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Great. Just great. It was about time she managed to find herself out of the jungle but she was still so far off from the boys. She had been given a sense of purpose training those boys. The interactions with the daily demon were pretty exhilarating, and she was proud of her ability to overcome such feats. But she missed the two boys that had grown in her presence. She needed to find them sometime soon, just for peace of mind.

The night was blanketing the savannah and the stars shown brightly. It was a pretty sky tonight, that much she noticed. Though it was out of the reflection of the water. She lowered her head to the watering hole, drinking her fill and offering herself a bit of a rest.

Maktaba had returned to his wandering. His cubs had grown and moved on, and his friend, his lady friend, had gone off as well. They parted on good terms, but he imagined she could simply find better than him to spend her life with. That sounded more depressive than he was feeling about it, though he couldn't completely avoid some feeling of disappointment to be alone again.

He padded his way across the savannah without too much thought. It was a simple routine. He walked until he found something that was interesting or curious and then he learned about it through his own invention and experimentation or he found someone to teach him. Gathering knowledge was the only thing he had to keep himself amused as he wandered without aim, and missed the people he cared most about.

Hearing water, he moved toward it, and paused when he saw the lioness drinking under the light of the rising moon. He stared for a moment, thinking he might have imagined it, but no. She was there. She was very real.

She had a lot of good memories from her mentor. He had done everything he could to make sure that she had been trained properly. She had loved him in her way, and having been seperated from him was one of the hardest days of her life. So when Dearbhail looked up from the water she was gulping, he was the last she expected. Her heart almost skipped a beat, and she gulped.

"Maktaba?" She asked, tentatively in case it was some sort of illusion. Maybe she was going psycho. That was possible right? She had been alone for so long. Though the lonely part wasn't as bothersome as it had been previously.

"Is that you?" She asked, preparing to run off if it wasn't but she wasn't sure she wouldn't bulldoze over him in excitement if it was.

"Yes! Dearbhail, it's me!" There was his voice. He was wondering what had happened to it, as it had decided to abandon him at the worst possible time. When he needed it the most, to call her attention. But her senses were as keen as ever it seemed, which filled him with a strange sense of pride and relief. He had missed her terribly, he knew he had, but it hadn't occurred to him just how much until he was standing there in front of her.

He didn't move, his body now forgetting how to do that in turn. He watched her, wide eyed, but his muzzle split into a smile. One that was unfamiliar to the tired muscles of his face, it seemed, as it was much broader than even his happiest moment in recent history.

After a beat he finally moved toward her.

"I never thought I would see you again! Good heavens, this is a blessing of some sort! How are you?! Are you well?! Have you been training? Fighting? Have you been hurt? Do you have a family, a home?" He clearly wanted to know everything about her since they parted, though maybe he shouldn't have asked for it all in one breathless moment.

She was still, both of them staring at each other in wide eyed disbelief at their luck. When he started closing the distance, she finished it off. When she was a few feet away, she smiled and her eyes showed warmth. How she had missed this guy.

"Geez, Maktaba, take a breath." She teased, nuzzling into his neck in greeting. It really had been a long time, hadn't it? Time just went so fast that it was easy to forget just how long you were away from everyone.

"I actually was training these two boys. But I lost them when I was attacked by the vampire pride. Funny how that works." She said, though she was less amused. That attack had been such a low blow, and it had pissed her off. But this was definitely a way to take away her edge.

"I don't have a home though. That's pretty common for girls like me though, I think." She smiled at him again. "What about you? What have you been doing, old man?" She teased. He was older, but he really wasnt old enough to make fun of him for.. Yet.

the older lion looked sheepish as she told him off for not breathing. He knew he was asking too many questions all at once, but words were often his only defense against anything. That included waves of energy and relief that needed some outlet. His mouth functioned for that, and his brain worked in overtime to compensate.

He smiled at her, nuzzling her as she rubbed against his neck. It felt good to know she was whole, solid, and not a dream or an image.

"Ah... no... well. I don't have a home either, I suppose. I did, but we left, decided adventure was calling us. I had a... a family. A small one. Two children." He looked distant and fairly lonely for a moment, thinking about a cave with cubs in it, and how happy that had felt. He never considered himself a father of any sort, but experiencing it had awakened a love for family he hadn't known was missing from his life. He sighed, shaking off the nostalgia. "They're adults now, of course, and off living their own lives as well. So. I suppose I am alone and traveling once more. As I have been since we parted."

She frowned, feeling a pang of sadness for her friend. She hated that he had to lose his family, and she offered a nuzzle once again.
"Aw, I'm sorry.. Though imagining you with little ones is quite a mental image." She hoped to lighten up the situation, and not let him dwell in sad thoughts that could consume him. She knew all too well that thoughts were so easy to let consume your mind and your heart.

"I'm finding exploring and the life of adventure isn't all its cracked up to be." She said. She still had fresh wounds on her shoulder, but they would heal, as did all her other ones.

"I had what was.. kind of a family. I trained the two cubs until they were strong enough to stand on their own. That's got to count for something right?"
She asked, hazel eyes glancing upt o look at his.

He chuckled. "I know, I never imagined it either. But it turns out it was something I... rather wanted. And I can't help but miss now. Though, they are adults and I can hardly baby them forever. Still." He sighed softly and shook his head, still seeming wistful.

He saw her shoulder and looked upset in an instant.

"Have you tended to these wounds? We can find some herbs and mend you, so they heal well. You are going to be the end of me already, my Dear, should I hear stories that end in you being injured and uncared for."

He smiled softly at her. Her training cubs seemed very fitting for her. He noticed how close they were and how easy it was for him to be that close. He couldn't help but be a little clingy now, considering the last time he let her out of his sight she had gone missing for ages.

And he found her injured when they reunited. No, that was not acceptable.

She knew what he meant about feeling like he needed something. She felt like those boys needed her, and it was a pretty awesome feeling. She liked thinking it was partially because of her that they survived day to day, though they were strong little things themselves.

"Then I probably shouldn't tell you much about what's been happening in my life lately. Wouldn't want to freak you out." She grinned, making it obvious she was just playing around with him. Thing with Maktaba was, he always knew how to put up with her. Her playful jests really were never something he took as offensive and she was so thankful for that.

She looked at her shoulder, and remembered the large vampire that had given her the wound. The lion was on her hitlist, that was for sure.

"I did before, but I was lost in the jungle for what felt like forever." She sighed.

Maktaba nodded his head, smiling at her as she joked with him, though the expression was quick to fade back into his stern, serious face. He got the expression whenever he was trying to teach her something important, or keep her on point. At least he hadn't forgotten how to make that face, at least.

"I think I saw some nice herbs this way," he said, padding toward a cave he had seen. he hoped it was empty: it might be a nice place for them to rest and talk. It was night, after all, and from the sound of it she had been traveling just as long as he had. He was feeling weary, but not enough to keep him from aiding her before thoughts of rest would hit him.

"I don't think I much like this Vampire pride. We'll have to deal with them in turn. But for now we'll stick to being sensible. Rest, recover, and do a good deal of catching up."

She was comforted, oddly, by the look of seriousness that Maktaba gave. It was familiar, and it gave her a sense of.. family. She was just happy having someone she knew around, and the fact he still did all the things he used to gave her hope. She didn't have to be prompted further to follow him. She walked at an ankles space behind him, looking at the plants he had seen. She sat down close to the entrance of the cave, curling her tail around her body as she smiled. She watched him, and when he spoke again she nodded.

"They aren't the most liked lions in the savannah, that is the truth." She yawned. "You are on the right path with that, I am so happy to not be walking anymore."

Maktaba nodded his head.

"I can imagine. I'm rather worn myself. After I tend your shoulder, we'll call it a night. If you don't mind my keeping you company." He smiled at her, tenderly. His eyes were warm, as they always had been, but there was something new he saw in her now. She was older, more experienced, and seemed to share the same kind of emptiness he did. But he didnt comment on that, not thinking it was appropriate for him. Especially after being away for so long.

In any case, it was nice for him to be back in her company. He felt like it was where he was supposed to be. He had no real purpose beyond it. He crushed some of the herbs and managed to put them on a leaf, which he could put on her shoulder. Once all that was done, his paws not the best for such work but he managed, he laid near her. Not too near, to be forward, but near enough.

She knew how he felt. Now that she was older, she realized that her and Maktaba were not all that different. They had a lot in common, and she supposed the only thing she lacked was the intelligence he had. She had no interest in competing for who was smarter.
Smiling she rolled her eyes. "No, I do not want your company, go." But within a few seconds she laughed and smiled again.
"Of course I don't mind your company." She sobered up a bit, looking at her paws, and then at him.

"It's good to see you again. I really did miss you." She closed their distance once again, and headbutted into his jawline.

"You should never do that again, okay? At least keep in touch, geez."

Maktaba looked nervous for a moment, as if considering if she meant it or not. Should he leave her, then? But no, she was messing with him again. He smiled at her dumbly. It had been a while since he had been teased so easily, and he liked it. He had missed it.

He had missed her.

"I missed you as well, Dear," he said softly, using the term of endearment as well as her name. He nuzzled her gently, letting her curl against him as she wanted to so they could rest together. She had a way of fitting against him that he hadn't found before.

"I don't intend to go anywhere now. I've nothing to go to, and I think I've been searching for you since. I'm very glad to have found you again." He rested himself down, staying close to her and closing his eyes. He smiled softly at the whole thing, at his luck, and at how happy he was to be reunited with her.

When he curled into her, she felt a new sort of feeling. She wrote it off as having missed him, and maybe that really was it.. But she just didn't know. Her heart was just so happy to have him back in her life.

"Well, you had best get some sleep. Otherwise you might be grumpy later. No one wants to talk to a grump." She grinned, and laid her own head on her paws. With the scent of him and the safety she felt when around him.. She fell asleep quickly, and began her dreams for the evening.