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 Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 12:13 pm
AIM RP Log
Mama? That's what he was looking for, wasn't it? He'd.. gone off to find someone to play with, and ended up lost in the sandy place. What WAS that, anyway? It'd taken him.. well. He wasn't even sure how long he'd been in there. However, his body ached, his stomach growled, and he hadn't groomed in the Gods knew how long. All in all, he was lost, scared, and a great deal famished. But now.. no, now there was the nice place. There was grass, and water, and nice things.. but still no mama. Frowning slightly, the young cub known as Kivu stared down to his reflection in the watering hole, studying it carefully. Mama.. and papa.. they would look like him, wouldn't they? It made sense. Taking a quick drink of the water, he weakly raised his head, looking around the surrounding area. Mama would've come to a nice place like this.. she and papa, they'd have been here. And so, clearing his throat, Kivu weakly called.
"Mama?"
The cry had barely fallen on her ears, being at the other side of the watering hole, but Siku HAD indeed heard the cry of a cub. Looking up from her lounging (which, at this point, was quite difficult; Siku was SURE she was bigger than when the girls had been born), she blearily looked around, then nudged Kiji gently in the side. "Kiji. You.. heard that, too, didn't you?" She asked quietly, ears perked in case the noise presented itself once more. Maternal instincts had already begun taking over her; should ANY cub, she decided, need her help, she would be there. It was her rightful duty. Deciding to make sure, she questioned her mate once more. "What do you think it was?"
Kiji was contently relaxing with Siku by the waterhole, no matter how awkward it was getting. He was in denial about how big Siku was getting, convinced that he was imagining things and merely forgot how large she might have been with the girls. Besides, it would cost him dearly to comment on her size at this point- it was rude in general and pregnancy amplified the effect of those comments many times, it seemed. He was dozing off, day-dreaming about the idea of having a son this time, wondering how different that might be.. he didn't really hear anything until Siku spoke up, he did not consciously notice anything until she'd spoke up. Maybe a squeak of some kind, where their mice around?
He opened one dark blue eye, and then the other, lifting his head up.
"Mice?" he suggested sleepily.
Smiling softly at Kiji's tiredness, Siku nuzzled her mate gently, inching herself closer to his side. He hadn't commented on her size; it was highly reassuring, and made her feel that much better. There were already differences, in how they acted. It was going to be perfect. ..Only...
Frowning once more, at the thought of the noise, Siku rested her head upon her paws and sighed. "Would you mind checking on it for me, Kiji? You know how difficult it is for me to move right now, or I'd do it myself.." this was almost purred to him, Siku trying to be as kind as absolutely possible with anything she requested. Gods knew that it was difficult for Kiji having to wait on her paw and paw... it was just so insanely difficult to go ANYWHERE without being exhausted! Adding a little pout of her lip, she batted her eyes. "Please?"
Kiji wasn't sure why she'd want him to check on some mice, but quickly and easily reasoned that she had heard something other than squeaking. Perhaps she had been more awake than he was, so he nodded happily. Careful not to disturb her too much as he got up, he got to his feet and licked Siku on the nose at her batting eyes and 'please'. He didn't mind doing whatever he could for her, he never had. He could tell she was trying to be nice about bossing him around, which he appreciated but felt she had every right to get his help when.. well, he'd been a major factor in the state she was currently in.
"I'll take a walk around, then," he said, adding with a smile, "Don't you go anywhere."
And he started in the large circle around the waterhole.
"Thank you, sweetheart!" She called after him, smiling happily at how wonderfully things were working out. That night.. she'd been worried, easily, but it was going well. So far, there hadn't been any unexpected problems, and Kiji was as sweet as ever. Sighing romantically, Siku curled to herself and nuzzled her own stomach lightly, eager for her babies to be born. She and Kiji would take good care of them. They'd be good, and beautiful.
"Be safe!" She called after him, really more for the thought she was caring than actual worry.
At the loud conversation of other creatures, Kivu had quickly picked his head up, staring out to try and find who was making the noise. Mama? Papa? It had to be! Beaming brightly, Kivu wiggled in anticipation, waiting for one of them to come close enough to greet. He'd found them! He'd found mama and papa!
Kiji didn't look back when Siku thanked him and reminded him to be safe, though his smile widened. With only a slight nod, he continued on his little walk. Still half-expecting mice or some other rodent.. he kept his eyed on the grass nearby. After all, he figured if it was something very large they could see it without him wandering away from where they'd been resting. Small was the most logical possibility, and so that's what he was expecting. He had to fight the urge to hum, something he seemed to enjoy doing a lot lately (since cheering up), so he could hear any more noises that came along.
"Helloooo?" he called gently, pausing a moment to see if anyone would respond.
At the call of hello, Kivu hobbled out from his spot by the water, grinning up to the strange lion. He.. didn't have his colors, but... glancing back to the water, Kivu could see family resemblance. Easily! Swishing his tail in excitement, Kivu sat proudly in front of the lion (now identified as Papa,) not caring how tired he looked. Papa would understand! He had just gotten sidetracked, was all.
"I'm sorry, Papa," he started, ducking his head slightly, "I.. I got lost in the sandy place, and couldn't find you or mama." It'd been scary, too, he added mentally. But not to Papa; Papa couldn't know he'd been afraid.
"B..but I found my way back now!" He added cheerily, grinning up at Kijibwa once more. "And.. that's good, right?"
Kiji was stunned when a little yellow cub suddenly appeared, and called him Papa despite the very obvious lack of resemblance. Why, he looked more like Siku than he looked like Kijibwa. For a moment, all that the great fluffy lion did was stare in confusion down at the cheerful little cub. Lost in a sandy place sounded familiar, Kiji had had that happen to himself when he was smaller than this yellow cub. That didn't seem to make Kijibwa react any quicker though, still looking dumbstruck he finally spoke up.
"T-that's very good," he said, then paused trying to decide if he should just go back to Siku or keep trying to figure this out on his own. He decided bringing back a cub calling him papa might not be a good idea, "W-what's your name, again?"
"Papa's so silly," Kivu giggled lightly, still smiling brightly up at the fatherly lion. How could he have forgotten? Was he really gone for THAT long? Straightening up as much as possible, to the point he seemed like he might tip over, Kivumanzi puffed himself up proudly. Well, if Papa was silly and forgotten his name, it didn't matter! He just got to tell him again! Clearing his throat, Kivu prepared to introduce himself.
"I," he said with excitement and joy, "am Kivumanzi! And I love my name, because Mama and Papa gave it to me!" He chirped with excitement, bouncing when he mentioned his now-taken parents. Pausing a moment, Kivu looked around suddenly, ears drooping slightly. Looking back up to Kijibwa, Kivu frowned lightly.
"Where.. is Mama, by the way, papa? You two are always together."
Kiji returned to simply staring at Kivu dumbly as he was called silly and was introduced. Clearly Kivumanzi had actual parents somewhere out there, some that he knew if they had given him his name and he distinctly remembered it.. but why he imagined that might be Kiji, Kiji had no idea what so ever. He paused a moment to look around them, there were no other lions around- and if Kivu had been lost in the desert, they could be anywhere that surrounded the desert.. That decided, he took another look at Kivu and noticed something surprising. Just like Janja, he had a strange marking on his shoulder, very similar style to that on his eldest daughter.
Yep, it was definitely time to get Siku in on this.
"O-over here," he said, not ready to break it to Kivu that they were not his parents. With that, he turned and headed back to Siku.
Excitedly bouncing, Kivu rose and obediently followed after Kiji, happy to once more be reunited with his family. They were all going to be together again, then! Almost in a march as he trailed after Kiji, Kivu decided to tell Papa about his experience in the sandy place. "I.. got kind of scared after I lost you, Papa, but I decided to try and find you again. I fell asleep when I wasn't tired a couple of times, but.. I found water, and kept going, and then I got here, with you and Mama! And it'll be okay now." He purred gently, happily recounting the tale.
And then he had spotted Siku. Stopping dead in his tracks, Kivu simply stared at the lioness, then Papa, and between the two. ..He was home!
"MAMA!"
When Kiji had returned with a slightly worried expression, Siku had instantly assumed the worst; something had happened. When she went to ask him about it, however, the small voice reached her ears again; this time, the cub was present. The cub was present, staring between the two of them, and calling her Mama. Blinking in confusion, Siku quickly looked over to Kiji, alarm covering her face. What.. what was going on?
"Kiji, dear..? Where.. did you find him..?"
Kiji looked utterly confused as he walked back and as Kivu explained what had happened to him, feeling awful that such a thing could happen to a cub but feeling very.. connected to him, almost. Kijibwa had gone through the same thing, only he truly did not find anyone he believed to be his mother or father again. Kivu seemed to be much brighter, much more cheerful about it all. Of course he was, he thought he'd found his family again. He was startled when suddenly Kivu cried out to Siku, causing Kiji glance at Kivu, then back at Siku with a small shrug.
"He was lost in the desert," he explained carefully, adding in a hushed voice, "He thinks we're his parents..?"
Kivu, unaware of the exchange between Kiji and Siku, hurriedly rushed over to Siku, nuzzling himself into her fur gently. Laughing slightly, he turned back to Kiji with a smile. "See, Papa?" He asked brightly, quite proud of himself for finding his parents once more, "I told you we'd all be happy together again! Me, Papa, and Mama!" It was perfect. And now, they were one big happy family again. "But.." he added quietly, taking a thoughtful look on his face. "For some reason, I thought Mama was blue... isn't that silly?" He laughed, then returned to nuzzling Siku once more.
Frowning, Siku allowed the cub to nuzzle into her side, staring awkwardly at Kiji as he did. What.. what had HAPPENED in the past few minutes? Patting the cub reassuringly on the back, billions of possibilities ran through her mind. A firekin escapee? A cub that'd followed them from the jungle? Or-
Freezing when the cub mentioned a blue mother, Siku's eyes widened, glancing down to the little thing then back to Kiji. Forcing a laugh, it was clear that Siku was reaching a new level of panic. "B..blue? Isn't that funny, Kiji..?" she managed, her voice dripping with the stress of the situation. Following, she mouthed lightly 'What is going ON?', praying slightly that Kiji knew.
Kiji just stared dumbly from where he stood, even when Kivu ran forward and nuzzled into Siku happily. With all of that done, Kiji sat himself down and continued to stare. He couldn't for the life of him figure out what made Kivumanzi think they were possibly his parents, especially if his mama was blue. But once Siku laughed about the blue, he managed a weak smile- until he realized what you got if you put blue and Siku together- Ekevu. Suddenly alarmed by the idea, he looked down at himself- he was black, Jamala had some black on him too, he'd gone with Kev.. but.. but..
Looking thoroughly alarmed and confused, he looked back at Kivu. Surely the cub was far too big to be Kev's, unless she'd been pregnant when she'd decided to leave, but even then.. he couldn't..?
Deciding it was best NOT to share this crazy theory with anyone, as it was so crazy and might only upset Siku, he merely shrugged, wide eyed.
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Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 3:18 pm
Amazingly enough, Kivu was not the son of Ekevu at all; rather, the son of Miamba's sister. The relationship was still there, but not as close as previously thought. Still, he was blisfully unaware of any issues on relationships, happy to be back with Mama and Papa. Done with his reuniting nuzzles, Kivu turned pleasantly back to his parents, watching them with curiosity. At their pained expressions, he frowned; something was wrong.
"Why are Papa and Mama unhappy? Aren't they glad I'm back?" He asked weakly, suddenly worried that they were unhappy with him.
So Kiji was as confused in this as she was. Managing a soft sigh, she looked down to the small cub by her side, then once more to Kiji. Did.. did he want to lead the small cub into believing they were his parents, or send him on his way again? Both options seemed rather troubling, but.... really, the only humane one was keeping him. Managing a weak smile, she gently nuzzled Kivu. "O..of course we're happy, sweetie." She murmured, trying to soothe the cub in the best way possible. "W..we were just so... so sure, you were gone.. it's shocking to see you again. We were so.. worried."
Kiji was surprised, yet again, when suddenly Kivu looked at him and looked so very unhappy at the idea that they would be upset. It was distressing, everything about this situation. Imagining it might be Kev's son, the idea that he'd been through the desert just as Kiji had as a cub, the sad, sad look on Kivu's rather adorable face.. Siku deciding to play along with it also shocked him, but in another way it was a relief- it provided some resolution...At least until they could talk about it privately, they'd have to pretend to be his parents. Ever a horrible actor, Kiji put on a very fake seeming smile and nodded along with Siku. He wandered back over to Siku and settled in beside her, and now Kivu.
"Yeah," he agreed in a quiet voice, "You- you'll have to tell us about all your adventures without us.."
Try to be optimistic, Kivu was safe with them for now, may as well not play up how bad it could have been for him!
Smiling once more, Kivu nodded in accepting agreement. It made sense; he probably had been lost longer than he'd thought. Oh well! The important thing was, he was back home, with Mama and Papa. And they were happy to have him back, too. Stretching himself lightly, Kivu looked up to the both of them with happiness.
"I.. didn't realize how tired I was, Mama and Papa. I was just so happy to see you, I must've been ignoring it. I..if you can tell me the way back to the den, I can get there on my own, and let you two talk more." He said happily, eager to please the both of them. They had to be happy, after all!
Nodding wearily, Siku absent-mindedly directed Kivu back to the family den, still keeping on her best possible fake smile. When the young cub took off excitedly for home, she worriedly turned to Kiji. "W..what's going on with that boy, Kiji?" She asked worriedly, both for their family and for the strange little cub.
When Kivu asked for direction, Kiji didn't get a chance to speak before Siku directed him. Then he watched as the cub took off for the den, lifting his head high and watching very carefully.. it was odd to be letting him just go off on his own again like that, but now that he was nearby and knew where they were, Kiji doubted very much he would let himself get lost again. And hopefully they would notice and be able to find him again before he got too lost, if he did. That decided, he looked back at Siku and bit his lip.
"I don't know," he said, "But what can we do about him? Do you suppose someone around here is missing a cub, if he's been in the desert?"
Frowning, Siku shook her head. "We won't be able to find out, anyway. Asking about a yellow cub in the Pridelands is about the equivalent of hunting for an individual piece of grass." Sighing, the exhausted tone returned to her once-chipper voice. "And we can't just carry him around, asking 'is this cub yours? He thinks we're his parents, but we're not.' It'd be too emotionally damaging to him." She mumbled gently, leaning into Kiji with a sigh.
"But.. that really doesn't leave us much of a choice in the matter, does it?"
"I suppose you have a point," Kiji agreed sullenly on the comment of looking through the pridelands for someone missing a yellow cub. He didn't expect too many would actually be missing yellow cubs, but if they were say, gone out for the day or something.. someone might misunderstand and then they'd have to go through explaining to Kivu why he was being shown off to someone random in the Pride. Siku was very right about this, but there was just one big problem with it..
"What if his parents do find him?" he asked.
That, Siku hadn't thought about. At all. Hesitating, Siku caught her eyes with Kiji's, wishing there was an easy solution to this. But.. really, there wasn't, was there? Shifting so that her belly rested comfortably, Siku closed her eyes and thought. There were so many possibilities.. deny any relations, claim the cub was crazy, several other unfortunate ideas..
"We'd have to send him back." She choked out lightly, opening her blue eye's to Kiji's once more. "We'd.. just have to break his heart, and send him back."
Kiji looked at Siku sadly as she tried to think this through. Morally, they'd have to return the cub.. but until that time came, what was the harm in making sure that he was kept safe and happy. More importantly, he would feel safe if he truly believed they were his parents. After all, that's how a cub should feel.. they should be able to come to their parents about anything. This line of reasoning has Kiji thinking about Janja and Jedi again, he was mad at Ekevu for what she had done but he was having a hard time gaging just how angry he was with them. With the two oldest, there was still some far off chance they really had a good reason.. He sighed, and nuzzled Siku, resting his head against her side.
"But for now," he mumbled, "For now.. we're his."
Remaining silent for a moment, Siku allowed her mind to wrap itself around the concept. His. It was almost choking, in a sense, that the idea hadn't hit her sooner. His.. maybe that's what'd been wrong last time, with her ideas? She hadn't even considered how a parental relationship ran both ways. Nodding slightly, when she'd thought over this for a little while longer, Siku nearly hummed out her reply.
"And he's ours."
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Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 3:26 pm
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