[PRP - East] The Star Theory

[Kimaria]

Bai Bo didn't often venture out after dark. Why he was out now was purely for the fact that he couldn't sleep. He'd been studying all day and now his mind was buzzing, running over characters and scriptures in his mind. Again and again and again...

The cool night air kissed his face as he padded softly down across the grass. The moon was bright this night, a round disc in the sky. It's light streamed across him, illuminating his white fur with a fresh vibrance. He sighed, somewhat relieved for the cool touch in the air. He wasn't much fond of the burning sun on his head, ears and back. His pale fur didn't do much to protect him from it.

The stars were out this night, too, and he paused under their expanse, peering up at them. It was odd. Looking at the stars seemed to take him back in time, to the time when he was a tiny cub, curled at his mother's side. Listening to her stories. And for a strange, rare moment, he felt a pang of homesickness and he yearned to see the shadow of priderock towering above him. Yearned to see his mother again.  

[xo -- k a i r i]

It was late - so late that the moon was high in the sky and the stars were twinkling down. She should be in bed, and she knew that if the Lord caught her up at this time, still working, he'd be frustrated. She didn't like upsetting him, but these records wouldn't check themselves. She'd written nearly a whole page within the last week or so, and her work needed checking to ensure it was accurate and precise. She'd be the one upset if she were found to have recorded something wrong.

But even Kumbuka wasn't invincible. Having found her vision swimming her her eyelids heavy, she decided that a short stroll was required to inhale some fresh air and wake her up a little. After all, if she was sleepy whilst checking her records, she was likely to miss something - and then she might as well not be checking them at all. With a sigh, unaware of her friend's presence the other side of a large bush, Kumbuka sat herself down on the grassy plain, curling her tail around herself as she stared up at the moon, finding herself reminiscing.

On of the first memories she recalled was one of the moon, shining down on her and lighting her way. It was by the light of the moon that she'd been guided to the Tianxia lands, yet she hadn't seen much of it since. And suddenly, now, as she looked up to the sky, she felt a swell of emotions in her chest.

She smiled.  

[Kimaria]

His ear flicked. What was that? A sound? No, his imagination. He chided himself for getting lost in those sorts of memories and shook them away. Then, he turned his head to look around him, thinking how different the world appeared at night. It seemed deeper, mysterious. He felt as if he could get completely and utterly lost.

For once, though, the night didn't seem to worry him.

He passed by the bush, unaware that Kumbuka was just there and padded on slowly, quietly. This cool night air and the peace that came with it was good for calming his thoughts. He wasn't sure what made him pause, but he did, and as he angled his head round he caught sight of her pale shape, touched by moonlight.

Without realising it, a smile touched his maw.  

[xo -- k a i r i]

Kumbuka found herself suddenly lost to the world - a feeling she didn't experience often. She was usually a blunt, grounded lionness, but tonight was different. Meeting her old friend the Moon seemed to change things, as she felt her eyelids flutter shut, body seeming to warm underneath the Moon's pearly glow. The records could wait, just this once.

She was small. Very, very small. There was a shape...a large shape above her. Familiar...soothing. She wanted the shape to come closer, to comfort and warm her. But it walked away...and just kept walking. Kumbuka frowned as she watched the pictures playing across her closed eyelids. And then there was the Lord, welcoming a tired young juvenile to the East House, nuturing and caring for her. Raising her to be what she was destined to be. Developing her talents and photographic memory. But as the cub grew, she lost something. Something very special.

Steel-blue eyes suddenly fluttered open, Kumbuka instinctively glancing behind her with a smile. It was strange, but she knew who was there. "Bai Bo? Come join me, if you wish."  

[Kimaria]

He started at the voice. Her voice. How had she known? Did she think that he had been staring? Oh...dear... He felt his face grow hot and was thankful for the shadow to hide his blushing. How did he get himself into these awkward situations?

And yet, how could he just go now? He wanted to go and join her. He was compelled to. Ugh what was happening to him? Was he finding his social skills at last? Before he met her, he'd have just mumbled and walked away. So why was she so different? The question was pushed from his mind as he moved towards her, treading softly as if afraid of breaking the peace of the night.

Then, he moved and settled beside her, close enough so that they could talk in lowered voices, but just far enough away that they weren't touching. "We have to stop meeting like this." He chuckled. "How are you? Don't tell me you can't sleep either."  

[xo -- k a i r i]

He seemed to pause, and she thought maybe he'd left. She didn't blame him - it was late, and most of the pride would be sleeping now. Perhaps he needed some rest too? She was surprised, and mildly pleased when he drew up next to her, though, sitting beside her as he chuckled, speaking in a lowered tone of voice. Kumbuka found the corners of her mouth twitching in a smile, but resisted the temptation to, instead calming herself as she glanced to her side, watching him with interest.

"I do not mind out meetings, Bai Bo. You're always surprising me, and it's intriguing."

She offered a smile, as if to make sure he didn't take her words offensively, yet it disappeared as she turned her gaze towards the moon once again, her tail hugging her body a little closer. "I am nostalgic this evening. Although I'm not sure whether I particularly want to be - not all are good memories." She paused, her nose twitching as her eyes never wavered, constantly watching the glowing orb in the sky, "I was checking the records, but needed fresh air to give my mind a break. All great minds tire eventually. I am not sleepy."  

[Kimaria]

He sensed that something troubled her and shifted a little, somewhat uneasy. Would it be better to talk with her as if he hadn't noticed or should he ask? No, it was best not to question if she didn't want to talk about it. Perhaps if he spoke of other things he could take her mind from what troubled her. Yes, that seemed the best plan.

"Me either." He replied. "My body wishes to rest but my mind is rebelling. It wants to repeat the lessons of the day again and again." He sighed, letting his head droop a little. "If there's one thing about not being able to sleep, it is meeting with you again." He blinked his teal eyes and glanced at her. Then, somewhat embarrassed, he let his eyes slip up to the stars. Perhaps now would be a good time for a theory discussion? Yes, perhaps it was.

"Do you want to hear what I was taught about the stars?"  

[xo -- k a i r i]

He paused, and she worried for a moment that she'd frightened him. been too blunt. She found herself hoping he wouldn't leave, and she released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding when he spoke. Smiling a little, she still didn't take her eyes from the sky, but shuffled a little closer to Bai Bo, so their shoulders brushed against each other. She didn't see the action as intimate or suggested - not yet, at least. She found in comforting, to know she actually had a friend. Life wasn't as harsh as she thought, perhaps.

"Ah, that is a problem many seem to have. But it shows you are eager, and only wish to learn more. It is a good sign, Bai Bo." she reassured him, looking down as she caught the movement of him drooping his head. Her smile widened a little, before faltering as her eyes widened slightly. Meeting her...was a good thing? She felt a strange, warming feeling in her chest - and a fluttering. An odd...fluttering. Swallowing, composing herself, Kumbuka managed to place another smile on her face, inclining her head just slightly, her smile widening into a more genuine one. "I...Thank you."

She was a little taken back, but the possibility of learning new things drew her from her shock as she shuffled closer still, unaware of how her actions might be taken, "I...I would love to."  

[Kimaria]

She moved and their shoulders touched. Something odd happened then. His heart began a wild pounding against his chest, so wild that it almost hurt. His whole body had frozen and he felt numb from the tips of his ears to the end of his toes. He swallowed back the lump in his throat and turned to her a little. His eyes were wide and his mouth opened wordlessly for a moment.

After that, it was sort of hard to think straight. He listened to her, was glad that she understood and even gladder still that she wanted to hear the tale of the stars he had learned as a child. It was a silly tale and he'd never held any truth in it, but he wanted to share it.

And yet his shoulder burned at the contact and he could feel her fur against his. It was turning his mind to jelly and as he spoke he found himself stumbling for words.

"Well...um...my mother told me the story. Told me and my siblings about it when we were...well...young." Ugh, get a grip Bai Bo! "But where I came from, it wasn't just a story. People believed in it. They thought it true." He paused again, drew a calming breath and tried to ignore the contact. "The story goes that when a King of the Pridelands is killed he is given a chance to join with those stars. But, in order to do so, his reign must be good and true. He must rule with kindness, he must do all he can to help his people through bad times. If he does this, his death is not the end. Instead, he becomes a star, joinign the great kings of the past. The legend tells that, in times of need, the living king may gaze upon them and find guidance there."

He paused, smiled softly. "Silly, isn't it?"  

[xo -- k a i r i]

He seemed uncomfortable, but she wasn't sure why. He started his story but fumbled a little, and she turned to watch him with a confused, inquiring expression, as if to ask what was wrong. It was strange - she was discovering muscles in her face that she hadn't used in a long, long time, and expressions that told more than words usually could.

But then he got into it, and it was an interesting story. She found her gaze instinctively drawn to the stars as it was told, watching them with interest as she listened intently, easily performing both tasks at once. When it was finished, she didn't move, just remaining staring at the stars as thoughts shot through her head, a sigh eventually blowing out of her maw.

"Not silly as such. Just unlogical. It isn't possible. For instance, how would the lion reach the stars? And how must the stars decide whether his reign has been good or not? Stars have no feelings of their own, nor any sense of justice, and right or wrong." She paused, glancing to Bai bo at last, "Not a silly story, Bai Bo. Just one that confuses me."  

[Kimaria]

He nodded. "I came to the conclusion long ago that things in nature we don't understand, we attach some magical, legendary meaning to it. The stars, for instance. No one really knows what they are. So, because it is unexplainable, they turn it into something that brings comfort or hope."

He shook his head. "Many nights, when I was travelling alone, I looked up at them and wondered what they really were. And never could I decide or come up with a theory I thought was satisfactory enough. It irritates me, knowing there are things out there I will never understand."

He paused for breath and glanced at her. "I sometimes thought that the stars were there to guide lions, a map in the sky to keep us on our path. But, somehow, that seems wrong, too."  

[xo -- k a i r i]

His words made sense, although at the same time she found them confusing. Why would someone attach an unlogical meaning to something they didn't know about, instead of finding out what they didn't know. Surely there was more comfort, and a sense of achievement, in discovering the unknown? Making it so it wasn't unknown anymore? She wrinkled her nose, glancing to the sky once more. Comfort...she could see how one might find comfort in such a story, she supposed.

She did smile at his next comment, though, nodding in her agreement. "Frustration comes when there are things we do not understand. And from that point of view, I can see why these stories may be created. It fills a gap, whilst at the same time comforting those who fear the unknown."

Now she thought of it, it really did make sense. She knew it wasn't true - it couldn't be, there were too many things that weren't logical - but she felt the feeling of comfort, in the thought of someone looking down on her. Looking out for her. She felt herself relax a little. And suddenly, she was speaking in a way that wasn't in her nature, but her mouth wanted to speak and there seemed to be nothing she could do.

"Perhaps there's the possibility, in the universe, for more than one thing to be true. You can believe what you want to believe, and in that sense perhaps your belief's shape the truth. Maybe more than one thing may be the truth."  

[Kimaria]

"We believe what we want to believe." He added in a whisper, his breath misting on the night air as he looked skywards. "The world is full of odd beliefs. Gods and Goddesses. Kings in the stars. Ghouls in the forests. Souls of the damned swimming among the currents of a river." He shook his head. "Every pride I heard of had some odd belief like this. Why, then, if so many other lions can believe in something is it so hard for me to find belief? If I cannot see it with my own two eyes, or have solid proof, then my mind rejects it."

His eyes closed and he felt suddenly empty. As if he was missing something dear and treasured.

"All I can put trust in is my own intelligence. It has served me well, so far."

He shook his head, turning to look at her again. She looked ethereal under the touch of the moon. Like a ghost herself. And, if he looked closer, he could see the stars there, the universe in her eyes.

"What do you believe, Qī Wàng?"  

[xo -- k a i r i]

His whisper drew her attention to him again, her eyes bright and eager as she watched him, no hint of fatigue or sleep in them now. She was wide awake, and enjoying the time she was spending here. An intellectual conversation in itself was something she always enjoyed engaging in, but with Bai Bo it was even mroe exciting. She found herself increasingly eager to hear his opinions, and what he had to say. And she found herself twisting her mind, so she could see things from his point of view. She respected him, and didn't want to dismiss any of his views without good reason.

And then - a question she hadn't been expecting. Her eyebrows furrowed down her nose as he asked, Kumbuka tearing her gaze from his, although this time she looked down instead of upwards. What did she believe in?

"I believe in truth." she finally spoke, after several moments of silence. She paused, increasing the length of the silence before finally speaking of her statement, "Assumptions are fine, but unless they can be proved they're not the truth. The truth is the only thing we can believe in."

More pauses as her gaze turned skywards, ears twitching. It may have seemed as if she was finished, but she soon spoke again. "I would love to believe in comfort stories. Hope is something I've never dared to partake in, for fear of being let down. But these comfort stories...they can't be justified. Being let down and being wrong are two things I won't allow."

Her words seemed personal, and they were. She didn't admit fears often, and whislt not particularly pouring her heart out, it was an intimate gesture she'd just offered.  

[Kimaria]

His heart was beating a wild dance against his ribs and as he looked at her and listened to what she had to say he realised - for the first time - why she was different. He respected and wanted her opinion. He knew that speaking with her would bring intelligent conversation. For once in his life he wasn't looking down at someone, thinking they weren't intelligent enough. For once in his life he could respect another.

It was an odd revelation and one that took a moment to take in. This was why he had always been alone. He could not befriend just anyone and he had a feeling it was the same for her.

And then stillness. He absorbed her words, feeling the touch of truth in them. For what could be more truthful than believing in truth? "I...understand." He replied after a moment. "It would not do well to fool ourselves in return of a little comfort." Without meaning to, he leaned a little closer, feeling the n** of the chill air at his back. "Sometimes there can be comfort in the truth, too. To know that no one can deceive us with stories. To see things as they really are." He sniffed.

"Besides, why fear something like death? Why cover it with stories about going to the stars? Even if there is nothing after we die, the prints we make in our lifetime will remain. The histories you have written will always stay, will they not? By being here, are names are in print. We will be remembered, whether we go to the stars, to another world, or simply to a place of nothingness."