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 Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2007 2:28 pm
Snuggling into Rahima's leg the little cub sighed quietly, somewhat contented now that he wasn't all alone. He wondered, for but a moment, why his Momma had never cuddled him like this, but forgot it quite quickly. "Okay. Can we wait and play outside the den though? I don't really like it in here..." Chuju mumbled the last little bit, one ear pinning back against his scalp, the other swivelling to listen for things that were probably not there.
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:49 pm
"Sure. What would you like to play?"
It had been a while since she'd held her own cubs close and one had never let her in the first place. Nyekundu would have rather insulted her than snuggled up to her like this little one. It was kind of satisfying, even if it was probably, she thought, worry for his mother that had Chuju showing a stranger such affection.
She left go and padded out of the cave, turning to smile at the yellow youngster.
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 2:49 pm
Following Rahima out of the den Chuju grinned to himself, batting at her tail as they went. "I don't know. We could play taaag, but you're prob'ly lots faster than me." The last few syllables were not negation of his suggestion however, simply an admonition that he would probably lose any games of tag against the adult lioness.
It didn't bother him of course. It was a nice change just to have somebody else to play with that wasn't a figment of his imagination, real as they seemed at times.
Once back out in the open Chuju rolled onto his back, enjoying the scent of the grass and open skies. Outside was much better than in the old stuffy den. The den only smelled lonely. The youngling didn't much like the thought of loneliness, but he hadn't been very lonely for a while. He had his imaginary friends after all! Nosing Rahima in the side he giggled and dashed off quickly. "You're it!" He called behind him.
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 1:42 pm
"On three then!" She'd been twitching the pink-streaked tip of her tail for him, and now it lashed behind Rahima happily; cheered to see the abandoned youngster at play. He'd be alright this one. And it had been a long long time since the scarlet one had played.
"One!" Hima said, watching the giggling cub and lowering herself in the grass pointedly as if she were about to dash in on a hunt. "Two!" Better not to scare him out of his wits though if she wanted to keep Chuju in a good mood and chase away the lonely feeling of that den.
"Three!" She started to run after him in her usual hunting manner but ended up bounding playfully after him. Speedy but not too fast to make it a dull game.
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:02 pm
Tiny black tipped tail whipped in circles for balance behind him as Chuju giggled and banked to the left, nearly tumbling himself over, but managing to stay upright and at a pretty good clip. He was small, and certainly not as quick as his new companion, but she was playing fair, which made him doubly happy as just playing with somebody else in general.
Boy! She is fast though! He thought, glancing back once more and noting her closing the gap between them. She must be really good at hunting too. Maybe she'll teach me if Momma doesn't come back. He didn't hold much faith in his mother returning, and although he might have been sad if he had been completely on his own, he wasn't alone at all. The golden cub had a lot of thoughts that were older than he was, but he never dwelt on them, he couldn't always voice them properly, so why bother worrying over them. So what if he was just a little more mature than he appeared?
Zigging to the right this time, Chuju kept his eyes open for loose rocks and other things that might trip him up as he enjoyed the game, the chase.
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:14 pm
Happy to zigzag after him, Rahima kept herself one or two lengths behind the smart little cub. It was cleaver of him not to run in a straight line - some youngsters didn't catch on to that for a long time. After a while though, she went to tag him and turn to dash away with a laugh.
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 11:02 am
At the tag Chuju laughed and whirled himself around, tumbling into a somersault before chasing after Rahima. Shaking his head briefly he felt a large yawn crease his features. "Rahiiiimaaaaaa~" He called out ahead, "I'm sleeeeepy."
Plunking down on his rump, his tail wrapping around his hind legs, tip flicking contentedly he waited for her to come back to him, rather than attempting to chase her down. He really was very tired now, it had been a much longer chase than he was used to.
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 4:08 pm
As Rahima padded towards him, she dropped her head to nudge his side - part affectionately, part to get him to lie down. They couldn't sleep in that sad lonely den...they were close enough to it in case his mother came back and it was freasher out in the open air.
"Get some rest then, Chuju? We should be find out here" She stretched out next to the cub and curled around, providing a wind break and protection with her larger form. Head reasting on her paws, she closed her eyes. Lead by example. It had worked in all but one case before.
"Dreamwell."
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 7:18 pm
Cuddling into her side and curling himself into a ball Chuju sighed happily. "You too." He said with another large yawn. Licking the red lioness on the cheek he closed his eyes drifting off finally, worry over not seeing his mother disappearing. The golden lion cub was young enough that he might even forget his birth mother in time, the orangey-gold lioness who had almost never been around, even while he was nursing. It seemed a miracle almost that he had survived as long as he had even.
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