[PRP] [Mtima & Sikilizana]

[Kaelyndra]

Had she not seen it a thousand times, the harsh white that dripped and flowed from the sheer, gabbro cliffs would have left her eyes burned. Instead, the cold seeped through her skin and traveled up, vanishing before it could do harm and make the world unbearable.

On top of the world, some of the mortals call it. There would be no concept of time or creation here. All the secrets would be revealed; the god's knowledge surpassed all others. Spirits, wisdom, and a menagerie of other imaginative ideas.

They were wrong.

And as Sikilizana stood there, bored, her eyes trying to peer through the thick mist to the world below, she wondered what it must have been like to live a life in such foolish naivety. Far darker, and the more important question, Sikilzana asked herself how naive her own mind was and what great fantasies and obsessions traversed her own head nevermind the minds of her fellow god.

Climbing higher still, her path was on-route to the great golden gates. Mortals went there and gods were reborn. They could not. The price to pay for passing through those gates was eternity. It seemed like a simple thinking to give up when you already lived forever. What was eternity but just another day? But, when you went through there, you lost a most important thing. Its name was choice, and so she lingered in the realm of the living where she could choose whether or not to die.  

[Kaelyndra]

It took only a few long steps to pull herself up and over the last, sheer boulder and shuffle her way towards the bright, looming appearance of metal.

Here, it seemed to always sunny. The clouds occasionally made it to the peak, shrouding everything in darkness and leaving snow in its wake, but mostly Sikilizana felt a never resilient pounding of light on her skull.

The voice of someone else reached her before her eyes had focused. It should have been no surprise to see another lingering in the area and certainly no surprise that they'd display such brash colors. Never the less, Siki found herself surprised and intrigued at the sight of another goddess.

One she'd seen before, and like most of them, had never bothered to speak to. As a child she had not been welcome to. Before she'd begun to realize she was not her mothers property.

"Hey!" she called out, skipping any formality that might be required and changing to exactly what she wanted to know. "Who are you and what do you represent?" That was the most applicable way to say it, was it not? They all seemed to represent something. Her footfalls quickened in pace as she closed the distance between them at a trot.  

[Kaelyndra]

It had been loud enough for Sikilizana to pick up on. Dipping her head low, she turned the trot into a canter and finally was within normal speaking distance.

"Sikilizana," she breathed out as she'd gotten close. Her eyes scanned over the other lioness and she squinted a moment before looking away.

"I represent Obsession." There was a slight smile as if she'd said something particularly bad or devilish, but it changed into something more friendly as soon as it had come. Souls? It was an interesting domain. At once, Sikilizana was scanning the area for any dead that might have passed through.

Was it a worthy thing of being Obsessed over? The dead? She wouldn't see them again after they passed through the gates.

A long pause, then she turned back to survey the youth more discreetly.

"Is it something you enjoy, watching them all pass by?" she asked.  

[Kaelyndra]

Neat? What a strange way to say it. She supposed that 'neat' didn't really qualify as an approval or disapproval either way. In response, Siki let out a soft snort through her nostrils. It escaped and trailed away in a white, steaming cloud.

At the word here, her attention turned once more to the gates. The more she looked at them, the more she loathed them. They made her feel insignificant in a sense. It was perhaps the awe-inspiring ideal of their presence that left her with such derision.

The little thoughts about her that lingered and were soaked with the word 'obsession' kept tinging at her mind. It happened with nearly everyone, strangely less so in a few mortals, and Siki kept opening her mouth to ask the next question, to feel the next little pull on her body like the world needed her.

"What do you mean?" she asked after a time, honestly perplexed. The 'usually' had alarmed her. Even she worried that her soul may not be safe. Perhaps it would be wise, for the future, to be friends with this one.

"What can happen to a soul if you don't watch over it?"  

[Kaelyndra]

Other gods could do things to souls. The words tasted bitter in her mouth. Of course, she had assumed this to be true. In fact, she should have already known of this fact. A goddess in her adolescent years would have picked up on enough, but her mother had shrouded her well.

The continued topic left Sikilizana silenced. There were a few moments where her brows furrowed and another where she clenched her teeth.

A name had not been directly mentioned, but Sikilizana knew more about her mother than she cared to believe. Due to the lack of general knowledge she had obtained about everything else, the words that Mtima spoke could mean nothing else than her own. . . even in her head, Siki refused to say mother.

"Greed does not part well with her petty things," she muttered once, under her breath. It was hissed enough that perhaps her soul-protecting goddess would catch it in any case.

"And what price do you pay to get them back?" she spoke with a more urgent tone. That lesson, Siki had learned early. This mortal realm was like a trading game. You had to give something to get something, and Ubuge's price was high. For now, Siki refused to mention any relation. It would be better if no one knew.  

[Kaelyndra]

The lack of a price relaxed Siki's tensed muscles. The intense look she'd been giving the air changed to its original, neutralized state.

"I guess they do," she repeated with an airy voice, her mind mulling over the simplicity of what this youth had told her already. Age, however, seemed to mean nothing in the face of wisdom.

Towards the end of Mtima's speach, Sikilizana's back legs seemed to give way and she sat with only enough grace to keep from harming herself. Her focus was on the steep downward direction and she squinted to catch any view of the mortal realm she could. Every now and then, there was a faint glimpse. When the clouds parted enough, and the sun was just right, did the mortals look up, catch a glint of gold and wonder?

"And," Sikilizana pressed as she turned her head to regard the other once more. "What do you do if someone takes part of your soul?" It was perhaps rude and it was certainly not a pleasant conversation piece, but Sikilizana had to know. Every bit of knowledge was something that could be used against her, and every piece gained could be used.  

[Kaelyndra]

It wasn't quite the answer Sikilizana had been looking for. That much was obvious by the way her ears traveled back to her skull and she listened only half-heartedly to the information that came forth. Siki was still too naive to believe anyone could possible steal her soul. Afterall, she was a goddess, and she'd seen more than her fair share of trickery from her mother. What could possibly touch her?

"No, no," she whispered with the picture of impatience written all over her face. "I mean your soul." The word your was said firmly, and Obsession gave a long look at Mtima as she said it.

"What do the rest of us do if you can't do your job?" The idea of souls, in fact, was more than confusing. To think that you could have two parts or even more than two parts according to mortals. Three, four, five pieces of yourself in some cases.

"Haven't you ever wondered what would happen if you were trapped, your essence caught and suddenly that portion of life stopped existing?" From the look on her face, it was obviously a question that had been on her mind before.

"I don't get it, Mtima. We might as well be mortals handed abilities and allowed to live forever. I am dying to pass through those gates, and it's such a mortal emotion to regret." A look behind her was accompanied with a scowl. Once she'd escaped, found her freedom in knowledge and individuality, Sikilizana thought the world would appear easily, with great knowledge.

There was nothing new. Other than being able to change the direction of her feet when she willed and exert choice, nothing had changed. She was frustrated at the lack of life's revelations. Perhaps her mother had taken a part of her soul.