|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 8:45 pm
 Coeus snuck out of the den her papa had secured them in as night fell dark and possibly dangerous. She knew papa wasn't going to be happy that she wasn't sleeping with her siblings, not that she thought her little sisters or brothers would notice her absence. At least not right away. After romping and pouncing on each other right before bed exhaustion had taken over. It was all Coeus could do to stay awake for tonight. Hopefully she could get back before Persus or Papa found out and came looking for her.
Despite the tongue lashing she was in stored for, Coeus made her way a short distance away from the sleeping den. In the all but silent night, she heard the snores of a sibling or three and deemed it safe enough at this distance. Not too far, but not too close.
She needed to figure it out. It was odd. She just couldn't figure it out and it was bothering her, invading her dreams when she did finally drift off at nights. The stars haunted her and the wind stirred her. The crowding, well the crowding was a different and sometimes nightmarish tales. But why?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2011 10:04 am
 Athena's ears pricked and he raised his head to look around. there was some kind of sound that had disturbed him. He was not sure what the noise had been, which was part of the reason he lifted his head. There were new cubs now, he had to be even more alert. The first cubs were getting older and he did not have to be quite as vigilant with them, but the new litter was bigger AND would need the same kind of vigilant attention that his older litter was now starting to grow out of.
Athena loved having cubs around despite the work involved with having cubs. They were the lights of his fluffy old life. Having cubs around made him happy, and even if the mothers of said cubs did not want to be around all the time, he certainly would not complain. In a way, that was nice because he got all the more time with his offspring. Of course, to ensure their safety he was going to have to get up and go check out that noise that had roused him, even if it had not repeated since he woke.
Athena rose and stretched. The fluffy male went outside and looked around. It was not a bright night as the moon was not full, but the stars were clear and crisp in the sky. No clouds were out to mar the light they provided. Athena padded forward under this light to see where the noise had come from. He had not counted the cubs before he left, for once trusting that they were too tired to wander off, and since the adults were nearer the entrance, there should have been no risk of them being taken. He did not expect to find one of his cubs outside and nearly tripped over her. "What... Coeus, what are you doing out here, sweet one? You should be in the den sleeping."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 7:53 pm
Coeus was "awake." Completely and fully. She kept her eyes half closed so they wouldn't droop on their own. She stared into the stars and the moon when she felt she needed to focus in on something when the dreams beckoned and surged into the foreground of her mind. She was so "awake," she didn't notice Papa until he almost tripped over her fluffliless tail. And then she was more than just awake. She was alert. And panicking.
She had gone so fat into her own mind, the dark, and the night, Coeus hadn't even noticed the instincts that should have told her someone or something was approaching. Hadn't heard a sound. Too wound up. And it was Papa. Guilt blushed the spots that lined her check and Coeus could feel the heat rising to engulf her ears.
Tripping over her own paws and tail, Coeus rushed head long into a tumbleweed like shrub near by. Her panic and guilt loosened her lips and she heard herself blabbing gibberish at Papa. Several things and topics jammed into a single breath but nothing really connecting. Things about dreams, crowds, darkness, stars, worms, those ridiculous sideways snakes, and even the pointlessness of sept-agons. All the nonsense spilled from her unconsciousness as she burrowed into the center of the tumbleweed bush. In the daylight, the skeletal plant would have given no shelter or protection from anything, even a fly. At night, well at least it was a barrier of some kind, miniscule, but a barrier.
Finally understanding the string of nonsense escaping from her, Coeus tucked her tail under her, and buried her nose under her front paws. Taking a breath, barely, she chanted, "Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 8:31 am
Athena waited for an answer to his question and was a little surprised at the reaction he got from his daughter. He tilted his head to the side and watched her not only scamper away but babble about things he could not quite follow. Between the speed of her babbling and the brokenness of the thoughts or dreams or whatever they were, he could not follow any of what she was saying. He let her babble, though, trying to pick out the words and getting nothing. He also kept an eye on where she went.
Night vision was a wonderful thing and Athena was especially grateful of it since it let him see where Coeus went when she panicked. Athena crouched down to make himself a bit smaller and thus a little less scary to his cub in the darkness. He did not like her being scared of him, but he also knew he had to get her to stop wondering off at her age. This was going to be an interesting night, he was sure. Athena shook his mane out of habit and settled himself down to be a much shorter puff ball of a lion.
When the babbling finally started to make sense it was one word repeated over and over again. Athena reached out a paw towards Coeus and her rather tiny cover of a tumbleweed. "Coeus, calm yourself. I am not going to harm you. I am your sire, I protect you. I was worried when I heard a noise out here and came to check it to make sure it was not something harmful to you or your siblings... I was not expecting to find my little angel out here in the dark." He tilted his head to the side more. "Why do you not come here, and snuggle? You can stay out here for a little bit with me if you wish."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 9:08 am
Coues shook her head. She couldn't see Papa's face, partly because of the tumbleweed plant, and partly because she kept her nose buried between her paws. But she could see him settling down and make himself into the big fluff-ball. That's usually when everyone climbed all over him. "Not that you'd hurt Papa." She tried to explain. Ach! She was going to sound like a goody-goody, but . . . "It's the other look you give when you're upset. The disappointed look." Coeus shuddered. Great. Now Papa was going to get the wrong idea, but she couldn't explain it any other way.
Coeus peaked out of the tumbleweed bush. Yep, Papa was a fluff ball. AND he wanted to snuggle. Snuggle! Coeus sighed and obeyed Papa. She pulled herself out of the plant and approached Papa. Slowly trying to find the angle that would have the least snuggling as possible. When she couldn't find one, she plopped down next to Papa, but not really touching.
"I can't sleep well when everyone is crowded so close. I have nightmares and I wake up and I feel like I'm suffocating and then I can't get back to sleep and then in the mornings everyone is pouncing on everyone else and I've finally been able to force myself back to sleep, but they won't let me sleep because it's time to get up and do things or move to the next grazing area or eat or play or groom or something."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 5:17 pm
Athena nuzzled Coeus, as he rather swiftly put a paw over around her shoulders and slid her to his side to snuggle. "I am not disappointed that you came out here. It is only natural to be curious, and cubs tend to get curious especially when tired." He purred in her ear and started grooming the cub's face and the top of her head. He absolutely loved his cubs, and the he would rather they not think they ever disappointed or upset him.
Athena paused for a bit on grooming Coeus and chuckled at the look on her face. "Do not look so glum about snuggling, young one. One day you will not have me to snuggle with, then what shall you do with yourself?" He grinned broadly and gave her nose a lick before returning to grooming her. It was a lovely night out, perhaps he could let her sleep out here under the stars so long as he was close by. The cubs were getting big enough to be trusted out and about after all.
"Soon enough there will be less cubs in the den, your older siblings will not be sleeping in the den once they are older. They will sleep outside or under other outcroppings with the others. And probably around that time we will do more traveling again... because you and your litter will be old enough to do so. Then you will not crowded or suffocating... perhaps it will stop the nightmares too." He snuggled her close and hoped for all his fluffiness was worth that that last was true.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 7:11 pm
Coeus squirmed as Papa snuggled her into his size. "But that doesn't mean you don't get that look, Papa. It doesn't matter what you call it." Coeus still didn't like it. It made Papa's fluffy mane look bigger in a bad way, like it swallows his face and puts wrinkles all over it, especially around his mouth. Maybe Papa didn't even know he made that weird face . . . Doesn't mean she wanted to see it directed at her. It kind of creeped her out. And often made it into her nightmares.
She squished up her nose and squinted when Papa started to groom her face and head. Papa's tongue was big and covered most of her face when he groomed her. "Snuggle with Thalia?" Coeus responded, squirming harder to get away from Papa's fluffy snuggle.
As Papa assured her that the den won't be soon stifling, Coeus managed to squirm out of his master snuggle, escaping a few feet away from Papa. "When I'm Ares and Dathe's age will I be able to sleep in a tree or on a cliff by myself?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 1:52 pm
Athena sighed and pouted at his daughter. "I call it pouting." And he would call it that too. He kept up the grooming until she finally managed to squirm away and then the fluffy lion had to stop for lack of reach. He gave a rather dramatic sigh and rolled onto his side, so that his belly was faced toward the cub. One paw went up over his head and muzzle, making him look quite comical really. "Such a sad day when my own cubs do not wish to snuggle with me."
With only removing the paw from his face, Athena answered the last question. "Completely by yourself no. They will be sleeping with others nearby even once they are not kept protectively in a den at all times. When you are old enough to travel on your own, then you can sleep by yourself where ever you like." The big lion pulled himself back up and stood, shaking out his fluff and looking down at his little hybrid cub. "You will learn to hunt before you will be sleeping all by yourself, though." He nuzzled her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 9:12 pm
Coeus sighed and rolled her eyes. Pouting. Papa's pouting was weird. And still very creepy. Coeus sat on her hunches and started to rub her paw over her face and head where Papa had groomed her, trying to put all her fur back to the way it was. It wouldn't work, Coeus knew. Papa's grooming tongue had static or something, She was just happy that she didn't have Papa's big fluffy mane. It would be sticking up at every angle in every direction. She smirked at the image.
Then Papa rolled to his back and his stomach to the sky. And Coeus really really wanted to pounce it and snuggle into it. She didn't really pounce on Papa's stomach whenever he rolled around in the den or when they were lounging about because her siblings were normally pouncing and bouncing on it. Part of the time she didn't want to cause Papa trouble by pushing and shoving like they did to pounce on it. The other part of the time, the shoving and pushing made her really not want to pounce it. But they were alone. No other cubs here pounce bouncing on his stomach.
"I'm going to learn to hunt? Now?" Coeus asked confused, having been distracted by a pouncable Papa stomach. She hadn't been listening to what Papa had said, but she'd heard learn to hunt. She didn't know if she was excited or scared. She knew she was still very young. She kind of, sort of nuzzled Papa back, but like the snuggling or the squirming. Nuzzle, don't nuzzle. Did hunters and huntresses nuzzle? Was she allowed to nuzzle know that Papa had said she'd learn to hunt. But she liked nuzzling. Most of the time. Like right now, she wanted to nuzzle.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 9:17 am
Athena chuckled at Coeus' lack of attention. She tended to get distracted like most other cubs. It probably did not help much that she was out so late and likely getting tired. "You are a bit too young yet to learn to hunt. I might teach you some basics on bugs, but we have a little while before you are old enough to go on an actual hunt." He nuzzled Coeus again and pulled her a little closer. She really could be quite comical.
"We should get you back inside to sleep... I will let you sleep at the entrance for tonight, so long as you stay close to me. I do not want anything bad to happen to you." Athena was just a bit paranoid when it came to his cubs' safety. For the big fluffy lion, this was a very good thing. It was what kept him from being a bad father really. He was much to friendly in every other regard to be considered a wise lion, but at least he became paranoid with his cubs enough to make up for that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 10:51 am
Coeus looked at Papa, her eyebrow raised. "You're not going to roll on top of me are you Papa? I don't like being squished. Even when I find an out of the way spot to sleep, when I wake up, someone is always on top of me, squishing me. Always!" Coeus nuzzled back without thinking. As she grew more tired, she didn't notice or realize it, but she showed more affection, nuzzling, snuggling, huggling, all of if. She was very very affectionate when tired or sleepy or even exhausted.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2011 11:05 am
Athena chuckled and picked up Coeus, settling her on his broad back. "I will not roll on top of you. I am very careful about that." He carried her back to the den and let her down right at ten entrance to it. He laid down and let her join him there. If it made her happy to sleep a little away from the others, then he would humor her. Fluffy lion next to semi-fluffy leopon cub. It was an adorable. Athena was happy to have his cub close and happy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
