Odessia...
His night of recovery had left him to his thoughts. He dreamt of her again, a slender creature with a gentle face, a warm voice, and a firey passion unlike any other. She had a love only for justice... a love they shared. His attention, however, had been divided.
For so long he'd borne her torch- or had thought to do so. A younger lion had taken up where she had left off. Ambitious and stupid. Gullable... but well-meaning regardless. He'd won them the war at the very least.
That morning, Flik had wandered from the cave with a full belly. His gut bulged for the first time in too long and his body had fallen into the deepest, most restful sleep it had been privilaged to since his departure. Thank the stars for that.
He had permission to rest until he was ready to go. A bloated belly was the last thing he needed... if he had to run again he'd cramp up and that'd be the end of it. Instead, he took time to simply watch the ocean, embracing the salty air and the cry of the gulls above.
She had loved the sea...
Elpis had done her best to tend her strange visitor in the previous night. He'd been tense, stoic. Wordy, but not in the way Ame was. He used fewer words, but bigger ones. Elpis was a smart liones, but she'd rarely heard this kind of talk, and more often than she liked to admit had found herself just nodding along in acceptance.
She'd slept in, a small mistake in her mindful nature, and when she woke she of course went out after the rogue. There was no problem with visiting rogues in the area, all were welcome in the pride. But if he'd already decided to go then she at least wanted to wish him well on his way. Luckily she found him at the beach. She bent and scooped a shell out of the sand, holding it up in her teeth to him.
"...A souvenir?"
Flik turned to her, his ear first followed by a watchful eye. She was an odd one... a kind one, but an odd one. He'd never known a pride to be so...open. It would leand them to danger one day, no doubt. No guards, no scouts, no violence that he'd seen. Not that it was a negitive thing...peace was what all warriors truely called for, but peace was something that needed to be protected. By its very nature, it couldn't sustain itself.
"Well...thank you." he offered his paw out and took the shell to inspect it. "Perhaps one day I'll bring you one from my homeland."
She smiled a little. It seemed like some food and rest was doing him well. He was more friendly at least. That was good. She started out into the sea, wading a bit. The waves splashed around her, and she breathed in the salty scented air.
"I would like that. Would you tell me? About your home? I assume it is very different. All places are different from here. Already though I think here is better." She looked around at him. "We don't fight, no one does. We keep each other happy and safe, and healthy. You didn't seem too healthy..." Her look grew concerned. At least he looked better now.
"My home is... well it's a little new to me as well. My home was destroyed when I was still a cub growing into his mane." He offered easily. A story that had been told time and time again- there was little reason to keep the details of his past hidden. None of it was a secret and any that would wish it so were long dead.
"I lived the life of a warrior for a time. A rebellion raised me, I learned to defend myself and others. One war after the next... eventually I found myself where I am now. I followed my companion to the Chokwe troupe-" He nodded down the coastline. "Far that way. We live in a place similar to this- only with a series of caves and dens. Much easier to defend."
He snorted regarding his physical state and her comments against fighting. "No fighting is ideal but unrealistic. One day, one with a heart filled with violence will come and then what? How will you defend yourself?"
Elpis looked long and hard at him. There had been tales of fighters coming to the prides before. And what'd become of them was as much a part of the story ofthe pride as anything. "We won't need to. The pride, the land itself will defeat them and take that violent part of them and cast it into the sea."
She waded back to shore, water dripping out of her fur. "And what about you? A warrior, raised in violence. I think you are a good lion, but you ARE a fighter. Have you felt any urge to fight in these lands?" She was sure he hadn't. "This is a land of love, and peace. Where all are welcome and none...NONE...hurt each other. We only comfort each other."
He watched her critically, doubt smeared over every inch of his face. No one thought they were in danger until they fell under a pair of bloodthirsty eyes. The land didn't defeat anyone, nature didn't defeat anyone- good, noble fighters did. "I pray you are never wrong."
He looked out to the sea, his expression stony. "A true warrior does not look for fights. He raises his paw only against the unjust. He stands when others cannot, his strength is fort the weak. I think you have a misunderstanding between a fighter and a killer. Peace by its very nature needs to be protected.... even love." His voice wavered slightly. "...sometimes even love is not enough."
Ahhh, so that was it. He'd lost someone to battle. Or war. Or one of those other words that described fighting. Her face softened, and she stepped closer, butting her head against his neck. "I'm sorry. You...cared for her? Loss is always hard to accept. Both when it comes late in life, and suddenly in youth."
She looked up, eyes meeting his again. Death, that she understood. "We are protected. All of us. By things you can't understand. You haven't stayed here long enough to feel it. But...I feel for you. "
"...I should have been the one to fall." He said quietly, closing his eyes as the memories came flooding back. he'd not even had a chance to say good-bye or pay respects to her body. He'd been told that her corpse had been disposed of without ceremony...on her request.
"I wish it was that simple. I pray you never know otherwise."
She sighed and nuzzled closer against him. Probably a spouse then, or sibling. The close ones always wished to trade places. "Nonsense. If it had been meant to be, it would have been. You're only shaming her memory, you know. Well, not shaming. But if she cared for you, like you cared for her...she'd want you to be happy. Be strong. And live, for her. I'd want that, if it were me, I think."
She stepped away and looked back, fully expecting him to follow her. "Come. If you like, you can tell me about her. If it would help you..."
"She never knew." He slammed a paw against the ground and rose to a sharp stand, his eyes burning. "It wasn't her time! I was supposed to watch her! She was our leader, damnit. She was as gentle as a summer's breeze and as loving as any living being could have ever been or ever will be. And she died. War found her."
He took a deep, sombering breath, his eyes squeezed shut. Odessia... why did it have to be her...
Making a soft sound, he glanced after her.
