Sento nell'aria profumo di te
Piccoli sogni vissuti con me
Ora lo so
Non voglio perderti
Quella dolcezza così senza età
La tua bellezza rivali non ha
Il cuore mio vuole soltanto te


The rays of dawn were creeping into the dens of the Chokwe as a lone figure returned from his patrol. The silent cheetah moved like a shadow among the other young warriors, all grown up enough to leave their parents' sides, but... In their hearts they liked the company, the closeness. They stayed together to feel that comfort of family, of brothers and sisters. But he didn't know that comfort. As welcome as he was in the dens of strangers, he had still been an outsider. All of the other cubs, they had their parents, their brothers and sisters. He had been brought into the pride alone, with no memory of his mother, father, anyone. He still sometimes wondered what happened to them, if he had ever had a family. Had they searched for him? Had his mother been devastated at his loss? There was only one creature here that made him stay, only one.
He didn't need the light to see his destination, for she was always in the same spot, every morning. Often, she was already asleep by then, too worn by their mentor's training and the night's activities to wait up for him. He didn't mind, he understood she was tired. It was why his heart ached whenever he accidentally woke her from her slumber.

He picked his way carefully though the rest of the cheetahs and lions and stopped at her side, sitting down and looking at her, just looking. In the darkness or light, he knew her form, her scent, it wasn't difficult to. They had grown up together, many of the pride members said they were joined at the hip, as inseparable as if they had been born linked together. She had been smaller than him then, she wasn't now. Her godly heritage had pushed her to ever surpass her father in size, though neither of them were small cheetahs. This didn't bother him, though. She was perfect in every way he could imagine and it was no wonder she had drawn him to her.

There was no denying it, he was far, far gone for her. He wasn't even sure when it had been. From the moment he had set eyes on her his heart had raced. She was an angel from the heavens, grabbing him and pulling him to safety at the risk of her own. The fear, no, the terror he had seem in those brilliant green eyes that night, it had been genuine, she had been terrified for him. He could have been anyone, could have dragged her down with him if he'd been too heavy. And still she had run to him, still she had saved him. He would never be able to erase that debt and yet he didn't want to. It sickened him to think of any situation in which she would be in equal danger. He suppressed a shudder and ran a paw over her mane, brushing it from her face.
He never wanted to be in a situation in which he might lose her.

In the depths of his sleep, in the quiet of his lone patrols, he dreamed. He dreamed of her, of her smile and happiness, of their lives together, of sharing the rest of his life with her, seeing her beautiful face every night when he woke up. She knew, and as her confidant she had told him that she would never have cubs, but he would do anything to make her happy. If he had to go out, away from the pride, find a female and bring back his children, he would do it if only to make her happy. If she didn't love him, if he didn't have her heart, he would leave her be, if only to make her happy. It would kill him, for she was his happiness, his serenity, but hers would forever come first.

He remembered very little of his life before he met her. It had been a struggle, each day painful and empty. He had been alone, abandoned, forgotten, or simply lost he wasn't sure. He barely remembered the night he had been attacked by wild dogs, remembered little besides the terror and the ache in his paws as he tried to carry his small body away from the certain death. He would never forget the feeling of the log cracking under him, the sound of snapping jaws, the look on the face of his heroine, his angel.
A smile passed over his maw. His life, his real, true life had begun with her, it was only fitting that she be his reason for living. Yes, it made perfect sense in his mind. He had been lost in a terrifying world of hunger, loneliness, pain, and despair, and she had come into the blistering heat of the desert he walked in like a cool, calming breeze. She was his rock just as much as he was hers to lean on. He would have been lost without her and knew that if he were to ever lose her, surely he would be lost once more.

He knew he should tell her how he felt, it would be the right thing to do and yet he couldn't find the words. In truth, he rarely talked by choice. He was a quiet individual and in the end preferred to use as few words as possible to get his point across. Oh, he knew the flowery language he could use, but why bother when it was simply easier to say what he meant? But this, he couldn't put to speech what he felt in his heart. He knew his declaration needed to be perfect, but he knew no words to convey the depth of his feelings for the beautiful warrior lying before him. Nothing he could ever say to her would even begin to touch on the almost overwhelming need to have her by his side, to curl around her and never let her go, to soothe away any ache or pain she might ever have.

A soft sigh escaped him as he lay down, pressing his body against hers. She snuggled close to him in her sleep and he felt his heart swell near to bursting. Jacques pressed his cheek to hers and nuzzled it with all the tenderness he felt for her.
"Only for you... I'm yours." His admission seemed to fall on deaf ears, he knew it had, she was sleeping after all. And yet, Aila curled closer, nuzzled him, and sighed happily in her sleep. Jacques couldn't help but smile. Perhaps, at least a part of her had heard it after all.

Per te, per te, vivrò
L'amore vincerà
Con te, con te avrò
Mille giorni di felicità
Mille notti di serenità
Farò quello che mi chiederai
Andrò sempre dovunque tu andrai
Darò tutto l'amore che ho per te


(WC: 1,10 cool