[SRP] - Mine to Keep [End]

[Daffupanda]

She'd chosen to stay for a while.

It was only natural; she'd missed their singing voices after all, and thought it was true that she couldn't hear so much singing as she heard whimpers, whines and needy growls for food, Muhali was pleased. Babies would do all those sounds, and if the goddess were to tell anyone the truth, it was music to her ears. It'd been so long since she'd seen any sort of life within the lands... any birth whatsoever, that she'd been unable to leave them.

Granted, they'd not seen her, but she had little doubt that Hadithi, at least, would know she was there, some way or other (And yes, the goddess, did in fact know his name, like she knew the name of ever single member of the pride; those that had come and returned to the muses and those that were new to them, like the cubs that had just been born and the black male that had reached the lands). A scent, a laughter in the night, a silhouette against the vegetation was bordered the beach... there were many little things to indicate she was, in fact there. Even though she wasn't particularly looking to stay hidden, she wasn't particularly looking to be seen either, really. She let her children do as they do, and so far, it'd always worked out for the better.

They'd needed her direct intervention few times down along the line of history, truth be told, and Muhali held a faith in them like no other ever could or would.

Besides the obvious fact that kept her in the lands (cubs were important enough for the goddess to stay till she could at least hear their voices and see them wandering out of the cave; till she could recognise each and every one, if not by scent, then by voice), there were other things that kept her there. Kizingo'zaa was her small little niche; it was the one place that was Hers, and she was not afraid to hide within it's depths when she needed time alone, or time to think. This was, amongst others, one of those times too, actually, as much as she wished to deny it. Alas, she'd grown fond of denial. Both metaphorically, and... not so metaphorically, though she felt the male needed time to himself, thus why she was here. He'd know where to find her if he wished to, the small goddess thought as she jumped over a particularly large fallen log, he always knows, even when he doesn't.  

[Daffupanda]

He'd been watching her as she approached; how could he not? Her pelt shone against the green foliage, and it was, frankly, giving him a headache in a way. Blue against green was not the norm, and Sumu did not like it; as if protesting against such blatant eyeraping, the snake curled tighter against itself, his tongue slipping in and out methodically as he watched the small... thing-of-a-lion approach his way. Soon enough, she'd be practically stepping over him, except he wasn't prepared to let her do that; He'd strike out and sink his teeth into her front paw, for daring disrespect his home and slumber.

Slowly, the snake narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, long fangs glittering in what little sun filtered through the canopy. Waiting was only a game for him and soon enough, the blue paw appeared in his line of sight, and that was all he needed; he struck forth, fangs extended, aiming to be sunk at the base, where the joints doubtlessly were.  

[Daffupanda]

Despite the fact the goddess seemed to be ignoring the world about her, she must've sensed something at one point or another, because no sooner had the snake struck out, that she spread her wings and jumped up into the air, watching the reptile crash on the ground unsuccessful.

Landing on a low branch, Muhali ripped herself out of the thoughts that had been consuming her in order to regard the hissing reptile bellow her form, "Why do you attack me?" she asked it with a tilt of her head, "I've done you no wrong," she was talking to it; that much alone could be considered irrational, for no one ever talked to snakes. The creatures were sly, finicky and altogether strange. They were cold-blooded, and that made them different that the birds... the waterbucks and even the genets, but amusingly enough, Muhali seemed to not notice this difference.

Flopping down from her branch, the small female landed on a rock nearby, just barely out of the serpent's reach, her long bushy tail swishing behind her, "Can I keep you?" she seemed to ask out of nowhere, as if the thought had just appeared in her mind and she needed to voice it to remain as carefree as she was. As the goddess watch the smaller creature, she seemed calm; even despite the fact it could have attempted a second attack.  

[Daffupanda]

"Can I keep you?"

He frowned then; if he'd been confused before, Sumu felt even further so now, his clear gaze never leaving the form of the winged lioness, "No," it was answered with a hiss of breath, his tongue slipping in and out, his brow rigging with consternation, almost as if he were extremely offended by such a horrible idea, "You may not," and he had half a mind to slip away unseen into the foliage of the jungle, yet he did not. Instead, he remain on the floor, in the open, his eyes narrowed, mouth partly open to display his fangs.

For the longest of moments, everything was quiet, and neither moved. That is, till a bird, a hawk suddenly dropped out from the canopy above, diving directly towards the snake with it's claws open, spread. A long screech resounded through the jungle, and aside the god-awful sound, every other living thing had fallen into silence. Sumu noticed he'd made a mistake; he'd allowed himself to remain out in the open; plainly in view from up above.

There was no time for him to hiss, or even to rear up and strike; Sumu had made a fatal mistake, and like any predator in the jungle, he soon enough noted he was done for. And it was all his fault.  

[Daffupanda]

She reacted swiftly; more so than the snake apparently, for where he had no time to defend himself, Muhali was able to swoop from her perch, paws outstretched and maw open into a snarl. The motion seemed out of character for someone so calm, however, a baser instinct had taken over, and for whatever reason, despite the snake's answer, she'd already taken him as hers. It helped that she'd spotted the hawk before it'd screeched and dropped from the sky, too, actually. In fact, had she not been looking about the foliage like she usually did, admiring the random flowers and vines that hung erratically about, it was probable she'd been unable to do anything to help.

Granted, she'd been faced with similar situations before; such was the way the Circle of Life moved. Some died so that some could live; and never once had she interfered. By doing so, she was helping the snake, and in a way condemning the hawk to find food elsewhere, however, the difference was that this particular snake was Hers.

Muhali was determined to protect anything of hers from destruction; her lands, her children, and now this snake. In fact, she could count a few other beings she'd deemed 'hers' too, however, they probably wouldn't have liked the idea of the petite goddess calling them 'hers' in any way. Such were the ways of Truth and Denial; it didn't change the fact they were hers. Her... something or other; she wasn't sure what, and in her somewhat irrational bliss, she didn't quite care either. All that mattered was that they were hers.

With that thought in mind, the goddess reached out just in time to swat the avian away from the reptile's body, landing so that her frame was covering the smaller snake's one, and at the same time, putting herself at risk of his bite.  

[Daffupanda]

It'd all happened much too swiftly; Sumu was barely able to understand what had happened in such a brief time. Everything seemed to be a blur of colors, till suddenly, everything was still again; in tension, yes, but still. The lioness stood over him, her maw open in a silent snarl, her fangs bared at the bird, which had managed to effortlessly picked itself up from where it had crashed.

The avian's eyes moved from the small lioness to the snake, and then back again several times before it screeched, confused, and perhaps just a bit insulted at having had it's dinner stolen away in such a manner. However, after just a moment's pause, it opened it's wings and shoot through the foliage, vanishing from both their view, having decided that fighting the feline for that snake was too much of a hazard and not nearly worth the reward. It would find supper elsewhere today.

Calm settled about the jungle then, the usual chirps resounding in the air, the tension of the short-lived battle gone, and despite himself, Sumu felt himself relaxing; it wasn't every day he escaped death so narrowly as this. In fact, this had been the first time he'd escaped a fate as dark as this. Usually he was quite methodical in the way he hid, and had yet to have been surprised in such a manner. Needless to say that whatever ice barrier he'd placed about himself had shattered into a million pieces.

His gaze then lowered towards Muhali's paws, where they rested just bare inches from him, and he knew then that he could strike her down. A well aimed bite and she'd be gone; she'd have no time to react, just as he'd had no time to react to the hawk just seconds ago. However, he did not move. He went against his instinct, and remain still, shaking slightly.... but still, refuse to bite her paws.  

[Daffupanda]

Muhali felt the tension slip away; shattered, melted as she stood over the snake. Her gaze followed the hawk up into the canopy till it vanished and she was sure it'd not come back for a repeat. No bird in their right mind would, but of course... Muhali best of all knew that some creatures could be irrational by natures, and amusingly enough, it made her cautious above other beasts. She stood her ground, glancing through the vegetation, her ears perked.

Never once did it seem to occur to her that the reptile resting between her paws could strike. Or maybe it did occur to her. Maybe... just maybe, she knew he wouldn't do such a thing; or maybe she seen it in his eyes as the hawk had swooped down. For whatever reason, she remain rooted to the spot, risking herself by protecting a snake no one other would have; why would they? Reptiles were said to be cold blooded, both metaphorically and literally speaking.

Uka would have no doubt hissed at her for such a stunt, and it was probable he still would once he heard, more or less, what had transpired in that small jungle clearing. However, for the time being, the goddess stood still, moving only slightly to glance down between her legs; the snake was shaking... shuddering even and Muhali knew right then and there that she'd won. She wasn't sure just what she'd won, but she'd won it regardless, "Can I keep you?" it was repeated again, as if he'd not answered the first time, and despite the fact she could now leave his side, she remain towering above him, offering him a trust he had not asked for.  

[Daffupanda]

His attention was still fixed upon her paws; those which he refused to bite, even despite the fact his instincts were tugging at him to do so. Instincts be damned, he thought to himself, his eyes narrowing, and it wasn't till he raised his head slightly to look into her eyes that he noticed he was going against his nature. Later on, he'd laugh at the irony of the situation, for he was still too shocked and moved to understand what was really going on. Only later would he pin point the fact he was acting rather irrationally, and that Muhali herself, was cause and reason for it.

"Can I keep you?"

That same question; it was repeated again, and this time, Sumu was unable to answer it. Instead, he blinked, and moved, (or rather, tried to move; he tilted his head to one side, and then towards the other, and he tried to his best to understand, yet he could practically feel how something was slipping out of his mental grasp. Something important which he could not see and yet he knew was there, kept on slipping away before he could wrap his mind around it. It was right about then that he shut his mind off; he switched it right off, almost as if he'd turned the lights out of a room by flicking a switch.

It was time to stop thinking, and start acting.

What he next did however, was something he couldn't quite understand; it went against his instincts, and his nature, yet as soon as he'd stopped pondering, shoving away the mass of thoughts... he acted in thus way. Slowly, he slithered from under her frame, carefully curling up her front paw, and this done, he slithered up till he was comfortably settled around her neck, almost like a makeshift necklace of sort, and without another word, the reptile closed his eyes and resumed the napping he'd been doing before the whole series of events had taken place.

Even without pondering further he knew she'd won. He just wasn't quite ready to admit it openly however. At least not yet, and so, instead he lay against her pelt and slept, trusting her fully just like she had him, only moments before.  

[Daffupanda]

She didn't need the words; she'd seen the answer in his eyes. Even if he'd kept them closed as he'd slithered up her wrist, she'd have known, for actions, in her mind, had always spoken louder than words could have. It was for this reason that the goddess allowed the snake to climb up her form, shifting her neck and shoulders carefully till both of them were settled comfortably.

Muhali had her answer.

In a way, she had more than that particular answer; she'd somehow answered other questions that had been bothering her just moments before encountering the reptile, and thus with this in mind, she only craned her neck slightly to take a peek at the small snake before nodding. Then she crouched, spreading her wings just as the bird had done and sprang up into the air, vanishing through the canopy. It was ironic how her movements had mimicked the avian, or perhaps her way of taunting nature for after all... her very existence and domain taunted and mocked nature for what it was.

That was a thought for another day however; it was time to seek out Denial, for better or worse.  

[Daffupanda]

-- The End --