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 Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2018 7:10 pm
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 It had been a few days since Vidar and Phanes had brought Na'ira to the den and the goddess had been sleeping for all of it. Kafele had kept watch over his mother as best he could, but he was mortal after all and did need to sleep and eat despite the gnawing never-ending hunger that plagued them all. He was silent for most of the day, only speaking when his siblings or Vidar were around, answering questions about how she was doing even though nothing much had changed.
During the silent times when they were alone, Kafele would check on the bandages and splints he had made out of sturdy sticks and fabric Vidar had found on Vikings. He wasn't sure if it would help a goddess but it couldn't hurt to at least try to set any broken bones he could see. Na'ira hadn't stirred during his ministrations which led him to believe he had a gentle manner in assisting her, but in truth it was probably just she was in such a deep sleep not even the prodding of injuries would wake her.
But now Kafele was beginning to worry. If it wasn't for her breathing he would think Na'ira had died. She was a goddess, yes, but did they really sleep for so long? Perhaps it was a healing sleep and his attention to her wounds was all for naught. He had so many questions to ask her about what was going on and what his vision had meant that he almost tried to wake her on a few occasions, but he always stopped himself before doing so. Let her rest. Sleep was important for healing, that much he knew.
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Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 8:25 am
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 For the first few days, sleep was deep and peaceful for the goddess. There was naught but a deep, calm blackness that swallowed her hole so that her mind could concentrate on healing itself without interruption. However, as it stitched her back together in no small part due to her son's help, it was able to divert some of its attention to tormenting her over her choices and the angry, all powerful deity that could at any moment swoop down upon her.
Late in the night she began to stir though she did not wake completely. She shifted where she lay, grimaced in her sleep, and even ruffled her unbroken wing in some deeply rooted attempt to fly away from where she lay helplessly sprawled next to her once lover and their children.
Then, late in the morning when the only one that remained at her side was Kafele, her bright blue eyes finally creaked open. They shut again, immediately, against the brightness of the early sunlight but it was enough to shock her back into reality and make her realize that the angry, fury filled eyes that had been staring down at her were nothing more than her memory haunting her. That was a relief.
She sighed, or groaned (it was hard to tell which), and let some of the anxiety drain from her muscles. Bit by bit she was becoming aware of herself and her physical form again; sore, certainly, absolutely, but she no longer felt like her soul would slip from her grasp at any moment. After a breath, she forced her eyes to creak open, more slowly this time, and settled them upon the life force she could feel near to her.
"Kafele," her voice was hoarse and raspy, but she forced a tired smile onto her face. "Have you.. been here this whole time?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 7:37 pm
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It was growing quite warm in the den and Kafele tried to ignore how the humidity and heat seemed to make his stomach ache worse. From what he could tell he didn't have it as bad as some of the others in the pride as they seemed to be bound to their dens, too wracked with pain to move, and he was grateful for whatever reason let him not suffer so. Perhaps it was the goddess' blood within him that helped stave off the hunger, perhaps it was luck, but whatever it was he was glad to have it. He worked through the hunger and the heat, working a little gourd filled with water and some pain-killing plants into a paste to apply to his mother's wounds. The open ones were mostly healed and he had stopped applying the paste to them a day or so ago, but the numbing properties of the plant were still useful on less obvious injuries. The swelling had gone down on her wing which was good, but it was still painful for her, that much was obvious. Even in her sleep she'd jerk it from his paws as he tried to apply the solution.
Motion caused him to turn, green eyes watching the massive form of the goddess as she stirred. Was it another dream? She was having them more frequently where she'd murmur words, cry out in warning, in pain, shift around a bit as if she were running or flying...and it would always end after a few minutes. This time, though, he saw her eyes open and he abandoned his work instantly to move closer to her side. The moment she said his name a sense of happiness rushed over him, the memories of that voice speaking to him months ago when he still had his eyes closed warming his heart.
"For the most part," he said as he crouched before her, his nose inches from hers. "If not me then Dad or Phanes or someone else, but yeah, usually me." None of the others in the family had any interest in healing and although it was a new passion of his, it was one he had picked up on incredibly quickly and seemed to do fairly well in. They had taken turns sitting guard outside the den to ward off any unwanted guests and when Kafele had gone out to attempt to eat or drink, someone had kept watch at her side.
"How do you feel?" he asked, eager to know where she still ached and if he could help. "You look a lot better than you did when you got here." Whether that was thanks to him, her own natural healing abilities, or both he couldn't say. He hoped he had helped even a little bit, of course, but he knew his own basic healing skills would pale in comparison to the goddess of rebirth.
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2018 4:30 pm
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It warmed her heart to think her little one had been so dedicated to her well being; seeing him here, now, so big and full of life was no less of a shock than the first time she had set her eyes upon Phanes. Just like when she heard her teal son's cracking voice as he sung a tune with his father, as she stared down at the spattering of bandages and poultices she felt herself overcome with pride.
What were her other boys doing, what had their daughter accomplished?
"Yes, my heart, I feel.. much better." Yet even she could not have said if it was a natural part of her healing process or if he had done somewhat to help it. Surely even a goddess could benefit from something to aid her along.
With a smile, weak and tired as she still felt, she shifted and raised her good wing so that there was space to clear beneath it.
"Come here, lay with me for a moment, will you?"
It had been so long since she had tucked her little ones against her side and she could not deny that she felt absolutely overwhelmed with the sight of him here and now. It would not be much longer before all of them were too big to want to cuddle up to their mother, goddess or no, and it was possible that most of them thought themselves too old for it now. Yet, if she'd been given the chance and had the strength, she would have pulled every last one of them against her just to remember what it felt like to be close to them.
"Come and tell me everything you have seen, my little one. I want to know it all."
Time was not kind to a goddess, especially not one so wrapped up in her own machinations. It seemed like only yesterday that they were unable to even speak.
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Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 9:02 am
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A bit of relief washed over Kafele as Na'ira confirmed that she did feel a bit better. Whether he had anything to do with it or not didn't matter now, the fact was she was healing. He'd keep doing what he could, but now that she was awake he'd be able to help her more efficiently. He could ask where it hurt, if what he was doing was helping or hindering, all sorts of things that he'd been unable to do before.
Her request to join him was taken up immediately. Kafele might be bigger now but he was no less eager to be by his mother's side. He hadn't seen her in months and what little he did remember her was foggy from how young he was when she had left. Tucking himself under her wing, Kafele nuzzled against her warm side and heaved a sigh of contentment. He loved his siblings and his father with all of his heart, but there was something about being able to do this with his mother again that made his spirits soar.
"Everything?" he asked with a little laugh, looking up at Na'ira's blue eyes. He had inherited his father's green, but it was nice to be able to see bits of his mother in him. His coloration took after her more than his father's even if his markings mimicked Vidar's almost perfectly.
"I've seen a lot, Mom. Recently it's been...different." His voice changed slightly, remembering the strange dream - no, vision - he had not long ago that had sent Vidar and Phanes out to find Na'ira. He bit his lip, wanting to heap his own questions upon her, but he knew that too much would be exhausting for the goddess.
"I had my first vision. Phanes gets them kinda often, some of the others do too. You were in it. There was...darkness and an explosion...what happened?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2018 2:23 pm
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As he tucked himself up against her, the goddess lowered her fiery wing and let it settle back over his equally bright hide so that he was blended against her body, a little chick protected by his mother's size. For the breath of a moment she let herself revel in it, the warmth of him next to her and those beautiful green eyes that reminded her so much of his father, until his laugh petered to the hesitance in his voice and she realized that though she had kept them all safe here with the Captain, she had not quite kept them content.
"That's normal," she said at first, gently, trying to decide how she was going to approach this with him in a way that would not cause him anymore stress, "when we, when gods have children with mortals we create something a little in the middle between what we are and what they are."
A paw rose from before her and touched him just under the chin, lightly, so that she could examine his beautiful eyes.
"You are bigger and stronger, more capable than other lions, and almost always you will get.. a gift of sight. It seems, my love, that you are one of those demi-gods that has been gifted with a very, very strong vision of what is happening in your world and beyond."
Then, her tight smile faded to a sigh and she looked beyond him and to the entrance of the den beyond. The sky outside was as stormy as it ever was in these lands but beyond those clouds, up atop a mountain no mortal would ever climb in their wildest dreams, she knew the war was still waging. She had done her part, distracted a force stronger than anything this world could reckon with, and set free its only counter.
"It is hard to explain, Kafele. We have changed things, broken the chains that binds half of our world, and in the process we have made our god very, very angry." But even as she spoke, there was a sense of pride in her tone, and her eyes looked back down at him at last. "I left you with your father because I did not know if I would survive it and it is the only thing on this Earth that is more important than you are."
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 10:47 am
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Kafele looked up at Na'ira as if he were still just a small cub, eyes wide with wonder and curiosity as she told him of his 'powers'. Already he and his brothers were almost shoulder to shoulder with their father and he wondered if that had just been a coincidence, but it did seem that it was part of their genes. The visions had been explained to him before by others in the pride who got them as well. Some were from having a god as a parent, others were just random, it seemed. But to know his was a blessing from his mother made his chest warm in a happy way and the fact that Na'ira seemed to think his visions were strong despite being infrequent made his chest puff up just a tiny bit. Had he been the way he was as a cub he would have been strutting around the den, but now he took the compliment and the honor quietly and held it internally to reflect upon later.
Then she switched to his question, her tone changing completely. Kafele lowered his head just a bit as Na'ira spoke of her god, of Mkodi, and the smaller lion trembled slightly as she went on. Half of their world? Was that the darkness he had seen? Why would she have tried to unleash it upon the world? Why was so important? Why did change need to happen?
All the questions gathered on his tongue at once but he couldn't get them out as he tried to figure out just what Na'ira had meant. Whatever it was was more important than his own existence, more important than hers if she felt that she might not make it out. She was speaking of the existence of the whole world as they knew it.
"Is that why everything is so...strange now?" he asked. "The lights in the sky...the rumbling in the earth...the hunger has been here but I guess that's a god's doing as well, or so I've heard. What's going to happen?" he added, a tinge of fear reaching his eyes. "You wouldn't have done...whatever you did if it was the wrong thing to do. Right?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 4:17 pm
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Oh, but the look in his eyes did make her heart ache for him. At times she wondered if it was a blessing or a curse that mortals were given visions of things beyond their wildest imagining. Her little Kafele, this gentle healer's soul, would he have been better off without seeing at all? Of course, that meant he would not have been able to send his father to find her, but she would have survived without him as long as Mkodi's wrath hadn't found her first.
With a sigh, she dismissed the thought, and leaned down to lick at the pale hair tuft across his forehead affectionately.
"No, my heart, I would not have done this if it were the wrong thing. It will not mean much to you now but it means very much to me and to the future."
What use was their in explaining something so beyond him?
Her head turned then and looked out to the entrance of the den, staring at the sky and the blips of light she could just barely see as they danced through the stormy clouds that always seemed to linger in these lands. Truth be told, she had not been awake enough to experience much of anything that was happening here at all but she had come to expect some of it.
"Yes, I believe it must be, but do not let it worry you too much. She loves this world too much to destroy it." There was a touch of darkness to her tone but whatever the inflection was or what it meant, it did not linger. Instead, she switched the subject, leveling a more intent stare on him.
"Tell me.. about this hunger?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 7:22 pm
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Kafele turned over what his mother said, that it was important to her and to the future, but probably not to him. To his children then, perhaps, if he had any. Or their children. In any event, he trusted his mother and knew she wouldn't have done anything to put the world in danger - or rather, any more danger than it was constantly in. He gave a little nod and leaned against Na'ira's warm, soft side, taking solace in her presence. It was scary to think that there was something big going on where gods were battling and raining all kinds of hell down upon the earth, but now that he knew it was for the best it was a little less scary.
The question about the famine that had struck the land made Kafele's ears twitch, his tail curling tighter around his paws.
"It's been here for a while," he said quietly. "It affects some worse than others. Cubs, usually, feel it worst. Dad's had a few times where he couldn't leave the den because he was in so much pain. Doesn't affect me that bad, maybe because of you," he added, looking up at her with wide green eyes. "We have food, the prey animals are plentiful, but they're weak. There's grass for them to eat, and they do eat, just like us, but we're always hungry still. Nothing satisfies it. Not food, not water...they said it's not there when you leave the pride, but not many have ventured out."
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Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2018 9:34 pm
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Kafele watched his mother and could see the gears turning behind her narrowed eyes. He didn't wish to exhaust her, though, and as she mentioned looking into it once she recovered he nodded in agreement. It wasn't something she should be worried with now and the fact that it wasn't bothering her was a great help.
"We've gone this long like this," he reassured her, pressing his smaller nose to her cheek. "A little while longer won't be so bad." Truth be told, the hunger wasn't as terrifying to him as the thought of a great war in the sky. Gods were powerful creatures and if they were battling, he had the feeling they wouldn't care for those mortals on the ground, even the great Mkodi, creator of all. He did feel safe nestled under his mother's wing like this, though, and her great size made him feel as small as a cub once more.
"Rest," he encouraged as he lowered his head, trying to get her to settle. "I'm not going anywhere, and if I do someone else will be here to ensure you're not alone. I've done what I can to help, you must do the rest."
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Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2018 8:56 am
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Although it felt peculiar to allow such a young soul to tell her what to do, Na'ira could not fault him his worries. She knew she had come very close to a death as she would know it in this lifetime and it was only by some miracle that she had fallen close enough for them to find her here. Thus, she simply nodded and smiled, then lowered her great head atop her paws so that she might find rest once more.
It would not be hard, she was still very exhausted and aching, and the warmth of him tucked beneath her wing was drawing her back to a gentle peace. It had been a long time since she had known what it was like to fall asleep with her children nestled against her and she would not take the opportunity for granted.
"Alright, alright," she said softly, as the first tendrils of sleep plucked at her thoughts and drew a loud, lazy yawn from her great maw. "We will talk more later."
And then, as her great blue eyes closed, she let herself sink back into a peaceful darkness.
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