|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 12:00 pm
He was hot. Too hot. The fever was growing unbearable and his eyes and nose felt weepy. He blinked his pale eyes to try and clear away the mucus but it didn't seem to be working. Dabulamanzi knew what this meant, of course. It meant he was plagued, doomed to live out the rest of his shortened days here in this pride. Never again to return home or see his parents or bicker with his brothers.
The den stank of sickness. Just like the outside world did. But in here it seemed to be festering. Worsening. Perhaps, at last, the time had come to get some fresh air to clear his clogged lungs and sooth the fever in his head. Besides, with the sickness in him there was no longer any reason to fear the others. They were all in the same sorry situation now. The danger of being infected was past. And, with that thought in mind, he hauled himself to his paws - ignoring the twinge in his joints - and wobbled out of the entrance. The day was too bright, forcing him to squint as he emerged.
And, free of his den at last, he drew in a deep breath of cool air that ended in a gasping cough. He stood still to wait for it to pass and then took another few steps forward, glancing about for a healer. Perhaps someone had been hunting recently. Maybe some food would help slow it's progress.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 12:47 pm
Eione was hanging around with some healers, staying near the central area of the pride where those most in need of healing usually rested. It was only by chance that she was nearby when Dabulamanzi emerged from his den but she noticed it immediately. The way he walked, something was obviously wrong with him- but they had known for some time he was starting to show signs of the plague, he had simply been avoiding facing it. Today was obviously a bad day, though it was a good day in that he took himself out of his den.
Murmuring an excuse to.. no one, since she was actually alone and not necessarily on a particular task at the moment, she walked carefully over to investigate.
"Out and about, I see," she called out, putting on a smile. She was concerned about him, of course, but it was hard not to be impressed that he had stopped hiding.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 1:28 pm
He managed to smile, at least, when Eione moved forwards to speak with him and gave her a small nod. "You're never too far away." He blinked again and cast a look about him. "No point avoiding everyone now, is there? I'm not about to catch anything worse than I already have. Might as well face the music...as it were."
He took another step towards her and then gave a small shrug. "I was wondering...do you think there have been any successful hunters that might have left me something to eat?" He hadn't eaten well and not just because of sickness. He hadn't left to feed a lot since arriving. It was time to change that. He was getting thinner and weaker and not eating was not going to make things any easier.
"I might take a walk if that's the case..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 1:59 pm
She perked up when he asked about food, nodding encouragingly. It was good to hear him ask for food, she had started to worry he might starve himself now just to get it over with.
"I don't know," she answered honestly but with clear optimism in her voice, "We can go take a look around, though. I know there are some hunters out now, too, so there will be something soon if we can't find anything."
He needed to get a better look around and hopefully he'd see enough to know he doesn't have to give up yet. It was a fairly lively, busy pride, all things considered.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 2:12 pm
"Well, uh...okay." He lifted his head a little higher and drew in another breath, surprised that it felt easier now. The air outside was less heavy and didn't hold such a tang of sickness -- now that he thought about it. Better yet, Eione was there to show him the way so that he didn't have to bumble around by himself until he eventually ran onto the right path. "I'll let you lead the way, in that case." He lifted a paw and made an encouraging gesture.
"I might get lost, otherwise..." It was a poor joke but it was better than nothing. "I'll even try to be better company today."
And he took a few steps forward, found some strength there, and picked his way across to her, giving her a look that said: 'lead on'!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 2:29 pm
After keeping an eye on him while he healed and then sulked for so long, it was strange and exciting for him to be out and about like this- especially so agreeably. She half-expected him to reject the idea of wandering around to see but she could see the effect being out had on him, even just in the few minutes she had been speaking to him.
"Alright," she agreed brightly, "Me too."
Eione knew she wasn't the best of company, there was only so much you could do or say when someone was trying to process their infection with this fatal disease. She was tempted to ask him to tell her more about himself but she guessed he wasn't the same lion he had been before.
"Did that strange bard ever come back to bother you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 3:16 pm
"Hm...I don't think so." The last day or so was fuzzy, though, so she could have come by without him knowing it. "Maybe she gave up. Or maybe the healers kept her away." Perhaps he should have felt bad about snapping at that bard but he'd been so grouchy that day and she had been so annoyingly persistent.
"Apparently I'm bad company when I'm sick." He gave a wry smile. "Which doesn't really bode well. I doubt I'll be making friends very quickly." His tail thrashed twice - from side to side - and turned to glance at her. "I guess...well...thanks...for not giving up on me. Most people would have. Heck, even I would have given up on me."
He coughed once and turned to look ahead. The place didn't look so bad when the sun was up and, to be honest, it looked quite nice. A shame about the lions that lived here, though. No. No. Don't ruin the conversation with negative thoughts. He could dwell on that later when he was alone. "Will I have to leave the healers soon?" Now that he wasn't 'wounded' sick and just 'every day normal sick' he gathered that the healers might not want him hanging about, making the place look messy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 3:47 pm
Eione only smiled at him when he thanked her for not giving up on him while he was healing and adjusting, there wasn't much to say on that. Between walking along, keeping an eye out for fresh hunts and his cough, she was distracted from thoughts of offering any reassuring words.
"You can move into a permanent den whenever you feel ready for it," she said, "I think you'll find you feel better getting out and being active than laying around home sulking."
While a smile couldn't cure any disease, Eione was confident that a positive attitude made everything more bearable. Even Nyesha's sad story wouldn't convince her otherwise.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 3:54 pm
"Maybe I should just take the leap..." If he thought about it too much he might get more anxious than it needed. To see lions at a later stage in the disease than him. To see what would be awaiting him. It worried him. He didn't want to be in a den next to some poor old lion struggling for each breath. How could anyone get used to that?
And what about Eione?
He'd never considered it before but surely it had to be bad for the immune ones, too. They who would live their average lifespan whilst those around them perished - in pain and without hope.
"It could be worse." He said after a long moment, his head lowered and ears back. "The antelope could have killed me." And wouldn't that have been a terrible way to go. Worse, maybe, than wasting away here. Maybe.
"Do you ever get used to it?" He asked, then. "The death, I mean."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 4:06 pm
"Maybe," she agreed, approving of the idea of just going out and getting settled into his own life now. He had a great deal still to learn about how the pride really worked, Eione didn't think anybody tried to sit him down and explain the various rules, expectations and ranks of the pride. The plague issue was overwhelming enough, she hoped nobody tried to add that stuff to it.
It was a pleasant surprise- one she almost couldn't hide- when he boldly implied this was not worse than being killed by that antelope that left him here, injured and ultimately plagued.
"You expect it and eventually accept it, if that's what you mean," she said slowly, thoughtfully, "But I've been here almost my entire life, for most of it I don't think I really understood."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 4:14 pm
In the end Dabula wanted to live. He didn't want to die. Perhaps being killed by that antelope might have been quicker, but it was still death and he didn't want to succumb to it that easily. And who knew. Maybe this place wasn't too bad.
"For most of it?" He queried lightly. "Does that mean you understand now?" He shook his head. "I don't think I want to understand it. All I know is that death brings heartache and with this pride having so much of it...that must mean a lot of broken hearts."
And did that mean these people were religious, too? Did they believe in an afterlife? That, perhaps, was a question for another time. "I have the feeling there is going to be a lot for me to learn about the way you live here." Everything would be different. Cubs must have been viewed as even more precious for all the lives that were being lost. Families must have been small. Perhaps everyone was closer because of the perils. Hard times did tend to draw a people together more often than it tore them apart. "I hope..."
What did he hope? That he lived long enough to accept this new life? That perhaps there was joy to be found -- even here. That maybe he could find some other purpose. That he wouldn't be a useless, sick lion who couldn't pull his own weight.
He wanted to ask her whether she was happy. But he was scared for that answer, too. "Is there someone who is able to teach me the ways of this pride?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 4:29 pm
Truthfully, Eione felt she had been more 'used to' all the death around the pride before she had really experienced the loss of a close friend. Her understanding came from the realization of how complex life was, especially here. He had a sense of what death was and meant and perhaps that made him better prepared than she had been, but he was older than her and who knows what he had learned in his life before this.
Still, it didn't seem like he really wanted an explanation of what she thought she understood now. He knew she was going to be a healer, that had to say something about her experience.
"I'm sure anybody would be willing to help teach you about the pride," she said, grinning before continuing, "I suppose the easiest way would be to ask a friend."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 3:40 pm
"Friend?" He glanced up a her in disbelief. No one knew him except for her and he wasn't very experienced with making friends. Unless. Oh. Oh. Did she mean...her? He blinked, straightening a little as he dared to believe. He supposed that they could be considered friends...maybe? He had stopped walking and shuffled his front paws somewhat awkwardly.
"Well...would you count as a friend?"
One friend was better than none. Besides, he knew her and trusted her. He didn't know anyone else yet. Yet being the key word. Perhaps she had intended for him to make a new friend after all. Push him into a social situation out of necessity.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 3:56 pm
His reaction was somewhat surprising, though she knew she couldn't blame him. Though most of their interactions had been as healer and patient, for half of them she had been coming to visit on her own. She knew better than to let that get to her, though.
"Of course," she said brightly, "Though I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends when you get out more."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 4:00 pm
He gave a light cough and then gave a shaky sort of smile. "Okay. Well...maybe next time you'll have to introduce me to some other pride members." Hopefully ones who weren't as grumpy as him when he was sick otherwise he was in for super fun times.
Not.
"But, uh, let's just stick with the food first." His stomach grumbled and despite the fact that he didn't feel one hundred percent (and never would again) he could at least give a genuine smile, even if it was a little on the small side.
/fin
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
