{PRP}Gifts {Isipho x Erden}

[magnadearel]

Hattaki

Erdenechimeg had decided to take a break. She’d left her mountainous home and had traveled down to the plains. Sometimes a small change of pace in gems was all that she needed. The goddess traveled along slowly. The plains were much more devoid of gems than her mountain home. It was much harder for her to find them here because they’d all mostly been uncovered and either moved or washed away or carried off by others.

She was still able to spot the faint glows here and there that signal a hidden gem still waiting to be found. Erden had wandered over to a rocky outcropping on the plains. There were a few treasures hidden here. She’d help bring them to the surface for some lucky mortal to find. Her wings tucked in close to her body she carefully dug at the ground.
 

[Hattaki]

Between the emptiness of the plains spread before her and the lack of trees in this blown over area, it was hard for her pinkish/orange eyes to miss the large form before her that was just covered in gems and were those wings? Isipho had never quite believed in gods or goddesses as a cub, the pride she'd been born into had frowned upon it for some odd reason that she didn't grasp but also didn't need to question as her status had been lower than even that of a slave. Now as a wandering adult she knew that they were real, this was not the first of them that she had seen after all, but it startled her all the same that one would be so obvious about it. Apparently there was no risk for gods on the plains then, or they didn't view it as a risk.

If she hadn't been laying in the upper limbs of a tree she herself would have been worried that she'd be attacked in such an open place. Not that she had much to offer to any that would actually do such a thing and she was not a small lioness to be trifled with. Stretching out her legs on the wide branch she was resting on, Isipho leapt down and slowly walked her way over towards the somehow even larger form that the goddess affected on the surroundings.

Would it be appropriate to gift a goddess, or was it rude? Would she take such a gift as an offering or just ignore it as unimportant as it came from a mere mortal? Thoughts pinged about in her head as she walked carefully across the warm grasslands, picking her route with as much care as she generally picked her words until she was only a few paces off from the shining goddess.

"Hello shining lady, may I be of some assistance in your endeavors?" Isipho offered in her mellow voice, unsure of why a goddess was digging at the ground when they likely could have influenced another to do so.  

[magnadearel]

Hattaki

Nose practically buried and paws digging up the dirt, Erden didn't hear a lioness coming up behind her. Pulling herself out of the shallow hole, she gave a full body shake to send dust and pieces of dirt flying. The goddess turned her tiger eye eyes upon the lioness and looked at her curiously.

"I apologize for the state I'm in. I didn't hear you coming up." Her opal wings twitched and rested against her flanks. Erden sat down to quickly clean her face and her paws. "I'm only trying to bring the gems here a little closer to the surface so that some lucky soul can find them some day. If you want to help with that you may, but it might be hard if you cannot sense them. Unless you'd like to find one? I can help with that."  

[Hattaki]

Slowly tilting her head to the side, Isipho felt a wave of gratitude wash over her for the large goddess. Here she was, trying to help the artisans and crafters of the plains find gems that they would craft into wonderful works of art and sentiment that would be worn and possibly passed down through families. Personally she had no use for gems and not a soul in the world to call family or friend that she could gift one to, but to help a divine being in their pursuit was commendable, even if she was only about to do so out of kindness more than devotion. Though certainly this glowing gem-eyed beauty deserved whatever devotion was offered in her direction, aside from her coat of gems and glittering wings she was attempting to aid mortals. Isipho smiled warmly.

"It would be an honor to help you, though you may need to point my paws in the direction to dig." the large lioness stood and began to run her paws over the spot the goddess had been digging. She felt nothing on the surface, though she wasn't completely shocked by that. "My name is Isipho and it is a pleasure to meet you, shining lady."

It was the truth of course, she had never quite had the honor to meet a god or goddess just yet, but she had seen a few slowly flying over the horizon or up above her. What a wonder it must have been to fly so far above everything, dance in the wind and race birds. Just thinking of that made her a bit wistful.

magnadearel

 

[magnadearel]

Hattaki

Sorry for wait.

Most probably wouldn't be interested in, or would soon loose interest after they found out what she was doing. Not that Erden blamed them in any way. They just couldn't hear the call of gems like she could.

She didn't sense much of a gem spark from this lioness, but she had still offered to help. Erden nodded, "I would be happy to mark some places where you can dig." The goddess stood up and walked around the rocks, at several points marking small "x"s in the ground with a claw.

"Nice to meet you Isipho, and thank you for your help." Erden laughed and waved a paw modestly. "No, none of that shining lady stuff if you please. Simply Erden will do." She was only a modest goddess after all.  

[Hattaki]

So it was modesty then, as far as she was concerned the goddess could refer to herself however she wished and still be the same great shining beacon she was on the plains. At least with the two of them out in the open there was substantially less danger now and Isipho had only run into a couple of things that could ever do her any real harm out here, though she'd heard of wild hyena packs that were capable of much worse than she could conceive of. Shaking that thought off as if it never occurred to her, she'd not be any help being a worry wart, the tan lioness began to dig in one of the spots marked with a small x. Though her paws were nothing compared to the size of this goddess, Isipho felt mildly confident in their size and strength as she'd get to meet too many females as large as herself out here.If

Digging was a new experience for her and she was amused by how many rocks she did find that weren't gems beneath the surface. Some were smooth and others jagged, a silly thought crossed her mind that if there were a goddess of gems would there also be a god of rocks? Maybe said god would be amused with the decidedly un-gemlike rocks that she was pulling to the surface. With a larger and deeper swipe Isipho found something flinging between her toes and froze, wiggling them until all the dirt had fallen from around it.

"Would this be one of the glittering things you were looking for shi... Ereden?" whoops, almost insulted a goddess by not listening. " most of the rocks before this one were not nearly as brilliant. "

magnadearel

 

[magnadearel]

Hattaki

Her name is Erden, not Ereden lol.

The goddess had never really encountered much strife in her life. To say the least she was pampered and a bit clueless as to the natural order of the world. Where she could just fly away from any danger, the same could not be said for a regular lioness. Which was why she hadn't really been paying attention to her surroundings when she was digging.

Seeing the lioness immediately start to dig, Erden headed back to her own hole. The gem here was deeper and she used a small touch of her power to bring it closer, but not quite out of the earth. Backing out of the hole she shook her head to clear the dirt. It was a good thing she didn't mind the stuff that surrounded her precious gems.

Erden headed over to the lioness when called. "Ah, a nice little piece of quartz. You can keep it if you like, or simply toss it somewhere someone will find it." She smiled. "If you don't mind my asking, why did you stop to help?"  

[Hattaki]

Quartz... it was quite pretty. Maybe it was a common gem but it was the first she'd ever found and certainly far more glittery than she had hoped to find on her first try! However it was no gift that she could give to a goddess simply covered from head to tail in gems that had the little quartz looking like a common rock, so she tossed it into the plains with a smile on her muzzle. With luck a cub might happen upon it and it would become their favorite shiny thing that they would carry with them for a while. She had never been allowed anything to keep for herself when she was a member of her pride, so Isipho had always wanted to give things away, not even having a scrap of anything to her name even now. Some lions she had come across had great collections of things they claimed as their own, the tan lioness simply smiled and let them have them. She would rather have friendship or a connection.

"I honestly was worried about your safety. One lioness alone in the plains is dangerous, goddess or not." Isipho began digging in the hole again in the hopes of finding something for the goddess herself. Certainly she had no powers to know if something else lay below the surface, but she couldn't imagine that there was nothing else here. "Once, long ago, I used to wander around the plains all alone and nothing good ever came of it. So I don't like to see anyone wandering by themselves. I'll take them all the way to where they're going if it means they're safe, it isn't as if I have a home anyway."

Turning over a large section of dirt and rock she saw a lovely blue stone shining through, certain that it was a gem but just as happy if it were a rock, she held it up for the goddess once again. A bit larger than the last one, she thought at least even a little thing such as this would appease someone. It was a small thing to help others, goddesses or lions or even hyenas if they needed it. To Isipho they were all beings under the same sky with problems and loves and passions, therefore they were all worthy of support and help.

magnadearel

 

[magnadearel]

Hattaki

She smiled as the lioness tossed the gem for some fortunate soul to find. Some day, one who would appreciate it would come across it. Erden wished she could be here the moment the gem found who it was suppose to be with. When the gem became loved, so did she.

Erden blinked to hear another was worried about her safety. It was a touching thoughtful gesture. "I guess I never really thought about it. Thank you for being concerned for me." She tilted her head curiously. "But you were alone before you joined me, and we'll both be alone when we leave here. Unless you plan to continue accompanying me?" She'd never had anyone following her before. This lioness didn't seem like the clingy type either. "What if someone doesn't have a home, like you? Or doesn't want to go home?"

She purred her approval as the lioness found another gemstone. "Ah a lovely lapis lazuli. Quite a beautiful find there." Erden moved around to check for more spots.  

[Hattaki]

"There are quite a few that enjoy traveling alone, of that I'm sure. But there is safety in numbers, at least out in the open." Offering a smile over towards Erden when she told her the type of gem she'd managed to unearth, Isipho tossed it towards her happily and sunk her paws back into the soft earth again to find another. "If I see it happening I can do something about it, but unfortunately I rarely travel myself to find where problems might easily arise. No one can help everyone, but those that you can reach out and touch with your own paws, those that appear before you, those at least can be protected."

Sticking her nose down towards the dirt as her claws had scraped something hard and rather large, Isipho used her nose as leverage to help her pull out a... rock. Gray and impressively large but certainly no gemstone, she simply laughed and used a large paw to hurl it as far from her hole as possible before deciding to move to another spot that the goddess had marked for her.

"One day I hope to have a home and not have to worry about all of this, but no pride would want someone like me." It was admittedly much harder to start a hole than she expected, or at least than the last one had been. Maybe that meant that there were larger gems down below the hard surface and the tan lioness began to dig harder with her paws, muscles working harder than usual to turn the dirt over while not throwing it in all directions. "But there's always hope, right?"

Smile still plastered over her face, she inclined her head to the goddess as if to let her know that she wasn't really asking for any help in the matter, hope was all that she needed. Even if it was foolish, even if it went against all her family and former pride had taught her. Someone out there would want her one day.

magnadearel

 

[magnadearel]

Hattaki

We can wrap this up if you want.

Erden wondered if the lioness had concerns about her own safety. Why else pair up with a random stranger? A big one with wings at that. She caught the gem and tucked it among one of her group of points for safe keeping until she might find someone to give it to. The goddess considered her reasoning. "But what about yourself then? That seems like a disregard for your own safety, to potentially help one who might not appreciate the implied weakness."

Not everyone wanted to be around others as she'd found out during her own travels, and became rather resentful or downright mean over the subject. She watched a large grey rock to flying. "Why do you say that? You seem very nice to me. My pride would be open to you, if you find no where else suitable Isipho."

She sat down and started to clean her paws. "You can stop now. I don't sense any more gems that are ready to come to the surface yet." Erden wondered what kind of pride the lioness was looking for. But she did make a good point about traveling alone. "If you wanted to travel with me for awhile I could use the company." Perhaps she should look at getting herself a familiar to help keep watch. One who wouldn't be distracted by gems.  

[Hattaki]

Truthfully it had never even crossed Isipho's mind that there might be some that would look down on her or even behave threateningly in response to her wishing them safety and kindness. Certainly she had grown up in an environment that had been full of those that wished harm to other beings no matter who they were or what their intent. Now that she was forced to think on it, maybe her own safety should play some priority but that had never been how Isipho had reacted to others or to her own life. Her parents had given their lives for her, the very least that she could do was offer her own life up for those around her as well.

"All I can do is be as kind and as helpful as possible, it's what I'm able to do with the life that I was given in exchange for two others." A sad look crossed over the lioness's features for a moment before morphing into confusion and curiosity. "Your pride? I wasn't aware that goddesses and gods were the leaders of prides. My coloration has always been a factor in my life and always a negative one. Because of it my parents died saving me from the pride I was born into. Someday I might find a nice pride that allows a lion with such terrible colors to exist there, but today is likely not that day."

Tossing the soil she had dug up back into the hole and patting it down, not wanting an unsuspecting herd beast to come running through and break a leg, Isipho settled down with her paws crossed at the ankle and simply regarded the goddess before her. What would it be like to travel with a goddess? Would she slow her down or could she keep up in some way that she wasn't able to think of now. Certainly she had no real wings despite the marking across her shoulders and back, they were useless for anything other than marking her as what she was. Unforgivable.

"I'm sure I would slow you down, but if our paths cross again, I would love to hear more about your pride and the types of gems you've found in the meantime." Isipho inclined her head to the larger goddess before standing, "It was an honor and a pleasure to meet you Erden and I do certainly hope that we meet again."

magnadearel