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Fireheart shook herself free from water as she emerged from her favorite pond. The day was hot and she needed to cool down after the hunt for the day. She sat on the edge of the small body of water to dry off for a bit as she looked up at the green overhang of the trees, a content smile on her face. She couldn't remember being happier in her whole life. Finally she was just about where she wanted to be status-wise, relationship-wise, family-wise...actually...

She had known her mother was pregnant again, but with a lion who wasn't her father. She had never known her father and was sure she never would, but that didn't make her less interested in her new siblings. She had hardly any time with them as their mother had spent time holed up caring for them, but finally they were old enough to let her go do her duties as the queen of the pride. Perhaps some of them were laying about in the caves...

A few minutes later found her heading into the large family cave that she knew as home. Her mother was out, but there was a red cub that looked much like Amefungwa laying on the cave floor. Ah, here was one! She approached slowly and sat down a few paces away, not wanting to startle him.

"Hello there," she said in a friendly voice, a small smile on her face. She knew she was a bit larger than her mother and therefore might be a bit frightening, and her markings looked almost nothing like Amefungwa, but hopefully the cub wouldn't be startled. "Are you one of Amefungwa's new cubs?"

Ah...she had been correct in thinking that, then. That red coat was hard to miss, after all. Her other siblings had similar coloring to her mother, aside from her brother Stoneheart, but at least he had similar markings to her. She could only guess that the patterns and markings on her fur came from her father. She was by far the most decorated of her litter mates, though, and she sometimes felt a bit of an outcast for it. No matter...that was either here nor there.

"Ah, I see," Fireheart said with a little nod. "She is my mother as well. I heard she had had her litter, but I had yet to meet any of my new siblings," she said, offering a gentle smile. Cubs could really confuse her with their silly ways sometimes, but so far this one seemed to be fairly calm. "I'm Fireheart...what is your name?"

Of course, as siblings, she would one day tell him her true name rather than her Gypsy name, but since he was so young she didn't want to confuse him with both names and run the risk of him speaking her actual name out in public. Only those closest to you were supposed to know that true name, and so far only her mother and siblings knew. Perhaps this half-related litter would know some day as well, even with the age difference between them.

The look of surprise and excitement on the young male's face made Fireheart smile a bit wider. She knew she really didn't look much like their mother, but she fit in fairly well with her brothers and sisters. They had similar markings and she and Stoneheart had the same coloration and eyes. Her mother had told her so often that she looked so much like their father, more so than any other cub, and she wore her unique look with pride. She had never met her father and doubted she ever would, but she took pride in looking so much like him.

"It's very nice to meet you, Bone Marrow," she said, bobbing her head lightly. She was proud that the little cub had already chosen his name and knew how to use it. "What made you pick that name? It's very unique," she added as she sat down.

Fireheart could tell the lion cub was itching to run around, and she tilted her head to the side a bit. It was impressive that he was controlling his urges. Normally cubs his age loved to run and jump and play and nothing could stop them. It seemed some of her own discipline might reside in this cub.

Fireheart could tell her little sibling was itching to play. She would indulge him in a bit, of course, as he was just a cub. Cubs deserved to play, after all. That's how they honed their hunting skills. She had a knack for hunting when she was younger thanks to the constant playing with her siblings.

"I see," she said with a little nod. "I'm sure you will get it back. No young Lord would let something of his go missing for very long." The question made her smile as he remembered picking her name. It had been such an exciting time and she had a list of names she liked, but settled on Fireheart after much debate. It was a bit amusing since one of her other siblings had settled on Stoneheart.

"Well, I'd get this burning in my chest whenever I did something good. Mother called it pride. I thought it was a little fire where my heart should be. I was convinced for a very long time I had fire for a heart instead of a normal heart. I know better now, of course," she added with a little laugh. "But Fireheart stuck."

Fireheart chuckled quietly and shook her head. "I picked mine when I was older than you," she said as she watched the tension build up in his body. He was going to pounce at any moment, which she was perfectly fine with. Playing helped teach the younger ones how to hunt, after all. While the pride wasn't known for its warriors, Fireheart felt like there should be at least a dozen or so lions that were trained to be fighters. Ah well...maybe when she was a little older she could talk to her mother about it.

"I like your name," she added just as Bone Marrow pounced on her paw. She batted back lightly and quickly reached out to push him on to his side, rough housing a bit with him. "It makes you sound tough. Like you can bite through bone and get to the marrow with one try." The fact that he liked bones was a cute reason to name himself, and she was glad he hadn't simply gone with 'Bone'. Bone Marrow was definitely a good gypsy name.

She sat up a bit so she could play better, an amused smile on her face. "Did mother tell you to stay in the cave or are you just resting in here?" she asked as she batted lightly at his shoulder.

Fireheart watched as Bone Marrow swatted back at her paws, smiling a bit again as the cub rolled onto his back to continue attacking. A fighter, it seemed. That was good. They needed more guards in this pride, if she had anything to say about it. There were too many lions that laid around all day and did nothing. What if there was ever an attack? They'd be severely outnumbered.

"Mother wouldn't mind if I took you out for a bit, I'm sure," she said as she got to her feet, flicking her tail. "Come on...I'll show you my favorite pond out in the jungle. We can hunt frogs together." Hunting little things like that would help get Bone Marrow on the right track, even if he didn't want to be a guard or hunter when he got older. Every lion should learn how to defend himself, after all.

She turned to the mouth of the cave and made a little 'come on' motion with her head. "Follow me. We'll get you back before it's dark." She trotted out of the cave after that, making sure the small cub was following.