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 Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 6:34 pm
His large black toed paws extended outward as he moved onward, walking along an invisible path aimlessly; though every now and then he would stop to gaze up at the sky above as if lost in thought, a dream perhaps. He was old and had cubs of his own whom now had cubs themselves. He was a father, a grandfather- he felt that his life was complete- being able to bring life into this world; He had done his job as a father and as a hunter, a provider yet apart of him grew weak and frail.
All over he ached with the idea of being this way forever. He knew that he couldn’t possibly live forever and that someday he would die- but for now he was alive and well... and apart of him longed for something more. He had three daughters and they had brought him such joy in his life time but he felt regret in knowing that one of his girls had left him to be with her mother. His old love, his first love... she left because he wasn’t good enough; he just couldn’t provide back then.
He didn’t hate her for leaving though... back then you had to do what you had to do to get by. He simply assumed that was how life was. He was large in frame and his black and white mane was long and curled at the tips. He smelt of ocean water and had a soft layer of sand on his paws. He was born a Firekin but would spend his dying days beside the open sea, being relaxed by the soothing sounds of the ocean.
Akamu had slowed his pace now and was standing still, gazing up into the deep blue nothingness that hung above. He may have been old but he could still dream.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 6:59 pm
Rahima had spent all her life wandering, ever since she had freed herself from her birth-prides vicious cruelties. Now quite old, her past was a patchwork of great joys interwoven with grave sorrows. It was on these things she mused as she headed towards one of the last unique things she had never known...the ocean.
Her mother and father were unknown to her - her siblings she had never known, except one by sight, a fellow red slave - and the fathers of her own cubs had always been absent, leaving her to raise them. The evil of her pride had woken in her eldest, another had been snatched away in the desert. Rahima had been ashamed and grieved. Sorrows.
Her fosterlings and youngest twins had been such joys! All living such full lives, settling like she'd always longed to or travelling far and wide like she did. Not to forget her dear friends, though many had passed on from this life now, as Rahima assumed she would in the not too far future. The younger ones still lived, but then, they had lives ahead of them. Not behind.
Each step her dark red paws took could have a name of someone written in the marks, she thought, as she discovered the beach. Laini, Hisani, Muroki,Asherah, Ithibati, Nyunya, Denge, Teleka, Bhaskar, Bakhti, Ewan, Nogea, Saburi...even Nyek...Musuka, Asikari, Mng'Ariza...the list went on and on.
It had to have an end though. Rahima was running out of things to do with her life, this trip to discover the ocean being one of her last ideas. It had been a rich, full life - but without a will, there's no way. Still, it was hard to stay morbid by the sea. It was so vast and colourful and constantly moving.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:20 pm
Akamu’s envy colored eyes shifted as the scent of another passed him and for a brief moment he was lost within a cloud of red. He had not seen another so bright before… not like this. She was completely red all over, it was so stunning to him! She was even redder then he was. With a wide smile the male spoke out to the lone female.
“Hello there.”
He didn’t know what to say really, he must have sounded like a fool. He wanted to say more but nothing else seemed to escape his lungs. He moved himself to sit some and relaxed, all while keeping a soft gaze upon her. She looked just as zoned as he was before. Maybe she was dreaming too.
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Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2007 7:31 pm
The female turned when spoken to, scarlet eyes widened in surprise. She'd been so lost in memories, Hima hadn't realised she hadn't been alone out on the sands. Though, now she'd registered him, it was hard to believe she hadn't spotted him sooner! But those memories swirled still, and unbidden, thoughts of her time with the Mistweavers came back to her.
She knew this male. Surely? He'd had three lovely daughters, around the twins age...red, white and black. Simular to her own family in that valley, her friends and her cubs. They hadn't really mixed for worry; she had kept herself and hers seperate knowing Nyek's reputation, but Rahima was certain. This males mane and red pelt were distinctive, not found often outside of the Firekin lands. She thought briefly of Teleka again before trying to hunt down his name in her memories.
"Greetings, Akami? Akamu? I think?" She offered a smile and the customary bow of the head, a sign of respect for a fellow creature. "This is a long way from the Mistweaver Valley."
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 10:11 am
“You know me?”
He questioned her words softly, his brows arching. He would have remembered her had he seen her before… her colors were so vibrant after all.
“The Mistweaver Valley…”
He paused and sighed deeply. He never wanted to talk of that place, not ever again- if she had known him from there then she was lucky to have left too. That land was failing and poor and soon would be nothing more then a land full of death and sand; much like the Firekin lands.
He moved himself a bit closer as she spoke, studying her slightly. She was very different to him, though he couldn’t quite point out why.
“Akamu.”
He stated kindly. His name was Akamu and he was very pleased to see that she remembered him when he couldn’t recall her at all. Strange how the mind worked.
“It is a long way; I no longer call that place my home. I have moved on.”
He didn’t want to seem rude so the next thing he asked was a question about her.
“Who are you? Have we spoken before?”
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Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 10:50 am
"I'm Rahima." She smiled, tilting her head slightly as if to offer another view of her face to jog his momeory and coming forward herself. No sense in talking to a friendly lion over distance, after all. And she could study Akamu better close to - the real reason she was angling her face so.
It had been lucky it had been the right lion. It would have been embarassing to have named him wrongly and mentioned the Mistweaver lands to a complete stranger. Had she not been lost in her memories moments before, Rahima probably would not have recognised him...though considering his looks, it was hard to imagine anyone forgetting him. Akamu wasn't marked like many Rahima had met, and she had met many.
"I never knew you nor your family well, and only saw you from a distance mostly. But I used to live in the Mistweaver lands, for a while, before the drought came."
Oh those had been stolen, bliss filled days! While Nyekundu had done his worst, after the grief of loosing Saburi, and her mate abandoning her... Rahima had gone there to seek peace. It had been beautiful and lush for a time, raising her twins, watching them play with her grandchildren, having her two grey friends close by.
It had been the most dear home she'd ever had.
"I think your triplets may have run into my boys or my grandchildren."
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Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2007 4:54 pm
“Rahima- what a lovely name.. And I see. It’s a shame, back then I didn’t get around the pride much so I never really got to interact with any of the lionesses... Come to think of it I only ever ran into males.”
He let a soft laugh pass his large chest as he gazed back at her with kind eyes.
“My girls? Mmm, perhaps. My Ausi fell for a young cub when we lived in the pride and they became close friends… hah and are mate’s now- His name is Fedha; as for my others… they stayed closer to me and didn’t get into too much trouble. We live by the sea now… or at least three of us do; Myself, Ausi and Sev.”
He spoke with a weaker smile; as if remembering his past love and long lost cub. He missed them even now... though he wanted to forget... knowing he would never be able to.
“It’s a pleasure- being able to speak with you now, Rehima. Have you been traveling long?”
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Posted: Wed Apr 18, 2007 5:20 pm
"Fedha? He's a relative of mine, of sorts. His grandmother and I were close when we were younger, and I've always considered her family my own in spirit. Oh I haven't seen him since liosn started to leave..."
Rahima's smile became muddled momentarily with a frown. While she, Ewansiha and Nogea had faired reasonably well, their not-blood family hadn't done so well. Unlike some, the red lionness wasn't about to plan that squarely on Fedha - and she hadn't known he'd left for a love, either, which softened her further. To be honest, Hima was something of a romantic.
"I've been travelling all my life. That brief time in the Mistweaver valley was the longest I'd ever stayed put. It was such a shame when it looked to turn arid and barren."
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 6:21 pm
“Fedha is back by the sea with Ausi- I could take you to see him if you wanted?”
He offered with a large smile. Akamu could feel her emotions as she spoke, her longing for closer family ties... but as she continued on his ears perked up with excitement. He had always wanted to travel the lands without any worry or regret; in fact he wished to spend his last days doing so. It was something that was in his blood after all… he just longed to experience everything life had to offer.
He loved seeing new sights and though he would never return to the Firekin he did miss the dry earth that the pride settled on… just as much as me missed the Mistweaver valley. It was bittersweet almost.
“A shame indeed.”
He nodded in aggrement before shifting a paw upward. His green eyes shifted from side to side as he gazed at his paw for a monument, lost within his own thoughts.
“I have seen many things in my life time and I have walked many miles but the one thing that I have always wanted to do… longed to do is travel; I want to see the world. You must have seen such lovely sights on your journeys.”
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 6:37 pm
"Oh I have. So many different creatures, beautiful things, wonderful places - even those that were so lovely they were terrifying..." The emphasis was low, conspiratal and joking. "The world is a dangerous place but the sense of it is immense. The sights, the sounds, feel of it...Makes up for the bad times."
Akamu had used the right, musing tone of voice, as if he'd been dreaming about such travel himself. It woke the wanderlust that had long slept in Rahima's heart, the passion for new experiances and places leaking into her voice. It leant her her youth back once again for a moment, she clearly loved it so much. Horribly ironic, it was this wanderlust that caused her family ties and friendships to falter.
Embaressed by her gush of praise for the travellers life, she offered a shy smile. She may have seen his around the Mistweaver valley in the old days but she was forgetting herself. He was still almost a stranger. It probably wasn't proper to have rapturous rants about the world to strangers? She thought.
"I'd recommend going for a wander, see some of the world, to anyone. But you have family here too? I suppose that would curb you from too wide a range. And you live by the sea now, Akamu? I've heard so much about the sea but never been." She tilted her head, adding as an after thought -
"Yet."
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 7:06 pm
“I have an elder sister and my cubs are grown now, I do not have anything holding me back now.”
He smirked and corrected her with a wink. She was different, that was for sure. He had not really spoken to anyone like her before. She seemed to wise and collected.
“Yet?”
Akamu smirked again and let the words roll of his tongue slowly. She was hinting at something, wasn’t she? A wide smile pressed against his maw as he moved onto his paws and walked around her once.
“How about this: you come with me; back to the sea- I can show you the ocean and reconnect you with some of your family… and then after you can accompany me on a journey to see the lands?”
As he place this new wager on the table the male sat down in front of her again and gazed at her for a moment before adding.
“But it’s a long walk from here, the sea.”
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 7:21 pm
"You drive a hard bargain, sir. But I think I'll accept your terms."
One eyebrow arched in amusement and her tone was playful. Rahima sat down as well, relaxing. It seemed a fair trade and while she could have spent time searching for it herself, all she had were vague directions. Given to her by a cheetah of all cats and cheetahs she'd found were never very accurate in how long a journey could take. With age the lionness hadn't slowed too much but she'd always favoured a medium pace that she could keep up for hours compared to how the slimmer, faster cats travelled.They tended to go between short bursts of speed and brisk walks. Akamu's guidence would be most welcome.
"I assume your mate won't object? I've know females to be mad for their partners to even talk to the pposite sex- and vice versa. No offence meant of course." She may as well ask. Rahima didn't want another Salaaiman on her paws.
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 7:25 pm
“The mother of my cubs left long ago, I have no mate, so I have no one that would object to this aggrement.”
He smiled at her kindly. He respected her worry; it was a good thing to have at times. She was very respectful and he liked that.
“What about yourself? Would your mate mind?”
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 7:29 pm
"My mate abandoned me and my love died long ago. My sons might cause a fuss but I just won't tell them I was escorted by someone so handsome." Rahima joked, trying to make sure the tone stayed light.
Though it wasn't truely needed. It was a quality she could grow to like about Akamu. He was clearly a family man and also, he was calm and respectful even when she could have really put her paw in it. Some might have become offensive, having had a mate leave, at such a question. He hadn't.
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