[PRP] Waking To You (Taanisi, Lutum)

[Talencia]

It was as if she was waking from a long, long night's rest. Her eyes did not open right away, but she slowly became clearly aware of herself. She rested on her side, paws arranged comfortably stretched out from her body. There was a great deal of warmth there, as if perhaps they were laying in direct summer sun, while the rest of her laid cool in the shade. She acknowledged and dismissed this.

Next to come to her awareness were the sounds. She heard voices, laughter... cubs crying and squealing happily... padding steps and rustling. She savored them for a while, glad to be back home. This lovely thought drifted in her quiet mind for a bit before she realized that she had been away from home. Why had she left home? Her brow furrowed over her still-closed eyes as she pondered this. Oh yes, now she remembered. Her true love was waiting for her. Yes, she'd left home to find him. But... had she failed? She was back home, so... what did that mean?

She heaved a deep, heavy sigh, brow still furrowed. She really did want to find him, truly she did. She supposed that meant she would have to leave again when she woke. She was alright with this, and relaxed her facial muscles once more.

However, that was when her sense of smell kicked in. Her nostrils twitched in rebellion. She smelled... sickness. And herbs. And very unfamiliar things. This... this didn't smell like home! Where was she?

With that, her eyes snapped open and she drew in a sharp breath, pupils huge as she focused on the first thing she saw. She froze, memories swirling like drifting smoke. That face... she'd seen that face before, hadn't she? Maybe? She opened her mouth, only to find her tongue stuck to the roof. She yawned to loosen it, to try and gather moisture enough to use it properly. She made quite a face, tongue sticking out in a curl, going nearly cross-eyed as she realized what she needed most was a drink of water. She made a questioning sound and moved to sit up.  

[mouselet]

He was watching her, as he had been. Ever since Mittere and Romus'valgus had carried the unknown lioness to this den, throughout all that Haruma'moyo and the Healers had done for her, he had watched. For the most part she had slept deeply, recovering and healing. Sometimes she seemed to wake, but it was no more than the vagueness of one who is still asleep in truth.

And still he watched.

Lutum didn't quest the urge that kept him here, day after day. He didn't ask permission, nor did he ask forgiveness for his presence. The brown lion had a fleeting thought of relief that his lack of duties allowed him to do this day in and day out, but for the most part his every attention was focused on the nameless navy lioness lying before him.

And then, all at once, it happened. Her eyes snapped open, revealing the yellow eyes he'd barely remembered seeing and she began to move and nose around. Lutum had been gaping in joy, but the urgency in the noise she'd made returned him to the present. Haruma had allowed him to stay, but admonished him to make sure to offer the lioness water as soon as she awoke. He reached out a yellow paw and gently pushed a half-gourd bowl full of lifegiving liquid next to her muzzle.  

[Talencia]

She didn't go far before the bowl came under her muzzle. Greedily she lapped it up, surprisingly not getting it everywhere. She lap-lap-lapped, then would pause, lick her jowls, then lap-lap-lap again. Soon the bowl was empty, and she felt like she could both focus better and speak. She reached a paw to rub at her eyes, but discovered it was... wrapped? She stopped to stare at it near-sightedly, then gingerly set it down again as the warmth she had only noted in passing earlier now turned to throbbing. "Ow," she murmured, wrinkling her lips in discomfort.

Well. It seemed she was missing some very important facts. Something clearly had happened. Naturally she turned her gaze to the one who lingered near and had offered her the water. She looked up into brown face entreatingly, clearly puzzled. "Where am I?" she said softly, a near whisper, "And what has happened to me?" She lifted her forepaw again, this time much more carefully. It was disconcerting to realize you were hurt, and not recall how it had happened. She showed no fear, however, as she turned her eyes back to him. No, her gaze was completely trusting. This male had not hurt her, sure as sure. She knew it down deep, that he was there for her.  

[mouselet]

Lutum watched the lioness thirstily, though pateintly, drain all the water from the bowl before she did anything else. When she muttered in pain, the brown lion had a knee-jerk reaction to try and help, though it didn't look like there was anything he could do. The male mentally sat on his paws and waited for the lioness to direct her attention toward him. He didn't want to force himself on her in any way.

Thankfully, the next thing she did was to ask him questions. Very quietly, but he'd probably be quiet too if he'd spent days on end asleep. He smiled gently at her as he endeavored to answer as best he could.

"You are in the Kitwana'antara," Lutum told her, his voice nearly as soft as her own, though for different reasons. "I found you near our borders, collapsed and exhausted." He forbore to mention her injuries since he was certain she was aware of them. "We'd hoped you might tell us what brought you to us in such sad shape." He knew that there'd been mutters of "fire" amongst the Healers, but he didn't want to make any assumptions yet.  

[Talencia]

Hearing him speak to her was very grounding. It made this feel more like reality rather than a strange dream, and helped her focus even more. KItwana..... an..tara. Hmm. She wasn't familiar with that pride, but that was no surprise. She had spent her entire life before her journey in the Pridelands. Oh, they had plenty of newcomers who brought tales of other prides, but she had never really listened to them. Now she rather wished she had. Perhaps then she might know more about where it was she had ended up!

His last sentence wasn't exactly a question, but it clearly indicated that he was curious, or at least interested. She frowned, trying to think back, opening her mouth to tell him... only to realize she had no idea what had happened to her. She raised her paw again, examining it as if she might find the answers there. But no, she had no memory. "I left home," she began slowly, her voice just slightly raspy with a strange irritation in her throat and lungs, "to find... someone," she self-consciously filled in, somehow timid to admit to this handsome stranger that she was searching for her one true love. "I had come a long way... but...," she trailed off, frowning more. "I don't know what happened," she finally admitted in a whisper, looking worried. She turned anxious eyes up to him, instinctively looking to him for comfort. "I don't remember!"  

[mouselet]

"Shhhhhh, shhhhhhhh," he soothed the lioness as she began to panic. He reached out to stroke her fur and paused. They didn't even know each other, she might prefer her space. Then he remembered how his touch on her paw had comforted her that day. Swallowing his nervousness, the brown lion reached out and put his paw on her foreleg, avoiding the carefully wrapped paws.

"It was only curiosity, you don't have to tell us anything. Especially if you don't remember," he added softly. He knew that if she got too excited, Haruma would chastise him for it, and he had no desire to be kicked out of this den.

"Some said they smelled smoke in your fur. That maybe you'd been in a fire," he told the blue lioness once she'd settled again. Perhaps that was why she couldn't remember - maybe the fire had been a traumatic experience.  

[Talencia]

As before, though she couldn't remember it, his touch had an almost instant affect. She relaxed again, shifting so her head was nearer to him when she laid it down again. She was so tired! Even so, she didn't feel like sleeping any more. Turning her mind towards the idea of a fire sent another surge of panic, searing through her thoughts. With a small gasp, she squeezed her eyes shut and inched closer to him once more. No, she didn't want to remember! She hid her eyes against him for a moment, composing herself again and focusing on his gentle touch.

"Tell me about this pride?" she asked softly, her tone plaintive. Anything to banish the memory of heat and pain and desperation. Her body shuddered, but she still laid with her forehead against him, not attempting to get up or move further. If he would just stay with her, she'd be okay. While he spoke, her swirling thoughts calmed, so she wanted him to talk more. Talk the remembered smoke away. "Please?"  

[mouselet]

He knew he'd made the right decision about touching her or keeping his distance when she relaxed, but Lutum nearly froze in a panic of his own as she moved closer to him, probably as much as she could move at the moment. He felt an almost physical stab in his chest, paired with the urge to stroke her fur and nuzzle her...

The brown lion wrenched his attention back, focusing on her request. Of course she'd want to know about the place she'd ended up...even if she didn't yet understand the significance of the method of her arrival...

"Uh...sure. Most of the Kitwana'antara are lions, or lion hybrids. There's also cheetahs, leopards, wild dogs, hyenas, and a bunch of familiars. We welcome anybody and everybody." So far so good. The normal stuff, that only crazy prejudiced people could complain about.

"However...any lions or lion hybrids who enter or are born into the Kitwana are not permitted to leave again, because of the disease that dwells in these lands. Many are struck by it, and those who aren't are most likely carriers, able to pass it on to others." He stopped, giving the blue lioness a mournful look. "I'm sorry, but this is your home now."  

[Talencia]

She opened her eyes to gaze up at him wonderingly as he described all the different species who were welcomed here. Even hyenas? Though she might be skeptical on that count, clearly it was working for them, so surely these hyenas weren't like those who caused her home pride so much trouble and heartache. She was processing this when he moved on to describe something quite astonishing about the pride. Disease?

She stared up at him, her soft heart twinging for those who must suffer from this difficulty. "Oh my," she said sympathetically as he paused. Thus she was looking right into his eyes as he looked at her so sadly and apologized for her becoming one of those not allowed to leave. She took a moment to ponder this. She didn't cry out in protest, she didn't weep or look shocked. She merely was thoughtful. She thought silently on this for a good long while, mulling it over with all its ramifications.

Finally she raised her gaze up to him again, feeling as if she was falling into his own worried eyes. And unexpectedly, a slow smile began to spread across her face like a rising sun. This. This was what she had been searching for. She had found him, she felt the truth of it deep in her bones. With that beautiful, trusting, loving smile, she gazed up at him and finally replied. "That means I get to stay here with you," she said softly, "and that is a good thing." No, it had not escaped her notice that this might mean she herself might be sick now, but right now, in this moment of discovery, such a detail was unimportant to the sincere lioness. She had found the one foretold, and in that she was perfectly content.  

[mouselet]

Lutum could only watch nervously as the lioness stayed silent, probably thinking about what he'd said concerning the disease. Was it too soon to tell her? She'd only just woken up, truly woken up, for the first time since her arrival. She seemed to be thinking about it, more calmly than the fire he'd only briefly mentioned, but that could just mean it hadn't sunk in yet.

The brown lion had almost fretted himself into leaving the den when she turned to look him straight in the eye and spoke again.

He was utterly and completely dumbfounded. She...she wanted to stay? Despite the fact that she was probably sick with the disease already?

With him?

He felt another not-quite-physical pain in his chest. As if this unknown blue lioness had reached her paw in there and grabbed his heart, squeezing it like an overripe fruit.

She wanted to stay. With him.

What, by the Goddess, was he supposed to say to that?

To his surprise, Lutum realized he was crying.  

[Talencia]

Once more her tender heart was touched by the unexpected reaction to her words. She chuckled raspily and beamed up at him. "Oh now, don't cry!" She raised a paw as if to wipe his tears away, but clumsily put it back down again with a wryly amused twist of her mouth. She then carefully, not-quite-painfully, leaned up onto her elbows and reached her muzzle up as high as she could reach, and nuzzled him closely. "Don't cry, my love," she said softly, her own heart thrilling inside her as she said those amazing words to a stranger she did not even know the name of, but knew she was fated for. "We are together now. The gods led me to you, and now I won't ever leave."

Truth be told, she looked positively radiant about this fact. "You see," she continued, soft and low because her voice didn't seem to want to raise, "a seer had a vision from the gods about me. I was told that you were waiting for me, that I had to travel to find you." She nuzzled close to him again, leaning against his warmth. "And now, here I am, with you." Her heart thudded, and she was completely oblivious to any pain her paws might have been trying to send to her brain. "My name is Taanisi," she whispered, turning her face upwards to his, "and I am your Taanisi now." That beautiful, trusting smile lit up her eyes once more, and a raspy but definite purr vibrated her throat.  

[mouselet]

He made an involuntary motion as she tried to raise a paw, hoping to save her the strain and pain. But before the brown male could refocus his mind on anything other than the shock of what she'd said, the blue lioness was suddenly nuzzling him, and calling him her love and saying the gods had led her to him.

Taanisi. What a beautiful name. And even bandaged and broken, this lioness was surely the most beautiful he'd ever seen in his life. She had to be, for what other lioness had made his heart melt in his chest like this?

"Goddess bless," he swore. "My name is Lutum," he told her, still trying to wrap his head around what was happening.  

[Talencia]

Lutum. Her whole being hummed with his name, and her eyes slid closed with pleasure. Or maybe it was with exhaustion. It was hard to say just then. Her shoulders were ceasing to hold her up, though, and she slowly slid groundwards. Despite this, she heaved a deep, happy sigh. All was well, because she had Lutum, and he had her. Injuries or no, disease or no, her life was overflowing now with joy. Her body slowly relaxed, muscle after muscle releasing, and she began to drift towards sleep. She murmured, "Stay with me, Lutum," as her body curled into a resting position, nestled against his forepaws. Yes, she would sleep now, and he would stay, and be there when she woke. This was a certainty, not an assumption. And when she woke, they'd talk more. But for now, sleep. Ah yes, sleep, with love blooming healing warmth deep within her.  

[mouselet]

"Of course," he whispered in return as she fell asleep against and on top of him. What else could he do, what else could he say? She was already his heart personified, sleeping soundly in his care without a care in the world. Careful not to disturb her, Lutum lay down beside Taanisi, curling his body around hers.

To think she had come all this way - no! - been sent all this way by the Goddess, just to be his mate...it was...

...it was proof that their lives, Taanisi's, his, Eione's...all had been just as Pestilence willed. And that was a comforting thought indeed, as the brown male drifted off into sleep beside his beloved.