Akase.

            He slowly came and sat down beside her.

            She eyed him without turning her head. “Unable to sleep again, Baraka?” she asked. Her voice was rough yet fighting to be soft.

            Baraka heard the tone. It sounded as though she had let out her pain over the argument with Arif by roaring. Wherever she had done that, it must’ve been far, so far that even he couldn’t hear it. He smiled sympathetically. “I haven’t been to sleep. I’ve been walking. I needed it.”

            “Yes,” Akase said quietly. “I did, too.” She looked ahead, then down at her paws. There was an unusual glow in her eyes. They didn’t have the same sensible kindness. It had been replaced by something else.

            Baraka also stared ahead. He wasn’t about to talk first for fear of saying the wrong thing. He didn’t want to antagonize Akase further. He shook his head a bit. Akase may have been antagonized by all this but it was Arif who suffered more. A question came to mind. Was she suffering as much as his brother, her husband?

            “You heard, didn’t you?” she suddenly asked. “Everyone did, right? No surprise.”

            “Akase… You…” He was baffled. He wasn’t sure what to say. He swallowed a lump in his throat and tried again. “Don’t you think you were being hard on him?”

            She looked up at him but Baraka was unmoved. He saw her eyes snap. “No, I don’t, Baraka! Don’t you miss him? He’s your brother. Our cubs are your nephews and niece. They need their father!”

            “Yes, that is true, and I think Arif is doing the best he can. Akase… You - you don’t know him like I do, or like the others do… Before he met you, he was different.” Seeing her surprised face he held up a paw. “Not that I’m saying you’re bad. You’re a good lioness, and a good mate for him, and I am happy he met you, but… Akase being a shaman is something Arif was born for just as I was born to be King of the Pridelands. He was to be my shaman from the very beginning. Mother said that when Rafiki baptized us, he told her and our father that he and I have this special connection that goes beyond being brothers. He said that we were destined for great things and that the bond we have is all but unbreakable…”

            “What are you saying, Baraka? That I should just accept what he does for a living?”

            Baraka sighed. He knew Akase was stubborn but this was ridiculous. He couldn’t lie to her even if the truth hurt and he knew it would. He had to be honest. “Yes, you should.” He looked her in the eyes and slowly reached out to place a paw on hers. She drew hers away. “Akase… if you love my brother, I think you should accept it. Whatever his reasons are for keeping this message it must be of great importance. Please, just accept it. It will be hard, but if you really love him, accept what fate has given him, what destiny gave to him from the time of our birth.”

            Akase drew in a breath. “Baraka… you’re only saying this to me because he’s your brother, and you don’t want to see him hurt.”

            “Arif is my brother and I love him dearly… but with the way you’re treating him…” He turned away. “I’m sorry.”

            She bowed her head. “I’d expect no less from a good brother, which you are.”

            “Akase, what of your cubs…? Didn’t you see how your behavior toward Arif – and his behavior toward you – is affecting them? Or… have you even noticed?”

            “Of course I’ve noticed! They’re just as surprised by Arif as I am.”

            “I don’t think so. Yes, they’re worried for Arif but they’re worried for you, too. They love you both so much that it’s hurting them. When you took off, did you see them or were you too blinded by your anger at Arif to care?”

            Her eyes widened and she slowly raised her head to meet his gaze. He was not just a brother but an uncle. He loved her kids. “Baraka… how can you say that? Of course I…” She paused and closed her mouth. He was right. She hadn’t seen them. Like he said, she’d been too angry to notice. “I…” She stopped.

            “They’re alright,” Baraka said gently. “Kadiri and Dailia are looking after them, along with their own cubs. They said they didn’t mind.”

            She nodded slowly. She was relieved that her cubs were well. “Good,” she managed to say.

            They were silent for a long time, the stillness wrapping around them like a breeze. But there was no breeze, just the stillness which made everything sticky. Baraka’s mane clung to him but he didn’t mind.

            “How much did you hear?” she asked after a while.

            “Not much,” Baraka said honestly. “You said something about Arif talking with Saada?”

            This earned him a growl. “Yes!” she snarled softly. “He talked with her about what it is he cannot tell me.”

            “He’s not cheating on you if that’s what you’re thinking. He could never do that. He and Saada grew up together, along with me, Kadiri, Dailia, Mabaki and Hasira. They have a close friendship. Let me ask you; is it so wrong that he found solace in her?”

            “He should’ve come to me outright instead of avoiding.”

            Baraka let out a loud sigh. “If you were in his position…”

            “I’d have trusted him!” she interrupted. “It’s clear that he has no trust in me.”

            “It’s not about that, not necessarily. This message of his must be a heavy burden. Akase, he loves you a lot. He doesn’t want to keep this message to himself but I don’t think he has a choice. He didn’t ask for this but it’s done. He must carry it and keep it, only to himself.” He was quiet and silently looked at her. Her face didn’t change. Instead of softening it only seemed to harden more.

            “Baraka… I do love him…”

            He smiled. Maybe there was hope. He hated to see his brother unhappy and his nephews and niece heartbroken. But his smile fell as he heard her next words.

            “But I can’t accept this message he carries, that he cannot tell…”

            “Akase…”

            “No, Baraka. I don’t like secrets.”

            “Then how can you love him? Honesty is good for a marriage…”

            “You’re not married, Baraka, so don’t lecture me on honesty.”

            She didn’t gasp at what she said. It was as if she didn’t care that she’d just hurt her brother-in-law’s feelings. Baraka groaned softly, trying his hardest not to be angry. What was he going to tell Arif, if he could tell him anything to relief the pain? If he couldn’t get through to her no one else could.

            So silently, he left the clearing with one thought in his head.

            His brother deserved a far better, more understanding and supporting mate