Hadaya didn’t want to wear himself out, but he couldn’t help it. He was running, not walking or trotting, but flat out running. His excitement got the better of him, and he had no choice but to move as fast as his big feet would carry him. So he made the journey in good time, though by the end he was puffing and his fur was a big unkempt from the wear of wind and sweat. He tried his best to put himself in order as he waited in the exact spot Lee had shown him, preening his fur carefully while he tried to keep his eyes on the jungle before him.He was nervous. About a whole lot of things. It had been a while since he had last seen her. He didn’t know how long it took cubs to be born, really, but he knew lionesses changed with the process. He wondered what she looked like, if she was mad at him, if it was hard on her or if she was happy. He was eager to find out all these things, so long as it meant seeing her again. He would even be satisfied if she yelled at him, just because she would be there again.
He smiled stupidly, daydreaming, and let himself get distracted by his own imagination.
Lee, as promised, was on patrol. It'd been a while since she'd been able to go on a full patrol, her pregnancy making her more tired than usual, so she couldn't walk very far... Besides, her sisters constantly pestered her not to go far from the dens when she was so full with cubs, in case she ran into a male that might hurt her. Still... she didn't care, she was too strong for that... She tried her best to come look around the entry to the jungle at least once every day or two, just in case...
Lee was secretly glad that he hadn't come sooner. She wouldn't have lived him seeing her so fat and angry all the time... Now she was better, having had the cub several weeks ago. They were very nearly weaned, and already little... demons. Sure, Lee loved them, how could a mother not? But she always felt glad to go off on her own and dump them on Kannon... the poor thing.
She jumped up into a large tree, her eyes squinting out over the horizon... and she saw him. Grinning softly, she climbed down quickly and lounged out of the folliage towards him.
Hadaya was startled from his daydreaming when he heard something moving in the leaves. He bristled, remembering Lee’s warning about how some of the lionesses in this all-female pride did not like having males around. He swallowed hard, trying to look at least half like he was a proper male, remembering an encounter with a rough and tumble female for a very long time ago that had insinuated he was not. He didn’t want to look too imposing though, because he didn’t want to be threatening.
He settled on a look that was akin to if a teddy bear drew angry eyebrows over its dopey expression, just in case.
He sniffed the air and recognized the scent, instantly beginning to purr and his face lighting with an eager expression. He saw her climbing down, coming out from the thick greens, and he bounced towards her. She certainly didn’t look all that different to him. Maybe he knew less about these things than he thought.
“Lee! How are you doing?!”
She smiled at him softly, dipping her head up to nuzzle his chin before stepping back, ears perked. "I'm... ok-kay." She chuckled, shaking her head. "A bit t-tired.... But good-d. I'm getting-g up-p on my feet bett-ter..."
She lets out a soft pur, smiling gently at him. "T-two cubs were born. A girl and b-boy..."
Hadaya looked a bit stunned, then nodded slowly, his grin spreading across his face. Two babies? Two cubs! What was he supposed to do now? A boy and a girl! One of each. It seemed oddly perfect. But what could he do? He had agreed to take the boy. Was he ready to go? What would the others think? In both their prides. He shook his head, realizing some time had passed since she had spoken.
“Two cubs… I bet they’re amazing,” he grinned, hoping it was true. It was either that, meaning they took after their mom in Hadaya’s head, or they were kind of useless, taking after himself. He nuzzled her fondly, speaking while lingering close. He didn’t want to be too far away, knowing that he would have to leave all too soon.
“So I… I should take the boy… when he can. I don’t, uh, really know how it works. I saw the babies with Sen, and how they… uh… well, you know. With the… uhm. Milk.” He coughed.
"Mmm.." She thought for a moment, glancing behind her. He probably was ready to leave... He was experimenting with meat, and was strong for his age. But would he leave..? She'd told him ever since he was born that he'd have to leave some day, though she had worded it as some amazing adventure. He hadn't seemed too apposed to the idea.
"I'll... g-go get them. We c-can stay her for a day or two, and... well." She looked back at him with a sad smile, knowing it had to be done sooner or later. She only hoped that Dura would take to Hadaya and there wouldn't be a fuss. She was sad to see her son go, but she knew she'd see him again. "Wait." She muttered, then turned to disapear once again into the trees.
Hadaya blinked, swallowing hard. He liked the idea of staying for a couple of days, though he didn’t want to make it harder on her than it had to be. She had given birth to these cubs, after all. He hadn’t even met them yet. And now he had to take one of them away. It hardly seemed fair. He felt bad for it, and his soft eyes reflected his hesitance.
“O-Okay,” he stammered when she moved off. He sat awkwardly, shuffling his paws in the dirt.
Meanwhile, Fimbo was playing with her brother, whether he wanted to play or not. She was a rambunctious girl, with opinions about everything despite not having the words to form them just yet. She liked to be right, liked to be impressive, and liked getting attention for it. What she didn’t like was how her brother got to go on an amazing adventure, and she didn’t. That just didn’t seem fair.
In all honesty, Lee wasn't really that bothered by it... Sure, she'd miss her son, but it was just how things were. She couldn't change it, and she knew Dura would be happy, even if it took him a while to get used to things. It was all part of the plan, and she'd cooped with it a long time ago, before they were even born.
Dura was the opposite in most ways. He had the tendency to be rambunctious and get into trouble, but a good portion of the time he would remember sit and day dream, all the while clutching a peice of soft hide, a gift from their mother that he'd never parted with. It was either dangling from his neck, or drapped over his back. He frequently stumbled over it, but he didn't care. The young cub oftened dreamed of his marvelous adventure... His mind playing out extravagant scenerios. His current one, filled with flying lizards, was abruptly shattered as his sister tackled him. He whined loudly, batting at her while his blanky still dangled from his tiny clamped jaws. "Nuw!" He called, scooting back from her.
Lee found them not far from Kannon's dens, since she was looking after them. After speaking with her for a moment she moved over to the kids, blinking at them for a moment until she had their attention.
Fimbo giggled wildly, almost teasingly, and continued to bat at him playfully. She liked that he didn’t want to play, and it encouraged her to play more. He was the special one after all, getting to go off on who knew what kind of adventure and have fun. She was jealous, sure, and she didn’t bother hiding it. She clamped on to his blanky, knowing it was his one true treasure, and tugged in an effort to steal it away.
Then she heard voices and soon saw her mom approaching. She released the blanky abruptly, sitting down and painting herself the picture of attention once her mother was within range and waiting for them to look at her. She beamed a smile and purred.
She’d get that blanky later.
His eyes widdened in horror, letting out a loud squeak in protest. Not the blanky! He suddenly got flashing images of ripped blanky shreds littering the ground, and a monsterous sister standing over them with a malicious cackle. Oooh, scary.
Luckily, mother came to the rescue. She eyed them with a slight frown, then shook her head, moving to lick the tops of their heads. "C-come with me, you t-two. I have someone I want-t you t-to meet." She nuzzled Dura for a moment longer than Fimbo... She didn't really realize it, but she did dot on the boy a tad more than Fimbo. She wished to make him happy while he was here, and make the transition easier... But with Fimbo, she was much more stern and strict. After all, the girl needed to grow into a strong warrior.
Fimbo was more than happy to oblige, padding after her mother. She liked meeting new people, trying to charm them with her impressively good behavior and intelligence. Of course, it was easy to look adept when her brother was busy daydreaming or fussing over his stupid blanket. What did he carry that thing around for, anyway? He was going to look stupid, treating it like it was his little pet or something.
One day, she’d get it from him. And then he would be better. Really, she was only doing it for his own good.
Fimbo did notice the way her mom seemed to nuzzle Dura longer. She decided that babies needed to be cuddled more, or else they would cry. She wouldn’t, of course. She was better than that. Padding along, she wondered who they were going to see. It better be someone important.
Dura purred at his mother's attention, flicking his head to fling his blanket over his back so he could walk better. Then he stood, padding after them. He mostly lingered behind, occasionally getting distracted and having to stop to let his daydream play out, then would rush to catch up again. It was easy to see their mother in the dark, at least, with her bright pink tail and mane.
Lee led them in silence, walking further than they'd ever been. Since they were still young, she would take turns holding them by the back of their neck gently to give their paws some rest. She didn't wish to make their paws sore... Especially Dura, who had a long journey ahead of him.
She stepped out of the trees again, finally, the male cub dangling carefully from her mouth, his back legs curled up against his stomach.
Fimbo scoffed when her brother had to be picked up. It wasn’t that far, the big baby. Though, her little paws were surprised by how many steps she had to take. They had never come out here before! She was excited, wondering just what was going on. Standing near her mom, she blinked when they stepped out into the jungle, and she saw a lion like she had never seen before standing there, looking kind of dumb with his mouth hanging open.
He was awfully fluffy.
Hadaya was speechless, though he was smiling even with his mouth agape. Those two must be his cubs. Their cubs. He looked at Lee with overwhelming affection, and some strange new sense of pride, before managing to find some words.
“Are… those them?” He asked stupidly. Yes, they were. He had already known that.
Dura had let his mind wander, his eyes falling half lidded and glazed as he dreamed about where they might be going... It was some fantasy involving a giant, or maybe it was a god.. or maybe something completely different. Whatever it was, whenever Lee put him down onto the ground he blinked up at Hadaya, his blankly clamped in his teeth. He wasn't quite out of his vision yet, and ended up seeing his giant monster materialized! Afraid, he scrambled to hid behind his mother and cowar. After all... they would have never seen a male before, or anything quite as big and with a fluffy mane.
Lee blinked at their son as he ran away, head tilting... Then she glanced back to Dadaya, almost a little embarassed looking. "Yes. Dura, and Fimbo."
Hadaya looked a bit distraught when the little boy hid from him. That was a bit of an inauspicious start, if ever he had seen one. He smiled though, deciding to get a bit closer to the cubs by laying down. Maybe if he wasn’t so big they wouldn’t be so scared of him. He looked hopefully, trying to quietly lure the young male out to see him.
“Dura and Fimbo? They’re cute. Dura is the boy? He doesn’t seem to like me much. Hey, Dura,” he made his voice as friendly as he could, “I’m Hadaya. I’m… uh… I’m your dad.”
Fimbo blinked, padding up to Hadaya fearlessly. She sniffed at him, found his scent comforting, and jumped on his head. She giggled and played in his mane, liking the way it tickled. Her dad, huh? Was that like her mom? She knew her mom had told them about him. Still, he wasn’t what she had been picturing. She still liked him though.
Hadaya looked stunned and gloriously happy, glancing up at Lee. “At least one of them likes me!”
Lee smiled widely and warmly, her eyes glinting with happiness as she watched them. She merely nodded, not saying anything. Though she glanced behind her and thumped Dura lightly in the head with the end of her tail.
Well, of course Dura wasn't going to let his sister best him... He peeked out and eyed Hadaya cautiously, then blinked, eyes widening. His dad...? His mother had told him that his dad would be the one to take him on an adventure... Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod! His dad was a monsterous giant, and he'd take him off to fufilly his adventurous destiny! His eyes blazed with excitment, darting out to join his sister, but on the other side, practicly burrying himself into the mane... Hey, this was kinda fun...
Hadaya let out a laugh as the little boy came to join his sister. He was so happy, he felt like he might burst. They weren’t horrified of him! They seemed excited and there wasn’t a trace of sadness anywhere. He knew Lee must have told them about him, and he nuzzled them both affectionately. Then he looked up at Lee and he smiled, shaking his head in wonder and amazement. She was the reason these cubs existed, and that made her amazing.
Fimbo growled at her brother lightly, playfully, not wanting him to get in on the dad-hugging fun. She moved under Hadaya’s chin to reach her brother, pawing at him to ward him off, then going for the one thing she knew would make him leave. She grabbed his blanket and jerked it away, running off with it toward her mother.
She had it now! Maybe is she put it here and got back to Hadaya fast, he would take her instead of Dura! That would make more sense, anyway. She had hugged him first, right? That’s like calling shot gun.
Noooooooo! It played out in near slow motion in his mind, his eyes widening as the blanket was snatched from his jaws while he'd been distracted. He instantly delatched from Hadaya and moved to chase after her, his tiny teeth bared and his ears tilted back. "GIVE!" He squealed, his voice high pitched. He tried to tackle her, but missed, and ended up landing on the end of his blanket, and his claws unfortunately raked across one corner, tearing off a small piece...
Dura sat down, staring in horror at the piece of tanned leather in his paw. His eyes watered, his ears tilted bank, and a loud, long, and terrible whail errupted from his mouth.
Lee grimaced. He hated it when he cried... The noise was so... loud and horrible. She grunted and gave a disaproving look to Fimbo.
Hadaya had no idea what was going on. He watched the two fight, and the weird hide get torn. Apparently it was very important to the little male. He stood and moved over to the duo, passing the boy and catching Fimbo before she could escape. He picked her up and carried her over to her brother, plopping her down in front of him. She looked up at him, frowning, and he blinked, then tried to look expectant.
Fimbo frowned. It looked like her dad wanted her to give the blanket back. No fair! She sighed, rolled her eyes, and tossed the blanket at her brother, feeling kind of bad that it had torn and he was crying. She watched him for a moment, sighed again in exasperation, then moved over to him and nuzzled him really quickly. It wasn’t the most sincere or comforting of nuzzles, but at least she had offered it at all. Defeated, she padded back to her mom, flopping down next to her with a ‘humph’.
Hadaya nuzzled Dura carefully, tilting his head.
“Don’t worry, little guy. I’ll keep you and it safe on our trip, okay? No more tearing or it getting stolen, I promise.”
Lee watched, her grimace turning to an amused smile. Hadaya was good with kids after all... She chuckled, glancing at Fimbo as she sat to brood. She shifted down, laying so she could curl around her daughter and lick at her, masking the affection as a bit of grooming.
Dura flailed a little, the blanket having been thrown over him. His head managed to poke out a little, though it was still half drapped over his head and one ear. He beamed up at the giant, his mouth gapping in wonder. He nodded then and nuzzled him back, purring happily.
"Dura is look-king forward to his j-journey. He has alway b-been a dreamer." Lee said softly, watching them.
Fimbo purred and squished herself against her mom, making it a bit difficult to groom her. Let her brother have the big fluffy lion. It didn’t matter, she had her mom. And she was going to do what she could to impress her, and be the best she knew how. She’d be better than Dura, where ever he went and whatever he did. It didn’t matter to her. Besides, at least she didn’t cry like he did. And she didn’t have that stupid blanky!
Hadaya smiled.
“A dreamer, huh? He’s going to have fun at the ocean, then. I’ll make sure he doesn’t… day dream his way into the water. But there are lots of cubs there, and they’ll love having someone new to play with. He won’t be lonely or sad, I’m sure. I’ll do my best with him.” He sighed, purring.
“They’re both great.” He said, stepping carefully toward Lee. He sat down near her, looking content.
Lee didn't mind. She still licked Fimbo every so often, letting one large paw encircle her, keeping her close. She purred, smiling. She was happy. Happy that the two males got along, and happy that Dura still seemed excited to leave. It made things easier.
She nodded to him, her mane falling over her eyes as she grined. "I n-never doubt-ted that-t he would-d be happy, Hadaya." She watched as Dura blinked, standing wobbily and dragging the blanket with him as he moved to join his family, plopping down against his giant-monster-dad.
Hadaya smiled. His little family was together, and it was nice. He knew it couldn’t last, but for those few days that he lingered in those lands they were complete. The day came that he needed to head back, his pride was probably not missing him that much but he did have responsibilities there. He was sitting with his son, having tried to bond with him to be ready for this journey, and he stood, looking at Lee sadly.
“I’d better go home,” he said, though he knew she would understand. They parted ways, and he was devastated, and he said goodbye to his little daughter, who still seemed put off because she wasn’t going. He carried Dura when their goodbyes had finished, letting him climb onto his dad’s big back and daydream all he wanted about riding the big giant monster. The trip wasn’t too long, though Hadaya couldn’t run this time, and in time they reached the sandy shores of the Simbafutaji pride lands. Hadaya smiled over the familiar place, walking toward his den slowly.
“This your new home, Dura,” he said, smiling, “I hope you like it here.”
End!
