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 Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 1:09 pm
Okay, no more pretending, no more sulking. This is happening, Horowai, you've know it for ages! Since the day you woke up with that fuzzy head. You're pregnant. Pregnant. And you had to keep denying it until that parrot came along and blurted it out. She was moving from the falls, towards the heart of her pride.
She moved with a purpose.
She was off to find her sister, Tejasvi, or Tess as she more affectionatley called her. Ignoring any odd looks she might have gotten from moving so swiftly and without pause, she made her way into one of the many clearings and lifted her head to catch sight of her brilliantly coloured sibling.
"Sis? SIS?! SISTER?!?" She called at the top of her voice.
Yes...here came the dramatics.
Tejasvi was just on her way back from talking with Usha about some various day-to-day pridal maters, and though her head was full to the brim with thoughts (as it often was after they had one of these talks) she didn't miss the distant shout of 'sister'. Now, honestly, that could have certainly been any of the females in the pride calling out for their sister, but being this close to the clan copse, she felt it likely it was one of her own. On top of that, she knew her sisters' voices anywhere, and that one belonged to none other than you Horowai.
A soft smirk curled her maw for a moment before she let it vanish with all the thoughts that had been teeming around inside her head. She altered her course until she found her darker sibling, sitting comfortably once in front of her. Idly, on her way over, she wondered if it was time to face judgment day - had little Horowai found herself with a belly full of cubs after all?
"What is it, Horo?" she asked calmly, green eyes unwavering as she watched her.
"Tess! Tess!" She quickened her pace as her lighter pelted sister came into view and drew to a reluctant halt as Tejasvi seated herself. Then, dwindling she allowed herself to sit, feeling fidgety and nervous now that she had placed herself in this vulnerable feeling position.
She lifted an ear and gave her a somewhat embarrased smile, realising how peaceful the jungle had been until she'd lumbered through it - like the big oaf she was.
"Tess...I came as soon as I knew...I mean, as soon as I was forced to know." She gave a sort of pained expression, then shook her head. "There was this parrot, you see, she just flew right up to me and blurted it out and..." She cleared her throat, trailing off awkwardly. Then, after another long pause she found the words.
"It's happened. I'm pregnant." An unreadable expression flickered briefly across her face and then, "you're going to be an auntie!"
Tejasvi's brows furrowed a little as Horowai started to ramble on about her story, as she was often prone. Something about a blurting parrot and being forced to know something? Tejasvi really wished Horowai had a better way to collect her thoughts, before she ended up with a headache from trying to follow along. Finally, however, she finally spit out what she was on about and Tejasvi felt the smile on her face even before she really meant to do the motion at all.
"An auntie, is it?" she said with a light chuckle, her tail whipping behind her consideration. This could be just the sort of thing that Horowai needed - and it was definitely good for the pride numbers to boot. "And how does it make you feel, knowing you're going to be a mother soon, hm?" That was the important question, after all.
"Yes, Auntie Tess!" Horowai declared with a grin.
At her sister's next question, however, she felt herself falter a little. Just how did she feel about this? So many emotions swirled inside of her. So many that it was hard to distinguish them. So she brought them into focus and tried her best to put names to them.
"Many things, I think. It's not an easy feeling to describe." Her face lined with concentration. "Fear, fear is the main one. The not knowing, the fear of the pain and the inability to be a good mother. Panic too, because I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing. There's irritation and anger too, an anger directed towards that horrible male. But...if I think about it...think clearly, maybe I'm excited, too? I didn't think I'd ever get this chance, you know, to be a mother, to watch cubs grow, to add to the clan. Now, here it is and I'm...looking forward to the challenge."
There was a mischievous smirk on her face now. "Besides, if I walk around the pride with a line of cute little cubs, I'm going to get a lot of attention, right? And, I don't even have to wait that long. When I get fat people are going to go out of their way to make sure I'm comfortable." She practically wriggled with glee.
Then, seeming to realise she probably should have kept that to herself she added hastily. "More than anything, though, I'm scared. Uh...don't tell anyone that, though."
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 2:39 pm
"Those sound like all the emotions of an expecting mother, right down to irritation and anger, although maybe a little more in your case." She was pleased to here that Horowai didn't feel any form of regret, for she certainly would have worried about her sister and the cubs otherwise. Regret is never a good thing for an expecting mother to harbor. "The greatest thing any female can do for this pride and for her clan is to have cubs," she said softly, smiling, "and now you're among those that have contributed that to us. The next generation will live on because of you and I."
It was a speech that she thought Horowai needed to hear, despite her little slip up about wanting attention. She supposed that was all Horowai, though, and she would always be a little like that - searching for her limelight in the shadow of her sister's shining brightness. She supposed it could have been worse - she could have ended up with a spiteful sister, like Usha.
"It's alright to be scared, everyone is the first time, but it's not so hard as you imagine. There is always help, you know that, because the clan is a family meant to help you in just these sorts of times."
She felt her heart swell with pride and her head rose a little higher than it was before. She'd done something good. Truly good. Her clan could enjoy the boost of new life - life born from her very being. To think that she could have achieved such a thing was beyond her comprehension.
Yes, she had that awful male to thank, because without him none of this would have happened. That didn't mean she had to like him, though, and when he came back to 'check-up on her' she'd make sure he wouldn't show his horrible nose anywhere near her again.
"You're right. Of course you're right. Being a parent is going to be hard and I don't know if I'm going to be any good at it. But bearing cubs is the...the greatest thing I can do for the clan. As a female and as a loyal member."
She purred. "Thank you Tejasvi. I don't know what I would do without you. Actually, I do know. If you weren't here to keep me on track I would probably have died of shame long ago. Thank you. You and the clan are all I could ever need. It's...all I've ever really wanted."
Seeming sheepish, she stood and shifted her weight from side to side. "I wanted you to be the first person to know. You would have been, even if I hadn't promised you before. I don't think the fear will go away completely...but having you and the others close by helps."
"I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me first," she said with a truthful smile on her maw. As her sister stood, fidgeting on her feet, Tejasvi stood as well so it wouldn't be as awkward as it was with her sitting down. "It means a lot to me to know that I have your trust, because I need that above all else from those in my pride and especially my clan."
"We'll all be here to help you, every step of the way, and I'll help you find the most trustworthy male to nanny your cubs." She nodded pleasantly at this, smiling to her sister as she did so. It was nice to know that Horowai was growing up a little - for a while she had been unsure that she would ever get past that rebellious stage wher all she did was give Tejasvi endless headaches. Now, though, she could truly say she was a good member of their pride. She stood above others, that was for sure.
"I do. I do." She couldn't press that enough. She trusted her sister beyond all others, beyond anything else. She was her queen, she was family and she'd stuck by Horowai through thick and thin. Her love for her sister was eternal.
She gave a small bow of her head and took a step back. "Thank you, Tess. If...if anything happens, I'll be sure to tell you straight away. And...until I'm too big to do anything else, I'd like to continue guard duty. I wouldn't want to sit and..." Wait, wasn't sitting around mulling on things been using up her time for the past week or so?
She shifted sheepishly. "Well...I'd rather keep busy."
Horowai cleared her throat and prepared to leave. "Thanks...for your time, Tess."
"Certainly," she said in regards to her sister's request to continue her duty. She had no issues with females wanting to continue to being useful to the pride until they absolutely could not any longer. "Just don't push it so far that it endangers your health, or that of the cubs, alright?" It could go on for a while yet, but she knew that there was a point where she'd need to draw the line. She also thought Horowai might push it - she did those sorts of things from time to time, seeing as she was so stubborn.
"You're welcome, Horowai, and don't hesitate to come and find me if you need to talk, alright? I'll do my best to answer whatever questions you may have for me." While it was true she was the queen, she knew there were somet questions whose answers could only be found within one's self, but she would do her best to guide her sister if she truly needed her to do so in this time.
/fin.
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