Lúhuì'Huā and Sugiya:Sugiya was newest to the ranks. His voice could only be matched by the geishas and that worried other mid ranked entertainers. It was easy for him to gain popularity. Females and males alike would come from their hard working days only to find the voiced they sought was from a male. It was magical. The weird part to him, foreign to other entertainers- he tried to start a band. He was a cheetah of many faces, and could easily make friends and that's what Lulu knew. She was especially rewarded for his enterance and was given plenty of time on the outside to collect herbs and such things. Gifts from many and far would give them to her, mysterious gifts happening upon her cave step. But most would be from him. After all, they knew each other for quite some time. Years- beyond the 'Nera. He'd happen upon her in the forest where they both grew up but when he came to her parents place- they were gone.
He hung around Lulu and sang to her sometimes. Today, was one of those days. He lounged in front of her cave. Yawning at first- then a sweet tune. He watched her from the corner of his eyes. It was like backflashes of them spending time where they spent hanging around in tree tops and in the streams. He'd sing to her and she'd try to feed him berries. It was an odd pair but he knew that the spark from before had to have been there. Plus- he didn't see another cheetah's mark nor any other trinkets that weren't hers in the cave. He- on the other hand made it a POINT to be trinkets of his around. "Um. Suki.. What are you doing?" She tilted her head and gave him a frowning face. "Oh just decorating.. My you have become morbid in our adult years. Just sprucing it up a little. You know, a doctor's den should be welcoming and all~" He leaned against her and snuck a lick to her cheek. "Oh.. Um." Her ears went flat. She liked her skulls and things and he'd put flowers and such on top of them. "I-" "Oh that just screams I love helping others." Which was a skull decorated in fruits and things. ".....Riiiight." Rolling her eyes. "Why don't you decorate your own den. It'd be much easier. Since.. you know.. it's YOURS." Pushing his shoulder and taking down the fruits. "AW! Your such a spoil sport Lilly!!~~~~" Coming up behind her and rubbing his cheek against hers, and pulled her in to a hug. He asked her so many times about if she had someone special in her life.
She'd brush off the question, and so every time a patient was in her den he'd make a habit of prouding himself around her den as if he was naturally apart of it. Well, since because he was. Right? "Your... really starting to bother me Suki. And stop saying Lilly." "Oh but that's whats I called you.. remember." Coming up close to her and rubbing his nose against hers and lifting her chin up with the top of his paw. "When I picked you out of the lilly patch..You were.. the most beautiful flower there.. My Aloe flower." The only person to know the meaning of her name. "Shut it- someone will hear you!" Quickly covering his maw.
Djinni:Djinni's tail swished as he paused in the entrance of Lulu's den. Seeing the other male there, curled around her, talking to her and getting her to talk... It took every bit of his schooling and usually happy personality to keep the red-hot jealousy from showing on his face as it rose within him. Not even his eyes narrowed, just kept that charming, even a bit silly smile on his maw. His head tilted slightly in feigned curiosity as he cleared his throat.
"Lulu? Should I come back later?" He'd been away for too long, had missed her more than he was still willing to admit. How was it that he couldn't bring himself to tell her the one secret he managed to keep? For such an honest individual, he held such a deep secret. But no, no he couldn't tell her any of that. It wasn't that he wouldn't, just that he wasn't sure how. How could you tell someone something that didn't even make sense to one's self?
A glance around made his smile fade and eyebrows rise. Flowers? Fruit? This wasn't how Lulu normally kept her den. Useful flowers, maybe, but that wasn't decorative.
Lúhuì'Huā and Sugiya:
After the two bickering and him showering her with affection and her denying him finally her ears flicked up. Her eyes went round and her tail flickered in an almost wag. Even Suki couldn't get her tail to do that. Which he noted upon that as she slipped away from his grasp as she gracefully made her way over to him. "No.. Not at all." She lowered her head, and smiled softly. Djinni showed her that. "It's good... to see you home...How was the mission? Did the knock-out powder work?" She was about to take a step forward to rub her cheek against his before she felt as massive weight on top of her head.
'Thud'
The face of a very mellowed out Suki on top of her head. "Hi~ Whoeveryouarethatdoesn'tmatter~" "Suki!" "Whhaa~~" He whined at her. Shaking her head and pushing him aside. A sigh escaped him when she rejected him, but he slowly leaned over her shoulder. "Sugiya~ since someone doesn't know how to introduce new clients~~" A sigh escaped her as she looked up at Djinni. "This Djinni... He is.. " She looked away and kinda side stepped. "A friend of mine. Sugiya is an old friend from back home. I saw him during one of my missions..He kinda-"
"Followed her home, and got recruited and loved and famous." He smiled widely. "I couldn't not follow my love back~ and forever lose her again." "Shush Suki- others might think your serious.Don't- just Stop saying stuff like that." She growled at him. "Sorry... he hasn't gotten used to our pride yet.. says..stupid things..." Pushing him away and sniffing Djinni out. "So..." Checking out the bag she gave him and looked at how much was spent of it.
Sugiya's eyes lifted, mellowed, and even more challenging at Dijinni's. Smirking... He could feel that this client.. was different than the others. Lulu was ..even slightly more peppier.. and snappier to him- who was this kid. A challenger? Pfft. Seeking the boy's eyes. Yep.. He read him like a book and showered off his affections openly.
Djinni:
"As well as I would have expected. You're a master at your art," Djinni replied with a small grin and nudged the bag to her. There wasn't too much left, but he hadn't used any more than was necessary.
"I wish that I hadn't needed to g-" His words were cut off when the male all but pounced on Lulu and interrupted. How rude.
Wait, what? Love? His heart did a painful flip in the brief moment before Lulu growled back at Suki. For a moment he thought he might have somehow lost her and that had terrified him. How arrogant could he have been to think that no one else would see in her what he did? He needed to tell her. But then what if she didn't feel the same? It would kill him to lose their friendship. He was so lost.
He cleared his throat again and smiled, sitting down and all but ignoring her friend.
"The mission went well, I just hope I won't be sent out again any time soon. You know me." the last thing he wanted to do was deceive others, even if it was for the good of the 'Nera. He'd rather just stay at home and make others happy. And to remain with those he cared about. Was that too much to ask?
Lúhuì'Huā and Sugiya:
"Dijinni...." Rubbing his cheek against Lulu's as she tried to speak only to get pushed away again and again. This didn't go without saying that Suki would be even more jealous that another male had captured her attention so much. When with other clients she'd be more quiet, not ask questions, not speak just simply about the business and nature with the shortest words possible. She spoke to him as though they were more than just business partners in this pride and that peaked Suki's interest. "Love- whenever your done with this~ whoever he is~ Let's grab some lunch before I go to the show." A softness in his voice, tenderly coaxing at her as if they were together. As if they did this quite often. She was about to continue to speak with Dijinni before she turned to Suki and made a rather upset looking face to him. "You are a fledged member now. You can pick up from the entertainer's share instead of mine. Go on~" "I can't go without you, my lady.." ".......Go." With a long stare to boot. His ears went down and he shook his head. "I'll bring you some then. You can't go without neither." Lulu shook her head but at least she was happy to see he was leaving and she could spend some time with Dijinni. They were sometimes were more alike than it seemed but Dijinni was more calm and collected while Suki was outwardly flamboyant at times.
"Missions bring experience. You should be proud that you came back alive." She said as Suki circled around them slowly and giving the male a stare before he left that Lulu caught on the corner of her eyes. A sigh of relief left her. "Dreadfully sorry Dijinni.about him. He doesn't know any better... " She lowered her head, slowly lifted her body only to pick it up when she rubbed her absent cheek without Suki's germs against Dijinni's. It was nice to see him home and safe. "That and..." She sniffed around. "No colorful frogs today.. huh." Looking at him with hope that was shot down rather quickly. That's where she'd get most of her poisons from; frogs. Finally she sat on her hutches and bowed her head. "Not a master, just training... but thank you. I hope to be one- one day so I can make the best of the best and cure the worse of the worst." The toll of a mission... she examined him over with just a softness in her eyes. "I'm glad your unharmed. I started my training on making cures now.So hopefully next time if anyone even much scrapes you I can heal it enough so it won't be noticeable.." She spoke so much more now, but only to select few. Like her master, and Dijinni and now.. Suki. "....What's wrong." Her eyes surrounded in concern as soon as she looked deep in to his eyes. "...Did.. something happen?"
Djinni:
All through the back and forth between Lulu and Suki, Djinni had to remind himself what she had said, he was just a friend from her cubhood, just a friend, just a friend. And that reminding made him want to bristle in agitation. There was friendly teasing and then there was being pushy, and this didn't feel like the former. Couldn't the daft male see that he was making Lulu uncomfortable, that she didn't like being called his love much less be treated like she was?
He remained quiet until Suki had left, relaxing only then.
"They do, and I am glad." He sighed a bit when she pressed her cheek to his. He couldn't resist leaning slightly into the touch, one he'd desperately missed while he was away. Times when he was apart from her always brought his heart into sharpened clarity.
His smile softened from his usual grin when she asked if everything was okay.
"I'm fine. I just hate being away from you and my family for so long." And for being relegated to the role she'd accused him of as a cub. Deceptive, a liar. He didn't want to be a liar, he just wanted to do what he enjoyed to make others happy, to help them forget their own worries if just for a little while. But no, sometimes he had to use his skills to get close, to take advantage of others.
Djinni chuckled.
"Cures sound interesting. I'll bet you're better at it than you think, you've always astounded me. And sorry, no frogs. I'll not lie, I was in too much of a hurry to get home and... forgot. Forgive me?" His ears drooped, his head ducked slightly, his eyes widened a bit, all coming together to make a somewhat comical look of contrition.
Lúhuì'Huā and Sugiya:
"I'll forgive you this one time." Winking. She had put on a cover, Suki had helped her get through the roughest patch in her life. "Me?" She smiled softly.. and shook her head with a chuckle. "Only because I make your life easier." With all her poisons and other tricks she showed him for escaping and knocking out. When she met his eyes, it was darling and she couldn't help but laugh a little. But having him home now, maybe she could tell him. Maybe.. but she had to remember. There was a space between them, he was an entertainer and his role in the pride was just as valuable as hers.
The constant 'sorries' just made her more and more conscious of what Suki had been doing every time some male or female would get too close to her but they were cubhood friends and being around him reminded him of her old home. The one she secretly missed. Her family... Most of her brothers also went in to the poisons and cures section of the pride. While only one made it to be a fighter. Her father tried keeping them together but that was only up until...
"My family..." Her voice had fallen in to a slight sadness.."They moved my mother." She finally said after a long silence, then tossed her gaze away. She was keeping herself busy with the unsuspecting Reunion of Suki and her master's scheduling of her training. Most of her family moved with her mother- and the only one mandatory to stay behind... Was Lulu. She hadn't the choice of leaving, not when she was hand picked to be one of the rising witch doctors. She was too valuable to be traded... but at least she had vacation time enough to go see her mother. That was the only thing keeping her from completely ruining her life and making the mistake of going against the 'Nera but her family was a stake. "Since you left, my mother's condition worsened and she 'got out'- and was restrained to the point of being questioned to death to ease the pain. But- surprisingly, a leader of one of our newest foreign trade prides had turned out to be my aunt. She opted to take my mother in if it would spare her life. You know my father, he wouldn't leave my mother even in death." The more she spoke, the quieter she got. "Some of my siblings were able to leave the pride as trades....I..Couldn't." Why she wasn't as sad? With now over a course of two months, her and Suki had visited her mother three times and when things got rough Suki stayed in her den keeping her company. Driving her and conditioning her til she was sociable enough to continue working on her job.
It... had been so long since she'd seen Dijinni... she should have been more happy- she should have tackled him down and hugged him like normal animals that missed each other but she did neither. Her heart tugged quite a bit to hug him but she knew her place was not to be at his side- as his side was with many others. Like Suki. Only recently did Suki even begin to become busy with his work but even then he made time to annoy her enough to keep her mind busy.. "A lot has happened..since you left.I guess... it has been a while." Leaning her forehead against his neck. "I..." - miss.... she couldn't even formulate it without sounding overly emotional with how she urged to see him again, and how much worry she had for him- but once with her mother was brought in to the picture and her move- she had her mind pre-occupied enough not to overly miss him. Suki came in...at the right time.
Djinni:
You make my life bright, not easier...
Ah, but he wouldn't say that, even if he could. Everything that happened, she was his constant and if he ever got the nerve to do so, he knew he'd tell her just how much she meant. He wasn't a conventional entertainer, never had been, never wanted to be. He made his customers laugh at his stupid jokes and little tricks, brightened spirits with his complements, soothed with soft songs, or just plain listened when they needed an ear. That was perhaps the strangest thing about him, over the long term it became quite obvious that Djinni had no agendas. What entered his ears never left his mouth.
Either that, or his refusal to entertain others in any other way. He didn't flirt and he certainly didn't do anything more along those lines. That... was far too connected to his foolish heart, and he'd lost that long ago.
He opened his mouth to thank her for her forgiveness, but shut it when her demeanor changed. When she spoke of her family... He shouldn't, he knew it, but she'd touched him already, touching her cheek to his and whatnot. Djinni moved close and wrapped one paw around her shoulders, holding her.
"I'm sorry..." Her mother meant the world to her, it was why she tried so hard. To be separated from her, to only be able to visit sparingly if she even could... it had to be torture. He knew the pain and hated that Lulu had to experience it.
And worse, he hadn't been there for her. True, his place had been filled by Suki, he grudgingly was thankful for the other male keeping Lulu from being alone. He'd failed her, hadn't been there when he should have been and it cut him. Deeply.
"We need you here..." I need you here, is what he'd wanted to say. Then again, if she had gone with her family, he probably would have tried to follow. And he would never be so selfish as to try and make her choose between her family and himself.
"Are you able to visit them?"
Lúhuì'Huā and Sugiya:
When he hugged her, it was almost as if her heart melted and quickly she wrapped her much more frailer arms around him. Clinging on to him, rubbing her face in his neck. She shouldn't have hugged him this way, so personal but they grew up together and at least in someones eyes- could see that she needed this. Lady Emi knew that. She offered to give her an entertainer to stay with her- but Suki had filled in that space. Who she really needed, was Dijinni... But she hadn't known it now that Suki had been around her. They were almost inseparable.. But Dijinni was here and her heart ached and twisted all sorts of ways. 'We need you here' those words borrowed in to her skull. Those same words are what bound her here. Chained her. Lady Emi used those words to confine her... That's when she lowered her head and took a step away from him and looked away. She forgotten... He was raised here. Where she had known freedom- he had not.
Suki understood her frustrations. "Sometimes. Rarely.. and that's if I can conjure enough to last the pride. Even then there are only select few times I can. Too many factors, like my training." It felt like weights on her paws now. "Don't be. She is better off that way. Not knowing she has kids." Yes- now she was a healer in that pride, she was better sometimes but they weren't allowed to say they were her children. No, after Lulu's poison- and only her master having the cure- made her forget her memory. All she knew was her loving husband and how badly she wanted children. How she hoped to have a chance at a that acted just like Lulu..That was what she said last time she was over there. How Lin dotted on Lulu as if they were mother and daughter again, but she would say things like that, which constantly set a reminder to Lulu on how she was the cause of her memory loss. But it was for the better. She was better...
"Anyways. We should celebrate your arrival... Or I mean. You should." Catching herself and lifting herself up and slowly walking deeper in to her den as if dismissing herself from the conversation/company now.
Djinni:
"You're far more important than someone like me," he replied, but knew he'd said something stupid. Djinni had forgotten ho much she loved being outside of the pride, gathering her plants and other materials. He loved it too, but not so much when he was alone. She moved away from him and it broke his heart. What could he do to fix the mess he'd made?
Her mother didn't remember that she had kids? His eyes widened, he didn't even know how to respond to that. How could he help? How could he even comfort her when she moved away from him? He felt hopeless, helpless and it was a feeling he didn't get often. Normally he knew just what to do. But not now, not when it mattered most.
Djinni stood and did his best to give her a soft smile. It was weak at best.
"I'll go... If that's what you want. Don't want to be a bother." If she wanted him gone, if that would help her from dealing with him shoving his paw in his mouth again, he'd do it. Much as he wanted to stay, needed to stay, he'd leave if it made her happy.
Lúhuì'Huā and Sugiya:
She shook her head at his statement. Everyone here was important, although some more than others. He was important to her, something she hadn't ever told him. He was an entertainer- those begged for the attention of entertainers. The most she would have, although important would be to kill or knock someone out with. Her paw at cures wasn't green enough yet. Just deadliest of poisons. Her steps further in to her den- she stopped when he spoke. Lifted her head having looked the opposite way of him. "Damn. I have to go out anyways. I have to catch some frogs." She had been running low and last time her and Suki went out, well one could measure that in a week. She shook her body out, got a great gust of air inside her lungs before she turned around and smiled softly at him.
Suki had taught her that smile. The fake one. When all goes wrong, it was no wonder entertainers always seemed so happy because even if they weren't- a smile would be plastered on so others wouldn't worry. That logic lead her to become...'fake'- something she desperately hated from all those around here- this pride! He was .... Shaking her head again. Walking up to him, looking at him, then passing him. "I'm sure the other entertainers will be delighted of your successful arrival. Congratulations. My apologies entertainer- for stealing that smile off your face, I shouldn't have said anything. It isn't your problem. "
It didn't take long for Suki to travel back with a gazelle's leg in maw. Before she left he had dropped it in front of the lair. Looking to each side, to Lulu in particular against the male. "Why the fake face.. what did he do to you." He huffed and took the meat and tossed it further inside before coming up around Lulu protectively. "If this guys is bothering you..you let me-" "No Suki, he isn't bothering me. I have to go collect frogs." "You haven't even eaten today-" "I have better things to do than eat anyways. Good luck with your show." Then walked away from the two.
She was oblivious to them. Suki stood that- almost dumbfounded. Last time she stormed away like that was when they refused to let her go with her mother. A frown- then his eyes returned to the male's with a very very devilish stare. "Listen- Don't know. Don't CARE who you are. But you mess with my flower and I will destroy you." The look on his face, had completely changed. Those here in the 'Nera were sheltered and farmed to be what they were- in the wild.. But Suki wasn't. Suki had bounded with many elements of survival.. and to protect Lulu he'd likely do anything and he didn't have trouble showing that.
Djinni:
Each word was like a claw dragging deep into his flesh. The smile was new, it wasn't hers, it wasn't real. There were times he begged to see her smile, hear her laugh. But not like this.
Djinni flinched when she called him by his rank. That cut deepest of all. What could he do to make this right? He'd broken something between them and he had no idea how to fix it.
The other male returned and Djinni stepped away as they argued. And then Lulu was gone, leaving the two of them alone. When Suki spoke, a change came over Djinni that hadn't been seen by anyone but his brother. His lip curled in a snarl, eyes narrowed. He didn't have time to be nice and he sure as hell didn't feel it.
"I'd like to see you try," he growled back. He was an entertainer, not a fighter. But that hadn't meant a damn thing to his twin growing up. Rather than get bruised and beaten when his brother wanted practice, Djinni had learned what he could. "And she's not your flower."
His words said, Djinni moved away, heading towards his own empty den. He didn't care about the other entertainers or how happy they'd be to see him back. Perhaps he could have gone to see one of his sisters or his mother, they could comfort him.
But no, he didn't want to see anyone else, much less be comforted. For some reason he didn't feel like he deserved it.