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 Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:11 pm
Ukoo was asleep at this time. As she lay in the den that was her masters, her olive form laying where her and O'tep snuggled most of the time. If it wasn't for O'tep, Ukoo would not be slowly showing her true colors. Laughter and smiles commenced from her more often, gracing the ears of those who thought nothing of it. In the past, Ukoo did not laugh even when her cubs were with her.
They were grown now. Ukoo had seen it. They were old enough to start their own families now, and in her sleep she smiled. She curled her gloved paws over her muzzle and mumbled in her slumber as her dreams were not some of horror or fear, but of happy things. Her family. Her mother's newest cubs, her grandparents... things... that made her smile.
She held her family close to her even though she had not seen them since her cubhood. This did not matter to her. Another vision flashed through her head, of Melhor Pax, her cousin. He was grown and strong and fit, and in a new pride-oh how wonderful. She smiled wider.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:41 pm
A black shadow moved across the once-dry dirt, a low rumble of thunder sounding in his wake. Despite the sun still being up, the land appeared to be enveloped in night, black clouds lining the sky with their stormy embrace.
Drenched to the bone, Tariq made his way back to the shelter of his den, seeming not at all in a hurry despite the storm. His jaw was taut and his eyes were focused, paws slushing through mud as he went. Rain poured down with a vengeance from the sky, feeding all the plants in the area and easing the cracked, dry ground with moisture. The lake had swelled with much water and had taken on a larger size than what was normal. Lightning flashed and struck the mountains in the far distance behind him, but Tariq'ra'd took no notice or surprise at the sight or sound.
Why would he be frightened by something he was named after?
Finally reaching the entrance of his den, the black striped male stepped inside, the familiar pounding feeling of rain on his body disappearing. Fully inside, though still near the entrance, Tariq shook himself violently, water flying off of him in all directions. He smeared his paws against the dry floor, ridding them of mud. When he was satisfied, the lion sighed and ventured deeper into his den, pink eyes falling on his banu, Ukoo. He saw her smiling, and the sight made him smile.
"Evening, Ukoo." he greeted quietly, jumping onto his elevated space. "What're you smiling about?" As he stared at the brown lioness, he wondered with irritation where O'tep had gone during such a storm, and his hair bristled, angry that she was always wandering off wherever she pleased with no notice. Ukoo, on the other hand, was a very well-behaved lioness, indeed. She deserved nice things. When the rain stopped, he would have to find her something nice...
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:57 pm
Ukoo had many things in her mind she would never say. For one, she wished her sister O'tep would simply give in and stop the pain and madness. To stop being so stubborn and just give in and be sae and sound like Ukoo was. She twitched in her sleep as the rain fell, just as her master was approaching.
It was at that moment when a flash of something crossed across her dreams, a form. She couldn't see her, the falling sun made her only a silhouette. A black form against reds and yellows. The lioness seemed to turn and look at Ukoo for a moment before turning away from her.
Evening Ukoo Came across the horizon as a flash of thunder exploded over the lioness. Ukoo kicked compulsively in her sleep, waking herself up. Her red eyes shot open, wide but not frightened. She sat up quickly, blinking with a bobbing head as she usually did when her dreams were more than dreams.
She lifted her head, spotting her Master on top of his elevated resting place. Would he notice the dried grass was changed before the storm? Ukoo had collected it with O'tep watching, but she would not touch it as to not let Tariq think O'tep had helped. Ukoo lifted her head and blinked. "Was I smiling Master?" She asked, her red eyes waning.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 1:12 pm
Tariq smiled, eyes narrowing as he did so. He rested his head on his forelimbs, ears turning as he regarded his small banu.
"You were." he answered, amused by how sleepy Ukoo appeared. There was always something innocent about the lioness, despite the more-than-obvious weight of pained experiences she carried on her small shoulders. Perhaps the lioness was so mature that she appeared to act younger than she was? But instead of dwelling on that, the male merely shifted back to what was currently happening.
"I've never seen someone dream so vividly that it shows." he said, grinning. He'd heard of things like sleep-moving, but had never before seen them, nor experienced them. It was strangely exciting to think about, however. To be asleep, dreaming, and show what you're feeling in your dream on your face...How strange,
The dried grass beneath Tariq's stomach was comforting, and soaking up water. He noticed the scents of Ukoo upon it and noted that down in his mind, but said nothing of it.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 1:46 pm
Ukoo sat up slowly, shaking her head slightly to wake herself up a bit. Ever since she was a cub, her dreams were always varying in degree between good and terrible. She was sometimes prone to sleep walking and almost appearing awake, when in reality, she wasn't. Ukoo lifted her head and gave a small smile. "I had a good dream this time." She said softly, looking at her gloved paw before cleaning it.
She didn't say much more, not sure if he was even interested in anything she said. She turned and gazed out at the pouring rain and a worried look came upon her face. O'tep was out there by herself in this. She sat staring at the entrance, wishing O'tep would come back.
"When I dream, it affects my entire body."
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 1:56 pm
"Hmm~, a good dream?" Tariq echoed, eyes half-lidded. "What about?" he pried. He was interested. Dreams were generally interesting things to him, no matter how boring any one dream sounded. Boring, or adventurous and fast-paced, all dreams intrigued the male. He was fascinated by the mind, and any peak into it made him quite the happy lion.
Tariq liked finding out new things about his banu, so Ukoo's news fascinated him. He grinned at her, intrigued by the fact that her body reacted depending on what she was dreaming about. Before he got into that, however, he wanted to find out what she dreamed about. That was the first step, of course.
Now that he thought about it, he didn't really dream too often...How disappointing.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 2:05 pm
Ukoo looked over at him. She could not very well keep information from him-it was against how she was raised. Without any sort of hindrance, she opened up. "My family and friends. I haven't seen them since I was a cub. My brother Aboina, my Grandparents, my Mother. My Cousin." She listed them off and smiled the whole time, obviously she usually didn't have dreams that were of the pleasant sort. "My mother's litter of cubs have grown..."
She paused for a moment and looked a bit confused. "But there was something else." Her voice became soft and almost a bit confused. Her red eyes fell to the floor and then raised back up to him. "I saw someone I didn't recognize. It was a she, I could tell that-but the sun was behind her so I couldn't see her. It was as if the sun enveloped her. Like her fur reflected the sunlight and blinded me... it was unusual. I don't understand it."
She rubbed her paw across her face. "I didn't recognize her at all. "
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 2:27 pm
Tariq listened to Ukoo droll on about her family; things he really didn't know before. It was strange to think of how little he really knew his banu. He made a mental not to drill her all about her past later. Later, but not now. Now, it was a discussion of dreams.
Black ears stood tall as Tariq listened, wondering what type of family Ukoo had. It didn't matter now, but it was interesting to wonder just the same. Tariq wondered about his own family; about what sort of a male his father was in the past before he knew him, and who his mother was. He knew she had died while giving birth to him, but he often wondered how she looked and what her family was like...
Head snapping out of his unusual thoughts, Tariq's mind was instantly engulfed by Ukoo's words once again. He listened to her description of the mystery dream character.
And his heart stopped.
Pink eyes wide, he lifted himself up to his feet slowly, staring at the lioness. The description that had just left her unsure lips sent his mind spinning in a daze and his heart pounding. His mouth opened, his expression completely open to what he was feeling.
He didn't understand. How could you dream about someone you had never seen? But someone who potentially existed? How could that be? Had Ukoo seen the sunset-colored lioness he knew in his adolescence? Had they met? No, that was impossible...Impossible...Unless they met before Ukoo had been captured. But what did that mean?! Had they met, or was Ukoo dreaming about someone she had never met before? But how was that possible?
And what if the lioness in her description wasn't even the lioness he was thinking of?
"...What else?" he breathed, unable to formulate any other words in his stupor.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 2:44 pm
Ukoo was looking at her paws in thought when the sound of her Master rising made her lift her head. Her red eyes glazed as she noticed his expression. Did she do something wrong. Her face fell into one of-well-perhaps fear. "Tariq?" She said quietly, her eyes blinking slowly. "Did I do something wrong?' She asked, pulling a paw up to her chest slowly.
His question almost frightened her. "Nothing else My Lord." She looked around-over at the entrance. Where was O'tep? "The lioness my lord. She just looked at me and then lightening flashed across the sun and then-I woke up... That is all..." She said, her red eyes wavering
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:02 pm
Lightning flashed across the sun...
Tariq's heart sped up, eyes wavering over the ground and claws scraped against the ground as his legs trembled.
WHAT DID IT MEAN?!
Teeth clenched, he jumped down from his sleeping space and began to pace the den, head low and shoulders protruding from his back. His lips moved, though no words came out. He was thinking, thinking...What did it all mean? Was Ukoo really seeing something? A vision...? Did such things exist? Tariq had never heard of such a thing. Did Ukoo know? Perhaps...
He stopped pacing, eyes falling on his banu. Perhaps she knew of it? A power...The power to have visions of things not present. Did she? Did it even exist? He dared not question it to seriously, not wishing to look like a fool.
Tariq went over to Ukoo quickly, eyes locking with the female's. "You will--..." he stopped, catching his breath. He masked his emotions, face relaxing and a smile lining his maw. "Would you tell me when you have another dream, Ukoo?" he requested lightly. But nothing could mask the fire of confusion and need in his eyes.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:21 pm
Ukoo was frightened. She startled when he jumped up and began to pace and she started to lower herself to the ground again, ears flat. What had she done? Then it dawned on her. It was her dream. She looked sideways, back and forth in confusion. Her dreams were normal. Course, she had never even thought that everyone didn't dream like that. She lifted her head. "Is it the lioness master??"
She felt as though that maybe it wasn't like that. "Both me and My brother have the gift..." She said assuringly. "we both could see things we shouldn't..." She said softly.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:28 pm
Yes, part of it was the lioness. Part of it was that burning, aching memory of his beloved warleader...The one he loved and pined for every waking moment of the day...So yes, part of it was that. Part of it was envy towards Ukoo for seeing someone he'd gone months without seeing. Part of it was confusion as to whether or not Ukoo had even seen the lioness. Part of it was confusion as to how she could see the lioness in the first place was possible. It wasn't fair to be confused...He didn't like to be confused.
He liked to be in control.
Tariq crept a bit closer to Ukoo, posture more intrigued than threatening. "Gift?" he echoed, eyes locked on his banu. "What do you see? What is the gift?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:37 pm
Ukoo was pretty damn close to cowering below him. She stared up at him. It wasn't a gift usually in her opinion. As a cub her uncle had tried to kill her because it made her sick. She trembled slightly. "I see thing in my dreams. Things I shouldn't. I saw my past king, he came to me in a dream. I saw my Grandfathers past... when he was a cub... things he doesn't know i know."
She gazed up at him. "Sometimes I see things that I don't understand... as a cub I was very sick because I wouldn't sleep because-my dreams were horrors." She said, shutting her eyes. "My brother could see what was going to happen to him next, lions he was going to meet, where to find things. I-I just... see things. Past, present, future... I see... in my dreams. It's call being a seer."
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:53 pm
So it was true...She could...See things. Past, present, and future. It would need more experimenting to find out for sure, but if it was true, Ukoo was gifted.
And cursed.
Eyes glazing over in thought, Tariq bent his head down, brushing the lioness's cheek with his nose affectionately. Extreme methods or not, he did love his banu, and he showed his affection to each of them in turn, in whichever way he felt they earned or deserved. He was by no means the mushy lovey-dovey type, but he was not emotionless as many whispered he was.
Not pulling his face away yet, Tariq met Ukoo's red eyes and held the gaze. "Next time you have one of those dreams," he murmured quietly, thoughts drifting pleasantly back to the sunfire female she spoke of. "come and tell me. Alright? ...Only me." he added. He wanted her gift to stay a secret, as he guessed this was not something Ukoo openly told those around her. But she was obligated to tell Tariq whatever he asked. With any luck, he would be the only one to know of her dreams...And it would stay that way. The more he thought about it, the more appealing and useful it seemed. A female who could see into the future...And look into the past...And even things occurring somewhere in the present. So in many ways, now Ukoo was the most important female he had.
A crack of lightning lit up the den, followed by an extremely loud burst of thunder. They came in quick succession, and Tariq tore his eyes away from Ukoo and stared at the entrance. A scowl crossed his maw and he narrowed his eyes, thoughts shifting to O'tep. He glanced back at Ukoo, then at the den, and began moving towards it.
"I'm going to fetch O'tep." he stated, though such information was unnecessary, as he had no obligation to tell the female anything at all. He did so out of consideration. "You stay here."
And then he left, his mind buzzing more wildly than a dozen exploding wasp nests.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 5:32 pm
Ukoo felt a closeness to Tariq only because he was the one who knew the most about him. She had tried to tell her past king about it and he showed no interest. The fact that her new Master showed interest in it-made her smile. As he nosed her cheek, her red eyes softened and she purred slightly. "Yes Tariq." She said sweetly. Affection was the way to Ukoo's heart it seemed. O'tep showed her the love of a sister. Tariq was starting to show her some kindness and that is all she needed.
The lightening startled her and she turned to look at the entrance. The same thought ran through her head-O'tep. She looked up at him, her eyes showing her appreciation of his actions. "Yes... she shouldn't be out in this weather..." She said to herself and to him in reality, she was worried. "I will stay." She said softly, watching him leave.
There was a special place for Tariq in her heart at this moment.
Fin
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