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 Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 10:03 am
Zap kept up the fight a moment after Makaa had stopped. That meant she could say she won, right? "It sounds like your family is lots like mine. I've got two sisters, but one's all grown up. The other is older than me too. And three big brothers and two little ones! Wakia's grown up too though. I think my big sister just had cubs too."
"You got hurt?" Zap was on her feet in a moment, circling round to inspect Makaa's neck. "Let me see! What if you'd gotten sand in it from us playing? I'd feel bad if it got dirty 'cause of me."
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 10:21 am
Makaa rolled a bit so that she could inspect the healed-over wound. It was a little puffy and tender 'cause it hadn't completely healed yet, but enough so that no sand could get in and make him sick.
"Mine's a bit bigger than that. I've got eight older brothers and sisters who're all grown up, some with cubs of their own. And then I'm the second born of my litter, with an older brother and two younger brothers and three younger sisters. But my brother Sinbad's kids sleep in the same den, so it feels like I've got two more brothers and two more sisters," he explained. The Safi royal family really was huge.
"And you really shouldn't fuss. It's fine," he added, referring the bite.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 10:37 am
Zao inspected the wound closely. Thankfully it was healing, and clean. It looked like it'd been nasty at the time though. There was little dirt in the area, nothing dangerous, but she couldn't help herself. Just a little lick to clan it...
"You've got a big family...do you look like any of them? I only look like my brother, Ngoma, really. But I've got Momma's marks here." She held up her front paws, showing off the strange red marks circling them.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 10:54 am
"I look mostly like... Well, my mother's red like me and has legs like mine and a big mark on her face like mine, only on all of her legs and with black where I'm white, and white where I'm black," Makaa explained, gesturing to where his front legs were white and black respectively. He didn't really mind her giving him the lick, in fact he thought it was quite thoughtful of her, even though it wasn't necessary. His eyes closed and he hummed a bit in though before continuing.
"My dad has a band between his eyes, though, like mine. I look mostly like them. My brothers and sisters all look really different," he finished with a little shrug, his head on his paws and body relaxed, though he was alert as a cub his age could be.
"Your marks look cool. More interesting than mine. A number of my older brothers and sisters have really intricate marks."
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 11:16 am
Zap was delighted when Makka said he liked her marks. She did too! they were her gift from Momma, and they were special. Seeing him relax, she couldn't help herself, and she flopped on top of him, sprawling happily.
"I like yours. You're a whole different color, really. Rap and Lua and the most red brothers of mine, and they're really orange, not red. But I like red. It's nicer than orange...I like other colors too, not just the good ones."
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:04 pm
Makaa huffed a bit when she flopped on him, but he didn't move to dislodge her.
"Most of my older brothers and sisters are either red or orange. But I have two sisters that are mostly white and black," he replied when she brought up what her family looked like. He smiled at her being able to admit that she liked many colors, just like he. Though he couldn't admit his fancy for colors, it still pleased him that he had found a friend who shared his opinions.
"I'd rather be orange, like my father, but I don't mind my colors," he paused there to sigh a bit. "And, much as I hate to admit it, the white doesn't look bad on you."
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:51 pm
Makaa was surprisingly comfy, for a 'warrior'. You'd think he'd be all hard and sharp, but no. Still a cub, he was nothing much more than a pillow. "Both my sisters are orange and black. I look really different from them. I don't really see my big-big brother a lot."
She paused a moment, almost nibbling his ear. What about Him? Her dearest Sun-Brother...what would Makaa say if he knew one of her brothers was so special? She was still certain that, although different, Sun-Brother was special, and was fine enough. The pride only liked the good colors, but he had those in his mane! They just weren't on his body, right? And gold wasn't that different from white or orange, right?
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 1:39 pm
Makaa flicked his other ear when Zapa nibbled his ear a bit. He sighed a bit and wiggled his ear in her mouth.
"My father said I should let you give me hugs if you really want to," he muttered a bit, his tail swishing back and forth in the sand.
"I still don't think I'll quite understand the whole 'girls and snuggling' thing, but I guess I can get used to it if it makes you happy," he added, doing his best to glance up at her.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 2:05 pm
Zap mmm'd and tugged that wiggly ear a few more times. "Well...I like to hug, but if you don't like it I won't." She barely registered the conversation. She was still thinking about her Sun-Brother, and wondering.
"Hey Makaa? What would you do if one of your siblings...your favorite one, whichever that is...what if they weren't a good color? Like they were parts good color, but mostly a not-good one? Not like green though. Just a different version of a good color?" She wouldn't tell him about Sub-Brother just yet, she decided. Wait and see what he said. She hoped he'd say he would still love them, regardless.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 4:00 pm
Makaa thought about her question for a long while. It seemed like a question his father would ask... In fact it was exactly a question his father would ask.
"If Para... If my sister had been born a wrong color... And lived long enough for me to know her... I'd still protect her. I'm her big brother after all, that's what I'm supposed to do. If I had to, I'd hide her away, even from my own family," he finally decided, his words whispered in hard tone. No matter what his siblings did or looked like, they were still family. And deep down, though he was loath to use the words, he still loved them.
"And it's not... uncomfortable or anything. It just doesn't seem like something a male should be doing, I guess. Too cuddly. Males, much less warriors, aren't supposed to be cuddly," he added with a small shrug.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 6:53 pm
Zap pondered what Makaa said. He would like her regardless, and that gave her hope...but parts of his words had caused her to slowly stiffen, alert and distressed. "Hide her...why would you have to? And what do you mean 'if she had lived'?" This was no time to talk hugs, even for someone as cuddly as she was. Something big was hidden here, she knew it. Why did he think his sister wouldn't have lived? What if...what about her own brother?
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:17 pm
Makaa sighed and shook his head.
"I don't know, Zapa. You don't know my family. My brothers and sisters... they're not as nice as I am. They're hard, cold. I have no idea what they would do to a member of the royal family born as an... I am a member of the royal family of the Safi, Zapa. My sister is queen. If one of us was born as a low, undesirable color... They might be outcast... Or worse," he sighed. He was certain that his father would not let any of his family be hurt or anything like that, however, he wasn't sure all of his siblings would approve.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:14 pm
Zap curled closer to Makaa. She knew he was a lord, was special somehow, but what made him held to different standards from other cubs? "Outcast..." She shuddered, huddling on top of her friend.
She knew then. What had happened to her brother. The one that looked like the sun. They'd taken him. Momma must have gone to get him back! She knew, even though she never showed it openly, that Momma had loved Sun-Brother. She surely was bringing him home.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:30 pm
"I've never heard of it happening before, but I can imagine that might happen to one of us. I think any other pridemembers would become slaves, if they weren't hidden away before another finds out," Makaa replied and rolled over so that he could really look at her, his eyes slightly narrowed, thoughtful.
"Why do you ask, Zapa? You're white, but that's not too bad. And if anyone says otherwise, you come to me, okay?" he told her, watching, wondering why she would be asking him that sort of question.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 10:10 pm
Zap couldn't look at Makaa. Become slaves? Like the poor cut-up lions she'd seen hanging about the dens, being yelled at and harassed? The idea that it could happen to her brother...Suddenly she hoped Momma had taken him to hide him, and not that she'd bring him back. Maybe soon they could all go where he was, and be safe and happy together. Ah, if only she knew.
"Not me." She managed to whisper finally. "My..." Her eyes darted to Makaa. "I'll be alright. Don't worry. I'll come to you if..." She wanted to tell him, felt she should...but she just couldn't. She had to protect her brother.
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