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 Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 6:12 pm
Siku wasn't waiting for Kijibwa and Hiba when they arrived in the Jungle, even when they found the old den by the waterfall. It didn't look like a very active place at all, nobody had been living there in quite some time. Kijibwa's unwavering optimism had finally begun to waver as they settled into the jungle to wait for Siku to show up. Not days after arriving, he was spending more time moping. A little more than a week later and it was just about all he did. He still was speaking to Hiba but it was very shallow conversation, he didn't know what to say or what to do- he didn't want to admit he had been wrong, that Siku wasn't going to come. Hiba was gone off looking for food and Kiji had gotten up to switch places after getting uncomfortable where he had been laying before. But once he moved, he settled in to just stare off into space and to think and worry. It was very boring but he didn't know what else to do now. He'd just about given up.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 6:49 pm
Was it good to be back "home" again?
He had been far, far away from here not too long ago - following in the footfalls of his determined bond, following her whim as she left this place, to get to the far, far away she wanted. It was the ocean, wasn't it, that they wanted to see? The reason they named their beloved Roho?
So why was he coming back here?
Well he knew the answer to the last answer, but, these questions danced through his mind as he pawed his way through the thick jungle, every little twist and turn like clockwork in his head. The only sounds foreign to him here were the rough and tumble footfalls that fell behind him - the surefire sound of the remaining piece of his life, and the only one who hadn't left him in this little rut, Roho, and at times, her little dog too.
It made him chuckle, just a little under his breath, knowing that she had followed him just about everywhere from her first unsure steps, to the long trek back to this place, with no qualms or worries. It made him a little envious - he wished he could take some of the oblivion that she carried on her shoulders, but he digressed.
Extending his wings in a little clearing that he was o-so used to, he launched off the ground, landing on a large felled tree, taking his time to scope the area out, leaving behind only the small quips and sharp verbal jabs that his daughter sent his way. Although it had not changed since he left, he was still wary of an ambush of some sort. He was well aware that the family Kijibwa and Siku had started and loved had once resided here, but he could never be too sure that it still belonged to him.
It didn't take him long to catch the sound of movement near the old den, his eyes narrowing as he tried to get a better view, large tri-coloured wings spread out for balance. No matter how hard he tried, though, there was not much he could see from such a high perspective and dipped down back to the ground, gliding near his daughter.
Whoever, or whatever was near the old den would need to be interrogated - a little part of him feeling the need to cherish and guard that home, even if no one had come back to it. It would be where he stayed, regardless, until he figured out what he would do. Nudging his daughter softly, he gave her a stern glare. One that only said one thing. Stay here and wait for me.
After receiving the visual okay from his daughter, he folded his wings on his back, the long 'cape' draping behind him once more, as he stepped into the clearing, eyes watching around him everywhere. "I come in peace, but does peace return it's graces?" He called out, his large voice dancing off the hollow area, reminding him of the deafening silence that this once great home had fell on.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 7:02 pm
Kijibwa wasn't exactly paying much attention, losing himself in his own thoughts and depression-- but he heard Mala's voice call out. Part of him still clung to the idea that Siku might show up, he was listening for something and so he heard everything. Still, his first thought was that he'd finally lost his mind. He recognized the voice, of course he did.. but.. it didn't make sense, there was no reason.. why?
Carefully he pushed himself up once again, his body shaking slightly- he hadn't been taking very good care of himself lately, after all. He didn't really have to go far to investigate, he was already out and about- sort of. It took him a few moments before he finally spoke.
"Jamala?"
He had to be insane.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 7:38 pm
Admittably, it took the still youthful god a few moments to recognize the voice that beckoned from somewhere behind him, and left him wondering for a moment who was calling out his name so carefully. Taking a few steps to right himself in the general, the virtuous god met with a sorrowful sight, one that took him more than a breaths time to realize what he was seeing.
Was this the great and kind Kijibwa that he recalled from his younger times? The one that had nearly scared the black out of his pelt when he met him for the first time, as one of the family? The shadow of the lion before him resembled him, but the sadness in his glance was not what Jamala recalled from his youth.
Curving his eyebrows higher, leaving a saddened glance on his face, he took a few great steps towards his fatherfigure, his voice escaping lightly towards him. "K-Kijibwa? Is that you?" He murmured out "Ye-yes, of course it's me. I thought I would find nothing here." He admitted, a small ting in his heart, a confused delight that there was even the slightest of the past still lingering, physically.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 8:11 pm
Stunned by the appearance of the god, Kiji stared silently for a good amount of time. The first thing he noticed was that Ekevu was not standing there beside him, his daughter was not with Jamala. Had she changed so much in such time that she no longer had the nerve to come and face him herself? It was Janja that he had chased off, no other.
"What-" he stammered, sounding exactly like he felt- like he didn't know quite what was going on now, "What are you doing here?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 8:24 pm
It took that one statement to dash all the welled up feeling of relief in the younger god's heart, returning it to that cold, metallic like feel that reminded him what he was originally doing in this place to begin with. It had taken him all this time to realize that this was one emotion that he did not enjoy very much. Humility was saddening when in the right context.
Stopping his pace near the older father, he lowered his head, almost sagging as he recanted the last little while on the beaten paths with his daughter, how painful the start of the process had been, and it nearly killed him.
"I.. I'm lost Kijibwa. I was uncertain where to go anymore, so I came back to the only place I can remember since I was a cub. I'm very lost." Finally having the nerve to open his mouth to the lion he held highest in his heart, besides his own flesh and blood, and the mate he had lost, he could not make eye-contact with him - even if Kijibwa's eyes did not shine the way he remembered them. To him, he had to atone for great deeds done. "I came back here hoping I'd find answers, but I'm still empty. . . I hoped that Ekevu had come back here. Hoped I would see her again." It hurt him so to talk about her so openly since he . . well . . lost her. "It's been a long journey."
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 8:49 pm
"Kev is gone?"
He felt a sharp twist in his stomach and his shakiness grew, forcing him to sit down. He didn't need an explanation to understand the circumstances that the god was in, Ekevu could not have just left or Jamala would not look for her or expect to find her here. Everything Kiji had been working so hard to ignore was forcefully put before him as Jamala said words that Kijibwa was not able to say. Kiji had put finding Siku before worries of the other missing cubs, only he and Hiba had remained together. The family had been splitting up slowly and more surely but the quake had been the final push. And he worried only about Siku, who was not young and strong like the others. Who needed him- and he needed- like the cubs did not. But those were only rationalizations, reasons to focus all his energy into one thing. They would be OK. Being told otherwise was not a good feeling.
"Nobody is here, nothing is here," he said, his voice quiet and painful, "We- we came looking for Siku."
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:06 pm
"Simply put." He could only mutter. "We assumed that she would return here. . . well it was more me. I always came here and I always found her."
It didn't take much for the deity to move from his stone-like perch, his head lifting up once again when the elder lion's body could take no more, and needed to sit. Jamala cared too much for him to stay where he was, and in a swift motion he was closer to the monotone shaded lion in case he needed his assistance. "I wish I could spin a story for you Kijibwa. Something warm like, she found her calling as some kind of high ranking official in a pride I could not follow. But even I have come up with nothing. I'm sorry." He finished his story, looking down at the old lion's paws. He felt like he could understand the pain that Kijibwa suffered, but felt like he could only draw a blank to answer that.
Hearing the words slowly come from him made the daggers in his heart hurt even more, but at the same time, perked his curiousity even more. Where had Siku gone? They were the beams of this family, two large stone guardians, watching over their children, even when the children tried to yank the support from under them. The firm paw. Now, here was Kijibwa, visually shaken by the loss of his family. It hurt the god not only emotionally, but to his core foundation as a ethereal way point, and made him a little sick to his stomach.
There had to be something he could do for Kijibwa.
Lifting his head and tilting it to the side, he queried his father-figure with his eyes, his head tilting ever so slightly to one side. "We, Kijibwa?" I only see you in this clearing, is there another that follows you? Maybe Janja or Jedi?" He didn't recall any more than those four in the family when he came in to it.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:23 pm
He listened as Jamala told his story, explained what happened without saying it directly. He obviously didn't know quite what had happened to Ekevu or he would not be looking for her, would not be apologizing for not being able to make up something. Kiji didn't know exactly how to react, what to say, what to think. Ekevu wasn't just off living her life, she was lost to her mate, her family. He stayed silent, staring down at the ground even as Mala came closer. He felt worse when Mala innocently mentioned Janja and Jedi, knowing he had no way of knowing they had never returned- and what happened when they did try.
"No, I have not seen Jedi since she and Janja left," he said, glancing up to Mala again, unable to keep staring at the ground, "Janja came back but I chased her away, told her we didn't want them to come back." He paused, whatever seemed to start him talking had slowed down. He didn't want to say it, didn't want to admit these terrible things but he felt he had to. He had to show he was sorry.
"Hiba- Hiba is here with me, he is hunting right now," he explained, his voice quieting again as he felt a wave of guilt for how he had been treating his son, "He's our son, he came after- after you left."
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:35 pm
Jamala digested this information silently, his odd-coloured eyes wide as if he were but a mere cub once again. It was like listening to a war story, the scars on the elder lion's soul coming to life in every word, and it made the poor deity feel very conscious of what he had divulged to him.
"I'm sorry Kijibwa, I did not know." was all he could come up with when he heard about the two sisters he recalled, although, a small part of him understanding that this would have happened, considering how such a trivial matter between Ekevu and her mother seemed to spiral down into his confused state of being shipped off to another land, in the far, far away.
Nodding softly as the older lion continued, he looked around the clearing slowly, his eyes flickering on to every little thing here and there before going forward in it's glances, before returning to the father-figure, a small smile breaking from the somber mood, one filled with pain still, but it was there. "Fortune smile down on he, who watches over you Kijibwa. I never forgot about you, nor did I ever stop worrying about the family that I had to venture from."He assured, wondering what this Hiba was like. Deep down, he had worried that the shock of Ekevu and him leaving would have kept them from moving forward, but it seems for naught, now. "If I had not companionship, I haven't a clue how far I would not have made it."
A sudden movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and turning in the direction, he caught a glimpse of the lightning blue eyes that glanced ever so cautiously here and there in to the clearing, full of curiousity and wonder. He had almost forgotten about her. Almost.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:44 pm
"We tried to make it better and in the process tried to push away what had gone wrong," he explained, almost defending the decisions they had made though he sounded more regretful than anything. He was silent again, hesitating some time before continuing.
"I'm sorry for what happened," he said, thinking of Kev and looking to Mala, as if apologizing to him might be like apologizing to her, might help, "I'm sorry she's not here." He barely heard the sound that caught Mala's attention but once he glanced away, his own eyes followed-- but he didn't know what he was seeing.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:54 pm
An ear swiveled towards the older lion when he started talking again, breaking the concentrated stare-off that he and his kin had started, accidentally, his head turning toward Kijibwa once more to follow.
"There is no need for the apologies, Kijibwa, I don't intend to judge you on your actions of the past. To me, you're still the same Kijibwa that I had to leave." he paused. "Wherever Ekevu may be, I hope she is at least happy . . . I could spend my eternity waiting here, but . . I digress, for now, we are in the here and now." he reassured, giving the faintest of a smile to him to back it up. Even though his spirit had been crushed and his heart was not into every day things, this was still the lion he grew up to know as what a father was. He would never see the dark brute as anything else but that.
Seeing the older brute turn his attention to the sprite in the jungle, he set his jaw and looked back into the brush, cursing internally for breaking contact with her. Murring outloud, he lifted his head enough to bark out orders into the brush. "No need to be so informal, we are before someone who is very important. Come out, Come out where ever you are." His voice broke out, only to be replaced by the meekest of voices, tinged with curiousity, and the slightest of caution.
"Are you sure, Jamala? Don't you think I'd be impeding?" Mocked back, unaware of the situation. The owner of the voice unaware of the heavy air, her ability to sense these kind of things obscured over the months. from the brush, a bright blue head and a pair of black stained paws stuck out from over another smaller felled tree, the blue eyes returning to their glances as Roho took in the situation, caution in every thing she did; even if it wasn't completely obvious.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:08 pm
Kijibwa said nothing else, his eyes on the blue lioness that hid in the trees. For a fleeting second, he almost thought he was seeing Ekevu again. She looked exactly like her and nothing like her at the same time, it was .. well, impossible, really. He pushed himself back up to his feet, not entirely sure why. His ears turned back and he opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He didn't know what to say. Her calling Jamala by his name was confusing but it was unmistakable who she was. He'd known he was likely a grandfather but never had he ever had the chance to meet any of them. Janja had run off and later been chased away, he'd never know she and Jedi both had cubs to present. The same was true for Cheshi and Dayo, they had families but they no contact with family now. He didn't know what to say- or do.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:16 pm
If there was anything Roho had been good at, it was suddenly clearing up the air, and yet, doing something over the top at the exact same time.
Seeing the stunned look on Kijibwa's features had alarmed the deity somewhat, and he took to remedy this. Folding his eyebrows down, he gave her the sternest of faces he could possibly create at this time, which came off as a more pained look than anything, but caused the desirable effect from the young lioness.
Slinking over the log, keeping herself lower to the ground with her head down, she glanced up at both the older lions, her ears pinned back, trying to muster up the best forgive me face she could get. When she got to a safe, yet somewhat closer distance from her father and the older lion who looked somewhat like a much blacker version of what she could remember mom looking like, she parked herself where she stood, flickering her white tail a couple times before meeping a very light. "I"m sorry for scaring you, sir."
Without hesitation, Jamala lowered his head down to glance up at Kijibwa, hoping he didn't cause too much damage smoking Roho out. With a humbled voice, he started to talk. "I'm sorry, Kijibwa, she's like lightning, hard to predict, but, this is all I have left of the time I was with Ekevu. This is Demani'Roho, our daughter, and I guess, your granddaughter. . . " he left off, before glancing at her again.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:26 pm
He hadn't meant to get her scolded, whether or not it was non-verbal. He didn't know what to do, what to say. He knew how it should have been but he didn't have it in him now, not without Siku, not knowing Ekevu was not really there. He tried to smile at her but it didn't work out so well. And then he had to sit down again.
"I-"
He looked at Mala for help but knew there wasn't much help that could be had here. He had to be himself but it wasn't easy anymore.
"Demani-" he stammered, not able to finish the name, "You look just like your mother."
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