by Hopeflower » Sun Feb 06, 2011 3:12 am
Aviva, always an early riser by nature, was already standing at the mouth of the cave, neck held in a graceful S-curve, green eyes trained on the skyline. Ruuva and Nex had not returned in the night. That wasn't so unusual; hunts could take days, every predator knew that. But Aviva had been hoping to speak to her parents and resolve the situation quickly. Behind her, her tail swept over the floor of the cave as she heaved a quiet sigh. As much as she disliked admitting it, she had missed Zar, and Ren, and her parents. And she'd missed her home. But now she was missing Arsenic, and anxious to get back to him.
"Aviva." The deep voice made her half-turn her head and give a hum of acknowledgement. Zar made his way quietly past a few still-sleeping Extraxl and joined her. His crimson scales glinted in the sunlight and his black eyes were kind as he looked at her. The golden stripe on his dark fin looked especially bright in this light. "I'm sure they'll be back soon," he growled, holding her gaze. For some reason, Aviva found it hard to look away; but look away she did, to survey the land that might one day belong to her.
"But will soon be soon enough?" she replied quietly. "I have a life outside of this one now, Zar, and I know there are friends waiting for my return." She paused. Her forked tongue flicked in and out a few times agitatedly. "However...I also have a duty. To the Extraxl, to Ruuva and Nex...to myself." Aviva sighed again. "Sometimes I wish I was not born to our leaders. It would make things so much simpler if I were a simple female with no more worry than where the wind takes me."
He was quiet for a little while, just looking at her. She could feel his searching gaze, trying to figure her out. "There are friends who can help you with your duties, Aviva." he paused; there seemed to be something else he wanted to say. He opened his jaws, began to speak, stopped, and looked away. She gave him a questioning look. "I..." he began. He stopped, took a deep breath. "Look, there's something I want to..." As he met her eyes, his voice trailed into silence; he cleared his throat and started again. "I know it isn't my place to ask you to stay. I know the unknown calls to you. I...I know you'll probably leave once you've spoken to the Matris and Sator." Zar seemed to be struggling with himself. "But...Aviva...if you stay, I...I really want to be there for you. To help you with...with leading the Extraxl. And...I guess...I guess what I'm really trying to say is that..."
Aviva caught herself holding her breath, searching his black gaze almost frantically. Was he about to say what she thought he was going to...?
"That I...love you, Aviva. I've loved you since we were juveniles. I remember looking at you, every day, and thinking how beautiful you were...and hoping that when you were old enough, you'd choose me to be your mate." Something warm and infinitely tender had crept into his voice. "To stand at your side when it came time for your mother and father to join our ancestors.... And I kept hoping, even after you left, that you'd come back. That I'd see you again. I kept reminding myself...when you came back...I was finally going to tell you how I felt about you." He paused. "How I've always felt about you."
Aviva found herself at a loss for words. But something in her heart had reacted strongly to Zar's words, and now she was feeling strangely giddy. Her heart was pounding against her ribs, and she heard herself say in a small voice, "You...you really love me?"
"Yes. I really, really love you, Aviva." He looked strangely afraid - of what? That she would say she didn't love him back? But that would be a lie - she did love him, more than she ever thought possible.
"I love you too, Zar," she whispered. "And I would be happy to have you as my mate." Suddenly, Arsenic and Vix popped into her mind. her heart seemed to constrict as she remembered that she might not be staying long. The moment of perfection - of wanting to stay here for the rest of her life, with Zar - was gone, leaving her feeling as though she'd been drenched unexpectedly in ice cold water. "B-but I...my friends...out there, they're waiting for me...I can't..."
"I'll come with you." His reply was swift and not thought out - an automatic reaction, tinged with desperation not to lose her again. Not after he'd just spilled his heart to her and found she felt the same way.
"No." The refusal was just as swift, her voice sharp and her expression suddenly cold. He flinched and looked away. Her tone softened a bit. "I'm sorry, Zar...I love you. but you can't come with me. And I...I don't think I'll be staying for long after I've spoken to my parents."
As if the mention of Ruuva and Nex had called to them, two familiar shapes suddenly appeared on the horizon. Aviva's gaze focused on them, and she scraped her claws over the stone beneath her. The confrontation she'd both dreaded and hoped for would be soon...
Neither Zar nor Aviva noticed one of Ren's eyes open and train on them for a moment, glittering with anger and pain before it closed again.
"Gotta have a little sadness once in a while so you know when the good times come."
"Talent is a pursued interest. In other words, anything that you're willing to practice, you can do." ~ Bob Ross
"The future is always uncertain and painful but it must be lived." ~ Unknown