Homeward prt. 2

[Tsukikage]

They finally reached the waterfall.
Tsuki looked around frantically for Hitoban, but she was nowhere to be found. "Heets! Hey, Hitoban! Where are you?" He called.

Kage was disappointed that Daisuke had decided to leave, but it was his choice, so he could respect it. Either way, he had his own lady to find... "Hey, Dawn! We're home!"

[hitobannofokkusu]

Inside the cave, Hitoban's ear twitched and she flipped up off of her side. Dawn had done the same, and they looked at each other confusedly. They both could have sworn that they'd heard Tsuki and Kage. The noise sounded again, and their faces lit up with happiness and excitement, and they bolted from the waterfall, tails wagging frantically. Dawn took the dry way, sure-footing allowing her quick transport down the side of the clifface, but Hitoban backed up and got a running start at the curtain of water. She broke through it and fell with a tumble on the far side of the grotto pond. She stood and shook herself off, then tackled Tsuki. Once Dawn's feet were on the ground, she dashed toward Kage and did the same. The girls licked their mates and made happy whining sounds, all the while their tails wagging.

[Tsukikage]

Shimo watched the scene unfold from a nearby tree branch -- one that Mar walked over to.
"It's nice, isn't it? Seeing them like this." Shimo sighed, "I'm a little jealous, honestly."
Mar nodded. "Mhmm... it's... nice..." a sad look suddenly came over him as he realized that Jira had never greeted him like that before -- it was his own fault, of course, but still... "We never had the chance, did we?" He muttered absent-mindedly.
"You say something?" Shimo stared across at Mar quizzically.
"Mm? Oh, nothing..." He replied. "Yeah... nothing..."
The pair continued to watch the girls' welcome home...

Tsuki was the first to go down, as usual...
"Hey! Hitoban!" He giggled and squirmed, trying to get free (but not really)... "People are gonna see! We gotta keep an image as alphas, right?"
"Aww, who cares, bro? They need to see you be you; that's what's brought some of us together here." Kage chuckled nearby. "I say... Let 'em watch!" He quickly turned the tables on Dawn, forcing her down and himself on top. They touched nose-to-nose, and Kage quickly blushed, freezing like a statue with his one eye fixed on hers. He suddenly felt very warm all over, and the suddenness of it all made him very uncomfortable. He started breathing much heavier, and the paralyzed feeling in his body got worse and worse until...
"Dawn..." He whispered. "I love you so much... I... um..." He flopped onto his side next to her and laid his head over her shoulders. "Mmm... yeah..."
He fell silent after that, but he still felt awkward and intense.

Tsuki's experience was a bit different. He just lay there, allowing Hitoban her fun until she got bored. That was his story, anyway -- truth-be-told, he was enjoying it too much to dare stop her. His crest was the color of sunset, and glowing bright enough to be seen for a great distance.
"Hey," He said at length, "I heard you were injured. I..." tears welled up in his eyes, and his crest dimmed ever so slightly. "I didn't want to leave without you, but Dad needed us, and I just..." He tried very hard not to cry, to remain in control, to keep his cool... "I'm sorry I wasn't here to protect you..."

[hitobannofokkusu]

Hitoban giggled and snuggled her face deep into the fur on Tsuki's chest, reveling in the warmth. "Let them see-I'd rather they see that I love you than see something different." She toppled over onto her side, rolling over like a pup, and then squirmed closer to him. She had missed him so much, and she knew that her life would never be the same if he ever left. She knew he wouldn't though, and just being in his presence made her smile. She hardly even noticed that her shoulder had started bleeding again. Until, that is, he mentioned it. She nuzzled him comfortingly and sighed.

"It's fine, love...just a little scrape, that's all." That was when she noticed that she was bleeding again. Maname was underground, in the grotto, so there was nothing she could do about it at that moment, but it wasn't as if Hitoban cared. She was with Tsuki again, and that was all she could ask for. She licked his cheek and nuzzled his neck.

Dawn, meanwhile, squealed as she was flipped over. Her tail wagged still, and she giggled, possibly for the first time since she'd arrived in these lands, as her nose touched Kage's. She blushed as he did, and though she thought about...things, she couldn't move. Ice blue eyes burned like frozen fire, and she smiled when he spoke. How she loved the sound of his voice. It gave her comfort, and he was the one person she could totally depend on. A soft sigh escaped her as he rested his head on her, and she nuzzled his cheek to hers. "I love you too Kage."

[Tsukikage]

Mar tilted his head towards Shimo. "I hate to break them up, but the sunlight is nearly spent, and we really should be heading inside, don't you think?"
Shimo blinked at him in surprise, "You want to go to bed early? That's weird -- oh... um... I suppose you don't wanna --"
"No." Mar cut him off. "No, it's not that... I -- well, yes I suppose it is that, I just... I'm going inside..."
He walked over to Tsuki and Hitoban. "Excuse me," He said curtly, "I don't mean to bother you two love-birds, but I'd like to sleep behind the waterfall tonight. Is that acceptable?"
Tsuki was slightly distracted, licking at Hitoban's wound.
"Lars!" Mar snapped. He hadn't called his son by that name since he was a pup... it was bothering him worse than he'd thought. "Forgive me... er, Tsuki..."
Tsuki was shocked at the sound of his birth-name. "Um... dad? Are you gonna be okay? I've told you before, we can talk about it if you want. I can feel it weighing heavily on you."
Kage's eye darted to his father. Well, that's a mood-spoiler...
Kage... Tsuki scolded him, We probably set him off in the first place, give him a break.
Yeah, ok...
Mar hung his huge head sadly, "I just... I'm sorry, I'll leave you all alone..."
Tsuki continued tending to Hitoban's wound until it stopped bleeding, then he turned to his father. "Dad, you didn't talk about it all the way home; you need closure. You need to let it go."
Mar broke down and cried... he couldn't help it anymore. Tsuki was right. He'd tried to put on a facade, tried to deal with it himself... but it was no good. "Um... I'm sorry I ruined your moment, girls, I just... you reminded me -- well, it was more like... I wish I had the chance to be this way with my mate... I was always so cold, I just --" his sentence cut off by sobs and tears for a moment before he regained some composure. "There. I said it... happy?"
Tsuki smiled at his father, "We'll let it stand there for now, but we need to sit and talk about it sometime, okay? Now go get some sleep."
Mar nodded and climbed up to the cave to sleep. Shimo followed behind and took the tunnel to the grotto to sleep.

Once they had gone, Tsuki turned his attention back to Hitoban, "Now... where were we?"

[hitobannofokkusu]

Hitoban stopped nuzzling Tsuki when she felt him cleaning her wound. She smiled, but said, "really, it's nothing to worry about." She turned crimson orbs to see Mar come over, and her ears flicked back at his harsh tone. He spoke curtly, and Hitoban nodded weakly when he spoke, confused as to why he was so upset. She flinched slightly as he raised his voice, but she kept quiet. There was just something about the timing that told her to leave it alone. She cast a nervous glance to Dawn, who cast one back at her. She then turned her attention back to Mar. When he began to cry, she wanted to go and hug him, but though she might have felt like it, he was not her father and it wasn't her place. So she sat patiently and watched the scene unfold until the two left.

When Tsuki addressed her, though she was slightly sobered, she quickly got over it. She knocked him over again and lay with her chin on his chest. "Oh my love, I missed you so much."

[Tsukikage]

Tsuki smiled, "Hehe, not so rough! Anyway, don't worry about dad, ok? We'll tell you guys everything in the morning. Right now, however..."
Kage finished their collective thought, "I want you all to myself."
The boys nuzzled their mates, taking in the sight, smell, and feel of them until they could sense nothing else in this world.

Kage was the first to sober up, though he still felt a sort of high from his bond with Tsuki. "Dawn," He whispered quietly, "I was just wondering if... well, we'd talked about that family we've wanted, and I was thinking, now that we're all home and safe... are you still with me? I mean, not right now, if you don't want, that's not a problem, but... I couldn't help thinking about us and our plans -- our future. I thought about it everyday... and I just wanted to be sure."

[hitobannofokkusu]

Hitoban buried her face in Tsuki's chest as he spoke, murmuring a sort of "mm-hmm" in response to his comment about telling them about Mar tomorrow. Though she was concerned about him, it was in the back of her mind for now. All she could think of was Tsuki, how her home didn't seem to be a home without him there, and thoughts of the future. She wanted to sing, she was so happy.

Dawn had a similar feeling, but her attention fully turned to Kage's face as he spoke. No thoughts clouded her hearing, besides the initial reactions to his words. She knew what he was going to say almost before he said it himself. His question seemed silly to her-of course she would-but she had a feeling it wasn't so silly to Kage. She smiled and nuzzled her face into his neck. White-blue eyes peeked up at him and a wry smile was on her face.

Of course I'm still with you. I could never be without you. Her reply held a double meaning, not only answering his question, but whispering sweet nothings as well.

[Tsukikage]

Kage suddenly felt several pounds lighter. He let out a huge sigh of relief and nearly came down atop Dawn. He propped himself back up and looked down at her eyes -- those gorgeous eyes he'd never taken quite enough time admiring. Whenever he looked into her eyes, it made him wish he still had two of his own, so that he could see both of them at once. "It may have been silly," He admitted, "But the question has weighed heavily on my heart for sometime. You've answered it -- over and over... but still, something in me is just waiting for that one time when I let you down and lose you forever... I pray that such a day never comes."
"It won't." Tsuki interjected, "As long as this is our land, and as long as I live, I swear, the four of us will always be together like this. You and Dawn were meant for each other, and I know I'd die without Hitoban."
"Which means that I'd die, too." Kage chuckled. "So you have to swear to me, Hitoban: we all die together. I'm never leaving Dawn again."
Kage blushed again, but he didn't turn his eye from Dawn. There didn't seem to be anything else worth saying at this point. All he wanted to say was summed up in single jade eye.

The hour was getting late. Tsuki looked up at the stars, and though he didn't want to move, it had been a long way home. He was actually surprised that the journey had gone so well and so quickly. "Heets," he whispered into her ear, "we should get some sleep." Then again, we could sleep here, for all I care. As long as she puts her head on my chest again... just... like... "this..." Tsuki was starting to nod off... he was just so comfortable, and with Hitoban laying with him like this... Yeah... I wouldn't mind... sleeping here...

[hitobannofokkusu]

Dawn listened as Kage spoke, wanting to tell him that that would never happen. Just as she was about to, however, Tsuki took the words from her mouth. All she could do was nod affirmation as they spoke, and when they stopped, she finally had the time to say what she felt.

"I know that Hitoban would die without you, Tsuki. There's no way on Earth she'd ever be happy without you. I also know that she'll tell you just about the same thing here in a second, once I stop talking." Though she spoke to Tsuki, her gaze was fixed on Kage. She hardly noticed the one eye missing-as always-and instead, focused on the soul behind it. She rolled over, now laying her upper half on Kage's chest with her head resting on his neck, and sighed softly.

"How did I ever get to be so lucky? And to think that my parents wanted me to be their heir! I never would have found you or Hitoban or Tsuki if I had."

Meanwhile, Hitoban listened to the boys' talking, glancing at Dawn every now and then. She was deeply entranced with Kage, as always, and Hitoban couldn't help but chuckle softly. She was always so intense with Kage; Hitoban had no room to talk though, as she was often that way with Tsuki. When Kage addressed her, she nodded vigorously. Dawn spoke first, but as soon as she finished, Hitoban spoke.

"And of course, she's right. I'd rather die than be without you, Tsuki. You only get a chance at something like this once in a lifetime."

Hitoban lay her head on Tsuki's chest with a sigh and closed her eyes. It was so wonderful for them to be home, and now that the excitement was calmed down a bit, she was starting to feel tired. Her ears laid back relaxedly as a cool breeze ruffled her fur. She squirmed closer to her love and struggled to open her eyes. It wasn't long before he heard her name called softly in her ear, and she looked up at Tsuki, not bothering to lift her head. Sleep? I thought that was what we were doing...

She buried her face more into his fur in a type of way that was code for no. She didn't want to walk all the way into the cave to sleep when she could do it right here. She whispered one last, "I love you," before letting the sleep take her.