Pich'Nkosana:
She was better, he could tell by the way she breathed easy now, time had healed her. He watched her sleep from the den entrance the thought of taking her away, of letting her go made his insides tense. Yet he had promised she could go, she could be free, no one would hurt her again. Slowly he slipped inside closer to her a tiny rosebud clenched in his teeth, too young and tender to have thorns. He lowered his head to drop the bud between her paws and softly nudged her.
"Fu..." He frowned at the pained tone of his own voice and cleared his throat hoping to sound stronger. "Fu Wake up, it's time to go..." He peered at her with vivid golden eyes refusing to let his inner turmoil show.
Fususi:
Fu was taken from a soft, sweet dream by a nudging at her side. She was slow to come out of sleep, but once she had, she was normally wide awake.
"Pich?" she asked and the rest of his words registered. Time to go... He was taking her away. She sat up, unable to look at him, focusing instead on the rose he had placed between her paws. It was so small, fragile.
She remembered, yes, she had said she loved him. But he hadn't said anything in return. And now he was taking her back, to her home, to her family. He must not love her, then. It hurt her heart to think that...
Pich'Nkosana:
"Your all healed up...I promised you could leave..." He murmured softly and stood once more trying his best to look non-chalant. He slipped out of the den and looked out, the sun was rising, his cousin hadn't come back just yet...but he would. When he did return he didn't want Fu around, she might get hurt. The ache in his chest told him that just having her gone was going to hurt him.
He glanced back at her, "I'll escort you home, don't want you getting into anymore trouble after all." He gave her a weak smile.
Fususi:
Fu's smile at his joke was just as weak, though she didn't notice his. She was still looking downward.
"I seem to get into a lot of trouble around you..." she replied, trying to keep up the joke, but the amusement in her voice was clearly forced. She bent down and took the flower's stem carefully into her mouth and stepped out of the cave. She was the one that knew the way, after all.
Pich'Nkosana:
He frowned slightly, yes she did seem to get into trouble around him, he lived a different life. He was hard and ready to fight, and she was fragile oddly peaceful. He moved to follow her, he would escort her home and then leave her to her existence and return to his own. He could apologize to his cousin, though for what he couldn't quite yet grasp. He could live with his aunt and uncle and...and...then what? He had tried to become the best, the strongest for his parents yet he didn't see them, hadn't seen them since his cubhood.
His ears fell back as he walked along with her lost in thoughts and glancing at her every few moments. She was clean again, snow white with only her sooty dipped tail and her pretty swirled legs to identify her. She was like his own pure light, except she wasn't his. He felt his teeth grind in annoyance.
Fususi:
They walked in silence for what seemed forever. The world around them changed from his family's territory to where she had last been living near her own family. She was almost home and yet...
Fu stopped walking and dipped her head, dropping the flower so that she could speak.
"Pich... Do you want me to leave?" she asked softly, her head still bent, having trouble looking up at him.
Pich'Nkosana:
Her question caught him off guard, he stopped so suddenly he almost tripped over his own paws. So foolish to feel his heart speed up even as he stood perfectly still, but he knew why. Her question made his heart race because the answer was no, no he didn't want her gone, he wasn't going to let her go.
"No...Fu...I...I don't want you to go..." He murmured softly and finally the pain broke through his careful mask. The pain in his eyes, in his voice, the thought of loosing her.
Fususi:
"Then why are you letting me?" Fu asked, finally looking up at him. She saw the pain and it made her wonder if he really cared about her like she did for him. But why wouldn't he ask her to stay with him? And then it hit her. Did he think she didn't want to stay with him?
Pich'Nkosana:
"I love you...I dont want you to get hurt, you belong with your family not mine."
He moved closer to nuzzle her softly. "Its so strange, I thought I could only ever love my family but your so different and I still love you somehow. I wish..." He shook his head and stepped back.
Fususi:
Fu leaned into his nuzzle, eyes closed.
"But Pich... I'm safest with you," she looked down again and laughed a bit, in a sad/bitter fashion. "It sounds crazy, but think about it. If I go home, I can't tell my parents about your cousin. I'm not a strong cheetah, Pich, If your cousin..."
She stopped again and closed the space between them again and pressed her head to his shoulder.
"I miss my family, but I don't want to leave you. I... think I belong with you just as much as I belong with them."
Pich'Nkosana:
"I don't want you to think you need me around just to protect you..." He frowned slightly, no, he didn't just want to protect her, he wanted to love her, and he wanted her to love him too. He gently bent his head to nuzzle her "Stay with me...I'll go wherever you go..." He murmured softly against her ear and sighed.
His paw came up to press her closer against him, he didn't want to leave her, he didn't want her to leave. He could see himself leaving his family for a time, after all he had his mother and father out there, his brothers somewhere too. If only he had Fu, if only they could be together then it wouldn't matter how far he was from everything and everyone else.
Fususi:
"It's not just that. You're..." Fu tried to explain but found she couldn't. It was as if she just couldn't put her feelings into words.
"You're so different from everything that I've known, and yet I want to be by you. You give me comfort, make me feel safe, and cared about. I want to stay with you, to learn more about you, to show you my family, to love you," she sighed, closing her eyes and nuzzling against his neck.
Pich'Nkosana:
"Fu, if you would let me love you too..." He smiled softly and rubbed his cheek against her fur softly. Did that mean she really understood that she was special to him too? "I don't ever want to be away from you." He finally sighed against her neck.
Fususi:
"Good, because I think I'd make it difficult for you to get away," Fu replied, this time the joke evident in her voice, this time happy enough to tease.
"We're close to my family, we can meet them if you want. And I... I'll try to keep a more open mind with your aunt and uncle. They're not so bad, just... different." She would, truly. It didn't mean she'd have to change and be like them. She just wouldn't argue. She didn't know enough to make an educated opinion on their ways.
Pich'Nkosana:
"Alright...and I think we'll leave my aunt and uncle...I haven't seen my parents in...so so long." He wanted to say he missed his mother, but it sounded so childish. "We could go see them...and then...we'll see." How nice it would be if they had a place of their own, but that would have to wait, to see if she would really stay, or if she would run scared of him.
He nuzzled her again softly before slowly moving his paw from her back and standing. "So...your family is near here?" He nudged her gently "Lead the way..."
