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 Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 11:27 am
Pur = Black
Herryk = Dark Orange
Pur sat in a small den constructed mainly of low-hanging branches and discarded foliage from the trees. Her head peaked out from the mouth of her make-shift den, Pur watched the scurrying small animals and the trickles of sunlight that managed to penetrate the forest canopy. She hadn't seen him since their initial meeting, and in the commotion never even got his name. Pur was wondering if she would ever see him again, or if she blew her only chance at fulfilling the visions her father gave her of her own happiness.
Sighing heavily, Pur cast her ghostly eyes to the forest tree tops and the light that came through, "I know you're there. And I know you can hear me... Tell me why this? Please?"
Pur wasn't sure what to expect as she talked to the omniscient present she felt her godly father was, but she was hoping he heard her and would answer. Up till now she had never questioned the divine wisdom or decisions of her father, but she was so confused and upset with what had occurred that she couldn't contain her questions.
"Father, I know you hear me.... Please respond. Please tell me what I've done wrong," She sighed.
Herryk had hightailed it back to his pride, the thoughts of the pale female he'd left behind sloshing around in his brain. He couldn't wrap his brain around the whole thing. It terrified him. He was vaguely familiar with seers but not entirely. Since Herryk's return to his pride he'd been spending more and more time slinking around within the main area of the pride. He mourned the loss of his forest, and finally he'd reached a point where he just couldn't stay away from the woods.
Slowly he slunk into the forest, belly flat on the ground - he never allowed himself to stray far from the thick underbrush that tangled around treetrunks, and only when he found his most favorite tree did he clamber up the thick trunk, settling into the comfortable branches.
And then he heard her voice. He froze. Had she seen him? He didn't want to take any chances on checking. She was speaking to her father...? Cursing under his breath, Herryk eavesdropped on the lioness.
"Did I anger you somehow, Father?" Pur mused, her face long with sadness and wanting. "You gave me such beautiful visions through birth-right, but they've not come to pass and I... Why would you taunt me this way? I thought only she was cruel... Don't tell me you're cruel too?"
Pur sighed again and hissed loudly to herself, placing her paws over her head and wiggling around in frustration at the situation at hand. She had risked her life not once, but twice now in hopes of happiness. She had escaped her mother with her brother by the skin of their teeth at the cusp of adolescence, and than she left her dear brother behind to search for the man who she saw as her future. With both ordeals over, she felt like she was left with nothing. She was not pregnant, she was not happy. She lived alone in a pretty forest, but nothing more. It was like she haunted this place with her presence now.
"If I cried, would it make you care?" Pur said to herself, musing at what she would say to the male if she next saw him. She did not know he was already there in the trees, watching her like a skeptic. She was unaware her deepest thoughts and concerns were already betrayed secrets. "Probably not... I should have stayed with brother. I shouldn't have left his side."
Herryk's brows drew together in a frown as he listened to the female continue speaking to her father. He didn't see who she was talking to, which made him think that she was speaking perhaps to a memory of her father... or perhaps her father... he stopped his thoughts. Why should he even care? It irked him that she was in his forest. It irked him even more that he'd been forced to find solace mingling with the pridemembers. He hated it.
He hated it a lot.
It became apparent to the adolescent that she could not see him from where she was. That pleased him... slightly. It was bothersome how sad the pale female sounded. Very bothersome. With a groan he rose to his paws and swiftly made his way to the forest floor, landing within her field of vision with a soft thud.
"You should go back to your brother," he grunted, scowling. "This is not your home."
When Herryk dropped down into Pur's field of vision her ears perked up and her heart fluttered slightly. Was this a sign from her father? His way of telling her he hadn't forgotten his promise to her through her visions? Pur's hopeful attitude towards the situation was quickly squashed as Herryk told her she should go back to Lajos. Her ears pinned back to her head and she looked away from him quietly, not wishing to make eye contact with his blazing orbs.
"... I don't know where he is," She said quietly, retreating slightly into her make-shift den of overhanging limbs and fallen debris. "This is all I have now. Why should you care where I live?"
Pur was slightly defiant in her words, but they were still sad and filled with a sense of hopelessness. This was the only place she had now. She had wandered for so many days and nights, over miles and miles of lands through climates she had never experienced before to get her. She wasn't sure which way Lajos was anymore. She didn't know if she'd ever find her way to him again.
Herryk was forever scowling, it seemed, at least around Pur. He sat back on his haunches, those amber eyes never leaving her face. She seemed so sad. It bothered him, but he'd had time to think about the words she'd said when last they met. It still really weirded him out... but then again, he really, really missed his home. Living in such close quarters within the pride, it was not the life he was accustomed to.
It was not the life he loved.
"You are intruding on my home," he grouched, slapping aside a small stone that rested haplessly at his feet.
"You don't own the forest," Pur mumbled quietly, hiding herself more in her make-shift den. "The forest god does."
She wanted to cry so badly at the moment. She was alone. She was tired physically and emotionally. She was hungry. But she had nowhere else to go. She didn't know where she would go even if she decided to up and leave. She was tired of her life being this hard. She was tired of never finding any happiness. Even her freedom wasn't a happy ordeal.
Sighing again, Pur finally let everything go and started sobbing into her paws. Why couldn't he just leave her alone?
Now, Herryk was being kind of a jerk. He knew he was being kind of a jerk, but in all honesty he couldn't help himself. It wasn't like... well, it wasn't like he had asked for a crazy seer to follow him around hither and yon talking about how he was going to give her babies and she was going to be the mother of his cubs.
He wasn't ready for cubs.
With a loud sigh, Herryk shuffled a little closer. "Stop crying. You.. you can't blame me for being upset, can you? I mean," he gestured wildly with a paw, "it's not like ... it's not like ... well, your visions are obviously wrong." Yeah. Obviously.
"That is impossible!" Pur snapped defensively. Her visions were never wrong. Up until now she had found every sibling she had ever seen, from even before her father had become a God. Why would her visions be wrong now? Why when it would show her true happiness?
She poked her head out from her little den, the tears marks making little rivets down her snow colored fur, "The visions of a God's daughter are never wrong. I am no fake, and I am no chance-blessed. I am divinity sired. I'm never wrong."
Pur had never had her gift questioned before. At least not by someone who wasn't her. She was allowed to question her own gift. She owned it. But he, he didn't know about her gift. Otherwise he would know that her gift was not wrong, because he would know what it was like to be her.
She wasn't all fluff and sweet all of the time.
Herryk grunted. He hadn't been expecting her to snap at him. Rarely did females lash out at him -- probably because he didn't usually hang around in areas where he was easily accessable to females. The only females that did snark at him were usually his sisters (and even then it was usually only Broni).
Herryk drew back a little, rising to his feet to spin a slow circle before he sat back down. His tail wrapped around his paws and narrowed golden eyes peered at her silently for a good long time before he finally decided to speak.
"If your visions are not wrong," he growled, growing irritated again, "than you have the wrong lion."
"I know what I saw," Pur said again, much softer than before.
She looked away from him, upset once again as she got up and adjusted herself, her black heart marking rustling on her chest quietly. Some days she wished it were red, like her mothers, although she did not want to be her mother. The horrible heartless woman she was.
"Needled gaze," She muttered quietly, sighing to herself once again. "You should take after your mom."
Herryk was silent for a long, long time as he watched Pur. His gaze was unreadable, but his voice cracked when he spoke. It was obvious he wasn't sure if she was speaking about his mother... or her mother.
"Are you talking about my mother?"
If there was one thing in this world that Herryk loved above all else it was his mother, Raven. As far as he knew, Pur had not yet met Raven. It was almost as if he was searching for proof that she could possibly be telling the truth about everything she'd talked about.
"And if I am?" She said, although there was no malice or taunt behind her words. Just tiredness. "I saw more... She was there. You were so panicked, and she was so calm. I like her eyes. They were warm..."
Pur sniffled a little, her tiredness showing in her body language and in her eyes. They looked glassy, not like the normal sparkling stars for orbs she had. She wasn't sure what she could say anymore to make him believe her.
She peaked back over to him quietly, "Why's her name Raven when she looks like a fox?"
Herryk blinked rapidly, falling silent again. He hadn't been expecting that comment. He hadn't been expecting her to know his mother's name. He hadn't been expecting her to tell the truth. She was telling the truth. It was terrifying. It was suspicious. It was... enlightening.
Maybe she really was telling the truth about being a seer, a child of a god. The thought sent tremors down his spine. What else could she see? What else did she know? It was terrifying. Herryk wasn't sure he wanted to explore these answers.
"You.. you really saw me as the father of your cubs? It wasn't my brothers? We three are nearly identical, though I am the only one with a dark mane. I just... it is hard to fully understand." He sounded almost apologetic.
Pur took a deep breath and sighed heavily, everything smelt wet and earthy. It would probably rain that evening or sometime in the next few days. She'd be surprised if it didn't. She looked back over to him, not peaking or tentatively glancing and she nodded her head.
"It was you. Black maned and warm eyed," She said quietly. "I know... I probably seem strange, showing up out of the blue... telling you these things, but they're the truth. It's the only reason why I came here..."
Her head bobbed for a second and her brows furrowed as she struggled to find words for her thoughts. Licking her maw quietly she continued with her struggling explanation on things, "Before... Before I saw what I saw, I only saw visions of my immediate family. The children in which my fathered had sired... I've met so many, and have seen so many more."
She paused for a moment, rubbing her paws against her eyes quietly, "This was different, it was just me. I had never seen a vision of me before. And than I saw you... And I felt the pain, and the joy. And heard the little squeaks... I knew it was important... This was important."
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 1:29 pm
Yes, she did sound weird coming to him -- seeking him out and then following him home -- to tell him that she was going to be the mother of his cubs. It was... weird. He wasn't sure how to feel. Did he just blindly accept it? Just because he was going to father her cubs didn't mean they were mated, right? He could... he could just give her what she saw and then send her on her way, maybe.
He banished the thought.
Herryk was not the love them and leave them type. He found it rather distasteful, giving birth to bastards like himself, and he would never wish that upon his cubs. No, Herryk would not do that to his future children.
"Get up," he grumped softly, nudging her with a paw. "I'll take you to my den. It's warm and clean and... much safer." He scowled softly, "You can stay there while I do some thinking. Just don't... go off talking to anyone." Not yet, anyway. Once he came to a decision he'd introduce her properly.
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 1:39 pm
Pur shrunk almost dramatically from the nudge of his paw. It was a habit that even to this day she had trouble breaking. It wasn't as if he had hurt her, or that she thought he meant to hurt her. It was just that prior to her freedom she had been hurt so much and so often that it was reflexive. An obvious indication to some that she may be kind, but she was definitely damaged. She had received her fair share of unnecessary beatings.
"S-sorry, I..." She trailed off, her nose and ears tinging pink slightly as she quieted herself and merely go up out of her make-shift den to follow him. She averted her gaze quietly.
Despite their exchanges, he was showing her kindness and she couldn't help but feel guilty for it. She shouldn't have to be offered someone else's home so she could remain safe, and she should be able to take care of herself, but her broken confidence and lithe frame was indicative of someone who could be overpowered easily, if not completely.
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 1:53 pm
Herryk felt a twinge of annoyance when she shrank back from him. He didn't bring it up, though. Doing so would only make her cry again and quite frankly it was something that he could live without. He remained silent instead, turning to glance over his shoulder now and again to assure himself that she was still following behind him.
"Stop saying you're sorry," he huffed under his breath, "and ... and just..." he gave an irritated sound and turned to face forward. He wasn't sure what he wanted to say to her. He wasn't sure if there was anything that he could say that would make her feel better. He'd already been kind of an a** to her.
"Are you hungry?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 2:11 pm
"A little," Pur said quietly, following behind him at a distance. She didn't want to seem like a thistle stuck to him, even if she was probably already burdensome in his eyes. Did Lajos feel that same way about her too? Did he wish he could shake her off?
"...Pur. Pur'Coeur," She said quietly out of the blue. "That's my name... You, uhm... Ran off before I could introduce myself last time."
She didn't like the silence. So she said anything to break it, even if it did mean possibly being spoken to harshly once again. Anything was better than silence.
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 2:22 pm
Herryk grunted again and glanced over his shoulder. A pretty name for a pretty lioness. He turned to face forward again as they plodded along. They were drawing close to his den, a nice knotty tree that had been hollowed out by termites, most likely, before they'd evacuated the area. Now it was perfect for a den, and so Herryk had claimed it for himself when he'd been old enough to part ways from his mother.
"Herryk," he replied in stilted tones. He was trying to be nice, he really was. He harbored no hard feelings. It was just still a little too... weird... for him.
"I'll go find food for us after you've settled in, he said, drawing up to the fat tree that he called home. "This is my... our... ehm... I'll be back later. Stay here, talk to no one. Do not stray, Pur. It is dangerous. Just... stay here."
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 2:56 pm
"Herryk," Pur reiterated cautiously.
When he wasn't looking she smiled and rustled her whiskers. At least they had exchanged names now. That was one step closer to what she had seen, right? And he was even taking her to his den. Perhaps they'd get to know each other there.
"O-oh, ok." Pur said simply, giving him a small, albeit pleasant grin. "Uhm... if your mom shows up, can I talk to her?"
Awesome questions Pur.
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 3:31 pm
Herryk looked terrified for a moment, shaking his head repeatedly as he tried to tamp down the horror on his face.
"No. No. Pur. Listen. You have to stay here. Talk to nobody. Maybe... once I figure out how to introduce you properly to my mother, you can talk to her. It's not like she comes out here much anymore," he continued sullenly.
"Just stay here. I'll be back really soon. Really soon." He felt like he was forever repeating himself but he couldn't help it. He was terrified she'd go off and find someone to talk to about her crazy visions.
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 3:45 pm
"Ok...," Pur said, her ears drooping slightly at Herryk's panic stricken face.
Perhaps they had certain etiquettes? Procedures and rules for outsiders, or newcomers? That was Pur's only logical guess. At least one that didn't tangent off into depressing thoughts about being abandoned here and Herryk taking this as his opportunity to run and run far.
She looked away from him and pawed at the forest floor slightly, "I'll wait here till you come back."
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