Haramu was nervous. Likely more nervous than she'd been in a long while. Her little ones weren't so little anymore...and it made her wonder about the young ones she'd taken outside of the pride, outside of a life of being looked down upon or enslaved. She sighed and sat at the entrance to her den...the one she more often than not shared with Sira now. Sira...
She looked back at his sleeping form, a slight smile on her maw. Mori'earsira, her beloved. One day, she would need to fight for the right to truly be his mate. But...what of him? Who would HE fight for her? Her father was likely still on the edge of the forest she was born in, and her mother...her mother was no demon, and likely far from the lands. She hoped so. One such as her mother had never belonged in this dark place to begin with...
She looked back out. Times were changing. What would they bring, she wondered. And how would it affect a lowly Tsafare like her, who had done nothing more than serve her pride as best she could in the rank she was allowed?
It had been a long day for Windeleer. A long day that she had no wish to repeat; not now, not ever again. It had been a day filled with reflection, on both herself and just what the pride was turning into... It was a day that ended with her seeking out her mother in her den, a solemn look on her dark face and sorrow just edging into her pale eyes.
She'd thought it over long and hard, and had come to a decision that made her heart ache. But it was ultimately one that had needed to be made.
Haramu blinked as Windeleer came to her den. "Youngling..." She wasn't perhaps the most AFFECTIONATE of mothers, but she cared, and she noticed things. Like the look on her daughter's young face, and the sorrow in her eyes. Haramu was nothing if not observant. "Do you want to go for a walk? We can talk alone that way." What haunted her daughter so?
Windeleer merely nodded at her mother's offer, waiting until the pale lioness was beside her before setting out. For a long while she let silence hang in the air, simply enjoying her mother's presence while she debated on just how to approach the subject on her mind. And finally, when they were so far out in the pride lands she was certain no others were within earshot, she spoke.
"I'm leaving," she said. A simple statement, but one that held a meaning far deeper than any outsider looking on would understand.
The pale demon looked at her daughter, shocked. Leaving? So...it seemed she was to loose another of her first litter to the outside world. But...She sighed. With the blood they held, it wasn't surprising. And the things happening inside the pride didn't help matters. "Your mind is set, isn't it, youngling?" She would be sad to see her daughter go. But she wouldn't cry. Not in front of her daughter...she would do that only when Sira was the only one around.
"I'm afraid so, Mother. I've spent many nights thinking of what to do, and it seems this is the only answer for me. This place... It is not the Aikanaro'hini I was born into, it is not the place I want to live to raise children of my own," Windeleer said sadly, distantly sensing the pain she was causing her mother and trying to ignore it. It would hurt for a long time. No matter how formal they appeared with one another, they were close. She'd known that this wasn't going to be easy.
Haramu nodded. "Then...I can only wish you luck. Have you thought on where you might go, what you might do?" Leaving was not something to be taken lightly. If Windeleer was going to be leaving, she needed to be prepared.
"I have. For now, I believe my best bet lies in the Rogue Lands," Windeleer replied, pausing to sit down and gaze out on the savanna with an unnatural sense of calm. "I'll wander, for a bit. Speak with Rogues about other prides so I can find the proper one the first time."
Haramu sat beside her daughter. "I see." She smiled slightly. "That is a good course of action. I...can help you a little now. I used to travel all over with Lady Jibril." She looked out, remembering the places they'd seen and the prides that had welcomed them in for a night or two of rest. And then...there was the stint outside the pride, shortly after the cubs were born. "I remember tales of a pride that holds hot, fiery colors in high esteem, and its members have only those colors in their fur. I believe Moto'ubele and Mahewa have mentioned them as well, the Firekin. There...is also a pride in the midst of a swamp, to the east. You...have siblings there. The ones who would have been slaves, or would constantly be struggling to prove themselves, like myself." She could not wish that on any of her cubs. Not from birth. She'd made her choice as an adult...but to fight like that from birth? It wasn't right. "Perhaps you could visit them, and see if their home is yours."
"I will keep both places in mind, Mother. For if you suggest them, surely my home must be in one of them," Windeleer said, smiling and leaning over to give her mother's cheek an affectionate lick. After all, who could know her heart better than her own mother?
Haramu returned the lick with a nuzzle. "I hope you find what you could not have here." She sighed. "I know...I do not always show it...but I love you and your siblings. Even those I had to take outside the pride. And...I am proud of how you have grown up." She smiled slightly. "I think you would have made your grandmother and my teacher proud as well, choosing your own path, instead of struggling down the one you were handed."
"I know you love us, Mother. I've always known it," Windeleer replied softly, returning the nuzzle with a small smile. "Who knows. Maybe I'll meet one of them while I'm out in the Rogue Lands."
The pale demon chuckled. "That would certainly be something. Well...if you do meet them..." She thought a moment. "You can tell your grandmother her 'forbidden flower' is alive and well. She looks like me, except where I am fireflies, she is wood, with leaf green eyes. And my teacher, Lady Jibril, is at least twice my size with fur like Tarenai Nyota'angavu's, covered in silver markings and patches of fur that look bloodied. Tell her of this place? She is devoted to Sparda and...I think it may be best if she is here when he finally returns."
"If I run into either of them, I will pass on your messages and best wishes," Windeleer replied, giving her mother a smile even as she turned her eyes to the night sky. She would certainly keep an eye out for both of the lionesses.
"Thank you." Haramu followed her daughter's eyes to the sky. "When I first met Sira, we stargazed. I will tell you the one thing I never told him about why I look to the stars..." She took a deep breath, calm now. "No matter where you go, or who you meet...the night sky is always there. It is constant, and its changes follow a pattern that does not break. It is security, in a world that often goes awry."
"No matter where you are in the world, there is one thing that ties everyone together," Windeleer said softly, almost reverently. "We all sleep under the same sky. We all see the same stars..."
Haramu nodded and stood. "That's right. And no matter what, we are family. It's not just blood that ties us. It is love. Even demons feel it, though it is rare." She stretched. "So...shall we head back? You may want to say goodbye to Sira as well. He views you and the others like his own. Even if he doesn't show it, he'd be heartbroken if you don't say goodbye."
"Of course. I'm sure you'd never hear the end of it if I left without saying goodbye to him," Windeleer teased, getting to her paws with a small smile.
