[PRP] Rain (Kiri'ua & Pur'Jed)

[Princess_Feylin]

Pur'Jed sat alone in a corner of the greater cave where cubs and juveniles were cared for by minders. She wasn't often sent there, but it was as much in punishment for Nyota as anything else. Their mother thought that maybe if they were sent to the minders, her mischievous elder daughter wouldn't be able to escape to the commoners so easily. As she sat there, her shoulders hunched, the green-eyed juvenile glowered around the cave.

In truth, Pur'Jed was lonely. She loved her family, but they were all so different, the only one she truly felt she could relate to was her mother. Her mother, she knew, loved her dearly, but she couldn't quite bring herself to trail after her like some lesser companion animal or a pathetic shadow. Her sister Nyota was always off playing with the groundlings, which was just disgusting, and she knew from experience that her interests and her brother's lay in two totally different directions. Her sister Ela was nice, but really just a little too vague of thought to spend long periods of time with. The rest of her siblings were similarly disappointing.

Her scowling gaze fell on a flash of purple fur and for a moment she thought it was one of her siblings, but it turned out to be their aunt, Kiri'ua. She hadn't spent much time with her mother's sister since her return because she'd been afraid that the taint of the roguelands would wear off on her, but she didn't want to be stuck playing some childish game with children of lesser nobility or - worse -commoners. Last time she'd gotten in trouble for taking charge, which was just stupid. It was her right by birth to lead.

"Aunt Kiri'ua," she called without leaving her position in the corner. "Will you come here?"  

[Graceangel]

Now, Kiri being a nurse and of a noble birth and stature. She wasn't obligated to just answer summons like the familiar slaves or the common folk. However, she hadn't really had much chance to meet all of her neices and nephews. Why, they had only just been born before Kiri returned. Kiri did in fact regret she hadn't timed her return better to be present for that birth. Then again, Kiri was not yet blessed to be picked as a midwife. The royal family hand picked special midwives, and Kiri could only hope in time that she'd be worthy of that position.

It was out of concern that Kiri answered this call. She had a soft spot for the younglings in their pride. This was her family. She was extremely touched that her neice knew who she was by name and by sight. This must have meant that her sister made sure the children knew of Kiri. She hadn't had a heart full of welcome home feeling until this moment.

"Hello there. I can plainly see you are my sister's child. Which one are you, again? and, What can I do for you, sweetie? I am always happy to help. I like feeling like I can contribute to our quality of life without lowering myself as a commoner."  

[Princess_Feylin]

Pur was a little taken aback by her aunt's solicitude. She hadn't expected that the long-absent lioness would come so promptly, or be so pleased to be summoned. Much of the time the people minding the cubs resented being called over as if they were servants, which made no sense to Pur, who knew that they were servants, having chosen to take on a trade, rather than live as nobles. For those who, like her aunt, could have been nobles if they chose to be. She really didn't understand why someone would choose to give up all the status and prestige of nobility.

"I'm Pur'Jed," she squeaked, a little bit insulted that her aunt couldn't recognize her on sight. All things considered, her aunt had a lot more nieces and nephews than Pur had aunts, but that wasn't the point. Pur was special, and she thought everyone else ought to recognize that about her, too. She was the only one of her mother's children who really took her duty as a noble seriously.

"I don't think there's really anything you can do for me," Pur said, still unsure how she felt about being called 'sweetie.' No one at home called her that, and it made her feel kind of childish, which she didn't much care for. Not when she wanted so much to be treated like an adult.

"I just wanted to talk to you. I don't know much about you, and you're family. That doesn't seem right."  

[Graceangel]

Kiri then sat down after listening to the young noble. She was listening to her tone of voice. Kiri smiled at her. Per reminded her so much of her sister when they were kids. This was comforting. Kiri smiled at her with eyes full of admiration and tenderness.

"You're so right. It doesn't seem right. Also, I find that you are rather mature to recognize something of that nature. None of your siblings have come once to find me or say anything of a similar nature. Naturally, this must mean you are the leader? Would that also mean that you are the oldest of them? I must say. You sound so much like your mother when we were children. She'll be so glad to know at least one of her children is following her path."  

[Princess_Feylin]

Pur puffed up a little with pride. So her aunt had recognized that she was more mature than her siblings. That made her very happy. Any disgruntlement she had felt because her aunt didn't recognize her at once was being quickly soothed away by Kiri'ua's words. Her eyelids lowered somewhat, giving away her delight.

"I don't think Mother meant to neglect our introductions. She's usually very careful to make sure we're as polite and proper as can be. I think she was just busy. It's probably Nyota's fault. She's always in trouble."

The concept of tattling was a foreign one to Pur, who thought she was simply sharing necessary information with her aunt, who may not know any better. Pur didn't want her to be taken in by Nyota's undeniable charm, and then find herself in trouble when her charge sneaked away to go play in the dirt with the commoners or the groundlings.

"I'm not the leader, or the oldest," Pur admitted. But she thought she should be the leader, most definitely. The problem was convincing her siblings of that. Convincing cubs of lower classes was easy because they had the good sense to respect her superior birth, but her own siblings were less impressed by her.

"Was Mother really like me when she was younger? I haven't heard much about my parents when they were young. Did you know both of them then?"  

[Graceangel]

Kiri had been sitting nearby, but now the conversation was feeling a lot more intimate the way family time should be. She relaxed a little, and her shoulders and posture subtly signaled that she was accepting Pur. "Yes. Your mother has had her hands full. Anything I can do to help; I'm always available. I don't have a spouse or children of my own. This gives me the freedom and time to help others."

Kiri then had a brush of pride herself. She didn't want her ever perceptive neice to think she was giving service to others because she felt like a slave or anything like that. After all, even though Kiri was a nurse; she was still a noble. She was of noble birth. She was quick to digress to the young lioness's comments in a moment after this comment of kiri's own.

"Pur. It's really important to me that you understand something. I know that by appearances; it might seem that my being a nurse makes me a slave. It would seem that I have abandoned my post as a noble, but that isn't so. I mean. Yes. I am a nurse. I have accepted this job because when I returned to our pride after a long solitary journey in the roguelands. He felt that was what the nobles needed, a nurse. As a noble of this pride, it's my job to give the king whatever he needs to help our pride be its best... Even if that means that I am to serve my immediate community. It's not like I go to the forest floor. At least... not if I can help it. Of course, it no other nurses are available; I have to go of course."

Then, she cleared her throat clearly signaling that she was about to change the subject back to Pur's. "Digressing to what you had mentioned..." She coughed softly to clear her voice.

"I can't say I recall any memories of your father persay. However, I vaguely do remember a young cub who was always with your mother when she wasn't with the family. It was probably him. Yes. Your mother has always been very grown up. She always knew who she was and what she wanted. It would seem she has exactly what she wants; the way she wants it. She must be proud."

She then wondered to herself about the cub who got into trouble. Did this cub love the forest folk? She knew Maua had high prejudice about the lower class. She was certain Maua would be disturbed if she knew the cubs were sneaking down there.  

[Princess_Feylin]

Pur stifled a yawn. It was very good and gracious of her aunt to make the offer to help care for her and her siblings, but really it wasn't necessary. If her siblings would just behave like proper noble cubs, they wouldn't need to be cared for because they would be able to be trusted without supervision. She resented that their behavior had restricted her this way. She would have to be sure to let Nyota know how inconsiderate she was being, and point out that maybe she could take a lesson from their aunt in selflessness.

Just the same, Pur didn't quite buy into Kiri'ua's explanation for why she was a nurse. She had never heard of the king asking a member of the nobility to take on a menial task. Not that she'd been alive all that long to experience things, but she was certain she would have heard about it if it had happened. And her father had promised her that no one could ever make take away her position in the pride. Her aunt now seemed to contradict that, and it made her uneasy. What if the king told her to be a nurse, too? That would be awful!

"Was she pretty?" Pur asked. She knew her mother was beautiful now, but she was curious about what she had been like when she was younger. "When she was older, did all the boys want to marry her?"  

[Graceangel]

A breeze of sorrow blew across Kiri's countenance. Her eyes reflected regret and loneliness. Kiri was trying so hard to move beyond what had happened. Still, this child was rather estute. Kiri knew in heart the right thing to do was to be honest. What good would come from lying or putting on pretense.

"Pur, I..." She paused to catch her breath and swallow hard before explaining. "I was gone from our pride for a very long time. When I was a child just around your age or slightly older, I ran away. I often say it was because the death of the old king left me feeling panicked that our pride would come to ruin. However, that is much too mature of a sentiment as to my true reason."

Her eyes moved back and forth as she somewhat relived those foolish days in her memories. "Pur, one of the things I share with your mother is that feeling of being more well bred then those on the forest floor. Furthermore, I really dislike that our pride is open to non lions. If a wild dog walked in right now and wanted to be part of this, he could be. I really dislike canines. They are so filthy. They have zero class. They have no place among a people as noble as ours except as their slaves."

There it was. She had never liked that the canines could come. Already there were other creatures besides lions here. Of course, she kept herself plenty occupied to avoid them.

"It was foolish though. When I was off alone in the roguelands, I was never happy. I was always lonely even with other lions. My heart missed my family. Bwana is a kind king. He allowed me back completely forgiving. It is through my service to my fellow nobles that I give my penance and repay my stupidity."  

[Princess_Feylin]

Pur didn't know much about her family's history. She knew her father was important and her mother was very obviously noble, and there was nothing more to it than that. She knew her parents didn't always agree on much, but they definitely loved each other. When she'd been little, she'd worried their fights meant they would separate or something awful like that, but she'd learned that sometimes people fell in love even if they believed in very different things.

"You ran away!" Pur exclaimed, and quickly lowered her voice to ask, "I didn't know that."

That was true. Pur was a very forward-thinking sort of girl, and didn't take a great deal of interest in the past. Particularly not any part of the past which happened before she was born. That was all stuff she couldn't change. As she got older she'd learn that it was important, just the same, and even now she was beginning to get an inkling, but mostly she still thought of the past as being generally boring. Unless it had to do with her or people she knew.

Her eyes widened to enormous proportions as she heard her aunt's vehement declaration regarding canines. She couldn't recall having ever seen one in the pride, and couldn't properly conjure up a picture of one in her head, but she had no doubt they were every bit as detestable as her aunt claimed. She did wonder what had happened to make Kiri'ua hate them so, but she was too polite to ask.

"Are the lions outside the pride awful?" She'd always thought they would be violent bandits or villains.  

[Graceangel]

Kiri had mostly recovered herself from her roaming into the part of her that really disliked canines. Pur's question was just what she needed to calm her mind. She was finding that she was really enjoying spending time talking with her neice. She wished the others would come see her as well, on their own.

She then looked at Pur as she answered her question. "Oh, well, when I was roaming the roguelands, I didn't bother looking into the lands of other prides. I never had an interest. Maybe in my heart, I couldn't go there when my heart was to eventually come back."

She raised a paw, licking it and grooming an ear as she was about to continue just a bit. "Well, there are hundreds and thousands of lions which I never did get to see or meet. There are lots. You could travel for years and years on a great pilgrimage and never meet them all. With so many in number, there are lions of all types. They range from babes to extremely old elders. They also have some who are nice, and there are those who are mean. I had the pleasure of meeting a male who was blind. You wouldn't have known it though. He knew what i was eating without seeing it."  

[Princess_Feylin]

Pur'Jed didn't understand how her aunt could have been away for so long and managed to avoid any other prides. Even if her heart did know that she would eventually make her way back to the Suka'Fumo. Pur'Jed had no doubt she would die of loneliness, being out there for as long as her aunt must have been. And without the safety of a pride's guards and hunters, it would have been terrifying indeed.

"It sounds like part of a story," Pur observed. She had lived long enough to have acquired a pretty good feel for what made a good story, and what would make a good play, though she had no interest in trying her hand at drafting plays herself. She merely enjoyed them when her family attended.

"I'm glad you came back."

Naturally she knew that there were more lions in the world than she, or any one person could ever meet, but she'd only asked for a survey, really. A general pronouncement to summarize the majority of the lions beyond the borders of the pride. Really. People ranged from babes to elders everywhere, and obviously some people were nice and other were mean. Pur wasn't so young that she thought otherwise.

She sighed, getting a little tired of the conversation. She wanted to go home so she could see her mother.  

[Graceangel]

"Thanks. Perhaps over time, we'll get to know each other better. I have a feeling you'll probably be someone I later."

Kiri gave the girl a humble smile. She watched the movements of the young lionness. Kiri sighed. She was being perfectly boring. It was too bad, but really,Kiri was still rather socially awkward in points. She wished she could suddenly call forth a more interesting version of herself. She hoped one day.. if she had her own daughters.. her life might be at least slightly more interesting to tell them.

"well... i'm not going to bore you with the irrelevant and most unimportant details. and i think i've kept you longer than i intended. maybe your parents are looking for you."