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 Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:11 pm
The green lioness's belly was heavy with unborn cubs by now, and the fact that it was obvious meant that the cubs had descended, and that the time was fast approaching for them to enter the world. Admittedly, it was acutely uncomfortable to be lugging a bunch of cublets around in the heat of the summer, but the thought that she would soon be rid of them, that they would soon be their own little entities, was rather inviting.
Of course, now that the cubs were almost here, Jiza did little wandering outside of the cave. It wasn't fun to have to climb out of the shade and walk around in the sun, even when Juke was there. She knew how bored Juke must be these days, when she spent so much time down in the den. She hardly saw him, and when she did it was only briefly, and more often than not, shortly before she would go back to sleep. A shame, that. But at least she had an excuse. She was pregnant with his babies, after all. So he would be the joyful father once all this was over.
She was just drifting back to sleep again when something akin to a belly ache pulled her back to wakefullness again. "What now..." She had realized that her temper was getting increasingly short. That would change when she didn't have to haul around stupid cubs anymore. Obviously.
And so it began.
((Uta and Fantome: Oh right! For the sake of Juke's sanity, we were wondering if it would be okay for your two cubs to be able to hear music? xDD))
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:17 pm
The largest of the litter seemed to just have to come first. Through it all, Jiza could almost imagine the cub bulling his way past his siblings. Because he was the largest and just had to see the world before the rest of them. Not that any of them would be able to see, or hear, or even smell the world before one another. Cubs were born deaf, blind, and unable to smell. That was a shame, definitely.
The green lioness, push herself up to pull the cub over, giving him a quick once-over with her warm tongue to make sure he was dry and was breathing alright. Already his tail was feebly waving to some strange beat he could not see, but perhaps he had been born with an internal jukebox that enabled him to bop along to some beat that only he could feel.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:22 pm
The next one was obviously much less trouble than its brother. Not and big, and not quite as wiggly either. Jiza repeated the process as she had with the first cub. She hadn't quite looked at either cub, and now that she took the moment to, she realized that the first one had Juke's markings, taking on after him mostly, save for the green that covered the lesser half of his coat.
The second one seemed to take after her own markings, but in Juke's colors. She immediately recognized the dark gray of the little girl's body as the gray in her father's mane.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:27 pm
(( Hopefully nobody minds the shortness that is this RP xDD ))
The third cub - but not that last, Jiza could tell - was, simply put, hyper. She thrashed about the moment she touched the cool ground, squirming here and there so that it gave her mother a hell of a time catching her and pulling her around for a drying off. She was green, so green, her shoulder tattooed with a swirl that was yet another Juke trademark.
Jiza had long since noticed that all the cubs' ears were white. Not throwbacks from previous generations so far then. She was almost disappointed. Perhaps a throwback might have showed her something of her family's history.
The little green cub squirmed past her two siblings, her legs and paws flailing about clumsily, as was to be expected of a newly born cub. Jiza chuckled and nosed at the little head. The tiny cub immediately froze. Only for a fraction of a second, before continuing on her squirmy way.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:30 pm
This was the last one. He was the smallest of the litter, although not by much. It made Jiza happy that there was not a runt in the litter. She didn't like how runts were often bullied by their siblings, and were hard to keep well fed because of their inability to scrabble for food. At least this little one wasn't much smaller than his two sisters.
The little blue cub was curled up in a ball against the green's lioness's warm fur, unlike the rest of his siblings, which had already begun to wander a few steps away. Bending her body around the four little cubs so that she could scoop them back into her protection, she lay watching them, wondering if Juke would soon return.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:46 pm
Since Jiza had been den-bound, Juke had taken the role of a good mate and done all of the hunting. He was exauhsted by this point, worn out from his many days spent tracking and failing at bringing home dinner. Today, however, he had gotten lucky, and caught a young gazelle who had wandered a little to far away from the safety of its mother's side. Seizing the oppurtunity to feed his hungry love and the cubs with in her, Juke had taken it down quickly, and had carried it proudly home in his jaws. It was a fair size for dinner, easily enough to feed himself and Jiza. There wouldn't be any left over for the next couple of days, but at least it was something reenergize the both of them with. He could do more hunting tomorrow as long as he got in a good meal tonight. As he neared the den, though, a new scent caught his nose. There was the green lioness, but there was something more. Blood. For a moment, he was panic stricken. Was she injured?! With the light breeze, however, something else filled his mind. The cubs!
Juke raced the last few paces into the den, hobbling a little in order to not trip over the limp gazelle waggling around in front of him. As soon as he entered, his heart melted and he let the dead thing drop. Before him was possibley the best image he would ever see in his entire life. There was his gorgeous mate, looking rather tired but none the less stunning, surrounded by four little cubs. He cocked his head to the side a little before saying anything, simply taking in the scene for what it was worth. There they were, his children. His and Jiza's children. They were unmistakabley theres, with those coats! He immediately recognized markings from both his fur and hers, picking out the similarities between all of them. "Jiza..." He took a few steps forward and watched.
As if he had forgotten how proud he was of his kill from earlier that day, he sat on the dirt and stone beneath him, gazing at all five of them. Possibley the sweetest thing was the music that echoed all through the rock, filling his mind with wonderful thoughts and images. He slowly disected the song, picking out the unique solos that he would grow to love as his children's unique melodies. They were all quite different and all beautiful, though one of them was somewhat dimmer than the rest. He would've stopped to think more of it if he hadn't been so happy to simply see them all. "They're amazing, Jiza." He exhaled, having just realized he was holding his breath. All of his parenting doubts were erased by that moment, at least for a time. Nothing could spoil his mood. Suddenly, he remembered the carcass behind him and he grabbed it, dragging it towards the green lioness's head. "Eat as much as you can. You need it more than I do."
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 7:23 am
The sound of something kuh-fwumping to the ground caught Jiza's attention, and she turned her head momentarily away from the four newborns that now held her undivided attention, to see Juke standing there at the mouth of the den. She grinned, all of the frustration that she had had in the days before evaporating instantly at the sight of her beloved mate.
"Juke." She eyed the fresh kill for a moment, before drawing her attention back to Juke and the new cubs. She took a moment to try to decide which of them looked the most like him. None of them, she decided. They all did. That was good enough for her. Four mini Jukes. That was all she needed in life.
"That one," She said softly, as if afraid to disturb the calm, pointing at the largest of the litter. "That one already hears music, even when he is born deaf." She was glad that there were already signs of musical affinities within the litter. It was good - great news - that. At least it was one of her worries erased.
She looked up again to see the gazelle looming before her. "Juke, you've been hunting for days. You need something to eat." She knew that he has always been eating less than her, because she had needed to much to fully nourish the growing cubs.
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 11:37 am
"Don't be silly, I'll eat. Just after you. You must be starving, and you'll need to keep eating so you can feed them." He layed down to rest while staring at her expectantly, waiting for her to dig in. He was certain she wouldn't eat all of it, of course, and that he would have plenty for him to replenish his energy with as well. Worse case scenario, he picked off a hare before going to sleep. His own health wasn't all that important right now. The cubs would need milk, and Jiza would need meat in order to supply them with it. The logic was very simple. Sure, he needed to at least keep some strength up. After all, he was the way that his mate got food, and so he indirectly affected the cubs' diet. He could hunt down young gazelle with very little energy, though, and as long as the herd he had stumbled along stayed relatively near by for a few days, they'd have a somewhat steady stream of nourishment for a while.
Taking his gaze away from the carcass and Jiza's brilliant eyes, the new father basked in the joy of watching his little ones for the first time. They were blind and deaf, completely defenseless, yet the move about as if they owned the den. They were so small, he was a little afraid they might've been unhealthy, though he had never seen newborns before and had nothing to compare their brood to. If their energy levels were any key to their health, however, there was certainly nothing wrong. Deciding it was best to familiarize himself with their markings and blossoming personalities, he started with the one his mate had previously pointed out. The little blue and green male bore a marking quite similar to his father, and was thunking his small tail against the ground in a sort of beat. It didn't match the song very well, but he supposed it was because the youngster was both deaf and very new. He was definately pleased to see the music in the little clan, though.
The next child his eyes ran over was the little grey girl. He smirked at her colors, noting that they were from his mane and tail. He hadn't really expected the grey to show up in any of the children, but he wasn't disappointed by it. The little girl had a beauty about her that was near serene, even at such a young age. Her markings were quite obviously from her mother, something that made Juke simply beam with pride. That tail, too, was really quite something. The way it changed colors and all reminded him of Jiza's hair tuft. For a moment, he cast his glance back to the lioness to admire the green hair, but then turned back to the cubs.
If any of the little ones were more so obviously related to Muujiza and Juke than any other, it was the daughter his eyes fell on next. Her striking green coat could come from no other lioness Juke had ever seen besides his mate. Both shades were there, th dark and light shades, plus a new and slightly darker one. She bore the markings of her father, he was proud to see, which went quite nicely with the mother's coloring. All that time ago, when he had first dreamed of the possibility of family with Jiza, he had pictured a little one quite similar to his daughter. For a moment, he remembered the dream, closing his eyes and smiling a little at it. There had been three cubs in it, one quite similar to his daughter. The previous two children Juke had looked at weren't represented in the dream, but the next one was.
His last child, the second son, he couldn't help but chuckle softly at. Where his green daughter had been a perfect blending of her parents colors and markings, this little boy had done the same but in the opposite. His coat was unmistakabley Juke's, where his markings could come from none other than Jiza. In his dream from long ago, a youngster quite similar had danced along with the little green cubs. It was amusing how accurate dreams could be sometimes. "We'll have to think of names tomorrow." He turned back to his mate, a warm look in his eye. "But first, eat your dinner and get some rest. I'll keep watch for the night." There was a tone in his voice that said not to argue, but it never lost its affection. He was never harsh with the lioness, though he was sure they would eventually have arguements about parenting styles. For now, though, he simply wanted her to regain her strength. Talk was for later.
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