She woke that morning, certain that it was time. She'd had a dream, which had the same feel as her other visions. She was side by side with Marcor, and they were walking away, leaving behind the placed they'd stayed, near the site of the tragedy. Yesterday she had helped him collect every tiny bit of fluff, gently laying them all in a shallow hole they'd dug. He'd cried again when they had covered it over with soil, and fallen asleep deeply. She'd taken to sleeping closer and closer to him each night, and last night he'd nodded off practically in her arms. She'd withdrawn her embrace when his breathing was steady, but stayed close, letting him know she was there by touch. The night had passed peacefully, and she had been able to get adequate rest.
Her eyes opened, mind full of that image. Yes, it was time. Time to say goodbye for good, and to move on. He was still slumbering quietly beside her, one paw wrapped about her shoulder, though loosely. It made her smile softly, touching her nose lightly to that big, gentle paw, before stretching intentionally, shifting him slightly in a subtle attempt to wake him. He shifted and made wordless sounds of waking. She stood carefully, letting his paw slide from her and further wake him. She moved off four or five steps, then did a full body stretch, yawning widely into the air. Somehow the world seemed fresher and brighter this morning. The feeling of unbearable grief seemed to have melted away in the night, though the eyes that opened to regard her still held some of the sadness.
"Come," she beckoned to him as he still reclined, his body language almost lazy. "Let's do some hunting, and then say goodbye." His brows lowered, and his eyes lost the hazy comfort of waking relaxed and calm.
"What... wait, you are leaving?" he blurted, sitting up tensely, alarm written in every line. She couldn't leave! She was his comfort, his angel, his sanity! If she left him, he'd be lost, he was certain of it! His mind began to spin crazily, heart settling back into the black hole she had raised it from. Her soft laughter brought him to a screeching halt.
"No, no," she chuckled quietly and moved to bump her forehead against his. "I am not leaving. We are leaving." She leaned back and let him absorb that. "It is time, Marcor. We must say goodbye to them." She watched the panic leave his eyes, feeling warm and tingly that he wanted her so. Not because of her powers, or because he thought her a pretty thing. No, it was her, who she was inside, that he wanted to stay with him. And she gladly would.
His expression cleared slowly, being replaced by a muted heaviness that only time could take away. "It is come then, is it?" He was reluctant, but less so than he had expected he might. He fiddled with the sore place in his heart, mentally testing it and finding it surprisingly scarred over. Oh, it still hurt, without question. But it wasn't nearly so painful, or even as tender as it had been yesterday. If he was honest, they'd said goodbye already, when they'd laid to rest all that was left of the babes.
Nodding his head, he rose to his paws with a groan and a yawn of his own. He also stretched, curling both tongue and tail in the process. "You are right, of course," he answered her at last, turning a wry smile to her patient expression. "Let us hunt, and then be on our way." He began to pad away, but paused. "On our way to... where?" He cast her an inquisitive glance over his shoulder. He had a feeling she knew the answer already, had had it mind all along. She seemed to have that way, he was discovering.
She smiled hesitantly at him, suddenly shy as it came to the point of being clear. "Well... home, I was hoping," she replied, sliding her eyes away and back again with hope in them. "If you wanted, that is." Her sudden timidity was so startling, he turned himself around fully to face her, eyes wide. Could she possibly... was she asking him... ? He stared at her dumbfoundedly, with such a thunder-struck look on his face that she lost her uncertainty and laughed at him. She walked close, rubbing her head under his chin in light affection. "Usually you tell a girl yes or no when she invites you to come home with her," she teased mischievously.
He gulped, settling his head gingerly down on hers as she remained against his chest. Home? With her? As in... mates? "Where is home, then?" he asked, too stunned to respond to her teasing. But good sense flooded in as he realized just what she was saying without saying it. She loved him. Him. His big, lunky, cross, unromantic self. She loved him! With a sudden intake of breath, he suddenly reached a paw to wrap about her small body. "What does where matter?" he rumbled with a laugh of his own. "Anywhere with you will be paradise."
This was better than any vision. The tingly feelings were very nearly as unnerving, but Samishai wouldn't have traded them even for a thousand visions. Her sight became hazy in a rosey, warm sort of way as he uttered those wonderful words. He wanted to be with her! He loved her! It made the days of travel and the days of woe all worth every moment, every tear, every sleepless night. Anything was worth this.
"Home is Ukungu'Mfumaji," she murmured, hearing his heart beat so close to her ear as he held her close. "It is not too far from here, and they will welcome you with open paws, I'm certain." She had been summoned by the gods to his side, after all. Who could deny him after that? As of now, his wanderings were over, and he was hers to love and cherish with every fiber of her being. "Yes, let's go home."
