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 Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 6:04 pm
Worry, worry, worry. That was about the only thing that Horatio had been doing lately, besides doing his share of the hunting and errand running he was asked to do. It was hard to keep himself out there and available to help, as his mind was wrapped up in the situation that Laelia had put herself in. It was more annoying that there was little to nothing that he could do, other than be there for Laelia when she needed him. If she needed him again. Horae had done her share of the work, probably making it worse than helping, but somehow those two were more stubborn than their parents. "Amalthea?" he called for her, wondering if she was available to talk. In case she was in the middle of helping someone else, then he'd have to save his worries for later. If he could keep his mouth shut that long, anyway.
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 6:17 pm
Worrying seemed to be all the Amalthea could do lately, even when she was supposed to be keeping herself busy with anything else. She had been trying to distract herself by going on guard duty with her brother and sister but it didn't do very much to help. Hecate and Atlas listened to her worry and tried their best, but they weren't parents, it wasn't the same- even when they tried very hard to understand.
She had been at home when Horae came to explain that she had argued, so to speak, with Laelia and since then, Amalthea had refused to go far from home unless explicitly directed to. So far, she had been lucky.. but Laelia had not come home.
Laying in the shadows of their den, her ears perked up when she heard her name. It took her a moment to realize what was happening- she must have dozed off! - and then she pushed herself up, stretched out and went to meet her mate.
"Horatio," she murmured.
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 6:40 pm
"Love..." He was so happy that she was there, he hurried to be by her side. "Oh, what has our little Laelia gotten herself into?" He sighed heavily, letting himself feel warmer with Amalthea's touch. "All I can do is worry now, and I don't know how to lessen it. Will it be better once the little ones are here?"
So many questions, and yet Horatio didn't know how to handle them. He didn't have the same family support system that Amalthea had, and he didn't want to put all his worries on his own children about their siblings. Laelia had made her choice, no matter how poorly she did it, and now everyone was dealing with it.
Horatio just wanted to know, for certain, who the father was. He figured that once the cubs were here, it would be easier to know. Somehow.
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 6:45 pm
Amalthea nuzzled against her mate, even just standing close to him made her feel better. She didn't respond immediately to his questions, shaking her head slowly and thoughtfully.
"Of course it will be better," she said hesitantly, not one to believe that cubs could solve relationship problems.. but she truly believed Laelia would be OK if she stopped panicking so much, but she had been inconsolable.
"I just hope Horae hasn't made it too much worse," she said, frowning, "Have you seen Laelia at all today?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 6:51 pm
Horatio shook his head. He was amazed that Amalthea seemed stronger about this than him, even still! It reminded him of why they seemed to be the more steadfast in a relationship, Amalthea being the perfect example.
"No, I haven't seen her today. I wanted to look for her, but I didn't want to seem like I was crowding her. It seems that just asking about Yareha sets her off in to some sort of anxiety. I don't want to make it worse on her...the cubs seem to be really wearing on her." He had no idea what it was directly like to be carrying (of course), but having to deal with the one carrying them, like when Amalthea was pregnant, gave him a hint as to what went on.
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 7:05 pm
"Cubs should be a happy thing, I can hardly believe what is has done to Laelia," she said, finally vocalizing some concerns on the topic she had yet to fully recognize herself even if she had found the time to talk about it privately with Horatio, "Jealousy is a dangerous thing."
She wished it was easier to fix all of Laelia's problems, and it might have been, if she weren't so heartbroken about Yareha and worked up about Yareha and everything else. They were as supportive as they possibly could be, weren't they?
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 7:10 pm
Jealousy....to be honest he had never really hit the level that he thought Laelia was at. He had to struggle a bit to get Amalthea's attention, but he had never been jealous. This was new territory for him.
"Aahhh." Horatio groaned. "I don't know what to do. Probably because there's not much that we can do."
He paused, enjoying the contact with Amalthea. "Do you think we can get cubsitting duties a lot?" He was a bit excited about being a grandfather.
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 7:15 pm
Amalthea couldn't help but smile at Horatio's exasperation at the situation- he was a good father, and he would be a good grandfather. Finally, she sat herself down and patted at the earth beside her so he would sit beside her.
"I hope so," she said, smiling sadly, "We've done so much worrying about Laelia but very soon the cubs will be here. I wish it was easier to be excited about it!"
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 7:22 pm
Horatio didn't need a second invitation, he sat down right next to Amalthea, letting himself maneuver in case she wanted to lean against him. Having this big, fluffy mane had to be useful for something, right?
"I bet they'll look just like us. I mean, Laelia looks a lot like me....so she's got to have at least one that looks like you!"
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 7:30 pm
"I bet they do," she agreed with a laugh. This reminded her of how it had been when they had their cubs, how excited they were and how they talked about what it would be like when they arrived. It was more subdued but it was still there, and Laelia should have been there with them, hoping and planning like them. She didn't want to bring that up, though, for once they weren't talking about how anxious Laelia was.
"I'd think another little copy of you would be more likely than that," she said, leaning against him.
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 7:40 pm
Well, Horae did look a lot like Amalthea, just... inverted. With his face mask, clearly a dominant trait, or something. He rested his head on top of Amalthea's, content to just sit here for as long as they could. It would be...sort of nice if Laelia came back soon, even if that would just renew the stress again.
"I sort of hope they come soon...I'm a bit excited for grandcubs."
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 7:45 pm
Amalthea sighed happily, it seemed they had a threshold for how much stress they could handle before they just reverted to their same old happy and optimistic selves- that had been part of how they became so close, after all. She was glad it wasn't so hard being happy again.
"Maybe we just need to remind Laelia how happy this can be," she said, "You convinced me everything was going to be OK being a slave and I spent at least as long as Laelia sulking. You should give her a little of your optimism."
Easier said than done, of course, but it was time.
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 7:59 pm
Horatio smiled, more warmly than normal. "Yes. We can both share that with Laelia if she decides to appear before us soon."
He hoped so, if only because she needed something good in her life right now. Something to make her smile, and be excited.
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