they don’t care. They might not even exist. They might be reborn and have forgotten that they ever had you.” He looked down at his own feet, disliking that he had to tell her what he knew from other gods. “Some gods just exist because mortals create them.” He looked back up at her, even if she couldn’t see it.
She didn’t know, did she? She didn’t know how cruel and mean Pala was. “You shouldn’t stick around Pala. He has his own family and will abandon you for his own children. He only cares about his own blood. If you aren’t directly related to him, you mean less to him. He may have accepted you into his herd, but he doesn’t care. Not really. Not in the end.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 3:01 am
There was silence for a short while, and Laini frowned. She hadn't heard him leave - why wasn't he speaking? Oh, she hoped she hadn't hurt his feelings...that would be sad. Ears flattening against her head, the young Goddess gave a quiet whine before suddenly Khuluma spoke up - causing Laini to frown. Why was he repeating what she'd already said? She was blind, not deaf. "Yeah. When I was lost and hungry and cold." Khuluma wasn't making any sense, and Laini didn't like it.
Then he started talking about her mother. Only...it wasn't good news. He started saying horrible things, and Laini's ears flattened further if it was possibly, the Goddess feeling tears rise in her eyes. She was never going to find her mother? She didn't exist? No, no! She definitely did exist! Her mother's big white fluffy tail, she remembered it! Choking out a sob, tears beginning to run down her face, Laini fiercely shook her head, taking a step back from Khulumsa, He was horrible, why was he lying to her!? "Shut up!" she choked, cowering away from the juvenile a little. "You're lying! My momma does care, she does exist! She has a fluffy white tail, and is amazing and...and all mine! She's my momma, she does care!"
The Rhetoric God had clearly upset the small, vulnerable blind Goddess, as she sat where she was, cowering into the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. "Pala won't abandon me, either! He helped me - he told be I'm his daughter as much as his actual children! They're my brothers and sisters!" She was trying to defend herself, defend her family, from this horrible rotten little God. He didn't know anything! "Where's Jicho? I want Jicho!" Laini demanded, suddenly wishing she hadn't left the den alone. She wanted her familiar with her.
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Posted: Mon Jul 12, 2010 7:09 am
He was passing on his bitterness and hateful feelings onto the girl, using her as if she was the world itself, but he more hated her for her ignorance and delusional hope. He had had these same feelings when he was younger, been just as optimistic in his search to find his family, but recent events had changed his ideas. Usually he would have been kind and done everything to keep the goddess happy, but his passionate nature, usually subdued to please others, had swollen up and was rushing through his system like a fire that was given fresh tinder.
“WHY would I lie to you?! I know more about this than you. YOU just started exploring. I’ve been traveling since I was a cubling! I know this because Pala abandoned me for his desire for cubs. He ran off and left what he SAID was his family to start a new one. Does that make sense to you? No. Let me put it this way. If a lion is thirsty and is surrounded by watering holes, why would he leave to find somewhere else to wet his whistle? If someone is surrounded by the ones he calls family, why would he need to run off to start one of his own? He doesn’t care about the likes of you. He may say he thinks you are his daughter, but he has an actual real-blood family now. In the end, if it came right to it, he’d save and tend to them before ever bothering with you. Really, he’s probably glad you’re looking for your mother. It gives him one less burden to deal with.” Khuluma watched her sob, flicking his tail in agitation.
“Pala’s heartless. You don’t need him, and you don’t need this mother of yours, IF she’s around. I think she’s horrid to leave you alone. Any mother like that is horrible! Why should YOU have to find her? It’s the mother’s responsibility to tend to her children, isn’t it? For you to find her is completely backwards! It just means she doesn’t care or feels no need to watch over you. Do you WANT to go to a person like that?” He started to circle her, speaking to her as he shook his mane and felt the hair on his back rise. As he spoke, his voice traveled, becoming clear and louder. “You don’t need her. You don’t need family. It’s pointless. No one cares about us. If your not connected by blood, no one wants to deal with you, just like Pala. If you are connected by blood, like this mother idea of yours, then that doesn’t mean they want you. It’s a no win situation. You were abandoned just like I was. You’re the only person you can rely on now.” He stopped and felt the twisting anger turn into told raindrops of misery.
The blind goddess could probably ear a small sniffle as Khuluma wiped his eyes. “ Unless you make your own family, no one else cares.” It grew silent again, and Khuluma wondered if this Jicho would come to beat him up for being this cruel. Then again, he was only speaking through experience. It wasn't like he was lying.
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 2:08 am
Why would he lie to her? Because he was horrible! He was horrible like that masked lion, except he was hurting her by telling her horrible things instead of actually trying to physically harm her. Sobbing still, the young Goddess found herself speaking cruel words for perhaps the first time, desperate to defend herself and her family, "No, I bet Pala abandoned you because you're horrible and you're a liar! Pala's really nice to me, he wouldn't do something like that unless you were really really horrible!"
Khuluma was confusing her now, why was he talking about watering holes? The whole arguement now confused her, the naive young Goddess unable to see what Khuluma was saying, concentrating on her confusion over the watering holes - they had nothing to do with this!? What was he talking about?! "I was there first - Pala said I was first and special!" It was becoming clear that although Laini was young and naive, she was stubborn, especially when it came to such tender issues.
"My mother didn't choose to leave me alone! I wandered off, I got lost! If she has forgotten, she needs me to help her remember!" Laini was getting tired of this. She wanted her momma, she wanted Pala, she wanted Airi. She wanted a big fluffy tail or mane to cuddle up into and go to sleep in, and for someone to tell her everything was going to be alright. But Khuluma wouldn't shut up, he wouldn't stop saying horrible things. Crouched on the ground as he circled her, Laini continued sobbing, listening carefully as his footsteps gave away his position. Once he'd stopped, she waited for a few moments as he continued speaking, before suddenly pivoting around and launching herself at him with surprising accuracy. "Shut up!" she sobbed, no claws out. Laini wasn't cruel, and she wouldn't hurt a fly - essentially, she was merely tackling Khuluma, just wanting him to stop talking.
Jicho, meanwhile...well, the bat arrived to a confusing scene.
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