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 Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 9:46 am
She was laying in front of a cave that she had adopted as her own, for the time being. She felt aweful taking a cave that truthfully belonged to the pride, but she couldn't refuse it now with little ones in the picture. She was thankful, and kept it in her mind to return the favor some day.
Her tail flopped along her side, thinned out again with the loss of carrying the cubs. She was thankful to not be as round as an elephant now, but she sure was tired still. Perhaps she could wriggle a meal out of Ushu, or else she'd be stuck with whatever didn't run from her, and those were never too tastey.
Her golden-olive eyes scanned the dry foliage around her, keeping an eye on what was moving out there. Well, doing the best she can with that; she never was too good at much, and now she'd really have to learn all this stuff to keep her and her family safe.
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:12 am
A part of a zebra leg wouldn't go terribly far, Kizuka was afraid, but it was better than nothing. Ushaufu had brought in a half-grown colt earlier that afternoon, but she was still to weak to drag more of it in one piece to the Goddess. He'd gone to help a few others, or to talk to Varg--she wasn't sure which--but that had left her alone to pop in on the Goddess.
The cubs had come a few days before, Kizuka knew, for she's smelt the birth and heard a bit of it. Knowing how it was to give birth, she'd kept away for the most part and let the mother have her time with her cubs, though she continued to leave bits of meals for the Goddess. Several suns had passed since that day, though, and the mistweaver finally thought it acceptable to pay Mo'onasai a visit.
As she broke from the coverage of the leaves (actually green here, rather than the dead non-existence of the border), Kizuka nodded to the Goddess sitting out front. She moved closer to drop the leg at the cave entrance and backed off a step to sit. "You're looking well," She lied. It wasn't much of a lie, though; for a half-starved creature that had jsut given birth Mo'mo did look somewhat better than expected.
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:33 am
Momo's ears flicked forward as her eyes met the warm sight of Kizuka. Her psture straightened up a bit, for this was surely the best visitor that she could get at thims time. "Kizuka..." she breathed, pleased to see her friend. She would admit that she had felt lonely for the last couple days, but there were some things that mortals did that she wouldn't question. Perhaps Kizuka was treating her like everyone else, and that was all that Momo could ask for.
She still hid her wings, though she knew that once the cubs were old enough to leave the cave, she would no longer hide them. What would be the point in her own children couldn't? Just as well, it would be good for her to stop hiding anyway. She shifted a bit so she would face Kizuka more comfortably, her tail wrapping around her side as she gathered her legs up closer to her body.
"I'm so happy to see you." She smiled warmly, truthfully. She used her paw the scrape the zebra limb closer to her so she could take a quick nibble. How grateful she was, perhaps she wouldn't have to bug Ushu so quickly. "I could also say I'm quite pleased with this gift, Kizuka." She laughed before she could help it, and gave herself another taste of the meat. It tasted sooo good, and she sure needed to eat as much as she could to help strengthen her offspring.
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:52 am
Kizuka felt a smile stretch across her maw as she realized the other lioness wasn't going to turn her away. That was common among mortal lionesses, who were normally very protective of their offspring the first week or so after they were born, though Kizuka didn't know that Gods or Goddesses were much different. Once she may have thought so... but that was a topic long dwelt upon. She nosed the leg closer to Momo, even as the lioness brought it in to nibble upon, then settled herself upon the ground in a spot of warm sunshine.
"I thought that you might be," She teased in return, giving her tail a happy flick. The grass felt good against her fur and skin when she had become accustomed to, if not happy with, dirt and rock. There was a change in the air, she thought, that Ushaufu had pointed out to her, but she wasn't entirely certain of. It could just as easily have been wishful thinking as any form of reality--and Gods were given to illusions, no matter how in control they seemed to be.
Kizuka gave a light yawn, her nose twitching as she curiously peeked beyond Momo's striped form. "They've come," She pointed out, a smile up on her face, "And.. all is well?"
To say that they had expected the children to be malnourished or still born was an understatement. In fact, Kizuka had been absolutely certain of the worst, but there came no sickly smells from the cave and she felt another edge to her smile slipping upon her maw. Certainly live children meant some hardship, but the mother in her couldn't help but be thrilled that there was hope for them. She'd willingly give her meals over again if it meant saving any little ones. Indeed, the lioness thought she saw a movement in the darkness beyond.
"I told Masika of them, and she may come to see you soon. Our Queen is somewhat busy though, you understand." It was an idle speech, but important in its own fashion.
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 11:13 am
Momo was so pleased with the bit of humored being tossed back and forth, it helped her relax more, and she soon let her legs shift out away from her, and slouched a bit. She munched on the bits of meat that were left, as she was starving, but knew better then to eat it all in one bite. Her stomache still wasn't used to a real heavy meal, and though just a limb wouldn't make her feel sick, she had more then herself to think about now.
"Well...." she flushed, embarassed just a bit. "Yes. I think they're well, I don't know that much about cubs....they're kind of small, but then again, there's quite a group of them." She was moreso embarassed about how many she ended up carrying then anything else. Imagine! Her so small, herself, and still there were seven of them. "I hope to introduce you to them soon, though that might be for moreso my mind then anything else....I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing."
She offered a nod when Kizuka menioned Masika, but nothing much more. She hoped she wouldn't come too soon, Momo would have to tidy herself up for that meeting! Meeting the queen was quite important, especially one that still allowed her to stay, even while pregnant.
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 11:25 am
"Oh trust me, you'd know if something were wrong," Kizuka chuckled, reaching out a paw to brush against her friend's in a soothing manner. It wasn't easy being a first time mother; Kizuka could still remember how hard it'd been back when she'd had Kimaji without the slightest person about to help her figure out what to do. Certainly there had been Triv'an, but he... was never much good for anything, decision wise. Yes, that was coloured by some remaining bitterness for the male, yet it was also entirely true. "All females have it; its ingrained, thankfully."
She peeked again past the other lioness's bulk, smiling fondly at what she could now see was a pile of sleeping cubs. It was too dark to count them, yet, but there were indeed many of them. "You know if you ever need help..." The over was a timid one, at least as timid as Kizuka ever got, for she wasn't entirely certain the help would be wanted or appreciated. Still, she thought that offering the assistance before Momo actually needed it would be good--sometimes the Goddess wasn't sure about herself when asking for things, or at least it was how it seemed.
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 11:40 am
"I would?" There was uncertainty in her voice, but Momo trusted what Kizuka said. SHe seemed doubtful, but sometimes you just had to wait and see what would happen. Maybe she really did have it in her to take care of these children; she just had to listen to herself a bit more.
Her mind wandered off to the future and what it might be like, before she shook herself back into the present. Hopefully there wasn't too much silence between the two of them, for that would be quite embarassing! "Oh...umm..." she started, picking through her mind if she really had any question at the moment. "Well....they seem okay now, but they're kind of small....but that would be normal if there were....seven of them, right?" She flushed again, averting her eyes away from Kizuka for a moment before daring to peek back up at her.
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 12:06 pm
Kizuka had taken to cleaning her paws as the silence had lapsed on. To her it was comfortable; two friends just content to be in one another's presence. When Momo spoke again, her ear flicked to her, though she concentrated more on the area between her front 'toes'. "Seven? Wow," She couldn't help an awed chuckle. THe lioness really wasn't sure if it was normal or not, but she thought it best to just nod. "I believe that with the number and circumstances.. small is perfectly fine. Besides, cubs are always tiny when they're first born--but they'll grow fast."
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 12:12 pm
Momo thought about them growing up fast, but it turned into something that just boggled her mind. She didn't even feel that old anyways, and here she was! Life sure did like to throw out weird things sometimes. She pondered a bit, staring off at the ground next to Kizuka's feet before picking up her side of the conversation again.
"I am worried though, Kizuka...one...one almost looks like him. What if I hold it against him, not love him as much? Oooh, it feels so horrible to think about...but I worry too much about it, don't I? I should of known that would happen...but at least there aren't more with his colour of blood..." She shivered a bit, but soon calmed herself down so she wouldn't look too worried. She felt like they all deserved equal love, but not knowing what she might instictively do worried her.
"Augh," the lioness grumbled, and hid her face beneath her paws, fruserated. She felt so stupid, so...she didn't know. Dumb! Everything new came with unforseen territory, and she should face it head on, not sit here and cry about it. "Sorry, Kizuka....I should know better then to fret about something that might not even come to pass..."
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 1:02 pm
Kizuka hadn't told Momo about Dath's coming, and now she was glad she hadn't; that had been him, the strange, dangerous seeming god. She frowned slightly, pondering what Momo was saying. It was logical that she'd felt that way, of course, after what had happened. Moving closer, Kizuka dared to groom the other lioness's neck as she may have a sister. She curled against Momo's side and pondered the situation a little. "I believe you'll do fine," She finally said. "Its nothing to apologize for, worrying that is. Everyone has to sometimes, and its better to get it out in the air than to keep it all locked away. Perhaps... your worrying over it will keep you from doing it, since you seem so bent on giving him equal affection."
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 2:59 pm
Momo pawed at the ground in front of her, knowing that what she said was just a jumble of emotions, but she couldn't help but let everything out with Kizuka. There wasn't any fear there with how Kizuka would take her jumbled mess, she felt comfortable enough to ramble on.
"I hope so," she said quietly. She did not doubt Kizuka's words, but she did doubt herself in what she would do. "I mean, maybe his stripes will throw me off...." They weren't very large stripes yet, but she just hoped that they wouldn't fade away when he grew larger, or else she'd worry all over again.
She pulled her paws off her face and sat a bit back up again to look at Kizuka again. "I guess I just worry too much, that's all. I'm sure they'll be okay...I hope they take to you well. I wouldn't know what to think otherwise!"
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 4:44 pm
Kizuka offered her friend a caring smile. It was hard to be a mother sometimes, especially in poor circumstances. She continued to groom Momo's neck, not mentioning that the Goddess really did need it, and listened on. Stripes did often fade, that was true enough, but just as often they strengthened. Not that it mattered. "Which one is he?" She asked, looking back into the dark cave where picking out pigments was rather difficult. She doubted there was a way of telling what their 'domains' were yet, otherwise she doubted her friend's fears would be so great, but there was no harm in getting a look at the boy.
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Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2007 9:15 am
Momo wasn't sure if what Kizuka meant that she really wanted to see this cub for herself, or what. She was unsure as of what to do, but she would just peek through the darkness herself to see if she could see her little red cub. "Well, he's kind of hard to see, but he has the habit of curling up with his only other brother. Ummm..." she glanced around, trying not to panic that she couldn't see them immediately. Oh! "They're to the left of the little group, the little tannish blob being the other brother."
Their essence of their domains were slowly being revealed to Mo'onasi, as if their hearts were telling her what their names should be, and what their domains really meant. At the first moment of this, she was very confused, but instead just let these feelings take over and allow them to tell her about her children. "I think his domain is....is Hurricanes, though. Strange, isn't it? I guess...well, I guess that isn't all bad, though. Only, perhaps, if there are families near the ocean, perhaps?" She wasn't sure exactly what hurricanes were, but they made her think of water, and lots of it. Maybe if the lake was large enough, that too? She really didn't know.
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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:23 am
"Hurricanes.." Kizuka watched the cubs a moment, then shook her head. She had little idea what those were, either, though she thought that perhaps the Storm King would know, were he to ever show up again. That hope still burned bright within her heart, though some part of her felt as if it were slowly leaking hope. She went back to grooming her friend instead of thinking on these depressing things. "Well.. ... we'll just have to keep an eye on him then? I don't think you'll have to worry much about him, to be honest; if you're a good, kind mother then why should a mere fur colour matter? And we both know you'll be as loving as you can to them; do not be so hard on yourself."
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