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 Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 5:29 pm
Tazi lazed about the savannah as she typically did on days such as these, the days when the sun was clouded over just enough to not mean rain. The days where it was safe to be out in direct sunlight, without the risk of sunlight. Those were the pleasant days, the ones where the sun could glint off of her fur and soak into her skin!
Ohhhhh
One could never know the joy of such a feeling until they enjoyed it for themselves. She knew she needed to enjoy them while she could, she was no fool. Bringing her cubs here would be a disaster not only for herself but them as well. It was as if she would be asking for trouble to bring them out here! Not only was it such an open area, but there were so many unsavory characters around ... you never knew what you were going to find when you stepped foot out of the jungle and gave way to being completely vulnerable.
Speaking of which, she was out in the open .. yet she still hadn't taken the opportunity to inspect her surroundings. That would likely be a good idea, now wouldn't it?
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 5:36 pm
 The overcast day was, Inatarni thought, somewhat overrated and depressing besides. Darkness made her think of the past, the more negative elements, and what could be more depressing than thinking about the fact that all her children had long since grown up and left the den? Assuming they'd all grown up. Selet had been separated from them during that awful sandstorm and neither she nor Antallian had any idea if he'd survived or not. She prayed daily that he had, and had grown up as handsome as the rest o his siblings, but she didn't know. The lioness shook her head to chase away those thoughts. She thought she might have convinced Bauble to help her raise another litter in the near future, and that was always a good thing. With more children around, there'd be far less time for melancholy thoughts! As she was straightening herself out, Inatarni's red eyes fell on a form that didn't quite blend in with the surroundings. She couldn't quite tell what sort of creature it was, not even if it was male or female, but there was no reason not to find out. Determined to find - or make - something positive out of this overcast day, the lioness headed for the stranger. "Hello there!"
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 5:45 pm
She looked to her left, then a turn to her right but neither gave her any signs of life. Just the open savanna before her. She had at least hoped she'd run into someone, it was always so mundane to spend these days alone.
She thought about leaving, but then the familiar sound of a voice caught her ears. Lowering her ears to her head, she let out a yelp and quickly turned towards her back. There she saw a black lioness, with interesting white markings trailing down her back.
"Uhhhmmm Hi ...." Clearing her throat she quickly changed her tone, noticing the lioness appeared older than herself. "I mean hello. Nice to meet someone else out here on such a lovely day!" Dipping her head lightly in greeting, she offered the lioness a polite and hopefully unoffending smile.
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 5:51 pm
Ahhh....a leopardess. Inatarni hadn't met nearly as many leopards as she had lions, but she wasn't going to let something like that hold her back. The few she'd met had been perfectly nice creatures and, if they weren't lions, at least they weren't bad people in any way.
"You must not be from around here," she observed, declining to agree that it was a lovely day. The lioness supposed from some perspectives it was, however, not from hers. Not that the leopard needed to be burdened with her dislikes.
"What is your name?" Inatarni was determined to be friendly, regardless of her own inner depression.
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 6:01 pm
Tazi's smile faltered only slightly when the lioness mentioned her obvious out of placeness. She hadn't thought it was that obvious, but perhaps it was. Now she just felt silly.
"Well, I think you'd be right in guessing that!" She admitted a bit sheepishly, "I'm a bit of a traveler, but these parts are entirely new to me. I was traversing the jungle, but the sun ... it called to me! I simply had to come out into it and let it glaze over my fur for a bit." Realizing she was probably just babbling at this point she cut off her words, and instead listened to the lioness' own. Who instead oddly enough, seemed interested in HER words.
"Ah, I am Tazi ma'am, would I be offending you to ask your's in exchange?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 6:08 pm
Inatarni was nodding along with the leopardess' words, acknowledging them if not necessarily agreeing entirely...
...wait, was she that old, that this mature leopard was calling her "ma'am"? Gods above, she hadn't thought she was so old! Just because her children were grown...that didn't make her old enough to be a "ma'am"...did it?
"Ah, well, you don't to call me that," she offered. "My name's Inatarni." And please please please let the leopardess only call her by name, and not ma'am. Please?
Well, that had effectively sidetracked her line of thought. The black lioness wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing.
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 6:21 pm
Tazi noticed a small change to the lioness' facial features at the mention of ma'am and cringed at the very idea of having called her that. Why had she done it in the first place?! It was such a bad idea! She should have known better, but she'd done it anyway! There went her tongue again, getting her into trouble. There she was, mentally berating herself for what she had done, when the lioness' words broke her inner turmoil.
"Ah, understood!" She said cheerily, her expression quickly changing from the worrisome expression to one of pure glee. "Inatarni, I like that name, its quite lovely. It's a pleasure to meet you my friend." She noted, offering a paw to the female in friendship. Yet something about her new pal still seemed off....
"Hey ... Inatarni ... I don't want to upset you, but is something bothering you? You seem upset about something ... Your voice seems a little down and well I don't know, I just feel as though there's something in the air. Y'know?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 6:25 pm
"It's very nice to meet you as well, Tazi," the lioness replied with a smile. She was then stunned to hear that the leopardess had picked up on her gloomy mood. Oh no! She hadn't thought she'd been that obvious about her moping! It went against her grain to subject anyone other than Bauble to her mood swings and the black lioness smiled in embarrassment.
"Oh, nothing you need to worry about. Just a dark mood that sometimes comes over me on days like today. I'd rather be about in the bright sunshine, even if my fur makes me regret that wish!" The older female laughed self-deprecatingly at her small joke.
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 6:32 pm
"Ohhh ... well O-Ok ... I know i'm just a stranger and all, but if you'd like to rant or just talk about something, I tend to make a good listener! Well at least a better listener than a talker!" Taking the oppportunity she too laughed at her own self jab, and took the chance to offer Inatarni a soft smile, "Ah, I see, so the weather gets you down does it? That's understandable, I once met a cheetah, who lost a son in a flash flood. Every time it rained, she couldn't bring herself to leave her den. She could hardly bring herself to move. She's lucky she recently found herself a male who's willing to care for her, she's getting better. But, I suppose losing a child takes a lot out of you. But I wouldn't know, I haven't had a litter of my own before." Frowning at her admission, she stifled herself momentarily.
"I'm sorry, that story probably isn't helping one bit. See what I mean about being a better listener?! I promise I am!" Again she laughed, but this time it was more forced that natural.
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 6:51 pm
Inatarni was nodding to show she was following the story, but she couldn't help gasping as Tazi related how a young cheetah had been lost in a flash flood. It was so similar to her own tale that it hit hard, and tears welled up in her red eyes.
"Oh how awful!" she wept. "I'm glad that this cheetah you met has someone to care for her, but how cruel, to feel such pain every time it rains! I feel so lucky in comparison, as sandstorms are much rarer than rain..."
The black lioness cut her words off abruptly. Charming as the leopard was, it wasn't her place to burden Tazi with her own heartache.
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 7:52 pm
She saw the tears began to build before she even sensed that something was off, she was definitely not the brightest crayon in the box sometimes. But as Inatarn began to weep before, the poor leopardess fell apart at the seams. She knew she'd done something wrong, but she hadn't thought it would be something so horrid as to make the lovely lady before her began to cry. She wanted to reach out and pat her, but she feared Inatarni might swat her away. She wasn't quite worried about her doing so, more so not offending her further.
"Hey now ... i - i'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Your comment just reminded me of a friend ..." Her words trailed off at just the right time for her to catch the tail end of the other's sentence.
"Sandstorms? Tazi cocked her head to the right as she tried to put two and two together. "D...did you lose someone close to you in a sandstorm Inatarni?" She whispered softly, moving in closer and finally, she slowly allowed her paw to creep up and slide over the lioness' shoulder. Where it sat and gently patted at Inatarni's sorrows.
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 8:20 pm
The black lioness was trying to get herself back under control - how embarrassing, to break down and cry in front of a complete stranger! - and missed some of what Tazi said. But she was paying attention again when the leopardess asked about what Inatarni had said.
The lioness swallowed her tears, though her eyes were still wet. "I...there was a sandstorm. My friends' family and mine were separated. So was one of my cubs..."
No, she would not cry again, not in front of someone she barely knew! The older female choked them back, knowing that when she and Bauble were alone again they'd come out full force.
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 8:53 pm
Watching Inatarni break down like that, was really crushing Tazi's own heart. She couldn't stand watching the other female cry, especially when she didn't even know the reason! She had an inkling of a thought, but if she turned out to be wrong, what could she do? She continued to pat and rub the lioness' back and attempt to soothe some of her pain but it only seemed to working a teeny tiny bit.
But then the welling in her eyes seemed to cease and she was able to find words to replace them with. It was just a sick twist of fate that the words were more cruel than the tears. Everything seemed to freeze frame for Tazi, just as they had with Wing. As though the whole world had ceased to exist. She couldn't comprehend that something so awful had happened, depsite having bared witness to it before.
"Th-that's so horrible!" She finally managed. But then, her tongue refused to work anymore. There were no words to describe everything that she felt, but still she had to try. "I'm so sorry Inatarni, I - I had no idea. I'm so sorry to have brought back those memories for you. But you seem to be fairing well! And that's good, i'm sure your child would be proud of you... NO! I know they would be. I couldn't imagine you being as terribly bad off as Wing was when I found her. If she had other children .. I can only imagine what would have become of them! I think the fact that you stand here today, upbeat and cheery, is a testament to how strong you are. I admire that." She finally stopped, and flicked her tail to the left in nervousness. "Please don't cry, I don't think anyone would want you to cry for them. Just to remember them, and cherish the good times y'know?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 5:59 pm
The black lioness steeled herself visibly, closing her eyes until she was certain she could control herself and keep from crying. After several long minutes, Inatarni's red eyes opened again and she put a smile on for Tazi.
"Yes, well, there's no use dwelling on the past," she told the younger female. "We can only live in the present, and can only plan for what we imagine the future will bring."
Spina cocked her head and grinned suddenly. "Who knows, maybe there will be children in your future and you'll understand the pain parenthood can bring."
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Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 8:56 pm
Tazi offered a faint smile as she realized Inatarni was coming out of her small episode. She didn't want to dampen her spirits anymore, rather perk her up if she was up for it. "I suppose you're right," She added in, still keeping quiet for the most part. "But if that is true, there will be times where we're always stuck in a constant state of worry."
She knew exactly what she was talking about when she mentioned that. Soon she would be with cubs, and when that time came. She could only imagine the worry she would put herself through. She had heard from various mother's that things weren't easy along the road to delivery, but what about afterwards? Surely there would be more pain and hardship then? When her children parted and decided to go their own ways, would it tear her apart?!
It was almost as if the lioness could see right through her by the sounds of her next comment. It left Tazi's mouth slightly agape as she tried to put the pieces together. "I hope you're right, but you know about those hardships ..." Tazi paused debating whether she should go on. Things were tough for Inatarni but she needed to know these things, she was morally stuck! "But with those hardships ... there are always good times ... right?" Her words sounded almost pleading as she looked to Inatarni with baby doe eyes. She just needed the other to tell her that the hardships she was willing to go through, would one day all be worth it.
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