Some Are Born Great [Bwana + Cubs]

[Cajanic]

It was a nice day to spend some time with the family. Bwana was busying himself, and avoiding Kal's temper around the cubs, by taking tow of his young into the woods to explore the strange mysterious of the once forbidden realm of the fairies. He knew there were dangers to be had within the trees, which is why he was serving as their body guard.

Not exactly a kingly duty, but it was hard to play the role of leader when looking at your children. Borachio and Parisette were with him only, as spending his day with all the children at once was, well, more than a little tiring for the large purple male.

With no mother to share their attention, and a queen who disliked looking at them, it was tough to make sure they all had the attention they needed. Bwana did his best.

"Don't run ahead too far," he told the young ones, "this forest holds many secrets in it that may steal you away if you're not careful."

Borachio was happy to get away from the den at the top of the cliff for a little while, but it was such a long walk to the forest! His were tired, though he had spent half the journey on his father's back. Still, he enjoyed being able to see the more high-spirited members of the pride.

The groundlings were so cool- and the players! He wanted to act and entertain his family. Would Bwana still like him if he was a player?

Running up to Parisette, he gave her a nudge with his shoulder, offering her a mocking grin.

"Did you hear that?! If you're not careful, a fairy is going to steal you away from us! We're not going to go looking for you, so you'd better not do anything dumb! I'll tell everyone if you do!" He laughed and sprang away from his sister, still very young at heart though his body was going through a growth spurt.
 

[Velveteen Angel]

Parisette was torn, between spending time with her father, or exploring the forest which she had yet to have a chance to really do. She rarely got to spend time with her father, so it was a treasured experience in any form, but really...the forest.

Hearing her father's warning, her eyes lit up. Get stolen away? Oh! Then I would need a prince, or a hero to come and rescue me back! Her heart began to race at that idea, imagining a rather in depth fight to rescue her back from whatever it was that lived within the forest that would steal her. First, I need to find someone who would rescue me, before I get stolen, she thought, realizing she knew no one who would go charging in father.

As if to prove her point, her brother nudged her, and teased her to not to anything dumb. She frowned and charged after him as he sprang away. "I won't do anything dumb Borachio, that's more your style!" she retorted, a more childish side coming out of her around her siblings. She nudged him, and scrambled away, further into the forest out of curiousity.
 

[Cajanic]

Borachio wasn’t against chasing his sister, laughing as he went deeper into the forest. “Don’t call me dumb! YOU’RE dumb,” he shot back lightly, meaning no real mal-intent in his words. Though he liked to think that he was better than his brothers and sisters, he still love them. If they ever needed someone to protect them, he would do his best. Of course… he wasn’t very strong.

He didn’t know much about fighting. Maybe he could ask his dad for lessons. Or, you know, maybe he could jump on his sister. That seemed to be the winning choice, Borachio leaping on top of his sister, rolling through the grass with her. “Ha!” he cheered, “got you!”

As they played, Bwana trotted quickly after them, glad his long legs covered more distance than their short, quickly moving ones. Were they getting along, or fighting? Did he need to show some authority? It was hard being a dad, knowing when to step in. For the moment it seemed like they were just having a bit of fun together.

Maybe he should have picked two different cubs to take with him- he must have brought the most hyper two in the litter.
 

[Velveteen Angel]

Parisette giggled at their rather silly argument of who was dumb and who wasn't. It was a silly thing to say to one another, but it was funny and she grinned over her shoulder at him. "If I'm dumb, you're dumber!" She called out, and squealed when he had pounced at her, tackling her to the ground. Hitting the grass, she wiggled and kicked, trying to dislodge her as she laughed. "You did not! You cheated! I wasn't ready," she protested fruitlessly, still laughing.


"Daddy! Help! Get him off!" she called out, trying to entrance her father to her side and get him to team up on Borachio with her. She was little and a girl, so she needed extra help, she reasoned, pawing at her brother and attempting to wiggle out, grinning still as she shoved a paw into his face.

 

[Cajanic]

Bwana laughed. He knew his son wasn’t hurting his sister. Still… no harm in playing along with their games, right? “You need a valiant king to protect you, little princess?” He asked, “well look no further! I shall come to your defense, as I always will.” He moved over to the two cubs, picking up Borachio by the back of the neck. Holding him by the scruff, he dangled him above his sister, as though he might drop him back down.

After a moment, he placed the laughing cub off to the side, grinning. “You two should work together to over come bigger threats, not fight with one another! What happens if I’m really an evil king come to steal your home?”

Amused, Borachio squealed and wiggled when he was picked up, delighted by the way things were going. He loved it when he got to play with his family, even if he knew he would grow up to be better than ALL of them, even his dead.

Just needed that break.

“Dad’s right!” he huffed once he was on the ground again, “we should take him down while we’re out in the middle of the forest and no one can see what we’re doing!” He didn’t waste time, springing at his father and securing himself to the large male’s front leg, hugging it tightly.  

[Velveteen Angel]

She was giggling to herself as her father came to her rescue, her eyes lighting up at her father as she smiled. Always will? What a lovely thought. She was momentarily distracted by the thought. What if some dasterdly monster swept in and tried to snatch her away for it's own collection of pretty things (and the monster would collect pretty things, she was sure! like sapphires and pretty blue shells and feathers) and her father would come racing in and rescue her away from the evil monster and all would be saved! What a wonderful idea!

Shaking her head, she rolling to her feet just as her brother announced they should take down their father, and knowing it was a joke, she pounced on their father, trying to leap onto his back. "If we take him down, I get to be queen," she teased her brother, attempting to stay balanced on her father, "you can still be my attendant though, Borachio!" She shot her brother a grin, sticking her tongue out slightly at him to say 'ha, I called dibs first, so I win!'

 

[Cajanic]

“That’s not fair!” whined Borachio, as though she had just taken the last of the meat from a carcass, “of didn’t give me a chance to claim it cause you talk too much! There can’t just be a queen anyway! You’d have to get a king first before you could take that title! So I should be king, cause you need someone else.” He pounced on his father, using him as more of a stepping stool to get to his sister than actually trying to take the male down.

Now he wanted to pin his sister and show that he was the one more entitled to the thrown- he was a male!

“You can be MY attendant- no- my SLAVE.”


Bwana, who now had two lion cubs wandering all over him like he was just another rock to play on, kept his body low so they didn’t fall too fall should one slip off. Not that a fall off a lion would really cause them harm, but still.

He would feel terrible if they cried because they had fallen off of his big fat body.

“That’s not true Borachio! You don’t need a male to be the ruler. Not in this pride. If I had been a girl, instead of a boy, your mommy would be the one in charge now. If you both take me down, you can share the thrown. Rule together. But what will happen to poor Bwana? Will you kill your own father?” He felt Borachio’s little claws in his fur, though the boy was only trying to cling to the male’s roomy back. Gently, he shook his frame, just to give them a bit of a ride.
 

[Velveteen Angel]

Parisette gasped in outrage, not at the 'can't be queen' comment, but her brother's announcement of her future slave-hood if he came into power. She pouted at him. "That's not nice! I wanted to give you a nice cushy job, but nooo, you condemn me to being a slave." Her words were a little to dramatic to be believable that she was actually upset at him, and clambered around on her father, in an attempt to get away from Borachio. She had all but forgotten their plan to overthrow their father, squealing as she tried to avoid her brother. She climbed up by her father's head, clinging to his mane.

As her father spoke, she began to giggle, but bit down, trying to stop it. She only lasted a little while before the giggles broke free and she tugged at her father's ear lightly, announcing, "Daddy would have been a pretty girl!" Making it rather obvious that she hadn't really listened to her father's words that well. Her eyes lit up with glee as she glanced at her brother, "so would Borachio! Daddy, don't you think Brother would make such a pretty girl?" She grinned, teasingly.
 

[Cajanic]

Bwana didn’t seem to mind his Parisette-hat, letting her cling to him as the two cubs scrambled around on his body after one another. He wished they did have some chance of become ruler. Unless Kal was unable to produce children, however, it seemed very unlikely that they would be in any position of power any time soon. At least they could be nobles, if they wanted. Everything was open to them. For that, he was at least a little thankful. Well… most of them could be nobles, anyway.

As a father, however, he just wanted more for them.

He laughed at his daughter’s comments. “Yes, I would have been a very pretty girl. I think I would have had all the males after me.” He would have answered about Borachio, but the boy was one it.


“NO WAY!” he roared, “I wouldn’t make a pretty girl! I’m a boy, a boy! I only look good as a boy. YOU would look good as a boy, though!” He jumped at his sister again, landing next to her on his father’s head. Two cubs on one head seemed too much for their father, however, who flopped forward under their weight with a grunt, resting his chin on the ground. The sudden movement knocked Borachio forward, the lion cub rolling down his father’s nose and over himself before landing on his butt ahead of the much larger male. He laughed.

“I want to do that again!” the male beamed, “that was fun! Daddy’s a slide!”
 

[Velveteen Angel]

Parisette giggled at her father's comment, and tried to imagine her father with all the men in the pride chasing after him. It was a hilarious image to him, mostly because the feather her father usually wore had been replaced, in her mind, with a big pink bow, which looked extremely ridiculous on him.

Her brother's outrage caught her by surprise and she looked horrified at his comment. "No way! I'm way too pretty to be a boy," she exclaimed, trying to dodge her brother as he launched himself at her. She clung to her father, as he dropped to the ground and caused her brother to roll off. She'd somehow managed to cling to his mane, hanging off the side of his head but thankfully not going the same way as her brother.

Her eyes widened as her brother beamed, and she slipped from her father's mane and onto the ground. "Not fair! I didn't get a go on the daddy slide!" She huffed and scrambled back up onto her father's back. She was acting brattish, but her brother brought out a competitive side about her, and she was mostly doing it to annoy him, since she knew he wanted another go on the slide their father had made, accidentally or not.

 

[Cajanic]

Bwana was too busy enjoying himself to really consider what was going on about him. His daughter and son were using him as a slide, rolling down him and laughing loudly as they did so. For him, it was an exciting and happy bonding experience that he very deeply enjoyed.

For anyone watching them, it was a bizarre show with their king’s butt hanging in the air while children used him as a toy, showing him no respect as a king.

Good thing no one was around- he would have grown annoyed if other lions were judging his play time with his children. But it was probably something he should have been more aware of- he was supposed to be kind, after all. “Just don’t hurt yourselves,” he told his kids, “rolling off daddy is fun and all, but I injuries are not.”


“We won’t get hurt dad!” Borachio grunted, “why would we? We’re just playing!” He was laughing lightly as he watched his sister, wanting to push her off, despite their father’s words still fresh in his mind.

Surely knocking her off dad wouldn’t cause her too much pain, right?

“Hurry up!” he told her gruffly, “I want to go again too!” Then, maybe, they could find something to eat. He was starting to get hungry.
 

[Velveteen Angel]

Parisette giggled, and scrambled up her father's back. "We'll be fine, Daddy!" she assured him, agreeing with he rbrother. They were only playing. Why would they get hurt?

She reached the highest point of the Daddy-Slide, she wiggled a little, getting into the right spot before she tumbled down the wonderful slope that her father made. She squealed, tumbling to the floor with a beaming smile. Her heart was racing furiously in her chest, the slight thrill of adrenalin from her ride making her giddy. "Daddy makes a great game!" She announced brightly, before nudging her brother. "Your turn!"

She smiled at her father, pleased that he was being so nice and letting them play on him. "If your role of king doesn't work out, Daddy, you'd make a wonderful full-time slide!"
 

[Cajanic]

“Oh really?” Laughed the king, “well, I’m certainly glad to hear that! It’s nice to know I have another career waiting for me.” Not that he thought he was doing so bad at being a king- the place hadn’t burst into flames just yet. Surely that meant he was doing something right… right?

Smiling, he waited for the two cubs to be close together, Borachio rolling off his father and crashing into Parisette. Then, Bwana quickly turned around, placing his paws on either side of the two cubs, letting his mane hang over them as he gently pinned them against the ground. “There! Now you can be my toys,” he teased, sticking his tongue out as he stood over them. “Maybe you need a bath!”


“Daddy no!” squealed Borachio, “your tongue is gross! No!” He hated having to get a bath- why did they need to be clean? They were just going to get dirty again! He wiggled, but Bwana didn’t seem that interested in letting him go just yet.

“I like you better as a slide!” wailed the purple cub.