[PRP] Lost Soul (Jugnu x Joto)

[nessiaing]

Jugnu was still in the forests not far from where her old home had been. She hadn't seen anyone from the pride though in a long time. She was starting to get really lonely and kind of scared. She wished she knew where they had all gone, she would have followed them if she knew.

Sighing she laid down under a tree. Perhaps she would have to move on soon. There was no point in staying in this area if everyone else was gone. She had hoped that the pride would reconnect but those hopes were rapidly dieing. The question was though what she would do with herself.

hibi-tea

 

[hibi-tea]

After the avalanche that had scattered the majority of the pride had melted and refroze, making the terrain less risky to wander through once again, Joto'Damu made his way back to his devastated homelands. You wouldn't know of the devastation by a mere glance. The forests looked serene and the ice and snow that hung overhead look almost perfect in its untouched, gleaming white state.

However, beneath the avalanche and flooded waters were the dens that the men and women of his pride once shared. Covered by sheets of ice and snow were the altars to their gods and the places where the Umbekezeli prayed. He'd consider it heartbreaking if he could feel anything of it anymore.

Since the fall of the pride, Joto'Damu saw no hide nor hair of his daughters or grandchildren. He didn't know their whereabouts or the whereabouts of the head warriors and hunters. Everyone scattered at the sight of what could be perceived as an impending doom.

"Cowardice," He muttered to himself, staring up at the snowy valley and ice covered mountains. "And none returned."  

[nessiaing]

Jugnu's ears began to twitch at the sound of snow crunching. She cocked her head to the side to listen better. It had been a long time since she had heard the sound of another moving on top of the snow. Now she was trying to figure out what was out in the old pride lands. She was pretty sure it was something large, a leopard or maybe even a lion.

Excitedly Jugnu got to her feet. She headed towards the more open lands that she always called home. Keeping her eyes peeled hoping to see someone that she recognize. She was hopeful and tired of being alone.  

[hibi-tea]

Joto'Damu was busy thrashing at some of the ice and snow laying on the ground. He wanted to know how truly thick it had become but he soon found his old paws sore and freezing. It had been so long that the cold of their home was now a foreign entity to him. He couldn't stand it well enough anymore.

When he stopped wasting his strength on the ice, he heard the shuffling of something coming towards him. Judging by the fact he had been isolated for most of his journey back to these lands, he was expecting a prey animal of some sort. He was more than a little surprised to see a lioness in the distance, and one with distinctly green hair.

"It couldn't be," He grumbled to himself, half annoyed, half relieved. "But perhaps it is...Jugnu?"  

[nessiaing]

Jugnu couldn't believe her eyes as she moved towards the pail colored lion. It was Joto. She and he had had something before the pride was washed away, she couldn't quite call it a relationship it was more of a flirtation. She was overjoyed to not only see a friendly face but one that she had been so close to.

She ran over to him and just before reaching him halted. She wasn't sure if she should nuzzle him in greeting or not, so instead she just sat before him. "Joto I have missed you" she told him in a small sweet voice. Jugnu wasn't quite the strong lioness she had been before, too much time spent alone.

hibi-tea

 

[hibi-tea]

nessiaing

It was indeed Jugnu who Joto had spotted against the ice and snow and for a brief moment he felt all his anger at the cowardly abandonment of the pridal lands by others wash away. Of what he could remember before the lands were claimed by the ice and snow (because he admittedly could not remember much at first, having been drug as far as he was with such force as to render him dumb for a spell) Jugnu happened to be quite loyal to their pride, and his belief in her position was only fortified by her appearance here. So far she had been the only one.

He was surprised by Jugnu's almost desperate scramble to him. Did she think he would suddenly disappear? Perhaps she did, as she so forwardly admitted her longing of his presence. That was not like what he remembered of her, and he could only assume that the devastation to their home and the time she possibly spent isolated from what she knew brought this out in her.

"And I you," Joto replied.

Though they were not exactly involved before the pride fell to the snow and ice, he had taken an attraction to Jugnu. He liked her conviction and duty, which he only wished his foolish daughters had had. She was also quite pretty to him, and he enjoyed their encounters more than he enjoyed dealing with his own family.

"How far were you carried out by the snow and ice?" He asked.  

[nessiaing]

Jugnu began to regain her composure a little but. She wanted to be her old self with Joto. She had been such an strong lioness before and she wanted to get back on that track. She took a deep breath and looked into this eyes feeling a sense of comfort to be back in the pride with him, even if the original pride was underneath quite a bit of snow and ice.

"I was able to stay in the forest but it took me days of travelling to get back here. I've been in the area since, waiting to see who might come back." she told him. She was proud of herself for staying in the area, she wasn't super happy about the cold temperatures but she had sucked it up and now her fur coat was getting thicker.

"How about you Joto? Where have you been all this time." she was happy to see him, but she was also surprised that she hadn't seen him sooner.

hibi-tea

 

[hibi-tea]

nessiaing

She had been here all this time waiting? He couldn't fathom being here this whole time waiting for others to come back and seeing no one. Cowards. All of them. This was their birthplace and birthright and they all fled beneath the fierceness of their own home like scared cubs. It was sickening to think. The again, for only the briefest moment, he wondered if any of them could even find their way back. It had taken him near forever, even without the short-term memory loss.

"You have been by yourself this whole time?" He questioned sternly, purple eyes intently fixed upon her before casting themselves aside to answer. "I was pushed by the snow and ice into the river. It took me far from our homelands, and in the process I became disoriented and could not remember things. I suspect I hit my head hard against rocks a couple times."

It wasn't like he was proud to admit that bit to her, but he was definitely not going to be speculated as being one of those with cowardice who dare not return to their home. He was here now, even if his journey did not start till his senses returned and his wounds had healed.  

[nessiaing]

hibi-tea

Jugnu listened to Joto's story a frown on her face. She had always seen Joto as so strong and unbending. It was hard for her to imagine him lost not able to remember anything. She sighed this avalanche was the worst thing that had happened to her in her life, and it sounded like it was the worst thing for Joto too.

"But we are back now, we can make this home again." she looked around and tried to picture how the lands could work for them now. "It will be a lot of work but we could do it." she turned and looked at Joto her eyes hopeful. She wasn't sure if he would be up to the work but she certainly was.  

[hibi-tea]

nessiaing

Joto almost felt a smile creep over his face at Jugnu's comment. Clearly her time by herself and the devastation of their homelands didn't stop her from having belief, and pride in her heritage and that he admired greatly of her. It was the Jugnu he recognized before all the tragedy.

"Yes," He replied, head high with determination and confidence, "We indeed can make this home again. We will bring our pride back from this brink of death, and by the grace of the gods we will have it flourish again."

"Come," He stated, walking up next to Jugnu, "Show me where you have found shelter. If we are blessed, there will be more nearby and I won't need to slumber in the shallow excuse for a cave I have used the last few nights."

For the first time in some time he felt confident in his pride, even if it was to rebuild from the ground up. At least it would be rebuilt with the blood of old tradition and strong held belief instead of the blood of wishy-washy cowardice.

- FIN