|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 1:13 pm
 Mazi had spent most of his youth longing to be an honoured sacrifice like his mother. His coat was bright and colourful, but despite this fact he hadn’t been included in the select group of messengers that would help their pride by speaking to the spirits. He never learned why, but when he reached adolescence he was finally allowed to step up to the rank of sacrifice. Shortly thereafter the first signs of disease started to show... Mazi survived, but many did not, and when enough higher ranking members died or fled the pride started to crumble. He had fled the confusion with his mother, without a chance to serve his pride like he was supposed to.
The first moons outside his birth pride had been weird. He'd always had his pride and his brothers, and now it was just Mazi and mother. His twin brother had been alive last time he saw him, but he had always been independent and he had decided to go his own way. Mazi sometimes wondered where he was and what he did, but there was no way to find out.
Another issue was food. He had never really had to hunt, and while his mother was better at it he suspected she didn't have much experience either. Any baby fat he had retained at adolescence was long gone, but they had managed to get by. He was a slightly better hunter now, and two lions could steal a kill from smaller carnivores even if it was embarrassing to have to do so.
The younger lion was currently scouting far ahead while his mother rested at their temporary den.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 10:16 am
Laughter joined the song, but it was not a bird that laughed by the sound of the voice. Soft speech followed soon after, but the words were too soft to be heard more than a few yards away. This speaker was obviously female by the tone.
The scene staged around a stunted savannah tree was perhaps an unusual one. A bright yellow lioness, all by herself, laughing and talking to a brightly colored bird that sang and laughed with her, bouncing around between a branch in the tree and flying excited circles around the lioness as she lay in the shade. After a moment's observation, they seemed to be companions, taking a rest in the heat of the day, but their manner towards each other almost seemed to hint at a romantic relationship.
Safi laughed again as she eyed her Muse and his excitedly circling, teasing him about his latest romantic conquest. Mwimbaji, in turn, sang her praises as he tried to distract her from the lovely songbird he'd spent the last couple of days with.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 6:36 am
Bluefire Dragonz If you even have quote-notifications...
It was only after leaving his old pride he had been exposed to the concept of familiars. In Mizimu you didn't use smaller animals like that at all. He was used to seeing birds and the like as emergency snacks or ways to tell the future. None of those things involved really talking to the bird in question. But out here he had met lions with small companions that were not just portable snacks. It was odd, but he had come to accept it.
Instead of going with the instinct to slink away, like he had done when he saw the unmentionable happen between two Sacrifices. Why was he even thinking about it? He fought the instinct to run and cleared his throat to make his presence known.
"Uh... Hello," he said, "I hope I'm not trespassing on your territory."
It was always good to get that out of the way first. Even nice looking females could get nasty and territorial. He'd learned that lesson the hard way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 10:06 am
Safi'kidege blinked in surprise as someone spoke, looking away from her familiar towards the stranger that had snuck up on them. Granted, she hadn't really been looking...
The bright lioness put on an equally bright smile as she pushed herself up to sit properly, her paws placed daintily together and her tail curled around herself. Her expression was open and friendly, unconcerned with the fact that she had been approached by a complete stranger. He looked so young and unsure of himself, she couldn't help feeling just a little motherly... though she rarely thought of herself as holding the title of 'mother'.
"Hello, Handsome! You aren't intruding at all, these lands don't belong to anyone I know of, and I'm just a visitor myself. Just taking a mid-day rest with my Muse before heading home. I collect stories and this is one of my sort of forays into the outside world to gather them." She giggled as she lifted her shoulders in a shrug, her head tilted. Everything about Safi was 'girly', even her voice. So little of her life contained anything truly serious.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 1:14 pm
Mazi had no idea what a Muse was, but he let it slide. Most lions he'd talked with out here just looked at him funny when he mentioned Spirits, so he'd come to accept that not everyone was the same. He wasn't surprised to learn about things he had never heard about anymore, and he no longer expected everyone to know about the Spirits. The lioness looked very friendly, so he walked a little closer. He wasn't in a hurry anywhere, after all. Just checking out what was ahead to avoid nasty surprises later.
"Uh... Thanks!" he said, unsure how to react to being called handsome. But Mazi stood a little taller, and puffed his chest out just a notch without really noticing that he had done so. It was nice being noticed again... In his old pride his bright pelt had been an attractive trait, but that too was something that differed from place to place, "That's good to know. Pride territories are usually pretty obviously marked, but I've had accidents before... Did you find any stories on your trip?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 7:30 pm
Safi grinned as he asked her about her stories, slanting a sly glance at her bird. Up to this point, he had sat, surprisingly quietly, on a branch over head and preened himself, smoothing his colorful feathers into sleekness. He avoided looking at them, as though he could keep attention directed away from him.
"As a matter of fact, I just heard one recently that was quite entertaining. It seems my muse had a little bit of fun with a sweet little songbird... right up until her real mate returned and nearly plucked all the feathers from his lovely tail." She giggled, covering her mouth with a paw as her pink eyes sparkled. An indignant chirp came from her bird and he ruffled up his so-carefully smoothed feathers.
"I swear, I would not have dallied if I'd known she was taken! Especially by such a large male..." He grumped, turning his back to them as he set to smoothing his feathers again.
"Its amusing to tease Mwimbaji just a little bit, but he knows I love him dearly." Safi chuckled. "I spent most of my life without him, but now I can't imagine being without him... Its the way it goes, when one finds their muse." She said, her voice almost dreamy now. After a moment, she shook herself out of it, blinking before she smiled sheepily.
"Oh, I'm sorry... I think I got a little caught up there."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2012 1:57 pm
Oh, so the bird was the muse. Mazi had a feeling there was much more to that story, and he still wasn't sure what a muse was. It seemed more significant than a synonym for bird. But it was a funny story, even if there were nuances in it he didn't quite get. And the way the muse-bird and the lioness talked was unlike anything he'd ever seen.
"Well, it's never a good idea to try to woo a female that already has a mate," he said with a grin. He had never talked to a bird before, but it felt natural to address it since the lioness did.
"I have never heard of muses before," he admitted, "But when I ask, most people have not heard about spirits either..."
He settled into a sitting position. She hadn't asked him to leave, and he did like stories... There was still a fair distance between them so it wasn't as if he claimed the same spot. And if the yellow female should have a mate lurking in the woodworks they were too far apart for misunderstandings and plucked tailfeathers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
