Aamira - Manda
&
Mori'earsira - Das Tor
It had been a few days since Haramu had brought Aamira back with her. It had been...quite the surprise for Sira, actually. He hadn't argued the addition, seeing as it just meant another body to help with the hunt, and Haramu wasn't the sort to do things rashly. The girl was young, and could use the sort of protection the two demons could offer. Sira frowned. Despite the fact they'd left the pride, they were still demons of Sparda, through and through.
The gray lion sighed and sat at the bank of the stream they'd settled near for the next day or so. He knew what he and Haramu did had been for the best, for themselves and the pride and any cubs they might have. But it was still...strange, being a rogue, and having so few who understood you.
After her lesson with Haramu, Aamira had gotten a little better at hunting out here, though she still wasn't -spectacular- at it. But that was okay, as long as she could catch enough to keep herself fed, the dark lioness was more or less happy. Still, she was no closer to finding her true name than she had been before. But it -was- nice traveling with others, even if they were kind of quite about their past. She suspected it was something darker, maybe... especially with the scars these two had. Still, neither of them seemed mean or evil, so Aamira was happy to travel with them for now.
At the moment, she was simply wandering along, when she spotted Sira sitting by the bank of the stream a little ways away. Padding up to him, she tilted head slighlty - wondering if she should say anything. He looked like he was thinking about something pretty hard...
Sira heard Aamira coming. The way she moved was very different from the others traveling with them, so it wasn't hard to identify the sound she made. He looked up and nodded in greeting to her. "Good day, Aamira." It was still odd, being active during the day sometimes as well as the night. Haramu was better adjusted to it, from her time with Jibril, but Sira had never been outside the Aikanaro'hini before they left. "Is there something on your mind?"
The young lioness stiffened just a little in embarassment. She hadn't meant to interrupt his thoughts... but since he'd asked, she padded a bit closer. "Not really... I was just taking a walk. But it seems like there's something on -your- mind," she ventured, ears pricking toward him a bit.
Sira chuckled slightly. It was a deep sound, one of the few fluctuations in tone or pitch his voice made. "Simply thinking of how strange it is to be a rogue. Haramu is used to it but...I grew up in a pride. It's...odd, not being surrounded by those who understand you in some fundamental way." He smiled slightly. "And no, we were not cast out. We left of our own free will, for the good of our pride and our future."
Aamira shook her head slightly at his last words. "I wasn't going to ask ... it's really ... not my business." She hesitated a moment before going on. "Though I do have to admit to being curious..." If he didn't want to talk about it, she'd back off, but it was only the truth...
Sira blinked. She was honest...that was certainly another thing in her favor. "The lions from my birth-pride are...different from most lions. We're born with a...spark, you could say. Something inside of us that guides us and whispers to us. The pride is also a dark one. Most who have pale coats are...enslaved. And many are cruel to those who have pale coats. Haramu was a rare exception, who continued to prove herself time and again. But if we had had cubs...Haramu had pale cubs once before. She had to abandon them at the borders of another pride. And if we had cubs like that, she would not be able to do it again, nor sentence them to a life of cruelty. So we left, along with Olumiji, her grandson, since he was the lone pale cub in his own litter."
Aamira's eyes widened at that, as her mind tried to wrap itself around such a harsh-sounding place. She didn't understand why ... pale colors could be such a bad thing or what this 'spark' was, but... "If they would do something like abuse cubs because of their colors... it's probably best that you left," she said quietly.
The dark-maned lion nodded. "It was not all of the pride. There were many in the pride like myself and Haramu. But...you are right. For the sake of future cubs, and Haramu's heart, we left." He looked towards the stream again. "What is your birth-pride like? The place you come from."
Aamira smiled slightly at that and glanced toward the water - glad that they were near a stream for now... it made her feel a bit more at home. Definitely moreso than the dried-out plains and grasslands did. "Where I come from ... there's a lot of water. The ground is almost always soft underpaw and there's green everywhere. Things are growing all around..."
Sira smiled slightly. "It sounds like a wonderful place." To have everything green, instead of gold. He had to admit he was fond of green, growing things. In a way, they reminded him of lions themselves...always growing, always changing, and so diverse. "So why are you in the rogue lands, instead of there. You sound like you miss it."
"Oh, in my pride, everyone of a certain age is sent outside to find their true name," she explained willingly, plopping down beside him on the bank of the stream. "If they don't find one, then ... they just don't go back. Some stay away because they want to I think. But I'd like to go back ... so I'm searching for my name."
That...sounded slightly similar to what young adults in the Aikanaro went through. Though less intense, he supposed, and far less deadly if you didn't find your demon name quick. "If you'd like...you can stay with Haramu, Olumiji, and I during your travels. We've nowhere particular to go ourselves, so it wouldn't be any trouble." And they could protect her from the things she couldn't handle.
The young lioness smiled at that. "I'd like that. Especially since I'm not.. exactly sure -what- I'm supposed to do to find my name. I think it's a little like a ... uhm. A vision quest? It's supposed to just 'come' to you after a while. I don't know." She shrugged slightly.
Sira chuckled again, nodding. "Perhaps you might find it in the most unlikely of places. Names speak of who we are. And the names that are inside us are who we are truly. So perhaps it will find you when you've finally had the experience that defines who you truly are."
She blinked at that. Wow... he sounded like he knew what he was talking about. Almost as if ... "Did you ... have something like this too, in your pride?" she asked quietly, tilting head a bit.
Sira nodded. "A bit similar. Though it was a much harsher test. And the name we found was not shared with many. Very few pride members knew the inner name of another pride member." He held a paw to his chest. "My own inner name is known only by my father, a now-dead king, a priestess, and Haramu."
"Ah..." she replied softly, eyes a little wide. It sounded as if the place where they came from was a much harder way of living than she was used to. She wasn't sure what else to say at the moment, until she glanced at the river and saw a fish leap up out of the water. Then she grinned. "Haramu taught me to hunt on the plains... but do either of you know how to fish?"
Sira noticed her attention caught by the fish...and shook his head at Aamira's question. "Haramu might know, but I do not. The water in my birth-pride didn't have fish in it. Not in our area." He pondered a few seconds before smiling slightly at her. "Might you be willing to teach me how to fish?"
"Sure!" Aamira replied quickly, motioning to him to join her by the water. Then she started to explain quietly how it was done... ending with a quick demonstration that flipped that fish neatly up onto the bank. "There!"
Sira watched, committing to memory how she'd done it. He'd always been a quick learner. He moved to try and emulate what she'd done...And failed. Rather miserably. The lion stood there, wet-faced, the neck-fur of his mane drenched as he coughed. Well...this would be a challenge apparently. One he was willing to take up, especially since it meant another source of food for their group. And he moved to try again.
