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 Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 7:54 pm
 On a rather typical day, Ethiopia was walking about. Though this would seem like a normal enough act, rally she was kind of restless. Because something was on her mind and she really didn't want it to be. Because that something was hardly something pleasant. It was, in fact, rather troubling. Kind of upsetting, actually. But since once-upon-a-time she had sworn she would not be one of those who'd just be sad, she was determined to lighten her mood. Even though it was slowly dragging her down. She just had to stay optimistic to function. So she continued walking and walking, not really noticing where she was going, just as long as it wasn't completely-unfamiliar territory.
And after long enough, it was finally just starting to take too much. So she sat down on a rock and frowned at her paws. Ooh, Ethi, you're doing a pathetic job at being happy right now. Nooo, no no. This just wouldn't do. Happyface. Come on. Um.. flowers. Flowers were nice. Pretty. They got boring after a while and then when they didn't have water they withered and...
No, no! That's also sad. Uuugh, this isn't working. Ethi glanced around. Okay, it looked like she was alone. Um... maybe she could just lay down and mope. Just a little bit.
So, helplessly, Ethi curled up into a ball and covered her eyes. This wasn't going to be a very great day.
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:33 pm
It wasn't often that Peke wandered around without Nguvu, and if the raven had any say in the matter it wouldn't ever happen, however the young lion had snuck away from his bonded so that he had time to himself without the distraction of anyone else. He hardly slept for very long and more often than not he woke long before Nguvu ever did which frequently gave him the opportunity to flee the premise before he was caught and thus stopped.
So there he was wandering around the pride alone which had both pros and cons for the male. He had time to himself, which was definitely a benefit, and it allowed him to think clearly and rather peacefully unfortunately his thoughts were drifting into a sad train of thought.
He began to think about his sister, Kuruka, and he felt a ping in his heart. He still missed her and mourned for her, something he was unsure he'd ever be done doing. No, she was forever in his thoughts even when he was doing his best to not think about his sister. She had been so young and died such an unfortunate death.
Peke grit his teeth together, if he ever ran into those outsiders again, now that he was fully grown he swore to the gods that he would kick their furry asses. He was no longer the helpless child he had been when they first weaseled their way in.
He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts when his blue eyes found a furry gray-ball curled up tightly. Confusion flickered across his features as he advanced on whatever it was. As he got closer to her he realized that it was Ethi and it looked like she was suffering.
"Hey!" He called rushing over to her side and pressing his nose against her neck. "You okay?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 3:18 pm
Ethi was already well in to her moping when she felt something suddenly nudge her, and though she wasn't usually the jumpy sort, she also wasn't usually openly being gloomy, so the idea of someone being around for that was startling. She immediately hopped up on her paws, ears pricked and alert. "Oh! Hi! " She piped up quickly, turning to face him. She relaxed someone upon seeing who it was, but still didn't like the idea of having been caught being unhappy.
"Ummm... Sure. Fine. Uh. " She paused, realizing this was Peke. And even though she was fisically fine, she knew she was technically lying and he knew. So she sighed. "Or. I will be. I think. " I hope!
"How are you?" She was pretty eager to change the subject, because she was a bit ashamed to admit what she had been thinking about.
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:53 pm
He pulled away from her just long enough to allow her to pop up. Concern decorated his features as his ears flattened back against his skull. "Ethi..." he mumbled pressing his lips together as he observed her. The minute she said she was fine he found himself frowning. Even if he didn't have his special lie detecting abilities he would have know she was being less than honest with him. "I told you, don't lie to me," he scolded her shaking his head.
He hated to be lied to, even if it was something that was insignificant like saying that she was fine when she wasn't.
"I'm fine, but you aren't," he stated stepping closer to her. "What's wrong?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:07 pm
She nodded. Yes, she knew she had sort of lied to him. Well, lied, period. "I know, I know, I'm sorry. " She sighed, shrugging slightly. Ethi had often been sort of sad since everything happened, but at least it had never been around others, she'd always tried being the happy sort. Because no one liked the unhappy lion, not even the lion itself. And she was genuinely happy, when she was happy!
"I didn't mean to lie to you, I just.. " At a time like this, Ethi would grudgingly make up a lame excuse, but she supposed it would be the same as turning around and lying again. One side of her wanted to tell Peke what was bothering her, but the other half had just always been accustomed to not showing the unhappy side, so she hesitated longer.
"It's just.. no good. " She glanced down at her paws, as if ashamed, because really she was. "I don't know how to tell you. But I will. I just gotta think a bit. " Se furrowed her brows, focusing intently on the dirt before her. She was honestly trying to find good words, but it just wasn't working too well, for some reason. And usually talking to Peke was so easy! They'd have fun and they'd talk and...
"I can't remember them. At all. " She mumbled quietly, and a fresh pang of guilt washed over her. She knew things about them. she knew they'd loved her, and they'd have done anything for her, and now she felt like a horrible, ungrateful child because she couldn't even remember them.
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Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 7:41 pm
"Just don't do it again okay?" He told her pressing his head against her cheek. He didn't like seeing her sad, just as he didn't like seeing Ubele sad. But this was different than when he was with the darker female. Often it was he who was depressed and Ethi was the one who cheered him up and to see her sad made him feel helpless, he had no idea how to help her in this situation, especially when she wouldn't tell him why she felt the way she did.
"I can't help if you don't let me know," he told her pressing his lips together in worry. "So you need to let me know when something upsets you okay?" he told her giving her a half-smile. "I know you're always trying to be so happy but it's okay to be sad some times," he stated with a nod.
"Can't remember..." he was about ask her who she couldn't when he suddenly realized who she was speaking of. "It's okay," he told her flattening his ears against his head. "If it makes you feel better, I don't really remember what my parents look like," he admitted with a small shrug, "and sometimes I have a hard time remember what my sister looks like even though I think about her every day."
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Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:21 pm
She sighed. Ethi appreciated the admission, mostly she just appreciated him trying to cheer her up, and she managed to smile weekly at him, lightly touching his shoulder with her muzzle in gratitude. But she still didn't feel that great "I.. guess. It's normal to forget people, after a while, but at the same time... " She looked p, then down, not quick sure where to keep her eyes focused.
"After they died, I was supposed to cherish them, for everything I'd imagine we did and had together, and I can't even remember that. It's like losing them all over again. " Her voice weakened a bit there, not quite crying, but still clearly a sad tone. Losing them agan and this time it was actually her fault, not some unfortunate accident. It was miserable and there wasn't much she could really do about it. Maybe she was just ashamed for having survived in the first place, while they died.
Ethi frowned, flopping on the floor. "I guess it will pass, eventually, and I won't feel so guilty anymore, it's just... " She trailed off, not quite sure what else to say.
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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 10:06 am
Peke shook his head and pressed her nose into her cheek again. "Don't think of it like that, because you aren't losing them again," he told her pulling away. "Your parents love you, they always have and they always will," he told her confidence growing in his tone. "They're always here with you too, in spirit...in your heart," he said a smile spreading across his maw.
"Even if you can't remember their faces you'll always remember them," he mumbled. "Even if you don't remember every single thing you guys did together you know that they were there for you as long as they could be and they're always going to be watching over you," he found his smile widening.
He could help her, help her like she had helped him so many times before and this was proving to be easier than he thought it would be, if only for the fact that he knew exactly what it was like to be in her situation.
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:42 pm
Ethi listened quietly, thinking about what Peke was saying. At first she didn't feel much better, but soon she found herself feeling better. He was right, she would always remember them, perhaps not in true detail, but she knew the important things. She knew they had loved her and she had loved them.
"You're right, thank you. " She smiled up at him, pressing her forehead against his shoulder before rolling onto her back and pawing gently up at him. "I'm so glad I have you around, Peke! "
She paused, blinking up at him. "Did you ever feel like this? " Ethi tilted her head, wondering if he was speaking from experience.
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:54 pm
He smiles back when she smiles at him but it falters and cracks at her question. He sighs nervously pawing at his ear with his left foreleg. Here it was, the one time that he could help her and it gets turned back around on him and suddenly he's just so sad. His body sags, his ears droop and the only thing he can look at is the grass beneath him.
"Every single day," he mumbles shaking his head. He manages to look up just a bit to catch her eye and he sighs so heavily. "Ever since my sister died, ever since my father disappear, ever since my mother never came back," he frowns. "Ever since that earthquake, remember those days? The days when I was always half-delirious?" he asks.
The days where he never slept, where he was afraid to dream, when he was just coming into his latent seer powers, and when his whole world crashed around him. "I never really got over it..."
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Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 2:46 pm
She didn't expect this reaction, and immediately felt bad for provoking this sadness. "I remember. " She frowned, rolling onto her belly to sit up and brush her head beneath his chin. "I'm sorry I asked, I didn't mean to upset you. " She sighed, sad that she managed to turn the tables like this. Peke had just made her feel better and now she made him feel bad!
"Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to repeat what you told me? " She asked meekly, remaining in her position beneath his chin. Hopefully, being there would help, somehow!
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Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 6:27 pm
He shakes his head at her and offers her a half-hearted smile. "No, don't apologize," he tells her touching her with one of his paws. "I'll be okay, it just hit me hard," he explains to her with a wrinkle of his nose. He's not as sad anymore but he still isn't as cheerful as he had been. It would be okay though, he knows that.
"I miss my sister a lot," he states thinking about the purple and dark blue female who had been killed as a cub. He never got over that, he probably never would. She had died for no reason and it still made his blood boil to think about it. "It's getting better though, it'll never be okay but eventually it won't make me so sad," he smiles weakly at his friend.
He finds himself laughing at her as she offers to repeat his words back to him. "No, it's fine, really. I think it's best if we just stop talking about things that make us sad," he tells her.
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Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 6:39 pm
She nodded slightly. Yes, she supposed it might never truly get better. At first Ehi had hated not having anyone to blame for her parents' death, but now she was glad it had been some random event. But Peke's sister had been murdered.
"Okay. " She put on her 'I'm-determined-to-be-happy' face, which she wasn't sure what it was supposed to look like, but she was putting it on. "What makes you happy? "
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Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 6:44 pm
He laughs again, this time it sounds a lot happier. His whole demur seems happier. He's sitting up straighter and his head is no longer drooping. In fact he's looking Ethi in the eye easily again. The change in subjects has obviously helped.
If he's not thinking about the sad things then he can't be said right?
"Seeing my friends happy," he retorts quickly without a second thought. His statement is so very true, sure he only has a few friends(okay so it's really only two but there's a third friendship starting to come in to play now). He can't stand seeing Ethiopia or Ubele, his two best friends and the people(next to his brother) who mean the most to him, sad. He doesn't care what the reason is, he's not going to let them be upset. Not if he has a thing to say about it.
"Remember that time the bees, and the badger, were after you?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 6:57 pm
She was surprised by his quick answer, but smiled. "That's cool. I like that too. " She nodded. She liked seeing her friends and her brother happy. Sadly, one of her friends was Mapatano. He was almost never happy!
"I do! It's a little hard to forget. " Ethi laughed. "And remember that time when it was raining? I never did get a rematch! "
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