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 Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 4:32 pm
 Although he tried to take it easy on his first day, once the headache became tolerable he was on his feet exploring the camp site and talking with Lhach’s family. He knew he should stay still, but with so much going on it was hard to concentrate on recovery.
Three days had passed since Wahadi joined Lhach’s family. Now fully recovered, Wahadi spent his time sparring with the family and hunting with Lhach. In general he was a good student; he listened carefully and followed instruction well, but sometimes his eagerness got the better of him. When he made a mistake he laid the blame on himself. Perhaps he hadn’t been paying enough attention. Maybe he should have been more patient. Even though he was hard on himself, he was always ready to try again.
As afternoon faded into evening something strange happened to Wahadi. He seemed suddenly distracted, aloof, even grumpy. Eventually, believing that he would upset Lhach’s family, Wahadi decided to take a walk around the outskirts of the camp site to clear his head. Time passed and stars filled the darkened sky, but Wahadi was still walking by himself, looking down at his paws and the earth. The Jini-msemi believed that the earth was the home of the spirits. All living creatures were children of the earth, they were tied to it just as much as the grass and the trees, and eventually they returned to their mother’s womb, deep underground. Wahadi sighed.Lhach had enjoyed having someone around she wasn't related to. He definitely was fiesty, and determined. A lot like her, really. But whereas she just got back up, shook off her mistakes, and made sure not to repeat them, he seemed to berate himself for them.  Lhach had decided to try and break him of that train of thought. One got nothing from beating oneself up about a mistake.
When Lhach noticed Wahadi was gone, she didn't think too much of it. He was entitled to his alone time. After a while though...she worried. She got up from where she'd curled up and followed his trail, hoping nothing bad had happened to him. He was a friend, and the thought of something bad happening was...well, it made her shiver.
Once she finally saw him, she breathed a sigh of relief and moved to catch up to him. "You look like you're thinking heavy things, 'Hadi."
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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 5:47 pm
Wahadi paused mid-step to look over his shoulder. When he saw Lhach padding up behind his brow furrowed and he looked away. “I just wanted some time to myself, that’s all.”
He looked up at the stars, eyes traveling across the sky. There seemed to be a lot more stars out now than when he started on his walk. The sky was now completely dark, a chill in the air. Wahadi flicked his tail and glanced back in the direction of camp, then at Lhach. Now that he thought about it he must have been gone a long time. Wahadi sat on his haunches. “I didn’t mean to worry you. If I wanted to leave I’d say goodbye first.”
Lhach smiled slightly. "I know. You were just gone a while...I just wanted to make sure nothing bad had happened." She sat next to him and bumped his shoulder with hers lightly. "You're a friend. No matter what, I'll always worry about you a little. It's not a bad thing, though, so don't apologize." She chuckled. "And if you find your thoughts are weighing you down, I don't mind sharing the burden. I can be a good listener!"
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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 7:10 pm
Wahadi blinked and stared at her. Always? Really? Lhach did not seem like the kind of person to exaggerate, but it stunned him that someone he only met a few days ago could already care about him so much, even though the feeling was mutual. Then she said she didn’t even mind that he did something to worry her. He almost understood that. He worried a lot about his family, a sign that he loved them, but he hated that feeling of worry when there was nothing he could do to relieve it, which was exactly how he felt now, being so far away from Kabu and Tana and, well, everyone.
“I was just thinking about my name quest, that’s all,” he said quietly, hoping that would satisfy her. But as soon as he finished his sentence he knew he made a mistake. His tone was too defensive. He tried to make up for it, adding, “All my brothers and sisters are on their name quests, too. What if some of them aren’t there when I get back?”
That sounded better, only now Wahadi worried it was too close to the truth. The way he said it sounded as if they might never come back.
Lhach nodded. Yup. Heavy thoughts. "Then they'll be there later." She said it so matter-of-factly. After all...family was family, and family always found each other again, she was certain. Family shared bonds that others couldn't really understand. "And you'll be there to greet them, to welcome them home with their new names." She leaned against him a little, not enough to put weight on him, really...but enough to be comforting...she hoped. "Thinking of the bad things...it'll only make you sick, get your tummy twisted into knots."
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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 7:41 pm
She sounded so sure of herself, so goddamn sure of herself. Wahadi realized he was biting his lower lip. When Lhach leaned against him he suddenly stepped aside and faced the open savannah, his tail flicking in agitation.
Did he care if thinking about bad things made him sick? No, in fact it should make him sick. If he thought this way and felt fine he would have to be some kind of sociopath. This sort of thinking might not be pleasant but at least it was realistic. “Yeah, well, life doesn’t usually have happy endings,” he grumbled.
Lhach squeaked and managed to catch herself before she lost her center of balance. Then pouted, ears back. What had his tail in a twist? Had to be deeper than he said. Well fine! "Alright than. What other sort of endings are there? What's got you so worried that you're being mopey and agitated?" She paused a bit before adding on a bit more. "Is it something I can help keep from happening?" She wanted him to feel better, to go back to the Wahadi she'd gotten to know.
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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 8:06 pm
Oh great, now she was mad at him. He looked over his shoulder at her, giving her a look of contempt that dissolved into remorse. Lhach was his best friend out here. They weren’t supposed to be fighting, not like this. “No, it’s not…” he murmured. “I am worried about my siblings. But that’s not the reason I wanted to be by myself tonight.”
The dark lioness moved over to him. "I'm sorry for snapping." She sighed. "If...if you wanna talk about it later, I'll always have an open ear." She smiled slightly. "I'm your friend, 'Hadi. I'm here for you...good or bad. That what friends do." She hoped that whatever it was...he'd eventually talk about it. Before it ate him up.
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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 8:59 pm
“I usually don’t have to talk about it. Back home everyone already knows what happened.” He looked up at her, saw her trying to smile and flicked an ear. He hated to upset her with his problems. Then again, he already had. If he didn’t tell her the truth now everything he said tonight to make her mad would circle above them like a flock of hungry vultures until he spilled his guts for her.
As Wahadi prepared to tell her he straightened instinctively to make himself appear more in control. The last thing he wanted was her pity. It would be best if she could just understand. “Before I was born a group of nomadic rogues settled in the swamp. They were welcomed in by our pride, although they were not members officially, more like guests. My pride has always been suspicious of outsiders.”
Lhach listened, a bit surprised. She hadn't been expecting him to tell her now. Oh she was glad he was, because it would (hopefully) clear the air...and it was obviously something very big. She nodded when he paused, understanding that bit. There were a lot of prides that didn't like outsiders. She could respect that. Especially if it was a peaceful pride. They seemed to be especially wary of things being disrupted.
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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 9:12 pm
“There was also another group of lions settling in the pride at that time. Unlike the other group, this group was all one family descended from Jini-msemi that got separated from the main pride a few generations ago. My mother was one of them. She and the others became full members and a few weeks later my mother got pregnant with me and my sisters. That was when things got bad. Really bad.” He paused and swallowed hard, shifting his weight. This was the first time he told this story to anyone. In spite of that, he refused to lose his composure again.
“My mother had to give birth alone. Birthing is a sacred time between mother and cubs that males are forbidden to witness. What my mother didn’t know, what no one knew, was that she was followed by a male from the group of rogues. That rogue… that evil creature… followed her to the den and he” (Wahadi bared his teeth and took a deep breath to calm himself, voice lowering to a growl) “he killed her, for no reason. A few days later a female from our pride found her body curled around my sisters and I. She died… protecting us. Our litter was given to my aunt Kabusha. She became like my mother. Her cubs became my brothers and sisters. When I was a cub I heard about the murders, but I didn’t find out how involved I was until I was older.”
Oh. For a moment, Lhach was torn between saying something, and just keeping keeping quiet. But she did show a great deal of remorse. She'd never had something like that happen to her. The worst she'd had was when her mother had almost lost a fight with another lion. But her mother had healed, and gotten back up, and was probably still telling stories about the crazy things she and Lhach's father had done before Lhach was born. After a moment of silence, she moved to place a paw over one of his.
"You're strong, for being able to tell me this." No words of pity, no 'I'm so sorry', or 'that's horrible!'. She had a feeling those weren't the right things to say. All she could do is be there for him, and thankful that he trusted her enough to tell her.
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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 10:01 pm
Wahadi looked at her paw. The image started to blur, so he sniffed and blinked to clear his eyes. “Well, it actually gets worse from there. You see, I never met my father either. After my mother died he was so angry that he went looking for the killer, so he could avenge her. But he was tired. The killer got the upper hand and… well…”
That was all he needed to say. It was also all he wanted to say. The truth about his mother and news of his father’s death were still painfully recent. Tana and the rest of Kabu’s litter had left on their naming quests by the time his father died, leaving him with little support, and Wahadi was on the cusp of adolescence himself. He should have felt relieved to know that the murderer was dead and he wouldn’t need to worry about his aunt’s safety while he was gone. Instead he just felt hollow, like he’d left something important unfinished. Unconsciously, he leaned a little closer to Lhach.
“Your family seems so nice, Lhach. I’m really happy I met them. It’s just sometimes… I can’t help but wonder…”
Lhach selfishly hoped she would never understand what he'd gone through. That she could always be his friend who could offer him a shoulder to lean on, without needing it herself. "You can't help but wonder...what yours might have been like?" Damn...she wished she knew what to say. But she could only be there...stumble at the words, and hope they were right. She smiled sadly. "We'll never know." She carefully licked his cheek. "I'm not going to try and say sweet words, because I know they won't help any. I'm not sure any words ever will. But for as long as you want me here, I'm here." Even if he didn't...well, no way was she going to completely leave him alone with something like this always nibbling on him. It just wouldn't be right.
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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 10:48 pm
Wahadi nuzzled her. His eyes felt a little wet, but he wasn’t going to cry in front of Lhach. He would sooner bite off his tongue than cry in front of her. In three days he felt as close to her as he did to his foster mother. While he could cry in front of Kabu, he wanted Lhach’s respect as much as he wanted her friendship and understanding, so if he was going to cry he wanted to make damn sure he did it when he was alone. “T-thanks. I wanted to tell you so you’d know I wasn’t just being a jerk before. I’ll try not to wonder so much, from now on.”
But that was the hardest part. Maybe when he was older it would get easier, until then he would need to be strong.
Lhach nodded. "Your welcome. And...you being a jerk-face earlier is completely understandable. I was stepping where I probably shouldn't have." She let a real smile creep onto her muzzle. "And...thank you. For trusting me enough to tell me. And if you want some alone time, I can totally make sure nobody bugs you until you're ready for company." She hoped that would make him feel even a little better. She certainly didn't expect an big turnaround in his mood...but she wanted to help him bit by bit, if he would let her.
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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 11:02 pm
“You seem pretty trustworthy. When I was unconscious you could have left me where you found me.” He smiled briefly, looking up at the stars. “Let’s stay out here for a little while longer. I like the quiet.”
Lhach was glad for dark fur as she felt her face warm up. "I...thanks." She followed his gaze up, then closed her eyes. "Yeah...that sounds like a good idea." After that, she fell silent, just enjoying his company and the soft sounds of the night around them. After that...quiet was definitely soothing.
((Fin~))
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