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 Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 9:34 pm
How often he'd wondered how his mate was doing, where she was, along with their youngest son. It was the first time he had fallen in love, having only had casual flings before, and now after Theluji came into his life. How was it that he felt so torn apart now that she was gone? Like his entire purpose had been lost.
Suddenly, not even the pride where he'd spent his entire life since birth seemed to be fit for him anymore. It was enough to drive him away. He had to find his purpose in life again. Nothing would ever be the same until then, and if he didn't find it? ... Well, he supposed he'd die trying.
For now though, no such dramatics were taking place. In fact, the gentle giant was taking a stroll casually closer to the inner borders of the Pridelands. These lands were familiar, welcomed havens from the rogue lands, especially between the Unity Walkers and Pridelanders. The last he'd heard before leaving, there was to be a union of marriage, though not with the royals bloodline, but all the same. Their queen was to be of Prideland descent, uniting the two in many of the pride member's minds. New blood for the tribe... Maybe... that was the key...
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 9:41 pm
"Don't run too far ahead now, Rukia!" Ai called out, watching as his little twin-daughter went bounding off into grass that was probably much taller than she was. It was almost as if the only thing keeping the little girl afloat so he could see her -was- the grass, hoisting her little body up as she went parading through it.
He couldn't help but be a little overprotective of the little girl who was taking such -pleasure- in sending him into a panic now and then (in subtle ways such as disappearing when he least expected it).
But now wasn't one of said times. Instead, he waded through the grass after her, pausing as he saw a stranger he didn't recognize (well -duh-. It -was- a 'stranger' afterall), then turned his head after his daughter. Where had she gone?!
"Yes, Daddy~" she'd called back, sort of rolling her eyes at the demand to conformity, before taking his moment of distraction to slink into the depths of the grass where she couldn't be seen as easily (though she did know her father would track her down eventually..), sneaking through the grass like a ninja. Or a little baby lion.
Or a rabbit. She was learning all her sneaking from one, afterall.
Rukia poked her head out of the grass for a moment to look back at her dad, if only to see his panic, ducking back into hiding again with a sort of confused look on her face before she turned and *OOMPH!*
Ran right into a leg. "Owwww!"
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 9:58 pm
Oh...? What was this?
When was the last time he'd been around lions small enough to bump into just a small part of his stocky legs? A cub, he recognized, and grinned gently. "Whoah there, where's the fire, little friend? You alright?"
Soft ears flickered at a voice, his gaze shifting as his massive head lifted again at the call of the father, and he stepped back from the cub so as not to give the wrong idea.
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 10:08 pm
Rukia leaned back to peer up at the large male, her little golden eyes going wide in a sort of 'OWOW' sort of way. "Fire?" she repeated, pondering it for a minute, before her mind went back to an explanation she'd been given on the term he'd used from Shirayuki!
"Oh! I'm just playin' im..prom....tu......" she fumbled over the word for a moment, "Hide 'n' Seek with my daddy without telling him!" she announced.
Translation: She was runnin' away and gettin' a kick outta it.
Ai looked at the strange suspiciously when he seemed to talk to the grass, pondering if the man was insa-
Waittaminute.
It took him about half a second to realize -he- had a lil' someone who was about grass-tall that one could talk to and didn't have on hand -right there- anymore, automatically rushing over, as if to growl at the male, which he'd been planning to, when he realized the guy had backed off on his own.
"..........." he said nothing for a moment, before looking down at the little cub he'd nearly plowed down. "No more running off, you!"
"Spoil-sport."
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 11:11 pm
It would have been impossibl to miss the protective nature of the other male, even if it was dropped some at the end there. Matifu had never had any daughters of his own, only sired three cubs at all in his entire life, but he could remember being that protective over his nieces... Speaking of them, one of them was staying here with her mate, wasn't she? His eyes wandered for a momnt as though expecting to see Moyo come bounding out of the grass at any given moment.
"Really?" He chuckled, once again comparing-- how many times had his mischevious older boys done that to him, after all? Or even the pride's other youths, before the plague? "Well..... I'm sure your father loves playing 'Impromptu Hide and Seek', but, be careful. You don't want to get TOO good at it." He winked, falling silent as Ai reached them and addressed the girl, nodding his head respectfully to the much younger adult. "They can be quite a handful, can't they? I remember when mine were that age."
Of course, they'd had an entire jungle and forest to get lost in.
Yeah. That had been fun.
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 9:16 am
Rukia didn't get the whole idea with the 'let's be scared of daddy' this guy was playing, but she sat between Ai's paws, retaining the most innocent face she could. "Yep! Daddy doesn't seem to like that game as much as I do.." she then added, looking up at the dark-colored male that was LOOOOOMING over her.
She beamed proudly at the nice conversation she was holding with the older lion, before tilting back to look up at her father like the stranger was.
Ai maintained to -not- maul this male while he conversed with his daughter, despite his undying resolve to want to hurt anybody who came near the kiddo that wasn't her own age. Or was a little boy, trying to steal her away from him already.
She was just a baby!
"Hm?"
Ai looked at Matifu as if the male had just suddenly appeared there, now taking a moment to realize he was being spoken to. "A handful? Yes. I take care of nine then have seven of my own." His brain seemed to spin at the idea of having that many cubs underfoot at one time.
Thank -god- for time-management.
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 10:05 am
Matifu, who had only eight nieces and nephews, couldn't help but balk at Ai's comment. Sixteen cubs???
"And you're still sane?" He asked incredulously, oblivious to the thoughts of mild paranoia running through the mostly monochrome male's head. "Ah... I'm Matifu, of the Unity Walkers. I'm merely passing through in search of someone. If I'm holding you up from anything..." He trailed off to indicate that Ai was welcomed to shoo him off, as he could sense that the other was just a bit distracted. He likely didn't get much rest, or at the least, time like this with his own cubs. Matifu, despite his shock, was a bit envious in a soft way. He missed having children of his own already, and despite his still being a father, he couldn't think of them as children anymore. One had gone missing, another disbanded, heartbroken, and only the middle child remained back home, at the side of his mate, their goddess, who was ironically enough the very reason his first born had fled the lands in such an emotional mess.
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 10:22 am
The look his statement received was actually rather amusing to Ai, whom had grown accustomed to the massive number of cubs running about since he started taking care of them in his adolescence.
"Depends on what you consider is 'sane'. I'd say that the seven of my own are more of a hassle than the nine that I was watching after before they came along." he admitted, looking down at Rukia, whom gave him the biggest grin of pure innocence she could.
Yep, innocent little face there.
"I'm Ai'kunliu." he counter-introduced upon being given the other lion's name, before he nudged his daughter forward, nodding to her a bit.
Rukia beamed as she was given permission to jump into the introduction fest. "I'm Rukia!" she chimed, pleased at being able to introduce herself, before she sat back down between Ai's paws again.
"Holding me up? You should be asking Rukia if she's being held up. She's the one who wanted to go out on a walk." Ai explained, again looking down at the little girl sitting innocently between his paws.
And Ai totally bought it time and time again. His little weaknesses for his baby girls.
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 10:34 am
Matifu couldn't help it now, he let out a deep chuckle, greatly amused by the energy the little one posessed. They made quite a pair, father and daughter, and he briefly regretted having none of his own. Ghostly blue eyes flickered briefly as thoughts of his small broken family passed before his mind, and a small smile formed on his maw, only briefly sorrowful. One might wonder if it had been at all. "Rukia, Ai'kunliu, it's a pleasure to meet you both. Please excuse me if I'm keeping you, young miss?" He addressed her specifically then, at her father's prompting, stepping back and bowing in apology. She was quite the charming little thing, bright eyed and full of life. She'd likely grow up into quite the boy-magnet in later days, oh Matifu did hope Ai was ready for that day when it came.
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 10:46 am
Ai wasn't even ready for male-playmates -now-. God forbid the day that little girl started picking up boys to bring home to her daddy and introduce. It'd be likely they'd be threatened with death.
"It's a pleasure here all the same." he replied, again looking down at Rukia when she was prompted to reply. It was almost as if the girl didn't know to respond unless her father let her know.
Rukia looked down from her father, before looking to Matifu. "Keeping me? My daddy is keeping me-.. OOOOHHHH. You mean... OOOOH" it seemed as though she was -now- getting what he meant by it.
"I don't mind waiting." she then said.
He licked the back of the cub's head adoringly, in praise of how well she was handling the situation, before he looked to Matifu again, seeming surprised by how formal the male was acting. "Rukia is used to me sitting down and having conversations. I do wish she'd allowed one of her siblings to come along, now so she'd at least have a little playmate with her."
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 11:47 am
"Mm... but I'm sure she likes having you all to herself now and then. I only had three, and our oldest two were always warring for our attention." He replied as he settled onto his haunches as well now. "I have to admit, I've been to the borders of these lands many times, but never ventured further than that. It's beautiful, much larger than our lands back home." He rumbled softly, taking in the lush grasses all around, and the abundance of life.
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:04 pm
"She probably does." Ai agreed, knowing quite well that he was prone to behind pestered for 'personal time with daddy' from his giant lot of DOOM. Plus his love on top of all of those babies wanting personal-time with him kept him on his toes all the time. "Less time she has to share with all the other parts of my life."
The monochrome male turned to look over the lands as Matifu spoke of them, smiling a bit. "It is large. More fearsome for losing a child in. But I imagine I'd be even more horrified if one of them went and got lost beyond the lands. I've lived here my whole life, so I can only imagine how the lands beyond these are. The farther from my den I get, the farther I get from things I recognize and the more hiding places my kids can find."
Ai paused then looked down at Rukia, knowing she'd heard this.
Rukia smiled innocently up at him, knowing -quite- well that she was gonna store that little tidbit in the back of her mind next time she played 'impromptu hide and seek' with her dad.
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:10 pm
Another soft laugh, this time accompanied by a sympathetic shake of his head.
"Thank the goddess for patrols." He quipped, eyes settling back on the two. "The lands beyond this one... I'd have to say, I don't find as impressive or grand. I'm from the jungle, myself, I've been mostly surrounded by lush vegetation my entire life. While other places are certainly different, I'd still prefer someplace green and alive to someplace dry and flat, or hot, like the savannah, or deserts."
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:19 pm
Ai nodded in fervent agreement. "Oooohhh yes, sometimes this place -does- make me want to die, if only because of the heat..." he mused, rubbing a paw on his dark coat, before patting his dark-furred daughter on the head, knowing that she too was going to be full of melting in the head.
At least she had more white on her than he himself did.
"I've heard about the deserts from people here who once lived in it, and I can only imagine how horrible of a place it would be to live with a dark coat. I thank whoever it is that needs the thanking for the majority of my children not being cursed with my dark coat.." he looked down at Rukia, who gave him a sort of 'what about me?!' look. "Not to say that my little dark-furred triplets aren't precious either."
Rukia looked up at Matifu, making a sort of 'psst!' sound, like she wanted to tell him a secret, before she whispered; "Daddy complains that it's hot all the time and doesn't want me, Mursame, and Choku to melt in the heat like he does 'cause then he'd be all sad with melteded kids." she explained.
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 1:24 pm
And as if the heat weren't enough, the grounds are never stable. It's like walking on moving ice." He agreed, letting out a loud yawn, fangs visible, before Rukia took his attention once more, his jaws snapping shut. He chuckled, a sound that was likely becoming quickly familiar. He gave Ai a quick look as if to convey what a charming daughter the younger male had. "Of course not! If you turned into a puddle of melted lion you couldn't play hide and seek!" He whispered back, "Wouldn't want that, right?"
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