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Long after the defeat of Snarl, the tribe was still the family they always were. Chorn’s gift of wisdom had made everyone much more independent, meaning Jemilla and Zazzalil weren’t needed as often as they once were. They were still the leaders of the tribe, both providing their own unique style of leadership that only strengthened the tribe– and each other.
Which is exactly why, when Keeri suggested the two take a much needed break from their leadership responsibilities, Zazzalil eagerly accepted.
“Wait, wait, wait.” Jemilla shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Zaz, we can’t just leave out of nowhere.” She lifted her head once more to her wife’s– that in itself was still an adjustment, going from bickering rivals to wives– hopeful and excited grin. “Who would watch over the tribe?”
“Come on, Jem.” Zazzalil groaned dramatically, taking Jemilla’s hands in her own and swaying their arms between them. “The tribe can take care of themselves!”
Jemilla met her grin with a blank stare. Zazzalil chuckled awkwardly.
“I’ll ask Tiblyn.” Zazzalil conceded, her head lowering as she dropped her gaze to their hands. “I just want to spend some time with you. Is that so bad?”
Jemilla sighed, dropping one of her wife’s hands to gently touch her face, tilting it back up to meet her gaze. “It’s not.” She said, a small smile finally creeping onto her lips. “I guess a few days wouldn’t hurt.”
“You’re serious?” Zazzalil’s eyes widened slightly. “Man, I thought you’d need more convincing.”
Jemilla rolled her eyes, a fond smirk flitting across her face. “This is a good idea. A certain someone made me realize those should be… rewarded.”
Zazzalil grinned. “A certain someone, huh?” She mused, giggling.
Jemilla chuckled as a matching grin spread across her own lips, her hands sliding up along her wife’s arms to rest on her shoulders. “Yeah. A very pretty someone.”
Zazzalil leaned in to kiss her cheek, her own hands moving to Jemilla’s bare waist just above her skirt. “You’re talking about me, right?” She muttered.
Jemilla resisted a laugh, nodding. “Yes, Zaz, I’m talking about you.”
“Okay. Good.” Zazzalil said through a sigh of relief, pausing for a moment to idly caress Jemilla’s sides before speaking again just as softly. “Thank you.”
“For what?” Jemilla pulled Zazzalil closer, her arms sliding loosely around her neck.
“Trusting me.”
Jemilla stared into her eyes, tilting her head slightly. “You’ve more than earned it.”
Zazzalil’s smile turned shy, leaning in to give her wife a kiss before pulling away and reluctantly dropping her hands from her waist. “Let me go find Tiblyn and let her know what’s going on. She can tell the rest of the tribe if you want to leave before nightfall.”
“Okay.” Jemilla agreed, watching as Zazzalil walked out of their shared hut with an energetic bounce to her steps.
Jemilla glanced around their hut, her hand resting against the open doorway. She wasn’t nearly as adventurous or spontaneous as Zazzalil, and her memories of being exiled from the tribe still left some feelings of unease about being apart from her tribe for very long, but she knew Zazzalil would be right by her side the entire time.
They could do anything together, after all.
— — — — —
“Riding on top of an animal is harder than Chorn’s vision made it look.” Zazzalil said, her arms wrapped snug around the shoulders of the horse they’d taken with them to avoid falling off– again.
“I know it’s a bit of a craze in the future, but I think I’ll stick to walking.” Jemilla said, glancing up at Zazzalil with an amused smirk as she walked beside the animal. She watched as the horse reared up on its hind legs with a displeased whinney, her arm darting out too late to catch Zazzalil.
The other cavewoman let out a startled yelp, her arms flailing as she fell off and the horse started to gallop away. Zazzalil sat up slowly, groaning at her aching back.
Jemilla knelt beside her, rubbing her back soothingly. “Maybe we should stop and take shelter for the night?” She suggested, her smile still smug and amused though her eyes held a hint of concern as she glanced her wife over.
“Yeah.” Zazzalil sighed, taking Jemilla’s offered hand to stand and holding it even after her feet were planted again. They walked for a while longer before finding a small cave opening in the distance. “This feels familiar.”
Jemilla matched her grin, pulling out one of the sharpened rocks Zazzalil always seemed to carry around now from their shared bag and offering it to her. “Here you go, Zazzalil the Firebringer.” She teased fondly.
“Why thank you, Jemilla the Peacemaker.” Zazzalil said back with a giggle. She took hold of the rock, striking it against the cave’s entrance while Jemilla held a stick below to catch the sparks until they had successfully started a fire to explore the cave with.
A few small animals scurried out of the dimly illuminated grotto as they pointed the torch around, clearing the space for them to sleep through the night. Jemilla gathered sticks to make a more substantial fire while Zazzalil rifled through their bag for food, sitting pressed together by the bonfire as they cooked and ate their meal.
Jemilla glanced up at the sky, the sun long set and stars twinkling overhead. She felt Zazzalil rest her head against her shoulder and smiled softly, feeling content and warm– figuratively and literally.
“What’re you thinking about?” Her wife asked at her side, already sounding close to sleep.
Jemilla shrugged lightly to avoid bumping her head off of her shoulder, humming softly. “I was just thinking about the tribe.”
“What about ‘em?” Zazzalil’s words were mumbled and soft, a silent yawn passing her lips.
Jemilla’s chest swelled with affection, reaching to wrap her arm around Zazzalil’s waist to press her further against her side. “How they’re doing, what they’re doing.” She shook her head dismissively. “Nothing interesting.”
“They’re gonna be okay, Jem.” Zazzalil bumped her head against Jemilla’s shoulder as she curled closer, halfway atop her lap. “They’re probably all asleep by now.”
“Yeah.” Jemilla agreed in a whisper, shifting to hold her wife in her arms and smiling at her closed-eyed expression. “Like you?”
Zazzalil’s eyes fluttered open to meet her gaze, fighting to keep them from slipping shut again. “M’tired. Shut up.”
Jemilla snickered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “You can sleep, Zaz. I’ll join you soon.”
Zazzalil shook her head, turning her face to rest against the crook of her wife’s neck. “Cave’s too lumpy. Not like ours.”
Jemilla helped to shift Zazzalil more comfortably in her lap, her arms wrapped snug around the other tribe leader. “Can’t sleep in there?”
Zazzalil shrugged sluggishly. “Maybe with you. Not alone.”
Jemilla chuckled softly, slowly reclining back until she was lying on the ground with Zazzalil atop her chest. She glanced over at the fire, just out of arm’s reach, then up to the stars again. “We’ll sleep here, then.”
“Out here?” Zazzalil lifted her head to meet her gaze, her eyes barely opened.
Jemilla craned her neck down to kiss her, smiling softly against her lips when she felt Zazzalil’s sleepy attempts to reciprocate. “Yeah. By the fire.” She whispered.
“Okay.” Zazzalil mumbled without complaint, nestling into her wife’s arms again. “Goodnight, Jemilla. Love you.”
Jemilla smiled even wider, watching a star move across the sky. “I love you, too.”