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 Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 6:05 pm
The broken goddess of Love had been wandering for days, not quite knowing where she was, where she was going, or just....anything. After the 'incident' with Dath'charukai, she really wasn't sure what was going on in her world. And thus there was no direction in her soul.
The little lioness physically looked like a mess; her fur rubbed in every direction, her weight dropped enough for her ribs to poke out a bit, her face sunken in, olive eye's dim with little hope. She was a train-wreak, no doubt about it.
Tired, the goddess decided to rest next to a rock in the sands. There were no trees in the lands she was in, and so the rock would have to give her the shade she needed. Her wings had been hidden, the goddess not wanting others to swoop to her for any reason. She just wanted to be alone.
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Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 6:54 pm
A sinking hope in her chest told her the truth that any tracker could have seen: she'd left the trail cold for much too long. He may not have even left a trail, the logical part of her mind, the one that hope was desperatly trying to avoid, whispered. Ushuafu was, after all, a God; he could more easily have flown across the desert to be away from her, he needn't need flee on foot. A sigh rumbled through Kizuka's chest, and shook the fur that was still clinging to her withering form. She was no longer the sleek, beautiful lion she'd been before the drought had begun. While the power of presence that she'd always carried with her still remained, it was becoming more and more residual to the skeletal effect the elements had given her body. Once more it came back to that solitary thought: She was tired.
A sqwuak above her forced Kizuka from her depressing thoughts, and her honeyed eyes looked upwards towards the distant circling of birds. Buzzards, she frowned, with a ripple of fear through her body. Many things died in the desert, of course, and if Ushuafu had he would have long been picked clean. The lioness winced at that train of thought even as she bit back the mother's terror in her heart; Kimaji couldn't have gotten ahead of her. The girl was under strict orders not to leave her hiding place at the Valley's edge until Kizuka had returned from scouting the trail. In truth, she should have been teaching Kimaji how to do this.. but not on so potentially dangerous a trip as this.
Kizuka glanced behind her, the paranoid feeling causing her raised hackles to remain that way. It seemed like centuries had past since their trio had stumbled home and been warned of the danger they'd just barely missed in the desert. That dreadful Oasis several Gods had warned her of already, with their terrible leader. Were they still out there, or had they been struck down? Curiosity warred with a need to put as much distance between her and them. It wasn't fear, but something greater... Disgust? Anger? Contempt? And yes, perhaps a little fear. Ever since the Firekin it was hard not to hate that sort of thing.
That was neither here nor there, and Kizuka forced her mind from it. She'd already begun to move to the area it seemed the buzzards were circling and it would require all of her attention to make certain there was no danger about. If they were still circling, they weren't certain their prey was dead, or whatever had killed it was still there. There were three major ideas behind what might be feasting, and none of them were very appealing. The first would by a Hyena pack, which she couldn't dream of taking on alone. The second, with the same outcome, were wild dogs. Lastly were lions... and that would depend upon the tribe of lions and their personalities as to wether or not it would be a problem. Either way, if she was to take Kimaji across this land she did need to know what was out here.
There was, perhaps, a moment of disbelief when Kizuka finally found the object the birds were set to harrass. It was dull brown, travel stained, and with fur blown in so many different directions it almost didn't look like a lion at all. Lioness, she corrected herself. A few steps closer and the light movement of a stomach told her the female was alive.
Regardless of how beaten and broken the other lioness seemed, Kizuka did not move forward. She waited, sniffing the wind and listening to the land about her. If this was a trap of some sort she couldn't see it, but time had long since taught her the value of caution. It seemed as if the lioness had no idea she was there, either, though that Kizuka would never be certain of. A slow step to the right gave her a better view of the area.
Cautiously Kizuka circled the female. That she wore jewelry was one of the first things Kizuka noted; that was rather unusal among Lion kind, were you not a queen or king. Or a God, that sometimes helpful voice of reason commented. She'd met so many of them lately her head was swimming, but she couldn't accuse random Lionesses of being such. Then again, perhaps she was so used to it she was making it more common than it normally way. One thing was for certain, this female wasn't from around here. She didn't have the build of a Mistweaver, or the thicker structure of a pride lander. It was possible she was from even farther off, though what she was doing wandering about here was unfathomable.
There wasn't a trap that Kizuka could see, she was certain of that now. In acknowledgement of that, she took a few steps closer. Still, the darker lioness stopped a few feet away, certainly out of paws reach, and lowered her head a touch to eye level with the female. "You there..." She began, her voice a rich, though somewhat wind and time roughened, then she hesitated. What could she say? ... "Alive?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 10:00 am
The goddess slowly opened her eyes to the sound of a voice. A voice? How long had she been here, asleep? She stirred, not aware of how long she had been exhausted against the rock. Wait...the rock seemed far off. How had she gotten so many feet away from it? A flare of panic rose in her chest, but she didn't have the energy to react to that panic.
Her head raised as her dim eyes slowly focused. A lion? Wait...just where was she that other lions lived? She pulled her legs up from her side to prop herself up, so she could get a better look at the stranger. She was so tired, so weak. What was the point of worry about what could happen?
"B-barely..." the female started, not quite sure that she was alive. She breathed, her heart beat, so it was apparent she lived. But her true heart, her soul, did not feel alive, and so it was hard for her to want to bother with even propping herself up.
She never thought to hide her jewelry, the scuffed and scratched forms resting on her chest and ear. Too late to worry about that, the goddess' mind replied. Perhaps this lioness wouldn't steal it for herself...though at this point, Mo'onasi could care less.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 10:36 am
Kizuka's ears twitched at the sudden way the other lioness woke. Woke? Yes, she'd definatly been asleep. It was likely she'd been at death's door, Kizuka corrected herself after a moment. This far out into the desert, looking like this? This was no trap, this was a lioness in trouble. At that, the practical side of her person and the huntress began to war with itself. She was an outsider and The Gods knew where she came from in the first place. Why should Kizuka help this wreck of a lion? It wasn't as if she could offer her anything better than the lioness could find for herself out here. Besides, the lioness hadn't even asked for her help.
Close to taking a step backward, Kizuka's consience thought better of the situation and forced her to stop. The other liones said something then, but it was so faint and weak she couldn't quite make it out. Lowering her head and tipping her ears forward, the sound registered a second later. "b-barely..." The poor female needed SOME help. There wasn't any way she would walk out of her unassisted.. and even if she did, where would she go? Kizuka's gaze turned behind her towards the distant trees of a dying wonderland.
If she was going there anyway, there wasn't any reason that she shouldn't help out. Her stomach decided to throw a rather sharp pain at her then, reminding her of the harsh realities of her own world. Much to her horror, the slight trail of a thought came from that hunger; If the lioness were to die, at least her body could serve them better than it could those vultures.
Kizuka had to fight her own revulsion at the desperations she'd sunk to.
Breaking free of that, Kizuka decided to approach the now awake lioness slowly, still. She had jewelry? That broke through the awkward things her own mind was coming up with, and Kizuka decided it a wonderful thing to focus on. The peices were scratched and tarnished, but still somewhat beautiful. Who was this lioness? "well you can't say here," She found herself saying presently, "or you could, but the birdlife isn't really so pleasant."
When had she become so jaded that this was normal? Shaking that off, Kizuka moved to p ut herself parallel to Mo'onasi and bent her forelegs to offer her a lower shoulder. "Come on. There are trees not too far off. If you can't walk, i'll help you."
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 11:03 am
The striped lioness (as she would rather be referred as now) gave out a cough as she watched her visitor. She could tell that there were many thoughts running through her head, but Mo'onasi would not let her own mind ponder on just what might be running through the stranger's mind. It wasn't worth the energy that she would rather save for something else. That something else perhaps moving.
The lioness never noticed that she was close to foliage, no matter how lifeless it looked. It was better coverage then out here in the bare lands with nothing but buzzards around.
She didn't reply to the lioness, instead saving her breath to help get herself up with her feet under her. She rested her head on the other's shoulder, using it as a place to put her weight as she struggled to put her paws underneath, her legs straightened enough to hold her up. Once, twice....was she putting too much weight on the stranger? She didn't want to hurt her for her kindness, but there was a bit of Mo'onasi that did want to move, to get away from the dead land that echoed her heart.
On the third try, she got herself up. A bit wobbly, but up. She stood still for a bit, letting herself catch her breath before she dared to walk again. Though she was weak, she felt a little better standing.
"T-thank you..." she whispered, glancing over to the brown-and-white lioness. She was thankful, but she didn't want to speak more then she had to, at the moment.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 11:24 am
Kizuka winced under the weight a few times. It wasn't easy to keep steady with the striped female leaning on her at all times. Still, she managed to hold her ground and helped get Mo'onasi to her feet. When she was certain the other female wasn't going to fall again, Kizuka took a tiny bit of her support away so that she might actually be able to move as well. She was beginning to realize how weak she was herself!
At the whisper of thanks, Kizuka simply nodded. There wasn't any reason for wasting more breath than was needed right now. Using her tain, she gave Mo'onasi a bat on the back of her legs to signal the need to start walking. It was likely to be difficult, but the sun was getting higher with every passing minute.
They really weren't so close to the trees as all that. There were a few dunes between them, but the tops were still visible on the horizon. It was going to take some effort to get over there. Perhaps if they could find some shade, somehow, in the desert, they could hole up until nightfall when it'd be easier. Kizuka didn't bother mentioning any of this, her gaze was focused intermitedly on the trees and her newfound ward. What was she going to do with her?
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 8:42 pm
~*~*~
Though it took quite a few tries, with many trips along the way, the pair had slowly made their way to the outskirts of the jungle. The ground was a little more firm now, not as slippery as sand could be, yet also soft enough to not be too painful on the tired paws that stood upon it.
The lioness gently pulled away from the helpful stranger to not be such a burner on her now. She leaned against a tree, one that was obviously in need of some good water and nutrients itself. Mo'onasi slowly opened her eyes again after gaining her breath, really taking a look at the lioness that had given her help. She assumed that she would leave soon, just doing one small act of kindness before going on with her own life. "Thank you," she started, her words a bit hoarse as they slipped out of her dry throat. Her back legs slipped underneath her, her form now in a slightly awkward sitting stance. Her shoulder blades peeked out from behind her neck as she lowered her head, feeling a little bit better now that she wasn't directly out in the elements.
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 8:57 pm
Kizuka couldn't help but be thankful for the shade as well as the lack of weight when Mo'onasi slipped away. True, she'd drug carcasses twice as heavy before... there seemed to be quite a difference between dead, predictable weight and a living, shifting weight with a will of its own. That, and the carcasses generally weren't half on top of her. Kizuka shook her head, mopping the slightly longer, sodden fur from her eyes with a paw. She knew she had to look a sight, what with the sweat stains and dirt upon her already haggard form, and for the first time in a while she was bothered by that. Odd; Not even the presence of her Queen had made her as aware of her own appearance... perhaps, an errant thought whispered, it was that this was an outsider. She'd always had a great deal of pride for her land and its fruits of old, and having a stranger see Umande'mfuni and its inhabitiants in such a condition was... embarassing.
A dry voice caught her attention, and Kizuka turned towards the lioness struggling to hold her weight against one of the tree trunks. Kizuka's own paws began to throb with weakness, aching from the hours spent roaming the arid desert sands. A particularly sharp pain when she moved indicated she may have even burnt them on the hotter midday sands, but Kizuka forced herself to forget it. Water would be a good idea right now, but there wasn't any so close to the border. "its unneeded," She replied, her own voice rattling in a rather throaty manner. Looking about them, her honey coloured eyes glanced once more out across the desert sands.
No, she couldn't leave now. Besides, even if she did go out... she knew she wouldn't find anything today either. With a heavy, mental sigh she let herself put off the search once more and turned back towards the retched creature come into their midst. "You need water," It was an obvious statement, but spoken more as if she were thinking aloud. "Unfortunatly, there isn't any here. I believe there's a puddle left of a stream just a little farther back, now. Do you need a rest?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 9:33 pm
The striped female glanced over into the trees, where the jungle continued on. It had a smell of familiarity, but she wasn't quite sure where she was anymore. She felt blessed enough just to remember who she was. Her scruffy fur rose and fell with her breath as she spoke up again, this time a bit louder.
"A taste of water would be comforting," she started, before giving out a cough. She could tell through the lioness' emotions that there was something wrong with the water supply around here. Best not to take much, then. Perhaps just enough to get through another day, and move on? The lioness wasn't sure where she should go, or what she should do. Her eyes darted a bit as these thoughts filled her mind, temporarily forgetting where she was.
She blinked, her head popped back up to look at the other. "If, if it wouldn't be too much trouble..."
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 9:47 pm
"Not to mention healthy," Kizuka replied with a dry sort of humor about the situation. She shook her head and stood. After a stretch that made a musical of her spine, she moved a little closer to Mo'onasi, ready to offer a shoulder if needed. How much to say? It was a strange sort of situation, and not one Kizuka had ever thought herself to be in. Certainly she wasn't hositle towards just anyone, but she'd never been in a position to make the choice of helping a party as deserperatly in need of it as this one was. "There isn't much this close in, but what there is you're welcome to. You're lucky, honestly, there's no other water supply for miles, as far as I know. Just the desert and our valley."
As they headed further in, she took some time to pull the thicker tangles of dead vines away, lest they trip the other lioness. She took the time to give her another, closer look over where the sun wasn't quite so blinding. There didn't seem to be any, or many, external wounds. Nor, after a seconds thought, did the lioness seem to exhibit any signs of mental illness that would normally drive someone so far into the desert. or, she added dryly, be driven to out in the hot desert sands. Truly lucky, then. "Most don't even make it this far, if they don't know where they're going..... Here."
Where once there might have been a babble of water over rocks, or the occassional plop of a fish's jump, nothing really heralded the closeness of what used to be a stream. Now there was nothing more than a dry bed, engraved into the land under a short cracking cliff in the jungle's floor. Kizuka leapt down it first, standing half upon the opposite shore, and half in the stream bed itself to help Mo'onasi down. "it isn't as far as it looks, and it'd take longer to go around."
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 10:11 pm
Mo'onasi gingerly followed the lioness, stepping carefully as best she could. A tumble could prove to turn this slow move into quite the disaster, and she wanted to avoid all pain as much as possible. Her mind ached with the movements, though, as well as her body. All her mind wanted to do was quit, and let it end, but her heart pushed her on.
She gave a small nod to the other, keeping her dry mouth closed as they both opened up to the dry riverbed. It was hard to tell that it used to be a riverbed at all, for it seemed as if it had been dry for quite a while, and might as well of just been a deep crack in the earth.
The striped lioness wasn't sure on how she would be able to make it down the slope, and back up again. She knew she would have to, though, and gathered her wits to her paws as she skidded down the embankment to the dry riverbed. She slipped a bit, landing on her shoulder as she slid from the movement. Wincing, she pushed herself back up again with a small surge of strength. Keeping the momentum going, she quickly pulled herself up the other edge, exhausted muscles straining as she pulled herself into a small heap on the other side. It might not of seemed very large for others, but for the exhausted and wasted lioness, it was nearly too much.
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 10:20 pm
"Just a little further now," The other lioness's voice turned gentle, as she moved to help her up again. Wether Mo'onasi wan'ted it or not, Kizuka had soon nosed her back up again when she fell, and pressed herself up against the striped lioness's side to help her as she walked. It wasn't easy, no, but it was something.
The fact that Mo'onasi wasn't giving up was winning her some points in Kizuka's eyes. Though Kizuka hadn't a clue why she was here at all, it was obvious there was something still in this lioness that wanted to live, and was fighting for it. That she hadn't succumed so far into self destruction was a positive thing, even if bathed in shadow. Leading her along the dry stream bed, she let Mo'onasi put as much weight on her as she needed to, and tried not to speak for now. The few birds and insects left in Umande'mfuni gave desolate, occassional chirps as if to tell them that some other forms of life did still cling to the area. Somehow it was hope-inspiring to Kizuka.
A few minutes later, though it could have seemed like years for the hurt lioness, she imagined, they reached an end point where the bed dipped down into the earth. The ground was moist right at the edge of the dirty pool of water, but it didn't stretch father than the water reached. With the dead leaves floating in it, and the tendrils of sickly yellow green plants that still tried to cling to life in the little hole in the earth, the patch of water certainly wasn't the most appetizing drink in the world... but after a day out in the hot sun, it was almost like an oasis. Kizuka nudged Mo'onasi forward first, waiting to make certain the other lioness drank before taking her own repast.
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 10:52 pm
Momo wasn't paying much attention to the things around her, fo rher midn was more concentrated on following her new companion to water. Water. The concept seemed so simple, but also so rare in this jungle. It was a hard concept for her mind to wrap around, especially in the haze of emotional distress.
After what seemed like a time that took much too long, the little lioness perked as she could very faintly feel the touch of moisture in the air. It was hard to sense, but with her ethreal powers, she was a bit more sensitive to some things then mortals. She let her companion guide her to the small patch of water, nervously lowering her head towards the water. She didn't want to take too much, regardless of what the brown and white lioness said. There had to be more then the two of them around here, and all creatures needed their water supply.
She lowered her head and nudged the bits of leaves and plants as far to the edes as she could, and began to lap up the imperfect water. It had a very dirty, stale taste to it, but Mo'onasi didn't mind. It felt like heaven with the water splashing down her dry throat, cooling areas that she didn't realise were hot with soreness and strain. After she had a small mouthful, she backed away enough for the other lioness to slink by and have some, Momo falling onto her hind legs again. She felt a little stronger in herself, enough to have her eyes brighten just a bit.
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 11:45 pm
"Take as much as you need," Kizuka addressed her fears unconsiously, watching the way that Momo backed off so quickly. She didn't protest so much that it stopped her from taking a drink of her own. Having lived with it so long, she'd become immune to the dirty taste of the water, concentrating instead on the healing side of it. Kizuka was quick about taking her share, though, not half as in need of it as Mo'onasi, and moved to sit to the side.
Silence settled between them now, and Kizuka didn't mind it. Somehow it wasn't awkward so much as relaxing--something they both needed a lot of after that walk. It couldn't settle forever, however, and Kizuka soon found her attention drawn back to the present from the muddy waters of blank thought. Blinking slowly, she shook her head and let her head and gaze turn to her companion of the moment. "I'd offer you something to eat.. unfortunatly, there isn't much. If you can make it back to the cave I live in with my daughter, you can share in what we take down tonight."
The need to ask what Mo'onasi was doing out there in the first place was hard to resist. Kizuka took some pride in that she was attempting to keep to her own buisiness, however. Whatever had driven the lioness out there wasn't any of her buisiness and.... With a sudden pang, realization hit her fast and hard. Was a part of why she was so willing to help out because of the friend she'd lost to that desert? Unwilling to think on this, she flicked an irritated ear at herself, then softened towards the lioness once more. "Kizuka." That was rather abrupt, and the patched lioness gave a barely audible, dry chuckle at herself, "You can call me Kizuka, if you like..."
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Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 3:05 pm
The lioness was glad to be sitting, locking her forelegs a bit so she wouldn't slip and fall down. How embarassing would that be? The stripped female gathered up her breath, and wits, and glanced around where she was. The state of the lands reflected her heart, and she felt terrible to take the little bit of water that was left in these lands. How had they fallen into such a state?
Her eyes wandered back to the lioness that had been helping her, curious as to what she would do now. She had helped Momo get a drink of water, and out of the harsher elements of the deathly desert, but she had no need to help her now. In theory, Momo was probably safer here, and perhaps wouldn't need anymore help.
Ears perking at the mention of a name, Momo lightly repeated the word, for memory. "Kizuka..." She let it dirft on the air a bit before placing in deep in her mind to remember. She was very thankful for this lioness, and in deep debt for her helping, even though Momo wasn't sure what to do, or if she even really wanted to continue on.
"Ahh, you can call me Momo, though my full name is Mo'onasi." She cleared her throat a bit, hoping that the lioness would not recognize the name of the goddess of love. If she did, perhaps she could just say that she was named after her? But the lioness did not want to lie to someone so kind hearted as Kizuka.
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