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 Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 4:46 pm
Moving around was harder now. Simi rarely left the vicinity of Pride Rock, but he made sure that it was known that anyone could approach him if needed. He kept himself out in the public eye, careful to make sure that he didn't seem too weak. His mind was still sharp, but it was his body that was weaker. Weak didn't even seem like the right term, but it was hard for Simi to move fast if he ever needed to again.
With a yawn, he let the soft, warm rays of the sun warm himself, watching the movements down below. He was happy that life was returning to a normal, though he knew it would never be the same. The hyenas near them would always have to have an eye kept on them, but Simi was certain that they would be licking their wounds and keep to themselves with how many they lost.
Still, it was easy to get drowsy even with a busy mind. He rested his head, closing his eyes for just oooone little moment....
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 5:16 pm
 Sar bounded away from his littermates, older siblings, and parents. Curiosity and the need to know pulled him away from their slow and menial tour around the Pride Rock area. Sar knew more, and so needed to find something else, something new, something better.
Sar climbed over rocks, around boulders, through the shrubs and tumbleweed-like plants that littered the area around them. He wondered if the hyenas ever got this far into their territory. Sar shivered at the idea and thought of hyenas. When he was big and strong and like Dad, Sar knew he wouldn't feel this way about the hyenas, but now he was only a cub and he could be scared of anything he wanted. That was the right of cubs.
Sar moved out of the shadows and into the warm sunlight. It was harder to think about and be scared of hyenas out in the sunlight, though. So maybe he'd stay out in the light rather than explore the shaded areas. Besides, what could he learn there about history? The history of the roaches or ants?
Finally noticing the big, very big, way bigger than most lions Sar had ever seen. Except maybe Dad. Sar would have to line then up to figure it out and Dad wasn't at hand. "Hello!" Sar greeted in excitement. "I'm Sar. You're a very big lion. Did your mom make you drink milk everyday to make you so big? Or was it your dad that exercised and played with you to make you huge? My mom claims that milk makes you stronger, especially when drinking it with our meat. Dad says, it's practice, training, and the will to do good. What do you think?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 5:27 pm
Simi was awoken from his short nap my a very, very inquisitive cub. He didn't mind that much, but it took him a moment to process the barrage of questions that he was getting while trying to wake his mind up. He blinked a few times, thinking that he recognized the little fellow. First, though he had to make sure before he made any assumptions.
"You want to be big when you grow up?" Simi asked, answering a question with another question. Clearly this boy had a vigor for life, and it kind of reminded him of himself when he was younger. As long as he didn't go crawling around in gorges and nearly dying, as Simi had foolishly done when he was younger.
"Who're you'r eMom and Dad?" Simi chuckled, folding his forepaws together to rest his head on them, watching the excited green-eyed cub. He looked startlingly like himself!
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 5:56 pm
Sar nodded his head vigorously at the big lions question. "Of course! I want to be big like Dad, maybe like you since I think you might be bigger than Dad, but since Dad isn't here for comparison, I don't know."
Sar walked over to the relaxed lion and sat down near him but out of his sunlight patch so no shade fell on the big lion. Or on him from the big lion. "Mom is Lady Mzuza and Dad is the great and amazing scout Rei. He keeps the hyenas away on the bounders and then he comes home and learns to read so that way he won't erase my greeting to him any more. I teaching him welcome and home first." Sar nodded firmly.
"So, did your mom make you drink milk with you meal or did your dad train you to be big? Non of my older brothers and sisters are as big as Dad, and Dad wasn't there for their childhood, so I'm inclined to believe Dad, but I can't do a proper experiment because, well because that would take forever and it would be wrong. Keeping either the mom or dad from a cub is evil and I'm not evil. But the other cubs tend to like to make me the hyena in their games, so maybe they see me as evil? I know I don't look like a hyena, so that's not it. Do you think they see evil in me and that's why the always make me the hyena? Hey! You would know about the history of the pride, right? Since you're so big, that means, you're also older and the older you are the more you know especially about history. Could you tell me about history?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:59 pm
"You're more talkative than anyone I know in the family," Simi said with a hearty laugh. He wasn't really brushing off the cub's questions, more just amusing himself with how excited he was over everything.
"No, I didn't train hard or anything. Really, just a bit of luck with eating healthy when I was your age," Simi winked at him.
"Yes, I know the history," he said, deciding to keep his rank to himself for the moment. It might make the cub burst into a million other questions. "Maybe a bit more than your mother, though we are siblings..." Hm, see what he thought of that?
Part of Simi was envious about how...fertile Mzuza was. He and Tufah had three, and one of them was already gone from the lands. It made him miss having his cubs as young as the one in front of him now.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 8:31 pm
Sar jumped to his feet, excited, and pounced the bigger lion. "Really? You're an uncle? Wow! I haven't met an uncle yet. You're my first uncle!" Sar pounced and bounced around and on his big uncle, unable to hold all his energy in.
"So Mom is right. Maybe my older siblings aren't so big yet because they haven't finished growing yet? Hmmm. I'll train and exercise and play with Dad too, just so he doesn't feel bad that he's wrong. Dad works too hard to feel bad when he gets home." Sar confided as he moved around his uncle and got distracted by his tail and pounced it.
"I have an uncle that can tell me about the pride's history! I have an uncle!" Sar dashed back around to face his uncle and sat down right in front of him. He stared expectantly at him, studiously waiting for the history lesson, only his tail twitching showed his excess energy.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 9:56 pm
Simi smiled at the small cub. He'd have to see if he could catch his sister and chat with her about....her huge family. Her overwhelming family!
"Yes, I'm you're uncle Simi," he said with a nod. "And I think it would be best for you to play and exercise with your Father, I'm certain that he'd be happy to help you grow up big and strong." Strength was needed, in body, heart, and mind. Simi just hoped that the hyenas stayed silent for a long time.
"Do you have any questions about the history of the Pridelands?" Simi started with, curious to see what Sar already knew.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:53 am
Sar thought carefully about the questions that piled in his mind. There were so many things to find out so much to know and to learn. Choosing any one question was difficult. But maybe if he started at the beginning he'd be able to ask ALL the questions because it would stem over to them. Maybe even get his questions answered before he asked them. That would be great!
Hmmm. So what was the beginning? When and where was the beginning of history?
"How did the pride start? And why? Did our ancestors have to fight the hyenas and so banded together? How did this last war with them start? And why? Why did they decide to fight against us? Was it true that hyenas were cubnapping? How did we get those cubs back? Why did they cubnap in the first place? What goddess was around years ago that could and probably did curse a my friend who now is frozen in age? Do you think there are ways to undo those curses like that? Not that she was to undo it. She seems to be enjoying it for now anyway so I guess I shouldn't be concerned if she's not, but still I'd like to know about that goddess."
So that wasn't only one question or all about the beginning, but Sar couldn't help himself. He just wanted to know.
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 3:59 pm
"Woah, slow down there!" Simi said, shaking his head with a smile. "Let's see, where to begin." He settled himself down, inviting the little cub to come closer if he wanted.
"Well, can you believe that this pride is so old that no one really remembers how it started? It was most likely a family or two that wanted to stay in once place instead of wandering, and Pride Rock gives great protection of the little cubs, like you! The hyenas were probably not there, as it took a while for the Elephant Graveyard to become what it is today - I bet they came afterwards, looking to steal the food that the lions hunted."
Slowly, he'd help the cub learn more.
"The cubs that were taken have returned, and nothing like that will happen to you," he said, rubbing the cub's head with his large paw. "You're safe here, though you must make sure you don't wander too far from home, alright?"
Simi sighed, not sure how to answer the question about the goddess. It was customary that many lions in the Pride didn't put belief into gods. They were around, but Simi (and the rulers before him) treated them like everyone else. So this was...a tricky question. "It is hard to question the actions of one with such power to stop the aging process. I'm not sure which goddess you speak of, I'm sorry."
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:11 pm
Sar settled into the crooked of his Uncle Simi's front paws where it was most comfortable. And he was his uncle, so it was safe. And Uncle Simi was big so Sar didn't have to worry about how heavy he was or anything like that. It was comfortable in Uncle Simi's front paws. "Those first families didn't have historians, huh, Uncle Simi? Or at least not very good ones."
Sar nodded, rubbing his head against Uncle Simi's mane. "Alright I won't. I'll be more careful of staying closer. But what if there's a bug that crawls too far away from the den and I don't notice until I'm very far from the den? Or there's a plant that I haven't examined on the other side of the pride rock? or there's an older lion that want to tell a story but they can't come out of their den and I have to go to them to hear their life story before they pass on? Dad's not always home early and Mom has all of the other cubs to tend to and my older siblings are always out hunting, or studying drawings of hunts to make sure it goes smoothly. What do I do then? I can't just let that life story go unheard. That would be just as bad as those first families and their descendents."
Sar shook his head, not really disappointed in Uncle Simi not knowing the goddess. Dad didn't know her either or Wingu. "That's ok, I thought I'd ask anyway, but if Wingu didn't know, I don't think anyone will know."
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 6:57 pm
"No, you need to try and be good," he said with a small shake of his head. "Be very careful....we don't need you to be stolen by any rogue hyenas or anything. Don't forget that there's more time in the world than you realize - you don't need to be rushing off into danger without realizing it."
Simi was now worried about this little cub. Was he really that concerned about everything? "Don't forget that learning history doesn't necessarily mean learning everything. Learn what you can, and remember the important parts that may need to be called upon again."
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:08 pm
Sar pouted a little bit but pulled himself together. Dad didn't pout and neither did any of his brothers or the other scouts or hunters that were their friends and Uncle Simi probably didn't pout either. "Ok, I promise to be good and wait until I'm older and can defend myself before thinking about doing those things. I'll concentrate on writing and teaching Dad to read and write too. And I'll learn what I can from Mom and Dad and the others that come to the den." Sar spit in his paw and extended it to Uncle Simi to show how sincere he was. He had learned somewhere that it was a solemn oath and could not be broken. At least that was how it was with the cubs that weren't his littermates.
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