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 Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:43 am
The King had come out to the edge of his pride's lands again, to sit by the banks of the river and stare. To think or not think, depending on his mood, but always to run away. He told himself it was just alone time, but really, he knew better. Somewhere in his heart, he kept hoping that he would wake up and none of this would be real.
King. His pride. But how? It was his mother's pride, and it always had been. Why...had she done this to him? He couldn't understand.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:53 am
She'd never realized walking was such a terrible bother. It took forever to get much of anywhere, and her paws hurt! It was quite ridiculous, and somethign she hadn't thought about when she decided on all this - of course, it had been something of a snap decision. The right decision, yes, but that didn't mean she'd thought it through completely. But here she was - finally! - without the aid of wings or, once her favorite, the ability to just teleport to wherever she pleased.
With all this walking, she had to wonder why mortals ever chose to be rogues - who'd want to spend their whole life just walking around? Ugh. At any rate, this was certainly going to be an adventure.
As ready as she was ever going to be, she approached Narindima'moyo from behind and stopped several feet away. "Hello."
Did she sound different? She did to herself.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 6:58 am
Nari jumped at the sound of a voice behind him - quite the undignified response - and turned sheepishly to see who'd come to bother him. What could they possibly need? For a split second, he was glad to see that it was just M-
...wait, what? He stared blankly at the lioness before him, utterly confused. She looked an awful lot like Mama Bwawa, but...not?
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:05 am
Inwardly, she couldn't help but flinch. While she trusted Asali'jua's judgement, Narindima'moyo had a lot to work on just when it came to looking like a King. Even if he was suited to it on the inside, he was going to have problems if he couldn't get his manner to reflect that; but it was early still, and he was still grieving for his mother. For now.
Deftly hiding her thoughts, she giggled lightly. "I'm sorry! Did I startle you? I was just wondering if you knew where I could find the Queen. My mother told me about this place, you see, and I've come to join."
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:12 am
"I...I'm afraid the Queen is gone. She...she died." The mere mention of it made Nari's heart wrench, and he had to close his eyes for a moment or risk spilling a tear. "But if you need something, I...can help?" He was getting better at it, but it was still difficult to fend off his grief. It was all still so recent, and...
He pushed that back too, aided by the stranger's...well, strangeness. "Mother? Are you...Mama Bwawa's daughter?"
It would certainly explain why she looked so disconcertingly like her.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:16 am
Her ears fell back, and she managed to look quite convincingly embarrassed - dismayed, even. Her expression softened then, into honest sympathy. The poor boy was still a mess, wasn't he? She nearly sighed. "I-I'm sorry to hear that," she fumbled, looking down at her forepaws. "I didn't know."
"But yes," she affirmed, "I am. I suppose that's why I startled you so? We look an awful lot alike, I know."
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:22 am
"It...it's alright," he assured her haltingly, his own ears hanging quite limp. "I guess you haven't seen your mother recently, have you? I haven't seen her lately, myself." Honestly, it made him nervous - where had the goddess gone? He really could have used her advice at a time like this, and it might make the pride feel better. As it was, well...
Nari shook his head at himself. "Anyway, I...I'm Narindima'moyo. And you?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:27 am
"I haven't, I'm afraid." The lioness shook her head. "She spends most of her time here, as far as I know. She may have gone to visit her parents, though? She does sometimes."
"Saada," she answered smoothly. Lady. Simple, relatively neutral - a noble enough name for the daughter of a goddess, but nothing extravagant. It would change soon enough, anyway...and she already knew what that would be. "It's nice to meet you, Narindima'moyo."
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:30 am
"Oh." Nari blinked. He knew Mama Bwawa had parents, of course - Earth and Water - but he'd never thought about it much. "That...that makes sense."
"Oh, you can call me Nari. The whole thing's a little much, I know." He smiled weakly and stood. "Well, I guess you'd like to see the swamp? You have some half-siblings, too...and nieces and nephews."
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:36 am
"I know," she responded, giggling again. "I'm so excited! Mother told me, and I can hardly wait!" When Nari started to trundle off to start the tour, she kept pace alongside him and listened with seemingly rapt attention. The truth was, she didn't really need an introduction to the swamp she'd lived in for years, but he didn't need to know that yet.
Although, speaking of relatives, that could get complicated - her children were seers, and so was Nari's newly-returned brother. There were a few people she might have to let in on her secret a little early.
This was going to be an adventure indeed.
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