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 Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 8:42 pm
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Ljena had two major shrines on her mind when she learned about the pride they were in, and she wasn't yet brave enough to go looking for one so she thought the easiest place to start was the one they needed the most. Onwa was, of course, the Great Lion's child..
The pale lioness chuckled quietly to herself as they walked, distracted from her immediate surroundings until Onwa spoke up. It was hard to guess what it would mean when her dark friend smelled something, so Ljena stopped, looked around and spotted.. a strange lion with a whispy face and horns.
"There," she murmured.
Ngurumo was watching Onwa'ohuru and Ljena for a bit before he was spotted. He wasn't sure that's what was happening, actually, until the pale one turned to look directly at him. The black one was.. somehow alert and oblivious seeming?
He liked that.
But.. he stayed where he was and smiled at them. |
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Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 9:03 pm
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Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 9:40 pm
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Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 9:46 pm
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Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 9:56 pm
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"You're very rude, you know."
Watching Onwa meet a god who was clearly not the Great Lion was a fascinating experience, made much easier by the fact that the young god didn't seem to be easily offended by her strange questions and thoughtless commentary.
"Onwa," Ljena said, staying where she was, "I think that's a god."
Ngurumo got to his feet, each paw striking the ground with more weight than seemed physically possible, and shook off his coat. He made a point of lowering his head a bit so the lionesses could see that his horns were plainly attached. And not just by some.. hat or something.
"I'm Ngurumo," he said, "My domain is Earthquakes. Who are you, Shadow?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 9:59 pm
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Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 10:18 pm
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Ljena nodded, expecting the devout answer that Onwa had given.. but then she felt uneasy as she realized what Ngurumo had said when he introduced himself. He was the God of Earthquakes? Natural disasters were so dangerous and unpredictable.. was he really as easy-going as he seemed? She had thought perhaps they were lucky and found a god who could handle the stubborn non-belief of certain Mwezi, but she was suddenly not so sure. Now she finally stepped forward, tense.
"I'm Ljena," she said, "Onwa means no offense, she's.. sensitive."
He was too young to have children, or.. children old enough to give him much experience with seers. But earthquakes were not a new occurrence, he couldn't truly be as young as he looked.. but..
Ngurumo scowled. He was used to lions who were dedicated to a particular god, but he didn't have to like it. That was part of why he kept hoping he would return to find someone had built him a shrine, and why he had been sitting here trying to devise ways to gain followers. He was used to it but he didn't really like it.. and he wasn't really hearing Ljena's attempts to soften the blow.
"These are my horns and I am so a god," he huffed, "Why are you visiting the Ulili-mlindaji if you don't know about other gods? Who is the Great Lion?"
Is that what he needed to do to get followers? Was he supposed to give himself a fancy title, or drop his name, or both? It was far more mysterious, which had power in its own way, but it was also more annoying when all the gods he knew had proper names.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 3:07 pm
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 3:27 pm
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As Onwa explained why they were in the Ulili-mlindaji, it finally occurred to Ljena that there was a connection between their path through this pride and the god standing before him. There was an earthquake in the mountains that caused that rocks slide..
It made her smile but she quickly shook it off. She couldn't let herself get too distracted if she was hoping to avoid catastrophe with her strange friend. How curious that Onwa had been almost reluctant to go to the Moon shrine first and yet was incapable of accepting a new god standing before her.
Talking wasn't helping, she'd have to try something else.
"And we're on our way to the Great Lion's shrine now," she said, stepping forward finally, "We should be going, Onwa."
Ngurumo was still scowling but he looked almost confused at the explanation she offered him for why she was here. They weren't here by choice, that much was clear, but.. kidnapping? And a rescue, and a rock slide! It all sounded pretty exciting! It was almost enough to divert his attention to the interesting story of their journey here, but the two lionesses had made a very bad first impression so he simply couldn't ask.
"The Great Lion's shrine.."
Oh! It was the Moon.
That was why the moon shrine was so busy now? A cult to the moon god was visiting!
He didn't cheer up but his newfound understanding was all over face. He wasn't going to get straight answers but figuring them out for himself was almost more exciting.
"Go on, then."
He wasn't going to say goodbye, and he wasn't going to walk away. Ngurumo was going to stand exactly where he was and shamelessly watch them go. He had manners but he didn't have the same sense of respect as most mortals might.. especially when he didn't want to.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 4:24 pm
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