by AustralianChaos » October 26th, 2010, 1:18 pm
Kijamii, nodded, still smiling, at Dakari, watching him as he went to drink, before going over for a drink herself, being a little more careful this time around as she knelt down by the river's edge, slowly lapping up the cold water, which did a remarkable job of revitalising her, leaving her refreshed, energetic, and ready for the next adventure.
Once she'd drank her fill, she stood back up, prancing lightly away from the water, back in the direction of the tunnel leading outside again. "Well, thank you for showing me this, but I'd probably better head back and see how Tanga's holding up...he's my brother after all." She took a few steps into the tunnel itself, before stopping and turning back. "Say, why don't you come along and meet him? Maybe you could help cheer him up a little bit...and Tanga's a fun lion when he's in a good mood, I'm sure you two could be friends as well."
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Tanga was fast getting irritated at the way Marini seemed insistent on prying into his personal life, and it was starting to show, although the watering eyes said he was just as upset as he was angry. "Oh, so you understand what it's like to have everything you love taken away?" he snapped, glaring at her. "You understand how helpless I felt, watching as I lost everything?" his voice was rising, fast, and he actually advanced on Marini, the spark that Kijamii feared to see in his eyes flaring to life, making his blue orbs appear to crackle with lightning. "You...just...can't..." he sputtered incoherently for a few moments, for his anger almost completely gave way. "YOU THINK YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE YOU WATCH YOUR PARENTS DIE?!?!" he literally screamed at her.
As it dawned on him exactly what he had said, and that he had revealed his dark secret to someone, actually spoken the words aloud, all traces of his anger vanished. The spark in his eyes died in an instantly, replaced with a flood of tears. Every part of his body shook horribly, and the first, strangled sob escaped his muzzle, the start of what Tanga knew was now in inevitable crying episode...right in front of Marini.
But the floodgates were now open, and Tanga's muzzle acted all on it's own, speaking the words he had kept buried for so long in between sobs, as the tears flowed, staining his cheek fur. "He...he killed them...mum and dad...he killed them both...and I...I did nothing...just watched...and...I-I...I c-can't...I w-want them b-b-back...i-it's too m-much..."
After that small plea, Tanga broke down completely, collapsing onto his belly in the grass, sobbing hysterically. Two weeks worth of pent-up sorrow and grief unloading all at once, overwhelming the adolescent. "I j-just want t-them back...it h-hurts s-so much...w-why won't it s-stop?" he begged, although he never looked at Marini during this, part of him wondering if she was still there, or whether his sudden mood swings had scared her off.