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 Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:46 pm
She stared at Habu intently, unsure of how to react to his uncertaintly. It made her uneasy. She fidgeted with her tail a little, twitching it, her light blue eyes fixed on his two-toned ones. He looked like one of her kids for a moment, one of their kids, just after having done something they know darn well they shouldn't've. If the situation hadn't become so tense, she might've giggled. The kids looked so much like him when he looked like that. It was adorable, but scary at the same time, considering why they looked so similar.
It took a moment or two for the two blurted statements to really, really sink in. "You..." She looked away from him for a moment, down at her pink toes. He had other babies. His babies, their babies, her babies... they weren't it. There were more. Had he... cared for them? Like hers? Had he cared for their mother? She looked back up at him sharply, harshly. "How? When? Who?" Her voice had lost it's softness from before, but it hadn't really reached the typical Intombi-moody-tone. Instead, it was serious. Much too serious for a lioness who was so care-free and airy.
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 8:08 pm
Habu could have cowered under Intombi's stare as she waited for what he said. And when she simply stared once he said it, he could have made a run for it if it meant avoiding hearing her response, hearing the disappointment.. he was surprised when she looked back sharply and questioned him harshly. Intombi was never serious. This was unusual, but more than that it made him feel horrible.
"W-when my visions were going crazy and I wasn't getting any sleep," he stammered, trying to keep a steady voice as he explained what had been explained to him. He still had no true memory of any of it, but he trusted his mother- he had no reason to doubt her, and he had seen three of the cubs in visions before.
"I don't even remember it, a lioness with some kind of score to settle with my mother came here," Habu hesitated here, not sure how to fill in the blanks at this particular part of the story, "I would never do something like that, I don't remember it at all. I was nearly out of my mind by the time my visions calmed.. My mother knows, though, she's met one.. dealt with their mother.."
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Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 3:01 pm
Intombi let him spill out his story, not saying a single word, not even making a sound. She didn't nod her head or give any sort of hint that she was comprehending his explanation. She continued to stare at him with narrow slits for eyes, and remained silent even when he trailed off about his mother. Before she said anything, she wanted to have completely reined in her thoughts, which were currently running around her brain like zebra from a big cat. There were so few things in life the lioness took seriously that when something came around that required real consideration, she didn't want to be too quick and emotional about it.
So, she thought, his mother knew about all of this. And she didn't. Intombi wasn't at all sure what to think of that, but she knew she didn't like it. That, however, wasn't what was bothering her the most here. She had been around when his visions were driving him insane. Not as around as she had been after, of course, but she still had been in the Pridelands. Even though she hadn't even moved into his den at that point, she was still miffed that he had gone and had a fling when she was around. She could've comforted him. After all of that silence, she huffed. "How long have you known about this?" She was trying her very best not to freak out.
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Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 4:03 pm
Intombi's stare and complete silence wasn't helping Habu's confidence as he tried to stammer through an explanation. He knew the absolute honest truth wasn't going to do him any good here- it was only that he had absolutely no recollection of this and was believing his mother fully and completely. He knew he'd had visions about these cubs, though. He'd recognized them as family. And if his mother had seen them, had spoken with them.. she knew. And they were coming this way.
"H-how long?" he repeated, jumping immediately to his own defense at a question he finally knew the answer to, "I just found out. My mother came and told me, she couldn't stay, she never does now. One of them- one is lost, she said she would go and find her."
He stopped here, hesitating as he considered revealing the entirety of the story to her. He looked absolutely defeated at this point, feeling he'd as soon as lost Intombi now. He had more cubs, this information was harmful to their relationship- but he couldn't blame them, he couldn't..
"There are six of them," he added finally.
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:53 pm
A flash of fierce annoyance danced in her glare; her emotions were beginning to peak through. It annoyed her that this whole conversation was taking place. It annoyed her that he dared to defend himself. It annoyed her that he had to defend himself. It annoyed her that his mother was in this story. It annoyed her that his mother was going to go find the lost child. It all annoyed her. Oddly enough, none of it made her truely angry. She was severely ticked off, that was for certain, but she wasn't bubbling over with rage. Still, though, she was quite annoyed. She huffed again at his defense.
"SIX?!" Intombi lost her harsh stare, replaced it with surprise. There she had thought her litter of eight was ridiculously large and that the perfect litter was one or two, and Habu had had a previous litter of six. Why, that made fourteen babies! Of course, they weren't really babies anymore, but still! Her jaw hung loosely from her skull as she continued to stare. She didn't even know what to think. It took her a second or two to regain her annoyance and remember the situation. "How could you have just found out about them, Habu? They're your kids, for goodness sake!" She didn't want to think he was lying to her, but she couldn't help it. Didn't know about these cubs, ha! If she had more cubs, she'd most certainly know! And, Habu would know, too, for that matter!
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 8:05 pm
Watching Intombi, looking completely hopeless, he could almost feel her annoyance, feel the yelling he imagined she was dying to do. He wasn't sure if he'd feel better or worse if she did yell, but he was willing to believe he was absolutely sure he wasn't really at fault here. Whatever happened, he couldn't remember. If he'd been thinking, he wouldn't have been stupid enough to let it happen. He already felt stupid. Guilt was fast catching up, too.
He flinched when she repeated six, not realizing that her tone had changed slightly. It came right back, though, when she asked how it was possible not to know about six cubs. Now he could have laughed, had it been a normal conversation or gossip about someone else. He at least relaxed and perked up a bit, though he was still submissive.
"How?" he repeated carefully, "I don't even remember meeting her, but that was the only time. I don't get pregnant.. I didn't know you were until after you left."
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 8:08 pm
Intombi stopped for a moment to mull that bit of information over. Yes, she supposed, he wouldn't know about cubs unless he saw them. It was such a strange idea to her, since she'd never really given it thought before. After all, she'd never come in contact with a male who didn't know about a litter of cubs. Or at least... as far as she knew she hadn't. Did that mean that her own father didn't know she existed? Perhaps. She really didn't care about that much, though. It was just an interesting thing to think about.
She stared at Habu hard for a few more moments, thinking it all over. She had no intention of walking away, of course. She never did. It was just... well, she was really annoyed. And she was jealous, very very jealous. Having such a huge brood of kids to bring up had been her special little thing to share with Habu. Despite their somewhat strained relationship and her little disappearing act when the cubs were first born, the experience had been something she thought of as a unique and very special thing that was particular to her and Habu and something that prooved how good of a choice she had made in coming back. Now, however, their litter had just lost some of its luster. Sure, she loved them all more than she could even comprehend, and she loved that they were Habu's children, but the fact that they weren't his ONLY children put a slight damper on the situation. Even if they were the only children he had really cared for.
"I don't know about this..." She looked away from Habu and down to her pink toes. "It's just... weird. I don't like it." She looked back up at him, having trouble putting her jealousy and annoyance into real words. And. on top of it, having trouble figuring out why she was feeling that way.
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 9:05 pm
At this point, Habu didn't know or care what he personally thought anymore. He hated Amadet for the trouble caused, even though he couldn't say he remembered her exactly.. and not just for the trouble he caused him, but for Intombi, for those cubs. It didn't matter what he thought about it, if they were his cubs he couldn't just ignore them. It wasn't their fault, and they obviously wanted to find him, meet him, talk to him..
The only problem was trying to explain that to Intombi. He loved her, despite everything and being completely unsure about how she felt about him exactly.. and she was rather naive and always had interesting responses to things.
"I don't like it either," he mumbled, but sighed and continued more confidently, more seriously. There was a point he was getting to, he was willing to risk losing Intombi for them and he had never even met them. He didn't want to lose Intombi, but he couldn't bring himself to blame anyone but Amadet.. and himself.
"I can't just pretend they don't exist," Habu said finally, somberly, "It's not their fault. They're coming here to meet me, see for themselves. I couldn't turn them away when they come, it won't be easy to explain to the kids but .. they're family." He didn't know if he should cower or not, now. He had no idea if the bunch coming to visit would want to stay or not, but he assumed for now that it was only a visit.
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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 7:35 pm
In her time with Habu, both before and after the cubs arrived, Intombi had learned a lot about family. She had started life with a very slim concept of what it meant to have family ties. She'd left her mother and brother at a young age to start her own life, after all. Through a few meetings with friends who had large close families however, and through living with Habu and Riko for what seemed like forever ago now, she had slowly begun to understand the type of love that two people who are considered family share. She'd formed family bonds, even. Then, with her cubs, she'd learned what it meant to put your own life behind that of one of your own blood. So, Intombi had grown to respect and enjoy tight bonds like these, even though she didn't have any with her birth family.
"No," she said carefully, looking down as if searching for words on the ground in front of her. "It's not their fault." If there was one single thing in this conversation she had a complete understanding for, it was that concept. After giving birth to eight cubs and living a frazzled short while without help, she had quickly learned that her stress was not their fault, and that she had to do what was best for them. "And they are family." She looked back up at Habu, held his gaze firmly. Habu's family, she thought. The very idea was laced with that annoyance and jealousy, but she tried her best not to let it get the best of her, even if it still blazed in her eyes. This litter, though, was also her own babies' family. And so, she thought, they must be hers as well. Or at least, indirectly. "You - we won't turn them away." She sighed a little, still annoyed, but it was decided. Her feelings about this were overshadowed by the family bond.
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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 8:10 pm
Wahabu was surprised when Intombi agreed with him, especially because he expected to be disagreed with as soon as he heard the word 'no'. At the same time, though, her commentary did not let him off the hook so he wanted to jump up.. but couldn't. When she continued, he was tense until she said a magical word that made everything really seem like it would be OK. Uneasy and difficult, but still OK.
We.
He got up, and took a hesitant step forward. He had a right to be grateful, to thank her. She wanted to stay, she was going to stay despite this, she was accepting unexpected family.. and he really just wanted to lean on someone after all of this sudden stress. Taking the chance, he stepped closer to his mate and nuzzled against her, resting his head by hers.
"Thank you."
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Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 5:49 pm
If Intombi could rank her mood for cuddling right now from one to ten, she'd be at about a four. Of course, she was always willing to nuzzle up or be cutesy since it was simply her nature, but there were moments when she was miffed about something (like now) and she wasn't as keen on the idea as usual. However, when Habu cautiously moved towards her, she couldn't deny him. He was so fragile looking, she just felt like patting him on the back and telling him it was alright. Of course, she was still annoyed. So she stopped short of doing that. She did, however, nuzzle back and her eyes warmed considerabley. She leaned against him, took a deep breath of his scent and sighed. "Mhmm."
After a while of simple silence, she spoke, but didn't pull away. "Are you gunna tell the kids?" She couldn't decide herself if it would be neccesary. She did feel like they had the right to know that they had a bunch of half-siblings out there, though.
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Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2008 9:56 pm
Habu knew very well he was taking a risk in clinging to Intombi, but he couldn't help it. It was almost as if he couldn't consciously control it anymore, though he could- and would- if she made him get away. He was relieved when she returned the nuzzle and leaned into him, immediately relaxing his tense muscles. There was something about being close, about knowing she hadn't given up on him.. he really just needed a hug.
He sighed when she brought up a very good question.
"We'll have to," he mumbled, not wanting to move but pulling back his head a bit to look at her, "It'd be better to tell them directly, wouldn't it? Before anyone shows up.."
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 7:37 pm
"Yes..." She looked at her toes, thinking. Would it be better to tell them all together? In groups? Individually? They were adults, after all. Individuals. It seemed like the best route would be to tell each of them one on one, but there were eight of them and not all of them were around much anymore. It'd take a while to track them all down and have the conversation they all deserved without making it seem rushed. It would be a slight pain, but they deserved it, she thought. After all, learning that you have six siblings you never knew about could bring out a range of emotions depending on which of her kids she was talking to.
"I think we should tell them each the story. Alone." She looked back up at Habu, having decided what she thought was the best route. "Do... you want to do it all? Or do you want me to take some of them?" She didn't know if it was the sort of think Habu felt a duty to tell, or if he wouldn't mind having some of the load taken off his shoulders. She wasn't completely comfortable with talking about it with her kids, but she'd do it to help him out.
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Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 7:47 pm
Not about to argue with anything Intombi said, he nodded slowly and thought about it. His ears tilted back when he realized just what telling all the kids would mean. He already worried what they thought of him, he didn't want to make it worse.. and of course, he guessed Intombi would need time to get used to it herself so she wouldn't want to tell any of them herself.. but.. they would come to her, he knew that. Eventually someone would ask her what she thought.
"I'll tell them," he said, "But I imagine they'll want to know how you feel, some perhaps before even deciding how they feel." He could think of at least one particular.. shadow of Intombi who would most likely do it. They were grown up, they were independent.. they didn't have to worry about the situation, but they'd know Intombi did. Maybe.
He sighed as he realized just how unpredictable their family was. It always had been, it could have been yesterday that the runaway Intombi returned with eight cubs.
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Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2008 11:02 am
Intombi smiled warmly at her mate and nodded. Yes, she supposed, it would be best if he was the one to tell them. It was only right, really. Gave him his chance to defend himself. Not that she believed any of their children would judge him by it harshly, but it was just the sort of thing that a defense could be needed for. "Yeah, well... If they need me, I'll be around." She nodded, mostly to herself this time, and made mental plans to be around the den all day. She didn't actually have anything in particular to do with herself, but she would've gone on a walk or perhaps hunt down a rodent or do something to entertain herself. Now, however, she'd just stick around here so as to be easy to find. Maybe clean up a bit.
After making that decision, she leaned into Habu and sighed. No, she wasn't really happy with this, but it seemed to matter less and less with every second. There was no way to change it. They might as well settle down and just wait for the other kids to arrive. "This sure will be one interesting family meeting..."
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