After his talk with his grandmother when she'd passed through, Sasta had put much thought into his life, into what he could do for the pride beyond being a good hunter and friend. His cousin had already tried to pair him off, which had been a miserable failure. She meant well, he knew, but it just hadn't felt right. It never did, with folks he'd grown up with, or those newly bound to the pride. It seemed unfair to ask the new females to not only give up their freedom, but also become mothers immediately to boot!
That was why he was out here now. He didn't exactly know how he'd go about it, but he knew his grandfather had done this, and he seemed happy now, so surely it was possible to not only find females willing and interested in mothering cubs, but to also find a sense of purpose in doing so. He was buried in these thoughts when he topped a rise and stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes going wide at a rather strange scene.
At first glance, it looked like a strange looking lion lazily toying at hunting several young gazelles. There was much leaping, kicking, and squealing going on, but right off the bat something seemed not quite right with the first assumption, since the lion was.. chuffing in laughter? Well, that could easily be so, right? A lion could enjoy such amusement... until one realized one particularly important detail. The lion wasn't chasing the gazelles. The little fawns were chasing him. He was quite a lot larger than them, but they were darting at him, then bouncing their tiny, sharp little hooves off his hide and leaping over him or away from him again. He was moving as if to try and avoid them, though it was obvious he wasn't trying very hard. The little things were giggling madly and calling to each other, acting as if they were the hunters instead of the prey!
Sasta stood stock still on his hilltop, staring down at the odd scene, until two of the fawns ganged up and bounced off of both sides of the lion's head at the same time. The lion gave a mock-groan, staggered in place, then fluttered his wings and keeled over onto his side. Cheering, all the small warriors leaped onto him and started dancing. By then, though, Sasta was fully in shock. WINGS?! What... what in the world was all this? With a strangled sound, he collapsed where he stood, falling flat to the ground in stunned disbelief.
Haddi had been having a blast with the delicate little darlings. To him, all things could be playmates, especially the very young. He never hunted babes, never feasted on their flesh. They were too precious to him. Often they knew it too, and thus he was able to play with them, as he was this little trio of sweethearts. It had been a fantastic game of hunter-vs.-prey, and he'd loved playing the prey. However, as they danced on him in victory, he caught sight of movement on the hill, as if someone had ducked down suddenly. He sat up, shooing the babes to go back to their mothers. He wouldn't allow them to be harmed by taking playtime with him, no sir!
He got to his paws as they scurried away, and began pacing towards the barely visible form up on the hill. It was striped, so would have hidden nicely if it hadn't been for the unnatural coloring of white and blue. Generally a gentle male, Haddi arced his wings to look even bigger and squared his shoulders, eyes narrowed and teeth slightly bared. "Give up your hunt, I will not allow you to harm them," he said firmly, his voice a bit more booming than usual.
The figure did not move, however, and he soon stood over the clearly wilted and somewhat terrified form of an adult leopard. He paused to ponder his assumption, while the male continued to stare at him with eyes that had gone all pupil. Hmm. Perhaps it was time for a change in tactics.
"You... you... you aren't... you are...," Sasta tried, really he did, to get his thoughts in order and to speak intelligently. But how did one do that in front of a very large winged lion?!
"Yes I am, and no I'm not," Haddi supplied helpfully, shaking out his wings and folding them back neatly. Time to put away the tough dude act. "But don't let that fool you," he added with a warm smile, "I'm really just a push-over."
Sasta blinked several times, trying to wrap his mind around this. He did manage to collect himself enough to get up off the ground and arrange himself in a sitting position. He still had to look up, up, up at the blue-maned (and green winged!) lion, but at least he felt less like a vulnerable cub. Did... did he need fear this huge predator? His brow furrowed faintly as he processed the vision's words, remembering the little gazelles dancing on his 'dead' body. Maybe... maybe he was being told the truth? "What are you?" he finally blurted, then covered his mouth with one paw, horrified. His mother would have cuffed him good for such rudeness!! "Oh dear, I'm so sorry," he hastily added, his personality and senses returning.
Haddi let loose a boyish laugh at the blurted question and the subsequent apology. "Ah, no reason to apologize! If you hadn't seen anyone like me before, I can understand being astonished!" He winked in a friendly manner before answering the question. "I am the god of Games! All that's fun is my area of expertise!"
Sasta ran a paw over his face. A god. Here. In front of him. Like the goddess that shared her blessing with the pride. He took a breath and swallowed hard, then made himself think. Somehow, he didn't think this god was quite the same sort of thing as the goddess who had brought the plague to Kitawana'antara. He seemed... well, he seemed so personable and very much like a normal lion! Well, except for the wings, of course. Resolutely, Sasta decided to ignore those wings and try to forge on as if this was all very normal. "Games? That sounds like a very pleasant purpose in life!" But that only reminded him of his own meandering purpose in life, which caused his expression to fall a bit.
Haddi, of course, didn't like it when a new friend looked troubled. He sprawled in a relaxed posture beside the leopard. "My name is Haddi, and you look like something is on your mind. I may be the god of Games, but I am also a good listener." He purred quietly, laying his head on his paws in a purposeful way to make himself less intimidating. He did this with shy youngsters sometimes too, although that still made him tower over most of them. Except baby elephants. Sometimes they managed to be taller than him when he laid like this. And giraffe calves. Them too.
Being a trusting individual, the leopard male didn't hesitate. He had offered himself as a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen many times before, so it seemed natural to him to accept the offer from someone else. He chuffed his thanks and sprawled beside his new friend. "My name is Sasta. I come from a pride with many sick people." He glanced at the god (!!) and opted to not mention the goddess' blessing that made them so. "Death is common in my home, and those who are sick can get others sick. So those of us who are healthy will.. sometimes go out and bring back cubs. To help strengthen the pride, you know?" He heaved a sigh and batted at a bobbing flower on the end of a long green stalk. "I just don't know if I'll be able to do this very well," he admitted aloud for the first time. "It seems... it seems like an unhappy and desperate sort of thing to do." Not that he'd ever describe his grandfather that way, but he wasn't his grandfather. Sliabh had a way of being himself, and himself was a very strong, commanding sort of individual. You didn't manage to be around him and not know he was there. Sasta wasn't like that, and he despaired of ever being the kind of male that rogue females might agree to giving cubs to.
Ah, matters of life and heart. Haddi wasn't terribly great at this sort of thing, but his giving spirit wasn't the sort to just leave a fellow creature alone in difficulties, even of this sort. He pondered Sasta, head raised now and paws crossed in front of him, unintentionally majestic. Hmm... how best to lend a little help and encouragement? "If you aren't sure you'll be good at this," he began slowly, "why not tell me what you are good at?" Perhaps that would give Haddi some ideas on how to help.
Sasta brightened a little at the question. This he knew how to answer. "Oh, I'm good at caring about people," he replied forthrightly. "I love everyone, and do my best to help them and make them smile." His expression softened. "That's pretty useful back home. Sickness and death tend to wipe smiles from faces, even the little ones. So I have learned how to bring sunshine and happiness back, at least for a little while." His face clouded over again then, and he gestured futilely. "But what good is that out here, where I am a stranger to all and my affection is unlikely to be welcomed?" He hung his head.
Haddi smiled. He liked this young male. He was a kindred soul, of sorts. Perhaps not quite in the game area, but in the caring area most certaionly. "I think you'd be surprised," he answered gently, "how many people out here need a smile, need affection, would welcome love." He leaned over to bump his forehead with the stripey leopard, warmed at how the gesture was automatically returned. "I can see you have much love to give to the world, and this world needs it badly." He fisted one paw and gently cuffed Sasta on he shoulder. "You sell yourself short, I think. Perhaps if you focus on your purpose as being one of love, you might find it less daunting and more achievable."
Sasta reflexively purred at the physical affection, but frowned a little in thought. Perhaps Haddi had a point. Was he looking at this all wrong? Could he find those who needed love and affection and give it to them, and still accomplish his purpose? It seemed... well, now that he thought about it, it seemed quite logical. It wouldn't be the life-long love that his parents shared, but it could be what others needed anyway. He turned up his face to smile into the eyes of the helpful god. "I think I can do that," he replied with more confidence than he'd had in a long time. "Thank you."
