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 Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 5:58 am
She stalked through the grass, wishing that she could meet up with Fedha and go and speak to her father. She was impatient and yet fearful of that meeting, unsure of what would happen.
With a small sigh she crept out from the long grass to lay on the foliage cropped down by the grazing gazelle and let herself settle comfortably.
"Hmm, hmm. hm, hmmm!" She hummed, twitching her tail in time with her cheerful chirping.
One paw extended, tapping at a line of ants that seemed to be patrolling the area and for a moment she could be at piece.
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 6:08 am
Amleth was wandering through the grasses, as well. It was early morning and she liked to get up before everyone else and wander around a bit until Duhushi awoke, or she was needed for something. It gave her a bit of time to explore.
She trotted along, now, ears perked and eyes wide. She liked the Pridelands. It was bright and sunny and friendly, just the place for a young lioness! Not that she hadn't liked the Graveyard... it was fun to explore and all, but not very uplifting.
Spotting the source of the humming sound, Amleth brightened. She loved cubs, her own age or younger. She found them generally much more fun than older lions. Which was probably because older lions were always trying to eat her.
"Hallo!" She called out cheerfully, slinking over with a friendly smile.
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 6:33 am
Ivie gave a small start, but her eyes sparkled as she saw the approaching lioness. She was older but she seemed very friendly by her greeting and by her smile.
"Hello!" She called back, moving to roll onto her back and peering at her in a way that Amleth appeared upside-down.
"Who are yous?" She giggled, "I'm Ivie'lingwa. Oh--be careful of the ants! I don't want them to go squish!"
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 6:37 am
Amleth grinned as Ivie rolled over, and she tilted her head faaaar to the side to try and get a look at the upside-down cub.
"Whatcha up to?" she inquired, glancing down at her paws as Ivie mentioned the ants. "Oops! I won't make them go squish," she promised hastily, moving herself across the trail of ants carefully to go sit by Ivie.
"I'm Amleth." she answered, looking up at the sky, and then back to the pale cub. "Do you live 'round here, Ivie'lingwa?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 6:40 am
"Amleth is a cutsie name!" Ivie chirped, rolling again so she was on her belly, legs splayed about her. "Yup I live here with mummy and daddy and my brother and sister." She pointed towards Priderock, "over there in a nice little den!"
She beamed, "I was just humming to the ants, I think they like to listen to music whilst they work."
She nodded. "They're giving a little parade! See?" She pointed at them with a pale green paw.
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 6:45 am
Amleth lifted an eyebrow. A cutsie name? That was certainly one she hadn't heard before. "Erm, thanks," she replied with a grin at the strange cub, following the direction she pointed with her eyes. "Oh! That's nice. I've just gotten here, with my... friends." she finished lamely.
The young lioness looked back at the ants. As far as she could tell, they seemed to be doing what ants generally did... but if Ivie wanted them to be having a parade, why not? "Oh yes, they are!" she agreed, a grin slipping over her face as she flopped onto her belly next to Ivie. "What do you think is the occasion?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 6:49 am
"Maybe they have a new queen ant and they are celebrating her rise to the throne!" Ivie practically 'squeed' at the idea.
"Friends? Do you have lots of friends?" Ivie tipped her ears towards Amleth with interest on her face. "I wish I had lots of friends but I only have Fedha." She giggled, "he's a good friend cos he doesn't mind that I'm a frea--different."
She glanced away, tail curling about a hind leg.
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 6:54 am
"Maybe!" Amleth agreed, nodding. She couldn't see a Queen ant... but perhaps that was because she was underground, on her throne.
"Oh.. I have some friends," the hyena-marked juvenile replied evasively. "Not really lots..." At Ivie's mentioning Fedha, she frowned. Fedha...Fedha. OH! Ny's annoying little brother! She laughed. "I know Fedha. He's silly."
Amleth tilted her head. "Different?" she murmured, reaching out to paw at Ivie. "Whatta you mean different?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 7:09 am
"Aw friends are good, I want to get lots of friends but..."
She tipped her head to the side nervously at her comment on Fedha. Did she think he was silly because he was a seer? Would she think that Ivie was silly too?
Her eyes suddenly welled with tears and she sniffed, rubbing at her nose with a paw. "Fedha's silly? How comes?" She was reluctant to say how she was different just yet.
So caught up in her worries and thoughts she found it was too late to back away from Amleth's touch.
Her paw made contact with Ivie's shoulder and a lance of pain leapt from the contact to lash around her body. Her body went rigid to try and fight the pain away and she jerked sideways to break the bond.
But it was too late.
Images raced through Ivie's mind, memories of events that did not belong to her, but to Amleth.
The sky was darker than any night Ivie had ever seen. There were no stars and no moon but even still she could see the ground scattered with bones that seemed to glow with a deathly hue.
Then from the gloom leapt a great and fiersome creature, too large and mighty to be a regular lion. His roar echoed in his ears and the sky began to bleed.
His great white paw crushed her to the ground, breaking her body upon the bones.
She lay on her side gaping and desperately trying to breath. To those watching it would seem as if she was having a fit of some sort.
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 7:14 am
Amleth gasped as Ivie went rigid in pain and slumped over. She stood and whined, her first instinct to go and try to help the cub, but then... this had happened when she touched her! No!
She back away a few paces. "Ivie! Are you okay? Ivie, what's wrong?" she whined, ears flat to her skull. Had she hurt her new friend somehow? "I only meant Fedha acts all proper and important all the time," she added, wondering if the cub had been offended by her calling Fedha silly. "Ivie..." she murmured again, feeling useless. She was far to frightened of what had just happened to try and comfort the cub again.
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 7:18 am
The white lion was calling her name! But how could he possibly know it!? His voice rasped through her ears and suddenly where the sky had been dark there was a pinprick of light that dazzled her.
This time when her name was called she recognised the voice.
Amleth?
In an instance the little cub had snapped back to reality and slowly her eyes focused upon Amleth's worried face. "I'm okay, I'm okay." She breathed, sitting up and coughing a little. "Amleth..." She stared tearfully up at the other.
"I'm afraid."
Other's hurt and pains became her own, she would hold not just her own suffering but those of her loved ones too.
"I saw...I saw a white lion but he wasn't a lion! He was a monster!"
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 7:22 am
Amleth looked relieved, and she let out the breath she didn't even know she'd been holding as Ivie came around. She padded closer again, careful not to touch the cub, looking concerned.
"It's okay," she murmured, ears folded back. What had just happened? And then...
Crimson eyes widened as Ivie spoke. How could that be possible? Well, Tanaka was in the Pridelands... but.. but.. She looked around to make sure. He wasn't there with them.
"Tanaka.." she breathed, staring at Ivie. "How did you see him?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 7:29 am
A tear slithered down the side of her face and suddenly she felt very tired. Apparently these vision of hers seemed to drain on her energy a lot. She crumpled forwards in the grass, eeys settling on the line of ants.
She wished she was an ant.
"Tanaka?" Her body convulsed fearfully, unaware that the 'monster' she had seen in her nightmare was actually a relative of hers. If one looked closely they would notice the similarities in their appearances. Her black-ringed paws, her golden tail, even the colour of her eyes.
"I saw him, I stole the images...the memories...from you." She whimpered, "I'm sorry Amleth, I didn't mean to. I didn't want to take your memories." She sniffed.
"I'm a freak. Though Fedha'Kialio said I'm a...seer."
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 7:36 am
Amleth looked worried for her small friend, staying close but making sure not to touch her for fear of sending her into another odd spasm.
Her eyes widened. "You... stole..?" she repeated numbly. Then Ivie had seen... had seen what had happened in the graveyard? That must have been waht had scared her so much! But how?
"I'm so sorry Ivie," Amleth whimpered. Those memories were too painful for a small cub like Ivie to access! Why couldn't she have seen the day she met Duhushi? Then she wouldn't be so scared.
"You're not a freak!" she exclaimed, looking at the cub in surprise. "It was my fault, anyway, they're my memories. I should have... kept them to myself." she finished, aware that this was an extremely stupid thing to say. After all, it wasn't as if SHE had any control over them.
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 7:43 am
"S'okay." She sniffed lightly. "That's why no one would want to be friends with me. They'd hate me cos I can see their memories, things they don't want anybody to know."
Her ears drooped. "Did the monster lion hurt you Amleth?"
She didn't argue about herself being a freak but she couldn't help how she felt. She hated being herself, she hated being 'special' or 'blessed'. She just wanted to be normal for once.
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