It had been two days since he had fallen ill, and he was finally back to normal. In fact, Okonoko was feeling stronger than ever. He had really needed that time off. And, though he was still a little confused by it, he had two friends who had really helped him through his tough time. He sighed softly. It was nice knowing he had friends, but wasn't this just the same situation he had been in before all over again? He was going to have to say goodbye to Sercy pretty soon- they were very close to her home land now. The Toka. The pride that she so desperately wanted to return to.
Gard was thinking about it, too. He didn't want to say goodbye to Sercy, but at the same time, he knew she needed to get back. She was a princess there! No doubt her father was very worried about her. More than that, she probably wanted to help her pride out. Her lions. They were likely extremely important to her, too. Still, it was sad. He had grown very fond of spending time with her. They had become a little family now! He supposed Okonoko would leave him after, too. Probably had plenty of things to do on his own.
Sercy, meanwhile, had thoughts of her own. She knew she needed to go home, there was no changing her mind or staying with her friends, but she was bothered that she would have to leave them. Like the two of them, she felt like she had gathered deep relationship with them. Relationships that she would now have to say goodbye to. They must have been feeling the sorrow, too. No one had said anything for the last couple of hours. It seemed like goodbyes were difficult for the whole lot of them, not just her. somehow, it was a little bit comforting that she wasn't alone.
They were alike in so many ways, the three odd animals.
"I'm... really glad that you helped me get home, Okonoko," Sercy offered for a little conversation. Okonoko looked back her, smiling faintly.
"You know, I'm glad too," he replied, "I never would have thought it before, but I had a good time traveling with a lioness and a Jackel. Not that I ever thought I would be traveling with a lioness and a jackal, mind you."
"Yeah, this was a really weird journey," Gard agreed, "but it was a lot of fun! I learned a lot from the both of you. Especially you, princess. You really showed me that I could be useful, even if I am small. That BECAUSE I'm small, I can do amazing things." He grinned at the lioness, trotting quickly to catch up with her and the hyena. Sercy smiled back at him, before sniffling a little bit.
"I'm... forever thankful to have met you both. I don't think my life will ever be quite the same now! I know I have two amazing friends out here. Two friends I hope very much to meet again one day."
"You know, I never really had a place to settle down before," Okonoko said thoughtfully, "I know your pride ain't big on non lions like me, but there's plenty of space around the pride, right? I think I'll find myself a nice den outside the territory... stick around for a little while. You know, just until I repay you for saving my life. It's the right thing to do."
"You know, I think I should stay around here, too! I mean, if Oko is going to be lurking around, then you're going to need someone to protect you from him in case he tries to steal your food again! You never know! Right?" Gard asked with a grin. Sercy chuckled lightly, overcome with a warm feeling inside of her. They were both willing to hang around, just to stay near her?
"Hey Gard, if you're going to defend her from me, I guess you should keep an eye on me all the time, right? Might as well settle down in the same place as me, too."
Gard couldn't have looked more delighted. "You mean it?! Uh, I mean.. yes! We should definitely do that. To make sure you don't get into any kind of trouble!"
Sercy laughed, stopping for a moment. "I'm really glad you two will be close! I'll be able to visit and make sure you're not trying to eat one another. I hope you share food and don't fight and..." she sniffled again. Even knowing they would be so close, she was still feeling the sadness that came from leaving friends. It didn't matter if it was only for a little while.
"Hey, don't worry about us," Oko told her, moving over and giving her a nudge with his shoulder, "you'll have plenty of chances to come and check in on us. You should worry about your pride right now, okay? They probably need you and want to know what the heck happened to you. You'll get to tell them all about the super cool hyena who helped you back home and the weird little mutt who tagged along for the heck of it."
"Just don't forget to include how that super cool hyena got totally sick and needed the little mutt to save him!"
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to tell everyone about you. Everyone who will listen! You'll both be very famous within my pride, I assure you. And I promise I won't say anything to make either of you look bad. If anyone asks... I was the one who got sick," she joked along with them, despite the tears in her eyes. Gard wandered over to her, sitting next to her and leaning in so he could give her a cuddle. He smiled, crying as well.
"It's been fun! It might feel sad to say good bye right now, but we're going to be closer than you think! And we'll be able to have all kinds of fun adventures together. Maybe next time we we'll go on a quest to find Okonoko's sense of humor."
"Hey now," Oko replied gruffly, "we don't need to go on impossible missions." Sercy laughed at that, snuggling against the both of them.
"I'm really glad I met the both of you! I'm sorry our journey wasn't the longest, and you're right- we will go on missions again together. I'm sure there's a lot out there for the three of us to see. You two are my friends now, and nothing is going to change that."
"Good," Oko replied, "now you better get going. You should be able to find your way from here. We're really close now."
"Yeah," Sercy said with a heavy sigh, "this place does look familiar to me now. I'll be heading home, then. Thank you both a million times. I'll see you again soon! Just wait for me!" She moved away from them, deciding to break into a run to get back to her pride. She wasn't good at goodbyes, and she knew if she lingered she would just delay going home longer and longer. Who knew how much trouble she had caused or if anyone was looking for her. It wasn't right to keep them waiting. Though she didn't want to leave, she needed to.
But they were right- it was only for the moment.
As she vanished from sight, Gard let out a heavy sigh, scooting himself closer to Oko. "You think she's going to be okay?" He asked faintly, looking up at the hyena, "she is going to come back and visit us, right?"
"Oh, no doubt about it," Oko replied, though he kept his eyes on the vanishing form of Sercy rather than looking down at the small animal next to him, "I'm sure she'll be back. She's much too kind and innocent to lie to us. We'll be seeing her again real soon, I'm sure of it." He wasn't just saying it to make Gard feel better, either. He really did believe they would all meet again. It was just a matter of when. Gard smiled and nodded.
"Good. Um... did you mean what you said when she was here? About us hanging out together?" He squeaked, a little concerned that Oko had only been putting on an act. The hyena looked down at him finally, before offering a smile.
"Of course I did," he said lightly, "come on, let's take a look around the area and see if we can find a nice spot for a den, alright? I'm sure there's got to be something big enough where you won't bother me by being there, too."
"Haha, alright Oko, that sounds fine. But I think you mean big enough so I don't have to be bugged by YOU," he replied, leaping after the hyena as he started to walk again. The adventure might have been over, but they had all changed a little bit from it. They had all grown. It was really quite nice.
He hoped to see Sercy again soon.
WC: 1516
