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 Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:07 pm
The red furred lioness padded through the grasslands, her head high and alert. Although she looked claim, the twitch of her tail hinted to her inner anxiety. She was heavily pregnant and could barely move. Getting up or down was hard and she could feel her cubs constantly moving, sometimes she could swear someone would be able to see it against her extended stomach.
It had been a long while since her night with Kyp, her first time with a male. She didn't begrudge him from leaving; at the time she didn't even know she was pregnant. Even so, he was a rogue; it was their very lifestyle to wonder. However, now that she was reaching the end of her term and could no longer hunt, she was freighted worse than ever.
Having not even eaten in a days, what she did get was just what she could scavenge. So hungry and so tired, the young lioness began to really fear for her life and the life of her cubs. Even if they kept her awake with their kicking and made her very uncomfortable, she still loved them so much that the idea of losing them due to her inability to hunt right now was gut wrenching.
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:22 pm
Aten groaned dragging the carcass of a young antelope behind him, while traveling with Kamaria many of his over exhaustion wounds had healed, but he still held a slight limp that needed more time to heal. With Senalta's disappearance the large red lion was doing his best to please the female he hunted for. Aten's crimson eyes scanned the grasses, still very paranoid that a Firekin would burst through them and drag him back to the sands he dreaded so.
The paranoia was warranted it seemed because there was a red face staring off into the distance, fear froze him and he dropped his kill. Then suddenly he realized who it was and he sprinted towards her, "Senalta is that you?!" He shouted.
In his traveling with Kamaria he'd realized his attachment to her, how much he relied on her presence and how much he cared. The thought that if he brought home Senalta how Kamaria would be happy made him want it to be her all the more, and he thought for a few moments he may have dreamed her up and he was running towards danger.
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:43 pm
Senatla could just pick up the scent of a kill, against her hunger; she was ready to walk the other way. She was in no shape to fight over anything, and if what killed the animal she scented didn't want to share, she'd be in trouble. Seeing a red lion running towards her, she was frightened, eyes wide with her fear. However, as he said her name, she was able to calm herself down.
Unable to run, walking alone was about too much for the tired lioness, she called to him, "Ten! Thank the gods!" She was saved, hopefully, she remembered the lion to be friendly and with any luck he could take her back to Kamaria. Slowly trudging forward, looking worse because she felt safe enough not to waist energy looking like she was tough, she tried to reach him. If he was the one that made the kill, she was sure he'd share with her.
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:56 pm
The large red lion let out a sigh of relief it was indeed Senalta, Ten was still getting used to being called Ten. His birth name was Aten and wanting to shame his roots he had changed it to hide from them.
"You look..." Awful..."Pregnant?" He couldn't believe his eyes as he stepped towards his lost traveling companion, "She has been worried sick, you...you've got to come back." He babbled almost uncomprehensively. He wasn't sure what to do next, he would gladly offer his meal if that was what she wanted, but the idea did not cross his mind, he was still in shock from just finding her.
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:04 pm
Senatla nodded weakly, "I am, and starving." She was so hungry; keeping her cubs alive drained her body's resources. Hearing him tell her that Kamaira was worried sick over her, she told the lion, moving just a bit closer, "I want to come back so badly, I can't be out here on my own anymore. I have missed Kamaria so much, and you. I don't have the strength to walk much farther right now, but a meal and rest and I should be fine to journey to Kamaria" Really, she didn't know the red lion enough to say she truly missed him or not, but the familiarity and sense of safety that she associated with him was enough.
Being safe with her companions was all she wanted right now, the very idea of having her cubs on her own and trying to keep them and herself alive was much too foreboding and frightening to contemplate.
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 6:38 pm
Ten smiled warmly, "Wait here, I've got an antelope." In his excitement he ran over to her, but now, now he was well aware of the splintering pain in his leg. He pulled together his will power and walked back to his kill. Senalta had not been with him long, but he felt the need to protect her, like a family member--something the male had never had.
It took him much longer to drag the antelope to her, and it seemed silly not to just lead her too it, but his male pride was great and he wanted to care for her. He dropped the antelope a foot or so in front of her and then looked up, his shame from their first meeting, and fear gone he met her eye to eye and did not lower his head or gaze.
"I did not have you long, but you were like lost family, she missed you and because of that I missed you."
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 7:09 pm
An antelope sounded wonderful, and the red furred lioness waited for it to be brought to her. Normally, she was never one to allow someone else to take care of her, to bring things for her and such. However, things changed when she became a mother, and care given was taken with gratefully.
Smelling the kill, it smelt fresh, the blood and dirt mixing together in her mouth like the most savory of aromas. Moving forward carefully, having a harder time of it because the cubs were active within her. It was nice, to see him look her in the eye when he had not done so in the past. Smiling brightly to him, "Kamaria, I looked up to her as a sister, and I still do. Family is exactly what I need, I will look forward to getting to know you better now as well. My wondering days are over. How is she?" Although she was very curious, her hunger got the best of her and she began devouring the antelope as if it had done something to her. Her ears were always up, facing him as she feasted on the sweet meet and warm blood.
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 7:17 pm
Ten stood beside Senalta as she began to eat and thought over how to answer the question. He thought that he took as much care with Kamaria as possible, he was willing to hunt, even with the pain and how slow it would be, and would travel as the female saw fit. He wasn't exactly sure if she needed his care, but /he/ needed her to need the care he gave her. So, he thought she was fine, worried but fine.
"She's doing well, no sickness, nothing like that she just misses you, I think, I did not know her before, but she seems alright for what I do know." the red lion hoped that his words made sense to the female and was so happy to know that the red female wanted to get to know him more.
"Will there..be a father joining us?" he asked cautiously, not wanting to over step his bounds.
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Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 7:38 pm
Senalta took a little break from her feasting, looking up at him with a smile. Her muzzle was turned bright red from the blood, lighter than her own fur color. It was a relief to hear that Kamaria was doing well and she told him so, "I am glad, I worked so hard to find my way back to you two, back home." She really had, taken up different companies but always searching.
Going back to eating, she was caught in mid action, about to take a bite out of the tasty liver. Taking a deep breath through her nose, she raised her head, looking sad again. "No, he and I split company the night after we met. They won't get the chance to met their father unless by accident on his part." It was the life of the rogue, she knew that and had accepted that the moment she met him. Thats not what saddened her, it was that her cubs wouldn't have a father. She wanted for them to have a father so much, yet as of yet she didn't have one for them.
To comfort herself a little, her tail stuck to her body, as she looked down at the kill. They needed one, she was convinced of that. What if she had boys? Who would teach them to be a lion, and if they were girls, who would be the daddy to look out for them?
She wouldn't be alone, there was Kamaria and Ten, they would help her, seh was sure. However, an aunt and uncle was a far cry from a father.
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Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 12:23 pm
He watched her his eyes sad and the firekin blood within him boiling, it wasn't right to leave children behind, was not right to leave a mate pregnant and alone no matter what the circumstances. Aten had been completely abandoned by his family, barely knew his father at all and knew little of his mother. He emerged from all of this a cold and hurt Ten, a lion that could hardly interacted well in a social setting because his seven brothers and sisters were never there for him to play with, and his mother and father not there to teach.
"I don't know what it's like to have a father, or be a one, but I can offer as much support and love to your young as possible, as much as I know how."
"for now though, I think it's best if you rest up and we get back to Kamaria as quickly as possible," he said awkwardly, trying to shrug away the passion that had crept into his voice. The male was lucky that he probably was miles away, or Aten would have some very interesting things to say...and do to him.
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Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 12:41 pm
Senatla accepted it, even if she didn't like it; a rogue's life was to wander after all. When you meet a rogue, she learned from an early age, expect nothing, and expect them to leave as all rogues normally do. Even she left, though now she is back this experience changed the rogue in her. Before, she had been as much cub as adult, but with lives to worry about, her maturity change and the wandering paws became tired and more venerable.
Her eyes rose to look at him as he talked, the sad expression growing with a light, hope growing back into the heavily pregnant red lioness. His offer was extraordinary, to take a father role in her cubs' lives even though he didn't know her all that well and had no responsibility to the cubs that weren't his. Like clouds parting, she smiled and told him with a much lighter tone, like a weight had been lifted, "I would like that, I would like that a lot. I grew up without much a family myself, so to have a father figure for my cubs as well as myself would be wonderful." With Kamaria as well, the cubs really would have a complete family, it didn't matter that they were hybrids, she'd raise them as lions and they would always know love.
If she wasn't mistaken, something about the whole thing seemed to hit a nerve, but she didn't press it. Although she accepted the rogue lifestyle, she knew what happened to her would probably be shocking to most lions, though how Kamaria would react she didn't know either. Feeling restless, like something was happening, she sat down then back up again moving a bit as she agreed, "Rest would be wonderful." Looking around, the best she could spot was a shade tree not too far off. "Where is Kamaria anyway?" She was happy to see Aten, of course, even happier with the meal and offer to help her take care of her cubs as a father, but she also missed her sister figure.
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Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:07 pm
He nodded to her statements he enjoyed the idea of helping raise Senalta's cubs, she was already like a sister, even if she wasn't around for so long, the way Kamaria talked of her and her absents made him feel as if she were family already. Roho on the other hand, well Aten had not gotten to know him at all before his disappearance, there was no hello and goodbye involved.
"She's near here, I was hoping to surprise her with some lunch," blood rushed to his face, beneath his thick red fur he blushed deeply, he had not gotten a chance to explain his feelings completely to Kamaria, Ten was very attracted to the beautiful female and wanted to express his feelings in anyway he could, for now it was his 'male' duty to find her something to eat.
He followed the red lioness' eyeline and also saw the tree with shade and thought it would be a good place for Senalta to rest, "I think you should get out of the sun, females from.." he paused, "females north of here in the desert stay out of the heat during pregnancy." Sumu had spoken of that in their many meetings as she described the life of the Firekin.
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Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:28 pm
She was put at ease at the very idea that her cubs would have someone to call father, to her, never having that made it so much more important to her that they had it. If she ever found a mate to call her own, or once the cubs learned they were not lions, but leopons, then bridges would need to be crossed. The tired, now becoming uncomfortable lioness, wasn't going to deal with problems that were not coming within the day.
Looking down at the kill when he mentioned what it was for, she rolled her ears back a moment, "Theres a little left but not really enough for lunch." She really had torn into it, but who could blame her, she was eating for a lot of cubs and herself. Looking to Aten, her red fur making her feel like she was baking, there was a nod. Slowly, she walked with a funny gate, her legs farther from her body then they normally were. With a stomach as big as hers, walking normally was not easy. "That is very good advice, I'll be ready to move after an hour or so, I am anxious to meet back up with Kamaria as well." She missed her sister, and wanted her there when she brought her cubs into the world.
As the uneasiness grew, she couldn't help but think that she didn't have a choice when they came, it was up to them.
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Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 1:35 pm
"Do not worry, dear one," he said as soothingly as he knew how, "Kamaria would much rather have you than lunch." he nodded his head sharply to prove the point. He started to walk towards the shade and the tree slowly, waiting for her to start to move, he would stand beside her in fear that she would faint or would need someone to lean on.
"I am glad you are safe, and cannot wait to see your young," he remarked, and then fell silent, he was unsure of what to do and what to say.
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Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 2:26 pm
Senatla smiled at him, greatly enjoying the feeling of being cared for, so long she had only herself, that now having others care was just amazing. Slightly uncertain about meeting Kamaria again with her surprise, she comments, "I just hope she is will be happy about the cubs as well." Although she knew Kamaria and knew she was very nice, the lioness couldn't help but be a little worried about her reaction.
Walking forward, her gate awkward due to her huge girth and very sore paws. She made it though, getting into the shade and giving a sigh because of much better she felt already. She could swear there was steam coming off her coat but there was nothing to suggest she was baking like she felt she was. Slowly, she sat down first and carefully laid down more on her side the stomach. Looking back to the lion, she told him, "I am glad to be back and safe. I was really scared that I would have my cubs while I was still alone." It would be a challenge, she thought, taking care of cubs with just three adults. One would have to sit out hunting to watch over the cubs, and it would be her for a while because she'd be the only one able to feed them.
Following that, lion cubs were prime prey for other predators, so one alone would have a hard time of protecting the cubs while the others hunted. Sharing her fears she told him, "I think its time to find a pride, I don't think I could ever feel truly safe raising cubs out in the roguelands. There a lot coming, I fear they are more restless and so am I." Although she didn't know it, she was nearing her time.
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