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 Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 5:14 am
 Buna was expecting. She had known for a while, and some of the other lionesses might have guessed from the way she acted. It wasn't time to start thinking about a birthing location just yet, but her condition was starting to show slightly. Soon it would be obvious, even to the most oblivious male. Time to let the father know.
Some females had no way to know the father until they actually had the cubs, but Buna knew it was Surtak. She was not interested in any of the Inselele, even if it was amusing to see them try to claw each other's eyes out. No, one of the two leading males was the only option, really. And Surtak was the only one she'd been close to in the given timeframe.
She approached Surtak, wondering if he'd already guessed or if she'd been the first to give him the news.
"You'll have more daughters soon," she said.
Hopefully there would be daughters at least. Buna could feel that she had strong daughters inside her, but it might just be wistful thinking and not some supernatural mother instinct speaking...
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Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 7:48 am
The current weather, while heading towards a dry season, left no current cause for alarm. Even as he dozed, Surtak could hear the close sounds of grunting wildebeast and chortling zebra at a full, seasonal lake just over the rise.
It mixed with the quiet footfalls of a lion. Surtak hauled himself to his feet in moments, eyes casting in the direction of the sound. A low grunt in the back of his throat signaled he was leaving; a jog carried him the rest of the way to the lioness.
A blunt, waste-no-time sort.
"You've had a vision?" Surtak asked immediately. Seers had not come up in his time in the Bonelands. Such children had either been carefully concealed, none had been born, or none had been recognized. But, in the face of Buna's certain statement, he recalled that even seemingly lesser lions held the gift.
No doubt opinions on whether it was a gift would vary in his current pride, should the Umholi think to ask.
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Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 1:05 pm
Buna frowned in confusion. Vision? She wasn't sure she knew what Surtak was saying. She had never really come into contact with seers or visions. In fact, if one of the females in the pride would get a confusing glimpse of the future, they would probably not come to Buna for support. And even if they did, she would most likely interpret it as attention seeking.
Instead she connected the word "vision" with seeing something. It didn't make much sense, but the Umholi was a foreigner after all. She'd have to cut him some slack.
"Why would have a vision," she asked, "I can feel I'm pregnant, I don't need to see it."
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Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 1:57 pm
"You said there will be daughters." Surtak's own brows had furrowed. His stance had straightened, and he tilted his head to the side slightly, chin dipped to look at her.
The flick of his tail brushed the matter aside.
Instead, his eyes crept along her back to what could be considered additional weight along the female's belly. It could be a promising trick of the eye; she could be lying for attention.
"Make sure you eat enough," Surtak demanded instead. He wouldn't lose a litter to a mother's lack of attention. Though, they seemed to excel in raising cubs, and Surtak would rather not meddle, it was different when it was his own offspring on the line.
"Tell the other females to let you eat first."
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Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 11:39 am
Buna stood proudly while Surtak studied her. She could see that he noticed the slight bulge, and realized what it meant. Good.
"There will be daughters," she confirmed. Oh, wouldn't she feel foolish if she ended up with a litter of boys? Her cousin's last litter had consisted of just one cub, a weak boy that died... Poor thing. But it was to be expected, with that white mane of his. No, that wouldn't happen to her cubs. Surtak had fathered strong daughters before.
"I don't think food will be a problem," Buna said, "Hunting has been good lately."
She wondered how much longer she'd been able to hunt effectively.
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Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 2:31 pm
"Tell them to let you eat first," Surtak repeated, word for word. His voice had darkened with the squint of his eyes. "That's an order." If the meaning of the word 'order' was lost on her, and it may have been, the tone in his voice would not be. Gakere could move them with simply an off-handed comment, certainly conviction would get a female to follow one task.
As curious as he was, he did not bother asking Buna if there would be sons. Tetchy as they were, it would likely offend her, and Surtak didn't need the headache on his shoulders.
"You will bring the boys to me when they're old enough to walk, listen, and sit still." As Buna could assume there were daughters, so could Surtak assume there would be males. Their disappointment in the absence of either would be equivocal.
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Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 2:46 pm
"I will tell them," Buna said when Surtak pressed the matter. "They'll let me eat first."
They always took care of their own. It would sure be an interesting way to tell the news to those who hadn't guessed... 'Let me eat first, Surtak's orders.' She smiled, pleased with the temporary rise in status. His next request was a bit odd, and it reminded her that he was a foreigner, even if he managed to fit in better for every passing day.
"I will do that," she said. It was not their custom, but she had heard before that Surtak took unusual interest in his sons. Umholi made their own rules... Perhaps he wouldn't be too disappointed if she had sons. But the other females wouldn't let her live it down if there were no daughters. She didn't want their pity.
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Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 9:22 am
The nod of his head showed he had heard Buna's confirmation of his request. Still, she had not yet left, and an awkward sort of silence pressed against Surtak's skull.
Quickly, to not let an expectant-silence fill time, he added, "Is there anything more?"
Should the females need him it was his duty to aid in any way he could. That had been made clear to him time and time again. Given he had little desire to run common errands, and was delighting in food brought without the need to hunt, Surtak tended to avoid asking if they needed him for anything.
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Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2014 11:08 am
Their little talk was over, and Surtak made that very clear. But Buna had said what she wanted to say, and was fairly sure that her news had been well received, so she didn't mind being dismissed.
"No," she said, and bobbed her head in a final greeting, "I'll bring you the males when they are old enough."
She padded back toward a group of females. Now that she had told Surtak she wanted to tell the Abazingeli. Some would have already guessed that she would have cubs, but she was sure they'd be interested to hear about Surtak's interest in the boys. She frowned, thinking about it. Many daughters would be best, but the male was unusually interested in male cubs so he might be happier if at least some were male. She knew some of the females had ways to try to divine the number and gender of their cubs, but she didn't approve of such nonsense. Buna had never believed in such nonsense, and she wasn't about to start now. She would simply have to wait and see.
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Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 10:43 pm
The Umholi stood rigid as Buna turned. He gave no bob of his head; simply set his gaze on Buna as she left.
When she had reached a distance entering the tens of lions, he finally moved. While she went back to the Abazingeli, he went back to the noticeably smaller, male side of the pride.
Surtak, too, would simply have to wait and see.
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