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 Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 7:52 pm
Bounding back from his hunt, Helaku felt as though he could soar. Instead of that urge insistently nudging, pulling, go, keep moving, it had...silenced, leaving an unmistakible feeling of 'home' in its wake. He'd found it! However, he hadn't sought out the owners of the pride's land he undoubtedly trod upon. No, not yet. He had others to think about first.
Bumping his head against his mother in affectionate greeting, he laid down the fat hare he'd brought for her. His eyes were bright, intense with the excitement he kept tucked inside. "I'm back."
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Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 9:32 am
Delphia had risen from her nap as he'd approached. She rumbled soft pleasure at his greeting, giving his cheek a swipe with her tongue before he was out of reach. A feline stretch and a wide-mouthed yawn followed this before she gave him a motherly but intent look. "So I see," she replied amiably. "What has happened?" No dedicated mother could miss the vibration of excitement buzzing through her cub's body, no matter how grown up he got. Something was up. She waited to hear the nature of the event before she fell to on the meal he'd so thoughtfully brought her. Who know? It might be something that required them to get on the move quickly, and as it stood, she could travel a while before needing to eat.
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Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 9:44 am
"I found it," Helaku blurted, unable to hold in his 'secret' any longer. Not that he'd planned on keeping it a secret at all, but his first plan had been to wait until Delphia had eaten. Now that he didn't have to wait, the words poured out of him in a rush. "The place, the land, where I'm supposed to go. I was hunting and that feeling, the one that's been pulling me all over the place, it stopped all of a sudden and I knew." Pausing for a breath, he grinned. "I think it's pride lands but it's quiet--peaceful. No bad feelings."
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:32 am
Her eyes lit with a genuine delight as he spilled his thoughts. Their journey had been long, following this nagging, driving feeling he had had. She had pledged to go with him, to be there when he found whatever it was that he was looking for. Could it be a new home that had pulled them across the grasslands? She had not minded the travelling. In fact, she had savored every moment spent with her son.
She smiled and rubbed her cheek against his. "I won't bother asking if you are certain," she chuckled. "It is obvious that you are. After I have eaten, we'll go to this land of yours and see what there is there to greet you." Through a mother's instinct, she felt sure this place that had drawn him would contain his greatest joys and happiness. Whether or not she would find the same was not so certain, but she hardly minded that. Her son's well-being came before her own, as always.
Swiftly she set to on the rabbit, crunching it down in eager swallows. It was gone in a matter of moments, and she was ready once more to travel, perhaps for the last time? Licking her jaws clean, she moved to stand beside him, smiling at him proudly.
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Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 9:37 pm
A small breath of relief that Helaku hadn't even realized he was holding escaped him, and he returned the cheekrub gratefully. It hadn't always been an easy journey--life rarely allowed such things--but his mother had been there every step of the way, and he was thankful for it. "It's not too far," he stated, starting to lead the way. He wasn't sure yet what they'd do yet when they reached the pride's border, but they still had a little time to figure that out.
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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:24 pm
Several days later, they had met the borders of a pride's territory. First guards had examined them, then they spoke with the pride's leader. Granted access to only a small portion of the pridal lands, they now were on the guarded inside of whatever it was that had drawn her son.
She tried not to show it, but all the security measures bothered the gentle, freedom-loving lioness. She felt confined, and disliked being watched with suspicion. She was an outsider here, and she felt it keenly. She and Helaku were now sprawled together for an afternoon's rest, softly discussing the situation.
"So this is what called you? You are certain?" It wasn't that she doubted him, but she wanted to be sure. Her entire goal in life had been to make him happy, but for once what was making him happy was not doing the same for her, and it left her feeling unhappy and uneasy. Was she a bad mother for not loving it here as he so obviously did?
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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:39 pm
"...I am certain, yes." Despite his certainty, his knowing, Helaku hesitated for just the slightest instant. There was concern in his eyes, worry for the mother who had worked so hard to raise him alone, who had followed him on a quest that she could only trust was true. For the first time he began to have an inkling that perhaps, maybe, they might part ways for a time...but still, he could only try to assauge her doubts. "They are...careful, yes. They...have earned this peace." His words were slow, cautious, testing the truth of each word against instinct before releasing it to be heard.
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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 3:50 pm
She listened with faithful attention as he spoke highly of the pride. She smiled warmly at him, leaning to nuzzle his cheek. She never had doubted he'd find what drove him onward, nor did she deny now that this was what he searched for. But she wondered if he knew that what was right for him wasn't necessarily right for her. They'd always been together, and it troubled her heart to think how it might hurt him that she did not want to stay with him.
"Peace is good, but always has a price of some sort," she agreed with wisdom. "The price here being seclusion, it seems." She cast a wary and troubled look over her shoulder, towards the deeper parts of the pride where they were not yet allowed. "I don't mean to make you think I believe they are not a good and beautiful pride, son," she said quietly. "They seem very tightly knit, a family in a way you've never had." She turned her gaze back to him to smile with all her heart once more. "And you deserve that. You will blossom with the close relationships you will develop here." But here she hesitated, on the brink of confessing that she did not want to stay as well, held back by uncertainty for his happiness in her decision and by an aversion to hurting him.
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