With help from Fuu and Selene, Kimondo was feeling somewhat better about the political flub from earlier in her trip and she was ready to go back, apologize and smooth things over. As complicated as it was from her own side as well, it wasn't the time or place to remark as she had.. she would find a way to fix it. But for now, there was something more important she wanted to do, after offering Selene her birthright there was only one thing left.
Only a few lions had accompanied her to the Central House to meet with the Empress, Emperor and the hiding Duke and Duchess from the West.. and among them were a few very important guests.
She was very well prepared to put her foot in her mouth again but this was something she desperately wanted to offer to her friends. It had been so hard to leave Liuhe behind but he had his family to think about, and his happily ever after had been much neater than the others.
We would love to meet them!
A long-planned surprise.. but not one she could force on either side. After Selene and Fuu finished comforting and advising her, she had discussed her plan - with her, she had brought three of their grandchildren. All three had been uniquely impacted by Shangyue's cruelty and she worried about the isolating effect it could have. Kimondo's part was much less personal and it weighed heavily on her, but she had her parents and beloved sister to turn to. Nketa and Antara had each other, and Kamia tried so hard, but all three had been separated for so long.. she had no reason to believe it would be any better, grandparents and grandchildren had been apart even longer but it was different. This whole place was different.
She was making a lot of assumptions, so she had to be upfront about everything.
Standing before Nketa and Antara, she wondered if they had figured out why she had invited them along yet, if they guessed at the truth now. Her meaningful stare as she searched for the words to explain herself must have been a clear sign that this was it, finally.
"I'm going to tell you both a secret," she said, "There are only four lions in the pride who know this: Meshach, myself, my mother and yours. I need your word that you will respect the wishes of those involved and not reveal their secret without just cause."
It was hard to forbid the idea of tattling on the supposedly-fallen Lord & Lady of the Mwezi'Johari.. the more lions who knew, the more likely it was to spread and honestly, she didn't know quite how to read the twins on subjects like this and only hoped it would be treated as happy news and not a betrayal.
"We came here so I could talk to Duke Zhong Chao and Duchess Zhong Tiao of the West House," she explained, "They're living in the Center with the Empress while we are visiting in their home because they don't want to be recognized. Your grandparents are alive. Princess Selene and Lord Fuu survived Shangyue's attack and they've been living here, in the Tianxia."
nessiaing
mouselet
(( Finally made this! Surprise! xD I'm working under the assumption that neither of the girls are very close to mom. Kamia made some difficult [and arguably bad] decisions that affected their family structure, she'd be an easy scapegoat from a young age and that can be really hard to get over sooo.. Kimondo is hoping this will help them in some way. I won't be offended if it doesn't ;3 I know IC isn't OOC, no obligation to react in any way that is not true to your character.
(I'm almost expecting blank stares -cough-)))
