01-23-2010, 09:19 PM
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Leland thread. Aiyanna was here only briefly. She joined and fell inactive. I think we decided that she was just visiting shortly before returning to Asha and the rest. She didn't comment on the status of the other tribe, so that ball is all yours :] And yeah, Leland = sadface :/ He's dead now, though Dawali doesn't know that. Word Count: 675 - SoSuWriMo She continued to tease him, playful comments that he knew only reflected her affection. To him, these games only meant that she was comfortable enough around him to release herself from such tedious things as rank, convention or politeness. Of course, he would expect these things from her at the appropriate times, such as in public happenings, but this was not such a time. This was the reunion of a daughter and her father, and all the rules of society were forced to bend to their strength. His smiled broadened (if possible!) as she commanded him first, and flashed honesty at him second. He hugged her again, briefly, as he quietly repeated her own message back to her. "I missed you too, child. More than you can know." She would understand one day, when she had children of her own. Or perhaps she would not, for a father's instinct was different than the mother's, or so all the fathers he had ever known had claimed. Dawali was not certain of what to believe; for all he had seen, his own and Mischka's feelings were the same when it came to their children, except on the subject of upbringing and discipline. Sometimes it had been hard to meet in the middle, to compromise, and to follow up on it later, as well. But all in all the two had agreed on most things, and if one parent was worried, the other could certainly find that emotion inside themselves as well. Now that Misckha was gone, it sometimes felt as if her portion was stuck in him, that he carried twice the normal amount. He had no one to share them with, and perhaps this was the main cause. Perhaps it was not at all — Dawali certainly didn't know. All he knew was that this was gone now, and would stay gone as long as his daughter remained in sight. He watched her as she told him of the wonders she had seen, of all the things she had done on her journey. He could have tried to hide his pride, but it would have been futile. Her eyes shone as they did when she was excited, and he could only imagine how they would have shone when they saw all these new and strange places. He noticed the word tougher but put it to the back of his head for now. He would ask of that later. His yellow gaze followed her excited features as she explained, and now he sat back down onto the stair in front of his house as he listened, nodding every now and then, in the appropriate places. Oh, so there were litters now, far back in AniWaya — what he considered the real AniWaya? That was great news. The red wolf male saw it as a sign of health; a tribe that was in trouble did not have litters, they spent their time doing more important things, like surviving. His eyes lit up, and his ears moved eagerly, curious about whose litters they were. But, he feared that if he asked, he might learn of whose they weren't, and besides, the tribe was big. There was a much bigger chance that he didn't know whoever it was that had children, than that they were actually friends or relatives of his. If it were relatives, Asha would have specified. He knew this. Dawali patted with one white-fingered hand on the stair next to him, offering her a seat, as he inquired further about just one little detail. "What's this about the weather, though? Another storm?" A storm had been the reason for their delay in the first place, and then disease had struck them. Now, it seemed, the old tribe was healing, but still bad luck stalked them. He wondered why, and had done what he could to find out, but no answers were avilable to him from the spirits. He could only home it would get better in time, and that one day, they might be able to come here, too. |