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 Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 7:13 pm
It had been Mot's decision to follow his mother during his Pilgrimage.
He had been the oldest of the family, and with that, felt a kinship with her, one that had white paws leaving the mountain that the at-one-time swampies had moved to. He followed her - at a distance - sometimes wondering if she had gotten both of them lost, (one time, getting actually lost for a week himself,) before the dark lioness found herself a home in the Mwezi.
So, brave Mot followed.
The pride was so new, and different from his upbringing, the white lion now bathed in the moon's light on a daily basis - but it felt . . . nice. Different.
Feeling that he had finally found his feet in the pride, he figured he owed his mother an apology, and a welcome again. It would probably be a shock to her that one of her children was with her. Sort of.
Clearing his throat, he wandered close to the den she shared now, (or what he heard of,) with a new litter.
"Hello?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 7:26 pm
 Tseva was bringing home some dinner to Avahk and the cubs when a voice spoke up behind her. Mentally sighing and steeling herself for...something...the black lioness turned. And promptly dropped the food on the ground as she gaped in shocked recognition. The voice had deepend since she'd last heard it, and he'd grown into those limbs and that mane, but what kind of mother would she be if she didn't recognize her own son? And her eldest boy at that. "Mot?" she asked, though she didn't really need the confirmation as she took a hesitant step forward. "What are you doing here!?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 7:34 pm
It was really nice to see her, and have her talk to him face to face again. Not that he was bitter or anything, he just missed having his mother. Sighing out of his nose softly, he awarded her a little smile, not entirely knowing what was supposed to happen after this. His plans had been simple.
1) Follow Mom
2) Reunite with mom
3) ???
"Yeah, it's Mot." He answered, before feeling a rush as his face burned a bit. "I had noticed you slip away from the pride, during my . . . rather failed pilgrimage. I didn't know where you were going. So I followed. He admitted, before turning his eyes to the side.
"I sort of followed you all the way here. Not that I regret it."
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 7:39 pm
The lioness could only stare at her eldest offspring. She hadn't expected any of her children to know she'd left the pride until after they'd returned with their adult names. But to find out and follow her? The very idea had never once crossed her mind as a possibility. Tseva gaped in utter confusion at her son's unexpected actions.
In the end, the emotion that won out was motherly concern for her son's ability to complete his pilgrimage. Tseva closed her eyes, praying to the spirits for patience with her boy.
"Mot. The purpose of a pilgrimage is to travel. Away from the pride. Not just outside of it." Loving exasperation colored the black female's tone.
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 8:02 pm
At least she seemed as bewildered as he did, and yet, it didn't take her long to slide back in to mothering him, making the grown lion's ears pin back, he knew exactly what she was talking about. Well, he was technically very far away from the pride. Not that he had any interest in going back.
"I did technically leave the boundaries. After that I . . well." He paused, clearing his throat. "I traveled a little out of the mountain's boundaries, but I felt horribly lost. It felt like the spirits were not connecting with me . . . That's when I noticed you had been leaving, along with another lion." He murmured a bit, looking down at his paws, ears flicking up a bit again.
"Are you happier here? I do not expect you to appease me. I will be happy where you are happy, mom."
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 8:06 pm
Tseva couldn't help a noisy sigh to express her exasperation with Mot's liberal interpretation of the word "pilgrimage". But she quieted when he mentioned again that he'd seen her leave. With Avahk, though it seemed her son didn't know the name. She wondered, for the first time, how long he'd been in the Mwezi'Johari. Since he'd approached her at the entrance to her own den, and no one had raised any kind of fuss, he was obviously a member of the pride now.
But it was his question that really shocked her. Was she happier here?
To her surprise, the black lioness couldn't speak. Her only answer were the tears that suddenly overflowed her eyes, coursing down her cheeks.
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 8:15 pm
Mot had expected some kind of scolding - like a cub who needed a good lesson. The exasperated sigh had basically tipped him off. So, he waited for it, and for her answer, only to fret lightly in the silence. Looking up after a moment, bright blue eyes caught the sight of her crying, and it made the white lion rush towards his mom, going to lean against her a little.
"I - I'm sorry mom, why you are you crying?!"
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2014 8:19 pm
The lioness wordlessly leaned against her son, accepting the comfort he offered while she attempted to organize her thoughts. Even she couldn't easily put into words what had caused her to to break out in tears. So instead she stood there silently until it seemed like the tears had come to their natural end.
"I don't know Mot," she answered slowly, once she could control her voice. "I'm sure part of it is that I never expected to see you here - I don't suppose any of your siblings have come as well?"
Yes, Tseva was directing the conversation away from his question, but she wasn't yet ready to answer it. Spirits, she wasn't certain she'd ever be.
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 8:01 pm
Seeing his mother cry made a part of him deep down inside ache - a feeling he never fully experienced - and he decided that he didn't like it at all. It hurt him, too, and nuzzled his mom lightly while she wept, allowing the moment to pass, saying nothing until her voice murmured slowly out of the white fluff that was his pelt.
"I didn't want to leave you - I guess I'm just a big mother's boy." He stated, giving her a little smile, trying to make her feel a little better. Frowning a bit afterwards though, he shook his head, looking behind him, expecting one of the many children she had to skulk out from the darkness. When they didn't, he turned to her.
"I was the only one - I guess you can say that I just got horrendously lost, in comparison to them. I'm sure they all made it back to the mountain in time. Safely, of course."
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Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2015 6:23 pm
It was a comfort to have Mot here, Tseva decided. Oh yes, she loved Avahk, but her mate could never truly understand what it was like to live in a pride so far from the one you'd been born and raised in. Mot had to understand these things simply by virtue of who he is, though she felt no need to actually discuss the sense of dislocation with him.
"Well, I am glad you're here," the black lioness told her son, giving him another nuzzle. Her brown eyes were still damp, but that didn't stop her from smiling wickedly at the boy.
"So, are you ready to meet your father? And your youngest brothers and sisters?"
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