Post by abalancedbreakfast on Feb 5, 2017 4:25:20 GMT
"Father... Father, please, just stay with me, okay? Mother's going to get food right now. And the wise snake is coming down from the mountaintop with some sort of medicine to heal you. Please... just stay strong."
The lion in front of Ujasiri, the large, firey maned nomad king, was not in the best shape of his life. Before the sickness, he was a strong, in shape, and wise king, especially for his age. But now... his state was a sorry one.
Sores of pus and bruises littered his body, from the most minor of traumas. His eyes were turning a sickly shade of yellow, with dilation tainting the once proud gaze of the once noble king. He barely tracked the movements of his lithe and beautiful daughter tending to him anymore.
The sickness had started only three days prior, when he and two others in the nomadic pride had gotten into a scrape with a mad lion, one who was living in isolation and defending, to the death, a single patch of path he occupied and paced about. He had been showing yellow eyes as well, and the sores on his body matched those that were now forming on her father. The two lions he was fighting with had escaped clean, and he had only received a superficial cut. But now it seemed infected, and whatever was taking the cut was taking the rest of his body.
"Ujasiri... my princess, you have to get out of this cave... It's stuffy in here, you'll breath in the miasma of this sickness" he coughed out before losing control of his diaphragm, trying to catch his breath from the labored speech. "I'm feeling better now, darling... I'm feeling better now."
"Daddy, I can't leave you behind in this cave, with the entrance sealed. What if something were to happen to you-"
"What if something were to happen to you, my daughter? What if you got sick, and Abiola had to grow up without the older sister he loved? Who died before he ever got his true name from the wise one?"
Ujasiri paused, before moving her hand to her father's shoulder only to immediately have him scurry away.
"Don't touch me" he said between labored coughs. "You don't know how contagious this is, I don't want you to die as well."
"Who ever said it's fatal, father? For all we know, you'll be okay in a week and-"
"Don't... Don't fool yourself, Ujasiri. Only the fool can lie to thyself..." he said, focusing his gaze on nothing in particular as he sighed. "Ujasiri... I have lived a long, wonderful life full of many pleasures and honors. I've loved your mother under many moons, fought battle after battle, and got to witness the transformation of you into a beautiful lioness... My time on this earth is probably short-"
"Daddy, please, stop saying that" Ujasiri responded, her voice quivering as she started to tear up.
"But I have no unhappiness. I am old, Uja... you know this. And my passing isn't the end... it's the beginning of something new. Now... leave me to rest, please. You shouldn't see me in this state. Go and comfort your brother."
"Listen to your father, Uja" a voice from the entrance of the small den said. Her mother had returned with a gourd full of water, and a huntress had a zebra haunch at the ready. Obliging, Ujasiri walked out of the cave, nuzzling her mother on the way out before stepping out to the sight of the other six pride lions, two males and four females, all with worried gazes. Uja looked at all of them, simply shaking her head before her starting to slowly leak out tears. Her brother walked up to her and hugged her, soon followed by the rest of the onlookers. The huntress had left the zebra haunch with the King and Queen, and stepped out to help comfort the two grieving children.
As the night settled, Ujasiri's mother decided to spend the night in the cave with her father. Uja and Abiola had taken refuge under an overhang for the night, hugging each other not only for warmth, but also support as the night dragged on. The two laid there until the next sunrise, unsettled periodically by the growls and grunts of pain and mental torment emerging from the sealed off cave that their soon late father inhabited.
The lion in front of Ujasiri, the large, firey maned nomad king, was not in the best shape of his life. Before the sickness, he was a strong, in shape, and wise king, especially for his age. But now... his state was a sorry one.
Sores of pus and bruises littered his body, from the most minor of traumas. His eyes were turning a sickly shade of yellow, with dilation tainting the once proud gaze of the once noble king. He barely tracked the movements of his lithe and beautiful daughter tending to him anymore.
The sickness had started only three days prior, when he and two others in the nomadic pride had gotten into a scrape with a mad lion, one who was living in isolation and defending, to the death, a single patch of path he occupied and paced about. He had been showing yellow eyes as well, and the sores on his body matched those that were now forming on her father. The two lions he was fighting with had escaped clean, and he had only received a superficial cut. But now it seemed infected, and whatever was taking the cut was taking the rest of his body.
"Ujasiri... my princess, you have to get out of this cave... It's stuffy in here, you'll breath in the miasma of this sickness" he coughed out before losing control of his diaphragm, trying to catch his breath from the labored speech. "I'm feeling better now, darling... I'm feeling better now."
"Daddy, I can't leave you behind in this cave, with the entrance sealed. What if something were to happen to you-"
"What if something were to happen to you, my daughter? What if you got sick, and Abiola had to grow up without the older sister he loved? Who died before he ever got his true name from the wise one?"
Ujasiri paused, before moving her hand to her father's shoulder only to immediately have him scurry away.
"Don't touch me" he said between labored coughs. "You don't know how contagious this is, I don't want you to die as well."
"Who ever said it's fatal, father? For all we know, you'll be okay in a week and-"
"Don't... Don't fool yourself, Ujasiri. Only the fool can lie to thyself..." he said, focusing his gaze on nothing in particular as he sighed. "Ujasiri... I have lived a long, wonderful life full of many pleasures and honors. I've loved your mother under many moons, fought battle after battle, and got to witness the transformation of you into a beautiful lioness... My time on this earth is probably short-"
"Daddy, please, stop saying that" Ujasiri responded, her voice quivering as she started to tear up.
"But I have no unhappiness. I am old, Uja... you know this. And my passing isn't the end... it's the beginning of something new. Now... leave me to rest, please. You shouldn't see me in this state. Go and comfort your brother."
"Listen to your father, Uja" a voice from the entrance of the small den said. Her mother had returned with a gourd full of water, and a huntress had a zebra haunch at the ready. Obliging, Ujasiri walked out of the cave, nuzzling her mother on the way out before stepping out to the sight of the other six pride lions, two males and four females, all with worried gazes. Uja looked at all of them, simply shaking her head before her starting to slowly leak out tears. Her brother walked up to her and hugged her, soon followed by the rest of the onlookers. The huntress had left the zebra haunch with the King and Queen, and stepped out to help comfort the two grieving children.
As the night settled, Ujasiri's mother decided to spend the night in the cave with her father. Uja and Abiola had taken refuge under an overhang for the night, hugging each other not only for warmth, but also support as the night dragged on. The two laid there until the next sunrise, unsettled periodically by the growls and grunts of pain and mental torment emerging from the sealed off cave that their soon late father inhabited.
Also added Christmassy snow and banner :3
I'm currently getting some uni work done before heading to the post office. What's up with you?