Lila moved quickly to where she knew her parents to be. She knew her mother was off hunting, but she bet her papa was still with the rest of her siblings."Papa? Papa," she called, "Papa I brougth a vistor and he hurt his paw.
Achal watched as Lila called to her dad and smiled. He was really grateful to the little one fore his paw already felt a lot better. He waited behind a little, not wanting to intrude on the family's den.
Although he knew that Lila was older and more capable of taking care of herself now than when they had first met, he finally realized what fathers mean when they say that their daughter will always be 'daddy's little girl'. Of course, he loved his new children equally, but Lila was the first he had met and although he didn't want to admit it, he was a little more attached to her... Thus when he heard her voice, the orange lion quickly got up to greet her, relieved that she returned safely.
"A visitor?" He echoed, blinking before giving a firm nod. Turning to face the rest of the children, he gave brief instructions to stay in the den and not wander off without his permission before leaving to meet this 'stranger'. As he walked, Jasiri'ka turned to face his daughter, "Did you wash the wound for him already, Lila?"
Lila smiled at her papa, but shook her head. "I did know if I could do it properly, so instead I brougth him too you. That was I can learn the right way papa."
Lila looked to Achal who stood a little ways off and motioned for him to come forward. "This is Achal, papa."
Achal moved forward giving Jasiri a polite nod, "Its very nice to meet you. Lila made my paw feel much better and I must say that she will be a great healer some day."Achal smiled at Lila and sat down side the young lioness. "She says you can make my paw right as rain," he said repeating what Lila had told him.
"Well, I think Lila gives me too much credit some times," The male blushed a little as he gave a humble smile, "Nice to meet you too, Achal. I'm Jasiri'ka, but friends call me Jasiri." He grinned, peering at the wound before looking up again, "Let's get the wound cleaned up first, and I'll try to get you some herbs to help the swelling afterwards... Your wound doesn't look too serious thanks to Lila, so it'll probably heal after a day or two."
He stood up, tossing his head in the direction of the nearest river, "Its a short walk, so do bear with the pain."
Lila giggle, "oh papa." She loved her papa very much and of course she thought he was the best. In her opinion he was the smartest and most capable healer, but she was daddy's little girl, so of course she thought the world of him.
"Jasiri'ka, huh. It a nice name, has a nice ring." Achal stood again and moved to follow Jasiri, "The pain is not too bad I can bare it and thank you both very much. It very kind of you to go through all the trouble of getting my paw in order."
Lila moved to follow as well and grinned, "Its no problem. Mama and papa are very well mannered and very generous. They have taught us all well."
"Thank you... My mother named me." Jasiri'ka simply replied with a proud smile; her presence is always there after all! At Lila's comments, he blushed again; the male had always thought Siti was a great mate and parent, but him too? He was so new to the concept of being a father! He kept quiet for a minute, not knowing what to say, but the blush stayed persistantly on his cheeks."Uh... Well, we're at the river," He finally spoke as the sound of running water got louder. Walking out from the foilage, the lion gestured for Achal to sit beside him, directly in front of the river. "Okay, I need you to hold your paw over the river... I'll splash water onto it to get rid of the dust and dirt, so it'll sting a little." He warned, and looked at the other lion to give the 'ready' signal.
Lila stopped at the river and grinning splashing at the water a bit, but stopped when she heard her papa giving Achal instructions. She turned giving her full attention to the preceedings.
"My mother name me too, for my pelt. My name means the immovable one. I love it but its kinda ironic."
Achal nodded when Jasiri gave him instructions once they reached the river. Doing as he was told he he sat in beside Jasiri and held his paw out over the river. He nodded at Jasiri's warning and quickly gave him the go ahead to wash his paw off.
"Maybe you're immovable in non-physical ways," Jasiri'ka suggested, half-teasingly, "I can't remember if my name held a meaning, but the fact that my mother gave it to me is meaning enough." He smiled warmly, nodding before dipping his own paw into the water. He waved it around, as if to wash it. Then, as gently as he could, splashed some cool water onto Achal's wound. He was careful not to touch the wound with his own paw, focused on the task at hand. After washing it five times, he nodded at himself, contented with the "disinfecting".
"Its not wise to move around after washing it, so I'll have to ask you to stay here for a bit," He instructed, standing up and turning to walk in the direction of the forest. His eyes scanned the area, before he ran over to a small plant at the edge of a tree. Bending down, he sniffed it before plucking it off the ground using his mouth, careful not to crush the precious herb in his jaws. He balanced himself on his hind legs, pressing the herb with all his strength between his paws above the wound; a few drops of the plant's juice dripped into the wound, running down the fur surrounding it. When the whole wound was covered by the 'juice', Jasiri'ka placed the plant on the ground before washing his paws in the river.
"Now to cover it... I was sure I saw it just now..." He muttered to himself, searching the area again. This time, he leapt for a leaf on a tree - the leaf was much longer and broader than what was nomally seen on trees in the forest. He carried it to the river, diligently washing it before flicking it around to get the water off it. Then, he wrapped it around the wound tightly, but not toght enough to restrict blood flow; he just wanted it to stay in place for a day till the wound is closed. After his work was done, he smiled happily, "There you go! Its good to be in the forest... Herbs are everywhere!"
Lila did not know what her papa meant when he was teasing Achal, but she continued to pay attention to her papa's actions. She watched as he washed his owns paws before washing Achals.
Achal watched as Jasiri worked, he seemed to be very knowledgeable and he took his time. It made Achal happy to recieve such care. It made him miss his sister's and daughter though. Achal sighed inwardly but nodded when Jasiri told him to stay where he was and headed off to look for herbs.
Lila followed her papa watching everything he did and copying his movement, Right now he had someone to attend to, but she was sure later he would explain everything to her later. She followed him back to Achal and continued to observe the hands on lesson.
Achal was relieved to see Jasiri return quickly. However he winced at having the herbs pressed against his slightly aching paw, but he did not pull away knowing the preceding were necessary. He watched as Jasiri covered and and smiled gratefully when everything seem to over and done with.
"Thank you Jasiri'ka and thank you Lilavati. You are both very kind to help me." Achal stomach growled loudly at the end of his thanks and he frowned slightly looking at his paw and knowing he would not be hunting tonight.
Lila frowned at hearing the growling tummy of her new friend, "Maybe you should stay for dinner. I am sure mama wouldn't mind. I bet her and Udo caught something big this time. Maybe a zebra." Lila looked to her papa to make sure it was okay and she hoped it would be for she didnt want to leave the patient hungry.
"Patients need food for them to heal faster," The lion nodded and smiled fondly at Lila before turning back to Achal, gesturing towards the wound, "You're more than welcome to join us tonight! Its best not to use that paw too much for the time being, after all... I'm sure a night's rest will do you good."
He got up from his place, turning to walk back to the den; although the young ones weren't that young anymore, he was still somewhat worried about their safety. Trying not to show it, Jasiri'ka walked at a normal pace, "So... Are you heading towards anywhere now, Achal?" When he was a rogue, he had wandered almost aimlessly, but he knew some of them had somewhere they wanted to reach.
Lila grinned at her papa happy that Achal would have a good meal and a place to rest him them. When her papa started back to the den she followed hopping about like the cub she was.
Achal was surprised and blushed slightly. He'd never met anyone so hospitable snd he was truly grateful. "Thank both again, it will be nice to eat well and have company for a night. I must admit, it has been rather lonely traveling without my sister or my daughter."
Achal knew he was young and barely old enought to have an adult daughter, but he'd taken in the orphan when he was caring for his sisters as a adolescent. Lila and Jasiri, reminded himself of him and Aurora.
"It is my first time traveling. My daughter and sisters are fully grown now and I have a chance to explore. Thus far I've met many but mostly I've traveled alone and its takes some getting use to. I think I shall continue to wander until my heart tells me to stop."
Achal followed Jasiri and Lila, slightly behind, trying not to use he injured paw to much and allowing the father and daughter some space, he was very excited to get to know the family and enjoy a bit of idle chitchat.
End
