[FIN]And Into My Mists, You Shall Walk [Chache x Caide]

[Feral Mule]

She'd seen this area before - she recognized it. The rocks, the feeling of the sand, it was all familiar. Chache'Kindu frowned lightly to herself, trying to remember. And then, it hit her - at exactly the same time as the mists. She blinked and suddenly she was lost among them, a low growl escaping the lioness' mouth in irritation, that she'd been so silly as to forget. That nice boy had found her before! The really nice one, who'd played with her a little. Oh, she hoped she met him again!

That was partially why she'd come here. Papa had said she was old enough now - old enough to make decisions, and take her own path in life. And whilst she loved her family dearly, Chache wasn't one for the boring path - she wanted something new and exciting. She wanted friends who didn't judge her because of her disabilities. And as she'd been thinking of it all...Caide had been the one to come to mind.

Torn between continuing forwards or just staying where she was, Chache sighed, ears flickering behind her. Deciding she may as well continue forwards, she took one step at a time, looking for any landmark that could help her find her way. A rock, a shoot, a strange mark in the sand. But alas, there were none. Growling softly again, her ears pinned back against her head, Chache flopping down onto her belly.

She was lost again, damnit.

He wasn't on patrol this day, no. He'd deemed this day, let me go by myself and just be alone. His mother and siblings were overwhelming once more. As he feared, Caide was fixing to have to leave the comfort of his family den for one of his own. Something with room, but nothing like his family den. That was just to much space; especially when he was hoping to only bring one other with him. His mate. How he longed to have what his mother had with their father-in-law. To be that happy and carefree.

One day, she'd told him. He would have a mate of his own and start a family, further extending the blood line. Which would be what he wanted to do. He wanted his own sons and daughters roaming around, pouncing on everything and anything. Kind of like Chache did when he'd met her. He laughed at the memory, a deep noise.

He was walking in the mists, as always, blended carefully as if he were on patrol. Old habits died hard, he knew. Caide would have to break that habit. He wouldn't be on patrol until the following morning before the sun came up. Ear twitching, a growl caught his attention and he turned his head. It wasn't to far away. So, picking up speed, his big paws moved silently over the sands.  

[Feral Mule]

Chache suppressed a yawn, rolling over onto her back, trying to catch her tail across her stomach. She was bored, and lost, so what else was there to do but play? Another lioness might've sensed another coming - perhaps a slight change in wind, or the faint sound of footsteps. But Chache's senses, as we know, were not the best, and she was too busy playing to notice anyway. So instead silent laughter flashed across her face as she gleefully swatted at her tail, before eventually giving up and rolling onto her front, beginning to groom herself.

There was a slight shifting of sand beneath some weight that made Caide grin as he crouched down behind a tree. Peeking around, he noticed who it was and blinked hard. It was Chache from a few weeks ago! He'd been wondering if she'd come back. Now here she was, bored looking, but still as playful as he remembered. "Chache!" He cried out, moving so he wouldn't startle her too bad. Once visible, he moved over to the female and butted heads with her in something of a greeting. It was the way he greeted his brothers, and even his sister! Why not treat her the same as everyone else? After all, she was! "Long time no see, girl!"  

[Feral Mule]

Calling out wasn't going to help much, now was it? However, the female had long ago learnt to use her eyes to replace her hearing, and out of the corner of her eye she caught the movement. Giving a joyful squeak as she noticed who it was, Chache purred loudly, jumping to her feet, tail wagging merrily. She butted heads back merrily, purring only growing in volume as she tapped his nose with her paw, as a signal to show she was glad to see him. She watched his lips carefully as he spoke, the words taking a few minutes to form in her head, although her expression brightened considerably as she worked it out.

She nodded eagerly, twirling in a circle, clearly still feeling quite playful. She jumped forwards, purring yet again as she licked Caide's cheek fondly, showing she'd missed him too.

At the playfulness of his friend, Caide chuckled and picked up a paw to bat at her ear before crouching down and wriggling his butt. He wanted to play, too! Purring loudly, he circled her and then shifted so his upper half of his body was on her back, teeth gnawing on an ear. He wouldn't hurt her, though. Caide couldn't even begin to think about hurting this playful little thing! After a few moments, he took a step back and sat down, raising a paw to tell her to calm down.

"So... What brought you back?" He said slowly, remembering she couldn't exactly hear him. "Miss me that much? You love me yet?" Now he was just being silly and cocky at the same time.  

[xo -- k a i r i]

She grinned, wiggling her butt playfully, squeaking as he responded with playful action of his own. A loud purr broke through her squeak, Chache nuzzling the hollow in Caide's neck before he was on top of her, forcing her to roll onto her back to gently kick him off, giggling all the while. He got off, raising a paw, and Chache got the signal, sitting up and cocking ehr head, watching him with a bright, wide smile.

What brought her back? She shrugged a little, before her cheeks began to burn pink at his 'suggestions', the female looking to the ground again. She had missed him. Pondering how to get her message across, she fetched a small pebble, pointing to herself then the pebble, trying to show the the pebble was 'her'. She moved the pebble around a lot to represent travelling, then shook her head with a pout. Leaving the pebble alone, so it was remaining in one place, she then broke into a smile and nodded.

Basically? She didn't want to travel anymore - she wanted a permenant home.  

[Feral Mule]

He'd laughed through her affection and purring, answering it in kind with his own. Of course the two would be affectionate towards each other, they were friends! That's what friends did, right? That's what his family did; loved on each other all the time. With a blink, he watched her go fetch a pebble.

"So.... it's.... you?" He asked when she tried to indicate that. Ok. So the pebble was her. And... she pushed it around a lot. "And you're always wandering? But... then you stop? ....What?" The male pondered on that, studying the pebble and replaying the movements in his head. What was she trying to say? Tail thumping against the dirt, he swirled up dust and sighed a bit more. "OH. You're... settling down into a permanent home?" That got him a little depressed. If she did that, would they still be able to see each other and play? Probably not. A lot of prides were a ways from here. His ears lowered as he thought and his mood shifted.

Putting on a fake smile, Caide looked to Chache with sad eyes. Losing a friend he'd only just made, but the only friend outside of his family. It was hard! But, Gods above, he wasn't going to cry! Clearing his throat, he smiled wider and then nodded. "That's good to hear! You should settle down! I know how it is to always be wandering."  

[xo -- k a i r i]

She liked this affection - it made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And she liked Caide - she really did! Thinking about him gave her the same feeliong. Smiling brightly, she nodded eagerly as he realized the pebble was her, watching him eagerly and expectantly, giving small mewls and excited nods as he got each piece of her 'acting', finally sitting herself down again with a nod, smiling sweetly.

But Chache had long ago learnt how to use her other senses to make up for her lack of hearing or speech. Sight was what she predominantly used, and so of course the adolescent caught the sadness in her friend's eyes, and the lack of creases that gave his smile away as being fake. Her own eyes clouded with sadness as she frowned, trying to work out why he was sad. His words made it clear, though, the female gasping as she shook her head fiercely, before hopping forwards, jabbing her paw forwards gently into his chest, before at the grounds, and then at his chest again. She wanted to stay here, with Caide!  

[Feral Mule]

Her paw connected to his chest, and then down to the ground. He got that. Wait... He got that! She wanted to stay here with him! He gave a purr at that and pushed her forward, nuzzling under her chin and face, licking gently, laughing. Well, it wasn't hard to make Caide feel like king of the world! A female wanted to stay with him! His mother would want to meet her. Feid, his almost twin, would want to meet her. Hell, his whole family would.

He blinked at that thought and stepped back, grinning like an idiot. "My family's going to want to meet you, Chache! But do you want me to tell them that you can't hear?" He tilted his head to the side at that, tail flicking happily as he moved closer to her again, leaning against the lioness. His teeth found her hair tuft and he nibbled on it before moving to her ear and tugged on that gently, not wanting to hurt her, but wanting to play again.

"Why do you want to stay with me? Or do you want to stay in my pride? I mean.. I like you, you're the only friend outside of family I have! So.... What about you?" If he could have blushed, he would have. He did know his skin was getting a bit warm under all that white fur. That was almost, almost a confession.  

[xo -- k a i r i]

He got the message and she grinned, returning his affection with nubbles, nuzzles and purrs of her own, rubbing the top of her head agaisnt the underside of his chin, flopping down onto the ground to cuddle up to his feet, playfully nipping at them with giggles.

She looked up and found his lips moving, concentrating carefully, cocking her head to the side. Family, wanting to meet her? Her family loved her - she knew they did. But they enjoyed wandering. Chache had convinced them that it was time for her to leave, to forge her own path. They'd agreed, but she'd promised to come visit occasionally. And as soon as she'd thought of places she wanted to stay, she'd instantly thought of Caide. She nodded at his suggestion, figuring it'd be easier for her if they knew she was deaf.

Why? She smiled sweetly, purring as she rubbed her head against his legs before standing again, watching him for a moment. He liked her? ...Oh, as a friend? Frowning a little, confused, she decided to erase any confusion by touching her nose to his in a decidedly more intimate way, moving forwards and nuzzling him in a far fonder way than previous, ending with a lick to his maw and a kiss.

Well, her message was clear. She liked him. Liked liked him.  

[Feral Mule]

Even though Chache couldn't talk, she got her point across very well. When she started making the intimate gestures, Caide blinked and made a small little embarrassed noise in his throat and stood still. Sighing softly when she was done, but liked his muzzle and cleared his throat. Ok, so she liked him. She liked liked him. He guessed that was good. Ok, so that was a good thing, no guessing to it.

"I... guess I'll have to take you into the pride... to... get to know everyone," Caide said, clearing his throat a bit more. Wiggling his toes, he watched the female with a little wider smile, a real one that made his nose crinkle up a bit.

He wouldn't return the affectionate gestures, because he didn't know if he should or not. Sure he liked her. But.... Was it ok to show things like that after one meeting? Maybe not. Perhaps later on in their friendship, but not this soon. Yeah, that would be perfect. Shuffling on his paws, he got up again and started walking towards his pride. He did look over his shoulder to see if she was following, flashing a smile at her.  

[xo -- k a i r i]

The embarrassed noises made her frown, tilting her head in mild confusion as she watched him. He continued on, a little embarrassed, and she felt her heart sink a little. Had she been...too forward? But her parents had always told her to be forward, and not let her disability stop her. To go for the goal and stop at nothing. ...Maybe stuff like this was different, though. His smile this time was genuine, and she gave a grateful smile back, following him as he began to lead the way.

Maybe she should wait a little...see if he did anything now. If he did, great. If not...well, maybe she'd just have to acknowledge that not many could be bothered with a deaf girl.