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 Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 8:25 pm
 Attempting to keep cool in the hot afternoon sun, Dhoru had been wading lazily through the shallows, watching the birds wheeling overhead. Now, he was sufficiently cooled down, and he slid out of the water onto the warm sand. With a sigh, he twisted his head around and started to groom his fur dry.
He was just about finished, dragging a large forepaw over his ear, when he caught sight of his brother Takadamu'Jani in the camp.
Seeing Jani reminded Dhoru that he desperately needed to speak to his brother, and so he set off at a trot. The entire time he was heading towards Jani, his thoughts were racing; what words to use to say what he needed to, and how to get past the awkwardness long enough to actually say them.
Before he realized it, he was just a tail-length away. ]"Hey Jani,"he muttered, "Listen, I need to talk to you about something...Would you mind taking a walk with me?"
As he finished speaking, Dhoru angled his body back toward the ocean and lifted a paw to start walking.
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Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 5:29 pm
 Jani lay belly-up in the grasses, eyes half opened. The wind ruffled through his mane, and he felt like he was in bliss. At least he was one with his muse right now. He had just finished telling the plants a joke, and after a bout of laughter, they were once again at peace. "Yeah- you know, I like that one," he told the grass.
"It was pretty funny," the grass chuckled back to him.
So much had changed recently, it made his head spin if he thought about it too much. Jani knew that there was some cub-fiasco with a neighboring pride, this coming after most of the muses left... Lions didn't act the same as before either. They were more... more scary. More unpredictable.
"Hey, someone's coming," the grass whispered to him. The mint lion rolled over from his back to his side and stared at the figure approaching him: his brother, Dhoru. He rolled now from his side to his stomach and then to his feet as Dhoru approached, ears perked forward. He stretched before nodding once. He turned back to the grass and said, "I'll see you later, be right back!" He gave a genuine smile as the grass gave him the ok. "What are we talking about?" he asked with a cubbish head-tilt. "And where are we going? We're not going to walk in the water, are we?" he asked with a bit more of a panicked voice. Takadamu'Jani didn't mind drinking water, but the ocean was a scary entity for him.
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Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 6:04 pm
Dhoru sometimes envied his brother for maintaining the connection to his muse after the lifting. While he wasn't bitter, he dearly missed speaking with the storms. He often hoped that the connection would return one day. At least he still had Hasi.
"No", Dhoru shook his head, "I just want to be away from prying ears. This conversation is going to be awkward enough."
Dhoru turned away before his brother could ask any more questions and picked out a secluded area of the beach that wasn't too close to the water. While he didn't share Jani's discomfort with the ocean, he respected his brother enough to keep a fair distance. Dhoru led the way at a slow walk, still trying to organize his thoughts into words that he could be halfway to content with. As they reached his chosen nook, he turned to face his brother and plopped ungracefully into a sitting position. He still had no idea what to say, so he decided to just dive in.
"I wanted to ask you....if, before the lifting, you, uh...well, did you notice anything strange about my behavior? Specifically...my behavior towards you...?"
Dhoru could feel his face burning already. His ears lay flat against his head, and he couldn't help himself as he awkwardly shifted his weight around and kneaded the sand with his forepaws. He nervously flicked his eyes from his brother, to the ocean, to the jungle as he tried to meet Jani's gaze. He doubted that Hasi and her feelings for Jani had gone unnoticed by the timid lion - she hadn't been exactly subtle; but that didn't stop Dhoru from hoping beyond hope as he waited with bated breath.
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Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 8:26 pm
"Oh, ok, good. The sea is scary you know- there's all sorts of things and, well. I think it wants to eat you. You should be careful, Dhoru," he said, knowing that his brother spent more time near the sea. Why he wanted to take such a risk was beyond the mint-toned lion. That was a clearly dangerous move.
"Oh," he said simply. Awkward conversations were a staple of his, but usually they were awkward for all those involved who weren't him. He didn't like awkward conversations... He guessed if anything, everyone felt that way.
Jani stepped into the alcove with his brother and took a look around for... snakes, sudden bodies of water, and most importantly, any grasses that had put their roots down there. None were present, no threats, but no comforts other than his brother, either.
"Uh, well... Um..." he didn't want to hurt Dhoru by saying anything. If he was honest, yes, he had noticed. He was relieved too. But. Well, his brother had always been his brother. He didn't want him to think he didn't love him before. "A... A lot has changed since the lifting for a lot of people." he said plainly, feeling he had properly avoided the question. How he wished there was just a single blade of grass in this alcove!
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Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 9:36 pm
"Yes, of course...A lot has changed..." Dhoru let his voice trail off into silence. If Jani's behavior was anything to judge by, Dhoru wasn't the only one made ill at ease by their conversation; however, Dhoru felt even more uneasy at the thought of his brother going through life believing that he had a crush on him! Both lions were trying to avoid the elephant in the nook, and Dhoru knew that they were getting nowhere. He lashed his tail and twitched one ear in frustration. This had to be the most uncomfortable he had ever felt in his entire life.
"I'm beginning to see what you mean when you say I cause problems," giggled Hasi.
Dhoru let out a quiet growl. "I'm glad to see someone is enjoying this.", he muttered under his breath. "You know what? I'm done playing around." Clearing his throat, he raised his voice so Jani could hear him. "Brother, I know that I've sent some rather....confusing signals to you in the past. At the time, even I didn't understand them. I couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with me for feeling the way I did. But since the lifting, a lot of things have become clear to me, and I need to clear the air between us, because I can't handle thinking that you believe I love you. Uh, well, I mean, I do love you but not...not in the sense that...I mean, not the kind of love where...."
Dhoru lowered his head and ended his panicked spluttering with an exasperated sigh. He'd been doing so well! Then he'd gone and messed it up by telling his brother he didn't love him. He shook his head, trying to regroup his swiftly scattering thoughts, but it was no use - he had lost his thunder. In a split second of anger at his failure, Dhoru struck out with one forepaw, sending sand flying toward the shore. The anger gone, Dhoru glanced up at Jani sheepishly, hoping to find even a hint of understanding in his brother's expression.
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Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 8:28 pm
Taka was understanding what Dhoru had meant, but the sudden outburst had been unexpected even to the mint green lion- he assumed everyone would act out. Everyone but his family. A flicker of fear came across his face as his brother lashed out in frustration, but Taka had nowhere to go and frankly wouldn't run even if he could have. A more calm returned to his face, though, after his brother calmed down some.
It was odd, Takadamu'Jani was uncertain he'd ever seen his brother completely... well, unraveled like this. Of course, he could be in worse shape, but the emotion was raw. This was pretty hard on him. His actions in some ways had spoken louder than words. Taka avoided his brother's gaze, staring at his paws. Slowly he extended one of his paws and set it lightly on his brother's, the one he had swiped with. "I think I know," he said quietly, wondering what else he should say. He knew Dhoru was seeking more than that, but the pale lion was not sure what it was he would be looking for.
Sure, in the past he had been confused- he was a little confused now too. What exactly this conversation meant... Perhaps anything his brother said next would help. He finally lifted his gaze to meet his brother's. "What is so clear now?" It had better not be seawater... That was unclear and dangerous. But perhaps knowing that would help him.
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Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 2:57 pm
The moment had come to explain Hasi. And still Dhoru hadn't the slightest idea how. His brother had seemed to understand the last rant, however, so maybe he didn't need to make complete sense.
"This is going to sound crazy. Which I guess is pretty appropriate for a blessing from Insanity. I'm one of the many lions that lost at least part of the blessing. I can no longer hear my muse..." Dhoru was briefly lost in his own thoughts, his eyes becoming unfocused and sliding, unseeing, to the sand behind his brother. He was still adjusting to that change. The storms had been his closest friend - when there weren't any close enough for him to hear above a whisper, he had felt lost. Now that he couldn't hear them at all, even when they raged right outside his den, he was slowly sinking into depression.
"Did you even realize how dependent you had become on your muse?"
Hasi's voice, for once not tinged with sarcasm, brought Dhoru back to the present. At least The Lifting hadn't left him completely alone. He made a mental note to continue that conversation later - he didn't want to ignore Hasi when she was finally sounding like she cared, but this was more important. Bright green eyes flicked back to focus.
"I've discovered that I used to have split personalities. Well, I still do, but she's different now. And there's the important part - she. See, before, neither of us even knew that the other existed, even though we both inhabited the same body. And occasionally, she would take control. And well... she kind of likes you. So you can imagine why sometimes it seemed like.. I liked you. Like that."
As he finished, Dhoru's ears folded back - not only with embarrassment, but because Hasi was not happy that he had told Taka about her little crush. Trying as best he could to ignore her, Dhoru held his brother's sapphire gaze.
Light Atago Hey - do you have any mate plots for Taka? I have a girl that's joining the Ki'zaa soon - she's paranoid and shy, defensive. A sweetheart like Taka would definitely be able to butter her up.
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