Characters: Yinehi Kanati, Ukahada Waya
Setting: Early evening, first night of the Sky Festival
Word Count: 1415
The sun had set on the first day of the Ela’wadiyi Sky Festival. The Tree Ceremony had ended and, despite a distinct lack of cubs to hold a Cloud Ceremony for, everything seemed to be off to a great start.. but there were two lions in the pride who had other plans entirely. It was harder to find privacy when all six of the clans came together, but it was also the time that their most common companions would be most distracted.. and when they were least likely to be missed if they disappeared. All day, something had been on both of their minds but for the first time, it was Ukahada Waya who was unable to hide it.
Lucky for him, he was far less outgoing and bubbly than Yinehi Kanati. He spent most of the day in a distracted fog, drawing swirls in the dirt and brushing them away before anybody could determine if they told a story. Yinehi had watched her father work through the Tree Ceremony and wondered sadly at the loss of the Cloud Ceremony.. but she had remained cheerful and smiling the whole time. That only changed when Ukahada had come and led her away from the crowd. Now they were sitting opposite each other on the far side of the Stargrove, each with a racing heart.
“Do you remember when we met?” Yinehi said, “We must have been the only cubs born in the pride that year, I think it was just us and our siblings playing.”
“Must have,” he agreed, looking down at the ground still despite the lioness sitting before him, “Seems strange none of us ever ended up together, but marriage isn’t a decision made lightly around here.”
They both fell silent and they both knew why. Every year they met up at the festival and spent more time together than anybody else probably realized, and every year they parted ways again, each returning to their own clan, because the one lion between the two litters who would cause the most trouble by marrying was Ukahada.
Yinehi had finally, finally given up lying to herself about how she felt about that.
“I brought you more feathers,” she said quietly, changing the subject. The last two years, since the clan tasks had been revived, Yinehi had been collecting feathers for the Wolf Clan. For Ukahada. The very impressive first set had been worn to the festival by the enthusiastic lioness, and it had been the one bright spot in a very dramatic, troubling time for Ukahada. It was his only good memory of the year his grandmother disappeared and he became responsible for the clan.. the year that kicked off the Wolf Clan’s many troubles.
“Here,” Yinehi said, carefully leaning down and removing her pouch, “There are fewer than last year but I think they’re all much prettier. I’ve tried to be more selective.”
“Thank you,” Ukahada said, watching her drop the pouch with great interest before suddenly rising to his feet, “Wait here. I’ll be right back, I promise.”
He left behind a confused but patient Yinehi, laughing quietly to herself about having managed to get her pouch off without getting tangled up in it. She was usually so clumsy, but then she hadn’t been much like herself in some time.
Ukahada tried not to let himself stand out as he ventured back to the spot the Wolf Clan had deposited much of their work for the other clans. What he sought was set aside, made specially by him for someone who was so special to him. He had thought to wait but he realized he couldn’t. Like Yinehi, he had decided to stop lying to himself. He looped a pouch over head where it barely fit because of his mane and returned to find Yinehi waiting just as he had left her. She had thought about getting out the feathers to show him when he returned but decided against it.
“Here,” he said, leaning down before her and pulling the pouch off of his mane, “I made this for you.”
It was a darker pouch than her old one but it had fine markings cut into it. It was getting dark but she still knew exactly what it was. It was part of his story, part that had been there since he was small. From his first festival. Attached by the beads was a single, familiar white feather.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, nearly bursting into tears as she smiled at him.
“I was going to give it to you tomorrow,” he said carefully, feeling as if time was frozen and the whole pride could hear him speaking. But that didn’t matter, he expected them to hear eventually. He had decided.
“T-tomorrow?” Yinehi repeated, her heart skipping a beat.
He nodded, a thin smile breaking through his nerves.
“If.. if you’ll marry me,” he said finally, “In the Rain Ceremony. In front of everybody.”
He had made up his mind but he was still nervous, and it showed. Ukahada was making a sacrifice to be with his love and he knew there was a chance she would refuse, wouldn’t let him give up his responsibility in the Wolf Clan to take responsibility for himself, for her. And if she let him, he would be over the moon.. which was almost as scary. But not knowing had torturous.
“But- I don’t have anything for you..” she murmured instinctively, catching herself off guard completely and looking up from the bag to him. An implied yes had escaped her before she could think, before she could argue.. and she knew better. The thought of tearing apart the Wolf Clan for her seemed impossible.
“You can’t,” she said quickly, before he could respond to her first statement, “The Wolf Clan needs you.”
“They don’t need me,” Ukahada said flatly, “I haven’t done anything but cause trouble for them since my grandmother disappeared. Tsine is a great alu’nadi, they’ll manage just fine without me.”
Yinehi was shaking her head from the moment he said the Wolf Clan didn’t need him.
“No, that’s not true,” she said, “You’ve always done what’s best for them, none of the trouble has been your fault. They need someone like you to--”
“But I need you,” he interrupted.
Yinehi stared for a long moment before closing her mouth, a loss for words. She had spent so long thinking about this, planning for this year.. and she had never expected him to say anything like this. He was willing to put her before the Wolf Clan and she was so ashamed of how happy that made her feel. Whatever reservations Ukahada had about his decision were invisible, set far aside in favour of finally letting himself admit what he wanted. He didn’t feel at all like he was exaggerating when he said he needed her. The long years they had spent avoiding it made it apparent.
“I love you, Yinehi,” he said.
Finally, Yinehi couldn’t hold back her tears and closed the gap between them, burying her face in his mane. Ukahada felt his heart skip a beat when suddenly she was leaning against him, seeming just as desperate as he was. He sighed, and pulled her closer, resting his head on top of hers. It all happened so fast and it was only a couple seconds before she spoke.
“I know,” she said quietly, “I love you, too.”
For the first time, Ukahada was being completely honest with himself and Yinehi and he didn’t care who heard or saw now. For one moment, Yinehi allowed herself to believe that she was being honest and carefree, too.
For one night, it seemed like everything was perfect, like it all just might work out.. Yinehi’s resolve faltered as she let her mind wander to what life might be like if they got married, if she let him leave behind the Wolf Clan and she stayed here with him. This wasn’t the plan, if she had thought for a moment this was the right thing to do it might have been.. but it was selfish, too selfish.
When Ukahada suddenly woke up late into the night, Yinehi was no longer by his side. The bag he had given her was gone, too, and left in its place were her yellow feathers. He stared for a long time, hoping against reason that this didn’t mean what he thought.. so he waited. And waited.
But she didn’t come back.
Fin.
