WC: 1,645
Billy was laying near the flowers when Harmonia and her mother Israfel came up. Billy’s ears moved to each side, after the courts decided that no ‘new’ – ‘non’ dreamers could drink the elixir to bring back the muses, Billy watched the flowers that held the answer.
Harmonia was excited, there was new leadership, and also the fact that she was abundantly giddy to find her best friend. So far, with no luck. The gathering upon a cave that her and her friend used to play in.
"Woah.. those look so beautiful.." She turned back to her mother, "Mother-! Look at these flowers~" Leaning over and taking a smell. If they were anything like the Bahari caves, she loved to collect them. She'd have to ask her best friend of course. What she didn't know, was that he had since left the Kizi and disappeared without a trace.
Israfel had been dragged along with Harmonia, the chipper one of the litter. The spring in her step, she took it that Harmonia was headover heels for this 'friend' of hers. Trauma from being stolen had subsided, and love blossomed. The misunderstanding was cleared once her daughter came back to say how much they cared for her. She was grateful, albeit worried in some cases. This time, she had come for several reasons. One, to accompany her son, whose anxiety and visions had nearly crippled him, to give him some support to finally take the step in realizing one of his many visions. If he can get this one to rest, she knew he could begin to master them. Harmonia, wasn't riddled in visions. In fact, she was gifted with visions once every blue moon, but when she had them, they were usually a learning of a new dance or song. Harmonia had always wanted to show her their neighbors and today was an opportune day with the changing of leaders.
Israfel lagged behind just a tad from Harmonia, taking in the scenes, the lions here and the environment was quite welcoming and even more like her old home than the Bahari. Some part being pulled to the dance and song, the lands here just seemed, lively. Her tail wagging as she was summoned and came to her daughters side.
"Oh.. these flowers are quite lovely." Looking back at her daughter with a smile. "Your collection would have some lively smells, just remember to ask, yes?"
Which her daughter nodded in response and trotted over to those whom were whispering about the flowers..
”Don’t touch them!” She growled at and lifted herself up quickly. ”How dare you come to our lands and try to snatch away our precious flowers!” Her anger was irrational of course, and her mental break was coming to it’s peak. She wanted remind herself of her mother, she wanted to be able to speak to a muse to get her through, to become apart of the family. So much her mother spoke to her muse, that at times, she was guided effortlessly, and she always felt complete. Billy, wasn’t..
Harmonia quickly moved back and Israfel stepped in.
”We are very sorry, we didn’t know.”
Billy growled and took steps towards them. ”You didn’t know? These flowers are precious for us!”
Israfel watched the young lioness and felt the anger and turmoil that began to twist and turn within Billy’s eyes.
”We are your neighbors, from the Bahari’Moto and my daughter, said I should visit… So I came. We didn’t mean to over step, and I told my daughter not to touch any unless she asked…”
”The answer is no!”
Izzy bowed her head. “Very well…” She turned to her daughter. “Come Harmonia.” Her daughter at her heals even as an adult, but as they began to walk away. Harmonia stopped, and turned back to the red lioness.
“Aren’t you the cub whom was stolen away?”
Billy turned to the lioness and circled. “No. I wasn’t stolen.”
Harmonia looked down. ”I remember, being surrounded by cubs whom were scared… we were stolen away from our families and huddled up together in a cave. Families would come and pick us to be taken in… but I saw a red cub, you remind me of her. When my boyfriend took me in, she remained, and I always asked him about her… But he didn’t like talking about the traditions much… I’ve come here to find him again, to get married... Do you… know where I could find him. Maybe since you knew we were outsiders, must mean you know everyone in the pride. Do you know… Percy… Percival?”
Billiah wasn’t enchanted with Harmonia like everyone else was, she held such an anger, and so many memories she tried to repress, until Haronia reminded her. Like a flashback, she remembered crying against a cub’s shoulder. Hugging him endlessly as she tried to grasp for help, for relief of the pain of separation. The pain of being alone. Billiah looked at Israfel, a protective mother with her daughter, guiding her and showing her the way to being a true lioness. Billiah… had to watch her ‘mother’ grieve for her muse back until she stopped eating. Stopped playing in the ocean, stopped looking up at the stars, stopped dancing and finally, she stopped acknowledging Billiah.. Then on a stormy night, Billiah came in with the hunt in her maw to try and get her tired, sick mother to eat… But how could she, when her mother had already stopped breathing. With a stiff and lifeless corpse in the den, she cried for being left alone again. Cried because she no longer had her ‘mother’ calling her Rose Red. Having to cuddle up against a stiff body in hopes that her mother would wake, because, what did she know about death? She was just a young lioness, and had never experienced it. Others came to help her bury her mother’s body within the flowers…
So now this young, lioness with her mother, whose world was never hardened by the harsh realities that Billiah had to go through… How could this lioness ask anything of her! But then she heard the name, oh… that name… The lion whom fled… The rumors surrounding Percy were that of cowardess, that of fleeing because of the rapture, the fear of being nothing, and finally she could exact some revenge… and ruin this lioness happiness like so many had done to her.
Her head straightened, and a cocky smile grew from one cheek to another.
“Percy… Percy is gone, he had been gone for years.”
Harmonina was taken back and quickly rushed up to Billiah.
“Gone? What do you mean gone? He- he wouldn’t have just.. left me! No tell me where he is- where he’s gone! No- you must be joking please tell me your joking!”
“Harmonia… “ Her mother softly spoke and tried to grab her paw to help her away.
“No mother!” She growled, and you could hear her heart breaking within her throat, then she looked back at Billiah, nearly in tears.
“Where did he go!”
“He left…. Like a coward. Ran away… far… far away… Other rumors say he died of suicide… He threw himself in to the ocean and never came back.” Shrugging and trying to harbor the laughter she had inside for seeing the other lioness’s face hurt.
“But he is no where to be found. I remember, him gallivanting with a cheetah, oh he did adore her. He spoke of their marriage, and I’m pretty sure that you are no cheetah.” She began to laugh- and Harmonia was quick to tackle the red lioness down! She would never hurt anyone, never! But this lioness wanted that of her!! Played with her emotions! Spoke ill of Percy!
“How dare you speak ill of him!”
Billiah began laughing so hard that she nearly found herself engulfed in the laughter that she had never had before. Something so beautiful and exasperated every strength within her. Every pain, reverted from anger- to laughter… She could almost feel her late mother laughing with her.
“Does it hurt… Losing ..someone you love?”
Her eyes had widened, something breaking within Harmonia near completely. With that Harmonia rose her paw and as soon as she was about to impale her enemy, Israfel quickly pulled her daughter off and yelled at her.
“You will NOT touch anyone in these lands! You are BAHARI! We WILL NOT- Fight! EVER! Unless we are THREATENED- YOU WILL STAND DOWN!” Pushing her back and looked down at the lioness whom laughted at her daughter. Unless her young daughter, she was Intune with other’s feelings and although she felt her daughters hurting emotions. There was something so sad about this lioness’s life. Something that filled that laughter with pain and sadness.. She knew that laughter. She knew what it was like to lose something so precious. To Izzy, she found herself under her mother’s dead corpse. Hiding- for years til the threat was gone. She too cried, she grieved, then… it stopped with laughter.
“I WILL FIND HIM!” She screamed- then without she ran off.
Izzy was left with the red lioness, who laughed so sadly. Shaking her head from seeing her daughter leave she looked back at the lioness who antagonized her young one.
“Breeding pain… does not fix what has happened. I realized, that without my family… I was nothing, and one day… The laughter, that same one you had disappeared. The fear, the pain, it grows on you, and until you say no more. It will continue to haunt you…I pray that you find solace, young heart. Let the laughter find it, in true happiness…Don’t let the pain of the past destroy your future. ”
Slowly, she bowed her head, then left Billiah to her pain.