Unguzo was not entirely sure what to do now. He had grabbed two cubs in his powerful jaws so quickly, he hadn’t really been able to assess them. Staring at them now, as they were cuddled together on his bedding, he found he was not too let down by them. A creamy brown male and greenish female, both looking strong and intelligent. They would both find their places in his pride.He stood and turned to find another cub, a much stranger looking one, sitting in the entry way and looking absolutely thrilled. What was this? It was a male, buy its build, and yet its fur was pink, and splotched with other strange colors. He frowned. Was this one of his? It bothered him, and he looked around as if someone might have left it as a joke. Snorting, he stepped over the cub, knocking it over with his back feet as he moved.
He need to speak with Hyun. Making his way down from his den, which sat atop a small rock formation over looking his watering hole and the small area which he called the lands of the Dhalimu, he moved toward the small den Hyun called her home. He peered in, clearing his throat instead of announcing himself directly.
“Come see if these cubs need anything,” he said blandly. He didn’t explain further than that, though he would if he was asked. He turned away, expecting her to follow him.
Hyun stirred in the crevice that was her home, unhappy to be stirred, but faintly hopeful for a new lesson. She kept her voice to a low and displeased rumble, deep throated and low as she passed through the mouth. But as she stepped closer to the cave, something struck her. Her eyebrows raised in disbelief and confusion, and for a moment she was frozen in her spot, until she trotted astride Unguzo.
"C-Cubs? What cubs!?" Hyun exclaimed right into his ear. It was like he was telling her that HE had CUBS that SHE was supposed to look after. Initially, she was quite offended. She was no nanny, regardless of who the cubs belonged to. And even though she was his apprentice, student, and would be anything else; nanny was not in the job description. Furthermore, Unguzo. Had cubs? Even waiting for his response she chortled in disbelief. For the time she'd spent with him, Hyun believed that no lioness in her right mind would willingly mother any children for the likes of Unguzo. However, she didn't know the full story which would have made her correct.
Unconsciously her claws dug into the rock beneath her as they approached his cave. Her curiosity was morbid, but she was still in denial. Unguzo. Having Cubs. Pfft.
Keki wasn’t sure what had happened, really. All he knew was a strong-looking lion had come and picked up two of his siblings- the two he was particularly fond of playing with. Not to be left alone with the ones he didn’t have as much fun with, the pink little male was quick to give chase, bounding behind the large animal as quickly as his little paws would carry him. He was a plump boy, rather large in every regard, so he didn’t move all that quickly.
Luckily, the animal he was now hunting didn’t notice him following at all.
He knew the large male was his father, so he wasn’t unhappy to have to chase him- in fact, he was rather fond of the animal even in spite of the fact that he didn’t seem to have much interest in any of the cubs. He sat himself down in front of the den once the male had stopped, grinning brightly while he made sure he looked presentable to his father. When he turned, the boy’s face lit up even more.
Getting knocked over didn’t damper his spirits, really. Maybe Unguzo hadn’t seen him. No need to panic. All he had to do was turn around, smile, and wait for him to come back so he could try to get his attention again.
When he saw him return with a female, he started to huff and attempt a hiss, failing miserably. He wasn’t old enough to know how to do things properly. Still, little pink hairs rose as the boy puffed out his chest against the stranger, the boy trying to look just as tough as possible.
Unguzo blinked at the cub that was now trying to hiss at him and Hyun. He looked at the female at his side, shaking his head without much interest.
“These are mine,” he said blandly, “but in my pride it was everyone’s job to rear cubs. Since everyone is just you and me, I suppose it’s only fair to split the duties. This one… might need a bit more attention than the others. He doesn’t look like he’ll be much use, so we’ll have to train him. Or you will. Cubs have a surprising way of sharpening your own skills, after all, as you train them.”
He grinned, then looked back at the pink cub. Had that pudgy thing really followed him all the way here? Was it because it loved its siblings, or did it have some other motive? Moving closer to it, he sniffed the pink ball of fur just to be sure that he was, in fact, a result of Unguzo’s loins.
“Did that female name you, girly one?” He asked, not dropping his habit of creating nicknames for others, “or is that something I must do?”
Something twisted Hyun's mouth into a twisted grin as she listened to Unguzo and looked down to the cub. His confirmation stirred something within her. A resentment? A jealousy? As she still glared down at the pink cub, she was almost ashamed of herself, there was nothing to make her jealous of some b*****d cubs Unguzo forced into the world. But she also wouldn't acknowledge her childish remnants as she drew her eyes away from the shimmering pink fur to Unguzo to say, "But you're still training me. Anything I could offer would beat him into a pulp." By her pinned ears and tense muscles, Hyun gave off the aura of utter annoyance towards Unguzo, and ignorance of the cub.But as he addressed it again, her twisted smile returned. Unguzo's fondness of nicknames was now going towards one other than herself. And she would certainly be using it in the future.
Delighted to be sniffed, Keki responded by springing forward, snuggling up against his father’s front legs for a moment before moving back so he could see his face. He didn’t even seem to notice that he had been called “girly one”- just too happy to have the male speaking to him at all. The manner in which he was being addressed meant nothing to him at that moment.
“My name is Keki!” he replied, his voice light and fluffy, just like his pink fur. He was purring now, watching the large male with nothing but affection in his eyes. One day he would be just as big and cool as his daddy.
It didn’t matter that he actually didn’t know anything about the male.
He looked back at the female, frowning. His was a jealous nature, feeding him resentment against anyone who wanted to take attention, even negative attention, away from him. Especially if that attention was coming from his father. The only creatures he would allow attention to go to were those in his family. Growling again at her, he stayed near Unguzo, watching carefully
Unguzo did not know what to do. He had never been hugged, or rubbed, or touched in any way other than disciplinary or violent. He blinked and stared at the cub, completely dumbfounded, before looking back up at Hyun. He was relieved when the cub pulled back, breathing an audible sigh to attest to the fact. Trying to recompose himself, puffing out his chest a bit as his mane bristled, he tilted his head down at the little pink cub.
“Keki? That is as female as I thought it might be. And yet you are a boy, without a doubt. How odd. Your place in the pride might be different to that of your brother, and perhaps more akin to that of your sister. Though, the one thing females are used for, you cannot provide. Hm.” He sounded disinterested, though there was a spark in his eye that he couldn’t hide. Turning the green pools of intelligence and relative calm toward Hyun, he shook his head.
“I don’t think it likes you,” he said with a grin, lifting his paw so the growling cub couldn’t push against him, “but you didn’t like me when I began training you. I think this one will be the perfect ward for you. Consider it another lesson. A way to hone your abilities as a mother, and a caretaker. Protector. Even a provider, since you will have to hunt for it and yourself. You cannot let it die. Does that sound like a challenge?”
Hyun looked away, disappointed and offended. "Eh, I liked you enough." Her smile was gone and her mouth fell down, swishing her tail so that it came dangerously close to smacking Keki's face. She was not interested in gaining him as a ward. But if all she had to do was feed it, perhaps she could ignore it enough. Although a quick glance would suggest that he was probably used to large servings. Gone now, were the days of eating what Unguzo killed for pleasure, and the days of self-training. But she refused to accept it as a lesson in motherhood or caretaker.
"I'm not the mothering type, Unguzo." She seldom used his name, it was a far to civil way of referring to someone, but her voice was filled with something like dissatisfaction. "But as a member of your pride, I'll do as you say and feed it."
It. That's what Keki was, her nickname for him now.
“Well… I don’t mind,” replied the littler cub, looking fondly up at his father, “I just want to be here! I’ll be like my sister if it’ll make you happy!” He clearly was understanding everything that Unguzo was saying to him. What could girls do that he couldn’t? Whatever it was that Unguzo thought he couldn’t provide, he would find a way to show him that he –could- provide it. Oblivious, he nodded at his own new resolve.
Keki watched his father, not upset to have the paw taken from him. It didn’t mean the large animal didn’t like him, right? He just… wanted his space. Which was fine. Keki wasn’t the type to complain about such things.
The two were talking too much. Why wasn’t he being involved? Angry, the cub let himself roll forward, collapsing on top of one of the females paws without care and biting into her fur. His tiny fangs weren’t enough to bring blood, Keki nomming uselessly on her ankle, growling between crunches of his jaw.
Unguzo blinked. To be called by his first name was a bit out of the ordinary, and he snorted gruffly. Looking proud, irritated, he narrowed his eyes at her.
“You are what I tell you to be. You don’t have to mother it, just make sure it survives,” he said with a grunt. He looked down at the cub, adopting Hyun’s nickname for him without noticing. Keki was an odd name, anyway. He doubted he would be referring to the cub by it very frequently at all.
He didn’t want the cub to make him happy. At this point he just wanted the pink thing to be a functioning member of his pride. Why did it keep looking at him like that? They had barely spent three minutes together, and the cub looked like he could not hold an ounce more love for the older lion, lest he burst from it all. Sighing, not sharing a modicum of those feelings, he was surprised when it moved.
Unguzo laughed, a rare sound, when the cub chomped on Hyun’s ankle. Well, at least it had spunk.
“Now I’m certain it doesn’t like you. That’s perfect.”
"Fine."
It was an acceptance, but also a challenge, either to herself or Unguzo, Hyun wasn't certain. But without looking down at Keki, she took her other paw and stepped on his head. Not enough to permanently harm him, but enough to give her the satisfaction of hurting the little bugger.
She turned her back on Unguzo and the other two cubs that she hadn't even gotten a look at, not caring if it followed her or not. She would not be making any room for it in her niche, nor allow it to take up what she had. But she would feed it when the time came.
Unguzo grinned, satisfied. He had no time for petulance or disobedience. Looking from Hyun to Keki, telling himself that it was a good match, he turned and left the cave. Perhaps he would go and hunt some food for himself and this strange new family he was making. Or maybe just for himself. Hadn’t they just ate? How often did cubs need meat, anyway? He was sure with some trial and error he would figure out the most basic facts of cub rearing. It might not be fun for the experiment group, but everyone had to start somewhere. He, and they, would learn.
What a strange little family…
END
