Hide and Seek. (Ajili/Ingi/Dumu) - Fin

[[Eskimo]]

"Come, Ingi, settle down, love." Ajili said softly to her cub. It really was no time to be so boisterous. Her heart fluttered with worry, but she tried to shrug it off.

When Ajili had seen Umoja in the distance and heard the relieved sigh of Mapatano, she thought everything was going to go smoothly from there since they had caught up. But then she heard the shouting. It was sort of far-off, but not by much...Umoja and Mapatano were unsettled by it, and so was Ajili. Umoja and Mapatano immediately set off to see what it was all about, leaving Ajili with her own cub and another cub. Umoja had told her to look after him, and she intended to. He was small and dark and looked like he had had a particularly bad day. Blood speckled his coat as if he fell asleep in something...Dying. That's when she saw it.

The cub was lying down close to another cub, only the cub he was next to was dead.

Ingi seemed excited to see another cub, not noticing the dead one yet, but Ajili tried to keep his excitement down to a reasonable level. She pulled him over close to her in hopes he wouldn't see the third cub.

Sitting down in the dirt, Ajili looked at the small unfamiliar cub in front of her. Her eyes glazed over, but she blinked her sad emotions away. "Dumu, you're called?" Ajili questioned calmly, a motherly smile hinting at her features. "That's a very sweet name." Her heart went out to the sad face of the young cub. What could have happened to him, she wondered, and the cub he was next to? If it had been her own cub in his place, she didn't know what she would do. With a silent sigh, Ajili promised herself that she would protect Dumu and her own cub to the best of her ability. Nothing bad would happen to them. They would not end up like that third cub.  

[Summer Rain 07]

Dumu looked up to the lioness and gave her a weary smile. "Thank you, my mama said it meant endure." he paused and looked back down to his sisters body with a new realization.

He now saw the irony of his name. "To suffer patiently...." Before his father disappeared he would continue to let him know the meaning of his name every moment he got.

He looked back up to the blue and yellow lioness, his smile a little more cheerful, "Yeah...thanks."  

[[. Rozu .]]

Everything was happening a little too fast for Ingi to process, there was shouting and suddenly he and his mother found themselves alone yet again... Kind of. Gaze fell upon the scruffy looking cub from behind his mother's paws and his his heart leapt excitedly, though it was quickly blanketed by confusion as he noticed the lifeless form behind him. Tilting his head to one side, paw was gingerly stepped forward as Ingi attempted to get a little closer, soaking in all the smaller details such as the blood that clung to this stranger's coat. "What... Happened?" He asked with a breathy tone and looking from his mother then back to the other two.

"Is she sleeping?" He would ask quietly, unfamiliar with the whole situation and how utterly tragic it turned out to be. Ingi didn't know too much about death and his train of thought never really clicked with the fact that this third cub had passed on.

The atmosphere seemed to be lifting a little with the talk of names and Ingi raked his mind desperately to remember what Ajili had told him his own meant. "Well I'm Ingi! I think my name means..." His voice trailed off as she pudgy cub sat back on his haunches, face suddenly lighting up. "Many! I think... Right mama?" Many... "I don't know what what it really means though." He added with a shrug.

"Hey, you wanna play?"  

[[Eskimo]]

Shuffling her cub further still from Dumu and his fallen sister, Ajili murmured a barely audible phrase of reassurance to her cub, hoping he wouldn't ask anymore questions. She nuzzled the top of Ingi's head. Despite the blood-smeared appearance of other cub, Ingi still asked if he'd like to play. Ajili smiled at the two cubs and for a moment, she forgot her worries.

But it didn't last.

In her moment of contentment of simply sitting with two cubs, her eyes had wandered up to the sky. She admired one large cloud that floated overhead that resembled a baobab tree. She was about to point it out to the two cubs when suddenly it was marred with dark blotches. What were those...? Rising to her feet slowly, Ajili screwed-up her golden eyes in an attempt to see more clearly. The dark figures were moving. Oh, they were birds. Vultures. Ajili had been finding more and more that vultures weren't uncommon during those hard circumstances, but the way these vultures were acting was slightly alarming.

A large group of them were soaring up and down, up and down as they screamed cries of battle. Vultures were scavengers; attacking wasn't normal. Brows shrugging forward and a slight crease of a frown forming on her face, Ajili took a few steps forward. Why would vultures be attacking something? And so many of them all at once? It wasn't right...And thinking back to how Umoja and Mapatano had left not long ago to search for the source of shouting, something in her felt those vultures must've been up to no good. What if it was a cub they were attacking...?

Heart lurching, Ajili shook her head. She stared down at the two cubs who had begun to look increasingly worried at her. She replaced her frown with a calm smile and bent down a bit to be at their eye level. "Would you boys mind if I went to see something very quickly?" she asked. Pausing for a moment, she spoke again. "It'll be sort of like hide and seek." she said. "But you'll need to find a safe place to hide, first..." Her voice trailed off in thought. Of course she couldn't just leave the two cubs there. One was her precious son and the other was entrusted to her. Where to hide them...?  

[Summer Rain 07]

Dumu couldn't help but smile at the other cub. They looked about the same age and was surprised he hadn't seen much of him in the pride. Maybe they were new like his family. After all, his family hadn't been in the pride very long before the earth shake.

It had been a while since he was at ease, and slowly he felt normal. No death, no destruction, no having to look over your shoulder to make sure nothing was coming after you. He started to feel like a normal cub. One that would play around and not worry about getting in trouble.

When Ingi's mother spoke, he looked up to the blue and yellow lioness and blinked his brilliant blue eyes. "Hide and Seek?" He asked, as he looked back over to Ingi.  

[[. Rozu .]]

Ohh a GAME! How exciting!

Adrenaline pumped through Ingi as he pawed at the ground with a pleased grin, looking about their surroundings with his gleaming golden eyes, already on the hunt for a good hiding spot. "Ok, Mama. You can be 'it' then and me and Dumu can find a place to hide.." He had to stop himself, suddenly uneasy at the thought of hiding alone in this unfamiliar place. "Or we could just hide together! Yeah." That's probably what Ajili had intended, but Ingi didn't make the connection an bristled with pride at his brilliant idea. 'Mama would like it better, I bet. Oh, she's gonna be so proud!' He praised himself silently, barely able to hold back his happiness.

But where to hide? Ingi was new to this place and knew vary little about it, let alone know of a good place to hide. Frown half-appeared on his tiny ivory maw before the cub found himself with yet another genius plan.

Closing his eyes and taking a breath or two, Ingi found himself being lead not too far away, actually. It was almost so fast that he didn't catch it. A... A cave in the wall of the valley! Perfect.

"Hey, I know a perfect place! Come on!" And without hesitation, the pudgy cub lead the way, not knowing that Dumu would probably know where he was headed in only a matter of time. "We'll wait for you, Mama!" He called over his shoulder before continuing to pad forward. "You coming, Dumu?" By know, Ingi had completely forgotten about the motionless figure that they had been sitting near, and it was probably a good thing, too.  

[[Eskimo]]

Ajili trotted after Ingi, a troubled sigh sounding from her lips. He was doing it again...That "thing" that he did. She didn't quite understand it; maybe she never would. Somehow, Ingi knew where to go without...Knowing. There would be plenty of time to talk about that later, she told herself. For right then, she needed to see to it that Ingi and Dumu were safe so she could investigate the angry vultures. She had to act quickly.

It didn't take much walking before they reached their destination. Even though they were playing "hide and seek", Ingi would've never gone off without knowing Ajili knew where he was. And though he acted excited to hide as if she didn't see him, Ajili knew full well where he was. She stared down at Dumu, wondering if he was alright. They had just left the other cub...She wasn't very far behind them, but it must've been hard for him to take those first few steps away. The poor cub...
Dumu began to act like he recognized where they were, so to Ajili, that was an even better sign that they'd be safe there.

Ajili shook her head and stared at the little enclosed space just ahead of them. They'd both be safe there, certainly. They'd both be safe. Still, she waited to see how well the two fit before leaving them. Her heart fluttered at the thought of leaving her own cub, but she'd be back. She'd be back for him. She swore to herself.

Closing her eyes (while leaving the slightest slit of opening to see them), she pretended as if she wasn't looking. "Get to hiding and I'll go count. I'll come back to look for you, alright?" she said.
 

[Summer Rain 07]

Dumu watched Ingi strangely when he closed his eyes. He shrugged it off and started to follow, letting Kwepa ride on his back giving her a break from hopping around. He tried to be a little more optimistic as he trotted up next to Ingi, but he couldn't help but glance back to Kuruka's body.

He took in the final glance, and instead of seeing her all bloody and battered, he imagined her looking back to him with her soft smile, waving a paw as if they were just going their separate ways and would see each other again on the plains of the roguelands.

This made a smile come back across his fury maw and he looked back to Ingi who was a few feet ahead of him, "Hey Ingi! Wait up!" He said as he ran up next to him. "So where are we going to hide?" he asked as he looked back to Ajili.  

[[. Rozu .]]

Ingi looked back to Dumu to make sure that he was still following, slightly taken back by the sight of the bird that took a seat on his back. Where were they all coming from? The time to ask questions would be when they found a place to hide however, better not blow their cover just yet. "A cave!" He would whisper back to his new companion, making sure Ajili was out of earshot. "Come on, it's right over... Here!"

The cave came into view right on cue and Ingi grinned wildly, almost surprised that these visions of his continued to work as well as they had back in the caverns. It looked like a perfect hiding spot! Padding up to the entrance, cub gave one last glance at his mother before stepping into the entrance. It seemed empty enough, though the scents were rather fresh... And almost familiar. Shrugging it off, Ingi slipped inside and flopped on the cool ground with a sigh.

"Think this is a good spot?"  

[[Eskimo]]

Heart still fluttering with worry, Ajili watched her cub's chubby form disappear into the cracked opening of rock. Dumu followed him in. She couldn't see them anymore. But she'd be back. They'd be there, she told herself. She'd only be away just a moment.

Just a moment...

"Now remember," she told them, her voice clear and loud. "I'll be away for only a little while...But you MUST STAY THERE until I get back," she said, putting loud emphasis on her words so the message would sink into her own cub's mind, since it always took a bit more explaining when it came to him (her sweet boy). "Alright?" Knowing they understood, she turned her body around. With a deep breath and one more mutter of encouragement to herself, she pawed her way quickly to where the dark cloud of vultures were. The sooner she got there, the better. She'd be right back.

She just hoped she'd get to whoever or whatever was being attacked in time.  

[Summer Rain 07]

The dark cub followed silently, Kwepa's talons lightly poking his side, "Déjà vu?" She looked at the cave that they had just been in, waiting off the vultures that were still high in the sky. She shrugged lightly and hopped off of Dumu's back, making her way to a small rock that she had perched on before. She made herself comfortable and watched the two cubs.

"Hey Ingi, how did you know this cave was here?" He asked as he sat back down near the mouth of the cave. He could swear that the group had come from the other direction. Had he been to the cave before? That had to be the explanation, it was hidden so well in the rock wall that someone could pass by and not see them. His curious eyes looked over the chubby cub.  

[[. Rozu .]]

Golden gaze traced the outlines of the cave, pretty impressed with his choice of hiding places, something proving to be one of his specialties. It felt absolutely amazing to be able to rest and Ingi tried to make the most of it, spreading out his tired legs and flopping his head against the cool floor. Pink tongue lolled out the side of his maw and he let out another overly dramatic sigh.

Attention was grabbed by Dumu's question and Ingi wasn't really sure how to answer it, frankly. "I uhh..." Might as well tell him, though he could tell that it would not only be hard to word correctly, but difficult to understand as well. "I close my eyes and think really hard." He breathed, half telling the story and half trying to understand this weird power as well. "And I can see where to go, I guess. I don't really understand it." He added with a shrug. "Like... I saw which way to go when we were in those other dark caves! It was really cool!"  

[Summer Rain 07]

Dumu looked at him with a thoughtful look. "You see with your eyes close?" He looked over to Kewpa for an answer, but she just looked to him with a confused look and shrugged her shoulders.

Dumu sighed lightly as he looked around the cave again, "This is where we waited out the vultures when I went out on my own." He closed his eyes thinking back to the earth shake and how the adults were treating him. "I can't stand being treated like a cub!" He said as his eyebrows knit together in irritation. "Days pass, but it feels like time stands still. I so sick of it..."  

[[. Rozu .]]

Ingi shrugged, letting out a wide yawn before looking at Dumu's amazing bonded, a surge of jealously washing over him. He was so cool to have a bird of his own, he thought that only the adults had them. Though seeing a cub that was probably around his age was extremely reassuring, maybe he could also find himself a bird-friend! Tail thumped against the hard ground at the blissful thought.

"I guess so. But it's not really seeing, it's... Hard to explain. I don't really get it either." Ingi replied quietly to answer his question. "It's cool, but I rather have a bird-friend..." He added silently.

Head tilted to the side curiously, though it explained why the scent in this place seemed familiar. "Ohh, who's we?" Ivory cub would ask, soaking in the other things he had to say. "But... You are a cub! What's so wrong with that?"  

[Summer Rain 07]

Dumu blinked when he asked the 'we' question, "Oh sorry!" he said, his eyes wide with embarrassment. "Ingi, this is my bonded, Kwepa." He said as he nodded over to her.

Kwepa smiled lightly and nodded at the chubby cub, "Pleasure." she said as she looked back over to Dumu with a worried look. She was sure he hadn't gotten over the death of his sister this soon, she was staying on her toes.

Dumu looked back over to Ingi with a sad look, "It feels like I'm not getting any older." He said as he looked down at his paws and played with the dirt. I can't wait to grow up, to be one of the adults, to help take care of the pride, but It feels like time is standing still around me. Like everything is aging, the land, the trees, even the herds. I'm the only one that's not." He scoffed lightly, "I know it sounds stupid."