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 Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2010 1:47 pm
 Clermeilli-Pie was starting to really feel at home here. This pride was so easy for her to find a place in. She was a hunter, and that was respected. Her cubs were well loved by everyone, and she was not looked at so much as an outsider since she matched the others here. There would always be a few to cause trouble she was sure, but most of the pride thought of her as just another of them.
She rather wished her parents were here to see this. They would be proud. Someday she wished to send word to them of this place, so that they might come here. There was no longer a doubt in her mind that they must have come from this pride originally. They were too much like these lions not to have.
Lost in these thoughts the lioness nearly missed the approach of another and had to side step to avoid running into him. "I see you." She did not know this male yet, but she knew he was important. And handsome. But that last part she would most definitely keep to herself. "I am sorry, I should have been watching where I was going." She smiles softly and bows her head.
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 7:20 am
 Txuratan was just as surprised as Clermellei-Pie to find himself almost engaged in a collision. He would have instantly apologized, but the other participant in the near-miss had already greeted him with the pride's traditional words. Habit had him responding before he could think to form any sort of other greeting.
"I see you." His expression and posture, which had been relatively blank as he walked absorbed in his own thoughts, shifted and so his ears were turned toward the unfamiliar lioness and his whiskers were forward and friendly. He grinned with good humor and continued, "Despite all evidence to the contrary."
A lifetime of careful manners prompted him to make an apology of his own, though he didn't really feel any was necessary for either of them. It hadn't been on purpose, obviously, and no one seemed to be hurt. "I'm sorry, too. The blame can just as easily be laid at my feet."
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 12:16 pm
Clermeilli-Pie looked into the other male's eyes and found yellow similar to her own looking back. Some days that was so disturbing just like seeing others with the same stripped pattern as she. Today it was just comforting. It was a sign that she really belonged here.
She gave a small smile at the male's humor. "I am glad to see I did not offend." His body language put her at ease and made her comfortable enough to sit and regard him. "I am Clermeilli-Pie... I am fairly new to the pride, so please forgive me for not knowing your name."
"Perhaps blame could go to both of us.. but you probably have a better excuse than I." Her eyes twinkle with amusement as she says this. Her humor could be a little off-putting to some, perhaps he would not be one of them. She tilted her head to the side as she watched for his reaction. Her mother used to tell her it made her look like a curious bird, but that was okay with Clermeilli-Pie. She would do it anyway.
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 6:01 pm
"I'm glad to know you, Sister Clermeilli-Pie. My name is Txuratan. I've lived here for as long as I can remember, but I was born outside, and sometimes I still feel like I'm new, so I know how you feel."
One of the duties he performed as a priest, in addition to keeping the people in touch with Mother Eywa - which was much easier now that she was actually living with them once more - was to help teach those who were unfamiliar with the pride about it. About the religion and history of the Iknimaya. He'd taken a keen interest in it from an early age because he'd been born outside of the pride and thought that if he just knew everything about it, he'd fit in better. It hadn't worked quite like that, but he hadn't felt like an outsider in a long time.
Grinning with good humor Txur mimicked Clermeilli-Pie's head-tilted position and asked, "Why would my excuse be any better than yours? Shouldn't I know my way around the pride better, having lived here longer than you have?"
It bothered him a little that he couldn't place her. He thought he might have seen her at the ceremony to welcome Mother Eywa, but the entire pride had been there, and his attention had mostly been divided between the goddess and Petra.
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Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 1:46 pm
"My cubs hopefully will not forget the outside. This place is home and yet so unsettling at times." Clermeilli-Pie closes her eyes for a moment. "I did not teach my cubs of Eywa... though my parents taught me of her..." She sighs and her eyes come back open. "You do not know how odd it is to think you might have been raised to be a part of a pride that you did not know existed." It was unsettling and yet it was also comforting.
She wanted so badly to fit in here, but there was a deep desire to leave. She wished to run off to find her parents and drag them back here. Maybe even her brother. This was their pride, it had to be... they should know it was still here... that they were still part of it. But she could do no such thing. She had cubs to look after, and minor things to learn of the pride.
"I am a hunter, one would expect me to be aware of everything around me and not be distracted by frivolous thoughts. At least you as a pries, if I do not miss my guess, should have many thoughts to occupy your head." Perhaps her thoughts weren't frivolous, but she still should not have been so distracted.
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Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 7:20 am
Txur didn't really regret that he had no memories of his life before coming to the pride. His life was in the pride and the pride was his life. There was no reason for him to take much interest in anything which occurred outside of its boundaries. He had some siblings who felt otherwise, and he supported them in their explorations, but for himself Txur was content to remain in the safe seclusion of the Iknimaya pride.
"No, I can't say I have any idea what that feels like. But if you decide you wish your cubs to learn more of Eywa, I would be happy to instruct them. It's part of my duties anyway as a priest." Albeit a young priest, which meant that he would have to be very careful not to give them misinformation even accidentally when they asked difficult questions, but Txur was confident he could handle that sort of thing. He liked cubs, and he thought he might enjoy teaching others of Eywa. "For that matter, if you ever need someone to talk to, about Eywa or anything else, you can come see me."
"As for your cubs forgetting the outside...my father, Rajanya, likes to wander outside of the pride. Perhaps you might ask him, when your cubs are older, if they might accompany him. That way they would be less likely to forget what it's like beyond the pride." He thought his suggestion would not go over well with the cub minders, but he'd grown up more or less avoiding their care and wandering the pridelands instead, and that had worked out well enough for him. Surely they couldn't complain too much if Clermeilli-Pie's cubs went out with the pride's commanding warrior.
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Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2010 1:36 pm
Clermeilli-Pie nodded to the male in front of her. At least he was honest about not knowing how she felt. "My cubs need to remember their siblings that are outside. Perhaps I will send them to speak with your father as they get older. They would gain much from a strong male's guidance, I think." She curled her tail around her paws and it settled there, giving her a very calm look. Her tilted head straightened for a moment as she looked into the male's eyes. "There is much I already know, I just have to remember... but my cubs... they will need to learn everything."
"I do have one question... what is she like... face to face." She wasn't sure if this was a good question or not, but she would ask it anyway. "Not as a goddess, but as a lioness." Clermeilli-Pie really did wish to know that. She had not gotten the opportunity to meet the goddess, and probably would not. Eywa was a busy lioness, Clermeilli-Pie was sure, and did not have time for sating frivolous curiosity.
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Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2010 7:27 am
One thing Txur couldn't understand, no matter how hard he tried, was how many people wanted anything to do with the outside. Their lives were with the pride now. What need could they possibly have for anything else? Even with Clermeilli-Pie's other cubs being outside (and why was that, he wondered) he still didn't see any reason for the cubs she kept with her to know about them. They would only wonder and worry and possibly one day go in search of them, which could lead to all sorts of trouble and heartbreak.
"I'm sure even without the guidance of a strong male, your cubs will grow up well," Txur said politely. "I grew up without knowing my mother, and I like to think I turned out well enough."
Her next question caught him by surprise. Mostly just the fact that she seemed to think he would know the goddess better simply because he was a priest. While it was true that Eywa was a goddess, the fact was that she'd only recently returned to the pride, and her welcoming ceremony had been the first time he'd ever seen her. He'd not had an opportunity to speak to her then, and only briefly had he had the chance later.
"She is kind and good and loving and nurturing. She cares for all her people as her children and she is glad to be among us once more." He couldn't tell her more than that, about what Eywa was like as a lioness, because he honestly didn't know. "I know no more of her than that."
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Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 3:22 pm
"Growing up well is nice... but I wish to give them every practical advantage so that they may grow up wonderfully. I am grateful that these two will not grow around their father, but that does not mean I do not value the influence a strong male will have in forming their young minds..." Clermeilli tilts her head again and chuckles at herself. "At least in a pride that is not as hard as on one's own... Please forgive me for still thinking like a lioness by herself. It will take me time to adjust to the idea of always having others to help... and yes, I would say you turned out well, but I am sorry you did not know your mother." She hoped his ignorance was not because his mother was a bad lioness. She doubted it in his case. Her cubs had an interesting situation with their sire.
She was slightly disappointed at the answer she got about Eywa, but she could understand it as well. The goddess would be hard to know if she was not around. "Perhaps someday I will get a chance to speak with her myself... if she is not too busy." It wasn't likely to happen, but she would keep it in mind for if the chance arose. "Txuratan, you have been very helpful... I do hope I have not upset you with my questions, or anything I have said."
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Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 9:00 am
Txur was cognizant of the fact that Clermeilli-Pie had just subtly dismissed him as only an average sort, but he doubted she'd done it on purpose and even if she had, he wasn't the sort of lion to easily take offense. Particularly not when it came to a mother's concern for her cubs' upbringing and future well-being. His own obsession with mothers and family had made him something of a nuisance to his siblings in the past, but he had always known to keep his nose out of other families' business unless he was specifically invited to offer an opinion.
He was curious about what sort of lion her cubs' father was, and if he was a lion she didn't want these two cubs (how many others did she have?) growing up with, why she had (presumably) left the others with him. There seemed to be a number of contradictions in the way she was dealing with being a mother already, but it wasn't his place to point them out unless it endangered someone in the pride. Her other cubs weren't in the pride, and while he was mildly concerned for them at this point, he refrained from asking. If Clermeilli-Pie had wanted to say more, she would have.
"There's nothing to forgive," he assured her. "I imagine it's difficult to be alone out there, and more so with cubs to care for. As for my mother, I'm sorry I didn't know her, too, but that's the way things are. My father was never stinting in his love and I had a great many siblings to keep me occupied."
It didn't quite go over his head that all Clermeilli-Pie's talk about a strong male could have been interpreted as a hint that she thought he was such, and was testing him to see how he would feel about filling that role. Rather, it tried to clear his head and got caught on his ears or something to that effect. He tried to ignore the thought as it occurred to him, since he was probably reading too much into her words and while she was not unattractive, he was wholly besotted with his childhood friend Petra.
"I'm sure Mother Eywa would be happy to make time for any of her children who wished to speak with her. I know she would not find it an inconvenience or an annoyance." He smiled faintly. "And you've not upset me. I'm not that highly strung. And since I assume you're trying to politely point out that you had somewhere else you were going and you'd like to continue on your way, I'll bid you good day."
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Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 12:52 pm
Clermeilli-Pie gave a little bow of her head to Txur. "I do not really have anywhere I must be, but I could give the babysitters a break from my cubs' constant questions." She gave a soft smile, her amber eyes twinkling. Her cubs were wonderful and she doubted they were really bothering the babysitters much. Most likely the two were entertaining themselves or questioning someone about the ways of the people. She did not have to go rushing off to retrieve them.
"It is difficult to be alone out there... I am glad you did not take offense at anything I've said. I had the pleasure of friends outside that helped me with my cubs until I could find my way here. But they were not a pride." She remembers Daire fondly and wonders what he was up to. She had not really wished to part with him, but he had not been much for the idea of a pride. She was also pretty sure he was oblivious to the fact that she had such a big soft spot for him. She wished he had sired her cubs rather than Roth, but such wishes were not a good use of one's time.
"I am glad you had a strong family in spite of not having a mother in it. Every cub deserves a strong, loving family." And yet she'd let Roth walk off with two of their cubs. She would regret that for the rest of her life, but she knew there had been nothing she could do to stop him. If she had tried to, he would have not only killed her, but made the two 'unsuitable' cubs into slaves for his pride. She did not have to like the facts to realize they were truth. "I hope to give the cubs I have everything I can. I just wish they did not have to be without their siblings..."
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Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 10:41 am
"I'm sure you'll manage it. Mother Eywa would not allow harm to befall her children if it is within her power to prevent it."
Txur's faith in the goddess of the Iknimaya was absolute. For him, she was all-powerful and all-knowing. He had not been alive during the time of the pride's trials and tribulations, and had not become part of the pride until some time later. He had never really experienced hardship or suffering, and he gave thanks to Eywa for that, but he knew others had, and he was sure it was part of Eywa's greater plan.
Perhaps it was a sign that they were meant to do greater things than he was. The prospect did not bother him overmuch. If all he was meant to do was remain with the Iknimaya and serve as a priest, Txur would be well-contented. He had little interest in the world outside, for his family was all here. Except for his mother, and apparently his aunt, but he had never known either of them, and had been told that it would avail him little to seek them out and attempt to bring them back to the pride. He prayed for them.
He smiled at Clermeilli-Pie and shifted so that he could pass around her. No doubt he would see her again in the future.
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