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 Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 1:32 pm
Chunuka was certainly trying to fit in with the new terrain and the new pride. It was indeed very different from his homelands but Kimya was here which meant that everything was wonderful and soon, hopefully, would be perfect! All he needed was to introduce himself to a few of the members, find his new name and truly embrace the culture of this new and wonderful place.
With his friend at his side, this was going to be far easier than it he'd tried it alone.
Friend.
He'd been thinking on the use of this word for Kimya recently. She wasn't just a friend. He'd had friends before but they had passed in and out of his life as the passing of time. She was a fixed friend, someone who was by his side for a good part of his day. And when he thought of her he felt different.
He felt...happy and warm.
In fact, lying there at the entrance of his new den, he couldn't help but smile at the warm, comforting feeling that spread through him just by thinking of her name.
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Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 1:41 pm
Kimya was elated to be home, she had not realized how much she missed it. It added to the excitement that she had someone with her, someone to introduce to the land and traditions. It certainly helped her forget her worries as she tried to avoid her old family and not to worry too much about her siblings. She worried about Kinyamkela, she still embraced pridal tradition in some ways but she was not returning. The others would, eventually, return home.
She was still curious, though. She went around asking after her former adopted siblings, finding that none had returned. She was just about back up to date on the goings on in the pride, and she was feeling more at ease because of it. But she had done enough investigating for the afternoon and, as she enjoyed doing, she went looking for Chunuka. The logical starting place was his den, of course, so she went there.
"Hey," she called when she spotted him, beaming when she noticed that he looked quite comfortable and happy, "Found you."
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Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 1:51 pm
"Oh!" He was surprised when it seemed that thoughts of her had brought her suddenly into life. A second later and he covered the surprise with a mumbled hello and rose to meet her. A feeling of embarrassment suffused him for a moment but he shoved it roughly away.
"I was...uh...just thinking about you--oof." He stumbled slightly and covered his further embarrassment with a laugh. "Are you okay? All caught up and everything?" He stopped in front of her and lowered his head slightly. "I'm thinking about maybe introducing myself to some people...maybe today...perhaps tomorrow. I don't want to seem too forward and pushy." He wriggled, ever timid.
"This place is nice. Different, but nice. I think I'm really going to grow to like it."
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Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:03 pm
She laughed quietly at his reaction to her sudden appearance, she obviously had startled him. She took that as a good sign of him actually being quite comfortable and at home in the pride so far.
"I was just thinking about you," she responded brightly, hoping to make him feel a little less embarrassed. She was a little bit braver, a little more outspoken now that she had her name and now that she was at home. No matter how awkward things got, home was home and she was glad of it.
"I did," she said with a nod and glance around, "So many lions my age are still gone, none of my brothers have returned. Gharadi's sons, I mean." She didn't hold the boys responsible for the lie their father seemed to have participated in, but they were not around to discuss it with. With a quick stretch, she settled into a more comfortable seated position, curling her tail around her.
"I'm glad you like it, you should go out and talk to some of the others," she said, "Everybody is rather nice, I'd think. There are some even I don't recognize from my cubhood." Perhaps Kimya would also have to go out and talk to some of the newer members rather than simply acknowledging that they were there now.
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Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:10 pm
"Really?" He peeped, shifting slightly. He'd noticed that she seemed to be coming more out of her shell, but to him she was Kimya, kind-hearted and loyal friend. Again that word! It wasn't suitable at all.
"I hope they'll be returning soon. I'd really like to meet them someday." He knew that family life was complicated for her, buthe was still very eager to get to know anyone who had been a part of her life before her journey out into rogue lands.
He smiled wider. "I think I will, then."
He moved up to her side and cast a glance around. "Are you up for a walk? I still need to get used to the land and its layout and I'd rather go with you than by myself. Besides, I've got something to ask you, too. Actually...a couple of things, really."
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Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 3:03 pm
"We'll know when they return, I'll make sure you know it's them," she promised with a smile. Everybody was alerted to the return of a lion from a name quest, everybody welcomed them home. She would be able to pick out her 'brothers' when they returned so that Chunuka could meet them. She had to keep reminding herself that they were not the ones to be upset with, though they would no doubt desire an explanation. How messy her mother had made things..!
"A walk?" she perked up, hesitating in standing up again and looking at him curiously, "Questions?" She smiled and got to her feet again, swishing her tail and shaking off her feet and keeping her eyes on him.
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 7:41 am
He smiled, gratefully. Yes, everyone would know. That was the difference about this place. It was smaller, close-knit, people knew who their neighbours were! He thought back to the Pridelands with a twinge of homesickness - not for the land itself, but for the family there who he wouldn't see for a while - and realised he'd known only five or six of the one hundred plus lions in residency there. That was no way to live.
"Huh uh." He nodded. "See, I've been wondering about this naming thing. I won't have to go on a name quest and you mentioned that on joining I'd have to leave my name behind? So, if that's the case, how will I get my new name?" He'd deal with this question first.
The other was perhaps...a little more complicated.
He set off at a slow walk, his paws unused to the spongy, moist ground. It was a nice, cushioned feeling but it certainly was different from the dusty, compact earth of his home.
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Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 8:02 pm
"Your name?" she asked with a smile, her tail swaying with more enthusiasm at the question, "I don't know how you'll get your new name, it was never explained to us before we left- we just knew it would happen and that we could only come home when we knew what our true name was." Kimya followed after him, her pace matching his adjusting-steps.
"I knew when I had the chance for my name," she explained thoughtfully, going into more detail about how she had gotten her name, "I didn't feel the same, after we learned how our mother really was and who our real father was. It was just the right time, I combined a tradition of outsiders with our own by asking my father to help me."
Kimya'kizuka did not mean any offense by what she said, she knew Chunuka was learning and accepted the beliefs of the pride. She was not born in the swamps, or of swamp lions, but she was raised here and was very dedicated. Still, her father and his family were all parts of her in another way that she felt both obligation and desire to remember it.
"I'm named for his first impression of me and my likeness to his mother," she said, finishing the very personal tale, "You'll know what's right when it comes to you."
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 10:56 am
"I think I understand." He nodded. "Your father helped you?" He paused, seeming to turn this over in his mind for a moment. An interesting piece of information there. "So, your name change comes when something inside of you changes. Like how things changed for you with your family, it changed something that helped inspire your name."
He smiled. "Maybe leaving behind my old life for this one will be enough for me to find it." He chuckled. "But I don't feel much different. No, that's a lie. I do feel different. I feel nervous, excited and hopeful for the future. I never had those feelings before. Maybe I am changing, without even realising it."
His heart warmed as he realised how much her father had helped inspire her and purred deep in his chest. "Your father means a lot to you, doesn't he? He's made a very big impact on your life. Just as you have in mine." His eyes turned fondly towards her.
"Maybe you can help me with my new name."
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Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 12:45 pm
"I only have my own experiences to draw from, but I knew it was the right thing for me," she said with a nod, glad that her story seemed to be of some help to her dear friend. Kimya could have laughed at him when he said he didn't feel different. Just as he saw changes in her, she saw some in him, even if much of it seemed to be the happy adjustment to his new home, his new life.
"To know that there is someone so genuine in your family is a relief after so long wondering how they could behave as they did, meeting him did mean a lot to me, meeting his mate and my half siblings," she agreed with a smile, nodding. Her trip to the pridelands had had a great impact on who she was, how she felt about herself and how she felt about her life. She was a bit thrown off when he said she had made such an impact on his life.
"Me? But I hardly think.." she trailed off, if she could blush, she certainly would have. Her smile deepened when she continued, purposefully leaving out his name when she did as this might be the time when he would take his new name, "I'd be happy to help."
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 9:09 am
"It's funny, isn't it? You find yourself in my home land, the Pridelands. And I find myself in your homeland." It warmed his heart to think that the Pridelands had had such an impact to her. It hadn't been much more than earth and rocks to him. The only reason it was home was because his family was there. He'd rather they left the lands behind and came to live with him, too. But he knew his mother, Maawio, adored the pridelands more than anything. Unlike him, she had found her place there.
"When we go back to visit our families again, I'd very much like to meet him."
Purring, his own smile widened. "You have. More than you know." And he leaned sideways to rub the side of his face against her shoulder. "Thank you. Truly. I don't know what I would do without you. It's very strange how things work out. We met that one time, by mere coincidence, and look at the friendship it has birthed?" He paused. Well this was as good a time as any to tackle the subject of his next question.
"Kimya..." Okay, now why was there a nervous lump in his throat? "I had something to ask you. Something about...us."
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 10:21 am
"Life is surprising like that, I don't think even if Gharadi had explained more about our name quests if we could have been really prepared," she agreed with a laugh, "I never could have imagined my quest playing out as it did." Kimya thought about it fondly. Her quest went much better than she could ever have imagined, despite losing track of Jini. She had her name and she had Chunuka- and she was happy.
"I'm sure he would love to meet you," she said, "I'm very glad I met you that day, I.."
Kimya trailed off, she was having a hard time really thinking through what she wanted to say, what she felt. It was not easy putting it to words but she was also feeling very self conscious. She didn't get to say anything else before Chunuka spoke again, had something to ask.. she didn't say anything, only looked at him now.
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 10:38 am
He could feel himself panicking, feel himself slipping down within his heart to hide, burying himself so that he wouldn't have to continue. But it was no good panicking. He'd started now and he had to go through with it.
Besides, what was he feeling like this for anyway? It was only an innocent question about their friendship. Wasn't it? Wasn't it?
He paused to look at her. At that smiling, uncertain face. She was pretty and kind and Chunuka admired her. He realised then, looking at her, that she wasn't just pretty. She was beautiful. His heart quickened slightly and the more he thought about it the more he came to realise why the word friend wasn't enough.
A memory from his childhood flared into being. His father telling him and his brothers about love. About how he had met their mother and fallen head-over-heels for her.
Warm. Happy. Like the world had all suddenly slotted into place. Someone you could share all your thoughts with. Someone you could trust and confide in...
Someone just like Kimya'kizuka.
He realised then, that this was what his father had been talking about.
This was love.
Tears of mixed emotion filled his eyes and his throat tightened around the words that he tried to bring to life. "K-Kimya..." He drew in a shaky breath. "You're...you're more than just a friend to me. I was going to ask you how you...how you would describe our friendship. But I...I think I understand now." He paused. "I...you...you make my heart happy...I..."
Ugh...he was awful at getting his words to make sense...
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:01 am
Kimya was named for her quiet demeanor, her silence even when she might have wanted to shout. She was not good with words, words were not always enough to express what you truly felt. Quiet confusion had dominated when she first met her Prideland family but she was not confused at that moment with Chunuka. She was uncertain but she was hopeful, daring. She didn't need to witness love, to have it explained to her, to be expecting it to know what she felt. He said more than she needed to hear to accept and admit what she felt.
"I love you," she filled in the blanks for him. She stopped walking entirely and stood still, watching him carefully. It was almost funny to see him looking so worried, trying to hard. He was so sweet and she was so lucky.
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Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 11:05 am
He stopped when she did, looking into her eyes, hardly believing what his ears had heard. Was it true? Did she really? He thought his heart would burst with joy.
He gave a small sniff and leaned his head close, whispering, "really?" It was a silly response, but the word was out before he'd even thought about it.
"Well...that's good, because I love you too." And with those words his heart seemed to sing and though he wasn't sure when or how it had happened, he knew he did, with all his heart.
He loved her.
He reached forward, timidly, bashfully, touching his nose to hers. Yes, it would take some getting used to, this closeness, this love thing, but he knew he would and he knew that from this moment on, he was going to be happier than ever before.
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