[PRP] Like Father, Like Son - Like Mother, Like Daughter

[Krysin]

It was still a puzzle to Mosi as to where the wing markings on their daughters had come from. All the other markings and colors could be easily identified. Aunt Adanna, great aunt Meilin, dad, mom, even a couple from grandpa Nukta and their great grandmother Ausi'juu, but those wings....

They didn't seem to phase their girls in the least though, and in fact Lela sported them proudly and came up with all kinds of ideas of where they must've decended from. Mosi regarded her youngster with distracted eyes as the sun rose on Pride Rock again. Lela had managed to wake with Mosi for once, the high council woman still in the habit of greeting the dawn from her days as head scout. She found herself missing her old duties to a point that it ached. It was an active role that she had enjoyed with all her being, but the time had come to pass it on to someone new when the council was formed, since she clearly could not expect to do both jobs. She absently caught Lela in one paw as the girl toppled over backwards with a squeak after tripping over her own tail.

"Easy, brat. You haven't completely found your footing yet." She snorted softly, surprised though. Lela had made the trip to Pride Rock mostly walking on her own, with Mosi only having to carry her somewhere through the middle stretch. As they sat on the cool stone watching the sun come up she wondered if this wasn't how Mufasa felt in the mornings when he surveyed his kingdom in the approaching dawn's light, and her heart swelled sadly with just that first of many memories.

Ezeoha had always been known for sleeping late, and enjoying it thoroughly. Usually it wasn't until dawn had passed that Ezeoha's eyes open, and then once again in the middle of the day he would doze off the summer heat. Today he would have slept in if he honestly could, but he was juggling life with two litters of cubs, and on his day that he usually took "off", he had somehow gotten stuck with his son, Auri'etalpalli. Palli had inherited much from his father, but the one thing that he hadn't -

"OOMPH. Gerroff, I'mgettingup." Ezeoha rolled onto his side, and he heard (with distinct satisfaction) the sound of Palli falling off of his back. But, he knew his son would be back up and with revenge on his mind, and so Ezeoha allowed himself to wake up. "All right, come on." After stretching, the golden lion guided his dark son out of the den, and together they had made the trip to pride rock. Palli was going to get dropped off with his mother, if it was the last thing Ezeoha did! No one woke up the Golden Boy before the sun was in the middle of the sky, no one!

It was just good fortune that he had managed to spot someone else before meeting up with Kohpi. Mosi! Oh, and she had a cub with her... and... WHERE WAS PALLI?

The determined black and gold cub had wandered away from his father, and instead had marched straight up to Lela, trying to look as suave as he could be. "You look familiar.. hmmm... Have I seen you before? Oh, yeah! I remember! You look like my next girlfriend!" Palli waggled his eyebrows, and somewhere in the background Ezeoha looked on in complete and total shock.

"......."

Both mother and daughter mimicked Ezeoha's expression, Lela stopped mid rise between her mother's forepaws, her back legs still somewhat sprawled in the air, her front half twisted halfway around so that she could have pulled herself up onto her feet again were it not for that surprising interruption. For a few moments all that she could do was blink in shock, then she looked confused, and lastly irritated. Glancing up at her mother in question she found no help there. Turning back to the boy she got to her paws, frowned, then glowered, then shut her eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous. You've obviously gotten me mistaken for someone else." She bit back before giving him a look and trying to creep around to her mother's side. If she had stayed she'dve seen Mosi's shock further advance before turning to a dry smirk. Now the adult looked about until she spotted Ezeoha.

"Well... why am I not surprised?" She smirked wider in greeting.

Palli looked unreasonably surprised when Lela didn't seem to fall for his charm and good looks. He blinked at her in return, dark red eyes reflecting his confusion at her own reaction. Uncertainly he looked back to his father, silently asking for advice. All he got in return was that same shocked expression. Ezeoha hadn't expected his son to have the same audacity level that he had once had as a cub! So, with Ezeoha not contributing to the situation any, Palli decided he would just have to take things a step further.

He pursued Lela around the bulk of her mother, seemingly unaffected by the fact that Lela's mother was right there when he was hitting on her. "Sooo, how about it, gorgeous, will you be my girlfriend?" He was being perfectly serious, which was probably the reason why the situation would have looked funny to anyone else but all those involved in it.

Ezeoha turned his dumbfounded look away from his son when Mosi approached him, and an easy smile graced his maw. "I sincerely proclaim that I had /nothing/ to do with my son making the moves on your daughter, though I have to ay... why am I not surprised that she's completely confused by it?" He chuckled good-naturedly. "Reminds me of us, once upon a time. Except I think I was smoother than that."

"You were about as smooth as a dead snake's skin." Mosi smoothly replied in correction, grinning as she sat next to him, ignoring her daughter's annoyed threats in the background. "And of course I was confused! There are much better things to do than sit around flirting like your life depends on it." She teased, in that same tone she would have used when they were kids, oblivious and accusing him of not knowing better when the answer was so obvious, "silly boy" could have all but followed the tone back then and again now that they were adults and past their young games and days.

"What is -wrong- with you? Why would I wan to be your girlfriend??" Lela glowered, backing away from the cub before stopping to stand her ground, giving him the oddest look so much like her mother once had to his father. "Stop acting so weird!"

Ezeoha grinned in response, seeming quite pleased with Mosi's reply. "I think I was as smooth as a fish, of course, though, I failed in netting you. But you were definitely good practice," he teased. The golden lion laughed jovially when she spoke of how confused she had been. He could remember the look on her face when he had first hit on her - a look that was similar to the one that Lela had on her face currently. "I think flirting is definitely not a waste of time. It helped develop my social skills."

He stopped when she stopped, his feet firmly planted on the ground and a determined look on his face. "Because I'm good looking, I have the Prideland's royal blood in me, and I'm nice, along with cool. You're pretty, and fiesty. You have to be my girlfriend, we're destined to be boyfriend and girlfriend!" He was really just learning his father's art, so of course his first few attempts were bad at their best, and horrific at their worst. But, hey, he was trying his hardest to pick up a girl, just like his father did.  

[Krysin]

"Overdevelop if you ask me. My great aunt, Ez, really?" Mosi quirked an eyebrow at her golden pelted friend.

"Oh yeah? Well, I'VE got gods' blood in me."

That was true, but none of the family knew it for a fact. It just happened to be a story that Lela had come up with on her own, and decided it seemed so logical that it just had to be the truth. After all, no one in their family had wing markings or anything like them, and it was certainly impossible to be part BIRD now wasn't it?

"So what if you've got royal blood? We're just kids, and besides, boys are gross and have cooties."

He laughed outright at that, and did not look ashamed in the least. "Tai's a beautiful, mature lioness. Maybe I like my women older? Besides, we have a beautiful litter, and Tai raises them well. I don't even try to teach them how to flirt." Tai hadn't wanted him to push them in one direction, and instead wanted their children to choose for themselves. Ezeoha respected that, and so he did nothing to purposefully influence them. He tried his best to keep his flirting to a minimum while around them. The golden lion didn't want to be a bad father, nor make a bad impression on Tai. He wondered why he felt that way.

"Well, I gotta have gods' blood in me too!" His own wing markings weren't as beautiful or as intricate, but they were there. Mostly everyone in his family had them, so if Lela thought they came from gods, then obviously he had to be from a god too. Whether there was a god in his lineage, a long ways back, was undetermined. He was just playing the game with Lela, and also trying to impress her.

"I'm not gross, and I don't have cooties. I'm a non-cooties boy, that's why you should be my girlfriend. You don't have cooties, I don't have cooties. I'm destined to be your knight in shining armor, and you're destined to be my damsel in distress!" He sounded so certain of this, as if it were fact rather than a young cub's dreams.

Mosi frowned a bit but said nothing against that. She trusted Ezeoha and she trusted her aunt, but she worried some. Ezeoha didn't seem to really think about how his behavior affected others, but how could she know that for sure? He didn't mean harm, and her aunt was old enough to certainly know better. Was she just being over protective? Was she actually acting like her father?

Mosi sighed, she didn't know that Ezeoha had any unusual feelings or determinations around her aunt, she just knew what she could see and hear really, and she wanted to be fair.

"That you do.... but how can you be so sure you aren't teaching them? I saw that look on your face. You really weren't expecting your son to be as merciless and bold as you. It can't all be genetics." She quirked a brow, but it was all meant in genuine question, not at all scolding.

Lela looked horrified, though at what part couldn't be sure. She wanted to believe they were special but she realized he had a point. He had wing like markings too, dang it! What had gotten her though, was the comment about her being destined to be his--

"Your WHAT?!" She shrieked, wide eyed and still quite appauled. "I'm no one's DAMSEL! I am NOT some stupid girly girl that needs rescuing!!!" She shouted, bristled. "Take it back!"

Ezeoha seemed to genuinely consider the question, because how could he be sure that he wasn't teaching them how to be like him? "Palli's different.. he's always wanted to be like me. I don't know why, but he idolizes me. I don't understand it, but because of it I don't really watch myself around him. I was just so shocked that he was so... determined and straight-forward with it. It was almost tactless." He shook his head with a rueful laugh. "I just know that I'm doing my best to be a good father to that litter. I would hate to do something that Tai wouldn't like." His lips curled down into a careful frown, and perhaps now he would behave even more straight-laced around his children. If he turned out anything less than the perfect father, he would personally be horrified with himself.

"I think your daughter is about ready to hurt my son," he said with a little chuckle after examining the scene for a few seconds. Palli certainly was pushing his luck, though he doubted his son knew how close he was to getting into a little scuffle with Lela.

Palli blinked at her, surprised by her vehement response to being called his damsel. Why wouldn't she want to be? He was the perfect knight! So, why wouldn't she want to be his damsel? Why wouldn't she want to be his girlfriend? It didn't compute in his head! They should be boyfriend and girlfriend, and live happily ever after. "No," he replied stubbornly. "You're my damsel, and I'm your knight. You're my girlfriend, I'm your boyfriend. We both have wing markings, we're both DESTINED for one another! You can't change that!"

"Relax, Ezeoha, I'm pretty sure she just meant she didn't want you purposely teaching them.... that." She gestured with a paw in the cubs general direction, amused, and not interferring because she knew there was no harm in this. It was also relaxing to relive those memories now when so, so much had changed in their lives. Who could be mad now looking back on something so silly and ridiculous as this? "I'm fairly certain that as long as you aren't raising the next gene donation machines, you're fine."

Lela's cheeks puffed out with indignance, and her glowering got angrier. "I am PERFECTLY CAPABLE of taking care of myself, and I always will be!" She stamped her front left paw for emphasis. "I don't need some silly boy trying to rescue and take care of me all the time. I'm going to have adventure in my life! And I don't believe in destiny!"

"Oh!" Well, he knew that Tai didn't want him purposefully teaching the cubs what Palli had picked up. He hadn't really even been teaching Palli, the cub just was so determined to be like him that he was picking up on Ezeoha's poorer habits. It was the greatest flattery, though Ezeoha was worried about the eventual happiness of his son. Would Palli end up like him, forever searching for that perfect family by making so many of them? He really didn't hope so, but by now he didn't think there would be anything he could do about it if that was the path Palli chose. "Well, I know that I'm definitely not teaching them that. I would never dare to. I think Tai would skin me." Yeah, he had no doubt that she would be angry and disappointed with him... and that was a fate worse than anything else he could imagine. "Oh, I'm pretty sure that each of my children could have one litter and we'd still be the gene domination machines."

"Of course you are, gorgeous," he said, if only to appease her. "But, either way, damsels always travel with knights. You may not need my help, but just in case you do, I should be there with you. That's why we're going to be girlfriend and boyfriend, so I can be there for you if you really need me!" He very nearly gasped when she said she didn't believe in destiny. "But this is OUR destiny! We were supposed to meet, we're supposed to fall in love. We WOULD be in love if you'd stop being so beautifully stubborn! You gotta give it a chance! BE MY GIRLFRIEND."  

[Krysin]

"Probably." Mosi laughed a bit, but stopped to snicker quietly instead when the situation with Lela and Palli got worse.

"Stop calling me that! You're such a WEIRDO! And you DO TOO have cooties, liar! That's why you're acting so WEIRD." Lela shouted back, as though shouting would get her point across better somehow. Distressed by the fact that he refused to be deterred she finally caved and turned towards the adults, hurrying to scurry behind her mother's front legs where she could glare out distrustingly at Palli. "Mom, make him leave me alone!" She hissed softly, frankly annoyed that Mosi had let it get that far.

"I raised my kids, all of my kids, to face their problems head on, Lela." Mosi reminded with a lightly scolding glance.

"She really is a lot like you. I'm afraid her head is going to explode from all of the anger that she is exerting into the situation." Of course, though, Ezeoha was rooting for Palli all the way. He hoped his son had enough determination to persevere and get the girl. It wouldn't last long, but it would be a good life lesson for him. Besides, he was sure that he couldn't stand to watch his son fail. As a father, he wanted his son to get everything that he wanted. Getting Lela was a little far-fetched, though, and a little out of Palli's league. Still, Ezeoha could hope for the best for his son in this situation.

"No! Everybody else has cooties, because they can't see how PRETTY you are!" He was shouting now as well, his determination to have Lela as his first girlfriend prompting him to such extremes. He gaped when she ran away, though. He didn't think he was THAT bad! But, he was still as determined as ever, and thus took off after Lela. Since his father was right next to Mosi, he weaved between his legs. "Daddy, you have to tell Lela that we're destined to be with one another! I know it, daddy! The God of Love knows it! Daddy, we're SUPPOSED to be together." He sounded distressed, upset because no matter how he wanted it, he wasn't getting it.

"You just keep trying to win her over - never give up, 'kay? Maybe you'll get what you want one day." Ezeoha stepped back, leaving his son in the open so he could confront the issue alone. He was going to take Mosi's advice on this, and let the children deal with the issue themselves.

"Be my girlfriend, PLEASE!" Palli exclaimed.

Mosi's little girl was distraught to realize she'd been left to face Palli alone when Mosi also stepped aside. The sunrise was forgotten until now, as Mosi turned her attention to it, settling down on her stomach.

"So... you think they'll end up with that future you kept going on about for us?" She questioned quietly-- just so the cubs wouldn't overhear that is --with a brief glance at Ezeoha.

"Why are you so stubborn?!" Lela turned a scowl on her fellow cub, growling softly. She felt bad because he was getting genuinely upset a few seconds ago, but didn't HER feelings matter?! "We're just CUBS. CUUUUUBS-ZAH. I don't WANT a boyfriend, that's GROWN UP stuff, and I don't want any part of it! All boyfriends and girlfriends do is make silly faces and mushy talk all the time. Who wants that? I'd much rather play tag." She gave a cubbish sneer, as if someone had just proposed she take an extra bath in the next ten minutes.

Ezeoha contemplated the question for a few moments, and then with a small, almost secretive smile, he spoke up. "Well, if your daughter does not find a Juhudi, and if my son does not find a Tai... I think the possibility is likely. Perhaps we should just sit back and watch?" He suggested this casually, but already he was doing just that, sitting back and watching with a fond smile on his face. If they actually happened to get together, he would be surprised, but even moreso, he would be pleased. He wanted the best for his son, and he knew Lela and her family to be some of the best bunch of lions out there.

"Because I know we're supposed to be together! I can feel it! If it's not destiny, it is fate!" Her feelings weren't so important right now, because acting on his own took priority. If he was certain of the way he felt, then obviously she would be happier once it was all said and done - at least, that was the cub's logic. He didn't understand why she wasn't happy with the proposal of being her girlfriend. He knew he was a good catch, and that she was a good catch. They matched. That was it. "It's not grown up stuff! Grown up stuff is becoming mates! Girlfriend and boyfriend is for US, just for US! I want that. I'll play tag with you if you agree to be my girlfriend." Okay, so now he was bargaining, but there was really nothing else that he could do at this point to get her to agree to be his girlfriend.

Mosi quirked a brow at his answer, but he was looking at their cubs already and she wasn't sure she wanted him to clarify anyway. Looking towards the children again too Mosi exhaled softly. Was that how it would've played out? Mosi didn't believe in fate and destiny all that much either, at least not pre-determined destiny. Maybe destiny -generalized-, but not pre-determined destiny. She couldn't imagine life as one predictable journey, but rather one with a thousand possible twists and turns, more even. Maybe some turns or twists were more appealing than others, or lead to the same end, as all eventually did (death), but still.

Lela, meanwhile, gave Pelli a suspicious look, as if she was considering this. Girlfriend didn't sound so bad when it was explained like THAT, and if she understood it right, that meant he had to play with her whenever she wanted and do whatever she said? ... Hmm...

She glared. "If I agree then you're not allowed to call me your damsel or nothin'. And none of those weird nicknames either! And NO mushy stuff!"

Mosi's eyebrows arched at the same time, high on her head. She couldn't recall any of she and Ezzy's conversations ever going THAT way before. What the hell?

Palli's eyes were wide with shock, because he hadn't expected to actually have her as his girlfriend. He had in fact been expecting her to deny him whenever he asked. She seemed so strong-willed and determined, and definitely not the kind of girl to be into the whole relationship thing. But, despite being shocked, he was as happy as he could be, and he was going to see how far he could take this. "Okay, I won't call you a damsel or nothin', and no nicknames... What is your name?" He blinked, but shook his head and continued on. "But, we have to be girlfriend and boyfriend until we're grown up, and then you gotta be my mate." He was being perfectly serious. This was what his father had taught him. You got a girlfriend, and then if you stayed together long enough, you had to be mates. He was determined to be with Lela for a long time, so it was only logical that they became mates when they were old enough. "Is it all right if I lick you every now and then, when we're older? I'm Palli, Auri'etalpalli."

Ezeoha's expression was the perfect mimicry of Mosi's, because he too hadn't expected this turn, and he hadn't expected Palli to pursue even more when Lela was barely agreeing to be his girlfriend. "Are you sure... your daughter is exactly like you? I think I would've been beaten to a bloody pulp by now." He wasn't sure if he should drag his son off before he got hurt, but he figured that it would be another one of life's lessons if he got hurt for wanting too much. Or, maybe he should drag Palli off before Lela consented to such a thing. Of course, it was just childish games, but Palli looked pretty serious, and he'd likely bring it up in the future if he actually became interested in Lela as an adult.  

[Krysin]

... Her head was left spinning a little as she tried to process his first reply there. Finally when her eyes refocused she frowned, staring at him with a confused furrow of her brow. "... Wait, wha?!"

"... I think it's harmless enough." Mosi smirked, getting to her paws then again. "We need to be going for now though, I have some things to see too. Lela? Weren't you the one that dragged me out of the den this morning begging to come? Let's go."

Lela sighed. Just when things were getting interesting. Oh well. She shrugged, looking at Palli again. "Lela. And it's not weird. And fine. IF I feel like it I'll be your mate when we grow up, but no mushy stuff before that! You promised!" She called back as she got up and joined her mother again.

"If you say so," he conceded with a small smile. As Mosi stood up, he did as well, casually stretching his legs, his mouth opening in a wide yawn. It really was too early for the golden lion. He wasn't anywhere near being old, but even so, he valued his sleep, and this had taken up a valuable amount of his time to be sleeping. When he got home, he was determined to sleep through the rest of the day. Tomorrow he would visit Tai and see how the kids were getting along since his one day off. Then the next he would visit Kohpi and their slightly larger litter. Maybe he should just move in with one of them, it would lessen his travel load.

"C'mon, Palli, your mother is probably waiting for us. She hasn't seen you in a whole week." Palli was making himself to be a more permanent member of Ezeoha's home then his own mother's, and Ezeoha had no idea what he could do about it, so he just went along with it. If Kohpi had a problem with it, she would most certainly tell him. She was an honest lioness, if not a little mentally slow. He approached his son, and gingerly picked him up in his jaws. The golden lion nodded once to Mosi, and then began to wakl off.

"I always keep my promises!" Palli called back to Lela, that being all he really managed to say before his father was carrying him out of hearing distance. It was as if Ezeoha suspected that Palli wouldn't want to leave his new girlfriend's side, which was true. Palli wanted to see what it felt like to be boyfriend and girlfriend... but sadly his dad wasn't giving him the chance today.

- [Fin]