[JRP] Home... (Maji/Aziza)

[Excited Apathy]

Home...

Such a small word, and yet it had taken her further than she could have imagined. The 'Mistweaver' lands, she had anticipated. The pride that had grown from that one, not so much. And the plague that had decimated them...not at all.

And now? She didn't want to roam, not when she knew there was yet a home to make her own.

She had come back.  

[Meepfur]

Aziza sat on a sun-warmed rock at the edge of the Pridelands, but she wasn't napping. She was watching, ears up and alert, eyes scanning the horizon. Though theirs was a peaceful pride, and those coming and going were generally harmless, she was a scout, and it was her job to watch - just in case. Or, more likely, to welcome.

In the quiet, it was easy to let her thoughts drift away, to dwell on things less pleasant than the scenery: the recent war haunted her mind, as did the absence of her mother. She was grateful Shomoro hadn't seen what had happened with the hyenas, and yet...she missed her terribly, in a different way from how her brothers did. In her youth, she'd found her mother's love suffocating, felt herself trapped by the expectations of a lioness who'd finally had a daughter, after so many sons, but she'd grown out of that resentment long ago and learned to cherish her family. The loss of her mother had shaken her to her core, awoken a realization of her own mortality that she was struggling to come to terms with.

But what was that? A glimpse of color in the grass brought her back to the outside world, and she trained her eyes on the blue figure. Blue...a very familiar blue. Ziza's heart set to racing, and she leapt from her perch, calling, "Maji?"

She'd never been the most doting of mothers, the most openly affectionate, but she had always loved her children, and to see one of the wanderers again after so long, and now...she couldn't deny the surge of emotion.  

[Excited Apathy]

"Mom!"

If the rush of recognition at the familiar voice hadn't been enough, it was doubly reinforced by a knowing, a feeling of rightness. It simply couldn't be more fitting for this to be the first face she saw here. Suddenly feeling very young again, Maji broke into a run, bounding through the grass as though she were a cub. The distance and time away faded to the background for the moment--no matter how long the separation, one just didn't forget their mother. Almost there now...just a little further...  

[Meepfur]

Her heart leapt at the sound of her daughter's voice, and Aziza rushed to meet her on a near-collision path, stopping just short of plowing into the blue lioness. She bumped her head against her with enthusiastic affection, pulling her into an 'embrace' with a paw. Her Maji was here, and whole and well, and relief flooded her as well as joy. There had always been that thought in the back of a her mind, the awareness that her children who'd left were out there somewhere, that they may or may not be okay...a hole in her heart she was beginning to understand.

"You're home," she said simply, quietly, "You're home."  

[Excited Apathy]

Indeed, there were some things Maji's other sight couldn't--or wouldn't--always see. Such a simple, heartfelt welcome...she hadn't been sure of what to expect, but this? This brought the hot prickling of happy tears as she leaned against a mother that she hadn't seen in what she decided was far too long. "Home," she agreed, bumping her head against the other lioness. "And this time, I'm not going anywhere."  

[Meepfur]

"Good." The relief in her voice was clear - now she would know, always, that Maji was alright, instead of just having to hope that it was so. Ziza pulled back for a moment to regard her daughter, double-checking that she was in fact in one, healthy piece. "Everyone will be so happy to see you again."  

[Excited Apathy]

Maji's ears perked at the mention of 'everyone.' Her sisters, brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles... "I'll be happy to see them, too! Have they been doing well?" A place where many were not just friends, but family...the realization of such extensive roots was a welcome--and slightly daunting--one. She would have a lot of catching up to do, that was certain! "And you, have you been okay?"  

[Meepfur]

Maji's question, though simple, gave her pause. Ziza's ears fell, and some of the enthusiasm bled away. "Most have, I have. But your grandmother...passed away a few months ago. And there have been other things, but-"

"But we can discuss that later. Now isn't the time." With effort, she summoned a smile back to her face.  

[Excited Apathy]

"Oh..." Maji's face fell as her ears folded back, and pink eyes seemed to suddenly find the grass at her feet absolutely fascinating. The news drove home just how long she'd been away, and while she'd grown and learned much, she would have to face the fact that she'd missed out on a lot, too. But no more. With that thought she gave herself a little shake and pulled her eyes up, nodding. "You're right...we should probably let everyone know I'm back."  

[Meepfur]

Thoughts of her mother still twisted Ziza's heart, filled her with regret for the youth she'd wasted resenting the kind lioness, taking her for granted...though they had healed their relationship eventually, she berated herself for not understanding sooner, for not always loving Shomoro as a daughter should have. And for not always loving her own children the way a mother should, for being young and stupid the first time. Thank goodness for the bright lioness, who had raised them when she could not. At least she'd done better by Maji and her siblings, and yet...she wondered if it was enough.

Forcefully chasing the melancholy away, she rubbed her cheek against her daughter's in an effort to reassure them both. "Let's go get you reacquainted."