Moose
Vyriskas sighed and leaned back against the bark of a baobob tree. He was beginning to see why his siblings had all decided to vacate the area so quick. There was nothing more infuriating, or depressing, than a listless God. "Dad, one little bite isn't going to kill you."
Sekmes gave a little half-smile to his daughter - no, son - and pushed the antelope around with his paw. "You should eat it, little one, and gain your strength. I've enough fat to spare." It was meant to be a joke, but from the hard glare he received the God knew it was a poor one. In truth he hadn't meant to crash with his mortal offspring, but where else was he to go? He had meant to just speak with them for a while, then a while had turned into a few nights and now he was the visitor that wouldn't leave.
Nudging his paw with his own, Vyriskas shook his head. "You can't stay here for the rest of your life. I mean, you could, but I doubt we'll even be here for that long. Roaming, not dying." He pointed out.
Zosie
Nyesha flew with all her might, all the power her fragile and beautiful wings could muster. She was looking for him, hues of brown and red caught her attention, as did anything with horns, until she finally settled on the mortal ground, folding her wings beside her. It had taken awhile, but she had sorted her head out and re-evaluated what she wanted, or needed, and it was him. Would she ever find him again? Letting Bahari down was one thing, but letting Sekmes down... she couldn't do it. He was her new life, her reawakening. Nyesha had never had so much fun as she did with the God of Goodwill. Padding gently across the ground she searched to try and find her love.
Moose
There was a disturbance that both father and son felt. Although Sekmes didn't react to it, Vyriskas did. He twerked his ears, flinging locks of glittered mane towards the direction of the presence. It could have been another rogue or a prey beast for all he knew. "Do you want to come check it out with me?"
Looking to his little cub, who was actually almost full grown, Sekmes felt he had no choice but to go. The worry coming from his offspring was just too much for him to bare, even in his saddened state. When he rose to meet Vyriskas the adolescent was barely the height of a juvenile cheetah to a Firekin. "Lead the way, love."
Nodding, Vyriskas did just that. He prowled around the surrounding area until he spotted something - well, someone - of a bright blue hue. With wings no less. "Do you know her?" He murmured.
Sekmes didn't answer; he couldn't. It felt as if the breath had been taken from his lungs by a mighty blow. He stood watching Nye with wide eyes that were full of fear and longing. She had come with news then, but what kind of news would it be?
Zosie
The goddess was equally breathless, and as soon as she saw them it was instant recognition. Sekmes and his adolescent child stood almost gleaming and glittering with their god-like qualities. Drawing a sharp breath inward, she became a little shy as she noted she had never met any of his mortal children before, and this was hardly a good time. Pressing forward, she gave the youngster a smile. "Hello there, I didn't mean to startle you." She thanked her lucky stars that she had come down to rest here, there had been something telling her that she would find him, though she hesitated to believe it. Her deep blue eyes turned to Sekmes for a moment, flickering here and there. "I am glad to see you..." She didn't say anything else for now, she wasn't sure how to say it, or what to say. The company he was in definitely made her slightly more reserved, as his children probably knew nothing of her, and who was she to turn up and disrupt their family time. Nyesha had no family, and so was unsure of any sort of protocol or social implications.
Moose
"I don't think I'm the one you startled." Vyriskas was pretty quick about putting two and two together. One look at his father, and then another at this Goddess confirmed this was the one he was so hung up over. His father had good taste. "The name's Vyriskas, and I'll be stepping out now. I'll just go...find my brother or something." Smiling, he looked between the two and made himself scarce.
Sekmes was no more able to make eye contact than she. His icy eyes moved around, settling first on Vyriskas as he walked away, and then back to Nyesha. "I'm glad to see you too." His voice was soft, and timid. What was he to say when he didn't know her intentions? Sekmes was torn; should he be elated that she had returned, or mournful for the news she carried? His ears were bent down into his mane, hidden beside his horns. "Vyriskas," He called out, stopping the adolescent in his tracks. "Come, you don't have to leave. I would like the two of you to meet."
The adolescent frowned, knowing good and well when he was being used as an excuse. His father didn't want to be left alone with her, for some reason. Sighing once more, he made his way back to the Gods.
"Nyesha, this is my son," Sekmes held out a paw and the boy went into the embrace easily. "Son, this is Nyesha, Goddess of Rain."
"You didn't tell me she was so ho-"
"Shh, boy. Manners."
Zosie
Nyesha appreciate Sekmes' sons efforts to try and give the two of them some privacy, it was sweet. Reading the God's body language suggested he was apprehensive, and as eager as Nye was to put that apprehension to rest, she also found time to be polite, as meeting one of his children was an honour. Sekmes had told Nyesha how much he loved his mortal children, and to be invovled in meeting them made her feel a little warmer inside. "Hello Vyriskas! It's lovely to meet you" Nyesha chirped, which was odd given the nature of the meeting, but felt like the issues between her and Sekmes need not be broadcast nor brought into any other social interaction at this given moment. Oblivious, Nye had no idea what Vyriskas was about to finish his sentence with, so looked rather vacant as she gazed from God to son. They were so alike, and there was something about his son that seemed rather feminine, though that was not an appropriate thought for the moment. Perhaps it was just the God genes. He gave the impression of a good, loving father, and that was yet another thing Nye found she admired in the God. Shuffling from one paw to the other, she cleared her throat gently, her wings fluttering hesitantly. "Have you been enjoying one another's company?" The Goddess was bursting to tell Sekmes her feelings, to spill everything out into the open and to hopefully fix the bond between them that had been damaged by recent events.
Moose
"Likewise." The adolescent nodded absently. Why he couldn't leave yet was beyond him. It felt like the hold his father had one him was born of a constricting snake, and every little squirm he made was locked down. Still, if his father wasn't going to be the one to acknowledge the need for alone time, he was going to have to do it.
Settling himself into a seated position allowed Sekmes to really watch Nye. She was being polite, almost too polite, and she seemed to tense around Vyriskas. He doubted it was because she felt threatened by the boy, but rather like that of a first meeting. It kept a good barrier between them, which was good for avoiding talks-
"We have, so much so that I really think that the two of you should have some time to catch up. As much as I love spending time with my father, he gets out so rarely these days, and a little talk won't be the end of you, right, dad?" Vyriskas looked pointedly at the God, who reluctantly let him go. Smiling, he bowed to Nye and made for a smooth, albeit hasty, retreat.
Feeling more at war than ever, Sekmes shifted from large paw to large paw. "...I know you didn't come here just to meet my son."
Zosie
His son was perfectly polite, and it put Nyesha at ease, though really she knew that his children would be lovely. Who else would be the offspring of a perfectly jolly God but perfectly pleasant children? Nye smiled widely at him as he left. He was also smart, it was as if he knew of the importance of their impending talk, and she was grateful for that understanding. Once he had left and she had bid him goodbye she turned her gaze almost intensely to Sekmes, all of the words she had in her mind wanted to spin out of her like a wild tornado, but she held them back. Moving ever so slightly closer to him, she wanted to keep him in suspense no longer. This was not fair. Life was not fair, and love and life came hand in hand. Bahari had given her some good memories, yes, but it was time to let go. Nye had found something great in Sekmes, kindness, love and fun. It was time to mvoe on and time to allow herself to be happy. Meeting Bahari again had been difficult, she could not deny that, but her future path was one she had chosen for herself, and one that was becoming ever more clear with every passing second.
"I love you Sekmes, you have made me feel like myself these past few months. I need that, I need to be happy, and I do not want to be without you." The words were simple, yet rose from her like a turbulent sea, full of emotion and passion. Eyes locking onto him almost fiercely she moved even closer. "The past is the past. I want you to be my future." Nyesha was worried that perhaps the God had took his time to think and decided otherwise. Maybe he didn't want his feelings to be compromised or to be messed with, and she could understand that.
Moose
The intensity of those dark blue eyes was enough to put a shackle around Sekmes' heart. There was so much in that gaze that he couldn't read, and it worried him. For possibly the first time in this life he was truly afraid. This Goddess held so much of him in her paws that it would have been foolish not to be worried. He stayed still as she began to move closer to him. His tail flipped against the hard earth behind him, stirring bits of dust into the surrounding air.
"You love me?" His question was so quiet and shocked that it took him a full heart beat to process it all. What came next was nothing short of a quickfire reaction. Sekmes' fangy smile blossomed at the same moment that his eyes began to glisten. The God hadn't known just how much he needed to hear her say those words until it became a reality. Sekmes had known love; love could lift you and break you down with the same breath. To be chosen to hold her heart...it was more of an honor than he could bear.
"I love you, Nyesha. With all of my beating heart, I love you." He closed the distance between them and brushed his cheek against hers as gently as possible. "Every moment I spent away from you was sheer agony. You are my sun, moon and stars. The sky with which I look to for guidance." When he pulled his head back, Sekmes couldn't help but to take in the full features of his love. "I know this couldn't have been easy for you, and I hate that you had to to suffer for it, but I thank you for choosing me."
Zosie
Nyesha was glad of his reaction, truly she was. The storm that had raged within her for the past few days had subsided, and the sunshine appeared to make it's way through the clouds. Her heart which had previously seemed to skip so many beats relaxed as he moved in to nuzzle her cheek. She returned the affection, her eyes scrunched closed with the threat of joyful tears this time, though she kept them back - emotion had got her in a chokehold lately, and though this one was positive, she decided to remain calm on the outside for now. His words meant so much, they were so full of love and the feelings that she has experienced that she couldn't help but nod her head wholeheartedly in agreement. "I am so sorry for putting you through this... I know it was difficult." The female sighed gently. "Life can be full of difficult decisions sometimes... but as soon as you left, it wasn't difficult. It was obvious." Her serious tone lingered as she continued. "I hate to feel like I have some hold over either one of you, that is not the sort of creature I am." She admitted. Thoughts of Bahari had already begun fading away. This joyful, beautiful lion was the one she loved now, and happiness had started to boil over within her. "Of course I love you."
Moose
She was so much softer than he could remember. Nyesha's scent was sweet like the rain in spring, and Sekmes regretted not being able to remember it in it's full glory. Shaking his head, he only smiled. "The only difficult part about it was being away from you." It wasn't entirely true, but telling her too much would have been selfish. They had been through enough with this, and he was just happy to be moving on to the next phase.
"If that's how you feel, then think of it as an exchange. I give you my heart only because I wish you to have it, and should it begun too much to handle, then you can give it back whenever you wish." He didn't want for her to feel as if she were trapped with him, or that it was harder than it already was to make her decision.
"You...wouldn't mind saying it once more would you?"
Moose
Vyriskas hadn't gone far; barely a few trees over in a bush, actually. It was too good not to spy at least for a little while. He would be reprimanded firmly if caught, but there was too much worry for his father not to peep. Though, that worry seemed misplaced. It looked like there was a new female in his life; and thankfully, this was one was going to stay. Smiling, the adolescent nodded approvingly and sauntered off to relay the events to his siblings.
Unaware of their audience, Sekmes took a deep, steadying breath. "Until my dying breath, and well into my next lives I will always love you, Nyesha." He hoped that should the day come that he was to be reborn that they would find one another again; he couldn't imagine a worse life than one without her in it.
"Would you like to go home, love? Tomorrow I would like to introduce you to the cubs, but I don't want to overwhelm you."
Zosie
Looking from Sekmes to the horizon, she envisioned their new life together. Here they could really start building something of their own, and they could move forward. Nyesha was very excited to see what the future would hold, and though she was a little apprehensive of being so in love again, she doubted Sekmes would ever leave her broken hearted like Bahari did, even if he didn't entirely mean to. It was time to put her faith and trust in something new, and it felt wonderful. His words soothed her and the joy bubbled up inside her madly. Bobbing her curly head up and down she replied to Sekmes enthusiastically. "I would love to meet your family, don't worry about me being overwhelmed, I think I can deal with a few extra meetings on top of everything else." She joked gently. Moving closer to his side, she made to move off in whichever direction he suggested. Now, they were together, they were one, and she felt inseperable from him. Happiness once again, was hers.
Moose
Sekmes couldn't ever remember being in a love like this. Surely he had loved mortals in the past, but like all things fleeting, they had either passed or separated from him. Nyesha had the promise of a long future that he couldn't wait to spend with her.
"In that case, follow me, my sweet little rain drop." Bumping against her, Sekmes led the way back to where he had left his youngest brood. He had no doubt that they would come to love her as much as he did. And with that would come the promsie of a family that could outlast the world.
He had never been so happy.
