Welcome to Gaia! ::

So not everyone had a Da, Hari reflected as she made her way through the mists to return to her family's den. She'd known that, of course, because she didn't have one. Not one who was around all the time anyway. She hadn't realized that it was possible for a Da to be bad, though, or that people didn't simply become a Ma or a Da when they grew up. They did other things first, she'd learned, though she hadn't learned specifically what things they had to do. Maybe it had something to do with their place in the pride, as a Scholar or something.

As she thought and walked, the striped cub made up a little ditty which ran parallel to her thoughts: "I don't have a Da, no Da. Doo-dah, doo-dah. I may never be a Ma. Doo-dah, doo-dah, dee." Anyone listening would have to take her youth into account when judging the quality of her composition, which was very simple, to go with its simple words.

"I should be trying to listen to the mists," she reminded herself, speaking aloud. "I might be the first person they talk to."

Of course no cup ever was let wander alone in the pride. Oh no. With all the mists and rushing little creeks, they could easily disappear or be swept away. Thankfully there were plenty of Shepherds about to mind them, even when they didn't know they were being minded.

The color of the mist itself matched Feid's fur, helping him blend in as he silently went along behind the girl. Such a sweet little thing, his heart went out to her. He didn't know her story, but he could guess. His own father had left the pride long ago, and taken a sister with him...But that was why he had his job. To reach out and comfort those who didn't have enough time with their parents.

"It is alright little one," He murmured from his hiding spot. Perhaps she would think his was the mists' voice? "To have no parents...it is not so bad. We're here for you, even when they cannot be."

Hari wasn't sure whether she ought to be disappointed or relieved when it turned out that she voice she'd heard wasn't the voice of the mists, but only belonged to another lion. Lions were a lot less exciting than mists when it came to things which talked. All lions talked, after all, and Ngoma had told her she didn't know if the mists did or not. Oh well. New people were interesting, too.

"A Shepherd? Is that like a Scholar?" Hari asked. She didn't know too much about how her pride was structured yet, and had very limited experience outside of her family's den. "No. I don't think Scholars keep us from getting lost, but they have to be smart."

She was so taken with the idea that she might have met someone who had done something different before becoming a Da - unless he was already a Da? - that she almost didn't notice that he'd said he used to talk to the mists, too. But she did pick up on the fact that the mists would whisper to him in his sleep. She trained her green eyes on him. With his pale fur, he was still easier not to see than to see, but knowing where to look helped.

"So the mists can talk? When I sleep I don't really hear voices. But I do dream about other lions. Lots of them are in places with no mists. It's weird." She frowned and looked closely at Feid and said doubtfully, "I think I might have seen you. But...I don't know."

She shook her head. "I'm Harimau'tapi, but my brother and sister and Ma call me Hari. And you didn't scare me. I'm not afraid of the mists. I know they're our friends. They hide us and protect us."

Such a smart little girl! She made him smile. "It's like a scholar. We work together. Scholars teach cubs, and we shepherds play with cubs. Pretty much, when mothers and fathers can't be there for theri cubs, we are. When hunters go hunt or scholars have to teach, we act like mothers and fathers for the cubs until they come back."

"Might have seen me? That's odd. But sometimes the mists talk to us in ways that we don't recognize. So perhaps that is its way of speaking to you. To me, it talks about other lions in the pride. If someone is hurt, or sad...the mists even told me where to find the female that became my mate." He beamed at the thought.

"Hari then. You're very smart, Hari. You can just call me Feid, if you like. Are your siblings around too? You shouldn't wander away from home. Even though the mists protect us, sometimes they can trick us. You could fall down a hole that it's hidden, or down a hil, or into a stream..." He nudged her back towards the pride a bit. "Once you get bigger the mists will be easier to understand. You'l know when they're telling you to watch your step."

"That would be good," Hari said. "Why aren't you parents yet? Haven't you done all the stuff you're supposed to do before you can be parents?"

Her grasp of parenthood and its requirements was extremely shaky. She imagined there was something like a checklist that went something like, Grow Older, Have a Job in the Pride, Do Other Stuff, Find a Mate. These were done in that order, she thought, and so she wasn't sure why Feid wasn't a Da if he'd gotten to the part where he had a mate. The mists had found her for him, though. Maybe that meant he had to do something more? Or maybe the mists were supposed to find your mate for you.

"I'm not a bad cub," Hari said, trying to be fair. She wasn't sure if that meant she was good. She was too loud, and she didn't like when people ignored her. "I could be extra good and quiet around them, though. My brother and sister are probably better cubs than I am. I don't think they left the den. And Ma's probably still there."

She'd thought before that was because they were afraid, but maybe the fact that Ma hadn't told them not to go out didn't mean that she meant they were supposed to go out. It was a possibility Hari hadn't considered before. "I didn't mean to be bad. I really just want to go home, I think. Maybe I'll know it when I see it." Assuming she could see anything in the mists.

Again the cub made him laugh. "Why aren't we parents yet? Well I suppose it just...hasn't happened. Just because two lions are mated and want cubs doesn't mean they automatically can have them. Sometimes it takes a while." She was so innocent and cute. A cub indeed!

"Oh I think you're fine! Just because you wandered off doesn't mean that you're bad. Just young. You didn't know not to, and nothing bad happened...no harm no foul, right?" He gave her a reassuring look. "I'm sure at worst your mother might be worried. Not mad though. And if she is, well, all cubs make mistakes."

"You weren't bad, really. Come on, don't be sad. Let's just get you home." He remembered to be gentle and coaxing. "You know better now, and you want to go home and fix it. You're learning already!"