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 Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 5:51 am
Finally feeling well nourished, not to mention pleased for the first time in a long time, Tsi'hilu lay under the shade of a tree, quietly humming some random tune; the sound was masked by a deep purr like noise that seemed to rumble within her chest cavity. Her tail, now pure white from grooming, as was her whole body, tattos aside, was twitching lazily over the ground, lifting dust here and there.
Her keen eyes kept scanning the horizon for Ama's return; where he'd gone, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that he said he'd return briefly... and so far, the adult male had kept his promises. Thus was why the youth kept herself quite clam within her shade, simply allowing time to pass by, as there was little to do, specially when the sun was so high and brigth.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:03 am
((THIS IS A TIMESLIP.))
U'yosi had left Tawa'di now, the powerful n'vwati deep in some kind of trance. The effect had bemused and put strange fear and admiration into the Wildcat, and unnerved him a little. So now the lion was restless; with a meal in his belly, after so long, the thin adult mused over the n'vwati's seeings. His daughter was alive! And he knew it now, trusted Tawa'di implicitly.
So much was his thoughts that when he first caught a scent on the wind, he thought his mind was deceiving him. It couldn't be Tsi'hilu. Large paws suddenly picking up into a lope, the tattooed male followed his nose fiercely, dark mane ruffled by the breeze his was making. As he came closer, he also scented another male... he slowed warily to a walk again, heading for a tree not far away. Perhaps he was mistaken.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:11 am
Though she had grown up somewhat, it was clear that still the small liones remain... well, a child, really; her scrawny frame had suffered during the few weeks she had found herself alone as a cub, however she was slowly recovering her form which though not exactly strong as other lions... was at least not in the bones. Slowly, the female lifted up a paw in her slight boredome, her rough tongue moving in to groom between her claws and pelt, for still a small bit of dust and dried blood from a recent meal clung to them.
Quite inmmerse in her own grooming, she didn't notice the familliar scent for a while; however, a breeze soon enough swept by, and Tsi'hilu froze in place, tongue slowly recoiling back within her maw as her nose twitched. Lowering her paw, the lioness lifted her head to the breeze, inhaling deeply, eyes scanning the horizon for a figure.
She knew that sect; she knew it well.
Swiftly standing up, the youth kept looking about her with keen sight, torn between following the scent and staying where Ama had told her to; after all, she really didn't wish to get lost again, "Father...?" her voice was still quite cracked, unused, for truly, she hadn't really used it much, not even long ago, the sound a mere whisper.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:18 am
And under the tree ahead, something small and white jumped to its feet.
White as the clouds...
"TSI'HILU!" The word came out in a roar from the back of the male's throat. His quiet, withdrawn yet cherished daughter, she was alive, she had escaped! Launching himself from his walk to an almost flat out run in one swift second, claws digging into the dirt, U'yosi G'vhiflung himself forward, willing it to be the truth. And yes, there she stood; older, dirtier, thinner but still with the air of sweet charm about her. The sky-marked image of her mother.
He could not get there faster; he skidded to a halt by her side, eyes raking over her lovingly, checking for signs of injury or ill health. U'yosi was not a passionate, flightly creature, but one of stolid sensibleness, and practical hopes; but as he enveloped his daughter between his paws and tucked her head under his maned chin, he felt a little like crying. So much hardship....
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Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 3:48 pm
Though she had noth wished to move from her place, there was little she could do to stop the shuddering that soon enough took hold of her; he was alive. He was well. He was here... it really was him, wasn't it? It was no ghost... ghosts could not have scent, could they? Though she had at first found herself torn between searching and staying under the shade of the tree, the small lioness soon felt herself move towards the fast approaching figure, her short padding soon turning into a swift run.
This was no ghost...
Oh, how many times she'd seen her father's figure outlined against the sun when she had wandered the lands, far too many times. But it never was him... just a spirit, a memory. Tsi'hilu had heard his voice, her mother's, her brother's calling voices in her sleep, her dreams had been full of them, twirling within her mind, however, this was nothing like those dreams; his scent filled her nostrils, and soon enough, his body towered over her, his paws searching her, touching her, embracing her.
It truly was him...
"No ghost..." her cracked voice whispered between small sniffling sounds as she soon enough burried her small head into the male's mane, inhaling sharply. The small Ela had never forgotten his scent, however, as she inhaled deeply, time and time again, it was as if she were trying to burn the smell into her mind, never to forget, never to be lost again, "No ghost..."
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Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 4:01 pm
U'yosi calmed himself slowly, pressing her warm, living form against him, uncharacteristically almost releasing a happy yowl-roar. Eventually her shuddering words filtered through to him.
No ghost...
"I am here, alive and well, oh Tsi'hilu... I am no ghost! It is just your father, who has missed you for so long..."
He could not help but think of the two white-furred bodies he had left and blanked from his mind. They were truly the spirits now... his eyes blurred as he held Tsi'hilu close. If she did not know... best to leave it, for now.
Eventually he brought himself to hold her at paw's length. Eventually he would treat her more respectfully; she would be adu'ladai now, even if she did not know as yet, and he was nothing; but for now, he was just a desperate father.
"Tsi'hilu, tell me did you escape the fever? Are you still ill from it?" He asked anxiously, scanning her thin body with dark eyes.
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Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 4:15 pm
A frown crossed the young one's features, her eyes coming to fall upon her fathers as her maw opened barely to talk, "No fever..." she whispered, swallowing her hiccups slightly as the last few stray tears fell down her cheeks, "Got lost," she looked around the lands, then back at the large male that towered before her, "Alone... no one was here... ghosts," her eyes narrowed as she reached the final word, which she repeated once more before shaking her head.
THose ghosts had followed her for many suns, intangiable, her only company, and though she'd never been able to identify them, it didn't truly matter now, because she'd finally found someone... she'd finally found him, "They followed... dreams, nightmares, ghosts," she shook her head again; it was still so difficult, the words coming with extense difficulty. In fact, the lioness wasn't even sure her father understood what she tried to tell him, but then again, she now had all the time in the world to practice, for she had not long ago promised herself never to fall prey of silence again.
"Mom?" her eyes strayed behind her father's body, as if expecting her mother and brother to be there, waiting to greet her... but there was no one behind him; just a vast expanse of arid terrain she'd come to know well. Tsi'hilu slowly returned her gaze to the male's, her eyes hopeful, but somehow a small shadow within them seemed to voice what she had once phantomed long ago.
Ghosts. Gone. Never to return.
However, she kept searching her father's eyes, almost as if expecting to see some sort of light to contradic the shadow that lingered within her own; she needed to hear it from his own words at least. Perhaps only then would the ghosts rest.
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 3:02 pm
Ghosts... the words seized U'yosi in an iron grip. Did she already know, suspect? Or had she truly seen...
"Tsi'hilu," the large male whispered her name, his voice broken as he looked to the side. "Tsi'hilu, your brother, and.. mother... they walk amongst the spirits now. I could not save them..." His dark eyes glistened as he caught her in an iron grasp. "Tsi'hilu, I thought you had followed them, leaving me alone... but you are alive, as I never thought to see you..." He doesn't know whether this is the best way to tell her or not, but it is done, and he attempts to hold back in outpouring of grief. It was not practical. He had still not done his mourning; after the pair had died, he had fixed his mind on his missing daughter, and searched for her grimly, having a purpose during which there was no time to grieve. Not yet. Too many things to still be done.
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2006 8:05 am
Spirits? Gone? Had the ghosts that followed her and kept her company... been real? Were they truly gone now?
As her father caught her in his iron grip, the petite lioness burried her face into his large mane, hissing slightly, for though she had had her suspisions whilst all alone, she hadn't truly ever come to believe thy could be gone. How could they be? They had always been so strong... even if her mother had been sad lately, it shouldn't have mattered; she was strong, stronger than Tsi'hilu had ever hoped she'd be, "Ghosts then... gone..." she took in a deep breath which she released a deep sigh, her frame smiply resting against her father's, "They kept me company..." she wished to believe they had somehow kept her company; kept her alive as she wandered the dusty plains, because truly... how else could a cub like her have survived such an experience? Luck? Tsi'hilu believed she had been somehow protected, by something, by someone...
There was no one alive that could have convinced her that their ghosts hadn't been with her; that they hadn't somehow helped her, and thus, as she lifted her face out of the male's mane, she caught his gaze and offered him a weak smile. Though it showed signs of her being quite emotionally exhausted, it also seemed to voice her belief in him... not only did she believe in her father, but she knew it hadn't been her fault, "No guilt..." she whispered as she purred slightly.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 12:39 am
Her quiet words and odd acceptance stopped the male from breaking down. Tsi'hilu created a comforting dam which behind somehow his grief was stayed; grief and the terrible aching guilt. He'd loved Asa'nunu beyond compare, though knew she was distant from him; fun-loving Asegi was more fleeting in his memory, a brief white-furred blessing of the new land that had vanished so quickly. Eyes turned softer again as he looked down at his daughter.The weak smile was still there, and real, not somehow a figment of his imagination. U'yosi was not one given to flights of fancy; he believed what he saw, but also had a stolid trust in the ones that said they could.
"I suppose, little Tsi'hilu. All we can do is thank the spirits now that we have found each other, and we may find others..." His mind darted to the n'vwati, who had seen that there were still a few survivors of the clan. All they needed to do now was find one another...
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