#Sha & Khul

[felashathia]

Exploring Life

   Pacing back and forth, Titus and Suo trailed behind me, keeping a safe distance as my mind wandered. It had been months since Khulma and I had fled from the lands that we once called home. There was no real rhyme or reason to it, other than we grew restless and the turmoil was becoming too much for us to handle. The people we once kept around us had turned blood thirsty, and the horde and the alliance were vying for a fight     The cracking of a stick broke me from my train of thoughts, my head snapping up. My mate stomped through the brush, burrs and twigs sticking to his glistening coat. Since we had left, we had been building a new home, one that was for just us and true to how we felt. In the middle of nowhere, we foraged for our own food and mended our own weapons and gear. Thankfully, I still had my bracelet that carried my other outfits, saving me the annoyance of carrying the items everywhere.     His muzzle pulled back into a grin, lich blue eyes twinkling at me as he held up his find. Multiple birds were tied together with a rope, all ready to be plucked. Unable to resist smiling myself, I eagerly took the birds and began pulling out feathers gingerly. The first two I tossed to my wolves, their dinner for the night. Like the savages they were, they tore into it noisily, blood staining their muzzles. Giggling at them, I made sure the feathers stayed in a pile, having other intentions for them.    Khulma had put his smithing to use, making a mock anvil and forge just outside the house. Since having set it up, he had made a bed frame and table for the house we had built. I was now working on the pillows and blanket, planning to stuff them both with feathers and wool. While I rid the birds of their feathers, Khulma started the fire pit, positioning the spit over it. Sliding the birds onto the spit one by one, he began coating them in oil and seasonings before leaving them to roast, turning them on occasion.     Content with the feathers, I took them all inside, stuffing them into the half filled pillows and blanket. Once full, I sewed them shut and fluffed them, grinning from ear to ear. Looking around our house, my heart was happy. There was not much, but what there was, it was ours. Little trinkets we had collected along the way through the villages we had traveled through. Rings and daggers Khulma had forged, as well as gadgets I had put together. A single painting hung on the furthest wall of the living room, over the fireplace. It was one of our closest friends and us, all smiling and having a grand time. It was a memory of happier times, ones that had long since drifted away.     That was how Khulma found me, staring at the picture that had those we considered family smiling back at us. Carrying the cooked birds to the table, he moved behind me, wrapping his arms around me. “I miss them, Khulma. I shouldn’t, because some of the wronged me; stabbed me in the back and left me to bleed...but I miss them. Kal and Valissa...some of the Blackthorn members...Gin and the rest of the House. I loved them all in a different way, even if they did not see it.” I whispered, fighting back the tears.     He said nothing, simply hugged me tight to him. Leaning against him, I forced myself to take a deep breath. As much as I missed them, I did not miss much of the life we had left behind. The judgement, destruction, and charades everyone seemed to uphold. He seemed to realize that, simply offering me his quiet strength. No, there was no going back to it. Instead, they would make their new life here, in the wildness were they both thrived as their own beings.     “I love you Khulma, my mate. Without you, I would be nothing. However, I would like to send word to Valissa and Kal sometime to let them know where we are. I am aware they are not your favorites, but I love both of them dearly. They are probably the only two I could stand to see from my old life. They were there for me through a great many things, and it would only be fair.” I murmured, moving away from him and approaching the table. Carving the birds, I separated them onto plates. Our sides were simple, foraged greens and wild berries. Since leaving the city, I had lost weight but it had all turned to muscle, my skin far more sunkissed than it ever had been.     Sitting across from my mate, I took a deep breath in and relished it. This was home, and for once I was happy. There was no shadow to live in, no drama or politics. It was just my mate, my animals, and the wildness to have every adventure in. 

@khulma