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 Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 8:32 am
 Life had not exactly gone to plan for Usiku, though really it rarely did. Her childhood had been a horrible experience, which had led to her less than friendly attitude towards everyone and everything. That had somewhat changed when she had a chance meeting with a male wild dog and overtime she had grown quite fond of him. They had become mates and even had four pups together. But then that life had become suffocating to Usiku and she had left one morning for some time alone to think, but she could never have imagined it would have come to endless months of wandering.
How long had she been away, well it was hard to tell. Certainly long enough that her pups would have grown into adults and likely left home to start lives of their own somewhere. And what of Subu? Well Usiku was certain he would have given up on her a long time ago and found a new mate. Really she wouldn't blame him if he did, she had been the one to abandon their family. The family that she didn't realize that she loved until it was too late. For months now she had wandered aimlessly, no real sense of direction, meeting a variety of different creatures including a Goddess. But now, now oddly enough her paws were taking her home. Would home still be there? It was hard to say.
She knew the area the moment she came to it. This had been the place her and Subu had settled down in before having their pups. There was the watering hole, the herds were still here and there off in the distance was the rock cave they had called home. She doubted he would be there, that any of her children would be there anyways, but nonetheless she walked towards the familiar spot. Once she had nearly reached the rock cave Usiku brought her paws to a stop, hesitant to look in or call out Subu's name for fear that he would not answer.
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 8:45 am
Subu was having one of his 'off' days again and Ataro had given up trying to conjole the old dog out into the sunshine after a couple hours of trying. It was sad really that his father seemed 'old' when he was still in the prime of his life..or would be if he bothered to take care of himself. But there wasn't much to be done for it and Ataro had eventually wandered off to leave him alone
In any case Subu..despite his sons efforts lay curled up in the dark of the den, these days he rarely even bothered watching the horizon anymore - if anything he was on the verge of giving up and wasting away completely and so curled up in a ball with his tail covering his face he automatically assumed it was Ataro or his sister returning to try and get him to eat...or come out...or anything at all when he heard the sound of approaching paw pads. "Go away" He grumbled from within "I don't want to go out today" He added sullenly.
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 8:52 am
Usiku gasped a bit when she heard Subu's voice from within the den. Had she truly heard it or was her longing to see and hear him making her her things? She hesitated for a moment weighing her options. Well if it was truly Subu inside then she would be a fool to walk away now when she had finally made it home. But if it wasn't, well she would be disappointed but she would move on and find some new place to call home. Deciding to check to make sure it wasn't her mind playing tricks on her Usiku took a couple steps forward so that she was standing in the entrance to the den.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness there in the corner she saw what looked to be Subu curled up in a tight ball. He looked so thin and it pained her to see him like this. It was her fault and she knew it. "That's not the greeting I was expecting." She said idly but did not move to greet him, not yet, she wanted to make sure he hadn't moved on first.
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 9:01 am
That...was not the voice he had expected to hear and lifting his head he turned slitted eyes in the other dogs direction. It was...far to good to be true. How many days had he stood and stared at the vast wasteland that he had once thought beautiful waiting for her to return? It had been beautiful - until she left, now it was a prison and a part of him recognized that he had started to loose it...that part of him assured Subu that this was simply another delusion.
None the less he picked himself up off the ground and took a few hesitant steps towards her...just in case. "I always thought someday you would come back" He told her in a quiet almost wondering voice "But it has been so long and things are muddled in my mind, I fear you are just another trick of the head"
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 9:14 am
Usiku huffed a bit, trying to not let her emotions get in the way, she wasn't as bitchy about things as she used to be but that was not reason to go all wishy washy over this. "I am no trick of the mind Subu." And she stepped forward pushing head muzzle against his to prove through direct contact that she was real. He was real. Oh he was real! Pulling her head back she looked him over and was appalled at just how thing he was. "You waited here...all this time?" She asked her voice getting a bit shaky and then she shook her head and took on a more serious, if not a bit anger toned voice. "You could have at least taken better care of yourself. You're practically skin and bones."
It had been only a few days ago that Ahadi had returned from one of her trips out. She and Ataro still took turns with who would watch father while the other would gain freedom for a few days. Of course her recent return had been wrought with worry. Several weeks ago, on one of her freedom trips she had encountered a nice male and spend a few days with him, the result of which being that she was now pregnant, however she had not yet told her father nor her brother, but she would need to soon.
She had found Subu after visiting the watering hole and was now walking with him back towards the den. "I don't care what he says." She told her brother. "He needs to get out, and more importantly eat. We will drag him out against his will if we have to. I can't stand to watch him whither away any more." Not now, not when he had grandchildren on the way, she wanted him to know her pups and play with them, so they would have to force him out of his depression one way or another.
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 9:27 am
Subu weak as he was found himself nearly pushed over by Usiku's nuzzle..but her closeness let him smell her, that long awaited scent returning to him. It was the single best thing he could recall happening to him and it cleared a bit of the fog away. "It's you! Thank the gods it truly is you!" Subu cried and pushed himself forward against her in such a rush that he nearly fell over himself to do so.
"I told them" He muttered "I told them you would come back..but none of them believed me and they all left me too. All but Ataro and Ahadi and I think they wished to leave a time or two as well" He babbled on, pressing against her as though it was impossible to get as close to her as he wanted to. "Of course I stayed - I knew. I knew" He continued on, completely ignoring her comment about taking better care of himself or the anger in her tone.
"Your not going to get any argument from me" Ataro told his sister as he paced alongside her. "I thought about just dragging him out by the scruff - he's thin and weak enough now that it would be possible without much difficulty...but I can't exactly stuff food down his throat..." He told her with a slight sigh.
They had thought about finding father a new friend or mate - but every attempt at that had gone awry and he was starting to think that maybe just maybe they had to prepare themselves for the worst. "Ahadi I just don't think he's going to hold on much longer" He told his sister sadly "We need to prepare ourselves for..." And here he paused because they were close enough to the den now that he could smell not only his father but someone else and somewhere in his long distant memory that smell was familiar. "Do you...I mean I think I.." He glanced at his sister to see if she had noticed it too.
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 9:40 am
"Of course it's me, who else would it be?" Normally Usiku would have backed away from his closeness, preferring less contact, but it had been so long and many nights she had craved Subu's touch. And now here he was, even if his body condition was clearly lacking and his mind seemed a bit off he was here, pressed up against her. Ears perked forward a bit. "Ahadi and Ataro stayed all this time?" That was even more shocking, it was one thing for her mate to wait months on end for her return but two of their children as well.
It was about this time that she heard some voice in the distance, voices that were vaguely familiar. Her children? All grown up? Usiku had to fight back tears now when she realized how much she had missed. No, she told herself, you have to be strong, Subu is the weak one you cannot afford to be weak as well. Her head turned to look towards the dens entrance and waited to see if it was indeed her children or not.
"Well we have to try something. I refuse to let him die." They could drag him out yes, but like Ataro pointed out there was little they could do about actually getting him to eat. They couldn't give up on him, not yet, not ever, they had both given up their own lives to take care of him so how could they just walk away now.
The scent hit her about the same time as it did Ataro and her paws came to a stop. No it couldn't be, that was impossible. Sniffing the air Ahadi shook her head. "It can't be..." She looked at Ataro. "After all this time...it can't be her." But nonetheless she padded forward to see if they were both a bit delusional, perhaps fathers delusions had finally wore off on them. Yet, as she reached the den entrance she saw father pressed up against the somewhat familiar coat of her mother. Ahadi didn't know what to say. What did one say when in this situation? Mother had abandoned them at such a young age, if she was looking for a friendly welcome well Ahadi wasn't sure she wanted to give it to her. "What are you doing here?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 9:56 am
"Don't you speak to your mother like that!" Subu snapped, rising his head to look at his daughter with the first trace of well...clarity...that he'd had in a while. "She's come back - just as I said she would someday" He went on, eyes moving towards Ataro as though daring his son to say something like Ahadi had.
"You see? It will all be alright now" He went on in a softer voice as she looked between all three of them "Everything will be okay now, just like it used to be" He assured them all. unlike ahadi clearly Subu didn't seem to hold a grudge against Usiku for leaving them - no he seemed more then willing to let that go and concentrate on the fact that she had returned.
Ataro was equally disbelieving but he followed along after his sister until right before him stood the purple form of his mother - he only vaguely recalled her to be honest - she'd left when he was quite young and thankfully they're father had remained lucid enough to see them past pup hood. It hadn't been until they're adolescence that he had started to go down hill.
The comment that was forming on his own mouth filtered away at the look from his father and Ataro stilled slightly, nudging his sister to see if she noticed the same thing as he did - it had been a long time since anything had stirred they're father like this...and despite their feelings about it...he had to admit that this dog might just be the answer they were looking for. At least in terms of keeping they're father alive.
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 10:10 am
Her daughters reaction, well she somewhat saw that coming, but even so a bit of anger flashed in Usiku's eyes. But before she could say anything Subu took a stand, that was unexpected, Subu had always been the more laid back one. "It's alright." She assured her mate. "She has every right to be mad at me. They both do." Her eyes moved back to her two grown children, Ataro had not yet said anything but that could have been due to Subu's outburst.
"I know I wronged you guys, your father and your other siblings. But I won't apologize for it because it will not undo what I did. I came back, because I couldn't stand to be away anymore, it should have been sooner but it wasn't. You can accept me or not, but I will not be leaving your father ever again." There she said her peace and would leave it at that.
Ahadi's eyes narrowed a bit at her father but deep down she was happy to see he had a spark of life returning to him. At Ataro's nudge she glanced over at him and gave her head a nod, yes she had seen it, and it was a wonderful thing. But now she had something to say to her mother, to all of them in fact, not the way she had envisioned to do it but it would have to do. "You're right I don't have to accept you back, I'm not sure what to think. You left us, abandoned us and you have been gone for so long I can't even call you my mother. Father did everything he could to raise us on his own. But in your absence he changed, became secluded and Ataro and I decided to stay and take care of him while you were gone." Her eyes fell upon her father, he was as thin as ever but yet with the return of their mother she could see life burning bright within his eyes.
"Do you have any idea how hard it was on us? On him? He barely eats, almost never leaves the den, all because of you. Now he instantly defends you as if nothing happened. But things have happened, we grew up without your help, father saw to that, Ataro and I have struggled to keep everything together and now I'm pregnant and you come home and act like nothing is wrong. Plenty is wrong. So excuse me for not being welcoming, but my only concern is seeing that father is taken care of, with or without your help." Her eyes moved to Ataro, hoping that he would at least have the guts to back her up...that was if he wasn't too distracted by the sudden news she had slipped in.
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 10:59 am
Subu was sad to see Ahadi and presumably Ataro so upset but even that couldn't quite squelch the joy he felt at Usiku's return. "I tried to tell them...in stories about you" He tried to explain to is mate "That you weren't ready for family life back then, that surely you had left to come to terms with it in your own way and that you'd return when you had...but I don't think they every understood." He told her sadly - it was the reason he couldn't bring himself to be mad at her for leaving, though it had pained him greatly - he had known she was only following who she was, that she would eventually return to them. He hadn't expected it to take this long ...but that was neither here nor there..
And while he was a far bit more clear headed then he had been in a long time, he still wasn't as sharp as he had been before and his daughters remark, so cleverly slipped in during her rant nearly passed him by, it was Ataro's gaping look that made him recall her words and study them in greater details and when he had finished hi own look was a good imitation of his son's astonished one.
Ataro nodded his head in agreement with his sisters words "She's right of course" He told his mothers "None of this would have happened if you'd just..stayed here!" He went on, like his sister he wasn't sure if he could forgive his mother for what she had done to they're family with her irresponsible actions, he found that deep within he was quite bitter about the entire subject and might have gone off on a rant of his own....if he hadn't heard the small bit of information his sister had slipped into her words and turned his head to stare at her in astonishment "Your..WHAT?" He yelped "From who? When?!?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 11:26 am
Usiku wasn't about to start arguing with everyone the rights and wrongs of the world, nor did she feel like explaining why she left or why it took her so long to return - which honestly was very out of character for her. What had been done was done, no amount of apologizing and explaining could undo that so why try. Even so the part where Ahadi slipped in her news was the biggest shock of all, Usiku could handle her children being mad, she could handle Subu's lack of clarity on the world around him but to find out Ahadi was pregnant was too much for her.
"I hope your ready for motherhood Ahadi, or else your pups will end up in a similar situation that you and your siblings did." Not quite the response that she had immediately thought up but this one was less harsh at least.
So they hadn't missed her little surprise, though seemed like father took the longest to catch on. "You all heard me, I said that I am pregnant." Then her eyes turned to Usiku. "And unlike you, I am actually looking forward to being a mother. I have wanted to start a family for some time now but kept putting it off so that I could look after father instead." She then turned her gaze to her brother. "As for who and when, that's not important right now." Because honestly she couldn't exactly remember the males name at this point having been blinded by her rage of seeing her mother again, and the when, well it was a while ago but she wasn't about to sit here and count the days.
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 12:23 pm
Despite the passive aggressive nature of the conversation Subu did not seem phased at all by the news - once he got over the shock that was - and if he hadn't been glued to Usiku's side in fear that she would disappear on him again he would have gone over to congratulate his daughter. As it was he offer her a few wags of his tail. "She is all grown up" He reminded Usiku "But she will be a wonderful mother, she's taken care of me" He reminded his mate in a pleased voice.
Truly today was turning out to be a grand day - first Usiku had returned and now Ahadi was going to have pups. Why he thought he might even feel like eating! "I think I might be hungry" He announced hoping that this revelation might quiet the dissenting voices...at least for a little bit
"Hey, I'm not judging...just curious" Ataro told his sister peaceably. He wasn't about to lecture her for running off and having a bit of fun on her days off - why he did much the same in his though as far a he knew none of those had resulted in pups.
"I think pups will be great" He continued on though he was a bit put out that she hadn't told him sooner "When are you due?" He asked glancing over at her belly - certainly it must still be a little bit off as he couldn't detect much of a change quite yet. Obviously..if she'd bounded up to him with a bulging belly he'd like to think he would have noticed that. And then of course they're father said he might be hungry - which was a far bit better then them trying to stuff food down his throat "Of course father, we'll get you something right away"
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Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 12:34 pm
Usiku could only sigh and flop onto her backside. It was almost too much, but she refused to walk away, look how that turned out the first time. "I know." Was about the only thing she could say to them about the whole situation. She knew Ahadi was grown up, she knew that one day her daughter would likely want and family and she knew that Ahadi and Ataro had taken good care of Subu. "Best get him some food then." She said idly, normally she not one to let others do the hunting as it had always been something she enjoyed but right now she needed time alone to think, and talk with Subu privately.
"Not for some time still." She told her brother, and really it was true, it had only been a couple of weeks since her night with that male and even more recently that she had found out that she was pregnant. "Come on let's get father something to eat, I could use some fresh air anyways." The den was getting crowded and stuffy with everything that had happened so far today, so hunting would be the perfect opportunity to get her frustrations out as well as to think on things.
Turning Ahadi led the way out of the den. It was at least good to see father happy again, showing signs of life and wishing to eat. And eat he would, for she was determined to bring him plenty of food so that he could further regain his strength.
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 1:29 pm
Subu watched impassively as their children left the den. The prospect of him eating seemed like it was enough to make them disappear for a little while - much as he had thought it might be. Turning his attention back to Usiku he spent more then a few moments simply studying her - how foolish he had been these last months to think that she might very well not return! Subu hadn't taken proper care of himsel in a while - but it wasn't until his own hope had started to wan that he'd started to wither away quite so drastically..and he'd been foolish to let that happen, he could see that now.
He should have known she'd return. "I'm sorry, they're good children..they just don't understand why you had to leave like I do" He apologized for Ahadi and Ataro's behavior. "I'm sure they will realize this in time and apologize themselves" He added though to be honest he wasn't entirely sure that they would - mostly he was just afraid that Usiku would leave again if he continued to say nothing at all...
Ataro followed his sister from the den - th two of them walked in silence for quite some time, no doubt processing their individual thoughts on what had happened. Ataro knew thats what he was doing anyways - and not only did he have to process the reappearance of their mother...but Ahadi's news as well. It was like getting kicked by two zebra's at the same time and it took a little while for it all to sink in properly.
When it finally did Ataro wasn't sure what he would think - though he doubted he'd could be anything but happy for his sister, she had always wanted a family. Though he assumed she had imagined having a male around to help. No matter he supposed and with a sigh he finally broke the silence between them "Well...at least he wants to eat?" That was the only good thing he could come up with that they would both agree on.
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Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 8:36 am
There was really nothing she could say as she watched her two fully grown children leave. And as much as she hated to admit it this was all her fault, the way they reacted, their hatred towards her, everything was her fault. Letting out a sigh all she could do was glance over at Subu. "I know." If they chose not to accept her in their lives again then so be it, but she would be here for Subu from now on. Usiku could not undo what she had done but she had learned a lot on her time away and she would not let this happen again. Lowering herself down to lay beside Subu she let her mind digest all of what had happened but was glad to be back at her mates side once more.
To say there was a lot of her mind was a bit of an understatement. The return of mother, her news, and trying to figure out what to do next, it was a lot to handle at once time. The silence helped her think on things, but no real conclusion came to her about what she would do in the near future. Should she stay here to have her pups? Seek out the male and let him know? Or perhaps find a new place to live? When Ataro spoke Ahadi was so deep in thought that she jumped a little at his voice, but a smile crossed her maw. "Yes, that's a good thing. We'll make sure he gets plenty to eat." And as much as she wanted to talk with her brother about some things Ahadi decided to hold them back, first they would hunt, make sure father ate well and then she would speak with him privately about her concerns. So she led the way towards the herds with the intent of bringing back home the largest zebra or antelope that they could manage.
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