Reunited [Tojo]

Though it was hard to do at the moment, the memories of life in the Pridelands invading his mind, wandering through the Backlands was still a fun and thrilling trek. The forests here were massive, densely packed with strange foliage. The trees here seemed to have more needle-like leaves, rather than the broad, flat leaves of acacia trees, and though some were very tall, there was still little space beneath them to really stretch out and rest. So the golden lion had slept out in the open, though again the forest was dense as all get out, perhaps sleeping somewhere among the tall overgrown grasses was just as good as being practically swallowed by the nearby trees. But it was neither here nor there, Tojo woke up that morning the same way he had the day before and the same way that he anticipated waking up the following day. He gave a big, long, languid stretch, his forepaws reaching for something above his head while his hindpaws simply curled in, his tail thrashing once before going stiff, as if it were stretching its muscles as well.

Satisfied with the amount of popping coming from his joints after a few reaches and stretching, the great golden lion slowly, lazily, rolled to his feet and paused to look around. Although he had flattened a small area of tall grass for him to sleep in, it was clear that no one had come to visit him in the night- the grass was all straight and tall, no trails, no roads, no landmarks, just trees and tall, dry, itchy grass, it made his skin crawl even if all he did was look at it. Despite it, he was having a great time exploring the forest. The Pridelands didn't have a forest- sure it had the tall grass but that was as far as the similarities were going to get. The Pridelands were spacious and wide open, lots of big blue swaths of sky above a featureless field, but the Backlands were somehow darker, especially out here in the woods, the trees were so dense that barely any sunlight reached the ground, and while the young lion had no trouble seeing what was around him, it still gave off a dark, almost haunted, impression.

Going about his morning business, Tojo dragged over a large antler that he had found on the ground, delighted because he had never seen antlers so large before, it was both fascinating and good for his teeth. He laid down in his little patch of flat grass, chewing away at the hardened structure, taking away each prong slowly... very slowly.... frustratingly slowly. Tojo chewed for what must've been hours, the chewing keeping his teeth clean but not really doing anything to fill his tummy. So, hungry after a while, the golden lion stood, shook himself free of dead grass and pine needles before setting off in a random direction.

Coming across the water hole that Jua was in was an absolutely happy accident, he'd been looking for her for days now and he had much say to her about their relationship, most of which would be him admitting that he was an idiot, promising to pay more attention to her needs and not be so pre-occupied with others. At first, he did not know that she was there, drawn from the shadows of the woods to the small lake... large pond? He actually did not know the difference. But either way, as he stepped out of the shadows, he was so busy marveling at the beautiful scenery that his paws crossed awkwardly and it sent him tumbling into the water. He sat up, the water was shallow this close to the shoreline, but he was still head-to-toe soaked, but was able to avoid drowning by simply sitting up. As he sighed at himself was when he noticed the sound of water moving out of the way of a large object. What he'd expected was a log or an entire stubborn plant, what he did not expect was for the odd shape in the water to have eyes, and for those eyes to be trained on him. Grumpy about being wet, Tojo squinted suspiciously at the other swimmer, ready to curse them out or something until the distance between them was filled. He cocked his head to one side.

"Jua?" He paused, gave her a chance to respond. He got the feeling that she was still kind of mad at him for being a terrible, self-absorbed, doofus, but the feeling was in his mind, it might not necessarily have been in hers. Still, he blinked at her. "Why did I always think that you hated water? Was that just me?"

Picking himself up and out of the water, now standing in the shallows, Tojo initially wanted to give the lioness space. When they had separated, it had been harsh and nasty and, naive and unaware how love really works, he was surprised when she not only approached him, but greeted him affectionately. At first, he just kind of sat that as she buried her face in his mane, but as she moved up to his face, rubbing her cheek against his, the feeling, that warmness, as though someone had lit a fire in his belly, came to him and obedient to his emotions, Tojo mashed his face into her cheek as well, reveling in the familiar feeling of the lioness' short harsh coat. His was softer, fluffy and pleasant, sweet with the scent of coconut. But he did not mind the more scratchy feel of a lioness' maneless fur, if anything it was special, something familiar, something wholesome, and he sat there for a long moment, simply feeling her presence, leaning into her as she leaned into him.

Wanting to keep the mood light, the golden lion smiled warmly, at first simply happy to see that Jua did not hold their recent separation against him. He'd long realized that the altercation was his fault. He didn't realize what he had in Jua, just too young and naive to think that love isn't always permanent. When she left initially, he became obsessed with finding her. But as the days past, he lost more and more hope that Jua was out there. By that time, she could've been killed by a rival pride or by hyenas or a fall from a great height or just... anything. He was so happy to see her alive that his whole body seemed to be vibrating, and he took a moment to just enjoy the closeness he'd been missing for all of this time. He could hear in her voice that she too had done some reflecting, made some changes, begged for forgiveness and he was so humbled by that that it almost made his voice shake as well.

"I missed you too." He said softly into her ear before finally pulling back from their warm embrace so that they could talk a little more easily. Now almost unaware of it, Tojo sat down in the shallow water, only his paws and tail being completely submerged. Though he had nothing against water, he was simultaneously not a huge fan of it. But his mind was miles away, his smile bright as he cocked his head to one side. "Oh don't cry dearest. I'm here, you found me."

Trying to be supportive, Tojo lifted a paw and placed it delicately over one of hers, that warm smile and his bright eyes seeking out hers.

"I was looking for you." He started, softly, gently, as though worried that his words were enough to absolutely break the lioness apart. He paused, gears in his mind grinding as his expression, which was already pretty soft, softened even more until it looked like he was the one about to burst into tears. And he probably would have in his younger years, but now a big strong adult male, crying was unbelievably embarrassing. So he held back and took a moment to just look at Jua, to take in her features and commit them to memory.

"I uh..." He fumbled with his words, suddenly breaking eye contact as he tried to figure out how to say something that he barely understood. But he knew that he had to try. He made a point to look up at her again and took a shaky but calming breath before continuing. "Wanted to say that I am sorry for what happened. I've never met a lioness quite like you, sometimes I think about how beautiful you are and how I seem to be the luckiest male on the entire planet for having a girl like you. I didn't realize what I had until you were gone."

He paused, having to regain his composure as his voice shook a little. But he recovered after a moment.

"I am sorry, I'm going to try to be a better mate from now on. This is not the 'Tojo Show' anymore, it's all about the two of us, both of us. Me and you, you and me, together. I did not want to return to the Pridelands without you."