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 Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:17 pm
Wahabu was at home in his little den. It was lonely now, too quiet.. he was the only one there. Riko had gone home for a little while, and Habu wasn't quite finished moping. He'd started looking out a little more for Intombi, but he hadn't managed to find her in the time he had. He felt kind of strange "stalking" her, but still thought it was one of the better ideas. He could look out for her and the cubs without actually being there and causing her any distress. It was the best he could do.
So he figured anyway.
Lounging by the mouth of the den, he considered the idea of going to visit his father, sister and Sheshe..
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:40 pm
Slowly, she'd moved her cubs to near Habu's den. Very near, very slowly. They were sleeping, and she intended on keeping them that way. One at a time, she carried all eight to where they were huddled together right that moment. She stared at them for several moments, something she did often. Sometimes, she half expected her to be staring and then suddenly wake up, as if the cubs had never happened and things were the way they had been before she got pregnant. The way things were... That was one of the many reasons she was returning. There were too many reasons for her to think about it right now, though. She'd done plenty of thinking this past week. Now was the time to just do it already.
Slowly, the frazzled looking lioness left her pile of cubs and made her way towards Habu's den. She hadn't even thought about what she might say or do or think when she saw him, she just knew she had to get there. Without hesitation, she walked right out into plain sight.
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:48 pm
Habu was not quite as well groomed as he had been when Intombi was around, he hadn't had anyone to impress in so long that he kind of drifted back to not caring quite as much about being perfectly groomed. He had other worries on his mind, and that's why when he spotted Intombi heading his way he was sure he was imagining it. Nevertheless, he knew he wasn't willing to risk it- so he rose to his feet and stepped out and away from the den.
Was Intombi really coming here? She didn't look pregnant, or like anyone was with her.. but she wasn't so nearby.
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 5:03 pm
Possibly the only good thing about Intombi's looks was her dramatic weight loss. Not only had the eight bodies been pushed out, but she hadn't really eaten too much. She'd just gotten enough to feed the little ones, which was pretty draining in the end. She hardly cared about her weight anymore, though. She wanted to groom herself and she wanted beauty sleep. Man, did that sound good.
She continued walking forward until Habu stood up, at which point she did actually hesitate for a moment. It was only a moment, though. Those old butterflies fluttered up in her stomach again, and she got a warm feeling creeping all over her skin. After taking a few more steps, she sped up to jog the last few paces that seperated them. She had to do something before Habu could say anything. She'd had a full week to think about all the awful things he could say to her. Really, she hadn't come up with many insults but she had come up with plenty of general reactions. He could just walk away, which would be both saddening and really bad for her and the cubs. He could refuse to let her come back. Riko could show up and ruin things. So many more possibilites. So, she had to react before he did. When the distance between them was closed, she nuzzled him, trying to no pay attention to how she looked... and for that matter, how he looked.
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 6:03 pm
Wahabu was stunned and most importantly, he was speechless. He'd never expected to see her, his only planned explanations were if he happened to get caught while checking in on them. This was unexpected, but not totally unhoped for. He could only stare, though, as she came up and nuzzled into him.
He stood motionless, still unsure what to say or do. She definitely wasn't pregnant, quite the opposite she looked much smaller. Had something happened?
"You're back?" he mumbled finally.
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 6:29 pm
Intombi pulled back and took a few steps to give them a more comfortable talking space. She had a somewhat happy look, but there was definitely a hint of her stress in her face. She looked Habu over from where she stood, trying to decide if he was in good health and spirits. That was a bust, though, 'cause from her angle she really couldn't see much but the front, and from the front she could tell he wasn't exactly at his peak. It pulled at her heart strings to think that he wasn't happy. "Yeah. I..." She trailed off and looked away for a few moments.
This was the part where some planning would've come in handy. What was she supposed to do now? Say, oh yeah, I'm back and by the way, I have eight kids. We, she corrected herself. It was we have eight kids, not I. That was going to take some getting used to. That is, if Habu was going to be okay with her coming back after... everything. She needed him, though. At this point, she needed him physically, but she also needed him emotionally and mentally. There was something missing when she was out staying away. She hadn't quite gotten everything figured out yet, but she did know that she wasn't as happy when she wasn't here. Or not really here specifically, but here with Habu. Even having just been here a few moments, she already felt better. "There's something I need to tell you..."
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 6:42 pm
Habu glanced at her, and almost moved forward again when she stepped away so they could chat. It was almost like she was going to turn and run at any moment in his mind, he didn't want to lose her now that she'd actually come looking for him. He was muddled on how he felt, but he didn't want her to just go away again. He managed however to keep his distance, though he was clearly very anxious looking.
"Oh?" he asked quietly, hoping nothing could be wrong, "What is it?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 6:59 pm
Intombi had niavely believed that the moment she walked back to the den, things would go back to normal. Even though there were now eight cubs to be cared for. She thought the mood would return to normal and everything would be okay. There was something so off about all of this, though. It put her on edge, almost stiff. Maybe things would get normal once the cubs were settled in? That might be it. Maybe things were just off because she was a new mother and her cubs were currently unattended to, and Habu was a new father.
She didn't like how quietly he spoke. It wasn't so much that he needed to say anything louder or anything else for that matter, it was just adding to that weird feeling she was getting. She had butterflies and her skin still felt prickly, but at the same time, there was something else. Something she didn't like. Trying to ignore it, she moved on to the complicated situation she was in. There was nothing to do but to say it. "Well... Habu, the cubs are nearby. All of them." She stared at him to gauge a reaction. "There's Manny and Kiki and Mab and... Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight." Her voice got smaller and smaller as she went through the numbered five. Not only did it make it easier for Habu to know just how many cubs there were, but it also made her look a bit bad. Three of them had cute little names, and then the rest were just... numbers.
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 7:12 pm
Habu felt like his stomach was doing flips, he was uneasy, he was anxious and he was almost scared to feel happy. He had no idea what she was going to tell him, but he hoped it was that she had the cubs, they were fine and he was going to get to see them.
When she said the cubs were nearby, he perked up a bit- so they were here, they must be ok then. He looked around before looking back to her, wondering at her hesitation. As she started listing names, he felt mystified and a little.. sad that he hadn't been there. Until she started just listing numbers.
"Four, five, six, seven, eight?" he repeated, sounding amazed. Firstly, they didn't have actual names? No- firstly- they had eight?! His might couldn't quite process this, eight was a very big number. Very big. No wonder Intombi looked so distraught and unkempt. Then his stomach dropped.
No wonder she came back.
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 7:33 pm
Intombi wasn't sure what to do with Habu's reaction. It wasn't really a good one or a bad one, it seemed. He was amazed, and that's all she could figure out. Then again, who wouldn't be amazed? EIGHT cubs was a great deal. Intombi knew that now better than anyone. She'd been taking care of all eight of them on her own for a little over a week. Heck, she'd given birth to all of them. That in itself was a feat. Really, she still doubted that it had happened sometimes. It was just such an incredibley large litter, and she was so unused to something like that. Her friend, Mzuza, was from a litter of nine, sure, but that was Intombi's only experiance with large litters. All the other lions she knew, or at least as far as she knew, were from small litters. She didn't know much about Riko's litter, but assumed it was small since the only sibling she'd heard of was his sister. Habu was one of two, and then she was one of two. It was normal to hear about smaller groups. For her, at least.
"Yeah. I uhm, I didn't name all of them. There were just so many, Habu, and I was so tired." She looked around at the dirty guiltily. She'd had time since then to name them, but she'd been so frazzled by everything she just hadn't done it. "They're beautiful, though." Despite her stress, she couldn't help but smile when she pictured the group in her head. They were a family of lookers, alright. Add in herself and Habu, and it was just as cute as can be.
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 7:46 pm
When Intombi said she hadn't been able to name them all, Habu did something very strange. He smiled. It was such an Intombi thing to do, and despite everything he had missed her, he still loved her. He doubted very much her feelings, but she clearly needed his help and they were his- he wasn't going to just abandon them for something silly like that. Neither of them could do this on their own, Intombi especially where she didn't have any family around to help her.
"C-can I see them?" he asked carefully.
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:07 pm
His smile relaxed her a little bit. It was contagious, too. She couldn't help but start smiling along with him, despite this 'off' feeling she felt. The fact that he managed to smile meant that he wasn't angry with her, right? It was a good thing. She didn't want him angry with her, that was for certain. At the same time, more in the back of her head, self preservation and maternal instincts were at work. If Habu was angry, he wouldn't let her come back. If she didn't get to go back, she'd have to stay on her own. With eight cubs. Not only would the cubs health suffer, but her own as well. It was just a bad situation all around. So, she really did need him. She wanted him, too, but she definitely did need him.
Her eyes widened a little when he asked. She'd forgotten to bring him to see the cubs! Duh, Intombi. She could've smacked her forehead with her paw. "Oh, right! Yeah, c'mon, I'll bring you to them." She nodded once and turned slightly, still keeping her eyes on Habu. After a few seconds, though, she dropped her look on him and lead the way to where she had piled the sleeping bodies. It didn't take more than a few seconds to get there. Intombi wasn't the best mom ever, but she also wasn't about to leave her cubs somewhere too far off. They were all still there, sleeping. She smiled when she saw them. When they slept, they were like angels. It was only when they were awake that they stressed her out. "And there they are. All... eight." She looked over at Habu, practically glowing with pride through her dirty fur. There were so many of them, and they were such a paw full, but they were still theirs, and they were wonderful.
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:24 pm
Habu's stomach again was doing flips, though this time it was much more excited. He would get to see his cubs now, his cubs.. he'd always been pretty good with cubs and he'd never thought he'd get to see them. Sure, there were eight of them but that wouldn't change how he felt about them, each and every one of them.
When he first saw the cubs, he stared- and after a moment of staring he just had to sit down. They were amazing, so many colors, so much blue.. each one looked so unique, so different from the others and yet they all looked just perfect together. After a moment, he glanced over at Intombi and asked in a hushed voice, "Which ones are Manny, Kiki and Mab?"
Of course he remembered their names, but he wished he could just say who was who automatically. He didn't know full names so he couldn't even guess based on what they looked like. Who was lucky enough to have a name, and who had only a number to distinguish them from the others?
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:36 pm
Intombi got that warm fuzzy feeling again. She had it when she was snuggled up with her cubs. It was a feeling of being complete, but there had always been something missing from it. She just hadn't known that the fuzzy feeling got better. Now that Habu was sitting there, looking at his litter, it felt way better than it had before. She sat beside him and stared at them, too. They really were quite the sight.
After being asked to point out who was who, Intombi took in a deep breath. "Weeell... Manny's the one there, the brown one. Well, the brown and blue one. He looks like me kinda. But he's got your blue." She looked over at Habu's leg bands, but went back to the litter. "Then Kiki's the little yellow girl right there. She's got a pink stripe, see her? She's so cute. Then Mab's the little brown girl there." She motioned her paw to the two little girls. She grew quiet for a few moments, looking at them seperately. They really were all quite adorable. Not that she was biased or anything. "Oh, those are their nicknames. Manuku, Kikimu and Mabwitibwi." She beamed at him, still liking the ring to the names she'd chosen. They weren't exactly clever, since all three were based on their looks, but they were fitting at least.
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:43 pm
Habu looked back and fourth between Intombi and the cubs as she pointed them out, committing the names and.. well, colors to memory. He wasn't getting such a good view of faces or full markings.. but when they woke up, he would certainly get a good look at them then. It was an exciting idea. Working from the idea that she must have named them in order, he started to wonder which of the three with names was the oldest. But there would be time for that later.
"Manuku, Kikimu, Mabwitibwi," he repeated affectionately, staring once again. They were nice names, simple with regards to their meanings. After a moment of admiring, he looked back again, "What about the others? Four through Eight?"
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