Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was midday. There were many clouds in the sky. They blotted out the sun and cast a shadow over the part of the ocean that she could see, as well as the entirety of the Kizingo'zaa lands. It was not so dark that lions were tripping over their paws and bumping their noses into tree trunks, but everything seemed dulled. Somehow.

Black as night with eyes so grey they seemed almost to glow, Lamya moved through the pride's lands like a shadow; following her fellows, and mimicking them whenever she so pleased. Now she lurked in a thick copse of jungle trees beside a gently trickling spring. She had spent most of the day hunting, but had given up now in favour of being sneaky. It was one of her favourite things to do.

The lioness was silent where she crouched, hidden mostly by leaves and the darkness of her fur, and waited patiently for somebody to happen by.

It didn't matter if it was night or day, the pink and bright yellow male walked through the thick vegetation of the trees that surrounded his home pride with a large smile plastered to his face. For once he was not planning to spend the day with his dear friend, Izo. Instead he planned on spending some time by himself to think about his life.

He wanted to spend some time examining how things were playing out and besides, everyone needed a little time to themselves. He loved being around Izo and spending time with her but he often wondered if he spent too much time with her. He had begun to realize that he had very few friends besides her, his muse and the fireflies. It was high time he went out and met someone.

Too bad he didn't realize that he had forgotten his very first friend and the fact that he promised to be the best imaginary friend ever. Ooops.

Mimi might have forgotten the promise he had made to her in their youth, but Lamya had not. As far as imaginary friends went, it was difficult to say whether or not he had been a bad one. Imaginary friends existed only in the minds of their creators, and so Mimi had never really left her. He had been with her, always, in spirit- and she had spoken to him as though he was one.

"Mimi, let's go play in the caves," she had said, "Mimi, did you see the size of that bird?"

And, while he had not been there physically to give his answers, Lamya had always imagined what he would say.

It had still been a very long time since she'd seen his face, except for in her mind's eye, and when he crossed her path an astonished gasped escaped from between her lips.

"MIMI!" She burst forth from her hiding place in a scattering of leaves and twigs, and jumped in front of the lion. There was an excited smile on her face, "You're all grown up!"

For her, he had stayed a child.

Mimi had not been expecting someone to spring out at him and Lamya had completely caught him off guard. "Eep!" he squeaked stumbling backwards and falling onto his back. He laid there for a moment dazed and confused. When he finally realized what had happened he rolled onto his stomach and looked at the lion that had surprised him. Immediately a grin spread across his maw.

"Lamya!" He chirped happily. "Yeah, I guess I have. so have you!"


It did not surprise her when he fell over. In her imagination, Lamya had spent a great deal of time saving Mimi from the things that he was afraid of. Because, like she had told him the first time that they had gotten to know each other, the dark lioness wasn't frightened of anything.

Or, at least, Lamya hadn't yet discovered anything that scared her.

"I know I have, silly," she smiled at him, and straightened up importantly. Lamya paced in a circle, and showed herself off. Her fur was sleek and healthy. Her muscles strong and agile with youth. She might have been crazy, but she was also beautiful.

"Look how handsome and bright you are!" The lioness declared enthusiastically. Her head was cocked to the side. "Why didn't you tell me you'd grown sooner?"

“I know,” Lamya smiled kindly at him, because she was sure that Mimi’s whole day would be free as long as she imagined it to be. And she had imagined it to be. It excited her; the thought of spending quality time with a real, live flesh and blood person. Mimi was her only constant companion, and Lamya was glad to have his company today.

“I wanted to tell you that you are the best imaginary friend ever,” she informed him, and nuzzled against him again. These were gentle touches, but not very subtle. Lamya could not resist, because she was so very, very glad to see him again.

“And that I hope that we can be together forever.”

He laughed nervously pawing at the ground when she stated that he was the best imaginary friend ever. "I don't know about that, I don't think I've been a very good one," he admitted with a tiny frown. His ears flicked back almost pressing against his skull. He let her nuzzle him softly doing nothing to stop or return the motions. He wasn't entirely sure what the touches meant because the only other person who had ever even nuzzled him outside of his family was his closest friend. His firefly queen. Izo. And he wasn't even sure how he truly felt for her.

He pulled away from her at her statement unsure of how to respond. What did she mean by it? What did she want from it? He wasn't sure what she was saying or what she was expecting from him. Or what the imaginary Mimi told her or made her feel. "We'll be friends for forever for sure."


The imaginary Mimi said a lot of things. They were the best of friends, because he always did and said the things that Lamya wanted him to. He was a perfect companion; always sweet and gentle and kind. Until today, she'd assumed him to be child. And Lamya had been treating him as such; patiently waiting for him to grow up so they could start the next chapter of their lives. It was here now, and she was feeling very good about herself. About them.

“It’s so like you to say that,” Lamya murmured softly, and stepped back so she could look into his eyes. She imagined that she was being very romantic. “You’re so modest, Mimi. But trust me, you’ve been a very good friend. Remember that time I got lost in the jungle? And if it wasn’t for you, I never would have found my way home.”

This was why she took him everywhere she went.

“Friends forever, of course.” This meant something different to Lamya than it did to Mimi.

He stared at her confused as she looked up at him oddly. "I honestly don't know..." he mumbled lifting a paw and scratching the area behind his ear. She was making him a tiny bit uncomfortable and he wasn't sure what to do. He had never been put in this kind of situation before, he wasn't sure he understood what was happening either.

"Yep. Friends forever," he stated again hoping to make sure she knew they were just friends. "Um...what do you want to do?"

There was so much that she wanted to do. Lamya beamed at her imaginary friend, and giggled, and was having a bit of difficulty keeping up with the train that race around and around and around on the broken track that was her mind. She didn’t know where to start, now that they could start, and was a little bit overwhelmed by all of the possibilities.

The Shadows whispered to her their intentions, and she listened to them quietly.

“We should do what we always do,” Lamya informed him with a sage nod of her head, and turned around. She jerked her head in the direction of some nearby trees; “Follow me.”

He frowned furrowing his brow as she replied to him. He shrugged and nodded. "Um...alright," he replied still very confused by the whole situation. He was very glad to see his childhood friend again but the way she acted around him left a slightly unsettling feeling in his stomach. "I'll follow you," he stated.

He slowly made his way after her as she began to head off to where ever they 'usually' went. He'd humor her for now, he already promised the whole day with her. Then he'd go back to doing whatever he'd always do. Visit Izo and the fireflies. Everything would work out.