Welcome to Gaia! ::

Umdumo saw his brother slipping off unseen from all the eyes that danced around them. Their teal was a tad unique for the pride, but it was hard to see much of a difference in dark tones when there was very little light to see. The stars offered as best they could, but even that did not really assist much in seeing the world around them when the Great Lion's eyes was shut tight.

He tried to be quiet enough that others wouldn't hear him, but he did try to somewhat alert his brother that he was following him. It didn't quite seem to work, however. With an inward sigh, Umdumo scrapped a bit of brush as he drew closer to Ubani before clearing his throat.

"Hey," he said quietly, feeling a bit dumb even as he settled himself next to his mirrored self.

The stars. Umdumo found more comfort in the stars than in the moon. He never worried about the nights when the Great Lion's eye was closed; what worse luck could come to him and his siblings? Their mother worried, but she never made too big of a deal about her children being slaves. In some sense, they were the most safe, with so many others looking out for them.

"They're always out," he replied, not worried about how his twin would interpret that line. "Which is rather comforting."

He let the silence grow for just a moment before speaking again. "So...I know we see each other a lot, but you doing ok? Or just needed some space to think by yourself?" It was very hard to be alone when you were of the low class.

Umdumo laughed. "That's a good point. Everyone else seems more worried about themselves tonight than us." He enjoyed the more quiet nights like this. Sure, if one looked, they could find a high class lion needlessly fretting like their world would cave in without the Great Lion watching over them, but he knew better. Everyone needed to sleep at some point, even their god.

"Mother seems ok, just tired. I figured I would leave her alone for a little while to enjoy the quiet night. I saw what looked like my mirror slipping off so I decided to follow. Not much else," he said with a smile, though he was sure it was masked a bit by the darkness.

It seemed like there was much on Ubani's mind, but Umdumo didn't quite know how to pry it out of him, so he would just wait and see where the conversation lead.

"Hmmmm...."

Ubani asked a question that Umdumo had never considered. They were born under a curse, at least some of the more bold lions would whisper at their backs. They were not the only litter to be born when the moon had disappeared, which eased the feeling of a 'curse' to something shared. Still, it was easy to allow the unnerved worries of higher-born lions to p***k at your heart until it was hollow.

"That's true, it is very reliable. I'm sure some of the older, more nervous lions are convinced it will disappear again. Who's to say that it wouldn't?"

"No, I haven't heard as to why. Does anyone even know? If the Shaman hasn't shared a reason as to why, maybe it is even elusive to her." The fear of the unknown could certainly drive others to this unnerved state whenever the moon was dark.

"I wonder if they think it was due to anger. Sometimes disappointment in us could be even more frightening than anger. But we weren't really around to know. What do you think?"

Always protected. There was truth to that. This was an old pride, as far as he was concerned. Too many generations had passed under the watchful gaze of the moon, and so there was proof that he was always here. Even when the sun was high, the Great Lion still watched.

"You are right about that; the moon always comes back. Why should it be something to worry about when He is always here, watching us? I hope that as time continues to pass, they relax and not worry about things out of our control. Our belief in Him will always be stronger than the worries with no bearing."

Still, if it wasn't his choice to leave...what else was so powerful as to either force his temporary exit, or pull him away from those he was dedicated to protecting? A worrying thought indeed...