Yale'buana:
Yale passed by a tree that bore the scars of his claws for the third time in not very long. The striped male had been growing restless in the colony's lands for a long time, but today it had struck him with a surprising strength. Every ounce of his being wanted to just get up and leave, but he knew he couldn't. He had Kamau to look out for, much as his younger brother would hate him if he ever knew Yale felt that way.
And then there was Aulii.
He paused in his passing as he closed his eyes and saw her ridiculously cheerful face. She puzzled him so much and yet for some reason, for the first time that he could remember, he didn't really question it. He didn't really want to know what made her so happy, not anymore at least. It pleased him just to know she was happy. She seemed to understand him more than the others, hell, she understood him more than his own brother. It was no wonder it looked like he favored her in his brother's eyes. It wasn't because it was true, it was just because he got on better with her because she didn't yell at him, didn't get angry when he tried to be sensible. All she did was hug him and try to give him comfort.
He never thought comfort would be something he wanted and yet... he just hadn't known what he was missing.
His small, trademark smile crept onto his maw at the thought of his little friend.
Aulii'Naia:
Aulii wasn't used to this...grown up business. As an adult in the pride, she had moved out of her parents den and into a tiny one that wasn't far from them, but far enough that she had independence, which she was told was what every adult needed to have. The den was tiny, and uncomfortable, but she was rarely in there except to sleep, which meant it wasn't horrible, just awkward. This whole grown up business was awkward, she decided, curled up by a tree in the field of flowers she used to love as a cub -and still did love now.
Her family was all busy too, so much so that she rarely saw her siblings any more. The colony wasn't huge, but it seemed that everyone had something they had to be doing and no one wanted to stop and pick flowers with her. She sighed, and got to her feet, a flower crown perched precariously over one ear. She had been making them, or attempting to, for a while and now there were broken flowers all around her, but she had made one successfully and that was all that matter.
There was only one person who seemed to have time for her anymore, she thought, scooping up a white flower she had picked for him, the little flecks of gold on the petals reminding her of his brown. Yale never seemed to mind her tagging along, even though now she was meant to be all grown up. She moved out of the field of flowers and into the forest in hopes of stumbling across him.
Yale'buana:
Yale opened his eyes again and glanced at the tree, his smile immediately turning into a frown. Had he really been pacing? In the time he'd been doing it, his mind was so clouded with the things he didn't want to do and the places he'd already been that he hadn't even noticed. He looked at the ground and saw the scuffs in the dirt from his paws tracing the path over and over again. And then a third time.
With a soft thump, he sat down and rubbed a paw over his face. He needed something to do that wasn't hunting or exploring. He'd explored all of the lands and the closest lands to the colony's territory that he could venture into without having to be cleansed upon his return. Oh, how he would hate that. And his mother would be happy as a... a songbird, he supposed, at doing it.
He thought it was a stupid tradition.
He really should just leave. He'd been planning leaving the colony for good since he was old enough to hunt on his own. And yet he couldn't do it. He could leave Kamau or Aulii behind. He grumbled at bit at having those attachments, at having to limit himself because he cared for them but then he couldn't start breathing underwater any sooner than he could leave them behind.
Aulii'Naia:
Aulii was careful not to knock her flower crown off her head, nor squish the flower stem in her mouth as she weaved through the trees. She probably could have gotten through the thick forested area quicker if she used the trees but she was still not the most confident climber. She could climb now, just...not extremely well. She preferred walking. Less chance of falling over and hurting or breaking herself, or someone else if they were unlikely enough to be beneath the tree as she fell.
The young leopardess was still small for her age, and probably always would be, which made getting under fallen logs and branches easier, but getting over the awkwardly placed ones was harder. She frowned at a large log blocking her way, and backed up, preparing to jump over. The theory behind the idea was good, but she miscalculated the distance she needed to back up, and ended up hitting her paws on the log as she launched herself over her. She hit the ground hard, with an oomph, on the other side of the fallen log.
She laid sprawled on the ground for a moment, before she began to laugh. “Well done, Aulii,” she told herself, sounding amused, as she pushed herself back onto her feet. Her flower crown was ruined, she realised, but the flower for Yale was preserved, having been protected from the fall by her tilting her face away from the ground. She had dropped it on impact though. She picked it up again, trying not to squish it and cast a regretful glance at her fallen crown.
Yale'buana:
Yale's eyes widened in surprise as he heard a thump to his right, turning to see the leopardess of his thoughts. Aulii had apparently jumped over the large log and ended up landing flat on her face. A frown came to his face and he stood and padded quietly over to her as she didn't notice him just yet. He suppressed a smile at her amused comment and paused a few steps from her, face still showing a slight amount of concern for her. She didn't sound hurt, but there really was no telling with her.
"Aulii? Are you alright?" he asked, tilting his head a bit, one brow raised slightly with his question.
Aulii'Naia:
Aulii's head jerked up in surprise and she turned towards his voice. She hadn't even noticed him but her eyes lit up when she finally did. Wonderful! She didn't have to go walking anymore. Her paws stung a little from where they'd hit the log, but they were likely just bruised, which was a fairly normal occurrence with her.
She had the flower in her mouth, so any words she attempted to speak would could out warped, so instead she closed the distance between them and leant up to drop the flower down on his head, making it fall and catch near his ear.
“Hi Yale,” she greeted warmly and pulled back to smile at him. “Me? I'm fine. Just under-estimated the log. I was coming to look for you, so perhaps the fall was a good thing, else I might not have noticed you nearby. What are you doing out here?”
Yale'buana:
Yale jerked back when she put the flower behind his ear, surprised at the action and rather confused at it. He sat sown so he could reach a paw up as he tilted his head, grabbing it between his toes. Once that was done, he brought his paw down to look at the flower.
"What's this for?" he asked, looking back up to her. She'd never given him a flower before, what was different now?
Besides, it no doubt looked ridiculous on him, especially behind his ear like she had tried to put it. A small thought in the back of his mind said it would look much better behind her ear instead.
Aulii'Naia:
“It's a flower,” Aulii pointed out, with a slightly amused smile, “it doesn't have to be for anything.” Yale was still odd to her, even after all this time. He seemed to question most everything, even if it was simple, like a flower. “I was just out in the flower fields and it reminded me of you, so I thought I'd bring it to you.” It showed she was thinking of him too, even if they weren't in the same area. That thought made her a bit embarrassed and she lowered her eyes to the ground, staring at her own paws. It amazed her sometimes how often she thought of Yale, even if there was no reason to.
Talking to her sister, hunting or even going to sleep, something always reminded her of him which made her think of him, which made it hard to concentrate. It was a little frustrating at times. He was her best friend though, so it would make sense that she thought of him often.
“It's okay if you don't like the flower,” she added, almost as an afterthought, looking up again and smiling at him.
Yale'buana:
Yale considered the flower for a moment. Now that she had mentioned it, it did share his coloring, almost. That it reminded her of him made him relax a bit inside. So he wasn't the only one after all. and for some reason, the thought of that flower reminding her of him and resembling him made him want her to keep it all the more. It would be as if she were carrying a reminder, or a little bit of him around with her. And for that same foreign reason... He really wanted that.
When she looked up again and said it was okay if he didn't like it, he just smiled a bit and reached up, dropping it behind her ear instead. Unlike Aulii, he didn't have to reach up to do so.
"I think it looks better on you," he replied, a bit of a fond undertone in his voice as he let his paw fall, brushing the back of lightly over her cheek as he did so.
Aulii'Naia:
Aulii was thankful that he hadn't said it didn't like the flower, her eyes widening a little as he dropped it behind her ear instead. She smiled at him, her eyes lighting up again. They had dulled at the thought that perhaps he didn't like the flower. “Really?” She asked, purring a little as he brushed her cheek with his paw. She wished she could see how she looked with the flower behind her ear, but she trusted his comment that she looked better with it.
“Now I've got something to remind me of you, until it wilts,” she remarked and added to herself, that she really didn't need any other reason to remind herself of him, but perhaps now she would have an excuse for thinking of him so often.
Yale'buana:
It cheered him to see the light return to her eyes. He hated it when she was sad. Or that time when she was scared. No, he didn't like it at all.
"Well, when it wilts, you can just come bug-" The suggestion fell silent as Yale's face turned in a pensive frown, his head turning slightly as if something in the grass to her left had caught his attention. But it wasn't the grass. It was the realization that someday he might not be able to hold back his restlessness, that someday he might just up and leave.
"Aulii... If I left the colony, what would you do?" he asked, hating that he couldn't bring himself to ask the real question. He didn't what to know what she would do. Well, he DID, but what he really wished to know, what some part of him NEEDED to know, was would she come with him, if she was given the chance?
Aulii'Naia:
She blinked at his pause and tilted her head to the side as he seemed to stare at something near her. She twisted to look at it, but saw nothing and turned back just as he asked his question. She froze. What? Leave the colony? But he couldn't! He was one of the few friends she had in the colony and the only one she could really interact with easily. If he left...she'd be alone, because everyone was so busy and they'd just end up leaving her behind in their busy lives.
She opened her mouth to answer, and closed it again, her shoulders slumping. “You really hate it here, don't you?” She knew the male had never liked the colony, he had never really hid his dislike from her. “I guess...if you left, I'd...let you go 'cause it'd make you happier, but I'd be really sad without you here, Yale.” She wouldn't dream of trying to keep him in the colony.
When she was younger, she had suspected that he might leave, but as she grew, he had never seemed like he was preparing to. Had he simply been waiting for her to grow up so he could leave without feeling obligated to look after her. “Are you really going to leave-” me “-the colony?”
Yale'buana:
Gods, she looked so sad. Yale inwardly cursed himself for bring the damn thing up, but... it needed to be asked. He needed to tell her, about his restlessness, about his want for new places and new things. He knew there was more outside of the colony, and he ached inside to see it. But something in him ached for her company, too. She'd been the only one to truly understand and accept him. Would the outside world be any different that the one he was born into? Doubtful. At what point had things changed? When did it go from him teaching her... to him needing her?
Yale sighed and moved closer, placing his cheek against hers, closing his eyes.
"I can't stay here. There's so much out there I don't know, haven't seen," he explained quietly. He grit his teeth a bit at the pause, willing himself to as the real question.
"... Would you come with me if I left?"
Aulii'Naia:
Aulii squeezed her eyes closed and leant against him as he pressed their cheeks together. She had come to appreciate the feeling of being close to or next to him a lot more as she grew, and came to look forward to the small touches he gave her affectionately. She could understand why he wanted to leave, he wasn't made to be caged in. He was simply...too curious, too eager to know everything the world had to offer, to be trapped in a pride which didn't allow him to explore.
She jerked back at his question and stared at him in shock. What? She had been expecting him to leave but to ask her...
“I couldn't,” she said, almost immediately, “my family is all here. It's my home.” She stood, and paced a little way away from him, but did not leave. Her family was here! How could he ask her that? He meant so much to her, but they were her family....but they were all moving on with their lives. Without Yale, what was there for her to move on to in her life? She had no real friends in the colony, except some she played with as cubs, and she wasn't even that good a hunter.
Yale seemed to be one of the few who saw something more in her, than just another member of the colony...but they were still her family! She couldn't...could she?
She closed her eyes, her back to him, and tried to imagine her life after Yale had left. Her eyes snapped open almost immediately. There was nothing in that thought that appealed to her, it was a lonely life without him, she realised, and glanced back to where he was. What was more important? Her family, or a chance at a future more than being just another huntress (a not very good one at that.)?
She took a deep breath and walked back to him, tucking herself under his chin almost immediately, her favourite place to be when cuddling up to him. “Ask me again?” She asked him instead, her mind still whirling.
Yale'buana:
Yale's heart sank at her sudden outburst. He'd known it was a stupid question, he knew how much she cared for her family and he never should have asked her to leave them. And as she moved away from him, his heart ached even more. This was the trouble with caring, with feelings. They hurt you in the end.
Aulii was facing away from him then, giving him a chance to look down, to allow all the pain inside to reflect on his face. By he time she turned back to him, the look was gone, replaced by his cool, collected mask. He didn't want her to see the hurt because no matter how much he ached, he would never sway her opinion. He knew if she saw the look, it could change her mind. She was ever trying to please others, even at her expense. And he didn't want that. He just wanted her to be as she was, as she wanted to be.
He closed his eyes, head tilted down slightly as he opened his mouth to apologize for asking that of her. But before he could get out the "I", her head was under his chin, clamping his jaw shut. He grit his teeth at the affectionate gesture, half expecting her to ask him not to leave, or start crying even.
His eyes snapped open at what she did ask, instead and he frowned in confusion.
"Would... you come with me? If I left?"
Aulii'Naia:
Aulii had never liked how well Yale could hide his emotions from her. It was like he was keeping her out of something important, but now, she was thankful, because she knew her outburst would had hurt, even just a little, and she hated to think of her hurting him in any way. Still, even without seeing it on his face, she knew it had hurt him.
Tucked under his chin, she felt his jaw move as he did as she asked, and repeated the question. It was not as easy to understand the second time around, but she stayed pressed against him.
“I love my family, Yale. I've never been apart from them,” she told him softly, “but I-” she paused and turned, staying hidden away under his chin, her face pressed to his throat so she could feel his warmth. “This colony would be completely different without you, it would be so much harder and so much worse if you weren't here.”
She sucked in a deep breath and blurted out, “yes.” It was the only answer she could give. Everything would just be...wrong, without Yale there.
“Yes, I'd go with you..when you leave.” When. she couldn't bring herself to say if. It might take him months, days, years, hours, but she knew he'd leave. Someday. It was just how he was.
Yale'buana:
Yale let out something between a sigh and a shudder as she basically told him yes. It just took her more words than necessary. His eyes closed and a smile spread on his face in relief as he nuzzled the top of her head. Knowing that she would come with him... It made him happier than he had thought it would. By far.
"I don't know if I really could have, without you," he admitted, breathing in her scent. He had to chuckle at that. She'd brought him a flower, of course, and he'd seen the crushed crown, but he hadn't really put it together. And with that action and the relief of it all came a sudden realization that hit him like a falling tree limb.
"No... I couldn't have. I don't know how, but... you've come to mean more to me than anything else in my life, Aulii. I couldn't leave you behind." There, it was finally out of him. But a second thought came to mind and he grit his teeth, his eyes widening a little, his skin paling beneath his fur.
"But, I promise you, if you change your mind about leaving, I might just take ill..."
Aulii'Naia:
Aulii's breath caught in her throat and she paused. To hear those words from Yale, someone who had always believed in reason rather than emotions, it came as a shock, but as the words sunk in, her eyes lit up and she pulled back from him, revealing her bright smile to him. She leant up and touched her nose to his cheek, before pressing her cheek against his, mimicking the gesture he had done earlier, before she had freaked out.
“I won't change my mind,” she reassured him hastily, a purr building in her throat which she couldn't suppress. “My family mean a lot to me, but they are what I came from, my past, you're the place I want to go to, a new future. Away from here. With you.” She realised how sappy that sounded, and gave an odd little giggle. Her cheeks felt hot, and she was glad her face was hidden, because her embarrassment would surely be written clearly there.
She hadn't thought she'd ever be discussing this sort of thing with Yale, but it seemed, now she looked back, it couldn't have been any different. “You couldn't leave without me, and I can't possibly stay without you, so it only makes sense for me to follow.” It was like one of his equations, something he studied. It just...made sense.
Yale'buana:
Yale closed his eyes again as she touched her cheek to his and he gave her a little nuzzle, for once just going with what felt natural without trying to dissect it. He hated to take her away from her family, but he also knew she was right. Their families were both their pasts and he knew he could see his future in her eyes just as much as she saw hers in his.
"We can come back, so you can see them. I... know how much they mean to you, I wouldn't want to take you away forever," he replied, his thoughts wandering back to his brother. Could he leave Kamau if he refused to come? He hated himself for deciding that if it all came down to it, he would. He cared a great deal for his brother, but if Kamau didn't want to be helped, there really was nothing he could do.
Aulii'Naia:
Aulii couldn't have been happier at that moment, when Yale nuzzled her cheek and spoke of their future. It was simple and it sounded perfect, because he understood. He understood her love of her family, even if he didn't feel the same towards his own, and would come back to a place he hated so she could see them again. It was better than any gift he could have given. “Thank you,” she told him, and returned the nuzzle, but she paused.
He didn't like his family, yes, but what of his brother? She frowned a little, and wondered whether she should ask. Would the male come with them? She wouldn't mind if he did. After all, he was important to Yale too, and Aulii knew the importance of family! Especially for Yale, who didn't have much of one. She pressed closer to Yale, not sure if she should bring it up, so she instead just soaked up the moment of being with Yale and having a future.
