[PRP] - Staircase to the Moon; Anchor of the Heart [End!]

[Daffupanda]

-- AIM Rp between Mundoo, Aviva and Nyoni ((DFA & Felyn))

Darkness had descended upon the jungle heavily; there was little light that glimered through the trees as Mundoo padded the by now familliar territory. It'd been a few days since Aviva had joined them all, and despite odds and ends, he found himself slipping away from both females, entering the jungles alone seeking.... something. Solitude? A place to hide? He wasn't sure what it was he seeked, or why, but often time, the presence of both females made it hard for him to think.

The white male didn't care to analise why, or how, or even when things had changed, out of fear of causing himself a huge headache. He was smart enough to know that it HAD in fact changed, all was twisted, and to boot, he hadn't even managed to do the one task he'd set himself out to do; find his muse.

A sigh was uttured as he flopped down noisely on the floor, lifting up some leaves and flower petals in the process, just at the border of the jungles.... snuggled between to trees. His seemingly soul-less eyes looked up to the sky then, frowning as he gaze at the moon that hung over him, teasing him, mocking him for all it was worth.

Aviva really enjoyed spending time with Mundoo - she felt like she was in a good place for the first time in a long while. She didn't feel like she was constantly looking over her shoulder, waiting for someone to swoop down and attack her. For once - she felt safe. Even being around Nyoni had proved to be alright. With the exception of the glances Mundoo threw in Nyoni's direction, she had nothing against the lioness, and actually had come to find she was very sweet.

Tonight she had been drawn out into the jungle, however, to the trees that drew her attention so often. They were tall, sturdy things that seemed to just breathe of safety. Coiled with flowering vines, towering over - they truly were majestic. She had been drawn by the beach, but it was the jungle that she had come to love in this land.

As she broke through a particularly dense patch of vines, her eyes swept over and found a rather pale figure at the edge of the jungle. Knowing him easily, even in the darkness, a soft smile spread over her maw. She made her way over, taking no care to really be silent, and stopped at his side to follow his gaze. "It looks lonely," she said softly, her tail wavering, "even with all the stars, it looks lonely."

An ear flickered her way, but that aside, nothing else moved... nothing else seemed to acknowledge her entrance, "It is; I've been told the moon is sad because it's lover, the sun, is always beyond it's reach," he kept his eyes on the astre in the sky, frowning somewhat, "I think it's just lonely because there's no other moon there," screw the sun, he thought to himself; the thought was out in the open though, almost glimering in his eyes before he finaly turned his gaze towards the colorful female by his side.

They were so diferent... Aviva and Nyoni. At first, he'd noticed how he could see glimpses of Nyoni in Aviva... how they were similar in some ways, yet diferent in others. The brown female was caring and sweet, she offered said smiles to everyone, no matter whom; it was doubtlessly this that had drawn him to her in the first place. But soon enough came the jelousy. The colorful, green female, where as also sweet and compassionate, usualy aimed her happiness and smiles towards him; sadly, Mundoo was so absorbed in his own little world he'd hardly noticed that small, but extremely significant difference.

"What're you doing out all alone?" he spoke softly, wih a rough edge to his voice; that small tingue that seemed to be used to mask the fact he in fact, cared, but was trying hard to hide it, "Shouldn't you sleep?" a pause and however, he didn't ask the dreaded question, even if it was haunting his eyes; Where's Nyoni?

"How could the sun be its lover if it's always out of reach? Wouldn't that mean that they never met?" She smirked then, pleased with herself as she said, "besides - the moon is out in the daytime sometimes." Whoever had told him such a silly thing hadn't paid very much attention to how the moon and the sun worked. She sat down slowly at his side, leaning slightly against a tree. "I think your idea makes more sense. It's one of a kind, and that.. that can be lonely."

She refused to look at his eyes, knowing that whatever she saw there would only haunt her. She didn't like to see the truth, because when she refused to look, she could pretend everything was fine. "I came out to look at the trees - it's all very peaceful at night," she smiled, daring a glance at him, knowing that he probably did care somewhere deep down. "I don't always sleep so well at night - I'm used to being out in the rogue lands, and they made me jumpy and paranoid." She glanced down at her paw for a moment, rolling her shoulders in a shrug, "I just don't sleep so well."

He shrugged though more at his thoughts than at her words, "I don't know," he told her smoothly, before he tucked his paws under his chest, his brows furrowing, "S'why I think it's bullshit, but that's how the story goes anyhow. Can't touch," the last two words were said with a hiss, followed by a huff as he looked away towards the water os the ocean; the tide was coming... that was the moon's doing too, "Yeah," he agreed with her, his tail sweeping over the earth, "I just think it needs someone s'all."

Even if that someone was... someone completely and utterly ou of his reach.

Instantly his expression turned sour before and then, he chuckled. The sound was bitter, as if he were mocking someone inferior to him.... inferior to everyone else, "Isn't that ironic," he murmured softly, "We're sorta the same, the moon and I. One of a kind. Kind of stands out against the dark, doesn't it?" after a deep breath, he turned away from her, his eyes travelling to the trees, "The trees, huh? I like the trees. They give shelter when one's looking for it. It's nice to know they're there... anchors. They keep the earth together, they do. They hold it all with their roots," arching a brow at her as she glanced at him, the male coughed slightly into his paw.

It was all confussing to him, "They shelter the birds too," that made the trees instantly important in his mind, "The birds... they don't care for the moon. It's the sun they crave."  

[Daffupanda]

She felt her heart twist in her chest at his words, a soft frown creasing her maw. The sour tone of his voice, the lonliness was eating at her. To know that all the references certainly weren't about her made it all worse. She couldn't say anything more about the moon, lest she tred into territory that would only tear at her more.

"Yes, I suppose you look a lot more like the moon than the clouds, and it seems to fit you more. All that dark, moodiness that surrounds it," her voice was joking, at least as joking as she could manage to make it. Her eyes were rather steeled though, as if she were trying to push down something. Probably her emotions - at least the true ones.

"The trees shelter everything, not just birds. They help everything, aid everything, and offer many of the things we need," she said, then almost as an after thought, added "but most of us just take them for granted, don't we?"

Her ears perked at the talk of birds that he began, shifting her eyes towards him as her gut wrenched once more. "Birds are fickle, they leap from home to home, tree to tree, over the course of their lifetime. They are free spirits, giving joy in one place before moving on. They are beautiful, and can fill one with joy, but they are like trying to chase the wind." She didn't say it cruelly, though her voice had a distant tone in it. She looked up to the moon slowly, bright orange-red eyes staring at it, stomach threatening to twist in upon itself. She'd never really wanted to physically harm someone before this, but damn it all if he didn't need some sense knocked into his thick skull.

Even looking away from the female it was hard to ignore the way his words had affected her; the hurt and sadness practicaly radiated off of her and the male was forced to look at her briefly. She was hurt. hurt for him. Saddened over him and his words, and if there was something Mundoo had come to realise he could not deal with, it was a sad female; ander was easy to cope with, but sadness was a diferent story.

So thus, it was for her that Mundoo sat up, nudging her with his maw, offering a smile, even though it fell horribly short of being genuine, the bitterness still tugging at him, "Maybe... that's my muse then; the moon," he lifted his gaze towards the astre again, squinting slightly, "You know, the sun shines with it's own light, the moon however... shines reflecting light it's given," it was meant to be cryptic, perhaps an underlyign meaning he himself did not yet understand. Turning his head, the male looked at the trees that loomed over them so powerfully; aye, it was the trees that had offered him shelter countless times before, "We do, don't we?" he said softly, but as it was, he was slightly oblivious to the insinuation, or at least, it seemed like that.

Oh, and she was right. He knew that. She was right. Beautiful spirit that was unable to stay put in one place... she moved where she was needed, when she was needed, and something at the pit of his stomach told him that the end was soon near. He'd never been able to hunt a bird in his life; the creatures were harder to catch than anything else he'd seen. The gods had given them wings for a reason, he was sure, "Wings. What do you think feels like when one flies?" the reality of the situation had put a damper on his mood; he couldn't have her. He knew that. What the thick-headed male did not know was that he could have something else... someone else, if he so chose to look around, "What do you think love feels like?" it was a genuine question for once; his nose had wrinkled in concentration, his tone innocent, "Is it sad?"

She offered him a very weak smile as he decided that perhaps the moon really was his muse. That really did fit, now that she thought about it. He was a lonely creature, one of a kind, as often shunned as he was - he was still beautiful in a haunting way. All of those things reminded her of the moon, but now she realized that looking at the moon was going to make her heart ache as much as it did when she looked at him.

"The moon is.. unique. There are many stars, and they shine just like the sun, if much smaller. The moon is.. unique." Her words trailed off quietly, and she pushed herself up onto her paws. She leaned into the tree, inhaling the earthy scent of the trunk. It was comforting and helped her nerves. "I like the trees, myself," she said, eyes shutting, "they're grounded and.. safe."


"I've never thought about what it might feel like to fly," she said with a sudden frown, pulling her eyes open. She turned them towards him, watching for a moment. She knew she was hung up as badly on him as he was on Nyoni - but she still couldn't help it. "Love hurts," she said quietly, finally looking away and back down to the roots of the trees bunched beneath her feet. "It just hurts."

"Really?" his eyes grew heavy lidded around the end of her words, "Is that all there is to it?" granted there'd been a time where he'd have accepted her words without so much as a huff, but now... something in him tugged at his heart, his soul. He refused to believe such a claim, "Is that really what you think?" his gaze, which had remain upon the moon, slowly turned to face her, his brow furrowing, but one look at her... and he dropped the issue at hand, choosing instead to address her earlier claim, "The trees are strong," he murmured, "Grounded, they offer shelter without asking for anything in return... but they too look sad; there are times the branches and the vines that hang down from them look like tears, drooping... weeping," he paused, "Why would a tree cry?"

Aviva didn't truly want to tell him what she thought. By this point, she was sure love was nothing but a sick, twisted little thing set into the heart to make it ache. A leech, perhaps, feeding off of emotions. Such a happy thing, but love was not a subject she truly wished to discuss.

Forcing a weak smile on her face, she looked up to the branches, her shoulders rolling in a small shrug. "Everything must be sad sometime, it is part of the balance," she turned her eyes back onto him, watching him for a moment after she finished her words. "If we were happy all the time, how would we know what happiness is? We need sadness to make us appreciate being happy." She glanced back up at the tree branches, one paw reaching to bat lightly at a hanging vine.

Perhaps she should go and try to sleep soon. She cast a glance over at him once more, "you going to stay out here a while longer?"  

[Daffupanda]

"Balance," he still looked on heavy lidded then sneered at the word, his head coming down to place itself upon his forepaws heavily. Though the sneer still marred his maw, it wasn't directed at Aviva; oh no, it was somehow probably directed at himself and his own emotions. Balance my a**, he thought roughly to himself.

He acknowledge her words with a flick of an ear and the way his maw curved into a bitter smile, ironic of all things, "Yeah; I'm.... going to haunt this place a lil longer," it was a threat, and a promise really, with a hidden meaning behind it, however, despite his own decision, he turned his head to look at her, "You should rest," he couldn't bring himself to say anything else, nothing that would show real emotion, but it shone in his eyes; he cared for her. Just how much was yet to be seen though.

She watched him for a long moment, eyes calm, face rather emotionless, as if she were just trying to memorize what he looked like. Then, with a soft nod, she gave him the barest of smiles and began to turn away. "I'm going to go rest then," she said softly, though loud enough she was sure he would hear, "see you tomorrow, Mundoo." Then, she disappeared through the trees.

It was a while before the jungle leaves rustled again, and Mundoo turned, fully prepared to see Aviva return; perhaps still too restless to sleep, however, rather than the colorfull female, his soulless eyes turned to see Nyoni padding towards him. Instantly his body stiffened, and despite not wishing to, his claws sunk into the earth bellow.

"You seem tense?" the words were breathed softly at him as the gypsy padded nearer, till she lay sprawled beside his form, "Why?"

Still tense, the male didn't quite relax into her till a few moments had gone by, "No reason," he murmured to her then lifted his gaze to stare at the moon, which still shone brightly against the darkened sky. He had no idea what caused him to ask, really, but regardless, he opened his mouth, and the words came rolling out as if on their own, "What do you think love feels like?"

A pause from the female, whom frowned slightly, as if pondering this, then turned to glance up at the moon, "I think it feels... like you have wings to fly. Like one could do anything. Strength... of the heart and soul," she turned to smile at Mundoo, "It's a strange feeling, love. It's bittersweet at times, and strong enough to change people, don't you think?" she got no answer from the male, however, she took the chance to look at the sky again and chuckle, "Have I ever told you... the story of the moon's child?" she watched as Mundoo urned to face her, his ears perked, urging her on, "The moon lives up in the sky, but though it is beautiful in it's own way, it had no mate; no way to get a child. It was lonely, and so, one day... when a gypsy summoned it, the moon came to her call."

As she spoke, Mundoo found himself closing his eyes, allowing the soft, sweet voice to lull him to sleep, "The gypsy summoned the moon intot he morning sky, and begged of it to give her a mate; she wanted a mate, a lover, because she was lonely," the female swished her tail till it landed over both their forms, "She begged of the moon, begged till tears stained her eyes, and the moon watched on, nodding to itself. 'Very well,' it told the gypsy, 'I shall grant you your wish; I will grant you a mate... with a pelt as dark as the night's sky, but in return, I want your first born child.' The woman readily agreed, and the moon nodded, reasoning with itself that after all, a woman whom wished away her child so she'd not be longer would never be able to love said child."

The story was bittersweet; in fact, Mundoo was surprised to hear it. Usualy Nyoni's stories were warmer, softer... this one however, was almost dark in a way. Despite this, he listened on.

"Just like the moon had promised, the gypsy found a mate; his pelt was dark like the night sky, and his eyes as green as the forest. They soon mated and out of their union, a sole child was born," she paused to look up into the sky, "Just one child... and despite his parents' pelts, he was born white as snow, with silver eyes and silver nose... an albino cub, the moon's child. Outraged, the male lashed against his mate, 'Whose cub is this? Certainly no cub of mine!' he roared at her, 'You have dishonored me! Cheated on me! Played for a fool!'" as she spoke, her paw raised and lowered on the ground, imitating a hit, then she looked up at the moon, "In his rage and anger, the male killed his mate, and then after taking one last look at the albino cub, he abandoned it there and left; The child was not lone for long though, for the moon soon enough claimed what was of it's property, and then form a cradle in the sky... to lull the child to sleep. Never again was the moon alone, and it is said that it is on those nights that the moon is waned that the child is crying... and the moon as formed it's cradle, to lull it back to sleep."

The story endded and Mundoo opened his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath, releasing it slowly, "Stay with me tonight?"

A smile crept upon the female maw, "Aye," she breathed and this done, she nestled down against his form, laying down to sleep.