Jukwa'Lililokuwa - -_Wish of Tevarae_-
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Thaba-lebue - Das Tor
Word Count: 1207 (according to Google Docs)
Weary and stricken, Jukwa'liliokuwa had found herself wandering again, a traveller tired of it all. She'd had her children taken, no home, and now...now she was just weary of it. Looking up to the night sky, the femme let out a heavy sigh, laying herself down on dew-laden grass. The cool feeling was welcome to cracked and sore paws, and while she could smell that she was on Pridal land, she was hoping they would be kind enough to give her refuge...just for a night. Ear flicking once, the femme began to groom her battered figure, straightening her fur and cleaning it as best she could in the moment she was in. So strange it was, being in new lands. So strange nd yet still so lonely.
Thaba-lebue had flourished among the Coileani Draiochta, his abilities as a seer finally embraced and not a topic of fear and distrust. He loved his duties as a Priest, loved the forest and jungle and the river and streams and the waterfall. He loved the swirling mists that rose in the evening and morning. He loved the people of the pride, and the traditions, and just...
He loved EVERYTHING. It was his home, his beloved home and-
And there was a scent he recognized a bit not far from him. The lion blinked brown eyes and turned his head this way and that. That couldn't be...could it? He trotted towards the scent, curious, and practically screeched in glee when he saw the poor, weary lioness.
"MAMA!"
While Fasihi was 'Mother', Mama would always be his birth-mother, his cubhood memory.
The female had been drifting into a bone weary sleep when the sound of an adult voice called out "mama". Mama? She'd not been called that in so many moons. Not since her cubs were stolen from her. Black eyes slowly raised, tired and hungry, and when she took in the sight of him...she could not recognize him. Head canting to the side, it took her a few moments, brain slowly churning, rusty cogs clicking together until a weary voice finally escaped her in response, "Thaba...?" Could this be her little Thaba-lebue? One of her children that she'd given away, so long ago? Was it possible? "Gods.....are the Gods playing a trick on me?"
"Mama!" It really was her! Thaba rushed over, flopping himself down next to her in a rather childish manner. He didn't care about being dignified. "Mama, they're not! It's me, I'm here. Hale and whole, and Father is here, too!" He wiggled excitedly. "It's so good to see you, Mama! Do you need a place to rest your paws? Food? Water? We have plenty of it all!"
His enthusiam struck her first, body slowly shifting to face him. Her dark gaze was so strangely empty, her lithe form, while toned, was underweight. Her ear flicked once, and she leaned up, sniffing him. That scent...Underneath all the new ones, there was that smell...HER smell...and Theluji's smell. Oh, how she missed him. How she missed company and family. "Oh my darling son..." Her head surged forwards, and she had him close to her, holding him. She had MISSED her lovely son so much. How could he have strayed from her at any point. How could he have been gone...How could she have let him go. She'd missed so much, "I am tired, yes...I have wandered for a very long time...since your siblings were stolen from me. I've not had a home..or a place to lay my paws, and food's been hard to come by."
His siblings...Thaba's gaze grew saddened as he nuzzled his mother. "They were stolen? Oh Mama...I won't be going anywhere. I'm staying here, nice and safe. And you can stay here to recover, at least. As I said, we've plenty of food and water. And space! And lots of company. We're only a few families right now, but one of the families is BIG, Mama!" Codail and Muscail's lines were impressive, to say the least.
She pressed close to him, enjoying the warmth of a body near hers. He was so sweet, willing to offer her shelter, a place to stay. It sounded lovely, and to be honest? Jukwa was nearly ready to settle in her ways. She was exhausted fom her youth of wandering. Exhausted and sore, "My paws could likely use a steady path, instead of the different terrain I look through. I have not been off my paws in quite some time. It sounds as though you are happy here, with your father and his mate. I am glad that's the case. I worried every day for you, my dearest."
"This is a good place to settle, Mama." He smiled. "We're rebuilding a pride here. An old one that once took a lot of damage because the gods grew angry. But now...we have a god among us, and all of us are happy and content and we live side-by-side with nature. And they are much, much kinder to males gifted with Sight." He sighed. "In Father and Mother's original pride, I had to hide my visions from all but a very small few. Here, I am a priest, and my visions help us to recover things thought lost!"
Visions...He was a gifted Cub, yes...she remembered that, "I'm so glad, dear heart.." She hummed quietly, "It sound as though you are happy, and as though your father is happy as well. Maybe...There is something I can do for your Pride. Though I don't think I can walk to the rest of them quite yet. My paws bleed, and I don't have the herbs I need to make them stop quite yet." That was the honest truth. She didn't know if the herbs grew around here or not yet.
"Herbs?" His pale ears twitched back and forth, and he nodded. "I can go get some for you? Or one of the healers! They're sisters, and very good at what they do!" Well...ALL of Ngoma and Croix's children were good at what they did. Or would be. He wondered about Sakura sometimes. "Many things grow here, because the land here is fertile."
A small list came from her lips, and it was clear that in her dealings with the world, Jukwa had learned much. She was a healer herself by now, "If you could get me those, dearest, I can make my paws stop bleeding. Maybe some reeds that I can tie together to keep them from re-opening." She knew that some reeds she could tuck together to make bandages of sorts. The femme had seen and done so much in her youth.
Thaba nodded, getting up on his paws. "Just tell me what it is you want me to look for, and I'll get them for you!" He was eager to help, to bring his mother further into the pride where she'd be nice and safe and well-fed.
She nodded and told him, happy to think her life here with her son would be so fulfilled. Thaba was a good child, and knowing that she was finally somewhere safe...well, what mother could ask for more.
