A Well Earned Rest (open)

[XxJah LilaxX]

Mwezi stretched luxuriously as only a cat can and lay still, content to let the sun bake the aches out of his muscles. He had been liberally bruised by the wind that had signaled the start of the plague, and he had not emerged from the battle in the meadow unscathed. The wound above his eye and over his eyelid was still an angry red, evidence of a very near escape from a balraa sword. From end to end the thin slice was about six inches long and still inflamed. He had not submitted to a healing, preferring to merely keep it very clean and heal on its own. It had already begun to scar over, to his relief. Had Mwezi moved a bit slower or the balraa a bit faster, the eye would have been ruined forever. Smaller wounds adorned his black-furred flanks, and there was a painful but blessedly shallow cut across the top of his left hind paw in the exact center of a streak of white fur.

He had spent the past days primarily in attempting to wash the stink of rotten balraa from his thick black fur. Every time he thought he was rid of it, the scent had assaulted his nose anew and he went right back to washing. Today he had finally suceeded in leaving the last of the stench behind him when he left the river. His fur was still damp as he lounged on a dark rock in the territory he had scouted for his pride, surveying the land around him contentedly. He was waiting for his ndugu to come to the river for a drink so he could tell them the good news. This was good territory, with good hunting and access to the river. Peace had been made with the wolves across the river, and the felines were finally free to settle into their new family.

A deep, rumbling purr emitted from the big cat's throat as he rested his head on his large paws, lazily contemplating a nap.

[Silvereyesish]

As far as Anani Sunwalker was concerned, she was home.

From the bright, warm sun to the calm, light wind, the world was perfect today, and the Shimmer intended for it to be a very happy day. Today was the day that she was going to find her daddy. Her Mwezi. And that was a huge, huge thing, because she hadn’t seen him since the Plague that had occurred not too long ago.

Anani had finally figured it out. Why not go to where everybody went to meet? The River was the place where everybody went to find each other. Surely she’d find her sisters and brothers, and her Mami and Daddy of the Pride. They’d be waiting there for her, and she could finally see them again. So, she had decided, that was what she would do. Go there, and see Adele Makani for the first time in what seemed like years.

Paddling across the River had been both difficult and embarrassing. Seriously, having to dog paddle across the river? That was something she could’ve never lived down around her pride-mates. But she managed it, and at the moment, she was soaking wet, staring around this side of the River, scanning it for any signs of life.

And then she saw it: a big cat lounging on a dark rock, looking half-asleep.

“DADDY!” Ani shrieked, running as fast as her four kitten paws could carry her, stumbling quite a lot as she made her way to the rock. The kittenchild practically jumped six feet in the air and landed next to Mwezi, leaping on him and licking his nose happily.

“Daddy, daddy, daddy! I missed you so much! Where have you been? Are you okay? What happened to your eye? Was it those meanies that we fought? Ooooh, I’ll get them good for hurting you!” Ani tried to look tough, but failed in her happiness, her excitement. “Ohh, I missed you!”

[XxJah LilaxX]

Mwezi's ears perked up at the first syllable of Anani's joyful shout. Oh yes, this was a voice he knew very well indeed, and a thunderous purr vibrated through his deep chest in answer. His eyes (blue at the moment) sparkled with mirth as he watched her mad dash towards him with an indulgent grin. The poor sodden thing tripped a few times, but she swiftly found her feet again and continued her headlong rush towards her adoptive father. Then, with a leap a gazelle would be hard put to match, she landed with a wet fwack on the rock beside him and lashed out her tiny tongue to lick his nose.

"Hujambo, binti!" he rumbled in his heavily accented baritone, his delight matching Anani's. Touched his own big pink tongue to Anani's forehead, still purring deeply. "I have been here, scaring the fish and getting the taste of balraa out of my mouth. And, aka, that smell!" The big cat made a distasteful face. "Yes, it was those uglies in the meadow that scratched me, but thanks to us they'll never do it again, I promise." There was a feral pride in that statement. He and his sisters had made a good account of themselves with those balraa scum, dead and living alike. Mwezi was a warrior as well as a scholar, and he took pleasure in the knowledge they had performed well. Anani and her Shadow had proved themselves quite formidable, and his pride was close to bursting. His daughter had faced her first Ordeal (of which his people held there were at least three for every child) and she had done so on her own strength. He wished that Aibu, his mother, could see Anani. He was certain they would adore each other on first sight.

"I missed you too, binti, but you are moyoni mwangu, and so you have been here with me." Mwezi continued to purr, drying his daughter with his tongue.

[Silvereyesish]

Anani giggled more happily than she had in a long time as her daddy dried her off thoroughly. He smelled a bit like a mix of fish and the smell of baked things, but Ani could still smell the balraa, in a distant sort of way, like it was almost gone. But she didn’t mind at all; she could deal with it, if it meant being able to see Mwezi all the time. The kittenchild listened to her father talk about the balraa, and she could practically feel the pride emanating out of him.

“Yeah! We kicked their butts, right? I remember, it was kinda scary, but really cool at the same time. Me and Shadow were like Bam! Slam! Scratch! RAWR!” At each exclamation, Ani slashed at the air, jumped around, and hissed at mid-air, completely forgetting that Mwezi was drying her off. Then, when he spoke again, she giggled.

“I’m… moyonie mewangu? Uhh. Macaroni Mawanglue. Uhhh.” The kittenchild paused, and thought, and then said it slowly, trying to repeat the way he said it completely. “Mo-yo-ni mwan-gu? What does that mean?”

But she could hardly wait for an answer, because this question had somehow reminded her of something. Excitedly, Ani jumped up again and danced around.

“Daddy, daddy, guess what today is? Guesssss!” she shouted, laughing.

[XxJah LilaxX]

"Zhanza bless, is the child never still?" he asked, mock-mournfully. In reality, his voice was filled with warmth and welcome for his little daughter. Still, he continued the charade of being the poor, worn down Father, raising his eyes in a plea for patience and gently flattening the kitten beneath a huge black paw. He licked her nose once and proceeded to translate. "Moyoni mwangu means 'in my heart' in this tongue, but there is more to it than that. That is why I call you binti-moyo and binti moyoni. You are the daughter of my heart." This was not said sappily or with embarassment, but rather as a statement of fact.

"What day is it, mm? Please say it's the day Akida Tara turns vegetarian! Or the day a herd of plump little goats settle on our land!" Mwezi licked his whiskers wistfully. That was the trouble with this forest, plenty of deer and rabbit creatures, but none of the fat little goats human herdsmen tended in his homeland. There was a tribe of people in the jungle corner of Usiku Paka territory that looked to the Night Cats for protection, and quite rightly worshipped them as the holy and beloved children of Zhanza Shadowwalker. Whenever one of them stayed overnight in the village, there was feasting for all concerned, and the little cats the tribe tamed and cared for twined about his ankles adoringly. Oh yes, he would miss his little visits to those humans, and their juicy little goats even more.

[Silvereyesish]

Anani grinned at Mwezi, knowing that he was playing the part of the exasperated father. She could see the laughter and warmth in his eyes, and could hear it in his voice. He was just as glad to see her as she was to see him. And his words, his translation, proved that even more. The kittenchild found that she quite liked being his daughter of his heart. It meant that he loved her, and Anani liked the feeling that she had found a daddy who was like her first daddy, one who actually cared for her.

A daddy who didn’t act like a dead fish, as Roose had once put it.

Ani giggled at that memory, finding it just as funny now as she had when it had been said. And then she remembered her announcement, and realized Mwezi was guessing at her question.

“No no, Mami isn’t a vegetarian, silly!” Ani giggled. “And I haven't seen any goats...but wouldn't it be cool if our family could go out and find some? That sounds much more yummy than mouses.” Anani wiggled around under his paw, licking it with her small pink tongue.

“No, daddy, today is my birthday! I’m finally nine, not eight and three quarters!” The kittenchild announced, beaming up at her daddy.

[XxJah LilaxX]

Mwezi, who was himself fast approaching his sixth birthday, stared at his daughter in blank astonishment for a moment. Nine? Surely she wasn't serious? But it was clear by her eyes and her voice that the child wasn't kidding. Others might have been vaguely disturbed at this revalation, but not him. There was no set date that Usiku children became adults, it just happened when all of the Ordeals of childhood had been passed. Some, given the choice, remained children for decades, and were treated as such, with no disapproval at all. Mwezi chuckled, and his chuckles grew into booming, uncontrolable laughter. The big black feline lifted his paw from Anani's back and rolled onto his back, laughing so hard tears began to leak from his eyes.

He breathlessly exclaimed to himself as he shuddered with the hilarity of the situation, lapsing back into his native swahili and several other languages besides. "Kee!? Choodmarani, aisee! Bas, putragis na impiyerno-- angu kibeti binti-moyoni ni kikongwe! Tisa!"


((OOC: Translation- "What!? CENSORED CENSORED, oh really? Well, CENSORED CENSORED--my little heart-daughter is (a very old person/a feeble old person)! Nine!" ))

[Silvereyesish]

Anani merely gave her daddy a confused look. What was so funny about it being her birthday? She’d assumed that he’d be happy, but not so much that he’d fall over laughing about it. With a twitch of her nose, Ani (now free of Mwezi’s paw) sat on her hind legs, and crossed her front paws in a pouting gesture, much like a human.

“What’s so funny? I’m not that old.” The kittenchild asked rather reproachfully. And then, she dropped to all fours again, mock-growling, with a grin on her face. Ani giggled and then pounced on Mwezi, landing on his chest, purring.

“Come on! How old are you?” Ani flopped down on his chest and put her head on her paws. “You’ve gotta be older than me, right?”

[XxJah LilaxX]

Gaining control of himself Mwezi grinned fondly at Anani as she lay, purring, on his chest. "In experience and knowledge, my daughter, yes. In years, however, you're over three years my senior." Reaching his head up he licked the side of her face affectionately. Mwezi had always had a soft spot for cubs, and this one in particular seemed to have him nearly wrapped around her little paws. Of course, if there ever came a time when he felt he needed to be stern with her, he would be without compunction or hesitation. Usiku children were often raised in a manner other species might find somewhat harsh. Mwezi's own mother was as intimidating a creature as ever walked the savannah. Given a choice between another balraa army and Aibu Mathee in a state of righteous wrath, he would fling himself on the army without hesitation.

The sun warmed his belly fur, easing more aches and bruises with its golden light. He glanced up at it, which his people sometimes called the Skydancer's Eye and added another silent prayer of thanks to those he had murmured over the past several days to Fela Skydancer. Now, if only Nyx would return from wherever she had been hiding herself, his world would be whole again. The knowledge of Susan's death ate at him terribly, still, as he knew it would for some time, but he tried not to let it interfere too much in his daily life. Victory in war was always bitter sweet. Against the flush of success and the peace that followed the last battle, one must always lay the lives of the friends, family, and allies they have lost. He had failed to protect her, but he would not forget his soft-spoken pride sister, and he would mourn her privately and in his own way.

Shaking his head to clear it of such thoughts, he focused on his daughter and the here and now, and he was content.

[Shadowed Illusions]

<center>As if beckoned by the night cat's thoughts, a small dark figure flitted through the calm sky. Following the rivers bear path, it's flight was steady and determined. It laid sight on it's target as it came around a lazy bend and modified it's course to bring it above the two felines.

It swooped low over the dark male with a short, raspy caw before gaining a bit of altitude and circling three times in a swift, tight coil, allowing itself time to judge the small white kitten friend or foe. Satisfied that there was little threat for the time being, it glided to the ground and landed a respectful distance away. It turned to face them with wings shuffling and tail flicking in agitation, it's head cocked to the side and ruby eyes trained on the one it remembered though knew by no name.

It paused for a long while, waiting for the response it was looking for and when it did not seem it would get it without persuasion, the bird displayed signs of agitation once more. It called softly first, as if mumbling to itself, before the volume escalated as if it was saying something that could be considered either an urgent matter that needed to be addressed or a healthy chastisement for being so slow. The birds noise was accompanied at first by a series of backward steps toward the river, then a hop or two and finally a mock take off in the direction of the mountains. If they couldn't grasp what it was asking of them, then the bird thought there was little hope for the poor fur-brains.</center>