|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 1:43 pm
As he stepped towards the pathway that they were sure to take, he glanced up at the sky. A few birds, signalling that they must be making their descent into the valley. And as soon as he had thought that, the pink lioness' coat marked their location. He felt thrilled for more of their number to return, even if that meant his father, mother, and brother were still missing.
Life meant more than dwelling on the dead. He had learned that after Nyonda's death.
"Welcome home," he replied, a smile cresting his face. Mfalme landed next to him, welcoming the birds home as well.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 2:27 pm
He knew they were close. The valley was mis-shapen and damaged by the earthquake, but he was almost certain it was the same valley he knew and had grown up beside. He hadn't said anything to the others, not wanting to get their hopes up incase this should merely be another false hope. But he'd had Fatiisha scout ahead, and the news she'd brought back had been very promising indeed.
He turned back, as he had done so many times on this long journey, to ensure everyone was keeping up. Sikivu was happy to slow or quicken the pace to the group's needs, so long as they all stayed together. They had all grown so much, since the initial separation - the gesture was more of a habit now than a necessity, as it had been when they were younger and more prone to wandering off. But it was still reassuring, to see for himself that they were all still safely behind him, journeying with him to their final destination - the Aka'mleli. Their home.
"Sikivu!" a caw from above called, "Up ahead!"
The large lion glanced upwards, soon finding the familiar sillouhette of his bonded avian, gliding on a warm air current. He turned his attention downwards, narrowing pale eyes as a dark shape came into view on the horizon. They soon reached Umoja, and his greeting was met with a tired, yet warm and eternally grateful smile.
Sikivu looked behind himself once again, this time taking a good, long look at each of them. They were his family now - slightly dysfunctional, and more than a little broken...but they were all he had left. He'd watched them grow and mature into the adults they were today, and he liked to think he knew the ins and outs of each of their personalities. He'd had in-depth talks with each of them, consoled a few of them. They'd given him something to concentrate on when his beloved mate had fallen - they'd saved him.
And in return, he was bringing them home.
"We're here. ...We're home."
He wasn't aware how dry his throat had become until he'd spoken, his voice hoarse - but despite that, the emotion was clear. He felt salty tears rise in his eyes, but hurriedly blinked them back - he hadn't let any of them see him shed a tear, not even after Mkeke's tragic death. He wasn't going to start now. "Go," he continued, indicating the vast lands beyond him with a shaky paw, "Rest." He turned back to Umoja, inclining his head as a show of respect before speaking directly to the Prince. Sikivu himself was exhausted - but his tiredness wasn't significant. The younger lions under his care should rest, while he sorted out everything else.
"May formalities please wait until morning?" he requested as politely as he could - but the fact of it was that they would wait until morning. Sikivu didn't want to start any arguements, especially not as they'd just arrived home - but he was sure anyone could understand that they were all tired and hungry, and needed to recover from their long, long journey. And then suddenly, it just hit him - they were home. He was back in his homelands, back where he belonged. He felt a familiar weight on his shoulder as Fatiisha settled there, clicking her beak as wide eyes regarded Umoja with interest.
"...Forgive me," he mumbled to Umoja, already moving around him and inwards towards the central pride lands. He had so much to tell, and so much he wanted to be told - the prince had grown, for one thing. But right now, Sikivu's legs were shaking, and he was afraid he might collapse there and then. "I need to excuse myself..."
And so he set off inwards, in the direction of the dens. Sikivu wasn't just back in the Aka'mleli lands - he was home.
That much was clear by the happiness shining in his tired, pale grey eyes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 3:01 pm
When Fatisha caught sight of Umoja and called out to the group, Mvua did a quick, almost gleeful circle before descending quickly and landing on Chewa's shoulder. It wasn't either's favorite place for him to sit but both wanted to keep the view.
Chewa offered a respectful nod when they finally came to a stop and were addressed by Umoja but he didn't say anything. His eyes were on Sikivu, the lion he'd dedicated so much time and energy to helping, that he respected so.. Already he felt an anxious twist in his stomach watching him go off. But he would wait here until all of them had gone before he would find somewhere to settle in himself. They were home now, his personal quest was complete.. but he couldn't let it go that easily.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 3:23 pm
 She moved with a slight skip in her step, head up, eyes bright and tail swaying out behind her. For once, Jahina wasn't thinking about making some mischief, teasing or playing tricks. Like the others, she was excited about finally being home and this time it seemed like they really were almost there. Almost home!! It was almost to good to be true!! They had all been through a lot since the angry earth had tossed and turned beneath their paws. The valley had changed a lot and she had been worried, at first, to see that some sections they passed through had changed beyond her recognition. But that wasn't all the quake had brought. It had brought sorrow. Some had lost loved ones. But, not all was so grim. Some - like herself - had gained loved ones through the hardship. She glanced around her new-found companions with love there to see in her eyes. They all meant so much to her. They were friends...no, that wasn't the word to describe it.
They were family.
And yes, she could be a pain sometimes. She could irritate and frustrate, but she knew - despite all that - that they cared about her, too. And it made her feel so incredibly lucky.
Suddenly Ngeu came to an almost-crash landing just in front of her, halting her step for a moment. She laughed, watching the vulture pick herself up and lowered her front so that the heavy bird could flap the short distance up to her shoulders.
"Ouch, watch those claws, Ngeu." She warned teasingly, shifting her shoulders a little before moving on again. "Well? Did you see it? Did you?"
"You'll have to wait and see." The vulture chuckled, letting her wings droop as she sat perched - seemingly uncomfortably - upon the lioness.
"Ah, you're mean!" Jahina replied quietly, looking up just in time to see that they were no longer alone. Umoja was there, along with his bonded and he was welcoming them home.
No words could have been sweeter at that moment and Jahina could have danced with joy - despite the fatigue she was feeling. She bounded forwards, laughing to help release some of the joy that was coursing through her. She could have hugged Umoja the way she was feeling right now, but she realised that perhaps that wouldn't be the greatest idea.
The bouncing motion had sent Ngeu aloft again and the vulture wheeled overhead, her hoarse cry as happy as it could ever be.
"We made it~! We made it~! We made it~!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 5:48 pm
One paw before the other, Yamini followed behind Skivu, behind everyone, not far from Chewa. Once this had been to help him keep an eye on the younger cubs, but now that they were grown it was merely habit. Habit was safe, it was predictable, routine. It was a way for her body to fall into place, a set path that she didn’t need to watch carefully to tread upon. She knew enough to keep herself moving, though the lioness felt no more alive than she had the day Skivu dragged her from what had been meant as her grave.
She’d work to do. Cubs needed watching, needed feeding, needed her. And as they grew, they needed her still. She couldn’t lay down yet, not yet, because to lose someone in such a small group as theirs was would only help invite trouble. But they were going home. They were almost home.
Would she rest then?
Would she walk back into the pride, alone and bondless, to find her place to sleep forever? Perhaps it would be better to stop now. To go back now. To return to the rubble that had been her den and there remain forevermore. To slip into that slumber, that soft embracing chill of darkness where she might once again find her kite…
Empty eyes followed the progress of the hawk as she swooped down towards her companion with a caw. The familiar feeling of something missing, something lost, still troubled the lioness even now. But she did nothing to express this, there was little point in it. She still moved, still existed, because she was useful and there was a need for her. Why should she do something that would hold no meaning? Grieving served no purpose, not any longer. They did not need her crying. They needed her hunting, traveling, keeping an eye on things while they slept.
Was she needed still? Needed here? For, as Skivu said, they were home now. Their journey was ended, was hers as well? Yamini paused, looking out over the valley, her dulled eyes flickering briefly over the prince as their leader told them to go and rest. What had happened? It was… it seemed so empty now. Where was the life it had once held? Was her home as dead as she was now?
Yamini stilled, looking carefully over the valley that had been home when she still lived. A glance over her shoulder revealed the path they had made in their journey to return. She could go back still…back to the den where she’d died. But… it was so empty. There would be fewer hunters now, fewer warriors, fewer providers, protectors… she was still capable. She was still needed.
She would stay then. For now. One day more. Today she would live, do what she could. Tomorrow… perhaps she might still be needed then. She didn’t know. But so long as she was needed…so long as her skills were useful… Yamini would stay.
Silent still, she moved to stand beside Chewa, the youngster who’d grown up perhaps too quickly. She’d no place to go now… and no one to look for. But she still had people to look after.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 9:00 pm
"Peesh, Peesh!" The young lioness' voice quivered with excitement as it dawned on her: they were finally there. After all this time, they had made it back to the Aka'mleli, and that elusive thing called home that she had not known since she was but a child, and had only somewhat-blurred memories of. "We're here, we made it, look!" She motioned excitedly at the black lion who welcomed them - somebody very important, she was sure, but who exactly, she couldn't quite remember.
For once, the black vulture didn't take the time to correct her as he landed with a light bump, and proceeded to hop onto Tilifika's back. Wonder filled his turquoise eyes as he, too, filled with emotion. He had never quite expected that this day would come - or, rather, he had expected it, but the idea that it would, in fact, arrive had never occurred to him. It seemed to the vulture that their lives had been but one long journey for so long that the idea of not having to travel seemed a dream: a beautiful dream, to say the least, but a dream nonetheless.
"It's going to be great, Peesh," Tilifika told her bond exuberantly. "I know it." At least, she sorely hoped it would. Though she would never admit it, part of her worried that, having spent so much of her life away, she wouldn't quite fit in upon returning.
But although the fatigue of the endless journey before had long since begun to wear the both of them down, their arrival seemed to make any and all exhaustion fade into nothingness - at least for a while.
She took in the valley and the skies in awe, wanting to commit this very moment to her memory for as long as she lived, for without a doubt, this was the sweetest day of her life, and nothing was going to stop her from relating this story to the friends she would make and the children she might one day have, and perhaps even her grandchildren. The adventures of Tilifika the Boundless, and her trusty companion Pisha the... Bird; the tales she had to tell were bound to entertain cubs for generations.
The bright lioness grinned as she rose from her thoughts, knowing her silence would have spoken volumes to the vulture on her back.
"Leave the fantasies for later, Ka. You've got to get settled first, and become a part of the pride first; you can't just go rushing headlong into things just because you're too excited to wait." The vulture warned.
"Yea, yea, Peesh," The young lioness rolled her eyes. Even Pisha couldn't spoil her fun - at least not today.
"Wisely and slow, Ka," Pisha cautioned again. "They stumble that run fast."
"Would you please stop with the preaching, Pisha? We're home, already, don't you get that? It's going to be great. Really." Tilifika said firmly, putting an end to the discussion. They could argue again later, on a less prodigious day, if Pisha so desired, but today was not the day for such talk, no.
Today was the day they came home.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:00 am
Umoja recognized those that had returned. Only names lingered in his head, and hazy memories of what they had been like before the earthquake. In all honestly, he had been quite a selfish lion, feeling himself so important with his father, mate, and newborn children. Loosing so much had made him realize that there was more than just him living here; everyone around him had lost something.
He offered a nod and a grin to Sikivu; the lion looked exhausted. "No formalities needed. We can talk in the coming days of your adventure. We are just happy that you've made it home."
As he left, Umoja's violet eyes looked at the four remaining. They looked tired, but for three of them their youthful vigor seemed to renew them once they realized they had made it home. He felt oddly proud of them. As if the lessons taught within the valley had helped them in their perseverance. It only reminded Umoja that the responsibility of the valley and the pride was on his shoulders, especially as their sparce numbers began to creep closer to the level before the earthquake struck.
"Chewa. Jahina. Yamini. Tilifika." He nodded to each of them, realizing just how long they had been gone. Little Tilifika was completely grown. "There are empty caves if you wish to rest within them; Mfalme can guide you to a water source if you are thirsty." Remembering that the caves were a source of the death they had suffered, Umoja quickly recovered himself. "There are also open areas and nearby trees if you'd prefer to sleep under the stars."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:39 am
He couldn't hold back a sigh when he finally looked back to the group before him. When Yamini came and stood beside him, her glanced over and offered a smile. Mvua did the same, nodding to Yamini before hopping back to rest on Chewa's back so there was more room beside him.
Chewa's gray eyes went to Umoja as he addressed them, then they went around the group thoughtfully as their options were explained to them. He was still determined not to go, not to decide until they all decided.. but..
"Well?" he said, looking to Yamini. She was alone once they all split up, he could stick with her. It was also the least awkward offer he could make.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:11 pm
Her eyes followed Mvua's motion as the bird resettled himself on Chewa's back, she couldn't help it. It was like being in a fog...a long, deep, thick fog... A bit belatedly, she nodded in return, though her head turned when Umoja addressed them once again. She recognized him, though where his parents were... well, perhaps they were busy, too busy to greet every returning straggler. But what if they were as lost as her kite...?
The idea of sleeping in a cave ever again felt like it should have frightened her. But the only den she ever wanted to rest in was the one where she'd died. The pride looked smaller, the valley damaged, and perhaps her skills were needed here, for the moment. But when they seemed like they might manage without her... then she could slip away and return to her final resting place...
"Don't worry, Chewa, I am well enough," Yamini assured the youngster, though he wasn't so young anymore. They'd grown so quickly it seemed, though time had hazed over and stood still for her. Perhaps that was just what happened when one was dead. "If you'll excuse me," she said softly, now addressing Umoja instead. She didn't like making the others worry over her, why worry for someone who was no longer living? Inclining her head towards their prince, she let her paws carry her down into the valley, leading her to a slightly stunted tree. Dully, she turned in a small circle then settled down at its roots. Her head rested on her paws, but her eyes did not close. Sleep was no friend to her now, for the dreams came and with them the guilt, and the knowledge that she was cheating time. But she was needed, for now. Tomorrow she would find out more about the hunting situation, making use of her stubborn body to provide for those who still had such bright futures ahead of them...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:04 am
She stood for a moment, unsure of herself, although the uncertainty didn't stop her from flashing Umoja the brightest smile she could manage, and nodding respectfully to the Crown Prince in return. She had always had a good handle on the smiling thing, even as a child - as she had been told, anyway. The last thing she wanted to do was seem vain and arrogant.
She contemplated his words carefully. Sleeping out in the stars... she wouldn't have minded that, but Pisha might have had her head if she had decided to do something quite so... uh... drastic. The lioness sighed inwardly. The bird was such a bore sometimes! "I think a cave would still be best, right, Pisha?" She said softly, though she spoke more to herself than anybody.
Spotting Chewy alone after Yamini had departed, she sidled over to the gray lion and nudged him. "Hey, Chewy," she grinned up at him. "What are you thinking?" Perhaps, she figured, he wouldn't mind walking with her to look for a free cave. Or something. She didn't want to let them all slip away from her, and already, watching some of the others head off had made her feel as if it was too late.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:16 am
"Thank you, Umoja!" Jahina replied, not forgetting her manners despite the excitement of finally being back home. He certainly was a sight for sore eyes! It must have been good for him, too, to see more of the pride back into their homeland.
Good for all of them.
"I can't wait to get something between me and the sky! A nice den at last!" It was seen - for the timebeing at least - as a luxury to have a place to call your own.
"You ready Ngeu?" She called aloud to the vulture, but there was no response from the bird, too far up with the wind in her ears to hear. "Hm, guess so!" She replied and, remembering the others, turned to see Chewa and Tili...dawdling.
"Come on you two! We're home!" And with that she pressed on, moving past Umoja and down into the valley where home awaited. The shadow cast by the vulture swept across her and she looked up, laughing with joy again.
For Jahina this was both an end and a beginning.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 9:18 am
It was difficult not to react to Yamini's rejection, though he wasn't entirely surprised. He felt bad watching her go off on her own but it wasn't really his decision to make. That left just him, Jahina and Tilifika deciding what to do. He glanced back to Mvua when Tili came over, looking to her when she nudged him. He only shrugged-- until Jahina called out to them and he looked out to her and then back to Tili.
"I guess we're all going to look together," he observed, then moved to follow after Jahina, knowing Tili would come with him. When he passed by Umoja, he gave him a small, grateful and rare smile. They were home, this wouldn't be a bad thing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:27 pm
He didn't seem excited at all, but Tili supposed that wasn't any extremely out of the ordinary for the somber gray lion. It wasn't as though she could say that she hadn't gotten used to his lack of expression - more than that, even, so this shouldn't even have really registered on her radar.
Her head turned at Jahina's call, and she nodded. Yes, they were home. She had still yet to fully wrap her mind around the idea, but it would come.
"Time to settle in, right, Peesh?"
"Pi...sha," the dark vulture muttered, not for the first time in his life. But he could let that slide today, as he already had once. He was looking forward to the notion of rest - real rest - and a place to call their own. And it was just a matter of time now.
A small, contented smile crossed the vulture's face as Tili began to walk after Chewa and Jahina, and the familiar rolling motion of her walk filled him and soothed him, as it always did. Yea. It was good to be home.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
