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 Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:54 pm
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The cub's nose scrunched up as his brows twitched and he shifted uncomfortably in his sleep. His paws moved like they were running, sweat matted his budding mane to his face as he twisted back and forth. "No! Run Kuruka run!" He screamed suddenly sitting up as he woke from his nightmare. His breathing was labored and he had his eyes shut trying to force his body to remain calm. Damn it all to hell.
This was why he hated sleeping, why he strove so hard to stay awake as long as his body would allow it.
If he was lucky he'd be so exhausted he wouldn't dream of anything; the past, the future, or anything in between. Unfortunately, after his chat with the former captain, he had given into his body's want for sleep. Worst idea ever. Well at least in a while.
Once his breathing was regular he opened his eyes to survey his surroundings. He hadn't been asleep for very long. Couldn't have been more than an hour or two. He didn't sleep much anymore, even when he chose to sleep. Maybe his body was getting used to it.
Maybe not.
Letting a yawn slip from his maw he shook his body trying to get rid of any sleepiness that lingered. If he didn't let it, it wouldn't best him.
Taking a deep breath he started to walk towards the center of the pride, where the most people would be. Normally he would have strayed far away from them as possible. He had always been a loner Recent experience had only made him more of one.
He knew it wasn't the wisest decision that he could have made but he liked the peace and quiet that came with being a loner. If he wasn't around others he wouldn't grow to care about them. If he didn't care, he wouldn't be hurt.
Suddenly an idea struck the boy and a smirk crossed his maw. If he found his little 'rival' he could easily take his mind off of his dreams. Perfect. It had been a while since they fought.
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Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2008 10:39 pm
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Childish laughter, the dark cub crouched on his paws, tail twitching playfully across his back. Before him, wings spread, the large eagle circled. Ruffled feathers, a satisfied grin, moments before Ufunuo had succeeded once again in catching his bonded off guard, pouncing the large bird with cubbish glee.
As it often did, the pouncing had led to a play fight of sorts, each circling the other, charging, pouncing again. Having long since given up on actually avoiding the pounces of the budding little hunter, Daga had instead taken to thwaking his young bonded on the head with a large outstretched wing. However now it seemed even that task was growing more difficult.
"Come on, Daga, you can do better than that!"
Laughing, Ufunuo dodged, pouncing after the bird again, circling after his feathered tail. Wise to the game, Daga reeled, turning to face his 'assailant' as he landed a wing soundly on the cub's head.
"Really now?"
"You just got lucky!"
"Oh, that sounds like a challenge."
From the moment they met, the pair had been inseparable, filling the pride with playful laughter and adventure. |
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Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2008 11:01 pm
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Speaking of bondeds, Peke's albino fan-tailed raven came across the cub, having just left to search. His flying was awkward but steady, more than he could have done a little while ago. It proved that, despite Mchawi's attempt to permanently cripple him, his wing was healing. Long flights were still difficult for the bird, which was why he preferred the company of his bonded, but he was able to fly and that was all that mattered.
"Peke!"
The bird chirped happily fluttering his wings before landing on the ground before the lion. He knew that his companion wasn't exactly cheerful but he was, and would be whenever he felt that the other needed him to be. After so much sorrow a bit of cheerfulness and happiness could do a person good.
"Nguvu."
Peke replied the faintest of smiles upon his lips when his gaze landed upon the raven. He would never outright say it but he enjoyed the company of the bird, even if it got tiresome at times. Nguvu was always able to kick him into action and do things he would have avoided otherwise. Exactly the type of person he needed.
Hestia did well matching the two of them together.
"Where have you been?"
Nguvu asked with the tilt of his head studying his bonded. The lack of sleep was evident upon his features, the dark circles under his blue eyes were are to hide with the white of his fur. Was he thinner that before? No...it had to be his imagination.
Peke shrugged the question away finding it to be trivial nonsense. "Sleeping." It wasn't a total lie. That was the good thing about his ability, he knew when others were lying when they didn't know if he was lying or not. Definitely could come in handy. "Anyway I'm looking for Ufunuo. Have you seen him?"
His question bothered the bird and it showed in the way his expression twisted. His brows knitted together while he scrunched up his face unsure of how he should answer. On his way to find the boy he had passed the pair, who seemed like they were having fun. Something he envied.
He never seemed to have moments like that with his own bonded, he couldn't help but be jealous.
Of course he knew it wouldn't do him any good to lie. Peke would know. "I have. He was with Daga, they were playing that way." He pointed with one of his wings before taking to the air and settling on the cub's back. "Don't push him too far." He stated.
"I might try not to." He replied as he started to trot, slow at first, before picking up a bit of speed. It was always harder with the raven upon his back, he wasn't heavy but Peke himself was rather small so it seemed like a great weight than what it was.
It wasn't long before he found the pair and the smirk vanished from his features. Ufunuo was having fun something Peke had only dreamed of, on good nights, and he too felt the envy that his bonded had.
"Hey!"
Crap, he hadn't thought about anything else to say.
Damn.
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 8:54 pm
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It was Daga who had seen them first, pausing in the game to catch his bonded's attention (though not letting down his guard long enough to give the young hunter an opening).
"Ufunuo, we have company."
"Huh?"
Ufunuo stilled his steps, posture upright as his head turned to see where Daga had indicated, eyes falling on the lion he had least expected, Peke. If there were two cubs least likely to get along, it was Ufunuo and Peke. Normally tolerate and soft-spoken, Ufunuo always seemed to find himself at his worst when Peke was around. Why was he always able to anger him so?
"Hi!"
A cheerful call, maybe this time would be different. It seemed he hadn't seen much of Peke since his father's return, maybe things would be different this time...maybe... |
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 10:17 am
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 1:25 pm
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"It's a nice day."
His smile had faded, a questioning gaze in his eyes. What more reason did he need to be cheerful? Just because Peke seemed so intent on staying in a bad mood didn't mean everyone else had to as well.
"Why are you so grouchy?"
Like Peke, Ufunuo had felt his own loss in the aftermath of the quake, his mother had fallen, his grandfather lost (though Peke would have probably said he was lucky to have had them at all, which he was, but it would have likely been turned against him). But unlike the other, Ufunuo had done his mourning, said good-bye, and chosen to live as he was sure they would have wanted. And in the tragedy, he had found the good, he was alive, he had his sister and his father, and he had found Daga.
Certainly he had more than enough to be happy for, and no mr grouchy-face was going to ruin that. He didn't want to fight, he'd had enough of fighting, Peke wasn't going to get to him this time.
At his side, Daga silently sighed, shaking his head. Somehow he had the feeling this was not going to end well. |
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Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 7:51 am
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Posted: Mon Jan 19, 2009 10:24 pm
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"I know."
Only a short time ago, those words, spoken as only Peke could, would have sparked anger, yelling, or worse, a fight. Today however, it only brought soft words and a warm smile.
There was no denying that fortune had found him, there was so much to be grateful for, happiness to be found in every day, in every moment. Not that he didn't remember all that had happened, or that he had forgotten those that had fallen, the sacrifices that had been made. As a child, he still missed his mother, his grandfather, the old seers, those that had always been a part of his life. He would always remember, always cherish.
But dwelling on the past, on what could not be changed, sinking into fear and depression, that was not what they would have wanted. Life was to be lived, enjoyed, cherished, and Ufunuo knew, in the deepest of his heart, that that was the best way to honor them. And though he did not envy Peke his powers, he would never understand why the other cub could not see that. Well, that was his own choice, and in time, maybe he would.
"We all are."
A paw raised, a gentle bat at Daga as he lightly butted his head against the eagle's, a gesture of grateful affection. Lucky? In finding Daga, he certainly had been, and in a playful n**, Daga showed he felt the same. |
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Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 3:23 pm
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"No, -your- lucky. -I- am not."
Peke stated darkly after thinking about the others' statement. He was lucky to be alive yes but it came at such a terrible cost. The loss of his sister, the trauma his brother suffered seeing his sister slain, the death of the red outsider, the death of the seer, and the heavy responsibility that had been tossed upon his shoulders. At least Ufunuo had someone, multiple someones, to turn to for comfort for guidance.
He had no one.
Yes, he had his brother and the adults were there to offer help if asked but they didn't, and couldn't, fathom nor understand the trials he was going through. Yes Ubele and that outsider cub shared similar responsibilities but they at least had a parent to turn to when things got ruff. Or rather at least they would turn to someone.
Peke wasn't sure if he could ever bring himself to ask for help no matter how much he really needed it. He had Nguvu who would always help, asked or not, but it just didn't feel the same to him. No. Things were difficult and hard for him to make sense of everything.
"You may say that I'm lucky to be alive, lucky that I only lost one and not both of my siblings, which is true. You might also say that I'm 'blessed' to be gifted with an ability that might just save the pride one day but I'm not." He stated incredibly calmly, so unlike him. He should have been shouting, taunting. Doing something that would anger or provoke the other but instead he had this eerie calm to him.
"It's a nightmare. I don't sleep any more than I have to, even then I try not to. I hate having the ability to see events of the future." He paused shaking his head bitterly. "Why do I get to see the future and others do not? Why the hell am I one of the 'chosen' seers? Why do -I- get to know when a person is lying or telling the truth?" His tone started to rise. He was getting angry.
Not at Ufunuo, not at anyone but himself.
"I hate it. I hate it so damn much. I'm stuck in a place that I don't want to be. I hate staying in a place that reminds me of my sister, the sister I failed to protect because I'm a selfish a**." Such vulgar language for such a young child. "Because I was too focused on myself. I hate knowing what others do not. I don't like it!"
"In some ways I wish they had taken me, if it meant saving lives."
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Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2009 11:52 pm
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Quietly, the dark cub settled on his haunches, ears twitching as he listened, trying for once to truly understand what Peke had said. But though he tried, he just couldn't understand why Peke held so much anger, why did he insist on being so miserable. Seemed to him that Peke had -always- been angry, before the earthquake, before the seer, before everything.
A silent sigh, Ufunuo raised one paw, pointing toward the white raven. Peke had someone very special, someone who would always be at his side, and tolerate him no matter what. Maybe he didn't see it, but there were those who cared for him, loved him, they were right in front of him if only he would see.
"What about him? There is some good, Peke."
He was quiet a moment, weighing his words, thinking of what to say and how to say it. No matter what he said, it was likely to light that short fuse, to spark the very fight Ufunuo had hoped to avoid.
"The world isn't all bad, Peke, you have more than you realize. Maybe if you saw that you wouldn't be so angry all the time, and you would honor those who gave their lives for you. Do you really think your sister would want you to be miserable? Don't you think she'd rather you remember her with happiness?" |
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Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 6:00 pm
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The emotions within the child were bubbling up, threatening to boil over. He was so sick of hearing this crap! How many times had he had this talk? How many times had he heard that Kuruka wouldn't want him to be sad but how did they know? She was dead! They couldn't possibly know anything about her, definitely not enough to be able to tell what she would have wanted from him.
Nguvu could feel that his bonded was ready to burst, that everything was just about to explode. "Peke, please. Calm down." Unfortunately for the raven his words were lost as the cub advanced towards Ufunuo. "Peke..."
"Shut up!" The boy screeched as he moved towards the darker colored male. "I'm so sick of your goddamn self-righteousness!" He sneered as he flicked his tail angrily behind him. "You think you're so perfect, that you know so much about me, about my sister. About everything." He paused to spit to the side. "But you don't know a single thing about any of us." The only person he might have known was his brother, the only one of them he spent any real time with.
"I'm so sick of you judging me. Thinking that you're better than me because you're not." His tone was falling and he was being a little calmer but still as angry as he was before. "I know that the world isn't all that bad, I get it but that doesn't mean that there aren't things I regret. Things I wish I could change." He paused. "You know you would have been the one they had gone after if I hadn't met Nguvu." He laughed dryly. "I heard them talking."
He shook his head before glancing at the albino bird. "I'm not trying to throw myself a pity party, with everything I've said because honestly I could care less if you gave a damn about me." He wasn't sure how much he actually meant that statement but it spilled from his lips before he could even give it a second thought. "At least I'm actually being whoever I feel like being, all you ever do is place peacemaker."
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Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 9:44 pm
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Ufunuo sighed, he did not wish to fight, he would not lose his temper no matter how hard Peke pushed him, not anymore. There was simply no reason for it, and trying to change Peke's mind about anything, well he had come to realize that was impossible.
"Do you really think I don't know that? If I could go back, I would change it all, I would gladly take her place, I would trade my life for my mother's. But I can't, the past is over, we cannot change it no matter how hard we try. All we have is now."
His tail flicked, of course he knew they had intended to go after him, the buzzard had tried to snatch him, they had tried to kill his sister. But it didn't matter, it seemed not matter what he said, Peke wasn't going to listen. Well, that was his choice he guessed, but maybe if he said the words, maybe someday it would help. He didn't want to see anyone unhappy, even Peke.
"Who are you trying to convince, me, or you?"
Better than Peke? No, just different.
His gaze turned, falling to the eagle at his side, silent words passing between them. He was walking away, ending the fight before it started, Peke could do what he wanted, but Ufunuo was going.
He had turned away, walking several paces in his own direction, Daga following behind him. He paused only a moment longer, turning just enough to speak over his shoulder once more.
"You live however you want, Peke, but I choose to cherish the life that others gave theirs to save."
That was it, he was done, he was leaving and going hunting with his friend. |
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Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 9:42 pm
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