The Forest Guide

[Quail]

Siri found herself at the edge of a large forest with no way around it from what she could tell. It was there that she sat for long hours contemplating her next move. She needed her rest from her pregnancy, and so it was here that she had stayed. But now, as she looked up at the winding trees and vines, she knew it was time to enter.

It wasn't as if she could get lost. She wasn't going anywhere in particular. That made the concept of being lost almost obsolete. All she was doing was following prey migrations, or her heart, or something. Siri thought that when she knew it was time to stop she would, but for now she kept going.

She took her first steps into the forest and as she continued the flora got thicker and the air got cooler. It was interesting; she had never seen a place like this. Her former pride was one of the plains, with few groves of trees but no forests. It was almost exciting for her to be here. Although, she kept a sharp eye and one ear out for danger still. She knew that it was harder to watch her back in a forest so thick.

[CrystallineWolf]

Zawadi's day had been quiet, to say the least. She had woken up late, practiced her hunting skills, and had a lovely swim in the nearby river. Now she was pleasantly damp, and was enjoying a nice afternoon walk about the forest. The sights and sounds enticed her, begged her to get lost in all the details of her new home. Studying sensations around her, Zawadi's ear flicked, mointioning to the side.

Following her ear, and her curiosity, she trotted into the brush and looked around. The soft footsteps of another being sounded, and silently she watched a tan lioness make her way through the thicket. A bit alarmed Zawadi ducked her head and waited for the lioness to walk on a ways before curiosity overtook her and she quietly followed. It was a bit strange, to see a lion again, after days in on the empty desert, and then to only catch a glimpse while talking to a wonderful leopard. So intent she was on watching the receding figure, that the little feline had not noticed a rising root, and tripped most unceremoniously with a soft "oomph!"

[Quail]

The forest made many sounds. Crackling leaves, birds calling, wind dancing its way through the branches... and yet it was still quiet. The serenity of the thickening forest was curious to the lioness. While she had been wandering by herself for a long while now, it was not until now, in this ever closing space with noises foreign and familiar, that she felt alone.

Thoughts wandered back to her days in her pride. Her father and uncle the kings. They were great rulers, she knew. What had happened was tragic, although not as tragic as the new male who had taken her as his own. She could feel her large belly sway with each step, a clear sign of the ever nearing birth that was to occur. She wondered what was inside her. Was there more than one? Did they look like her, or like their father? She wondered if she could love a cub that looked like her terror... but the thought was quickly taken from her as she heard a quiet but clear "oomph" in the distance behind her.

She turned around, but didn't see anything. "Show yourself." she said, her voice quiet, but demanding.

[CrystallineWolf]

Zawadi had landed flat on her nose, and was rubbing it in discontent when she heard the soft demand. The voice had a tone that demanded obedience, though Zawadi knew obeying the lioness could mean a horrible encounter; back in her old pride it was always the lionesses that were meanest. Look at her! She's soooo ugly! How's it going, zebra butt? Hey monster, figure out how to wash the dirt marks off yet? You may be half lion, but that only makes you more degenerate, so just remember that, clumsy-paws!

However as the lioness turned, she caught sight of something that stopped from turning in the other direction; the lioness was pregnant, with a huge swaying belly. Zawadi was never let near pregnant lionesses; it was thought she'd be bad luck for the cubs, or so she was told. Shengo! Get your ugly demon away from me before she deforms my cubs! Or worse yet, kill them! Get away, scat, you nasty omen! Remembering so, Zawadi also recalled that as she jumped, ran, and she tripped over her feet, and that was when the lioness went into labor, and both newborns had deformities; one a splayed paw and the other a croocked nose, as the worried mother predicted.

Grimacing at the memory, and wishing to do no harm the little hybrid called out "I can't! I'm sorry. I can't move!"

[Quail]

For a long moment, things went completely silent. Siri's senses were on edge as she scanned the area to see what it might have been to make the noise. But with no response, no visual, she wondered if it had been nothing at all, and if it was her own senses that had tricked her. But just as she was about to write it off as such, a quiet voice spoke up. What it said confused her, but it was the voice itself that really caught her attention. It was young, and vulnerable.

Her ears swiveled in the direction it had come from, "Are you hurt?" she asked, her tone had changed completely from being demanding to being curious and perhaps even helpful. It sounded like a child, and if it couldn't move, Siri wasn't going to leave it for dead.

[CrystallineWolf]

Zawadi now was truly confident that the lioness couldn't see her; why else would she ask such a question? "No, I'm fine... but I can't move or else I'll bring bad luck and your cubs will end up as ugly as me...." her voice had winded down with the last word, and she instantly regreted them. She had forgot the words again, both from Fox and her father, and felt shamed. But simply couldn't help that the words of hurt were more firmly planted in her head than those few words of kindess.

Now the whole notion sounded preposterous. Her, bad luck? Still she didn't move. Not one inch, though now in her hunched-over crouch, Zawadi's legs were starting to ache. Who knew; maybe lion-tigers were born with special powers... she wouldn't know, she'd never met another like her. Maybe it was a coincident that happened so long ago? Still, she stayed frozen, willing to even stand in a downpour just as long as whatever happened to the old pridemember didn't happen to this new stranger.

[Quail]

Siri took a step towards where the voice came from as she spoke. Her explanation was strange, and Siri didn't know exactly how to react to it. Her orange eyes searched the thick underbrush for a face, but she found none. "Well, I don't believe in bad luck." she said finally, hoping that wherever her eyes landed would be near enough to looking at the younger creature that it would be reassuring.

She thought about what she had said for a moment. She didn't believe in bad luck. What a thing to say, somebody like her. Somebody who's life had been taken and torn apart by strangers. Somebody who's belly was full of babies that she didn't know if she wanted. Somebody who's whole family was dead or dying, she was sure... and yet she didn't believe in bad luck.

The notion actually cheered her up a bit. It made her feel stronger, and it made her unafraid. "Come out, I won't hurt you." she assured.

[CrystallineWolf]

For a second, Zawadi's muscles clenched, unsure on how to on. Could she really risk it? Her fears had been calmed about the bad luck- for the moment. What she really was concerned about was the reaction of the lioness if she turned 'bout the corner. Was it perhaps, one of those situations where one doesn't know what they're getting into? "You can't hurt me here...I have the advantage." It was true. She had been here longer than the obviously new feline and knew a lot more about the forest.

Having said the statement, she rose out of her compromising position, slowly, so as to not provoke the bad luck if it was indeed real. Then taking composed, controlled steps, Zawadi rounded the turn, her ears back, expecting ridicule as her frightful green eyes met the lioness' bright orange ones.

[Quail]

Siri waited with patience as the younger animal decided what to do. With her statement, the lioness stayed quiet. It might be true that she had the advantage here. Siri didn't have anything to say to that at all. Instead she waited, and slowly she could hear the rustling of leaves and cracking of branches as the other being emerged form her hiding place.

Perhaps Siri should have been surprised by what she saw, but she was not. It did not matter to her that the cub before her bore stripes. "Oh, I see, you're a liger." she noted, her expression softening as she saw the scared green eyes locked on her own. Is this why she believed she was bad luck?

[CrystallineWolf]

Zawadi was taken back by the casual statement. Bashfully looking down, and backing up a few steps she asked "Do you actually know what I am? Is that what I am? A-a liger?" Despite the soft expression on the elder's face, she could not help but hold suspicion. Then something dawned on her.

"Are you just making fun? I came to this forest to get away from names. I don't need a new one..." this time the little one's voice was filled with hurt as she scrunched up her nose and tried to blink back tears. If there was anything that she learned over time, it was that older lions were set in their ways, whether they be cruel or kind. She shouldn't have stepped out. She should've ran.

She wanted to run, but something kept her rooted to the spot. Was it the fact that this lioness was pregnant. Or the fact that somewhere deep inside, a little voice was telling her that this stranger was sincere? "I know that I'm an ugly, clumsy, stupid, degenerate monster already, so just go away if you're going to say something mean..." this last sentence was a harsh whisper, as Zawadi's throat was choked up with painful memories, and a few sorrowful tears escaped her grasp.

[Quail]

The cub's reaction was one that Siri did not expect, although perhaps she should have from the brief interaction they had shared thus far. Whether it be Siri's hormones of motherhood or her genuine empathy for the small creature, Siri's heart ached at the words she heard. The lioness took a few steps forward, her belly swaying as she walked, yet she did not get too close to the cub for fear of running her off.

"Hush child," she cooed, "Remember, you have the advantage here. I cannot hurt you. If you let that statement take power, that means my words cannot as well." she offered the advice, somewhat untrue as it may be, as a comfort the the cub. "I am not making fun of you, I promise." she said in reassurance, hoping it might help as well.

Siri smiled at the cub. How could she think she was ugly? All Siri saw was the majesty of two predators when blended together. "You are a liger. That is what a half lion, half tiger is called. They are not cursed." she explained, not knowing if the young cub knew of her origins or not. But she had asked, and so Siri was happy to explain.

[CrystallineWolf]

What the stranger had said next struck her, as much as Fox's had when he had said them. She did have the advantage, but it wasn't as if she could just attack anyone who called her ugly. And she knew words could sometmes have power over actions. Still she didn't move as the stranger came closer, her belly swaying with each step. After all, promises should not be taken lightly.

Zawadi didn't believe the next statement after the explanation she already knew. "Curses are different than bad luck. I may not have bad luck, but I know I'm cursed." Her ears flattened more. How else would she explain her clumsiness, or the fact that in an attempt to harmlessly show her strenght, she ended up killing another and gaining a fierce enemy? "How would you know anyway? If I didn't know what I was, than how did you find out?"

After spitting out the question amidst her tears, Zawadi took note of the smile that she stranger wore, and instantly felt remorse."I-i-'m sorry. I'm j-just not us-sed t-to others, especially l-lions, not wanting to h-hurt me, h-hate me. My father and m-mother were the only ones in the entire world to love me...and now they're both gone!" The tears flowed more freely as she hiccuped through her apology. She had never dealt with the fact that her father was gone, always keeping it away from herself, and was now truly embarrassed to be pouring all her hurt on this poor stranger.

[Quail]

Siri knew that what the child said came from ignorance. Her former pride must not have known what she was, and therefor shunned her. It was a terrible thought. One that made her rethink how she felt about her own cubs if only for a moment. How could she shun them, when they couldn't help what they were?

"Poor child..." She whispered as the cub's tears flowed freely from her eyes. Siri didn't know what to do, but she knew that doing nothing was not an option. Cautiously, she took a few more steps towards the cub and gently placed a paw on her small striped back. It was a gesture of kindness that Siri hoped would be seen as such, and not as a threat.

Siri sat there, looking down at the child with empathetic eyes. "In my homeland I once met a liger, this is how I know." she explained, "He looked similar to you, his name was Jiwe." Siri hoped that by talking, it would calm the nerves of the cub. "I only knew him for a short while, he was only passing through my father's territory. But he was not cursed, nor did he bring bad luck to me or my pride."

[CrystallineWolf]

As she shruddered from her frame-wracking sobs, Zawadi suddenly felt a warm paw on her back. Desperate, and a bit tired, she clung to it, reminded of the times she and her father used to share together, when both were feeling the burden of their cruel world on their shoulders. It was unfair, that he couldn't be here, that they couldn't be together right now; she was about to burst into more tears, but heard the calm, soothing voice above her.

It wasn't like she didn't register the words. She just let them wash over her, happy to get lost int the warm tones of this friendly stranger. Her sobs slowly became sighs and sniffles, as she just listened, weary and faint of trying to stuff all her sadness inside.

When she was finally calm enough, she gave a slight sad smile, and mumbled "I bet your cubs are excited to have a mother like you.."

[Quail]

Siri stayed quiet, allowing the young cub her time to cry. She didn't mind, she was happy to be able to help, even if the encounter was a bit odd. Siri certainly hadn't expected to come across a self loathing liger cub in the forest when she had entered it, but she didn't think she would be completely alone either. It seemed to be fate that the two find each other, and Siri was accepting of that.

At the cub's comment, Siri smiled slightly, though not enough to be all too visible. Her eyes were looking down at the cub, slightly pained, but mostly just kind, "I hope so." she said finally in a quiet voice. Could her cubs be excited to have her as a mother? She wondered if they knew how she felt about them. If they could feel how she felt about them in her belly. If they could, she was sure they would be unhappy to be her own.