(AIM log between Keantha and myself.)
Tana had stayed to talk to his stepfather and his younger siblings before following the path his mother had taken Eshe down. Gods how in the hells had this happened? His mother assumed and Tana, in a moment of pure panic agreed...and now here they were.
He stopped a good distance from the den, taking a deep breath to settle his nerves before calling out softly into the twilight air. "Eshe? Can we please talk about this?"
Eshe stood in the middle of the den, breathing in the aftermath of her tantrum. As soon as Tana's mother had left all hell had broken loose. She tore the den apart, and was damned determined to do more.
She turned sharply towards the entrance, but not because she'd heard him. Because she smelled him. "You dirty, no good, son of a...of a slug!" With every word, her voice rose and gained shrillness until she was standing at the entrance and all, but screaming.
She had every right to be enraged and Tana knew it so instead of fighting back he just flinched and lowered his head, ears tucking back into his thick blue mane, "She just assumed Eshe, I didn't tell her that I was bringing a mate home. I just..." he sighed taking a deep breath before raising his head to meet her eyes. "It's a very long story and I know you haven't eaten all day. Let me catch us some dinner and explain...please?"
It was a lot to ask for her and he knew it, but having turned it over in his mind the last few hours, Tana came to realize he wasn't sure he was ready to let her go.
"You just what? Sat there and TOOK IT?" Eshe roared, her ears peeled flat back on her head. She couldn't argue with him on the facts, but she was too pissed off to ever think about being nice to him. "So long as it's not covered in mud, maybe," she snarled, before raising her head and stalking back into the den.
The lioness' paws flexed into the dirt to pull her to a stop before her butt slammed onto the ground. What was wrong with her? Shouldn't she be happy that she had a home, a place to stay? But how could she when waiting just outside in the swamp was her...her mate.
Tana sighed in relief that she was willing to atleast let him feed her. He quickly disappeared into the gloom, returning at full dark with a juvinle crocodile hanging from his jaws. It was a rich, rare meat as few were willing to face a croc and consider becoming prey themselves.
Laying if before the den, Tana made that low, heavy grunt sound that was more pressure than noise to get her attention. "Eshe..dinner."
Eshe's ears flicked up, and she half turned, tempted just to ignore him completely. Too bad she couldn't ignore her hunger. Grudingly, Eshe padded over to Tana and looked down with surprise at the crocodile. How did he even...? How was she supposed to EAT it? "Spill." She sat down next to the prey and flipped it onto it's back, then jabbed her paw at it's stomach
"The whole story or the shortened version?" He absently reached over and with a thick claw caught the soft underbelly and tore it open for her.
"The shortened version." She leaned back to let him open it for her, then glared at Tana before bending down for a bite. Oh...Oh wow! Who knew crocodile could taste so good! Eshe's tail swayed behind her and with a finality, came to a rest near her left side as if it too was tired.
He sighed softly curling up, his tail around his haunches, " It all boils down to my mother. All of her life she has suffered and lost over and over. Her mother, her two sisters by mateing, her brother, even dad once. When I was a cub I use to wake up at night hearing her crying that she wasn't enough for us all. " He flinched, hunching down as if the memory still caused him pain.
"When dad came back into our lives, there was this light in her eyes then, as if she had never really lived before. Her prayers changed then. She would pray we all found the happiness with a loved one she had."
Eshe's paw stilled from atop the prey. She gave Tana her undivided attention with a calmness that showed her concern. "That much death and she still...?" The spotted lioness shook her head. When she looked to him again, she saw that his posture seemed to be weighted down by the information.
Smoothly, she stood and came closer to him, leaning up against him for moral support. "....So thats why you don't want to disappoint her?"
He nodded faintly, " My brothers and sisters have all returned with mates and settled down to start families. " He gave her a sheepish smile, " I am the runt and so she has always worried more for me than any of my littermates, well atleast till the family grew. I don't want to give her more to worry about...and..." He hesitated before giving her a faint smile, " Besides, I am not sure I am ready to say good-bye to you yet.."
Eshe smiled faintly and dipped her head down, turning her green gaze away for a moment before looking down at his paws. "...Honestly? I'm not really ready to go, either." She smiled, still looking down. "Granted, I'm not really happy right now, but I'm getting there. I was alone and scared when you found me, then you brought me here and I met your mother. If the rest of your family is anything like her, I never want to leave."
She laughed and looked up to meet his gaze. "I guess it's settled then, right? I just wish I could have known a little more about you first, but we still have time."
He smiled at her relieved as she laughed before he gently butted his head against hers. " I can not promise there won't be times you will want to kill me. My family will drive you mad and pester you until you decide to leave me, but I can promise you this Eshe...I will always be here for you."
He smiled his gold eyes bright and warm with an emotion that neither of them were really ready to call. "I will be your rock when you feel weak, I'll be your friend when you need to rant and rave. I will protect you and provide for you always." He laughed softly, " And to show I mean it, I have taken the name Ekuweme, so that you know I will always keep that promise to you."
She grinned and rubbed her head against his. "Trust me, I'm fully prepared for that." Why, just earlier that very night, she'd been ready to strangle the poor male infront of his mother. "And I can't promise that I'll always be this sweet, but you already know that."
Eshe sat back on her haunches. With every word her heart grew warmer and swelled out to an enormous size. "I..." Despite how far she'd come, she wasn't ready to commit to it, not yet. To say it was to finalize it and she was just starting to recognize it. "Why are you changing your name?"
He chuckled softly," It is a tradition among my people. When a youngster is ready to become an adult, they go out into the world to find out who they will be. " He didn't say it, but he had found who he wanted to be when he saved a certain silly lioness. " When you return to the swamps, we take a name that reflects who we are as adults rather than the children we once were."
"Thats so weird." She couldn't help, but laugh. Something about the whole thing was hilarious to her, and yet so serious at the same time. "Wow." Once she'd sobered up, the depth of it hit her. It reflected who he was as an adult, but what did her name say about her? That it was the same name her mother gave to her before she could walk? "That means I'll have to change mine then, right?"
"Some day," He smiled at her gently, " You don't have to, but many, like my mother, do. She said it was because her old life was dead and now she was home."
Eshe nodded in response and flicked her tail out behind her legs. She took a good, long look out on the swamps. Even though it wasn't as glistening as she would have prefered, this place was her home and in it were some of the people willing to accept her into her family. And standing next to her was a male that would prowl down the plains of life until death with her.
Nervously, she leaned forward to rub her nose on his and pulled back with a grin, then sauntered back into her den. No matter the cards dealt out for her, Eshe was going to make the best of it and have as much fun along the way.
((Fin - 1,554))
