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Man, this woman was really breaking his heart over here. Unzu halfway hated that his mojo had recruited his heart in its endless battle to get laid up with some nice-looking lioness like Akinyi. It pained him that he did not even know her name, had hardly spoken to her. Perhaps that is why she had felt it right to just leave as soon as the rain stopped, abandoning him under the tree they'd gotten to know each other better under.

Still, Unzu couldn't let her break his heart, and he continued stoically on, catching waterfowl and scaring vultures off of half-eaten kills, having a boon in the season of plenty, staying out of the rain when he could. He kept his mind off of her, and he swore if he saw her again he would give her a piece of his mind, without letting her know she'd stolen a piece of his heart, of course.

See, underneath his young and douchey shell, Unzu was a self-centered douche that wanted a lovely lioness at his side for a multitude of purposes. It was a little bothersome that he was having little success in finding one, particularly one that did not make him yearn after that anonymous lioness that he'd run into a few times. So he moved on, travelling in the late afternoon as the sun set.

Unzu was thirsty as finished crossing a particularly large stretch of higher land, heading back down into the gullies, and stumbled upon the same watering hole as Akinyi. He didn't see her at first, heading along it to a narrower part, and as his bank became closer to her he spotted her, stepping out of the brush. He stiffened, but wouldn't let her put him off water. He went to drink opposite of her, half glaring at half ignoring her reflection in the water.

Part of him was thrilled to see her again. She looked well, still as delectable as she'd been, the season obviously good for putting some weight on her. He wanted to yell at her, but for some reason the urge was mitigated by this happiness, and he didn't say anything at all, stepping through the water as if he were going to walk past her.

"Oh s**t."

Unzu almost started to turn tail and run as Akinyi came at him again, yowling as she caught him in the back with her claws and rolling over, trying to dislodge her, letting out a pained roar and wincing, crouching down.

"ME?! You're the one that left me there sleeping, abandoning me as soon as the rain let up!" he cried, kicking out at her, thrashing in his efforts. He couldn't believe this lioness!! She was the one that was gone, he was the one that should be hurt! Who did she think she was, placing all the blame on him like this?

"I thought you'd just used me!" Unzu swiped at her, his voice tinged with hurt in spite of himself. "So don't act like *I'M* the one that left you broken-hearted!"

"Like hell you did!" Unzu glared, throwing her off and leaping to his feet, ramming into her with his body, hurt that she was treating him this way. He'd missed her so much, thought of her so much, and she was acting like he'd done this maliciously. Her words sank in slowly, but once they did he leapt away, pulling back, fending her off.

"You... you waited for me? All night?" he asked, incredulous. "I didn't know! I thought you'd left and weren't coming back..." he frowned, stopping from fighting. Then he paused. Then he lifted his head to meet her eyes.

"I... I'm sorry..."

Unzu watched her come up to him, his anger sapped away, shivering as she nosed him, as if he couldn't quite believe it, wondering what the reason was for him to be so hurt, when she hadn't abandoned him at all. He pressed against her, resting his head on her shoulder, licking the fur.

"My name is Unzu," he told her, purring, his tail giving a hopeful twitch. "And I am so glad to hear that you didn't mean it," he rested his cheek against hers, closing his eyes.

Gods, but he still wanted to hold onto his anger, but he couldn't, not with her looking so pretty and vulnerable, and he sat with her. "Who are you, so I don't lose you again?"

Unzu watched her sit back, that expression on her face so cute, so amazed, he couldn't possibly lie or be cruel to that face. He pressed his nose against hers. "Of course not, Akinyi," he told her, closing his eyes. "Man, you were such an annoying female, but that one day I really thought we had something. It was just shocking to wake up alone," Unzu admitted.

"I'd really like to travel with you, at least for the season. I'm on my own right now and it's just not right for me to be without a woman of your caliber," he winked, back to his douchey teasing self, leaning his shoulder against her, pushing his luck a little bit, but he was happy so he did not care.

He didn't even raise his hackles when she called him a p***k of a male, although he felt a little annoyance, he could forgive it all because it was Akinyi, beautiful and wonderful Akinyi who had not really left him at all, he was just being silly. Unzu did startle when she shoved him down, then relaxed under her as he realized what she meant, rolling onto his side and snuggling with her, relieved.

"Man.. we're both stupid," he laughed, resting his head against hers. "We could have avoided all this." But he didn't really mind as they got along well, and he knew now that this would be his best rainy season yet. He didn't even have to spend it alone.

The shrew was tamed.