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 Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 12:45 pm
Lemaa'sheshe lay peacefully outside the den she now shared with Kizamaji and Wahabu, stretched comfortably in the warm sun. It felt very strange, not actually having anything to do. And there was nothing much going on, either - no rambunctious adolescents getting themselves into trouble.
Kiza had been right; it was nice to have a bit of a break. Strange, though. Very strange.
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 1:51 pm
Habu was also feeling strange, though unlike Sheshe his was caused by the overwhelming events of the last several days. He still wasn't getting a good night's sleep, but he had managed to sleep better than usual the previous night. Still tired, though, it took him a while to actually get out and about- not to mention staying in the back of the den helped if you wanted to avoid anymore strange meetings.
Finally heading out of the den for some sunlight, Wahabu was a little surprised to find the newest family member laying outside of the den by herself- it wasn't too hard getting used to having Sheshe around, but Habu was used to having his father around at the same time.
"Ehm- Hello," he greeted her as he strode out into the inviting sunlight.
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 3:58 pm
Sheshe's eyes slipped open at the sound of the younger lion's voice, and she smiled with pleasant surprise. "Oh - hello, Wahabu!"
Her tail flicked behind her before curling around her body. "Sleep well?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 4:03 pm
"Not really," Wahabu admitted casually, not seeming too concerned with it. It wasn't uncommon lately, and if anyone was going to notice it it would certainly be those who lived with him. He decided to take a seat and chat instead of avoiding conversation.
"How about you? Do you like it here?" he asked curiously, wondering if she was comfortable now. When she'd moved in, she had looked worried about what he thought about it. Hopefully that wasn't the case now.
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 4:09 pm
Sheshe looked sympathetic. It really was too bad that Wahabu had been having trouble sleeping. Naturally she wondered why, but she wasn't going to pry.
"I'm wonderful," she answered then, beaming. "I love it here. I'd missed living with family."
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 4:17 pm
Wahabu smiled, glad that she was happy here- even if he still felt a little strange about it. No one really seemed to want to explain anything outright to him, and having been so very attached to his mother any unconfirmed suspicions he had were odd.
"Missed it? Where did you live before?" he asked suddenly, sounding surprised. Habu certainly wouldn't want to live without family, it was why he hadn't been concerned about finding his own den now even though he was very much grown up.
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 4:26 pm
"I grew up with Kiza," she explained, with a fond smile of memory, "But I was living with a friend of mine, Shomoro, for awhile. Until he came and found me."
"Not that I minded living with Shomo!" Sheshe added. "It's just different, is all."
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 6:49 pm
"Oh," he murmured, letting her finish before commenting, "You grew up with dad? Why haven't I met you before, then?" If Sheshe and his father were such good friends, why hadn't Habu ever really heard of or seen her before? Would this be how it was with Kubwa and his son? He hadn't met them yet! Whatever Habu suspected, or whatever might be true now, Kiza and Sheshe would always have been friends.. maybe his father had just been too preoccupied.
Perhaps that wasn't a very appropriate question.
"I mean.. nevermind," he mumbled, shaking his head, "Sorry."
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 8:41 pm
Sheshe's ears dropped back a touch at the question; she wasn't offended, because it was indeed a very good question...just a delicate one to answer. "We...went different ways, for awhile. He met your mother, and I became a nanny."
Perhaps Kiza would have been content to remain in contact with her, to see her now and then, since they had been friends...that had never changed, even apart. But Sheshe had run, pining for her blue friend from afar, because she might not have been able to stand it otherwise. She had need to move on with her life, in some aspects at least.
The lioness wasn't exactly practiced at lying, or even telling half-truths, so it might well have been evident it wasn't quite so simple as she'd tried to make it with her answer. There was a sort of heaviness of heart about her, and a distant look in her eyes.
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 9:12 pm
Habu watched Sheshe carefully as she tried to answer, not sure how to take her expression- except he knew it wasn't a very good question to ask, and placed a lot of the discomfort on that. Thinking strictly of friendship, it wasn't uncommon for friends to drift apart. Though it seemed, from Sheshe's reasoning, the only thing that really had changed was that his mother was no longer around. Surely Sheshe had not given up being a nanny.
"Ah," he mumbled, deciding to venture out, "But you're still a nanny, right?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 9:21 pm
"Oh! Oh, of course." It shook Sheshe right out of her brief funk, and she smiled again. "Kiza's just convinced me to take a break, is all. Stop watching someone else's cubs and, well.."
Oops! "Just take some time for myself. I missed an awful lot, after all. I can't wait to go and visit Mama Miamba again, it's been so long!"
It wasn't that she didn't want Wahabu to know about her relationship with his father, she just wasn't sure how to come out with it! Or if it should be Kizamaji who did.
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 9:40 pm
Habu nodded along with what Sheshe said, briefly wondering what it was like having such a specific (and non-hunting) job to do for the pride- until she mentioned 'someone else's cubs'. That comment certainly got his attention, even when she attempted to save herself by adding the fishy little ending. Even the mention of his beloved grandmother wasn't so distracting- or surprising. If Sheshe grew up with his father, she probably had met Miamba- though he still had no idea how well they all knew each other.
"Oh," he murmured thoughtfully, trying to figure out how to continue the conversation, "Have you met dad's brothers and sister? Grandma had them not too long ago.."
Hey, it went with the topic of cubs and Miamba. Why not?
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 9:59 pm
"I haven't met them," she admitted, "But Kiza did tell me. I really ought to go by and see if she needs any help..." Sheshe sighed a little. "It does make me wonder how Siku and Maziwa have been doing, wherever they are."
"Do you like cubs?" All this roundabout was so...so frustrating. She was very much beginning to doubt she could keep up with it, but it had seemed like it was what Kiza wanted for now.
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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 10:17 pm
"Well, they're quite the interesting bunch," he said fondly, letting himself get a little distracted at the talk of his uncles and aunt. Habu had offered his help occassionally, and found it to be quite tiring- Riko in particular seemed to enjoy trying to boss him around, if only because he had the title of uncle.
He started at the seemingly random mention of Siku and Maziwa- for he hadn't really heard the names before. Siku was someone in the family, then- he'd been right about Janja and Jedi. Of course, he couldn't tell them that now- he didn't know how to find them, and if he understood them right, they weren't even supposed to have found him. His little triumph was suddenly pushed from his mind as their conversation continued, and he smiled sheepishly to make up for the distraction.
"Yeah, I guess," he answered with a shrug, reminded of the comments before he'd brought up his uncles and aunts, "I don't see too many outside of those in the family. I once had one follow me around trying to learn to hunt, though."
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Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 7:09 am
Sheshe chuckled fondly. "Cubs really do like to tag along. There's something about it they just can't resist."
She stretched just a little, flexing the muscles in her forepaws and letting her claws sink into the ground for a moment. It felt very nice after lying there for awhile. The brief pleasure of stretching, however, couldn't make her forget about the words that had been hanging unspoken since her arrival. It really bothered her. It was far too much like dishonesty, not to mention it was singularly uncomfortable.
"Wahabu.." she started, hesitating, "You know why Kiza brought me here, don't you?" It was as delicately phrased as she could make it.
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