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 Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:15 pm
Sema deeply loved his family. Likewise, he felt a sense of duty to every member of his pride, regardless of if membership within it was the only thing keeping some of them from being nothing more than strangers whose names he knew. There was no reason he should not appreciate his homeland and those that resided there.
It wasn't that he didn't... Just -- sometimes, he had to get away. He couldn't explain why he needed these solitary trips so much. The isolation gave him room to consider things, as if his thoughts needed space that his pridemates would have been taking up if he were back home.
This was the longest he had been gone to date. The routine was to leave in the morning and be chased back by the moon. Tonight, he defied the round glow in the sky and its many companions, the stars.
For someone who had traveled so little, he was acutely aware of his surroundings. If he continued this way, he knew he would end up at the Bahari borders soon enough.
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Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 3:02 am
Alas...he had inexplicably wandered off without leaving any indication of where he may or may not be. Now she knew some of her children were prone to that, but Solomon had always been better at communication. It was puzzling, it was a mystery and it reeked of adventure. Admittedly, it was an adventure she would embark on later - after all, she was going to need to drop in on her mate to let him know where she was off to.
Nevertheless this evening was for her and her alone, and as the evening descended and a faint mist began to fall, she took a moment to savour the cold and refreshing touch...
Admittedly the world had always been 'small' to her with nothing too far to reach, but she had noticed that unless she deliberately looked for company it was ridiculously hard to find. As such she hadn't anticipated any visitors, in fact she had grown so used to the sporadic and antisocial behaviour of the lions in the rogue lands that she never expected it anymore, but evidently this evening fate thought differently.
No sooner had she bounded away from the Bahari'mtoto than the faint scent of another swept passed her nose.
Someone she didn't know at that.
"Ooooh, ooooh, ooooooooh!" she chirruped to herself, failing to notice that she sounded more like a spirit from a ghost story than a normal being. "Visitor!" she announced to no one in particular and padded merrily in Sehka-Sema's direction.
Alas, combined with the strange chirrup and her unusual appearance, she may have forgotten that it was best to approach strangers (and mortals) a bit differently than her mate or offspring...
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Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 10:44 am
No one would ever pass down stories of Sehka-Sema, the lion whose exterior was too demure and considerate. History and the present had in common that no one really cared to look beyond your actions -- or in his case, lack thereof -- and to your intentions. A lion of many goals must reach some to earn notoriety.
In the grand scheme of things, he was the compliant sidekick whose ambitions were never discussed. He suspected some of his siblings may go on to achieve something, and perhaps he would get an honorable mention in their tales. Nothing ever happened to him personally worth repeating.
Until that night.
The Goddess didn't know it, but she was just what Sema needed to keep from heading straight back home. She had, in essence, solely halted a life of repetition, in which Sema would only go so far and never a step farther. He valued security too much to scorn it and feared conflict too much to prompt it. His mother had been a slave, so though it was second-hand knowledge, he knew how cruel the world could be. What would his parents say if he knew this and still wanted to explore it?
And... did he want to?
He may never have known if she had not appeared that night.
For the time being, Sema had not reached this inevitable stage of enlightenment. He was alarmed by her, to say the least. Her voice was enough to set him on edge, but her appearance...
He'd always hid behind his mother or father when there were Gods around. Who did he use to become invisible out here?
Sema had no choice but to try and appease this Goddess; to do whatever she may ask of him. You were too pay proper respect and tribute to the deities as all were part of the divine source they called Netjer. That was what he'd been taught and to abide by it would be expected of him.
Sema felt queasy doing new things, and approaching someone unknown fell into that category. He looked like a nervous wreck but clearly meant no harm. Some had found his timid nature endearing in the past.
"Greetings, Goddess," he said, and sounded less jittery than his body language led one to believe. "I apologize, I have no offerings for you prepared. I can go get something. Anything you like."
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Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2012 1:36 am
Arimathras was a comparatively young goddess in the grand scheme of things. She may have existed for many moons, but her descent from the heavens had been a late one. Her understanding of mortals continued to develop as time went on, but she remained baffled by particular cultures who paid homage to particular gods, or more unusually, treated them in such bizarre fashions. Unbeknownst to her quite a few gods had demanded this treatment themselves, but the white lioness had never been inclined to this and as such, she stared at Sema with a rather bemused expression.
What in the world did he mean by 'offering'? Was it her birthday, had she forgotten?
After a few moments of consideration and then a quick internal discussion she gave a giggle. She had concluded that he was one of those lions and as such, he would treat her in a peculiar manner until he was told otherwise. He'd even gone so far as to call her 'goddess' rather than just saying hello!
"I'm not really sure you could drag my son home, he's a little bit big to fit in your mouth," she teased, sitting back on her hind legs and lifting her fore paws to sit on her 'knees'. All things considered, she looked a little like a feline buddha as she observed her new company. If he was still intimidated by her now then he really was in for a shock, Sema might have been harmless, but Arimathras was about as useful as a weapon of war as a blade of grass was.
"You can call me Arimathras by the way, or Ari, much easier on the tongue and a lot less..." she pulled a face to emphasize her point, "Formal," she concluded. It was then that she turned her attentions to the jewellery that adorned him, gazing from what he wore, to her own.
"Oooh you wear jewellery like I do, good call, good call," she murmured reassuringly. "Maybe needs a little bit more colour though," she confessed.
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Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2012 2:03 pm
Her... son? Surely she didn't mean as a sacrifice? Sema never did complete that trail of thought. He took a detour and went down another road entirely, prompted by her demand (request?) he call her Ari. That was beyond informal. That was something a friend would call her, as he was known as Sema instead of Sehka-Sema to his.
And those friends would say Sema was set in his ways. If she asked him to disregard that, what was he to do? It was one part of his upbringing in combat with another! How did one respect a deity by disrespecting her?
Sema could not fathom being on such casual terms with a Goddess. A worshiper, yes, but never anything more personal. He was so much her lesser.
The bashful lion lifted his front paw and peered at his bracelet. "I could... find a way to color it?" he offered. He knew nothing of how these trinkets were crafted, let alone how to change their appearance, but he could learn. "What color would you like, Goddess?"
Oops.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 12:38 am
He wasn't going to call her what she wanted, was he?
The lioness pulled a small face, her lips twisting in very mild discontent. Sema was so like her mate in that respect, determined to call her what he wanted to. Then again, if this was what made him comfortable then who was she to judge? She'd always found 'goddess' a very generic term but maybe he had difficulty with names and this was easier... Stating what she was rather than who she was, she supposed there was method to his madness even if it was her kind of 'madness'.
"Ahhh so like my mate," she murmured and shook her head, lifted a paw to rub at her nose as she regarded the lion. He looked nothing like Spectre, but he did have the slight traditional stubbornness going for him. "He's determined to call me Arimathras and he has children with me, little kittens!" she raised both paws in a dramatic flail and then paused abruptly, her ears perking as her own words dawned on her.
"Oooh," she murmured mimicking her previous ghostly sound. "But they wouldn't be kittens now, they're all about your age," she mused fondly and then tilted her head to the side. Children momentarily cast to the back of her mind she focused her attention on Sema and his rather peculiar offer. He was going to recolour his jewellery, could he do this?
"Why would you recolour it, it's pretty," she remarked and shook her head. "No no, we just add to it, you know, more trinkets?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 11:11 pm
Sema was a silent kind of problem-solver. No one ever gave him credit for the many times he had distracted his some of siblings and guided them from harms way or other such things. They weren't aware they should with as reserved as he was. The only lion who knew of his achievements was inside his own head.
Like those incidents, there was a solution here he could keep to himself. If they couldn't agree on what he should call her, a name or a title, then he would be careful of how he spoke and not refer to her by or as anything.
Talk of mates and offspring didn't register as unusual. He assumed these were all Gods she spoke of. That left the subject of jewelry.
Sema took inventory of what he had and where. There was so much already... He inhaled as if to sigh, but never did. "I can request more, but the Pharaoh -- the king -- might not approve of it. I should think too many of them for just a hunter might offend someone."
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Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 8:23 am
Too much jewellery was offensive? Arimathras cast a puzzled gaze towards Sema as she absorbed this information. It was perhaps one of the more unusual things to be offended by but she supposed it made sense. There was potential for someone to get jealous which could then be construed as offensive but that wasn't Sema's fault. She wrinkled her nose as she processed his remark and then shook her head.
"Your 'Pharaoh' is a jerk," she concluded with a curt nod and wandered towards Sema, bridging the distance between them. "So we're going to ignore him," she continued and motioned to his jewellery with a small wave of her paw. She clearly appreciated his decorations, but as they were generally made up of one colour she had decided he needed a bit more 'oomph'.
"If he's genuinely that offended then he can get some more of his own," she chuckled and moved away again, nodding towards Sema before beckoning for him to follow. "We can always make it understated if you would like, maybe a few little flowers here and there rather than a full mantle..." she glanced briefly at his nose.
"Mmmm...no I don't think you'd suit one of those rings," she added, dismissing one of her ideas.
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 2:02 am
Sema was taken aback hearing his ruler spoken of so heedlessly. He had, since cubhood, been ever so careful his words didn't succumb to negligence like that. Letting an offhanded comment slip by might not presage a death sentence any sooner than a surplus of gaudy jewelry, but there were just some things too close to "the line" for comfort.
There were no laws for her, he reminded himself. The Gods were so mighty that any mortal, from the drudges to the kings, needed to respect them. It was taught to him that the Pharaoh was a deity of equal value. Sema, such a pedant at heart, couldn't convince himself of that. Even he had his own "line" and that crossed it.
The Pharaoh was a God among mortals, certainly, just not a God among Gods. Every glance Sema sneaked at Arimathras confirmed it beyond a doubt.
As he followed her, he made sounds of affirmation meant to infer he was listening rather than contemplating any of it. Whatever she wanted, he'd do his best to appease it.
He was curious about one thing enough to speak up.
"I've heard the Gods each adhere to a specific domain..."
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 2:22 am
Arimathras had never been one to mince words and she had never liked individuals who saw themselves as 'above' anyone else, that included Gods. In order to receive respect you had to earn it, not through fear, but honest and genuine assistance. Those who ruled by fear would ultimately find themselves in dire straight and to be fair, they'd have no friends either! Had Sema known this then it would have come at no surprise to him that Ari had very little respect for mortals who followed the same path.
Pompous mortals were a headache. End of story.
Still, she had realised very quickly that tradition and culture were a driving force among mortals and if Sema believed his Pharaoh was worthy of respect then she would let him nurture that sentiment - she just wouldn't do it herself.
Nevertheless, he finally found his paws and his tongue and when he began to speak she turned her head to face him. A small smile lined her lips as he mentioned domains and she shook her head. "You know for the longest time I couldn't work out what my calling was," she confessed softly. "And then one day I discovered it by accident..."
"Mortals call it many things, an autumn equinox, a harvest, a time of plenty," she kept walking. "It's my responsibility to make sure that it arrives, no matter what you might choose to call it."
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 3:01 am
Evidently, the key to getting Sema to look a Goddess in the eye was to distract him from thinking about it by leading his thoughts somewhere else. When his gaze did reunite with the ground, it was a product of wonderment and not submission to a higher power. If his strained brow and retracting nose were not enough evidence it was a gesture of instinct rather than will, the second look he gave her -- eye-to-eye once more -- would suffice.
"I never knew that was possible," he admitted. No one was going to lose sleep at night because some hunter didn't know every last thing about the Gods. It wasn't that. Just, of all the things he didn't stop to think about, that the Gods could be born without their purpose already known would be the first. "That should be a mortal's burden to not know their place."
And even then, only some mortals.
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 3:17 am
"Gods are as numerous as mortals," she explained, though she may have gotten her figures somewhat incorrect. Mkodi created those of a higher power as and when she wanted, there was no upper limit to the number that were required. "On occasions we often have callings that might run parallel to another - we may ultimately aspire to the same thing," she drew to a halt and motioned to a small clump of desert grass.
"For example, I am not the only one who wants to see the plants grow strong and healthy. Nor am I the only one who wants to see the prey beasts survive so that they might supply food to those in need," she soon began to move again, her gaze fixing on the horizon. She saw no reason in hiding the truth, for all those who knew their purpose immediately, there were many more who didn't.
"What do you do when your callings intrude on another's?" she posed the question and hazarded a wry smile. "Some elect to ignore their calling entirely, to wander lost...but there are others who embrace the challenge and explore the possibilities," she tilted her head to the side and regarded Sema.
"Had I not visited the mortal realms, I would never have found mine," she continued and released a sigh. "We do not have seasons like mortals experience, or wandering herds... my calling was not something I could find in my birthplace."
"I wouldn't call it a burden though - everyone should experience self discovery. It allows us to grow and develop a deeper understanding of who we want to be and ultimately what we would like to achieve... You know?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 10:55 pm
Sema's eyes were on the look out for anything unusual, memorizing the locations of rocks and other landmarks so that he may find his way home. His ears, though, were all hers. And he dared not interrupt her still; had she spoken for days on end, he would have pulled all the whiskers off his face to stay awake and hear every last word. He wished there was something he could say in turn that was worth her time.
"You know?"
Uh.
"Somewhat," Sema replied. Alas, the recondite subjects this lion had always struggled with. He envied those that expressed their thoughts so fluently, but only in his dreams did he learn to mimic them. "That place sounds..."
Absolutely terrible.
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 3:33 am
Hopefolly Sorry for the delays, RL bit me on the a**. T__T;
He had said that mortals would react in a different way to her...
Up until now she had never seen the need, they had all been very approachable, but now she wasn't so sure. She came to a halt and directed her gaze to Sema, her lips pursing briefly as she thought of the best way to broach the subject.
"Would it make you feel more comfortable if I turned into something more normal?" she asked quietly, casting their previous conversation to the wayside for the time being.
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Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 5:40 pm
Sema had only nodded at first. Tried to think of what to say second. There had to be something worth piping up about that was worthy of a Goddess' time.
He almost didn't notice her stop. When he did, and after he turned to face her, his legs went still and stiff as they'd ever been. If Sema had the option of not responding, he would have taken advantage of it.
He didn't.
"I -- No. There's no need to change for me." The discomfort was evident in the way his shoulders tensed; he held up his front leg as if to curl in on himself. Yet to his credit, he sounded reassuring. "Unless you usually prefer that?"
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