*Door Opens*
"Its not much, but me and Jaheim built this home together, make yourselves comfortable and feel obliged to ask me anything! My husband will be home in a little bit." Alima offers as she invites Firion and Kaida into her palm hut.
It was much larger than the villa they were staying in, with a noticeable living area for company and even a separate bedroom on the other side separated by a courtesy curtain. Kaida also noticed they had a mortar, outdoor cooking area. Its truly a lovely home!
However something caught Firion's attention on the floor, he closely inspected and saw what appeared to be little black footprints left behind by some kind of animal.
He couldn't help but ask, "Do you two own a pet of some kind?"
She looked down at that footprints and her expression became a little softer.
"No, those footprints belonged to Acro...Jaheim likes illustrating pictures of animals, and about 30 years ago, when he lived in this home, he got into the wax paint and made a mess!" She chuckled lightly.
She walked over and lightly traced her hand over the small footprint and explained further. "You know we also thought that one day he would grow up into our guardian mount and we would ride out in the desert together and he would always live beside us...but he became more hostile as he got bigger, it got to the point where the village demanded we either kill or relocate him...but he would always come back..."
Suddenly Jaheim's voice interrupted, "We just kept hoping he would find a place where he belonged, but in the end Bibi's premonition about his demise came true."
He was leaning on the house outside, something was clearly bothering him.
Alima walked up to him and put her hand on his face as he looked to her.
"I have decided, I will drink the soup made from his heart tonight, this way a part of him will live on inside me. I know, to others, he was a vicious beast, but to us...all I could see was that little hatchling when he opened his eyes for the first time." He explained with a warm expression.
"Jaheim are you sure you want to do that? I just don't want you to feel overwhelmed." Alima cooed.
He looked backed and reassured her with a confident, yet sad expression. "I am sure this is what I want my wife."
He walked inside and approached one of the bookshelves and pulled out a picture journal.
"Here you two look at this picture I drew." Jaheim offered as he presented the book.
The illustration was an adorable sketch of a frail, baby saurian of some kind that was sleeping in a basket.
Kaida immediately realized who it was and asked, "Is this really Acro? How could that cute baby become something so terrifying?"
Even Firion was having hard time believing that the spiny beast he killed yesterday is the same creature as this adorable little animal.
"Saurian are animals of many wonders and beauty, but there are just as many ferocious things about them as well. They range from various diets of insect eaters, plants, to pure carnivores. When he was small, all Acro did was eat dragonflies, so we assumed he was just an insect eater, but as he got bigger we realized we made a terrible mistake." Jaheim explained.
Firion interrupted, "But he was not, we met a egg seller who mentioned that Acro killed some of his animals."
"Ah! I guess that explains the pop-pop eggs over there, but yes. Asante and many others lost some of their livestock because of our attachment to Acro, many of them still hold a grudge against me and Alima. But I cannot blame them either." He replied back.
Kaida's horns have analyzed so many differing emotions towards one creature. To Alima and Jaheim, he was a beloved family member, but to others it was just a menace, and given what they lost it was hard to blame them for that mindset.
She also remembered Misha, and recalled she was also a predator that needed to kill to survive, she wondered if she would be treated the same way if she was in the same position as Acro. The thought of her wolf being killed made her heart heavy, which was what these two were feeling right now.
Jaheim then caressed the picture of the baby Acro and reassured himself. "But despite everything, I refuse to say I regret it either. I know the atrocities he committed, but he gave me and Alima many wonderful memories as well! Instead I will remember him for the Acro that I love him as!"
Firion smiled at him, rather than dwell on regret, Jaheim chose to acknowledge his choices and standby them.
"I am certain you two will make great parents." He told them.
Jaheim started blushing and rubbed his hair. "Ah! So Alima told you the news huh? When the midwife told me I am gonna be a father I knew I have to start acting more like an adult and not to dwell on past decisions! I wanna...."
Suddenly a stomach growl shook the whole room, which created a light sense of laughter among everyone.
"Gyahahaha!...Unfortunately my husband tonight's dinner is still hours away, how about me and Kaida go whip up something to tie us over until then?" Alima suggested.
Kaida perked up! As she remembered the eggs she was given. "Actually why don't we make a scramble for lunch? That Mr. Asante shared a recipe with me."
The two women walked outside into the outdoor kitchen to cook while Firion and Jaheim chatted.
"Actually Jaheim I just remembered something, are the clergyman around here normally cloaked head to toe? Me and Kaida encountered a eerie individual earlier today in front of Ogun's shrine..." Firion began to ask.
But he was met with a bewildered expression from the ladder.
He replied, "What are you talking about Firion? Clergyman are not part of our cultural rituals."
A worrisome expression overcame both of them in that moment.
Elsewhere, that same clergyman was meeting with a certain someone.
"Really? You hide your identity dressed that way? I am surprise the villagers didn't kick you out for looking that suspicious." Says a tall, elderly looking, deva woman as looks outside while smoking from a water pipe.
The cloaked individual chuckled a bit. "Well I was threatened quite a few times! But I don't know any other way to approach them without sending the community into a stir! Everyone here knows who I am, and my identity might make those two panic."
The deva woman turns her head towards the cloaked man and reveals a rather youthful looking face despite being clearly elderly. She has multiple braids that accent her long, flowing white hair. As with any white fang deva, she has lion ears and a tail that drags behind her.
She exhales a large breath of smoke and laments, "Sometimes I don't understand why my niece chose such a strange person like you to be her husband."