Keani
Keani had been avoiding his family the last couple of days. He knew that his parents hadn't been getting along the best and he was afraid of what might becoming down the line. Divorce wasn't something that happened a lot in the Bahari and Keani didn't want to be one of the only lions in the pride who had his parents seperate. He was worried that girls would be less interested in him if his parents didn't stay married.... and at his age girls were pretty much the only thing that mattered.
He wondered down to a particularly pebbly area of the beach and began picking rocks up and tossing them in the water. He had seen others doing the same thing and he knew if he managed to throw it just right it would skipp along the waters edge.
Zephyr & Koukakala
Maybe it was a family curse that Zephyr hadn't known about until now. Her parents had separated when her cubs were still young and now...now she and Kou were contemplating doing the same. She craned her head to look at the larger male. His gait was slower than usual, which she attributed to the freakishly intense heat. Kou's darker pelt just wasn't made for these temperatures, so even as upset with him as she was Zephyr tried to be accommodating. "We can stop if you need to rest." She wheedled. In truth, she hadn't seen her mate look so exhausted in a long, long time.
Koukakala shook his head. "No, that's fine. Once we've found Keani I'll take a break." His voice was clipped; both out of irritation for his mate and lack of sleep. These days it seemed as if Kou's body was in as much an uproar as his mind. What was going on with him? He hadn't told Zephyr of the coughing or dizzy spells...not that he expected her to worry over them.
Walking down towards the beach, the lumbering male saw the figure of his son and motioned to Zephyr. Once she had noticed him as well the two crossed down to the water to meet him.
Zephyr cleared her throat. "Keani, honey? Do you have a minute?"
Keani
Keani managed to swollow down the curse words that came to the tip of his tongue when his mom greated him. He was mildly surprised to see both his parents coming his way. s**t this can't be good. Keani let out a deep sigh before forcing a smile on to his lips. His parents weren't bad people he just didn't want to hear what ever it was that they had likely come to tell him.
"For you always." Keani said sweetly. He moved towards his mom and gave her a quick nuzzle, then moved to his dad to give him a quick nuzzle too. Keani would never be too old to show his parents love.
Zephyr & Koukakala
Koukakala kept a paw around his son when he came over to nuzzle him. It should have been a quick embrace, but Kou really wasn't ready to let go. There was too much upheaval happening in their little family for him not to find solace in his sons. He knows. How could he not? Keani wasn't an idiot, and it didn't really take a lot of intelligence to know that he and Zephyr had been at odds.
"Son...your mother and I are going to be staying apart for a little while. She's going to go stay with your grandmother."
Zephyr gave Keani a soft little smile. "We just...need some space, that's all." She looked to Kou pleadingly. What else was she supposed to say to her son? That they were trying to figure out if they still loved each other enough to try? "I'll be coming by a lot to visit, and you can come visit me anytime you want. The pride isn't so big that we can't still see each other every day, right?" That's what would hurt her. Neither she nor Kou wished to be away from the boys, so at least they had that in common these days.
Keani
Keani took a deep breath in. Even though he knew it was coming and had to try to ready himself against it he had failed. He felt his eyes welling up, he swallowed hard a few times trying to get rid of the tears. He was training to be a guard for the pride, he couldn't be seen crying like a baby.
"I don't want this." he said finally, he understood that it was rather childish of him to just say no. He however did not throw himslef to the ground or whine. But he wasn't sure he was overly above that either. If he thought it might get his parents to say they would stay together he was willing to try it.
Zephyr & Koukakala
"Honey..." Zephyr closed the distance between them quickly to clean off his tears. Her heart broke for him. This was what she had feared most, but lying to them would have been harder. "It's going to be okay. Your dad and I...we just have some issues we need to work on. I know you don't want this; no one does." When she looked up to Kou for strength she found his own eyes were misting. He wouldn't make a fuss about them, nor would he let them fall, but this was tearing at him just as much.
"I'm so sorry, Keani. You didn't ask for this, but we just..."
When Zephyr hung her head, she found Kou's paws pulling her close as well. No matter the turmoil between them, the larger male would never wish his mate ill. He loved her too much for that. Holding them both in his massive paws, the gentle male tucked them as close as he could. "Keani, sometimes adults do things that don't work out in the end, no matter how hard they try. Sometimes loving someone means letting them go." If he let Zephyr go then she could have the life she always wanted, and he could return to stability. It was what they both had talked about, but neither really wanted.
Keani
Keani stayed nuzzled with his parents. It was a nice feeling to be with them both. He decided that he had to take all the love he could get right in this moment. it was a few moments before he lifted his head, he stayed close but wasn't touching them anymore. He tried to understand what they were talking about, giving up what you loved didn't make sense to him.
"If you love something you should fight for it." he said his voice tense. He was growing up but he definitely didn't understand how relationships worked yet. He had never had one of his own, and to be honest the ones he had seen were rather dysfunctional.
"Are you sure you can't stay in the same den. I mean just sleep on different sides of it. There is lots of room. Us boys can sleep in between you."
Zephyr & Koukakala
Zephyr and Koukakala shared a look before the one eyed female cleared her throat. How was she going to make him understand such an odd concept? She hadn't really understood it either until experiencing it for herself. We have been fighting for it, sweet heart. Just a lot louder and angrier than we should. "Staying in the same den won't work right now, Keani, no matter how much room there is."
They both needed their space and there was no way either one would budge on that front. Besides, the thought of her sons creating a barrier between them just to keep their parents together made her ill. There was no way she would put that kind of pressure on them.
There was a moment in this conversation that Kou regretted bringing it up. Seeing the emotions play out on his sons face tore him up inside. What was he doing? If he just kept his mouth shut, and let Zephyr do what she wanted then maybe...No. He wouldn't be able to just let her get by with everything; nor would he want to set that example for his sons. It would take time, but Keani would just have to learn to accept the changes. Maybe once things had calmed down-
Kou let out a cough and seemed surprised by it until it was followed by a few more. He turned his head, moving a few steps away from his family so that he could have some peace. The sound was a rasping, deep couch that rose from his toes all the way through his lungs and out.
"Kou? Kou, are you okay?" Zephyr moved closer to him, placing a paw on his back to try and help him. She knew he hadn't been feeling well, but now he was sick...
Keani
Keani wasn't getting it but he could see that he wasn't going to win. Perhaps he would have to confer with his brothers and see what they could do collectively to help get his parents back together.
When his dad started coughing though all thoughts of his parents and their current relationship status left his head. "Dad, are you okay?" he was worried about him, and when he saw his mom begin to worry dread filled his stomach. "I will go get a healer dad I will be back." He said before running back inland to find a healer, the healers of the pride had been so busy since the tsunami, but he was going to do his best to find one willing to run with him back to the beach.
Zephyr & Koukakala
"Get your grandmother! Or your Aunt Talise!" Zephyr called after her son, hoping that he would hear her over the waves. When he was too far out to hear her, she turned back to Koukakala. His coughing had finally ceased, but he seemed exhausted. Her mate's labored breathing brought out a softer side in the wayward female. She rubbed his back, murmured soothing sounds and held him close. "Why didn't you tell me anything, you big goof?"
"I didn't...want that...to be the reason you stayed." Sighing, Kou sunk down into the sand to give his body a rest. He felt mortified that his son had seen him break down like that, and just moments after giving him such terrible news. Shaking his head, the dark male looked into the worried gaze of his mate. "Zephyr, it's fine. I'm fine. It's just a cough."
"You've never been sick, Kou." Laying down next to him, she placed her head on his paw and looked up at him. "What if it's more than 'just a cough'?"
He very likely knew it was worse than he let on, but the big male just smiled. "Then we'll keep going forward. The last thing I want you to do is stay just because I'm sick. We'll let the boys know, and-" He shrugged before suppressing another cough.
Zephyr shook her head before closing her eye. "I'm not going anywhere until you're better, Kou. We made vows." She would just have to hold off on staying with her mother. Hopefully the older female would understand. Maybe when Keani found her she would even know of a cure for Kou.
That's what they hoped for, anyway.