|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 11:22 am
He needed something to stop the pain. A good bump to the head, a fang to the heart. Anything to make it go away and let him have a good sleep.
He was tired. So tired. He moved sluggishly, his steps dragging, his head low. A little grey flecked his muzzle. A year or so ago and there had been none. The dissapearance of his mate had seemed to effect him physically. Her loss had aged him, knocked the life out of him. It was as if, with her, part of his soul had been torn away.
He was teetering. One strong gust of wind would knock him into oblivion.
He staggered and sat, raising his head to glance blearily around him. Where was he anyway? Since leaving the Pridelands he had been attempting to reach the Kusini lands to see Asikari...but now he couldn't seem to remember the way. Maybe he was too old to be a rogue after so long a life in the Pridelands.
"Oh, Maawio..." He groaned. "Have I done the right thing? I thought leaving behind that wretched rock would make the pain go away...but it's still here. It's always here. How can I go on without you?"
Desperate to try and forget, to try and move on, he stood and pushed onwards, his dusty coat heated from the rays of the sun.
He would survive.
He would get over this.
He was Amari.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 4:52 am
Laini may have got over Msikizi but she have never forgotten him. The golden lion was always in her memories. Those dear memories gave her energy to keep going on her seemingly endless task. She had promised for him to find them and that she was going to do, even it would kill her. Besides, she wanted to see her children at least once before it would be her time to leave these lands permanently.
She hadn't heard any clues about them yet and that made her sad. But simple things, like a meal, cheered her day. She was enjoying one right now. It was a nice-sized female gazelle adolescent, enough for her for about a week or so. Just catched, fresh meat. Delicious.
Her meal was interupted by a scent of stranger. Or actually, maybe not so stranger because it felt somehow familiar. Like she had met this stranger before. Very well possible, she had met a lot of lions.
Her gaze found a brown lion, Amari. He looked tired, or depressed, or maybe both. Anyway, Laini felt the need to help him. So, she raised her voice and let out a friendly call:
"Hey! Needing some snack?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:05 am
His ears perked up and he raised his head to locate the owner of the voice. A female voice, he noted subconsciously. As a youth, Amari would probably have pranced up to the stranger and smooth-talked his way into a friendship. Now, however, such things as flirting seemed a pointles effort.
Almost.
She was a girl similar to his age, grey fur, troubled eyes. She reminded him a little of himself, lonely, perhaps?
He moved over to her, eyeing the kill speculatively. One reaosn why he had relied so much on the Pridelands was his food. Amari had never been a good hunter. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he had landed a kill.
His stomach growled.
"I would have said no out of politeness, but I don't think my stomach would appreciate the manners." He laughed, but there was something missing from it. "So I'll say yes and wait till you've eaten your fill." It felt odd, being out here, back in rogue country.
"I'm Amari."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 5:36 am
"Oh nononono..." Laini said, shaking her head, expression oh so serious. "What you think I would feel when you are eyeing my body when I eat?" It was somewhat rare that Laini was in playful mood but this time, she was. Maybe the fact that she had got some food in her system, had some effect.
"So, please. Share the kill with me."
A gentle smile formed on her muzzle and she sat, waiting for Amari to join the dinner.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:57 am
"How could I possibly turn down an offer like that?" Amari replied, a faint smile on his maw. He dipped his head to her and stood, moving over to her side. He eyed the kill, expertly taken down, and began to feed, being careful not get too much blood on his maw.
He paused, lifted his head and glanced around cautiously. Then, when he had had his fill he stepped aside and took a moment to clean his paws and muzzle.
"So, why is such a pretty lioness like you out here all alone?" He supposed everyone had their reasons. He had forgotten the reason why he had travelled alone in his youth.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 3:34 am
Laini smiled as Amari began to feed. Something told her that something bothered the brown lion and since the food had made her day better, it could do the same for him. With that thought, she continued her dinner.
She finished her meal faster (she had begun it earlier, after all) but cleaning her paws and muzzle took more time. What did you except from a lady?
As he asked his question, Laini paused her grooming. At first, she gave a laugh. "I'm not pretty! Sush you for trying to flirt with old hag like me!" Then, her expression turned serious. "I'm looking for my children. It has been too long since I met them last time." A sigh. Yes, it was obvious that she missed them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2008 5:08 am
"Of course you are." He insisted in a tone that was clear he wouldn't give in. "You remind me of the mist that hangs over the water just as the sun rises up." He smiled but the smile did not reach his eyes.
It would not ever reach his eyes.
"Now that's one thing I have been lucky with. My children have stayed close by. It's me whose chosen to leave them, though I'm beginning to wonder why." He sighed. "Strange, being a rogue seemed like such a romantic notion as a youngster. Now it just seems empty." He flicked an ear idly. "Either way, I hope you find them. Children are the best thing about living." He paused for a long moment, deep in thought.
"I think I knew you once." The words were random, spoken without reason. But he did know her. A ghost from his past.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 4:30 am
"Ah, thank you," Laini said then, realizing she couldn't argue with this brown flatterer. Although, their conversation was kind of light, there was still something darker that didn't allow them to enjoy the moment fully.
She meant to ask him if he would have seen her children, who haven't been little kids actually for a long time anymore. But when he said he knew her, she decided that the question could wait.
"It... is... possible." After all, she had met many lions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 12:26 am
Yes, there was a dark undertone. Both were hiding behind their masks of despair, both hiding from their pains to try and have a somewhat normal meeting.
Amari could feel his heart breaking even as he spoke, as he pretended that nothing was wrong. And yet he knew this was the way to move on. He could not grieve her for the rest of his life. Besides, he'd met someone he'd once known, that was reason to be happy, wasn't it?
"I believe it is." He replied. "Seems both our lives have been somewhat eventful, though looking back now I made a lot of mistakes. A shame we won't get a chance to do it over." If only such a thing were possible.
"Life is hard." He decided finally.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:55 am
"It is," Laini admitted and let out a sigh. She had lived for so long and still it felt like she wouldn't have take the all of it. If only she could turn back time and correct her mistakes. "I regret for not giving my attention to the rest of my children than the youngest one. She was weakest but still..." Another sigh.
And the day had started so well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 10:22 am
"I made a smilar mistake myself." Amari replied. "Well not completely...but, I didn't give enough attention to my firstborn. I was young when I fathered him, me and my mate were adolescents. I was flirtacious and free back then, never wanted to settle down though I loved my mate dearly." He sighed deeply. "When she told me she was pregnant I got scared. I hate myself now, but, for a while I left her, I missed my son's entire cubhood. I'll never forgive myself for doing that. Even making up for it with my second litter wasn't enough."
He flicked his tail. "I think parenting is the hardest job anyone can do. It's complicated and there are no rules to say what is right or what is wrong. We have to rely on our instincts."
He padded the dusty ground beneath a paw. "Maybe I should go back to be with them. I thought running away from my grief would help...why do I always run away?"
He looked up, smiling. "Do you think it's a male thing, Laini?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
