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 Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:14 pm
Things still weren't right, because not only was Tain still missing, but now Kiwi didn't even know where he was. Roho hadn't said anything blatant about his whereabouts, but from the jumbled words she had growled, he knew in his heart that Tain was free, and some of Roho's cubs were with him.
The latter wasn't particularly comforting to him, but if Roho was upset about it, then that must mean her cubs didn't have any ill intentions towards him.
With a sigh, the great lion hoisted himself up onto a large slab of stone to watch the sunrise. Moyo did not even know he had left, nor did the rest of the family. The raw wounds scattered across his body would certainly give him away, but now that Kiwi was back in one piece, he didn't care if they knew. It was some story to tell, after all.
With a yawn, he rested his chin on his paws, peering up at the lighting sky.
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Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:25 pm
 It was true: Moyo had not even noticed when her mate and slipped off to find the violent lioness. She had been fast asleep, curled around the three cubs she still had. Auri's head rested on her mother's shoulder, Kaikura's on Auri's shoulder, and Teke's on Kaikura's back, creating a kind of circle, with Moyo's tail wrapped around Teke's.
The circle of warmth kept the nightmares away, and for that she was grateful. But not all the warmth was there, she realized, as her eyes slowly blinked open. That was why she had woken up: Kiwi was missing. Her nose sniffed the air softly and found an old trace of his scent, but nothing recent. She didn't know where he was.
She pushed the panic down and silently, gently, untangled herself from her cubs, now almost adults. Moyo spared a glance to them with a sad smile before padding out to the entrance of their den. Her nose continued to sort the different scents coming through the air on a cool breeze, searching until she found him. He was quite a while away, strangely. Part of her wanted to know what he was doing (even though she knew they all needed a bit of privacy, nowadays), while the other half was scared to know, and to ask.
But her heart had led her this far, so she listened to it, and began to walk towards him in the direction the smell had come from.
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 4:10 pm
Kiwi caught Moyo's scent on the air, a scent that had so quickly become so familiar and welcoming. He felt his body relax even more as he looked over his shoulder, catching the soft sunlight gleaming in her blue eyes.
"Moyo," he said softly, smiling at her. "I'm sorry I left without telling you, but if I had told you, you wouldn't have let me go." The lion chuckled softly.
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 4:18 pm
Just as the sunlight gleamed in her eyes, so did the light reveal the marks on his side, and the wounds they outlined. She froze in her tracks, staring at Kiwi with wide and frightened eyes.
"Again?" she whispered, eyes tracing over the wounds. Most were shallow, but there were a good few that bled a bit more than the others, and her heart bled along with them. "Did you find Tain?" Her voice was still soft, almost wavering with the sudden flood of tears in her eyes.
She had cried every night after Tain's disappearance, never knowing what had happened to her cub. Now she was more calm, more collected, but the tears tended to spring up on her every time she heard or spoke his name. Just like now. It was a Mom thing, she told herself.
Moyo took a few cautious steps forward, eyes glancing between Kiwi's eyes and his wounds, blinking furiously to keep the dam built to keep the salt water from pouring down her cheeks.
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 4:37 pm
With only a little extra effort, Kiwi pulled himself to his paws, moving slowly but softly towards his love. "Moyo," he said gently, licking her cheek. "Shh, it's okay, I'm fine. Here, come sit with me."
He started to move back to where he had been lying, but now he had sure to stay in step with Moyo as though to assure her that he was fine and that there was nothing to worry about - nothing new, at least. Kiwi sat down, wrapping his tail around hers.
"I went to fight Roho." The statement sounded so absurd that he almost laughed, despite the fact he had repeated it in his mind so many times. "Kaikura has been helping me, ah, train. I know, it sounds ridiculous, but think about it... I'm here in one piece, right? So I must've done a decent job."
His expression became darker. "Better than decent, actually. I hope you don't think any less of me, Moyo... I mean, I'm sure you won't, but in any other circumstance, I would think less of me. But I crippled her, I think. And I'm damn glad, too. I didn't find Tain, love. That's what I went to do, rescue Tain, and I was ready to fight her too, in case she started trouble. But I got there, and she was the first thing I saw. She said he was gone."
He immediately regretted that choice of words. "As in, not there under her control anymore, not... gone. I don't know where he is, but he's alive. I think some of her cubs are with him. She sounded pretty angry about it, so they must be decent lions."
Kiwi sighed. "So Tain is out there, somewhere. I don't know where, but... call me crazy, but I have this feeling we'll see him. That is, if he's not too angry at me to even come home."
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 8:03 pm
Moyo nodded, slowly standing but walking with her mate all the same, taking one step at a time, part of her feeling safer by his side and the other part ready to support him if he faltered.
She sat down beside him, tail securly entwined with his, and was about to lay down on the ground when he began talking. She figured it was a good idea to stay upright and look at him while he spoke, so she stayed. She did not know of the training between son and father, but she was thankful that Kaikura had spent so much time with Kiwi, and in doing so, probably helped the both of them grow so much in the small amount of time.
Her panic almost doubled when he said 'gone,' but she relaxed the slightest bit when he rushed to correct himself. At least her baby wasn't in the paws of that evil, evil lioness, who didn't even deserve to have her name thought or said in Moyo's presence.
"I hope you're right," she said finally, sighing and letting her legs stretch out until she was on the ground, head on Kiwi's comfortable forepaw. "I know you're right. I hope he comes home soon, and maybe we can meet the other cubs," she murmured sleepily. Sleep had been fickle around Moyo: sometimes it would gladly curl around her, other times it would dance away, just out of her reach.
Kiwi helped. He always helped. His warm bulk comforted her and their cubs to an extreme; the den was never cold when her beloved was inside. And she would live like that for the rest of her life, as greedy as she was for him.
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 8:13 pm
Why was it that, no matter how hurt or upset or desperate or despondent he was, everything seemed to melt away when he was with Moyo? She had even comforted him when Tain was first taken. If he didn't know better, he might've thought she had some sort of supernatural powers.
"Now that I know he's free to make his own way, I'll go out and look for him every day, I promise. It's been so long that he might not remember how to find his way to our den, but he'll be able to find the Pridelands, I'm sure of that. Perhaps Lele will know something, have some hint to lead us to him, or him to us."
As she rested her head, he bent down, licking the top of her head quietly, lovingly. "Are you tired, love? I don't mind playing pillow for you, if you need to sleep some more."
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 1:37 pm
Moyo looked up at him, propping the side of her head against his leg to see him better. "Every day? That might be a bit tiring, beloved. I can go, too. I'll probably even take Auri with me; she knows these lands so much better than me because she's always exploring every chance she can get." Moyo frowned at the thought of the 'hanging-by-a-thread' relationship she had with her daughter. When the female had been younger, the two had been inseperable, but now...
It was just the opposite.
Now that he mentioned it, sleeping did sound like a good idea, especially with him as her pillow...
But he was still bleeding. The scent had gone down, a little, as her eyes had drooped, but now the smell was burning in her nose.
Slowly but efficiently, she pushed herself back up into a sitting position, and then moved to stand, looking at his side with a wary eye.
"Can we clean these first? The water hole isn't but a few feet away, you know. It wouldn't take long."
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:13 pm
"I can overcome become tired if it means finding Tain. But I certainly won't turn away any help."
Kiwi was as close to Teke and Auri as a typical father would be (though perhaps he had a stronger bond with his only daughter), but he never really got along with Kaikura, who was Kiwi's opposite, concerned with strength and training. Kura's helping Kiwi learn to fight might've brought them a little closer, but Kiwi thought that now his son would be disappointed that he hadn't really changed, only needed to learn for one particular thing.
"If you say so," he said, smiling at Moyo. Of course, putting his injuries before her own needs. He was tempted to tell her that he would take care of them, that she didn't need to worry, but he felt like being greedy. It had been a hectic morning and a little more time with an awake Moyo could do wonders.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:34 pm
Moyo nodded stubbornly. Tain was her cub, too. She should take responsibility as well when searching for him.
She slowly stood and led her mate over towards the watering hole, still by his side in case of a falter or he tripped over a rock (she knew he wouldn't, but it was the thought that counted, after all). Within a few minutes, they were at the edge of the pool, and Moyo splashed down into the shallow end, tail twitching for Kiwi to follow.
Moyo liked taking care of him, and her cubs. It was her motherly nature coming out. If he had something like, 'Oh, don't worry about me,' she would have simply given him a look.
Not any look, the look.
The look that any mother knew how to wield with expertise.
So it was a good thing that he had come obediantly.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:39 pm
By now, Kiwi wasn't very sore, he was just stiff. Even when he had four rowdy cubs, he had never had so much physical strain placed on his body as he had that morning. His gait was a little awkward because of it, but there was no look of pain on his face as he wobbled into the shallow water.
"You're too good to me," he purred softly to his mate before bending his legs as if to lie down, letting the cool water run over his wounds.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:46 pm
Moyo bumped her nose to his playfully at his comment. The water was a bit cool, but it was warming by the minute thanks to the sun's strong, penetrating rays. Her pelt was warming, as well, and the desire to sleep ran stronger than ever. But she ignored it and swirled the water to warm it up even more for her mate.
"I know," she teased, running a paw through the water to drip it down his side. "Go ahead and lay down, it's not that cold, is it? And it's easier to wash. Please," she added after a moment. Being polite never hurt anyone, and she had to keep up such a good habit, for her children's sakes.
"Do you think they'll scar?" She couldn't help but glance sadly at the marks that already marred his perfect coat. The guilt ate away at her again: if it hadn't been for her, on that one day, those scars would never have been there. But if she had spoken up, Kiwi would have shot the idea/fact down again in an instant; they had been over it so many times.
It wasn't her fault, it had been inevitable, etcetra.
But she couldn't help but still feel guilty.
Her tongue soon followed her paw, bathing the wounds gently in the way she knew best, and in the way that tended to heal the best. Her love would probably go and find herbs to bind into them later, if he felt the cuts needed them. Or she would go. He didn't need to stress himself so much at one time.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 7:20 pm
He did eventually recline into a full lying position, sighing contentedly as her paw and tongue ran over his wounds. That and the cool water made any discomfort he felt wash right away.
It was a good thing she didn't bring it up again, because he would've adamantly shot the idea down, just like he always did. Kiwi could understand guilt - gods knew he felt it every day over Tain! - but he would not tolerate Moyo blaming herself for Kiwi's old wounds. That was on Roho and Roho alone.
"Maybe," he said. "But I'l be honest with you, Moyo, I don't mind if they do. The old ones are like a mark of shame, but these new wounds were earned." It was an odd and very different way for him to think, but he felt it was true. "I'll carry a reminder around with me that I went out there and did something. That feels pretty good."
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 7:27 pm
Moyo purred as she cleaned the wounds of all trace of infection, washed them, and then returned to licking. Soon the cuts were as clean as can be, but she tongued up his mane, and to his ears, where the dirt and sweat was hard to get to and, therefore, rid himself of.
She paused after his insisting remark and flicked her water-soaked tail at his other side. The droplets were accompanied by a tired, exasperated look at her mate. Only he could say something like that and get away with it being so serious and deep, and it was only her that would understand and yet, still, get away with teasing him for it.
"You're such a male," she sighed, giving one last lick before nuzzling deep into the furry and very comfortable mane on his neck. "What a battling-pacifist male you are, my love.
"And there is no shame. Not when you were given those scars by protecting me. Had I been a bit larger and not pregnant (for I was, at the time, though neither of us knew it) I would have tried to defend myself; and you."
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Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 7:38 pm
"Mm, I'm a warrior for the pacifist movement," he joked, smiling softly at her. "Oh, love, I'm not ashamed that I protected you, anything but. Only ashamed that I did not know enough to prevent the strikes from hitting. I'd die for you, you know that."
He turned to her, feeling the pull of the cool water against his legs as he did so. She was so beautiful, so kind, so loving. How did he ever get so lucky as to have such a wonderful lady?
As he paddled through the water, towards the shore, a long-forgotten memory came flooding back to him. It was one of their early meetings, before they had grown such strong feelings for each other. They had met by a watering hole by her home pride, that much he hadn't forgotten, but this... the memory made him smile.
"Hey Moyo, remember this?"
In one swift motion he flicked his paw, splashing hundreds of droplets of water on her. With a cocky, roguish grin, he tilted his head to the side. "I do believe it's how I first won you over..."
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