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 Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 8:49 pm
Kizuka flopped down upon the dirt of the cave they'd called home for moons now. Pretty soon, for better or worse, it wouldn't be any longer. For a moment Kizuka thought she might be sad to leave it, but that passed rather quickly. No, regardless of where they were she'd be much happier than in this place; struggling to survive and fighting with unpleasant memories. Sure, there were some things that had happened here that she'd never regret but....
The lioness lifted her head to stare out into the growing darkness. Kimaji still hadn't shown up yet. Her brow furrowed slightly, in either annoyance or worry. Likely the latter. Kizuka got to her feet and padded to the entrance of the cave, staring out into the forest. She sat down again, but wasn't far from getting up to go look for her wayward young. Kimaji was getting so old now, she wanted to give her enough freedom and space for a youngling, but that didn't stop Kizuka from worrying. Especially considering how things were, recently. It would be better when they were traveling again... away from this place.
Her heart sunk a little; would she be able to come home again?
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 8:56 pm
Kimaji ran through the diminished lands around her, knowing that she had to get to the cave as soon as possible. Mommy was going to be upset with her for being out so late; that was one of the reasons she was moving so quickly. The other reason was that she could see the light was fading, and she didn't want to get lost in this place. She may have been here since she was a small cub, but she still didn't know enough about the lands to find her way back. There was no way she wanted to get lost out here; there was no telling what she'd find.
But she needn't have worried, for she soon realized that she hadn't wandered as far as she originally thought. She was starting to recognize the trees, and soon she saw the cave and Mommy waiting for her. Yes, she was getting too old to call her "Mommy", but old habits died hard.
"Mommy, I'm back! Did'ja miss me?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2006 9:26 pm
Kizuka's tense shoulders eased at the sight of her white and tan love coming upon the cave. She thanked the Storm King that Kimaji's good nature hadn't been damaged by any of the harships they had here, and that she still called Kiz 'mommy' was a great source of joy to her mother. ...And she'd gotten so big. Kizuka hadn't realized it before, but, though somewhat small for her age, Kimaji had really grown from the cub that had entered these lands with her.
The elder lioness stood to rub the side of her muzzle against Kimaji's in greeting as the juveile reached the cave. She continued the affectionate rub down to their shoulders, then pulled away slightly, "Did you have fun today, Maji-kaji?"
It was a filler question, really, and Kizuka moved back into the cave to settle herself against one wall. She stretched her back out, no longer noticing the places where her bones were somewhat visible beneath her skin. A small part of her mind worried that Kimaji's undersized stature was due to malnutrition, but the girl didn't seem to be suffering ay other way... at least, visibly.
Kizuka patted the ground next to her, offering the spot to Kimaji if she pleased to take it. Yawning slightly, Kizuka looked out the cave a moment more as she waited for Kimaji to fill her in on the day.
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Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:49 am
"Yeah, I had lots of fun!" Kimaji said. "There's so many places to explore here; I just wish Sevati was here." She hadn't seen her friend in a long time; she was starting to suspect the worst, that Sevati had left the Mistweaver lands for good. "I miss Sevati; I want to play hide-and-seek with her again. I just hope that she's happy, wherever she is. But I can understand why she left."
Kimaji wandered over to Mommy's side and sat down, a bit distressed by these thoughts, but hiding as best as she could. It was only this and Daddy's departure that truly upset her, though, and being by Mommy's side took some of those sad things away. Still, some questions remained in her mind that she wanted answered. "I don't understand why Daddy's gone, though. I thought cubs always had a Mommy and a Daddy to take care of them."
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Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 1:57 pm
Sevati? Kiz's ears perked up. She hadn't known Kimaji had met anyone, thought it seemed like something Kimaji would have mentioned before. Had she been overlooking her? Worried by that thought, Kizuka draped a paw over her daughter's shoulders and began to groom the back of her neck. When Triv came up, her tongue stopped and ears laid back.
Still it was no surprise that Kimaji would wonder, after all he hadn't bothered to say a word to them about it. Kizuka should have addressed this sooner. Her honey-golden eyes looked Kimaji over before she sighed and licked a few times under the girl's ear. "Your Daddy... I honestly don't know why he left, Maji. He didn't tell me. He did leave, though, and.. we need to accept that he made that choice."
Mentally she bristled at the thought, for her feelings for Triv had bittered and turned to hate as the days had gone by. It wasn't that he'd left--if he wanted to she wouldn't have stopped him, it was the way he'd left that hurt. Abandoning them--especially Kimaji--without the slightest hint as to why was beyond unforgivable. There was another, however...
".. unfortunatly, my love, not all cubs have fathers... not all cubs have mommies... sometimes things... happen to one of the parents or between the parents that cause them to not be there. Hm.. i'm not explaining this right." She frowned at herself, wondering what it was that was missing. Then it hit her. "... mm... "
Kizuka looked down at her 'cub'... who wasn't a cub anymore. Kimaji was a young adult. Soon, she'd be of age to go off on her own and have... The elder lioness paled slightly at the thought of grandcubs. That her daughter was this age already was also somewhat disturbing! Had time gone by so quickly?
Shaking off the disturbing thought that she was getting old, Kizuka realized it was about time that she had this discussion with her daughter for larger reasons that Triv'an's departure. "Maji, I haven't told you where cubs come from, have I?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2006 4:49 pm
Kimaji sighed. "It's hard to accept that. He should be here, with the Storm King protecting him like he protects us."
She listened intently to what her Mommy had to say, eyes widening as she considered the fact that not all cubs had daddies and mommies. She couldn't imagine life without either, even though she had been without Daddy for some time. Before, she had just assumed that Daddy would one day return, just as they had returned to the Mistweaver lands what seemed like ages ago.
Kimaji blinked in surprise at her mother's last question, and giggled. "Silly Mommy, cubs come from the Storm King!" Though she had grown older, Kimaji was still in many ways a naive cub. In the future, it was likely that she'd be thankful for the conversation that appeared to be coming. She was, after all, getting bigger, and she needed to know certain things that would face her as she grew even more.
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Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 4:51 pm
Kizuka made a soft noise at her daughters assumption. She couldn't help but be amused; the girl had learned her religion very well, and the faith as as unshakeable as Kizuka's own.. but there were a few things she would, unfortunatly, need to know. Kimaji had to understand that not everything was governed... Kizuka's thoughts came to a halt as she considered how to phrase that.
"Kimaji," Kizuka began after another moment's thought. "Darling... The Storm King does protect us, yes.. but do you remember what I told you about his conditions?"
"We must first do everything we can to protect ourselves." Kizuka supplied a second later. "The Storm King is a very powerful being, and we can't take up all of his time. We were given free will so that we would understand how to take care of ourselves. If we try our hardest to feed ourselves and protect ourselves, he'll make up for what we can't provide. But, if we're lazy and lay about expecting him to do everything, then he will not give us any of his valued time or power."
Afraid she might have pushed that a little far, Kizuka licked under her daughter's ear and added, softly, "The Storm King loves us, and wants to help us... but he cannot be taken for granted. Its ungrateful of us to expect things of him and give nothing of ourselves in return."
That said, she leaned back a little on her shoulder, "As for cubs coming from the Storm King..." Kizuka couldn't help her lips twitching into a smile at that. That thought was horribly dirty, even though Kimaji hadn't a clue what she'd implied, "That is... sort of like his protection. Our spirits came from him, yes.. but the body is what we have to supply for him to give us the spirits. So, when a Mommy and Daddy decide they want to have cubs, do you know what they do to make the bodies?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:52 am
"Oh, I'd never want to be lazy, Mommy!" Kimaji said. "I want to grow up and be the best help possible. I want to learn how to hunt well so that I can be a good lioness and give something in return to the Storm King." The thought of being otherwise scared Kimaji; she would not choose to be a poor servant of the Storm King. Being raised on stories of old had made her desire to be just like the characters in the tales. Only this time she wanted a happy ending.
Kimaji listened quietly to her mother's lecture on cubs, tilting her head slightly in confusion. Still, this seemed like something she needed to know, if one day she was going to be a Mommy herself. "There's something special a Mommy and Daddy need to do?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 12:34 pm
Kizuka's heart swelled with a good deal of pride in her daughter. She knew, in that moment, that Kimaji had been raised well. Worries soothed for the moment, Kizuka turned back to the awkward, if vaguely amusing, task at hand. "Yes, there is a certain.. mm.. Ritual that mommies and daddies do. Now, this ritual doesn't work every time. Sometimes it can take moons of trying for the ritual to work, since you can't perform it more than.. ah... twice in a row."
There was a slight pause. This was hard to say with a straight face, and she wondered how she was still so immature as all that. Clearing her throat with a soft cough, she considered how to phrase this next part before she said anything. "Now, keep in mind that this ritual is VERY special, and shouldn't be done when it isn't wise to do it. Your father and I didn't really... well, to be honest, love, we didn't know what we were doing when it happened."
She leaned in to nuzzle Kimaji's cheek, "We were blessed with you, so I'm not sad that it happened. You gave us strength to go on and a reason to find home again.. but, for instance, no one should ever perform this ritual when their home is like... well, like this." Kizuka raised a paw to gesture towards the darkness outside, indicating the decrepid state of the land. "The reason is.. well, this ritual creates the bodies for the cubs inside the female's body. That is why there is a difference between males and females. The female has a special place inside of her that can make new bodies for cubs, and the male is strong to protect her and provide food for her while she's making these bodies. This state is called 'pregnancy' and your body will need a lot more food than normal if you become pregnant."
"So, of course, when there isn't much food to go around for normal lions and lionesses, taking care of a pregnant lioness would be impossible. The bodies would die, and the lioness would get sick. So you must always make sure you and your mate can support your pregnancy and the new cubs when they're ready."
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Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 3:08 pm
Kimaji was very confused by all of this talk of rituals and cub bodies, but she listened as best as she could. After all, this was clearly a very important ritual; it had made her, and probably Mommy and Daddy too. It was probably a good thing that you couldn't perform it so often; as much as it would be fun to have brothers and sisters, the world didn't need that many.
Mommy and Daddy didn't know what they were doing? But that could be bad; she didn't know what this ritual was, and she didn't want to do it haphazardly. She didn't want to be a mommy yet; she was a cub still, even though she was getting taller. Besides, there weren't any daddies around, and the land...well, it wasn't exactly teeming with food.
"How will I know what the ritual is?" Kimaji asked. "What should I do if the time is right and I've found a daddy for my cubs?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 9:29 pm
This was the part that Kizuka was a little afraid of. She coughed lightly and took a moment to think. How do you explain this to someone so innocent? Well.. pure honesty was probably the best idea--especially with this. Collecting herself, Kizuka faced her daughter again. "well.. when two lions are ready for cubs, and have a place to raise them....."
"... and that is how cubs are born," The female finally concluded after a rather slow, painstakingly clear explanation. At first it was awkward, but she eased into it--really, it wasn't all that bad. She simply hoped Kimaji would take it alright, it didn't seem to be something that she would be able to grasp the first time around. As she waited, Kizuka took to grooming the top of Kimaji's head.
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Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 10:43 am
Well, it sounded quite silly, and more than a bit wierd. Kimaji knew now why it was so important for things to be special; if it wasn't, THAT would be even more wierd and awkward.
"Wow," she said quietly. "I'm glad that won't be happening to me for a long time, if ever."
The growing lioness purred softly as her mother started grooming her. This was the life that she wanted to continue leading; just her, her mother, and the lands of her mother's birth. If anything now, she had a great deal more respect for her mother, for she was the one who had to go through the great trial to produce her.
"I'm glad you decided to be my Mommy," Kimaji said.
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Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 12:03 pm
The relief her mother felt at her first statement was unmeasurable. Chuckling lightly at her own reaction, Kizuka continued to groom her as Kimaji said her peice. It was nice to be able to speak to your daughter in an open way, without having to lie to her about anything, Kizuka decided. Blinking back a few tears that Kimaji fortunatly couldn't see, she smiled and added the best purr she could make up to Kimaji's.. of course, adult lioness couldn't purr, at least very well, but she could try. "I'm glad, too, baby."
Nibbling Kimaji's ears, she back trailed a little in thought. THere were still a few things they had to talk over. "Maji-kaji... there's something I haven't told you." With a soft sigh, Kizuka let go of her daughter's ear and looked her in the eye. "Ushu.. well... He and I had a little.... misunderstanding, and he left us for a little while.. I think he believes I wanted him to go... So, I want us to follow him, okay? We're going to come back here.. but what do you say? Should we try and bring Ushu home?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 6:45 pm
Something Mommy hadn't told her? The not-quite-a-cub blinked in surprise. Surely her Mommy had told her a lot of things in this unusual lesson; Kimaji didn't know what else there could possibly be to tell.
The explanation was even stranger. "Ushu's...gone?" Ushu had been nice to her and Mommy, and now he was gone? Were all boys just creatures who left like silly people? And the thought of leaving here...leaving home...was a frightening thing. Kimaji didn't remember much about the world beyond these lands, but she did know that Mommy and Daddy were always talking about danger and telling her to hide. Why did Daddy and Ushu go back there?
"Let's bring Ushu back," Kimaji said. "'Cause the Storm King won't protect him unless we do, right?" And maybe she'd see Daddy again too! The chance was slim, but Kimaji was a lioness of hope.
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Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 12:33 pm
Kizuka couldn't help the slightly goofy grin etched upon her maw. Shaking it off, the lioness gave a light chuckle and nodded. "Yes, that's right, and we want Ushu protected, don't we?" It was a retorical question and Kizuka put her mind more into the cleaning of her daughter.
So many things were happening at once, it seemed. For the longest time there had been nothing but the slowly dying forest... and now her old pride was alive, her daughter practically grown, and the man she loved off doing the Gods knew what. Kizuka gave a snort at the irony.
"Alright, then." She spoke to herself that first time, lifting her head when Kimaji's bath was complete, "tomorrow you and I will go to find Ushu.. then we'll come back as soon as possible." It seemed decided, and Kizuka settled down to sleep.
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