It had been only a couple days since they had arrived to the spot that Mala had called Kijibwa's Jungle, the warmth in his voice always making the younger female wonder about whatever happened pre-Roho. She couldn't complain though, she mused as she looked around the warm atmosphere, it made her father open up more. Having spent so much time by his side, from the first few steps alone as a juvenile, to the unsure entrance of the two souls in this new world, (to her at least,) seeing him smile again, and talk more made her feel comfortable. Better.
Even Kaskazi was showing up again.
"It's rather nice, isn't it?" she started, breaking the silence, "the jungle, that is," turning back to him. She was awarded with a one-eyed gaze, looking up at her with a friendly intensity that she had grown accustomed to, since meeting him at such a young age.
"If you like the heat, I suppose," answered back, Kaskazi's soft voice slowly sauntering to her ears, the half-blind jackal looking around with his remaining eyesight, lidded in almost a lazy curiousity. Having only recently come around the blue lioness that had saved him back when she was just a child, Kaskazi had felt like a large chunk of whatever had recently happened was beyond him, making conversation a little strained - but never throwing them into complete silence. "But, no, I can understand why Jamala picked this place to come back to. It's very . . . " he trailed grasping for the right words, "it feels like a home. "
Home. . . Home was a word that Roho was not very all knowing about - a word that was foreign and far beyond her. But thinking carefully, she let her gaze score the area once again, deeply breathing in the air, before nodding sagely, as if learning a life lesson. "It does. . . Home. . ." she lingered, before continuing forward, keeping her eyes to the trees for the creature that they had been watching for all day.
"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Roho," Kaskazi murmured, a few moments later, breaking her attention once again. "I don't expect you to settle down, just because somewhere feels nice. If you decide to take flight again, I'll be behind you, every step of the way." He knew her well, and knew that she was a wanderer, liken to the ocean - everywhere, and anywhere she could get to. A total freespirit.
Before the young lioness could make any statement in response, her head snapping back to him, eyebrows high, she was cut off by his cool voice again, "Ah, there you are, Jamala." The dark jackal looking up to a felled tree - forever balanced between it's breatheren, high in the tree tops, in a precarious display of nature.
Upon the natural work of art, was the god Jamala'Peponi, the Virtuous God, who had been wasting his day away, up in the trees.
After a moment's pause, the older lion turned his head down, his eyes squinting to view the mortal creatures on the ground, taking the time to focuse his gaze before recognizing the deep blue pelt that he had seen every day of her life. His beloved Roho; with a side of what looked like a blob in the shape of old Kazkasi, the jackal that had followed them in their trek back to the jungle.
"Alas, it would seem that I have been found out." Came the smooth reply, "What brings you two so far out into the jungle on this day?" Whether or not he had been feeling unwell up to now had become moot point, as the prospect of new conversation with the pair elated him a little - breaking the dark clouds that loomed over the old God's head. His daughter was his life - a breath of fresh air - which made him happier about everything around him, even when he felt the darkest. A reminder of times past.
A moment lapsed, before the blob-known-as-Kaskazi took a seat on the jungle ground, his half-lidded glance softening up a little at the sight of the large god, tail flopping around on the ground on content. "Just a couple of little travel-worn companions, seeking the wise old God's stories, that we've come to enjoy." He stated, dramatically - a little "Yes, a story!" pipping up beside him as Roho mimiced his position, sitting next to him and shadowing over him. For a moment there was silence, and then they were awarded with a deep chuckle that erupted from the god's throat, before an answer was returned to them
"If I must." Mala answered back, a dramatic huff escaping at the end in a playful manner, before extending his wings in a show of tri-coloured feathers, like a large cape in the wind. Dropping down to an easier level, the old God flapped his wings a couple times before coming to a halt on a fallen stump only a few feet off the ground, the height making him feel safe, and calmed. Sometimes that only he could get to. "You two asked so nicely, I don't know how I would have said no. Where should I start."
"Well, how did you find this place?" Roho piped up, after a moment's silence, her eyes widening with that brimming curiousity that he had grown to love so much. "Did you stumble on it, or something?"
"Hmm. Well, let's see." Jamala started, flickering his tail back and forth in the air under him, looking to the sky through the parted treelines that he was so familiar with. "I guess you could say that I basically fell out of the sky. But, I had always followed the whispers of those that I passed as a child; a wise, sweet talking cheetah, and your aunt, Kosa. The great Ela'wadiyi pride. . . it was all beautiful. But for another time," he cut that thought off before she could run with it, knowing his daughter so well. "Never the less, I had always seen this mystical jungle at the edge of the mighty firekins' land. It was much different than the Ela'wadiyi grasses, the Swamplands I had always heard of. So I came here."
Stopping for a moment, to catch his breath, he smiled at the reminscence of his first memory, stepping into the mortal lands. "I saw a little lioness, at the edge of the jungle, admiring how the grasses existed outside of . . ." He trailed, looking up as if to signify the area around him, "this."
"Was this the Ekevu, that I've heard about?" broke in, and Mala's glance fell back down to the dark jackal, a friend they had met after he had lost his beloved Kev, where ever her soul may be now. Wincing a slight bit at the memory, he shook his head lightly, before looking at Kaskazi once more, nodding softly. "Yes. It was a sunny day, and I spooked her by flying over her." He answered, chortling to himself at the memory.
"That would be quite a shock, I would think." Roho cut in, her gaze endless, as if she were staring at something not there, as she tried to imagine what her mom must have felt like, at such a young age, to see a flying God. "But I guess I wouldn't be able to understand, I've always known of Gods, who fly with the birds. Guess it would be like . . ." she trailed, thinking for a moment, "Ice in the desert. I guess."
With a hearty laugh, her father could only nod, as the last moments of the laughter died out - a sound that had been missing from his great person for a while now. It felt good to hear her father be able to show happiness once again - even if the opportunities were few and far between. "Indeed, my dearest, indeed." He answered, before shaking his head again, setting the story back on track. "But, it took two more trips before I was solidified in this family home. I had lost track of her the first time - the jungle is a harsh mistress to those who jump in blindly."
"Tosses and turns, pushes and pulls, really." Kaskazi murmured sofly, before hushing again, watching the god. Mala turned to Kaskazi again, and nodded to him. "Indeed, old friend."
". . . Wait, so you lost Mom." Roho jumped in, eyes widening at realization, which was awarded by a slightly shocked, 'don't blame me' face from her father, which only made her giggle a little. "Smooth move, Jamala. But, I kind of understand what you mean. We've been here for only a few days, and I've already walked circles around myself. It's hard to map this in my head. It's like the desert, just . . . greener." she finished, scrinching her muzzle up.
"Maybe we should go back to figuring it out, then, and leave the good Jamala back to his thinking. We've been in his fur long enough, today." Broke her thoughts, as the small jackal looked around the skyline of the trees. "Before the day turns, and the moon rises." Wasting no time, Roho nodded softly down to him, and brought her glance up to her father again, smiling softly to him. "He's right, thank you Jamala, I really enjoyed that story. Tell us more, later!" she chirped, before jumping to her feet and nudging Kaskazi forward, to start another misadventure in the great Jungle.
"Alright, be well, my dearests." called out to them, as the vision of the old god slowly drifted away from them, every step out.
