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 Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 9:32 am
We are Family || AIM Log - Ursa, Iroh, Yin-li, & Kadogo'moto
It was a while after dawn and their father's warmth was gone, replaced by their temporary babysitter Yin-li. When Kadogo set out for guard duty it was usually the black and white female that stepped in to look after the brood of six. Ursa was already up and moving though, or at least getting there. It was tempting to just stay where she was and enjoy a little more of her sibling's bundled body heat, but the day was calling.
A pair of coal colored eyes watched the little black cub as she rose to her paws and detangled from the pile of her litter mates, stumbled a bit and then caught herself with a great yawn. She never questioned why their mother wasn't around, though it was a question that she had at the front of her mind, constantly. Their world for the most part need only consist of each other and the figures coming and going from their life, rather than the ones not already there.
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 11:14 am
Iroh mumbled something in his sleep as he flopped over and repositioned himself directly on top of one of his siblings. Snuggling them close, despite the inherent risk of getting smacked in the face for it, he continued to mumble incoherently. He loved sleeping. More than that, he loved the time between sleeping and waking, when he could feel himself resting and his dreams were more vivid and not lost to waking. He felt something moving near him, but debated lifting his head to look. He was very comfortable, after all.
Yawning, the activity catching despite his very best efforts not to pay attention to the familiar sound, he swallowed, smacked his tongue against the roof of his mouth as if to stretch it out, then cleared his throat and hauled himself lazily to his feet. Shaking his creamy fur, he dizzily glanced over at his sister and smiled dopily at her. He was a peaceful cub, for the most part, and took everything at a leisurely, thoughtful pace. Padding over to her, he butted his head against her shoulder before sitting heavily beside her.
“it feels early to be awake,” he commented offhandedly, still smiling, “though, I think I’d say that at any part of the day… how are you this morning?”
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 11:15 am
No one would be able to deny that Ursa was an affectionate cub, so as her brother woke up and greeted her she gave a cubbish purr in return, lying down in front of him and pushing the top of her head against his chin.
"That's because you'd sleep all day if we let you." She teased with a little giggle. "I'm good. It is a little early... It's still kind of cold. Papa probably hasn't been gone long." She observed, tail flickering behind her with more energy than either of the siblings were showing just yet.
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 11:16 am
“That’s true,” Iroh said, feigning a plaintive air. He grinned, purring very softly. He was not the most adept at purring, though he was a kind cub and enjoyed showing his affections. It sounded like the purr was getting stuck in his throat, coming out in small bursts rather than one smooth rhythm. Sometimes the effort would escape through his nose, a small snort, and he’d have to draw a breath before trying to purr again. He hardly noticed, however, because this was just the natural way for him, “I do like to sleep.”
Yawning again, Iroh looked towards the mouth of the cave, his tail flopping in a lack luster imitation of her energetic flicking. He sniffed, blinked, yawned again, and sighed. “I wonder how long he’ll be? I’m hungry. I don’t think he’d like us going out to look for him, though.”
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 11:16 am
She didn't mind his broken purring. She could tell what he meant by it, and that was enough. "I hope not long." Ursa agreed with a slight rumble of her stomach as if cued. She didn't seem bothered by that either except to set her chin on her paws wearily. Yin-li had dozed back off with their sisters and brothers, once again leaving the two cubs the only ones awake in the den. "Maybe we should find something to do till he comes back with breakfast?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 11:17 am
“We could always go back to sleep…” Iroh suggested, his voice even and sincere. He smiled, though, knowing that neither one of them would be able to go back to such a restful state now that their stomachs had been awakened. He pawed at her listlessly, a feeble attempt at play, just to occupy himself as he thought, “though, I’m up now and I think my spot’s been readjusted. It’d be weird trying to lay back down now.”
He stretched his back paws by pushing them against the floor, his rump rising with the effort even though he was still seated. He countered it by pushing down with his shoulders, stretching his whole body but looking rather awkward about it. Shaking himself out and sighing contentedly, he stood, “We could… go outside a little ways and watch the morning?”
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 11:27 am
Ursa giggled at his first suggestion, both knowing that sleep wouldn't come so easily again. While confident they could somehow manage to find a comfortable spot if they really wanted to the cub was too energetic now to simply drift back off. She listened to her brother finish his thought, all the while focusing her eyes on the end of his tail as though debating giving it a good pounce or not. Before she could decide a large shadow fell over the cave mouth, and looking up she saw their father entering the den with a fresh kill, setting it just out of the sun's reach.
"Papa!"
The adult grunted softly in response, standing over the kill, not near enough to feed six cubs and one adult, but the meal was meant for the children only. He usually ate early in the morning to give him energy to last throughout the day, burned off before the desert heat became sweltering. "You two are the only ones awake?" He sounded calm, a bit gruff as usual, but slightly surprised.
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 11:28 am
Iroh blinked and looked down at the ground as a shadow fell over him, stretching out over what had been the sun of the morning, and darkening his soft colored fur. He turned when his sister pronounced who it was, smiling when the scent of blood hit his nose. His youthfully pudgy stomach grumbled and he found motivation enough to stand, tilting his head first at the kill, and then turning it to greet his father.
Sniffing at the kill, just a bit distracted, his ears twitched at the question, “it’s weird for me, too,” he said passively, knowing full well he should still be asleep. He never missed the opportunity to sleep in, after all. Smiling at his own little joke, he turned his peaceful eyes on his dad, “Ursa woke me up.” He was just pointing it out, a useless fact that had no importance to anything at all.
He did that a lot, it seemed.
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 11:29 am
Ursa had just brushed affectionately against his leg before joining Iroh at the carcass to eat.
To Iroh's comment Kadogo quirked a curious eyebrow at his daughter, who, while playful, usually was respectful and considerate of her siblings. Was it the start of a new trait, perhaps? Cubs grew and changed a lot, he could recall his own and Ilahle's as the two of them grew older with time's passing.
"I see, well, eat then. I'm going to wake them up, once you're done eating and you've all had your baths I'm bringing you to the cub sitters." He looked back at the two again as he drew closer to the pile of sleeping little ones and dozing stand in sitter.
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 11:30 am
Iroh flicked his tail. He was as good a cub as he knew how to be, but there were still some things that he did not like to do. Leaving the den was one of them. He felt he was more than capable of taking care of himself, as many cubs did, and saw little reason to drag himself from his familiar, comfortable den for another one. But if that was what they were going to do, he would do it. He was loyal, where ever that word could be applied.
Chewing at the meal, he looked at Ursa and playfully tugged it away from her, though he could hardly move it more than making it jostle. He grinned, his teeth still in the flesh of the animal, and perked his ears forward in silent, careful challenge. For some reason, he enjoyed playing with his food. Almost as much as he did eating it.
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 11:41 am
 Ursa had just reached them when Iroh tugged at the meal, causing it to jostle and Ursa to jump back in surprise. For an instant she'd thought it was still alive and kicking before realizing that Iroh was grinning at her, and had, in fact, been the cause of the movement. Snorting through her nostrils softly she dug her front claws into the kill for a firm grip (as firm as a cub barely weaned could grip anyway), giving him a playful narrow eyed stare back, smirking just a bit. What was his game?
Kadogo, unaware that his cubs had made a game of their food, leaned forward until he could nose the back of Yin-li's neck. She didn't yet have the instinct of the Firekin, but she'd learn in time. A lion of the flame might have noticed such a looming presence behind them, even in sleep, yet she didn't stir. He sighed. They'd pick up their training, he supposed, to pass the time he would otherwise spend patrolling with no one but himself for company. She could accompany him and learn the lands and practice her fighting skills. She needed it being smaller than any of the others.
"Wake up Yin-li, I'm back from the hunt."
Yin finally stirred again, sitting up with a jolt at Kadogo's voice. She hated to think she'd fallen asleep on the job when she was supposed to be looking after his little ones. Thankfully he didn't seem surprised, but the look he gave her promised that they'd be having a talk later. He'd always been a bit hard on she and her twin but that was to be expected she supposed.
She got to her paws quickly then and cleared her throat before speaking.
"Welcome back, but if you don't mind I'd like to help a bit more."
He quirked an eyebrow at her and Yin-li shook her head.
"Face it, Kadogo, you might have much to teach an outsider about fighting, but you need all the help you can get when it comes to cubs." She laughed softly, much to his disdain if the way he turned up his mouth in a half frown, eyes rolling in exasperation. She ignored it. "Ursa mentioned you're a little rougher than you need to be when you're cleaning them. I can show you how to do it so that it's not a fight to get them washed."
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 12:13 pm
 Iroh continued to grin as he pulled at the meal, trying his very hardest to free it from her grasp. The two might as well have been playing tug of war with a boulder, however, for all the good he was doing. Even without her clinging to it, he wouldn't have been able to accomplish much. Now he was just pulling uselessly until the flesh gave way and he toppled backwards.
Chewing on his mouthful of flesh and fur thoughtfully, not minding the weird sensation of the fur in his throat nor heeding the fact that he shouldn't be chewing on it at all, he took a moment to stare up at the ceiling before he rolled onto his side and then, at an even, unhurried pace, pushed himself to his feet. He pushed his tongue of his mouth slowly, with a sound, letting the fur fall out of his jaws.
"Blah," he said, then looked back at Ursa, who had become the unexpected victor in his game. Frowning, he imagined he should have set down some ground rules first. Not deterred, he leapt back onto the food and, digging his paws close to where she was clinging so that blood was staining his soft, light coat, tried to loosen her grip while at the same time gnawing at the food.
He was hungry, after all, and not just playful.
His ears perked forward at the mention of a bath and he looked down at his bloodied fur. Frowning, he hoped he wasn't going to be used as the example for Kadogo. As much as he enjoyed a good bath, he knew his light fur often required a lot more attention than others, which meant more time getting cleaned than napping, eating, or enjoying the company of his siblings.
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Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:15 am
The little female watched her brother with amusement as she chewed on her mouth full of meat. As he spat out the fur she grinned, giggling merrily as he initiated round two of their "game". She dug her own claws back in to keep him from "winning", though they both knew they were too hungry to really focus on playing. She picked at a spot where the fur had already been removed.
Kadogo glowered a bit at the suggestion he couldn't even properly bathe his own cubs, but he knew that Yin-li was right. Even Ursa, the most cooperative of the lot, seemed to squirm and whine a bit when he was busy trying to clean her coat.
He rumbled a mutter of agreement and consent, leaning over the other sleeping figures to rouse them one by one.
Yin-li just chuckled, watching as Kadogo woke the remaining four cubs. Moving over to Iroh and Ursa.
"And what game have you come up with this time little ones?"
She licked the top of their heads in a sisterly manner, but otherwise didn't disturb them.
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Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 11:10 am
"I'm trying to steal it!" Iroh confessed unintelligibly, his mouth still latched to the hide of the kill and his words lost against the meat. He pulled back, chewing and flexing his jaw, having stretched it a bit in his attempt to speak with it not only full, but overwhelmingly so. Tilting his head with a silly grin, he tried again.
"I was going to try and take it, but it's too big. But I think I moved it!" He looked excited and hopeful, despite the low chances of that actually happening, "at least a little bit?"
He purred when she licked his head and watched her for a moment peacefully, his eyes reflecting a soft, appreciative light. Then he bounced back on the meal, chewing at it and eating until he was contented. Once he felt he had eaten enough, while bearing his family in mind because he thought he could probably eat far more if they let him, he moved to Yin-li, rubbed her leg with the top of his head, then settled down to clean his soft fur.
He was sleepy, so his efforts were a bit muddled. A couple of times he caught himself licking the air, and vaguely hoped that no one had been watching him.
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Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 11:27 am
His sister swallowed down the chunk of meat she'd bitten off to chew, licking her muzzle clean before speaking out. "He did, he did! I felt it, Yin!" Ursa piped in helpfully with a big grin. She turned that smile on her brother for a moment, bright and full of childish awe. "You're gonna grow up so strong!"
As the other cubs woke up Kadogo turned his head to watch the three calmly.
"I'm sure he will." She laughed softly at their enthusiasm, leaning down to pluck up Iroh by the scruff of his neck gently, bringing him a bit out of the way so she could settle down with him again and help with his grooming. She wouldn't use him for example if only because his coat required more effort that the others didn't need. She would just help him clean just to help him clean, and took to grooming the other leg while he worked on one tiny limb on his own.
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