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 Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2013 1:12 pm
 Thought it had taken her all day (and most of the night), Muhali was quite certain the pride was in no imminent danger. she'd followed her daughter from up in the air, watching as she lead the attacker away, and had then drawn a perimeter across the land, sniffing out any scents she could not recognize, following them until she was all but certain there would be no more trouble.
At least.. not right this second.
After that, she'd gone to the dreamers' cove, where she'd stayed a long while, setting up the same spell she'd set up on the kizing'zaa land, oh-so long ago. However, this time... she'd made sure not to tie it to her own psyche, and she'd made triple sure it would stay contained. The side effect of this, however, was that the spell's grip on the dreamers wouldn't last; if they wished to retain their muses, they'd have to do weekly, or even daily visits to the cove, to bask in the spell's magic.
Still, it was for the best. At this this way, the blessing could latch only onto those that truly wished to live this way, and maybe this time, it wouldn't get out of control.
With everything Muhali had done, there was still one last thing she felt she had to do before retiring, and it was for this reason that she padded towards Shandor's den. Funny how she'd been here oh-so-many times before, and never had the stretch of land taking to the cave's mouth been so long, "Shandor?" her head peeked through the opening, her eyes scanning the darkness to check if the Gypsy king was asleep or not, "Are you awake?" her nose sniffed the air, and though she could tell he was alone within the darkness, the scents lingering behind told her that more than one lion had been with him not too long ago. Probably tending to his wounds.
Rather than wait till he allowed her to come in, the small goddess padded inside, this time, wings clearly within view. After all, the cat had been let out of the bag; what was the point in hiding them now? "You said you want to talk, and well... now's as good a time as any, I guess, since you're alone?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2013 3:50 pm
 It had been a very long afternoon for Shandor. Normally having a few ladies in his den would have merited bragging rights. If he hadn't been spotted going into his den half torn to shreds, he could have brushed the whole thing off on a pre-ball celebration. As it was, the rocks had eyes and those eyes had tongues of their own. Shandor knew it was only a matter of time before the whole pride knew of the conflict and of his condition. He didn't like being out of commission mentally or physically. At present, he felt his world had been turns upside down and on top of it all, he was in pain.
He had his wounds cleaned and dressed. The alchemists had made I'm a few salves to take the edge off his pain but there was nothing that could numb the bruises to his ego. Even worse was the bitterness that was festering deep within. He hated the dreamers. Innocent or not, they represented a past that was better left in the past and in the playful songs of the mummers.
He was laying against the back wall of his den, flicking pebbles across the room. His dark eyes shifted as Muhali announced herself. His ears roles back and his jaw set tightly. "Paradox. Or is it Muhali? Or your grace? Or are you a whale? Maybe a toad?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2013 4:08 pm
Having stepped within the den, Muhali turned to take a look around, finding the surroundings strangely familiar; nothing had changed. Which was... odd, given that seemingly everything had changed. How odd that despite that fact, the world around her refused to alter itself to show such things.
She was dragged out of her inner musings by Shandor's voice, his form against the wall, and if Muhali didn't know any better, she could have sworn the king was pouting. Or whining. Something along those lines, "You're grumpy," she said matter-of-factly as she drew near, sitting down beside him. At the end of the day, grumpy was better than dead, and she'd take that over the later any day of the week, "I'm sorry," she didn't say for what, but the feeling was still there, out in the open, "I didn't mean to get all... tangled up in this," the last word was accentuated with a flourish of a paw; by 'this', apparently she meant... everything. The pride, him, everything, "Truth be told, the plan was to take a peek and leave. I never meant to... this," whatever 'this' was, at any rate.
Letting out a soft sigh, the goddess lowered herself down to the ground, the movement practiced, as if she'd laid herself down next to him countless times before, though this time, she made a distinct effort not to touch him, "On a scale of one to a lot, just how mad are you at me?" her eyes lifted up to him as she spoke, "And would it help if I told you that goddess or no goddess... I don't really think I know what I'm doing," for all that gods like to advertise themselves as all-knowing, wise and all-powerful, Muhali still knew, that deep down inside, she'd been mortal once upon a time. She'd been mortal, and becoming a god hadn't really changed much at all, except giving her a long lifespan; she learned as she went, and well... she'd lost quite a few years within that madness spell of hers.
There was a long pause after those few words, and then the small lioness dropped her head on her paws, "Paradox," she said after a while, "I chose that name; I felt it fit. I like it best."
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Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2013 10:40 pm
His dark eyes never left her, even as he flicked another pebble across the room with more force than was strictly necessary. At her observation, a smile dripping in sarcasm replaced the grim irritation that had been there before. "Am I?" He raised a brow and brought a paw up under his chin, propping it up casually. "Oh I'm sorry. I wouldn't think I had any reason to be a slight bit upset. I will have to work harder to see the bright side in absolutely everything taking a turn for the worse."
He stiffened as she joined his side, unclear even to himself if he appreciated the closeness.
He wrinkled his nose at her apology and lowered his paw back to the ground. "A leader does not have the luxury of thinking on their paws and watching the pebbles under them. Their eyes must be forward, their steps calculated." He flicked another pebble across the den. "One fell step and the entire pride suffers. Do you know what this all could mean for us? Before you showed up, I nearly had a mutiny on my paws."
He tensed and slowly dug his claws into the stone under him, his dark eyes drifting away. "There was a mass exodus of those that wished for the old ways. They left with anger in their hearts, they chose to be gajo. Non-gypsies. Why? They chose their delusion over sense. Dozens left, Paradox, dozens. Dozens that know us, know where we are, how the land moves and works. Dozens that could have anger festering. It took many seasons for Fireheart and I to restore sanity and peace here." Ironic, since peace had technically started the whole mess.
"And now... peace has gone. Why?" His voice was growing faster, sharper, more clipped, and the strange undertone of an accent was becoming more obvious. "Because blood fell on the lands. MY blood, Paradox. In front of what could be a new enemy."
He growled. "In a season, when the cold leaves us, the Bahari will expect us. We have allies, Paradox, allies that we walk on twigs with. Allies that have reason to be angry, allies that will see this return to madness as an illness, a weakness, or a return to old ways. They could turn on us." He shook his head. "And now I am weak. My spirit burns but my body aches. If we are attacked now-"
He rose up off his paws and began pacing, stepping over her to give himself enough space to do so.
"You gave this role to me- you were the one. I know it was you." He glared across the room. "I know it was... am I your puppet?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 08, 2013 2:25 am
"Shandor," the small lioness tried interrupting his monologue, but was quickly run over with more words, so she tried again, "Shandor," she waited until the male actually closed his mouth to continue, shaking her head a little, "Relax. I know it's a foreign word in this situation for you, but by Mkodi... just relax. You're going to have a heart attack, and I'm pretty sure that's not going to help matters much," he'd begun pacing, but the goddess made no move to stop him physically, instead choosing to remain on the ground, semi curled up where she'd been.
Her head tilted as he passed over her body when he paced, watching as he paused briefly to glare at her across the room, "You must really think little of me to say that," she frowned and turned away from him, looking out the den; it would be morning in a few hours, "No, you're not a puppet," she snorted, practically a sneer, which almost came off as out of character for her. She turned her head towards him, still frowning, "That cross you seem to bear; the madness that consumed you when you were younger?"
There was a beat of silence before she continued, "That madness was not my doing," she let that sink in for a while before continuing, "That was all you, all of it. You were live proof to me that I was right at the time; you suffered through traumatic events, and your own mind protected itself from them with that madness you seem to carry with such shame," another snort passed through her nose, but whatever harshness or anger might've been in the goddess, seem to dissipate almost immediately, "You were never mad. You were never crazy; you were just protecting yourself. And when the time came, when you were healed, when you were strong enough, you pushed through your own, self imposed mental barriers, Shandor. Nothing to do with me; but I knew it would happen, eventually.
"I knew that when you pushed through those barriers, you could live in this land, entirely unaffected by my blessing." she lifted her head up and stared him right in the eye, and she allowed herself to stretch out slightly and turned to watch the den entrance, "Li will return here, eventually," a pause, "Peace, I mean. He's a sweetheart. He'll return soon enough. He just gets sick, literally, if there's blood. This pride, and many others have survived without peace being physically there; you can keep this place safe. We can keep it safe, until he returns for another trial; Li takes his job very seriously, after all, and Maua will protect him. They'll both be back before you know it," there was a sad smile on her maw, "I miss him already."
Shaking herself out of the reverie, the goddess raised herself off the floor and padded over to him once more, and though his personal bubble remain intact, she was still close enough, "I can't say I did everything right, but I don't know. Given another chance, I'm not sure I'd do much different. It got me where I am, and I like where I am; I guess the question is... do you want my help? Do you want me to stay? And what would you do to fix the problems? What would you have me do?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 08, 2013 8:35 am
Shandor quietly resented the lioness for being so logical about all of this. He wanted to blow off steam. He wanted to rage, pace, and throw his finger in every direction but back at himself. The stress of the last few weeks had left its mark all over his mind and body and he was none too happy about it. What was worse was they had so much at stake, now more than ever. If the Bahari caught wind of the insanity within the lands, if they saw a dreamer going about as they did, they would suspect a disease or a throw back to their old ways. He could not afford to lose that valuable ally. They protected an entire flank of his own pride and they were valuable in that they had bloodlines that did not exist within the gypsy lines.
He took a deep breath, snapping his tail behind him in a display of his mental state, and shut his eyes. It took some time to will his temper away, but when the rage had melted from him, it left the gypsy looking worn and thin. "I was just a cub." He offered, for once in the time since their meeting allowing Muhali to see some vulnerability. "Mother passed away. I grew ill in the rain. I always see that as the start of it. I had a brother as well, a twin, and I cannot tell you what has become of him in the day since our separation. I cannot tell you much of anything beyond the basics. My madness was not a protection, it was a voice. A terrible voice that knew my darkest secrets and my emotions. It played with them, haunting me, tearing me away from the arms of sleep only to walk through a nightmare."
He looked over, "I will not accept this idea that it was for my own good that I became quite mad. It was like living with a devil. I will not go back to that, Muhali. Never. I would rather fall into the sea."
He shook his head and stepped back over to the wall and dropped himself down. He was too tired to do much else and the cool stone felt good against the raw hurts along his back and shoulders. "Strange that you gods talk so casually about yourselves. Tell me- the god. He was that odd lion that was always sleeping, wasn't he? Couldn't grow a proper mane and seemed to avoid supper like the plague."
He snorted as she pressed the question on whether or not he wanted her around. He could play with her, forcing her to dance about mentally and verbally to work an answer out of him but that required a lot of effort. "I was scolding you, not sending you away. I meant what I said- you are welcome here. And right now, especially, I need help. If you tell anyone, however, I will deny it and call your tongue a serpent." As for what he would have her do...
"Just keep them safe while I cannot. I fought tooth and claw for this pride to be what it is now and I will be dead before it crumbles. We are a family, nothing more or less."
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Posted: Sun Dec 08, 2013 9:19 am
"No one's telling you to," Muhali said softly back to him as he turned away from her and allowed his body to drop on the ground, "That's precisely the whole point here. You don't have to be or do anything you don't want to. Isn't that the point of this pride? Isn't that what this land's about? I wasn't going to change that. When I came here, I went undercover to find out what the pride wanted, needed, and it soon enough came clear you were all doing just fine without the blessing; I wasn't going to force or otherwise usher you back into it. I wasn't here to change the status-quo," her eyes narrowed suddenly, and over her features there was darkness; it matched the look she'd worn during Shandor's fight, "And I can swear to you, anyone that wants to, will have to go over me."
The darkness washed over her, and then, there was a long moment of hesitation, almost as if the small goddess wasn't sure what to do with herself. After a beat or two, she lifted her head up, let out a sigh and a breath of resignation, "Look," she said as she finally turned back to him, "You're grumpy, and you're angry, and you hurt. I get that. I really do, and I swear, if it weren't because you look like you're going to burst a vein if you keep on ranting, I'd let you rip into me, but I'm tired of walking on eggshells," she padded nearer to him, stopping once more just inches from intruding into his personal bubble once more, "I like you, and I like your company. I know you feel deceived, rightfully so, but... all I did was hide my wings and change my name; what you saw of Paradox, was... just me being me."
That said, however, Muhali paused for a moment before turning away from him and dropping back on the ground, a good distance away from him, "Mmm... yeah well. I'll let you in on a little secret: gods aren't all that godly. We like to advertise the idea, but more often than not... we were all once mortal," she seemed to ponder over something before continuing, "I don't think I know anyone that wasn't once mortal. Lots of gods get tired of the burden; pass it on to someone else. God-souls are not just created out of nothing; everything has a base," her head moved on the ground, where she lay it, so she could gaze at Shandor in the eye, "Funny how that works, but yeah. Li was the small male with the half mane. He's got a very pretty horn, and lovely scales in his true form; he's stunning. Just... small, but that has more to do with how his domain is... well, weak, the poor dear," she snorted then, "I bet he avoided dinner like the plague. All that blood. Plus, the poor kid lifted a magic spell from this land that was linked to my own psyche; it's no wonder he was exhausted. I'm much more powerful than he'll ever be, the poor dear."
As she spoke, her eyes remain on Shandor, "This pride will remain protected, even while you're out of commission. If I need help, I can always call on some of my kids. They'd come," she chuckled humorlessly for a second, "I'd like to see anyone try their hand against them. You think Insanity's bad? You should meet Psychopathy, or even Denial," she shook her head slightly, "And when you're back on your feet... well, then maybe you can have a good yell at me, if that's really what'll make you feel better."
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Posted: Sun Dec 08, 2013 11:13 am
It was good to hear that the goddess of the past wasn't coming to turn the pride away from the future. He couldn't stand being the king of a mess of half-wits conversing with seashells and washed up carcasses. It was bad enough that there would be some like that still. The thought of the dreamers made his skin crawl, though that he would have to keep to himself. The dreamers would likely become something of a sensitive topic among the pride for some time. Fireheart hadn't been happy, and many others would likely never accept them as part of the pride.
"Well that is a comfort." He said in a sigh. "I could not handle another wave of change. We've only just got our paws settled."
He shook his head and waved a paw. "I won't yell at you. I think what you had to see these last few hours is punishment enough. And perhaps not yelling will be further punishment."
He snorted, shaking his head as she explained gods. It was another world, one that would only give him a headache to try to make sense of. Gods were just... odd creatures. He never would have guessed the small half-mane had been a god. He was weak, pitiful, soft-spoken, and lazy. Perhaps gods were nothing more than mortals with wings. It made some sense.
"Save us from the gods then." He laughed. "Least we get caught in further nonsense."
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Posted: Sun Dec 08, 2013 11:58 am
"Save us indeed," Muhali let out a sigh, her breath lifting a small cloud of dust before she finally lifted her head up, "Save us indeed," and that said, her body lifted off the floor, her wings stretching out the kinks before folding neatly over her back, "In all seriousness though, I'm glad you're okay. I'm not easy to scare; I've seen... things," she shuddered slightly, and then looked Shandor in the eye, "I was scared today," she offered him a grin then, as if to take the heavy weight out of the words, their meaning and mild implications, and then... she turned around, padding towards the opening of the den, "I'll leave you yourself now. I'm sure you've had enough of people fussing over you to last you for a lifetime."
As she reached the den mouth, however, she turned to look back over her shoulder, offering him another smile, "Get better soon. You're no fun like this. I can't even touch you," a small snort passed through her nostrils, "You've no idea how hard it's been not to touch you. Never knew I'd actually miss that," she confessed, and that said, she padded out of the cave and away, her wings slowly dissolving into invisibility as she went.
After all, despite the fact the cat was out of the proverbial bag... it paid to be cautious while she patrolled the border.
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Posted: Sun Dec 08, 2013 12:43 pm
The gypsy waved a paw dismissively. The last thing he needed or wanted was anyone worrying after him. He was battered and bruised, but he was far from death. "I've told you once, I'll say it again- you don't kill a gypsy by cutting him into ten pieces. You just make ten more gypsies." It was a bit of an overused phrase, but it helped lighten most situations and it gave his kin some pride in themselves. They were dangerous, and the world would know it one day. Perhaps this rogue would be the first to carry the message of their ways, perhaps not. He would have to find Fire Dog and hear out his report on the matter.
He couldn't help but laugh at that. "If only more females said that about me. Careful, Paradox, that's a good way to actually get ten more gypsies running about."
He laid his head down on his paws and took a deep breath. "Off with you. I'll be alive and ready for touching after a rest."
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Thought it had taken her all day (and most of the night), Muhali was quite certain the pride was in no imminent danger. she'd followed her daughter from up in the air, watching as she lead the attacker away, and had then drawn a perimeter across the land, sniffing out any scents she could not recognize, following them until she was all but certain there would be no more trouble.
