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 Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 9:39 pm
Night was still reaching across from the east, conquest still just out of reach as the sun remained hovering over the horizon. Siri watched the battle with wide eyes, and her purple fur seemed to glow with a bright golden-red light.
The sky was such wonderful colors! So many swirls of blues and reds, oranges and golds...
The juvenile rolled onto her back and watched the stars begining to sparkle out of the eastern darkness. She'd have to remember to ask someone what they were... they LOOKED like pretty beetles, or fireflies... or maybe the pretty stones that she sometimes found.
Or sunlight on water...
Or maybe they -were- tiny suns!
Siri giggled and batted at the grass that hung in her blue eyes. She might be growing, but the world still seemed so new! How would she ever be as smart as her parents?
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Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 10:21 pm
 Tufted tail flicked against hide dark as the night sky touched by white as brilliant as the full moon, orange eyes brilliant as the setting sun. Shin'Jougen was a creature of the daylight, unable to sleep while the spirit of adventure called him, a spirit inherited from his father, a cubbish excitement that remained strong in him despite his age. But even so, the night called to him, the beautiful blanket that had inspired his name, heart of the crescent moon.
The tall adolescent stepped slowly, white paws rustling the grass with each step, eyes turned toward the falling night, gaze captivated by the stars his father cherished so deeply. It was on nights like that he understood why, or at least thought he did.
But as he stepped through the pridelands, paws carrying him toward the tree his family called home, young eyes fell on something else. The form of a cub laying in the grass nearby. Purple? That was an unusual color.
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Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:22 pm
At first she didn't notice the approach of the older male. Her gaze was locked on the swirl of colors in the sky, and she chewed thoughtfully on a long strand of grass. What made all those colors, anyways? Maybe it was those... things... that mama had mentioned.
Those... umm... Gods! Yeah.
Maybe they had painted her purple then. She snorted and snapped her jaws irritably. Why'd they go an' do THAT? She wanted to be pretty and normal like Cam or like Sen. Maybe God didn't like her! ... or maybe he -really- liked her! And her family. To give her such a special, strange color!
The breeze shifted and a new scent blew across her. Another lion? Remaining where she was, Siri swivled her ears and caught the soft sound of paws on grass. Maybe this one could answer her question! Large blue eyes settled on the black and white form of her new informer.
"Do -you- believe in God?" She piped, her voice somewhat muffled from the grass stem.
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:50 pm
The young lion blinked, pausing in his stride before taking a startled step backward, black mane rustling with his movement. Did he what? What kind of question was that for a kid to ask?
"Ummm...no..."
Later he would certainly kick himself for not coming up with a surly response to the cub's question, a response that would no doubt wake him from peaceful slumber later that night and haunt him until he gave up on falling back asleep. But now he had been too startled by the question to think of anything else to say, good thing his sister wasn't here to see it.
His answer had at least been honest, Shin had never heard of or seen anything to make him believe in gods, and he wasn't too keen to start. Whatever...cubs didn't know anything anyways.
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:09 pm
Siri blinked and stared for a moment. No? She'd asked a question, but she'd been so certain of the answer that his unexpected one suprised her. Hmmm... the small female huffed and rolled onto her stomach. Shaking herself, she climbed to her feet and eyed the male with new interest.
"Really? Then what makes everything? What makes -that- happen?" She waved one paw at the colorful evening sky. The questions weren't in any way sarcastic - Siri was truely intrigued. "Who made me purple then, and you black an' white?"
Because whoever made her purple had some explainin' to do!
"I'd like to meet them... whoever they are." Siri's voice was almost wistful as she gazed at the few stars that dotted the eastern sky. Why couldn't she look like the night, or like the rocks, or the clouds? That would be amazing!
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:31 pm
Over the initial shock, Shin fell back into his relaxed indifference. He shook his head, tufted tail flicking as he rolled his eyes at the cub's questions.
"Nothing does, it just happens. I'm black and white because of my parents, and you're purple because of yours."
Stupid cub, what a pointless question. He knew why those things happened and it had nothing to do with some stupid 'gods'. His father had always told him that the fallen lions watched over them from the stars, his grandmother, the old king, and everyone else that had ever died. And -that- was what made the sky change, not some gods. Besides, if there -were- gods, they were no friends of lions, if there were gods then there would be no fallen to watch over them now would there.
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:40 pm
Siri frowned and pinned her ears. Rolling your eyes at someone wasn't very nice! She was only asking questions, after all! If he didn't like her, he could just leave. But for now she wasn't going anywhere! She still had more questions.
"How could NOTHING make it happen? SOMETHING has to make it happen! My Mama didn't paint me purple or nothin'! Jus' like your Daddy didn't color you black an' white. You just ARE that way!" Siri shook her head, her expression a mix of irritation and a mystified confusion. "Why?"
The cub eyed the older male for a moment. The a wise smile cracked her muzzle. "I bet you're just saying that cuz you don't know either!" The cub beamed. How clever!
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 2:16 pm
"No one painted me or you. I'm this color because my mom is this color, I -inherited- it, just like you -inherited- your purple."
He snorted, tail flicking in irritation. What an annoying little runt, he hoped his new siblings wouldn't be so annoying. Stupid parents, why were they haven't more cubs anyways? As if he and his sister weren't enough. But then, maybe he'd have a little brother, one that he could get to help him torment Kani, that would be fun.
Shaken from his thoughts, Shin's gaze shifted to look at the purple cub from the corner of his eye, one brow furrowed.
"Whatever..." He rolled his eyes again, muttering under his breath as he spoke. "Gods, what kind of lame idea is that anyways? And I do know."
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 3:58 pm
"In-hair-ted?" Siri cocked her head to the side and wrinkled her nose. "What's THAT? An' besides, I don't look 'xactly like my parents do. My mama is GREY!"
She wasn't a stupid little baby! She snorted and shuffled her paws in the grass under her feet. Night was falling quickly, but she didn't want to go home yet! This boy might be able to tell her some things! Even if he -was- awful mean about it.
"My ideas aren't lame." Siri muttered, looked away, and slouched her shoulders. Why'd he keep saying things like that? "My Mama told me that, and she's not lame either! So you shouldn't go around saying bad things about other lions."
And she thought he looked so cool when she saw him at first! Why'd she meet all the mean ones? Maybe they just didn't like her from the start. Well, that's not fair!
"How come you don't like me?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:51 pm
"I don't look exactly like my mom either, I look like my dad too. Maybe you look like your dad, or maybe someone else in your mom's family was purple. What does it matter anyways? You look like you do and that's all there is to it, why would you want to look like everyone else anyways? That would be boring."
The young lion huffed a sigh as he flopped into the grass, rolling onto his back to look up at the stars. How many times was he going to have go to through all this before the little runt got it? Gods....what a laugh.
"Then your mom is wrong, there are no gods. If there were gods then my dad wouldn't have to be sad."
Juhudi was normally a happy lion, one who cared and loved his family deeply, he was always kind and gentle, yet playful and energetic as a young cub. But there were times when Shin saw something, a sorrow that flashed for a moment in his father's eyes sometimes when he looked at Shin or his sister, or when he sat somberly and watched the stars from the branches of the tree they called home. It had been but a few days since Shin had approached his father on one such night.
----------------
"Dad? Are you okay?"
"Hmmm? I'm fine, just watching the stars."
"Are you sure? You look...sad."
"No, just thinking is all."
"What about?"
"Nothing really."
The older lion had smiled reassuringly, dismissing the subject with his warm expression, but Shin knew better. Still he had not questioned further, reasoning that if and when he was meant to know, his father would tell him.
------------------
The young male shook his head to clear his thoughts, pushing away the memory as he rolled to his chest, head lowered to rest on one paw.
"I don't not like you..."
Shin was not an unkind lion, he was simply a boy and a teenager, conflicted by the changes in himself and the world around him, changes that he did not understand.
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 7:31 pm
"WRONG?" Siri shook her head hard, making her ears flop with the force. "Nu-uh! Mama isn't wrong. Maybe YOU'RE wrong! Who told you there weren't any Gods anyways?"
Probably some other dumb lion. No one as smart as her mama! The cub watched as the male flopped onto his back. So he didn't NOT like her, huh? She waited a moment before flopping down next to him and following his golden stare. Siri sighed, her gaze darting from the night sky to the young male beside her.
"Why is your dad sad?" She asked softly.
And what do the Gods have to do with THAT? Gods weren't responsible for making lions happy! They just made things. And then watched them. Right?
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Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 8:19 pm
"No one had to tell me, I can without being told. Don't you know how to figure things out for yourself?"
He laid silently for a moment, ears flicking in the night air as the sounds of dusk gave way to those of the nighttime, chirping insects replaced by the distant howls of nocturnal predators. He didn't look up, but simply shrugged his answer to her question.
"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me."
The young male sighed, maybe he did know, even if his father never said, he was smart enough to guess. Shin came from a large family, but it was all on his mother's side; he had never known a relative on his father's side.
"My father believes that his mother watches him from the stars, maybe sometimes he wishes she was closer." He paused as he looked up at the stars, as if something had suddenly dawned on him, "Wait, why do you care anyways?"
For that matter why was he telling this to a cub? Aw man, whatever...stupid cub.
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 2:46 pm
"Hmph." Siri made a face. "I can make decisions on my own, SURE! Buuut sometimes other lions have smart things to say, and I actually listen."
Unlike -you-, mister smarty pants. Why'd he think she was so stupid, anyways? Just because she was a little younger than him didn't mean she didn't know anything! She was silent too for a long moment. The sounds of insects chirping in the tall grass was calming...
She listened silently as the older male spoke, her blue eyes shut as she focused on his words. A wry smile shot across her face at his sudden questioning, but she didn't answer.
"Maybe he doesn't want you to worry about him?" Siri batted absently at a blade of grass. Lions in the night sky? She'd never heard that one before! She eyed the stars suspiciously. Maybe that was how her mother learned about all those things Siri did wrong! ... but how did a lion get up there?
"Maybe she IS close by, but he just can't see her!"
Whooo. Creepy! Siri shivered. Invisible lions!
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:56 pm
He snorted, one paw idly shuffling in the grass, sketching some unknown pattern in the soft earth. Orange eyes fell closed, ears laid back, tail flicking in faint irritation, unwilling to shift his gaze or look at the younger cub.
"Well he's not doing a very god job."
A heavy sigh, eyes opening to stare ahead, focusing for the moment on a small stone his paw had found. If only he could hear the thoughts inside the cub's head, he would have shaken his head and prayed to the stars that his new siblings would not be like this one. Either that or he would have simply laughed in that cruel way teenagers do at the idea of invisible lions.
But he didn't hear her thoughts, and stupid, well that may have been a bit harsh of a word. Not that he would have ever admitted it, but he didn't think the cub was truly stupid, just that she didn't know anything, what did cubs know anyways? Amazing how much one's chain of thought changes as he grows, never would he admit how little he'd know as a cub.
"She's not, she died, a long time ago."
And there he was again, telling her things, this was stupid; and he flicked the stone away in frustration.
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Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2007 11:46 pm
"I don't always do good jobs at things, but I try!" She wiggled closer and peered at the older lion's sketching in the earth. She saw his ears flatten though and edged back a bit, her own ears folding in confusion. "Maybe he doesn't think you know."
It was true! Mama didn't think she knew a lot. But she did! Honest. And she was really really ready to learn how to hunt! ... if someone would teach her. But that wasn't important now. What -was- important was invisible lions, and sad young lions who needed comfort.
Whether or not they realized it, of course. Siri nodded curtly to herself. Yes.
But...
"Died?" The female canted her head to the side and gazed at Shin curiously. "What is that?"
If it was like going away, she could help find Shin's grandma again! And then no one would be sad!
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