After a long day of patrolling, the sun setting behind her, Ameki bounded happily towards the sleep den, hoping to find Tuna. She had a brilliant idea while she was 'standing guard', which today, in reality, was wandering aimlessly, and talking to a lioness. Throughout the day, she had begun to toss around the idea of leaving the pack. And when she tossed around an idea, she was not one to turn back and think realistically. All she knew is that she had begun to work herself into a rut. Ameki figured, if she could get away and see the world, she would enjoy life so much more. And as soon as the original idea sprung into her fantasizing little brain, she knew that she would drag Tuna along with her. Hopefully. If he would join her. Oh God.
Even after several hours convincing herself to do this, she was beginning to worry. If Tuna shot her down, she would be heartbroken! The vivid image of Tuna scoffing and smirking that he would ever want to go with her made tears well up in her eyes. Not watching where she was going, Ameki proceeded to smack right into a solid boulder, just outside of the cave. She laid there, flat on her back for several moments before bursting out into hysterical weeping.
Where he'd been napping, in Ameki's den, Tuna had been dreaming. Mountains rose up, dotted with caves. Little badgers danced here and there... There was no mistaking, they were dancing like the pictures on the magic box back at the sanctuary. And singing... It was weird. But there were hyenas, prancing around with them. Even a few from the Graveyard... And then there was Ameki crying in the middle of it... He woke up, lifting his head. No, Ameki really WAS crying. The brown and white hyena got up, stumbling. That wasn't a dream after all... He hated getting visions. They left him feeling so... Drunk... He finally found enough footing to make it to her. "Ameki? What's wrong, are you okay?"
Ameki was continuing to sob uncontrollably, tears slipping out between closed lids and vanishing into her lilac fur. Until she finally heard a voice, HIS voice! Ameki's crying stopped in shock. Her eyes shot open to see her chocolate prince staring down at her, concern plastered all over his face and his golden eyes staring into hers of a ruby color. She quickly began to blush in shame, red rushing across her face, though her fur concealed it. At the realization of how pathetic she looked, her waterworks started back up with a loud whine, followed by incomprehensible gibberish between the hysterics.
Why could she never look good in front of him? He's such a sweetheart, but in return, all he would get if he stayed with her was a infantile hyena that apparently couldn't run by herself without crashing head-on into rocks. As these thoughts rushed around her brain, Ameki's crying grew more violent, and she placed her paws over her eyes in shame.
"Aw, Ameki..." Tuna lay down next to her, ears back slightly with worry. "You can tell me what's wrong..." He nuzzled into her mane, blowing through it gently. A light quiver ran over him, an after-effect of his vision in his sleep. After a moment, he lay his chin on her back. "I had a vision in my sleep... You wanna hear it? It might make you feel better..."
Tears soaked the fur beneath her eyes slightly faster after seeing how incredibly sweet he was being. Ameki then realized how very moronic it was to worry that HE, of all hyenas, would ever be so cruel as to scoff at her and shoot her down. Her lips quivered as she tried to choke the yelps back down. She gave him a soft nod when he asked if she wanted to know his vision. Aw... He was trying to distract her too! What on earth had she done to deserve such a kind hyena, and one that practically fell from the sky, no less.
Ameki felt a wave of comfort and calmness wash over her as he proceeded to cuddle her. Even though she looked like a terrible mess, she only wished that she could stay like that forever. Being carressed by one she cared about was a magical feeling, and his voice soothed her, transforming her noisy hiccups into slowly breathing in his scent.
The brown hyena smiled, settling down. "Well... Mountains rose up on the horizon.. And then there were caves in them..." He reached over, drawing with a paw. "And there on the hills danced ratels... Literally, they were dancing, and singing." He drew little blobs for the ratels. "And with them, were hyenas, many hyenas, singing and dancing as well.." He smiled at her. "I think it means something..."
With a sniff, Ameki looked at him and teased, "Well, I don't know about the singing and dancing ratels, because that may have been eating food that maybe was a touch too old to be scavenged. But for the rest of it, well, what I was going to ask you is... I was going to... I'm going to leave the pack and go explore the world... and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?", she managed to choke out awkwardly.
She wasn't sure if that was what the vision meant, but she sure hoped so. Journeying to mountains on the horizon sounded breath-taking! And if there were ratels performing a musical number, then that would just be the cherry on top.
Flicking his ears forward, Tuna smiled at Ameki. "Of course I will! Why wouldn't I? My visions brought me to you, I'm not going to be gotten rid of THAT easily!" He nuzzled her mane, inhaling her smell. He couldn't quite bring himself to say the three words that were at the tip of his tongue. Not yet, anyway. It'd be a while before he could bring himself to say that.
Ameki beamed at Tuna's reaction. She had fantasized about a lot of hyenas, but she was thinking that he is the one! Someone who would never dream of hurting her... Even if he dreamed about plenty of other things. She didn't need a guy who would parade around like he owned the place, because those were the type to cheat. And besides, confidence is sexy, arrogance, is not.
"That's great!", she cheered happily. One would hardly be able to guess that she was bawling in the dirt just minutes ago. "We can go see what's out there, and explore the brighter parts of the world, and...", Ameki rambled cheerfully, just managing to stop herself before she was about to say that they could lay under the stars... and cuddle.
Tuna simply listened, content to do so. It made him smile, to see Ameki happy again. The tears were gone, replaced by laughter and bright words. For a moment, he daydreamed, zoning out. It wasn't a vision, but purely his imagination, of little hyena pups tugging on his ears... He gave a start, realizing where his mind was going, thankful for his dark brown fur to hide the blush that was surely there. "When do you think we should go, Ameki? To find these mountains..."
Ameki tilted her head to the side slightly in thought, pondering when to go find these mountains. To be honest, she really wanted to run off into the sunset with Tuna right now, but she tried to rein herself in. Ameki's eyes darted about as she tried to think of what would be more reasonable, but being as rash as she was, she pointed her gaze towards Tuna's golden globe eyes and said, "Tomorrow morning!" We can say goodbye and then we'll be off!" To Ameki, the entire concept seemed just so romantic. Going to see the sights with someone you-- She didn't want to think it in case she somehow jinxed it. She would never forgive herself if she were to mess this up, so even her thoughts, her wild thoughts, she wanted to keep from envisioning her saying those deadly words that killed so many fairytales before hers, simply by poor timing. If she thought about him saying it, she would almost expect it and become impatient. Just stick to cuddle daydreams...
She had to wonder what was out there. Ameki hadn't gone much further than the graveyard border. Was it scary out there? Dangerous? Oh well, she would be with Tuna.
The brown hyena smiled, nodding. "Tomorrow is good. What better time than then? Tomorrow is a bright future, a new day and a new start!" It wasn't nearly as romantic as running off into the sunset, of course... Tuna stopped, ears twitching. Where had THAT idea come from?! Running into the sunset... Romantic... Well, it WAS a romantic thought, but he had to quell that for now. If he said anything like that... He might scare Ameki off. That was something he didn't want to do.
Ameki couldn't help but let a grin spread far across her face. She had to admire his optimism, and really appreciated how very excited he seemed to run away with her. His anxiousness showed her that they were not just empty words. Tuna wanted to be with her too! After a deep breath, appreciating the world's newly restored beauty, she let out a contented sigh. She could hardly wait! Her eyes drifted up and to the side as she began to think,
'Being out there, with Tuna. Alone.
Hey! Don't even go there Ameki!
What? I was thinking that we could sit in the shade together and watch the clouds go by...
Oh. Well then, proceed.'
Realizing that she was still with Tuna, she shook off her fantasy. Gazing at Tuna shyly, her stomach filled with butterflies as she leaned in and gave him a soft lick on the bridge of his nose.
A bright blush, visible even through his fur, took over his face as Tuna's eyes grew wide. She'd just licked him! He glanced in surprise at Ameki, but didn't run off. It was mostly just that - Surprise. He wasn't expecting it, mostly, but he wasn't complaining. He rather liked it. After a moment, he leaned over, returning the gesture by licking her cheek. He liked this feeling, this dancing in his belly. It was... Pleasant. Welcome.
Subconciously, it was if she were mimicking him for her eyes shot open as she saw the look of shock in his, and blushed deeply. And then began the internal verbal thrashing.
'Oh, no! Ameki, what in the gods' names were you thinking?! You freaked him out! You really shouldn't have pushed it. He was going to leave with you and then you lick him out of nowhere?! How could you make it so awk--'
Her thoughts got cut off as he leaned towards her and licked her back. He mind went blank and she felt like she was soaring. It was almost a wonder that she, of all hyenas, found this sweetheart, and he chose her! Chose her, awkwardness, clumsiness, needy quirks and all. In a few hours, they would be together, and they could get to know eachother even better!
He only smiled at her, enjoying the moment. He soon lay his head on her back, letting out a gentle sigh. He was still tired, but he was with Ameki, so it was okay. Slowly his eyes slid shut, and visions of dancing little hyenas filled his brain. Not that he could complain, they were cute! Though a few looked like... Cupcakes...
Ameki let out a soft chuckle when she saw that Tuna was now dozing. His head hanging, muscles slackened, he looked so very adorable. He even had a faint smile on his face, and it just warmed her heart. Gently, Ameki placed her head on his shoulder, content to watch the sunset with him, even if he wasn't seeing its majesty. The brilliant orange splashing around the soft purple clouds was magnificent. There were so many moments that she just wished she could re-live many times over, while at the same time eager for the next. Ameki couldn't wait for tomorrrow, yet she wished the sunset would never end.
Her ruby eyes traced the sunset as she thought how she would tell her family that she was leaving. She knew that her father would be angry, and would certainly stop her, and her mother... she didn't even want to think about what her mother would say and do. But she couldn't just leave them! Zua! Yes, her sister wouldn't be furious with her. Maybe a bit sad to see her leave, but she wouldn't snap at her. If she told Zua, then she could have her tell their parents a few days after she left!
