Aslaug curled slightly tighter on the large flat stone she'd claimed as her own on the outskirts of the small ridge where the pride's priestesses denned. She was not of their number - no, she was far, far too young - but already she was certain that this was where she belonged. She could see her mother's den from here, and though it had grown quite late, she knew her absence wouldn't be minded as long as she came home safe and sound.
Luminous orange eyes darted away from the familiar darkness of the den's maw up to the glimmering star-draped sky. That was where the gods lived, right? Her father maybe? Her tail lashed through the dirt at the idea. Maybe one day she'd be able to meet him! Maybe...maybe tonight...?
"Hello?" She murmured, "Anyone up there?" She licked her lips and cleared her throat, growing slightly bolder. "Uhm, my name is Aslaug...if anyone's up there, I'd, uhm. I'd really like to meet you. Sometime." Of course she highly doubted any gods were watching, or would take notice of her. If that was so, then prayers could be answered in person. And she'd never, ever seen a god come to do that.
This land was strange to him, so different from where his mother and his siblings stayed. He had wandered much too far and now...now his mother was probably going to worry about him. This place was much more vicious then anywhere else he had been and even darting around paws seemed more dangerous then it should have been for the still growing god. It was a miracle that he hadn't been picked up yet by some adult, or perhaps that was just no one noticing him. Maybe they thought he belonged to someone in the pride. Regardless though, he hadn't been bothered yet. He was small, but gaining wisdom with each day as he traveled while he grew day by day. Soon enough he'd grow to be like his mother, but somewhere in his mind he could not help but think he would be small forever. Maybe Mkodi needed to keep him small on purpose.
He needed to get home but...where was the exit? Could he even get home at this point? Blue tipped ears fell back at the thought of being stuck in this unfamiliar place. He didn't even know anyone here! Little Misimu continued walking, kicking up dirt in front of him as he did but in his wake left small flowers here and there until his ears picked up a voice in the quieting pride. His ears turned forward as he began to move towards the source.
There, sitting on a rock in the dark was another cub. The sight of someone around his age sent the little god's heart soaring. She was..she was calling up at the sky? How odd. Still, he couldn't help but approach her. Maybe she knew the way out!
As quietly as he could (as to not alert any of the adults that were still around), he began his approach. "Hey, who are you talking to?" Misimu finally replied as he stood on his hind legs, his front paws on her flat rock while he looked over the edge at her.
She flicked an ear in the nearing cub's direction, mostly disregarding the sound as soon as she filed it away as something mundane. There were plenty of cubs in the pride. More than plenty, and there were always a few underfoot or poking around. Most would be heading home this time of day but she herself was out, so it made sense others might be.
Of course, being posed a question and the sudden sight of a cub she certainly didn't know... That was a little different. She looked the male over - he was large for seeming so young somehow. Like her! That was nice - her whole litter was oversized because of their lineage. Sometimes it made her feel odd, sticking out...
"Well, I'm talking to the gods of course," She deadpanned, as if it should be the simplest and most obvious thing in the world. "Mother said that's why the priestesses pray, and I wanted to see if any would hear me. But I think I'm too young yet. So far no one's come down!"
His head tilted to the side as he listened to her explanation. Wow, this really was an odd place. Still, Misimu's blue eyes turned to the starry sky and began looking around. The little white flecks were odd. He knew some places had their own explanation for what they were; some said they were the general dead, other old kings, but who really know. What he did know was that the gods certainly weren't up there.
"They won't hear you if you yell at the sky." The little god explained rather flatly. Soon after Misimu began hopping as he struggled to get atop of the flat rock. One..two...three! Three attempts and his rear finally agree enough for him to pull himself up to sit up there with her as well. His head tilted back as his looked back up at the stars. "I know my mom wouldn't hear you anyways. She's..." A pause as he sniffled slightly at the thought of his mother. "She's too far away."
She didn't frown at his revelation - she was too young to be set in her ideas of how was best to do things, and his explanation that the gods weren't up there was as sensible to her as much as her mother's that they were. She at least hadn't ever seen a god up there.
Aha! She'd heard THAT though! She rounded on the boy once he'd clambered up, a huge grin flashing as she half-pounced him. Her little tail flicked eagerly about, and a rather gleeful squeak slipped out of her. "Your MOM'S a god? Er, goddess? That's great!" She let him go after that, almost prancing back to her seat.
"My DAD'S a god!"
A squeak popped out of his mouth as he found himself rolling as the other cub basically jumped on him. Blue eyes blinked behind his falcon mask while he stared up, even after she had gotten off of him. Perhaps some of the gods were up there though. He'd have to ask his mother about that later...
Rolling a few times, he threw himself back up into a sitting position. Her exclaiming her lineage definitely caught Misimu's attention as he quickly turned to look her over. There was hardly anything special about her aside from the marking on her rear. Perhaps she had wings like his brothers but could hide them. "You don't look like a god though...Are you sure your dad's a god?" He asked quietly as his head bobbed while trying to see if she had wings or not.
She'd hardly taken her eyes off this new friend. She hadn't met anyone else in the pride that was godborn before! It made sense now - his large size, the strange mask (how ever had they gotten a whole bird's head THAT big?) Oh it was so nice to not be the only one! Well...she had siblings too...
"Yeah he's a god! But...nnno, I'm not a god. I don't think so at least." She furrowed her brows at his odd staring and tried to twist to peer at her own back. Was something there? "Of course I mean I'm not a god. I'm just a cub. At least I think so. Are YOU a god?" Now she was staring at him again. He didn't LOOK like one though...
Maybe her mom was a mortal then. It seemed odd to him though for a cub have one god parent but not another. Another thing to ask his mother if he remembered!
As she finally asked, Misimu's maw gave way for a large, toothy grin as he puffed out his chest with pride. "I am~ Or at least all my sibling are. I'm the only one that doesn't have wings...well, my sister doesn't either but she has a cool, wisp-like tail so she at least has something that looks out of the norm I'm seeing..." His own tail came to curl around him. The only thing he had was slightly longer fur on his tail and head tuft. Then was also the mask on his face and the necklace around his neck that was a little odd but nothing a mortal couldn't make with enough effort. Though the little purple flower never wilted so that was something a little special!
"My mom has big horns though! They're really cool looking. I bet you're dad's cool looking too."
Oh wow! Oh WOW! A whole family of gods? She hadn't ever thought that gods might be like other families. She'd always thought gods were eternal, endless - it didn't make sense that any would ever be born. But apparently it WAS so! And as he explained how different he wasn't she got back up, circling him eagerly and staring, looking for any difference.
"Wings? Your siblings have wings? Like a bird?" It was almost beyond imagining! "They can fly? Can YOU fly?" No, maybe not - he didn't have wings after all. That didn't seem fair somehow.
"Oh, well, I never met my dad. Mom said she wanted cubs and asked him, and he helped, but he left after that - they're not married or anything. Mom says he was 'Chivalry'." She pronounced the domain with still growing confidence. It was a hard word! "But I don't know what he looks like. What's your mom? Oh, and your dad? And for that matter, who're you? I'm Aslaug...but I'm not a god, like I said."
"I..." Misimu paused as he thought carefully, all while rotating his head to try and watch the other cub as she circled around him. Could he fly? "I don't know if I can fly. I've never seen my mom fly, but maybe she just doesn't like to. She doesn't have any wings, just like me. I guess my dad had wings." He nodded though, "I think my brothers can fly though. I've never seen them do it either, but birds have wings like theirs so maybe they can too!"
The little godling hadn't expected such a reaction from just telling her that he was a god but it definitely made him swell with pride. "Cheevilry? I've never heard of it." His eyes lit up as she began asking about his mother and father. "My mom said she's 'Glaciers' and my dad was 'Obscurity'. Oh! And I'm Misimu. I'm Seasons." He proclaimed with a big smile. "Or at least that's what my dreams tell me."
She nodded knowingly at his admission of ignorance as to if he could fly or not. IT made sense that maybe he couldn't - no wings and all - but gods were special things. So maybe he just didn't know HOW yet.
"Oh, I know about glaciers. We don't get them around here, but I've heard some of the reavers talk about them. And some of the adults that used to travel. It's like big chunks of ice, right? Like on top of the mountains, but floating, maybe?" That sounded right. "Obs-cure-ty?" She tasted the unfamiliar word and wrinkled her nose. She hadn't gotten it right, but she'd TRIED. "What's that?"
"Mom said chivalry is...is like doing something nice for someone else. Like when someone strong protects someone not strong. Or something like that. I think my dad was nice, that means..." And her already wide eyes nearly seemed to pop out of her head. "Do you dream too?" Maybe...maybe she WAS a god. If gods had dreams that told them things, at least! She'd had her first dreams in the past week, and though confusing, she'd understood right away when what happened in one suddenly happened in waking the next day. Was THAT a god thing? Mom hadn't known at all!
"I think so, but I'm not sure about that either...I've never seen a glacier before and I don't think mom ever told me about them." Maybe she had thought but he just wasn't paying attention. Who knows. Misimu chuckled at her attempt to pronounce his father's domain. "I think it might mean something like...being unknown or unclear."
"Hm, Chivalry sounds nice..." His mind began to drift to what memories he had of his father until he began asking about his dreams. The god of seasons' eyes widened as he shifted nervously while scooting back slightly. He nodded, "I do...Mom says it's probably my past lives talking to me. My domain's an old one from what I can tell. This god business is way too confusing." His nose crinkled as he began to frown. He never asked to be a god or have these responsibilities. What was he even supposed to be doing?!
Past...lives? Gods lived more than once? That was...how? So many questions, she had so very many questions for him! And of course, he might not know all the answers, but she wouldn't mind. "I don't think mine are past lives...they seem to be things that haven't happened yet."
Her dream hadn't been anything important that first time - almost like it was just her abilities letting her know they existed. She'd seen her siblings tussle over a scrap of meat and one ended up unraveling her whole braid in the process. The very next morning had found, move for move, the same thing happening in her waking hours. It had stunned her, frankly, but she'd heard that some priests had the sight.
"So what do you do? Or, did you do? From before you were a...cub?" That felt very odd to ask. What was someone before they were a cub? First nothing, then something, the...nothing? And then something again? It was too confusing. "I know what seasons are...do you make them change? Could you make it summer always?"
She saw things that weren't of past lives? That seemed odd to him, but then again all mortals were odd to him. At least he thought she was a mortal, given her half-blood. Maybe she was some kind of mutant god! How cool would that be? "Could always ask someone about it. Maybe these...priestesses know something?" The word was odd, considering her mentioning them was the first time he had ever heard the word. But they prayed to gods so maybe they could help her out.
"I think I used to help the seasons change. I'm...not sure. Most of my dreams are fuzzy and just full of images of plains and mountains. It's weird." Misimu blinked at her question, obviously curious by it. "Maybe!" Suddenly he jumped up onto all four of his paws. "Maybe I could change it to be always spring, keep the rains around and the flowers blooming!" The possibilities were endless now that he was really thinking about what he could be capable of.
And of course she was just as easily caught up in his excitement. In a beat she was up on all fours like him, prancing and dancing about him eagerly. "You think you could? Make it spring forever? Oh wow! I've never seen spring!" And she hadn't. She'd been born in it, but hadn't been aware of it until the pride already hung on the cusp of summer.
"Do you think you could try? Or maybe try to fly? I'd LOVE to see that, if you could!" Of course, it was asking a lot - but he was just so FRIENDLY, so open and kind. Nicer than many of the cubs she'd met within the pride, and endlessly more interesting. He was a GOD - not her father, but part of where she came from, at least in half. And she wanted to know EVERYTHING about him and his kind. And maybe she was still uncertain about being a god herself or not - but if he could fly and she couldn't, that'd be a good way to know for sure!
"I don't know, but I could try!" He replied really to both or her questions but mainly it was towards turning the area to spring. The most he had ever seen was one of his past lives waving a paw and an entire field turned a golden color while the rest stayed green. Past lives were weird. Maybe eventually he'd remember everything and everyone.
Though turning seasons back seemed like it would be harder then just going forward until it got to the right one. Still he couldn't help but try. Misimu's eyes closed tightly as he concentrated on recalling on how he might have done it before, mimicking his past life in the same motion of his paw over the ground around him. Seconds passed in silence and nothing happened. One eye cracked open to see if anything had happened. There was nothing out of the ordinary except for a small lizard that had crawled up onto the rock to escape the night's chill. A frown began to appear on his face as he closed his eyes again and began to wave his paw away though with much more force behind it this time. His concentration didn't net him any springtime flowers but did give him a few centimeters off of the ground.
She finally held still when he seemed to try something. Her little claws pricked out and she clung to the ground as if she was the one potentially about to drift up into space. Her eyes darted from his waving paw to the ground...nothing. A lizard then...she gently shooed it. Another try, and she gasped!
"Y-you're flying! Floating? No, flying I think!" She scrunched herself to the ground, peering at the gap between his paws and the stone. "How'd you do that? You're FLYING!" A peal of laughter rang out of her, and she cringed as some adult made a grumbling noise from in one of the dens. "You're flying," She repeated more quietly.
"...I'm going to try!" She intoned as if making some great decision. She pinched her eyes tight shut, lifted a paw, mirrored his wave...and nothing. She even gave a little hop, but ended up landing wobbily and nearly toppling off the rock. "Awww man..."
"I'm what?!" He exclaimed as his eyes suddenly opened, with it he also broke his concentration sending him back to earth. Of course he had no balance as his godly magic had taken over for only about a minute. Stumbling he managed to right him to look at her with a large grin. "I did it! I..I didn't think I could do it! I mean, my brothers have wings I don't. I.." His excitement ended with her attempt to fly as well. Still, he gave a small smile as he bonked her with his head, probably tickling her a little with the bits of feathers that stuck up off of the top of his mask. "Hey, what if I take you flying some time? Maybe I'll grow up strong and I'll be able to carry you?"
She winced as he flopped back onto the rock - but he HAD done it! And she hadn't. That was okay though; she beamed up at him and did her best not to snag her braid on his mask. "Would you really?" Oh she couldn't help but rush forward and butt her head against his, the equivalent of a rather tight hug. He'd take her FLYING! This was simply amazing! Who would even have known the gods were so kind and nice and she just HAD to be sure to become the best priestess now!
"As long as you don't drop me," She teased lightly, "I'd be happy to go! Honored even! Do you think you cou--" An older lioness' voice cut her next question off, and she drooped noticeably. That was it then, the call for her to return to her den. Unknowingly she'd stayed up well past her bedtime...and no one would probably believe her if she said she'd spent it making friends with a god of all things!
"Ugh...I have to go. Sorry," She grumbled, showing her reluctance. Still, he'd been just wonderful. "Uhm, if you don't want to come give me a flight that's okay. I bet gods are busy. And seasons change a lot, I hear...but if you did...well, I'll be here? Oh! Oh, and I'm Aslaug. I live right over there." She jutted her chin towards a den's mouth where she could see her family waiting for her. "But it was amazing to meet you! Really it was! I'll never forget, either! Do you...do you think you'll be here tomorrow too?" Oh she hoped so!
"Mhm! I'll let you ride on my back and you can hold my mane and everything. We'll go flying and everyone will be super jealous!" Misimu replied quickly, his voice getting more excited with each word. A friend. He had made a friend here of all places which was something he had expected to do.
His head craned over towards the den she motioned to and where another much more mature voice had come from. Quickly he ducked his head down, hoping no one else saw him. He knew he wasn't supposed to be there but his curiosity had led him passed borders that normally he wouldn't have gone by.
"It's alright," He mumbled quietly. Of course he really didn't want her to go but it didn't look like she had a choice. It was nice having someone to talk to but he knew better then to make your mom mad. Oh mom, he'd be home soon. He perked up a little as she mentioned that next day. Quickly he nodded, maybe there was still a chance for her to show him how to leave this pride's lands. "Yeah, I can be here tomorrow too if you want." Now it was up to Misimu to find somewhere to stay for the night. He didn't really have any place to stay but maybe he could find an empty den or something to take shelter in so he wasn't out in the open at least.
