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 Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 11:17 am
He had to get out for a while to clear his head. To think about what needed to be done and about the future. (But mainly with the future).
He'd started to come to terms with the fact that he was going to be a father. Yes, No was still in early pregnancy and she certainly had a little way to go before there were any little balls of fur demanding attention and food and games and stories and...ugh. Yes, well, he had a while before that happened and whilst he did, he needed to get everything else prepared.
With cubs on the way he'd need to rely more and more on his friends and allies. (Though he had yet to find out No wasn't the only pregnant lioness in the lands). Until then, he could remain blissfully unaware of the situation unfolding all around him - though that wasn't going to last too much longer. Not when he was about to have a meeting with one of the ladies of the pride who was in a similar predicament to No.
He was moving slowly across the lands, a thoughtful look on his face. No, he hadn't been bouncing with joy at the news. He'd been completely terrified. But now that he thought about it, why wouldn't he and No make good parents? They had sound minds, a good land to raise them in and he was pretty sure he'd be able to keep them under control.
Ugh...who was he kidding.
Well, if nothing else, it was going to offer another challenge. Besides, now that the shock was easing, he was secretly looking forward to it. Little versions of themselves running around was bound to cause a stir. Besides, as he'd told No, it would finally give them some normality - something they'd both had a distinct lack of.
Yes...maybe it wouldn't be all that bad.
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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 11:28 am
By her own demand, her secret meetings with Wakia had become more spread out after she realized he'd been found out at least once. She had no desire to cause any trouble, so while refusing to give up her friend entirely just because he happened to be stuck on the Safi side she had decided on fewer meetings if they were to remain on opposite sides. Unfortunately, this left her in an unusual predicament when she eventually realized she was pregnant. Wakia had not been back since she figured it out, and while she was not far along it was already evident in the way she moved and the slight hanging bulge to her abdomen.
Restless despite the urge to indefinitely conceal her condition, she decided to go out for a walk- for very similar reasons as Kidondo. She needed to clear her head, to stop privately grumbling about this and.. perhaps see if she could spot Wakia anywhere near by. She couldn't actually go too far from home when she was like this. She wasn't thrilled about the circumstances but she wasn't unhappy about it either. It surprised even her when she realized that.
When she spotted the familiar form of Ondo in the distance, she froze. She was about to be found out. Unless he didn't see her, of course. So she turned to walk away as naturally as she could.
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 12:17 pm
Unluckily, however, Kidondo happened to look up and spot her just as she was walking away. At this distance he hadn't noticed the slight awkwardness of her movement and thought nothing of approaching for a chat. Maybe it was just what he needed.
He'd met this girl before and had decided that she was a good, sound character. She was calm and level-headed. He was lucky he was surrounded by so many intelligent women, in actual fact.
"Morning Umlilo." He called, quickening his pace to catch up with her. "Do you have time for a chat?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 12:26 pm
Umlilo flinched ever so slightly when she heard her name called out. She wasn't going to get away from this conversation, she just had to hope that he didn't notice the slight waddle and hang to her middle. She turned around, not too quickly and did her best to put a slight smile on her face. Act natural.
"Kidondo," she greeted with a polite nod of her head, "Of course. How are you doing this morning?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 12:39 pm
"Very well in fact." He paused to think about exactly how he was doing. He had such a mix of emotions in his chest that he couldn't really describe the sensation at all. But whatever it was, it was good; a mix of pride, excitement but nervousness too. He was going to be a dad. Him, a father? Who'd have thought it?
"I've had some...unexpected news yesterday but nothing to worry about. Besides that we have a couple of new rogues around the pride. You may have seen them? Yin-Li, one of the escaped slaves of the Safi and Lakeisha, a new rogue - who I have yet to be formally introduced to. If you see them, be sure to help out if they have questions."
He paused. "And how have you been doing? It's been a while since we last spoke. I feel a bit bad about that, actually. I should check up on pride members more often. Hopefully I'll be able to do that now that guards are in place across the borders."
As he drew closer he noticed the Umlilo did indeed look a little different than before. She certainly looked as if she'd been eating well. He smiled politely, pretending he hadn't noticed.
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 12:50 pm
The 'unexpected news' comment made her smirk a bit, thinking of her own situation and how such a title fit it perfectly. Oh, she had some unexpected news for Wakia whenever he showed his face again. She had no idea, though, that the same news she had for Wakia was so similar to the news Kidondo had received. She perked up a bit at the mention of new rogues around the pride. Perhaps she had been hiding out a bit too much, she hadn't even noticed any additions to the pride. But then, an escaped slave might not be so surprising to see around. Other rogues, though, would be more noticeable.
"Oh, I have not seen anybody new," she said off-handedly with a quick glance around, then back to Ondo when asked about how she'd been doing, "I've been keeping busy, I suppose." Careful not to be too honest and not wanting to confess to any issues being social (and her abandoning those effects to be more social).. she cut herself off there.
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 12:59 pm
He nodded. "They've only been around for a couple of days, so I expect many of the members haven't met them yet. Its good to see that the rumours of our war has spread to the outside world. We've not been completely forgotten."
He frowned a little then, sensing something about Umlilo that he hadn't before. She seemed nervous, a little on edge? He wondered why. Was the news of rogues unsettling or was it something else?
"Are you okay, Umlilo? You don't seem yourself?" And as the last of that sentence was out of his mouth a little light in his head blinked on.
No hadn't been herself either and now she was...
"Um..." He trailed off, not wanting to jump to conclusions. But now the idea was in his head he couldn't quite shake it. It was silly to think that No could be the only one. For certainly, if she was pregnant than other females could be too...right?
But if...--
--No, stop jumping to conclusions. She might be on edge for a completely different reason!
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Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 3:28 pm
"Oh," she murmured thoughtfully when he said it had only been a couple days, wondering how long it might be before she met them on the hunt. Assuming she managed to keep hunting through this pregnancy, she would be fine if perhaps she were lucky enough to have only one or two. It would be a much easier secret to keep and work around. Or so she thought. Or hoped.
She started when he suddenly asked if she was ok, cursing herself for not being a good actress. A downside to her anti-social behavior in the past, she barely could act normal in a conversation where she had nothing to hide. She should have claimed she didn't have time to talk, said she was off to meet up with her father or something. Normal happy families interacted on a regular basis, it would have been plausible.
But here she was.
"I'm fine," she said finally, her tone a touch too defensive to be completely innocent, "Why wouldn't I be?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:30 am
Eep. Had he stepped on toes? Dammit, Ondo, you shouldn't be so nosy! How would you like it if...wait, if someone asked him if he was okay? He wouldn't be snappy like that? Not unless he had something on his mind...
Or he was pregnant...
Pregnant. Ugh, stop it with the assumptions already. Why was it that he had to go around thinking every moody female had cubs inside of her? His eyes, automatically fell to Umlilo's stomach and he had to admit, that she was looking bigger than normal.
Argh!
He took a step back and blinked his eyes in an attempt to clear his thoughts. "Well...I don't know. You just seem a little worried about something. If there's anything I can help with then you can always feel free to ask. I may not be able to help but sometimes talking about things can...maybe...fix them?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:48 am
Lilo watched Ondo, standing still. There was no point moving against his attempts to look at her, he would get a look one way or another and moving only made it more suspicious. She had to think fast but there wasn't anything she could think of to defend herself, that would stop him from asking questions or would make everything better in the long run. The truth didn't seem like a very good option, but Ondo wasn't the meanest of Firekin and he was offering to help.
"I'm pregnant," she said finally, standing still and tall, refusing to cower or back up even a little bit despite her concern. She hadn't the slightest clue what this kind of situation meant for her, but she had to have a better shot than Wakia. The traditionalist firekin had left with bruised egos, that was more dangerous than the much more stable situation the rebels were in. She hoped.
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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 11:54 am
He waited and when the truth came out he had to do all in his power to keep a smile from his face. Ah ha! So he had known what was wrong after all! Yes, he was master of guessing ailments - apparently having No tell him she was pregnant had made him exceptional at diagnosing others. Every female in the pride was probably going to go under scrutiny now.
"Pregnant?" He paused to gather himself. "Congratulations, Umlilo. It looks like there's going to be lots of cubs in the lands over the next few months. Just make sure you take it easy, okay? There's plenty of other lionesses and lions who can hunt for you." It made him happy nowing the pride was going to grow, though nervous too. He'd have to make sure all these little devils were guarded against dangers on top of protecting the adults. At least the Guards were up and running now - thanks to Azarax and Uuo.
"So who's the lucky male?" He'd been unaware that Umlilo had even had a mate.
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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 12:06 pm
She could sense that he was more happy than upset when she finally admitted it, which was a relief. But so far only part of the truth was out. The situation was complicated, mainly by the fact that firekin were territorial and knowing a safi lion had been around so often.. that they'd been sneaking around so much. Well, the apparent necessity to keep their relationship secret made it overall seem very unhappy to confess. But she was stuck explaining now, and Ondo wasn't making it very hard- it was harder and harder to imagine him being related to her mother.
"Wakia," she said, taking a chance and not elaborating immediately. Would he know that was not a Simo lion? It was a very firekin name, after all. Mostly she was curious about if he'd know who she was talking about.
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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 12:12 pm
He'd hit himself later for not recognising the name. But the truth was that he'd never asked Azarax for the names of his siblings. He'd never felt right in prying into the lion's life when it had been such a hard and complicated one.
So, as much as he admired Azarax, the name of his brother meant nothing to him.
So, who was this lion? He certainly wasn't a pride member. But surely Umlilo wouldn't take a rogue as a mate? Then...who? Kidondo tried not to let it show, but he was suddenly afraid of what he might hear next.
"Wakia? That's not a name I recognise. Umlilo, who is this lion? If he's a rogue wanting to join he really should have spoken with me first...You know the rules about rogues here." Oh damn, this was...awkward. The last thing she neede now wasa lecture, but...ugh.
And all he'd wanted to say was a chirpy hello.
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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 12:21 pm
Hm, so Wakia wasn't so well known. Which meant that if Kidondo had seen him around, he probably would have realized he wasn't where he should be. The fact was, Wakia had been caught twice and let off. But she wasn't going to put anyone else in a bad position by mentioning that, that was merely the explanation about why he wasn't here with her already. Why he wasn't the one here talking to Kidondo. Because the more this conversation went on, the more Lilo realized that Wakia had to come back and he had to stay. If he didn't do it voluntarily, she would drag him here herself. Or she would try to.
"He's not a rogue," she said, shaking her head and choosing her words carefully, "He's with the traditionalists." She made a point of not saying he was a traditionalist though it was implied by the situation. A true traditionalist might not carry on a relationship with a rebel, and she was certainly not loyal to the traditionalists.
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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 12:31 pm
Relief swept through him. Not a rogue. Not a rogue. Well that was...wait, what, what?
A traditionalist?!
Oh crap, this situation could certainly get awkward if it wasn't handled correctly. He drew in a deep breath and tried to think of a way to voice his opinions without upsetting anyone.
"I take it that even though he's with the traditionalists, he doesn't agree with their way of thinking? Was he one of the youngsters who went for the sake of family?" He paused. "Do the traditionlists know that he's been sneaking here to see you? I don't think they'd take too kindly to it if they did." A pause. "No, if they knew, I'm sure we would have heard of it by now. And, if they had found out, he'd be here now, wouldn't he?" He stopped...now he was just thinking out loud.
"I'm sorry, Umlilo." He smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry. I'm not angry. Just...surprised. You love him, yes? And he, you?"
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