[PLOT] I need to know. (Nasiha & Mtenga) [DONE]

[Ameh]

Idle eyes soon blinked open in surprise, and the rested form of Mtenga awakened to the abrupt sounding of Nasiha, his one and only companion. The red form slowly moved into action as the buzzing sounds began to reverberate through his head once more. This had better be good, but, having trusted the female for as long as he did, she wouldn't call upon him for anything less, right?

So the brusque male sat upright, looking dazedly for where Nasiha was coming from, and recoiled a bit when he realized the urgency and harshness emitting from the feminine voice.

It didn't take long for the white and black lioness to discover Mtenga's whereabouts - she always knew where to find him in his solitude, after all. Over the weeks, especially, she had become particularly skilled in this hide-and-seek sleuthing manner, and the male simply resigned himself to accepting her intrusion on his time.

"Nasiha?" he inquired weakly, furrowing his brow. "What happened? What is it?"

As if he didn't comprehend or know from intuition the female's intentions, Mtenga already offered up his concern over Nasiha's welfare.  

[Ameh]

He tried to put on a smile, small as it was, for the approaching Nasiha. It was awkward for him to communicate in that manner, for throughout his past, he generally had nothing that would elicit such action. But Nasiha taught him over the past few weeks the feelings that usually associated with smiles, and with that, the red brute was slowly warming up to the idea of... actually being content. Happy.

Though he was still a young student in that regard, the look the smaller female was giving him didn't seem like it was very happy at all. In fact, her glare bordered on frightening Mtenga, so much that he lost any trace of peace that calmed his body whenever Nasiha showed up. Well, this was unusual.

When the first words came out of her, Mtenga looked to the side and wheezed to the ground, blocking any of Nasiha's intentions to observe his facial reaction. His mind's buzz raised in volume, thinking back to the recently deceased, not wanting to shift through his memories - for that usually accompanied something painful. Why would she want to talk about Epesi, anyways? Sure she got along with him great on the trip - but she got along with everyone else. There was nothing markedly special about the dead lion, or rather, nothing Mtenga cared to think about, anyways. He was rather irate whenever he was around, but it was good, then, that he knew to keep Mtenga's loneliness sacred--Epesi knew what was good for him.

He was about to inquire why Nasiha wanted to talk about the fallen traveler until she continued her words, and Mtenga was left mildly shocked, turning his head back to his female companion, mouth slightly agape. His mood worsened when the inevitable question came, that it took a long time in his mind to restrain himself from lashing out at the interrogator.

"What are you trying to imply? I killed Epesi?" he said with a little venom, more of a combined statement than question.

Mtenga's own fiery eyes narrowed on Nasiha's criminalizing ones and began filling with anger - but he knew he had to hold it back. It was Nasiha. If it was her off day, there had better be a good reason for it, and it had better be over with soon, or else he couldn't be held accountable for anything he was provoked to do.

Mumbling, he answered, "I told you my past so I could warn you. I let you continue knowing it because I thought you could handle it. Handle it well."

He breathed out roughly, hesitating as he said the next part, "Thought you could handle it better than I can handle myself. And now, you're cornering me to account for that mate of that dark red capricious one. This is a joke."  

[Ameh]

His guard had already raised from the first questions that came out of Nasiha's mouth, so Mtenga could not find it in himself to calm despite the female's more compassionate attempt at divulging information. To her statement of reassurance, he muttered under his breath. She was patronizing him. This only served to anger him further.

Mtenga eyed Nasiha in half skepticism, half apprehension as she took the two steps that brought her closer to him. Well, if she was going to do anything else to rile him up more, it would be far too late for her if she had to run away without getting a scratch.

"Things happen?" he repeated in disbelief.

"...No. I thought I could tell you. No, I have no reason to trust you if you think that of me... You know well that I am trying to escape that life. You will never understand my anger."

When Nasiha went in for an embrace, he was conflicted. While he had learned to enjoy these moments with her, it felt false this time. With his anxiety stemming from that, her next words made him quick to withdraw in a snarl from her touch.

"What?" he hissed, head wrinkling as the pain it contained escalated, "What do you want to know? That I did it because no one dares to talk to me? That because I'm not someone like your cousin, with a perfectly commendable history, that I killed some scrawny lion not worth my time in blood? Tell me, Nasiha, that this is a joke."

A claw irritably unsheathed and scratched the floor before him, and Mtenga threatened, "And you'll leave me alone if you know what is good for you. I am straining to contain myself."  

[Ameh]

Oblivious to Nasiha's gradual loss of spirit, Mtenga also found it easy to filter out any signs of goodwill in her reasoning. He had a low threshold for the negativity and offense Nasiha seemed to be willingly offering, so he drew harshness from her words rather than the kindness she meant.

He couldn't even look at her anymore. So, when Nasiha looked up at him, he turned away, frustrated by the sight. What more could he say to her that she wouldn't misunderstand? Obviously, she was not following him. She was dedicated to one accusation, and it was not pleasant to hear her speak against him. She had been the only one not to until this point.

He was wrong to trust her.

"Spared," was the only word he could repeat from Nasiha's speech. "Spared for something I am thought to have committed. There is no proof. I will not tell you what you want to hear and admit that I am what everyone thinks because I am 'troubled'. You're just like the rest, aren't you."

Mtenga had to close his eyes to suppress his ever increasing rage, wishing that he had never confided in Nasiha. He was back to being alone again - perhaps that was the way life meant for him to be. Especially losing the only one he could turn to in the past... He was alone.

"I'm only to say this once. To my knowledge, I have not done anything. Yet," he added, opening his eyes enough to squint at the fur of white and black.

"You can help me by shutting up," Mtenga spat at her, now forgoing all positive emotions Nasiha used to make him feel--all the enjoyable times he had with her, "One more warning."  

[Ameh]

"LIES!" Mtenga roared suddenly and directly, slamming a clawed paw to the ground.

He knew she was too good to be true. Every word that started to come out of Nasiha now seemed fancy and misleading. He gave her his answer, yet she was pushing his patience. What more did the stupid lioness want?

He only wanted peace, quiet, and acceptance; not being cornered as a common murderer. He was much more than that.

Epesi wasn't even worth anything to him. Of all others, Nasiha shouldn't have been the one questioning him; yet here she was, the first to hassle him to confess such a crime. Mtenga was torn and brokenhearted. He would be the last to admit it, but before today, he realized that he grew very fond of Nasiha, knowing that he could find solace with her beautiful soul and constant companionship. Obviously, he was wrong. It was a huge mistake in trusting the lioness, but he would not make it again.

"GO AWAY!" Mtenga yelled mightily, extracting his paws and claws from the sanded ground in an offensive movement towards Nasiha.

He growled and made a leap to subtract the short distance that separated the two in a frenzy, mouth open in a snarl; he wanted to push her away, until she was gone. She needed to get out of his sight, or else.

"NOW," Mtenga emphasized, making a move to snap at Nasiha with his fangs.  

[Ameh]

Nasiha asked for it. Mtenga was able to keep a respectable composure with her before; throughout all those times, she claimed that she understood him. She claimed that she trusted him so that he could learn to trust her too, in time. It had taken a while, but he gave in, and listened to her, thinking that for once in his life, there could have been someone else who would listen and see him for what he was worth, past the scarred exterior. For once in his life, maybe there was someone who could make a good judgment even though they had not been a part of his past.

Enraged eyes locked warily onto the white and black striped form, whose image was blurring, getting dimmer as the fired up blood ran through Mtenga's body. He could barely hear her parting words as he spat once more in Nasiha's direction, completely unaware of the lioness's emotions. His head throbbed in agony, that there was very little he could stand to do without collapsing from the adrenaline of the encounter. So he simply closed his eyes, knowing that Nasiha was not in front of him anymore, nor was she someone to be trusted. He settled on the dusty ground again, fading into the pains that he knew well.

And Mtenga was alone once more.