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 Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2013 3:58 pm
 Baie stretched her front paws, arching her back in an effort to rid herself of the accumulated tension she’d been feeling. Close to the orange lioness rested a sleeping ball of fur. Most of her cubs were playing outside with the Abazingeli but Baie had decided to keep Nehanda in the den today. She nuzzled her daughter cautiously, brushing the dark tail tuft with one single claw. The cub was pale, the color of Baie’s markings but that was not the mother’s first concern. There were plenty of strong light-colored Abazingeli in the pride and Baie placed more importance in the color of the mane and tail tufts than the actual coat itself. No, the tan coat didn’t worry her. Something else did.
Nehanda was small. Noticeably small, so much so that the difference between the smallest female and any of the male cubs was astonishing. Gakere’s mother was quite small herself but she’d been healthy all her life as far as Baie knew. Her little Nehanda showed less energy and vitality than her siblings. A part of Baie was still surprised the girl had made it this far considering how weak she’d been at first.
She gave the cub a small lick, watching the tiny chest movements of Nehanda with eyes filled with concern.
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Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 11:27 pm
 Sleeping was Nehanda's favorite activity outside of laying in the den with her mother. They were doing that right now and Han had just woken up from a short nap, so life was pretty good for the little cub. Something tugged at her tail and she lifted her head a bit, gazing down at her mother's orange paw. Resting her head again, she let out a short breath before resuming her shallow breathing. It was hard to get a deep breath sometimes, so panting was easier. A warm tongue pulled the cub from another near-slumber, yellow eyes focusing on green. A little mew left her lips, weak and quiet, but there was a happiness to Han's face that was undeniable. After a few moments she reached up to place a tiny paw on Baie's nose, giggling very quietly. "Don't frown like that, mommy," she said, her voice weak but happy. "You look sad. Today is a fun day!" Indeed, she could hear her siblings out playing without her, but she didn't mind. They were enjoying themselves, as was she, and yet her mother seemed worried. She had no idea why, but perhaps she could get her to smile.
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 8:47 am
Baie smiled despite her many worries, eyes narrowing gently. The smile of a cub was something which held a mysterious healing ability, a hidden quality that made most adults remember feelings once forgotten and mirror the happy expression even when feeling at their worst.
“It is a fun day, Han.” She didn’t miss the shallowness of her daughter’s breaths and her chest tightened even more. Still, her expression remained perfectly composed. “How are you feeling, sweetie?”
It was almost painful to look at Nehanda sometimes. Baie wished she could take all of her daughter’s weakness and ailments into herself and to watch the tan girl grow healthy into adulthood. Sometimes she worried the cub was living on borrowed time and that she simple might not “make it”. Gods forgive her but Baie had thought it to be the kindest outcome before she’d come to know the fierce instinct of motherhood. Nehanda was hers, her baby and the orange lioness would do anything she could to increase her chances of survival.
“Do you want to go outside just for a little while?” It was less a matter of “want” than “could” but Baie didn’t want to undermine the cub’s independence by constantly reminding her she wasn’t as strong as her siblings. Tricky balance she had to work with, this was.
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 10:28 am
Han's grin widened as Baie smiled in returned, her little claws poking out of her paw to playfully bat hat her chin. The effort was a bit taxing, though, and she brought her paw back to her chest after a moment, nuzzling one large paw that was by her head instead. She knew her mother was worried for her, and she knew she was smaller and weaker than her siblings, but she wasn't quite sure why it made her mother so sad all the time. "I feel good," she said with a little laugh as she rolled to her stomach and lifted her head for the first time that day. She did have bursts of energy that were starting to get longer as she got older, if only by minutes. She glanced out of the den where the voices of her siblings were coming from, tail twitching on the ground. Her breathing was a bit labored again as she got to her feet, but once she was there she began to take her normal, shallow breaths with ease. "Yes!" she said as the question was asked, making her look up at her mother happily. She knew that venturing outside the den, while exhausting, made Baie very pleased. "I want to see what they're all doing." It sounded like fun, whatever it was, and while she knew she'd be too tired to join in, she did have fun watching her siblings play.
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Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 3:18 am
Nehanda’s obvious weakness pierced Baie’s heart a hundred times in that brief moment the cub lifted her head. All the things she took for granted when it came to the other seven cubs, she always had to doubt when it came to her tan girl. Would she ever be able to play with her sisters properly? Would she reach adulthood? Would she ever be able to hunt with the other Abazingeli or raise her own cubs?
“If you’re feeling up to it.” She said, keeping her tone steady and neutral despite the inner turmoil. “I can also tell you a story if you’d prefer.” Maybe that’s what the orange lioness would prefer herself, the sight of Nehanda not being able to keep up with her siblings being hard to take sometimes.
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Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 11:10 am
"Yes, I feel good!" Han said, stretching just a bit before getting to her feet. It took her a bit longer than a normal cub, but for her it was a pretty peppy hop up. She rubbed her body along her mother's chest, tail flicking up to curl under her chin, the dark tuft bopping Baie's nose. She smiled up at her mother before stepping over her paws, making her way slowly but surely to the mouth of the cave. "You can tell me a story when we get back," she said, glancing over her shoulder, still smiling despite her short panting. She was used to feeling out of breath now so it wasn't as hard to keep the grin on her face. Plus, when she didn't smile or appeared tired, her mother would become extra worried about her. She didn't like to worry her so much now that she could get up and walk around. Before, when she had been just a little tiny thing, she hadn't wanted to do anything but lay around and sleep. Now, though, she wanted to keep her mother relaxed and happy. "Come on, mommy!" Han called as she reached the mouth of the den, squinting in the sunlight. "Ooh...it's so bright out!"
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 10:59 am
She was going to be fine, Baie decided as if her personal opinions and hopes could influence the reality of Nehanda’s situation. The orange lioness wasn’t one to constantly worry over a problem she had little control over but her daughter’s affliction had a way to bring out her already considerable stubbornness. She refused to keep thinking negatively for much longer. So long as her children were alive, she would be their fierce protector and right now Nehanda needed her the most.
“I’m coming.” She told her daughter before letting out a soft chuckle. It was impossible to deny that she was getting slowly better with each passing day. It wasn’t a stretch to believe that one day she would be running next to her sisters, learning how to hunt and growing into a fine Umzingeli just like everyone else. “Keep your eyes closed until they get used to the light. And look, your brothers and sisters are playing over there.” Baie squashed the worry that threatened to burst out as soon as she imagined Nehanda trying to keep up with her boisterous siblings.
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 11:09 am
Han waited for Baie to get close enough before shutting her eyes, tilting to lean against her mother so she'd know where to go. That and she was already starting to get a little tired. She'd never get better if she laid around in the dark cave all day, though, so she made the effort to at least sit in the sun. Her eyes got used to the brightness and she opened them slowly, a grin on her little face as she watched her siblings play. It looked like fun! She took a few steps towards them before breaking into a trot, moving over to join them. She didn't last very long, though, even though her siblings knew to play gently with her. Han returned to her mother's side just a few minutes after joining in the fun, panting and wincing as she tried to take deeper breaths. "O...okay mommy I want...to hear a story now," she said, trying to smile even as she wheezed her way back to Baie's paws. She flopped down on them, exhausted, and curled up around one warm paw. She knew her mother would carry her back into the den.
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 6:50 pm
The orange lioness was happy to serve as a guide for Nehanda while the little one’s eyes were closed. She found it very amusing, really. And even if it was only briefly Baie felt immensely relieved to see her daughter joining the other cubs to play. As the little tan lioness walked up to her after only a few minutes of exertion, the Umzingeli promptly began to give her a few good rhythmic licks that served to clean the cub up just as much as to encourage her to take deep breaths to steady her breathing again.
“You did good.” She told her daughter with a tone of absolute certainty. “One day, you’ll be running the whole afternoon without feeling tired.” She smiled fondly at the little struggling cub.
“Now, about that story… There was once a beautiful dark lioness who was fierce and strong but couldn’t have cubs. In order to overcome such a great weakness she decided she would adopt all the orphans she could find and pretty soon she had three tiny little cubs to raise as her own. One was a beautiful black male, one was a light tan female and the last one was a strange unnatural color she’d never seen in a living creature before. That last little girl was blue, bright as the sky! The lioness decided she would treat them all the same but as time passed, she began to wonder if she was doing something wrong. You see, one of the cubs was just too small. The other two were growing just fine but that little strange blue girl was just too small, too thin.” She began her story, speaking in a slow and inviting cadence while she finished cleaning the cub, adding one little question before picking Nehanda by the scruff to carry her back to the den. “What do you think the lioness did?”
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 7:09 pm
Nehanda smiled up at her mother as she praised her. Good...she didn't want to feel like this all the time. Knowing some day she'd be better gave her little spirit a happy lift, and it was that determination and positive outlook that would one day see her to a healthier - if still a bit weak - lifestyle. The licking helped her steady her breath, and by the time Baie had gone into her story Han was breathing shallowly, but comfortably again. She curled up and went limp as she was picked up, the question floating through her mind. "A blue little cub...wow...I'd like to see that one day," she said, looking up at her mother as she was carried back into the den. "What did she do? Why...she probably gave her extra love like you!" she said with a tiny grin. "So the small one could grow up, like me! Right?" She hoped so, anyway. Sometimes there were sad stories and she really hoped that this wasn't one of them.
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Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 5:14 am
Baie couldn’t really speak with her mouth full of cub but a pleasant rumble filled her chest and throat when Nehanda answered her question. As she neared the den, the orange lioness carefully placed the little tan lioness on the ground and slowly dropped to a comfortable position at her level.
“That is absolutely right. The dark lioness wasn’t one to give up and she treated each cub differently but with equal amounts of love. She trained the beautiful black boy to fight and named him Night. The lovely tan girl, she named her Sand and trained her to hunt. As for the strange little blue female, she named her Sky and dedicated to her most of her time and attention.” Baie gave the cub a few more licks while she neared the end of the story which she hoped would encourage Nehanda without giving her unrealistic expectations. She didn’t think ending her tale with something extraordinary – like a god coming down and blessing the blue cub – would help Nehanda in the long run because there was little to learn from a perfectly happily ever after kind of story.
“The lioness was worried. No matter how much time she spent with Sky, the little cub couldn’t keep up with her adopted siblings. She ate less but was so thin that the lioness was afraid others would think she was starving the poor little girl. She was noticeable small even for a female. Her claws were malformed and while she was fast, she was also quite useless at hunting, never really grasping the lessons that the lioness tried to teach her. She even lacked hairs in odd places though she didn’t appear to have fleas or scratch herself. And the more she grew, the more different she looked from her siblings. So one day, when the lioness had grown desperate, she heard there was a famous healer in a pride close to where she lived and she decided to take little Sky to see him.” The conclusion was nearly there but Baie waited to see if her daughter could pick up on the little hints she’d provided. “She took Sky to the healer and told him how thin and small she was, how much difficulty she seemed to have grasping her hunting techniques and how worried she was that she would never grow into a strong lioness that could fend for herself. Do you know what he told her?”
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Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 2:14 pm
As they settled down in the den again, Han looked up at her mother with wide, curious eyes. She tilted her head as the names were given and flexed her tiny claws as the children were all taught something special. A frown crossed her face as the blue cub didn't pick up on the mother's training, though. Oh no...the poor thing! Maybe she didn't get better like her mother had thought she would. But then the story changed a bit. The little cub tilted her head, and she wondered what the cub could possibly have wrong with her. Skinny and no fur in odd places, malformed claws, small, but fast. Useless at hunting, though. Different from her siblings but...still a part of their family for sure. She looked up hesitantly at her mother, confusion clear on her face. "Was...the cub not a lion cub?" she asked, unsure if that was right. She knew there were other animals out there and perhaps the mother lioness had adopted one of them by accident.
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Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2013 8:24 am
“Aren’t you a clever girl!” Baie said with a wide grin, nestling her body around the cub. “You’re right. The healer took one look at the cub and told the mother: Your daughter will never be a regular lioness. She is clearly… a cheetah.”
Baie paused as she let the little revelation sink in. Her cubs hadn’t seen much of the world outside the pride but she hoped her stories would be enough to satisfy their curiosity. The fact that Nehanda had figured out the story’s ending twist without ever seeing a real cheetah was something that filled her with pride.
“You see, sweetie, sometimes we can get so focused in the way things are supposed to be, in our own expectations of the world that we fail to see what’s right in front of us. Of course the little female was a cheetah and even though the lioness knew what the slender felines were supposed to look like, she still failed to see what little Sky was and believe the blue cub’s differences to be caused by her own faults and lack of experience as a mother.” She paused again, waiting to see if Nehanda would voice her thoughts before adding a definite ending to her story.
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Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 8:44 am
Han lit up as Baie praised her, her tail swishing back and forth. Even though she wasn't the healthiest cub, there was certainly nothing wrong with her mind or memory. She was quick as a whip for a cub and would undoubtedly continue to grow mentally rather than physically. Strength alone wasn't the only asset to determine a lion's importance, after all. Dumb lions certainly didn't get very far in life, unless they made others fear them. "A cheetah?" she whispered, her eyes widening. She'd never seen a cheetah, only heard stories about them from her mother. Small and slender and faster than the wind, she knew. She wanted to meet one one day, but for now they were creatures of her imagination with tiny wings on their feet that whisked them away to far off lands in the sky. She'd never been told cheetahs didn't really fly, just that they were incredibly quick. "Oh...what a silly mommy!" Han declared after a moment, giggling just a bit as she pressed her paws against her own mother's leg. "She gave her lots of attention, just like the other cubs. It wasn't her fault! Cheetahs are different from lions," she finished with a little nod, her tail flicking back and forth again.
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Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 7:19 pm
“Yes, she was a little silly, wasn’t she…?” Baie agreed with a chuckle. “Or maybe she was just frustrated… she wanted her little girl to be something she could never become. We each have a role to play in our lives and sometimes accepting that is the hardest thing. Not everyone is born with the same fate and sometimes strength of will isn’t enough to change it.”
Baie’s voice was gentle but it had a sense of finality to it. Sometimes will alone simply wasn’t enough and trying to fight one’s fate didn’t guarantee a desired outcome. The orange lioness was going to do all she could to remain positive but she would take anything Fate was going to throw at Nehanda and help her make the best of it.
“Do you want to know happened to the three cubs?” Baie asked with a little smile and continue after a small pause, her tone one of excitement and wonder. “Night became one of the strongest fighters the world ever saw. He left with Sand and together they travelled the world and formed their own little pride. Many joined them after that and the pride grew in numbers and strength until it became one of the strongest in the world. Sky left them long before they settled down, travelling the world as the fastest feline the savannah had ever seen. But no matter how far she went, she would always return to spend some time with her adoptive mother, who had never given up on her. She never did become as good a huntress as her sister but then again, she was never meant to do it in the first place.” she gave Nehanda an affectionate lick, silently wishing she could see the future.
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