Time always seemed to get away from Tsillah when she was exploring. The group she had traveled with had found some plants that were unfamiliar to them. They group had carefully packed some of the plants in pouches to bring them back to the pride. Tsillah however decided to stay and see if there were any other plants that were worth bringing back. That was a couple days ago. She knew that when she got home she would have three little leopards questioning why she was gone so long. As long as she shared with them a good story of her adventure, she was sure they would forgive her for being away for so long.
She was on her way to meet up with Rith and drop off her findings, when she saw a familiar orange in the corner of her eye. Instinctively, she braced herself.
“Mom!” The small leopard jumped at her, his tail wiggling with delight. He looked up at her with his blue eyes and grinned so wide. “You will never guess who is here for a visit!”
Tsillah rested her head on Tu's lovingly. Her son had grown up so fast. When he mentioned a visitor, she thought about who it could be. She was close to other seekers and they would be most likely to visit her. However Devaraja would be the most likely one to get Tu excited since he didn't see them very often.
“You peeked my interest Tu. Who is our mystery guest?” She asked.
Tu's grin grew.
“An old friend of yours, Utako! He's been here for a couple days and he has been hanging our with me and playing games.” Tu said excitedly.
Tsillah's heart dropped. Utako? She just assumed that she would never see him again. He had left her here after she learned that he had a mate. After that incident she moved on and had cubs. Tu was still looking up at her, but his face had dropped a little.
“You are friends with him right mom? Or was he lying?” Tu asked nervously, trying to figure out why his mother wasn't happy to hear about Utako. He wondered if Utako had lied to him? The lion had seemed nice enough when they hung out. He really really hoped that Utako wasn't a bad lion.
“He wasn't lying my love. Things between him and I are just... complicated.” Tsillah explained. Tu and her other cubs didn't need to know the details. Utako was not apart of her life now and even if he was things would never be like they were between them. “Would you mind taking me to him? It would be best if I talk to him for a little bit and get caught up. Once I do, I will tell you about my adventures. Okay?”
Tu grinned. “Of course mom! Try to keep up!” And before she could blink Tu was already heading away from her toward the dens. She laughed as she watch Tu rush off. Her son was just a little ball of energy. It was nice that he was already getting along with Utako.
While his mom was following him, Tu would occasionally stop and wait for her. He wanted his mom to be happy when she saw Utako. Not seeing a friend in a long time must be hard. They would have a lot to catch up on and stories to tell. Tu wanted to be around to hear all about them.
“Here we are mom!” Tu stopped in front of the den that Utako had been staying in. In the back of the den Utako was sleeping peacefully.
Tsillah looked in and saw him. She was relieved when he was in his mortal form. Trying to explain that he was a god to Tu would complicate things even more.
“He looks so peaceful. It would be a shame to wake him up.” Tsillah said, giving Tu a bit of a smirk. Tu tilted his head and Tsillah walked into the den. She leaned down next to Utako. It was strange being this close to him again. Part of her just wanted to leave so they wouldn't have to talk, but that would be cowardly. After all he did wait here just for her.
“Wake up!” She said loudly before stepping back.
Utako opened his eyes in a hurry to see what was going on. The voice was familiar, he was certain he knew who it belong to, but he couldn't be sure unless he saw her. He tilted around until he faced her and gave her a goofy grin.
“What a sight to see when I first wake up.” Utako said in a tired voice. “I really miss seeing you.”
“Yeah you came here at a bad time. Usually I am not gone this long. So what are you doing here? Did you come to see Devaraja?” Tsillah asked. She laid down next to Utako and looked over at Tu. “Love, would you mind checking up on your siblings while Utako and I catch up?”
Tu frowned. Why was his mom trying to stop him from learning more about Utako? He wanted to hear all the stories they were going to share. It wasn't fair that he couldn't listen to the stories. Frowning, he left the den, but he didn't go far. He stopped outside the den, close enough where he could hear a little of what they said.
“Tsillah, let me start off by saying that I am sorry that I left you here alone. Sticking around in one place just isn't me.” Utako said. They left off on bad terms, but it was still wrong to wait so long without seeing her. And she was raising three cubs by herself! “If I had known you were raising those three by yourself I would have come here and offered to help. Do as much as I could.”
Tsillah shrugged. “I choose to have them. I wanted to raise them myself.” It really was an easy choice once she realized that Utako had a mate. She found a leopard who would help her out and boom she now had three wonderful cubs.
Utako nodded his head. “I am glad I got to know Tu. He reminds me a lot of you. Well if you were more active, talkative and impulsive.” He said with a laugh. Slowly he leaned closer to her. “I was wondering, his orange coloring. Is he mine?”
If Tsillah's cubs were his would things change? He couldn't stay but he would feel a little more responsible for them. But would Tsillah let him stay around?
“You think that Tu is your son?” Tsillah asked skeptically. Sometimes it amazed her how dumb Utako was.
“Well the timing would be just about right. And he has that orange. It is possible right?” Utako said, his brow furrowing.
“Wait am I half-lion?” Tu asked at his hiding spot.
Tsillah let out a loud sigh. Of course Tu would stick around and listen to this conversation. She just couldn't wait to answer all his new questions.
“I thought I told you to check up on your siblings.”Tsillah said with annoyance.
Sheepishly Tu walked back into the den, looking at his mom then Utako. He looked at Utako carefully. His father was a mystery, his mom never talked about him. She also never talked about Utako. “So will I grow a mane? Cause that would be awesome.”
Tsillah glared at Utako who just shrugged.
“No love. You are a pure leopard with no lion mixed with you.” She explained.
“So Utako can't be my dad?” Tu slumped in disappointment.
“Well it still is possible. I have a couple hyena offspring running around. A couple of them are around your age. I can introduce you to them at some point if it is okay with Tsillah.” Utako said.
Tu turned to Tsillah's his eyes lightning up. “MOM Pleeeeease. I want to meet my maybe half-siblings.” He stopped for a moment and thought. “Wait hyenas? Lions can't have hyena cubs? Right?”
When he looked back at Utako, the lion had changed forms to that of a hyena. Tu jumped backwards. “What is going on?” He asked, looking at the now hyena Utako back to his mom.
Tsillah looked even more annoyed at Utako.
“You really just want to make things more complicated don't you.” She said to Utako. He just looked at her with a smug smile. “Utako is a god, Tu. He has the ability to shape shift to different species. You think that being a god he would be wiser. But no Tu. This god is an idiot and just uses his powers when he's bored or wants to show off.”
Utako laughed at Tsillah's comment. “She's just jealous cause I can fly.” Utako retorted. Tsillah growled at him.
“Wait... so am I a half-god?” Tu asked, a grin spreading on his face.
“No.” Tsillah said at the same time as Utako saying. “Maybe.”
She glared at Utako, before looking at Tu softly.
“I promise you that your father is just a regular leopard that I met while doing research in the rogue lands. He can't fly and can't change species. But he gave me the greatest gift of all. You and your siblings. For that I will be forever grateful for him.” Tsillah explained. She put a paw on Tu's head and rubbed his fur.
Tu grinned at his mom.
Utako looked away, a little disappointed. He shifted back into a lion. When he met Tu he knew that there was only a small chance that the leopard was his son, but he really hoped. If he had given Tsillah cubs, she would always remember him. He couldn't be bitter about it though. She was happy with her cubs and that was good enough for him. As her friend he should support her.
“Even if I am not his father, my offer still stands to take him out in the rogue lands. It would be a good opportunity for him to explore and I would be there to protect him. And what better way to explore then with a god by your side.” Utako said, getting the two leopards attention.
“You think I am going to let you take my son out on an adventure with you? The moment you got bored of watching him you would fly off to who no where to find something more entertaining.” Tsillah said angrily, stepping between Utako and Tu. The young leopard was watching Utako with glee. He really really hoped that Utako would win this argument cause it would be amazing to go on an adventure.
“I promise that I've matured Tsillah. My days of abandoning mortals are done. I swear I will protect Tu and bring him home without a scratch.” Utako responded.
Tu looked up at his mom with pleading eyes. So much had happened today and he had many more questions but right now he had one priority and that was leaving the pride with Utako and going on his first adventure.
Tsillah looked at her son. She could let him go, give him a chance to see the world. He was her son after all and he was just as curious as she was. But the world was a dangerous place and she could not trust Utako to keep her son safe.
“Alright I will let you go with him Tu, but it cannot be a long trip. And you need to stay here tonight so we can spend a little time together before you head out.” When she was done talking to Tu, Tsillah shifted her focus on Utako. “And you. I am going to make sure you understand the importance of watching Tu. If you fail in keeping my son safe then I will make you pay. I don't care if you're a god or not.”
Utako let out a nervous laugh.
“It's a date.” Utako gave her a wink. Tsillah just groaned.
“THANK YOU MOM!” Tu yelled before rubbing his head against his mom. “When we get back I will tell you everything that happened okay?!”
“Of course you will Tu. I wouldn't expect anything less. Now lets go get some food and we can discuss it some more. I want you to be prepared for what's out there.” Tsillah said. Tu nodded and left the den, leaving Tsillah alone with Utako.
“Joking aside, I swear to you Tsillah that I will take care of him like he was my own. No harm will happen to him.” Utako said as he got up. He gently brushed against her. “I am glad that you had him and your other cubs. You are a great mother to them.”
“When you get back we can talk more about you and me. Right now I think it is best to let Tu have his moment of fun.” Tsillah said, moving away from Utako. Being near him was still.. weird. Memories of them traveling together flashed through her mind. Somedays she missed traveling with him, having someone to share stories with and go hunting with. She always had questions for him and he would always give her a complicated answer that only gave her more questions. But she always had to remind herself of the pain she felt when he left her in Anvesana Caritra. How she knew he would never stay long before leaving again.
For now she would accept his company, but she refused to let him get too close to her. Together they left the den and looked for Tu.
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