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 Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:48 pm
Yadumugandama laid by the water side. He found himself near one everyday when he wasn't occupied with another task. Each day he would lay still beneath the shade, eyes clenched tight and paws over his head. Voices. His mind took multiple assaults over the seasons from his abilities, demi-god as he was, he was not immortal nor immune from insanity. Everyday grown to become nightmares and torment, yet he had also adapted to power through them to accomplish the tasks he had set forth for himself. Images. Wherever he seems to go, faces of lions he had met before flash before his violet eyes. Places he had gone felt familiar long before he arrived to strange lands. His powers have grown, perhaps too far for his comprehension and his body to cope. Ewan, the first to break his heart. His father and mother whom loved him. His brother who had forsaken him. The female who sired his cubs. The adoptive family he left for their own health. And shadowed faces of whom he had yet to meet. Now, it has grown too much. The voices grew more numerous of phrases and of people he could not recognize. The images played like the fireflies he used to watch at night before his eyes of places he had been before and places he felt like he should see. It has grown too much, yet he came to the water each day to ride through that burden before carrying on with the day.
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Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 9:46 pm
 He had been happy, once. At least, in the far distant memories of another time, Erebos remembered being happy. He’d had a mate, and cubs, and a good life. Warm sun and cool grass. It was all a guy ever really needed. Those memories had made him happy, once, and had carried the old lion through many trying times. Hunts were so much easier when he had a home to come back to.
But that had been a long time ago. Now, he was a wanderer. Half blind and not all there, Erebos wondered if he was capable of feeling joy anymore. The shadows of it were there; haunting little fragments of a smile, or moments where he didn’t question his continued existence. They were fleeting, however, and typically left him emptier than he had been before.
Today was just one of those days.
It was a pleasant morning, Erebos knew, but he couldn’t bring himself to care for the world moving on around him. He trod on, blissfully unaware of anything going on outside of his mind, and sighed. At least there was water up ahead to rest at. Padding up to the water’s edge, Erebos lowered his head to lap at it a bit- only noticing the other male from his reflection.
“Oh! Didn’t see you there, friend. Sorry about that,”Erebos corrected himself, shooting upright immediately. Plastering on his best fake smile, the darker lion flicked his tail, evaluating the young male that lay before him.
“This isn’t your spot, is it? If it is, I’m certainly more than willing to move on.”
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Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 9:58 pm
A voice, one much clearer than those that danced among his ears. All the others seemed to silence themselves to murmurs as if they turned to see the owner of the new voice - just as he had. Another lion, dark and tall. Violet eyes blinked away welled tears from the wincing, lifting a paw off his head to get a better look. For reasons unknown to him, this one felt familiar. Dumu cursed himself knowing that he couldn't trust such feelings as many things that are suppose to be strange to him felt familiar. Yet, this feeling was different. This lion, this new male who stood before him across the watering hole, honestly felt familiar but his paws could not place how so.
LEAVE!
RUN!
This is not your home, little one.
My water!
"N-no, you don't have to go. I-it's not like I live here," he replied. Still, he was considerate. The African savannah can be unforgiving for its heat that everyone needed to quench their thirsts or perish to dehydration. His eyes seem ... distant, but the scar made him trace his own. He looked so familiar, but the seer could not recall how many times he has seen a dark lion such as this one in his rogue travels. "Do I... know you?"
Do you know him?
He knows him.
Stranger.
Suddenly the voices' din rose to a crescendo, causing his ears to pin flat against his skull and his eyes to slam shut. A needle of pain pricked his skull as a flickering image of rain falling from the sky and nothing else. Why was his powers doing this? Why of all times has his powers decide to go haywire? With a groan, the maroon lion shook his head to look at the stranger. "S-sorry, just a bit of a headache. Been out in the sun too long, I suppose."
Stop lying!
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 4:11 pm
“Well, thank you for the hospitality. It’s hard to find kind lions like you, now a days,” Erebos hummed, lowering himself to the water once more. Normally, he would’ve talked more- turned his charm all the way on to win this young lion over- but he was simply too weary from the day’s travel. They’d be silent companions, if anything- sharing a water hole, then parting ways when they were both contented. Same as it ever was, in Erebos’s life.
At the question of the other lion knowing him, Erebos’s ears pinned, and he raised his head to examine the other. Maroon fur… violet eyes… strange marking… the older male took great care to observe this younger lion, wondering if- just maybe- he’d somehow managed to forget him. It didn’t seem likely, however, and after a great deal of thought, Erebos shook his head.
“I’m sorry, I can’t say that I’ve met you before. I’ve… been traveling a great deal, recently, so perhaps we’ve brushed paths? I don’t think that we’ve spoken, though.” Erebos admitted, shrugging lightly. Praise the powers above that this boy wasn’t from his past; the last thing Erebos needed was a fight, when he was trying to get his life back in order.
It didn’t seem like there was time to think on the issue, however, as the young male groaned in pain, pinning his ears back in frustration. Rising up even more, face contorted with worry, Erebos trotted around the small pond, observing the maroon lion cautiously.
“Are you alright there, kiddo?” Erebos asked, still keeping some distance away from him. Still scowling, he couldn’t help but frown more severely at the mention of heat and headaches.
“There’s a great spot to rest in, just a ways a way, if you can manage the walk,” he added, looking off in the distance towards the area he was thinking of. Still keeping caution, Erebos sat next to the other male, offering him a genuine smile.
“I’ll even escort you there, if you like.”
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Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 4:32 pm
"Unclaimed lands mean no one watches over them. If you want kind lions, I heard the Pride Lands are a great place to escape inhospitality." Dumu replied. He glanced at the lion, noting that he was relatively large, but not big as his father or brother, but a respectable form. Inky dark fur from head to toe could probably make one irritable in this kind of heat. Upon closer inspection, he noted the mismatch toes of his. Strange, but his memory seemed percise on this one. His heart felt like he knew him. However, as of late, he wasn't entirely sure if he could trust his heart or his mind anymore. Perhaps he inherited more than his father's curse than just a body that cannot age. After all, what lioness would want a pre-mature lion as their mate? Or anyone for that matter. "Mistaken identity then, many travels makes many faces. But if you do not recall me, perhaps we have not met for I tend to speak to those whom I've crossed."
Another lie.
Liar!
You traveled too far.
Dumu flinched when he noticed that the male had crossed the distance and came to his side. No! He could not touch him! But he could not freak out, he could not panic. His powers were under his control! Dumu's violet eyes glanced at the paws that laid before the individual and noted the distance between them and his own. Just a small touch...
Invade his privacy.
Look into his past!
You cannot handle it...
No... he barely knew him. Why bother touching into one's past when they will simply disappear by morning, if not sooner. The maroon lion nodded his head repeatedly before replying, "Y-yeah, I'm fine. I-it'll go away." The voices tend to subside after a while and the pain would go away. The visions were a constant, but they too go away. The silver eye upon his forward seemed to gleam in the light whenever visions occured, at least that was what he had heard. As a precaution, he tend to kept it behind the tuft of mane that he could grow over it. "Yeah, that would be good. A better place than this would be good. C-could you take me?" He asked, innocently. He needed to get away from things, perhaps this new place is where he can go from now on. Unbeknown to the dark stranger, he wasn't a traveler anymore.
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Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 11:24 pm
“Ah. But that takes the romance out of travel, doesn’t it? Tired as I may be, these old bones enjoy the freedom of being on your own. Tying myself to a pride… it just doesn't feel right.” Erebos’ stomach churned at the thought. He didn’t intend to tie himself down again- not for a very long time, at least. His freedom and his life were his own- no way was he giving that up.
The dark lion nodded at the thought of mistaken faces, and Erebos relaxed slightly. He could relate to that one, at the very least. How many paths had he crossed, in these years, only to forget their names and faces? Cubs, lionesses, cheetahs… he’d met and seen them all. But it was better to forget, really, than to unwillingly remember. And regret.
Regrets, in particular, were something Erebos hoped to avoid in his start-over.
Erebos did, however, smile very honestly at the question of escorting the other lion. He stood, still quite lackadaisical in nature, and nodded. Here was the charm- even out of his game, it was something Erebos struggled to turn off. Was he a kind lion, or just a cheat? Even Erebos wasn’t certain anymore.
“Of course! I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t mean it. I may be a jerk, but I’m not a liar- I can promise you that much. And besides- who would be cruel enough to offer help, then revoke it?” For the most part, it was true. Certain things in his past would argue otherwise, but… well. The stranger didn’t need to be informed of that. Not when they’d only just crossed paths.
Especially considering they weren’t going to be together too long.
“So, before we take off,” Erebos asked, keeping his tone light and non-pushy,
“What’s your name? I don’t feel quite right with us being total strangers. Temporary Travelers sounds good, doesn’t it? Or am I just that senile?”
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Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 11:38 pm
Dumu could not hold back the soft chuckle at the comment at his own accord. "At least you are honest, if not humble. Calling yourself a jerk? Well, you are right, for all I know, you are not a liar." The dark red lion rose to his feet just as the stranger did. Perhaps this wouldn't turn for the worse. He could not help but feel that his day was turning for the better as long continue along this path. Yes, this path. "You'd actually be surprised who will turn their back on those in need. But I am sure the gods returned their heartlessness sooner, if not later."
He is a liar.
He is a jerk.
You deserve this.
Dumu gave a sideways glance to the larger lion, with a quizzical expression. It was not too often that stranger actually request his name. But then again, it was the few who did often gave their own first. At least, that was how it was with those Pride Landers he had met prior. But he was glad to know that this stranger - a rogue - felt that being strangers wasn't comfortable. He would agree. "Yadumugandama. Though, even I prefer to call myself 'Dumu'. What of you?" He questioned. He smiled at the idea of 'Temporary Travelers', which would indicate that they would be together for a while. But who is to say he won't be scared off like most others? "In my experience, you are not old enough to be senile. Trust me, you are but in the spring of youth."
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