...//Crazy is...
Umande'mfuni: Now with more backlogging!
Umande'mfuni: Now with more backlogging!
Kisoni
Sure thing!))
Even the water was hot. Kizuka sighed a little, dealing with it as she lapped up a little more from the drying river bed of Umande'mfuni. Dark, half damp soil left ghosts of pawprints as she moved further down the river bed afterward. Once more she searched for the pride that was supposed to be there, moving even further across the valley from where she'd left her little 'clan' that morning. Her fur was damp with sweat, but for once it was no relief as not a breath of wind stirred the valley that day. The browning foliage crunched underfoot as Kizuka finally returned to the shelter of the shade the trees offered. While it might have been easier to move by the river, it was a good deal hotter--too hot to deal with right now. If she could have gone at night, it would be easier.
As the thought struck her, Kizuka paused and turned once more to look out of the trees and check the position of the sun. It was still high above, and she ducked back into trees with a relieved sigh. Despite the ease in temperature the night brought, she wasn't the type to be away from her family for too long. While she trusted Triv'an to no end, she didn't want to leave either of the cubs out in the dark with only one male for protection. Who knew, this new Mistweaver's tribe was apparantly so secretive, they might not be welcoming either. Shaking the thoughts from her head, Kizuka continued on through the thick foliage the trees still offered. The brown on the leaves made her heart hurt and once more a silent prayer was issued to the Storm God. Why, WHY had he deserted them so? A lesser lion would have been angry or unfaithful after so long of a struggle against the would-be fate of her people.. the seeming fate of her people.
The lioness sighed to herself and stopped in her tracks, head hung low. What were all these depressing thoughts? Yes, her old home had never been far from her mind but she'd never obsessed over its fate until they'd started back home those moons ago. Now it ate at her, like a fire in her belly and there was no water to quench it as there was no water to properly feed the forest nad river. A small part of her wondered why she still bothered with this place. It was dying, and there were no Mistweavers.. not anymore.
Faces flashed upon her mind's eye as Kizuka found a moss covered rock to lay upon. Kimaji, Triv'an, Usu.. as much as the latter wouldn't admit it; all of these needed her, depended on her. Was she really so selfish as to stay here when the land around them died? It wasn't that bad yet, but... If no rains came soon, the herds were lost. Most had all ready moved on, in fact. Perhaps it was time for them to move on as well? "My lord, help us," Kizuka whispered softly. Her voice grew louder as she turned her attention skyward where a fallen tree had left a hole in the canopy above. "Please, send me a sign? I have spent my life doing what is your will, my lord.. but I am lost. I cannot figure out this riddle of yours. What did your Mistweavers do to dissapoint you? what must we do to appease you...?"
Only the shriek of distant birds answered her plea, however, and Kizuka's ears turned back. Maybe she was a fool to keep believing.
Even the water was hot. Kizuka sighed a little, dealing with it as she lapped up a little more from the drying river bed of Umande'mfuni. Dark, half damp soil left ghosts of pawprints as she moved further down the river bed afterward. Once more she searched for the pride that was supposed to be there, moving even further across the valley from where she'd left her little 'clan' that morning. Her fur was damp with sweat, but for once it was no relief as not a breath of wind stirred the valley that day. The browning foliage crunched underfoot as Kizuka finally returned to the shelter of the shade the trees offered. While it might have been easier to move by the river, it was a good deal hotter--too hot to deal with right now. If she could have gone at night, it would be easier.
As the thought struck her, Kizuka paused and turned once more to look out of the trees and check the position of the sun. It was still high above, and she ducked back into trees with a relieved sigh. Despite the ease in temperature the night brought, she wasn't the type to be away from her family for too long. While she trusted Triv'an to no end, she didn't want to leave either of the cubs out in the dark with only one male for protection. Who knew, this new Mistweaver's tribe was apparantly so secretive, they might not be welcoming either. Shaking the thoughts from her head, Kizuka continued on through the thick foliage the trees still offered. The brown on the leaves made her heart hurt and once more a silent prayer was issued to the Storm God. Why, WHY had he deserted them so? A lesser lion would have been angry or unfaithful after so long of a struggle against the would-be fate of her people.. the seeming fate of her people.
The lioness sighed to herself and stopped in her tracks, head hung low. What were all these depressing thoughts? Yes, her old home had never been far from her mind but she'd never obsessed over its fate until they'd started back home those moons ago. Now it ate at her, like a fire in her belly and there was no water to quench it as there was no water to properly feed the forest nad river. A small part of her wondered why she still bothered with this place. It was dying, and there were no Mistweavers.. not anymore.
Faces flashed upon her mind's eye as Kizuka found a moss covered rock to lay upon. Kimaji, Triv'an, Usu.. as much as the latter wouldn't admit it; all of these needed her, depended on her. Was she really so selfish as to stay here when the land around them died? It wasn't that bad yet, but... If no rains came soon, the herds were lost. Most had all ready moved on, in fact. Perhaps it was time for them to move on as well? "My lord, help us," Kizuka whispered softly. Her voice grew louder as she turned her attention skyward where a fallen tree had left a hole in the canopy above. "Please, send me a sign? I have spent my life doing what is your will, my lord.. but I am lost. I cannot figure out this riddle of yours. What did your Mistweavers do to dissapoint you? what must we do to appease you...?"
Only the shriek of distant birds answered her plea, however, and Kizuka's ears turned back. Maybe she was a fool to keep believing.
Meepfur
Hot. Everything was hot here. Even to a leopard who had been born and raised in the jungle, this heat was oppressive; in fact, he could hardly be bothered to stir himself enough from his drowse to go to what was left of the river. Perhaps he would lie in it awhile - just long enough for night to fall. Then he'd slip away from this accursed place, maybe even find his brother and see what Mkosaji was up to these days.
Maluuni'samio roused himself with a shake, pink tongue already lolling from his mouth in a pant. The pads of his paws were slick with sweat as his body released heat from the only places it could. The browning leaves that littered the ground stuck to his dampened paws as he made his way towards water, unable to decide what would be better: to get there quickly, or to go slowly. Ultimately, he settled on slow; he would rather spend more time walking in the heat than less time running in it.
Yes, he would leave these lands, and soon. They were dying, and he had no intention of dying with them, despite how fascinating it would be to watch. It was why he had stayed so long already, mesmerized by the drying waterbeds and the gasping fish left behind as the river shrank. As a matter of fact, just the other day he'd found a ripe carcass decaying in the heat, attended by flies and maggots.
He would have loved to stay, but he did not want to be the one burrowed through by worms. There were other places to watch such processes, without so much risk of becoming part of one.
To distract himself from the stifling temperature, he sang. His voice was surprisingly good, lending a bizarre melodious quality to the song.
"The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
The worms play 't huntin' in your snout.
They eat your eyes, they eat your nose,
They eat the jelly between your toes."
Maluuni'samio roused himself with a shake, pink tongue already lolling from his mouth in a pant. The pads of his paws were slick with sweat as his body released heat from the only places it could. The browning leaves that littered the ground stuck to his dampened paws as he made his way towards water, unable to decide what would be better: to get there quickly, or to go slowly. Ultimately, he settled on slow; he would rather spend more time walking in the heat than less time running in it.
Yes, he would leave these lands, and soon. They were dying, and he had no intention of dying with them, despite how fascinating it would be to watch. It was why he had stayed so long already, mesmerized by the drying waterbeds and the gasping fish left behind as the river shrank. As a matter of fact, just the other day he'd found a ripe carcass decaying in the heat, attended by flies and maggots.
He would have loved to stay, but he did not want to be the one burrowed through by worms. There were other places to watch such processes, without so much risk of becoming part of one.
To distract himself from the stifling temperature, he sang. His voice was surprisingly good, lending a bizarre melodious quality to the song.
"The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
The worms play 't huntin' in your snout.
They eat your eyes, they eat your nose,
They eat the jelly between your toes."
Kisoni
The obnoxious, vaguely disturbing music woke Kizuka though she hadn't quite realized she'd drifted off. It must have been the heat, she realized with a frown.. it wasn't good to let yourself get too lethargic, especially in this kind of weather. Kizuka rose to her paws again, shaking her fur out to displace some of the moss sticking to her damp fur, when the song came back to her again just in time to hear the end. What WAS that?
Her nose wrinkled a little as the lyrics truly hit home. It sounded like something Ushuafu would have sung when she'd first met him. Indeed, it sounded like a fairly good description of what he'd looked like. Shaking the webs from her mind, she perked her ears to listen for more clues as to what was making it.
Finally she got a good idea which direction it was coming from, and began to follow, slinking through the underbrush like her namesake. Perhaps this was the sign she was looking for, a part of her mind whispered, but was it a sign she wanted? Songs of death from unknown sources... generally, one wouldn't consider that a good sign.
Even so, Kizuka continued to follow the sound back towards the streambed. It wasn't until he'd stepped out of the brush and into the river that she saw him. A purple cheeta male, it seemed, looking a little off kilter if his song gave anything away. Perhaps it was due to the amount of sweat dripping from his fur, a form of dehydrated delirium... or perhaps he was simply mad, or as morbid as her dear friend.
Either way, Kizuka felt no fear of him as she padded back out into the sunlight towards him. "Ho, there," She greeted him in a low, heat muffled voice.
Her nose wrinkled a little as the lyrics truly hit home. It sounded like something Ushuafu would have sung when she'd first met him. Indeed, it sounded like a fairly good description of what he'd looked like. Shaking the webs from her mind, she perked her ears to listen for more clues as to what was making it.
Finally she got a good idea which direction it was coming from, and began to follow, slinking through the underbrush like her namesake. Perhaps this was the sign she was looking for, a part of her mind whispered, but was it a sign she wanted? Songs of death from unknown sources... generally, one wouldn't consider that a good sign.
Even so, Kizuka continued to follow the sound back towards the streambed. It wasn't until he'd stepped out of the brush and into the river that she saw him. A purple cheeta male, it seemed, looking a little off kilter if his song gave anything away. Perhaps it was due to the amount of sweat dripping from his fur, a form of dehydrated delirium... or perhaps he was simply mad, or as morbid as her dear friend.
Either way, Kizuka felt no fear of him as she padded back out into the sunlight towards him. "Ho, there," She greeted him in a low, heat muffled voice.
Meepfur
"The worms that crawl in are lean and thin,"
The leopard's song went on, distracting him from the heat - and from most everything else, as well. His pawsteps lifted a little higher as he concentrated on the music instead of where he was, lending him an almost jovial air that didn't fit the song very well at all.
"The worms that crawl out," The speaker's greeting broke through his words, a hiccup in his song as he whirled to face the painted lioness with orange eyes set in a face masked with purple.
"...are fat and stout," he finished with a flourish, ringed tail settling still and calm behind him.
The leopard's song went on, distracting him from the heat - and from most everything else, as well. His pawsteps lifted a little higher as he concentrated on the music instead of where he was, lending him an almost jovial air that didn't fit the song very well at all.
"The worms that crawl out," The speaker's greeting broke through his words, a hiccup in his song as he whirled to face the painted lioness with orange eyes set in a face masked with purple.
"...are fat and stout," he finished with a flourish, ringed tail settling still and calm behind him.
Kisoni
Kizuka's eyes widened a little as the creature faced her yet continued to sing. Strange little thing, he was, a deep unnatural colour with even more unnatural eyes. That didn't bother her so much as the relish he sang his song did. Still, she wasn't one that was about to be intimidated by that and tilted her head. Her eyes went to the river for a moment, seeing as he was obviously headed there.. likely to lay in it, which wasn't too bad an idea right now, so long as there weren't any crocodiles still alive in its depths... not that she cared of his welfare, of course.
"Excuse the interruption," She continued when he seemed to have finished. "You wouldn't happen to know of a lion pride in this area, would you? I've been looking for those that call themselves Mistweavers or Umande'mfuni."
The thought that this could be a godsent guide was less now that she'd seen him. Then again, who said it couldn't be one more example of the bad sense of humor their God seemed to display more and more often lately. She wouldn't know until he spoke again.
"Excuse the interruption," She continued when he seemed to have finished. "You wouldn't happen to know of a lion pride in this area, would you? I've been looking for those that call themselves Mistweavers or Umande'mfuni."
The thought that this could be a godsent guide was less now that she'd seen him. Then again, who said it couldn't be one more example of the bad sense of humor their God seemed to display more and more often lately. She wouldn't know until he spoke again.
Meepfur
Samio couldn't have left his song without its end just because someone else had showed up, oh no. How could anyone sing a song and not finish it? It made perfect sense to keep singing until you were done singing. But he was, so there was no unfinished song hanging over and ringing through his head.
"Lions?" he asked, that one word short and quick. With a tilt of his head, he considered the lioness' question with seeming gravity.
Several moments past a 'too long' pause, a brief chortle passed his lips, followed by his unhelpful answer, "I might. I suppose...it depends."
"Lions?" he asked, that one word short and quick. With a tilt of his head, he considered the lioness' question with seeming gravity.
Several moments past a 'too long' pause, a brief chortle passed his lips, followed by his unhelpful answer, "I might. I suppose...it depends."
Kisoni
And so it was proven that this was not a sign; or if it was, Kizuka was far lacking in basic comprehension skills. She had waited patiently for him to answer, even stuck out in the oppressive heat as they were. A brow lifted right before he finally decided to answer, but when it came it wasn't helpful at all. Though she wasn't entirely certain that she wanted to know, the Lioness tentitavly asked, "What does it depend on, for curosity's sake?"
Meepfur
"I have your answer..." The leopard paced forward, sweat-damp paws landing firmly but softly, with a rustling of leaf litter. An untempered grin spread across his maw as he drew closer to the lioness, with no regard to personal space. "What do you have?"
Kisoni
So that was how this was going to go, hm? The lioness didn't flinch as he came closer, holding his eyes instead. Heat mingled with the stress of her situation and she had to fight herself to keep from becoming too snappish with him. It was a hard struggle, but in the end she won over the urge to attempt using force on him. Instead, she calmly nodded slightly and let her nose come within a mere hair's breath of his. "the locations of a few rotting corspes, and some fresher meat scraps you might be interested in."
Meepfur
Ooh, this was a good one! Almost worth putting up with this damned heat. He leaned forward that one extra touch, pressing his nose against hers before drawing back just a little, exhaling his answer in a drag of stinking breath, "I like fresh."
Kisoni
"Then the fresh you'll get," Kizuka retored while a part of her wanted to retch. She somehow could drag around rotting corpses and deal with messy things that cubs got into, and yet the smell of his breath was almost too much for her. Funny how things sometimes worked, but Kizuka managed to control herself this time and met his eyes with her own, serious ones. "Tell me what you know, and I'll tell you where it lays."
Meepfur
"Now then, how do I know you'll hold up your end of the deal?" Samio queried, eyebrow quirking skeptically. "I might tell you, and then you could run off...or you could lie about where it is."
Those were the sort of tricks he would pull...and would quite willingly, if she would just cooperate and be less clever.
Kisoni
"How do I know you will?" She countedered with a raised brow and smirk. The time she'd spent with the God of Deception was time well used, she decided, but kept that comment to herself. Instead, the lioness offered a treaty, "tell me your information, and then i will take you personally to where the meat is hidden."
Meepfur
The leopard considered this with gravity, mulling the possiblities in his head. Did he really know anything that might be useful to her? No. But that didn't mean he couldn't come up with something.
"Two weeks ago, I ran into a cub to the north and east of here, who mentioned family, sounded like a large one." Samio spoke frankly, ending in a shrug. "I didn't pay him more attention than I had to."
"Two weeks ago, I ran into a cub to the north and east of here, who mentioned family, sounded like a large one." Samio spoke frankly, ending in a shrug. "I didn't pay him more attention than I had to."
Kisoni
"North east?" She repeated to herself. It wasn't much information, and really not worth anything, but she had made a promise. Besides, the optimistic side of her decided, it was a lead. Kizuka nodded a little, "Alright then. A deal's a deal... any idea of what it looked like, though? Anything else you can remember at all?" As she spoke the liones turned to plow back through the water to the otherside of the river, leading him as she promised she would. The water, even hot, was a nice respite from the heat.
Meepfur
"What'd it look like?" The less details he was cornered into giving - making up, as it were - the better. But maybe, just maybe, he'd get lucky...and if he could string it out long enough without getting caught lying, Maluuni'samio just might have himself a decent meal; it would be nice not to have to travel on an empty stomach.
"It was a scrawny thing, not worth the effort of eating. Might not've bothered talking, otherwise." The leopard allowed himself a toothy grin as he followed after the lioness. "He was just kinda brown, nothing special."
Brown was a normal lion color after all, right? Even this one had brown patches. It was a marginally safe bet.
"It was a scrawny thing, not worth the effort of eating. Might not've bothered talking, otherwise." The leopard allowed himself a toothy grin as he followed after the lioness. "He was just kinda brown, nothing special."
Brown was a normal lion color after all, right? Even this one had brown patches. It was a marginally safe bet.
Kisoni
Kizuka didn't seem to think anything of it, at least she thought nothing negative of it. instead the lioness seemed rather lost in her own thoughts as she came out the otherside of the low river--could it really even be called that any more?--and shook herself before continuing into the trees on the other side. Perhaps he was a better trickster than he'd given himself credit for, because he had her fooled now. "Scrawny?" She murmered, giving a sharp look over her shoulder at the comment about eating the poor babe. Still, he wasn't a lion and nature was nature.. though she certainly wouldn't be so rude to say the same thing to an antelope about one of their children. "Perhpas not so large a family, then, if so many huntresses couldn't find food to fill their cubs.." Even as much trouble as she had finding food sometimes, she still managed to keep her own cubs at a decent weight. Thus far, at any rate.
-- Unfinished (and likely staying that way it seems)
Originally dated: July 03, 2006
