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 Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2010 3:47 pm
She was so proud, so proud of so very many things. Njozi had come a long way from that deteriorating, hopeless rogue she had met in the Kizingo lands so long ago. There was life in him and, dare she call it, maybe even hope. He'd become a companion to her in a world where she'd only had family and that was an enormous step in her own life. Strange, and at the same time, exciting. It wasn't often that she traveled with anyone but her own clan.
It was with a smile that she had watched Njozi step up to their great leader and proclaim his intentions to stay in the lands. It was with a smile that she now sat on the sidelines, out of the way of the congratulatory exchanges. Njozi was never far from her side, but she could see him temporarily intercepted by her father some ways away. It was probably an uncomfortable exchange - the ex-rogue Nyota wasn't the most sociable of creatures, but he tried to do right by others the majority of the time. At least the exchange would be brief since he wasn't one to blabber and gossip.
Makonde turned her attention away for a single moment to scrutinize the landscape she had once been so familiar with. Everything seemed to change now that she had eyes for different things. The plants she once recognized as home now seemed so foreign because of their differences from the Kizingo herbs she'd learned and used. She had a few stashed away with her, and there were certainly a few growing here that she knew, but the majority? They were strangers.
She turned to look back at the dispersing group just in time to see her father walking away and a small smile spread over her maw to see Njozi making his way towards her. "You did a good job," she said finally, her pride swelling through her words for him to hear, "that must have been terribly intimidating."
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2010 4:00 pm
This whole affair has been, quite frankly, intimidating as ********. Poor Njozi's heart is racing as he steps away from the esteemed leader of his new pride, and when Makonde's father intercepts him he feels as though his heart will stop dead. And never start again. The lioness would recognize the look of blank terror in his face, and that expression is followed by surprise, confusion, and then frantic sincerity.
He's shaking when he walks towards her, his paws scuffing the earth. Beneath his dark fur he's as pale as his new namesake, and poor Njozi's gaze is a bit wild. But her presence helps to calm him almost immediately, and he even beams with pride at her compliments.
"I can only think of a few things that frightened me more than that," he admits, but it's unclear whether he is talking about the ceremony or the impromptu meeting with her father. The dark lion's gaze flicks from one male to the other; he probably meant both. And then he pauses for a moment, watching the other new members of the pride disperse. A pride made up of nomadic clans, what an interesting idea. It would make it more difficult for an invading force to-- and he shakes his head, clearing those thoughts.
Njozi turns to her, and smiles ruefully. "So I guess you're officially stuck with me now, huh? That's what you get for helping me that day."
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2010 4:11 pm
She laughed only halfheartedly as his joke about it all being frightening, mostly because she was sure that whatever was more frightening was nothing to laugh about. She didn't let it dampen her mood though, but quickly put it out of mind instead. This wasn't a time to linger on the past but instead a time to celebrate the future. He was a part of their family now, their clan, he was one of their own.
"I'm not stuck with you," she said calmly, pushing herself to her feet with a small stretch to ease the sleep from her limbs, "if I didn't want you here I would have left you." The smile on her face showed that she was obviously joking and anyone that knew her also knew that she probably couldn't leave a deadly murderer alone if they needed true help. Well, maybe that was stretching it a bit. "But I think that now that you're all healed up and obviously better, you can help me!"
She chuckled at this and turned her back on the dispersing group of lions behind her, obviously none-to-interested in them any longer. "I really need to start studying the herbs here, figuring out which ones grow both here and in the Kizingo so I can use them, and then working out from there. You'd be a huge help." Her eyes turned up to him, looking up because of the differences in their height, and her gaze was actually pleading instead of expectant. For all that she had done for him, she still thought he owed nothing - she still asked for his help instead of demanding it as returned favors.
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Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2010 4:26 pm
Her laughter and joke are both taken in stride. In times past, Njozi would have worried at her words like a cub worries at a bone. But he feels that he knows her. He feels that he trusts her. And so her joke is taken at face value, and he even chuckles along with her.
"I will be glad to help," he agrees readily. The lion finds himself in an odd position. On the one paw, he definitely does feel as if he owes her a debt, and therefore he would not deny her any reasonable (and even many unreasonable!) requests. But on the other... he actually wants to help. It's strange enough that his mind wanders a bit, remembering the last time he showed this degree of interest in, well, anything. And again he's struck by the differences between this pride and his dark past.
"But only on one condition." His voice is suddenly serious, his gaze returning to that bizarre intensity he showed in their first meeting.
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Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:58 pm
His easy-going attitude was something she'd come to enjoy over the past weeks and indeed, she'd seen the change in him between then and now. It was with a smile on her face that his words met her and she had already turned halfway towards the direction she'd been thinking about going to begin with. There was a grove of trees just that way that she remembered, with a bunch of little shrubs and leaves, and --
"What?" she seemed startled a bit, her brows drawn down into confusion as she turned back to look at him. The seriousness in his tone was vaguely alarming but she wasn't really one to jump to conclusions. Intensity wasn't something he'd been showing much of recently.
"What condition?" she said with a bit more air of dignity after she banished her surprise and drew herself up to face him again. She was rightfully curious.
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Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 7:05 pm
The surprise in her expression is something he clearly welcomes. In fact, Njozi seems almost... smug, now. He grins, lifting his chin as if trying to emphasize the height difference, and looks over in the direction she'd begun to turn towards. "This is important, Makonde Waya," he intones, lowering his head to meet her eyes at her level. And then he is silent, waiting for his words to sink in, drawing out the suspense as long as he possibly can. Just as the silence creeps past uncomfortable and into just plain weird, he speaks.
"I. Do. Not. Want. To. Chew. Any. Leaves."
And then he laughs, hopping back as if expecting a playful smack.
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Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 1:30 pm
She began to frown slightly as he progressed from his normal (at least recently normal) attitude to this very odd, secretive change. Her ears had drooped slightly and the worry on her face was clearly evident - she wasn't used to this sort of behavior in the slightest. Whatever he was about to say had her worried.
Then, of course, he spoke and as he spoke everything about the situation lightened.
"Oh, you goof," she said with an answering laugh. Her ears perked back up and she narrowed her eyes on him playfully. She finished turning in the direction she had been originally walking towards and only stopped to throw a playful smile over her shoulder.
"I'm not sure you have the right to deny me anything right now, not after that ceremony." She hadn't meant to string him along with this. No, she had been planning to tell him in a more friendly manner, but after that? He deserved a little toying now.
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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:07 am
It feels good to be so free from worry. The ability to joke with her, to make her frown and not fear the consequences, to push the boundaries just a bit and not feel like the entire pride is watching... it's invigorating. His laughter subsides into a pleased chuckle, and the dark lion pads forward to walk at her side.
But when she drops her own vague warning, he falters. Just a little, just enough for her to notice, before he swallows audibly and clears his throat. "W-what do you mean?" He knew it had to be too good to be true. There's some dark secret about this new pride he's joined, something that he agreed to when he made his offering to the ruler of these tattooed lions. Some contract that he's signed inadvertently, binding his spirit to a now-unknown fate. The new-found freedom and beauty of this land are a trap, an elaborate play put on to lull him into this false sense of safety, to... no, no. Stop it, stop it, he can trust her, he has to.
He's doing his best to hide it, but the dark spectres of Njozi's past are beginning to raise their ugly heads. His breath comes faster, shallower, and his muscles begin to feel tight, as if preparing him to bolt like the coward he is.
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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 9:54 pm
Walking along ahead of him, Makonde was completely unaware of Njozi's sudden plight. She was still smiling and riding the waves of amusement from their conversation, her own mood lighthearted and pleasant. It did feel nice to have someone at her side to talk with without the worry of some underlying duty on her part. The only companion Makonde had ever had constantly throughout her life was her sister, and that had been more out of necessity than anything. So it was with a smile on her face that she turned back to look at Njozi, her pleasure apparent from the expression.
"Oh, it's nothing, it's just that you implied that we were ma- Njozi?" It had taken a moment for her to notice, but as soon as she did she cut off mid-sentence to address it. Her face had gone from carefree to instantly concerned as she noticed the change in his demeanor. Perhaps others would have overlooked it and she most certainly would have had she not been there to watch him come out of his shell. The lion standing before her right this second was very much so the Njozi she had met in the jungles of the Kizingo lands.
With a deep breath and very slow, obvious steps, Makonde closed the space between the two of them. She was no longer just friend and companion in that moment, but she was also a healer and nurturer. She didn't break her eyes away from his until the very last moment, when she buried her head against the fluff of his mane. Very slowly, she leaned herself into his body and let the sound of her breathing take over for a few moments - very long, calming breaths.
"It's okay Njozi, there's no one here to hurt you," she said softly, partially muffled by the thickness of his mane, though she didn't break away to look at him. Her mother had always calmed her as a cub by cuddling with her and she reasoned it would work very well with Njozi - she just had to show him that he wasn't wherever he had come from. He was with her, in the present, in a safe place.
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Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:43 am
"It's okay, it's okay," he mutters, more to himself than the lioness, "it's okay, it's okay." His eyes shut, seeking darkness to help him find balance, and he continues to mutter to himself. The unreasonable terror he feels is soon replaced with frustration, and then disgust at himself. Coward! Still so haunted by events that are far removed by time and distance. He was never worthy of the role he once coveted, the spirits must have seen the weakness he hid deep within.
His shallow, shuddering breaths are brought to a sudden halt by his deep sigh, and then his breathing evens out to match the pattern set by hers. Slowly, agonizingly, he brings his mind out of the spiral of fear and self-disgust. This is a task he's completed many times, and each time it gets a little easier to bring himself back. Back to the present, back to the bright skies and beautiful lands and the lioness pressed against his side, her face buried in his ma--
And then he stiffens again for an entirely different reason (no, not that one you pervs), having somehow missed her change in proximity while he was busy fighting his inner turmoil. "I-it's okay, Makonde. I'm okay, it's okay. Just... bad memories. But it's in the past, it's okay." It still sounds like Njozi is trying harder to convince himself than her, but at least he's trying.
He leans down to nuzzle her briefly, a casual gesture that he didn't even think about until after it was done. It just felt right.
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 4:05 pm
She could feel him relaxing and slowly coming back to himself, and the smile that had faded from her maw was slowly returning. She didn't like that other Njozi much, at least not compared to this one that was so full of life and had so much to give. This Njozi was her Njozi, even if she didn't stop to think about what that kind of claim could mean between them.
"You sure?" she asked, looking up at him as if she might give him a full examination at any moment. She had thought that he was coming back to himself, but that sudden tensing again was.. puzzling. The small nuzzle was the last thing she needed to be reassured, however, and she let her smile rest in place as she gently moved back and away from him so that she was less inside his personal bubble. "Bad memories have no place here, this is a new start."
She tossed her tail lightly and batted at his front legs, a motion meant to make him fall back into a walk with her. She began to turn around then, not wanting to linger over his dark past lest it bring up worst memories that she had trouble dispelling. "I was only teasing, by the way, about what you said in the induction ceremony."
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Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2010 10:34 am
The urge to heave a sigh of mingled relief and disappointment when she moves away is strong, but he manages to resist. Just barely. "I know, I know," he replies, ear back like a cub being chided for eating out of turn, "Bad memories are banished at the border, I remember."
Njozi forces a chuckle that swiftly becomes less forced, and swats back at her before falling in line and padding along by her side. His gaze rests on her for a few moments before he pulls it away. Staring is rude, but sometimes it's hard to avoid following the patterns of her tattoos with his eyes.
"You lost me, Makonde. And your... father was really odd too. Did I do something wrong? I thought it went okay, but..." He can't help but sound a little paranoid; what if he'd messed up his very first act as a member of his new pride?
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 5:45 pm
"There you go worrying again," she said with a small smile, her head shaking slowly as she paused at a small, shriveled bush. She spent longer than she needed to staring at the little thorny leaves, which she didn't recognize one bit. She was actually considering what her father could have possibly said to him to have made Njozi think it 'weird'. She supposed he wouldn't have missed the implication either, though.
"You didn't do anything wrong exactly," she said, reaching out a paw to poke at the bush as if it were suddenly very important. None of the herbs they had used had been particularly thorny to her knowledge, actually. "You just kind of implied that you were mated to a female in our family by taking on our name."
She turned back to look at him, almost shyly, peering at him from beneath the tuft of her green mane. "Since we're always together, you know what the conclusion amongst pride members will be." Her tone wasn't reprimanding, and she was trying awfully hard not to tease too much, but there seemed to be a certain amount of amusement in the situation for her.
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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 12:15 pm
"Worrying is a full-time job, y'know. I take my tasks very seriously."
He steps forward to investigate the bush, leaning in to snuff at the leaves - while taking appropriate care to protect his nose from the thorns, naturally. It smells kinda gross, which means it's probably good for you. Or at least that's the conclusion he arrives at, since everything she's made him taste-test has been disgusting.
A quiet little "Oh," escapes him at her explanation. "Oh," he repeats, his ears flattened against his mane as his mind races to the same conclusion she has just begun to state. Njozi stammers an explanation, tripping over his words, "Oh, oh, I'm so so sorry, I didn't mean to... I didn't know... I... I," he hesitates, suddenly realizing that she could take his words the wrong way, "I mean, it's not that I wouldn't like to... I... I mean... oh, bother."
He winces, clapping a paw to his nose. In his haste to explain himself he's managed to p***k himself on the thorny bush. "I'm sorry, Makonde, I hope I haven't hurt your... your reputation at all?" His words are muffled, both by his paw and his embarrassment, and he's having trouble meeting her gaze.
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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 3:28 pm
"Oh, Njozi" she fussed lightly as she saw him nick himself on the bush and then clamp a paw over his nose. She heard every bit of the stumbling apology but her biggest concern was now the fact that he was probably bleeding and trying to cover it up. She 'tsk'ed lightly under her breath and moved back over to him, staring up at him.
"You haven't ruined my anything," she said calmly, trying to speak in clear and measured syllables so that he would calm down from his panicked high. "If I was upset over it I wouldn't be joking with you about it, would I?" She offered him a gentle smile at this and raised one brow in emphasis of the question.
"Now, can I look at your nose before you smear blood all over your fur?" Her tone went from calm to her motherly disapproval, one reserved only for when he did something.. exactly like this. She wanted to see the booboo, not talk about a silly mistake that didn't matter to her. If he'd been a stranger, or some jerk, then maybe it would have bothered her - but it was just dear, sweet Njozi. She brought up a paw and poked lightly at the leg attached to the one he was using to hold over his nose, impatiently pushing him to begin moving before she slipped past him and headed for the safety of her family's den.
As soon as they were secluded, she was going to get a good, long look at it whether he liked it or not.
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