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 Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 4:49 pm
Lela wasn't one hundred percent sure where her mate was, but she knew he couldn't be too far away. She started her search by walking away from the den in the direction of the moon. At least the walk would give her time to gather her thoughts, cool her head.
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 1:36 pm
Thoth knew what was going on, both in the pride and in his family. He had purposefully chosen to stay out of the conversation with Selene about Mazin, partially because he figured his mate had better perspective on it and he had mixed feelings on it himself. He was friends with Mazin's father, it was a tough thing to do, to tell a friend their son was not good enough for your daughter.
Expecting Lela to come by at any time, he had not strayed far from the den, though he was out walking in the moonlight quietly. He would nod to passing lions but he kept to himself.. and nobody really dared to intrude. He noticed very quickly when Lela was headed his way and he stopped, watching her approach with a small smile though he could tell simply from her posture that it hadn't gone how she wanted.
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 3:29 pm
Lela audibly sighed when she locked eyes with her mate. It wasn't usual for her to express such an outward display of emotion, most especially a less than happy emotion. But today, she was simply wore out, and she could only hold in so much before she'd fall apart. Seeing Thoth loosened something within her - she felt a release, a slow, cool ease trickling through her tense muscles, down to her tired bones. His small smile, even if it was only in greeting, helped her just a little. She gave him a small, half-hearted one in return.
"Well, that could've gone better." She cut right to the chase. Lela wasn't one to beat around the bush, most especially about important matters. She used to hide her own personal feelings, but with her mate it was different. She could open up to him more than anyone else in her life, without preamble. "I do believe she'll be in a foul mood for a while." She looked away from Thoth and stared bitterly at the ground. True, the subject of her daughter's boyfriend was not of the utmost importance. The outcome of their 'talk', though, was eating away at her inside. She most definitely did not like conflict, and even less so within her own family. Having little experience with adolescents, she hadn't been fully prepared for the reaction she'd been given. Selene seemed so different from how she herself was at that age.
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 4:40 pm
"Of course," he said when she skipped over a verbal greeting to go right into the tale of what had happened with Selene. Thoth wasted no time in moving closer to his mate and brushing against her affectionately, encouragingly, and taking a seat so they could talk comfortably.
"She's a high-classed adolescent that is being told she can't- or shouldn't- actually do what she wants, I'd be surprised if she wasn't in a bad mood about it," he said, decidedly grouping many of the factors at work here together all at once rather than pointing them each out individually.
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Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 11:09 am
Lela leaned into Thoth's touch, seeking the rock like foundation he gave for her in times when she was stressed and could feel the earth crumble beneath her. When he moved to sit, she joined him, tried to relax her tension, wrapped her tail around her paws. She wasn't sure if she could untangle her jumbled thoughts enough to put everything into words, but talking out what she could might help put everything else into perspective. She felt so far away from Selene right now, she couldn't even put herself in the girl's position.
She listened to her mate, trying to digest what he was saying despite her agitated mood. "When I was her age, I would've understood." She nodded decisively. She was absolutely positive of it - when she was an adolescent and young adult, she would have done whatever was necessary, and often times did. She didn't even mention that she wouldn't have been hanging around with such an unsuitable match, but it was clear in her tone of voice and look. Lela considered herself very knowledgeable on the topic of what was proper.
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Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 11:50 am
"You had the choice when you were young, though," Thoth said after a pause, careful not to sound accusing, simply trying to present the situation in a way that would make it less upsetting, "You were taught the proper ways to behave but until the war, there was very little pressure on either you or Unyezi. Both of you could feel more comfortably in control of what you were doing because nobody was watching you carefully to make sure you did the proper things. You did it, nobody made you do it."
He had been thinking about it in depth, particularly while Lela was off actually trying to talk to Selene. They were very similar and very different. Selene definitely knew proper behavior and what was expected of her.. because they had been hovering over her since she was small, helping her to learn it.
"Maybe we should be careful not to put too much pressure on her about this now," he said, "It seems like the harder we push, the harder she'll push back."
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Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 12:57 pm
Lela did not sigh, but she held her mouth taught and her eyes grew grim for a moment. Though she knew she needed Thoth to balance her out, she did not like having facts laid out to her when her opinion was of the contrary. Deep down, maybe, she already knew what her mate was telling her. Selene was young, learning to express herself, finding her individuality and independence. Parenting at this stage was strictly about teaching children to rein it in a little, but allowing them to have the freedom to make decisions. If they weren't give that chance, they'd never learn to stand on their own four feet. And Selene, with a future as confining and important as she had, most definitely needed to learn the ins and outs of good decision making. Knowing all that in the back of her mind, though, didn't make this any easier on Lela, first time mother.
"Her life is full of pressure." She simply made the remark, a spoken thought in the middle of an entire process. Perhaps this little infatuation, as she looked to think it, with Mazin was going to turn into a whole lot of nothing. Lela had fancied a lion or two in her youth, and nothing had come out of them. But... "She does need to be more aware of her public image, you know. Young or not, she'll always be in the spotlight. She should learn to sort that out sooner rather than later."
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Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 1:26 pm
Thoth did sigh. None of this was a very easy situation to be in for any of them. At least he had experience dealing with teenagers- in a variety of situations, even, where the others were distributed amongst the classes.
"You're right," he said, continuing more carefully than he started, "We just ought to be careful." Far worse things could happen if Selene felt her independence threatened further.
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Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 1:37 pm
Lela relaxed a little, tried to control her anxiousness and slight bend towards the controlling side of things. Especially with Thoth, she liked to keep herself in check. This wasn't his first time around the block with children, and she should be respectful of his prior experience. She had never raised anyone before, and though she knew what it was like to grow up royal, she didn't know what it was like to grow up being the HEIR, and she certainly didn't know what it was like to raise one. Though she was sure her daughter would disagree, they had a lot in common on this experience - they were both going through it for the first time.
"I suppose I just don't know where the line is." This time, she sighed. Motherhood was more of a challenge than she'd expected when she longed for children in the past. Of course, she wouldn't trade it for anything, but this experience was definitely testing her patience more so than others. "How much direction does she need before it's too much?" She looked at Thoth longingly, as if he might have the answer, but she suspected it wasn't as cut and dry as a simple question and answer.
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Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 8:08 pm
He let her speak, not adding anything except comforting nods until she asked him a direct question. And the question was a good one.. but an extremely difficult one. He wasn't sure there was an answer for that, he certainly didn't have one.. the only one who knew what was too much was Selene, and she couldn't be asked.
"I don't know, I think we just have use our judgment here," he said, not sounding particularly hopeful but definitely not sounding very pessimistic. It was really a shame that Lela's parents were not around, they would have had good advice.
"Maybe you should talk to Unyezi?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2011 8:38 pm
Lela looked away. She hadn't considered consulting her brother on the matter of Selene, but Thoth made a good point. Unyezi had not only raised an heir already, he had been one himself. And to top it off, he had gone through a very similar relationship - loving someone who wasn't considered right for him. Immediately, Lela corrected her thought process. Her daughter did not love Mazin. They hardly knew each other. She had a crush on Mazin, and that was all.
Yet another disturbing thought, she wasn't sure if she had the nerve to consult her brother about this. After all, Unyezi had eventually left his post to be with the slave he loved. And here was his sister, advocating for his niece to drop a budding romance for the same reasons he was forced to as a younger lion. She looked sheepishly back at Thoth, wondering if he had considered this. "I'm not sure Unyezi would... feel the same way on this topic as I do." She cleared her throat, trying her hardest not to sound snooty. Though she wasn't sure she approved of her brother's move from the throne to the lowest class, she was sure she adored her resulting family. She was in an uncomfortable spot talking about this. "He is, you know... a romantic at heart." She fidgeted, trying to pick safe wording.
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2011 8:42 pm
"You're right," Thoth agreed when Lela expressed her doubts in how good it would be to actually go and ask Unyezi for his opinion on how to handle this situation, pausing for a moment and leaning against her when he noticed she was fidgeting.
"But he's put the pride ahead of himself before," he added thoughtfully, "Though not for the long run, I suppose."
He sighed.
"We'll figure it out, it's still early."
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2011 2:31 pm
Lela leaned into him when she felt his touch, trying her darnedest to destress. But maybe that was the problem here. Maybe she was trying too hard. It wouldn't be the first time Lela had done that - her life was full of circumstances where she tried too hard, pushed too far, tried to perfect what would always be scarred.
After he spoke, she let them drop into silence for a few moments. At first, she could feel her body and the air around her, it was so tense. After a few moments passed, though, she slowly became less and less aware of it. She breathed deeply. "Yes. Maybe Selene will work it out. We've raised her to have good sense, she'll see what must be done eventually." And hopefully, she would not feel the need to discuss things with her brother. The idea left a bad taste in her mouth for more than one reason. She didn't like that she didn't want to, but she couldn't help but not want to. But - that wasn't something she was going to worry about. Selene would work this out. Right?
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