Makaa'yamoto:
Makaa lay curled up not far from where he had left his father to meet with... Koho, that was her name. When they first showed up in the Pridelands. He hadn't really met the older lioness yet. He wasn't sure he really cared...
Yes he did. She was his father's mate. From what he heard, she would probably have been a better mother than his own had been. He wanted to know her and he had no earthly idea why. Maybe it was Zapa again. Everything was so messed up since then. He didn't know what he was doing anymore after having left the desert. And it was really starting to bother him. A scowl settled on his features and tried his best to turn his thoughts away from that.
Koho:
Koho sighed, shaking her head a bit as she walked away from the area she had been talking with Mwali in. They both needed a break from each other, since they had spent nearly all of their time together since he returned to the pridelands.... She was still fairly confused about the whole situation, and knew very little about how she was supposed to act around these lions that were not of her blood, but were still somehow connected to her. Just as if her thoughts had become manifest, she found one such lion in front of her. She wasn't sure how she had managed to stumble across his reclining spot, but her feet had apparently led her here when her mind had been thinking about other things. "Oh, I'm sorry dear, I didn't mean to disturb you...." Her eyes glanced at his face and saw his scowl, but for that immediate moment, her politeness won out over her maternal instinct.
Makaa'yamoto:
Makaa looked up and tried to get the frown from his features.
"Oh... Hello ko- Koho. No, you didn't disturb me," he replied in his soft, passive tone. He stood and bowed his head to her. He wanted to thank her for letting them stay in the pridelands for the time, but he didn't know how. And was he even supposed to thank her? Or would it be better to thank a pride leader? He hated not knowing things. Why did life have to be so complicated now?
Koho:
A soft smile crossed onto the old lioness' features at the lion's politeness. She chuckled a bit as he bowed his head to her, and she nodded in return. "Oh, that's good then." Continuing to smile in the contented sort of way she had, Koho decided to simply take the plunge and hope that her impression of this son-but-not-son was accurate, "Makaa, correct?" She cut her eyes to him for a moment to make sure she had his name correctly, but that was something she had always been good at remembering, so she wasn't too worried, "What is troubling you my boy?" Despite the fact that this lion was obviously not a young one anymore, the old lioness pretty much called every other lion boy or girl, except for Mwali, since he was one of the few that were actually as old as she was anymore....
Makaa'yamoto:
Makaa nodded when she questioned if she had gotten his name correct, but when she asked him what was wrong, he sat down and ran a paw over his growing mane with a sigh. There was a soft squeak in protest when his paw ran into Ndevu and he quickly dropped it. The jerboa ran out of the dark fur, a piece of cloth wrapped around its body that kept a lump at its back. Ndevu squeaked in surprise at the lioness before running off into the grass.
Makaa sighed even more and rolled his shoulders a bit.
"Just... remembering things... From back before we left..." He looked down for a bit before finally deciding what he needed to ask her.
"Did you hate my father when he left?"
Koho:
Koho settled her body at a companionable distance from the lion when he sat, and she had been about to say something comforting when a squeak issued from his mane and a small rodent ran out and away. Staring after the small thing for a moment, her brow furrowed in confusion, Koho then looked back towards Mwali's son when he started talking again, not giving the lioness a chance to ask about the rodent. That had been a bit odd, Koho thought to herself, but focused on what the lion in front of her was saying. She nodded as he spoke, hoping that she could get him to tell her what those troubling things were, since she was of the general opinion that talking about troubles made them seem much better, but then he asked her a rather surprising question. "Oh.... Well, no." Pausing for a moment to compile her thoughts, the lioness continued, "I could never hate him, especially since I had already left for a short journey through the roguelands. When I came back he was gone, and I blamed myself." She smiled softly, showing nothing of the pain that had followed her for all those seasons that he had been away. She had been sure that he had left because she had gone without telling him about it, but she had planned to come back all along. "Why do you ask?"
Makaa'yamoto:
Makaa looked up at the sky and frowned again, remembering the flower.
"I left someone... when we left the desert. She had to find her brother, and I... I couldn't leave Father," he sighed and shook his head, hard, frustrated over everything. Why was he confiding in her? He barely knew Koho, and yet... He needed someone to talk to. And she had been through something similar. She didn't seem like Zapa, but he was comforted just a enough to hope that they were similar enough that Zapa didn't hate him. He should never have cared...
"I just want things to go back to the way they were. I'm tired of being frustrated."
Koho:
Koho nodded and contemplated a pebble in front of her paws, "The gods have a way of bringing those who love each other back together. I'm sure that you will find the opportunity to go find her soon, or perhaps she'll find you. In either case, worrying about it isn't going to make anything better." Her amber eyes looked back up to the male, searching for what emotions were still hidden behind his mask.
Makaa'yamoto:
"But what if I don't..." Makaa trailed off with a small growl and flopped down.
"I cared and look where it got me? I don't know if I even want to deal with any more of this trouble," he finally admitted out-loud with a shake of his head. He didn't know what else to say. He could barely believe that he had said what he had said. There wasn't any going back now, not when that admission was out there.
Koho:
Koho smiled once more at the lion's frustration, she had seen such lovesickness many times during her cub rearing, so it made her rather nostalgic, helping out this son of Mwali's. She knew that it wouldn't be all that helpful, but she just couldn't help but laugh at the mention of 'all this trouble', "That's what love is my dear, a whole lot of trouble and eventually, once in a while, equal amounts happiness. Look at the life that Mwali and I went through, and I can tell you that it was worth it." The happiness at seeing her love everyday for the rest of her life, however short that may be, was enough to wash away all the seasons of pain and longing.
Makaa'yamoto:
Makaa looked up at her with a pained expression.
"No offense, Koho, but that didn't really make me feel much better..." he replied and stuck his face in his paws. He missed Zapa, and nothing he did made that hurt go away. What if something had happened to her? Had she found her brother? And what if she had found someone else in the Simo, or worse, decided to stay? He wasn't sure if he could go there to find her. There were too many what ifs involved for him to be comfortable.
Koho:
Koho's smile turned sympathetic, though another chuckle accompanied her statement, "Oh, I'm sorry dear, but you're not a cub anymore, would you really want me to tell you a lie just to make you feel better until you realized it was a lie?" She tilted her pale golden head as he expressed his despair. "If you feel so strongly about her, why don't you go back now that Mwali is safely in the pridelands?"
Makaa'yamoto:
"I hate lying... I suppose you're right..." Makaa shook his head, though.
"Mother died because she was old. I can't bring myself to leave Father. I don't want to miss the time I have left with him," he replied honestly as he looked back up at her. Surely she would understand his choice. She seemed grateful to have Mwali back. Could she really blame him for wanting to stay so much?
Koho:
Koho nodded, a bit relieved that Mwali and his other mate seemed to have raised their cubs fairly well, at least Koho thought that Makaa was a nice young lion. Laughing at the mention of age, Koho nodded once more, "Yes, I'm afraid your father is getting old, as am I. Well, we won't be around much longer I'm sure, so after we pass on, you can go find your lioness. And until then, there isn't anything to be done, so stop worrying and enjoy the time you have left with your father." Koho didn't say it, but that was her exact goal as well for as long as she would live.
Makaa'yamoto:
Makaa looked down again in thought before nodding a bit.
"I suppose you're right..." he replied and sat up again. There was a squeak and he looked down to see his tiny friend poke out of the grass.
"I guess that looked strange, didn't it?" he asked as he held out a paw for the little brown mouse to climb onto. "I- We found Ndevu in the desert, Zapa and I. Been with me ever since. I donno why, or why I allow Ndevu to stay in my mane, but... I just do, I guess," he explained as the jerboa blinked big black eyes at Koho.
Koho:
Koho smiled, happy that at least outwardly her advice had helped Makaa, and then another squeak caught her attention, and she ducked her head closer to the ground to get a better look at the rodent, finding it soon unnecessary as the lion raised him up to eye level. Koho let out a full bellied laugh at the little creature blinking at her, and then she looked right at him and simply blinked back, "He's adorable! And yes, it was a little strange, but it makes some sense now. I'm sorry if I scared him earlier...."
Makaa'yamoto:
The jerboa's head shook and the blinking became really...
Makaa tilted his head and blinked a bit in slight surprise.
"Huh, a girl, then?" he asked and Ndevu nodded with a twitch of the nose. Makaa shrugged a bit at that one.
"I never really thought to ask. I think it was more me, anyways," he replied with a small nod to his... father's mate. That brought up another question, one he wasn't sure how to really ask her.
"Do I just... keep calling you Koho?"
Koho:
Koho had been fairly confused about what the little jerboa was indicating by his movements, but that question was soon answered by Makaa, "Oh, I'm sorry dear, I'm afraid I don't know many jerboa...." Laughing a bit, the old lioness nodded in agreement with Makaa, "Yes, I don't think I would have thought of it either, though I guess that was a bit rude of us, huh little girl?" She looked to Ndevu again and smiled before returning her focus to the lion holding her. Aw, that question was one she had been asking herself ever since a handful of lions had shown up at her den, "Hm, well, if you want to that's fine with me. If you want to call me something else, I don't mind I'm sure. I know I'm not your mother, and I don't expect to suddenly be some large part of you life, but I'm here if you want to talk again Makaa...."
Makaa'yamoto:
Both Makaa and Ndevu shared a shrug at her words. It just wasn't something that had ever really come up between them. It was mostly just a comfort thing. Ndevu was safe with Makaa and Makaa had the comfort of someone there with him who knew everything.
He wondered what would be the best thing to call her. He wanted to treat her as kind of a mother, but he felt like it was a little presumptuous to call her mother. He'd figure it out, eventually.
"Thank you Koho... For all your advice."
Koho:
Koho nodded, a bit amused at how well the little rodent mirrored her lion friend, but that wasn't what was supposed to be the focus of her attention at that moment, "Your welcome Makaa. I hope that you find all it is that you are looking for in life."
