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 Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 12:34 pm
The thoughts rolled over his mind, as well as many others, as he paused just short of the den he shared with the pride's beacon of hope. Ufahami was all the pleasure in his life, and though they were facing a very unfortunate future with those they had once claimed as friend and family, it took only the thought of her to remind Magadi that everything he was doing was worth it. Just the mere image of her shining golden coat put a smile on his face.
Reaching up to push back the mask that covered his face and taking a moment to shake out his mane, he began to plod forward over the last expanse of earth that stood between himself and the entrance of the den he shared with his queen. "Ufahami," he called out right before he entered, his dark eyes swimming around the darkening den. Behind him, the sun was sitting low on the horizon, marking an end to yet another exhausting day - the night promised to be more appealing, in his mind. "Did you like the gifts I sent you today?" He asked, even as he was still entering, before he'd ever laid eyes on her. Not that it really mattered over her answer - she always loved his gifts.
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Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 11:38 pm
With her back to the door and her tail swishing in an irritated way, Ufahami'tatuka, queen of the Dhati, waited for her mate to arrive home. The night before he had seemingly stayed out all night, and was gone before she awoke. At first, Ufahami had relished her moments of solitude, happy to be left alone without certain pressures, but as the days grew longer and the battle was getting closer, Ufahami found herself with far too much time on her paws. It was unhealthy, Magadi's constant late nights, and Ufahami worried for him. Without him the Dhati would suffer greatly, and she suffered no lasting ill will to let him sleep when he had meant to spend time with her. Ufahami considered it her sacrifice, her only sacrifice, to the war efforts at hand. But things were getting out of hand. It was one thing to be away all the time, in constant meetings and scouting and what have you, and another to be away all the time to shower her in gifts. As if that was a healthy use of his time!
Frankly, Ufahami had had enough.
Even with his call, Ufahami was startled by his entrance. Without thinking, Ufahami moved in to a defensive pose, and then relaxed, her features settling in to a more composed frown.
"Magadi," Ufahami said slowly, butting him in the shoulder formally, "we need to talk."
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Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 3:52 pm
He'd always wished he could spend more time with his beloved, more time than he got to, but when he realized that the war efforts were going to be taking him away more and more from her warm embrace, he made sure that he sent her enough gifts to make her feel more than comforted. That's all a female needed, wasn't it? Comfort, gifts, and a roof over her head.
When Magadi entered the den and saw his mate with that frown on her face, his good mood quickly vanished, and he instantly began searching his thoughts for what could have gone wrong. It seemed, perhaps, that gifts weren't the only thing a female wanted. What else she sought after was entirely beyond his understanding.
"What's wrong Ufahami?" he said with a sigh, moving to sit at her side as she nudged his shoulder. He turned to look at her with a sorrowful frown on his face, his tail twitching behind him. "Are you upset because I've been gone so much? I'm sorry, I am! I sent the gifts to make you feel better, didn't you like them?" It was important to him that she liked his gifts, why wasn't she pleased? Maybe he needed to find her a different sort, perhaps she was simply tired of the same kinds. His eyes took on a distant look as he began to think of different kinds of things to try to sweeten her up with. He'd forgotten, momentarily, all about this 'talk' she wanted to have with him.
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Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:18 pm
Even after all these years, Ufahami still felt a delighted thrill go up her shoulder as he laid beside her. Traitor she thought to herself, and steeled herself for what she must say. She did not want this to escalate in to a fight, and Magadi and Ufahami had never really had a row, not since setting their minds on the task at hand, but Ufahami did not relish the idea of starting one at this moment. Magadi's face looked gaunt, and so much less filled out than it had been before, and Ufahami made a mental note to badger the few hunters in to making him eat more. She knew it was fruitless, the pride of any male in the Dhati would surely be hurt to know their mate was judging their ability to hunt, but Ufahami did not care what it looked like- she merely wanted him to eat something before he would collapse.
Feeling like she should at least answer his questions before starting a tirade of sorts, Ufahami slowly chose her words carefully.
"Magadi," Ufahami started gently, worried that this would not go over well, "Its not that I don't like the gifts. They are lovely. But- I don't need them to know you care for me. I don't need things, even these lovely trinkets here. What I need to know is that you are looking after yourself JUST as well as you look after me. And frankly dear, I don't think you are. What good is a battle with the Mizimu if their great leader is having a nap?"
Ufahami bit her tongue. That was rather too like a yell to be really called anything else.
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Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:38 pm
Her words snapped him back to reality, suddenly remembering that she had asked him to sit and have a talk with her. What she had to talk about, he couldn't quite imagine. What could possibly be concerning her?
As her words spilled out, louder and louder, and finally a yell as she bit off the end of her little tirade, Magadi was quite stunned. For a long moment, he simply sat staring at her, shocked into silence, wondering what had caused her to get so worked up. She was well fed, well cared for, showered in gifts, and he spent as much time as he could find with her. What else should she have to fuss over? He was doing all he could!
"I look after myself just fine, dear," he said calmly, offering her a gentle smile as he leaned towards her a bit. "Don't worry your pretty little self over the battle with the Mizimu, you're safe. I won't let them get you again, my love, I promise." Per usual, everything she said had simply gone right over his head, even the faint touch of anger that tainted her voice. He gave her another flash of a smile, confident that he had smoothed away all her fears. After all, that had to be what this was all about - she was just afraid of the Mizimu. Why ever else would she concern herself?
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Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:11 pm
Ufahami blinked at him, her next yell dying in her throat. Was he daft? He didn't even understand what she was trying to say! (the next step would possibly be to actually SAY what she meant but Ufahami was of the female persuasion, where reading minds seemed to be a normal thing with them)
Ufahami got up lightly, her form still as bright and shiny and youthful as it was when they had escaped- it was harder though, and Ufahami's eyes burnt with a quiet rage that only a fool would miss. And Magadi was blinded by her form and disregarded anything else. It destroyed her, when he spoke of what she was, rather than who she was. He did not respect her words or treat her with anything other than careful patience- as if she was a child throwing a tantrum! Ufahami had tried to hold it back, tried to hold the pieces of her heart together, if only for the Dhati. But Ufahami had had enough of this facade.
"I'm sure you do Magadi. Perhaps it was wrong of me to attack you based on that fact. That is a trivial grievance of mine, and one that I should have kept to myself. I guess we should just trot off to bed now, tra la la, and forget this ever happened," though her words sounded like an apology, Ufahami paced towards Magadi, slow and purposefully, "but you know what Magadi? I can't. I cannot forget that you saved me and I owe you my life. Just as you can't forget that I am NOT a child for you to protect at all times. I am a grown lioness and you are treating me poorly!"
She eyed the gifts behind her and grimaced.
"And don't you dare think me ungrateful, your showering of gifts mean NOTHING to me. How dare you assume that throwing a pelt at me or some pretty beads or a lovely feather would assuage me, and put me in a pretty, happy mood. This is NOT about how much you get for me. This is about how you don't even see me. Not anymore."
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Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:45 pm
It was easy, at first, to mistake her standing as a quiet resignation. It made perfect sense to him. She'd been afraid and upset, he'd calmed her fears, and now she was going to thank him and they would behave just as every other mated couple should! It took him a moment to see that look in her eye, though even as her first words spilled out he was finding it hard to tell if there was true anger there.
However, as she snapped, he sat there in stunned silence and listened to her, following her as she grew closer to him - staring into those eyes and trying to decide for himself just what had gotten her so riled up. It couldn't possibly be the words she was speaking, this was just a passing temper tantrum! He shifted his paws against the hard packed earth of the cave floor, though he didn't dare budge. The frown on his maw grew increasingly deep, and his brows drew down into a deep furrow. This was a troubling matter, indeed.
"Ufahami," he said exasperatedly, the sigh in his words carrying the weight of the pride, all the exhaustion he felt on a daily basis, "I don't mean to treat you poorly. I give you gifts because I'm gone, and I think surely those should make you happy, because I'm thinking of you even when I am not around?" His frown had turned sad at this point as he questioned, staring up at her with a face bordering between hurt and confusion. "I'm gone protecting you and the pride, doing things that must be done for what is coming, and though you think you don't need me to do so, I would beg to differ."
He sighed deeply and brought a paw up to his forehead, pressing against it lightly as if it had suddenly begun to hurt. "All I do is for you, despite this idea of mistreatment." It was hard for him to decide what was more tiresome sometimes - women, or his pride. Ufahami was certainly making a case for the former right now with her temper tantrum.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:34 pm
"Magadi..." Ufahami began exasperatedly but stopped as she recognized the hurt on his face. This great lion, wounded so easily by something she said- but not truly understanding just what she wanted him to do. She was talking in circles, getting herself more and more upset, and Ufahami didn't really know how to proceed.
"Magadi, I know you don't mean to, and I know you believe you are protecting me, but I am not a child anymore. I cannot be exempt from all your plottings and plans JUST because you worry for me. I understand that, I worry for you as well. But not knowing what is to happen is putting me on edge, and I think the others see it. I am NOT weak. I think you believe that I am, and I think that you believe that I am happy with my easy life- but I know that sooner rather than later we will be at war, and I don't want something as terrible as that sneaking up on me. I am not as silly as others think- I will not shy away from topics that you perceive too difficult for me. I just want to be your equal, Magadi. I am not a lioness that you can just... leave at home whilst you start a war with the Mizimu. I will not stand for it."
The rage had gone out of her eyes as she spoke softer, pleading with her mate. If only he could see that she was truly unhappy, perhaps he might let her in.
"We can't plan for everything. Knowing you, you probably have concocted a plan where I am constantly protected by a league of the best fighters. That is all well and good, but you don't know how the Mizimu will react to that, and to me. What if I find myself alone, and without a constant protective force? I am strong, and capable of defending myself but NOT if I do not know what I am truly up against. All i want, Magadi, is to know what we face. What good is a symbol for the Dhati if she is hiding?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 1:09 pm
For perhaps the third or fourth time since he had walked into this unexpected conversation with his beloved, Magadi sat staring at her in stunned silence. It was hard to resist anything she asked of him when she pleaded with him so, and her voice had gone from anger to near-begging. What could he refuse her when she asked him like that?
"I'll admit that I never thought of that," he said quietly, turning his eyes away from her to stare out the entrance of the den. The sun had sunk past the horizon, the sky streaked with oranges and pinks as the night crept up on the rebel pride. The reflection danced in his eyes as he imagined the cold Mizimu swarming his mate, catching her unguarded, and her without a thought as to what would befall her. "It's unfair to you, to be lost in the dark, I should have thought of that sooner."
He sighed and turned to look at her, his dark mane swaying with the motion, eyes settling on her. Had it really been so long ago that he'd stolen the bright beauty from that horrible place? Were they really so close to the end of this plight? "Right now, the hunters are ruining the herds that the Mizimu rely on for sustenance, and others are going on raids to rescue as many other sacrifices as they can." He frowned, a worried look crossing his features for a fleeting moment. "The war will come to pass soon, all that's left is to decide when our first strike will happen."
He glanced up at her, at the mate that had once been so young and innocent, untainted by thoughts of war. She had once been such a vision, but now she wanted more and more, to taste this.. disaster. The idea of her killing and fighting, even to just defend herself, put a cold fear in his gut. Would he lose her to this? Not just her life, but everything that made her that glorious creature?
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 11:08 pm
"Thank you Magadi," Ufahami replied softly, her aggravated pose softening, "Please, let me do something. Anything! Nothing is too little for me to do, no task too large- It kills me to wait restlessly, with nothing to do except hunt for my own meals. And even in that regard I am sometimes thwarted. I am too restless, and I hate feeling this way. I know you will never let me go on a rescue, and I do understand that. I know you are only trying to protect me, and I understand that part of our war is as yet too dangerous for most. But I need to feel useful- give me a task, give me anything!"
Moving closer to Magadi, she gripped his ear playfully.
"If I felt less restless, mayhaps I might have more time for us."
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:11 am
How was he supposed to say no to this? She'd calmed down considerably, but now she was begging in a softer tone that sent a shiver straight down his spine. Coupled with that playful grip on his ear, Magadi was sure he was going to melt into a puddle at her feet at any second.
"Alright," he said, his voice cracking somewhat as he did so. Clearing his throat and throwing a glance up at her, "Alright, Ufahami, just give me a day or two, will you? I need to find something for you to do that would be useful enough to suit your needs and.. safe enough to give me peace of mind." He let out a ragged sigh, trying to decide how she'd cornered him into this. A troubled look crossed his face for a moment before he banished it, and he even managed to offer her a weak smile.
With that, he shifted to lay down where he sat, feeling suddenly very weary. The thought of her out, doing anything even remotely dangerous and unprotected left him feeling cold and afraid. He would be hard put to find anything at all for her, he knew, but that small promise in her voice.. oh, it was so sweet. "We'll talk more tomorrow, love," he murmured, laying his head on his paws and letting his weary lids fall slowly closed, "tonight, let's just rest."
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