Welcome to Gaia! ::

The day seemed to fly by so much faster without Kyria around. Her escort mission into the rogue lands for a surrogate for the Princess was made longer by her obstinance in choosing the perfect male, something to which Tsubaki herself could care less about. The thin, willowy tall lioness was content to rest on a large stone near the river bank, awaiting the Princesses’ return with yet another “candidate” for Tsubaki herself. Sometimes she wondered exactly why they were in the rogue lands to begin with.

With a yawning stretch she pondered about her mother. Makoto was hard, cruel, and stoic at times, but so sweet at others. It was during these times, with so much space between them that she missed her most.

Dysi was actually rather enjoying having sons. It was a weird idea! He was very unused to the idea of having boys around, but since coming into Maleficar's company, he was having a much easier time around his newest sons. The two boys were rather adorable, actually. Kilua tested him the most though. The bright pink fluffball was...so very girly, and Dysi was still terrified that he was going to ruin the little cub and make him a wuss.

Thankfully, that wasn't a huge problem. The boy was...not like Dysi was, as a cub.

"RAWRRRRRRRR!" Kilua screamed as he raced ahead of his father, making a noise as loud as he could to startle the vultures in the distance. The birds looked unimpressed at the small ball of fluff, but took to the skies anyway, mostly to avoid dealing with the small thing.

"Not too far, Kilua!" Dysi called out, warningly.

Goddess, that was loud. It seemed as if her peaceful day of relaxing contemplation was going to be cut short. Tsubaki rose into a sitting position, watching now as the vultures took to the skies. While she wasn’t for sure what had caused the disturbance, she had some idea.

Granted, as she moved off her perch towards the sound she wasn’t prepared for exactly how…brightly pink the foe was. It was a cub, as she had thought, but a leopon. A bright pink leopon. Tsubaki walked slowly, out in the open so as not to startle the little one. “You should be careful where you charge. What if they had decided to attack you? One of the bigger ones could have carried you off.” Her quick eyes kept darting around, looking for the source of the other voice.

Despite her efforts not to startle him, Kilua still jumped when the female made her approach. He stared, wide eyes at her for a moment, before blurting out. "You're big!" He hadn't been around a huge amount of lions - his half sister was a lion, but she was quite...tiny. Kilua barely seemed to have been paying attention to the words that the female had said to him. He squinted at her, contemplatively. "I bet you could beat up ANYONE."

Dysi had scuttled along, spotting a female talking to his son but slowed at the non-threatening way the female was standing. Good, at least he wasn't going to get his butt kicked today, but he cringed at his sons words. That boy had no tact. "Kilua!" He scolded, crossing the last distance. He was slender, and not intimdating at all, but he could be at least a bit grumpy looking as a punishment. "That's no way to talk to a lady!" He glanced up at the female, giving her a sweet smile. "I apologise for my son, Miss."

Tsubaki’s smile turned into a little grin, and it was hard for her not to roll her eyes. “And you are small.” She said on a light laugh. Small with large, heterochromatic eyes. It was with a little lurch of her heart that she realized one of them was almost the same shade as her mothers. “Anyone? If it was to protect an innocent, I would try, but fighting should always be used as a last resort.” Now she sounded more like her mother’s mate than anything else. Odd.

Seeing the leopard though explained the leopon boy. They had a similar look about them, and his smile set her mind at ease. “No, no, it’s quite alright. No apologies necessary. He was just showing off his bravery, which is a good trait to have, when balanced with humility.” She made a point of adding on, for the boys sake. “

Kilua puffed up, his fur adding perhaps...a centermeter of extra size to his tiny form. "But I'm going to grow MASSIVE. Daddy says mommy was big! So I'm gonna be like her! She's gonna be SO PROUD!" He insisted. He knew his mommy liked him, but the pride wouldn't like boys like they liked girls, so he went with Daddy, which was ok, but Daddy didn't fight. "So you don't like fighting?" He sounded disappointed. Why did no one want to fight him?

Dysi sighed at Kilua, and ruffled his son's growing mane. "Bravery is in no short supply with him, unfortunately. Drives me crazy," he laughed. "My name is Dysi, and this is my son Kilua." He smiled. "What's your name, miss?" She was quite pretty, such a nice colour of hair.

Tsubaki had to try really hard not to laugh. While she was mostly uncomfortable around males, she had to admit that being in the rogue lands had calmed that a bit. Especially when around such…impressively “buff” cubs. “Was she really? Well I’m sure you will! My mother is pretty massive herself, and while I didn’t gain her muscle, I am fairly tall. I’m sure you’ll have more luck than I did.” She couldn’t bear to tell him that her mother trained most of her time away when she wasn’t guarding royalty. He would need to work hard to catch up to her. “Well, it’s not that I DON’T like it, it’s just that I….well, I prefer making friends.”

She smiled, encouraged by the fatherly display. Affection from a parent hadn’t been one of the top priorities for Makoto when Tsubaki had been that young. “I’m sure he’ll be a paw full as he grows.” She could only imagine. “My name is Tsubaki. May I ask if the two of you live in these lands? I’m a visitor, and I don’t want to step on any paws by being here.”

Kilua beamed in pride. She believed in him! Surely it was gonna come true then? There was no way he was going to be tiny, despite his dad’s smaller stature. “Really? I wanna be big and tall! I think my mommy was tall too, but I don’t really remember.” He squinted, trying to picture her. He spend time with her when he was young, but he’d been with his daddy for a while now, so it was a bit hard to remember. He wanted to go see her when he was big and strong though!
“Do your friends fight?” He asked, bouncing on the pads of his paws. He wanted to make friends he could train with – that’s what warriors did, didn’t they?

Dysi groaned. “He’s already a paw-full now. I can’t imagine him when he’s big enough to start beating people up with more strength than thinks he has.” It was gonna be painful. Though he gained a bit of a sad look when he heard Kilua talk of not remembering his mother. He knew the cub was young, so it wasn’t surprising but it made him sad. He brushed his son’s fur again. “We can go and see her before you’ve grown,” he mentioned. He wasn’t sure if Makoto was going to be interested in the boys, but he at least had to try.
He glanced up and quickly reassured Tsubaki. “No, no, we’re just off on a walk. Our home lands are further back, but this one has so much energy that it’s better to exhaust him over a long distance than attempt to entertain him with games.” He smiled. “You are not stepping on any paws that I know of.”

“A lot of them do, yes. We are the Guards of our pride, so fighting is a large part of it.” Her smile diminished a little, remembering the vigorous routines. Train, spar, train, sleep, train, spar, eat. It was a lineup that never seemed to end! She almost wished the boy would take another interesting; such as weaving, or fishing, even. She gave a little snorted laugh, almost instantly flushing with the action. “At least that’s a good sign; it shows he’s definitely a healthy, growing cub.”

The mention of his mother, the look on the father’s face….It was all a little much for Tsubaki’s bleeding heart. “Where is your mother, Kilua?” She turned her attention to him, then looked to Dysi, wondering if she’d stepped over her boundaries. “If you don’t mind my asking, why can’t you go see her?”

Kilua bounced on his paws. "That sounds like so much fun!" he insisted. "I wanna find a bunch of boys that wanna train with me. And girls too! Girls are good fighters!" He said, as if Tsubaki wasn't aware of such a fact.
"Oh he's definitely growing," Dysi laughed. "He eats like a hippo, and never seems to run out of energy. I don't understand where he gets it all from. Must be his mother." He shook his head.
"Momm's in her pride, beating up EVERYONE," Kilua announced proudly. Dysi laughed, moving on to explain to Tsubaki, "she lives in the amazon pride, so as males, we have to be cautious about visiting. I took our sons with us, and she kept our daughters with her to raise them with the pride."

She cracked a little laugh. “A hippo? Surely not, where does he put it all?” Tsubaki leaned down a little to get in eye contact with Kilua. “Girls are good fighters, but boys are just as good. Anyone can be strong when they need to be, and sometimes the strongest never see battle.”

Tsubaki’s spine visibly stiffened, her already pale coat losing what warmth it had gained. Now she had no choice but to look at this poor little soul as one of the males who had been released. She was glad, in a way, that he at least had his father with him. Some were not so lucky. She opened her mouth, found it dry, and tried speaking a second time. “What is her name, if I might ask?” The eye color, that pink in his fur…There were only three lionesses in the pride that he could belong to, one of which was herself, which she knew wasn’t an option. “I am from the Amazons myself, so I may know of her. “

Kilua looked at her seriously, meeting her gaze firmly and unabashed. He wasn't one to back down from a challenge, even if it was a staring contest. "I don't know about anyone," he said completely seriously. "Daddy's pretty bad at fighting." He glanced apologetically at his dad. "Sorry, but it's true! You're really good at flower crowns though!" He knew his dad wouldn't be angry if he complimented his flower crowns, they were Dysi's prize and joy after all. "He's not bad because he's a boy though," he confessed to Tsubaki. "Maleficar says it's because he's a wuss. That's not gendered though."

Dysi looked confused at the female's reaction to his words. "Are you quite alright, Miss Tsubaki?" He asked, before realising what she said. "Oh! That explains your height at least," he mused with a laugh. "I'm sure you would know of her, she's quite hard to miss, I must admit. Her name is Makoto, I believe she is one of the guards?"

Tsubaki had the grace to turn her head before she choked on her surprise. Regardless of whether Dysi was or was not a wuss was no longer her concern. What WAS concerning was the leopon that was apparently her younger half-brother. A brother! Makoto’s first litter had only consisted of two girls, the other tucked up safe, as far as she knew, in the pride, but now…What was her mother doing while she was away?!

“Surprised, is all.” She coughed, and tried to stand a little straighter. “The pride has nothing to do with height so much as the mother I happen to share with your son.” Tsubaki didn’t know whether to smile at Kilua anymore or carry him off. It was odd, how scared she was of him now, but not because of his gender, but rather the attachment she desperately wanted to be there. “Makoto is an Elite Guard, and she is my mother. So, that makes Kilua my half-brother.”

Dysi was similiarly stunned. He hadn't really been aware of Makoto having another litter, but he supposed she was a rather determined female, so it was somehow unsuprising that she had taken a fling before him to gain more daughters. "Oh!" He looked surprised and rather speechless. What did one say to that? It was...well, it was a situation Dysi had shockingly never been in before, despite how many flings he had been involved in.

Kilua, unlike his dad, had very little concern about social niceties and the only thing that had really sunk in for the young boy was that the female was his sister. "You're my sister too? Yay!" He called out, bouncing happily. "There is NO WAY I'm going to stay small. Look at her, Daddy! She's huge! I'm gonna make momma SO PROUD!" he grinned broading. He then launched himself at Tsubaki's paws. "Sis! Sis! Will you teach me to fight? Please? Oh pretty please! I want mommy to be so surprised when she sees me next!"

Dysi wasn’t the only one rendered speechless. After her little blurb Tsubaki found herself more or less just staring at the boy. How had she missed the little signs before? There was a turn in his head, a little bounce in his step that set off warning signals she had missed. Good Goddess, he looked more like Makoto than she did!

It was an instinctual reaction that made Tsubaki step back at his advance. She wasn’t quick enough for one paw, though, as it was quickly trapped. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and tried to smile. “Your mother is already very proud of you, I’m sure.” She wasn’t sure of anything anymore, let alone THAT. “I...I think you’re too young for training, but…when you are a bit older, should we meet, I will teach you what I know.” It was odd, talking to her brother. He was so full of life. Tsubaki turned perplexed eyes to Dysi. “Are…are there more?”

Dysi watched them interact with a trace of saddness. He had always thought that one parent had been enough for a cub, he had always split litters before and he had felt no guilt of it. Recently though, he was starting to wonder if it was doing more harm than good to split litters. Half were left without a father, half without a mother, constantly trying to seek approval from a parent that didn't even see them. It was sad.

Kilua pouted as his sister spurred his demands. "But when I'm older, you'll train me?" He demanded. He wasn't going to let his go!

Dysi could see how hard Tsubaki was taking this, and he felt bad for her. "One more son," he admitted. "Your mother took the four daughters back with her to the pride. Have you not seen her recently?"

“Yes, yes, when you’re older.” Hopefully he would forget the empty promise, but as she didn’t intend to lie to him she would train him…if he could find her. Her place was increasingly becoming anywhere that wasn’t Amazon territory, so it might be harder for him that he realized.

Tsubaki gulped, “Six, altogether?” She gulped, staggered by the numbers. Six siblings she had never known. “I have been gone from the pride for a very long time on a mission of the utmost importance, one that keeps me away longer than I would have wished.” She wanted to go home, NOW, if for anything to just validate that her mother still cared for her disappointment of a daughter and wasn’t trying to replace her. “I would like to meet him, if you’d show me. My…other brother.”

Kilua gave a small roar of excitement. "Yay! This is so exciting! I can't wait to get older!"

Dysi was sad that Tsubaki had to find out about her siblings in such a off-the-cuff manner but he hadn't even realised Makoto had a daughter her age! "I am sorry that you weren't aware." He felt rude asking about her mission, but her request - well that he could respond to. "Of course," he assured her. "I would be happy for you to meet them. We usually stay aorund the same area, if you were to ever want to visit us as well." He never wanted to keep his cubs apart from family; except in their best interest. He had a feeling that Tsubaki would not be bad for the boys to have around. "Would you like to come with us now? We should return home ourselves."

Tsubaki steadied her nerves and shook her head. “It wasn’t your fault, just a matter of fate, is all.” She hesitantly reached up to ruffle Kilua’s tuft of fur, thought better of it, and sat her paw back down. “I think I would like that. Jus-just because my brothers will not be Amazons by name, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t know the same boring tales I’ve grown up on.” She smiled a bit, trying to loosen up. “For a while, yes, that sounds fine with me. I can’t stay long this time, however, since my companion will be waiting for me.” Or rather, a short tempered Princess!

"You're coming home with us too? Yay! I can't wait to tell Nehorai!" Kilua grinned. "Follow me! Follow me! I'll show you where to go!" He raced off, back towards the direction that they had come from. He had tiny legs though, so he wasn't really get anywhere very fast.

Dysi smiled gently at Tsubaki. "I am sure that they would love that, you are welcome with us whenever you wish." He glanced towards the rapidly disappearing cub, and motioned for Tsubaki to go. "For however long you wish to stay, Kilua and Nehorai, your other brother, would surely welcome you whole-heartedly."

Tsubaki gave a little smaller smile than when she had first seen Kilua running. He seemed to excited to have her, and she was still on edge about having him in her life. Would she be a good older sister, when so much in her life was so very wrong?

“I’ll try to be good to them.” She murmured, as much as mantra for herself as it was meant to comfort him. The lioness followed behind the leopon, falling in step with Dysi. It was odd to think that she might have more of a connection with the welcoming brothers than she did with the pride who were anything but welcoming to them. The Amazons had embraced her, raised her, taught her to thrive, and yet…it was in the eyes of her little brother that she saw what life could be when one was free enough to trust in their own soul.