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 Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:14 pm
Tulia never allowed herself to feel worthless in the pride. She could not hunt, she could not scout, nor could she guard the boundaries of the pride, but what she could do -- make others feel warm and welcome -- she did very well. When she wasn't outright making friends with other females, she was busy talking with Nila about her grown cubs. If she was not doing that, well... she was partaking in her favorite pastime.
Just as she was this very moment.
If someone happened to march past Tulia, they might pause for a moment at the strange sight. A full-grown lioness with her toes barely dipped in the crisp, bubbling stream and a blissful smile on her face. It was one of her most favorite things to do -- and it was where she'd met Mkhai, the father of her first (and insofar only) litter. It was obvious this place held special meaning to the blind lioness.
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:29 pm
Today was a peaceful day, Machweo had decided. The wind had not brought her any new feathers, and she had yet to stumble upon any new rocks, but that was okay. Today, she would attempt to meet others of the pride, those she did not know from before. She needed to see them, and to know their colors.
And here, it seemed was a good opportunity. She had caught sight of the other lioness out of the corner of her eye, and approached her carefully. Machweo didn't think it odd that she was standing in a stream - she would often go into streams, herself, it it looked like there was a nice pebble in the water. But this lioness didn't appear to be looking for anything. So what was she doing?
"Hello?"
Speech was such a hassle, all harsh sound and no visual aspect to soften them or to speak for them. However it was the main way others communicated, and so, in an attempt to interact with others, she had to adapt to their world, as they would not (could not?) adapt to hers.
Her littermates had proven that, long ago.
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:35 pm
Tulia was so enjoying the way that the cool water rippled over her paws. It was so sweet, so soothing, and it captivated the blue-eyed lioness. When the interloper called out that greeting, Tulia turned her attention in the direction of the voice.
"Hello," Tulia said with most chipper tones, her ears perked as her eyes slid about aimlessly. She could not focus her eyes, and they often moved at their own discretion. It had always been this way, though until recently she'd been able to see faint shadows and twinkles of light.
No longer. Where once there might have been hopeful glimmers of vision, only a dark void remained. She'd been able to see the slightest outline of her beautiful cubs, and slowly her vision had dwindled.
"I do not recognize your voice," the achromatic lioness bubbled, tilting her head to the side. "Are you new to the pride?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:45 pm
Her... voice? Machweo blinked for a moment, wondering what the other lioness meant by that - then she caught sight of her eyes, and it clicked. This must be the blind lioness that - what had been his name? Pankaj - that Pankaj had mentioned. Which meant that she would have to talk more than she liked doing. But she would make the sacrifice and step out of her comfort zone, because she absolutely had to understand how the other female could function in a world without colors.
Machweo felt that she must be very brave to face a life without color.
"Yes... I am new. My name is Machweo," she said, stepping close to, but not quite into, the stream. "I arrived only recently."
Introductions were the polite thing to do, especially before asking questions. At least, she thought so...
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 8:06 pm
"Machweo," Tulia said with a hint of a smile in her voice, "I am Tulia. My sister, Sebae, is on the pridal council." She wriggled her toes in the crisp, cool mountainmelt water, giving a happy sigh before she continued. "I am very pleased to meet you! You'll have to excuse me," she said with unabashed pleasure, wriggling her toes again in the water, "but this is one of my most favorite things to do when I'm alone."
She did not bring up the fact that she was blind. No, Tulia's lack of sight was something so natural to her now that she didn't even think it worth mentioning. She would not be affronted by any questions that would come her way, though she hadn't had to deal with them until the recent surge of new members.
"What brings you out this way, so close to the pridal borders?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 8:21 pm
"No need to be excused," Machweo said calmly, finally wading into the water herself. Hm, well... she wasn't too crazy about how it felt over her paws, but the water did darken her fur to an interesting shade that it didn't normally reach. "Do you do this often?"
She couldn't admire the colors of the world... perhaps she admired other things? The things Machweo regarded as less important? The very thought mystified the sunset-colored female, and she almost sat down in the stream in her shock. Find pleasure... in things other than colors? The concept was alien to her.
Oh, but... Tulia had asked her a question. She had to provide an answer - it was only polite. "I was hoping to meet others."
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 8:36 pm
Tulia grinned a beautiful grin at the other lioness, her eyes upturning at the corners. "Yes, I do. My sister thinks it is a shameful way to act, but this brings me great joy. Sometimes my familiar, Nila, will join me and describe to me the colors around me, and I just sit here and listen to her speak." She didn't see the need to point out her lack of sight, and kept speaking. "When my cubs were born, she was there to describe to me the colors of each of them. They're grown now," she added as an afterthought, still smiling. It was obvious that she was proud of her sons and daughters.
"My sister worries for me when I come out this far, so now if she happens along -- as she often does by 'accident' -- I will not have to explain to her that I am a grown lioness and fully capable of doing as I please." The stress on the word 'accident' was subtle, but spoken fondly. "Have you been assigned duties within the pride yet, Machweo?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 9:09 pm
Tulia, Machweo noted, had a pretty smile. It was no wonder that she had mated and born cubs - she certainly seemed nice enough, and her colors were quite lovely. Such a pity, though, that she could not see the beauty inherent in all colors. It was a fate that, were she in Tulia's place, she was certain she could not bear.
"Your sister need not worry while I am here," she said, a way of offering protection should the blind lioness actually need it - not that she really believed she did, or that she could provide it. Machweo could barely catch her own meals, after all!
"As for duties... I have not received any yet," she admitted, turning her gaze to the stream and batting about in an attempt to see if there was a pretty pebble lying just out of sight.
"I have gathered many colors to pass the time until then."
Normally, she would offer to share her collection, but what use could Tulia find in it? Unless her rocks had an interesting shape that the blind female could feel, or a texture that stood out, how could she appreciate them? And feathers were feathers when one couldn't see their beautiful colors.
No, Machweo was absolutely certain that she could not handle the life of a blind lioness. It would be much too painful for her.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 1:18 pm
Tulia perked at the mention of colors. "I remember colors," she said brightly. "I was not born blind, though a sickness took my sight when I was young. I can recall very few colors, but the ones I do remember are so vivid and brilliant in my minds eye. Deep, rich purples of the night sky, silky blues of the midday sky." She looked rueful for a moment before adding, "I must admit, out of all the colors I remember, those of the sky have remained with me throughout the years. Such an amazing array of hues."
Tulia grinned at Machweo for a long moment, her ears twitching towards the sound of the brook that babbled at her feet. "Now I relish sounds. I suppose you could say that I can hear colors? Take this creek for example. I imagine it's clear as clear can be, but in my mind I can hear it happily trickling along. To me, a happy color is that of the sun, or perhaps a pretty pink flower." She chuckled, looking unabashed and utterly happy.
"My sister says I am silly. You must think I am silly as well, but I would rather be silly than stern and frowning because I am blind."
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 1:38 pm
She... had lost her colors? That was horribly sad, in Machweo's mind, but she didn't have the time to be properly sad before the other female started talking about hearing colors?
To be sure, it was merely imagining them, but if it could help to bring color back into her life, Machweo couldn't fault her in the least. And in a way, she could understand Tulia completely - perhaps better than any others who relied so heavily on sounds.
"That is... not silly, anything but silly," she said softly, her tone wondering. "Colors can be happy and sad, angry and calm. If sounds are to you as colors are to me, then you," she paused for a moment, rather shaken with the realization. "Then you understand what many do not."
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 3:27 pm
Tulia beamed brightly at Machweo. She liked this lioness. She liked her a lot. "Machweo, what is your favorite color?"
She paused a moment before continuing, "My favorite sounds are simple. The voices of my sons. The laughter of my daughters. The stern disapproving tone of my older sister. The new voices of fresh faces." She chuckled gently, dashing the water from her paws as she rose to her haunches, rocking back slightly.
"I love the sound of the wind and the rare patter of rain, the cheerful sound of the streams... I am sentimental, Sebae says I am poetic." She shook her head and silenced herself, waiting for Machweo's answer. It was obvious that Tulia's biggest downfall (or perhaps greatest attribute) was her penchant for chatter.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 3:41 pm
Though Machweo generally wasn't fond of much in the way of sounds, and was a quiet female by nature, she didn't truly mind Tulia's chatter; not when the images she painted with her words were as full of color as the brightest feather in Machweo's collection, and is detailed as the patterns in her favorite rock.
So she was quite content to listen as the other lioness chattered away, though she did recognize her cue to speak, and took the opportunity when there was time. Words weren't her forte, but perhaps she could explain her choices to Tulia.
"It is difficult to pick a favorite... but if I must, it would be the colors that have an emotion to them." She paused, unsure how to explain that more clearly, because this was quite honestly the first time she had ever had anyone ask her much about how she saw the world, even in a manner such as this.
"The gray of the clouds when it is raining, and the blue of it where it breaks through them - the gray is sad, but the bits of blue are hopeful. White, too. It is empty, but it holds everything. Brown is earth, and life, while green is health and growing things."
Machweo wasn't certain which of those colors, if any or all, that Tulia remembered from the brief time that she had sight, but perhaps the descriptions she used would provide enough of an explanation. She would always prefer colors over everything else... but perhaps, just maybe, words had their place too.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 8:26 am
"Your words bring life to colors, and while I do not remember many of the hues you have mentioned, my mind can feel the sad, the hopeful, the empty." She smiled widely, shrugging. "My sister would tell you that I am whimsical, but I merely say things as they come to mind, and when I feel passionately about something I tend to ramble on and on."
Tulia chuckled and rose to her feet. "Machweo, did you know that this stream leads all the way back home? Sometimes I want to follow this stream to its end, away from home, just to see what sounds I can hear. What lies at the end?" She grinned and padded a few feet upstream, towards the central pride land.
"Perhaps someday we can go together. You with the sights, me with the sounds, and we can be two whimsical poets who love to speak of color."
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