[PRP] Family Resemblance (Mheetu, Erevu)

[Mogami]

Mheetu had never been a particularly adventurous cub but having been surrounded by many that were during his cubhood gave him a better understanding of such temperaments. After all, a large litter always had a few individuals whose boldness outweighed their caution and some of Mheetu’s siblings tended to fall into that category. Straying from the den, climbing Pride Rock or running off to the border... most lions did at one of those at least once when they were little.

To say that he understood it did not mean he wasn’t aware of the risks that such behaviors entailed. Climbing was dangerous and a large eagle could easily swoop down and grab a lone cub without much effort. Mheetu’s cubs might be big enough to get carried away by a bird but there were many ways a curious cub could get injured, lost or stolen especially if they got too close to the border so the young father had decided to have a little chat with each one of his children in order to warn them against such dangers. Standing from the dark corner of the den where he’d been dozing off, the pale lion decided to seek out Erevu’s dark little mane amongst his siblings first.

“Erevu…?” he called out as he neared the mouth of the den.  

[Lollipop x L u x u r y]

The cricket was not too far off.

Erevu grinned at his progress, crouching low into the grass as his eyes focused on the cricket. His shoulders tensed, rolled, loosened. His claws dug into the dirt momentarily. As quietly as he could, he crept closer, watching the bug closely. A leg twitched on the brown insect. Erevu ducked lower, getting ready to pounce. His small muscles bunched up. He was just about to launch himself into the air.

"Erevu...?"
The cub jump with start, landing not to far on the ground in front of him since he didn't get the take off that was expected. Frowning at the cricket that was getting increasingly further away, Erevu picked himself off the ground, looking over at his siblings, before looking towards his father.

Grinning, he lopped over. He was a complete daddy's boy and idolized his father. His hair tousled, getting into his eyes as he tried to blow it out of the way. Unable to see through the mane, he ran into his father's legs, bounced back, and landed on his hide. Wincing, he finally threw his head back, successfully moving the hair and meeting his father's eyes.

"Dad, dad! I was thiiiisss close to catching that cricket!" Erevu admonished with an exaggerate shortness of distance between his right paw and the ground. Puffing his chest out in pride. he looked out towards where the cricket had been, before back at his dad. He tilted his head slightly to the side, his hair flopping into his face once more.

Fixing the irritation, the cub finally settled on titling his head to the other side, before giving his father a questionable look. "Yes, dad?" he asked, though squirmed impatiently with the need to go search for the cricket.

Mogami

 

[Mogami]

Lollipop x L u x u r y

Is Erevu going to be caught near the border (I saw one of his rps there) or is he going to be able to sneak back home without anyone noticing?

When Mheetu spotted his son, he had an almost uncontrollable desire to adjust his fluffy brown mane. Shaking his own into place, the Scout moved closer to the little lion with a friendly grin and chuckled when Erevu bumped into his legs and then looked up at him.

“Your mane is growing nicely.” He said with mock seriousness before lifting one large paw to push the brown hairs to the side so that he could properly meet his son’s red gaze. Mheetu looked around for the elusive cricket and then padded his son gently in the head. “I see… a great hunter in the making. I’m sorry about that.”

He paused and then slowly lowered his body to the ground so that they were at the same level.

“I just want to talk to you. You and your siblings are getting pretty big and you’re already doing a bit of exploring. I just want to make sure you’re all safe.” Gods forbid that any of cubs ended anywhere near the Outlands or the graveyard pack just because Mheetu had failed to properly cautioned them against it.  

[Lollipop x L u x u r y]

Erevu huffed, nearly going cross-eyed as he stared in annoyance at a stray section of hair that just refused to stay to the side. "It's been nothing but a bother, dad! I can't see half the time!" Erevu whined, not realizing just how lucky he was to have such a full amount of mane. Of course, he would grow into the disarray of brown locks but as it was now...

When his view was properly fixed by none other than his father, the cub couldn't help but to drop the pout and grin bashfully. He scooted closer just a bit, looking up at his father. "Hopefully as good as you someday!" he chirped with excitement.

When Mheetu lowered his body to the floor to get at eye level, the brown cub squirmed in nervousness. Uh-oh, his father wanted to talk... Exploring...? He couldn't have possibly found out about that... one time, could he have? Suddenly, Erevu just couldn't meet his father's green gaze. Looking around at the floor, sky, den, and trees behind him, the cub tried a ditch effort of changing the subject. "Do the best fireflies only come out during the day? I was told they do but I haven't found one yet..." the cub piped up, absently, ears tense to see if his diversion had worked. He really didn't want to find out if this was a simple precaution speech or that his father had actually found out about his 'exploring'.

Mogami

Oooh, definitely! * u*

 

[Mogami]

Lollipop x L u x u r y

“Probably even better. I’m not that great of a hunter.” Mheetu chuckled, resisting the urge to ruffle the little brown mane. He winked. “Maaaybe.”

His eyes narrowed appraisingly when his son tried to change the subject and for a brief moment, the pale Scout looked somewhat suspicious. But his expression quickly softened when the lion spoke again. Mheetu only knew that Erevu had disappeared for a long period of time recently and that he’d been seen a good distance away from the den. Had he known that Erevu’s little adventure had taken him all the way to the border of the pride, this conversation would probably have been much different.

“I have no idea, son. I think all fireflies sleep during the day but I don’t think you’d be able to see them during the day even if they came out. My younger brother Sar might know more about it.” He leaned to the side and made himself comfortable, hoping Erevu would relax a little as well. He looked like he’d just been caught misbehaving. “Like I was saying before, you and your siblings have started leaving the den and exploring the pride. It’s perfectly normal but I want you to be careful. You can climb Pride Rock and trees if you’re careful and feel confident enough. The pride is mostly safe right now but I’d like you to stay away from deep water, okay? Especially if you see crocodiles. There will usually be adults near those places and they'll protect you if necessary but it never hurts to be cautious. And, of course, I don’t think I need to talk to you about the border.”  

[Lollipop x L u x u r y]

Erevu’s eyes lit up at the statement, feeling all the more inspired to practice hunting and improve his skills. Oh, how he wished he could go back to hunting the cricket now! Fighting back a pout, he grinned instead at the wink and the dragged out word. ”Hey! I’ll be the best hunter!” Erevu stated, nodding his head to back up his words.

At the information about his wonderful fireflies sleeping during the day, the cub looked positively crestfallen. ”Uncle… Sar?” Erevu hesitated. He hadn’t really talked with his uncle. Suddenly, a crooked grin graced his face. ”I suppose I’ll find him later!” Erevu chirped.

Pride Rock. Erevu definitely wanted to climb that someday. Without his parents. And crocodiles, he definitely wanted to see. Of course, from a distance, but none the less, it would be a thrill to see what personally. At the mention of the border, however, he tensed, becoming immensely enthralled at his father’s left paw. ”B-Border?” he said, continuing to look at his paw and avoiding his gaze. Of course, Erevu was bad at hiding things and always will be.

Mogami

 

[Mogami]

Lollipop x L u x u r y

“Oh, don’t be afraid. I know Uncle Samawati says a lot of things about the border but it’s not all bad.” Mheetu patted the cub softly and pushed him closer, completely misunderstanding Erevu’s reaction. He couldn’t really blame the golden lion for his hatred of the nearby hyena pack – he had lost his twin brother to them - but he didn’t want those feelings rubbing off on his cubs this early in their lives. “There are two sides to the border. There are nice strangers that sometimes join us and strange creatures that pass through. But there are also nasty characters that will steal or kill anyone they can. It would be very easy for a cheetah to grab you and run off and we live close to the elephant graveyard where a bunch of mean hyenas live.”

He smiled at his son fondly, nosing his little mane before standing up.

“It’s just a little too early for you and your siblings to go there alone. Okay?” he looked down at the cub expectantly, obviously expecting or at the very least hoping for a positive reply. “We’ll go together when you’re a little bigger.”  

[Lollipop x L u x u r y]

Erevu's eyes lit up at this; his uncle knew a lot of things about the border? Why hadn't he become more familiar with this family member! Suddenly, he was very anxious to get away and seek him out.

However, his thoughts were quick to subside at the pat and the push. A giggle escaped him as he nudged his head affectionately against his father's leg. When his elder began speaking again, with more information about the border, Erevu nearly leaned forward in interest as he absorbed the words. "Elephant graveyard?" Erevu whispered in awe before wrinkling his nose. He didn't particularly like the idea of someone running off with him; he rather liked the comforts of his home. His family was here and he had friends as well!

"Well, they seem awfully mean." the cub amended with a disgruntled look, before peering up at his father. "Perhaps they just don't know any better; their mama and dad probably didn't teach them otherwise." then, the golden feline sighed nearly miserably. Poor things... He had heard that term uttered between lioness and thought it was very appropriate in this scenario.

Again, his thoughts were sidetracked when his father spoke again. "Really?" He yelped in excitement, jumping up with a large grin. He hopped excitedly before placing his front paws on his father's chest, leaning up with a very serious expression, which consisted of wide eyes, furrowed eyebrows, and a hard lined mouth; it was an expression he had seen and was trying his best to imitate. "Do you promise?" he asked with a hint of hopefulness. "Because I want to become a scout one day, dad." This time, Erevu spoke with such boastfulness, his chest nearly swelled. He was very proud of his ambitions. "And that's why I need to know everything I can about the borders!" he chirped.

Mogami

Erevu's grown!! QuQ Sooo, wanna get his cub roleplays out of the way. Sooo happy. -stoked-

 

[Mogami]

Lollipop x L u x u r y

Mheetu smiled, forever grateful that his cub was so blissfully unaware of the horror that was to be at war with the hyenas, not knowing if one or both of his parents would return at the end of the day or fearing that the beasts would make it through the Scouts to harm him and his siblings. Things that Mheetu himself would not forget easily if ever.

“They want these lands but they’ll never get them. We’re too many and too strong.” The cub’s eagerness put a big grin on his face.

“I promise.” he said seriously, giving his son a firm nod. He didn’t want to influence Erevu in such na important decision so he managed to rein in his reaction to the cub’s words – what he really wanted was to jump for joy and run off to tell all his friends. “A Scout, really? We must tell your mother, then. You can talk to your grandfather, too. Uncle Akairo and Samawati will like to know as well.” It was pretty obvious he was loving his son's desire to follow his steps.  

[Lollipop x L u x u r y]

Erevu blinked at this and looked around. "These lands?" he whispered, as though those very hyena's were lurking around the corner. He then frowned. "But they can't! They're ours!" He nodded his head, expression as stern as he could make it.

His serious mood was quick to evaporate. His father liked his idea! Jumping up, he let out a hoot of cheers before nodding his head frantically. "Yes, mama and Grandpop. Definitely Uncle Akairo! And I need to talk to Uncle Sar anyways! I want to be just like you, dad!" he spoke quick with excitement before burrowing his head at his father's chest. Oh, how lucky he was to have such a family. He knew a few cubs who had not a clue about their own father.

"I'll grow up and make you proud!" he chirped, grinning up at Mheetu.

Mogami

Finish and wrap, yes? 8')

 

[Mogami]

Lollipop x L u x u r y

I'm so sorry that it took me so long to finish this!!!

“That’s right, we’ll never let them have them.” Mheetu stated proudly, raising his head high. To this day it still baffled the Scout how the hyenas had believed they had any claim to the Pridelands and sought to find against the pride’s ridiculous numbers.

“Of course you will.” The pale lion chuckled and patted the buried cub before he turned to walk away. “Let’s go then. I have to talk to your siblings, too.”

- FIN -