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 Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 6:07 pm
At first Nyumbani had thought she was dreaming. She'd walked a long ways, her heart in her head, and her head up in the clouds. None of it seemed real, and the more she thought of it, the more she had to force herself not to turn back.
Afterall, this was not a joke to play on anybody, and if she'd dreamed it, not only would Tara have her head, but Ohahira as well. This, however, had not been a dream, and neither was the smell of her sister hovering in the air before her nose.
Her ears spun on her head, eyes trying to search out the source. She couldn't see well through all this goddamn grass. Where was the jungle she so loved?
"Tara!" she only hoped her sister was within hearing distance, and if she could hear her, wouldn't run away or fume. This was more important than anything else Nyumbani has ever done. When she was little she dreamed of helping out, protecting the family, but she'd never imagined protecting it from itself.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 6:26 pm
Tara wasn't far off, but neither was she especially inclined to run to her sister's voice. At first she hadn't even recognized it as Nyu's - rather it was the scent of her on the wind that brought dawning comprehension.
The black and white lioness huffed and stayed low in the savanna grass, her brown eyes narrowed in a combination of annoyance and confusion.
Why did she suddenly feel so... so...
Ugh.
Sentimentality was the rope that tied you down for certain. Tara rolled to her feet and laboriously pushed herself forwards. She hadn't eaten in a while - not since she'd last seen Runai. Irritated by her bad appearance, the lioness stayed mostly hidden in the tall grass.
"Over here."
Her voice wasn't strong - half of her wished it wouldn't carry far enough, and her problems would just leave.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 6:38 pm
Nyumbani gave a heavy sigh of relief. Shoving the itchy, scratchy grass away with her muzzle she slowly worked her way through the fields of gold. She almost stumbled over Tarajia when she finally spotted the black stripings.
She stopped dead upon that sight. She hadn't seen her since their childhood. When they were so young, they knew nothing on the world, still didn't. Oh Ohahira.
"Tara," she began, but bit her tongue, her eyes would have been tearing over had she been capable of tears. She needed to jump to the chase, but her throat wouldn't let her, and she needed to find a way to say it.
No, she had to find a way, and say it now. Ohahira could be seconds away for all she knew.
"Its Ohahira, sister, she says she's going to kill you." Could she have been any more blunt.
The worry lines crossed her face and she watched her siblings face closely for reaction.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 7:02 pm
Tara blinked, taken aback.
"... what?"
She had hoped news of Hahi eventually. Unconsciously certain of her importance, Tara had even expected her family to need her. She had waited for Hahi to come herself and beg Tara to return. Or maybe Nyu would come, like now, as the bearer of news. Stories of children, of lives lived, of families...
... but not this. With suprising calm the lioness scanned her memories. Only one offered explination; clutching to it, Tara seethed.
How DARE she. How DARE Hahi blame her?
The problems she'd abandoned when she'd fled seemed to settle on her shoulders like an old, musty cloak. Anger rippled through her, giving her weary body strength.
Careful.
Good acting is key, remember?
"Where is she?" Tara's voice was soft.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 7:14 pm
Nyumbani was no fool, she saw the body suddenly tense, if even for a second. Her mind screamed battle, but her heart said that Tara only felt fear.
Lucky for Nyu, there was no answer to give, no decision to make. Her next answer could be fully honest. Lying to family was an atrocity.
"I don't know Tara. She could be coming right now. She's crazy." Her heart sank. She hated saying it. It wasn't true, it wasn't! She was just desperate, saying these things because Ohahira just wanted the family agian, just like Nyumbani wanted it. Something she could protect.
A way to make mother proud. For once. Make her smile, and genuine smile.
"You need to be careful." Better to say it now, than when the other tripped.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 7:34 pm
Tara was silent for a long moment, brown eyes narrowed to slits and focused suspiciously on Nyu's face.
Where did SHE fit into all of this?
But as bitter and cynical as she'd become, Tara couldn't bring herself to suspect Nyu of treachery. The poor girl didn't have a mean bone in her body. A voice whispered to her to be careful, but she shoved it aside; Nyu was the good one. ... For some reason, that though made her smile, but her heart ached.
Nevermind.
The lioness relaxed, her mind transitioning to other problems. The anger was still there, simmering lazily beneath the surface. Hahi would learn reality, even if Tara had to beat it into her. The black lioness would be ready. She nodded absently to Nyu.
"Yeah. Sure. I'll be careful. Thanks."
Turning, she picked her way towards the shady rocks she called home.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 7:45 pm
Nyumbani went from question, to scowl. What was this? That was all she got. She travelled all the way out here to visit a sister she hadn't seen in at least a year. A whole goddamn good for nothing year that had only entered heart break and betrayal.
But it was her family.
"Tara, wait," she said softly, sprinting to catch up with the other. "You know I still love you right?"
It was an odd thing to say, and not something Nyumbani would ever admit in her youth, but now it was different. She needed to see Tara still loved her, too. That there was still a bond in this ever-tearing family.
It was there, she just had to dig it out of the grave.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 9:34 pm
Tara wasn't surprised to hear Nyu's soft footfalls behind her. She slowed, allowing her sister to catch up. Her gaze flitted uncertainly, settling on Nyu for a moment before shifting to the grasslands and back.
"Of course I do, silly."
But the question slowed her, made her think. She held so much bitterness now... even she could recognize it in herself. It just - well, it just bubbled out. Like a wound that had gone sour, and she couldn't heal it.
You know I still love you?
... she did. She'd always taken it for granted. Strangely, though, she'd never really considered her own feelings on the subject. Now that she did...
"I love you too, you know."
Surprisingly, the words slipped easily from her lips.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 9:45 pm
Nyumbani had not expected that answer, and it left her nearly breathless. It meant that there was still hope left for the entire family to be together once again. To repair old mistakes that they had made.
Most of all to forgive each other for the atrocities they'd committed.
"Everyone does, even Ohahira," Nyumbani continued. "We're a family, we'll always be together, no matter how far apart, no matter how insane."
Something strange bit her and she held her breath, waiting, waiting.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 10:26 pm
"I wouldn't go that far."
Tara loped forwards and collapsed in the shade of a tall rocky outcropping. Though there wasn't surface water here (something she'd been worried about), a few scraggly bushes were clinging tenaciously to life on the rockface, providing more shade in the heat of day.
Besides, Katana'k had shown her where water was nearby, so she left well enough alone.
"Why did you come all the way out here to tell me Hahi wanted me dead?" She asked, her face a mask of indifference. "You can't tell me where she is, or when she'll find me - she still holds the element of surprise."
Though Tara would do her damned best to take that edge away from her.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 10:31 pm
Holds the element of surprise her a**.
"It won't ride on my conscience."
Clearly Tara wasn't that surprised that Ohahira had turned into a flaming maniac. The element of surprise? What kind of s**t talk was that? Did Tarajia want a ******** no.
"Don't forget your sisters, Tarajia," Nyumbani warned.
With the shake of her head, she went back towards home. There was no hope left here.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 10:50 pm
... well. That was strange.
Tara stared after her departing sister, ears flickering uncertainly. What had prompted that sudden change? What the hell? Who was Nyu to preach at them anyways?
Gods.
How COULD she forget her sisters when one of them wanted to kill her?
Tara lay rigid for a moment before releasing a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Damned if she'd skulk around here to be found! If Hahi wanted a fight, Tara was more than happy to oblige her.
But first, to meet on equal terms...
The black lioness rose gracefully and loped off.
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