Coffee and Musings

"AAAAAA!"

He jumped in the air, dropping the grubs, his fur standing on end. Eventually, he managed to compose himself (kinda), looking up at Kiara and shaking his head. He really should've seen that coming.

But she didn’t give up. She was still…

He took a breath, feeling like the air caught in his throat.

She wanted to help. She didn’t….

“I…” he started, voice faltering. “I don’t know.”

He’d been searching for a solution. No matter where he looked, though, he’d found nothing. Every lead fell flat. Every attempt ended in failure. At some point, he’d accepted there might not be an answer.

…But, that search had always been on his own. He’d long since let go of the hope it would ever be anything else.

Yet…there she was. And she...

Something in his expression wavered.

"You do not have to do this alone." A brief pause, deciding to change her wording. "You will not do this alone." Garnet wasn't leaving him any room for argument, though of course he could still decline if he so wanted to, but that didn't mean she'd have to accept. "There must be a way to rid this curse or at least contain it. You just said you weren't sure, which means you've found nothing to say that there isn't a cure, so there very well could be. We just need to find it." She pointed out, taking a step closer to him.

"Let me come with you." Her eyes held a pleading look within them. "We can search together and whatever monsters this... curse brings, then we'll face them. Together." She wasn't afraid. No. She wasn't going to turn her back on someone she cared deeply for and there were so many places they could look, so many places they could search for answers. "I will speak with Beatrix. I know she will keep the Kingdom safe in my absence." She had no doubt of that, of her, and... admittedly, she desired that freedom again. The journey. The adventure.

"Oh, I can imagine." Simba giggled, too. He wondered whether what stories Sarabi could tell about him. Yet, he understood this feeling because he was like Kiara when he was a cub. He loved listenening to those old stories of the Great Kings that Mufasa always told while they gazed at the starry sky. As cub, he had always found these stories interesting and inspiring, feeding the feeling that he wanted to be like them, to be a mighty king.

"She taught me a lot, too." He admitted. "Since I got separated from my mother and the pride relatively soon, I didn’t have the opportunity to be taught on how to hunt. Later, after I returned to the Pride Lands, mother and Nala gave me lessons about how to hunt properly. I can't say I was a quick-learner." He laughed as he pictured the funny scenes and bloopers vividly in his mind. (And wondered if Sarabi told those stories too?) Simba had learned nothing but bug hunting in the jungle, but that was completely different from real hunting.

"Like attracts like." The king explained. "Those who think alike will act alike as well. Zira had always considered Scar as the rightful king, even when father was the king." In Simba's eyes, both Scar and Zira were consumed by darkness that neither of them could escape.

"Ah, so be it? Okay, challenge accepted." A naughty smile appeared on his muzzle and started running after Kiara, although his body, still not fully recovered from the injuries that he had got from the battle, wouldn’t move the way he wanted it to. Yet, it didn't bother Simba, because by these playful moments he could relive that old days when Kiara was just a cub. Once his little girl and princess (although Kiara didn't like this title, he knew), now the future queen.

But she loved him. Her Uncle. Well, one of two uncles, anyway.

Kiara's face lit up when Simba accepted her challenge to race to the watering hole and she gave him a grin. "Pretty sure that'll be me." She chuckled, lowering her body to the ground as she readied herself. "Ready? 3... 2... 1..."

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"GO!" Kiara shouted as she took off in a mad dash for the watering hole. She wasn't anywhere near as fast as her mother, or her father, but she practiced every day! She was going to be the best and fastest hunter in the Pride Lands, just like her mother!

The cub giggled loudly as she ahead of her father, trying to resist the urge to look behind her. She needed to focus on what was ahead, on the watering hole closing in! If she looked back, it might slow her down or she might run into something and she couldn't let that happen. She wouldn't.

The watering hole closing in, Kiara pushed herself to run faster, speeding by the animals resting nearby, prompting strange looks from some and amused looks from others, especially seeing the King run by after her.

He wanted to argue. He would deny it until he lost the energy to stay conscious, but as familiar as it was, Inuyasha was tired of being called a mutt. Like he wasn't reminded every single day of his life that he wasn't a whole of anything. If Kōga was offering to be helpful, he'd take it. Better than suffering like this, but still...

Keh. Whatever...

"Go ahead, then." When your head was pounding like a Taiko, and you felt sick to your stomach, arguing wasn't worth it. Illness was so much different than being injured. An injury, Inuyasha would fight against, argue against until something finally managed to kill him. This sapped away everything he had, that was why he leaned back further, and closed his eyes.

The moment he made an attempt to inhale deeply, he regretted it. It brought out a coughing fit.

"I'm grateful, y'know..." His voice was hoarse. Even though it was painful, Inuyasha cleared his throat as best he could. "For giving a damn." A short pause. "Now hurry up," Some of the edge was back in his voice. Golden eyes opened partway, and for as irritated as he tried to look, the pain was obvious.

"If y'give a damn, you don't want me to drop dead right here."

His expression softened when InuYasha said that he was grateful, one corner of his lips stretching upwards into a smile. He didn't need the thanks, but admittedly, it made him feel good. Because he did care. He did give a damn about the half demon. More than he cared to admit out loud, but sometimes actions said more than words could, or however the hell the saying went, and since he wasn't always good with his words, he could at least show that he cared. But then he was telling him to hurry up, the bite back in his voiceand Koga smirked. "Yeah, yeah. Alright. I'll be right back. Try not to die while I'm gone, alright?"

With that, Koga took off to collect said firewood, doing so as quickly as he could. He even found a few berries along the way so he picked a good few handfuls of those, too, before making his way back to InuYasha.

Simba suddenly veered sharply to the left before Nala could bat his tail and deem him ‘it’; he laughed harder, slowing his pace a little as a result, but he wasn’t about to stop!

“Timon bein’ a meerkat came in pretty handy for me!” he hollered. “Sharp turns, quick reflexes- the whole works!!”

Simba was panting by now, blowing out through his maw.

Nala was quick to follow, closing in on him again. "I'll admit, Simba, you're much faster than you used to be! I'm impressed." She admitted out loud with a laugh, then grinned. "But you're still not fast enough to beat me!" And with that, Nala picked up her speed. It was almost frightening how much faster she was going now, but her years of practice and training perfected her into the powerful hunter she was today. Her speed was far greater than the other lionesses.

He felt terrible for the cub. On one side, he really could feel her anxiousness, being somewhere you didn't know was terrifying, but Quasimodo were to free Kiara, he would need to act smart and not with his heart.

— The circus is supposed to stay for a couple of days, so you won't be taken away before I can rescue you. — He assured. The bellringer got one hand through the bar, to allow her to get closer and memorize his scent, if she wished. The cover of the night would be the best way to get her out.

And also would allow him to have time to prepare a hiding spot in his tower for until he managed to send her home. Lions lived in Africa yes? Maybe he could arrange for someone to go there and release her.... He would find a way.

— I need to go now, Kiara. But I will return tonight and set you free, that's a promise.

And with a final glance back, Quasimodo went away. He would save her!

She wanted to tell him to wait, wanted to ask him to stay, but he was already hurrying away, leaving the cub alone once again. He'd be back tonight though, right? He said he would. He promised. Promises were supposed to be kept...

Frowning, she curled back up against the side of the cage furthest from all of the humans and every now and then some would come up to her. But they weren't anything like Quasimodo. Some of them were loud and would hit or shake the cage and if she even dared to try and fight back, she'd get yelled at by one of the humans that had brought her here and they'd even poke her with a stick to make her stop.

Eventually, they left her alone, especially once the sun started to set. They even covered her cage with a huge blanket making it impossible to see anything. But she didn't settle. She didn't lay down. She didn't sleep. No. She waited. She waited for Quasimodo. He said he'd come... he said he'd save her.

The longer it look, the less hopeful Kiara became. Did something happen to him? Or did he... did he forget about her? No. No, he was still coming. He had to. He promised.

The warm wind moved gently through the tall grass, birds sang in the distance on the trees welcoming their rulers, herds wandered peacefully across the plains, and the Circle of Life continued as it always had. Simba walked forward with confidence, and as he looked aside he saw his daughter beside him who carried the hope for the future.

"No, I didn't know that." Simba smiled. "But yes, Nala needs good lionesses in the party, mother had already grown weak and she could no longer endure the huntings anyway. At least now there will be someone to take her place at her post." Simba could not convince Sarabi to stop and retire, and he always had the fear something would happened to her during the huntings. Nevertheless, fortunately the Pride Lands was rich in herbivores, so there was no need to worry that twice as many lions would disrupt the delicate balance.

Kiara mentioning Zira reminded him of the fear that had driven him to jump into the ravine after her. He was so afraid he would lose his daughter! If something happened to her, he didn't know what he'd do. But luckily, she didn't get seriously injured.

"Zira couldn't let go of her hate... and in the end, it destroyed her. Just like Scar." He explained. Then looking aside, he saw animals gathering around the Water Hole.

It was one of Kiara's favorite things! Hearing stories about her parents when they were young. Not just from Sarabi, but from Timon and Pumbaa, too. They had all sorts of stories about Simba's time with them. She sometimes still couldn't believe he ran away for so long and grew up mostly eating bugs. She made a face just thinking about it. Timon and Pumbaa, to this day, still tried to convince her to try them. Gross.

"I don't get it, though, Daddy. Scar, he... he did so many horrible things. And Zira knew that and yet she sided with him." It didn't make sense to Kiara. How could she think Scar was the rightful ruler when he killed the King and stole the Pride Lands? Love was truly a powerful thing. And so was hate.

That was definitely another reason. Not just about finding out who he really was, the world was full of stunning landscapes. All of them held secret dangers, he'd learned that by now. That didn't mean Inuyasha didn't have a deep respect for nature. If he'd stopped traveling, he'd never see any of it anymore. Just the same things all the time.

"I'll give ya one thing," He was broken my stifled coughs. "You get it more than anyone else I've told." He didn't have the energy for spouting off insults, despite how ready he was to assert Kōga was a hassle. Given the direction of conversation, it sort of hit close to home. How he was told he was either too emotional, or not emotional enough. That he should be happy in one place.

Other people always telling him what he should be.

No one ever understood, and as much as he hated it, the truth was that it hurt.

"Maybe some firewood. I always got some flint with me." Inuyasha shook his head, before a quick attempt to breathe through his nose. It was a futile effort. "I already made a medicinal teabag." The travel satchel he always carried when leaving for a period was next to him. "I know about medicine too, y'know." A quiet sigh.

Eyebrows knit, as golden eyes slipped closed.

"Keh, don't feel obligated."

He noticed how quiet InuYasha became after that, how the expression on his face seemed to change. He'd been about to ask if he was alright when he mentioned firewood and Koga nodded, standing to his feet. "Well good for you, mutt. I haven't exactly been around for a while, so how was I supposed to know that?" He questioned, wondering what the hell his problem was, especially when he told him not to feel obligated. Now he was getting irritated.

"Yeah, well, I turned human that night." Whether it was an exaggeration or not, even Inuyasha wasn't sure. He'd gotten pretty damn sick with a heavy fever. At least he could be thankful that such was unlikely, given he was an adult now, rather than some little kid. Growing up the way he did left him with a piss poor immune system, but the demon blood in him kept him pretty safe from as heavy a fever as last time Kōga stumbled upon him.

"Keh, if you want." His tone wasn't aggressive, and only slightly dismissive. He'd long since stopped hating Kōga. His feelings couldn't even be called 'dislike'. Not that it was any less amusing to exchange snarky remarks.

"You know me well enough, I can't stay in one place forever." Home wasn't a place, it was having somewhere to go to that would welcome you with open arms. He had a place to belong, but...

He wasn't even sure who he was underneath all the fighting, outside of loneliness. His friends had a family to worry about. Shippō had Kitsune Exams throughout every month. He was just... stagnant. It wasn't like he ever left for longer than a week, anyway.

Shifting slightly, Inuyasha made room next to himself from under the base of a tree. "Just... don't be too loud. My head's poundin' harder than those things y'pound rice cakes with."

"Yeah, I get that." Koga said thoughtfully. Because he did. Even though he had a pack, even though he had a home, he didn't like to stay in one place. He liked to move around, he liked to explore, he liked to travel and discover new places, thus why he was always on the move, too. "Never liked stayin' still either. Not when there's a whole world out there to see." Not that he could stray too far from his pack, but while he was gone, he left his second in command in charge. Still, he wondered where his friends were. Sango, Miroku, Shippo... he figured Kagome had gone back to her own time. Her scent had disappeared months ago.

The embarrassment. Why Kōga? He'd grown so much more since the last time he'd been around anyone while sick. Since he'd begun traveling on his own. Physical changes, and even more discernible, the emotional changes.

His right ear flicked, what it meant was up for debate.

"So what if I am? Whaddyou care?"

Standoffish as he wanted to be, there was no denying the memories of last time. He'd have probably died, if he were being truly serious with himself.

Lying to yourself... wasn't right. Even if it did wound his pride.

"It's just a sniffle, wolf. Don't get stupid ideas, I'll be fine by tomorrow."

More like a few days.