[Private] Love Will Tear Us Apart

[YFWE]

Ari felt Hiroshi's warm frame lay down next to her and sighed to herself happily, forgetting for a moment about the strange fever her friend seemed to be running. Feeling her own eyes somewhat heavy with sleep, she figured she could sneak in a nice nap before heading out to their usual spot. She had nothing else to do, after all; Hiroshi was quite near sleep himself and Kito and Kweli were off elsewhere. Fleetingly, Ari thought of visiting her mother, but feared to think what Scar might have had her doing by that point and thought better of it.

She heard Hiroshi's soft murmur before he drifted off to sleep and took that as a cue herself to steal some shut-eye, scooting her body across the pelt until it was up against Hiroshi's. Smiling, she closed her eyes, allowing sleep to come to her finally, hoping that she would be to sleep off her frustration that had been brought about by the day's events to that point.

After what felt like mere minutes (though had it been hours?), Ari was awoken by a gentle voice that called her name from the entrance of the cave. Blinking the sleep from her eyes and yawning, Ari glanced up to find Samira standing before her with a portion of the carcass of the wildebeest that had been killed earlier that day. As the lioness spoke, Ari looked over to find Hiroshi still asleep. She would wake him up in a moment; she wanted to share the wildebeest with him if he felt up to it.

"Thank you, Samira. I really appreciate all your help," Ari nodded to the lioness. "An entertaining show, eh? What happened? His Majesty didn't decide to fall even more in love with me for failing the hunt, did he? That just might put Lulu over the edge."

------

Listening to Kweli's recounting of the day's hunt, Kweli felt the fog that had formed about his mind beginning to recede a bit, to the point where he was certainly able to stand without fear of falling over. The lion grinned at Kito's begrudgingly sanguine comments concerning Ari. "I knew all along she'd make a great huntress. The Hunting Party is definitely in good paws when she's at the lead."

Sitting back on his haunches, Kweli began to let his mind wander again, his thoughts returning to the vision he had seen not too long before. Before he could regress into the same trancelike state he had been mired in often, however, he was pulled back into reality by Kito's querying voice. Kweli paused before answering, knowing that telling the full truth would not be the desired course of action at that very moment, though he certainly could not hide everything from his friend.

"I did pay a visit to Rafiki today, yes. We... we learned meditation. Or, rather, he taught me," Kweli started. "Had a bit of a strange vision... I think Rafiki called it a premonition... it's kinda thrown me for a loop. It was almost like I was seeing the present... but I was watching a place far away from here, nothing inside the Pride Lands."

The lion turned to his friend. "It could've been just a weird dream or something, I don't know. It still bothers me, nonetheless. So I've been... you know, thinking about that a bit. That's why I stopped here. To rest for a while and to think. I want to make sure that what I saw truly was not real."

[KiarasMate]

Smiling to herself from both what Ari had stated and also from the way her fellow lioness was laying next to Hiroshi with both their tails being intertwined with one another’s, Samira couldn’t resist letting an amused giggle to escape her muzzle as she shook her head and flashed Ari a cheeky looking grin. Seeing that Ari was up for a bit of gossip, Samira casually laid herself down a few paces away from where the younger lioness and lion were snuggled next to each other before speaking up to Ari in a bemused voice.

”Oh, it was priceless Ari. When we got back to Pride Rock, Lulu insisted on bringing the kill to Scar herself. She assured everyone that she’d give fair credit to us all, aside from you of course, and being the mindless followers that most of our hunting party are, they agreed. I didn’t have much say in the matter of course, but I’m glad I didn’t say anything. So, Lulu disappears into The Main Den and there’s like total silence for what seems like forever.” Samira stated, her grin now stretching across her muzzle as she continued. ”Then, out of nowhere, Lulu comes running out of the den, balling like a cub. Well, apparently, Lulu took all the credit and said that you didn’t even show up for the hunt. Scar, obviously being quite ticked off by the lone wildebeest that was presented at his paws, chewed Lulu out royally and get this,” Samira said with a smirk. ”He kicked Lulu off The Hunting Party.”

Unable to stifle her own laughter by this point, Samira broke out into hysterics as she reenacted Lulu’s expressions from learning that she was no longer a part of The Hunting Party. Realizing that she was making quite a scene by this point however and not wishing to disturb Hiroshi, who seemed to be sleeping through everything, Samira finally composed herself as she wiped a fore paw over her eyes from laughing so hard. Picking herself off of the den floor now as it was already getting late, Samira flashed both Ari and Hiroshi a sweet looking smile as she politely excused herself, addressing Ari in a respectful tone as she did so.

”Well, I should be going now Ari. Just to let you know, there won’t be a hunt tomorrow, as Scar himself has decided to choose Lulu’s replacement so he called off the hunt for tomorrow. Figures, seeing as his gluttonous ass has enough to eat at least tonight. Well, I’ll be seeing you around Ari. Again, good job on today’s hunt. You really are a skilled huntress.” Turning to take her leave, Samira called over her shoulder as she left. ”He really is quite handsome when he sleeps, isn’t he Ari?” Letting out another amused giggle, Samira disappeared into the evening outside, leaving Ari and Hiroshi alone once more.

==========

Doing his best to come off as looking as though he had any clue to what Kweli was referring to, Kito sat idly by, his paw toe drawing random doodles in the dirt below him while his ears swiveled to pick up upon every word that left Kweli’s muzzle. Regretting even having brought up the subject of Rafiki, as it always resulted in the smaller male going off on a tangent about stuff he didn’t care about, Kito humored Kweli as he politely nodded in response before replying in a semi-thoughtful voice.

”Oh, sounds, erm, profound, I’m sure.”

Tilting his head from what Kweli stated next, Kito’s expression quickly melted into that of utter boredom as he rose to all fours again and shook out his mane before replying to Kweli’s comment in a badgering tone.

”You see Kweli, that’s the problem with you. You always put too much thought into everything. Everything has to have a deeper meaning to you and you never seem to live life for the moment. For gawd sake, just act upon one of your feelings for once and maybe, just maybe you’ll actually find whatever it is you’re looking for.” Staring up at the rapidly darkening sky above, Kito shot the smaller male one last careless glance before turning to head back towards Pride Rock, calling back over to Kweli as he left. ”Tell Hiro and Daddy’s Girl that I’m not going to be at our spot tonight. Gotta chase me some tail while the getting’s good. See ya around Kweli.”

[YFWE]

Despite being fully aware that Hiroshi was still sleeping soundly, Ari could not help but laugh almost uproariously as she listened to Samira's account of what had happened after the Hunting Party had brought the slain wildebeest back to Scar. She had been fairly certain that Lulu would attempt to take all credit for herself and would try to frame Ari for something, but she certainly had not expected Scar to react in the way that he had. Not that she was complaining, of course.

"Serves the little skank right. Though I doubt it'll be the last we hear from her. You and I both know how much she'd love to have a night or two with Scar to herself. As long as she stays away from me and from this lion right here," she padded Hiroshi lightly atop the head, "then I don't give a damn what she does. I'd love to get her alone sometime, though... without her little followers to back her up. Maybe we'll see her true colors then."

After sharing a good laugh concerning Lulu's misfortunes, Ari watched as Samira got up to leave and smiled back politely. "No hunt is fine with me; after today I've experienced enough for a few days' worth of hunts. Thanks, though... you have a good day yourself."

Ari did not have a chance to respond to Samira's final comment as she was almost taken aback by Samira's subtle referring to Hiroshi. Finally grinning as she watched the lioness stalk out of the cave, Ari turned to her companion with a look of longing spread across her muzzle. It had been many, many suns now, and still he had not said anything to her concerning his feelings for her. She wondered if he ever would.

Nudging him awake, the lioness whispered calmly into Hiroshi's ear, "Hey, sleepyhead, wake up. I've got some food for you."

------

Kweli had been almost certain that he would not be able to have a deep conversation with Kito concerning his visions, and thus was none too surprised when the lion seemed completely disinterested in anything he had to say and had risen to leave.

Still, whether Kito had meant it or not, his final words actually held some sort of a truth to them that Kweli could take out, which was odd given who he was speaking to. Giving a quick nod of affirmation, Kweli murmured a goodbye and added, "I'll tell them. Have a good night." Staring down at his paws, the vision returned to his mind as he considered Kito's words.

Perhaps Kito was right. Perhaps he needed to act upon what he was feeling.

Maybe he would find what he was looking for.

Glancing up at the night sky, he decided it was time to head out for their nightly meeting, sans Kito of course, and trudged off in its direction, Kito's words still resounding inside his mind.

[KiarasMate]

As he dozed soundly, Hiroshi’s thoughts were filled with memories of better times. Times when he, Ari, Kito and Kweli were younger and when the lands were still pristine. Times when food was abundant and the grazing animals were still present. Taking a deep breath, Hiroshi could almost smell the scent of the near by wildebeest herd that lay before him and his three friends. The mere sight of the walking meals was enough to make his mouth water and his stomach growl. Just as he was about to charge towards the distant herd however, Ari had pounced upon him, easily pinning him down to the ground as Hiroshi laughed and smiled happily up at her. It was strange but he could almost feel her gentle touch against him, as if he wasn’t dreaming. Spotting the golden furred lioness’ muzzle lips moving, Hiroshi strained his ears to pick up upon what she was saying. It took him a few minutes to actually comprehend what Ari was saying, as her voice seemed to echo in and out of his ears. Gradually, as sleep began to leave him and reality began to set in once more, Hiroshi realized that he was no longer imagining things and the voice he had heard in his dream was now softly coaxing him awake. Letting his eyes open slowly, Hiroshi’s vision struggled to focus as Ari’s features blurred together. Twitching his nose as the aroma from the wildebeest meat played with his nostrils, Hiroshi finally spoke up quietly, his voice coming out quite weakly as he stated.

”What’s going on Ari?”

Attempting to pull himself up into a sitting position at least, Hiroshi’s muscles strained under his own weight, forcing the male to stay put as only his head managed to rise a few inches above the ground. Finally feeling his starvation hitting him full force, Hiroshi’s basic instincts of survival kicked in as his hazel orbs spotted what looked to be potential food in the form of the wildebeest that Samira had brought for Ari. Having very little control over his own body by this point, Hiroshi found himself inching towards the delicious looking meat, the last amounts of energy left in his body, being expended in the process. Reaching one end of the wildebeest flesh, Hiroshi didn’t even wait for an invitation from Ari before sinking his teeth into the tender meat, his bite being rather tame and his actions looking quite pathetic as he struggled to chew off and swallow a mouth full of the savory substance. As the first amounts of nourishing protein entered his system, Hiroshi slowly regained his typical demeanor as he realized just what exactly he was doing. Stopping himself after already taking several large muzzle full’s of the wildebeest meat, Hiroshi looked over at Ari with an apologetic expression as he spoke up in a quiet voice.

”Sorry Ari. That was rude of me.”

[YFWE]

Ari had to repeat herself a few more times, noting that while Hiroshi seemed to be stirring finally, he was not snapping out of his deep sleep completely. Finally beginning to nudge the black-maned lion slightly as well, she was pleased at first when her friend's eyes opened slowly. She was quite eager to show him the kill and especially to share some of it with him.

Hearing his feeble-sounding opening words, Ari cocked her head in concern as she glanced down at Hiroshi. Nudging his head once, she whispered, "Well, hello there, you lazy lion. Get up now, we have to go meet Kweli and Kito in a little bit. Until then, here's some--"

Ari was unable to finish her sentence, however, for before she could finish, Hiroshi had lunged forward at the scrap of meat, tearing off a sizable chunk with his teeth. Though at first she was rather taken aback by this act, Ari's look of surprise soon turned into one of definite concern as she watched her friend seemingly struggle to ingest the meat. This was extremely unlike Hiroshi; he was not a glutton by any means, but he generally had no problem whatsoever with consuming meat.

The lioness stepped over to Hiroshi with a near-sense of trepidation and knelt down beside him, unable to speak at first as she tried to figure out what was occurring. Finally she looked into Hiroshi's eyes, her gaze apprehensive.

"Hiro... Hiro, there's something wrong, isn't there?" her stare was piercing as she searched him. "Tell me the truth... have you been eating enough? Is something bothering you? Please, I beg you, tell me."

She looked toward the entrance. It was quickly nearing dark.

"If we're going to meet Kweli and Kito, we're going to have to go now. Should I meet them by myself or... will you be okay to come?"

[KiarasMate]

As the rich protein from the wildebeest meat settled in his empty stomach, Hiroshi finally felt his senses returning to normal, his vision clearing up enough to the point where he could make out the concerned expression etched over Ari’s face. As his ears swiveled to take in what the golden furred lioness was asking him, Hiroshi swallowed hard as he truly didn’t want to tell her the truth about his situation, knowing if he did, Ari would probably give him an ear full for not taking better care of himself and would probably mother him to death like she often did whenever he felt ill. Finding it quite impossible to lie straight to his friend’s face however, Hiroshi responded in a reassuring voice as he did his best to quell Ari’s fears that regarded his well-being.

”Sorry to worry you Ari but I’m feeling better. I just haven’t eaten quite as much as I probably should have lately but it’s okay now.”

Recalling his mother’s words that a half truth was still just as bad as a full on lie, Hiroshi felt guilty for not revealing the truth in its entirety to Ari, but knowing how badly she’d worry about him, lead Hiroshi to say what he had. Besides, he did in fact, feel a little better from at least having a little food inside of him now. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves as best he could, Hiroshi gingerly rose to all fours, managing to stand upright on his own with little to no implications of his weakened state. Dawning a timid looking smile, Hiroshi began to pad over towards the entrance of their den before addressing the golden furred lioness in response to what she had asked him previously.

”I’ll be fine Ari. Come on, let’s go meet the others.”

While it was true that Hiroshi did feel slightly better, the meager amount of meat he had consumed wouldn’t support him for very long and as he waited for Ari to ready herself to head out to their usual spot, Hiroshi could feel his stomach beginning to churn in an uncomfortable fashion, most likely being caused from how rapidly he had wolfed down the wildebeest and how unaccustomed to food his belly had grown to be by this point. Trying his best to keep a straight face as not to alert Ari to his situation though, Hiroshi followed his golden furred friend out into the chilly night, his pace being noticeably slower than usual as he trailed after her.

[YFWE]

Ari continued to stare at Hiroshi with an air of concern, wondering fleetingly if perhaps the lion had been suffering from a lack of nourishment; after all, food had been scarce for everyone those days. She herself had been feeling the strain from the small amounts of food as of late, though it had yet to become bothersome to the point of being unbearable. Still, she had a nagging feeling that this was perhaps due to a lack of nourishment on Hiroshi's part, and while his words somewhat reassured her, she could not shake her doubt that her friend was taking care of himself in the way that he should have been.

Moving toward the mouth of the den, she turned back once to be sure that Hiroshi was following her, before they set out into the night. Somewhat refreshed and calmed down from the rest she had obtained, Ari found herself enticed to see Kweli, as she knew he would be a familiar face almost no matter what. She was even somewhat okay with seeing Kito, despite their run-ins. He had helped her out earlier in the day, after all, and she did owe him a bit.

"Please promise me you'll try to eat more," said Ari quietly as the lions padded silently across the Pride Lands. "For me?"

They continued toward their usual meeting grounds, Ari squinting through the darkness and noticing a solitary figure already nestled among the sparse plains. She could not tell whether it was Kito or Kweli at first, though upon closer observation she recognized the small lion as Kweli, who seemed unfazed by their approach, merely staring up into the stars.

"Hey, Kweli!" greeted Ari as she plopped herself down beside the lion. "Where's Kito. Late again?"

Kweli, who had been in quite the trance since arriving there, his thoughts still dwelling upon both Rafiki's and Kito's words, perked up at Ari's voice, taking a moment to concern her query before responding.

"Kito won't be joining us tonight, I'm afraid. Seems to feel that chasing tail is a bit more important than spending time with his old friends."

Looking back up to the sky, he spoke in a quiet, dreamy tone. "Well, what a day. Mine was interesting to say the least but I'll save that for later. Hiro, how'd your day go?"

[KiarasMate]

I promise I will Ari.” Hiroshi retorted in a calm voice after hearing Ari’s plea which was directed towards him. ”Although maybe if I was an expert hunter like yourself, finding food might not be as challenging for me.”[

Managing a halfhearted smile as even in his weakened state, Hiroshi couldn’t help but to flatter his golden furred friend, Hiroshi continued to trail after Ari at a sluggish pace. Making sure to exert as little energy as possible as he walked, feeling the temporary effects of the meat he had ingested previously, already beginning to wear thin, Hiroshi was starting to second guess himself on whether or not it had actually been a good idea for him to tag along with Ari in order to meet Kweli at their usual spot. Thankfully, the pair arrived before Hiroshi’s reserves were completely drained. Being more than ready to give his body a rest after such a short, yet strenuous journey, Hiroshi collapsed next to Ari before taking several deep breaths to settle himself. Perking up his ears as Kweli started speaking, Hiroshi forced himself onto his side as his fore paw gently searched for Ari’s, holding it lovingly as he responded to the smaller male’s question.

”Well, that makes two of us then Kweli. I actually had the privilege, nay, the honor, to watch our skilled huntress here, in action.” Hiroshi stated, giving Ari’s paw a tender squeeze with his to punctuate his compliment before continuing. ”Apparently Kito was put in charge of making sure the hunt today was successful and Ari managed to sweet talk him into letting me tag along too. I won’t spoil the major details of what happened though, as I will leave that up to yours truly here. Not quite sure how much of it she wants revealed to be honest. That, and I sort of didn’t catch the whole hunt itself due to feeling a bit nauseous. I’ll just blame that on Kito though.”

Giving Ari a quick nod as to indicate that she had the floor now and was free to fill in all the juicy details of their day spent together on the hunt with Kito, Hiroshi kept his paw embracing Ari’s even though he felt as though his paw was sweaty just from the way he was feeling. Having to close his eyes on several occasions in order to keep himself from wincing from how badly his stomach was bothering him by this point, Hiroshi hoped that he’d actually be able to make it back to their den on his own steam once everything was said and done for the night here. Gently placing his other fore paw over his irritated belly, Hiroshi tried his utmost to come off as being normal, especially now that Kweli and Ari were together around him. Knowing how observant Kweli himself could be and knowing that Kweli’s concern for his well being would only fuel Ari’s own worry as well, Hiroshi gritted his teeth and kept his attention upon Ari and Kweli to try and sidetrack himself from his own discomfort. Waiting for the golden furred lioness to finish speaking, Hiroshi glanced over at the smaller male to find out how his day had gone as well.

[YFWE]

Slightly alarmed at Hiroshi's warm, somewhat sweaty paw that covered her own, Ari shrugged off the feeling as she responded to Kweli's query once Hiroshi had ceased to speak. Shaking her head with a small grin upon her muzzle at his overly kind words, Ari looked up at the stars above as she answered the small male's question, as she had every day for as long as she could remember.

"Hiro here is being far too flattering. The hunt didn't go very well, Kwel. We moved past the borders for once and found a herd of wildebeest beyond it. As hunting leader--oh, right, I forgot to mention; Scar made me hunting party leader for some reason today. Anyway, as hunting leader, I decided to go around and try to surprise the herd from behind, which I really believe would've worked. Well, Lulu--you know Lulu, right?--seemed to have other plans for gawd knows why and decided to ambush the herd head on. We got one measly wildebeest from it and then the whole party basically turned on me, aside from Samira. Come to think of it," she paused for a moment. "had Kito not stepped in, I probably wouldn't be laying here right now. Not saying I'd be dead but... I'd be pretty messed up."

Ari laughed. "Doesn't matter, anyway. Lulu got an earful from Scar, and now she's kicked off the hunt for trying to take all the credit for herself. So despite the fact that we're still in deep crap in terms of having no food, I feel pretty okay right now."

She looked over at Kweli, who she found glancing off into the starry sky as well. "How 'bout you? Another boring day with border patrol?"

Kweli blinked and looked over at Ari, trying to force a smile before starting. Er... yeah. Something like that."

He returned his gaze to the stars. "So... border patrol was completely effortless. I went and found Rafiki in the afternoon and we talked for a while... and, well, he introduced me to meditation."

Something in Kweli's tone worried Ari. "That doesn't sound so bad! Meditation, eh? Was that as fun as he's made it out to be?" she laughed.

Kweli returned the laugh, though it was certainly a bit cautious. "How do I put this..." he started. "...so apparently I might've had some sort of premonition."

He cocked his head to face his friends, who were staring at him with blank expressions. Sighing once, he began again. "I saw things. And not like some dream or something... this was real. Like what I saw... was actually happening, or had happened... or maybe it even will happen, I'm not sure. But... but... I saw Bashasha and my mother. In some far off plain and they were... well, alive."

Kweli rolled onto his side. "I've been thinking about it since then. Like... was it real or did I dream it up? I'd love to think that I didn't... and if I didn't, that means they're out there somewhere!" He frowned. "What do you think, Hiroshi? Ari?"

[KiarasMate]

Under any normal circumstances, Kweli’s words would have intrigued Hiroshi to no end and would have surely prompted him to inquire further into just what this so called premonition was that his friend seemed to have had, although by the time Kweli had finished speaking and directed the focus of the conversation back to him and Ari, Hiroshi was barely able to keep his own body’s demands in check as he cringed slightly. Feeling his abdominal muscles contorting, causing a wave of discomfort to wash over him, Hiroshi only managed to stammer out as his paw reluctantly released itself from around Ari’s.

”I think…I think…I think I need a bush…”

Hurriedly rolling onto all fours, Hiroshi stumbled several strides away from where his friends were laying, fortunately finding a decent sized bramble of dry grass before the weakened male’s head dropped down and disappeared within the foliage as the sounds of retching filled the quiet night air. Heaving several times, although having not a single drop of fluid leaving his muzzle as his body had absolutely refused to relinquish any portion of the small amount of food he had successfully choked down previously, Hiroshi’s miserable condition seemed blatantly obvious now as he finally regained control over himself, his legs trembling awkwardly below him as he shuddered and wiped the tears away from his eyes with a fore paw from the duress his body seemed to be under at this point. After a moment of composing himself, Hiroshi timidly turned back to his friends, an apologetic look upon his features from knowing just what they had witnessed. Being unable to deny the fact that being out and about right now wasn’t the best thing for him, Hiroshi spoke up in an exhausted voice as he slowly padded back towards the direction of their den, not wanting to even see the looks of concern upon both Ari’s and Kweli’s face, which Hiroshi himself, knew would be present after his former display.

”I’m sorry guys. I need to go and rest. The lands aren’t the only things around here that feel like they’re dying it seems.”

Knowing that there was no longer any way he could talk his way around his current situation, Hiroshi faced the facts as he silently meandered back to the den, his pace remaining slow and lethargic looking as his legs strained to keep him upright on the trek home. As soon as he arrived back at the den, Hiroshi went straight for his sleeping pelt where he collapsed into a disheveled mess of fur, legs and tail. Disregarding his own positioning as his body was already beginning to shut down once again, Hiroshi’s eyes barely were able to stay open long enough to catch sight of Ari’s worried expression as she came into his line of sight. Expending his last amount of energy, Hiroshi forced a weak looking smile as he stated softly to Ari before both sleep and pure exhaustion overtook him for the night.

”What I wouldn’t give to have things back to the way they were seasons ago Ari. When food was plentiful and everything was right. If only we had known about how times would have turned out. Maybe we would have made our own secret stash of food like our greedy king did…”