Kipofu - Das Tor
&
Furaha - Redbud-Tree
Kipofu was...definitely adjusting. Though there was so much sickness and death in the pride she'd been called to (because of someone Primitus had chosen to help sire cubs for), there was also so much...HOPE. And a tightness that one found only when a pride was put through adversity. That was the sort of environment, oddly enough, she was born into. A place where things were dark, but hope and tightness kept things bright and shining. She sighed and shook herself, allowing herself to feel her way around (she'd left Nasiha to look after the cubs while Prim was off doing his godly duties), looking for a new member to meet. She would meet at least one new creature a day in her new home. She would NOT be a recluse! Not when she was supposed to be a bard!
Motherhood wasn't something that Furaha had ever expected to find herself dealing with, especially since she had vowed off any kind of romantic attraction long ago. That had been before she had met Ndale, however, and now... well, the four little bundles sleeping in the den were proof enough that she was settling into her roll. She had just stepped outside for a little fresh air while the cubs slept, and already she was thinking about going back to make sure that they were all still breathing. She wasn't the nervous type usually, but the fragility of life had never seemed so damning until she had four tiny lives depending on her.
Kipofu's ears perked when an unfamiliar scent greeted her nose. Oh? Well! Another! And...a mother, by the milky smell that hung around her. "Hello there!" The blind lioness stopped just far enough off to not be crowding, her blind eyes looking in the other lioness' direction but...not quite AT the lioness. She had a bright smile on her muzzle, one that reached her eyes. "My name's Kipofu! I recently joined, my cubs and I." Prim...technically hadn't because of the restrictions of his domain of power.
Furaha blinked, not expecting the approach of another, and ashamed of herself for not noticing. She was supposed to be more aware than that! The dark lioness shook herself and nodded to the other, belatedly realizing that she wasn't looking at her. No stranger to conditions like blindness, she changed her nod so a quiet "Hello," looking over the other female curiously. "It's nice to meet you - I'm Furaha, born and raised in the pride." Good - if she had just joined, then maybe this stranger could know her as Furaha first, rather than one of the cubs spawned out of the mess Jozo had created. But... why would she bring her cubs into this pride? She had to know about the disease, and while Furaha was all for bolstering their ranks, the mother in her couldn't understand why someone would willingly bring their cubs into danger. "You brought cubs with you?"
"A pleasure to meet you, Furaha!" She nodded. "I did. Because from what I was told...this place needs more like them, and myself." She laughed softly. "And one of them kept insisting he belonged here. Considering the gifts he and his siblings have, and how little he himself insists on things...I wasn't inclined to argue." Her speech might have been confusing, but to her, it was normal. She was used to being surrounded by those familiar with seers and god-spawn. And those who were used to her quirks. Even Hakuna was getting used to her quirks.
"I see," Furaha said - and in a way, she did. Her half-sister Liraz had occasionally spoken in a similar manner, and while Furaha herself didn't really understand it and wasn't sure just how much she believed it, she knew that many did. So she let it go, and decided to change the subject. "How many cubs do you have? What are they like?"
Kipofu easily let the talk slide to her little ones...she was, after all, a proud mother. "Well...I've five little ones. They're a rather varied bunch, too. The eldest is a bit of a...serious boy though he's rather vain. The second-eldest has trouble sleeping all through the night, but he's a very kind lion and always looking out for his younger siblings, and both of my daughters are a bit...odd, but very kind and loving. And my youngest is..." Oh dear...how did one DESCRIBE Akuseru. "Hyper. And...at times tries my patience." A lot. Oh did Akuseru try her patience a LOT.
Five? That was one more than she had, then, and despite herself Furaha felt her gaze slide back to the den where her own little ones were sleeping. Or supposed to be sleeping, anyway she thought she heard something coming from inside that sounded like one might be trying to creep out. "They sound... lively," she said, half-listening to the lioness and half-listening to the sounds coming from deep within the den. "I have four, myself. Two of each. They're too young to know much of what they'll be like, however, so I don't have much that I can elaborate on." At least not that she thought the other would want to hear. How quiet Aibu was, how Thamani seemed to make up for it with extra, how the two boys mewled and crawled over one another... Surely none of that was worth repeating!
Kipofu giggled, nodding. "They'll start to develop their own personas soon enough. Little ones don't seem to stay...little for too long." Oh how fast little ones grew...it was almost saddening to know they'd all likely be bigger than her one day. "Congratulations on them, by the way. I hope they grow up strong, and kind." Two things a pride like the one they were in needed. The strength to deal with the sickness and death around them, and the kindness to still care about others, no matter their health.
"I believe you," the dark lioness said, and sighed lightly. There was far too much chance of them not growing up at all, in this pride. Being immune may have been a curse in the eyes of the goddess, but it certainly made her healthier. And, blasphemous as the thought may have been, she wasn't sure she could look too kindly toward a deity that struck down the cubs she was so very attached to. It seemed crueler than anything, somehow. "Thank you... I hope the same for yours, as well."
Kipofu nodded. "We can pray." Her ears pricked up as she heard the shuffle of a very familiar quartet of paws, Nasiha coming up behind her.
"Pardon. Kipofu, Akuseru and Terra are at it again." Kipofu sighed and nodded.
"Of course." She looked from the ratel to Furaha's direction, smiling slightly. "I'm afraid I need to go. It was a pleasure meeting you Furaha. I hope to run across you another time. Perhaps our little ones can meet, even." She knew Akuseru and Kasivinya would love new playmates.
"It was a pleasure meeting you, as well," Furaha said, and surprised herself by meaning it. This had been a reassuring and interesting encounter, and... well, now she didn't feel quite so odd about being a mother after having spoken to another parent, however briefly. It was good to know that this strange pride she was feeling seemed to be a normal thing.
"Perhaps, when mine are a bit older," she said, and stretched out before turning and returning to the den, where soft cries were starting up and alerting her to the fact that her cubs were waking.
