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 Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 5:29 pm
Her heart was still pounding at the merest thought of what she had confessed to Hashi. Had she really done that? And had he really returned her affection? She had doubted his reaction so many times, it was fairly driving her mad. Maybe she had misread him? Or was he just tolerating her? Oh dear, what was she going to do? There was only one thing to do when something was this crazy... sister talk.
Yes, they all had a 'mother' in Eva, but she never quite made it into Divy's confidences. No, the leopon preferred the eldest of her sisters, the first of Sliabh's brood. Of course, Haruma now had cubs her own to tend, but the sweet lioness always welcomed her siblings at any time, night or day. And in the adolescent's perspective, this was practically an EMERGENCY! She knew Haruma would understand. After all, hadn't she chosen a cubhood friend as her mate too?
Thus in the wee hours of the morning, before the sun had risen, Divy was slipping through the dens. She had no doubts that her sister was up. Haruma was odd that way, and generally liked to go get some of her own herbs early in the mornings before making her rounds as a Healer. If Divy was lucky, she'd just be coming back from one such gathering trip. Sure enough, to the young hybrid's relief, she saw the orange and white form of Haruma approaching through the dim pre-dawn light.
"Haruma!" she called softly but urgently.
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 5:40 pm
Haruma paced serenely through the quiet of early morning. Dew was still clinging to the grasses, and carried the sharp and earthy scents of plants and herbs to her nose. Some found such smells too pungent, others found it too bland. The different ways individuals responded to such scents amused Haruma. To her, the smells were very clean, sharp, and refreshing. There was no better scent than that of freshly picked herbs bathed in morning dew. Well, except for the smell of newborn cubs. They had an aroma all their own, one that tugged at any mother's heart like nothing else could.
She meandered towards home, bemusedly reflecting on how her own cubs were not at all newborns anymore. No, they were energetic balls of fluff that often got themselves in trouble. She kept them with her as much as she could, but usually this was not possible. For example, some of her rounds were with the very ill or dying. She might take one cub with her to teach about the situation, but never more than that, and even that was rare. Generally they had to stay with the nannies while she made her rounds, and she was beginning to wish it didn't have to be so. Despite her longing to be with her cubs while they were still small, though, she was desperately needed by the sickly members of the pride. That wasn't a duty she took lightly, nor one she would abandon for such selfish reasons. It didn't mean she didn't wish wistfully for more time with her little ones!
She was pulled out of her reverie by a low but urgent call, which brought her ears up immediately. At any point, she could be summoned to an emergency, so her blood quickened at being met by the dens so early. Nor did it slow down when she saw it was one of her youngest sisters that called, either. She quickened her steps. "Is something wrong, Divy?" The sky was growing brighter, so she was able to see the heated flush that covered the younger female's face. Oooooh... not that sort of emergency, but still something important. She slipped the strap of her herb pouch over her head, leaving it beside the den, then drawing Divy after her. "Here, let's go talk somewhere else."
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 5:50 pm
Divy ducked her head when asked what was wrong, fumbling mentally for how to answer. Apparently, however, something in her expression had spoken for her, for Haruma immediately understood. It was such a relief! She really should have come to talk to her sooner, but it just hadn't occurred to her, silly as that seemed. Mutely she followed her sister away from the dens full of sleeping families. Her tailtip was twitching in an agitated manner behind her, which Haruma noticed. This earned her a speculative and amused look from the older lioness. Ears half-folded, she just ducked her head more and kept quiet until they stopped some distance from the den area.
"Okay, spill," Haruma said mock-sternly, her eyes full of acceptance and love.
Divy nearly fell over herself gushing out the situation. It was just too much to hold in, and she'd kept it to herself long enough now that she felt fair to burst. "I'm in love with Hashi, and he didn't know it, and I didn't know it at first, but then I realized I did, and I was afraid to tell him, but then I did tell him, and he was really surprised, but he took it really well, and I think he loves me back, but I just don't know, and I'm afraid he thinks I'm just a little girl, and what am I going to dooooo?" She wailed the last part and promptly burst into tears.
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 5:57 pm
Poor thing! Haruma had suspected it was something like this, and should have been expecting it, most especially from Divy specifically. The girl was so sensitive and caring and open to others, she felt things very intensely. In fact, she was so sensitive, Haruma was considering suggesting she try her paw at healing, though of the mind rather than the body. Of the young ones Haruma knew well, Divy had the most likely gift for it. But that was for another time. Right now, the poor dear was bawling her eyes out over something that was hugely important to her right now... first love.
The lioness wrapped her paw around the younger female, who was nearly as big as the adult lioness already! She made soothing noises while Divy cried herself out, and kept very close when she was done crying. "Now, feel better?" Bright orange eyes, made more brilliant by tears and early morning sunshine, gazed at her hopefully as Divy nodded. "I thought you might," she said kindly. "Now, just so I understand, you told Hashi that you love him, and he said he loved you back?" There was a startled blinking, obvious deep thought, then a slow headshake. "But he didn't seem unhappy about it?" It had been a little difficult to gather full meaning from the gushed stream of words, but she definitely had gotten the impression Hashi hadn't scorned her either.
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 6:01 pm
It shook Divy to her core to realize he hadn't said he loved her. For a moment, her heart squeezed so tight, she was certain it was the size of a grain of sand now. He hadn't said it! What if... but that was when Haruma had gently pointed out that he hadn't been unhappy. No, he definitely hadn't been unhappy either. She frowned further, making herself slow down and consider what had been said. "He...," she began hesitantly while Haruma listened, "he said it was good to love someone who was a friend." Or something like that, right? Yes, she was certain. She raised her eyes pleadingly to Haruma's. "That means he loves me back, doesn't it?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 6:10 pm
Ooooh, this was tricky territory! Haruma dreaded having to deal with this with her own cubs eventually. Teenage trials were no laughing matter, and right now she was acutely aware that she held Divy's happiness and even her future in her black paws right this moment. One word the wrong direction, to either side, could end in disaster! She took a slow, steadying breath before attempting to answer her sister's desperate question.
"This is part of the wonder and difficulty of loving a friend," she began, cupping Divy's chin in one paw lovingly. "The good thing is that you know each other well enough to be pretty certain of how the other feels, or what they mean when they say something." She tipped her head to either side before continuing, "However, that can leave you the trap of not communicating properly." She winced inwardly, knowing this wasn't really an answer to the question. "Eu and I came to our realization of how we felt rather slowly, like an inevitable conclusion." Her own tailtip swished as she searched for the right words. "But we still had to talk to each other, to be open about how we felt, and I know that's scary."
She watched as Divy nodded miserably. "It leaves you vulnerable to being hurt, because you are offering your heart to someone you care very much about." Again, Divy nodded, her eyes locked on Haruma's green ones. "But to me, it sounds like your Hashi did the best he could to communicate with you that he feels, if not exactly the same, at the very least pleased with the idea of love between the two of you." She watched as the leopon considered this carefully. Perhaps it was time for a bit of jesting to lighten the situation.
"Besides, I don't think anyone would dare to break your heart, as he'd have an awfully big family and one very big daddy to deal with for doing so!" She leaned in and bumped shoulders with her sister with a soft chuff of a laugh. She was rewarded by a small but honest smile. "There now. Give yourself and Hashi a little time to get used to this new development, and don't be afraid to offer your love freely, without worrying about being hurt. It'll turn out alright in the end." The fact that she actually did have confidence in this statement lent it an audible validity. How sweet that her little sister had found love so close at hand!
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