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 Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 1:08 pm
Na's dreams of late had been troubling, in them he saw the great pride rock before him, his sanctuary from Mrost's talons, saw it but could get no nearer to it no matter how fast he ran. Something was coming, something that would change the balance of things. He could feel Mrost's shadow in the lands nearby, suffocatingly close some nights, simply foreboding others. He would make his move, the question was only when. However, Mrost was not the only shadow that loomed over him, other troubles stalked his nightmares, death loomed but for whom he couldn't scry.
These troublesome dreams led him to pride rock, it's gentle stone warm underfoot as he stepped up into the den areas. Here he was safe, a realisation that made his heart flutter with freedom, here he needn't always look over his shoulder, the great rock surrounded him on all sides like a protective mother, a mother he'd never had.
He padded over to one of the ledges with a veiw of the lush lands and leant his head on the sun-warmed wall beside him like a grateful cub. These lands had given him protection and sanctuary from the demons that stalked his mind and he couldn't bear to see anything ever change that. He denied his dreams and their choking sorrow, so strong it forced the air from his lungs.
Closing his eyes he pressed his head closer to the old rock, listening to the whispers of the past of which it spoke. More lives had loved this land than simply just him and he could feel their faint echoes in his mind, soft emotions and memories that soothed his troubled heart, reminding him that despite whatever sorrow would come, his own memories would persevere in the stone of the lands he called his home now, alongside all the others.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 1:51 am
Sarabi roused as light filtering through the mouth of the pride's den touched her body, teasing her gently with the promise of the warmth to be had out on the ledge before Priderock. Her frail body stirred as soft, crimson eyes slowly slid open to focus on the wall infront of her. Bits of dust danced in the beams of light, moving lazily back and forth. It seemed almost too much effort to get up these mornings, staying where she lay a far more enticing thought. The only thing that got her up anymore was the fact that life went by outside of Priderock, her family and her pride growing each day. Laying here ment that she'd miss it, and that was intolerable.
The elderly queen heaved herself to her feet with a softly groan, stretching to the dry pop of joints. Her tail flicked gently behind her, its little tuft of a tail swishing softly through the air as she turned to head out into the welcoming sunlight.
Stopping just outside the den, she let warmth seep into her chilled and aching body, easing the flow of blood and making it easier to move. Blinded for a moment as her eyes adjusted, Sarabi could almost think she'd been transported to a new world entirely, a place of pure light and heat, till it faded to be replaced by the sight of the land she loved so much.
A soft sound to the side drew her attention, soft ears perking forward as those red eyes landed on a lion of remarkable color. Blue as the midday sky, there were few places where he wouldn't stand out. It was suprising then, that the queen didn't know him, had infact never seen him before. "Hello?" She called out softly, taking a step towards him as concern touched her motherly heart. Was something wrong with him, explaining why he was leaning on the rocks like that?
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2006 5:18 am
Sarabi's voice confused him for a moment, intermingling with the past memories that he listened to, famliar from his dreams yet unfamiliar elsewhere. He was often confused by the mingling streams of what was, what is and what would be and this time was no different. He blinked, leaning off of the wall, looking around in surprise, his ears back in submission, he hoped he hadn't wandered where he shouldn't have.
"Hello there" he smiled in his usual, clueless manner, his tail curling contentedly as he examined her carefully, she was a fragile looking lioness but one with grace and poise. "Sorry if I'm not supposed to be in this bit of the rock. I was just.." he wrinkled his nose as he tried to think of a good name for what he'd been doing "..listening to the stone?" He titled his head slightly, only realising how mad that sounded "I'm not crazy, honest!" he pleaded.
He bowed his head, feeling he ought to introduce himself, all the while trying to shake off that strange foreboding and familiarity of their meeting. "I am Na-Be, feel free ta call me Na."
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 2:49 pm
A soft laugh was suprised out of the elderly lioness at his words, her eyebrows rising. Her tail flicked as she took a step closer. "It never crossed my mind that you might be crazy, Na-be." She said softly, turning to look up at the towering rock that was both landmark and home. "I think these rocks have much to tell us, if we could only hear it. Now, I tend to listen to the stars more than the stone, but I suppose that's my loss." She cast a glance at him, smiling gently as if at a joke between them.
The queen cast another look at the great rock before turning and moving out of the shadows into the sunlight, the wooden beads of her necklace clicking softly. The sun heated her fur nicely, making her greatful that she'd decided to get up and come out... though she felt she might have regretted not meeting this lion. He seemed... different than the others of the Pride. "I'm Sarabi, by the way Na. Its nice to meet you. Are you a new member of the Pride too?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 3:31 pm
Na was relieved that Sarabi hadn't instantly chalked his ramblings up to madness, he knew there was some honesty to what he heard, what he saw, but he could never make sense of it himself. Getting to his feet, he grinned. "Ooh, I like the stars." he said "Though I can never seem to get them to stay still long enough to listen to, though I think that might be because they are other lion's ancestors. The only family I have is still alive and he'll never be a star. Mother is too far away and I never knew her." There was very little sadness in his tone, Na lived life as it came, never stopping to dwell on the hand life had dealt him. He smiled "Though the stone likes to tell stories, stories to anyone who'll listen." his amber eyes shone with childish wonder "So many happy lives passed under it's gaze."
The blue lion contentedly trotted out in Sarabi's wake, still totally failing to make the connection between her name and the queen of the pride. "Nice to meet you ma'am." he nodded "Sortof new. Have cubs now." he wasn't about to go into the details of the birth of said cubs, mentally blocking it out. "But I love these lands so much. They keep me safe." Not safe enough though, the massive scars scoring his back held testament to that.
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Posted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 8:24 am
Sarabi chuckled softly as she nodded. "There have been many happy lives, but... there have been some not-so-happy lives as well." The thought was sobering for the old lioness. Taka, Shomoro's mother, the rogue brothers, Kazi's family... Yes, not everything in the Pridelands was as paradise as some seemed to think. Just because the pride was raised on a foundation of gentleness and peace didn't mean that conflict didn't sneek in, or misfortune.
The queen shook her head gentle to clear those thoughts from her head to replace it with this lions words. Mufasa must surely be buisy fielding all of the new arrivals. The mention of cubs brought a soft smile to her face and she glanced back at the blue lion as she continued her slow way out onto Priderock. "Its nice to meet you too, Na. Congratulations on the cubs, though it might be a little late. You and your mate must be very proud. I love cubs, always have. It makes me happy to see the pride's little families growing, much as I watched my own family grow."
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Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2006 1:08 pm
Na nodded, easily able to believe that "I hear the sad voices too, those who lost ones they loved, lonely memories, but I try not to listen to those ones, too many and they pull you under with them." Red dealt with anything that wasn't happy and bright, Na always found. "But the happy images are like music." he sounded almost cub like in his naivety, ignoring the bad in favour of the good.
"Thanks." he said with a warm grin, he loved his kids to pieces but still couldn't forget the less than favourable circumstances of their birth, they had been far from planned, a spiteful ploy of Red's. "Though Pale isn't my mate in the usual sense. She just makes sure I don't hurt myself too often." he grinned amiably "I just hope to be able to see the cubs grow up before my father finally gets to me."
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Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 2:12 pm
Reaching near the tip of Priderock, Sarabi finally stopped and settled back to sit on her haunches, soft fur sliding over the rides of bone clearly seen. She smiled as she listened to the blue lion, nodding along with his words. Happy memories were like music? She could believe that, as well as his relunctance to listen to the bad memories. After all, why should he have to? They deserved to be acknowledged, but they didn't need to be dwelled upon.
"Pale...?" Sarabi searched her mind, coming up with the image of a green lioness marked with vines. Palesa... that must be who he spoke of. The queen remember her, having been there when she joined the pride. His last words, though, struck her as odd. "Your father get to you, Na? What do you mean?" A small frown moved her features, more of curiosity than alarm, as of yet. If there was a dangerous lion roaming the Pridelands, it would be up to her and Mufasa to find him and chaise him from the lands. After all, there were many defenseless cubs and lionesses to think of, it wouldn't be safe for them.
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Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 2:22 pm
Na followed tenatively after the graceful queen, still feeling very much a cub despite his adult size. His tail danced behind him along with his bouncy thoughts.
He was about to explain that Pale was the nicest nice lioness he'd ever met and who had the most beautiful cubs when Sarabi spoke of his father. He cringed and looked at his paws, knowing he couldn't lie to her gentle calm.
"My father. He can't get to me here at Pride rock, it's not his domain, not his place, not enough war." he frowned "My father is a bad lion. The god of War. He wants me to go away forever because I stole his blood."
He smiled brightly "But I can outrun him because I can see his future."
It all sounded very far fetched.
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Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 2:47 pm
The queen's ears fell back at this new bit of news. The god of war... had come here? Sarabi might not worship the gods like other lions did, but that didn't mean she didn't believe they existed. The circle of life was her philosophy, but who was to say that the circle didn't birth beings of great power, to better help it turn? It was fortuneate for this lion that he had come here, of all places, to escape his father. No war had touched these lands in centuries, even the rogue brothers not amounting to war. Peace must lie heavy here.
Na's words were strange and troubling, but Sarabi took them in stride like she'd take the prattle of any small cub, only picking out the parts she need respond to. Stealing the blood of the god of war? Seemed unlikely, so he must mean something else. And outrunning him because he could see his future? That had something to it she'd rather not explore just yet. "That's good, Na." She said softly, dropping her eyes to her paws in thought. "If you see him again, your father... will you please come to Mufasa or I? He can't be allowed to stay here and hurt innocent lions." She raised deep red eyes to meet his yellow ones, urging him to trust her in this.
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Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 3:16 pm
Na listened to Sarabi's words as a cub might, taking her every request to hurt, as always with the more cynical Red overseeing whatever he thought. Red knew that peace protected these lands, however tenative but that some eventuality lay ahead, something that had been cropping up in Na's dreams of late that would make that protection weak enough for Mrost to get near. He hadn't told Na this yet and let the lion go on ignorant of his own dreams.
He nodded over-enthusiastically. "Yupyup, I'll tell you. I usually know when he is here. I'd do anything to protect my cubs and the other little fuzzies in the pride." it seemed as if the seriousness of the situation was lost on him, missing somehow, Red did all the worrying, Na-Be just lived like crazy.
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Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 11:16 pm
Sarabi smiled gently as she nodded, her eyes dropping away to glance out over her homeland. "Good, Na-be. If you help, I'm sure we can do much to protect the little ones, and the other members of the pride." The god of war... his coming here was a bad omen. He might be repelled by the sense of peace that hung here, but there was nothing to say he couldn't find others that could enter the lands to make living hard and dangerous for those she cared for. She worried sometimes, about what would happen when the Circle finally claimed her and her mate. Could Kamilika really handle ruling the Pridelands? She was so young and naive yet... so much she needed to learn.
An expression of great saddess, mixed with and almost overwhelming exhaustion, swept over the queen for a moment. To go on living, or to leave this life... both seemed so hard, yet so desireable. She didn't know what she wanted, though Sarabi knew the choice would eventually be out of her hands.
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2006 4:38 am
Na nodded though there was doubt in his expression, a lot of what he touched ended up tainted or hurt just by the passive aura of his father. He would do his best to help the pride he now called his home and do everything in his power to stop Red sabotaging things. He eyed the queen with a gentle gaze as she looked out over the pridelands, unable to see what she was thinking but seeing the sadness on her face. He had an odd feeling of deja vu looking at her then, as though he had been to this point and time before, here at pride rock with the fragile queen.
"There are hard times ahead." he said, knowing from his nightmares that this was true but the context of these hard times was as yet unknown. "Times that will unify the pride but will shatter the peace on these lands"
If that happened, even for a moment, Mrost could find him.
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Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 10:38 pm
Na-be's words seemed to echo Sarabi's thoughts, so much so that she glanced back at him in suprise. His eyes... they seemed so knowing right then, for all his childish manner, and kind...
Sarabi felt her own sense of foreboding, of fate rushing towards them. It was there in the Pridelands philosophy: all things change, giving way to new things. Peace and happiness had reigned for so long in this land, it was inevitable that something would come to destroy it completely. All one could do was enjoy the good times, and pray they never ended.
Shaking off her dark feelings, Sarabi smiled fainting and said all that she could say then. "Its all part of the Cirle of Life, Na-be. Things change, things move on. The young grow old and die, passing on a piece of themselves in their young, which in turn with grow old in their time. Its a great circle, and all we can do is play our part in it. Your words come as no suprise, I'm afraid." She sighed gently as her tail curled gently against her side, her own eyes filled with the knowledge that she would one day die to feed the earth, and in turn the plants which would feed the animals that fed her beloved family. Another saddening thought there... since it would be her mate's soul that would join the stars to watch over the land, and not her own.
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Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2006 11:23 am
Na's lucidity came and went like waves on a beach, one moment he seemed to unveil greater knowledge than he possessed, other times he stunned lions by his stupidity. Nevertheless, he knew when he had a bad feeling and now was one of those times. He listened to Sarabi's words with the intent expression of a cub learning lessons in life. He'd never had a mother to look after him and it seemed that nowadays, any lion was his mentor. He'd believe anything wholeheartedly.
The idea that everything moved in circles made perfect sense to him. Mostly. There was always the fact that gods didn't seem to follow those typical rules. They lived too long, lived too strongly to fit in the circle. In his mind they were like a spanner in the wheels of existence. Unreal.
He nodded "Tha's true I think. Lots of lions get old...their heads don't though." he wondered if he and Red would ever really get old or if it'd just be their shared prison that did. "So it's our job to make sure the big circle turns, right?" he nodded self-assuredly. "That'd mean taking out the bits that make it stick. The bad lions."
He looked up at the sky briefly, as usual, even in daylight seing the bizzare blur of stars born and dead, all there at once, moving across the horizon at once. He didn't like to look too long, it made him feel like he might be swept up in their movements. When Na looked up at the great kings, it seemed that he saw them dance.
"They only pass on a tiny little bit though." he said with a grin, thinking of his own cubs, so different from their parents. He pointed at the sky "What's left goes up there, right?" he curled his tail "No ouchies up there."
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