Welcome to Gaia! ::

How on earth poor little Marty was going to get to a point of wandering about when even now she couldn't even muster the inspiration to get up and do things from day to day was a mental venture that the small cub had really yet to have taken. It wasn't to say that she didn't -do- anything, but moreso that... well.. she didn't -want- to do anything without a massive amount of complaining.

"Buuuttt Moooooooooooom." Marty pouted, pawing lightly at the brightly colored lioness whom was attempting to nudge the poor girl out of the shade of the tree she'd been lounging under all day, and out to go play with her siblings. "It's so hoooooooooooooootttt..." she whined.


However, she wasn't going to win that arguement against a veteran mommy who had already suffered four on her own. So four more little ones weren't about to beat -her- into submission.

Which is how the complaining baby had gotten to where she was, out in the sun laying on her belly with her limbs flopped out everywhere in as pathetic a way as possible. Had the scene been overly cartoon-ized, there would have been little read heat-waves radiating from her back.

"Mweeeeeeeeeee.. it's tooo hoooooooooottt ttooo plaaaaaaayyyyyy...." she sniffled in a whine. However, she was too far away from mommy for her to hear her cry of distress... which left her with a 'TARGET FOR SIBLINGS' sign on her back.

Mtembei didn't care much what any of them wanted to be called. It was easier to call all three of them one thing: Annoying. And it wasn't mean if it was true, Dad had told him so. Not that he'd said that exactly, but. He said to always tell the truth.

They were pests. He was telling the truth.

Not that he'd been on the green Earth long enough to really know much, but as of now, he found the only thing that honestly bothered him (far more than his sibling annoyances) was the heat.

And, damn it, it was hot. Which made him grumpy enough. Hearing Marty whine wasn't helping. "She's fine," he spat in irritation, settling down in the shade as far away from them as he could get, wondering idly how their father hadn't died given how dark he was and that huge fluffy mane.

Kashi's tail flicked behind her, shooting a glare over at her adoring brother. He was always such a jerk, and she didn't get why, but hey, if he wanted to play that game, Kashi was always pleased to play right along with it. "Geez Mtembei, what flea crawled in you nose?" It was the nicest thing she could say, because she could of said it in a meaner way, but didn't want her Mother to overhear it.

"If the sun went away, Marty, we wouldn't be able to see. Duuuuh." The heat made her coat hot to the touch, and maybe a bit uncomfortable, but Kashi never minded roaming around in it. Now if she could just get her sibilings to play with her, and not always grumpy, then she might get somewhere!

"... I really don't see what all of the fuss is about. It's not that hot, is it?"

It wasn't always a bad thing to be the odd man out-- especially when it came to being the one pale cub in her brood... not that Lesedi Tau had any inkling about the magical reflective powers of white or the misery of her not-so-white siblings. As far as she was concerned, they were just overexxagerating something that was really no trouble at all!

"If it's such a bother out here to you all," she went on, trotting over with her tail held high and proud. To think that she'd been napping so comfortably beneath a scraggly shrub-shadow, only to be woken up by her whiny sisters and brothers! "Why don't you do something about it? I'm sure there are plenty of ways to cool down in such a big place!"

Always the half baked problem solver, that girl! But at least she was making an effort to find the solution rather than just sit there and whimper! Hmph!

Akasha eyed her white-based sibiling coming towards them, obviously because she was irritated by Marty's whining just as much as the rest of them were. She wasn't sure what to say to her, though, so she didn't say anything. She kept herself quiet, watching the antics of her sibilings through her blue eyes.

Her tail flopped behind her, keeping the flies at bay while trying to keep somewhat still for her sister. Kashi might get irritated and snappy at times, but maybe if she was a bit nicer to Marty, she'd keep quiet long enough for the three of them to have a moment of silence. Kashi was learning quite soon in life what some solidute, or just some blasted peace and quiet, could be just so fantastic.

She shifted her attention to her brother, assuming he'd snap at Marty for her comment, and she really didn't want to miss that!

"... Well, apparently I don't know as much about being hot as you do, Marty, if your whining is any measure to go by!" Lesedi, not one to miss a bit, fired right back at her sister with a snarky little grin. "And I wasn't hiding, for your information! I was just... resting! Because it's cooler there and I'm smart enough to know that! If you were smart, you'd be hiding there too instead of being a... a big, dumb, senseless baby!"

Feeling none to pleased with her own insult, the little cub grimaced slightly... but didn't let it show for long and stuck her tongue out in defiance, changing the subject quickly.

"I doubt you're the favorite, Bei," she pointed out in an all-knowing kind of voice, "Father just looks at you funny 'cause you're an icky boy instead of a pretty girl, like the rest of us!"

Again, however, she pulled a quick subject change, glancing briefly to the one silent female among them and then the other two, contemplatively. "... But swimming, I admit, would probably cool us all... er... well, I'm perfectly cool already, but the lot of you could probably use it!"

Kashi was a bit throw off with the sudden emptiness by her side, since Marty had crawled off to go cry somewhere. The black and purple cub exagerrated the sulking face, rolling her eyes to match it. She gave a huff, feeling embarassed that she had such a whiney sister. The cub popped back up on her feet, ready to go somewhere.

"Swimming sounds great!" she exclaimed, excited to go out and do something to solve their little problem. "Let's make Dad take us." She was hoping that if they were able to go out and swim, that their father would fall asleep again and they could do (and say!) whatever they wanted too. Besides, there was never any hard in it, right? She swished her tail behind her with that though, her ears perked as she was ready to go. Now!

"... Wa-wait a minute, Bei! GET BACK HERE, BEI!"

To think that poor, considerate Lesedi had been so preoccupied with watching Marty skulk off and hide that she'd completely forgotten to keep an eye on Mtembei, and now he was racing off-- AHEAD of her!!! Did that snotty brother of hers think that she'd let herself be outdone? She wouldn't let him be the ringleader so easily, oh no!

"Beeeeeei!!" Abandoning her sisters to chase after him, the little white female galloped desperately to catch up... but it was already too late! Well, if she couldn't be the one to wake Banji first, there were other ways to assert herself above the others!

"Father," she whimpered pleadingly, flattening back her ears and gazing up at him with pitifully huge, watering eyes. "The others are all hot!" --Yes, the others, most certainly not her! "Will you take us to swimming water? Pleeeeease?"