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 Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 1:34 pm
 Yes! He did it! He got away, at last. Though...not without a final goodbye from his father, as he wanted it to be. Han had wanted to leave with as little damage as possible. And while he wasn't physically hurt, he felt sorry for leaving his father behind. Han still loved and respected Chui, of course. He was still his father, full leopard and all. But...his family..his other family...couldn't stand him. And Han knew that if he had stayed, he would've lost his mind sooner or later.
So it was better this way.
Han padded his way toward the border of the forest, a wide smile on his maw, though if one looked in his eyes one would see loneliness as well. The juve sighed and took a seat once he was at the border, where the greenery of the jungle merged with the beige of the savanna. It was strange to see the outside world again..
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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 1:54 pm
A dusty form, marks the color of blood from her eyes, across her rump, and around her paws stalked through the grasses at the edge of the jungle. She had managed to sneak away from her mother and siblings, a feat indeed after her young cousin had been stolen away by a monster. She was upset by this, for Pich had been her favorite cousin besides the enigmatic Safimoto, but Safi had left with her father and mother, so Pich had been the only one around to play with. And now he was gone, too.
Malaika's turquoise eyes caught a glimpse of white and blue ahead of her and blinked. She stalked forward a little bit more and her face broke into a huge smile. It was Han! Her favorite brother was just sitting there, on the edge of the jungle, with none of their boring half-sisters or their papa in sight. She totally missed the look of sadness on his face as she stalked close enough to pounce him.
"HAN!" she cried as she jumped at him, front paws extended to knock him over.
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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:04 pm
"HAN!" came a shout, and as if by habit (one honed by hours of daily attempts of torture from his half-siblings) the juve ducked, then turned and stood in a defensive manner, baring his teeth and growling at the whoever did it. Was he followed? Was his father there to take him back!? ...Then he paused and tilted his head, his position going lax as he looked at the familiar pelt and markings, and a wide smile replaced the bewildered look on his face.
"Malai!" he cried, equally excited to see her as she had been to see him, and he helped her up before wrestling her back down to the ground. "It's been ages! How've you been? Is mom here? Where are the others? Did they come with?" All the questions seemed to have come out of nowhere, but it was something he couldn't keep himself from asking. He hadn't seen his family since he left with his father when he was only a cub...
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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:27 pm
When her brother ducked, Malai ducked into a roll and rolled into a sizable rock, stopping her on her side. She growled a bit when Han helped her up, but it quickly merged into a laugh and playful growl again when he pounced her.
"I've been better, LITTLE brother, though I think you're bigger than me now," she laughed and wrested him off of her, knocking his shoulder with hers when she stood up again.
"Nah, the others are with Mom. I had to sneak away, 'cause she's gotten really paranoid lately. One of Uncle Mafunde's sons was stolen away a few days ago, so Mom won't let us out of her sight. She'll be happy to see YOU, though! We've all missed you, especially me. No one else but Pich really wants to rough-play with me, and since he's gone I was..." The normally gruff hybrid trailed off there, a look of sadness passing over eyes that normally showed only confidence. She really missed her little cousin and knew that he was safe, even if she would never see him again. Somewhere in her she knew he was safe, but she still missed him like she had missed Han so much.
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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 3:17 pm
Han grinned when she emphasized the word 'little' in her reply. It'd been a while since he was the youngest of the group, or...at least, not the oldest, and he didn't much like the responsibility that hangs over you when you're the oldest. He listened carefully as Malai explained the situation, his frown deepening at the mention of the kidnapping of one of their cousins. He nudged her gently when he noticed the sadness in her eyes, and he smiled reassuringly, though he really didn't know much about it. He just wanted to be as helpful as he can..
"I see," he said, wanting the silence that had fallen over them to go away. It was strange to be with Malai and have it all...quiet. It just wasn't natural. "Well there isn't anything in there, if excitement was what you were looking for. And dad patrols this side of the border every so often, and would've told Alana about it if he noticed a trace of someone coming in." He snorted, brows furrowing into a bit of an upset expression, remembering that his half-siblings were the reason Chui even bothered.
"He did it for his younger kids...you know. The ones he had with Alana."
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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:29 pm
"Not really, just looking to get away. Besides, I found you, didn't I?" Malai replied grinning over the subject change. She avoided the subject of their father and the family they both knew he had. Malai had accepted the fact that Mother had wanted children and that she had picked a male she was friends with, but not exactly loved, to have those cubs. She knew her mother was flirtatious and that they might never have a father, but they had enough of a father figure in their uncle, even if he was annoying and not exactly the kind of father she wanted. She'd personally rather have some kind of warrior for a father figure, like one of the males she met when they had their little celebration with their family and their cousins.
"So, are you just exploring, or are you leaving Papa?" she asked, sitting down and curling her tail around her paws.
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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2008 7:31 pm
"I'm leaving Dad with his family," he answered quickly, and perhaps a bit angrily. "His other cubs don't like me much, and I didn't fit in all that well, y'know." He added the end just so Malai knew why he was leaving, and hopefully she would understand. He wasn't mad at his dad for having another family, not really anyway. He was upset that Chui's family wasn't as willing to share share their father with another family. He was upset that they didn't accept him not only because from another family, but also because he wasn't a full leopard.
But he didn't say any of that.
"I've explored the jungle too much, and once you've seen one tree you've seen 'em all. At least in there." The juve smirked and glanced back past his sister. So the rest of the family was back that way?
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Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2008 11:42 am
"Ah, well, you're always welcome back with us and Mom, if you want," Malai said and reached over to paw him playfully. She really had missed her brother.
"Of course you'll have to deal with me," she grinned at him and nodded. She had run into her cousins a few times since they were newborns, and the troupe they were a part of sounded more and more fun every time she heard about it. Not the entertainment half Uncle Shaha headed, but rather the mercenary half. Maybe one day she would join them. And maybe Han and Zad would come too.
"So, will you be coming back, or do I have to make you?" she asked, ending on a forceful tone and pounced at him.
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Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 2:41 am
It felt good to hear that he was welcome somewhere, even if he already knew it. The particular phrase wasn't something he heard a lot, and if anything he'd hear the exact opposite more often than not. Almost on a daily basis, actually; so when she said that he could go back home, it was like music to his ears. His grin widened, and he nodded.
"Thanks," he said, glancing back at the path he'd taken to get away from his father and his family. "I really miss mom and the others, so-" And his sentence got cut off as Malai pounced at him. The juve was startled, of course, but after landing with a soft thud he laughed and wriggled his way out from underneath his sister.
"Nice try, but you're gonna have to better than that," he said with a toothy grin. "Anyway, c'mon. We can play later, but right now I just wanna go home.."
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 5:41 pm
Malaika rolled away and grinned back at him while he grinned down at her.
"That's great! It's been a long time since I heard that!" she laughed back and rolled over to hop up. She nodded, nuzzled him, and pranced a few paces ahead of him.
"Well, come on then, Han. The sooner we get home, the sooner we can play," she said, dancing a bit in place with her energy and eagerness to get going. She imagined her mother would be quite happy to see her son back again.
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