[SRP] Empty Nest Syndrome

[Asparegus]

Moyenda paced anxiously. It was hard to be so lonely, to feel so lost. He still had Safiya, the love of his life. But now he was loosing his children. Of the four, one had left, his friend, Sutekh in pursuit. The other three were home but they were largely kept busy training on the job for their professions. He had gotten so used to their laughter and chatter, their oddities, and their warmth. Without them, he felt lost, alone. Safiya, a great lover of children, was off doing what she loved as a nanny. He himself should be hunting but he felt that he could be excused from it just this once.

He really wanted to fix the problem but couldn't do it on his own. He stared out the den, up at the much worshiped sun. "Oh great God, I know my problems are insignificant compared to all others but please help me deal with it." He did not want to pressure others into helping him with a solution that was for sure. He'd have to live with it, to be happy. After all, he still had Safiya and that was a wonderful something.

Sutekh slowly dragged himself home. He was a master of the desert so it had not defeated him. Rather, he had defeated himself. As though he knew that Moyenda worried, he had pushed himself to no end to make it there fast as possible, shortening his time spent replenishing his energy including eating, drinking, and sleeping. His news was not pleasant news so maybe he shouldn't have pushed himself so hard. He came to tell Moyenda that Siki wasn't coming back. But well, he liked Moyenda. That he had to admit. The male had spirit.

Before him, he saw the lands. When the image did not go away, he knew he must be close. With a sigh of relief, he let himself crumble to the hot desert sand. He would just rest a little bit. Just a little and then he'd tell him. It was almost over anyhow. A few minutes couldn't hurt.

Moyenda didn't think to go searching for Sutekh, didn't have such a strong bond of legend where he could feel in the back of his head that Sutekh needed him. No, if anything that was more for Safiya. But rather, he felt that he had paced enough, that if he stayed here any longer, he might go crazy. What he needed was to do his job. To try and boycott it had only made him dwell on his situation, done him no good.

Putting his feet onto the invisible path, he set out. He had never tried to hunt starting at this time so he had no idea where the herds would be. Moyenda tried to imagine the pride in his head as a dot and then where the herds were. He imagined - however unrealistic it was - that the herds traveled in a wide circle around the pride. So if they were originally here - he made an imaginary dot appear appear a whiles above the pride - then by now they'd be here - he made an arc until the dot was now horizontal to the dot representing the pride. Satisfied with his logic, he set out in that direction.

Sutekh got up with a feeble groan, blinking his eyes at the blaring sun. The signs of home were still around him thankfully but it felt as though he had poured whatever ounce of energy left into sleeping. He felt lifeless, like if he just wiggled a certain way, his spirit would be free of his body, free to travel without needs eternally ...or to return to the afterlife.

Then, out of the horizon that looked more and more like a mirage walked a tan lion with a white belly and wheat mane. Now he was sure that he must be dying. He was hallucinating quite well and considered himself immune to mirages. "Mo...yenda," he said with a smile.

Moyenda blinked in disbelief as his name was spoken. What spirit was coming to talk to him now? Surely he hadn't driven himself that crazy. He looked around. It was only a couple minutes after that he looked closer to the ground. "Sutekh!" he cried. He bent over his friend in dismay, trying to prod life into him. "What happened?" Scared, he stared for a couple minutes thinking but then flung the other onto his back and headed for the oasis. There was water there and hopefully even some more qualified help.

He reached the Oasis but to his dismay there was actually no one here. Not believing his luck, he laid the wolf by the water side and splashed water onto him. To cool him and to most certainly wake him up. Sutekh couldn't be far enough gone yet.  

[Asparegus]

The water was indeed cooling but he had to admit it running down his fur was kind of annoying. Compared to the hot sand, the water was a chill that sent shivers. "Stop it," he said seriously. He used what strength he had to get up if only to Moyenda off his back. Sutekh was an adult and he was responsible. "Your son's not coming back. That's what," he managed. He didn't mean to say it harshly but at such a stage, he had little control over his emotions with the effort it took to speak.

Moyenda couldn't help but feel disbelief and shock. It was like a crashing wave, a rock slide, coming down trying to pummel someone. The person looked up in shock and anticipation, only thinking to cover themselves, not so much to get away as though they think escape is futile. "My son is gone? What do you mean? What's going on? Sutekh, you have to tell me." The protective nature over his son kept him from realizing the room and time Sutekh might need to rest himself. All he wanted was his son to come home. His son, who hadn't even said goodbye.

Sutekh had little idea what Moyenda had been through. And so he resented Moyenda right now in this moment. Mad and fuming, he glared through slitted eyes. "You wanna know? Your son doesn't want to come back. He wants to be by himself. He wants to be out there. Not here. He told me to tell you that." It was half a truth but in his state, he believed it could be true, that maybe the other stuff was things he had come up with to comfort Moyenda.

Moyenda wanted to throttle him, to cry out in agony and anger. A part of him knew it wasn't true and the other part was confident that his emotions could handle the situation better than he was. But it was this fight that perhaps gave him a bit more sense. He had always been prone to the gloomy side of things but over the past year, he had learned that it was not the only way to be. That he could win the fight of happiness. And so, he stopped and took a look at the situation as though life had a pause button. Fighting would only alienate Sutekh. He hadn't for the past couple minutes thought too much about Sutekh had been through to get back. "Please, I'm sorry. Rest a bit and then tell me what happened." He sat back and looked into the water which seemed to be a calming surface.

He was grateful for the breathing space and although he wished to maintain it, his grumpy face faded away. It took too much energy, energy he could well use. The smells of home seemed almost like substance themselves and gave him the energy to pull himself to the water to drink on his own. Much more civilized than Moyenda's way of getting him water if he did say so himself. It was enough that he had had breath knocked out of him while being carried here at a gallop and then practically thrown down even if out of concern.

Taking a deep breath, he turned to Moyenda. "Alright. This is what happened," he began and recounted his conversation with Siki about the land he had found and his mission. Sutekh admitted to Moyenda also the respect he had gained for Siki in that conversation. He was mature, he told Moyenda. The boy needed a chance to be out on his own. Moyenda had been thrown away really young and he had turned out fine. Siki had had love, care, and affection. So he had to be alright.  

[Asparegus]

He sighed. "So my son is gone for good? I've lost him?" He did not need to look at Sutekh to know the answer. That chapter was now officially over. But before Sutekh could remind him, he moved to the positive. "But he's doing something good, yes? Something right with his life. It's more than I've done. We've fought our battle and now it's his turn to fight his own. I guess the way to look at it is he has a higher chance of survival than we did. I can't protect him any more, can I?" He frowned and looked over into the horizon, imagining he was looking towards his son. Moyenda would always love his children. Always. Being gone was just something he was having a hard time dealing with.

Sutekh watched Moyenda as he talked. He knew the sounds of a broken man but he also knew that Moyenda was not broken. He had let himself for the moment be defeated but he was climbing out of the hole he had jumped in. Sutekh would stand at the top and offer his paw to his friend. "You know he'll do just fine," he replied. "He's your son with a life you never had." He tried to be positive about it but he knew that Moyenda would accept it. That this would end a chapter and open a new one, that Moyenda would stop sulking. Life always continues. Always. "Come. Let's go back to the others."