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 Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:12 pm
Not that there was really much to be sad about, persay - just nothing to be happy about either. Tara wiggled her submerged paws, shattering the perfect mirror and sending ripples out across the smooth water. The bright orange and reds reflected there were torn apart and re-sewn together again. In little time the water had stilled.
The juvenile flopped over on her back and gazed up through the leaves at the darkening sky. Too bad she couldn't just... dash her life to pieces and bring it back the way she wanted it.
Tree frogs and other night creatures began to humm. Tara closed her eyes and allowed herself to daydream. She had a perfect, loving family, with lots of brothers and sisters! Her mother loved her for who she was, -not- who she should have been, and her father taught her how to hunt...
A rare smile crept over her face.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 9:40 pm
 He wasn't far away, a small white form resting quietly on the branch of a nearby tree. It was peaceful here, quiet, a place for silent reflection, something he seemed to do a lot of lately. It was that he regretted who he was or the cycle of life and death that was his destiny as god of balance, but sometimes it was difficult, and he worried about the one he loved and how the path would wear on her.
Blue eyes looked toward the canopy and the sky beyond, watching as the day gave way to night, the sun eclipsed by the stars and the brilliant moon in the daily cycle, the unshakable truth that spoke of the balance of life. Perhaps this was his favorite time of day, a time that so represented his own life and that which he was sworn to protect.
He would have remain silent and invisible in the night, the colors of the dusk reflected in his own white pelt, darkening with the growing night. But something caught his attention, ears flicking at a soft sound from the ground beneath him. His head turned, the twilight reflected off the silver mask he wore, shifting his gaze until blue eyes fell on the dark form, the cub who blended into the darkness, a stark contrast to his own white coat.
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Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 10:00 pm
Tara wasn't expecting any other lions -or gods- to be here, so her guard was down and she was relaxed. Her parents wouldn't worry. Or, if they did, she didn't care. After all, they had five other daughters - one less shouldn't make too much of a difference.
The thought wasn't tinged in bitterness, but rather matter-of-fact truth. Tara knew how hard it was to keep up with her siblings, and herself for that matter. Her parents... well, it must get tiring. Not that the small cub wouldn't do everything she could to help her sisters. The cub thought of Hahi and smiled faintly - she couldn't imagine any of them out on their own.
Her black and white pelt blended into the shadows with an uncanny ease, until she almost became part of the evening itself. He gaze was again on the night sky and the stars that were just becoming visible where the dark had gained the strongest foothold.
A flash of movement caught her eye and startled her out of her thoughts. Something had... glittered. There was no other word for it. But though she looked hard, she couldn't make out much in the blue hazy that cloaked the trees.
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 12:16 pm
Blue eyes narrowed thoughtfully, searching the dark form at the water's edge, judging her posture and size, his gaze finding hers as she looked toward him. She must have seen him, or had she? He was well hidden in the darkness of the tree, difficult for young eyes to find; but even unseen, he could be heard.
"It is late for one so young to be alone, there are predators about."
His voice was calm, a simple statement of fact, spoken with no intent to frighten or scold. As he spoke he remained where he had settled on the tree branch, a shifting of a paw and the turning of his head the only indication that the noble voice had indeed been spoken by a living being rather than the wind.
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 5:27 pm
She shivered and stared out at the night. The calm, serene darkness suddenly took on a malicious intent - it hid her enemies and granted them shelter from her searching eyes. But she wasn't afraid. Not at all. The cub's brown eyes widened at a cracking branch.
Don't be stupid, Tara. She berated herself silently. Nothing is out --
A voice interupted her thoughts and she almost let out a shriek. Taking a deep breath, the cub did her best to appear calm as she searched the branches above the pond. When she replied, she was proud to find her voice didn't shake too much.
"Are you one of them, sir?"
Dark eyes scanned the darkness and panic grew when she couldn't spot her watcher... there! A hint of white in the darker shadows beneath a leafy bole. A flash of... silver? Tara squinted, curiousity replacing some of her fear.
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Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 7:05 pm
He watched her for a moment, silently reading her reaction. It seemed he had frightened, or at least startled the young lioness. That had certainly not been his intention, but he did not seem to regret it either, after all without fear there was no courage.
"I am no bigger than you are. Why would I risk my own life fighting one that easily do as much damage to me as I could to them?"
It was true that Griffith was a small creature, physically his body was that of a juvenile, though his spirit was ancient. His pure white form was light and fair, far smaller than average, his strength lying in his agility and flight. But above that he had a way with words, a nobility that easily flowed from him as he spoke, a wisdom that embraced and comforted.
He could have simply stated that he was no predator and it would have been true, he wasn't here to harm the cub nor would he have hunted another creature so similar to himself. But stating that fact so blandly would not have granted the confidence he somehow felt she needed at that moment, for courage to follow fear.
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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 3:48 pm
His voice was smooth, calming... and suspicious. No predator would announce his intentions unless he was certain of victory! So this new lion wouldn't be any different, she decided. The black cub would just have to risk a closer look... aware that she was being watched, Tara crept around the pond and made her way to the tree as silently as she could. While this new lion might not be a threat, she didn't know what else lurked in the shadowed forest eaves.
Tara looked up at the small form in the trees, judging the truth of his words for herself. Something was strange about him... beyond that wierd metal mask, that is. He had... feathers? She narrowed her eyes. But he didn't seem dangerous. In fact, she found she wanted to believe him. She saw no reason to answer his first question - her approach was enough.
"... you have a strange mask. Are you afraid of being hurt?"
She eyed the bark and the trees, deciding that they were too high and it was too dark to risk a climb. Tara chose to settle on the ground beneath the tree instead, a little distance away so she didn't have to crane her neck to see her companion.
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Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 5:40 pm
His gaze never left the cub, blue eyes distinguishing the black form in the growing darkness, every aware of her presence. She seemed cautious, but non-threatening and perhaps a bit curious. He supposed that was natural, it wasn't every day one saw a winged lion.
And so the god relaxed, paws casually crossed before him on the branch, tufted tail flicking below the branch on which he was perched. Though he had shifted, his body turned to face the cub.
"It is simply a part of who I am, nothing more or less."
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 7:25 pm
Was he trying to be mysterious, or was it just him? Her black-tufted tail flicked with irritation. What was he playing at? And just what was he anyways?
Tara looked closer, sable eyes narrowing as she studied the stranger in the tree. He was small, sure, but there was something about him... something that spoke of strength beyond size. He felt like he knew things. Maybe it was just the way he spoke. So confident!
"And who are you, exactly?" Tara demanded. Now that she'd taken the time to really look at him, she could see that the feathers were on wings! And his strange mask... what kind of lion was he?
"Because wings and masks aren't common, not as far as I know."
Her tone was slightly imperious, and she rather thought it hid her uneasiness well. Wings were for birds, and legs for lions. Legs that ran far and fast and wherever you wanted to go! Legs that took you to freedom... She sighed. He legs hadn't taken her anywhere but into trouble and despair.
Maybe wings would be better...
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Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 6:15 pm
Blue eyes narrowed, like a hawk sizing up its prey. The child had certainly found courage quickly, or perhaps it was foolishness. But it was a look that last only a moment, and again the lion was relaxed on his perched as if nothing had happened.
"Well then that is fortunate, for I am not common."
As he spoke a breeze rustled through the trees, leaves chattering against the wind, the sounds of the night lost to the wind. It caught white wings, ruffling tattered feathers until a single plume broke free, carried on the night air.
"You will find there are many things you do not know, more than a lifetime can teach you."
He paused for a moment, debating if he should answer her question. Griffith had never been one to answer demand or to give them. It was much more effective to convince another they wanted the same thing and thus they would follow willingly. But there was no reason not to answer, it would have been impolite, and thus against his noble nature.
"I am Griffith, the keeper of the balance."
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Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 7:59 pm
The narrowing of the lion's blue eyes didn't pass unoticed; Tara was suprisingly observant for a cub. But this night she chose to ignore the signs of danger. She was tired of playing by the rules, of not risking anything. Her family would do fine without her, if this new lion decided to play predator. She was tired of worrying!
So she played dumb and kept going. "Oh. I think I can learn a lot in a lifetime, mister. Even if I can't learn everything, like you seem to think you have."
Anger and frustration welled in her chest. Balance? She'd had no balance in her young life! No fairness, no compensation for what she had to deal with! Before her mind could register the possible danger (She didn't care, damn it!) the young cub spoke out.
"If you're 'sposed to keep the balance, you've been doing a bad job!"
Near tears and hoping for a confrontation, Tara scowled and stared up defiantly at the winged lion. Her anger might have been directed at him, but it sprang from a far different source. One that she didn't want to admit to herself, much less this stranger.
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Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 3:42 pm
"Petulant child, I never claimed to know everything, only a fool would do so for there are more mysteries in this universe than one could ever hope to understand even over many lifetimes."
His words were strong and unyielding, spoken with the authority and wisdom of an ancient who had witnessed the millennia pass by, living and dying in an endless cycle.
Then suddenly he was on his feet, wings spread he leapt from his perch to land silently on the ground directly before the cub. His stood boldly, eyes piercing, an imposing figure despite his somewhat tattered appearance and small size, yet there was no anger in his posture.
"Balance is not always what you want it to be. Without sorrow there would be nothing to feel joy for, and the light cannot exist without the darkness. Sometimes we must taste that which causes pain to truly find what makes us happy."
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Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 7:38 pm
Tara's eyes remained narrowed, her gaze fixed angrily on the white male. But when he spread his wings a tremor of awe (though she would never call it that herself) swept through her. Uncontrollable, her body shook and her ears tucked back. No matter that he seemed as dangerous as her lecturing father, but...
His presence was so strong.
But her fear couldn't cool her anger for long. She strove to stoke the fire again, to bring it back to full strength - but the male's words sank in and stuck. They burrowed in her mind like burrs and she couldn't shake them off. That didn't mean she couldn't refute them. Tara couldn't remember a time when she way happy. Already depressed, she sank further into herself - alone, or with unrelated lions, was the only time the cub could actually stop pretending to love life.
"But... the happiness in my life was so long ago." Brown eyes stared at white wrapped paws. Her voice was choked, as though with anger or tears. "And now I don't know how to live as anything but what I'm not."
She crouched low in the grass, her ears back and tail tucked. For warmth, she told herself. "I don't want a lot of happy. Just a little, to get me through." The last was little more than a whisper.
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Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 4:24 pm
"How do you know it was so long ago when you have lived but a short time? The young are impatient and rash, still unaware of the true passage of time."
He stood unflinching, pure white feathers ruffling in the evening breeze, blue eyes brilliant, shining through his mask. He had not come here to debate or to answer the demands of a child, only to speak the knowledge of lifetimes, something far too few mortals dared to accept.
"Then in time the cycle will return to you and you will find your happiness again, but only if you believe in it."
He paused, perhaps to give his words a moment to sink in. It was true that joy and sorrow were a part of every life, but one who chooses to wallow in the sorrow would forget to see the joy, even when it was right in front of them.
"Perhaps it is closer than you think."
His words spoken, the god turned, his gazed shifted to darkened sky above and the first stars that dotted the night.
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Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 9:58 pm
Anger flared again. Tara raised her head (hoping the tear tracks weren't -that- visible) and glared with what she thought was indignant hurt.
"I haven't lived that long?" She shook herself and gathered her legs beneath her. The small black-tufted tail wrapped itself around her paws. "Maybe so. But I've lived now as long as I ever have. Even if a long time for me isn't so long for you."
She'd begun to suspect that this strange winged male was either flat out crazy, or perhaps what he hadn't -quite- claimed to be (but still hinted at) - a higher being. Pshh. A god!? There was no such thing. Her life, her siblings' lives, were proof of that.
She followed the white lion's gaze towards the sky - stars, cold and indifferent, stared down at them from their lofty home. Abruptly she got to her feet and shook herself - and a change overcame her. Gone was the unconfident child, and in its place stood a weary guardian. She smiled wryly.
"I have to go. My family needs me." She inclined her head slightly. Fake god or no, she could at least be polite. But her tone was cold and slightly sarcastic. "I'll keep an eye out for my happiness. Who knows? Maybe it's hiding in the den."
Turning tail, she padded quietly around the pond. If the balance ever came back, as he said, she would be surprised. Life had a way of taking with one hand and giving pitiances in return. A small part of her felt terrible for acting as she had. She could see herself in his eyes - a selfish, impatient child.
But... it was hard to live like this, as something she could never be. Maybe it was time for her to change things herself.
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