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 Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 3:35 pm
Nzinga's heart thumped in her chest and swelled with emotion. She wanted to lay her head down on the dirt floor of her new den and relax, as her body was tired from the exertion. But she wanted to look on the faces of her new children. Four of them! It had been harder this time than the last, but it didn't matter now. It was over.
She kept running her yellow eyes over their little bodies. They were beautiful, even with their wet fur matted down and their eyes closed. They made squeaking sounds as they blindly wrestled with each other for milk. Nzinga soaked it all up; the sight, the sound, the feel of them. All of the uncomfortable feelings about Utesaji and Xibalba, all of her hardships were for a few minutes forgotten.
She knew Utesaji was probably right outside the den, waiting until "it" was over before coming in to see the cubs that were his children too. She wasn't sure about Xibalba; perhaps he had gone to fetch her, and if he had, then they both must be waiting.
Nzinga knew she should call them in to see the cubs. But she lingered. This time alone with just her and the babies was precious, and for a few moments she wanted to be alone with them. Who knew what would happen after this? Nzinga was jealous of them, of the fact that she had to share them with their father. So she kept these few moments for herself.
Nzinga memorized each of their faces, running her eyes over them again and again before she finally called out to whoever may be outside the den, "It's over now. You may come in."
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Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:32 am
Cubs. There were cubs, now. It never seemed that real. He didn't see Nzinga too much, oh sure, they were pleasant enough with each other, but rarely sought out each other's company. Saji did his thing and raised his son. Nzinga did her was...carried the cubs. And now? Now they were born, and he had to wait until she was ready. This was fine, the black lion decided. He did not mind guarding the den. It was something he did best.
And then she invited them in. Nodding to the white cub at his side, Utesaji crawled in halfway, laying on his belly as he waited for eyes to adjust. Four. He counted four. Which were the sons? Puzzling eyes met Nzinga's gaze for a nod of approval...but he wanted to know. Which were his sons? He nudged Kokou. "These are your siblings."
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Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:46 am
Koku had been living with his strange savior for some time now and he had grown far away from the small cub he had been when he was discovered. He kept mostly to himself and was quite distracted with the haunting thoughts of his own dead siblings. He never really paid attention to what was going on around him. Day in and day out, he hunted, he had nightmares, he had fits and breakdowns. That's how his life went. So when Utesaji started interacting with these other she-lions, Koku hardly paid them any mind.
It was only when Utesaji nudged him and blatantly noted to Koku that these newborns were his "siblings" that Koku snapped back to the real world.
Koku snapped a terrible gaze red-eyed upon Saji. These weren't his siblings. They weren't his brother and sister who had kept him warn at night when nothing else did. His sweet sister wasn't among them, her voice always guiding and chiding the other two. His dear brother wasn't among them either, his voice always worried and stuttering out of pure terror. These weren't his siblings. These weren't his siblings at all.
A low growl escaped Koku's throat and he moved away from observing the newborns to press himself against a wall, something solid.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 4:56 pm
So the cubs had arrived.
Xibalba had been informed the moment that Nzinga had remained for too long within her den, not to mention the fact that Utesaji had been summoned to its entrance. So, she too had set off to meet the newest additions to her growing "family." As she neared the den site, she spotted Koku and paused to study him. She had known about the white lion for quite some time; however she had never had an opportunity to meet him. Her vultures had told her that this white creature lived with Utesaji, though their relationship was wholly unknown to her. It irked her that her blue pet had brought this younger lion with him to the den. Xibalba did not fancy the idea of another male stealing Utesaji's attention away from her. She needed to keep him focused on her, much like the owner needs to keep the dog on the leash focused on her. The moment another dog appeared and the focus is lost, all hell breaks loose.
Still, there was little she could do at this point, as Nzinga had already invited them in and Utesaji had brought the young male in with him. That would not last for long, however. It was Xibalba who made the rules here, and Koku was about to find out why she was in charge. The lioness had just started to move towards the den when a low growl made her stop. Was that the white male? It sounded too young to be her blue pet. Xibalba's claws dug into the ground as she steadied her temper. She would not lose face in front of Nzinga. She would handle this as she handled everything: with a smile.
Thus, the lioness all but stalked towards the den, and moved to touch Koku with a single paw. Though she was not using them, the claws on her paw remained out, as a silent warning. "It is rude for a male other than the father of the cubs to enter the den," Xibalba said sweetly, though the smile on her face did not quite reach her eyes. The tone was deceiving, however the body language was not. The lioness did not want Koku in the den with her and Utesaji.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 8:11 pm
Nzinga braced herself for the invasion of privacy that was to come as others entered her birthing den, but was not expecting so many pairs of eyes. The little white cub was startling to see, but Nzinga eventually realized this must be Utesaji's other..."son." Jealousy welled up in her - what had she just given birth to if not his real, true sons?
Which brought her back to Saji's question. Nzinga actually didn't know the genders of her babies; she hadn't yet thought to look. The gender didn't matter to her, not yet. Too tired to care or lift her head, Nzinga just said, "Look for yourself, Saji. But be gentle."
She did not want to move herself; the cubs were either cuddled against her belly or trying to suckle, and she did not want to disturb them. But Nzinga's eyes remained bright and vigilant, and she watched the other three lions in her den warily, with equal amount of caution to each.
The white cub made a sound that put Nzinga on the defensive. Without thinking, her mouth drew back in a snarl to warn the boy away from her and the babies. Realizing quickly that Saji might take offense to this, she quickly tried to make her face neutral again.
Quietly, but with approving eyes, she was able to see Xibalba move towards the foreign cub with a reprimand that was unmistakable, though Xibalba remained calm. It seemed they held the same opinion of him. Good. Xibalba would take care of this stranger for her; it had been right of Nzinga to trust the lioness. Nzinga was thankful that Xi was looking out for her interests - at least, for the time being, their interests were similar. And that was all that mattered, right?
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 10:18 am
Even Utesaji was slightly irritated with Koku, ears flicking back as the younger male growled. He simply chose to bump the white lion with his body and give him a fleeting glare instead of raising his voice. Of course, Xibalba did not see it this way. This was not okay. The dark lion stifled a rumble and shot backwards and out of the den, blue eyes locking on the lioness. This matter was between Utesaji and Xiabalba. "Do not touch him," he hissed, much angrier than he had been in weeks. That was his.
But nonetheless, he shuffled back in and nosed Koku, moving around until he was in front of his son and between him and the cubs. Apparently, this was something he was going to have to work on. As for the sons- What? She wanted him to check? The male gave a grunt but did as instructed, checking each of the cubs. The blond one put up a fight. Ah, a fiery son. Excellent.
"Three sons." Utesaji nodded. He looked back at Nzinga and nodded again. He approved. This was good. He looked at the small blond, the cub had started bumbling over his siblings already. "Ushindi." This was okay, yes? Should he name the others?
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:29 pm
Nzinga was now ignoring whatever happened with the foreign cub. Anxiously, she watched as Utesaji checked the gender of her cubs - she hoped for a girl, even just one. If they were all boys, Utesaji would take them and they couldn't be hers. She wanted one for herself.
When the father of her cubs pronounced that Nzinga's wish had been granted, she sighed in relief. Now, in earnest, she studied the single daughter. You will be mine, Nzinga mentally told the black-and-white girl.
Utesaji had his boys; she had her girl. This had gone quite well for the both of them. Nzinga nodded back at Utesaji, for once respecting him. She also looked over at Xibalba, to see what her reaction to this pronouncement was. And to thank her, with her eyes, for her help and advice. This situation turned out perfectly, and whether or not Xibalba deserved the credit, Nzinga would give it to her.
Her ears popped up as Utesaji gave one of the sons a name. She was surprised, but would allow it. In her mind she had already given over her sons, emotionally, to their father. He could name them, that was okay. Nzinga already had one good son - if he was still alive, wherever he was. What she lacked was a good daughter.
"Give the boys good names," she said, speaking her first words in a while. "But, if you would, I would like to name my daughter." Something strong, Nzinga thought. Something that would make this daughter everything she needed her to be.
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