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 Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 10:14 am
After her run-in and eventual rescue from Zimwi, Angavu had done the smart thing and taken herself home. She hadn't yet spoken to anybody except Mnyama, who had gone to Memetuka's den to collect her little half-brother and bring him back here. They knew if Memetuka was gone, and Cheshi was nowhere to be found, it was likely the hare had followed after her. Koko confirmed that theory. Any stray hares around the area knew the story and joined Mnyama and Koko in Angavu's den, but the lioness couldn't bear to go tell the others what she saw just yet.
The next morning, she was ready to face everybody. Chances were, nobody knew where Memetuka had gone but had noticed her absence after the fighting stopped. Angavu had to find her mother, Kafara and Kutunza at the least.. but she had no idea who to look for first so she simply wandered where family was often found.
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 10:20 am
Mkate was still nursing wounds from the battle. He thought that it would be an easy way to gain some 'awesome' battle scars, but he had learned the hard way that it wasn't as heroic as it sounded. It hurt. And though he didn't care too much about those hyenas that he had hurt in return, it was a reality that changed him. If only a little bit. He kept to himself under a small trees, waiting for nothing as he watched other lions as the picked up the pieces of what had just happened. There was no beating around it - it had been a war, even if for only one day.
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 10:26 am
Angavu limped along, silently taking in her surroundings. They weren't the only ones to lose someone in the fighting, but Memetuka should not have been anywhere near the fighting. The way Koko told it, she was worried and Cheshi was worried about her so they had left.. they went to check on everybody else. Angavu couldn't remember who else from her family she had seen there anymore, though she was sure it would come back to her.
The first familiar face she came across was completely unexpected, they weren't near any of the dens she was headed for but there was Mkate- looking hurt. He'd been in the fight.
"Mkate!" she called, trying to pick up the pace and approach him but really only succeeding in making her limp more pronounced.
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 10:33 am
Mkate didn't want to hear his mother yell at him - she had kept herself at bay, and a lot of that was because she had been pregnant. Mkate had put it to himself to protect her by going into the fighting....and now he was starting to see that wasn't the correct way to make sure that his mother stayed safe.
He cowered a bit when he heard his name called. There were times when it felt like he was related to half of the Pridelands, and now was one of those moments.
"Aunt Angavu...."
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 10:36 am
"Mkate!" she repeated, feeling a rush of emotions she had been holding back while trying to come to terms with what she saw and to keep the hares company, "You were fighting! What were you thinking!"
Angavu looked him up and down, he was hurt but he was actually OK. It didn't make her want to yell at him any less, she wanted to yell more. She was painfully close to telling the first person what happened to Memetuka, yelling seemed to be the only way she could handle it.
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 10:52 am
Mkate's ears flattened against his skull. He knew that he was going to hear something about it, but it was worse coming from someone else who had been in the fight as well.
"Yes...." he answered awkwardly. "You...I just wanted to protect my family." Isn't that why everyone fought? The hyenas had crossed the line with Waridi's death, as new as he had been to the Pridelands.
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 11:01 am
"You're too young!"
It was a reflex. He was Mkate, he was always going to be younger than her, he would always seem so small. Nevermind that he was an adult now, that he was almost as big as he would get, that he had a full mane and was probably more capable than some of the older lions who went out.
"Y-you were spotted, you were followed," she growled, ignoring that it applied as much to her as him, "You only worried your family!"
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 11:15 am
Mkate felt a rush of shame, but a bit of anger too. He had only done what he thought was right. He felt his wound burn too, the feeling of shame had covered his whole body.
"Maybe. I should have stuck close to my mother, to make sure she was safe...but..." What about everyone else? Should he only worry about trying to save his mother, and no one else?
He didn't know what the answer was. He didn't think there really was a good answer to that.
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 11:25 am
"Grandma-"
Angavu's voice caught in her throat as she tried to spit out what happened, especially when she realized she had to be very specific. Mkate might be smart enough to realize who she was talking about but he had so many grandparents and any of them could have been hurt in the battle.
"Your great, great grandmother," she said slowly, carefully, "She followed you- followed us-"
And she stopped again. She hadn't yet acknowledged her part in what happened, Memetuka had gone after all of them, not just one of them. It was just easier to try to blame one person at a time. She might even have tried yelling at Kafara for not keeping an eye on her mother if she got to her first.
"She was killed," she said shakily after a lengthy pause, "Ambushed, mostly likely. Cheshi is gone, too."
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 12:02 pm
Mkate was crestfallen. His great-great grandmother had died? She had run into the fray? Mkate had avoided going home, only just long enough to let his mother know that he was ok. She was unhappy with him, and he was unhappy enough with himself that he didn't want to soak in it.
"Yes....I realize my mistake now. I should have stayed with Mother....Biskuti. Did you know that she was pregnant? My thoughts were only of making her and my siblings safe...and they weren't thinking of the rest of the family...."
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 12:54 pm
"Kafara is pregnant and her mate and sons stayed exactly where they ought to be, home with her," she snapped back at his defense, though she knew that until Biskuti's cubs were born, Mkate was all she had for her own little family- and that made her angrier at him.
"What if you had been killed? What about your mother then?"
Her tail swayed agitatedly behind her as she tried to calm down but there was no calming down. She hadn't know Biskuti was expecting, though it had reminded her she was now on her way to tell a pregnant lioness her mother was dead. The Pridelands were supposed to be peaceful, they were supposed to be safe. Those hyenas had lived so close for so long and kept to themselves, what had changed?
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 2:36 pm
Mkate felt anger too, but he knew better than to snap at his aunt. He was silently grieving for his great-great grandmother, but Angavu must have been taking it harder than he was. He shirked back at her angry words, expecting a paw to slap his face.
"You don't think I realize that now? But I fought for more than just my family. I fought for everyone." He grumbled. "It doesn't mean I'd repeat what took place yesterday." He had learned, and at a high cost, he now realized.
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 2:41 pm
Anga glared at him, he wasn't supposed to argue back, it didn't matter what he said anyway. She knew why he had gone to fight, it was the same reason she had gone. But she didn't have anybody relying on her the same way Mkate did.
"Get up," she said, taking a step closer, "We're going to find your aunts and uncle, you shouldn't be out here by yourself after risking your life for your family, you should be with your family."
She still didn't sound very happy about it, though.
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 3:00 pm
Mkate didn't want to go with her. He really really didn't want to go with her. But he wasn't going to say no, as he was taught to respect his elders. She wasn't going to risk his life...she just wanted to put him down, probably.
Whatever. He thought he was doing a good enough job putting himself down, but he'd be good. Since he had been an idiot.
"Yes, Aunt Angavu," he replied quietly, standing up and ready to follow her, wherever she went.
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 3:09 pm
Angavu had no further intention of yelling at Mkate, though taking him along would certainly draw attention to the fact he had gone out into the fighting and he would probably get minor scolding from the others. Still, it was better than hiding away like this.
"If you're going to act like an adult, you're going to face the consequences like one," she said, her voice was calmer but no less serious, "That means no hiding."
She looked him over as he stood but then turned away to start their way to go talk with the rest of the family.
Fin!
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