Thalion Koi
As the moon fell and the sun began to peek over the horizon, the watch shifted from the night patrol to the day patrol. While Gremio always insured that he checked on each of the dens, did a mental headcount of the cubs and youngsters, he was only required to take a day watch every ten moons. That morning, after making his silent rounds, the veteran stepped to the boarder of the camp to the watcher's stone and settled himself down.
The stone stood high over the troupe's territory and allowed him to spot danger from a distnace. It also allowed him to insure that no little bundles of trouble were tumbling out of their dens looking for entertainment. He didn't mind the duty at all, in fact he'd often sleep close enough to the mouth of the cave to warm his sides and enjoy the sunlight. It was a long and often lonely task, however.
Shoka was out hunting for himself, having parted from his master just as the sun began to rise.
Safi:
"Shoka gone off hunting?"
Safi looked up at Gremio's form on the rock. She was a huntress and an entertainer, not a warrior, so she had never had the day watch. Her father was in the rotation, he had experience in that kind of thing. She had to wonder how they did it. No, she figured a number of them took naps after their shifts or something like that.
Gremio, on the other paw, she couldn't really see doing that. He was too vigilant for that. It was admirable and foolish at the same time, in her opinion.
Gremio:
The lion turned his head, seeming neither startled or suprised at the female's sudden arrival. He flicked his tail and swept his eyes back over the territory. "He has, yes. I ask much of him. He actually looks forward to my watch, it's an entire day by himself."
He glanced over his shoulder, lifting a brow. "You're up late. Is something troubling you?"
Safi:
"Sometimes even the best of friends need time apart, hmm?" she asked, padding around the rock so that she could look up into his face. When he asked if something was bothering her, she glanced down slightly.
"Not really. I have things on my mind, but nothing troubling." It happened sometimes. Recently it was mostly questioning her place in the Troupe, if she needed to do more or not.
Her ears perked up after a moment, her eyes lifting curiously.
"You must have a lot of quiet time on days like these. What do you think about?"
Gremio:
"Oh but of course." He chuckled quietly. He could almost hear Tir's quiet agreement on that one. The poor young lion had his hands full... it was little wonder why he was eager to find baby sitters now and then for his little hellions.
He shifted himself over, making some room on the watcher's rock if she cared to join him. It was only polite afterall.
"I imagine you do. Performers tell the best stories."
Her question had his smile withdrawing into something guarded and distant. "Oh... times past. Nothing worth mentioning."
Safi:
When Gremio shifted over, Safi took the invitation and hopped up, settling down next to him.
"Oh, I'm not the storyteller, Papa is. I know the ones he's told me, the ones I dance to, but I don't really have any of my own." She had to think if she really tried she might be able to come up with one, but it was nicer to just dance, to move to the singing of others. Her dances gave life to the story in her father's words.
She noticed the change in him and her ears flicked back.
"I'm sorry if it's a sore spot."
Gremio:
"We all find our own tales eventually. It takes real talent to breathe life into them. Remembering your father's stories is part of your own." He looked over, allowing the smile to return to his maw. "And in remembering them, you do him honor. You grant him immortality of sorts...when he's long gone, through your efforts his stories may remain."
He brought a paw up to touch his scarred cheek, eyes roaming back out over the troupe. "It was a long time ago... you've nothing to apologize for. There are just things... I would have done differently."
Safi:
Safi smiled.
"He says that sometimes too, well not in those words. He tells stories his mother told him, and her mother told her. I don't really know how far back it goes," she replied, glancing at him in time to see him touch a paw to the scar on his cheek.
"From all the stories I've heard, I've noticed that's really the thing about life," she looked off, over the brightening world. "We're going to do things that we wished we hadn't, or a choice we should have made. The best we can do is learn from our mistakes..."
A quick glance to him and then her gaze was flicking away again.
Gremio:
"Your family honors its ancestors. Soon enough, your own children will recite your story in song and dance. It's a comforting thought."
"Is fate unchangable?" He said quietly, almost as a whisper. "You are certainly right. Though part of that is learning to share our mistakes so that history will not repeat itself."
Safi:
Safi's ears fell again and she set her chin on her paws.
"Maybe. I've heard stories, about others like me who can't... I mean... But they're only stories." Only she knew the power of stories. Some were made up, to teach lessons or to entertain. Other times they simply sounded false, other times they were true.
"I don't think I believe in fate... It doesn't really seem fair to think that everything is scratched into stone," she mused aloud, contemplating the idea. No, she didn't like it at all.
Gremio:
"Perhaps. But then...you have little ones here who would gladly listen. At least...a few of them. The two boys are more into creating their own adventures rather than listening to stories of adventures."
He chuckled, his eyes narrowing as a wide grin stretched his features. "Only those that are willing to rise and meet 'fate' can change it. There are few who do."
Safi:
"I guess I do..." Safi replied, her smile slowly returning. It still hurt, the thought of never being able to have a family of her own, but knowing that she could influence the cubs, to teach them, and watch them grow up was a fairly good substitute. Taban's were half lion, half cheetah like she was, she could tell even though she knew nothing of their mother. They smelled like she did, looked like her brothers and sisters did at their age. They were all different, but it made them special.
"I think they're fine having their own adventures, just as long as they stay close to home. I went off on my own when I was their age, met other creatures. You know, I once met a god. I even taught him how to dance," she said, flicking a glance at Gremio to see his reaction.
Gremio:
The lion's expression went neutral again. He'd not let them go off on their own...not until he could be certain that they could care for themselves. Had he not followed Tir that day....
He squeezed his eyes shut, claws scraping the rock beneith him as he took a deep breath and forced the memory back.
"A god? ...truely? you too?"
Safi:Safi knew she'd struck yet another nerve when Gremio lost his smile again, when he closed his eyes and scraped his claws against the rock. She was very perceptive after all.
If only she knew what it was that she needed to avoid! She just kept on upsetting him. But it was a losing battle. She couldn't know what bothered him unless he told her and she was certain that would bother him even more.
"I'm sorry, for whatever I said." Her voice was soft as she spoke, face reflecting the contrite tone as she lightly touched her nose to his cheek in an apologetic gesture.
But then he was asking about the god she'd met and she pulled back with a little smile of reminiscence. It wasn't the kind of smile that reached her eyes, but it was still a smile.
"Mmhmm. I was very little, and he was too, but I remember him. He had a horn like a tree-branch on his head and a back like a snake made of the ocean, a tail thinner than a lion's, a really long mane, and his back feet were kinda like a zebra's."
reeshiehack is available
Can I go back to sleep now? 14h and 11m ago Comment
Gremio:
"Please do not apologize... I just...." He sighed, bringing a paw up to brush some of the mane away from his face. "There was an ambush.... Master Tir was certain that this cave was where one of the enemy generals was lying in wait. He handpicked a small number of his pride to follow him and investigate. It...was a trap. Prior to that, I had been told that Master Tir was old enough to handle himself... I thank whatever gods are watching every day that I kept at his side."
He tipped his head. It must have been a different god, he'd never met such a creature. "A friend?"
Safi:
"Oh, goodness, that... No wonder you're so protective," Safi replied, thought for a moment, then decided against what she had thought to do. She couldn't imagine how she would feel if she were in his position. War was not something she had ever encountered, she hoped she never would.
She considered his question for a moment before slowly shaking her head.
"I don't think that's the right word. He was a fun little playmate, but I've never seen him since that day. I think a friend is more like someone who you know, who you can talk to, who you see more than once or twice in your life. It means I don't have many, but... I guess I don't really know how to follow that."
Gremio:
"...we... we were trapped. The mouth of the cave was blocked off..." He closed his eyes, claws scrapping against the stone once more. He could almost smell the damp humidity of the cave, hear the panic in his companions' voice. "There were two chambers... one a little further in and one towards the center. We started to feel...something burning. It was a nest for fire ants. The others ran into the deeper chamber but it was no use, they'd tasted our flesh..."
He took a deep breath, his body shuddering. "...Master Tir...was needed by so many. They looked to him for guidence, for hope... so... I laid down between the chambers, the fire ants had to eat through me to get to them... it bought enough time for our companions to find us..."
He opened his eyes slowly. "A god found me... I'd seen the doorway into the forever-lands...he brought me out of the darkness and nursed my wounds...I couldn't see, I couldn't move for so long... I worried. I didn't know if they were alright."
Safi:
Contemplation turned to horror and then sorrow on Safi's face, tears ran from her eyes as Gremio told her what had happened in those caves. He was... He was a hero! He was willing to give his life for his friends and was saved by a miracle and.... And it was the most self-less and brave action she had ever heard of. He really was so much more than he first appeared.
Unable to hide the tears any other way, she laid her head down and covered it with her paws. Which, in fact, did very little to hide the shaking in her shoulders.
"I'm sorry for telling you that you fuss and fret too much..." Her words were muffled, and when it all came down to it, she really didn't know what more to say.
