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 Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 12:31 am
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Andama was a mess. Her beautiful cubs had been waiting for her and she had managed to get them to go back to sleep for the night, promising everything was fine. She was grateful she hadn't gotten any visible injuries, returning bloody would certainly have been worse for them. Unfortunately for her, she was still in a great deal of pain. Knocked around, landing on the hard ground, the wind knocked out of her, the heavy lion who held her down.. she wouldn't be moving very steadily or quickly for a while. And it seemed certain that that was going to be a problem.
When she was evicted from the royal den, Andama had found herself a quiet spot far from the busy areas of the pride and kept it a secret. Still, she didn't feel safe. She stayed out of sight, crying quietly near the entrance to her den, trying to keep watch, waiting for Meshach.. or word of what happened to him. |
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Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 11:13 am
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Andama was listening so intently, she could hear the slow, uneven pace of someone nearing her den.. but she couldn't tell for sure who it was. She held her breath and released it only when she heard Meshach's voice whispering to her. He was alive! It was a struggle to get up to her feet but she pushed through the pain and emerged from the den to face her brother, looking ready to cry yet again. It was lucky she couldn't move quickly either or she might have done something stupid like run right into him.
"Meshach," she murmured, "You're OK!"
She blinked back her tears and looked him over with a frown, calling him OK was a bit of a stretch. He was clearly hurt, covered in blood, but he was indeed alive- and he didn't seem to have anybody following after him.
"I- I'm sorry," she said, unable to keep a level voice but managing not to cry again, "I had to run, I couldn't stay there and let them decide what happened to me next- I had to come back--"
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Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 5:59 pm
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Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 6:17 pm
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She was grateful he was understanding but she wouldn't overcome her guilt so easily. It was terrible to have to run away but she had never intended to fight to the death, not while she had cubs waiting for her here. The hope had been that someone finally taking a stand against Shangyue would rally the pride against him because he truly did not deserve to be king.. and that was not how it played out. Even with someone else willing to take the lead, the only help they got were the guard who had watched over Selene when she was small and the only living daughter of Unyezi. Andama hoped that neither of then would be punished too severely for their ill-conceived plan to fight back.
"The cubs were worried about us, I think they know more than I give them credit for," she muttered with a frown, they were so young and she tried her best to protect them and so it was easy to underestimate them. She nuzzled against him gently, helping him down and taking a seat beside him.
"Don't blame yourself," she said, looking back at him sadly, "I don't think we could have stayed here anyway. I can't forgive Shangyue for what he's done and I can't live here like it never happened."
Besides, there was no way to feel safe here now. Shangyue was clearly threatened by his family and not afraid to act upon it. She hoped the rumor that Zhen had been seen fleeing was true, though she would never stop wondering if she had simply refused to submit.
"You can't stay here, either," she added, "Will you come with us?"
(( Oooh! Show me, show me! 8D ))
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Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 7:35 pm
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"They're so small," she mumbled, thinking about how she could possibly prepare her cubs for anything that might happen, "They'll adjust. Wherever we go, they'll be OK."
When Meshach shook his head and declared his intention to stay on the borders and heal there, Andama had to fight the urge to cry yet again. Everything seemed so hopeless and overwhelming, tonight was her night to get it all out- from the attempt to stop Shangyue from officially taking the throne to now openly mourning for her parents, her sister and her pride.
"You won't be safe here, how will you stay out of trouble after tonight?"
She didn't yet answer the question of where she was going, she didn't have any real plan set yet, she just knew they would be stealing away early in the morning when she was convinced her babies would not be too tired and grumpy to travel. She had ideas but no specific destination.
(( Awww! Meshach <33 ;; ))
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Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 8:45 pm
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Andama nodded but she cried anyway, leaning carefully against him. She would be fine wherever she ended up, as long as it wasn't here. She didn't like the idea of leaving behind the pride but she had to hope the Great Lion would still watch over her wherever she went, she would always be able to see him and, of course, she was in the high class. And her cubs, at least, were not low class. They would be safe too.
She sighed.
"The mountains," she murmured, "I was thinking about it- that's probably where we'll go. Nobody goes near the mountains at the northern border, I guess an earthquake once made their stability unreliable."
She didn't even remember where she picked up this information, just general knowledge from growing up in the area.
"We'll follow the mountains, see where that takes us," she went on, "But perhaps you can stay hidden there. I don't know if Shangyue will change the guard routes so much or send anybody out there looking."
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Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 9:28 pm
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She felt a sudden rush of panic when it became apparent that Meshach was beginning his goodbye, even though he offered to stay with her now. She felt certain this was the last time she would see him and thought she was glad they had the chance to say goodbye, she was reluctant to let it go. The reality of her situation and how alone she was with her cubs was finally setting in.
"No, I don't think anybody else knows where we are right now," she said, though she knew they wouldn't be hard to find if someone really came looking for them, "You can go- but please, Meshach, be careful. I understand why you want to stay, but it worries me anyway."
Would she stay with him if she didn't have cubs to worry about? She couldn't say for sure, she might have been more bold- perhaps even more clever, if she could risk staying, fighting longer. But it didn't matter, the truth was she was better off leaving and she knew that. She only hoped that he really was better off staying.
"I love you, brother."
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Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 9:48 pm
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