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 Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 8:31 pm
Her siblings were settled, her parents had gone off hunting, and Lhach had settled to waiting on the edges of the camp for Wahadi to return. It was almost a ritual by now, when he went off. After that first night where she'd gone after him, she'd learned to sit on her paws and just wait. He always came back, after all. He would say goodbye if he wasn't going to, she felt. And she knew that one day, that 'goodbye' would come. And she dreaded it. He'd become as much a part of her life and her parents and her siblings. Wahadi was her closest friend...closer than even Mika had been when she was a cub.
The fiery lioness yawned and stretched, slight smile on her muzzle. The sunset was nearly over, beautiful despite the things it could represent. She settled again, laying her head down for a quick nap.
The sound of loud, ragged gasps reached Lhach even before the sound of Wahadi’s pounding footsteps. Somehow his body still seemed to be on fire, but his lungs burned hottest of all. With each gasp he felt as though he was breathing in sand. When he spotted Lhach, cool dark Lhach, sitting on the edge of camp, waiting for him, he breathed the burning air deep into his lungs and rushed to her side with the last of his strength. She was the only one who knew about his parents, the only one he could talk to and he needed her more than he needed to catch his breath.
With Lhach finally close at hand he started to slow his pace until it seemed he was being pushed forward by momentum alone. He stumbled up to Lhach and plopped down in front of her. His front legs felt so weak he could barely hold his head above the ground, let alone speak. He moved his jaw uselessly and locked gazes with Lhach, his eyes budged with fright. Bits of dirt and twigs clung to his sopping wet maw.
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Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 8:41 pm
Lhach was alert as soon as the sounds of Wahadi's return had reached her ears. And they hadn't been happy sounds. Her first thought had been that he'd gotten into a fight he couldn't win. But that couldn't be right...he held his own well against her and her mother. When he plopped down, full of exhaustion and...something else, her stomach knotted. And then there was his eyes, locked with her own amber ones. And she lay her head back down near the ground, so he wouldn't have to look up at all.
"Wahadi? Wahadi, what's wrong? What happened?" She reached a paw out to touch one of his front legs, worry clear on her face and in her eyes.
The dryness in his mouth went all the way back into his throat, making it difficult to swallow and return the moisture to his mouth. “Mysmyr…” he wheezed, wincing at the needles in his throat. “I… I saw… him. He’s… he’s alive!”
He had to stop there to catch his breath. He licked his parched lips and grimaced, tasting the dirt that had mixed with the water on his face and turned to mud. Though his body was a furnace, the wind kept the wet part of his face cool as he ran. He couldn’t feel it at first but later, when his breath returned, it would feel as though a ghost had touched his cheek.
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Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 9:06 pm
Lhach couldn't believe it. Wahadi had told her that this 'Mysmyr', the lion who had killed his parents and others in his pride, was dead. Gone. So how...how could he be alive? "How?" Had something snapped in her friend's head? Had he lost it? No...no he couldn't have. This was Wahadi!
"Are you sure it was him? Not just a lion who looked something like him?"
“Yes!” Wahadi desperately looked into Lhach’s eyes, begging her to believe him. He knew how it sounded, but if he thought there was any chance he’d been mistaken he never would have said anything in the first place. Mysmyr’s execution was so long ago and no one talked about it anymore, but Wahadi was only a juvenile then. Maybe he remembered it all wrong.
He started to sit up. Strength was flowing into him like a river fed by the rains. He fidgeted and looked around, as if to check that Mysmyr wasn’t watching them right now. He licked his lips and leaned in close to whisper, “I know it was him. He knew about everything that happened in the swamp. When Piliroho found me I was covered in my mother’s blood, and he knew! He knew because he killed her! I – I don’t know how but I know it has to be him. No one knows the things he said to me, Lhach.”
The words poured out of him like a flood. His voice was trembling, but not with grief or fear. As he tried to explain a strange new light dawned in his eyes. He seemed possessed by it.
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Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 9:48 pm
The new light in Wahadi's eyes almost scared her. Almost. He was still her friend. And he needed her. "Than it was him." How could a creature know things that had never been told to them? "But what are you going to do?" Was he going to leave them? Go after Mysmyr? She hoped not. She couldn't stand the thought of him getting hurt by the same...THING that killed his parents.
As suddenly as it came, the light vanished from his eyes in a series of blinks. He stared at Lhach for a moment, brow bunched up in puzzled concern, then looked at his paws and the distant shapes of Lhach’s family, their warm familiar bodies all lumped together to sleep. His ears slowly started to droop. “I need to think,” he said, sounding more certain than he felt.
He stood and looked to the horizon. Everything was happening so fast. He felt as though he was being pulled away from his second family by a powerful force. He might as well call it fate. He turned to Lhach again, wishing he knew how to communicate everything he felt inside. “This is huge. There has to be a reason Mysmyr came to me today and… I can’t ignore it. I have to do something.”
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Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 10:21 pm
Lhach watched the light vanish, and an...odd sort of relief came with it. She sat up as Wahadi stood, waiting. She'd gotten oddly good at waiting.
She nodded at his revelation. "Something. But...what is that something?" She stood and moved closer to him. "Please don't do something reckless. I know...stupid request coming from me. But...I don't want you to get hurt." He meant a lot to her. How much exactly, she wasn't entirely sure yet. But...the thought of him GONE was something that left her feeling empty.
Wahadi knew what she felt. They were family now, like brother and sister, and Lhach cared about him just as much as his brothers and sisters in the swamp. That kind of love didn’t need to be spoken. It still amazed him that they had grown so close over such a short period of time. Their connection simply felt right. Because of that, there was no need to explain the bond they shared. He hesitated and tried to think of how to respond. Doing something reckless seemed unavoidable at this point. “I’ll try,” he offered limply. He felt like he was trying to apologize for something he hadn’t done yet. “I have to find him again. I have to try. If I let him get away now, who knows how many more innocent lions he’ll kill?”
There were other reasons he didn’t want Lhach to know, at least not yet. First of all there was his personal desire for revenge. As the only male in his litter he felt it was his responsibility to make up for his father not being there. If Unus was still alive, Wahadi knew he would chase Mysmyr to the ends of the earth. But even more than that, Wahadi believed there might be more to Mysmyr ‘s return than he first thought. What that meant exactly, Wahadi had no idea. Perhaps the gods were testing him somehow.
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Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 10:34 pm
'Try'...that was all Lhach could really expect. And it comforted her a bit, to know that he would try. But...he was right, too. How many more would Mysmyr hurt? Lhach was silent a moment, thinking, before she spoke up again. She couldn't let him do it alone. What if he did do something reckless? Who would help him get back up?
"I'll go with you. I'll help you find him." Maybe it meant leaving her parents and siblings...but they would still have each other. Without her...Wahadi would have no one. She couldn't let him go it alone.
Wahadi looked at her in shock. He almost started to protest. When he realized how foolish it was to worry about Lhach being hurt when she’d pinned him a few times, he simply closed his mouth. It didn’t take him long to come up with another reason to object. Even though Lhach was an excellent fighter he didn’t want her risking her life with him. “This isn’t your fight. I’m used to carrying my own weight. I’ll be fine, I promise.”
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Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 10:48 pm
"You're my friend, Wahadi." She wasn't going to let him leave her behind! "More than that...you're family. I won't let you do this all alone." She smiled slightly. "Maybe you will be fine...but two sets of eyes see more, and one can watch the other's back while one sleeps. What if Mysmyr wants YOU this time?" And Wahadi had to sleep at some point! And...dammit! No one was taking her friend from her! Especially not his past come to place its claws at his throat!
Wahadi flattened his ears against his mane. His mane had now grown in around his neck, though it was still thin in places. Aside from the extra blue fur he looked as young as he ever did, except for his expression; a subtle mix of annoyance and concern fed by a short life filled with terrible experience. Mostly, he looked like he was ready to scold her. He had a tendency to hide his softer emotions, like worry. “Maybe he does,” he agreed without a touch of fear. “But I won’t let him get me. I’ll sleep in the trees, above ground, if I have to. Even if he does try to sneak up on me while I’m resting he’ll just wake me up. I’m a light sleeper.”
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Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 10:42 pm
Lhach drooped. "I know you are..." Her ears lay back. "I just...I don't wanna lose you. You're my best friend." She chuckled sadly. "I guess I'm paranoid." In her mind, she had a back-up plan, though. Even if he didn't want her to follow...she would. Someone had to protect him when he grew too exhausted to protect himself. Just in case.
“I know… but… we always knew this wouldn’t be forever. I have a family waiting for me back home. My aunt, my cousins, my siblings…” His voice softened with a note of uncertainty, perhaps even sadness. After he was finished with Mysmyr, would he be able to find his way back to Lhach and her family? Why was he even thinking about that? He would have to leave them sooner or later. That was the whole point. But still, he wanted to see her again, even if only to let her know that he was still alive.
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Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 10:46 pm
"I know." Lhach tried not to let how down she was show. She couldn't. For his sake. She had to be strong, like her mother and father had taught her to be! "It's just...weird, I guess. Thinking of the fact you won't be around." She was being honest. Thinking about life without him around...it just didn't seem to fully compute. Like it was wrong.
Wahadi looked down in silence, his tail gently beating the grass. “I’ll try to find you again, after it’s done. I want you to know I’m alright after all. Maybe you could even come back to the swamps with me. I think you’d like it there.” It was a quiet suggestion. Lhach had a lot to live for out here; her family was intact and they were obviously all very close. Why would she want to give that up?
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Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 10:48 pm
Lhach blinked. Was he...was he seriously offering what she thought he was? She wondered if he would still offer it, if he knew what she was planning. She was silent a moment, pondering it...then nodded. "I think...I'd at least like to try, once this is all over." Her family could always visit! At the very least...she'd want to visit. Often.
Wahadi’s ears perked. Oh, he was glad to hear that, but he worried she was only saying to please him. From Lhach’s point of view there was always the chance that he might not be able to find her. She had no idea that he was stubborn enough to spend the better part of his life searching for her, if that was what it took to find her again. So, really, there was no chance he would give up on her. “Are you sure?” he asked cautiously. “I understand if you wanted to stay with your family. They are great.”
Well, actually, he would be angry if she went back on her word now. He would try not to seem too mad about it, however.
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Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 10:50 pm
Lhach chuckled and nodded. "I'm sure." She let her smile grow a little. "I love my family but...they can visit. Even if it's on the borders. You..." She chuckled again, sheepishly. "It's hard to imagine life without you. And when I manage it...it doesn't feel right." She ducked her head. "I'm sounding stupid, aren't I?"
Wahadi looked puzzled, even though he agreed with her. Life without Lhach would feel very strange while he was out searching for Mysmyr. That was why he was so determined to see her again after it was all over. He thought of her as a part of his family. But it was hard to say these things so openly. He told himself that she already understood to excuse himself from needing to say them, and since he seemed to be right he never had any reason to think twice. “I guess that will be a little strange, not having you guys around… and you not having me around. We’ll see each other again, of course. And I’ll take you back to the swamps if you’re still interested.” He glanced in the direction of camp, letting out a soft sigh. “We should get back. I want to say goodbye to everyone before I leave in the morning. If Mysmyr is looking for me, he won’t go far.”
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Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 10:58 pm
Lhach nodded. "I can see if we can stay in the same general area for a while. Or...we can come up with some sort of meeting place." She looked back toward her family. "Yeah...they'll definitely want to say 'bye' to you." She didn't let herself sigh like she wanted to.
“I won’t be gone forever. I promise.” He smiled gently at her. “That’s the name my mother gave me. Wahadi means promise.” After the death of his father, Kabu told him the story of his name. His mother made a promise to bare her mate cubs that would live and she succeeded, even though she herself had died protecting them. That was the kind of promise Wahadi made. He would rather die than break his word.
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Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 11:01 pm
Lhach nodded, her smile growing. Promise...he was a promise, in and of himself. "I'm holding you to your name, Wahadi. We'll meet again. And when it's all over...I'll go back to the swamps with you."
Wahadi’s smile grew. He loved to see Lhach happy even more than he loved a good scuffle with her. He hoped that Tana and Kabu would feel the same way about her. At this point in his life Wahadi couldn’t imagine having a mate. Loving someone the way his father had loved his mother seemed dangerous. Life could be so unpredictable. If he ever fell in love with someone and something terrible happened to them, like what happened to his mother, he didn’t know what he would do. Kill himself, maybe. Losing someone he loved was the one thing that truly frightened him. So for now he just hoped that he and Lhach would remain best friends for the rest of their lives, but he didn’t dare conceive of anything more. They stood and walked back to camp together.
((fin~))
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