Dios, while becoming a member of the Mteo'nyungu, spent much of hims time along the border. It probably wasn't the best thing to do, not within all of the rules, but he couldn't help himself. He still didn't remember anything, and he was starting to believe that he wouldn't remember anything. Still, he liked to look outside of the lands. He wasn't a prisoner, but he felt like one. He had settled here moreso because he had no other reason to. Nyuni was overwhelming, but there was a bit of charm to it. It was nice having someone so absorbed into him, even if it was overbearing at times.
Mafunde had lost the cheetah. But, it seemed that she had helped her a little, and even if she had slipped away one night, Mafunde could only hope that she was a little better because of her.
So she had taken to wandering again. She was starting to dislike it, but there was nothing else for her. Nothing to tie her down, and nothing for her to even drift between. It was starting to wear her down.
She felt the lands dry up a little, but there were still small pockets of water so she didn't bother to turn around, not yet at least.
Dio's ears popped up as he heard someone approaching. It was a stranger, someone he hadn't recall seeing before. Unsure as how to act, especially as being a member of the pridal lands, he only watched her for the moment. He would intervene and stop her once she got a little too far, but it seemed silly to worry about her getting too close.
Ehhh, and of course now she was a little too close. "Excuse me," he grumbled, not really happy that he was having to do something, but he supposed he would survive.
She didn't realize where the voice was coming from at first. Had she wandered once again on pridal lands? She grunted, not quite pleased with this fact, as most of them just chased her away and wanted her gone. Gone. No where for her to be. Hopefully someday she would figure it out, but for the moment it all seemed to impossible.
When she took a moment to look, though, that was where it all changed.
"Archedios?" she gasped, so certain that it was her son. Yes, it was! He had disappeared on them, the family...her heart stung. She had left them, as she was the one that had thrown them into turmoil. Her heart could almost sing when her eyes laid on her son.
The male looked confused. That was his name, yes...but who was this creature, this lioness? His ears laid back as she approached, apprehension consuming his frame. She didn't seem familiar at all, even after she had called him by his name. She seemed hurt and confused herself, but still adamant that she knew him. It was obvious by the way she was searching his eyes. "Do I know you?" he breathed, feeling his heart tighten as he grew nearer. Was she from before he lost his memory? What was she to him, with the way his chest tightened so much it hurt?
She looked shocked, and hurt. She drew back from him momentarily, her eyes searching the ground between them as if it would give her answers. Had he forgotten her? Surely not! No one could forget their parents, good or bad. Was there some way that she was mistaken? His voice was the same, his looks...he seemed full of more tension than she had ever seen in him, perhaps that was the underlying reason. Had something dramatic happened?
"It's me, your mother. Mafunde. Your father is Yanisin, you have an aunt, brothers, half sisters..." she almost felt desperate now, as nothing she said seemed to light anything in his eyes. It only continued to cloud with frustration and confusion.
Dios shook his head. "I don't know of anything you're talking about." It was almost terrifying, how she was so certain and yet none of it came to him. He didn't remember any of it, if it was his to remember. It almost felt like it couldn't be, as it sounded so strange and off. None of the names or the words meant anything. The pain in his chest tightened, but it was because of how desperate she seemed, certainly.
"I don't think I'm the one you think I am," he said, and she almost seemed to puff up in anger over that.
"Oh, I most certainly am!" she exclaimed, drawing her head uncomfortably close to his. She was so certain, there was no way that there was anyone in this whole world taht would look so much like her son. There was just no possible way. The eyes, the ears, the coat patterns, hell, even his size. It was him, but he didn't think it was him. "What happened to you so that you claim to not remember?" she asked, though her tone was slowly starting to drift off. Was it really hopeless? She had felt like this for so long, it was almost too hard to keep the fight going. "It doesn't matter if you wanted to forget us, I left our family in peace. I never was the one destined to be with your father, and it ate at me for far to long to continue that fake-happy family. Things are better off now with that, but I still wish you hadn't disappeared like that."
Still nothing. Nothing triggered his mind. Was this because it wasn't his story to be a part of? Or was it just because his memory was completely gone? He wasn't sure whta to think anymore, but it was obvious that no matter what this lioness said to him, he wasn't going to remember it. He shook his head again. "I don't know," he said, "I don't know any of this." He shifted uncomfortably, somehow feeling like he had to tell her what he knew of himself, and not completely comfortable with the idea. It felt foreign and yet comforting at the same time.
"I awoke near death out here, starved and dehydrated. Someone from these lands saved me, and through a little negotiation this became my home. All I am able to recall is my name, but even then that is about all that is left within my mind. Everything else is new, and I don't think anything you say will trigger anything, if indeed I am the one you think I am."
Mafunde shifted uncomfortably. There was still no doubt in her mind, but there was little in the way that she could do to make his memory come back. She was so certain, so very certain, that he had been lost within a storm, a large storm, and somehoe had knocked himself into a haze and didn't recall anything. It broke her heart. Here she thought that she had found something to keep her going in life, but there was nothing left. She shifted again, and shook her head.
"I am certain that you are him," she replied softly. "But I fear that there is nothing I can do to convince you of that. I will not ask you to follow me, or to even entertain my dreams of you to remember." She wanted to run away, but there was a little bit of a pull that she would need to entertain for a moment.
Archedios' ears folded against his head, sorrowful. "I'm sorry," he said. "Perhaps I'll remember if I am who you think I am, but otherwise....I don't think anything is going to ring a bell." He shrugged, and felt terrible. There was nothing he could do, though, and no point in pretending. It wouldn't matter anyway, it would all be fake. "I can't leave here, it's become my home."
Mafunde understood. She nodded her head, turning to leave. There wasn't a point in staying here any longer. She felt everything slipping away regardless.
"Please, if you do not remember now....never forget this meeting."
And with that, she turned away, never to see her son again.
