The lake was small, edges parched, waters nigh undrinkable - the difference in color between the rich, bared lakebed and the dryer ground above it was obvious. Brown grasses were withered and patchy, yellow-gold with crisp edges. Stunted trees did not have the lush green they did back home in the Ukuucha'Wafalme. Even the water in the lake itself was muddied and thick with dying and decaying fish and other strange worm-like creatures. The sky mirrored the brown of the land, the hazy clouds that stretched across the skyscape seemingly created by gritty dust. There was no escape from this place, no escape from this hell that she was in.
Koko was lost, delirious with thirst and cramping with hunger. Her once vibrant pelt no longer held the lustre that she'd been so proud of. Her eyes, once jade-like and luminous, were now dull and dim. There was nothing left for her to do but accept her end and deal with the agonizing pain that wracked her body, that seized her heart. She'd been wandering, lost and alone, ever since she'd left Behnam back near her pridelands. She had lost her heart that day, her heart and a piece of her soul. Things would never be the same for her.
If tears could fall, they would fall freely now. Dehydration did not allow for such a fickle emotion. All she could do right now was make low raspy moaning sounds that spoke of the anguish in her heart and the pain that wracked her thin body. Koko had never thought that she would end up like this. Never had she dreamed that her last days on this earth would be spent alone in the middle of the savanna, frightfully hungry and thirsty. Koko was certain that death was imminent. There was nothing else that could happen here. She could not muster the strength to move on her own, could not even open her eyes. Koko wasn't sure if they were glued together with mucous or swollen shut with tear-induced puffiness. The sun blasted through her fur, burning her skin, burning her nose, burning her paws. Even if she could rise it was likely that her feet would be too sore to move on, or that the blisters there would burst.
Koko did not know what to do. Lost, utterly alone, she welcomed touch of death brushing against her shoulder, welcoming her into a painless void filled with nothing but blissful nothingness.
Jiwekali could not believe his eyes. It had not been more than three weeks since Coolbreeze had left him, making her departure during the night as the lion slept. She'd left behind a bit of the healing salve she'd applied to his nose and paws, a few stringy hares for meals, and some clean water for him to drink from. The wild dog had saved his life. He was given a second chance at life by a wild dog that had been kind and gentle enough to save him from a mangy hyena and tender enough to nurse him back to health without a second thought. He'd grown stronger over the past few weeks, able to hunt on his own as he roamed across the rogue lands.
And yet, here he was, staring at what appeared to be the lifeless body of a rather pretty female. She was far younger than he was, admittedly, and would be a stunning lioness if she wasn't half dead. Suddenly he was put in the position that Coolbreeze must've been in when she found him those many weeks ago. Was this his chance to pay it forward, as it were? Jiwekali liked to hope so.
From the looks of the girl she was pretty far gone. The positive side of this was that he had been able to find her before any scavengers had and so she should be able to come away from this unscathed. His shoulder and head still ached from where that hyena had tried to pull him across the unforgiving sands. Jerking himself back to the present, Jiwekali nosed her shoulder gently. She gasped roughly, eyes opening to peer at him glassily.
"Behnam?" Her voice was filled with hope and love despite the roughness that tinged her words. She was looking at him , eyes held open by pure force, like he was somebody else and it was obviously someone she loved with all of her soul.
"Alright, darling," he said much like a father would say to his daughter, "There's some shade not ten steps from here. We have to get you there." She was nothing but skin and bones -- he could fairly see her heart pounding against her ribs.
"Behnam, I thought you would never come after me," she whispered, her eyes closing though a small smile remained on her muzzle. "I knew you loved me, Behnam. I knew you loved me and only me."
She wasn't moving. That would pose a problem, and the only way that Jiwekali could think to get around the issue was to pretend that he was this Behnam fellow so that she would listen to him. Scandalous, yes. Necessary, yes. Was he going to do it?
Well, yes. He would not let her die here.
"Of course I came after you, my love," he whispered softly, nudging her shoulder again. "I could not bear to live without you. My life was so meaningless without you." That seemed to excite her into moving, though she was sluggish and slow. It didn't matter. She was struggling to her feet, and with his help he was certain that he would get her safely in to the shade. It was imperative that she get protection from the unforgiving rays of the sun. Already there were blisters on her nose and her pawpads were chapped and raw. The poor thing. Jiwekali had to tamp down the unspeakable rage that welled in his heart at the male that had done this to her.
No, there was no room for anger here.
"I waited for you," she rasped, choking out the words as she spoke. Her tongue sounded as if it might be three sizes too big for her mouth, "I knew you would come for me. I knew our love was strong enough. You were my first," she said wistfully, hoarsely, "my first lover, my last lover. My only love." Leaning most of her weight on Jiwekali, Koko took small, halting steps as they shuffled towards the direction that Jiwekali moved her in. She paused and looked at him with something like a frown on her face, an expectant frown as if she waited to hear something specific come from his lips.
Jiwekali blinked at her, bright eyes taking in all of her features. She was parched and filthy and yet no longer frightened and moving on her own free will all because she thought he was this Behnam fellow.
"And you are my only love," he said softly, the words taking him back to a time long ago, a time when he had a mate and two cubs that loved him. A time before they were taken from him, lost to him forever. He shook himself free of that thought but they clung to him like musty spiderwebs. Clearing his throat he shoved those memories into the back of his mind and helped the lioness lay down in the shade provided by a few scraggly trees. She was silent, caught somewhere between wakefulness and dreams. She would come out of this, she would survive, but he had to get her water and food. Then he could use the leftover salve he'd gotten from Coolbreeze on her paws and nose.
He had to move fast. Night would fall soon enough and with that would come predators seeking out the scent of the near-dead lioness. He would have to be there to protect her.
WC: 1318
