(( This was...actually supposed to be in the Arba'Sehemu, but it was disbanded before I got to posting it. ;3; ))
Sitting high up on a perch within her tribe, Njozi looked out across it, eyes partly squinted as she sat in the way of the wind. It was early morning, one of the oddest times for Njozi to be awake. Those within her pride knew that her late-night stargazing habits usually had made it so that she was out-of-commission until noon, or at least a little closer towards it. But today, she had been awakened early, and as she sat up, she found that she could not look away from what she saw. Below her, all around, things looked like they were dying. The members were thinning out; many had left, to fend for themselves somewhere were life was thriving a bit more. Some of the older, original members had died off, and the last new litter of cubs had been adults for some time now. For once, as she looked on, she actually looked old and wise; two things that she very much wasn’t. Well, she could be wise when she needed to be. That was, after all, how she rose to be a High Priestess. But now, she felt herself at a bit of a crossroads as she gazed on.
Slinking through the grass, Vayu was, unlike his bonded, usually up and awake at this hour. He thought it would look bad it they were both always asleep, as much as Vayu wanted to join his companion in a long nap. But, when members of the pride needed something from Njozi, he made sure that he was awake to act in her place; or, at least, hear the message and either deliver it to her later or wake her up himself, if it was urgent.
Unfortunately, though, things had been overly…slow lately. He’d seen those who had crossed the borders out into the rogue lands late at night; he knew they must’ve felt ashamed for leaving the pride, but he understood the decision. What choice did some of them have? For so many, within the entire pride and all its clans, it had always been the same people, the same families, over and over. There hadn’t been any new blood in the pride since…well, since his bonded’s mother came to the pride as a pregnant rogue. If anyone wanted to have a family, it was next to impossible, unless they could rope someone in from the outside. But, as he watched the pride day in and day out, he wondered himself if it was really worth the trouble. Things were dying, and he was sure that almost everyone had noticed it by now. Maybe not those in charge, but they would probably be the last to figure it out.
Feeling unneeded for the day, he sought out his cheetah companion, Njozi. He knew exactly where she’d be; he had left her in the same spot when he had awoken this morning. Sliding up the rocks, he paused for a moment near the top, surprised to see the blue cheetah awake, and even sitting straight up, to boot.
Letting out a deep sigh, Njozi drooped her head slightly. It was a sad sight, really, that she had found herself so engrossed in this morning. Her ears picked up a very slight sound nearby, and she tossed her head back up immediately. “Ah, Vayu!” Seeing the blueish-green snake set her mind at ease, if only a little. He seemed to appear right when she needed his advice; it was always like this, which is why she felt closer to him than anyone else in the world.
Coming in closer, Vayu could tell that something was bothering her. He had known her this long, it was natural now for him to be able to read her body language easily. “Njozi…something’s bothering you. What is it?” Curling up around her front leg, he had a feeling of what it was. If he had caught on to the problem that was growing within the pride, it wasn’t going to be long before she noticed it, too.
Running her cheek against Vayu’s sleek scales as he curled up around her, Njozi’s eyes were dazed, cast off somewhere as she was lost in her thoughts. “Vayu…do see what’s happening to our home?” She realized now that she hadn’t been thinking of her pride in terms of her ‘home’; it felt a bit less like concern out of duty and more like she was really about to lose something dear to her. “I don’t…I don’t remember when it started to be like this.”
Sliding up to rest around her shoulders, Vayu was a bit unsure of what words he could use to comfort her. In fact, there weren’t any, really. The truth was the truth, and this was what was happening. There wasn’t anything that they could do at this point for it. “Oh, sweet girlie…” Taking his breaths slowly, he knew that this conversation was probably going to turn into a turning point for the two of them. “I’m sorry you had to see it start to die like this.” Honestly, Vayu was a little sad that he had to see it, too. One never really thinks that their pride will start to slowly die out within their lifetime, and he hope that, if it even happened at all, it would long after the two of them were gone. “I guess…it kind of blind-sided us both.”
“Huh.” As she listened to the soft voice of the snake wrapped around her, Njozi felt a little chill run all through her. So he knew about it too? For how long, she wondered. Did everyone else see it before her? She shook her head, trying to knock all her doubts away for now. “We should’ve seen it coming much sooner. All the signs were there, I just chose not to see them.” Closing her eyes, Njozi didn’t want things to end like this. But what choice did they have? It was already too late to try and salvage things here.
“We should have, yes. But most people don’t realize even the worst of things when it comes to something they love.” Slinking around, Vayu tapped the bottom of her chin with the top of his head, trying to cheer her up, even just a little. The hardest thing was that they – well, Njozi – had family all within the pride. She even had a half-sister that had come here, specifically because Njozi and her mother and siblings were here. Now they faced the worst decision. “You know what comes now, don’t you?” Sliding his eyes away from hers for a moment, he didn’t want to make her make this decision, but the words needed to be said. They needed to figure out if they were going to stay and watch it sink, or give it their best out in the rogue lands.
“…I do.” Nodding her head, it took a moment for the words to actually come out. Njozi felt like she had a lump in her throat, thinking about which direction they needed to go. She almost felt like she would be abandoning her home if she left, but maybe having someone higher-up leave would ring some bells for some who hadn’t yet realized what was going on. “Y..you know, Vayu, maybe…maybe Zuzu would come with us.” Flicking her ears back, she referred to her half-sister lovingly. They had become quite close when she arrived, and Njozi definitely didn’t want to abandon her here if they were thinking about leaving.
“So does this mean…?” He knew by this point that she’d made up her mind. She’d probably made up her mind the moment she figured out what was happening when she awoke this morning. “I’m sure Mzuka’s noticed this. She’s very sharp, you know.” Giving Njozi a little nudge, he smiled at her. While he had never known their father, maybe that was something the two of them had inherited. “How about we ask her, hm?” Vayu tried to keep his tone pleasant and up-lifting, if only to keep Njozi from breaking down at the thought of abandoning their home. At least they wouldn’t be going alone, right? He was also fairly certain that Mzuka would agree to go with them; she was such a free spirit, he knew that she wouldn’t want to stay in a place that was dying out, especially when it hadn’t been her home for as long as it had been Njozi and his’s.
“….yeah, let’s go ask her now.” Blue eyes settling on the ground again, Njozi looked a little cold. When she had gone to sleep earlier this morning, she never dreamed that she’d be waking up and deciding whether or not to leave her home; though, at this point, it was almost completely sealed. And she knew that asking Mzuka was more of a formality; she’d go with them if they said they were leaving.
Sitting high up on a perch within her tribe, Njozi looked out across it, eyes partly squinted as she sat in the way of the wind. It was early morning, one of the oddest times for Njozi to be awake. Those within her pride knew that her late-night stargazing habits usually had made it so that she was out-of-commission until noon, or at least a little closer towards it. But today, she had been awakened early, and as she sat up, she found that she could not look away from what she saw. Below her, all around, things looked like they were dying. The members were thinning out; many had left, to fend for themselves somewhere were life was thriving a bit more. Some of the older, original members had died off, and the last new litter of cubs had been adults for some time now. For once, as she looked on, she actually looked old and wise; two things that she very much wasn’t. Well, she could be wise when she needed to be. That was, after all, how she rose to be a High Priestess. But now, she felt herself at a bit of a crossroads as she gazed on.
Slinking through the grass, Vayu was, unlike his bonded, usually up and awake at this hour. He thought it would look bad it they were both always asleep, as much as Vayu wanted to join his companion in a long nap. But, when members of the pride needed something from Njozi, he made sure that he was awake to act in her place; or, at least, hear the message and either deliver it to her later or wake her up himself, if it was urgent.
Unfortunately, though, things had been overly…slow lately. He’d seen those who had crossed the borders out into the rogue lands late at night; he knew they must’ve felt ashamed for leaving the pride, but he understood the decision. What choice did some of them have? For so many, within the entire pride and all its clans, it had always been the same people, the same families, over and over. There hadn’t been any new blood in the pride since…well, since his bonded’s mother came to the pride as a pregnant rogue. If anyone wanted to have a family, it was next to impossible, unless they could rope someone in from the outside. But, as he watched the pride day in and day out, he wondered himself if it was really worth the trouble. Things were dying, and he was sure that almost everyone had noticed it by now. Maybe not those in charge, but they would probably be the last to figure it out.
Feeling unneeded for the day, he sought out his cheetah companion, Njozi. He knew exactly where she’d be; he had left her in the same spot when he had awoken this morning. Sliding up the rocks, he paused for a moment near the top, surprised to see the blue cheetah awake, and even sitting straight up, to boot.
Letting out a deep sigh, Njozi drooped her head slightly. It was a sad sight, really, that she had found herself so engrossed in this morning. Her ears picked up a very slight sound nearby, and she tossed her head back up immediately. “Ah, Vayu!” Seeing the blueish-green snake set her mind at ease, if only a little. He seemed to appear right when she needed his advice; it was always like this, which is why she felt closer to him than anyone else in the world.
Coming in closer, Vayu could tell that something was bothering her. He had known her this long, it was natural now for him to be able to read her body language easily. “Njozi…something’s bothering you. What is it?” Curling up around her front leg, he had a feeling of what it was. If he had caught on to the problem that was growing within the pride, it wasn’t going to be long before she noticed it, too.
Running her cheek against Vayu’s sleek scales as he curled up around her, Njozi’s eyes were dazed, cast off somewhere as she was lost in her thoughts. “Vayu…do see what’s happening to our home?” She realized now that she hadn’t been thinking of her pride in terms of her ‘home’; it felt a bit less like concern out of duty and more like she was really about to lose something dear to her. “I don’t…I don’t remember when it started to be like this.”
Sliding up to rest around her shoulders, Vayu was a bit unsure of what words he could use to comfort her. In fact, there weren’t any, really. The truth was the truth, and this was what was happening. There wasn’t anything that they could do at this point for it. “Oh, sweet girlie…” Taking his breaths slowly, he knew that this conversation was probably going to turn into a turning point for the two of them. “I’m sorry you had to see it start to die like this.” Honestly, Vayu was a little sad that he had to see it, too. One never really thinks that their pride will start to slowly die out within their lifetime, and he hope that, if it even happened at all, it would long after the two of them were gone. “I guess…it kind of blind-sided us both.”
“Huh.” As she listened to the soft voice of the snake wrapped around her, Njozi felt a little chill run all through her. So he knew about it too? For how long, she wondered. Did everyone else see it before her? She shook her head, trying to knock all her doubts away for now. “We should’ve seen it coming much sooner. All the signs were there, I just chose not to see them.” Closing her eyes, Njozi didn’t want things to end like this. But what choice did they have? It was already too late to try and salvage things here.
“We should have, yes. But most people don’t realize even the worst of things when it comes to something they love.” Slinking around, Vayu tapped the bottom of her chin with the top of his head, trying to cheer her up, even just a little. The hardest thing was that they – well, Njozi – had family all within the pride. She even had a half-sister that had come here, specifically because Njozi and her mother and siblings were here. Now they faced the worst decision. “You know what comes now, don’t you?” Sliding his eyes away from hers for a moment, he didn’t want to make her make this decision, but the words needed to be said. They needed to figure out if they were going to stay and watch it sink, or give it their best out in the rogue lands.
“…I do.” Nodding her head, it took a moment for the words to actually come out. Njozi felt like she had a lump in her throat, thinking about which direction they needed to go. She almost felt like she would be abandoning her home if she left, but maybe having someone higher-up leave would ring some bells for some who hadn’t yet realized what was going on. “Y..you know, Vayu, maybe…maybe Zuzu would come with us.” Flicking her ears back, she referred to her half-sister lovingly. They had become quite close when she arrived, and Njozi definitely didn’t want to abandon her here if they were thinking about leaving.
“So does this mean…?” He knew by this point that she’d made up her mind. She’d probably made up her mind the moment she figured out what was happening when she awoke this morning. “I’m sure Mzuka’s noticed this. She’s very sharp, you know.” Giving Njozi a little nudge, he smiled at her. While he had never known their father, maybe that was something the two of them had inherited. “How about we ask her, hm?” Vayu tried to keep his tone pleasant and up-lifting, if only to keep Njozi from breaking down at the thought of abandoning their home. At least they wouldn’t be going alone, right? He was also fairly certain that Mzuka would agree to go with them; she was such a free spirit, he knew that she wouldn’t want to stay in a place that was dying out, especially when it hadn’t been her home for as long as it had been Njozi and his’s.
“….yeah, let’s go ask her now.” Blue eyes settling on the ground again, Njozi looked a little cold. When she had gone to sleep earlier this morning, she never dreamed that she’d be waking up and deciding whether or not to leave her home; though, at this point, it was almost completely sealed. And she knew that asking Mzuka was more of a formality; she’d go with them if they said they were leaving.
