|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 3:05 pm
Bara was furious with her sister. She knew that Zuri was not taking very well care of her children. For one, Ruka had been missing since she was a cub! Zuri was quite upset when she went missing fearing her for dead, but after that she seemed to fall apart on her motherly duties, like she never cared about her children. While Tahari had latched onto her, the other two didn't seem to be doing too well. Bara had stepped in as mother, and she was tired of it.
This was why she would never have children unless she had a mate. If she ever got a mate.
"Zuri, where are you?" the blue lioness fumed.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 3:14 pm
Zuri had a guess as to why Bara was looking for her. She knew that she'd been in a funk for the past few months, but who could blame her? Her girls were slowly growing up, even without their little sunshine sister, but she felt like they didn't even like her. Everyone always liked Bara more then the bright orange younger sister. While Zuri did her best to not hold this against Bara, it still brought up a twinge of bitterness just thinking about it.
"What do you want, Bara?" she said, with a bit more venom than she meant to. Her eyes widened a bit at herself before she hid her face from embarassment, and from her sister.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 3:19 pm
"You know exactly what I want, Zuri. I want you to be a better mother!" It was enough that they didn't have a father, but having someone like Zuri wasn't the best example either. Sometimes she would be out all night when they should be getting ready to keep on their toes, just in case their father had sent someone out against them again. But no, she was out being reckless, not caring about what would happen if something dangerous appeared before her. She needed to stop being so selfish.
"You need to be, Zuri, your daughters need you, especially because Ruka is still missing. You need to give them faith that life goes on, and that there are other things to look forward to."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 3:30 pm
Zuri growled at her sister, mentioning her only daughter that carried her orange coat. She didn't need to rub that thorn in anymore then she already had. "Shut up, Bara, I know that." Her misery had turned into hate whenever that subject was brought up, and her daughters knew to never mention Ruka around their mother ever again. Bara must be tired of them pretending like she hadn't existed, though.
"I just don't know what to do, Bara. How do I start over when they are already getting so big? I fear that they'll never care about me with how they care about you, especially Tahari." She shuffled her paws, raising her head just enough for Bara to look at her golden eyes. She still felt ashamed, but knew that if she kept running from it, Bara might get a bit physical about it. She did take a bit after their father, afterall.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 3:40 pm
Barafu's eyes narrowed as she studied Zuri's body language carefully. Was she really sorry, or was she just trying to get Bara to leave her so she could get back to whatever it was she was doing?
"You just do it, Zuri. I'm sure if they see you trying, they will come to recognize that and depend on you more. Please, they are your children, not mine."
Bara's mind wandered to Tahari, to the blue sister of the quads. She judged taht Tahari might never love her true mother enough, but that was alright. There were some things that you couldn't change, no matter what.
"Just try, Zuri. Please?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 3:50 pm
Zuri's expression drooped into something like depression, her heart not wanting to bother trying to do all this work for her daughters to maybe just 'ok, i sorta like you now, mom'. She felt that they would never love her, not like they should. But that was all her own fault, as well.
"I'm not sure, Bara. Tahari loves you more....more than she'd ever love me." There, she said it. Brought it out in the open. Hopefully Bara wouldn't get too mad at her for this next comment, either.
"Maybe...maybe if I started over, y'know? Bring some new children in our lives, do things right. What do you think?" She was sure that Bara would blow it away with a snap of her jaws and a large blow to her ego. But it was the only thing that Zuri could really think of that might work. Give up on these, and try again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 3:56 pm
Bara's anger knew no bounds after this. Not that she showed it as much as she was showing it earlier. No, she was slowly learning to hide it all, unlike her father. Somewhere deep inside of her, though, she felt like she knew her father much better then her little sister standing before her.
"You have got to be kidding me, Zuri." That was her only reply to the proposition. More cubs? After this first litter that was such a mixed up jumble of emotions? Zuri said that she would take care of these four, and she had failed in the end. While Zuri wasn't full of failures, it still did not give Bara much faith that she would do any better with another litter. And besides, she wasn't healthy enough for cubs. Neither was Bara, as the two of them had been giving everything they could to their daughters, making sure that they grew up right. It was hard, living away from a pride where everything was there when you needed it A twinge of homesickness overcame Bara before she shook it away. No, she would only return when she could kill her father and his leacherous ways.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 4:06 pm
"I did mean it." Zuri knew that she had to convince Bara that this indeed was what she wanted. She looked back at Bara's blue eyes with her own golden ones, standing up to her older sister now with a firey gaze. "I will correct what I did wrong, Barafu. I swear by it."
She stuck her paw out towards Barafu, giving her permission to seal the pact that she was offering to Bara. It was part of their past, their old pride, but it was something that she knew Bara would listen to if she was offering it. The pact mostly meant that if she failed, she was giving permission for Bara to kill her for her errors. A blood pact, something different then sibilin blood.
"When I am ready, I will complete the pact, Barafu'malkia."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 4:43 pm
Bara's eyes widened as she saw Zuri offer her her paw. Was she really...going to offer that over something so silly as this? Bara's own mind froze, her body unable to move as she tried to process this current turn of events. DId she even know what she was offering?
"Are you sure, Zuri? You cannot take this back once I accept your offer...."
In truth, Bara didn't want to accept this offer, but if Zuri was insistant on it, she would have no other choice but to accept. That was the laws of their old pride, and out of habit, Bara would accept, whether she wanted to or not.
"If you are offering the bond, then I guess I really do have to believe you," she stated, still full of shock.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 5:00 pm
Zuri's first reaction to Bara was only a nod. Her eyes did not waver away from her sisters, her body stood tall and firm as her paw was still hanging out towards her sister. She knew it would hurt, but the scars would disappear and everything in life would return to normal.
She shook her paw, not wanting to keep it up much longer. "I am sure, Barafu. Now hurry, we don't need to deal with all the formalities. I swear to it on my name, Zuri'ramla."
She smiled as warmly as she could, though it was obvious that she was scared as well for what the future might hold.
"I am ready, Barafu'malkia."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 5:03 pm
Bara sighed. She really wasn't going to go back on her word. Well, at least that part of Zuri had not changed inside of her. A comforting thought that perhaps everything Bara knew about her sister were gone.
"Alright, then. Zuri'ramla, I hold you on your word, that if you are to raise another litter of cubs, that you will treat them well and lovingly, unlike your first litter. I hold you to your word on this, and if you fail, you will pay with you life."
Bara slashed at the offered paw, drawing two small lines of blood. Bara licked a taste of the blood from the cut closer to her, while Zuri would do the same to the cut that was on the upper part of her paw.
The pact was sealed, without the usual fancy fomalities that a ceremony would hold.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 5:08 pm
Zuri's face tightened with the pain that soon followed. She quickly lapped up a tiny bit of blood from the cut she was to take from, swallowing it roughly to seal her side of the pact. Her stomache was full of butterflies, excited yet very nervous about the future. She would have to follow her word now, down to the very small detail, or else she was risking her life. And while she knew that Bara was a very loving sister, there were some things that were stronger than blood. The pacts that her pride held were just that.
"Thank you Bara. I'll go find a place to wash this so the girls do not worry about it." Shr nuzzled her sister's shoulder before limping off, the blood staining the white of her forelegs. She was ready, though, after she had cleaned up, to face her daughters with a new hope in her eyes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2007 5:13 pm
Bara watched as her sister limped off. It was a good idea to clean herself off before returning to the children, since they would worry about the gash that their mother suffered. Hopefully it would stop bleeding soon, and she would rub a bit of dirt into it so it would look older. Strange how marks that were old didn't seem to rouse suspicion like newer ones did.
Aaah. Well, Bara needed to get back to the girls, make sure that they were alright. She was sure that they were, but if they were hungry, Bara would have to go get them something since Zuri would be out of commission for a while in catching something for the family to eat. Oh well. Bara really did love her family, even if they drove her crazy a lot.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
