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 Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 1:07 pm
Endesha breathed a great sigh of relief, moving slowly away from the crowd still hovering close to the elephant carcass. Her paws felt weighted down as she moved, exhaustion setting in as the adrenaline began to drain from her veins. All she really wanted now was some shade, a comfortable place to lie in it and her brother. They had so much catching up to do and seeing him again now had made her realise just how much she had missed him. Made her realise how much he had grown.
And there was so much to tell him and not all of it good. A part of her felt that maybe she should wait until he found his true name and returned home - so that the family could tell him what had happened to grandfather. She wasn't sure yet what she would do.
Pausing for a moment she cast a look back over her shoulder at him to see if he was following her. She'd not really announced her leaving, opting to back away and hope that he'd notice.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 1:17 pm
Amali had hesitated in leaving the group after the death of the elephant and receiving his feather, though not because he had any interest in having anything to eat. It had almost seemed a sudden ending and leaving meant getting back to the business he had hoped to distract himself from. But at least he had his sister--
If he could keep up with her!
Scrambling to catch up to her once and for all, he stepped up beside her and offered a smile.
"That was something else, huh?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 1:28 pm
She smiled at him and nodded. "That's definitely one of the more craziest adventures I have been on. That An seems to walk in the shadow of danger and excitement wherever she goes." She chuckled to herself, pleased to have been a part of the chaos. Life could get a little dull and repetitive at times. There was nothing like fearing for your safety to get the blood pumping.
"Can you think how horrified our parents would be if we told them what we had done? That you had tackled and slain an elephant?" She gave him another nudge on the shoulder with her head. "It really is good to see you, you know. I was beginning to think I'd lost you to some better place out there." The world was big, after all, and full of strange and amazing things. Sometimes the swamps could like drab compared to some of the places she had seen.
"Do you think today has gotten you any closer to finding your name?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 1:39 pm
"Definitely," he agreed with an enthusiastic nod, "But you kind of need a large group to get into that kind of trouble, we mostly go out on adventures by ourselves." Name quests couldn't always get this dangerous and exciting, taking on an elephant by yourself would mostly mean running away if it was angry or being a bother if it was friendly. He had noticed An seemed very good at gathering a crowd and thought it must have something to do with the Firekin, though she wasn't red and he didn't really think much else on it.
"I'm glad I don't have to be there when you tell them," he grinned, nudging Endesha back, "I don't know. My name seems to be stubbornly evading me, nothing feels right so far but I feel like I've done a lot."
He had certainly been gone long enough.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 1:50 pm
"Oh, ho ho ho, no way, brother. I'm not going to be telling them anything about this." Their dad might just have a heart-attack and forbid her to leave the lands again. "You've likely done more than most." She agreed. "Even more than the oldies."
She paused, puckering her whiskers in thought. "So, do you want some pride updates? There have been a few things change recently that might interest you." Endesha was still walking as she spoke, though she had spied some shade and was currently heading towards it - her pace much less hurried now, though. "Hm, now, let's see...OH, yes. Do you remember Teketeke? You were friends back in the day, right?" Not waiting for a response, she continued. "Well he's consort now, under his new name of Vyoga-kwaa."
Endesha smiled across at him, waiting for his response to that.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 1:58 pm
Amali didn't like that he couldn't really know if Endesha would be able to keep this adventure a secret from their parents or not, he suspected it couldn't stay secret forever- especially since everybody but the elephant had survived.. but he would let it go for now. Still, he couldn't help but grin.
"Sure, I'd love updates," he said, nodding and trying to think of everything that might have changed in his absence- he had been gone a long time. He stayed along at her side-- until she said Teketeke was home, called Vyoga-kwaa and was consort.. and then he stumbled to a stop, letting her get a few steps ahead of him.
"What!" he exclaimed, wrinkling his nose and trying to remember who was ruling when he left. Obviously it had changed since then, the ruler had to be near their age to be interested in his friend. Vyoga-kwaa. Huh.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:04 pm
"Uh huh. I thought that'd get your interest." She replied with a sly smile. "Everyone's grown up! There's been quite a few changes in the leadership, if I remember rightly. To be honest, I've gotten quite confused with it all. But there you go. Our queen now is La'u Khara'i." She nodded. Endesha was not much of a fan of politics and tried to stay out of it as often as she could.
"Oh, and you remember Tifu, of course? He's returned as a Chasasa'koa." She frowned then, wrinkling her nose. "But there's been no sign of that little golden sister of ours." In truth, Endesha worried about her, though she tried not to show it. The swamp was not for everyone. Maybe she'd found somewhere else to go. Nothing bad could have happened to her.
Surely...
She cleared her throat sharply as if to distract herself from those thoughts."So, yes...and there were those little brothers and sisters of ours I mentioned before. I think they'll be heading out on their own pilgrimages before long." Kids grew up too quick, Endesha had decided.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:14 pm
Nope, definitely didn't know who La'u Khara'i was.. but maybe he'd recognize her when he got home, he'd have to. The queen was a pretty important figure and she was Teketeke's mate. That was how consort worked, right? He really needed to go home.
He didn't have as strong a reaction to news that Tifu was home, it was less surprising.. he'd always figured Tifu would be home before him. Teketeke was more of a surprise- but maybe that was biased by the surprising news of his favor with the latest queen.
"Sawa.."
His other littermate was not forgotten, he refused to acknowledge the probability that not all of them would return to the swamps after setting out for a new name. It didn't mean anything, though. He still intended to go home and he had been gone as long as his sister.
"How many are there?" he asked, opening his mouth to ask their names but deciding against it for now. Their names would change and if they were already close to being sent out, he probably wouldn't get to know them by their cub names anyway.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:33 pm
"She'll be all right." Endesha added quietly, hoping it was so. They would see her again someday and they would all be together again as was right.
"How many?" She laughed. "Okay, brother, brace yourself. There's six of the little darlings. Six! Can you even imagine having that many cubs at one time? I thought we were a handful enough with just the three of us." She shook her head. "They are pretty cute though - or were. They're getting bigger. Don't worry, though. I told them all about you and Sawa. They were probably hoping to bump into you whilst on their own name quests."
Sometimes Endesha wished she had not been so quick to find her true name. She did miss the wandering. Most of her time now was in the Swamplands even if she did take time out to get a little fresh air - as it were.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:45 pm
"Six!"
Now he was just having fun reacting dramatically to the things she said. Six wasn't so many, he thought.. maybe if they were all in one litter it was different but there always seemed to be so many cubs around. Of course, she was right to suggest they were a handful just the three of them.
"I've already run into a sibling on my name quest, I can take that feat off my to-do list," he said, not wanting to get his hopes up for running into a younger sibling, "Though I'm not sure what will top everything that's happened so far. I still don't know how to tell when you've found your name."
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:03 pm
"Yeeep." She drawled the word, smiling. "Don't worry. You'll figure it out." She thought back to when she had realised who she was. "Do you remember that gold lion I was with? The one I was standing close to before I noticed you there with us? I never got the chance to introduce you but his name is Jemadari. He's how I found my name." And she realised, then, just how long she had known herself. Jemadari had been so small when she had first met him.
"I was in the rogue lands one day with a new friend I had found. We were travelling together - she was quite keen on this name quest and wanted to know how I discovered my name. Anyway we ran into a couple of funny characters, a wilddog and a hyena. They'd found a little lost lion cub and I agreed to lead them to the Pridelands to take him home." Well he'd not been a cub exactly, but he had been a child and certainly not capable of living out on his own for long. "Anyway he got himself into trouble on the way back and I had to orchestrate a rescue. And, once he had been returned to his family Juba asked me who I was. At first I said I didn't know but she asked me again and I thought about it. It seemed strangely clear when I did. I had led them. I had guided them. And so it was, I became a 'guide' named Endesha."
She gave a soft smile. "Without that push from my friend, Juba, I think I might have missed it entirely. We do things naturally and don't really pay attention to their importance. It took her questioning to get me to realise who I was."
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:11 pm
Amali nodded as she began her story, pausing to look suspicious only for a second when she explained it was Jemadari who helped find her name. He wasn't surprised she had made friends while traveling, it was something he was terrible at.. and one of his attempts to be friendlier may have made him a father. He wasn't very good at it out here.
"Well, what if you're no good at making friends that might give you helpful pushes in the right direction?" he asked, frowning, "I've been to the Pridelands a few times to visit family but I've mostly been by myself out here. I've met some helpful lions, but we both needed help so I don't know if that counts much. I'm pretty sure I ran into a hybrid, too, though I couldn't figure that out at the time."
He managed to control his tone in mentioning the hybrid. He probably wouldn't have reacted too harshly since this was common land for everybody.. but he wasn't sure he liked it once he realized she must have been a hybrid.
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:18 pm
"I could always lend you Jemadari." Endesha smiled. "I'd suggest Juba as the better name-finding friend but I haven't seen her in a while. She's a rogue and an unpredictable one at that." It was highly likely that they wouldn't see one another again any time soon - though apparently she had been to visit Jemadari recently. That meant she had to have been skulking about somewhere.
"Perhaps, in your case, it will be something different then. I relied on the friends I made quite heavily but you seem to be travelling well alone and accomplishing much without any aid. Perhaps that's where the key lies somehow?" She wrinkled her snout curiously. "A hybrid? I don't think I've ever met one of those." Not that she could remember, anyway. They didn't seem to be that common - which was possibly a good thing.
"Your name is in there somewhere, brother." And she gave him a light tap in the chest as she rounded to settle in the shade, stretching out her tired legs. "It's just playing games with you."
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:26 pm
When they finally got to settle down in the shade, Amali made a dramatic show of flopping down beside where his sister was neatly stretching out. He was tired. Not just from all the excitement, he was pretty sure the god he now had a deal with (he was very confident in his guess at the true nature of the strange healer) had helped them all a bit with that.. but from everything.
"Well, I've thought I was ready for it since day 1," he said, "Now I've wandered for weeks in any direction, I've met a hybrid, I've managed not to hide out in the Pridelands with family, I helped kill an elephant, I'm pretty sure a god owes me a favor.."
He puffed out his chest where the feather stuck out oddly, reminding him he needed to find a way to get it properly attached to himself. He also wasn't sure he wanted to share his thoughts that he might be a father, if he kept it to himself it would be easier to leave Rakt-may be.
"I'm definitely ready now," he said, "I don't want to be old and gray before I get to go home."
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Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:36 pm
She nodded, feeling proud at her brother's achievements thus far. Would she have been startled to learn that he might have been a father? Yes. Yes she would. "Your quest is going to be hard to beat. It has been a pretty incredible journey." She admitted, glancing at the feather amongst the fur of his mane. "It always amazes me how a lot of these gods seem to be like us. I always expected them to have this 'mightier than thou' attitude." She gave a shrug. "Perhaps we have just been lucky in the ones we know so far."
"Well, I'm glad you're ready because I'm certainly ready to have my brother back." She replied, peering across at him and crossing her front paws one on top of the other. "So, what's it to be then? You could always go with my idea and have a name that takes the meaning 'elephant slayer'. That's what I would do." She laughed quietly, her tail curling. "Although if you did do that, our parents would definitely ask questions about how you came across that name. I hardly think they'll believe you fought a metaphorical elephant."
She dropped into silence, thinking about other possibilities. Endesha wanted to help but this certainly wasn't a strong point of hers.
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