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 Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 8:19 pm
Everything seemed to be happening so fast and so slow at the same time, it was rather unsettling for a lion who was usually carefree. The tragic loss of the queen was still so recent and the upset it had caused the pride had no yet fully subsided, especially in those who were personally close to her.. but they had a new queen and soon they would have a new king. And the time it was taking to get to that point seemed to be oscillating impossibly. It would have sped by if not preceded by the death of a family member.
It wasn't official yet but it was hardly a mystery. Guard duty was somewhat strange now but he did his best.. but as was happening in increasing frequency, he was headed inward to look for Lela, to see how her day was going, to see if there was anything he could help with.. just to see her, really.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 7:50 am
Of course, the first days after Ally's death had sent her into a sort of shocked state where she simply autopiloted. And the first days after the funeral and the announcement of her succeeding Ally had been a bit much for her. She had to weed around and organize many emotions. Her sadness for the loss of her niece, her anxiousness about becoming the queen, her sudden bout of shyness for really getting to know the members of the pride, her excitement for the upcoming event between herself and Thoth, and, of course, her deep desire for a family. So far, she'd been able to keep everything in neat, orderly rows in her mind, and had been able to keep calm because of it.
And then, she had one more thing over Thoth. She had always been sister to the heir, and more so his litter mate. Then, she'd been aunt to the heir. And, as a lioness, she always knew she'd remain within the scope of possibility for the position. Though she never personally believed it would happen, it was the sort of thing that was always on the mind of any child of a royal couple, past or present. She was silently concerned for her carefree and relaxed future mate. She continuously looked for signs in him that he was being pushed to the edge. And her concern for him on this particular evening had brought her away from duties and concerns for anything else, out looking for him. He hadn't been hard to find.
"I was just looking for you, Thoth." She smiled at him warmly, trying to be for him what he had been for her in her time of stress and unhappiness.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 1:31 pm
Though he hadn't really be expecting it to be a challenge, Thoth was glad to find Lela so easily. He returned her smile when she addressed him.
"I was just looking for you, too," he said, thinking it probably explained how easily they had crossed paths now. She'd been easy to predict the location of before, she never seemed to wander much.. but the possibility was always there. It was near ridiculous, now, how few main locations there were that she almost always was at.. at least during high points of the day and night.
"How is your day going?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 2:01 pm
She was sure, even if she hadn't been looking for him, Thoth would've found her. Her life had become pretty predictable for the time being, and she had dropped her habit of wandering out near the edges of the pride to be alone in the quiet night. She'd taken to staying towards the center of things, which honestly drained her, but it was better for her to be seen often. Especially for a pride in mourning. Even if not all the members had truly come to see her the way they once saw Ally (which Lela didn't expect to ever happen, in honesty), she thought that perhaps her nearness to everyone and being readily available might to something to alieve the pain.
"Oh, you know. I've tried to keep busy... Which isn't very hard these days." She chuckled, trying to make light of the situation. She was a little unsure how Thoth would handle it once their relationship became an official union, and once he was officially the king. "How have you been?" She sat down in front of him, getting comfortable. She wasn't sure if he had wanted to walk somewhere, but would wait for his lead. In the mean time, it was nice to rest.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 2:29 pm
"No, it isn't," he agreed, though still smiling, when she talked about keeping busy. It was, in fact, more difficult for him because he was between jobs until everything could be made official, but he was keeping himself busy as best he could. He followed her, taking a seat close by her. It wasn't exactly going to make chit-chat easier but.. why not sit beside her?
"About the same," he said, "I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help you out."
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 2:40 pm
Lela, though with her new shyness to factor in, didn't mind Thoth by her side. Even if they weren't officially together yet, and it wasn't really common knowledge that they were... she knew that everyone knew. Before they were in the public eye, Lela assumed that some, though few, had noticed their time together. Of course, Lela was never really 100% out of interest due to her relations. She hadn't been quite so watched as she was now, though. And because of that surge in staring, she was positive that those who didn't know for sure were guessing about her and her future mate. And so, she didn't mind. Besides, she'd finally found happiness when it comes to love and family. Nobody was going to bring her down on that part.
"Well..." She thought for a moment. "There isn't much I'm up to right now. And really I'm fine otherwise." She was refering to the number of stressors she had. "You help out just by being here most of the time." Her smile deepened. "Is there anything I can do for you, good sir?" She playfully dipped her head to him.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 2:58 pm
"That's good then," he said, "It's always nice to take a break." He knew Lela was excellent at handling stress, making one small exception for the time they had really started coming together.. she was very evidently handling this unsettling situation marvelously.
"I'm happy to be here with you," he responded, nudging her, "I don't need anything else."
As he was doing more and more lately, he was actively trying to be cheerful and calm and.. well, normal. They were pushed into a strange situation, perhaps stranger for him than for her, but whatever reservations he had.. it was happening and his attitude would make a difference. A big one, soon.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 7:00 pm
Lela noticeably brightened for Thoth's comment. She greatly enjoyed his talking of their happiness. For her, she was at the high point of her life. Well, except for the stress factor. But even with that added on top of things, she was still very happy with who she was and where she was in the world. And with what was to come. The idea of starting a family very soon was so exciting. On the one hand, she was happy for the need to produce an heir. Ally's failure to do so was surely on everyone's mind, which meant Thoth and Lela should probably start trying very soon into their marriage. Which meant Lela would be a mother sooner rather than later.
On the other hand, it was also quite stressful. But Lela was so far from stressed at that moment, it wasn't really on her mind. Just the fact that they'd be working on it soon clouded her vision with tiny paws and squealing cubs. "I don't need anything else, either. I do know something that I want, though..." She searched Thoth's face for a reaction. Of course, she didn't expect a bad reaction. It was only natural. It was just that, well, they hadn't really talked about it before now, so she was ever so slightly nervous about broaching the topic openly. She'd mentioned her desire for her own cubs, of course, but they hadn't talking about the cubs actually... coming. "You know how much I want children."
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 7:23 pm
Thoth had cubs before, unplanned ones, even. He wasn't going to scared off by the mention of cubs, he was kind of surprised it had taken this long to come up- or so he told himself. But they had been going a reasonable pace before all of this and now that they were going to be King and Queen.. well, of course it was coming much sooner and surer than before. His face remained the happy-neutral it was before she pressed into this topic.
"And now you don't just want them, you need them," he commented thoughtfully, looking over at Lela, "That's not going to change how you feel about this, is it?"
That was truly Thoth's main concern. It was one thing to want a family, it was another entirely to have a whole pride telling you that you must have a family. And it wouldn't be the same family they might have had before, now they would be the royal family. Of course, Lela had been a part of that before.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 7:37 pm
Though Lela herself had always been of the royal family, her children might not have been truly considered that. They would've been more removed from the line of the throne than she was herself. That, of course, was now completely different. She was no longer in line to become the queen, she was the queen, and her children would be directly next. If... she succeeded in producing a high class litter, that is.
However for the moment, Lela was less concerned with this. It was, of course, at the back of her mind. And was slowly growing. It would assuredly grow more and more as the time got closer. She was slightly disconcerted that Thoth should bring it up, but he was, after all, a voice of reason quite often. It was something to face, not push off to the side until it festered into something big and uncontrollable. "Yes, I do need them. But... It won't change anything. I'm sure it will seem like a big deal, perhaps, for a little while. But I can just imagine seeing their new faces, seeing who they grow up to be, seeing they themselves having children..." She was getting quite ahead of herself, but she couldn't help it. Her mind naturally traced the happinesses a mother would experience when she got on this topic.
"Will it change things for you? I know this whole royalty and heirs thing is more knew to you than me."
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 7:50 pm
Though Lela was getting very far ahead of herself, Thoth enjoyed hearing her ramble about it that way. It was reassuring that the added stress and the change in dynamics that came with being this family didn't really change her view. She really would be a good mother.
"No, I'm a pro at handling the unexpected," he said, grinning. He had brought home orphans and raised them by himself, starting a family himself, with a partner to help.. Even if Lela had remained a priest, there would have been the class difference and she still had an important job then.. it was always going to be different for him.
"How long do you suppose it'll be before someone else brings it up?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 8:11 pm
"Yes, you are a pro." She winked. Jokes aside, he did play the role of her rock when she started getting carried away. Simply having him to hold on to helped her not get too deep into stress. His presence helped her keep it in line., helped her use the skills she already had. She hoped Thoth would always keep the ability to keep calm, despite the life they were heading into. The life they were really already in.
As to how long they had before their future children were the talk of the pride, Lela couldn't say. She knew it would certainly be a major topic for the gossip mill. "I really don't know." She sighed a little. Her deep seeded desire to keep her life private would most likely unravel in the near future. "I do wish they could grow up without being watched, but. I suppose that isn't an option anymore." She cast a slightly sad glance at Thoth, but it was hard for her to stay down long when it came to talking about cubs.
"You know, Ally's... lack of an heir will only feed everyone's chitchatting." She looked down at her blue toes. It wasn't exactly too soon to mention Ally so much as, she didn't like saying anything bad about her niece. It wasn't the worst thing in the world that there had been no heir, but it wasn't necessarily the best. She was sure her niece experienced a great deal of stress due to this topic.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 8:22 pm
"Probably not long," he suggested, with a slight shrug. It was barely a secret now what was going to happen, whether or not the pride thought they should have an heir, everybody would probably expect they at least thought that.
"Ah," he said, surprised Lela brought up one of the issues he had been wondering about, "Well, we'll balance that out somehow." Had Thoth known of previous examples of royal secret keeping, he might have been more encouraged. Unyezi had very nearly lost his position as heir when he was younger because of Nerit.. but very few members of the pride knew that, though some might vaguely recall from the rumors Njiru had tried to start.
"And we're not as young as Ally and Fafnir," he added thoughtfully, not trying to add to the stress but stating facts- perhaps trying to make some excuse for the previous rulers. Nobody could have predicted what had happened, Ally was young and healthy- and unlucky.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 8:38 pm
Lela was slowly becoming more concerned now, but she was battling the anxiety. She had to keep it in check. She had to stay calm. She wasn't even pregnant yet, it wasn't the time to start worrying yet. Not to mention, they weren't even together officially yet. She couldn't start really planning out a high class birthing until she was closer to the dates.
"I certainly hope we do." Her voice had grown somber with the introduction of Ally to their conversation, and the thoughts beginning to spin in her head. Perhaps she should talk to Unyezi about tips for having a large, high class litter. After all, she thought glumly, the more possible heirs, the safer Thoth and her would be. And the less stress would be placed on them.
"I'm sure things will work out how they were meant to." She looked back up at him, trying to calm herself and gauge how he was handling the increasingly complicated topic. "It will be important to have an heir. It will, though, work out however is best, I am sure." She nodded, as if reassuring herself. She knew, deep down, despite the circumstances of he children's class, she would love them just the same, and that's what mattered. "We'll still be a family through whatever gets thrown at us."
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 8:52 pm
As Lela started saying things to reassure herself, Thoth caught on to just how much more worried she was becoming. She was a master at disguising her own emotions when necessary, and for good reason and good use now that she was queen.. but he could tell. She wasn't being as guarded with him.
"Everything will be fine," he agreed, sounding purposely very certain and leaning against her, smiling. They would have a family, and whatever complications now came with that.. it would still be their family and that was what really mattered. Everything else would be dealt with as it came.
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