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 Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 7:53 am
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 8:01 am
Afina had taken the rest of the cubs to babysit within the nursery, but she had finally conceded that in certain circumstances, Xenon's opinion was right. In the eyes of the older lion, locking the children up in a nursery would leave them naive and vulnerable - as such, he had taken the decision to bring at least one or two out with him on his travels each day so that they could explore and experiment of their own accord. His only condition when he did this, was that the children stayed within his sight. They could run as far away as they wanted...so long as they could still see him and vice versa.
This morning, he had chosen to take Caprice and Euphrates - Euphrates was a decision made because he was the least enthusiastic about exploration and needed to broaden his horizons, while Caprice had been taken out as a bundle of energy in the hopes that it might wear her out so she would sleep better during the evening! It wasn't a guarantee, but it was worth something and at the very least she could have some fun out here.
"Now you know the rules," he addressed both cubs as they padded away from the nursery and towards the beach. "No going where I can't see you," he began before glancing towards the horizon, weaving down the trail as he set out the rules for them both...just in case any had been 'forgotten' over the course of the last few weeks.
"No eating anything that we don't recognise as safe," Euphrates replied obediently, jumping over the ocassional obstacle as he went. Every now and then he would pause to put his own paw in his father's print but as with every time, he didn't appear to be growing fast enough to fill it - it was very frustrating...
"Only go into the sea as far as you can feel the sand on your toes," Xenon continued and then eyed his daughter, "That means no further and just under your shoulders, understood?" he added pointily as he walked and waited expectantly for his daughter to respond.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 11:31 am
Little Caprice was more than thrilled when she'd been chosen out of her large litter to join her father and one of her brothers on an outing. The nursery was ok, but... she did have a few rivals with other cubs who didn't quite see to her standards. Not everyone followed her 'rule'. But it was also because outside of the nursery there was so much to do and so much to see! Maybe she's get a shell to bring home, or find a pretty flower near the shore! so many opportunities for a great experience!
She followed her brother and father diligently, playfully weaving around her large fathers legs, giggling happily as she brushed against him from time to time. Her own smaller tail would curl around one of his legs as she slunk off to repeat this ritual, and her head would lift to nuzzle under his belly and chest, a delicate purr rumbling in her own cavity. She loooved loved loved her papa. He was always the most fun to play with, and he was comfy to curl up against. She peeked out from under her father to look back at her brother, a little devious grin peeling over her lips. Trotting out from the large lions safety, she pranced on over to her fellow littermate to playfully pounce him, a cute growl escaping as she latched onto his ear. Luckily the sand was super soft, and absorbed any shock. Sleek tail lashing about, tuft fluffing this way and that, her pale green eyes lifted as she was prompted. Looking to her papa, she released her brothers ear, "Yes papa, yes papaa~" she sighed in a slight sing-songy tone. Glancing back at the cub she'd pinned, she gave a smirk and jumped off him to strut after their father once more, "Papa, do you think there will be pretty flowers I can take home?" she chimed expectantly, beaming up to the grand male excitedly.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 12:15 pm
Euphrates was unceremoniously flattened by his boisterous sister and let out a dramatic 'oof' as the air rushed from his chest and out through his nose. He wasn't the boisterous sort, or at least, not to the extent of his sibling and he'd never been good at taking a blow. Fortunately his sibling was small and the sand was soft, therefore permitting him to avoid any lasting damage - that being said, he did afford his sister an amused smile and promptly stuck out his tongue in reply to her smug smirk.
...He didn't mind being the subordinate one, he'd let his sister to all the talking!
Nevertheless his sister had soon leapt off him and had padded after his father. Switching the subject from rules, she had then begun to address the more important aspect of their adventure - treasure...and even Euphrates had to perk up at that one. He wasn't much for flowers but there were super special animals on the beach and he wanted to meet them. However there was a catch, some were incredibly shy and they were like a treasure to find in themselves!
"I don't seen why there wouldn't be, Caprice," Xenon replied with a small smile and turned his gaze down towards the palest of his cubs. Like Euphrates he had never been one for flowers but he had softened considerably since fatherhood and appreciated that his daughters were otherwise inclined towards 'strange' things - he had to nurture that, not scorn it.
"What colour would you prefer?" he enquired, scooping Euphrates up in his paw and tossing him in front of him just in case the cub became distracted and was left behind. "White, blue, pink...?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 1:55 pm
Watching her father intently, Caprice's round ears perked forward at attention, pleased with his response. Face all alight with delight, tail flickering with anticipation, her stride began to fall back into a leisurely prance, "Good! There better be!" she declared. There were plenty of flowers back home, but... there was just something about finding them yourself that made it even better!
Humming merrily, the little cub peeked over at her brother curiously to see for his reaction. He'd better like flowers too... What was there not to like? They were so pretty, soft, and smiled nice! Her attention was grabbed by her fathers deep voice though, making her look up at him again, smile broadening, "Mmmmm~ All of them!" she piped up, cheek brushing against his leg, "Can't I have them all papa? they're all just so pretty, I can't choose just onneeeee~" she whined softly, small ears folding back to give the most cutest face she could. It was the best way to get what she wanted.
Though she did look to her brother too, waiting to hear what he would like as well. As self-centered as she could be, she was curious of what others thought as well... sometimes.
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Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 12:54 am
"Well, while Euphrates looks for his..." Xenon paused and glanced towards his son who was watching Caprice with amusement. Truth be told Euphrates hadn't told him what his intentions were today, but the lion could surmise that it wasn't going to be flowers. It just wasn't in the little cub, at least, not to the extent that the inclination towards such things was within Caprice. "Seashells, starfish, crabs, jellyfish...?" Xenon hazarded a few guesses and Euphrates smiled as he hit the nose on the head.
"Crabs!" he announced enthusiastically and slowed his pace a little to fall into line with his sister and his father. "They walk in such a weird way - I wanna walk like that too!" he continued and then glanced at Caprice, sticking out his tongue disapprovingly at her intention to hunt for flowers all day. "I don't want any flowers, they're for girls," he pointed out.
"All right," Xenon gave a love rumbling chuckle to the pair and nudged Caprice gently with his nose. "While your brother is memerised by all the rock pools, we'll hunt for all the different coloured flowers around the shoreline, how does that sound, hm?" he enquired with an amused smile. Never in all his days did he think that phrase would come so naturally to him!
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Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 4:41 pm
Watching her brother carefully while their papa listed off a few critters, her nose wrinkled up in displeasure. Blech! Crabs and jellyfish? snorting softly, her chin lifted confidently, "Crabs are only good for eating!" she declared as if it were something everyone should know! Slinking around her father, the little lioness gave a playful but firm nosing to her brother, "Make sure you don't get pinched or stung!" she sang, sticking out her tongue in reply to his own, and darted back to Xenon.
Rubbing up against his leg, she purred happily. She was going to have all her papa's attention! Perfect! Beaming proudly, she gave a final glare at Euphrates, "Hmph! Everyone likes flowers, Euph!" she answered back, looking to her papa expectantly, "Right papa?" Not really waiting on an answer, she giggled at his affection, rubbing her head against his face lovingly, "Mkay, papa~<3 Then we can take them home!" Caprice chimed merrily. Turning frontwards again, she went bounding ahead of the older lion, bright green eyes daring about wildly in search of the pretty flora.
Eventually she came to one. It was by its lonesome, and sticking up right at the boarder of grass and sand. Skidding to a hault, sand collecting around her paws, Caprice blinked curiously at it. It held a soft lavender colour, not at all as colourful as the other flowers she'd seen. Frowning, she nosed at it gently, the flower naturally bending in response. Looking back to her father, she pouted, "Papa! This one's losing it's colours!"
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Posted: Fri May 04, 2012 10:33 am
Xenon smiled at his daughter as she bounded away and then, with an impish smile glanced at his son. In a conspiratal whisper, he uttered the words, "not everyone likes flowers" and then winked, indicating that this little confession was to remain a secret between father and son. Euphrates received the message loud and clear and with a giggle, bounded off a little further down from Caprice to investigate a nearby rock pool. Suffice to say that it didn't take very long at all before Xenon heard the faint 'splash' of his son diving in to sit in the midst of all the wildlife - well, at least he was making friends.
With Euphrates distracted for a short time, Xenon allowed himself a moment to pad towards his daughter and, in order to humour her, lowered his nose down to inspect the flower she was most concerned with. Now was as good a time as any for a lesson, but he would have to be careful of how he worded it so that his daughter wasn't scarred for life or upset - no, it had to be inspirational.
...Eh, why wasn't Afina around when he needed her? She was better at this!
"It's because of the Tsunami," he explained gently, his ears flicking briefly towards Euphrates' splashes to make sure he was still okay. "When it came it hurt a lot of plants and they're still getting better," he continued and motioned towards a few other plants which seemed to have some very peculiar colouring. That being said, he did recognise a few of them as some of the 'salt eating' plants that one of the deities had sent over to assist in the recovery.
"That's why we have to be very gentle with them and look after the, so that in a few seasons they'll be back to being as colourful as they were before."
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Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 9:28 am
Staring at the flower expectantly, as if waiting for it to suddenly saturate itself and perk into a more vibrant tone, the little cub puckered out a lip of dissatisfaction. She couldn't pick this flower! Not pleased, she looked up to her father now... hoping he could fix the issue. However... watching him give a little gentle nosing to the plant in question, followed by the explanation.. her ears folded back slightly. The Tsunami.. she'd heard about it... sounded so scary.. Walking a bit closer to her papa, a bit uncomfortable with the topic, she rubbed against his leg, and stood under his protective stature, staring warily at the flower from a small distance. She didn't speak for awhile, voice somewhat quieter when she finally did, "Gotta leave it alone then, huh daddy?" she asked, peeking up at him from over his chest. "When will it be bright again? I want to wear it in my ear like the other girls do.." she whined slightly. She'd seen others her age with pretty flowers, small or big, tucked behind an ear, or laced in their tail tuft. One even bragged of theirs.. Pouting, she huffed and padded back out, and onto the soil that was at the edge of the ending sand, " How am I gonna get a flower, papa? If they're all like this!" now she frowned, quite put off that her entire goal was now rather ruined.
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Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2012 12:30 am
"If we can't find you a flower befitting of a princess today, then I'll find one for you," Xenon promised with a smile. He would keep to this promise as well, and he knew exactly how he could do it. In a few short months the peculiar, cream leopard would appear in their midst again to bring rare medical supplies and a few more salt resistant plants. He could request that Raja put his knowledge to use and either return with a flower next time or tell Xenon where to get it so that he could retrieve it himself.
...Either way, Caprice would get her flower!
"The question is, what colour would you like?" he enquired and tilted his head to the side. Quickly side stepping the topic of the tsunami which really wasn't a subject that a child needed to be privy to. In time she might learn more of it, but for now she should keep a certain level of innocence - she didn't need to be naive to dangers, but a tsunami was such an unlikely one that she definitely didn't need to ponder it and Xenon wouldn't make her.
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