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 Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 8:51 pm
Another couple days passed and Tetemeko was feeling better adjusted to the journey- even though he suspected it had more to do with slightly improved conversation and an obvious goal. The closer the mountains got, the more accomplished Tete let himself feel and the better his mood was.. something to focus on seemed to be good for him. He hadn't asked some of the questions he still had but he didn't feel any immediate need to. He was still wondering about Mana, the guardian Salma had mentioned.. but he didn't ask outright, starting to think maybe he had misunderstood. But it was on his mind, now.
They were taking a break while the sun was high and bright, having found some shade to relax in for a bit.. but Tete was wandering a bit, getting a look around where they were while they were here.
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 9:06 pm
Salma was resting, waiting for Tete to come back. Not that he was far, but she didn't feel like following him around at the moment. Too tired, really, and it was nice to let the paws catch a rest, as well as the legs. Yawning, she stretched those legs, settling herself down for a short nap. Though, she wouldn't really get it, either.Mana had been peeking in on Salma here and there. She had seemed alright, and so Mana didn't worry about being there all the time. She had enough to do on her own. Even when Salma had somehow picked up Tete, Mana didn't worry too much. She even stopped showing herself to the pair. Everything seemed fine, but perhaps it wasn't the best idea to just disappear. That would be breaking her promise to the girl's dead mother. And her own promise.
"Salma," she said softly, appearing at the girl's side, lying next to her. A wing draped over the brown girl's body, a soft smile on the goddess' face.
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 9:10 pm
Wandering aimlessly in his random search of the area they were occupying for the hottest part of the day, he wasn't paying enough attention to notice Mana's immediately arrival-- but it didn't take him long. A quick glance around was enough to see the bright yellow spot suddenly back where he had left Salma. His eyes narrowed suspiciously but he guessed who it had to be.
He hesitated a moment and then put on a smile, heading back towards Salma to see what was going on.
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 9:21 pm
Salma blinked, since the air seemed to have changed. More cramped. "Oh," she breathed, looking up. "Took you long enough to show up again," she grinned. Letting herself gather up for a small chat, she let her tail dangle behind her as she rotated to see Mana better. "No need for the wing, we've got shade."
Mana nodded. "Sorry, reflex." Shade wasn't always abundant, but the mountains seemed to carry more trees than most other areas. "You seemed content, comfortable, and not in need of me anymore. Though, I figured it would be best to talk to you again, instead of disappearing completely."
Salma snorted, "Well, you did. It's good to see you again, though."
Mana shook her head. "Such the opposite of your mother," she mumbled. Aushi had always been much more reserved and soft spoken. Her last daughter, quite the opposite.
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Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 10:01 pm
The closer Tete got, the slower he moved as he realized he would be intruding to just lumber in and strike up some kind of conversation-- but part of him hesitated when he really noticed Mana's wings. He wasn't surprised at first but once he realized it, he knew he should have been. His immediate opinion of gods was muddled. His mother biased him but he knew of other deities that were not so bad.
But now.. it would be hard to pretend he wasn't here. And he was curious enough to put aside his worries and just walk up- clearing his throat so they would notice him rather than saying anything at first.
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Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 12:04 pm
"Oh!" Salma...well, she hadn't forgotten about Tete, but it was easy to only think about the goddess that was right in front of her than a silly male that was wandering around. "Tete, come here," she beckoned, since he seemed a little worried. She wasn't certain why, but it wasn't that important. Mana was here!
"Tete, this is Mana, the one I talked about before." She introduced the pair, simple enough.
Mana nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't show myself earlier....everything seemed to be going well, and I didn't want to intrude on your adventures," she said with a soft smile. "It is nice to meet you, face to face, finally."
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Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 12:21 pm
Tete smiled when Salma spotted him and called him over, straightening up a bit and looking at Mana curiously. So Mana was a goddess, that made a little more sense about how she could be a guardian to Salma without being constantly present.
"It's nice to meet you, Mana," he said, regaining a bit of nerve when she spoke so kindly, "I was beginning to wonder about the guardian Salma had mentioned, but I guess it makes sense now."
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Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 12:28 pm
Mana shrugged, though it wasn't the most graceful action she could have taken. "It was her mother's last wish, and one I couldn't let myself ignore. Once she had made her intentions of not returning home clear, I decided to make sure that she would remain relatively safe. The outside world is much different than the place she was raised in." She avoided the word home, as what had made it home for Salma was gone.
The younger lioness remained quiet for a moment, as she didn't like to talk about the pain her mother's death had left her. Still, it was best not to avoid it completely. "She did quite well," Salma added in. "Though I'm not sure I could ever return the favor myself."
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Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 12:53 pm
"Well, it is good of you to follow through," he said, not really thinking through the things he said before he just spit them out, "Not every god would bother."
It was a valid observation. His mother left her own children rather than keeping them safe herself, and while she did check in.. much later, it didn't really count. And some gods just wouldn't care at all, and some might stop caring after their mortal friend died.. anyway, it seemed true enough to be worth stating.
He looked over to Salma when she spoke but he didn't say anything, not quite sure how to respond to that. Hm.
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Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 3:39 pm
Mana nodded, understanding. She herself had a dislike for some gods, though perhaps for other reasons. She would never assume that everyone would like every god out there. Never.
Salma blinked, wondering what Tete was doing, looking at her. Was there something on her face? "Well, Mana's a better god," she said flatly, scratching at her side with a back leg. "Better than some I've heard of." She had heard her mother whisper once or twice about a monster god of black flames, but she never would talk about it in detail. Salma figured it was a haunted situation in her mother's past, but figured it must have been a god of some sort. Mana was proof enough that there were gods.
Mana just smiled and shook her head. "I am alright," she said softly. "I have mortal children, and it is hard balancing the duties of a god and of a mother to mortals. Your lives move so quickly in comparison to mine."
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Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2010 10:15 pm
The look on Salma's face was enough to tell Tete to stop looking at her- and since she was the one who spoke next, he looked somewhere between the two instead of directly at either. He nodded. Mana did seem to be a good god.
He looked directly at Mana when she spoke again, smiling at her. He didn't need to voice his agreement, he only really had a first impression of her.. but he was fairly good at getting accurate impressions.
"You do?" he said, blinking. He caught himself before he said anything else about it. He believed it was a challenge, but he didn't give Boma much credit for it. As far as he saw, she didn't even try. And she didn't exactly defend herself well when she showed up much later.
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Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 7:22 pm
The goddess nodded. "They are within a pride, so I don't need to worry about them too much. It was hard, trying to balance both worlds at once. Though they had their father when growing up...a mother is important too." Mana was oblivious to the fact that Tete had a goddess mother, as well as the fact of his relationship with her. Mana just figured he was a bit more standoffish, as many mortals were when a god was in their presence.
Salma just watched the interaction, curious. He seemed...different. Something bothered him, perhaps, but not enough to really seem concerned over it. Maybe she'd bring it up in the future....maybe. Not everything needed to be brought up from another's past.
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Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 7:40 pm
Tete knew about Mtima before, she was the only other example he knew of for this kind of situation, the only one he had ever had to compare to his own. He knew enough about the story, though he'd been too bitter to ask for details directly. Boma was one extreme, abandoning her young entirely- even if she trusted another to get him to his father, she couldn't be given too much credit for thinking things through when she left Tili for dead. Mtima was the other extreme, hiding her divinity and staying with her family until.. well, he wasn't sure but he knew Habu hadn't been young at the time. Mana seemed to be somewhere in the middle, and she didn't just have her own offspring she kept up with, she had Salma.
And then, very suddenly, he realized he was kind of.. staring and put on a sheepish smile.
"That's very interesting, I'm sorry," he shook his head a bit, snapping out of his pondering completely.
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Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 8:00 pm
Salma just giggled. She didn't usually get that childish, but she sort of had to at that moment.
Mana only nodded, nudging Salma to stop. "No need to apologize," she answered.
"Want to find something to eat?" Salma asked, recovering quite nicely. "I'm sure we'll be able to get something, especially if Mana would help...?" She said, glancing over at the goddess expectantly.
"Yes, I can help you guys, but only with the direction of the breeze." Silly mortals. She would do it for Salma, and to keep the both of them from being hungry.
"Great!" They would eat today!
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Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 8:32 pm
Tete's ears turned back when Salma giggled but he managed to keep on his smile, shaking his head when Mana nudged at Salma, though he didn't say anything. He perked up when Salma suggested hunting, looking quickly to her and then back to Mana.
"Yeah," he agreed with Salma, nodding enthusiastically. This would be interesting, for one.. but also delicious. They weren't so fantastic at hunting for themselves, but it was a lot harder just the two of them. Tete couldn't say he'd ever really been great and trying to go from teamwork to solo or with only one other.. well, it was hard.
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