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Makena was returning home from a long afternoon. Everytime she came home these days, she had a bit more in the way of accessories. Today is was a ring earing that made her ear seem to sparkle. Her paws hurt, and she was ready to just lie down and take a good nap. Maybe even spend some time with her babies. She loved being home with them. They made her so happy, even if they all did have different personalities. They kept her going, kept her ready to see the next day. She was a happy girl by nature, and she hoped a few of them would be the same way. They were growing like weeds, and soon they would be training to be pirates themselves. She was proud of her babies.. That was sure.

When she approached the den that she had with her family, she yawned and rubbed her eyes with a paw. Walking into the darkness, she flopped down and let the coolness of the shade take over her. She opened her eyes for a moment, looking to see if any of her cubs were there to cuddle with her, but when they werent, she sighed and closed her eyes once more.

There were some advantages to being noticeably larger than his siblings, Pizarro thought. For instance, it meant his legs were longer and he could get home before the others. He didn't know for a fact that his mum would be there, but he had a good feeling about being home, and he didn't see how it could hurt to be the first one there, even if there wasn't anyone there. He wasn't afraid of the dark or anything, like a sissy would be.

"Mum!" He exclaimed delightedly when he saw the familiar figure of his mother. There was something new sparkling on her ear in the darkness.

"You have a new shiny!" he said, perhaps unnecessarily. "It looks really pretty on you. When am I going to be old enough to have shinies like that?"

He had no idea that having earrings put in hurt and frequently involved blood. He hadn't really given any thought to how they got there at all. All he ever saw was people wearing them and the sun reflecting off of them. It was too cool-looking for him not to want one of his own.

"Are you awake?"

When he complimented her she smiled, licking his cheek and nuzzling him again. She wasnt sure what she had done to have such a sweet little boy, but shed gladly accept it. She did feel sad though, whenever she thought of that day. It was good, it was a day that he would become a Pirate and join his ranks. She just knew however, that the feeling would be bittersweet. He would leave her care then, and go into the care of the Captain that chose him. She sighed. Sometimes life wasnt fair. She didnt want to let him go, but she knew she would see him again once he returned from his first raid. But he would be a man, and in being a man, he'd have to learn to see her as a loving mother, but the cuddles would stop.

"Of course its good, silly." She said, giggling a little and smiling. "Why wouldnt it be?"

"Well...I don't know. But uphill sounds a lot harder than downhill," he said sensibly.

He snuggled closer, enjoying these short minutes before the rest of his siblings came traipsing home and discovered that their mother was there. He wished he had something exciting and interesting to tell her, like something impressive he'd done while she was away, but all he could come up with was that he'd figured out drinking saltwater made him feel less sick without making sick-up, like eating grass did. That wasn't exactly the sort of thing he wanted to brag about.

"Schy killed a seagull today when we went to the beach," he said, hating that his only contribution to the kill had been the dare that started it. "I dared him to."

"Did he?" She asked curiously, cocking her head and looking at him. Her eyes were soft, as they always were. It was unsure as to whether or not Makena could actually even get angry or not. But Pirato hadnt said anything bad about him, he had only mentioned he had met her son. She had heard stories from her other boys that they too had met the Commadore, but he had never mentioned them. He had mentioned 'Zarro though. She wasnt sure if it had been a good or bad thing, she hardly saw Pirato except in passing at the end of the raids whenever they showed their loot to him.

"And did he tell you they were bad bad lions, and you weren't to go playing with any of them?" She asked, warning him in an effort to keep him safe. She had no problem with her little pirate cub playing with other cubs, but Stormborn cubs and their parents that came along with them were dangerous..

"He said, um. He said the one he met was a nasty bugger and that I shouldn't bother my head with the notion of any of them because they're not the most trustworthy or likable characters."

Without his realizing it, the Stormborn had become something of an obsession for Pizarro, and he'd dedicated himself to finding out as much about them as he could, though he had to be sneaky about it since apparently cubs his age weren't supposed to know about them at all. Given the nightmares he'd had the first time he'd heard of them, he could see why.

"I was wondering - " he began, about to ask his mother if she had ever met a Stormborn, but broke off when he heard the ruckus of his siblings coming back. They were not the stealthiest of lions, particularly not when they went about en masse.

"That'll be the others," he said with a sigh, standing up and positioning himself by the entrance to the den so he could rub their noses in the fact that he'd beaten them back.