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 Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 7:14 pm
The story as Selene knew it was simple but confusing. Something was going on at the border and it involved both Fuu and Yareha Afaer. Fuu had sent for her and so here she was, on her way to the border looking for him. She had allowed Laelia to come with her, deciding despite Fuu's apparent reservations there was no way she could confidently get rid of her niece now.. even if she suspected this was something she ought not to be a part of.
Perhaps that was why she brought Laelia with her. If something was going on, the more they witnessed the better they could handle the consequences. Hopefully.
"This is the way they went?" she asked, "Are you sure?"
"Positive," she responded simply. She had an excellent sense of direction, owing in part to her practice as a guard, and she'd been paying special attention when the boys left- even if she had to look back as she walked off to find the heiress.
"Oh!" she exclaimed suddenly, spotting the familiar pale purple form of Fuu in the distance, "Fuu's there! I wonder where Yareha went off to?" She looked around curiously, not seeing any obvious sign of the other male.
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 7:36 pm
 Iei was breathing much more easily now. Her anger had dissipated and she was looking forward to seeing her cubs officially and formally brought into the Mwezi'Johari. She still thought some of their beliefs a bit odd, but if they managed to produce lions like Yareha and Aysu, she could live with a bit of oddness. Most importantly of all, it was a safe place for cubs to grow up, with Guards to protect them from dangerous Rogues. Good thing she wasn't staying. All that safety would drive her crazy within a quarter moon. They grey lioness strolled companionably alongside the white lion - never touching, but still very relaxed. Huh. In a way it felt more like he was her brother, not the father of their children. Which was probably for the best. The two crested a small rise in the land and Fuu, his purple bulk unimstakable, came into view. The cubs were hidden by the grass, but Iei doubted they'd strayed far. Chances were, they were all asleep, still exhausted from the long journey. However, and here her blue eyes narrowed, there were two more lions - lionesses - heading towards Fuu. She couldn't tell who they were at this distance, but the colors on one of them made her want to guess Selene, Fuu's mate. "Yareha?" she asked quietly. He should have a better idea of what was going on...right?  Yareha had been enjoying the leisurely walk back, though with increasing apprehension about meeting the cubs for the first time, when he saw the figures approaching. The white lion's heart sank. With those colorations, there were only two lionesses they could be. With his luck, they were the only two lionesses he'd give anything to not have present right now. The one because, well, he'd had enough public humiliation for quite some time, thank you very much. The other... The other because he didn't want her to see him with Ieiunium. He had a decision to make, and no time to think. He could either keep heading for Fuu and the cubs, or he could cut to the heart of things and go talk to Laelia first. He veered off from his original course, praying to the God that Laelia didn't verbally rip him to pieces. Then he took a breath to steady his nerves, and called out. "Princess! Laelia!"
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 7:51 pm
"So he is," Selene murmured when Laelia spotted Fuu, raising a brow and wondering why he was sitting off by himself so near the border. She also looked around when Laelia wondered about Yareha's whereabouts.
"There," she said suddenly when she spotted him, squinting when she realized he was not alone. It took her a moment to realize they had also been spotted- and who the silver lioness he walked with must be. Immediately she regretted bringing Laelia with her.
"Who is that with him?" Laelia asked, sounding more confused than anything. She had no idea what to make of the boys being separated and Yareha walking with a lioness. She had slowed down, allowing Selene to get a little ahead of her as she tried to figure out what was going on and prepare herself to hear it.
"Er.."
Selene didn't know how to answer Laelia's question, her mind raced with possibilities but she knew now Ieiunium was the reason that Fuu had tried to keep Laelia away. It didn't matter why Iei was here, her presence alone would be enough to cause something now.
Laelia looked to Selene as she stammered and ultimately ignored the question she had asked, her stomach twisting as she began to suspect the worst. Selene knew something she wasn't saying, she had the same kind of tone Fuu had when he panicked and sent her off to find Selene.
The closer Iei and Yareha got, the slower Laelia walked until finally she just came to a stop, falling even farther behind Selene.
"Yareha," Selene returned when he called out to them, slowing down when she realized that Laelia had stopped. Her voice was careful but almost tired.
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:01 pm
Iei had also pulled behind as Yareha called out to the other lionesses. And she could tell that the one who she didn't know at all was doing the same. That...didn't bode well. Not at all. Especially not when she could see now that it was indeed Selene.
She considered going over to Fuu and the cubs. For a moment. But the urge was firmly quashed. That was the coward's way out. And she was going to see this whole thing through, damnit. Yareha might be confident that Fuu and Selene would allow the cubs into the pride, but Iei couldn't risk it. She, more than anyone else here, knew what they had to lose.
So she'd take charge here and get this over with.
"Introduce us," she murmured to Yareha, coming even with him once more. Now that she'd made up her mind, she refused to hide.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The white lion's mind froze as he kept heading for Laelia and Selene. What was he going to say? How could he possibly explain? And why oh why was Selene here?
Logic supplied the proper memory, Fuu sending Laelia off on a pointless errand to get her away from the impending confrontation. Emotion railed against the unfairness of it all and neither was particularly thrilled with the end result.
Then he heard the grey lioness mutter to him. Why did she want him to introduce her? He knew Iei was smart enough to guess who Laelia was to him...and she'd already met Selene.
"Uh...Princess, Laelia, this is Iei - Ieiunium. She's a visiting Rogue." Well that was great, dummy, tell them something they didn't know! What could he possibly say that wouldn't make Laelia mad at him? He had to explain somehow...hopefully without making her too mad. But he couldn't think of a single thing!
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:13 pm
The way the silver lioness's movements almost mirrored her own didn't sit well with Laelia, either. Iei got over it first, though, and Laelia felt a mix of anger and jealousy bubbling up as she caught up to Yareha and mumbled something to him. She would have liked to be staring passively on but she was almost certainly frowning.
She simply stared at Yareha as he stumbled over an introduction, his words ringing in her ears.
It took a great deal of self control for Selene not to look back at Laelia as Iei and Yareha caught up with them and had Yareha clumsily introduce his companion. She could almost feel the tension in the lioness behind her.
"Welcome back, Ieiunium," Selene greeted the silver lioness politely, looking back and forth between them expectantly, sure they would give an explanation without prompting.
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:21 pm
"Thank you, Princess," the grey lioness replied. She almost turned to glare at Yareha, but then realized what a shoddy message that would send to Laelia. She wasn't completely certain who the stranger lioness was, but yes, she had a few guesses. Especially since this lioness didn't appear to be at all related to Yareha.
"It's nice to meet you Laelia," she went on. "I'm just passing through." Think, think faster! How to get Yareha out of the spotlight and not damage any relationships? She could be blunt...but how would the other lioness take that? She could be roundabout...but how vague was too vague?
Iei settled for something in between. "Are you Yareha's lucky lady?" she asked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yareha's heart was sinking fast as he watched Laelia's numb face. He wanted to reassure her, but as soon as he finished that, he'd have to tell her about the cubs and then she'd explode and he'd lose her forever and he just couldn't stand the idea and now Selene was just being polite, as always and Iei was being polite back-
Iei. Was continuing to talk. She had a silver tongue, he'd noticed, when she wasn't nervous. And apparently being on the border of the pride's lands, instead of in their heart, didn't make her nervous at all. Thank goodness. He might survive this yet.
"We're nothing official," he answered before Laelia had a chance to speak. He certainly didn't want Selene to take anything the wrong way. But...he hoped things wouldn't stay that way.
"I, uh, was hoping to talk to you, Laelia," he added.
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:36 pm
Selene remained silent, offering a small smile and nod when Iei responded but otherwise waiting to see who would speak first- and hoping neither of them would say something stupid. Finally, when Iei asked about Laelia's relationship with Yareha, Selene couldn't stop herself and she looked back to her niece.
And then she flinched when Yareha cut in before Laelia could answer, turning back around to look at him.
Laelia was reluctant to take her eyes off Yareha, expecting him to explain. It wasn't until Iei asked her directly if she was Yareha's "lucky lady" that she finally looked over-- and very quickly, she looked back at Yareha, stunned by his intervention. She stared silently, even after he said he wanted to talk to her.
The specific details of what was going on here no longer mattered, the awkward question from Iei and Yareha's strange, poorly-considered response said more than enough. She didn't know how to respond except to yell but, considering the vague details and the company they were in, she thought better of it. For now.
Her eyes went from Yareha to Iei, pausing only for a second before looking to Selene and then turning herself around and walking away.
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:44 pm
Okay, enough was enough. With Selene flinching and Laelia leaving, Iei was quickly losing her temper again. Why was Yareha so destined to fail? He was the only one who could salvage this situation, but instead he was destroying it!
The lioness pricked him with her claws to get his attention.
"Listen to me, and listen well," she hissed. "You follow her. You tell her everything, and fast. And if you love her, then tell her. Now. Go."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He knew he'd messed up when he saw Selene flinch. But it looked like he was doomed when Laelia turned and left. The white lion was about to take a step after her, mouth open to call out, when he felt a sudden sharp pain in one paw. Turning he, saw Iei and before he could ask her why, she gave him instructions.
And ones he needed. He wasn't certain why she was still helping him, but he wasn't going to look a gift lioness in the mouth!
"Laelia, wait!" he called, chasing her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that! I meant that I hadn't asked you if you would be my mate yet and I didn't want to do that in front of Selene, or Fuu, and I'm sorry that Iei's here, it's just bad timing because she brought the cubs and they're my cubs too and I said I'd raise them but she won't be staying and I don't love her because," he stopped, panting for breath.
"...because I love you," Yareha finished softly, pleading, hoping she would only turn around.
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:59 pm
Oh no. She was in the middle of something else, here.
Selene looked back at Laelia as she started to storm off and turned back quickly as she heard Iei hissing instructions to Yareha. And then she simply stepped back a bit so she wasn't so in the midst of whatever was going to happen now.
She watched intently as Yareha went after Laelia. There was no use asking what all was going on here yet.
"Leave me alone," Laelia hissed when she Yareha called after her, apologizing and going on with excuse after excuse. She wouldn't let herself stop, even wanting to hear what he had to say, wanting him to find something that made this all OK. It wasn't until he concluded that she even slowed down, almost stumbling at the words I love you.
She paused, standing there with her back to him, breathing heavily as she tried to sort through everything that was happening. Slowly, she began to shake her head before finally taking off once again- this time she didn't walk, she ran.
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 9:09 pm
Iei watched them, Yareha and Laelia. She'd done what she could and she hoped things could be fixed. Given Yareha, she gave it even odds. He could be sensitive...sometimes. He tended not to be. She generally equated him to a rock.
Well, a nice rock.
The grey lioness couldn't watch any more, it was just too awkward. So she approached Selene instead.
"I know this isn't the best time, but I'm hoping you can help. I'd like it if the cubs could be brought up here, as members of the Mwezi'Johari," she told the Princess.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She paused, stopped even. Yareha watched, hope dawning in his eyes.
Only to have it dashed again as she began running away from him. He stood there for a long moment, stricken, before anger kicked in. He wasn't going to let it end like this! Just because his stupid tongue had betrayed him-! He couldn't lose her. Not for good.
The white lion chased after her again, this time in earnest. "I'm sorry!" he called out. "I'm so sorry Laelia, I made a mess of things. You know that!" he smiled a bit, remembering and hoping she would remember how began to spend time with each other, because he'd had no control over his tongue.
"I just...didn't want you to hate me," he added, softer now, his pace slower. Ah, she was right to hate him. He never could say what he was truly feeling, not without having it get maimed somewhere between heart and mouth. And maybe...maybe she wanted someone whose silver tongue never made those mistakes.
If that made her happy...who was he to stop her? With that depressing thought, Yareha halted in his tracks and watched his beloved get further away with each passing moment.
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 9:17 pm
Selene sighed, watching Laelia go before looking back to Iei as she approached. She wasn't surprised by the mention of the cubs, though she didn't exactly catch all of what was going on from the distance as Yareha chased and yelled after Laelia. It seemed the most logical conclusion.
"Of course," she said, "You won't be staying with them?"
The last thing she heard was a shouted apology and after that, lost in her own rage and sorrow, Laelia really had no idea whether or not Yareha chased after her still. She kept running and she wouldn't stop until she was home.
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 9:23 pm
Iei shook her head. "No...I can't live in a pride," she admitted with a remembered shudder. "Too...limited." Then the grey lioness smiled. "But it's a much safer place for a cub to grow up and that's what I want for them, more than anything else."
She didn't mention that they were already members by blood. She didn't think she had to, after all that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He watched her go. He couldn't do anything more. He remembered how Iei had run from Selene and from Fuu, how he'd caught her but not been able to keep her.
Damnit, was that to be his whole life? A series of mistakes, a series of lionesses whom he couldn't convince to stay? And nothing to remember of one but cubs, and nothing at all of the other?
By the God, he was so pathetic. It was a wonder the God hadn't closed his Eye entirely upon Yareha's birth...or perhaps that was a mercy for his siblings. He certainly didn't deserve it.
The white lion knew that, somewhere behind him, there were two more lionesses. And cubs and a discussion of who would care for them and how.
He couldn't go back to that. Not yet. Right now he could only sit and watch a brown figure moving ever farther away.
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 9:30 pm
Selene nodded, not surprised that Iei's opinion seemed not to have changed since they had last met. She was right to suggest a pride was safer, at least generally speaking and assuming there was a fair number of them to keep an eye on. She couldn't imagine a lone mother with more than one or two to herself while being a rogue- and it seemed like litters were almost never that small. Not around here, anyway.
"Alright," she said, glancing back to where Yareha stood and then out to where Fuu was, rightly guessing that the cubs were why he was separated from the others, "Let's go meet them, then. We'll wait for Yareha with Fuu."
She hoped Yareha would join them again soon. The fewer lions between a proper introduction to their father and a welcome into the pride, the better it would be for the cubs.
Fin!
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