|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:26 pm
 Lulu was a bit lonely now. Since the big and strange brown male took her from her mommy and brought her here, she dared not leave. She was afraid that he would hurt her like he had hurt her second mom, clawing open her back and leaving her bleeding. All the other lionesses had no choice but to watch as he took the little black and white cub from her adoptive mother; who lay in tears. There was nothing anyone could do, but wait for the opportune moment. Lulu had tried her best to not be a bother, but so far she wasn't doing well. She had found a corner of the cave to curl up in, among the bones and bracken. She hadn't yet met the lioness that the male had spoken of and Lulu hoped she was nice like all the other lionesses. She was missing her little brother Shai and curled up by herself, lonely and cold. Lorelei returned to Soro’s den in a brooding mood. She had been speaking to the other females of her pride and was discouraged by what she heard. Surely these fine warriors could not have lost their will to fight so easily. The group she had spoken represented only a small sample of their number. Despite that, it was disheartening to see once powerful females shrink whenever a male walked by. They’d never even seen a male before. That was the problem.
She peered through the entrance, scanning the bones for a sign of Soro, grunting to herself. He must have gone out for a walk. Tail swishing, she padded into the den. As she passed a zebra ribcage she noticed a suspicious scent hanging in the damp air and paused to sniff. That’s not Soro’s smell. Her eyes narrowed and she huffed a sigh. “Alright you little rat, I know you’re here. Come out.”
Dumb kids. They should know better than to go sneaking into the grown-ups dens.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:40 pm
Lulu didn't notice the darker lioness come into the den until she spoke. Lulu lifted her had, her red eyes blinking widely. She swallowed. Did she do something wrong? She stood up, her head lowered as she stepped forward, her odd colored front paws slow and clumsy. She was hoping that Soro would have brought her something to eat perhaps, she was a bit hungry. "I'm not a little rat..." She said softly, her little eyes downcast. The nice lady lioness that the male said would be kind to her hated her already, course it was just her childish nature. She sat down before the lioness, her head hanging in shame. She wasn't sure she did wrong and that made her all the more upset.
Guilt trips weren’t going to work on her. She raised a litter of three, damnit. She knew all the tricks. “This is no place for little cubs to play. You could have hurt yourself. Where are your parents?”
It was a small wonder none of the other cubs had gone snooping around in Soro’s den. She could just imagine the little devils daring each other to steal one of his bones. Cubs could be so thoughtless. Of course she would have done the same thing when she was their age, but that didn’t change anything, especially when it was Soro’s den they were sneaking into. She could only imagine what he’d do to the cub who stole one of his trinkets. In fact she didn’t even want to think about it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:08 pm
Lulu felt little tears welling up in her eyes. She did do something wrong. She sniffled, lowering her ears. "Mommy is with my other mommy and my brother-but I am not supposed to go to them... Mister Soro says so." She said sadly, kicking at a small bone with her paw. "I'd rather be with my Mommy though." She said, looking over at the entrance of the den. She wanted to go back but she knew that if she did, Soro would find her Mommy and hurt her again. She winced, thinking about it. "Soro says I can't go back..."
Lorelei’s eyes peeled back in horror. “He took you?” she mewed, biting down on her soft words.
That monster. What did he plan to do with her? She was only a cub, of no use to him. Lorelei bared her teeth silently in contempt, a futile gesture, she directed her wrath to the floor of the cave, infuriated by the sight of her useless paws. She could ease the suffering of the ill, but not the suffering of her pride. Her chest swelled with grief. “Little one, I’m sorry I snapped at you. I didn’t realize he… that he had taken another…”
Swallowing her sorrow, she lifted her head and moved a little closer to the cub, one ear twitching to listen suspiciously to the rushing river just outside their den. Soro could be back any time.
This cub had a distinct look about her. Cubs usually resembled their parents, but this one was hard to place. She made her voice soft and sweet. “What’s your name?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:23 pm
Lulu dug her paw into the dirt and buried the little bones in an attempt to redirect her frustrations. She nodded slowly, her red eyes to the ground as she sat. She was too young to really fully understand much of what was happening herself. She had no clue why she was taken away from her parents. She lifted her head as the adult spoke to her more with a different tone of voice; one that sounded nice. She lifted her head. "S'okay..." She said softly, smiling sweetly.
"My name is Lulu. My mommy is Nadra and my other mommy is Moray.."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 12:12 pm
Lorelei smiled weakly. She was not the sort of female who smiles at blue skies and pretty flowers, as if beauty is all the world needs to be happy, nor did was she the sympathetic sort, but to comfort a frightened child she could smile, at least a little bit.
“Ah, those two. I know them.” She remembered seeing them around before the males showed up. As a healer she tried to commit the names of the pride members to memory, easy while the pride was small, so that when they came to her for healing she could say, ‘Well, if it isn’t Moray! So what did you do to yourself? A twisted ankle, is it? Like I always say, there’s one sure fire cure for a twisted ankle. Watch your step!’ You can say things like that when you know your patients on a first name basis. She might be mean, but at least she knows my name, they’ll think.
The last time she saw Nadra she was heavy with cubs. Sao mentioned the birth to her, but she never thought anything of it or asked about the cubs.
She lay down on the ground beside Lulu, curling her body around the little cub. She hadn’t been around cubs since she was an adolescent with her first litter. That had been a frightening time in her life. The role of mother fit her like an ostrich egg fits an elephant. Somehow she managed to win the love of her cubs, though she often felt that her attitude towards them was too unorthodox, not at all like the mother who raised her, and once her cubs were fully grown she had no qualms about abandoning them and her pride, knowing they could take care of themselves. She had that independent streak about her.
“I’m not afraid of Soro, even though he forces me to stay here. If I leave he’ll just take one of the others and treat her even worse than he treats me.” She looked at her. “You know, under that mask, Soro looks just like everybody else.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 12:22 pm
Lulu looked up to the lioness and was comforted by her smile. Lulu had known nothing of fear and cruelty, only the love and caring of her parents, the comfort of her younger brother against her sleeping. She sighed. "My mommies are new here too... mommy said that she was hoping this would be the pride in which sadness would not follow them.. I am not sure what that means but, when the boys showed up... she was so scared. " She said, looking rather grim. "She was scared they would take my brother away-and make him bad like them.. so Mommy hide her and Moray in the jungle, so that the boys couldn't find them and hurt them-but-but-"
She started to get upset. "They found Mommy Moray and Soro started to hurt her... hurt her back with his claws and-and-I saw and I ran out to help her and he took me.. and left her with r-r-r-red stuff on her back all over... and she was crying. He said that if m-moray told where Mommy and shai was, he'd give me back to her.. but she wouldn't... and he asked me too tell-and I didn't... but... m-moray was so sad... she was crying!" She started to let little tears fall down her pale cheeks. "I'm not afraid of him... but am afraid for my Mommies... and my brother Shai." She said, lowering her head and rubbing her paws against her eyes. "Soro may look like everyone else but he is a boy and all boys are bad... except my brother... and soro said my name isn't Lulu anymore... its something else I can't remember... I don't want a new naaaame!" She then started to bawl
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 6:40 pm
As the little cub began to cry Lorelei reached out with her paw and gently pulled the cub to her chest. “Shh, I’m sure she’s alright now. The healers will take care of her.”
They had better. On her way back she noticed one of the other healer’s dens empty. Surely she wasn’t taking a personal day. Now was not the time. Lorelei purred softly and started to groom Lulu’s fur in the hopes of calming her down. That always worked with her cubs when they were little. Of course, her mother had had to explain that to her. She felt like such a dunce with her first litter. Now she was glad she’d had them. If she hadn’t she wouldn’t know what to do with poor Lulu.
“I’ll check on her when I make my rounds, okay? I’ll let her know I’m looking out for you, so she won’t be so scared.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 12:16 pm
Lulu snuggled against the lioness, her little tears stiffled against her chest. She was so young and yet she was grasping simple concepts of things-of how the other males were not to be trusted with the location of her mommy. She nodded sadly, knowing that her mother would have been tended too... but it still made her upset. And her little brother, his whereabouts had to be kept secret.
She looked up with wide eyes and a sad smile. "Really? Oh could you Lorelei!? I think my mommies would like to know I am okay... that I'm not hurt." She said, rubbing her cheeks with her paws, attempting to get rid of any evidence of sadness. "Tell them that I am being brave... and that Soro doesn't scare me at all!" She added.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 5:37 pm
Lorelei grinned in approval. “You’re being very brave. When your mothers hear how brave you’re being I’m sure they’ll feel braver, too.” She lowered her voice seriously. “Just make sure not to talk about this in front of Soro. We can only talk about it when he’s not around. Do you understand?”
There was no telling what Soro might do with that kind of information. He might use Lulu to get her to find out the location of the little male cub. Though Lorelei thought of herself as a strong-willed lioness, she knew she couldn’t stand by while Soro tortured a cub.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 2:49 pm
Lulu shook her head furiously, her forehead wrinkled into a deep furrow. She would never ever tell any one about it, especially the male that was taking her under his command with no clue as to her future. She lifted her head, sticking out her chin in a pout. "No way. I will never say anything to mean old Soro! My little brother isn't his to keep like a trinket like he says I am!"
She sat down and lifted her head up and looked as proud and brave. "I'm sorry your stuck here too... It's not fair."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 11:03 pm
“Well, this is no picnic.” She glanced at the bones and paused to mourn the sight of her herbs, lied out so neatly between a zebra and a gazelle. “But I’d rather suffer under Soro’s paws than see another female take my place. You know just what I mean, don’t you?”
She nuzzled Lulu gently. “Let’s see if I can help you remember that stupid name Soro gave you. Just because he wants you to use it doesn’t mean you have to change your name from Lulu. I’m sure Lulu is a much prettier name than whatever Soro picked. We’re just going to pretend to go along with him so he won’t make a fuss.”
She used a baby voice when she talked about Soro, as if he was nothing more than a big bratty cub. She noticed a buffalo skull staring at her from one of his piles and flicked her tail. “Does it have something to do with bones?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:02 pm
Lulu also looked to the bones and even though she had a vague idea of what they were, she didn't really feel uncomfortable. Lulu stood and pushed a few bones out of the way so she could lay down, her eyes downcast. "Yah. I know what you are meaning. Thats why my Mommys are safe.. cause I'd rather be here then them or Shai." She said softly, pawing at the earth quietly.
She looked up and screwed up her face in thought. "Lešapšana... its really hard to say so he said that I could be called Lesa." She said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "And it means something like bones... I don't remember what exactly..." She said, sniffing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 6:00 pm
“That takes courage. You should hold onto that, Lulu. Never let anyone take away your courage. At times like these it’s the only weapon we have. Do you understand?” She was going through quite a lot for such a young thing. Lorelei wondered if she could handle life under the male’s rule. She wouldn’t say it out loud, of course. It was like her to be pessimistic. They would just have to do the best they could.
“Lesa.” Lorelei muttered it to herself. She shook her head. “Well, that doesn’t suit you at all. I like Lulu much better.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 5:20 pm
Lulu nodded, puffing out her chest and shutting her eyes proudly. She was taking all these words as compliments, whether they were or not. She nodded vigorously at Lorelei's words. "Yes. I understand." She said with a smile. She shook her head and made her forehead tuft fluff around on the top of her head.
"I don't like it... lesa. Thats a stupid name. The name I got from my mothers is what my name will be. Until that stupid Soro goes away..." She cast a sideways glance. "But that won't be for a bit i think... sadly. Poor Shai... I miss him." She said, looking a bit downcast.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 2:44 pm
What can I say to that? Nothing I say could possibly take away the sting of loneliness. Lorelei curled her front paws under her chest and gazed out of the den, listening to the river’s current. With a sense of dread, she wondered when Soro would return. He was rarely gone for long.
((Sorry, running out of things to say. ^^""))
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
