Painted Moose

Nye was sat on the mountain, snow creeping in between her paw pads. Shivering, but not from the cold, she looked from her paws to the sky. He was back, and she couldn't believe it. What was she going to do? What could she do? Nyesha had been so sure that Bahari was never going to come back - but he had. She had been so happy with Sekmes lately, and though she could not put any bets on their future, it had looked pretty rosy to her recently. Tears stung in her eyes and anxiety sat heavy in her stomach. The rain began to form above her head and fall hard onto her curled fur. She needed to feel cleansed, she needed to feel safe, and her domain helped her with that.

Sekmes would have been a fool not to notice the Nyesha's distress. She had proven herself more distant than usual, and while he had wanted to give her as much space as she needed he worried. The rain that cleansed her chilled him to the soul. Even through layers of thick fur and muscle he felt as if he were wading through an icy lake just to reach her. Was she...was she crying? Frowning, Sekmes padded slowly around Nyesha and stood as close as he dared. "Dear heart, what's wrong? What has upset you so?

The sound of his voice was soothing, and the rain splashed against her face gently, running into her curly hair and dripping down her chin. Though it soothed her, hearing his voice also pulled something in two within her. She didn't know how to tell him, but she had to. She couldn't keep it from him, but all of this just felt so... unfair. Confusion rippled through her and she stood to look him in the eyes, as gently as she could. "I'm so sorry... This is so.. hard. I don't know what to do." Her face crumpled and she began to cry. Feeling like a fool, she hated not knowing which decision was the right one. She didn't want to hurt Sekmes... she just... didn't.

The rain curled his thick mane and gave volume to the glistening strands that clung to his face. They fell away from his horns, making them look larger and more forlorn than usual amidst his normally jovial demeanor. Sekmes licked his lower lip, his nervous gaze taking in his love. There was little he could do to help her without knowing what it was that upset her, and that in turn upset him gravely. "No, no, you've nothing to be sorry for." He soothed hurriedly. Sekmes could stand it no longer and moved to put a forepaw around her, pulling Nyesha close to him. "Whatever is troubling you is nothing you've to be sorry for, I'm sure of it." After all, Nyesha was too kind to do anything she should regret.

She loved his kindness, truly, and all the time they spent together was magical. Nyesha didn't want to give any of that up, did she? She couldn't. Her long plait fell under her forepaws and would have tickled the underside of her stomach gently had she not been too distracted to notice. "I do though, I'm sorry." How could she tell him without him feeling threatened, or upset? "Bahari... he is back." In her sadness she couldn't quite rememeber how much she'd told the male about her old mate, she knew they had spoken at least once about him.

Sekmes furrowed his brow, and amid his khaki fur only his cyrstalline eyes shone back. Suddenly the rains that had given him such mirth felt as if they had turned on him. "Oh." His voice was small, which was off base for the boisterous God. Giving her a soft, distant smile, Sekmes said, "This is a good thing though, is it not? Your heart ached for him for so long and now he has returned." There was something moving inside of him; a stirring of something bitter that weighed heavily on his heart.

She could tell from the way his voice changed that he was disappointed, why would he not be? If Nyesha had been in his place she would have been very upset. It was so like him to find something positive to say, he always put others before himself and that was what made him so... wonderful. Blinking away some of the excess tears she looked up at him with an honest expression. "Is it?... Did I?... I've been so happy lately.. with you.." There were great gulping pauses in what she said, the rain pouring down harder on the pair now. The goddess was barely aware of what she was doing or if she even was responsible for the rainfall any more. "I am so confused." She admitted

What was he supposed to say? He couldn't begrudge her from being confused; he would have been as well. Nyesha and Bahari's relationship was a strong one if she had grieved his loss for so long, and it would have been odd for her not to have these conflictions. Still, it did nothing to calm him. "Can you truly say that you never wished to see him again? Never to know whether he was well or not?" He spoke softly, with that same smile on his face. Sekmes moved a paw up to gently wipe away her tears. "...You still love him." It wasn't an accusation so much as it was a statement.

It was true that she had thought about Bahari... but she wasn't sure so much about the other things. “I don't know if I do... I don't know what I thought... I met you.” The lioness paused for a moment, thinking of a way to sum up her feelings. “And you are just... everything. I'm so confused.”

His ghost of a smile turned into a frown. "I'm everything, and yet you are confused? Nyesha, you don't have to settle on anything right now. It's just..." He struggled for the right word. "...it's confusing all around. I'm sorry, I'm not very experienced in this sort of thing, but it sounds like you're trying to convince yourself about something you aren't entirely sure of yourself." Sekmes looked into her eyes. There was nothing but love there; love bathed in worry, but love. "Would...would talking to Bahari help to alleviate your confusion?"

"I don't think so... I asked him to give me some time." She blinked up at Sekmes with all the confusion of a lost cub. "I think I just need to be alone and think... for awhile. I know that's awful, I'm sorry." Emotion raged within her and flashed in her eyes, it was a side of her that Sekmes had never seen before, she could be unpredictable, emotional.

Shaking his head, Sekmes smiled once more and took a step back, taking his paw with him. "It's not awful, and you don't have to appologize to me. Take all the time you need." He would give that to her and more if it helped. While Sekmes loved Nyesha with all the fury that the ocean could love the moon he wouldn't press it upon her to choose him. It wasn't fair to either of them. While she had changed into an emotional firecracker he had become sullen and reserved. "Just...come find me when you wish to talk." He dipped his head to the Goddess, and turned to make his leave, his cloak hanging heavily over his broad shoulders.

Watching Sekmes leave made things intensely more difficult for the Goddess. She wanted to shout to him to stay, to run to him, but there was also something that kept her rooted to the spot, that made her answer "Okay" with the tiniest voice and turn her head as the rest of the tears fell gently. Frustration was a terrible thing. "I will, I will find you." She said loudly, and with that she turned, the rain continuing to pound against her blue fur.

He had to believe her because if he didn't Sekmes would have screamed. His eyes burned as he fought through the rain, and he had to take a lot of steadying breaths just to keep himself steady. I'll wait. I'll wait for you but please...don't take too long. Knowing he couldn't stay in the Haven for much longer, Sekmes descended, keen on finding the comfort he needed with his children. There was a warmth to be found there that he was in sore need of.