[FIN] Good day to look at life! (Chimvi & Mel)

[mouselet]

MEL

Another glorious day in the Kitwana'antara. The sand and tan lion breathed deeply of the familiar scent. It was so good to be home again, he hadn't yet gotten over the "novelty" of recognizing everything. Yes it was truly wonderful that he'd been able to leave in the first place, but nothing beat coming back home again.

The only things that had changed were the people. Old and familiar faces had gone on to their final rest in the embrace of the Goddess, and new ones taken their places. Cubs he'd never known were grown and getting ready to have their own litters - boy did that make him feel old!

More Healers, that was always a useful job, but few Apothecaries. Perhaps it was selfish of him to be so pleased by that, but Mel thought of it as a finer set of skills that fewer people had the patience to learn. To be a Healer in many cases meant intimate knowledge of the disease (not really hard to obtain) and a willingness to stay by the side of those so afflicted.

But Mel's job was different. There was only so much anyone could do for the diseased, so his time tended to be spent on those with other illnesses or injuries. Few lions could make a poultice that would cover a wound, stop the bleeding and prevent infection. And even fewer knew how to deal with the rare creatures that were allergic to the herbs he tended to use. There were ways around that, other plants with similar properties, but one had to sit and learn them all.

It was a lot of work. And Mel could easily end up as one of the diseased in the future. Hm. Maybe he should begin considering an apprentice...  

[Velveteen Angel]

As a cub, Chimvi had always been so sure that he was immune. He never got sick, never felt weak and he never even had a sore head when he woke to great the day. He had felt guilty of his immune status, knowing that some of his siblings were diseased, but he felt it was a gift. It had been then that being a healer had come into his mind. If he was healthy, than it was his duty to help the sick!

Unfortunately, growing older had taken it's toll. It started with simple things, like aching bones and an aching head, but had grown from there. Chimvi had begun to shake from cold when it was pleasantly warm, or suddenly exhaust himself without even trying.

He tried to hide it from his family, but he couldn't and soon it was clear that his immune status wasn't so.

Still, he was determined to be a healer. Over the last few months, he had grown no sicker and had good days and bad days. On his good days, he felt perfectly healthy but on the bad ones...well, he would get no work done on those but he should at least take advantage of the good ones.

He heaved a sigh and moved, slightly sluggishly. He wasn't sure what kind of day this was, good or bad, but he was not going to let it slow him down.


 

[mouselet]

Mel was jolted out of his rambling by the sudden realization that someone else was nearby. Looking around he saw it was just an adolescent, a young male. The older lion shook his head at himself and willed his heartbeat to slow down again - Sas had finally managed to teach him something and now he didn't need it.

Well, he might as well convince his...training...that the boy was harmless and there was only one good way to do that.

"Good morning!" he called out to the younger lion. "I don't believe we've met!" He could almost swear that the boy was the offspring of someone he knew...but damned if he could actually remember whose.  

[Velveteen Angel]

Chimvi startled when a voice called out to him - or well, he assumed it called out to him, as he hadn't noticed anyone else around. He hadn't even noticed the male who spoke to him until he had called out. Chimvi glanced at up and peered at the male. Well, he wasn't going to be rude and ignore him, so he changed his path to move closer to the male.

"Hello," Chimvi responded, offering a slight smile. "We probably haven't." Chimvi hadn't really socialised with the pride much, preferring his own company especially on his bad days.

"I'm Chimvi'noga," he introduced himself.

 

[mouselet]

The older lion nodded in greeting. "My name's Mel. Nice to meet you, Chimvi'noga," he replied cheerfully. The boy seemed quiet, like he wanted to go off on his own. Mel could let him...but he'd had enough melancholy thoughts for one morning. The kid could put up with him for a bit, right?

"Well, I've only been back for half a moon or so, and there's so many youngsters I haven't met! It's almost like half the pride's changed..." he trailed off with a slight wince. Stupid stupid stupid! He should know better than to say something that tasteless in this pride. Ah, perhaps a sojourn outside had loosened his tongue in ways it really shouldn't have, while it had tightened in others. He'd really have to think more carefully before he spoke.  

[Velveteen Angel]

"Nice to meet you too, Mel," Chimvi responded politely, pleased that this male seemed like he was friendly at least. The pride was generally friendly, but everyone had their bad days especially when they were diseased.

Chimvi too winced at his comment but tried to smooth it over. "There has been quite a boost in cub numbers recently," he explained. "I gained six new brothers recently. It can be hard to keep up with the pridal faces." He was giving Mel a way out of his little blunder. It was easy to slip up, and Chimvi could imagine it would be easier after being away from the pride for a while which this male seemed to have been.
 

[mouselet]

"Six!?" And that was just one family! By the Goddess, how many others had experienced the same fertility of late? Tactless as he might have been, his words had more truth to them than he'd suspected! It was truly remarkable, in some ways, how the pride was determined to flourish in the face of its plague, but he knew as well as the next that those many youngsters might not even live to reach his own age, let alone adulthood.

"You must be grateful for the opportunity to get away from them," Mel commented, trying to keep himself from getting to distracted - or depressed - by the conversation.  

[Velveteen Angel]

Chimvi nodded his head, slightly amused out the outburst at his six new brothers. "Yes, and I am one of six from the previous litter as well," he said, not really phased by a big family. Admittedly, his 'baby brothers' were not his by blood, as any could see just by comparing the two but his mother had taken them in and Chimvi would treat them no different than if they were his mother's new offspring.

He chuckled, and nodded. "Sometimes it's nice to get away though thankfully none of them seem to be "brattish", which makes life around them a lot easier." He couldn't stand brattish cubs, though he understood in their case sometimes their attitude was simply because they felt bad and didn't know how else to vocalise it.
 

[mouselet]

Mel felt his eyes grow wide as Chimvi admitted to being one of six as well. That was twelve cubs right there...and so many more youngsters in the pride in addition! The older lion's grasp of numbers was breaking up rapidly in the face of the population boom.

He snorted though at the idea of brattiness. "Spoiled, you mean. I've seen it a few times in this pride, usually in litters where only one or two survive." It was a shame, that. The parents were so happy that some of their legacy survived, they allowed any behavior and excused any intent. It wouldn't help the kids in the long run, and it would make dealing with the brats a pain for just about everyone. It was one thing that didn't seem to be a problem at the moment though, since there were so very many cubs and at least two fairly large litters.  

[Velveteen Angel]

Chimvi continued to look amused at Mel's expression when he took in how many cubs were in Chimvi's family and withheld a chuckle. Oh, this was actually quite fun. He wished he had more relatives to tell Mel about, just to see if his eyes could get wider.

The amusement faded at Mel's comment however, and he nodded sombrely. "Unfortunately, many do not see the difference between praising life and spoiling it," he muttered. Parents spoiling cubs was just like spoiling the next generation of the pride and that sort of thing could end up with them all disappearing if they weren't careful.

A shudder raced through Chivmi and he clenched his claws into the ground in an attempt to stop his body shaking. Ugh! He thought today was a good day, but it seemed the shakes had returned. He tensed his body, trying to make them unnoticeable - they were only slight at that moment, but they would grow when night came and the temperature really dropped. At the moment, the warmth from the sun was keeping them mostly at bay.
 

[mouselet]

The older lion nodded soberly. Chimvi was young, yes, but observant and insightful. A blessing in one his age. "A sad fact," was his only response. His jaw tightened at the thought of such waste - why ruin a child just because their siblings had died?

In an effort to distract himself, Mel focused instead on his young companion and saw something that made his eyes narrow. Chimvi was tense, and it seemed unrelated to their conversation. And, if one was looking closely, he could see slight but steady tremors rippling over the boy's body. This was no healthy adolescent.

Here Mel had a choice. He could confront the boy plainly, and probably alienate him to some degree. Or...he could be more circuitous. The older lion felt his new young friend deserved something better than confrontation. "You don't look so good," he commented. "Now I'm no Healer, and you're free to tell me to shut it, but I might have some herbs that would help." It was an offer, the same he'd make for anyone in the pride, and it could be refused. He hoped not, but it was a choice.  

[Velveteen Angel]

Chimvi shouldn't have been surprised that his companion had noticed the shakes - when you lived with so many diseased, you learnt the signs pretty quickly but that didn't stop shame from filling him. He tried so hard to be strong and healthy, but sometimes his body reminded him just how fragile it was. He felt a muscle in his leg start to ache as he tried to hold himself tense and motionless, but it was useless. Mel had already seen.

"You're an Apothecary?" Chimvi asked, trying to distract the male from fussing over his symptoms. They were no where near as bad as some other's, so he was grateful for that. He forced a smile, but it was slightly lopsided as a headache began to build behind his eyes. "I'm going to be a Healer when I'm older." If he ever made it to being older, he thought slightly pessimistically.

He didn't outright refuse the herbs, but he hated being weak and admitting it was hard for him. The sun was keeping the chills mostly away, but it was beginning to hurt his eyes. He groaned inwardly. He just couldn't win, could he?
 

[mouselet]

He didn't miss how Chimvi avoided talking about himself in the present tense. So be it. Adolescent boys were stubborn, as he had cause to remember, and he wouldn't push his luck.

"I am indeed one of the pride's Apothecaries, apparently a rare specimen in a group full of Healers," he replied with a wink. "Not that it's a bad thing at all, and it is a blessing that so many of the pride are committed to helping the rest." He personally preferred his job over the other (a good thing too!), but he could still respect them.

"I'm sure you'll be a skilled Healer one day," Mel told the boy. He was a firm believer in willpower, and believed that if one was determined enough to survive, he could win more time from the disease.  

[Velveteen Angel]

Chimvi listened to the male speak and nodded. There did seem to be a lot of healers, but that was good. Not to mention that it was often difficult for people to learn all about the herbs, when healers merely needed to apply the salves and be good with people. Chimvi almost wished he could be an Apothecary, but with his illness he would be unlikely to learn all of the herbs he needed, at least being a healer he could help when he could.

"The healers are lucky that there are Apothecaries still, I know I would be rather useless at mixing the herbs," he said, with a slight laugh.

He smiled slightly at the last comment. "Thank you. I hope so," he remarked, not only because he hoped he would be good, but he hoped that he might live long enough to actually be a healer.

 

[mouselet]

"Well, there's something to be said for familiarity with a particular poultice," Mel pointed out. "Many Healers use a certain set of herbs often enough that they can mix it up for themselves." If a Healer preferred a certain mixture, it was possible that they'd even ask the Apothecary how to find, harvest, preserve and even mix that particular dosage. And he was always happy to teach such a thing, as it was one less for him to worry about.

He didn't acknowledge the fact that the boy seemed doubtful of his living to adulthood. It was...a shame. And a fact of living in this pride.

"You're very welcome," he replied softly.