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 Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 7:25 pm
 Wacheza wondered where Akai had gone. It had seemed so long since the storm, when they had nearly been washed away. He was glad that they had survived... but the worry that she would never come back was starting to take its toll on him. He wouldn't have blamed her, for they had both been afraid that night... but he missed her. He missed talking to her and being with her. Even the butterflies were beginning to sense his adgitation, which was so rare in the lion.
"It's alright..." He said quietly, feeling them move around on his fur again as he wandered along the edges of the pride, looking for Akai. He was sure they would react if they sensed her, or knew her butterfly was close by. But it was difficult to tell exactly then... they were moving around so much, none of them seemed to be able to settle.
Much like him. He had usually been able to sit down and think for hours, about life in general, or the world at large. He was very philisophical by nature, he liked to be able to think. But recently his thoughts all went back to... well, Akai. And that itself was enough to give him pause and think about things.
What did it mean when someone was constantly on your mind?
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 7:47 pm
Akai hummed to herself as she slowly walked along the soft sands of the beach, proud of herself today. She was slowly starting to discover just what the ocean's treasures were, and she felt blessed that it started to share. She had found a bit of stringy dried seaweed, and with that she made herself a little necklace. There was a small chipped sand dollar along with some very small red flowers. Akai would had preferred white, but she knew that they would disappear within her fur. Flowers should be seen! So she had stuck with red. One single yellow flower was mixed in as well, representing the little butterfly that was now resting on her head.
As she finished the tune that she was humming, her red eyes caught sight of her dear friend. "Wacheza!" She smiled as she called for him, quickening her pace just slightly as she made her way over to him. She had a question for him, she just...needed to actually get it out of her heart and into her voice so he would know it.
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 7:56 pm
Wacheza very nearly jumped when he heard her voice, his butterflies moving off of him in a cloud towards Akai. He slowly turned and smiled brightly. So the storm hadn't chased her away, like he had feared it had! It seemed that all of his worrying had been for nothing. He was glad for that... he really did need to learn that in the end, good things would work themselves out. Akai had come back, she had brought her butterfly. Now everything would be alright.
"Akai, I'm so glad you're here." He smiled at her, standing up and walking over, hoping his butterflies would calm down now that he had relaxed. Akai's own friend seemed to be in a good mood, which meant she was calm. That was good... because he wasn't sure she would be calm much longer. He had thought so much of her recently... he had come to the fact that there could only be one conclusion.
Really, he would have thought that someone as thoughtful and 'deep' as himself would have figured this one out earlier, but perhaps he wasn't quite as on-the-ball with Akai as he was with the world around him. He could theorize the existance of the universe, the medicinal purposes of different seaweed, and consider the circle of life... but could he figure out his feelings about Akai?
...Well, eventually he could, but he couldn't believe it had taken so long. Maybe it was the fear of the storm and losing her that had finally brought it out of him, "How are you? I find you well, I hope?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 8:35 pm
Akai slowed to offer a now to her friend, feeling quite accomplished. She almost blurted out about her new necklace, but knew that it was... a little bit childish. It was smart of her to pause, as she then noticed how his butterflies were acting. Were they anxious? Did that mean...?
She eyed Wacheza a little more carefully, hoping that everything was well. Her tail twitched side to side as she tilted her head, offering him a warm smile. "I'm well. Are you..." she glanced again at the butterflies. "All right?" A slight frown graced her face, and she quickly shoved it away with a shy smile. "I-I mean, I don't mean to intrude, but your little flock seem a little jittery today."
Perhaps it was all in her mind. If it was, then she just made a complete fool of herself for voicing it. Oops!
"B-but yes, everything is well with me." Why wouldn't it be? Everything she loved was here, so there would never be a time that she wasn't well.
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 8:44 pm
Wacheza smiled, relaxing a little bit when he saw that Akai was still acting her usual self. Everything was perfectly alright then? He did notice her necklace though, when he managed to compleyely calm himself down, "You have a new necklace? It's beautiful." He commented, momentarily distracting himself from his plan for the day. After all, if he didn't get it out now, would he ever be able to do it?
"And... yes, I'm alright. Sorry, I've just been..." He couldn't explain it, or else he'd blurt it all out and completely ruin his intended suprise for the day, "I haven't been so calm lately, they've been a little irritated because of it, I suppose. It isn't something they're used to." He sighed, but held out his paw to one of them, which settled down on him, "I'm sure they'll be alright soon." Or possibly worse, depending on how this went.
"I'm glad that you're in high spirits... after the storm I mean." He hadn't intended to open old wounds, and he almost felt guilty for mentioning it after he had. Not the best way to start. But at least he had noticed the necklace, maybe that would earn him points?
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 9:00 pm
"Oh." Akai blinked as she sat down where she was, lifting a paw to touch the necklace. She was pleased that he had noticed. "Thanks. I just finished it today!" A small giggle escaped her chest. "I'm glad that you like it." It represented a lot of things, so just the small fact that he liked it was enough to dash the worries from her heart.
Tilting her head to the other side, she watched him expectantly. "What is there to worry about?" she laughed. "We are in good health, as is the sea. Everything has been..." she grew quiet for a moment. "Oh, the storm. Silly, of course I would be. The storm has gone, and you were there to protect me the whole time. I won't let myself worry over something that's in the past." She offered him another smile before letting her eyes settle on his. He did seem a bit worried....had she misspoken somewhere? There was a chance, but she rarely felt a need to guard herself around him. She let her eyes wander to the butterflies, seeing that they were settling down. Then what was it? No, no. She shouldn't worry.
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 9:10 pm
Wacheza smiled, glad that she wasn't worried about the storm anymore. She seemed especially pleased that he had noticed her necklace. He was glad, he liked to believe that he could at least remember the little things when he was worried about... well, a slightly bigger thing. No, no, he had to stay calm, he was irritating the butterflies now as well.
"I was just worrying about... well, I suppose that there was something I wanted to... want to say to you..." Wacheza started to say, praying to all the Gods he could think of at that moment, especially Nix, who had always done him favors in the past. His own necklace from the Goddess was tucked safely away. He wished he had it now for... well, moral support he suppsed. The butterflies were not helping, they were flying up in clouds again.
"I... well," This was not going as smoothly as he had planned it in his head. But then, there hadn't been a whole lot of 'planning' per say. Mostly it had been 'If she ever comes back, I will tell her I love her.' beginning and end. He should have put down a script or something, "I just wanted to tell you that I... I've been having these... erm... feelings...?" That was very helpful. Or not.
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 9:20 pm
Akai's ears swiveled forward as her face lighted up. "Really?" she said, sounding quite excited. "Oh, that's great Wacheza!" She always loved talking to him, even if he was acting a little silly this time. "I have something I kind of want to say too, but...if you want to go first then you should!" She was trying to hold her excitement, as she physically was an 'adult', but she couldn't help but to bounce just a little. She was excited!
Even while wiggling, Akai gave Wacheza a weird look before giggling. "You eat something bad to make you feel funny?" She picked her paws up to sit just a little closer to him. "You don't feel feverish, though. Perhaps the butterflies have been keeping you too busy to watch what you're eating?" She peered around his body, but it didn't look like he had lost any weight...
Wacheza sure was acting weird.
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 9:41 pm
If Wacheza was one to blush, he probably would have, but as it was, he was really just annoyed with himself for not really saying what he wanted to say. And Akai didn't seem to understand what he was trying to tell her... but he was curious about what she had to say to him. He just hoped that she would still want to tell her after he said what he was planning on saying. If he ever managed to... well, get around to say it. He just had to get it out. Maybe he should have made it more... romantic? A little late for that now, since Akai seemed to think he was sick.
"No... no, I just..." Wacheza said, trying to think of a good way to put it. There had to be some kind of way to put this, "It's just... how I feel about you... you kind of... give me... butterflies." He blinked as that came out. Well, that much was true, "Like... in my stomach... it feels like I've eaten butterflies... and they're fluttering around inside me."
He took a deep breath, trying to collect himself, but he laughed a little, "It's weird, and feels funny but I... what I wanted to say is that I... love you." He smiled up at her, shrugging helplessly, "And I wasn't sure how to tell you... except I just did. Now."
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 9:54 am
Akai's body had grown still, but the tip of her tail was slowly swishing back and forth. Her mind rushed through many things, but it was hard to concentrate on just one of them. Finally she just let her body move. She stumbled a bit, as a clumsy girl would, but she managed to make it next to him. She paused for only the brieftest moment, and then rubbed her heard against his shoulder.
"Butterflies fit you well," she said with a small giggle. "And here I was thinking you got yourself sick over something!"
She stayed where she was, the soft laugh returning. "It's perfect, though, Wacheza!" She flushed deeply, only starting to figure out what this could mean for the two of them. She quickly grew nervous herself. "Um...well...I was going to tell you...that I was thinking on..." She paused for a moment before continuing, needing to gather up her nerves. "Asking around...if I could stay here with you? As like, a permanent home, instead of just meeting on the border like this."
She shifted a bit, but stayed close to him. "Then we could be together. 'Cause...I love you too, y'know?" She started to recognize what it was during that storm. He had done all of that for her, and it really had touched her...inbetween all the fear she had been feeling from it.
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:59 pm
All anxiety literally drained out of his body in that moment. He let out a huge sigh of relief and shifted a bit so that he was closer to her, and he leaned down, touching his forehead to hers, "Butterflies fit you well too, you know? They look good with your necklace." He smiled, nuzzling her.
How could he have possibly been worried over this? "And it's alright... I think I nearly was for a second there."
Then he grinned. So, everything was coming together, "Really? You want to stay here with me? Together?" He laughed, realizing that her butterfly jumped at Akai's nervousness too, "Yes... yes, a thousand little butterflies, yes!" He couldn't help but smile from ear-to-ear now, "I'd be so happy if you decided to stay here with me Akai..."
And then she said it. The same thing he had felt when they were hiding from the storm together. The fear that if he ever lost her... he wouldn't know what to do anymore. Akai was such a big part of his life now. She was his... well, his everyhing, "I know now. And we can find a little den somewhere," he grinned, "and you can stay for as long as you'd like. Because... I love you." No nerves this time, "I love you so much. Nothing would make me happier."
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 7:37 pm
Akai stifled a giggle. "I'm glad you approve," she said with a girlish purr, feeling quite content with how things were going. Imagine! Finally a place that she could ground herself in. She would miss what was left of her family, but it never meant that she couldn't see them. She would just be spending most of her time with Wacheza. If....this pride part worked out well, then they would spend all their time together.
Akai was a bit nervous on what the future would hold. Everything would be different from what she had grown used to, but she was ready to face it. In the end, she would get what she wanted; Wacheza. Feeling pleased, the lioness couldn't help but squeal a bit.
"That sounds amazing, Wacheza. Maybe we should find your king and see if he'll let me become a member of your pride..." she knew that it would be an important part, and a good place to start off. "Then we can find a place to stay. Just nothing that gets too wet in a storm..." she shivered for just a moment, remembering the storm. She'd have to have him teach her more about the warnings of one, now that she'd be here permanently.
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Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 8:32 pm
Wacheza smiled, knowing he couldn't have not approved even if he had wanted to. Having Akai live with him... being able to see the world every day with her... that was perfect for him. Like a circle was suddenly complete, knowing that she was with him. He knew, without a doubt, Akai would be able to find her home there with him. She was kind, and loved the land itself... though he hoped eventually the sea wouldn't make her so nervous. But they had their home now.
What the future would hold, Wacheza had no idea really. It could have been anything, and he would have been happy, provided he and Akai were able to live peacefully. He could only hope that things would stay that way. He answered her squeal with a happy nuzzle of affection. They had both gotten exactly what they wanted.
"I think we should." Wacheza answered with a grin, "As soon as possible, if you like. I'm sure he'll let you stay with us, if he sees you even remotely the same way I do." He quickly nuzzled her again as the storm was mentioned, "And don't worry... I think I know just the spot where we'll be safe from any storm."
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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 8:29 am
Akai smiled shyly. This wasn't exactly what she had expected when she had found him today. Excitement made her stomache a little too soft, but she would be careful what she said. She didn't want him worrying too much! She was just a little too excited, that was all.
"When...when do you think we should?" She didn't know how these things went, so she was worried slightly. She wanted to do everything right. And she was determined to, as well.
"I don't want to seem like a bother..." she rubbed into his nuzzle, feeling comfort as she slightly leaned against him, hoping that all his confidence would fill her with the same feeling. This was a big step in life! At least she had him to lean on for confidence; she was greatful for that. Enough so that she shyly started to laugh to herself.
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Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 8:12 pm
"No... we should go right away!" Wacheza grinned, standing up abruptly, nearly tripping over himself as he did so. He felt such a determination then... and he was usually so calm. But he supposed he fell apart a little whenever Akai was around. In a good way though, better than anything else he had ever felt by far.
"I just... I should introduce you to my mother." He said, realizing that his poor mother might actually die of shock if he brought home a mate. He had begun to think she worried he would never find someone to care about... when oddly he had had that someone since childhood.
He sat back down again, letting her lean on him, "Sorry. I got excited." He laughed a little, "Clearly I need to remain calm or I'll scare away the butterflies... but I think we should go as soon as we can. As soon as you're ready anyway. I mean... I don't want to rush you." The butterflies in his stomach were back. He felt like he had eaten his entire group.
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