Hana:
Hana shivered outside of the cave she had been staying in since the incident with the cheetah and his crazy son. It have been a number of days since she had had a brief thing with Garai, not really thinking much about it. She had been in need of him, in more ways than one, and now she was becoming a little lethargic and steadily gaining weight.
She knew why and that scared her. She'd just left her parents' sides not too long ago and she could barely take care of herself, let alone much smaller, precious, innocent lives. And what would Garai say? Did he even want to have a family? Oh, gods, how had everything gone so wrong so suddenly?
She continued to shiver and try her best to keep back the frightened tears that threatened to spill down her face.
Garai:
A large cheetah male slowly made his way back to the cave that he'd made his own little home for the past several nights. It was nice to have a place to go back to at the end of the day as opposed to settling wherever you ended up by nighttime. As he entered the mouth of the cave he slowed, a small smile on his maw. It was a familiar presence that brought it along. A female he'd grown very fond of in the past few days, and each time he went out for a walk he was always afraid she'd be gone by the time he got back. It was always something of a surprise to him whenever he came back and she was still there.
"Hana," he called, stopping for a second for the sound of her voice. "You know it's really nice out today. You ought to come out with me on a walk sometime."
Hana:
"O-over here Garai..." Hana replied in a soft, timid voice when he called out her name, unable to stand and walk to him as she normally would have. She feared she'd come apart if she went to him.
Her lips turned up into a trembling smile she was lad he couldn't see and slowly nodded her head.
"Per-perhaps, sometime," she answered his offer for her to go walking with him. She had a feeling it would eventually be better for her to walk about, stay in shape more or less during the next few moon-cycles. Would he even want to stay with her after he found out? She couldn't keep it from him, she'd have to tell him. But she was having trouble finding the right way to tell him.
Garai:
He'd never been an expert when it came to dealing with others, but at the very least he knew Hana. And he could tell when there was something wrong. This time was no exception, and the male was quick to pick up on it. At the sound of her voice he pulled on a slightly worried expression before carefully making his way over to her. "Is everything alright?" he asked, worry tinting the tone of his voice. "Did something happen while I was gone?"
Hana:
"I..." Hana began, but when she looked up at him, he was right there in front of her. And she couldn't hold it together anymore.
"I'm-pregnant-Garai," she rushed out, gasping at the suddenness of her news, choking on a sob when it really sank in. She wanted to fall against him, needed his comfort, but she couldn't move. All she could do was hang her head and finally let the tears fall with soft, tearful noises.
Garai:
The hesitation in her voice didn't perk the male up any, and when she finally managed to get it out.. it nearly knocked the wind out of him. It took Garai a few minutes to regather himself, trying to wrap his mind around having cubs of his own. That.. and the fact that it was possible for two different species to reproduce. His parents had never mentioned it, for one thing...but they were who they were - very proud to be full-blooded cheetahs. So it didn't really surprise him that they decided to exclude that information.
"I see.." he said after he finally got his voice back. "Well...it's not such a bad thing you know." Rai sighed and took a seat, settling comfortably beside the female. "It might be hard at first, but I think we can both adjust well enough. I might have to learn how to hunt better though...."
Hana:
Hana looked at him, her lip trembling at his words and let out a short, gasp of a sigh in relief that he made it sound like he would stay with her and the cubs. She buried her face in his shoulder and shook quietly for a few moments.
"I was afraid you'd want to leave... I couldn't bear the thought of being on my own in this," she whispered after her shivering had slowed a bit. She smiled against his fur and managed a small half-hearted laugh.
"I can hunt..."
Garai:
Rai smiled and nuzzled her gently, chuckling at her words. "I wouldn't leave," he said, a bit curious as to why she would think such a thing. He didn't think that he seemed the type to do that sort of thing. Everyone has their worries though, so he let it go. "I'm the result of an accident too, you know. I would've hated it if either of my parents left, and I wouldn't want to do the same thing to my own." He nuzzled her gently.
"I think I've got plenty of time to learn," he replied to her last comment, sounding very insistent. "I'll be hunting and such while they're still young, so I'll have to learn. Plus you won't be able to go hunting while you're pregnant so it's my job."
Hana:
"I was just scared and worried and emotional... I hadn't thought this far and it scared me," Hana replied, nuzzling him fondly in return, both their fur wet from her tears. She was something of an accident, too. And her parents had run away from all they had known so that they could have their family in peace. How she could have thought Garai would leave her?
"I'm sorry for being silly. I won't doubt you anymore, I promise," she added, smiling into his fur. He seemed really determined and he had a point. She could still do it now, but later on, hunting would be very difficult. It would help if he could do the hunting.
Garai:
Rai nodded, smile just a bit wider now. It was different, having someone depend on you. Or.. well, eventually he would have Hana and their babies dependant on him for a time. For now they were fine, but he really did need to get his act together. "I see. Well that sort of things happen, so don't worry about it. I'm not going anywhere though, so I'll be here if you ever need me, alright?" At that the cheetah nuzzled her affectionately before getting back up onto his paws.
"Since we're on the topic, I think I'm gonna go and get some practice. Might as well get as early a start as possible. I'll bring back dinner." With a smile still on his maw the cheetah turned and retraced his steps back toward the entrance to what would soon be their family den. It was a weird feeling actually, knowing that he'd soon be a father. Weird...but good.
