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 Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2010 7:05 pm
AIM Log -- Krysin & Felyn
Sangtara & Mpenzi'Nyota Sangtara did not care, but everyone knew that. By the gods, almost the whole Kizingo'zaa pride were carefree, but Sangtara was one of the more severe cases. She had been swimming earlier, though by now her pelt was dried out by the sun. Dried to her pelt was a thin layer of sand that had accumulated when Sangtara had been basking in the heat of the sand. She felt good, she hardly looked good, but that did not matter when one felt pretty dandy on the inside.
Rolling over onto her back, she lazily kicked her leg, loosening some of the sand that had glued to her fur. The only quick fix to this would be to go back into the water, but once again, the sand was not so irritating that she felt the urge to get up and clean herself. "Ah," she purred in her raspy, deep voice. It sounded as if her very vocal chords were strained by the act of speaking - perhaps it was too much effort?
Sangtara supposed that she should get up, perhaps see some of the new members of the pride. There certainly had been an influx of them, though the numbers only proved fun when it came to gatherings and little celebrations. She'd have to ask her siblings when the next one was, because it was a miracle if Sangtara could ever keep track of these things.Mpenzi was frowning to herself as she walked along the edge of the beach, her little nose scrunched up as she scrutinized every inch of the shore. There were just none of them around today, none to be found! Had she done something wrong? Oh, the idea of that was so perfectly unsettling that she was almost ready to sit down and cry.
She had almost committed herself to that fate when her eyes wandered across a strangely colored lioness in the distance. With hope renewed, she picked up her pace and made for a quick jog in that direction. No sooner had she reached her than she opened her mouth and tried to ask her a question. "Have you teen ary farsih?"
Mpenzi blinked for a second, seemingly just as confused as anyone else by what had come out of her mouth. She took a deep breath to see if maybe that would fix whatever had gotten her vocal cords rearranged and tried again. "Have you seen any starfish?"Sangtara rolled her head backwards, glancing up to the young lioness with a quizzical expression. Ah, at least Sangtara recognized this one, though she could hardly recall the other's name. She must have been daydreaming for the lioness to be so suddenly close to her. "Farsih?" What in the world was that? A fish? It sounded like a fish, but she imagined it would frustrating to find one and have a conversation long enough without drowning.
"Oh!" she exclaimed in her raspy voice when Mpenzi clarified what she was looking for. "I was swimming just a bit ago, perhaps there are some in the shallows. You hardly look wet enough to have been venturing through the water for a good look. I can help you look, and we'll find a starfish and bring it out on the beach for you." She sounded like an ancient grandmother consoling the youngest of her great-granddaughters. It was probably only the tone of her voice and her slight concern for Mpenzi that made it seem that way.
"...This means I have to get up," she grumbled, but already was rolling over onto her stomach and rising onto her feet. She might have been able to scare a young cub or two with how horrendously covered in sand she was. "Remind me who you are again?"Mpenzi frowned as she realized she probably should have gone into the ocean to try and find the starfish, but that meant fighting the waves and looking through all the seafoam. Who could find anything in all that mess?
"That seems like it would be really hard, do you know if there are maybe any tide pools around here?" She had been in the pride for a little while, but she had only recently found her muse and had, until now, had no reason to go searching out tide pools. Until now she'd just been content to sit and listen to the ocean whisper silly things.
"Oh, uhm," she tilted her head a little at the odd question about getting up and nodded hesitantly, "yes, that would be.. helfpul." She watched as the lioness slowly rolled over and then took a few steps back as she stood up and Mpenzi realized she was a lot bigger than her. Why wouldn't she be, though? Mpenzi was young! "Oh, I'm Mpenzi'Nyota!" She smiled slightly as she said this, only because she was still ridiculously pleased to be telling everyone her new name.Sangtara glanced to the ocean, to the roll of the waves and the white foam embracing the sandy beach. Mpenzi did have a point with that one - it was difficult to fight the waves and search for something small. If Sangtara didn't have to find something, she would have had fun just playing in the waves. She loved the feeling of flight she got from floating in the water. A bird had once tried to explain to her what it was like to fly, but all she could ever remotely tie the experience to was swimming.
"You have no sense for adventure," she teased, but then again, it was a good idea, so Sangtara relented. "Yeah, there's one that's not too far down this stretch of beach. I'm sure you'll find one of your friends relaxing there." She considered, for a brief moment, jumping back into the waves to clean off, but decided that she could do that later. The sand was still not terribly bothersome. If it wanted a ride on her back, it could have a ride.
"I'm Sangtara," she introduced herself as she began to stroll down the beach, letting her paws land just inside of where the waves rolled over the sand. "I've seen you around before, but I haven't much talked to you... at all. Huh, I suppose I should socialize more often, but all I need are a few of my 'shrooms to keep me company, and I'm perfectly content."
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Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2010 7:10 pm
Mpenzi looked vaguely worried over the fact that Sangtara told her she had no sense of adventure, and she glanced out at the ocean as if a starfish would come flying out on the waves at that very moment to scold her. Was that why they were avoiding her? She didn't meant to be so.. adventureless.
For a moment she looked desperately sad, but then the other lioness' voice piped back up and a smile crept weakly onto her mug. She could take her to some tide pools! There would be starfish there, of course! Just the mere idea of some starfish seemed to change her mood immensely.
Mpenzi fell into step beside the older lioness as if it were the most natural thing in the world to be following her around. She was listening intently, hanging on every word, and nodding a little as Sangtara spoke. "Oh, so you were chosen by mushrooms?" she asked softly, quite interested. Muses were a curious thing to her.
"Well, yes," Sangtara said simply, and it wasn't until a few seconds later that she realized she should probably elaborate. This was why she had never made a very good story teller, she hardly was good at anything in particular. She could hunt, but she was much better at laying around doing little to nothing at all. She was a very good conversationalist, but that was only when she was with her muse.
"I think they are the most interesting, and they're very charming, and abundant. I don't feel alone at all, ever, since I can always find a mushroom nearby." She glanced to the sand underneath her toes, and then to the sky above. "They are not as vast as some things, I suppose, but they are always around anyways." That was all that mattered to her.
"So the starfish are your muse?" Looking Mwezi over, she thought it a fitting pair. "I have always thought them pretty," she complimented, as if she was telling Mwezi that she was pretty.
Mwezi smiled shyly at the compliment, glancing down nervously and then away, towards the jungle that was streaming by as they passed. She felt as if she were a part of the starfish, so calling them pretty definitely felt as if Sangtara was calling her pretty - especially with that tone.
"Yes, the starfish claimed me fairly recently," she said quietly, her voice subdued and a little shy now. She did manage to glance back at the orangey lioness, however. "Hearing other people talk about how their muses are around all the time is a little saddening though. Some days I can't even find a starfish to keep me company, sometimes not even for days on end."
She forced a tight smile on her little mug, then let her gaze drop to the sand. "But other muses keep me company when mine isn't around, I guess." But the lonliness was obvious.
Sangtara gave Mwezi a distinctly pitying look. Starfish were not frequent on the beaches, and Sangtara herself couldn't imagine being without her own muses for more than a few hours. If she wanted to talk to her muse, she could just wander into the thick of the forest and sit herself down at the base of a tree. There she would find plenty of mushrooms, plenty of company to last her throughout the evening.
"Here, how about this. I am sure I am not better company to your starfish, but whenever you can't find any, just come see me, and I'll keep you from getting sad." She was sure her company would not amount to much, but certainly it would be better than nothing. She could take Mwezi along with her to see the mushrooms... though Sangtara was now unsure whether she wanted to share or not.
She'd have to ask them if they wanted to be shared.
Mpenzi paused as she walked alongside Sangtara, only the briefest of brief moments, letting the older lioness' suggestion wash over her.
Not being able to find her starfish was something that often made her incredibly sad and she did spend more time looking for them some days than she did actually talking to them. Part of her felt like not looking for them would be too much like abandonment, but would they really want her to be utterly miserable? Probably not, but she could ask them.
"That sounds nice," she said finally, taking a few quick steps to catch up with her and glancing ahead of them eagerly for the tide pools. She wanted to get to them now, see if there were any starfish now. She need to ask so many things! On the other paw, she knew she wouldn't be totally heartbroken if they weren't there, not anymore!
"I suppose I never thought about finding someone to keep me company when the starfish are too busy," she turned a bright smile up to Sangtara, her eyes saying everything. Obviously, Sangatara was much wiser than little Mpenzi.
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 12:58 pm
"Sometimes it feels like your muse is all that is there for you, but if you take a step back and think, you have other friends, you have family that can be there for you too." Of course, she still fancied that she liked her mushrooms more most of the time. They were more interesting, and less annoying than her siblings had been when she was younger. Being part of a larger litter had always made her siblings out to be pesty more than anything else. Hanging out with her muse had been a reprieve once she had hit adolescence.
"So, don't worry if some days your starfish don't show up. I'll be here to cheer you up and help you look for them, and there are plenty of other members in the pride that could use having something to do." Sangtara's lazy nature had been cast aside for the moment as they reached a small outcropping of rock that made for a safe-haven and resting place for little sea critters like starfish. The rock blocked out the harsh waves from entering the small pool of water.
"Ah, here we are..." she said as the drew close to the tidal pool. "I'm sure you'll find one of your companions here."
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 8:33 pm
Mpenzi thought over those words, smiling a little at that thought. She hadn't made many friends since her mother had brought her to the pride, not aside from her muse, but she definitely had siblings that would indulge her if she wanted to. Plus, now she had Sangtara. Sangtara was her friend right?
"Thank you so much," she said shyly, stepping up to Sangtara's side. "I guess I just don't think about these kinds of things, cause I'm so busy doing.. stuff." She frowned at herself a little, mentally kicking herself for saying something that silly. She supposed that Sangtara knew what she was talking about regardless. She really needed to work on this 'being social' thing though.
Regardless, as soon as Sangtara drew up to the tidal pool, Mpenzi's whole demeanor changed and a bright smile spread over her face. "Thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means to me." She took a few excited leaps towards the tidal pool, then paused to look back at Sangtara. "Maybe I'll come find you later, okay?" Part of her was torn, wanting to spend more time with this new found friend, but that lingering disappointment was still eating away at her. So, with another shy and shaky smile, she turned and leaped off into the tide pools, hunting eagerly for any sign of one of her muses.
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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 8:42 pm
"You're welcome," Sangtara purred. This was actually sort of nice, helping someone out. It helped pass some of the day away too, though it would have been nearly as nice to just bask underneath the sunlight on the shore. Mpenzi had needed her, though, and Sangtara never really turned down helping another member of the pride. "Well, next time just think about it before you go upsetting yourself. There are always other options!"
Sangtara was briefly sore over how quickly Mpenzi would leave her side in favor of her starfish friends, but she realized that she would probably do the same if she hadn't seen a mushroom in half a day. So, she smiled instead, dismissively waving her paw at the young lioness. "I'll always be around if you want some company. Have fun, tell your friends that I said hi!" She hardly wanted to guilt Mpenzi for leaving her, so she took the initiative to turn away in the other direction, heading towards the line of trees. It was about time she saw her own mushroom friends, anyways.
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