|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:06 am
 |
|
|
 |
(please note that this takes place after Umoja finds his children. He spends some time alone to grieve for his dead mate.)
Carrying himself this far was a wonder. The Crown Price, Umoja, had determined that he needed his grieving time. But doing so in front of his children perhaps wouldn't be the best of things. Sadness was something to share, but he had felt completely destroyed with the news of his mate's death. Even worse, there was no one to blame it on. Blame could fuel the fires of revenge, yes, but at least he would have someone to hate for her death. No, it had been the earthquake that killed her. Nature was something incapable of determining it's victims, and in turn the lion would not bear his hatred towards the lands that they survived on.
Seeming to sense his thoughts, as Mfalme had spent his life with Umoja, the martial eagle spoke. "Bonded, why do you search for blame? There is none to blame. You should release your tension, otherwise your children will pick up on it." Ubele and Ufunuo needed joy in their lives now, and if their father was still as tensed up as this...it wouldn't pan out to their wishes.
"How would I do that, Mfalme?" the lion snapped, feeling his frustrations lash out at his friend. Instantly, he regretted it. Sighing, he stretched out his neck, his body collapsing on the ground. He was by himself out in the vast valley that they called home. He was never too far away though; a trick to everyone having bonded avians. Still, a little time alone to sort out his emotions was needed. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:42 am
|
|
|
|
"Well, first, you could probably bite off your tongue." The red-brown eagle peered up at the lion, his face near the same level since the lion was laying down. "Or I should just do it for you." Mfalme nipped at Umoja's nose, receiving a satisfying yelp from the moody male. He had deserved it. Perhaps a little bit of physical pain would clear up his mind.
Rubbing his nose (as well as hiding it from his bonded), Umoja let himself scowl at Mfalme. It didn't do anything but sour his mood even more. BLasted bird, always acting like he knew what was best.
The lion sulked as he nused his nose, letting most of the pain ebb as he let his mind wander back towards the numbness. It was somewhere he shouldn't be, but he just...couldn't help it.
"Mfalme, it hurts. I can only see a bit of her in our children. But if I see Hisia, or Ficha....my mind screams that it's not her, my senses tell me that it's not, but my heart...hurts." He felt his eyes grow heavy. Instead of letting the tears come, he merely let his head rest upon his paws, his eyes closing to hide their glossy texture.
Mfalme opened a wing to rest against Umoja's shoulder, shaking his head. "Your heart will soon remind itself that she is no longer here. At least your mind reminds you of that much." Mfalme had worried that Umoja would latch onto one of the remaining triplets, as if to replace Nyonda. "I cannot know the exact pain, Bonded, but I can guess. The pain of losing you would probably destroy me. I would lose my will to live."
Umoja's eyes peeked open. A small, sad smile appeared on his face as he looked upon his bonded. "As I would. But I cannot do as I wish." He sighed, his sides shivering with the lost air, before refilling again. "Being a prince has it's pluses, but when you're royalty, you serve your pride, not yourself." And this was the hardest lesson he was learning right now.
"The children will guide me now, but even if I didn't have them I would still have to go on. The pride would be shattered if I threw myself off of a cliff in agony."
Mfalme couldn't help but crack a smile. "A way to go, though, eh?"
Umoja choked down a laugh. "I'm sure I'd be spoken in our history as the most pathetic sob-story the pride had ever seen if I did that."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 12:14 pm
|
|
|
|
Umoja cracked his paws, feeling a bit of the tension fade. His eyes felt heavy from the unshed tears, but he wasn't ready for them yet. First, he needed his brain picked. And the one that was best at that was standing right before him. "Mfalme. Help me figure out what it is that I need to do to get over this."
The eagle blinked. It was very rare that Umoja actually asked something from the eagle. Headstrong and sure of himself, Umoja normally told the eagle what to do. This really showed the severity of his emotions. "Certainly, Umoja. Simple speak, and I shall pick it apart." He readied himself for this, as it was certainly going to be...interesting.
Umoja began. "How do I get over this?" It was a simple question, yet the most difficult one to answer. "Will I ever be able to bury Nyonda's love within my heart? Or will I become a void forever, only able to give my children the bare minimum that they deserve, unab-"
"Wait right there, Umoja. Now, you know better than to ask such large questions like that. We should start from the beginning. Do you still love Nyonda?"
Umoja shifted. "Yes."
"All right. Do you believe that you will always love her?"
"Of course," the lion scowled, growing impatient with such simple questions.
Now, Mfalme thought, the real test. "Do you feel like you would be betraying her if you ever loved another?"
That question caught the lion off guard, and he fell silent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 9:03 pm
|
|
|
|
"I....I think I would," he said carefully. It was hard for him to imagine Nyonda wanting him to stay like this, though. He didn't think he had it in him to care for another, but he also knew that Nyonda wouldn't want to see him in such a dark state for the rest of his life.
"Well, at least you're not striking it out forever," Mfalme sighed. At least they got somewhere, if only a little bit. Starting again, the eagle started another small set of questions.
"You know you have to be strong for your children, but don't forget about the others. They all lost someone, or at least know of one that was injured. You need to stay strong for them, too. They look to you for strength in a weary time."
Umoja waves off his friend, mildly annoyed at the juvenile reminder. "I know, I know. I can only really act like myself with you, Mfalme. Now that Nyonda is gone. I can act a little playful with the kids, but I need to be their father, and not only their friend." He stared at the ground blankly. "I just hope that it doesn't break me." Eyes always on him grew tiresome. Surely there was an avian watching him now, but at least it wouldn't be able to hear their conversation.
Mfalme snapped his beak. "Well, if you couldn't act relaxed with me, I'd probably snap it out of you anyway. Or else send you to go play with the alligators to blow off some steam. Talk about loony!"
Umoja cracked another grin, a short laugh emitting from his throat. "Okay, you win, Mfalme. What is it you want to tell me? You can't be buttering me up just for a talk that I've recieved a thousand times, if only in my head."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 10:54 pm
|
|
|
|
The eagle ruffled his feathers. All right, well. It would be hard to really make Umoja see. The words would stick in his mind, though, so hopefully someday they might actually make sense. Blasted furbrain.
"I know that you're very stubborn, Bonded, but you need to keep the door to your heart ajar. At the very least for your children. Let them peek in, as there's little harm that could come of it. You don't have to show them everything, especially at the age they're at now. Perhaps when they are older, with their own other halves as well. It will be up to you at the time."
Umoja sighed, not really wanting to hear this. Offering respect to Mfalme, though, he did listen to every bit of it. Not that any of it was sticking.
"As I was saying," Mfalme snapped at his lion, getting his attention back from wherever it was going. "You also need to keep it open in case another one comes by. You shouldn't be stupid enough to be alone for your whole life."
Now here he began to complain. "Honestly, Mfalme, I don't have it in me. Nyonda was everything to me. She offered herself for our children, and in the end she died while keeping them alive, I'm sure of it. I could never betray her like that."
"And I'm telling you that you can't predict the future. None of the seer-children could see it either, even if you asked them. There's no way of what's certain. And don't you dare think about asking them! I'll have your whole tail for that!" Mfalme flapped his wings in anger, seriously thinking about taking a piece of Umoja's ear. He deserved it.
Anger started to grow in Umoja's voice. "And even if I did find someone, I doubt I could find it in my to not compair her to Nyonda!" A snarl escaped from his throat. And for that, he got a smack in the face from Mfalme.
"You're acting like your spoiled daughter. Shut up, Umoja." Mfalme was not pleased with how Umoja was acting. "Since your father isn't around to put you in line, I will. I'm not forcing you to do anything. I'm merely making sure that you keep your mind open."
And with that, the irritated eagle decided to fly off his frustrations instead of scar his bonded's face. Then he really wouldn't find someone else.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:01 pm
|
|
|
|
He left! Umoja was amazed at what had just happened. He remembered feeling to hard smack of Mfalme's strong wing, and then he was gone. Did he really piss him off that much? Stupid bird didn't seem to understand anything. That was probably because he had never had to have a mate. Umoja was all that Mfalme had. He could never understand what he was feeling....but did Umoja ever hope for that? Definately not. Sadness began to envelop the black lion, and he welcomed it. It would help him escape from the fight that had just happened.
"Nyonda...what do I do?" he whispered after a time, his body lying frozen on the ground. He didn't dare to look up at the sky, for fear of seeing her face within the clouds. It was now that he felt the tears rush to his eyes again. He could no longer hold them back, as the weight of them grew too heavy to bear. Him, a grown adult, weeping. It felt so wrong to him. But as he continued to pour out his emotions it slowly began to feel right. Perhaps Mfalme had done this on purpose. Pissing him off so much, only to leave him and give him the alone time he needed to cry.
He had cried for quite a while, longer than he ever would have thought possible. Fatigue tugged at him now, as if all his energy in living had gone into his tears. Before he had fallen asleep, his mind asked him a question. It didn't sound like his voice, but he didn't recognize it. It reminded him of the wind.
Can you love someone that is not there to love?
-fin-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
