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 Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 6:31 pm
As the sky began to fade with the setting of the sun, Tembezishaha lay on a rock, idly watching his mate. Being so far gone with his cubs, he had been doing the hunting and had brought down a sizable gazelle this time for her to eat. His heart swelled with pride every time he saw her, her belly larger than normal. It had been several moons since she told him, so he figured the time was coming closer each day. To think, he was going to be a father... The large lion smiled fondly at his small mate.
"How about you run along," he said as he approached her, baring his teeth and growling low as he changed to a slow, menacing stalk towards her. "And I won't have to hurt you."
It was really all for show. He wasn't the type to hurt females, but he wasn't past scaring them from their kills.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 6:47 pm
Kijivu had been starving. She had been eating plenty, but could never quite satisfy her apetite. The cheetah had grown huge, too - much larger than she could remember being with her first litter. It made her wonder exactly how many cubs she was carrying.
She had been working away at the carcass, savoring every scrap that went down her throat, when the leopard showed up. Thanks to her mate, she had grown much more confident in herself, but a threatening male was still a threatening male and she didn't know how to react, her ears pinned back, head lowered.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 6:53 pm
"I thought I told you to run along," Kije barked at her, growling a bit louder and baring his teeth.
Shaha looked up at the sound of an unfamiliar, angry voice. Upon seeing Kiji threatened by the leopard, Shaha sprang from his perch, running at the fool who would threaten his mate. His mate. The mother of his unborn cubs. He had no idea that the leopard was only trying to scare her off the food. All he saw was his gentle, very pregnant Kiji being threatened. He couldn't lose her.
Kijeshi looked up when a roar split the air. He jumped backwards just fast enough to avoid the swipe of the lion's paw, when the large male ran up from the side, the claws whistling by his face. This creature looked insane, his eyes a deep blue and narrowed dangerously and his large teeth bared. Of course, mad or not, Kijeshi was not about to back down from a challenge, especially not with a mere lion. It would take more than that to scare him off.
The leopard's ears folded back and he crouched low, growling at his opponent.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 8:58 pm
Kiji squealed and ducked away as her mate came flying toward the leopard, her ears still pinned back. She was terrified, her heart pounding, head spinning. Kijeshi had come out of no where, it seemed, and she didn't understand why he wanted to steal her meal when he could catch his own.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 9:01 pm
Shaha was lost within himself. His world had narrowed down to just the leopard in front of him, his opponent. Of course he always kept his back to Kiji, but the fact was that there was now nothing gentle or kind in him when he attacked again, rearing on his hind legs as the leopard did and snarling as he tried to push the leopard back or bite into his neck.
Kijeshi met the lion's ferocity with his own, locking paws and getting in a swipe to the lion's face when he tried to bite his neck. He pushed back and twisted away, growling and grinning slightly.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 9:08 pm
The cheetah held back another whimper as she watched the fight. The leopard frightened her, but she was also in awe at the transformation in Shaha. A rush of emotions, all mixed, surged in her. She was almost scared of his ferocity, and yet there was a fondness too, a burst of love. Kiji knew that he would do anything to defend her, but seeing it was something different.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 9:10 pm
Shaha backed away a bit after they broke, shaking his head, some blood from the two cuts above and two below his eye flying off his face. He bared his fangs at his opponent, his blue eyes narrowed in the rage that consumed him. It had been a quick change in him, but this was how it had always been. When he was younger, his father had taught him how to hold back what he called the Battle Rage that ran through their bloodline. But seeing Kiji in danger was... like a tiny flame to the brittle grasslands during a drought.
"You should run, leopard. The longer you stay, the less likely you'll walk away," he growled, battle heating his gaze.
Kijeshi smiled back and raised a paw.
"And yet it's your blood on my claws, lion. Shall we see what the rest of your insides look like?" he asked and ran at the lion once again, rearing up to better slash at him.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 9:25 pm
Kiji's instincts told her to run, go, hide, but she couldn't leave Shaha. There was no way she could leave him in danger, even if she couldn't do anything to help him. So she stayed, paralyzed with fear, fear for herself and for her mate and for their unborn cubs.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 9:31 pm
The lion facing off against the brown leopard smiled, a strange, twisted lift of his lips, like that of a creature that has found the weakness of another and wishes to exploit it. When the leopard reared up to slash at him, Shaha moved, more swiftly than it seemed possible for his size, turning so that the surprised leopard slashed across his back, though not as deep because his aim had been higher. The lion then twisted and came at the leopard's side, pushing him hard into the ground and pinning him there. The claws on one of his huge paws slowly raked a trail of cuts into his side.
"Now it is your blood on my claws, leopard, and your life in my paws. What will you tell Death when you see him, when I send you to his side for your trespasses?" Shaha asked, sneered down at his captive, and pushed down on the leopard, pressing his dirt-covered paw into the cuts until the leopard cried out in pain. He hadn't really meant to do that, he just happened to be shifting his weight and there just happened to be a lot of dirt on his paws. Outdoors... Dirt... yeah...
Kije cried out at the pain in his side, unable to stay quiet. This creature was no normal lion. He fought like something possessed, faster than a normal lion and without mercy. Sure, it would be his luck that he would go up against a creature like this. He had no other option. He reigned in his pride.
"Please... Let me go. I swear, you'll never see me again," he whispered, begging the creature pressing his paws into his side and shoulder. Much more weight and he was certain something in him would break. His fire colored eyes, looked from the narrowed blue of the lion holding him down to the tan-brown of the female he had tried to scare away. He pleaded with her with his eyes, begging her to reason with her protector.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 10:08 pm
Kiji stayed where she was the entire time, trying to make herself appear as small as possible. She didn't want to distract Shaha - or catch the leopard's attention again.
When the big lion pinned his opponent, however, Kiji carefully got to her paws, creeping a tiny bit closer. She saw his eyes; he tried to connect them with hers. The cheetah could not keep his gaze. She didn't want to look at him, but she felt compelled to.
With a deep sigh, she looked up at Shaha. "Don't kill him," she asked quietly. "I don't think that you should kill him."
She felt a pain in her belly but ignored it.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 10:18 pm
Hearing the second voice tell him not to kill his opponent, Shaha's head whipped towards the speaker, eyes narrowed at the thought of someone telling him what to do with the los- And he looked into Kiji's eyes and his snapped wide. He looked down and saw the leopard beneath his paws, bloodied and having trouble breathing from the pressure on his side. He jerked back, taking his paws off the fallen leopard and backing a way a bit. A fire still burned inside of him, but looking into Kiji's eyes had been like at least a little water on the flames.
He turned and slowly walked to his mate, paying no attention to the leopard.
"Kiji... I..." he started and realized he didn't know what to say, where to begin.
Kije slowly stood, the pain in one shoulder causing him to favor it. He looked at the pair for a moment before turning in the general direction of his homeland and walking away. He'd learned a valuable lesson this day, one he would not soon forget.
Not that the scars he would soon carry on his side would let him, anyways.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 10:21 pm
Kiji watched the leopard walk away in silence. When Shaha approached her, however, her solemn expression became warm, grateful. "Oh, Shaha," she said, rushing towards him with a purr. She buried her muzzle in his mane, unaware of the bit of blood on him getting on her.
"Shaha, I..."
She stopped, another pain striking her belly. This one was stronger and she let out a soft groan. Then it struck again, just moments later.
"...Shaha, I... I think the cubs are coming."
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 10:27 pm
Surprised when she ran to him, Shaha smiled, relieved and nuzzled her back, not caring about the blood still draining from the cuts around his left eye. Nothing mattered right now except for Kiji.
And what she had to say.
Shaha jerked back and stared at her with wide eyes.
"Truly?? Is there something you need me to do? Should I go get Matawi? Do you need help? Is there anything I can do for you?" The questions came out in a rush and he looked very flustered indeed. He'd never been with a female having cubs, let alone one he loved so much as Kiji. He'd do anything for her.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 10:39 pm
"No, no, it's okay," she said, closing her eyes as she slid to the ground, lying on her side. "I...I've done this before, but I have more than two this time, that's for sure."
She grunted to herself, breathing in deeply before looking up at him. "All I need is for you to stay by my side."
-------
It was a fairly easy birth, although it went rather slowly. The first cub came shortly after Kiji's labor started, a pretty little female, but then it was several minutes before the next came. Then another, a total of two boys and one girl. Kiji thought that she was finished and sat up to finish grooming her newborn cubs, but after a while, two more cubs decided to make an appearance - two more girls.
The new mother was exhausted but too joyful to simply lie down and relax. She licked her cubs, pushed them to her belly, and licked them more before looking up at Shaha proudly.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 10:51 pm
Shaha, being a typical male deeply in love with his mate, fretted quietly at her side throughout the entire labor. He nuzzled her in the down times and gritted his teeth when she was in pain.
And after what seemed like an eternity, it was over. Five beautiful cubs, two of them twins even. He curled around Kiji, placing their children in a protective circle and rubbed his head against hers. The blood from his cuts had dried by now, caked on his fur, but he didn't care. He was a father.
"I love you, Kijivu. I won't let anything happen to you, or our cubs," he whispered to her.
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