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 Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 12:03 pm
Kizuka was sprawled in the sun, and quite happily so, before the mouth of the cave she'd claimed for her family. Halfway up the cliff side was a wonderful place to be--sun during the first part of the day, shade during the later half, and plenty of wind to cool you. Oh, it had its downfalls too... but at the moment, she just wanted to think of the good things in life.
For instance, the scrambling of her cubs in the cave behind her. They were far too young to come out of the cave, yet, but they had little trouble with rough and tumble games of their own. For now they were leaving her with some peace, and for that Kizuka was thankful.
The tan goddess had neglected her friendships lately. Perhaps it was the sudden overwhelming feeling of motherhood, and more of a one-sided one as well. Thankfully all of her children were mostly obedient, which had kept her from shedding her feathers out of stress. They had begun to grow, old enough to keep themselves out of trouble and keep an eye on one another.
With their promises of being good and staying in their own cave still ringing in her ears, Mo'onasi had decided to take a walk and see what she could see. The first thing that she wanted to see was someone she had missed terribly, someone she felt that she could always count on. Kizuka. Her feet wandered for a time, not quite sure just where the lioness was until her scent had crossed into Momo's nose. She was closeby. "Kizuka?" she called out, hoping that perhaps she could hear her voice.
A familiar, though long absent, voice reached her ears and Kizuka opened wide her eyes. Unknown to her, she'd actually slipped into a half-sleeping state. SHe startled at first, unsure of where the sound had come from.. and then her eyes were drawn downward to the appearance of a sandy form in the reviving jungle below. "Momo!"
A smile drug at Kizuka's maw, but she didn't rise from the cave she was protecting. "How good to see you!"
Mo'onasi could hear her, but it took her a moment to realise that the voice was coming from up above. Her head shook to the sides, making sure that she wasn't next to her, before peeking upwards to see the familiar brown and white lioness up above. Her eyes took a moment to take the sight in, trying to keep the dampness behind her eyes.
"I know, it's been too long, I'm so sorry," she struggled to say, feeling awful that it really had been so long. "I've decided taht being a mother is a lot of trouble, though perhaps not too much." She offered a smile, though, to hopefully keep herself reassured that she really meant it. Not the right circumstances, but she wouldn't give up her kids for anything.
"How have you been? Have I missed a lot?"
"... well... quite a bit, perhaps." Kizuka laughed. She looked far better than the last time Mo'onasai had seen her, that she knew, but she also sounded slightly better as well. The lioness's voice would never be what it had been before.. but that was just as well.
"Come up and join me." Kizuka nodded to the gradually rising ledge that lead up to where she was, "I'm afraid I can't leave this spot."
Momo's curiosity filled her as she wondered just what was up. Even more so when she said that she couldn't leave the spot. Some ideas just never crossed the goddess' mind, and perhaps a family was one of them.
She noticed where the lioness nodded, and soon found herself on the ledge that Kizuka was lying on. She settled down next to the lioness, the feeling of comfort filling her. The memory of what happened would be there, but the feeling of being safe would always, in her mind, be attached to Kizuka.
"I'm so sorry if I've missed such important things in the pride," she started apologizing in a rush. "I really didn't notice just how long it had been in seeing the others before it felt like it was too late!"
"Never too late." Kizuka licked the Goddess's cheek in an affectionate, friendly manner. Momo was a sweet heart, and an innocent much of the time. It was difficult for Kizuka to remember, sometimes, that Momo was her "superior" or even her elder. "Its good to see you... I'd been worried, but getting out to your cave was... well difficult at the moment."
As Kizuka opened her mouth to explain further, there was a scrambling noise behind her and then two brown paws, shade matching Kizuka's own, appeared over the female's back. "Jasisi.." Kizuka chuckled, and twisted to lean over herself a mere moment and pick the cub up by the scruff at the back of her dead-pelted neck.
Kizuka settled the cub at her paws, but whatever the child had wanted was forgotten in the presence of Momo. Brilliant red eyes, like her father's, gazed up at the love goddess. "... who're you?"
"Jasisi.. manners." Kizuka reminded, then smiled at her friend, "Momo, my daughter Jasisi.. Jasi, this is Mo'onasai."
Momo's olive eyes couldn't help but widen when she saw the cub. It...it. Looked so much like...! While she was pretty innocent most of the time, she knew enough about everything when there was a little cub that looked a lot like a certain lioness, and even a lion.
"You...what...oh. Wow, I have missed a lot! Too much!" the goddess beamed, letting her eyes take in the sight of the cub in a different light. She certainly had a liking to both of them, at least as far as she guessed. She knew that there were holes, though, and she shouldn't widely assume anything.
"She's beautiful, Kizuka. Hi there," she replied, turning her attention back and forth from the mother to the daughter. "You can call me Momo. Can I call you Jasisi?" she asked. Such a cute cub! It almost made her wish that she brought along one of her own, but knew better than to spoil one of them. She didn't want to tempt what could be a hidden dark side with jealousy.
"Are there more?" she asked Kizuka excitedly, hoping that there were.
"Ahhaa.." Jasisi nodded, her voice soft as many a young girl's was. She glanced at her mom, then at the stripped lioness once more. "You can call me Jasi if you want, ma'am.. everyone else does.."
Kizuka chuckled softly and gave her daughter's head a lick. "seven, total," She breathed with the motherly, affectionate sort of exasperation any female would recognize. "i'm not sure how I held them all in."
"Held us in where?" Jasisi jumped on the question.
"In the cave," Her mother responded tartly, but smiled, "Did you need something, sweety?"
"Kimau is being a meany butt," She frowned, "He said I was stupid."
"you're not stupid dear," Kizuka sighed and looked over her shoulder, "Kimau! Don't call your sister names!"
She swatted Jasisi's but lightly (more of a tap really) with one idle paw, and nuzzled her daughter, "And you shouldn't call your brother names either.. ok?"
"Ok mamma.." The girl sighed.
Momo couldn't help but giggle at the exchange of the two. It was something that was so typical, but she still enjoyed it. It seemed that Kizuka really was happy, and that only turned around to make Momo content with joy.
"Seven!? Your paws are just as full as mine, then. I'm sure that they're all very good cubs, though?" She assumed so, if only because of the blind admiration she had for Kizuka. "I can't wait to meet them all, and if they're all as cute as Jasi, then you're certainly a proud mother!" Her tail swished on the stone behind her, leaning just a bit closer to Kizuka. "So Ushaufu is pretty busy too then, I could guess?"
"We keep him on his toes, yes," Kizuka laughed. She picked Jasisi up once more and put her back behind the barrier in the cave. It wouldn't be good to show favor, or too much favor, towards any child in particular. Turning back to her friend, Kizuka cave her a conspiratorial wink, "Oh they're wonderful when they choose to be. Perhaps, when they're all old enough, we could introduce the litters... how are your brood doing?"
Momo laughed at the idea of the green lion on the tip of his toes, and let herself relax a bit more while Jasisi was getting put back with the rest of her litter mates. All in due time she would meet them all, and she could wait. She would have to.
"Well, they're good," she commented shyly. "Sometimes I think a little too good. I still..." she grew quiet for a moment. "I still grow uneasy with the red one, and I think he notices it. The others haven't yet, I think, but I know he has. I...still don't know what to do about that." She let a little silence fall again before picking her voice back up. "But otherwise they're all strong, filling out. Sometime I wonder just how I deal with so many, though."
"It is a hard thing to judge," Kizuka nodded slowly. She watched Momo with a worried expression, her tail slowly moving against Momo's side. "And a hard thing to deal with.. I would imagine."
Kizuka frowned, wishing she could do more for her friend... but in this instance, she remained clueless as to what to do or say.
Momo's head lowered itself onto her forepaws as she stared blankly ahead. She knew that Kizuka could not have all the answers, but it was still disappointing to not have a solution dropped right onto her lap.
"He is at least patient, and not hostile towards the others. I'll admit for a while I was worried that he might attack one of them, but maybe he didn't inherit any of his father's traits besides the red body." She sighed, shivering a bit, letting her head roll at an angle on her paws. "Hopefully the future will change things. And I can get over my own fears."
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Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 7:40 pm
"It is hard, Momo," Kizuka said carefully as she considered. "but you can't spend your entire life being fearful or... well. Being negative towards your son. He is not his father.. and not to blame for his father's actions. The boy isn't hostile now, no... but you have to consider... even if it isn't in his nature to be hostile, treating him... differently than the rest might lead him down that road. In that case it would not be his father to blame."
Momo listened to the words carefully, knowing that they would sting, but also knowing that she needed to hear them. Sometimes things would resonate within her, but she wouldn't accept them until they were out in the open. And this was part of it.
"You're right," she admitted, raising her head to look at Kizuka, just a bit. "Even though I try to not favor any single one of them, I'm favoring all but one of them." She thought about it over again. "I hope I can get over it, though. It's something that almost haunts me. I should love him like all the others. He is my son, after all."
"He is.. and a beautiful boy, if i remember correctly." She gave Momo a kind smile, well aware that she had just hurt the goddess, however needed that hurt may have been. "As lovely as his mother."
Momo couldn't help but flush at the compliment. "Well...he was the only one who inherited my stripes. I guess I should probably concentrate on those aspect than just the colour of his coat."
She shifted her weight around again, feeling a bit more comfortable, and more things to think about later when she was with her cubs. But for now, maybe she wanted to try and switch it to a topic that was more comfortable in her eyes.
"So, tell me. Do they all look a lot like Jasi?" She smiled, unable to keep her excitement for her friend held in any longer.
Kizuka took the topic switch with grace and chuckled softly at her friend. She shook her head, "Actually, a lot of them ended up inheriting traits from Ushu's sister, Audilifu. There's one cub that has splotches like I, but instead of brown and white she's pink and white." Kizuka giggled a little at that, unable to help it, "Another girl who has blue, green and white splotches."
"Pink?" Wow, that horribly surprised Momo. She was a bit surprised when a light pink and purple showed up on two of her girls, but still, it was hard to imagine one of Kizuka's kids full of pink. "How delightful! I'm so happy for you, Kizuka." She nuzzled her friend. "Though I'm certain with all those fun colours it'll be a bit easy to spot them from afar. Bad for them, maybe, but good for you."
Which made her think about other things, things that she could guess on, but wasn't sure about. "So, is it just me, or did the rains return? The foliage doesn't seem as dead and dry as it used to."
"The rains did," Kizuka chuckled, "Its been raining off and on, don't tell me the litter keeps you that busy?" She laughed softly, but not at momo's expense. It was adorable, really. "You should move in closer to the pride. I doubt anyone here would mind."
"Eeek! N-no, I did sorta notice that," she stuttered, trying to hide her embarrassment. Yeah, she had been kind of busy, and it seemed like the only time that she did notice a bit of rain was when the cubs were complaining about not being able to go out and play in it. Boy, did some of them really like that mud. Ugh, gross taste in her mouth creeped back in just at the thought of it.
"Move more in? You think...that would be okay?" She was always a bit nervous since she was found and brought in by Kizuka. They had so little, and still did their best for her and her unborn cubs at the time. Momo still felt like a burden to them, and still grew a bit nervous about the thought of moving in. "I mean, I'd like to, I just don't want to get in the way of anything, really..."
"Momo.." Kizuka purred, "The queen knows you're here. besides, i'd be safer for you and the cubs to be with the rest of the pride. There isn't a soul here who'd hurt them.. and it isn't as if you'd be taking anything away from the others."
Momo's eyes drifted towards the area where her cave was. "Yes. That's true. And I guess with the rains back....it would be better." She was easily swayed, but she would still feel a bit bad about it for a short while, no matter what anyone said. It was the reactions and acceptance of the others that would make her more comfortable for it.
"And hey, if we did move in closer, maybe your brood will become friends with my cubs!" That cheered her up. The idea that they could all get along and play made her smile, especially for her more rambunctious cubs that she couldn't always keep up with.
"Well.. to be honest, I was thinking that we could help one another out." Kizuka laughed, "It will be easier with four paws that two, as Ushu is often out hunting. Or I am, when he's here... it would make more sense for all three of us to help one another out, since we have cubs at about the same age."
Oh! That idea hadn't crossed her mind at all. "That....is a very good idea! It would certainly make my life easier, I have to admit. Even with all the patience in the world, seven against one can be horribly overwhelming at times." She laughed. "Alright, you've convinced me. I'll move them over close by once the little balls of fluff are ready do. Which I'm certain they will be, I think they're slowly getting sick of one another, but won't admit it."
Kizuka chuckled, "The song of every sibling, I think." Still, she leaned in and bumped her forehead against Momo's. "i'm glad to hear that, though. Tell me if you need any help when you get ready to do that?"
Kizuka had just laid back in her place when a bit of whining caught her ear. She turned to look back at her cave... and the cluster of jewel-like eyes waiting inside. It didn't take her a psychic or seer to understand. "Unfortunately, my dear Mo'mo... I think its feeding time at the zoo."
Momo nodded after their forehead contact had broken apart. "I promise I'll do that. I'm sure one or two of them might try to flap their little wings, and I really doubt that they're strong enough to fly yet." That was the one thing a couple of them were more curious about. At least it was lessened by the fact that Momo barely flew as she was living here, so their curiosity wasn't mixed with a bit of anticipation. Yet.
Momo laughed. "I understand. I'll be sure to come visit you again, soon. Especially when it's moving time. Hopefully you'll be able to spare a little bit of time from the cuties."
"I should be able to. Or i'll get Kimaji to watch them for a few moments." Kizuka chuckled, "The wonderful thing about their having an elder sister--I have a built in baby sister." The lioness winked, for it was partially a joke, and she stood to stretch herself. "I shall try and visit you soon. I promise."
With that, Kizuka turned and stepped over the slight barricade she'd pushed into place to help keep the cubs inside the den and away from the edge of the cliff. Inside, childish mewles and growls were heard, as well as their mother's gravel voice as she got them into some sort of order.
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