[PRP] - Lullaby for a stormy night [END!]

[Daffupanda]

AIM RP log between Nili and Sewti ((DFA + Felyn))

Soft rain drizzled down upon the land, however, despite that, the ocean remain calm, the waves coming in and out in a soft lull, the water bathing the small male's paws as he remain reclined against the sand. Any other time, he would have been fretting over what a mess he looked like, but right now, he was too busy trying to process what was going on to really take much of his own appearence in.

His mother had found him earlier that day, before the small storm had settled above them, and had lay down upon the sand of the shore with him. The lioness was currently whispering something into his son's ear, her maw inches from his twitchin ear. The pitter-patter of the rain made it imposible for anyone to hear what she was saying, aside Nili himself; for some odd reason, whatever it was Misae was telling him, had surprised the young adult enough to gape openly at the ocean in front of him. It was only minutes later that the liones finally finished whatever it was she was telling him, her maw straying toward her son's cheek, her tongue darting out to offer him a humid kiss, "It'll all be fine," it was the only thing that was audiable before she slowly stood up, padding away. There was a small twinkle within her red eyes, something that told the world she knew what was going on, and how it was all likely to end.

The wind had told her as much, after all.

Nili howeverm lacked the ability to talk to the wind, and the flowers never really revealed more than the present ongoings, so thus, his mother's words, whatever it was she'd told him, had struck him enough to leave him motionless, laying by the shore. He found that despite everything... he wasn;t minding the rain all that much anyhow; it was even refreshing, in a way.  

[Daffupanda]

Sewti never really minded much of anything when it came down to it, and she found that the soft drizzle of rain gracing the lands she had come to adore in the past few weeks was actually rather comforting. Why she chose that word, she wasn't sure, but as the rain fell down upon her pale face and kissed her dampening cheek fur, she let her eyes lid partially. There was likely not a thought in her head as she sauntered along the beach, damp sand sticking to her forepaws and rain sitting in glittering droplets atop her fur.

It was probably the sound of movement as much as a sudden feeling of being in someone's presence that told her she had stumbled upon someone as much as anything else. Her eyes fluttered open in time to see the white lioness disappearing off into the distance, and then her bright eyes fell upon a more familiar figure. Oh, she knew the Queen by sight at least, but she wasn't exactly acustomed to stumbling upon her in the company of her son. Nili was usually out here sulking by his lonesome.

"You alright flower boy?" she called, her head tilting as she approached him in what might be cautious for Sewti - it was simply a slow gait. The way he looked like a herd of antelope was rushing at him had her a bit confused and she wasn't sure if his temper would snap at her. It wasn't that she feared it, but she'd prefer to avoid making him turn to it if she could since he was much more pleasurable when he wasn't moody.  

[Daffupanda]

The rain still came down softly, merely a murmur compared to the storms that had hit the lands a few weeks before; the storms that had somehow transformed Nerida into what she currently was. He'd never cared to ask, for after all... life changing experiences and epiphanies like that were always sacred. More or less anyways, or at least, that's what he thought. Thus so, Nili had refrained from asking his best friend what had happened that night, long back, however, he was sure it had to do with the storm and the ocean.

Nili found his head turning, his gaze following his mother, whom was retreating back to the main cave, no doubt. His other siblings were probably there too, at least... the young ones anyhow. He had no clue where Panu was, but if instincts served him correctly, he would have bet his left paw he was bundled up in a random cave with Nerida. They seemed to enjoy that, after all, and again, the young adult had an inkling of a notion it had to do with that storm from long back.

He was forcefully brought out of his thoughts by a voice that called to him; the tone was familiar, and he knew whom it was before he shifted his position to look over his shoulder, "Mhhhmmm..." it was more a hum than a word, though his eyes were anything but sulky; in all honesty, for once, he looked like an innocent child. The male looked somewhere between half confused, half amused and half... surprised, "I uhm... I was talking to my mom," he scooted over to the side, as if to let the lioness sit by his side, though the movement was dumb, really; she had a whole stretch of beach to sit down upon and didn't really NEED him to move to the side. Regardless, it seemed important he do so, and thus, he did, "I... she said she needs someone to become the keeper of song," if Sewti had remain enough around the pride enough, she might just know what that implied, and probably why it had shocked him.  

[Daffupanda]

"Well, that I figured," she said absently as she stared off where the lioness had disappeared for a few moments longer. No doubt he had been talking to her - it truly didn't take a genius to realize something like that. However, as strange as his mood was, she was sure now wasn't the time to be making snarky remarks and teasing him. She could tell he had something to say to her and she was going to be a good girl, for once, and oblige him.

As he scooted over she sat down, without making any comment on the rather pointless gesture, then lowered herself into a comfortable sitting position. Mindless of the damp sand that stuck to her fur, she leaned her side into his somewhat, as she was simply accustomed to doing with both the brothers (though perhaps for somewhat different reasons, even if she wasn't entirely certain and aware yet). She let his words roll over her, listening with attention, nodding as he paused and urging him on with a simple tilt of her head. She knew how to be a good listener, she'd been one for Panu more than once in all his ridiculous, dark adolescence.

"The keeper of song, which is.. kind of like the queen of the pride?" she asked aloud, though she was more thinking than truly asking him. Her eyes shifted away from him and then to the strangely calm see, blinking back the raindrops that gathered on the tips of her lashes. "She wants that for you, doesn't she?" She'd always simply accepted what Nili was and for some reason, this just didn't surprise her. For all her easy-going attitude and laid back demeanor, she had a relatively quick mind.  

[Daffupanda]

A small smirk of a smile graced his maw at her words, however, it did not remain there for long, vanishing in favour of the almost childish confusion as he turned his gaze back to the ocean that lay beyond. He wondered briefly if the storm was stronger out in the open waters, but soon enough brushed the thought away; the ocean was calm, so in end, it didn't matter if the storm was stronger out in open sea. What matters right at that moment, was the here and the now.

His blue hued gaze rolled over to his companion, and for a moment, he had half a mind to make a jab at her; what, that was all? She wasn't going to snark at him today? However... had he been able to peek into her mind, he'd have agreed wholeheartedly; he did have something to tell her, and thus, playtime, per say, had to be postponed till later. Shifting his weight, he accommodated himself better against her, so that they were both comfortable; he'd never really paused to ponder over why it was he did not mind contact with her. While he was usually unhappy to press himself against anyone aside perhaps, his brother, Nerida and his parents, Sewti was the exception that confirmed the rule. It had never occured to him to question this, and had he been asked why he let her recline herself against him, or why he, himself, seeked out her warmth at night, he would have probably been dumbfounded. Nili could only explain it by saying something along the lines that he let her do so because... well, she was Sewti. That warranted enough reason to allow it.

"Well," he seemed to hesitate, then finding no other real translation in his mind, the male nodded, "Yeah, I guess it's like the queen of the pride... either way, it's a role held by a female," he was surprised into silence as Sewti continued on and found himself blinking, "Yeah, she does," after a moment, he continued, "But... I never told her anything. Nothing that I've told Panu, or you, or Nerida," it was strange that he was beginning to group the three together in his mind, "Then again... I don't know why I'm surprised. Mom was always special," and by special, he did mean slightly.... strange, "She always knows.... things. I wonder why," turning back towards the lioness, he tilted his head, "What do you think? Should I? Am I really meant for that?" strange, how even while faced with such a decision, he was asking her for her own thoughts, as if they really were important to him.  

[Daffupanda]

"Well, mothers always have this uncanny ability to know things that we never tell them," she said with a little shrug, remembering her own mother and the way she always seemed to know just when they were lying or when they'd gotten into some sort of trouble that they were trying to hide from her. "Though maybe it has something to do with her muse? The wind travels very far." She had heard things about the queen, her uncanny ability to know things no one had ever told her - just rumors, rumors here and there, but usually rumors like that seemed to have some mystifying truth behind them. She shrugged the thought off and leaned her head against his, still staring off at the gray ocean beyond them.

She really didn't think the mood between them really called for snarky jabs or jokes. He was experiencing something of a shock with what his mother had asked, no doubt. They had a unique friendship, or whatever it was. They knew where the line was drawn, where their teases were left behind and replaced with comfort, dependency. Odd, but it worked.

"I don't know why you're asking me," she said with a laugh, her eyebrow raising as she moved her head to turn it and look at him instead. "How would I know what that position means, or what being at the head of a pride would mean for you?" She shrugged her shoulder, then, however, and settled her head back against his, the bits of his small mane brushing her cheek. "I think you're a leader, though, if that's what you mean. You're bold, if not in the masculine way your.. gender quite dictates you should be."  

[Daffupanda]

"That they do," he murmured as his gaze seeked out the ocean again, the rain still drizzling over his form; he didn't seem to mind though, feeling quite at home under the mild shower, "And that it does. She has this uncanny ability to predict things. And not just simple things like the weather... no. I'm talking about stranger things. Like she knows things others don't, just by looking at you. And she doesn't judge others..." he loved his mother, really. Misae was, perhaps, the soul he best got along with, for some reason. She'd never really paused to judge him; had simply accepted him the way he was. Then again, so had his father. Nili was terribly happy to have been born within these lands, and the notion had only just struck him in the face, "Y'know, I'm happy I was born here. Other places wouldn't have been so kind and forgiving to me. And I just take s**t for granted. I need to remember that more often."

No, there was a time and a place for everything, and the calm mood now was perfect for pondering (which was something Nili was prone to doing - this time though, it was for the better, and that made all the difference). It was only when she leaned her head against his that something withing the male seemed to snap, almost startled out of his daydreaming; he didn't move, and though the realisation that he was happily cuddling (and being cuddled) had suddenly surfaced to the front of his mind. This created quite the contradiction within him, for while he was well aware he was comfortable, happy and wouldn't have told her to stop for the world, the fact was... he did not quite understand why he thought this way.

He could understand leaning against his mother, and even against Panu. He'd also been prone to cuddling up to Nerida in older times (an activity he was refraining from since she mated his brother), however, this..... this felt different.

Her words cut through the mild fog of his mind, and the lion startled slightly, almost as if he'd been expecting they'd just remain silently leaning once against the other. As if her voice had somehow broken then magic, "Uh..." it was visible he'd been in lala land because he had to blink once before he was able to kick his mind out of second gear, "Yeah, well, I ask you because..." and that was where he hesitated; why WAS he asking? As she continued to talk though he felt his eyes hood slightly, "You think so?" a pause, and then he turned towards the water again, "Well, I ask 'cause your opinion is important to me. And there's no one else I'd ask this to anyhow."  

[Daffupanda]

"I don't know," it was an honest answer, really. He didn't quite know why he was asking her, and he didn't know why she was important to him. A small roll of his shoulders indicated a mild shrug as he pondered it over, turning her words in his head, "The length of time you know someone doesn't have to dictate how important or dear someone can become. Besides, Panu has his own set of problems, and he's never been the type to offer an ear and listen to me," again another shrug, "He kinda never has; a roll around the sand when we played, or an adventure, sure... and even then, it was him acting like a smart a** the whole time and me bitching about how we were going to get into trouble. Sibblings will be sibblings I guess."

After a moment, he pondered some more, because sadly, it was clear he was figuring these things out at the same pace as which he was sharing them with her; it wasn't something he'd thought over before, and the realisation was still startingly new, "Nerida... is great. But again, she's got her own problems. Besides, Panu might be right and she is sort of biased towards me. You're not biased and I can get an honest opinion. A... not.... crazy one," because as much as he loved Nerida he was well aware of her moods, to the point he was tempted to point out how bipolar the dark lioness was.

Finally, the male turned his head to watch her in the darkness, "I don't know... do I need a reason?" it wasn't snappish; in fact, his tone had hushed down, and something about the way he looked resembled the way a kid behaved when he was caught enjoying something they didn't know if they should enjoy.  

[Daffupanda]

A small snort of a sound was released as she agreed with him; indeed, he did love his brother, for while they were opposites, they were family, and close enough that he didn't really judge him... Nili knew Panu would never judge him either, and had he not fallen for Nerida, well, things in general would have been much smoother.

Her following words though, dug deeper than she had intended initially, no doubt. His eyes, blue like the ocean itself, hooded over again, "No one," he told her truthfully; in fact, that had been part his problem with the whole situation when he had settled. While it was true had not lost nor brother nor best friend... he could not help but feel like the odd one out. And then, Sewti had come along, allowing him to confide in someone new... offer him the comfort he'd needed when he'd needed it, and (oh god this was corny), the shoulder he'd needed for support. He didn't mind admitting to that much in his head, for after all, he'd long since decided he wasn't was .... much a male as nature had decided to make him, "I'd have no one."

I wasn't a whine. It wasn't even a grump. It was as if the thought had only just dawned upon him, really, which added to the awkward of the moment. For a very long time, he did not talk, but rather, turned his head to watch her under the rain; she was beautiful, and it had nothing to do with how she looked like. It had more to do with whom she was, and how she was, and the way she smiled, and the way she looked when she was making a particularly snarky reply and... a whole lot of other things that shouldn't have matter but did. It was then he realised that he liked her. He liked her, and though he wasn't sure in what way just yet, he wouldn't have traded her for the world. However, if he was a girl within and he liked her... what did that make him? Better yet; what did that make her?

A sigh was released, followed by a small smile that curled at his maw, "We should get out of the rain. Let's go find a cave nearby to wait the storm out," because going to the common den was... not high in his list of priorities. If he could just hoard her presence for a while long... just a while longer...