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 Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 12:13 pm
Rap lay a few meters from the den, flat on his belly, forepaws stretched out before him in typical 'sphinx' style. The large ex-Firekin seemed to be somewhat at ease that day, the lines of grief and pain smoothed out beneath the touch of the sun.
The months following Hakan's death had been perhaps less grim than Rap had expected. It was hard, after all, to be totally crushed by it when he knew that the dark lion lived on in the cubs that Kinagiri had bore. The news of her pregnancy had been a surprise, but a welcome one, and he had to admit he was thankful for that spark of light in the pit of misery that had weighed heavily upon him before he had met with her once again.
The nightmares still came. Dark shadows. Flaming lions. Splatters of luminous red blood against a night-swathed sky. The guilt came, too, sometimes so suddenly and so powerful that he thought he would drown in it. Perhaps, under different circumstances, he would have choked and failed, allowing the grief and guilt of what had transpired to kill him. But he had a purpose now. A worthy purpose and he would not do anything to lose it.
Helping raise a family might have been considered a rather boring and normal purpose to other lions, particularly males. But to Rap, there was no greater joy than helping Kina raise her and Hakan's children. He knew that Hakan would have wanted him to help, and to see their small, smiling faces and knowing that their lives had just begun, brought him great hope. Besides, what other lion would tell of Hakan's warrior past and his noble deeds!
So, despite the occasional mood swings and the dips and sways of his grief, for the most part, Rap was content. More than content, in fact.
The sound of laughter diverted his attention from staring out across the horizon, turning first an ear, and then letting his eyes follow.
Bounding from the den - albeit rather clumsy on those new paws - came a small dark female with a spotted pelt, gold-tipped paws and brilliant blue eyes. It was certainly clear who that one's father was and it brought a small smile to Rap's face to think that perhaps part of Hakan's soul was imprinted on each and every one of his children. A silly idea, but one he found great comfort in.
He realised that another was following her, this one taking more after his mother, with a dusky brown pelt and a green tuft of hair on his head. He followed his sister, his teeth clamped around her tail-tuft as if afraid of being left behind.
Rap snorted and shifted so he could face them. "Mawasii. Kafele. Where do you think you're going?"
"Nowheres." The female replied, giving her brother a look that seemed to say 'don't say anything!!'. She tugged her tail free, sending her brother spinning helplessly to the ground and beamed up at the large orange lion innocently.
"Too crowded in theres." She rolled her eyes back to indicate the den and gave her brother a shove as he drew up beside her.
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 12:33 pm
Being a mother was not something Kinagiri had ever imagined for herself, least of all doing it alone. She wasn't truly alone but it was different, having Uncle Rap around instead of a daddy. She was grateful, she'd come to realize Jino had done something good, but there was no denying it just wasn't the same. Despite all of this, she thought she was adjusting well. She loved them all very much and though she never tried to look into their futures, she saw a great deal in them. Hakan, of course, but also the family she had left behind when she was so small. Though it was not as near as comparing Mawasii and Hakan, Majadi reminded her a great deal of her father in particular.
Jino was somewhere between keeping his distance and trying to remain involved but he was off on his own for the day and Kina was trying her paw at keeping everybody occupied-- though it was more of keeping an eye on everybody while they played. She didn't notice Mawasii and Kafele make a getaway until she realized she could hear murmuring outside.
"We've lost somebody," she said, pushing herself up to her feet and, with a smile at the muddle of cubs playing in the dim den, she went out to see what was going on. She stood in the shadowy entrance, watching and listening but not stepping in just yet.
Okoa was having fun in the middle of the crowd but she was distracted when she heard her mother comment and head for the door-- and she quickly and clumsily extracted herself from the group, nearly tripping over someone she couldn't quite figure out, and stumbled after Kina. She chose not to say anything immediately but once she ran into one of her mother's paws she knew she wasn't being sneaky enough to hide. Not from mom, anyway! So she stuck close by her-- eying Mawasii and Kafele, her tail swaying eagerly behind her.
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 12:43 pm
Rap couldn't help but grin when the 'all-knowing-mother' appeared in the den's entrance, his fiery eyes flicking from her to the two cubs sitting a short distance away.
"Busted!" He all but sang, his eyes sparkling at the look on Mawasii's face.
Then, to Kina he said: "Looks like you've got two little escapees." He waved a paw in their direction. "Good job Uncle Rap is on guard duty."
A look of horror crossed over the little black female's face and she shook her head vehemently. "We weren't 'scaping, Muuuum." She all but whined. "We knew Uncle Rap was out here." And under her breath, muttered. "He's always there..."
Exploring would be so much easier if he'd just...go hunting or something.
"We wouldn't a gone far. Right, 'Fele." She gave her brother a nudge and a pointed look.
"Wha--? Oh, yeah..." Kafele gave them all a sheepish look, dipping his head in a fashion that seemed to suggest he'd rather like the ground to swallow him up right there. Then, he noticed Okoa standing beside Mother and shifted a little, making a slow arc back towards them and safety.
He really didn't want to be dragged into this...
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 12:52 pm
Kina flinched and shuffled her feet when she felt Okoa thump into her, glancing down with a smile and shaking her head as she looked back up and Rap addressed her. She stepped out into the sunlight, looking down at Mawasii and Kafele as they attempted to deny their escape attempt.
"It's nice of you to include Uncle Rap in your games," she said, her tone suggesting she didn't really think that was what was happening-- but well aware that might be lost on a cub.
"Where exactly were you thinking of going?"
Okoa looked back and forth and around at each individual as they spoke-- until she spotted Kafele heading her way. He didn't look that eager to go out with Mawasii. Mawasii should have asked her. She'd have been happy to go out! Maybe. It was awfully big outside.
Safely assuming nobody was going to get far now, Okoa skipped out of the dark and towards Kafele- stumbling right into him as the change in light momentarily blinded her.
"Ee!"
Stupid sun!
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 1:01 pm
Rap, still grinning, sat himself comfortably and crossed a forepaw over the other, tilting his head curiously to see how the cubs responded. It was sweet how they thought they could trick their elders just by widening their eyes a little.
Mawasii seemed pleased at her mother's response, bobbing her head enthusiastically, apparently believing that all was going to be well and no one had 'cottoned on' to the fact that they had very well been trying to sneak away. Either way, perhaps they'd get a semi-adventure out of this after all, if their mother agreed and accompanied them. After all, they hadn't been planning to go very far...
"Sharing is good." She replied after a moment of thought, angling her head upwards to look into her mother's face. "We were....we were going to see the ant'lope!" She bounced a little as she said it, clearly excited about the prospect of spying on lunch and at the prospect she would one day be hunting it herself. "Just over there, Muuum. Not far." She widened her eyes a little, as if by looking more cute, her mother couldn't possibly say no. "Can we go? Pleeeease? Pleeeeeeeease?" She blinked as Okoa collided with Kafele and smothered a giggle into her paw.
"And 'sides, Okoa wants to come too, riiight?"
Kafele's head span as he was once again knocked to the ground - apparently not at all steady on his paws as of yet. He gave his sister a shaky smile and then tried to manoeuvre so he was hiding behind her, clearly wanting out of this grand antelope adventure.
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 1:33 pm
Kina was momentarily distracted when Okoa and Kafele collided and both hit the ground but they both seemed fine so her attention went back to Mawasii and her pleading.
"Of course we can go see antelope," she said, considering how she handled this carefully, "But you can't just sneak off, Mawasii, someone has to know where you're going or go with you. Someone big like Uncle Rap or me."
She glanced to Okoa and the poorly-hidden Kafele.. and then back again. Okoa seemed content with Kafele and Kafele looked like he was trying to get away- but it was hard to say if that was because they were caught or he didn't want to go.
Okoa untangled her feet and stood back up shakily, her legs didn't seem to want to stand up if they were going to keep running into things or falling. She was watching Kafele go behind her when Mawasii called out to her-- and then she spun around, almost too quickly.
"What? I- I want to go!" she squeaked, "If you're going, I mean."
She did not want to be left out!
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 10:37 am
Rap, grinning at the little scene playing out before him, gave the group a small nod and stood, moving over so he was standing beside Kinagiri and closer to the den.
"I can stay here and watch the rest, if you like." He declared, seeming not too worried about missing out on this little adventure. Besides, someone needed to stay and take care of the others, particularly if they got any ideas about sneaking off as Mawasii had done.
"I'm sorry Mum." Mawasii was replying, her head low and ears folded flat against her head. "We won't do it again." Those blue eyes rolled back to Kafele, as if trying to enforce that he had been involved too. Even still, her apologetic face wasn't on for long and her eyes were already brightening with excitement as she bounced towards her sister and brother with a seemingly boundless energy.
"Of course you can come, Okoa! It would be boring without you!" She gave her a somewhat playful look and then turned questioning eyes to Kafele who seemed, at that moment, ready to shrink back into the den. "You too, 'Fele."
Kafele stuttered, seemingly unsure whether it would be safer to decline or to agree. Eventually he considered it safer to go along with them, easier too, otherwise he'd never hear the end of it. With a small puff of air, he nodded and drew automatically closer to his mother, seemingly preferring to keep closer to an adult where possible.
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 6:46 am
"Alright then," Kina said, looking around the three little ones as the plan unfolded. She couldn't help but shake her head again once more before turning to look at Rap. There were just too many of them sometimes.
"Thank you," she said, smiling and hoping he'd have a quick answer if anybody demanded to know why they were left behind. She could hardly communicate anything specific to tell them with three witnesses who might not appreciate siblings being promised something fun on their own later or something. Hopefully it wouldn't even be an issue.
"Too bad Jino's not around right now," she said, turning to the cubs again, "He'd know exactly where to go to find some antelope fast, but we'll see what we can do."
Okoa stayed by Kafele, leaning nearer to him-- until he scrambled closer to their mother and she was left on her own. At least now there was nothing to run into!
"Let's go!" she squeaked excitedly, taking a couple steps forward, keeping her distance from everybody else.. for now. This was going to be fun!
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 7:23 am
"Yer'll have to sniff them out!" Mawasii replied, patting a paw to her own nose. Then, puffing herself up, she steamed ahead, head and tail up in the air as she pushed through the sparse undergrowth. "Come on! It'll be dark before we get there at the speed you're going!" She turned to look back at them and ended up - rather embarrassingly - falling flat on her face, snubbing the side of her nose against the dry, compacted earth.
"Ouchies!" With a small huff and a pouty face, she pushed herself up onto her paws, stuck her tongue out at her family and then zoomed off ahead again, clearly no worse for wear and determined not to be overtaken now that she'd issued her challenge to them.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
And, now that he was relatively out of earshot from his siblings, the young male cub crawled forwards and glanced up at his mother as they set off to find the antelope. "We won't see any dangers will we, mum?" He glanced over his shoulder to see Rap remaining behind. "If we call for help, will Uncle Rap hear?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 7:55 am
"Careful up there, Mawasii," she called up when the little one fell but she didn't say anything else. The cub was back on her feet and off again almost immediately, she wasn't very surprised and she was sure independent Mawasii would not have appreciated the attention on her stumble.
"Alright, alright," she said, picking up her pace a bit to encourage them all along. Her legs were long enough she didn't have to move very fast to get the cubs nearly jogging.
"Don't worry, Kafele," she said, looking down to him and smiling, "Uncle Rap is good at showing up when he's needed and Jino wouldn't have gone off if there was something dangerous around here today."
Kina had not explained about her and Jino to the cubs yet but she put a lot of faith in the snake and made sure they all knew they could trust Jino to know if they ought to be especially careful. He loved them all more than he admitted and he was good at seeing those kinds of things.
"Oh!" Okoa jumped forward when Mawasii fell, stumbling when she got back up to her feet and stuck out her tongue. Puffing up, she looked back at her mother and Kafele.. but they didn't seem to care what Mawasii had done. So all she could do was compete.
"Wait for me!" she cried, scrambling to catch up with Mawasii.
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 9:43 am
"I am being careful!" Mawasii insisted in a sing-song voice. She turned to watch as Okoa ran to join her and grinned, stepping aside to make room. The girls leading the way! That's the way it should be! "Look at baby-face 'Fele back there with Mother." She motioned a paw to their brother and skipped onwards. "We'll be the first ones to spot the antelope, Okoa! Do you think they'll get scared when they see us and run away?"
She tried to puff herself up further as if that made her look intimidating.
It didn't.
Then, with a small growl, she charged down the incline and out into the open expanse of land. Maybe this is where they would be? No...? "Can you see them, Okoa?" Mawasii tried to rear up on her hind legs to get a better view over the long tussocks of grass, but ended up tipping backwards, limbs flailing.
"Well..." Kafele pondered. "Can ant'lope be dangerous?" He scrunched his nose thoughtfully and the cogs in his mind turned. It was almost as if he were trying to justify his fear by coming up with something that could mean harm. Unfortunately, he was grasping at thin air.
They were safe and he'd have to just be happy with that.
"Are they there?" He called, feeling a little braver. "Mum, can you see them?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 8:48 pm
Okoa had some trouble coming to a stop when she finally caught up with Mawasii-- so she ultimately just kept jogging along, which seemed to work out as her sister kept up a good pace with her.
"No! I don't see anything," she said, stretching out her neck as far as she could manage, hoping to spot something before anybody else could. Mum had the unfair advantage of being super tall.
"They can be if you're not careful," she answered honestly when Kafele asked about antelope being dangerous, "But we're not looking to hurt them, there won't be any problems, don't you worry, Kafele." She smiled at him and looked around as he asked if there were any near. She could see the girls looking out but she could also see something distant that they could not. She did have her height on her side but experience was better for spotting the pale beasts that blended so nicely into the grass.
"This way, guys," she said, changing their path to head toward what looked like a fair sized group of preybeasts not too far off.
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 2:57 pm
At her sister's response, Mawasii's ears folded down in dissapointment and she paused to turn and look back to see where Mother and Kafele had gotten off to. Ah, there they were! Not as far behind as she had thought! Drawing both ears forward, she called out.
"Stop being a baby, 'Fele! Lions eat the ant'lope, remember?" She rolled her eyes and shot a look at Okoa that seemed to say: aren't boys hopeless? Then continued. "Mum, we can't see the ant'lope! Are they not here? Did we come all this way for nothing?" She turned back to the forest of grass and tried to stand up on her hind legs, attempting to use her sister's shoulder for support.
Then, blinking in surprise as Kinagiri called them to change their path, she dashed to catch up.
Kafele stuck his tongue out at his dark-pelted sister and moved in closer to his mother, determined not to let the name-calling draw him away from safety.
"Yes, this way." He replied sulkily and obediently trotted along at his mother's side.
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