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 Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:28 pm
It was a very quite and peaceful afternoon, and Makhi couldn't be happier with her life as she pads out through the sand to one of her preferred spots. Life was perfect now. She had her family. She had her newly wed mate. And she had a new friend in the form of the Goddess Rokopelli...
A smile crossed over her lips as she slipped into the shade of the small outcrop of rocks, settling herself down in the warm sand to relax. She couldn't think of anything that could go wrong in life now. Everything was completely looking up.
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:38 pm
 The heat of day proved a worthy opponent yet again, resigning Ramla to find shade. As she padded along, she spotted Madhu-Makhi, relaxing already. The darker lioness let out a huff, going over. "Care for some company in the shade...?" Beyond the shade, the land danced in the heat of the afternoon.
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 1:28 pm
Her head lifted at the voice, eyes lighting up as the sight of one of her elder 'neices'. Shifting aside a bit to give the younger lioness room with her in the shade, she smiled softly. " Of course, Ramla. How have you been of late? It seems like it's been forever since I'd last seen you... How's you father? "
She'd been quite distracted spending time with Altair as he courted her, so she was thrilled to see a member of her odd little family.
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 2:21 pm
Ramla tucked her legs up under her, laying next to the other lioness. "Oh, he's doing well... Another litter, of course, all growing well. But... Father Ilori got another lioness pregnant... And both he and my other father claimed the litter as their children... It made me wonder something..." She brushed a rock away. "Is Father Ilori secretly a God of some kind, switching between male and female?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 2:47 pm
She couldn't help but tense at the words, eyes widening slightly. Really, they'd never much taken into account that the older children would question younger litters and how they came about. Though.. That theory was a bit off. " Ahh... Well... No, no. Ilori's not a god.. He's just a lion. The... The female is a surrogate mother... " She explained with a tense smile. " She let herself get pregnant and then gives the cubs away to the ones that want children but can't have them. "
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 3:27 pm
Her ears twitched, listening to Makhi's words. As the sank in, the ears went back. "So... If he's not my 'mother'... Then who actually gave birth to my littermates and I...?" She still believed, of course, that Makhi was her aunt. She looked around at the lands, then up at the sky, as if the gods might give her an answer. "Is she even in the pride? Or is she a rogue out in the open lands...?" Maybe a neighboring pride...
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 3:36 pm
" W- well.. " She stuttered out as she stared at the girl, shifting uncomfortably beside her. " She.. ah.. She is a member of this pride. But. Do you really want to know her, Ramla? Ilori and Sepoko are your parents. They named you, raised you... Do you need to know your mother? " She asked softly, laying a comforting paw on Ramla's.
If the answer really was yes, then she'd have no choice but to tell her. Other wise she would keep it hidden for Ilori as long as she possibly could.
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 3:41 pm
The rust-colored lioness shrugged, shifting and placing one paw over the other. "I suppose it's mostly... I want to know, so I can know all my roots, if you will.." She reached over, poking a sproutling desert plant. "A snake remembers the hole it came from, a tree remembers where its roots reached from..." She sighed, pulling her paw back. "What if I have cousins or something I don't know about? Sometimes it's just nice to know your family, or know they're out there, because you never know what might happen..."
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 3:46 pm
" I... Very well.. " She sighed out, shaking her head before meeting Ramla's eyes, so like her own. " Ramla, I was the surrogate mother for you and your siblings... Ilori and I had you, and I gave up my parenting rites for him, and Sepoko.. I-.. I'm your mother. " She said softly, offering a bit of a worried smile, weary of how this news may be taken. It wasn't every day you found out your 'aunt' was infact your mother.
And of course she was the one to end up having to explain this while Ilori got off scotfree.
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Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 3:54 pm
The words sank in, slow at first, before Ramla slowly smiled. It wasn't the cruel, stalking smile she gave the vultures, but a rare and genuine smile. She turned to Makhi, the expression still on her face. "I'm glad, then... Otherwise, my littermates and I wouldn't be here... And.." She played with the plant. "It was a selfless thing to do... A nice thing, for someone who is incapable of doing so..." She stood up, stretching out. "I think, if I have any daughters... I'll encourage them to do something like that." She bowed her head, still smiling. "It was a pleasant talk, Aunt Makhi." She would continue to refer to her as her aunt... It was the respectful thing to do, respecting not only her elders, but how her parents wanted things to be. The rust colored lioness turned, slowly padding away. Somehow, her step was... A little lighter...
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