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 Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 10:32 pm
((backlogging at cub for Atash, right after Tsu's cubs were born)) 
Tsubame needed some time away from the den. The normally solitary lioness woke that day with a itch to be alone but with Achal, the five older cubs, Maua, Ban'ma, and her new born cubs solitude was impossible at the den. Even with the urge to be alone Tsu knew she couldn't go far, or to be more accurate; wouldn't go far.
She waited until everyone was out doing something before asking Ban'ma to watch her napping cubs for a bit before slipping out of the den. Tsu stepped out of the den into late afternoon light and strolled over to the nearby trees. There she sat relaxing as the light breeze played with her fur. As she sat their she was thinking about nothing in particular and yet thinking of everything. Her past, Achal, Maua, Ban'ma, the five cubs that came back with Achal, her own cubs, the pride, the future. So many questions and thoughts swirled in her head that even she could not make much sense of them.
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 12:44 am
It had been a physically exhausting journey for the young Swamplands cub and no less taxing on him in a psychological sense either. Still reeling from the events of being introduced to one pride and one family only to be torn away and lead hundreds of miles to a landscape that was as comparable to the damp, shadowy forests of the Jini as night to day. Atash had thought often of the mother he had left behind during his travels, truthfully, it had been difficult to think of anything else. Was he expected to forget her and his true origins?
How could Lililamuna simply accept this strange male into her life? Though he may have been their sire the fact remained that they hadn't even known of his existence until they were old enough to no longer be suckling.
Even now, after having been settled in the den of their father. A pad in the Ukuucha'Wafalme with many other unfamiliar females and cubs. Atashmah couldn't dislodge the feeling of despair and dread that filled his little body. Days, even weeks after they had arrived, the peculiar little cub remained to himself. Fearful of the voices in his head, the ones that told him he was misery incarnate, doomed to infect those closest to him. Doomed to be confined to solitude. Forever.
So why would today be any different? The garnet cub barely noticed Tsubame as he pawed at the dirt under the hot sun, digging for the cool earth underneath where he could lay and take a nap. Far away from Achal's den and the others who inhabited it.
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Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 11:06 am
Tsubame watched Atash from under half closed eyelids. The cub was a striking color and yet she could clearly see his father's influence in him. She sometimes wish she could understand what was going on in his mind but he always seemed to want to be left alone. Lili on the other paw was a bit easier. The young banu seemed to settle in her new life and her new family.
Still unsure about how to approach Atash, Tsu remained quiet and watchful. She watched a moment more as he dug in the dirt before she took a bracing breath. Motherhood was harder then it seemed but she found that she would not trade it for anything in the world.
Not wishing to startle the young male she made plenty of noise as she got to her feet and slowly walked towards him. "Atash?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 12:50 pm
The ground was finally beginning to yield beneath his paws. Hard, dusty crust forming small ridges around the bowl that was finally taking shape and revealing a dark, rich color where the earth was moist and cool hidden from the harsh son. With the sound of paddling paws scraping at his makeshift bed and the unnerving voices that had been there nearly since birth, droning in his ears Atashmah Sayeh was oblivious to Tsubame's approach. Nearly shrieking in surprise, despite how gently the strange lioness attempted to get his attention.
Spinning to face Achal's beybanu the cub's plush ears folded flat against his head, the fur raised along his spine in fright and surprise. Carefully taking a few steps backwards to keep a safe distance between them and his garnet eyes kept low. Staring at his toes as he held his tiny jaws shut, reluctant to answer and unsure what he would have said if he had chosen to finally speak after an unbreached silence since leaving his biological mother.
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Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 8:07 pm
Tsu hated that she startled the young cub. He had a hard enough life so far without her scaring him out of his wits. His silence was daunting and Tsu did not know what to say to him. She watched him watching his toes for a moment or two before looking at the hole he was digging and currently standing in.
Remaining silent she stepped up next to him and started to dig gently on the edge of his hole, widening it ever so slightly.
Even though she was so close to Atash physically she knew that mentally her and the little cub had a gulf in between them. Tsu wished she knew how to span the gulf but she just didn't have the knowledge or skills to do so. Growing up the way she did, practically on her own, did not give her the social skills to combat such a problem. For the most part this didn't seem to be a issue in the pride since most were very welcoming and as long as she was polite the conversation continued quite easily. But Atash was a different matter and she desperately wanted to connect to this male who was now her son.
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Posted: Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:03 pm
Atash's small, stocky frame quivered with discomfort at Tsubame's nearness to him, the thin muscles beneath his pelt sliding visibly every time he shifted in place even the tiniest bit. This was the closest anyone had ever managed to get to the antisocial cub, locked in a stalemate with his surrogate mother as neither of them said a word to other. Simply standing in the uncomfortable silence. Even as she moved to begin carefully aiding in his efforts to dig the shallow hole Atashmah couldn't find the will to get out of the way.
Breathing shallow and anxious as wide, ruby eyes lifted high enough to watch Tsu digging at his make-shift bed. When several minutes passed with no sign of ill will or misfortune, the leery cub finally seemed to relax his rigid stance. Gradually beginning to continue the task at hand until the pair were working in perfect unison together and in utter silence.
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 12:31 pm
Tsu could feel Atash quivering and she could hear his shallow breathing as she remained quietly and slowly working on the digging project. She didn't know what to say to him to make this easier on them both. Everything that she could think of made her fear that she would scare him off.
She breathed a silent sigh of relief when Atash began to resume digging. For a few moments there she feared that the cub would run away from her, something that had never happened to her before. Granted she use to avoid others until she met Achal and everything seemed to change for her.
As Tsu continued to dig along side of her adopted son her mind started wander just a bit and she began to hum softly. The tune was one that even she didn't consciously remember, her mother use to sing the song to her when she was just a cub. The words now escaped Tsu but the tune was one that sometimes bubbled up from her memories at moments like this.
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 8:09 pm
He was glad that, for a while, all that could be heard was the quiet sound of their breathing undisrupted by awkwardly forced conversation. The sort he had been forced to listen to as his father prattled on during the long journey. Mostly Achal had spoken with Lililamuna as Atash remained distanced, deep in his own head and lagging behind the pair at his own, humble pace. These were memories Atash didn't care for, giving his floppy-eared head a rough shake, finding his paws were sore digging at the unforgiving earth.
The young one had barely noticed he had dug until the soft cushioning of his pads were raw and tender, deciding that he had made his bed deep enough Atash finally flopped over, carefully avoiding Tsu's paws as he yawned. Only now giving the silky song that filled the air any consideration. It was a lilting lullaby, the kind mothers sang for their children which made him ask finally, in a small voice. Gaze fixed timidly on the cut in his paw that he nursed without so much as a whimper. That song.. is for the babies?
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:56 am
As she dug Tsu's digging slowed to the point where she was no longer digging but just standing there lost in her thoughts. It wasn't until she heard a soft voice that she realized that she was even humming and that she had stopped digging.
Glancing down she saw Atash flopped over in his part of his little bed. Tsu noticed him nursing his paw and while she wished she could check on his paw herself she also knew that Atash would not likely let her. Instead she stepped from the whole but didn't go far, just far enough to flop down in the dirt as well.
"The song?" Tsu had to think for a moment. Where did the song come from? "I don't know. It is just a song that I don't even know the words to. It just is something that I know." She shrugged and wished she could explain it better.
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:19 pm
Silent for several long, awkward minutes as if the youth half expected something more to her answer, perhaps something that might have more clearly satisfied his initial question, when Tsubame offered no further explanation Atash ended the conversation just as simply. Oh...
Being the most he'd spoken since arriving in the Ukuucha'Wafalme one could certainly say it was a feat to have pried the few words his surrogate mother had from him. Though the thought crossed his mind, Achal's son didn't mention how his mother and Aunt had sang wordlessly to him and his siblings when they were first born. As was the typical procedure in the swamplands where speaking before the children were presented with their temporary names announced was considered bad luck. The bad moon child tried hard not to recall stinging memories of the comforting warmth of his mother's voice and soft fur.
Remembering wouldn't bring her back.
Sensing the strangled, prying voices begin to stir beneath his scalp, pricking like a strangers claws on his mind Atashmah was suddenly glad for Tsubame's company. There was a subtle reassurance in the song that she had picked up humming again, enough that he could finally feel his uneasy heart at rest. And between the warmth of the sun on his back and the cool earth under his belly the conditions were ripe for a nap. Lids falling heavily as he curled up and drifted off to sleep.
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