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 Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 12:04 pm
(OOC: This takes place in the past, when Fjolnir is just a juve, barely out of cubhood, and Spectre is about adolescent)
As Fjolnir slept off the exhaustion of the past night's terrible ordeal, and all the hard work of the following day, his dreams became increasingly darker. Something kept nagging at him, like a shadow just at the edge of his perception, and it finally culminated in a dream where this shadow was hunting him, and he was running for his life, too terrified to look behind. The looming shadow came closer, ever closer, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make his paws move fast enough. He felt like he was running against a strong gale, but the thing that was following him had no such problems.
He heard its approach, like something heavy trampling through the underbrush, and he heard it leap, felt it slam into his body, rolled, rolled, rolled... and found himself nose-to-nose with Fenja. His radiant playmate gave him her usual brilliant grin and swatted him lightly on the face.
"Tag! I got you!" She giggled, and took a swift leap back, plafully lowering her body against the ground. "Now you chase me!"
Fjolnir was so overcome with relief and joy at seeing her, finding that there hadn't been anything to be scared about at all, that he could only laugh in response. He rolled around, getting his feet back under himself, and made a bold leap at the prism-coloured girl. Like always, she easily danced away and darted off into the dark jungle, her bright laughter following her like a vine of flowers. Fjolnir gave chase.
He tripped over a tangle of roots, and suddenly found one of his paws stuck in them. "Fenja, wait!" he called, trying to tug and twist his paw free. The bright girl danced around, just a few metres away from him, taunting him with her tail high in the air.
"Suuure, I don't mind waiting. You'll never catch me anyway, hahaha!"
Fjolnir stiffened. The shadows behind Fenja shifted, deepened, threatened. He tried to open his mouth to warn her, but his jaws were suddenly locked together. He couldn't even make so much as a muffled grunt, and the tangled roots suddenly entwined all of his paws.
Fenja, no! Watch out!
The shadows behind her elongated, like long lanky shapes standing on two legs. Fenja tilted her head and gave him a confused look. "Fjolnir? are you okay?"
Fenja! Behind you!
Then, in one swift move, the shadowy, two legged monsters swept the girl up, their misshapen paws closing around her throat, her legs, her tail. Fjolnir heard her scream, even as her bright prism shape was swallowed up by the darkness.
He woke with a start, on his feet almost before he had opened his eyes.
"No! No no no! They took her!" Fjolnir spun around on the spot, his groggy eyes desperately trying to find the bright shape of Spectre, or anyone, really. "They took her! They took her! They took her!!"
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Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 2:05 am
Spectre was rarely an individual who slept soundly at night, or rather he wasn't given more recent experiences. He'd be positively terrorised in his dreams a number of months ago and they appeared to subside for a time. Alas, the dreams might have subsided for now but he had been left afflicted with the inability to sleep deeply and woke up at the smallest sounds. For this reason, it should have come at absolutely no surprise that the lion awoke with a start, his eyes blinking rapidly at the flailing of the cub and then the distressed cries. Spectre only had a few seconds to recover from the shock before he was required to make his presence known - if he didn't, then he suspected things would only get worse.
Thus, it was with this in mind that the lion extended his tail towards the cub and patted his head lightly. Tilting his head to the side inquisitively, Spectre fixed his gaze on the cub and pursed his lips. It would probably take a few moments for Fjolnir to gather his barings, but when he did, he would find that Spectre hadn't moved. All right, so he had moved them both out of the burial grove but they were still just outside it and the overall region would be recognisable. Better still, the cub would also discover that the walking dead hadn't become a reality, which probably would have done nothing for his nerves at this particular moment in time.
"They took who?" Spectre enquired softly, his voice a touch hoarse from being woken up so abruptly. He cleared his throat, shook his head ever so slightly and then returned his attention to the cub. Whoever he was referring to was either very lucky, or very, very unlucky - it depended entirely on what fate awaited her... All Spectre could surmise was that she probably wasn't dead yet. Still, even that was odd in itself as the rest of the pride (excluding Fjolnir) appeared to have been massacred. With that thought in his mind, Spectre was struck by a rather uncomfortable musing had this all been part of some very brutal cubnapping?
...Or was it something more?
He couldn't speculate over these matters at the moment and instead, kept his mind on the issue at hand. The cub had suffered from a nightmare and was rather distressed by the entire affair.
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Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 3:52 am
The pink cub stilled when he felt Spectre's paw on his head, and he turned towards the bright blue shape. For some reason, the sound of the other boy's voice made his head clearer, and he recognised where he was, and that it was still in the middle of the night, and that he wasn't alone. As his most immediate panic subsided, tears came to his eyes. He put one paw on Spectre's warm skin and looked straight into the blue lion's eyes, his own still somewhat distant.
"Fenja. My friend. My best... friend." His voice trembled with emotion. "The lanky apes... two legged monsters... they took her. They have her right now!" The panic rose in him again at the thought of what his friend might be suffering, even as he spoke, mixed with a sense of shame at not having remembered her sooner. Some friend he was. "She must be so scared, and lonely... what if she's crying! What if they... We have to go after her!"
Fjolnir at his present state was utterly unable to think clearly, the only thing that motivated him at the moment the terrible sense of shame and loss and urgency. He even forgot for a moment that Spectre hadn't been there when the lanky apes came, and therefore couldn't possibly know what he was talking about. All he could think of was Fenja, and the way that she had screamed. Where was she now? Would he be able to find her? The thundersticks that the two-legs had carried with them had had a very distinct, strong, acrid, burnt sort of smell - maybe he would be able to follow that... He put his other paw against Spectre as well, pushing in panicked little thrusts at the other boy to get him up on his feet as fast as possible.
"We have to go! We have to go get her!"
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Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 2:58 pm
"No," he replied with a stern tone that surprised even him. It might have been down to the fact that he was still hoarse from sleep, but he certainly didn't sound as though he was inclined to pursue Fjolnir' friend. Fortunately, he picked up on his own severity almost immediately and slowly shook his head, closing his eyes briefly as he gathered his thoughts. Jumbled as his mind usually was, he had moments of clarity when it boiled down to certain things and a desire to be reckless was one of those things. It was with this in mind that the older lion sucked in a breath and finally opened his eyes, fixing the cub with a firm but warm gaze - he didn't wish to upset him, but some things had to be said.
"We can barely see in this light and they massacred your pride, it would be unwise to pursue them alone," he began softly. As much as he understood Fjolnir's desire to find and rescue his friend, he also recognised how much of a death sentence it was. Fjolnir's pride had been utterly decimated and it had been done in the most horrific way - whatever had attacked had done so with such ferocity that it had annihilated everyone and everything in its path regardless of size. A cub and a young adult couldn't possibly win in such odds...
"They might also being expecting us and if you cannot ambush something then it will ambush you, a pre-emptive strike simply isn't viable," he explained sadly, pursing his lips into a thin line. "Would you really wish to harm yourself when there is still a chance your friend might be alive? Somehow, I do not htink she would appreciate such a reckless decision if it resulted in the loss of your life," he murmured softly, trailing off into silence as the words settled in. The truth sometimes took a while to appreciate and sometimes, it wasn't the easiest or most agreeable thing to hear, but in the long term it would be of benefit.
"The most you can do for her is pray," he suggested and turned his gaze towards the clearing where he had first found the pink cub. "Pray that the gods protect her for now and in the future, when you have learnt to combat these beasts, you can pray that they guide your paws to seek her out and save her," he finished with a delicate smile. It was at this point that he turned his eyes back to the cub and shook his head. "It's the only way - if you went now, I suspect you wouldn't even know where to begin in terms of stopping these beasts, no?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 10:53 am
Fjolnir shrank back in surprise from the harshness of Spectre's first rejection. It shut him up and scrambled his panicked mind, and when Spectre continued in a gentler tone, Fjolnir was actually able to sit still and listen properly. But even though he fully understood how much sense to blue boy was making, it still tore at his heart to hear it, and his little body began trembling as his eyes watered up again.
He didn't think that the monster-apes would be expecting him to come, since they would likely have killed him too if they had been able to find him, but the point was moot. Spectre was right. There was nothing he could do, and if they went after Fenja now... the monsters would most likely only take Spectre's skin as well. The mere idea was unbearable.
But so was the thought of what Fenja must be going through right now. Fjolnir felt torn in ways he had never up until that point experienced - he felt as though his heart would be torn into two equal parts inside of his chest.
"But she..." he hiccuped, squinting at a point just below Spectre's face, unable to look the blue boy straight in the eye right now. "...She would come for me. I know she would. She is brave and smart and clever and she's never scared of anything. B-but... But she... she was chased by them. The ape-things." He pointed vaguely in the direction from which the lanky apes had come and went. "They chased her here, and she was crying, and then they made a huge bang and Fenja's mom... she just fell down and Fenja screamed, she screamed so..." He choked up and looked up at Spectre, trying to say with his eyes what he couldn't express in words.
Isn't there anything I can do for her? Am I just a weak and powerless baby scaredy-cat? Am I worth so little as a friend?
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2011 2:02 pm
"And she might suffer the same fate as your pride if she had elected to pursue you as well, brave or not, some would call such a choice 'foolish' and I would agree with them," Spectre murmured gently, lifting a paw to pat gently under Fjolnir's cheeks. Spectre had never been great at tears, but Fjolnir's were especially difficult to endure based on how close for comfort the circumstances were for the blue lion on a personal level. While not identical, what he had witnessed had certainly disturbed him on a similar level to previous experiences and it made for a rather awkward state of affairs.
"Sometimes being there for someone has nothing to do with reckless bravery and pursuit," he said at last and sucked in a breath, closing his eyes as he gathered his thoughts and considered how best to express what he wished to say. "Sometimes, being there for someone means that you must demonstrate exemplary patience and strength," he continued, seemingly satisfied with his chosen approach. "The best thing you can do for her now is to continue living, to tend to your home and make sure that when she returns she has as beautiful a land to marvel as she did before..."
"A place to rest, relax and most importantly of all, a place where she can pay her respects and express her love for those that she lost. The role you play now is the most vital of them all," Spectre explained, opening his eyes to fix them on the cub, his gaze firm and features lined with renewed determination. "It is your job to make sure she has a home to return to, it's your job to make sure that the home she returns to has everything she needs."
"...If you left now, who isn't to say that the spirits would be disturbed and their resting places laid to waste? The flowers might wither and die, and the forest might never exude the same beauty that it once did," he continued, lapsing into silence as he regarded the cub for a long while. "If you hold strong in this respect and keep faith in the gods that they will sustain and protect your friend, then you will be grateful that you were not so reckless on the day that she returns and sees that you have preserved what is most important."
He paused again.
"Consider how she would feel if she returned to find neither a bastion of peace or you."
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Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 11:20 am
The pink cub sobbed and listened to Spectre's words, his eyes shyly Seeking the older boy's face again when Spectre's blue paw touched his face. Then he heaved a shaky little sigh and glanced around, his yellow eyes slowly wodening as he looked, really looked, at the beautiful jungle he had always called home.
Spectre's words sank deeply into his heart as his gaze wandered, and his sobbing ceased. Swallowing just once, Fjolnir absent-mindedly rubbed his face against his paw, and he fell absolutely silent for a tremulous moment. Somehing was hardening, taking shape inside him, and it both frightened and calmed him. Everything that had happened, everything that he had felt and learned and understood between this moonrise and the one before coalecsed, and he finally really understood that nothing - not even himself - would ever be the same again. And it was sad, but somehow it made his tears stop too.
Maybe that was what it meant to grow up?
A tiny shiver passed through his body, but his breathing calmed and a determined frown came to his face. Spectre was right.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, as much to the jungle around him as to his companion. He turned back towards Spectre and fixed his gaze on the blue boy's paws. "You're right. You always are." he paused for a moment, and glanced up at his friend's luminously blue eyes with both respect and a bit of awe. "You're so smart, and you know so much. I... I don't know what I would have done without you." He shyly touched Spectre's paw with his own, adding quietly: "Maybe you were right that some God was protecting me, too. Maybe someone led you to me." He cleared his throat and straightened up, turning his white-tipped tail on Spectre, and faced the Jungle. His home. Her home.
"I won't be a crybaby little cub anymore!" he announced to the fragrant darkness, a little annoyed to find his voice occationally shaking. "I won't make you worry. I'll take care of you. I'll protect you. I'll wait here. Until... She comes home."
His voice broke and he began shaking, fighting with himself, struggling against something terrible inside him, but he wouldn't give in to the tears. He couldn't. How could he cry, when he was the one who had everything? He had his home, a safe place to stay, and sleep. He was unharmed, and taken care of. He had a strong and wise friend by his side. What right had he to cry? Fenja was out there somewhere, alone, afraid, and Gods only knew what else...
He was the lucky one. He was the one who had to be strong now.
Still, he couldn't help turning to Spectre over his shoulder, voice and body trembling as he asked, almost pleaded with the older boy:
"She will come home, won't she?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 8:10 am
The cub had nothing to apologise for, at least not directly to Spectre, but as with all individuals he seemed to think that the word 'sorry' was required. Spectre elected to shake his head in response, a touch dismissively towards the remark. As far as the older lion was concerned, Fjolnir was just reacting to the events in the way that any individual would... Truth be told, the glowing lion was also fairly certain that most adults couldn't have handled the circumstances with as much dignity as the cub demonstrated. It was undoubtably a shock and as a consequence, the cub was entitled to his tears and more, if he saw fit.
However, Spectre did have to hazard a rather proud smile as the cub found his inner strength and announced, that on no uncertain terms, would he cry anymore. No doubt there would be tears in private, but rather than wallow, it appeared that Fjolnir had decided that he was going to step up and be a man. In the words of Spectre's former elders, the cub had 'come of age' and while he had done so at a much younger age than most, it didn't make it any less fitting.
...Now all Spectre had to do, was pray that Fjolnir's friend did survive.
"Gods permitting, she certainly will," he replied softly as the cub glanced over his shoulder. Suffice to say, that it was in those moments that Spectre was given a little insight into how parenting might have been. No doubt there were more enjoyable aspects to it, but that tiny voice of doubt in his mind had to be hidden in the more awkward moments. It would take a great deal of luck to ensure that Fenja came home, but that didn't mean that Spectre couldn't hope for it just as much as the cub did.
"So long as you pray to your ancestors for guidance and never give up hope, then they will hear you and nudge her home. Then you can celebrate the reunion with a party, no?" he suggested.
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 11:00 am
Spectre's reply provided a confirmation that he desperately needed - just to hear someone else say it, really - and he felt that big, trembly, terrible thing waver and disperse a little. He turned back to face the jungle, his back turned to his blue friend, and shut his eyes really, really hard. The new hardness inside him rose up and smothered the rest of the terrible thing while he focused all his energy on breathing deeply, and conjuring up Fenja's image before his eyes.
Her laughing face, her swishing tail, the cocky way she tossed her head. The fiery defiance in her glare. Her quick wit, her nimbleness both in body and mind, her unbreakable confidence. Yes. She would make it. She would survive. He felt it in his bones. The lanky apes had taken her alive. They had killed everyone else, but not her, so she wasn't dead. Why would they spare her first to kill her later? No, she was still alive.
He could feel it.
Like a wave, the realisation swept through him, and left a powerful calm in its' wake. His eyes were still shut, but he wasn't pressing them shut anymore. His breathing relaxed, his ears turned up.
He could feel it. As surely as he could feel his own heartbeat, he knew, beyond a doubt, that Fenja was still alive. It was a feeling as absolute as the feeling of ground beneath his paws, and at the same time as ungraspable as mist. But she was alive.
And as long as she was alive, she would definitely come home.
He opened his eyes and looked up at the moonlit canopy, far above. "Yeah," he finally, quietly responded to Spectre's suggestion, and turned to the blue lion with a small smile on his face. "A big party. With singing and dancing. And everyone will be there, even if they're not."
I'll be here, Fenja. Don't you worry. I'll still be here when you come back.
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Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 3:14 pm
There were those in life who were not blessed or protected by the gods. It was these individuals who often had their lives snatched away from them in some form or another. In this case, it was Fjolnir who had been dealt a foul hand and it would be safe to assume that he would no longer have the childhood he deserved. He was to become an adult long before his time and in doing so, would probably miss out on a great deal.
However, despite this loss he would be stronger for it and in many respect, should he encounter another individual in passing, there was a strong chance he would have much more experience. Words of wisdom that usually took years to master would come to him easily and in no time at all, he would be an oracle!
The only thing that Spectre was concerned by was the risk that he may lose the ability to see the finer things in life. There were those he had met who had often lost the ability to see simple beauty. So blinded by the little things, they could appreciate what was right in front of them. While Fjolnir didn't appear to be at risk of this yet, the years could weather an individual and then who knew what would happen?
...Fjolnir might pray for his friend, but Spectre elected to pray for him instead because he sincerely doubted his friend would know how his friend would cope if she returned to find him without this appreciation.
"Singing and dancing most definitely," Spectre agreed after a few moments and smirked, "But don't forget the good food too," he teased gently and nudged at the cub. "It's late though, we should really get some sleep," he murmured encouragingly.
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Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2012 12:03 pm
"Yeah. Tons of food. She'll be hungry for sure..." Fjolnir's voice trailed off and he swayed a little as Spectre's words suddenly made him remember how exhausted he still was. "Oh, I..." A yawn almost cracked his jaw on its way out, and he frowned at himself. "Um... Yeah. Yeah, I guess so."
Now that he allowed himself to feel it, he realised his whole body was still sore and tingly from all the hard work of the previous day. He leaned into his blue friend and allowed the warmth of Spectre's body to soothe and comfort his various aches. Fenja was still alive, of that, he was absolutely sure. And she was tough and strong and clever. While there was still life in her, she would definitely find a way to escape the terrible ape-things. She wasn't okay right now, probably, but she would be. She would be.
He slid down, still making sure to keep physical contact with Spectre. The darkness of heavy sleep already loomed inside his eyelids, and reality begun swimming over into dream as soon as his head rested against the ground.
"You're the strongest, bravest, most beautiful girl I know, Fenja," he muttered, barely audibly. "Hurry home. I'll be brave and wait for you." As his eyes slid shut, he whispered softly into the night: "I believe in you."
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