Kima lay stretched out on her belly, scratching at the ground with one marred oversized paw. Her skin was taught around her knuckles and still covered in a thin layer of dirt that almost blended into her coat. She sighed softly, eyes closed as she drew herself in then out again, preparing herself for what the day would bring when she gathered the courage to open them.
Sadiki was still on the prowl for a hapless cheetah female with which he could have cubs. He was having little luck finding a suitable enough female to hold a conversation with, let alone one that he could stand procreating with. Life was hard and tiresome, and Sadiki missed his pridelands.
Well, he couldn't say that his travels were boring; they were anything but that. Take the lioness before him, for example. She was as brown as the dirt that she rested on, and with paws outstretched and eyes closed, she made for a curious sight. Sadiki merely cleared his throat, hoping that would be enough to get her attention.
The staunch lioness lifted her head toward the sound, but was still reluctant to open her eyes. "Who's there?" she called out, pulling herself to a seat with a great deal of effort. Her body often did not cooperate these days, and she found herself very uneven as she rose, rocking slightly to repair the problem. After filling her mind with all of the good sensible things she remembered, flowers and landscapes and the faces of her old family, she finally allowed her eyes to open, resting brightly on the cheetah before her. Ah, a rare day, her mind seemed cooperative for the time being.
"Greetings," Sadiki spoke, moving a bit closer in case she had troubles seeing him. "I am Sadiki. Is all well with you, ma'am?"
Kima offered a smile, so manners were not forgone in these parts, that was always nice to see. "I am, these bones are simply tired of working with me, is all, takes a little longer to get going each morning." Her clarity seemed to falter for a moment and her expression shifted to one of agitation and confusion, "Who are you?" Her heart skipped a beat as she looked around, she did not remember coming out this way.
Sadiki frowned a bit. It was obvious that she was a bit off her rocker, and he didn't want to leave her alone in a moment of absent-mindedness. He had seen others like this; their memory and faculties would come and go, come and go. There were good days and bad days. "I am Sadiki," he said again, "a mere stranger. I've happened to come across you." He peered around, looking for a lost family member or some such. "Are you here alone?"
"I am Kima," she told him, the cloudiness in her eyes floating in and out seamlessly, "And I am always alone it seems." She was noticing it more now each day, finding families and groups that she was not a part of. Some days, when her mind was clear enough, she wondered what had happened to her family and whether she might have time yet to begin anew. That was a childish hope, one she could not see as likely in any form. But then, those were the clear days, where ration still held sway. "You are a stranger you say? To here or everywhere?"
Sadiki found he appreciated the way the female spoke. She was intelligent, it seemed, or had been during her more lucid days, and while she seemed to come and go Sadiki didn't mind. "To here, Kima. I am far from my homeland." He frowned slightly, feeling obligated to the female for some reason. "If you have no family, I would be happy to escort you back to my pridelands. We have priestesses who can look over you, and make sure that you are well taken care of."
The thought seemed to offend her and anger flashed across her face, but it did not show through her voice. "Taken care of? No, I will be fine. I'm just getting old, there's a place for me I just haven't found yet." Her eyes glassed over a bit and her expression faded into a child-like smile, "But I will, and then my family and I will be very happy, like we should have been."
Sadiki frowned at having somehow offended her, though by the tone of her voice one would have to wonder if he'd actually offended her or her mind was toying with her. "I meant no ill will towards you, old one. I suppose I merely have a soft spot for those who seem to need the help of others." He shuffled about a bit, the frown clearing from his face. "Have you eaten lately?" He hadn't, and while he wasn't starved, he felt energetic enough to find food for the both of them should she desire a meal.
"I carried a rabbit for some time," she told him bleakly, forgetting where she had left it. Shame, it had smelled good. Last time someone had offered to hunt for her it hadn't felt embarrassing as this did. "I could help," she suggested, though she was unsure she could manage a true run anymore, "I can always help with something." That was the one remaining piece of herself that meant something, coupled with her name she had always been Kima the helper, Kima the caretaker, never the one whom needed care. That was the worst of it now. She stared into the distance as these thoughts flowed through her muddled mind, then suddenly turned to look at him with ghostly eyes, "I am hungry."
She... carried a rabbit? Good grief. He doubted she would be any help at all, but he didn't want to further offend the elder lioness. She seemed so alone and lost, and Sadiki felt his heart melt a bit more for her. This was a strange feeling for the cheetah. Usually he was so standoffish and gruff, but Kima was different. When she said that she was hungry, he nodded. It wouldn't take him long to bring her back something. It had been a long while since he'd done something useful or helpful. "Kima, you sit here, and stay here. Can you promise me?"
Always sit and stay, sit and stay. Her head nodded forward and she offered a smile, "Do." The simple word seemed to be an effort for her and she watched curiously as her paws began to shake again, as if they belonged to someone else. It seemed to be worse when she was aware of it, as if the very act of trying to control them set them outside of her range. A sad look came over her eyes as they washed with deep color, why couldn't her mind choose one side of the other, why did it always have to be a muddled mix of the two.
A worrisome furrow creased the fur between Sadiki's eyes. If he left her here alone, would she be here when he returned? Sadiki certainly hoped so. He didn't want to be responsible for anyone but himself. But Kima.. Gods only knew why he felt obligated to this foggy-brained lioness. It was hard to say. "I shan't be long. I promise. Now you promise to stay here, Kima.. please." Hearing her promise would make him feel better, at least. There was no telling if she'd stick to it, but at least his mind would be a bit more at ease.
"I promise," she agreed, looking up at him in a wave of clarity. It was kind, what he was doing, but still somehow she felt insulted. She had made it this far looking for a family of her own, and what right did this male have to circumvent that? Strange, she hadn't noticed this feeling in herself before, she hadn't been uncomfortable when the leopardess had been helping her. Was it simply because he was male? The thought made her heart skip a beat, when had she become skeptical of males? "I won't go anywhere," she managed to add, squinting as she looked away from him. This wasn't a good progression.
Sadiki grunted and turned away from the lioness. "Just keep thinking of the food I'll bring back to you." He took off at a quick pace, trotting away for a few moments before breaking out into a long lope. Dust kicked up beneath his toes, and soon enough he was out of sight.
It didn't take long before he returned. An hour, give or take. His entire hunt had been filled with questions. Would she still be there when he got back? He half-thought he might go look for her if she wasn't where he'd left her, but where would he look? Besides, Sadiki was on a mission to find a female to give him cubs, not on a mission to look after a senile old lioness.
Dragging the corpse of a rather small, pathetic and likely sickly zebra behind him, Sadiki returned to the spot where he'd left the lioness.
Kima was still where he had left her, though looked a little more bedraggled than she had an hour earlier. In his absence she had fallen asleep and an nasty bird had come down to n** at her sides. She had chased it away but the episode had left her shaken. Had it thought she was dead? Rude. Her mind laughed at her and she focused on pushing it away, locking it out with reminders that she was to stay put, wait. When he arrived back she found herself excited, and emotion that had long since dulled itself to her. It was refreshing, and she felt awake and lucid as she sat up to greet him with an approving smile, "That didn't take you long."
Sadiki dropped the carcass in front of her, panting softly with exertion. He'd never, in his entire life, make a kill for someone who wasn't in his pride. Yet here he was with a strange lioness, offering her a fresh kill, meager as it was. What was he becoming? He scowled, not appreciating the obligation she made him feel whether she knew it or not. "I'm glad you remained where I told you," the cheetah spat, pink tongue lashing out to clean the remaining blood from his maw. "I would've been furious if I'd returned to find you gone."
Kima tilted her head, unsure what offense she had done him to earn this shift in tone. Perhaps she had said something stupid while her mind was wandering. She pinned her ears back and gingerly took a scrap from the carcass, "I'm sorry to make you work for me, you can take it with you if you'd like." The exhilaration had cleared her head for the time being, and she intended to use whatever time she had to thank this male that had taken care of her for no deserving reason, "I'll be alright once the sun sets."
Sadiki, the normal Sadiki, would've lashed out at the stupid female with venomous words. This Sadiki, the new Sadiki, didn't understand why he was still here, or why he'd even returned. He felt himself soften yet again with a sigh, and moved to rest next to her. "I will remain with you until then," he huffed, licking the zebra's blood from his paws. He watched her eat while doing so. Her lucidity seemed to come and go like a breeze across the savanna, and Sadiki just... couldn't bring himself to leave her just yet.
"You're a nice boy," she told him as she ate, a touch of maternal wistfulness slipping into her voice, "A good son I'd think, your mother must have been proud." The words seemed irrational, but there was no hint of cloudiness in her eyes. She was focused, simply dreaming now of the son she'd never had, the one who should be doing all of this for her, the one who would have taken away her weariness and replaced it with comfort and grandcubs.
Sadiki paused in his grooming, his own eyes growing a bit clouded with memories. He'd loved his own mother, one much like Kima. A pretty cheetah, she'd been, one he'd slowly and painfully lost to insanity. Deep, deep down Sadiki knew that was why he felt this obligation and responsibility for not just Kima, but all elders he knew. He'd never admit it, though, not in a million years. Instead he covered it with layer upon layer of anger, gruffness, opinions and irritation. He was silent for a long while before he spoke softly, "Thank you, Kima."
Sensing that he was upset the old lioness lifted her head nudged it against his side, a rough sort of affection that was the best she could manage at this point. "A good boy." Her voice was more distant now and she returned to her eating, a methodical motion that seemed to have no real meaning to her. "Don't you have something you need to be doing?"
"Just eat, old woman," he snorted, going back to grooming his paws. There was no venom in his words, just a sort of affectionate tolerance. "I said I'd stay until nightfall." A blush tinged his nose, a reaction to her affection that he hadn't been expecting but had rather enjoyed in a familial sort of way. "Then perhaps we'll find you a bit of cover for the night, before I leave."
"Fine, fine" she surrendered, nibbling at the bits of meat that remained on the bones. Fresh kill was a rare treat for her, she had survived on scavenge the past few years. The thought of shelter also appealed to her. A burrow perhaps, or a den of some sort would be nice. She smiled despite herself, thankful for the continued company. He didn't need to stay here with her, most wouldn't, But here he was still, far from home and still treating her like she was there. Maybe she would go with him. No, she hadn't found her family yet, that's what she had set out to do and that's what she must do. She glanced at the horizon. The sun was already fading and she begrudged it for doing so, but it was selfish.
Sadiki fell silent and merely watched the lioness eat. He felt no urge to push her along, instead enjoying the idle time he had while watching her pick daintily at the scrawny corpse of the zebra. The sky was growing darker at a steady pace, and he would stick to his promise after she was done eating. He would feel more comfortable if she had a safe place to call home, even if it was temporary, and his conscience would let him rest at ease knowing she would be fine, even if for only this one night.
Within a few minutes Kima had finished her meal and felt the rare warmth of a full stomach. It was odd to her somehow, she hadn't earned it but here she was reaping the benefits. She silently hoped he would ask for something, though she knew from his present actions he would not. "Thank you, again," she told him softly, sheepishly, her eyes flickering from him to the sky behind him, "I think there were some warrens around here, I should be alright if I dig one out."
"You're welcome," he said, rising to his feet. Sadiki stretched before yawning. "I'll help you," he offered, intending to follow through whether Kima liked it or not. "After I'm rid of you I can move along," he continued gruffly, the words holding no sting whatsoever. "If the warrens don't work, I saw a small outcropping of rocks just a ways away while I was hunting." He frowned the slightest, "Now lets go if you're done eating." He was trying to make it seem as if he was being severely inconvenienced, but he wasn't.
"Rocks are best," she agreed, sensing a bit of humor in his dismay. He was a good boy. Her eyes clouded over a little more as the sun slipped behind the horizon, nights were rarely good times for her. She worked herself to her feet, casting a curious look around, "Rocks?" It sounded like a general question with no clear meaning, peculiar in its subject. She didn't seem to notice she had even said it, wandering off slowly in the direction he was facing.
Sadiki sensed that she'd drifted off again. It was rather sad to him how she came and went, just as it'd been with his mother. Fading in and out, moments of clarity coming further and further apart before nothing was left but a shell of the proud female she'd once been. Frowning, he moved to walk beside her, guiding her with a soft nudge to her shoulder if she slipped too far off the path they needed to take. "It's not far now," he whispered to her in hushed tones.
She hummed as they went, an odd sort of lullaby from a time she could not quite remember. It was something that came to her often in her mind, accompanied by the sounds of laughter and water splashing. Perhaps her mother had sung it once, before. His company was the only thing truly keeping her in touch with reality as they progressed, having slipped deep into the vault of memories and nightmares. She had trouble separating one from the other anymore. The fears were beaten back now, but there were times they would take over. "Not far," she repeated.
As they approached the outcropping of rocks, Sadiki herded her into a small alcove formed by the stones. He knew he couldn't leave her tonight, not when she drifted back into the recesses of her mind. He would stay with her while she slept, watching over her until morning. And then he would have to leave. Sadiki hoped he could force himself to do it. "Rest now," he whispered, hoping she would lie down so that he himself could do so.
Kima yawned, her eyes now softened and dulled exposing her exhaustion. She hadn't truly rested in a long time. She had slept certainly, but always with the fear in the back of her mind. With him there, she felt a comfort that drove it off, and within seconds on laying down her eyes became heavy and she floated off into memory. "Boy," she mumbled approvingly, a senseless repetition of her new mantra for him. It was a shame she couldn't go with him.
(Dulcea and Pinchmonster)
