[FIN] You've Grown So Much (Deepali & Mel)

[mouselet]

Life was strange in the Kitwana'antara, as compared to the other places Mel had visited. Here, things never seemed to change much, though the faces rotated through faster than in lands unaffected by disease.

And yet, there were still people here and in the mass that could all too easily become faceless, individuals asserted themselves in one's memory and took charge. Like Deepali. He remembered meeting her for the first time the day he and Saskiranel returned from their journey in other lands. The younger lioness had been a cub at the time, and the first pride member they'd met on their way home. Later he'd met up with her to tell her stories of his travels.

That had been the basis of their relationship, and it hadn't disappeared as Deepali grew older. In fact, Mel sometimes forgot how much younger she was than he.

So he came to her den now, hoping for another nice day together.

"Deepali?" the lion called out.  

[Feral Mule]

Letting her ears flick at someone calling for her, Deepali yawned and stretched out. Her back arched as she stood up and stretched out her front legs, and again when she took a step and stretched her back legs. Looking around her den, slightly confused like she always was when she first woke up, the masked female frowned before heading outside. Blinking in the sunlight, she gave Mel a sleepy grin and a laugh.

"Oh, Mel! I was wondering if you were going to come by..." She rubbed her face with a paw to get the sleep out of her eyes before sighing. "I would have come by earlier, but it looks like I decided to sleep in today!" Laughing, the huntress moved around him and sighed, looking around the pride.

Before she could get sad, she turned to the male again and grinned. "What story am I listening to today?" Deepali was excited. She loved when Mel told her stories. His voice captivated her and she could picture what he was saying in her mind. She was always quiet during his stories, too. There was care taken so she didn't interrupt him with questions like she did when she was younger. She saved all that for the end.  

[mouselet]

He had to laugh at that. Deepali was probably the most conscientious lioness he knew, yet she had a way of laughing off any embarrassment. It was a useful skill here, and one he appreciated.

The orange lion grinned and shook his head. "Just listen to you - you'd think I was a Bard, not an Apothecary, the way I cater to you," he joked. Not that he really minded. The lioness was one of his favorite people to spend time with, and stories were an excellent way to be with each other for extended periods.

"The story I have in mind today isn't really a story, more of a legend or a myth." He looked down at Deepali. "It's about a flower."

Okay, so a lot of his stories centered on plants. Had he pointed out the fact that he was an Apothecary lately, and that plants were his primary concern, not stories?  

[Feral Mule]

A flower? She laughed and bit down on her bottom lip, looking excited. The ones about plants were some of her favorites. The way he talked about them made them seem alive and real. It gave her a new outlook on plants. She wouldn't carelessly go pick flowers anymore. Instead, she would stop and smell them. At least, she would when she was out. Her hunting party hadn't been out in a while, but that was alright.

Deepali had Mel here to keep her company. Letting her ears flick back and forth, she nodded. "Well, come on, tell me!" She said, putting a paw on his chest and gently pushing. It was a sign of affection from the cub like adult. Her tail flicked this way and that as she got comfortable on her haunches, looking straight at the male.

She had no idea what kind of story he would weave today.. But she felt this one was going to be something different.  

[mouselet]

Chuckling at Deepali's antics, Mel settled down next to her, not facing her. "All right, all right, I hope you're ready! Have you eaten your breakfast? Groomed your fur? Used the necessary? No? Well, it's too late now," he teased.

The lion gestured at the land, encompassing it all within the sweep of his paw. "Once upon a time, this was a rich land, covered with tall trees, thick bushes, and many many flowers. But that was when the gods walked this land openly. Things were different back then, wilder and more powerful. And the gods scarcely noticed the mere mortals beneath their paws.

The reasons are lost to time, but some of the gods began to fight. And they called upon all their powers in their battles against one another. The forest, the plants, the flowers, all were destroyed. What once had been Paradise was now Desolation.

When the dust settled, a single god walked this earth. This one was saddened by what had happened, and shed a single tear in sorrow.

The tear fell to the earth, raising a small puff of dust, and the god walked on, looking for a greener place, never looking back.

However, that tear had fallen upon a single seed, buried beneath the ground. The god's sorrow was filled with a passive power that changed the seed, and helped it grow. A flower bloomed in the empty, broken land. Then, a miracle happened. Out from that single flower came life. Grasses and some trees, flowers and other green, growing things. It wasn't the same as what had been destroyed, but it was still life!

All because one god had paused to mourn."

Mel paused and reached out a single claw towards a small white flower on the ground before Deepali. "This is a descendent of that flower. We call it huzuni, which means sorrow. The name is meant to remember not the destruction that happened so long ago, but that out of it came life and hope anew." A skillful movement of claw and paw together, and Mel presented the tiny plant to the lioness.

"A hope for the future, if you will."  

[Feral Mule]

She listened to the story with a heavy heart at first. Fighting gods were one of her biggest fears. She had a feeling that because some god was angry with them, that that is why they were so sick and so many dying in this pride. Her brows knit together as he continued.

Well this wasn't what she was hoping to hear. This story was starting to depress her! Frowning gently, she looked to the flowers around her and sighed. Desolation seemed to be a good name for their pride right now. Sure, they were trying to change it so no one would get sick anymore, but the gods just didn't want that happening. They wanted their pride to suffer. At least, she felt like this on certain days. When a friend of the family died, or someone she'd talked to a few days ago.

Eventually, everyone died, she knew. It was drilled into her head since she was a cub. With all the death around here, how could it not? But why did so many have to suffer for so long before they died?

Sighing, she listened as he kept talking and a smaller smile lite up her face. The god tear made everything come back. She was left with a happy, light feeling in her heart now and then smiled. At least one of the gods felt sorry for the damage the fighting has caused.

When Mel presented her the tiny, while flower, her cheeks flushed and she looked up to him. Why was he giving it to her? She held out her paws and carefully took the small plant from him, biting down on her lip as she did and then laughed. "Huzuni.. A sad, but pretty name.." She murmured to herself. Without thinking, she leaned down and gently nosed the flower before looking back up to him.

"Thank you for the story," she whispered, looking into his eyes and laughing. "And for the flower..."  

[mouselet]

Only after the story had ended would Mel look at Deepali. He'd discovered early on that seeing her expressions could only distract him from what he was saying. He longed to comfort her during the sad parts, looked for her smile during the glad ones, focused entirely on her and forgot the words that came next.

But her reactions afterward, ah, this had been a good story and her laughter warmed him inside in a way no flower ever could.

"You're very welcome," he replied, then took a deep breath. "I was hoping that there might be another flower I could pick today. One that's lived through sorrow, and yet has a future before it...if only it would look." He gazed into her eyes, wondering if she would understand what he was asking. Hoping, because by the Goddess he'd look foolish if she didn't.  

[Feral Mule]

She watched his face as he watched her and gave a little smile. Her cheeks warmed under his attention and she got those butterflies again. She ducked her head after a moment and laughed to herself. No, when Deepali got those butterflies, she knew she couldn't look at him without embarrassment. Part of her told herself 'he's older than you, he's not interested'. Another part of her said 'if he wasn't, why does he go out of his way to find you?'.

But when he started talking again, she looked up and into his eyes before blinking and then tilted her head. Was.. He couldn't have been talking about her. There was no way he could have been. But the way he looked at her...

Those butterflies came back stronger than ever and she stuttered a little. "I..I uh... What.. Me?" she asked slowly, her voice extremely quiet.  

[mouselet]

A slow, gentle smile spread across the older lion's face as he watched Deepali realize what he'd said. Mel nodded, sandy mane falling everywhere with the motion.

"Do you see any flower here more beautiful?" he asked. "I certainly don't. And their nature is that we want to find the most precious of all and hold them to our hearts for as long as they live." He paused, then took a deep breath.

"Deepali, would you do me the honor of being my mate?"  

[Feral Mule]

He went and asked and she couldn't help but tear up a little. She knew she'd liked him, but... Deepali never thought Mel would like her back. Not really anyway. Sniffling with a slow laugh, the lioness nodded and then sighed. Why would she say no after he called her his flower? Called her beautiful.. Words there were lost in this pride most of the time. Giving another laugh she ducked her head and looked up at him, shy and sheepish.

"....Well," she started, laughing a little more. "Of course... I'll be your mate." She looked up at the older male, grinning softly before looking back down. What would she do now? She'd never even had a male friend growing up that wasn't related. She didn't know anything about being mates.

She knew she'd be happy, though.  

[mouselet]

Mel's eyes lit up as Deepali accepted him. This...this had to be the happiest moment in his entire life. The most amazing thing that had ever happened to him. She'd said yes.

"You are the most wonderful lioness, flower, living thing in the world," he told her, getting to his feet. "Let's go tell everyone!"

He was so happy, he wanted to share his joy with the world.