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 Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 4:35 am
 It was getting late, and as usual Njiru was at his post at the mouth of his den. It's where he spent most of his time thinking, wondering...dreaming, even, if he sat there staring blankly into the distance for long enough. Most of the time something would pull him out of his thoughts, or one of the cubs would stir and he'd have to go see if something was wrong. That particular night, though, was quiet. Eerily quiet, all things considered. The cubs had grown a bit, and would soon leave to fit in with their respective class. They had it all to themselves though, which made him wonder. It certainly was a unique enough situation, since the pride had gotten considerably larger since it opened its arms to the outsiders.
"Hm.." he mused out loud, lowering his head down to his paws, eyes half closing. It was late, he was tired. If anything he'd probably fall asleep there, as he usually did. He may have come to terms with his mate and their having cubs, but not all the tension had quite gone.
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 4:45 am
 Late nights were something the newly grown juve seemed to have in common with his jerk of a father. Dark blue orbs stared at the now motionless figure that was Njiru lying near the mouth of their den. He, on the other hand, was nestled close to the rest of his family, supposedly sleeping. However, sleep hardly ever came at the proper hour for him. Dhaka'Kali yawned, wondering if it was loud enough for his father to hear. No reaction, so with a small grin he slowly stood up and crept his way toward him.
His father had taught him and his siblings a thing or two when it came to stalking, no doubt only because their mother told him to. That, and the fact that Njiru had nothing better to do for the rest of the day. He saw this as a good chance to practice, so he did. He walked slowly, trying his best not to make a sound. It wasn't that hard, considering it was a den floor clear or any branches or twigs for the most part. His breathing was slow, steady, and quiet. His smile was widening, he was almost there. And....
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 4:49 am
"Go to sleep Kal," he muttered gruffly, lifting his head and turning to see his son. He couldn't help but feel that lingering disappointment that he had a son that looked so much like Unyezi, though his hate for his brother was already dwindling. It wasn't gone, but it didn't dictate the way he lived his life now. He no longer spent hours upon hours thinking about ways to overthrow the current king, nor did he avoid him like the plague. Njiru simply....lived with it now. It was boring, but it was better than being spiteful. Sort of..
Still, he didn't like having an offspring that resembled him as closely as this one did.
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 4:55 am
Darn, he was caught. That's why they call it practice, and with a wide smile he padded his way over to Njiru. He had always been careful to disobey his father, especially since his appearance was enough to make him a disappointment. All the effort in the world, he then figured, wouldn't garner his father's acceptance and approval. So, to make life easier, he simply ignored a lot of whatever the older lion said. He'd never been much of a father, so why bother being much of a son?
"If I could sleep I doubt I'd be up at this hour," was his reply as he sat on his rump beside his father. His dark blue eyes stared out into the distance, the scenery familiar to him. He spent enough sleepless night staring at it, so it should've been.
"Why are you still up?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 5:02 am
Njiru quirked a brow as he watched his son easily brush off his instruction and make his way over. When Kal took a seat Njiru sighed and let it go, lowering his head and closing his eyes once more. He'd never been that obedient to begin with, which didn't bother Njiru all that much, to be honest. "Your mother will kill me if she wakes up and you're not asleep," he said, no emotion in his voice. He was still a little uncomfortable around this one.
His ears twitched a little when his son spoke, and he grunted before lifting his head again. "I can't sleep either," he answered simply. Njiru then sat up and stretched a little before looking back at the three others sleeping deeper inside the den, and he sighed.
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 5:10 am
Kal turned to look at his father, who had sat up at this point. He was glancing back at the rest of the family, and Kal followed in suit. His mother was sleeping soundly, with his brother and sister close by. Not exactly glued to her, like they used to be as cubs, but close enough. His eyes moved to where he was supposed to be lying down, then to where his father was supposed to be. That particular spot was always unoccupied when it came time to go to sleep. Kal knew, anyway, since he was always up when his mother was already lying down with her eyes closed. Njiru was never home at that hour.
"Oh," he answered slowly, turning his head to Njiru once more.
An awkward silence fell, and Kal squirmed a little where he sat. He'd never once had a decent conversation with his father, granted he was still a cub before, but he wasn't a stupid cub. He was perfectly capable of having a good conversation with his mother, or with anyone else for that matter, but never Njiru. So he cleared his throat and, figuring this to be as good a time as any, gave it a shot.
"Do you hate me or something?"
It was the first thing that came to mind, and he grimaced almost as soon as he'd said it. Not...the greatest topic for his first serious conversation with his father.
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 5:23 am
Njiru's gaze hadn't faltered since he turned to look at the rest of his family, but he felt Kal's eyes on him. It was strange, being stared at by your son. Or...well, at least it was to him. He'd never really paid much attention to any of his cubs, and he assumed they resented him for it, but that didn't really phase him at all. However, now that this one had managed to nab a chance at having a conversation, Njiru was forced to pay attention to him. And, of course, it was with the awkward son too. Devious little thing..
The question, though, took him by surprise, and he looked away from the three slumbering lions and down at his son. He really was taken back by the inquiry, and he was at a loss for words, though he forced the surprise from his face and replaced it with a more stoic expression.
"Uh..." and he really did have to think about the right answer. Did he hate him? He'd never thought about it all that much, since when the cubs were born he was still trying to figure out how he'd gotten into the situation of becoming Sini's mate. Immediately after that he pretty much spent all of his time outside of the den, save for whenever Sini forced him to stay and teach them a thing or two. So...well, he really didn't know any of his cubs. Which was pretty sad, but he wasn't too bothered by it. Or he didn't want to be, so he didn't let it show if he was.
"I...don't know.." was his reply, and it was true. Pathetic as it was, Njiru felt he owed his son honesty, at the very least.
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 5:46 am
It wasn't the answer he expected, actually. Kal was waiting for the word "yes" before going off on some rant about how neglectful Njiru was. How he couldn't even be considered a proper mate or father, considering how he treats his own family. But...well, this was different. The juve furrowed his brows a bit in confusion, unsure of what to say next. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to pursue a conversation with this lion.
"Makes sense," he started, trying to figure out how to continue. "You may as well be a stranger, you know."
And it was true. Kal observed him as much as he could, but he didn't know that much about his own father. Which may or may not have been a good thing, he couldn't really decide at the moment. Maybe if he got a better answer he might've been able to, but with an "I don't know" it was hard to say.
As far as Kal was concerned, though, he didn't hate his father. He didn't really like him, but he didn't hate him.
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:07 am
Okay, it bothered him a little bit. Njiru shifted awkwardly where he sat, silvery orbs on nothing else but his son. True, he didn't know his family at all. He knew their names, but nothing more. They were strangers, when it came down to it, but that probably wasn't the most reassuring thing to say to Kal right now. Njiru wasn't sure what the juve was looking for, so he thought hard about what to say next.
"Yeah.." was all he could manage. He spent most of the silence between the statement and his answer thinking of ways on how to avoid such awkward conversations. It'd probably come in handy for the following night..
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:15 am
Kal smirked at his father's lack of words. Another thing he didn't expect, but he imagined even saying even the smallest thing like 'yeah' took a bit of effort for him. He never seemed like the sociable type, even when it came to his own cubs. Actually, Kal was more surprised that his father didn't spend too much time insulting him or saying anything degrading. It was all that he ever heard as a cub, which was what made him so distant in the first place. If his way of thinking hadn't changed since then, he probably wouldn't have even tried to have a conversation with his father.
"Hm," he mused, deciding he'd get little to nothing out of this conversation after all. "Well, I guess I'm gonna go get some sleep then. You obviously don't have much else to say." At that Kal stood up and turned back around, ready to leave, but he waited to see if his father would say anything more.
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:21 am
Silence followed his extremely short reply, and Njiru took that time to merely look away from his son. The conversation didn't go very well, as far as he could tell, and his son's following statement confirmed it. He sighed, then nodded. Finally, peace and quiet once again. Njiru doubted he'd get any sleep at all now, not after so much...awkwardness. He blinked the sleep from his eyes as he lay back down onto his stomach.
"Alright," he said, though he didn't watch his son go off. He wasn't even sure if he'd left yet. He wasn't really paying attention, which might've been pretty obvious considering his gaze had gone back to the scenery just beyond the mouth of the den.
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:33 am
He heaved a sigh and started walking back to his usual spot, expecting it to be cold and not so comfortable for the first few minutes. The conversation got him nowhere, since Njiru hadn't answered like he thought he would, so...well, maybe he'll give it a shot another time. He was walking slowly, not really wanting to go to sleep, but not really up to spending any more alone time with Njiru.
Halfway to his spot he thought of one last thing to say to his father, wondering if it might actually help him make up his mind about his answer. "You really suck as a dad, you know that right?" Kal grinned and waited for an answer, hoping it'd be something of a joke as opposed to a good reason to whack him across the den.
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:43 am
Njiru turned to watch his son walk back toward the other three members of his family, brow raised in curiosity. He was different, simply put...interesting, even. Who knows, it was possible that he didn't hate him. It was also possible that he may actually grow into a lion Njiru would be proud of. Stranger things have happened. He found a mate, he had cubs of his own....at this point he wouldn't have been too surprised with himself if he actually started to get along with Unyezi.
Kal's statement brought something of a smirk to Njiru's maw, and he shook his head. "And you really suck as a son. Go to sleep already." Njiru then turned back to his night watching, listening to see if Kal would make his way back over or if he would actually head to bed.
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 6:48 am
Again, he didn't expect such an answer from his father. He was, however, relieved that Njiru hadn't yelled at him. Though...well, he figured he didn't do that because it'd probably wake up his mother, and their argument would result in Njiru leaving the den for the night and Kal getting an earful the following morning. "Right.." was all he said after that, then he made his way back to his spot and lay down, dark blue orbs still on his father.
He didn't fall asleep right away, his mind replaying the conversation over and over again. The ending, though, was different every single time. Eventually he got tired of imagining things his father would say, so he closed his eyes finally, and whispered good night to his father, who he knew wouldn't hear it.
He did it anyway; he did it every night.
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 7:02 am
The sound of his son's receding steps made him relax, and he exhaled deeply. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle an extension of their conversation, not just yet, but...well, he might think about what he'd say the next time the topic came up. Should the topic ever come up again. Or...well, should Kal manage to corner him late at night ever again. He'd try to avoid it, most likely, but he imagined he'd slip up at some point. He was never all that great with planning to begin with.
With a yawn Njiru turned to look at his family, a small, genuinely content smile tugging at the edges of his maw. Hard to believe that he actually had one of his own, but if anything he didn't regret it. His silver gaze went to Kal, and his smile faltered for a moment, then he averted his eyes and turned to look back at the scenery - particularly at the moon.
It was full that night, and Njiru's mind went back to the question Kal posed at the beginning of their...almost conversation. He rolled it around in his mind for a while, but eventually dropped it having found the right answer. Njiru lowered his head back down to his paws and closed his eyes, ready for sleep to take over for a few good hours. Or...if he was lucky, anyway, it'd be a good few hours. If not, at least until Sini woke up and bumped into him on her way out. But before falling completely into his subconscious, Njiru answered the question.
"No, I don't suppose I do."
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