The pups were out romping around somewhere, which was something of a relief. Lately they had seemed more interested in her than usual. They wanted to know about the outside world. They wanted to know, more specifically, about mates. They thought they were grown enough, and all of the little brats seemed bound and determined to have mates by the end of the week at the very latest. Bahari couldn’t recall ever being that competitive about mates, but then, she and Dikeledi had been on their own. If she had been surrounded by a horde of other hyenas determined to prove themselves, she may have very well been just as fiercely antagonistic towards her siblings.
Walking slowly, the grey hyena smiled faintly at the thought of her pups. No matter how much Bekeli hated them, she thought they were growing up very nicely. Her sister Dikeledi was rather grim on the subject of pups, probably because hers were still fairly small and weak. Once they grew bigger, stronger, Dikeledi would be able to relax and be proud of her brood. Just as Bahari was. Bahari’s smile widened with amusement. She really hadn’t been very enthusiastic about pups herself, but had decided that it was a good idea for the good of the clan. Now, well. Now she thought it had been a wonderful idea! She had never thought she would have so many of the damned little things, and now they had grown up into a whole pack of splendid hyenas.
There was Zalika, who seemed to take after Dikeledi more than Bahari. In looks, the dainty grey and white hyena was much prettier than Bahari herself. Bahari was as solid and grey as a boulder, but Zalika’s splashes of white and pink made her quite lovely. Of course, it was Zalika’s mind and heart that Bahari was so proud of. Some day, Bahari supposed she would hand her own place over to Zalika. Not today, no. Although Zalika possessed the temperament of a queen, she needed more experience before she led the others. And would Dikeledi hand her own place over to her first daughter, Tizi? Bahari couldn’t speak for her sister, but it would be an amusing combination. Much like her and Dikeledi, in fact. Tizi seemed like a very solemn little pup. She would be the counterbalance to Zalika’s imperious manner, if the two ruled together.
Kibibi … well, she was a strong and clever female, Bahari thought kindly, but probably not the most suited to rule. She had that needy obsession for her father, for one thing, which was a fixation Bahari would never, ever be able to understand. The thought of it made her wince slightly, in fact. But she wouldn’t fault Kibibi for wanting bonds with her family, even if Bekeli was … well … Bahari’s thoughts strayed away from the subject of Bekeli, remembering the godawful crown he had attempted to gift to her and then promptly eaten instead. Bekeli was a simple fellow, she would put it that way. But Kibibi wasn’t hopeless, not at all. Once she found a consort of her own Bahari believed she would transfer all of her demanding neediness onto him, and that was right and proper.
Kepo, second born and first of the boys. Bahari smiled slightly. If she could be said to have a favorite amongst the boys, it was Kepo. By a very slight margin, true. Very, very slight. Like Zalika, he seemed to take after his auntie. His manner wasn’t as appropriate for a boy, but Kepo knew his place well enough. He took his wrath out on the males instead. Bahari liked that. Kepo would make strong, fierce daughters. In a female, all of that ambition and aggression and infernal slyness would be a wonderful combination. And although Kepo was brash, stubborn, and incredibly obnoxious around the males, he was always obedient to the females. Bahari had always found it a bit weird that Kepo was so fixated on his aunt Dikeledi instead of herself, but it was probably a natural consequence of his unusual coloring. Despairing of the horde of pups around her, Kepo had picked Dikeledi as his rightful mother. Peculiar, but then, males often did peculiar things.
Kero, now. That one was as brainless as Bekeli. Bahari was fairly good-natured about his constant yapping, but even her patience wore thin at times. She had sent the hyena out to find the end of the rainbow recently. She was actually a bit surprised that he hadn’t returned already. It was a foolish task, but then, Kero was a foolish hyena. Bahari approved of inquisitive minds, but … it seemed awfully misguided in Kero. It was as though someone had imbued Bekeli with a rabid desire to learn. The results were almost awe-inspiringly terrible. Still, he was a sweet pup. Bahari was sure there was a female out there who could shut him up, or at least just ignore his chatter. There was never anything truly obnoxious about it, after all.
Just as there was never anything truly obnoxious about Igola. The pup she despaired the most about. To this day she wasn’t sure why he had fixated on Manyara so, but she felt a bit badly about it. He was just a male, true, and it was appropriate for him to follow a female around … but a lioness? And an idiot lioness at that. Bahari shook her head, frowning slightly. It had been amusing at first, and then a relief, as it got one more pup out of her hair. She was growing concerned now though. Would Igola ever find a female? She could only hope so. A nice female hyena to replace Manyara … if he would just follow a female hyena around instead of the unfortunately idiotic lioness, then he would be a completely perfect little male. Bahari laughed suddenly as a thought occurred to her. If she could find a female hyena with similar markings, maybe she could just swap them in the night! Ha! That would be perfect, yes.
Thinking of all her horrible, wonderful pups had made the grey hyena quite hungry. She trotted out into the savanna, smiling to herself. They were a great brood, that was for sure. She was actually looking forward to having another brood to follow them. And once the pups found their own mates, their clan would truly grow strong.
