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 Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 5:02 am
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PM LOG: Ameh & _ p a o cx
In all her time at the Ulili-Mlindaji, the young leopardess had not actually shown anyone around the lands. It was true that they had not gotten many visitors lately, and it was also true that she was still rather young, and most of the adults insisted that they guided the visitors over herself and her siblings. Finally, it was also true that Esha was not exactly the most talkative of virtually anyone in the pride. Therefore, it meant a lot that she was doing this for the strange white and large lion she just happened upon earlier in the day.
She had taken him around to almost every monument in the Ulili-Mlindaji; there hadn't been much - only a handful existed for the gods, in fact. She was also thankful that some of the keepers of the shrines had left for dinner or something, because they were left unattended. It just helped her to be less embarrassed by the fact that she was showing this cordiality to this male, who she just realized was rather patient, comforting, and... quite handsome. Yet, she wouldn't let his friendly personality woo her that much. He was simply a soul passing by, and he would remain just that.
Now that they finished viewing the last shrine, she sat herself down in the lowering sun - the sky was darkening, and some stars were beginning to speckle overhead. She looked to him and wondered what he thought, but didn't actually care enough to ask. What did his opinion matter to her?
"Well," she said, pausing a little after the word, "...That's it. Not much. There are still many shrines to put up, and not enough workers to complete it so soon."
The tour around the lands was interesting to say the least. Though there really wasn't much to see, nor many other members for that matter, the shrines themselves were enough to keep him interested. Certainly it the first time he'd seen a pride dedicated to bringing honor to the gods to this extent, and in some way or another he was happy to see that there were those individuals that actually cared. Most of the rogues he encountered couldn't care less whether gods existed or not, so this was definitely a pleasant change.
When it came to an end the leopardess had settled down nearby the final shrine they had visited, and he followed in suit. It felt good to finally take a rest; his wings had been weighing down on him since about halfway through the tour, he just didn't have it in him to ask her if they could take a break. His eyes had fallen on the horizon and the setting sun, a contented look on his face. The day had been more eventful than he expected, which was nice. Plus he wasn't lost anymore, which was a relief. The silence that had fallen was broken when she spoke, and he turned his attention to her once again.
"There's plenty," he said with a nod. "Though certainly there are many more shrines to be put up. I don't think there's any reason to rush though. The gods won't be going anywhere, right?" Tarik smiled slightly at that.
It was just like Tarik to give a smart, humorous answer like that, wasn't it? She looked away at his kindness; how could she think she knew him already? It had only been a day. And still, he was more interesting than everyone else she knew in the pride - but then again, she knew it for the fact that well, she already knew everyone in the pride. But there was just... something about him that was different and it was nagging at her. She couldn't let it go, but yet... perhaps she could just conclude that it was a result of giving a visitor a tour. She hadn't done it yet, so perhaps everyone would be as patient, kind, and curious like this large white lion.
So, now that their tour was over, and night was coming... What happened now? She looked around, and there was no one around to tell her. No one around to escort this visitor out of their lands. Still, he would be allowed to visit at night, but... is this it, now? Would he leave?
Esha couldn't help but look at him in silence, perhaps even a little awkwardly, after he gave his own assessment. Whereas she was usually unperturbed by situations like these, the spending the whole day with a stranger was something a bit unusual, too. Or maybe the coming of the moon's light was making her feel a little sleepy, even, and thus strange.
"So," she began, turning to look at the rising moon, "Are you going to leave now?"
What else was there for Tarik to do, now that he had seen everything of their lands? It was the only option she saw, and though she may have been a little sad at that fact, she didn't let that phase or - she wasn't even sure how she would feel until it happened. Even then, Esha was always good at setting up a stony facade.
"I mean it's late," she then added, realizing that her question alone could have been interpreted as rude.
The silence between them came back, and having grown up used to being alone this didn't bother him in the least. Still, she had been staring at him for a time, and it was a bit unsettling. Was there something on his face? Did he say something odd? It wasn't actually anything to trouble over for too long, but still. He was glad when she spoke up again, though he almost frowned at her question until she corrected herself. He thought for a moment, then shook his head.
He had no home really, unless you counted the haven. He did have family, sure, but the cubs were grown and for whatever reason he just couldn't get himself to go back. It was a realization of sorts, you could say, that kept him from going back to a particular lioness. It should have been obvious from the start, but it hadn't been until their cubs were grown and on their own. It was a bit depressing to think about, actually, though his expression didn't reflect it.
"I'm a rogue so I don't really have anywhere to be tomorrow," he said slowly, his own eyes now focused on the moon. It was big and bright and inviting, and the sky was clear - perfect for flying, actually, but he could resist that urge. At least he could so long as he had something better to do, such as talk to a certain leopardess who had been kind enough to welcome a stranger into her pride. "I don't suppose I could spend the night?" the male asked, turning to her.
Esha was confused by his shaking of the head, by his insisting that he didn't need to leave anytime soon. Her father had left her mother, didn't he, as a rogue? Where did he need to go? She remembered their mother never told them anything about him - but perhaps she didn't even know, either. Whatever the case, Esha never knew or saw her father - not even briefly. He was gone from the lands as soon as her mom and met him, evidently. This kind of fleeting encounter as one that Esha suspected most visitors to the land would have. But Tarik was not one of them?
Startled by his proposition, she turned to him to find his attention involved in watching the night sky, as well. She couldn't help but wonder what was on his mind, but decided not to intrude. While it wasn't like her to be interested in the on-goings of others, it was even less often that she would ask of such information if she was interested.
So she was quiet, and wondered how to approach this question. What would Nena say? Kanae? The two were rather inviting to males in their own way, but that was not like Esha - at all. Yet, she felt some obligation to house him, especially now that no one else was around. She simply couldn't leave him around to have someone step on his big form by the time morning came.
"Visitors are welcome to stay as long as they desire," she said, still looking into his face for some expression - anything that may have told her what he was thinking.
But he was as good as Esha at concealing his emotions, and so she got on her paws, ready to lead the way once more.
"I sleep under the canopies at night, right this way. It's safe enough here to do so out in the wide, open space. Some say it's because no one wants to disturb the sanctity of the shrines," she explained, "Is that... okay?" |
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 5:04 am
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It took longer than a moment for the leopardess to finally reply to his question, and while the reply wasn't a straightforward "yes" it was enough of an invitation for him. He stood up after her and smiled. "That sounds perfectly fine," he replied to her question. "Safe or not, rogues are used to sleeping out in the open after all." With that, the two of them started the short trek to wherever she was taking him.
The walk was quiet for the most part, but he did at least take the time to think of a few questions he had concerning the pride and its shrines. He decided he could voice them later, when they arrived. Perhaps he could be so bold as to make a few suggestions on shrines that could be built for the more obscure gods. Not necessarily for domains that could possibly bring harm to the pride, but a shrine for Peace would be good, as well as Rain and Unity. Then a thought came to him, and he smirked at the idea of proposing his own domain.
"So," he started, not wanting to linger on the idea of actually asking her to build a shrine for Ice. "Do you know which shrine is going to be put up next?"
She didn't mind the quiet walk, really. Those kinds of walks were the walks she partook in and enjoyed her whole life.
During their walk, she wondered - how close would he sleep next to her? Would anyone see them and think they were anything more than a visitor and carver, nothing more? She definitely hoped Nena and Kanae were far from the sleeping spot she would take for tonight - she sometimes slept with her sisters, but also sometimes preferred being alone. Hopefully, they wouldn't go out looking for her in the morning... Or maybe she would just have to make sure she woke up first. Kanae, at least, always liked to extend her sleep for just a little longer.
At one of the cluster of trees, she stopped, which is when she immediately heard something from Tarik. She had almost forgotten that they would still talk, so she turned to him and thought about his question.
"Huh, a cheetah joined recently who wanted to create and watch over a shrine for wind. There was also another recent migrant before that who came wanting to erect one for spiders..." she paused, finally nodding to confirm, "And that's it for now. We are here, however."
She motioned with her head, and then went on ahead to plop herself down beside a tree and large stone, trying to get as comfortable as she can in front of the lion.
"Why do you ask, anyways?" she then inquired.
That large male followed after the leopardess and, after she got comfortable, lay down just a few inches from her, well within conversing distance for him. Honestly, he'd become rather comfortable around her in the short time they were together. Despite being the quiet sort, she was easy to talk to and nice company. It was likely that he was comfortable around her because of her quiet nature, as a matter of fact. It'd been a while since he'd had such good company.
While he was settling himself in for the night, he listened to her answer and simply nodded. If there were individuals that wanted to raise shrines for Wind and Spiders, it didn't seem wrong to want to erect a shrine for Ice, right? The thought came back to him, and he smirked once again. "I see," he said before he could break out into a full smile. Odd that he would find that particular idea so amusing...
"I ask because I was wondering whether there was a plan set out for which shrines should be built. I thought, perhaps, that one for Peace and Rain might be good, as well as Unity and Balance."
She hesitated, thought about saying something about him getting so close to her - it was the same distance she saw Tetemeko and Salma lay in whenever they slept together... But Esha said nothing, simply waiting for his next words. Maybe she even liked how close he was.
She didn't realize she was watching him the whole time, really - if he had noticed, he might have felt a little self-conscious or something similar. Esha noticed the quite sporadic and wide smile when he was thinking about her reply, which puzzled her enough to stare at him more. Did he perhaps know one of those newly joined members? Obviously not, because he didn't know where he was in the first place... Maybe he knew one of the gods.
"Oh... There is no plan. We accept requests from visitors and joining members alike," she responded carefully - she wasn't in any authoritative position at all, but at least she did have some insight into the process.
"Peace and Rain... Unity and Balance. Those are good," she responded, still watching him, "I will inform Salma and Tetemeko tomorrow, if I get a chance to..."
Tarik seemed so interested in this aspect of setting up shrines for these certain gods - she wondered if they were simple, innocent suggestions, or if there was something more... But there couldn't be; it was just his kind personality. She couldn't hurt but to ask, however.
"Do you... know any of these gods? I mean, have you met with them?" she questioned.
Perhaps it was a bit later than he thought, or maybe the events of the day were just enough to tire him out earlier than usual, but the large male felt his eyelids getting a bit heavy already. It was because of this, coupled with the fact that he had been the one talking, that he didn't notice that she'd been watching him the entire time. Hopefully it wasn't obvious though. When she replied he simply mouthed the word "oh" and listened as she continued. He even smiled a slightly wider smile when she approved of his suggestions.
He was about to ask who Salma and Tetemeko were when she posed a question of her own, and it was one that he really should have been expecting. At that point he considered telling her who he was. He weighed the pros and cons for a bit, a pensive expression spreading itself across his features as he thought it through as best he could.
"No," he answered finally and with a small sigh. "At least not all of them, but I have had the good fortune of meeting Peace, along with a few others." The male paused for a second, gauging the other's reaction, before continuing. "Really, if you've wandered the roguelands for as long as I have, you're bound to run into one or two gods."
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2011 5:06 am
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Esha could tell that Tarik was tired by his lessening amount of words offered; it was to be expected, even though it really wasn't that late in reality. The two just had exhausted themselves running all over the Ulili-Mlindaji.
Watching him further though told her that he was definitely not tired enough to think, but once again she could not tell what was on this mystery lion's mind. He seemed to be full of... surprises and random moments, as displayed when he made those shrine dedication suggestions.
Really, Esha was vaguely disappointed that Tarik had not met the four gods he inquired about - if anything, good stories could have come from those encounters. She nodded, just resigning to the fact that Tarik was one who just enjoyed the rain, unity, and balance, which is why he suggested them.
"The same could be said for the Ulili-Mlindaji," she then voiced to his statement, "Who knows... there are gods out there who would visit their own shrine from time to time. If you were one, wouldn't you?" she smiled at that thought, starting to close her eyes to rest, finally.
Thankfully it didn't seem to be just him who had been exhausted from the day's happenings. At some point Esha started to show the same signs as he was sure he was exhibiting, which hopefully meant that it would soon be time for the two of them to call it a night. Judging by her almost disappointed reaction, Tarik was glad to see that he'd made it rather convincing. He didn't really lie though, he was just avoiding the whole truth. It was probably a bit more forgivable.. hopefully.
The large white male lowered his head as she commented on what he said, nodding ever so slightly when she mentioned gods visiting their own shrines. It's likely that they were grateful for the shrines and simply wanted to check up on those that were caring for it. He closed his eyes before replying, just about ready to fall asleep. "I would, though Ice isn't exactly a very well-known domain.."
[ 12 :: 2,927 ]
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