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 Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 3:18 pm
The sun in the sky that day was beating down upon the pridelands, soaking into the fur and grass and wood and rock until the heat was almost a chill across ones skin. That was never a good thing, and so the lion found himself sprawled lazily under the little shade a scraggly tree offered, dozing with the sort of confidence most cats had about nothing dare messing with them. He stretched a little in his sleep, claws raking at the air for a moment as a groan vocalized how good the movement felt, and then he rolled over onto his other side and settled back into snoozing once more. It was a lazy day.
He had passed this way before many times in his travels, and while a good number of lions lived on this land--an extreame number, by most accounts--there never seemed to be hide nor hair of any other feline in sight or smell. Perhaps it was due to never fully traveling within the land, but always staying about the borders? Whatever it was, Nyota didn't much care at the moment for he had something far more interesting going on upstairs.
One of his paws moved, a sublte gesture perhaps indicating something being done in a dream as his ears flickered back and forth as if listening to someone speak. As the sun rose higher, these ticks became more and more apparant until finally Nyota'visima opened his eyes and gave a great yawn. It was too hot to sleep, now, but too hot to move as well. Predicaments predicaments... The male stretched again, then straightened his shoulders as he lifted his head to look about the stretch of the Savannah around him. He didn't see anything about of interest to watch, not even a herd of any sort.
Still, it was much too hot to leave what little comfort the shade offered. Thus, he eventually lowered his head once more upon his forepaws and let his eyes slide to invisible little slits and he watched the muted shapes of what was around him for any change.
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Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 4:02 pm
Red eyes.
He'd had red eyes. And all Misae could still see were those red eyes; they were haunting, and she knew that every time she'd pause to try and sleep, she'd see those bright red eyes in her dreams. How long had it been? Days, at least; she knew that much. Maybe a couple of days at most. It sure as hell felt like more to the little pale cub however, and there was nothing she could do to keep herself from stumbling over her own paws suddenly, falling face first into the earth and grass.
Taking a long raged breath, the femme allowed herself to close her eyes, the scorching sun burning at her back, even as her pelt, white in color, kept her relatively safe. And still, all she could see were those red eyes, burning ablaze; it was strange however, for though he'd intimidated her and had pushed her into running away, she was quite sure she'd seen something else within those eyes. She'd seen a flash of something; love? Care? She wasn't sure, but it was that notion what had possibly scared her more.
Allowing herself to breathe in and then breathe out, the cub pulled herself on all four again; it was then she finally looked around for the first time in two days, and really saw. This was not the Desert anymore, and though it was hauntingly familiar to the oasis in a sense, it was also different in many other ways; this place had a soul, for one. She could see mice scurrying here and there and she could scent other creatures too; the notion that the nightmare-ish creature had been right caused the cub to draw in a sob, her frame quivering till she dragged it under the shade of a tree. It was against that tree that she finally allowed herself to cry, pushing her face against the cool bark.
Run, run away little cub! Run away from this place; scarred by blood and wounds, run till you find the meadows, little lost cub. run away and never return!
She'd run for two days, hardly ever stopping, and hardly ever noticing her own hunger, and she'd broken down there and then... her tears were not those of sadness however; they were tears of joy, for she could again feel the wind whispering at her; those eyes of his... he'd been right, and now she was free. Alone, but free to follow the whispers of the wind. She was grateful to him, and deep down she knew he knew; the black feather she'd been carrying in her maw was finally dropped to the ground beside her, her paw coming to secure it, least it blow away. The single feather had a strange scent, almost ethereal to it, and Misae had clung to it as she'd escaped, for reasons unknown even to her.
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 1:33 pm
As he was laying there something white and blurry passed directly in front of his nose without ever having seemed t see him. Of course, he was still at that point in time so it was perfectly logical, with his colouring, that one might miss his being there.
His eyes cracked open a little further to focus on the tiny, travel stained looking cub now huddling at the base of 'his' tree, sobbing into the bark of it. He raised one brow slowly, watching her for even as he raised his head she didn't seem too inclined to notice--which made perfect sense as she was upset. For his first time meeting a lion of any sort in these lands, it was a rather interesting sort of scene. What could have caused this?
Nyota looked about the grassland around them, but saw nor heard nor smelled any others upon the wind, and thus it seemed the child was alone. Female, too, if he was a judge--that it itself was even far more unusal, for male cubs were more likely to be driven away from a pride.. at least the prides he had been welped for. The prides that supposedly lived in these lands were far different, and so a child alone was unsual to boot. Nyota shook his head, and tried to hide a smile when he realized the cub was even leaning directly over his tail, trapping part of it against the tree.
He moved the end of it, curling it close to her as best he could and shifted to get a better look at her. "now now.. why are you crying, little snow drift?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 2:27 pm
A gasp of terror was uttered at his words, the child backing off as best as she could, which wasn't all... that well at all; she stumbled over her own feet and his tail in the process, her blood red eyes wide, "I...I..." gulping down on her own words, she took a moment to drown a sob and look about herself. She'd been so immersed in her own thoughts that she'd not even noticed the large male that had been laying under the tree; the rational side of her mind was practically screaming at her. Danger, it bellowed, he's a stranger, get away! But of course, the thoughts never reached her fully.
Hunger, fear, exhaustion and above all, relief at being free were swirling around her; there seemed to be no room for anything else there, however, she managed to finally hold the male's gaze, her red eyes, once proud inside the oasis, still wide, no doubt mirroring the fact she felt oh-so-very-small at the moment, "I... saw a monster... a nightmare...." she looked away from him then, her words sounding pathetic even to her own ears, which flattened back as she tried to put thoughts into words a bit more accurately.
There were none however.
She'd run away when the creature had loomed over her that night; she'd followed it's instructions. She'd done what that creature had told her to; run, and she'd stumbled upon this place, "I... don't know where I am," a pause as she winced away from him, her paw grasping the black feather she'd been carrying before she looked up at him. It was clear from the way her pelt was unkept that she'd been running for quite a few days; the dust and dirt that clung to her seemed to indicate she'd crossed part of the deserts too, and the fact there were bags under her eyes hinted she'd not slept through this either, "I... he told me to run away..." she finally gathered herself slightly, and though her mind was screaming at her to get away from this male, she finally had the guts to frown up at him, "The Oasis was dead; it was a carcass.... my father killed it, my mother left, and I ran when He told me to," her eyes narrowed up at Nyota, harsh for a moment, "He had blood red eyes, and large black wings..."
What she had forgotten herself, was that she too had blood red eyes; what Nyota were to make of such words and phrases was probably a mystery and something she didn't entirely care about at the current moment in time. Her fear had turned into something akin to pride and though her ears were flattened back and her tail was still tucked between her legs, her eyes were glaring up at the male; eyes that seemed to be looking into his for some reason, searching.
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Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 5:06 pm
"A monster in the Oasis, hmmm?" He responded slowly, not moving a paw to stop or help her escape. Rather he lifted a forepaw to his own chin, rubbing it as he looked away in thought. More softly he repeated, "A monster in the oasis, hmmm..."
The whole thing was rather nonsensical and yet, sensible at the exact same time, if you thought about the senario with a child's mind. Her eyes, bright as fresh blood, stared up at him in terror of his own form and he swallowed a chuckle. Ignoring the mirth he had at the siuation, Nyota gave her a gentle, caring smile and lowered his head to eye level with her. Unlike most cats would have, he didn't bother breaking the eye contact with her--that was what kept him out of most prides, actually; he had a habit of staring others down as easily as breathing.
He let her see what he wanted to see there and slowly reached a paw out to attempt pulling her closer toward shim. "there now, I don't bite young one." It seemed to him that the red-eyed-monster was likely someone related to her, due to the eyes alone, or at least another member of her pride. Actually, with some of the refereces there, it could easily have been her own father as she'd made him sound like the dastardly sort.. but it made no consequence now, did it? She was out here alone, and he the only adult about to perhaps save her from a deadly fate.
Not that he minded. He lifted his paw again in a rubbing motion, attempting to pet her along her back in a further comforting gesture, "Well, whatever that monster was he's far from this place now. The desert itself, and your Oasis I'll wager, is far behind you. .. And don't worry about your feather, little girl, no one is going to take it away from you."
Giving her a moment to perhaps calm down, Nyota let his voice lower to a soothing croon when he spoke again, "Now then... Why don't you tell brother Nyota what your name is, and we can get this whole mess sorted out, okay?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 5:43 pm
The cub gulped down the saliva that had accumulated within her mouth as the male lowered his eyes to look within her own; it must've been rather strange for Nyota to note that she did not tear her own away from his, but rather, looked deep within, never bothered to hold his gaze.
Misae had heard from the wind that the eyes were the windows of the soul; she was sure that one night it had lulled her to sleep telling her that it did not have eyes for that reason. The wind did not want others to see into it's soul, nor did it want others to know what it was thinking, thus why it did not have eyes; it had sacrificed it's eyes so that his soul might remain unseen in turn, and as she looked within the male's orbs, the pale cub remembered the tale of the Wind's Eyes and smiled for the first time in days.
Almost as if in response, a breeze picked up around them, brief, coincidental really, but no one could have told Misae that much; she lifted her head and closed her eyes, allowing it to play with her pelt, the growing tuff of hair that was slowly falling over her forehead moving with the breeze. It seemed to have more of a calming effect on her than the male's words did at any rate, however, when he lowered his paw to her to pull her closer, she did not resist. Being born into a pride without love, she craved warmth from those adults that should have been there to protect her, and the moment that warmth was offered, even if it was from a stranger, the cub accepted it, "The monster didn't move," it was said without much emotion, "He stayed there; he didn't follow... but I'm lost," the feather she'd been gripping, almost without her knowing so was clutched closer to her chest, her wide red eyes lifting to face him as he mentioned it.
No explanation was given as to why she was gripping it as if her life depended on it, however, she paused for a moment, brief, the side of her face brushing against his fore arms, "My mother called me Misae'dhulu, the wind calls me 'Tainted snow'," she lifted her paw to her eyes, pointing at them, "The wind says they're like blood on snow," there came another pause, "What's snow?" strange as it was, she had calmed down somewhat and though her reasoning was somewhat strange, it was nothing far from childish logic, and as she raised her eyes to him, she looked like any other cub, lost and seeking answers. She unlike him however, did not seek the same answers, for she never bothered to ask for his full name in turn or where he was from, or even if he could help her. She did not expect help after all... having been born where she'd been born, she'd learnt from an early age that she was pretty much alone.
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Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 1:22 pm
What an interesting... child. It was hard to call her such as she seemed to understand more complex concepts than many children her age did, and yet the simple ones had been hung out to dry. Nyota found himself more than a little curious about her, and yet if she'd run from her home there seemed to be a reason for it... beyond that there was obvious emotional damage. Once more, he too had "run away" in his childhod and, while not so young as she at the time, had only benefited from it. So, in the end, the decision to not take her back to this Oasis was an easy one, though he certainly could have forced her if he'd so seen fit.
Confident in that, the lion sniffed the wind as it blew about them. She kept talking about the element as if it were a person, making her sound more than a little.. off-balance, he supposed was the proper term. That was just fine; crazy he could deal with so long as he knew it was there. Really, that was the way of anything, he supposed--once something was in the open it was a lot easier to deal with and judge than something hidden. Being a cub she wasn't liable to hide things so readily, or easily of course. "Well then, at least we know where he is, don't we?" It was a joke, as well as a gentle tease, and Nyota gave a soft chuckle as he petted the girl's back. He wasn't used to dealing with cubs, but he tried.
"Snow... is a cold element; like water but... solid in the way that sand is solid. It is very white, and wet and chilly... and the wind certainly knows what it is speaking of when it calls you that. I might go further, however, and say more that your eyes are like roses in the snow, for I can see the peeking leaf there beside them."
Nyota'visima turned his head, then, looking back in the direction he thought she'd come from. He wondered what laid out there in the desert--what was so horrid about this 'Oasis'--but it seemed better not to ask. "Of course, your snow is a bit stained at the moment... and i doubt you've eaten have you?" It was still very hot out, but the sun was slowly slipping from its height and the day was getting better.
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Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 12:36 am
Fact was... that no, the child did and could not know where the large nightmareish creature was. Her mind supplied that taking into account the swiftness which with it had appeared, perhaps the creature could appear and vanish at whim. This would mean it had the power to be everywhere and nowhere at once; amusingly enough however, the thought did not disturbe her, even as she let it rest and did not mention any of this to the large male before her.
Instead, she tried to wrap her thoughts around the concept of snow, and took mental note to ask the wind what it was herself, later that night, or perhaps one of the followings suns; she was in no hurry to learn, what so ever after all, "Roses?" her paw reached up to to place itself upon the green marking under her left eye, color inherited from her mother, though she wasn't sure where the shape had come from. As far as the cub knew, she had been told she did not resemble her father at all; in a way, she had been luckier than other sisters of hers, plagued by the thought they were marked in slamon, or in other ways. Misae was free of this, and if she were to forget the Oasis itself, no one would have ever be able to place her there in the future; her pelt was white as snow, and her eyes nor her mother's color, not her father's after all.
Slowly placing her paws back on the ground, the cub turned away from Nyota, looking off towards the desers whence she had come from, "A place with no love," she informed him, almost as if she could somehow read his thoughts; maybe a fluke, maybe something else, however, her words were bitter, sour enough to mar her soft features with a brief scowl, "A shadow of a place, tainted by Man's blood, and a Tyrant's claws," the words died in her throat suddenly, and she turned to face him once more, a smile haunting her maw. It was almost as if what she'd said had been forgoten, or as if another being entirely had spoken them, "I did not eat... I was too busy running; but I know how to hunt!" this last note was said quite proudly as she stood as tall as she could (which didn't say much in her favour, for the cub was lithe), "I can hunt mice and bugs!" she said rather proudly, however, her stomach chose that moment to voice it's obvious displeasure with the idea of ingesting such pityful prey right now.
The Oasis might've been loveless indeed, but the fact that it was populated almost entirely by lionesses had had it's perks, and Misae showed this fact easily. She was well fed, and had learnt the basic techniques to hunting... though she was obviously too young to practice on larger prey, "Im kind of thirsty too..." her ears drooped as she looked up at him finally, sitting down with her tail curled around her feet; she'd been brought up to hate to show weakness, even if she'd later learn it was in fact, necesary in life. Amusing enough was the fact Misae'd already accepted the male before her for what he'd shown himself to be though; a friend, a savious or sorts, and someone that was offering her what not even her parents ever had. Affection.
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Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:52 am
She was a sweet enough girl; strong, even tempered.. and the oddest of all was that she hadn't yet turned hysterical, though one would have expected that above all from most cubs in her situation. It was almost spooky, but it made perfect sense to him. A militant style raising bought no tolerance of weakness from yourself or others, and that seemed to be the sort of mindset present with this child. Nyota nodded lightly to himself; he saw how easily this could work in his favor and he liked it. It would be a little tricky wondering how much affection she was starved for, but so far she seemed to be eating up what he was offering. Wonderful.
The lion gave a light chuckle, an approving sound, at her proclamation of hunting profieciency. "I don't doubt that you're quite the little huntress," He agreed as he moved his paw back to the ground and stood up. After a short stretch, Nyota offered her a smile and tipped his head towards the interior of the Savannah. "But, I might suggest that mice and bugs arn't quite a fitting meal after so long a journey. Perhaps this little Rose will allow me to find her some dinner?"
As he awaited her agreement, though he doubted she'd object, he sniffed the wind for signs of a herd or lone animal of managable size. He hadn't eaten just yet either and it was getting to be a fairly good time of the day for such things. Feeding one more mouth wasn't hard to do, either, a part of him whispered, especially one so small.. and in the end the effort should pay for itself a few times over. Never once did it occur to Nyota to do this for the simple sake of the child itself, nor would it ever occur to him... but she didn't have to know that.
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 3:36 pm
Red hued eyes grew large as he offered to hunt for her, maw hanging open, teeth displayed for him to see. They were perly white, well kept, as was her pelt (despite the fact it was ruffled and dirty from her trip and from stumbling a few times, it was visible it'd been well kept and groomed, for after all.. .white was a hard color to keep clean). There had been no males in the oasis, and the only one she knew of even though she'd never seen, was her father.
She could not remember notice of him ever hunting. That was a female's work. It was then that Misae finally saw Nyota was something more than just a friend and a saviour; it was during that precise moment that her large eyes regarded him with wonder, perhaps even idolising him for a moment before she closed them and smiled brightly.
It was her first real smile ever.
Muscles she'd not really used before were forced into actions as she offered the large male her gratitude in the form of a child's first smile; there was innocence greeting the male within the cub's action, for even despite she'd been love deprived, she'd still had the wind and her dreams... and within them, she'd retained her innocence. Innocence that now showed through such a simple action, "Yes!" she chirped, and then she danced around his paws gracefully, her body despite being hurt and sprained from her running moving fluidly, her frame rubbing against his paws, "Please!"
And for the first time ever, the small pale cub was Happy. Truly happy. She'd never known it was as simple as that.
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 3:55 pm
"Well then.. you stay right here, and watch the herds. I will be back in a moment." The male shook himself to clear his muscles of the rest he'd been taking. She was a sore thumb on the savanna, a white beacon to any predator.. but he wouldn't go far. It wasn't, after all, something one did--abandoning a child like that. Rather, the male did exactly as he'd said he would.
Blending into the tall grasses, Nyota wove his way near the herd he'd been watching. His mind danced back to the sudden appearance of the ghost child, the rose of the snow.. How odd that a child came out this far on her own. A place with no love? Well, love wasn't always necessary and it didn't seem as if she had suffered terribly from the ordeal... physically anyway.
A part of him wondered that he hadn't turned the cub back to her family. She was their problem, wasn't she? And yet...
He dashed from the undergrowth, taking down an antelope with ease. She was an older thing, past the age of bearing but not so toughened that her meat would be grizzly. Pleased with himself, the lion drug his prize back to the tree in a few moments, as the herd ran from him. He dropped it before the girl, then paused. Normally he'd have simply eaten it on the spot, but dragging it wasn't the real difference here, today. Instead, Nyota backed off a step and sat, waiting for the girl to take a share.
He didn't admit it, but that smile had won over a part of him that he might not have conceded otherwise. There would be no turning this girl away, not now. Rather, this was an opportunity. Nyota wasn't yet certain what that opportunity was for, but it made his heart smile.
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