Tory moved through the mists, letting the cool evening settle against her fur. Everything had been so amazing coming here, the things she'd learned, the things she was still learning, about the history of this pride and all the fantastic knowledge they had.And yet...
She stopped walking and sat off to the side of the path she'd been traversing.
"The mists put that look on many a creature's face." The soft, gentle voice shocked Tory back to reality with a start, her head whipped around. The lioness she'd come to know as the Mother Oracle of the pride, but to any and all she preferred just Mama La, La'seine stood on the path, her head tilted. She had been one of the lionesses to help raise Tari, the goddess who had brought her here. A demigod herself, Mama La was such a grounded, devoted lioness. It surprised Tory that she had no cubs of her own.
"I'd been lost in thought." It was a poor excuse for her mind wandering as far as it had. But it was, after all, the simple truth. It was one of Tory's faults, she tended to let her mind get away from her if it latched too hard on a specific subject. And it had been doing so on one subject in particular for quite a while now.
"I have an ear for those thoughts, if you'd like to share them. I've found it helps sometimes." Tory considered the offer. It would be good to talk with someone about her troubles, get insight into what she should do. But she wasn't even sure what her options really were, how she felt, or what would happen if she left. She hadn't even scratched the surface of all she could learn here and yet...
"I was... thinking of leaving."
Mama La tilted her head slightly to one side. "Had enough of us already?" she asked, a bit of a laugh in her tone. Tory must have missed it, for she suddenly looked appalled and furiously shook her head.
"It's not that." When the younger lioness didn't continue, didn't say what was troubling her, motivating her thoughts to leave, Mama La figured she knew what was fueling Tory's thoughts.
"You miss someone, don't you?" Tory looked down and Mama La was almost certain she saw a darkening under the girl's fur on her cheeks. So that's what it was. Tari had told her that Soteria had been learning from her eldest son, Luthe. Perhaps there was more to them than just teacher and student.
"Yes, I do." A smile grew on Tory's face and Mama La nodded. There was the confidence the girl had been missing a few moments before. Tory was always a bright star, sometimes a bit too hot, but she burned strong and true. It wasn't often that she doubted her abilities and it would be a shame for that to become a greater crack in her personality. "I knew I would be leaving something behind when I came her, I just don't think I'd realized just what was more important at the time."
"And you've finally figured that out, have you?"
"I think so." It felt liberating to say it out loud. She missed Luthe. She missed learning from him, hunting with him, hearing him laugh, hearing him sigh in exasperation. She missed the comfort he gave, the way his presence alone relaxed her, made her happy. Yes, he had superiority issues sometimes and tended to assume too much, but that didn't make her miss him any less. It just made him... mortal. Even if he was half-god.
"In my experience, something like that is always more important. Believe me, you don't want to get to be my age before you start listening to your heart over your head." Something in the way Mama La said that gave Tory pause. She'd known that the Mother Oracle had spent her life dedicated to her pride, to helping raise gods and using her seer abilities for the good of the pride. She had no mate, she had no cubs. Did she love someone? Did she want to settle down? She remembered seeing Mama La a few times with one of the sentinels, Haldir. She seemed... more attached and playful with him.
"I will miss you, though. This place has been wonderful, all of you have been wonderful." The old seer smiled and Tory couldn't stop herself from smiling back. She would miss them, but she missed Luthe more.
"And we will be here. Come now, Soteria! You're friends with a goddess, and of messengers no less. We will hear from one another, even if it is through another creature's voice." Tory laughed and rubbed a paw against the back of her neck. Yes, that was right, it was a little silly of her to forget about that little fact.
"Of course!" she replied and laughed again when Mama La reached out and pulled her into a hug.
"You have been such a wonderful student, Soteria, I'm sure your male felt the same. Now, no tears, my girl. You're made of stronger stuff," the old seer said as she pulled back and wiped at Tory's face. "We will hear from one another again. Perhaps we'll even see one another again someday."
"I hope so." Tory moved close again to give Mama La one more hug. Altair had come to check on her, to see if she had any messages she wanted taken back to Luthe. And no doubt to spend some time with his Mama-shi. He'd been rather disappointed to find the goddess had left the mists, Hermes having been absent for some time. Without Tari, she might have had a hard time remembering how to get back to Luthe, but Altair knew the way. They could leave right now and if she hurried, she could be back with her heart before she knew it.
"Thank you, Mama La, for everything." Mama La just smiled, like any mother would to a beloved child.
"You were a joy, my dear. I'm sure the magi agree with me." Mama La pressed her paws to either side of Tory's face and pressed her nose to Tory's forehead. "Travel safe, Soteria, live a long and happy life."
"Goodbye Mama La."
"No goodbyes, goodbye is far to final." Tory chuckled and nodded her head.
"No goodbyes, then."
(WC: 1,067)