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 Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 12:38 pm
The golden-brown lioness had met several interesting people over the last few days ... or weeks, maybe. Time was slippery in her head. It was often difficult to know the difference. Knowing that her friend Sutala didn't often meet strangers, Pumzi had decided to visit her friend. Maybe she would tell Sutala about some of them. Or maybe they would just chat. A chat with a good friend was a fine thing.
Making her careful way amongst the shrines, Pumzi finally found herself near the shrine of souls. "Hello, Sutala," she called. She knew that the wild dog usually kept an ear out for newcomers and likely already knew of her approach, but it would still be impolite to startle her.
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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 12:45 pm
Sutala was meditating before her shrine. Her newly decorated shrine, that is. After meeting that lion and his bird, she'd gathered up all the supplies he'd dropped and dashed home. It had been quite the bounty: a large gold circle, a few smooth and polished gemstones, some bone and bits of coral. It'd been such a pleasant surprise to come away from that meeting with so many new trinkets to place at her shrine, and Sutala hadn't left the shrine since coming back with all her goodies.
She'd heard the familiar footsteps of her friend and turned to greet Pumzi as she heard the lioness call out her name. "Pumzi," she responded, moving to the side of the shine as she usually did. "So nice to see you," she whispered, a soft ghostly smile flitting across her face.
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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 12:49 pm
The lioness nodded amiably as she went to sit before the shrine. "Nice to see you too, Sutala," she said. Sutala was a good friend. And evidently she had been busy. Pumzi took a moment to admire all the pretty ornaments adorning the shrine. It usually looked much more ... well, bare. Sutala's souls would surely be pleased at these decorations.
"You have very many pretty things now," Pumzi said. She looked over at Sutala, mildly curious. "You must have gone very far, very far, to gather up all these pretty things. The souls must be happy with them."
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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 12:54 pm
Sutala shook her head, denying travels far and wild. "I met a strange lion who had a bird on his head. He gave me one thing," she indicated with her paw the large golden ring, "but when a condor tried to attack his bird, he dropped all these things." She felt a little awful for taking them, but maybe he'd have wanted her to have them. The souls seemed to enjoy the offerings.
"The souls are content," she mumbled easily, feeling quite comfortable around her good friend. "They are happy today."
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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 1:01 pm
Pumzi laughed a little at the story. "A lion with a bird on his head? I don't think I've ever seen such a thing." It was kind of the lion to leave Sutala the ring. She supposed if he really wanted the rest of his things back, he would know where to find them. Pumzi couldn't picture Sutala traveling far from the pride's lands. "I hope his bird was all right," she added conscientiously.
It was good that Sutala's souls were happy. The wild dog spent most of her time around them, after all. It would be terrible to have unhappy souls. "I am glad that the souls are happy," Pumzi said. She stretched slightly, thinking back over her own news. She didn't have anything so interesting as souls to talk about, but she could tell Sutala about the strangers she had met. "I met a strange lion a while ago," she said. "He seemed very angry. But then he was sad, and he went away."
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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 1:06 pm
"Hmmmn," Sutala mumbled at Pumzi's question of a strange lion. "What did he want?" It was amazing how Sutala couldn't hold even the simplest of conversations with a stranger, and yet Pumzi came around and Sutala could string together fully coherent sentences almost as if she'd been doing it her whole life. "And why was he angry?"
She lifted out a paw to straighten the golden ring that had tilted to the side. "I met a few strange types," she whispered, a slight frown clouding her features. "Someone told me I seemed sad." That still struck Sutala as being strange.
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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 1:12 pm
Pumzi thought hard about Sutala's question. The people she met frequently were burned into her memory, but already the strange lion was slipping away from her. He was ... brown, with a light mane. She couldn't recall his name, if he'd ever given it. His motivations were likewise clouded in her memory. "I think he was just angry," Pumzi said. "Maybe he had an angry soul. Or a sad soul - sometimes being sad makes people angry." She nodded, satisfied with her conclusion. "I think he wanted to scare me, but when I was kind to him, he went away."
It was strange to her that Sutala had met people at all, let alone people that accused her of being sad. Sutala no longer really seemed shy to her, but she knew that the wild dog was reluctant to meet new people. "You don't seem sad to me." The wild dog was ... different, but Pumzi didn't think of her as being sad. People had their own ways, that was all. She grinned slightly. "It must be hard to be sad with all the happy souls around."
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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 1:17 pm
Sutala nodded. Pumzi was so wise. "It must be hard to live your life if you have a soul that isn't happy, that isn't complete." That brought about a little bit of introspection. "Maybe others think I have a sad soul... I don't. I.. just get nervous." That frustrated Sutala. She hated living each second of her life wondering what was going to happen to her, and that's why she preferred staying at her shrine. Sometimes she met nice strangers, ones that were truly interested in the souls. Strangers that became fast friends, like Pumzi.
"I don't have a sad soul," she stated again, "it is just hard for me to trust others. I would rather not to have to talk to anyone, ever. Except you, Pumzi," she added as almost an afterthought.
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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 1:21 pm
Pumzi listened carefully to Sutala's words. Nervous was an apt way of describing herself. Pumzi herself rarely got nervous around strangers - either they liked her or they didn't, and it didn't seem to matter much either way. She understood that others often had trouble meeting new people, though.
Maybe Sutala was wise not to trust others. Sometimes people - people with angry souls, perhaps - did cruel things to one another. But more often Pumzi had met kind people. "If you had never spoken to me, we would not have become friends," Pumzi said, smiling to let the wild dog know she wasn't chiding her. "I am glad you chose to speak to me. I like hearing about the souls that visit."
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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 1:27 pm
Sutala offered Pumzi a soft smile. "It is nice to have a good friend," she whispered. It was odd that Pumzi was the first friend that Sutala could lay claim to, but Sutala didn't let that bother her. "I am glad I spoke to you, as well. I have been keeping an eye out for your soul," she continued, looking at Pumzi with concern. "I have not seen it."
She hoped that some day she would be able to tell Pumzi she'd found her friend's soul. That would be the greatest gift to give, and Sutala realized this. She only hoped that it would come to the shrine so that Pumzi could reclaim it.
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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 1:34 pm
Pumzi nodded, pleased that Sutala considered her a good friend. Although she wasn't shy or anxious like Sutala, Pumzi had few friends herself. Sutala was certainly the best of those.
"Thank you for looking for it," Pumzi said, cheered by the thought. If her soul happened to wander by Sutala's shrine, it would surely stay to look at all the nice things there and talk to the other souls. Long enough for her to come and collect it. "I am sure it will happen by one day. You have made such a nice place here, for souls."
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