Aysu had been keeping a secret for some time now, and she was unhappy that it had to come out in such a public manner. But without any midwives, it needed to be more public than it might have been otherwise. They needed to know she was having cubs, too. After she had spoken to the queen, she had been avoiding everybody else. She didn't want to talk to her father just yet, though she was sure he would be supportive. She didn't want to run into Yareha, after all the trouble he had given her- though she wanted to pin some blame on him. Hadn't finding a mate been his suggestion?
No, it wasn't anybody's fault but her own.
In her effort to avoid talking to anybody, she'd wandered around the central areas of the pride, thinking about her own situation- and thinking about everything that had been going on. One thing in particular stuck out in her mind. Mazin. She'd been so happy for him, she was probably even the source of some of the rumors.. and now he'd been publicly shamed.
It took her a couple circles around a well worn path before she decided to go look for her cousin. He was probably more miserable than she was.
Mazin was, honestly, a mess. Had he really thought things through, he might have foreseen what was going to happen after he befriended Selene.. but then he kept reminding himself, things might have been different if Shira and Miakoda had not disappeared. It was just consequence of bad luck that he had been the source of so much pain for his mother, his father and his friend.
His mother had lost her job because she had defended him. His father had been so optimistic from the start because of his friendship with the king.. but circumstances beyond their control made that tense at best. Badiri was angry his best friend had to reject his son, and that he had been part of the plot to replace him- Badiri knew why the foreign prince was here.
And then Selene.. he had no idea what she truly felt and he struggled not to dwell on it. It didn't matter what either of them felt, this was done. He knew Selene had not warned him of what was to come when they met at the waterhole because she simply couldn't face it.. but he was trying to convince himself it was because she wanted it that way.
He'd spent so long sulking around with his parents, he decided it was time to give them a break from the sad reminder of why they were so unhappy now. He couldn't go far from the central lands, but he couldn't bring himself to head for the waterhole.
The waterhole had been the first place Aysu tried, if only because it was such a popular and busy spot but a quick look over the group told her Mazin wasn't there.. and she didn't really blame him for that, either. She simply headed outward from there, keeping her eyes open.. and it was pure luck that she spotted him not too late into her evening.
She didn't immediately approach him but chose to watch him from a distance for a minute. He didn't look very happy, he could definitely use some cheering up.. or someone to talk to, at least. Putting on a smile, she moved in.
"Mazin!" she called out, careful to sound more cheerful than angry in case he was jumpy. She didn't want to make things worse.
While it took Aysu a little while into her night to find Mazin, it was very early in his venture out when he heard someone calling out his name.. and he jumped. He was sulking but apparently he was anxious about being out and about, even a cheerful, familiar voice set him off. He had to look up and squint into the distance before he realized who it was, though. The dark made it easy for Aysu to hide.
"Aysu," he murmured, though she was still far away and had no chanxce of hearing him. He wasn't particularly thrilled about seeing her, she had been questioning him about Selene already and surely she knew what happened now.. she was going to pry about that again, it was obvious.
But then.. she was in her own sort of trouble, too. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad.
"Aysu," he repeated as a greeting when she was close enough to chat.
"How are you doing, Mazin?"
She almost regretted saying it but there was nothing wrong with the question, she was genuinely curious about how he was handling everything that was going on. And she certainly didn't sound oblivious about it. She even offered him a sad smile.
"I thought you might like some company," Aysu added quickly, watching him carefully for signs that he was fighting the urge to tell her off. Normally she wouldn't have cared but she was more aware of herself and others right now.
Mazin frowned at her question, though he knew she was being sincere in asking him. She was a recent spectacle herself, maybe she would be a good choice of someone to talk to .. if she could keep things to herself, and he wasn't so sure about that.
"I'm OK," he murmured, the answer he would have given to anybody who asked, "How about you? Should I offer my congratulations or..?"
Was it grim to suggest she might prefer not to be congratulated? She wasn't exactly shouting it from the tree tops in excitement, the way he heard about it, it was .. more shy than he knew his cousin to be. Marriage was not a prerequisite to starting a family here but it certainly helped. He didn't know what to make of it.
"How are you doing?"
Aysu smiled sympathetically at him, sensing his hesitation and realizing she might need to preface their conversation with a promise to keep things between them. She'd caused him enough trouble. Whether or not it was really her yammering on about him and Selene that caused a problem, she felt partially responsible.
It stung when he questioned if he ought to be saying congratulations but she half-expected that from everybody. She hadn't talked to anybody about it yet, how was anybody supposed to know she felt anything but embarrassed about it when that was all she had had the opportunity to show so far?
"I'm fine," she said, "It'll be better when we have a midwife, I suppose. I didn't mean to draw so much attention to myself-- just like I didn't mean to draw so much attention to you and Selene."
She shuffled her paws awkwardly.
"I'm sorry, Mazin," she said, "I was really excited for you. I've caused enough trouble, I'd understand if you don't want to talk to me now but I promise to keep my mouth shut this time."
Mazin's ears twitched as Aysu shuffled her paws and awkwardly apologized for gossiping about him and Selene. He knew she had been taking part in that but it took hearing an actual apology to realize he didn't blame her for it. She wasn't malicious and none of how it turned out was really her fault. However, it was a relief to hear a promise of confidentiality now.
"Don't apologize," he said, "It's not your fault, it's nobody's fault. It's just.. how everything worked out."
He couldn't help but sigh.
She was relieved to hear him say he didn't blame her for what happened, though it didn't rid her of all of her guilt. And that wasn't even why she was really here with him. Aysu smiled despite his sigh, stepping closer.
"Want to go for a walk with me, Mazin?" she asked, "We'll go watch the stars as they come out."
It would be a dark night, the moon would just be a sliver returning to the sky.. and they wouldn't dare venture far from where they were now but they could pick somewhere not quite on such a common path around the waterhole.
"You don't even have to talk if you don't want to," she added.
Sometimes Mazin, like many slaves, felt the night sky mocked him, especially on nights where the moon was so small. But.. he still appreciated it and what it meant to the pride. And he could appreciate the insight Aysu showed by saying they didn't have to chit chat. He wasn't really the chatty type and he didn't really want to talk to much now.
"Alright," he said, managing a small smile. It would be nice to just sit with someone who wasn't upset with him or because of something to do with him.. at least, he figured Aysu had bigger things on her mind than worrying about things to do with him.
Fin!
