Maybe in another time, this reunion would have gone differently. There would have been joyful squeals and running towards each other for tight hugs and other things. This reunion would have seen this as a happy meeting of the minds, of two souls connected by a red thread that had stretched miles upon miles but never broke. That's how it should have played out, to give them the happy ending they needed. For so long their life together was a roundabout of unhappy endings with bits of happiness intermingled between it all...for once they needed something good.
But fate was laughing at them.
Kali did not run to him. She did not drop her bow and arrow to the ground. She did not yell his name and grab him into the strongest of embraces. She did not shed tears of joy at seeing her ohana before her once more. No, the lioness ran. She turned tail and without giving him the slightest chance to speak a word she bolted as fast as her legs could carry her. No, no no! she thought, her thoughts screaming at her as she threw the arrow back into the quiver and slung the bow over her chest giving her arms free range of motion. Her chest heaved, her lungs getting dry and burning as she ran with certain gusto that she rarely possessed. It was as if she were running for her life from some imminent danger.
Kyle seemed stunned for a moment, not knowing what he expected. Did he expect to get yelled at, or greeted as if nothing had ever happened between them? He was ready to apologize for being away for so long (even though he had no real grasp on exactly how long that was) and was prepared to explain the delay. He was ready to tell her about Pup's untimely demise, and he was prepared to catch her if she fell. Yet, she did not give him that courtesy. She fucking ran, and his mind snapped out of his jaded view of reality into a panic. He couldn't let her get away, he wasn't going to lose her when he just found her. So Kyle snarled, breaking into a run as well. Kali had already put some good distance between the two of them but he sought to close that gap, running as fast as his legs could carry him. He barreled past bushes, leapt over logs, and used anything he could to his advantage until he started to see her again. "Kali stop!" he yelled at her, but she seemed to be blocking him out.
Well, at least he thought so. But Kali proved his ass wrong, not by stopping but by yelling right back at him. "No, you stop running!" she bellowed, her lungs expanding and contracting forcefully as she did not break her pace. She barely even turned her head back to look at him, choosing to focus on her current path rather than what was behind her. She sought to find a way to shake him, yet with him catching up that wasn't going to be as easy. If she could just get out of his line of sight, she could have messed with her tracks and jumped into the stream to throw him off the trail like Old-Cat taught her. Yet, unless she found some hidden power within her she didn't have the energy to do that. So, her only option left was to keep running. She kind of figured she was heading in the direction of camp and Old-Cat could take care of Kyle, though her sense of direction was a bit off at the moment and she was actually headed a little too far west.
"I ain't stoppin' until you do!" he yelled right back at her, his lungs stinging just as much as hers did while he ran. He'd been used to running with the pack, but right now they were darting about like cheetahs on the savannah deep in a chase. They were going at their maximums, Kyle trying to take her down and Kali simply trying to lose him. He was unsure how long he would last, but he had to hope that she wouldn't outrun him. She started before he had, maybe she'll tire before him as well. So, growling to himself he pushed onward. The gap started to close a bit more, and with one last push he surged forward and then leapt forward towards her.
Kyle grabbed her and the both of them fell in a loud and rowdy tumble to the ground at which they both rolled a good few feet before their momentum caught up with them and they stopped. He was on top of her, pinning her down and she was thrashing like no tomorrow. "Get the fuck off of me!" she snapped at him, trying to kick at him but the position he had her in made it a bit hard to get her legs under him properly. Kali's arms were pushed out to the sides of her body, held down by his hands and even as she tried to pull away he had her down firmly. She debated on shifting, knowing that would throw him off of her pretty quickly yet her own panic at being held down clouded her better judgment.
"No, ain't doin' it!" he yelled at her, staring her down with his cool blue eyes while he bared his teeth at her. "Not until you stop fightin' me!" he made sure to add, their eyes meeting and Kali took this as a threat. She bared her teeth right back at him, audibly and loudly growling. She wished her human teeth were as threatening as her feline ones were, it might have been more convincing at the moment. However, her thrashing did quiet enough for him to loosen his hold on her, but not enough to completely let her go. He was afraid she might go running off again, and he had good reason to fear that. He glared at her, trying to take a breather himself to calm down.
Once Kali finally stopped fighting against him, he closed his eyes and sighed before he glared at her again. "If I let you go you ain't gonna run okay?" he asked, at which all Kali gave him was a short nod. Tentatively then he moved off of her, releasing his hold and allowing her to sit up. She did so, pushing herself up to sit and away from him a little. She wasn't running she just...didn't want to be near him at the moment. Kali's eyes narrowed at him, shifting her weight to sit on her knees and ready to run at a moment's notice. "You shouldn't be here," she snapped at him, "You need to get outta here right now. You don't belong here!" Kyle merely grunted, not particularly swayed by her words. "Bullshit," he confidently replied, calling it right there. But he didn't know who else she was here with and that was his own fault. "I can't leave without talking to you!"
Kali growled at him, pushing herself up to stand. "No, you don't get it! Now grab your shit and go, leave me alone!" If he only knew that her defensiveness was not only for herself, but...
All of a sudden, Old-Cat burst out from the dense trees and put himself in between Kali and Kyle, acting as an immediate barrier to separate them. His claws were extended and he was growling, bearing his teeth at Kyle. "You heard her whelp, go home!" he chimed in, his voice laced with a certain anger and protectiveness as he shielded his cub. Kali jumped back, stumbling over her feet for a few steps before she spoke up. "It's fine Old-Cat! I had this, he was going!" she tried to explain, though it seemed that her words were hitting a stone wall. Old-Cat's steely grey gaze fell on Kyle's, issuing some sort of challenge to him. It was more like an I dare you to take one step closer kind of challenge, at which if Kyle made one wrong move then Old-Cat was prepared to attack. Kyle's gaze merely hardened, glaring down Old-Cat as he did not falter from the challenge. He did not move back nor forward, merely staying where he was. He would not back down so easily.
"Why the fuck are you hanging out with this maniac, pussycat?! Do you even know who he is!" Kyle yelled at Kali, and it seemed that maybe Wildheart knew exactly who was standing in front of him. He didn't seem to forget a face, even if it was years ago locked up in the military prison. He would never forget Victor Creed's face. "I know who he is, that ain't the point!" she snipped right back, peering her head out from behind Old-Cat's protection. "Just leave!" she pleaded now, hoping Kyle would just do it. Old-Cat getting involved in their business was enough for now, and the only thing that would diffuse the situation would be Wildheart's exodus. So as Kali's eyes met Kyle's she was practically begging for him to back down and leave. Please, for everyone's sake. "You heard 'er, now go on whelp! Git!" Old-Cat snarled at Kyle, which stirred a growl from Wildheart's throat before he shied away. "Fine," he answered, mildly defeated as he began to back away. His eyes met Kali's one more time, before his disappeared into the cover of the forest.