It was a clear night. Kubali held Elanna’s trembling body beneath his own and shuddered in the grip of passion. He climaxed, and with a roar, he sprang from her. She turned to snarl at him, but she was not angry with him. She rolled over in the grass and invited him over. Kubali lay next to her in the soft grass and looked with her into the night sky. Elanna snuggled into his soft mane listening to his heart beat. It was a comforting sound, a familiar sound, and she drew solace from it. Still, as she scanned the night sky she let out a small sigh.
Kubali looked around. "Are you all right, Lannie?"
“I’m fine. It was nothing, really.”
“If it’s nothing, you won’t mind telling me about it. I mean, we don’t keep secrets from each other--do we?”
She smiled, but it was a melancholy smile. "I was wondering which one of those stars was my Taka. I miss him..."
Kubali frowned slightly, but he quickly hid it. “I know you do, lover...he sounds like he was everything to you."
She turned her head to face him more, "He was. And he used to tell me I was everything to him. He had no other friends. He relied on me for comfort and friendship. I was all that kept him going.”
“I see.” Kubali’s jaw set firmly. “He trusted you entirely, I imagine?”
“Why yes, he did.”
“Uh huh. Everyone needs someone they can trust entirely. Someone whose love for them is unconditional--who would never betray them.”
“I know.” She rubbed his chest mane with her paw. “You are that person for me.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” he said.
She seemed to be waiting for him to answer her more meaningfully, but he did not.
“You do trust me, don’t you, lover?”
Kubali changed the subject quickly. “Look, the bats are out. They don’t fly in straight lines like birds.”
Elanna glared at him. “I asked you a question!”
Kubali looked back, tensely. “Look, I’m trying to let this whole business about Taka be firmly in the past. If you help me, I’ll help you.”
“What about Taka?? Today I’ve made love to you many times! Do you think I’d just go crouch with any lion in the bushes??” She shoved him roughly with a paw. “Kubali, if there is no trust between us, there sure as the world will be no more intimacy. I don’t crouch for someone that doesn’t trust me!”
“I trust you all right. I just can’t forget what you did just like that! I’m sorry, but it’s going to take time!”
“And what did I do??”
“You know.”
“Assume for a moment I don’t!”
“I don’t want to talk about it. Look, I trust you, OK? Let’s get some sleep.”
“Sure! You sleep here. I’ll find me a place.”
“Look, you little spitfire, you’re acting like a complete fool! Everything was fine, then all of a sudden you change toward me!”
She got up quickly and moved away from him. "I thought you were gentle and sensitive, but you’re not at all! You’re coarse and inconsiderate, and it’s no wonder they drove you out!”
The words seemed to sting him more than words could express. He stared at her for a while silently, a look of barely suppressed rage on his face. Then when he found his tongue, he blurted out, “Yeah right, like I’m the only outcast here! If you’re so perfect in every way, where are your pride sisters when you need them? Huh??”
Shocked and hurt, tears welled up in her eyes and she stammered, “Good bye, Kubali. It’s over.” She turned quickly and walked off, leaving him alone in the night.
He growled back at her as she drew away, "FINE...leave me.” He shouted, “I don’t need you! You HEAR me?? I don’t need ANYONE!” He let out a loud roar and turned from her.