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 Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 3:56 pm
The rogue chuckled a little at her statement, thinking he would not want to be the mysterious male when she caught up with him, though there was still that lingering feeling of envy toward him. Kibaazi was simply beautiful, and if he had been the male in question, he doubted he would have left her side at all, certainly not when she was without her sight.
" You must have known my sister," he said, the smile clear in his voice, " She was very, very independent. Always did things her way, and the rest of us just got swept along in her wake." He turned his violet eyes to look out across the savanna, for a moment wondering if Atyia was even still alive, but then the lioness tried to stand.
This time Alasiri did not hesitate, with one fluid and graceful movement he was up and beside her, his much larger bulk warm against her side, one paw resting lightly on her back, " Please, you are weak from lack of food and rest. Let me..let me care for you, just for a few days, until you have regained some strength. I promise I will not hurt you Lady Kibaazi, but I will keep you warm, and safe, if you will allow me."
The male's voice was gentle, careful in its tone, not wishing to frighten the blind lioness, but also having an almost desperate need to protect her if he could. So intent on the female, Alsairi had totally forgotten his own injuries from the Honey Badger they now ate.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 4:27 pm
Kibaazi smiled gently, listening to him talk about his sister. The affection was obvious in his voice as he spoke, and she wished she could have known the female who had inspired such love in this other male. Clearly, she was the type of girl she would have liked, strong and independent. She had been like that, before her blindness. She still tried to pretend she was the same as she used to be, but it was hard to be independent when she was so obviously dependent on others for protection and food. “She sounds like a wonderful female,” she remarked softly.
At her failed attempt at standing, her ears dropped down in shame. Talking about being independent, she scolded herself inwardly, she was barely able to stand on her own. She startled when he rested a paw on her back, unconsciously flinching away from his touch. It was purely instinct, afraid of what she couldn't see. After realising it was just him, she relaxed - slightly. She hesitated, ducking her head so he would not see her expression. “I...if you are sure...that you don't mind,” she whispered. “Then yes...I don't think I would be too safe on my own at the moment.”
She glanced up at him, offering him a wobbly smile. It was then that the scent of blood tickled her nose. Not from the kill resting nearby, but from him. She stiffened her pose, tilting her jaw up, some of her former independence showing through, “but only if you hurry up and put those herbs on your cuts! It wouldn't do for you to get sick too, then we'd both be vulnerable.” She softened her command by offering him a small smile.
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Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 6:31 pm
Alasiri felt his chest tighten at her flinch from his touch, he did not want this gentle lioness to every have fear toward him. He leaned down, and lightly brushed her ear with his mane, " I would not have offered if I minded Lady, please, think nothing more of it."
He settled himself down beside her, hooking a claw into the Honey Badger meat and bringing it a little closer to them, " I will trade you, eat a few more bites, and I will care for the wounds." His earth toned voice was warm and gentle. " There is a stream not far from here, I can bring back some water and sweet grass. You shouldn't lay on the hard ground."
Alasiri resisted the urge to pull her closer to him, and contented himself with just having his flank barely brushing hers, " It gets cold at night, but the tree and the boulders offer cover from the wind, and if you allow me Lady, rather then sleeping on the boulders above, I can lay across the semi opening and block the draft with my body."
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Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:13 pm
This time, as his mane brushed against her, she didn't flinched, now prepared for him to be close and within touching distance. She shifted her paw, reaching to touch where he was, pawing at his front leg lightly just so she could judge just how close he was. "Thank you," she said honestly, even though he told her to think nothing of it. Kindness was not something she had always found in the rouge lands, but she was grateful that he was willing to give it.
She felt him settle next to her, and shifted. She offered a wobbly smile. "I..." she trailed off, not sure if she could really stomach any more meat but she didn't want his cuts to get infected. "Alright," she agreed reluctantly. She looked surprised at his comments of the stream. "I am rather thirsty. I would love some water," she admitted, " and I wouldn't say no to something more comfortable. After a while, ground gets a bit...painful," she laughed a little.
Kibaazi tilted her head down, 'looking' at her paws rather then keeping her face towards him. She was a little embarrassed to think of a male sleeping near her. It wasn't as if he would sleep right beside her, but she had led a rather sheltered life when in the pride. Of course, her and Maja had sleep-overs as cubs, but they were much younger then. Her mother would hate this, she thought, thinking of how close Alasiri was sitting now. That made her smile. "Okay," she agreed. Maybe it was a little about the defiance of her mother's memory, but mostly it was simply because he was sweet and seemed honest about wanting to help. "I don't mind if you sleep closer then . I - " she hesitated, "- cannot guarantee that I will remember too well in the morning, so I apologise if I freak out when waking up. I'm not used to having others nearby when I'm sleeping."
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 11:24 am
Alasiri gave her another smile, pleased she had touched him with her paw, no matter how lightly she had done so. He would hunt a hundred Honey Badgers if it made her reach for him even once more.
At her admittance to being thirsty, the young rogue stood, stretching out on his hind legs to reach into the tea tree's branches almost directly above her head. Being careful not to drop the hollowed out gourd on her, he pulled it from its resting place and set it carefully on the ground beside them. Settling back down on all fours, he risked brushing her ear with his paw.
" I will only be gone a few minutes Lady Kibaazi, just long enough to bring your water and bedding." Alasiri continued to keep his rich voice gentled as he spoke to her, wishing her to feel as safe and comfortable as she could within the rough den of a unknown and Prideless male.
He chuckled in his low rumble at her warning, " I will due my best Lady, that you do not forget me, no matter how brief the time may be I am allowed the honor of your company." His tone was serious, though a small thread of teasing was woven into it.
Slipping the gourd under his shoulder and neck, Alasiri left her in the relative safety of his tree to fetch water and bedding for the enigmatic and gentle lioness he found himself keeping company with this evening.
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 2:50 pm
She felt him stand up at her comment of being thirsty, and heard him rustle about, but was not sure what it was he was doing, so she kept her head low, so as not to intrude on whatever it was he was doing. She flinched a little as he brushed her ear with his paw, again not expecting the gesture and fearing for a moment that whatever he had been rustling about with had fallen on her. When realising it was simply his paw, she offered him a small smile. "Thank you," she repeated again.
His voice was pleasant and sweet, and even as he moved away to find her drink and bedding, the rumbling memory of his voice echoed in her ears. She lowered her head, moving closer to the tree so that she was firmly pressed against it. She liked knowing where she was, and the easiest way was to have one side covered, and the tree suited this purpose well.
She stifled a yawn as the silence stretched while he was away, and her head resting on her paws felt heavy. She longed to lift it, and wait for his return, alert and showing him that she could be independent, but her bones ached with weariness and her blind eyes had unknowingly slipped closed. It was a dangerous position for a female to be in, let alone a blind one, but it was one she knew all too well.
She warned herself inwardly to not fall asleep, but was already teetering between dreams and reality, body slumped against the tree.
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 3:23 pm
Alasiri made short work of filling the gourd at the river, knowing that the sun was setting rapidly and that even if his tree was secure enough for himself, it was not for a lone lioness. Securing it across his shoulder and neck, he doubled back on himself to the edge of the scrubby tree line and the tall savanna sweet grass that spread out like a sea to the east and west.
With powerful swipes of his paws, Alasiri dug up a fair amount of the minty smelling reedy grass, bundling it with longer pieces of itself and shouldering it onto his back with brisk efficiency, determined to beat the elongating shadows to the tea tree.
Slipping through the gathering twilight he only just made it to the 'front' of his den with enough light to see by in order to set up the bracken for a bed for his guest.
Turning he saw her dozing against his tree and it caused him to smile softly, padding up to her once he had laid down the bedding by the door, he gently touched her paw with his, before slipping the gourd from around his neck.
" Lady..." he whispered to her, his warm voice low to match the fading light, " I brought you water and something soft for you to lay on. Here...let me guide you so you do not spill it."
With a touch that was so gentle, it almost was not there, he lifted her chin to the wide opening of the gourd, the look in his violet eyes soft with a yet unnamed emotion.
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 3:49 pm
Kibaazi did not even hear him returning, and her eyes slipped opened, despite it would not help her eye sight, when he touched her paw to his. She didn't even startled, so perhaps her mind had remembered him, or maybe she was just too tired to move again.
She allowed him to guide her, taking deep drinks from the gourd until her thirst was sated, and her head slipped down again, away from his touch and back to her paws. "Thank you," she whispered, hating how often she said those words. She had to do something to repay him, she decided, instead of just offering meaningless thanks.
Her eyes had slipped closed as she drank, unknowing, and as she rested her head down again, a yawn slipped from her mouth. This was the first time she could let her guard down, since coming into the rogue lands, and it seemed as if all her exhaustion had rushed to catch up to her.
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 4:40 pm
Alasiri smiled at her tenderly, letting her lay her head back down to her paws as he put away the gourd in the branches above her, " Rest Lady, while I fix the hollow between the tree's root for you." The young male resisted the urge to lay his paw along her neck in comfort, though he badly wanted her to know and understand she was safe.
Moving as quickly as he could, Alasiri began to dig out the rough scratchings he had made for himself between the hollow of the tea tree roots, making sure the displaced soil ended up being added to the lip he was creating to make a more solid barrier of his 'door' to what was becoming a semi-permanent den.
Laying the sweet grass down, he padded the earth, leaving some of the soil beneath the brush to help make it softer for her. Once done, he padded over to her and carefully nudged her awake with his nose, " Lady? The bed is ready for you..." The smell of sweet grass and earth mixing with the warmth of his voice.
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 5:47 pm
She could vaguely hear him fussing about with something, but her exhaustion was making her almost comatose at the moment, and although she knew he was there, she was just so tired that even if someone attacked, she doubted she would react.
When he returned to her, she blinked, her nose picking up the sweet scent of fresh grass, and dirt, and something different - his scent. It was a pleasant scent, she decided, as she forced herself to stand on wobbly feet. The promise of bedding - of being able to actually sleep - was far too tempting a thought for the female, even as tired as she was.
She stumbled towards where it was he had set up the bedding, relying on him to guide and keep her from tumbling back to the round. As he paws touched the grass, she let out a low, content sigh, and a smile lit up her face as she flopped onto her new 'bed', the grass so much nicer then the dirt. She yawned and set him a sweet smile - or where she hoped he was since she couldn't quite pinpoint his direction.
"It's perfect," she said, barely holding back another 'thank you'. She nuzzled down into her bed, but kept one ear poised so that she could hear where he settled, and only after he had laid, did she allow herself to drift off again, content in her temporary den.
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Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 3:20 pm
Alasiri was right beside her as she stood, and carefully guided her weak steps to the bed, a promised strength in his body that was her's to call upon should she need. As she settled, he could not help but smile at her gentle beauty, and once more found himself envying the male who she sought.
You are a lucky lion to have her, he thought to the unnamed male, I hope you understand the treasure you have in her, and I hope you do not mind that I help her find you, and care for her along the way.
The heartbreaking gentle smile she gave him made his chest tighten, and it was a tender paw that he lightly traced over her ear as he whispered to her in his earth timbered voice, " Sleep Lady, and do not worry, I will be near."
Turning away from her, he went and settled in front of the 'door' to the den, his back to the cold savanna night, keeping the chill from the cozy and relatively safe interior. Resting his head on his paws he waited till the even rhythm of her breathing let him know she was asleep, and then began to tend the wounds from that afternoon along his flanks.
Once done, Alasiri spent the long night guarding the den, his thoughts on the lioness in front of him.
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