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 Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:57 pm
She was gone, she was really gone. After Bubu had assured them dreams were nothing to worry about, after Kiwi had been so worried and they'd come to him.. she wouldn't have just walked away, pretty much everyone had at least tried looking. Riko was sure no one tried as hard as he did, and even he couldn't find her. He was angry, he was worried and he had no idea at all about what he could do about any of this. Kiwi was his best friend and now she was gone, and Habu had said it would be all right.. irrationally, he put some of the blame on his nephew for saying something that turned out to be so wrong.
"Wahabu!" he called as he raced for his nephew's tiny den. Riko had no idea that Habu had any den-guests, but he was hardly paying attention to any differences in appearances or scents around the place. He as there just to see Habu, and so worked up that he couldn't even find it in him to use the usual affectionate nickname.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:59 pm
He was having a nice, dream-and-visionless sleep when he was loudly interrupted by the shouting of his name. It was rare that he heard his whole name now, as many that he saw now seemed to prefer Habu (or Bubu, as was the case for his aunt and uncle). Because it was so unusual, especially coming from Riko, Habu didn't realize who was coming until he opened his eyes and got a good look. The sheer panic in the way Riko sounded and looked woke Habu up immediately, rising to his feet he stepped out of the den.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:00 pm
Never one to think through his actions (or words) and truly panicked and angry, Riko did the only thing he felt would release some of his fury and get him to a good stop in time and he lunged at his nephew. Catching Wahabu entirely by surprise, Riko was able to knock him over- even Riko would have been surprised, if he was paying enough attention to even realize what he'd just done. No, he was busy trying to find the right words to snap at Habu for being wrong.
"You were wrong!" he growled, starting with the plain and simple facts, "She's gone! She's just disappeared!"
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:04 pm
Wahabu had known his uncle for a very long time, from his birth in fact, and he'd always considered their uncle-nephew relationship to be a very good one- even if Riko was a bit demanding and egotistical about it. It was for this reason that the last thing he expected was an attack, especially one that actually managed to knock him over. Riko was getting quite big now, it turned out.
Not about to attack his uncle, Habu only tensed defensively and braced himself in case he did have to do something to get Riko off of him right away. Gritted teeth and growling was unnerving, but harmless enough. His ears flattened and he frowned in his confusion, not even thinking about the realization he'd had the day Intombi moved in. Not until Riko said she was gone, then he knew exactly who he was talking about.
"Kiwi's gone?" he mumbled.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:18 pm
Riko only seemed capable of gritting his teeth and growling now, not to mention he was digging his claws in- but they didn't stand a chance in Habu's mane so it was very unlikely he was actually hurting his nephew. He didn't know what to do now, didn't know what he was doing exactly.. he just knew he was angry and wanted some way to fix this. Kiwi had to come back! He wobbled, relaxed his muscles and just buried his face in Habu's mane.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:28 pm
When Habu felt Riko relax, he too relaxed a bit. It was awkward, now with his adolescent uncle standing on him with his face buried in his mane.. but he was upset, and not going to hurt anyone anymore so that was something Habu was willing to suffer through for now. He let Riko stand there a moment before clearing his throat, understanding the situation fully now. Kiwi had disappeared, just like she'd dreamed, just like he'd seen.. just like he'd comforted her not to worry about. Somewhere deep down he knew that she would be just fine, wherever she was she would be safe and happy.. and she would come back. But how could he explain that to Riko?
"Riko," he said carefully, "You have to get off of me."
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:50 pm
Riko just stood there, knowing he'd have to move sooner or later. He didn't do it, however, until Habu finally spoke up. When he finally stepped off, he sat down, looking very sad. He's ears drooped, his head was low, his eyes were on the ground.. and he wasn't even acting, Riko never really got sad. But with his best friend, his sister who never had seemed fully capable of taking care of herself in his opinion, was just gone without a word.
"W-where could she have gone?" he asked, glancing up.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:02 pm
Finally free, Habu hesitated only a split second before getting to his feet and sitting opposite Riko, frowning at how truly horrible he seemed to be handling all of this. Habu might have seen what was in store for Kiwi, or been given the general feeling that she would be ok.. but he'd not seen anything about Riko, or his grandmother.. he wanted to reassure Riko, tell him it would be OK but he knew Riko would say he was lying and that he had no real idea that she would be just fine.
Or so that was how Habu justified considering telling Riko the whole story.
"I don't know," he admitted with a deepening frown of his own, "B-but wherever she is, Riko, she'll be OK." It was simple, optimistic and as far as Habu knew it was the truth. He had to put faith in his visions, there wasn't much else he could do.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:18 pm
Riko might have gone through a major mood swing, but he was far from having the adrenaline to do it again despite how infuriatingly optimistic Habu was being again. Instead, he only looked up at his nephew with a half hearted glare.
"How do you know? You said she didn't need to worry, that she wasn't going anywhere," he muttered bitterly. He had no idea he was bordering on the idea of her dreaming of the future, his imagination was more going in the direction that she had some reason to be paranoid she hadn't shared, something maybe she didn't notice.. something.
"It's just a coincidence," he muttered finally, coming to the conclusion that was all it could be, in the end.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 6:46 pm
Habu listened as Riko reacted just like he thought he would, only less intense and ending on a quite.. reasonable sounding note about it. It sounded like Habu could just leave it at that, really, for Riko seemed much more rational.. how long that would last was the question though. How could he comfort Riko properly when he knew more than he really wanted to let on?
"Probably," he agreed, though he had to wonder if Kiwi could be a seer, "But she will be ok, I'm sure she'll come back.."
He trailed off. This was going in nice circles.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:03 pm
Riko gave Habu a look that clearly said he didn't believe a word that he was being told, though he really wanted to. Kiwi wouldn't leave of her own free will, not without coming and saying goodbye to him at least. If that was true, she was probably in trouble somehow.. but if she got out of it.. when she got out of it, she'd have to come back. But that didn't change anything.
"Mhmm," he said half heartedly, flopping into a laying position on the ground.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:13 pm
As much as Habu trusted Riko, there were details about himself that he'd always kept from him and Kiwi. Mostly because Riko was the type that would just have called him crazy and think he was just being teased. Kiwi was less of a skeptic, Habu thought, but he'd never have asked her to keep a secret for him or risk being made fun of for believing what Habu said. Trying to give this information now, especially in the context of reassurance that Kiwi was going to be perfectly safe.. well, Habu could see how it would seem made up. So for now, he'd just have to try to help Riko out.
Wahabu sighed and walked over to sit by the now flopped-over Riko.
"Trust me," he said again, nudging his uncle in an almost playful gesture, "Why don't you stay here with me for now? I'll make sure Bibi knows where you are."
Goodness knew making Miamba think two of her cubs had gone missing was a bad idea. He was rather surprised Riko had managed to escape her sight to come and tell him about this.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:21 pm
Riko didn't know what else there was for him to do but lay here and be sad now, they'd searched, they'd asked around, everything. But staying with Habu sounded like a good plan, if only so he could keep away from all of his brothers. He might be sad but he still had his pride! ... or maybe he just liked the idea better than going back where everyone else was going to be upset as well.
"Ok," Riko agreed, lifting his head back up, "You going to tell her now?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:26 pm
"I think I should," Habu nod-shrugged, "I'm surprised she let you out of her sight. You can hang out here while I go, if you want. Intombi isn't around, but she might come back soon.."
He trailed off, realizing that Riko hadn't really been around since Intombi had moved in with him. Perhaps that would be something to distract him with, the fact there was a girl living with dear ol' Bubu and him getting the chance to meet her (and taunt him). Habu might not have thought too much about it, but he knew exactly what Riko would think.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:33 pm
Riko glanced at Habu's feet at the comment about mama letting him out of her sight. In truth, he'd had to sneak away himself.. but Miamba had a lot on her mind as well. It wasn't her fault he'd gotten away, and he didn't really want to know what she thought of him doing it. He was, however, distracted momentarily by the sudden mention of an "Intombi" that was apparently a "she" who would being coming back.
Riko raised an eyebrow and seemed to perk up a tiny bit.
"Intombi?" he questioned.
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