[PRP] Worry all for Nought

[Asparegus]

[AIM Log: Felyn & Ume]

So Ori had chosen the moon name Iah. It was still short and a name he would still have to get used to but he had taken the muse seriously. He tried to find ways to understand it and commune with it ...and he watched over Rani carefully. Not that he could help it. He couldn't stop thinking about her, although he tried not to. He didn't want to be obsessed or anything. But it was as though something had awoken in him and he just... loved watching over her and protecting her. He was almost afraid others noticed how much attention he paid her and thought it accessive. Ori certainly hoped not. Today he would try to stop following her. She could take care of herself, as he very well knew.

So he drew himself away, content to try and find the moon in the daylight sky. He'd found it was always there even in the day, always watching. It was a comfort to think that it never gave up either. But watching the moon was calming. Perhaps that was because he was so focused on it that he forgot everything else. Or maybe it was just a power the moon had over him obtained from him taking on a name for it. He wondered if one day he'd be able to hear its voice.

Rani wasn't a particularly intuitive lion, she never really noticed things that were blatantly obvious to others. Of course, she did often seem to have a way of realizing things that others didn't, and to know what truly went on in her rather special little mind was a wonder that no one seemed quite capable of truly figuring out. Her mother's blood ran strong in her daughter, that at least was obvious, and Rani lived carefree with the muses that surrounded her. Life was grand, to be lived to the fullest, and Rani meant to do that. As it were, there seemed to be none other she'd rather live life with at the moment than her constant guardian, the moon to her stars.

She wouldn't have known that he felt tormented over spending too much time with her, that he felt as if those around them would soon suspect something. All she knew was that she adored him and looked for him when he was not there at her side, and though her mind may not have connected this to anything, she could see in the stars that he was meant to be there with her. The stars told her many things, and one thing that was blaringly obvious was that Ori would be there no matter where she went, and something about that seemed just fine to her. It made her smile, to be honest.

The adolescent made her way down dunes of sand, a soft hum on her lips as she sauntered along. The trees and the wind led her feet, nature whispered and guided her path. She didn't seem surprised at all as she topped a rise and saw his form below. No, she simply smiled with a delight that couldn't have been more honest. "Ori," she called out happily, waiting for his attention before she made her way down to him. She had no idea he had drawn away from her, and if she had, she probably would have been confused. All she saw was Ori, that's all she ever saw.

Ori didn't realize at first that he was being called at first, sucked into his thoughts as he was. Ironically it was of the one who called him. But he felt a tugging as though he were summoned and came out of his deep thoughts, the glaze over his eyes receeding until he could see clearly. A glance over his shoulder revealed Rani coming towards him. Maybe it was fate he couldn't escape her as though they were bound with string, one not being able to get far without the other.

For half an instant he thought to hide in his mane which had grown out over his chest and around his face. But it was Rani and he couldn't be like that with her. He returned her smile. "Hey Rani," he said. "Did you sorta wander out here by chance too?" Maybe it was a shy, roundabout way of asking a question he thought to ask. But then again, it was worded in such a way that it'd be hard to get the answer he hoped for.

A pleased smile spread across her pretty maw as she saw him turn to her with his own, and her steps became lighter, filled with a grace that almost translated into half a dance as she trotted the final steps to stop at his side. He was always happy to see her, and that little piece of knowledge always warmed her heart whenever she was near him. If he was happy when she was around, that meant it was her that made him happy - making him happy made her happy! It was a great, never ending cycle.

"No," she said with a soft laugh, her eyes dancing as much as the stars would have had they been out. She flopped down next to him with a delicate sigh, purring contentedly for a moment as she stared out at the ocean before them. "No, I came to find you, because I knew you were here. You weren't around when I woke up this morning." Things just felt better when Ori was around, safer, more stable. Her soul often led her astray and he, he grounded her out.

He laughed inwardly at himself at her statement. She came to find him because he was gone. "I thought maybe you could use a break," he said. "I don't think I could leave you ever if I could help it," he murmured hoping she wouldn't hear but saying it for the sake of saying it. Ori had become a little too good at worrying and thinking. And it was that thinking that had figured that if his constant companionship to her was love, it wasn't all that was told in stories. The emotions were there but he had nothing of chivalry to show for it.

Of course, neither of them had anything to worry about in terms of him disappearing. He had promised to watch over her if only to himself and didn't plan on breaking a promise he would delight in keeping. As he had pointed out to himself, it was just the idea of others thinking bad of him for it that bothered him and caused him to pause in his routine. A part of him knew he was being ridiculous. Life wasn't all butterflies and daisies but he had managed to hide to a certain extent his health problems and by hiding it, overcoming the part that was overcome-able. So certainly he could overcome this doubt.

"But nothing's wrong, right?" he asked.  

[Asparegus]

"A break?" she said with a slight laugh, not hearing his muttered words at all by being too preoccupied with his first ones. For a moment, she just stared out at the ocean, no words coming forth, her eyes locked upon the swaying waters, and then all at once she turned to look back at up at him with that pleasant smile of hers forever in place. "Why would I want a break from you, silly?" she had told him last time that she she needed him with her, and everything in the stars that concerned her pointed towards him.

She never concerned herself with what others thought, which was probably one of the most appealing things about Rani. She lived for he self, for what made her happy. She lived for joy, to please those she loved, and never bothered to worry if what she did was viewed badly. To be honest, her pride never truly viewed anything badly, as easy-going as they were, and she had inherited her state of mind honestly.

"No, nothing is wrong, except that I missed you," she said with a little purr, leaning her head on his shoulder comfortably, a dramatic following her words as she glanced back out at the ocean.

Even though the pride was easy-going, all the lions nice and kind, it was hard to get rid of the worries his mother had long ago planted in his head, of what others would think of him. Yes, it was a bit unnessecary but he couldn't keep himself from it. "I... don't know," he said, keeping his doubts to himself while hanging his head, ashamed of thinking of those thoughts. Her words make him think that it was almost insulting that he had said she needed a break from him. It was as though implying he was an irritant and that she had no tolerance or was too nice to shoo him. Of course, she did not in any way imply that she was mad or thought so little of him. As always, Rani was too nice to think poorly of him, a smile readily on her face.

"Sorry," he said in earnest although a smile wasn't hard to accomplish with her leaning against him as though nothing was of concern. It comforted him into believing it, whether or not his worrywort side accepted it as the truth or not.

"What are you apologizing for?" she questioned with a slight frown forming on her face, glancing up at him from where she lay comfortably leaned against him. She didn't think anything he had done so far had warranted an apology, and yet, here he was giving her one.

If she had known even one part of what he was thinking, it was likely that she would have been very confused. She never thought badly of him at all, and in all truth, wanted to be around him just as much as he did her. It only seemed right, the pair of them, together. The stars and the moon, wasn't that what they were? If he had voiced it aloud though, it was likely that she could have calmed his worries somewhat and silenced such nonsense. Rani knew that she didn't mind him, that she genuinely wanted him around.

Ori sucked in a breath, looking down to meet her gaze. "I'm being ridiculous, aren't I?" he said making an honestly repentant face, eyes wide, mouth drawn thin. "Sometimes I just think too much." See, he knew how good she was to him, how much attention he received as rewards for following and watching over her days and nighters. It was unlike the moon; that he knew all too well. It, unlike him, was constant and uncaring of what others thought so long as it was happy and did what it thought best ...which for the most part meant watching over everyone below and the stars in the sky.

"I suppose," she said with a weak smile, shifting slightly where she sat to so that she could see his face better (it was a little harder being that it was so covered by all that mane now). "Maybe if you just stop thinking so much you'd be happier, then you could act on whims like I do, and nothing would bother you at all." She wasn't really sure what was bothering him, only that something was, and she knew that the less she thought about something the less it bothered her. Simple!  

[Asparegus]

He managed a grin at her suggestion. "Well you'll have to teach me," he told her. "Usually the only time I'm not thinking is when I'm watching you do something amazing." Yeah what a flatterer. He looked back up to the sky to find his mentor. Clouds drifted lazily over it, shielding the faint heavenly body further from view. He frowned but tried to not let it bother him. She heard the stars when they weren't there, even if only from memory and what they would say. He had yet to master that.

A delighted smile spread across her maw at his compliment, turning her face up to look at him proudly. She wasn't prone to becoming big-headed, or cocky. The compliment was simply something that made her smile, it didn't give her a big ego. She liked it because it came from him, and he cared to make her feel nice. "Haven't you ever just stared out at the ocean, watched the waves, and let your mind be blank?" She nuzzled her head against his shoulder, then turned her eyes out to look at the ocean. "It doesn't draw you into a trance?"

He followed her gaze to the ocean. "The ocean doesn't really make my mind blank. It's sort of calming though in that it makes it easier to think." Well, that wasn't a very good start, was it? "Well I mean, I guess if I really tried, I could do it." He certainly hoped so. One of the things he hated the most was disappointing her ...or at least the feeling that he has. He pressed his face against her shoulder, his mane falling forward and covering his face, and he sighed. It was an excuse to touch her but was actually surprisingly convenient in that it cleared his thoughts in a sense ...not that he thought he could tell her. As much as he could say flirtacious lines, it was sort of embarrassing that that worked.

"No, no, you aren't supposed to try to clear your thoughts, it doesn't work that way. The more you try, the less it works," she said with a small bit of laughter pouring from her mug. She smiled as he leaned to press his face against her shoulder, moving to rub her own face against his mane, a purr on her maw as she did so. "You just need to find something that does that without you having to try, and then you know what you have to do whenever you're thinking about things that are worrying you."

"I'm not?" he asked confused. He thought that was how it worked. "Well alright. I can try that." It was sort of funny that when he tried to pull away, she only encouraged him to snap back. Some didn't know what they had until it was gone. He knew he had something with her. Hopefully this was a sign he could keep her. Ori smiled again. "You know, the stars'll be out soon~"
 

[Asparegus]

She laughed and buried her face into his mane happily, taking in the scent of his fur. "You have a lot of things to learn, I think," although it was not said with malice, nothing she ever said could have been said with malice. She knew that he was from outside of the pride and had been raised with different ideas and morals, that he was having problems, even now, adjusting to all the aspects of their way of life. As long as he was here, she felt as if she could guide him. She just wanted him here with her. "Don't ever leave," she said rather suddenly, shutting her eyes against his mane.

Then, of course, he reminded her of the stars and she let a small smile spread across her maw despite herself. "I know," she whispered, "will you watch them with me?"

He smiled at her, always innocent and rarely ever not happy. She was more than a twinkling star so tiny in the sky. She was the light of a thousand stars, a bright blazing sun that lit up the dark corners of a room. And there were moments where she made him feel blessed to simply know she existed. And she certainly never disappointed him. "I could never leave you," he replied. "Of course I'll watch with you. Maybe I'll finally spot the first star and cast myself a wish upon it." The idea might not have been quite fitting for the pride. But it was an idea his mother planted inside his head, the wishes and desires to be like everyone else, to be ashamed of the simple defect he possessed, lethal in some situations.