|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 4:05 pm
Soft pink pads kicked up red dust from the ground as a slim, muscular lioness pranced about after a butterfly. Mihkokwan had been after this pretty little yellow thing for a long while now, not actually taking notice of just how far she'd wandered. The rust-colored lioness giggled as she chased and pounced and leapt into the air, tail swishing away behind her of it's own accord. Her bright blue eyes followed it up, up, up, and as her gaze came across the sun in the sky, she frowned and closed them, turning her face toward the ground. The lioness sneezed and shook her head, plopping onto her hindquarters and pouting. "Darn." She said aloud, flicking her tail from side to side. She was panting from chasing after it, and glanced about to get a feel for her surroundings. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary around, at least.
The thought crossed Mihko's mind to seek some water, as now that she had stopped running, it had become easily apparent to her that she was hot, and thirsty! "Hmmm..." She mulled to herself, quirking a brow, and she got to her feet again, shaking herself- a little cloud of dust expanded around her as she did so. The lioness giggled again at the dust, and scuffed her paws in the dirt for the purpose of kicking up more. This was one who wasn't too terribly bothered by getting dirty, obviously. Now that she was again on her feet, cool blue eyes scanned about again, her line of vision wasn't that much improved from sitting position.
"Well, I've no idea where to go soooo..." The muscular female closed her eyes, smirking and spun in a few small circles. Mihko decided that she would go whatever direction she was facing when she stopped, and so she stopped after a moment and began padding along with a silly grin spread across her features. "Maybe I'll be lucky and find a little bit of water then! Or maybe I'll find someone who knows where to get some!" the rust-colored female delighted.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 5:15 pm
 While Raiden was busy with his pridely duties, Mneme had decided to give herself a break from the harsh environment of the Stormborn and go to more relaxing lands. While she wasn’t a desert native- the Haven was clearly her initial home, despite her lack of memories from it- the little goddess took a certain fondness for the harsh, dry landscape. The sand wiggled beneath her paws, warm and soft, and she felt… calm. At ease.
Apparently, mortals had more struggles in these lands than she did. Where Mneme ate and drank for no more than her own amusement or blending in, they had difficulty partaking in such things here. It was a bit of a pity, really- this could be such a lovely home, if one wasn’t troubled by such things.
But dawdling and rolling about in the sands wasn’t why Mneme was here today! No no, she was out and alone for a very specific purpose. Raiden had mentioned making Godly Appearances for him, and… well.
If Mneme was very honest with herself, while she looked a bit spooky? Terrifying, she was not.
So, blissfully unaware of the playful lioness padding in her direction, Mneme appeared in a swirl of sand and wind that betrayed the goddess’s good nature.
Where her eyes were typically white, the sclera of Mneme’s eyes had gone black, giving the appearance of not having eyes at all. The soft red of her forepaws had gone a deep, blood red, and indeed seemed to be bleeding as she stepped. Even from her eyes, red seemed to roll down her cheeks, staining the sands as the goddess walked. Her once light and soft wings seemed to be burnt and cracked with holes, giving her the appearance that she had suffered through a terrible fight recently. When she spoke, her voice echoed, as though other beasts spoke in time with her.
“You dare to call us from the Haven?! We, who destroy minds and memories on nothing more than a whim?! We, who in our infinite wisdom, graced you with our holy presence?! We are Mneme, Destoryer of Minds, and we—“
In the middle of her rehearsal, the little goddess- not so little in this illusionary form- seemed to realize that her show had an unexpected audience. Just as suddenly as she’d appeared, the horrifying form was gone, and the normal Mneme- small, and generally non-threatening, stood before the other lioness with an apologetic look.
“O-oh my goodness, I’m so sorry!” She squeaked, bowing her head several times in an apology.
“I- I didn’t know anyone else was out here! I’m so sorry, I was practicing trying to look frightening- not that I’m trying to frighten you! I just have to be scary for future appearances, and I’m not much good at scaring in this form, so I thought I would get some practice in! Oh, I didn’t mean to startle you!”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 6:15 pm
Mihko had been humming a little tune to herself as she wandered, not really paying attention to much, when all of a sudden a huge dust storm kicked up out of nowhere. She squeaked in surprise when from out of the whirling sand, appeared a huge, ghastly looking lion who appeared to be in quite rough shape. The young lioness froze up, not knowing what to do. Her jaw dropped open and her ears laid flat against her skull. Tail went between her legs and she lowered herself to the ground. The rust-colored female was sure she was about to urinate all over herself....too late. She cringed in fear and embarassment.
Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, this demon-speaking, horrifying apparition morphed into a much less threatening form, a smaller, bright-furred female of her own species. Though something was different about this lioness. Poor, young Mihko was so confused at this point, she couldn't even move. Muscles still tense, the lioness lay in wait, the urine spreading under her, soaking into her fur. She frowned and took a deep breath. "I-I-I..." The small female tried to think of something to say, but all she could do was stammer like an idiot and blink.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 11:23 am
“Oh- oh darling, I’m so sorry,” Mneme pleaded, shame flooding into her at the sight of the other lioness. Goddess, this wasn’t what she’d meant to do! Was everyone going to react like this?! Glancing about to make sure no one else was present, Mneme unfurled her wings, and allowed one of them to hover over the other lioness for cover. Gesturing forward with a nod of her head, the little goddess took a few slow steps forward.
“I-I’m so sorry for scaring you, sweetie! Come along, follow close with me. T-there’s a water hole nearby, and we can get you nice and cleaned up. I swear, I won’t be scaring you again this trip,” Mneme soothed, genuinely sorry for having spooked the poor girl.
At the same time, this… did give her a slight bit of confidence. While scaring strangers wasn’t her goal, the fact that she was able to be frightening made Mneme proud. She wouldn’t boast such things to this lioness, but Raiden would likely get a kick out of the story. Trotting along, Mneme made certain to keep her face from showing any sort of excitement.
“What’s your name, by the way? I feel horrible, scaring some poor girl I don’t even know…”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2012 1:57 am
The orange-furred female blinked her bright eyes up at the goddess some more, still unsure of exactly what to do. When she felt the other female's wing over her, she began to feel a little calmer. She was so ridiculously embarassed, it took her a moment to remember she could walk. Obediently, she followed along with the female. "W-who are you? And how did you even do that?" Mihko questioned timidly, tail between her legs as she slunk along under the wing of the goddess. It was unusual to run into anyone who would be as nice to a timid little thing like herself, and this was the first time in her whole life that the young female had ever encountered a creature such as this.
Sure, Mihko had seen birds before- they had wings. But this was her own species...although there was so much that was different and strange about her. Even her smell was a little different from those of her species she'd met before. The small, muscular female was beginning to warm up to this other, not feeling scared anymore; the goddess' comforting had done it's job. The oblivious young one remained so to the true feelings of the Goddess- despite remorse for scaring her. As Mihko had absolutely no idea where she'd been going in the first place, all she could do was follow. She was beginning to un-freeze a little from the shock and appeared to be returning slightly to her normal, eager to please, happy-go-lucky self. She had lifted her tail from between her legs, and her ears were no longer flattened against her skull. Her scared grimace was now replaced by an almost-smile.
"My name is Mihkokwan..." She squeaked quietly, trailing off and lowering her head a little. "It's okay you scared me...I get scared of lots of stuff..." She added, shooting a pathetic, embarrassed glance up at the goddess.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2012 6:50 pm
“I am Mneme, Goddess of Forgetfulness,” the little goddess soothed, making sure to give the poor lioness her kindest smile. While she was apparently decently at being scary, being mean wasn’t where her heart lied. Mneme, by nature, was a gentle soul, and hated to think she had caused anyone emotional harm.
“The gods and goddesses of this land have… very strange power. We are able to transport ourselves from one place to another on nothing more than a whim, can fly, and… affect mortals. There is even a land where your kind cannot traverse, where we rest,” she rambled off, trotting on at a leisurely pace. Maybe this was a fortunate event, meeting this little lioness. If Mneme could convince her that she’d always been a goddess, well! That would just help contribute to her image! Smiling softly to herself at the thought, she turned to observe her traveling companion- and couldn’t help but beam when she seemed to be relaxing.
“Mihkokwan, what a beautiful name!” Mneme cooed, absolutely taken with the sound of it. And how cute- Mihkokwan had the same chin-marking as her! Were she not mortal, Mneme would almost wonder if they’d had similar blood.
“Mihko- may I call you Mihko?” Mneme asked, turning forward once more to make sure they were going the right way.
“There’s really not that many things you have to be afraid of! If you carry yourself with confidence, you’ll find your paws won’t ever betray you. Even if things seem scary, well…” Mneme giggled to herself a bit, and raised her head, puffing her chest out.
“You stick out your chest, and walk tall!”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 1:47 pm
The more this female talked to her, the less and less intimidated Mihko became. She was nice, after all. It did seem she meant that she hadn't intended on frightening poor, young Mihko. "I've never met a goddess before..." She said quietly, still working on getting her voice back to normal. It wasn't that she was still scared now, it just took a while for her to come back to bubbly, happy Mihko. "I didn't even know there was lions like you. Is it only lions, or is there other ones too?" Now, the rust-colored lioness was curious about this other female, Mneme.
The young female nodded at the goddess as she asked if it was alright to call her Mihko, "Usually if people let me tell them my name, I don't mind being called Mihko. Mihkokwan is longer anyways and some creatures can't say it very good." She again smiled up at the goddess, her long two-tone tail swishing away behind her. She looked down at her paws for a moment as Mneme spoke about being confident. Usually Mihko was confident, but for someone that had been on their own their whole life, without much help at all, she had a feeling it would always be easy to get scared. The orange-furred muscular lioness mocked the motions of the goddess, lifting her muzzle high and puffing out her chest fur, then giggled.
"I don't know if I'm really any good at this walking tall thing..." Mihko jested, looking down her muzzle trying to watch where she was stepping, a silly grin spread across her features.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 3:33 pm
“I don’t know that there’s many of us around, really.” Mneme admitted, wondering to herself just how many Gods and Goddesses there were. In her time here, she’d only met Raiden- and that had been by complete accident. There had to be a great number of them out there, were she to look hard enough for them. That might be a job for another day, actually. But for now, she had to escort this poor dear down to the watering hole.
“I don’t know if there’s gods besides lions- I’ve only met lions, really. There might be, though! I’ll look into that for you, sometime!” She promised, nodding enthusiastically. At the mention of Mihko’s name being unpronounceable, however, Mneme made a confused face.
“There’s really creatures out there who can’t say your name? How strange!” She laughed, a very light-hearted thing. Nobody had trouble with her name- nobody besides herself, anyway. There’d been times when she’d almost gone on and on with it, Mnemenememene and so forth. And wouldn’t that just be the least-intimidating thing? Mnememenememenememene!
“Walking tall is hard- believe you me, I’ve had a great deal of trouble with it! But you just have to puff up tall, and go for it anyway!” At this, Mneme puffed herself up even larger, taking more bold and exaggerated steps. After a moment, however, she stopped, turning back to Mihko and giggling.
“Well... Maybe not that exaggerated! But you certainly get the idea!”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 4:14 pm
"Well I would have no idea, you're the first one I've ever met." Mihko said, nodding with insistence at that. "It'd be neat to find out though." She added, smiling. The young, muscular lioness had forgotten for the past few moments that Mneme was taking her to a water hole, and now that she had remembered, she was thirsty. A small pang of guilt and embarassment hit her as she also now recalled urinating on herself at the arrival of the goddess. It didn't seem to bother Mneme though, so Mihko wouldn't think about it. They were likely getting close now anyways, and she would wash and it would be forgotten entirely.
The rust-colored lioness entertained at the thought of her name being difficult for other creatures to pronounce as well. "Well, I don't really know why, but I guess I've met some that I had a hard time getting right off my tongue too, so I understand. It doesn't really bug me, anyone can say Mihko." She giggled a little. "Usually I'm okay out here on my own, but I get scared and intimidated easy, that's why it's hard..." the orange-furred lioness stated, leaving out the fact that she probably couldn't hunt to save her life. Mihko giggled and pranced ahead to catch up to Mneme as she made those long strides.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 4:24 pm
“Am I? Well! I suppose this is a big event for the both of us. You’re the first mortal lioness I’ve met!” Mneme added, smiling brightly at Mihko. And hopefully, despite their rocky start, the two of them could be friends. Knowing lions was nice, but… Mneme felt much more relaxed around this lioness. Maybe having a female friend, even one as timid as this, would be good for her.
“Mihko is cute, anyway! I think that it’s a wonderful; nickname, if you ask me.” She smiled, only to dissolve into giggles as well. Yes, she was definitely going to have to look after this lioness- make certain she stayed safe, and well, with all of her divine abilities. She wasn’t capable of too many things, but what she could do, she would certainly devote to keeping Mihko well.
“Ah! Here’s the watering hole!” Mneme called, trotting onward and unceremoniously splashing into it. Turning back to Mihko, she splashed about in the cool waters, laughing.
“Come on in, dear! The water’s great!” As if to demonstrate, Mneme fluttered her wings, letting them dip into the watering hole. When she was content and cool, she moved herself to the shore, grinning at Mihko all the while.
“And… you have to think of it like this! We’re the biggest and scariest things out here, us lions. If you don’t mess with elephants, they won’t mess with you! So that rules them out. And if anyone gives you trouble, well…” At this comment, Mneme shifted- and it was suddenly as if the little goddess had always been a large, hulking rhino.
“They’ll have to deal with ME.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:39 am
Mihko was surprised at the fact that she was the first mortal lioness Mneme had met. The young lioness would have imagined that someone as such would know many, many creatures. She smiled and giggled along with the goddess. The rust-colored lioness was happy that their at first frightening encounter had turned into something that was seeming to do in the direction of a friendship. She flicked her tail and them shuffled her paws for a second, hesitant about the water. There was no real reason for being hesitant, and Mihko smirked and then ran into the water. It splashed up about her, and she jumped in, submersing herself for a moment and swimming out a little ways. Mneme was right, the water was nice, and the young muscular lioness was feeling much better to be clean. She paddled back towards shore, water dripping and running from her fur as she waded back onto the sand.
The orange-furred lioness settled on the ground next to Mneme, and suddenly found herself next to a rhino! This little trick surprised Mihko and she jumped a little, but it was amusing all the same. She burst into laughter at the goddess, unable to take her eyes off of the different creature she had become. "How amazing, how'd you do that?!" she laughed, almost as if cheering. "Do all gods do things like you?" the young lioness inquired, curiously tilting her head. Mihko had meant to say that she appreciated Mneme's offer of protection, but she had gotten too caught up in laughter over the goddess' trick.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 2:51 pm
“I’m glad I could do this much for you,” Mneme laughed softly, watching the other lioness splash about in the water. Getting her cleaned up and cared for made her feel far, far less guilty over scaring her earlier. Thank goodness that it had been salvageable! When Mihko came out from the water, and giggled in amusement at her rhinoceros form, Mneme couldn’t help but laugh as well.
“It’s an illusion; we can take other living forms, in an attempt to disguise ourselves. It’s a trick one of my friends taught me!” She explained, shifting back to her goddess form once more. Fluttering her wings a few times to ensure they were dry, she tucked them to herself once more, and smiled at Mihko.
“So far, from what I’m aware, yes. There’s… older and younger gods and goddesses, since we seem to be reborn a lot. But outside of our domains, we all share very similar powers. It’s nice, since we can all relate on that!”
Pausing a moment, Mneme giggled once more at her own train of thought.
“It’s nice to have female friends, though! Like you!” She added, shifting to lay down on the shore and relax. Raiden was her friend, certainly, but… he just was different from this little lioness! Mihko was easier to be around, without the pretense.
“I-I mean,” Mneme started, flushing suddenly, “If you’d like for us to be friends.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 2:07 pm
The rust-colored lioness swished her tail behind her as she rested, watching Mneme as she shifted back into what Mihko supposed was her regular form. It was interesting to experience something like this, especially as a wanderer. Mihko's days were usually fun, but not this eventful, and by now the young lioness had completely forgotten about being terrified of this kind goddess earlier. Must have been an act- she thought, and shrugged lightly. She wondered what kind of friend might have shown Mneme that trick, but figured it must have been another god or goddess. Although she had just learned that there were others through what the yellow-furred female was talking about. It all seemed so strange that Mihko had never previously been made aware of this. But without parents or family or a pride to pass on stories and history and such, it made sense.
"So is what you're saying that you never really die?" Mihko inquired, tilting her head up at the goddess, "I mean...if you're reborn and stuff. That must be hard..." The young, orange-furred lioness trailed off, pondering for a moment. She wondered if every time they had a new life if their old life stayed the same, or if everything was brand new for them...Mihko wondered also if they were lonely, if Mneme was lonely...
She smiled up at the goddess' offer of friendship, and realized now would be a great time to thank her for not only that- and accept the offer, but also to thank her for her offer of protection. "I would love to be your friend! I haven't many...since I am usually out here by myself." Mihko giggled, her eyes brightening as she wiggled in her place a little bit, "And I appreciate you offering to keep me safe...you're the first creature ever in my life to offer me such kindness..." She trailed off, trying to hold off the sadness, but it was hard...Mihko was so hurt from her life of being on her own. She could only try to be happy all the time, but sometimes it was so overwhelming. A tear rolled down her cheek and her cheeks turned hot- she turned away, closing her eyes and biting her lip.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 3:19 pm
“I suppose we don’t. Not really, anyway.” Mneme replied, tilting her head to the side in thought. This was something she was going to have to discuss with Raiden, if she was going to be able to explain this more. Mortals… didn’t really get reborn, she supposed. Just went beyond that big, scary gate. The little goddess shuddered at the thought, remembering how foreboding that place had felt. Quite frankly, she had no desire to find out what laid past it.
But was rebirth really better? It was basically like being born again, with an entirely new life… would she even know her friends? Or find them again?
No no no, this was not something Mneme wanted to think about. It was far, far too depressing for such a pleasant afternoon.
“Being alone is… terribly frightening. I was fortunate enough to be found by a kind stranger, when I had lulled myself to sleep. I can’t imagine how frightened I might have been, had I woken up alone…” Mneme added, turning to look at Mihko once more. Where she’d been jovial and happy before, Mneme noted that the other lioness seemed terribly sad. Rising from her spot on the riverbank, the goddess trot over and laid next to her, very gently nuzzling her new friend.
“There’s no need to be sad, Mihko,” Mneme crooned softly, doing her best to provide her new friend with comfort.
“There are prides, you know- groups of lions who all look out for one another, and who would be more than happy to have you with them. Having lived on your own for so long… well, it’s a sign of great strength and courage. I can think of a great many lions who would admire such a quality.” She offered, smiling softly.
“And besides that, you’ll always have me!”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2012 1:13 pm
Mihko felt more hot tears stinging her cheeks, and as she looked to Mneme, she noticed that she also looked slightly sad, or at least deep in thought. "I can hardly remember my parents..." Mihko sniffled as Mneme lay next to her. She leaned against the larger lioness and cuddled into her soft warmth. Mihko had never had anyone to comfort her. Most times when she was sad, she had collapsed into the sand or grass and cried to herself, whimpering where no other creatures could see. There had been a few instances where she had lost it completely and cried and cried until she had fallen asleep..."I just have this fleeting glimpse of my mother and father in my mind...and I think I had a brother..." The young lioness added, tears still flowing, she sobbed.
"I really try not to be sad, Mneme..." Mihko trailed off again, laying her ears back and wiping at the tears with a paw. She laid her head on her paws, still leaned against her friend. "Sometimes it just gets too much." the orange-furred female sighed softly, hiccoughing as she did so, from crying. "I never really learned about prides or anything growing up...only recently from some other lions I've met have I known. I think they seem really great, but I don't know if someone like me would fit in with families and friends and..and..." Mihko trailed off, not sure what to say.
"You really think that being on my own is being strong and courageous?" She asked, blinking up at Mneme, a few stray tears rolling down her cheeks. "I can't even hunt..." The young lioness said, frowning a little. "And sometimes others make fun of me, or don't like me..." She trailed off again, looking away from Mneme for a moment and wiping her cheek again.
"You'll always have me too, I promise." Mihko smiled back, laughing a little, her lip wavering slightly, her body was still upset...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
