[PRP] At Long Last (Kelello x Aya) ~fin

[spottedleef]

Kelello rested among the bones, her head heavy with the visions that had visited her that night. Nowadays her seer abilities plagued her more and more, illustrating the darkness and evil among which she lived... but occasionally, on the rare, sweet nights, she dreamed of him. Kutu. He seemed like a distant memory to her now, although she could still see him in the eyes of her pups. A deep loneliness ran through her, and Kelello let out a sigh of grief. How she longed for her lover once more, long gone.

Stretching, she got carefully to her paws, trying not to strain her neck, which fashioned a bone collar; a constant reminder that she was not a free individual. Releasing a deep sigh, Kelello began to do her rounds as matron of the slaves.

 

[SilverLutz]

Aya didn't like the smell of this place. His sister had told him to go investigate, since they had yet to run across a pride of canines, but there was something in the air that didn't sit well with him. He had seen more hyenas than wild dogs so far, and that wasn't a good sign. Female hyenas were pretty big, even next to him, and they were mean. Despite his size and muscular stature, Aya was as soft as they came deep down inside. Of course, no one else had to know that.

Finally he spotted a wild dog that was all on her own. He crawled down the small hill he had been sitting on and slowly approached her. He took a few deep breaths to summon his courage, before lifting his head to make himself look even larger than he was.

"Hey!" he barked a bit harshly. "What is this place?" Now that he was closer he could see an odd bone thing on the female's neck, as well as faded scars on her body. Huh...looked like she had led a tough life so far. Hopefully she wasn't mean...if she was, she'd probably chase him away.

spottedleef

 

[spottedleef]

SilverLutz

Hey!

Kelello stopped dead in her tracks; fear coursed through her small body like poison. That voice... it was assertive, deep. It meant trouble, she was sure. Immediately, as she had been conditioned as a young pup, she sank to the ground in a subordinate position, her head dipped down and her tail tucked between her legs.

But the question. What is this place? That seemed rather odd, coming from a hyena... Kelello peered up from bright green eyes to investigate the owner of the deep voice. Certainly it wasn't... oh, but it was.

It was someone she had never seen before; a wild dog like herself, but he, she knew, was free. He had the scent of the savannah on him, as though he lived a life of traveling. He smelled like life, like... Kutu.

Despite the wanderer's intimidating size, Kelello barked, "Out!" She approached him cautiously, her eyes wide with fear. "You cannot be here. You are in the elephant graveyard. You will be made a slave!" She gasped, speaking quickly.

She peered behind her shoulder, checking for any patrolling hyenas. If they knew what she was doing...  

[SilverLutz]

Aya was surprised at how quickly the female dropped and adopted a submissive posture. Huh...usually when he acted like this the other animal just turned around to size him up. And then they usually decided not to mess with him, which was good. This wild dog, however, seemed to have things backwards. First she cowered and then, when she saw him, she charged.

Or at least, that's what it seemed like to Aya. As soon as the striped female started to approach, his confidence wavered. Oh no...this wasn't how this was supposed to go! If Mika was here she'd scare her off, but once again she was looking for food while he went off to do the dangerous stuff. So lame...

"Out?" he repeated, trying to keep up the tough air. "Elephant graveyard?" Well, that answered his question, at least. "Slave?" What, could he only speak in questions now? His brain wasn't processing things very well. He wasn't used to being spoken to like this, and the female looked terrified...but not of him.

"Why would I be made a slave?" he questioned, keeping his head high even though he wanted to run. He didn't want to be made into a slave! Maybe that's what she was. "And who are you?"

spottedleef

 

[spottedleef]

SilverLutz

"There's no time!" Kelello gasped, and jerked her head vehemently toward the border of the Mava'Bunda lands. But this guy was stubborn. She read into his stance that he would not be moved until his questions were answered, and so Kelello took a deep breath, quickly peered behind her shoulder again, and raised her eyes to meet his.

"My name is Kelello," she answered quickly, not bothering to ask his. "I am Matron," she cringed at the word, "- leader, overseer of the slaves in the Mava'Bunda, whose land you step on. I am myself a slave, taken when I was very, very young..." her voice trailed off, and her eyes went foggy for a moment before she snapped back into the present.

"They - the hyenas," she gasped, looking frantically back and forth before turning her gaze back on the large male, "They will take you as though you are their property! They will beat you, they will demean you! The things, oh the things," Kelello said, beginning to whimper. "They make me tell them what I see."

But then, strangely, a mischievous look broke over her face. "But I lie."  

[SilverLutz]

Kelello's rather erratic antics were making Aya worried. She seemed very nervous and anxious, but at the same time there was this air about her of desire. She was a slave, it seemed...why didn't she simply run away? If he were ever captured, he'd simply run. Or fight. He was big and strong, that part wasn't a lie. His confidence was, but that was easily faked.

"Hyenas don't scare me," he said with a huff, lifting his head a bit higher. Oh, they scared him. Everything scared him. But he wasn't supposed to let others know that. "I'll just snap them in two!" Kelello was much smaller than he, though, and he knew that even brave talk like that wouldn't help her.

"If you are a slave, why don't you flee? You're here, at the edge...my sister and I are free," he added, tail wagging just a bit. "Surely the hyenas wouldn't care if one of you got away. You could run and run and run and join another pack, or live life on your own." Like he and Mika did! It was nice not having to answer to anyone other than his sister. There were no rules and the only thing they thought about was where they were going to get their next meal. It was a great life.

spottedleef

 

[spottedleef]

SilverLutz

Kelello looked longingly towards the border as Aya spoke of freedom, of running... it hurt to think of. She ached with the desire to flee, and to never return. But something held her there.

"My pups," she whimpered.

She let her guard down, she knew she did, but she felt she could trust this stranger. There was an air of... of dignity, of kindness and compassion that she had not known until Kutu.

"I have two pups here - they are full-grown now, but they do not know who I am," Kelello said, bowing her head in shame. "I could never - I could never leave them here."

And the truth was, she didn't know how to survive without the hyenas. They were cruel, yes, but they fed her. They provided shelter, albeit meager. She had not grown up knowing how to fend for herself. Mafa had destroyed her from the inside out the day she was found alone, with no memory of... anything.

"I admire your bravery, and I envy your life. But this is the one the Gods have chosen for me," said Kelello longingly.

She peered at him curiously under long lashes, and slowly tilted her head. He was... well, he looked... she sighed. No. She couldn't. But yet, Kutu was long gone, and her loneliness ached more than her neck stuck with bones.

"What... what is it like," Kelello swallowed, "to be... free?"  

[SilverLutz]

Pups? Aya's ears twitched forward as he listened for any whimpers or whines of little ones. He had enjoyed playing with the pups before he had been sent out of the pack with his sister, and since their absence he hadn't seen any little ones. But Kelello informed him they were grown and his ears drooped. Oh...joy. More adults. He knew he was one, but he got along so much better with the youth. None of them were out to steal his things or hurt him or his sister.

"Why? If they don't know you, wouldn't that make it easier to leave?" he asked, tilting his head. At her next comment though, he had to try not to snort. Right, he was brave! He was cunning! He was...a huge scared-y cat, that's what he was. But a brilliant actor at least. He could convince people otherwise and that was all that mattered.

"It's...uh. Well. You know." How did he describe freedom? He had taken it for granted for so long that it was hard. But to picture living live under the threat of pain and agony...

"It's nice. Lots of leg room. Kinda lonely. My sister travels with me but...well. She's kinda bossy," he admitted, his ears sagging just a bit. He did love her and looked up to her and was thankful for her help, because without her he was sure he'd be dead, but she did get a bit mean sometimes.

spottedleef

 

[spottedleef]

SilverLutz

If they don't know you, wouldn't that make it easier to leave?

Aya's statement rubbed Kelello the wrong way for a moment, and she glared before realizing: he had no pups of his own. What did he know of paternal love? Yet the way his ears twitched with excitement at the mention of pups left Kelello feeling that perhaps he had a soft spot somewhere for the little ones.

Kelello calmed. She sighed and nodded once before beginning: "It is a complicated story. My lost love, Kutu, took three of them away when they were born so that they could be free like him, but the hyenas caught us before I could get the last two to him. They know nothing of either of us; they were raised by another slave. I owe them a great debt for not being able to save them."

Kelello's green eyes fogged slightly before she shook it off, trying to hide her heartache behind the great wall she had built.

"I could never leave them here; it is my fault they are here in the first place. As matron, I can ascertain they are well taken care of." Then, a thought. "And I... I am left here, with my loneliness."

She listened, intrigued to hear what freedom was like from another point of view. It was enchanting, incredible - despite Aya's lackluster enthusiasm. She could tell he had really never thought of it before. How couldn't he have?

Her ears perked. A sister. A sister, but no mate. No pups. "Well," Kelello began hesitantly. Gods, she'd never done this before. "I'm not bossy at all," she whispered.  

[SilverLutz]

Aya's ears drooped again as Kelello spoke of her other pups. There had been five? Oh...he had no idea what it would be like to be separated from Mika. She was his best friend, not just his sister. That made things a bit different then. Perhaps if she had gotten the other two out she would have done with them.

"Oh...I see," he said softly, feeling a bit badly for assuming. He knew that if he and Mika were slaves and he had the chance to escape, he'd stay. There was no way he'd leave his sister like that. He also felt badly that she was here alone, her love gone, her pups fully grown and unaware of their mother...at least in the vast savanna he had his sister.

The comment made his ears p***k up in surprise. No, she didn't seem bossy. The young male tilted his head just a bit, the confused look obvious on his face. "No, you're not. You seem...nice," he said, deciding that word was safe.

spottedleef

 

[spottedleef]

SilverLutz

She had his sympathy, she could hear it in the inflection of his voice, in the drooping of his ears, in the softness of his tone. That was... that was good, for her cause.

She could tell he was surprised after her advance, but yet he seemed not to fully comprehend her intentions.

She swallowed, foreign to this role she had decided to play. "Can you," she whispered, "can you - can you appease my loneliness?" She stepped forward cautiously, then softly nudged her head against his chest fur.

"I am... nice."  

[SilverLutz]

As Kelello moved forward and bumped her head against his chest, it finally sunk in. His ears pressed back against his head as he realized what it was she was asking of him, and his mouth went dry nervously. She was a very pretty wild dog, he had to admit, but...but what would Mika think? He certainly wouldn't stay here to be a father to any pups that happened because of this, and would that be okay with Kelello? If there were more pups to come?

"I...I um..." Hoo boy.

"I've never...I mean...I'm probably really bad at...making you not lonely," he said weakly. "I can...try?" The thought of little puppies made him both happy and worried...what would become of them if she did end up pregnant? "But...are you sure that's what you want?"

Maybe that's why she wanted puppies, he reasoned with himself. So she wouldn't be lonely anymore. That thought comforted him just a bit and drowned out the other part that was saying she might not want pups out of the deal, she just wanted someone to show her some affection for a change. If it was what she wanted, though, he wouldn't deny her her request.

spottedleef

 

[spottedleef]

SilverLutz

Kelello laughed softly at Aya's reaction to her advances. His awkwardness alleviated her tension, and she backed away briefly to look the larger dog in the eyes.

"You've never-? Oh," Kelello tried to suppress a giggle. Gosh, she hadn't been so silly and carefree since... well. It was nice, pretending she wasn't in this world, if only for a mere moment.

She followed his eyes, trying to read his thought process, but this time Kelello read wrong. Aya's hesitation rang as rejection, and Kelello sighed and backed away sadly. So much for that precious moment.

"It's - it's fine. It's fine," she said, dipping her head and displaying a tight-lipped smile. "I'll - I'll go," she stuttered, "You should go anyway. You should go."


EDIT: Sorry, my responses get shorter as I get more tired. XD;;  

[SilverLutz]

As Kelello's body language changed, Aya's ears perked forward and he stood. Her words made him feel badly. How often had she been told to go away or leave someone alone? And here he was doing the exact same thing. His thoughts of unwanted pups and his own rather lacking skills were pushed to the side, his true kind nature worming past the tough guy act he usually put on.

"W-wait a sec," he said, trotting lightly to catch up to her. "I didn't mean that. I just...um. You know. It's kinda open here," he said, glad the fur on his face was covering his blush. "If there's a better place then...then maybe I can help you not be so lonely."

It wouldn't take long, he told himself. Mika wouldn't even notice if he were gone an extra hour or so. And truth be told, he was a bit lonely himself with just his sister for company. He had friends back in their pack, but they weren't going back there anytime soon, so he might as well take comfort where he could get it.

spottedleef

 

[spottedleef]

Kelello's sad eyes lit up as Aya caught up to her. Maybe he did want her. Maybe someone actually wanted her. She gaped slightly at him, surprised at herself for initiating something so... well, so personal, and at him for accepting her subtle proposal.

Are you sure. It was on the tip of her tongue... and yet, she couldn't bear to say it. She had him in the grip of her paws. For once, she would be able to say she'd done something she had wanted to do, because she had wanted to do it.

Kelello rubbed her orange head against Aya's chest fur and nudged towards a particularly dark and bone-encrested clearing.

Silently, she led him. Now I won't be so lonely. A small smile formed across her scarred face.

/fin