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 Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:01 am
 The sun beat down heavily, baking the ground and stinging at his feet, but Eiszapfen ignored it as he trudged along. He had far more important things to worry about. As he walked backwards, he tore up the hot ground under his claws, leaving deep furrows. The one he was working on was nearly a quarter mile long at this point. There were others it connected to, all over the valley floor. He'd been at it for awhile now.
He paused for a moment, trying to picture the layout in his head. He had to make the lines and pattern look just right, so the great skybird from the stars could see it and land here. But it was very difficult, from a lion's perspective. He could barely see the other lines from this viewpoint. If only there were a cliff nearby he could stand on.
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 8:33 am
Theluji - no that wasn't her name anymore. She had to get used to her name, to using it. Morska'Zelena. It was a pretty name and Thel-Morska'Zelena was happy with it. Erlendr had given it to her. But it fit so well; it resonated in her chest. So she was Morska'Zelena, an adult now. She would return to mommy and the pride as an adult with a name. She hoped her siblings were having success. Hopefully they had returned already as well, since they had left before her.
Morska'Zelena carefully made her way down to the valley floor. But stopped when she saw the markings on the ground, and tilted her read to try and figure out what they were. What were they for? What were the lines doing? She spotted a figure scratching the lines into the ground. A fluffy male.
Fifty/fifty chance that he'd be a nice fluffy male, or a mean fluffy male. She'd met both so far. Th-Morska'Zelena's time with Erlendr though had taught her not to judge, so she continued down to the valley and close enough to the figure that she could hold a conversation with him, but far enough away that she could flee if need be. Lessons from both Erlendr and Shabnam put together. Kind of.
At her safe distance, Thel- Morska'Zelena asked, "What are you doing?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 4:03 pm
At the sound of a strange voice, Eiszapfen paused his toils and peered up at the sky, squinting through the light. That didn't sound like the normal voices. And what a strange thing to ask. What is he doing? Exactly what he's supposed to be doing. They should know that. He was the only lion around who cared enough about the inevitable doom to do something about it, they shouldn't be interrupting him with silly existential queries.
Turning back to examine how to lines crossed, his eyesight caught on his own colors among the bleak terrain, and he nearly jumped out of his skin. Another lion, of the same colors! A female? What she his reflection come to life? Some sort of dual opposite? The voices hadn't warned him about this test! Eiszapfen backed away nervously. "Who are you?" he demanded. "What do you want with me?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 4:49 pm
Thel-Morska'Zelena. Morska'Zelena raised her eyebrow at the fluffy male. He had the similar coloring as her, backwards coloring as her. His mane was the color of her body fur and his body fur was the color of her bangs and mane, but she really didn't notice. She was more curious about what he was doing, scratching the earth like she had an itch or something. Scarring her up, but she was going to heal the next time the wind blew strong enough. Couldn't do that to the swamps. Water filled the scratched and holes anyone dug up, instanteously healing itself. Morska'Zelena missed Mama Asali and her own mother. But she was headed that way now. On the path to home.
"Thelu -" She stopped took a deep breath and started again. "I am Morska'Zelena. I just wanted to know what you were doing and why. It seems like a whole lot of trouble to be putting yourself in just to scratch the earth." Erlendr definitely wouldn't have bothered with such silliness. He would have conserved his energies. "Who are you?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2011 5:35 am
Eiszapfen studied her carefully, trying to look for some sign of what he was supposed to do. The more he looked, the more he was convinced she was supposed to be his dual opposite. Reversed coloring, a female instead of male, and a youth instead of an adult. She didn't seem hostile though. She kept looking at the lines, and she'd asked twice now about them, but he couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing.
"I am Eiszapfen," he answered carefully, watching for her response, for any clue of recognition. Would a dual opposite know him and his mind? If so, she was pretending not to. "I'm creating a symbol," he said, gesturing to the lines. "It doesn't look like one from here, but if you were high up in the sky, it's supposed to look like a series of circles. I hope." He shrugged. "I would've gotten a bird to go up and check how it looks, but there's not many birds around here."
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Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2011 6:37 am
Morska'Zelena nodded her head in greeting. He didn't look familiar, beyond their similar coloring, and neither was his name. But then why would he be? He was a male rogue. "Hello, Eiszapfen."
"What are the circles for?" Morska'Zelena asked, looking up at the sky and looking for high places. He was right. It probably could only be seen from the sky like a bird, or at the top of the valley, if you had good eye sight. Thel-Morska'Zelena did. She could offer to go back up the valley and look for him. But she didn't know if she wanted to.
She wanted to go home. She waged an inner debate and finally sighed. "Do you need my help? Should I go back up the valley and look for you to make sure?" Morska'Zelena wasn't sure why she wanted to help him, but she was going to feel guilty if she didn't, and she didn't want to feel guilty when she returned to mommy and the swamps. She already felt heartbroken, no need for another negative emotion.
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Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:17 pm
Eiszapfen was tempted to take up her offer, but he shook his head in frustration. "There's no time. I'm almost finished, and it could be here any moment now. If I haven't done it right, we're all doomed anyway." He peered up and down the lines, and felt hopeful. It wasn't that bad of a job, considering his limitations. If the voices had wanted a flying creature surely they could've given the mission to a God or something.
"What do you here so far from everything, Morska'Zelena," he asked, trying out the name in his mouth while he pulled a few stones out of the dirt. Names never felt said right until you'd said them a lot, he thought. Sometimes even his own felt foreign to him. "On some sort of mission of your own? Or just wandering?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2011 7:41 pm
Morska'Zelena nodded when he denied her help. At least she wouldn't need to climb back up to the valley. Especially since it was in the opposite direction of home and mommy. "Well, I hope you did it right."
Looking beyond Eiszapfen toward the direction of the swamps. She still had a bit of time to go before she reached the open land where she'd meet Shabnam. Maybe another four sunsets. Maybe more. Morska'Zelena focused her attention back on the male and smirked. It was a sad smirk but not at the same time. Morska'Zelena was returning to those she loved but she had to leave someone she loved as well. It was bittersweet. Even if it was long awaited.
"I'm returning home to the swamps lands from my Naming Quest. I can return to my tribe and my mother as an adult and useful to the pride now with my name. Morska'Zelena."
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Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2011 7:53 pm
"A naming quest? That sounds familiar," Eiszapfen mused, trying to rack his brain. "I think it's possible that I've met someone from your pride before. That or more than one pride does these quests, which is also possible." He vaguely remembered a white female and a night spent together. It had been... awkward, but served its purpose in the great chain of events. He only hoped it had worked to secure the future as the voices said it would.
He turned slowly in a circle surveying his lines one last time, then stared up at the sky, squinting against the glare. He waited a long moment... but nothing came to pass. "You don't see a great big bird plummeting towards us to seal inevitable doom, do you?" he muttered, half to himself. Well, it was silly to expect immediate results. He shook his head. "Anyway. Have you found your name yet, or do you still look?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2011 8:52 pm
Morska'Zelena nodded in agreement. It was quite possible that Eiszapfen had met another lioness from home out on her quest or that another pride did something similar. Though the other lions and predators Morska'Zelena had met and talked with seemed surprised by their quest in general.
She looked around, up in the sky, and on the horizons. "There doesn't to be a bird around in genera, big or otherwisel." Morska'Zelena assured him, squinting into the shining sun just to be sure, but not too long. It hurt.
Blinking in confusion, "I am Morska'Zelena. There is no other name to find . . . I'm returning home now." Was that not clear? The others seemed to understand despite how odd they found the quest. "I was named Theluji and then I became Morska'Zelena . . . There's nothing left to find."
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Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2011 4:51 am
Even though he knew there might be a wait, Eiszapfen kept watching the very, very empty sky. Suddenly frustrated and worried that the skybird might never come, he flopped onto the ground and covered his face with a paw. "Why me? I do everything they ask. I toil and starve for their duties. They said it wouldn't be long until the end, but it just keeps going. Am I not worthy? They could at least give me a more dramatic sign."
Realizing he might be scaring the "normal" lioness... as he often did with other lions... he tried to pull himself together. "I'm glad for you, then. I wouldn't know where to even begin to look for a new name, but it seems your pride finds them well enough. I can't imagine what it feels like, though, transitioning from one to the other. Do you think you'll miss your old one?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2011 6:23 am
Growing concerned that the older fluffy male was slipping into a type of depression, and needing a bit of company, Morska'Zelena settled down, and rested her head on her front paws, watching the male just in case. She didn't want to give anyone the opportunity to sneak up on her and pounce her anymore. She was an adult now and she needed to be aware and alert like an adult.
Morska'Zelena shook her head slightly without lifting it from her paws. "No. If I had stayed Theluji I wouldn't have been allowed to return to the swamps and my mother, Janan'Daya and my siblings, Kosey, Mya, and Nijiti, though they'll have new adult names as well, but for now until I learn the new ones, their babies names are fine."
She paused and looked around at the signs scratched into the earth for this large bird of doom to land. "Are you a seer?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2011 6:56 am
"I don't see anything anything," Eiszapfen grumbled, taking another peek at the sky. The female seemed nice though, for a stranger, so he thought maybe he could open up a little. "I... hear things. It's difficult to explain. I won't bother with the details, I wouldn't want to upset you. But I wouldn't be making any plans for the cubs of your cubs, were I you." He thought for a moment. "Also, stay away from mountains. They get the worst of it."
He perked up and cocked his head, as if listening to something far away, and he nodded slowly, though he was frowning. Finally he stood back up, shaking out his coat to remove the dust. "Seems they're fine with the lines, and I'm not supposed to stay for the bird. It'd probably kill me on impact, anyway."
He almost reached out the ruffle the female's hair, but thought better of it. "Well, when you get home you can pass on my greeting to a... I don't remember her name, actually. I suppose it doesn't matter." He faced south, shouldering up his courage. "Myself, I have to go get a crocodile."
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Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2011 7:16 am
Morska'Zelena nodded at Eiszapfen's confession, stretching out her spine. She'd stayed with the fluffy male long enough.She needed to be on her way. She wanted to be home. Now. "You're spirit touched. I know a seer, though he hugged me and then told me we were suppose to be mates and then ran away from me."
Morska'Zelena shook her head to keep herself from puzzling over Dugi's behavior so long ago. "Good Luck with your crocodile, Eiszapfen." She nodded at him and started to make her away across the valley in the direction of the swamps. She was almost home. Just a few more days of travel. Then again, a few could be ages, or a short two days. She hadn't kept track on the way out, and so couldn't keep figure out the time line on the way back.
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