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 Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 7:37 am
The days after his birth had turned into weeks, and in the weeks that had come, Atesh’s vision and hearing had come along with his sense of smell and the fast-approaching mastery of his motor skills. What had once been an existence dependent on sense and instinct had morphed into one of control and vibrant life. In the darkness of the den, his twitching pink nose had determined the scents of each and every one of his siblings and parents, and his great bright eyes knew their pelts.
Mother was light colored – lighter than all of his siblings, who all had the same coat but difference markings, some like mother’s and others somewhat like his. Father was light as well, but a different kind of light that fascinated the little cub to no end. Father was not the same: that was all he knew. And yet, Father had an air of authority about him. Father’s very presence demanded respect, though Atesh did not understand why, but he paid the great lion his dues anyway. Because Father was Father.
He was a bright, observant little child, and often when he pretended to be asleep to avoid being scolded, he saw things that he didn’t quite understand, but accepted as a way of life, simply because he knew no other.
Father and Mother gazed at each other with looks that suggested they would likely melt at any moment. What it was, Atesh had no idea. Both parents watched over them endlessly, with what Atesh would later learn were pride and devotion in their eyes.
And then, there was the light. He had little idea as to what it could possibly be, but it was like a summoning beacon, calling him out of the safety and comfort of the den, into whatever adventures lurked beyond the meager existence of a newborn cub. It was the Eye-Pain, but also the Pretty and the Wow, all at once, and he wished he could escape the confines of his parents’ protection, and find out what it was.
---
In the days that followed the birth of the litter, Azarax had grown more confident around the cubs, having realized that while they were fragile and delicate little creatures, they were also hardy and he couldn’t break them quite as easily as he had previously thought. Yet, his mind had resisted the transformation from mate to father, and as he lay in the den awaiting the coming of morning when he would rise and hunt for Yin, he couldn’t help but to watch the cubs as if from a distance. It still felt as if they were someone else’s cubs. Yin’s cubs, perhaps, but not his own, and the strange feeling confused him.
Still, the change was approaching, even if it was slow in coming, and with each passing day he felt his love for the little cubs grow, even when he thought he couldn’t possibly love them any more than he already did. From the moment he had laid eyes on them, an unrivaled need to keep them safe and well had seized him, and he had spent sleepless nights doing nothing but stare at the cubs unblinkingly, as if the moment he shut his eyes, they would be gone.
As he lay in the stillness that enveloped the pre-dawn world, he shifted his head slightly and his golden eyes fell on the opening of the den, into the rich navy blue of the night. Nighttime in the desert was truly a sight to behold. The stars littered the skies, a mass of bright twinkling speckles that glistened like diamonds against the inky backdrop of the heavens. No clouds marred the perfect image, and to Azarax, it was simply the most perfect thing that had ever been created.
---
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Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 1:48 am
A strange sense overcame the soundly sleeping form of the tiger-striped cub. A loose strand of sand lying on the ground beside him tickled his nose, and a quiet, wheezy sneeze shook the little body. Then all was still again. For a moment, silence reigned over the darkened world, and then in the midst of all the night, a pair of unusually bright indigo eyes popped open.
For a moment, the little cub lay still, his eyes roving left and right as he tested the waters. His gaze landed on his siblings. All sleeping. His eyes shifted to his mother. Sleeping. Father. Sleeping.
A slow smile crept across his delicate face. Aha! Now was the perfect time. Time to go and check out the Wow.
Carelessly, he disentangled himself from his sleeping siblings, and stood on still-unsteady legs. He took a step, his little body and padding paws not yet big enough to make any real noise upon the ground, and he paused. The world was still. He took another step.
Satisfied he was safe and he straightened up. His steps lost the cautious creep of a young criminal, and with a sudden mad dash, he made his break for freedom. His stout little legs stretched and drew back, carrying in short choppy strides away from his siblings and then… Out of the darkness, a massive mountain loomed in front of him. Atesh’s already-large round eyes widened. Father! He sought to control his mad charge, but he was still young, and had imperfect control of his own flailing limbs.
With a squeak, the little black body collided into the sleeping form of his father.
---
It was more the squeak than the actual collision that awakened the sleeping lion. Golden eyes shot open as the distressed squeak of a single little cub sounded beside him. Azarax lifted his head, eyes searching questioningly in the darkness, and as they landed on the little cub lying in a crumpled heap of legs and tail, waves of concern and amusement washed over him simultaneously.
Even as he watched, the cub disentangled himself and with a determined squeak, popped back on his little paws, right as rain. Azarax remained motionless, watching his son with a bemused smile on his face as Atesh, still unaware of his father’s gaze, sat back and gazed upward.
---
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Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 1:49 am
He sat there for a moment, contemplating just how he would make his way over the barrier that was his father, and then he rose and placed two tiny paws against the tan-pelted side, stretching his head up as far as he could go. Then with a huff, he hopped up with his hind legs and gripped with his forepaws, sinking his tiny claws into the tan fur in a valiant attempt to clamber up, up and over.
His claws sank ever so slightly into the fur and fell back again with a dismay yelp. Undeterred, the cub tried again, only to fall back. Frustration was written all over his little face as he stalked back up to his father’s side and reached out a paw to poke at the giant obstacle that stood between Atesh and his freedom.
From the little poke, there suddenly erupted a low chuckle. The cub froze. Then slowly, ever so slowly, he turned his head to the right. And as his bright indigo-eyed gaze locked onto his father’s golden one, panic flooded through him and he withdrew his paw. He stood, entrapped by his father’s mystical stare.
A moment later, he turned to flee.
---
Azarax’s smile widened at Atesh’s obvious terror at having been caught in the act, and as the cub turned to flee back to his mother’s side and hunker back down with his siblings, the tan pelted lion reached out with a paw and scooped the little lion back.
“Now, Atesh,” he said softly, ignoring his son’s terrified mewls. “Why so scared?”
He placed the cub down before him, tucked comfortably against the crook of his arm, and watched as a cheeky grin spread across his face. The cub’s antics had driven away any thought of awkwardness of fear of hurting him. Obviously if Atesh had it in him to try and claw his way over Azarax to freedom, he could stand a little picking up.
“It’s getting kind of late, Atesh, shouldn’t you be sleeping?” He gazed into his son’s bright eyes, and though Atesh’s alert expression seemed to suggest that he understood every word, Azarax wasn’t so sure. He was obviously eager to be in his father’s company, and had he understood what Azarax was saying, he probably wouldn’t have looked so thrilled.
“Alright,” he said finally. “Come with me.” He reached down to the cub and picked him up lightly by the scruff of his neck, rose, and moved closer to the den mouth. As he lay down again, he settled Atesh back to where he had been before, resting against the crook of his arm. “You see that?” He said to the cub, turning his eyes out to the myriad glistening stars that speckled the heavens.
---
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Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 1:50 am
Atesh did see, though not because he understood his father’s words. He was getting there, though. He was beginning to pick up certain things. Like his name – Atesh. He quite liked the ring to it. And some of his siblings. Vesta, Koro. He wasn’t too sure.
But the moment Father had set him down, he had been enraptured by the brilliant stars that glittered outside. Not that he knew what they were. All he knew was that here was something that was more brilliant even than the Wow. It didn’t hurt his eyes, and it was more than Wow. It was… Whoa. That was what it was. His bright eyes were fixed upon the stars that glittered so many different colors that he couldn’t keep track. Blue, green, red blue, yellow, purple. More colors than he had ever thought existed.
A soft mewl escaped him as he curled himself contently against his father’s leg.
---
“Those are stars, Atesh.” He murmured, well aware of the cub’s reaction. “Stars.”
A feeling of peace seemed to envelop to both of them as they lay watching the stars twinkle away in the vast expanse of sky. It was as if everything in the world was right, everything was fine and there was nothing for the life of them to worry about.
---
Stars. That was what Father had said. Stars. Atesh turned his head to gaze back at his father inquisitively.
Stars?
He saw the look of pure satisfaction on the familiar face, and his little minded decided in that moment he would trust what Azarax had said.
“Stahhh…” He echoed in a whisper as he turned back toward the shining pinpoints of light in the sky, a self-satisfied smile on his little face.
---
Pride spread through him as he heard the whispered word, unsure and barely audible, but it was a word all the same. Atesh’s first word. Joy swelled through him as the enormity of it dawned on him. Atesh had said his first word.
Azarax leaned down and gently nuzzled the top of the cub’s head, where already the little tuft of black-streaked mane showed through. “Yes, Atesh. Star.”
---
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Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 1:52 am
A small giggle emanated from Atesh as his father nuzzled the top of his head, and he nodded as if in agreement. “Stahhh.” He said again, his pleasure at saying the word obvious on his face and in the way his body seemed to wriggle gleefully every time he pronounced it.
He turned back to Azarax once again with a grin, blinking his bright indigo eyes, as if searching for a way to address him but not quite knowing how. He knew who Father was, of course he knew. But he didn’t suppose Father was also “stahhh” and he knew no other word, had no other way of communicating.
---
“What is it, Atesh?” He asked, seeing the expectant look on the cub’s face. “Go on, those stars.”
But the cub refused to turn his head.
“You want to learn?” He ventured. “Words?” Not that he expected an answer, but something inside him compelled him to ask anyway. Atesh’s expression remained unchanged, those bright, bright eyes still staring away and looking for all the world as if there was nothing better than being here, in his moment, with his father.
“Can you say… Daddy? Dad?” His mind wavered. He had no idea how they were supposed to address him. He’d never had a father, after all.
---
What was that? Atesh’s sharp ears focused on the sounds, picked out the ones that seemed the most foreign. Like “stahhh” had been strange. It had been a funny sounding word, for sure.
“D…” He paused, and a look of concentration furrowed his brow. D? No. He looked up at Azarax again.
---
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Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 1:52 am
“Dad?” He said again, uncertain of what the cub was looking for. The expression on Atesh's face and the earlier breakthrough, however, gave him the feeling that the cub was attempting to try something else. D... It couldn't be dad, though, could it? He wondered. After all, Yin was their mother, and being their mother, she was around much more often than he. It would only have made sense if the cub learned to address his mother before his father.
And yet, he sat and silently hoped that "Dad" was what Atesh was aiming for. The feeling of pride swelled inside him as the anticipation of Atesh's next word built.
---
Ah, there it was!
“Du… Daa…” He echoed. There it was. Da. He nodded his head slightly. It sounded good. It sounded right. That was what Father was. “Daa.”
The look on his face had transformed from one of frustration to one of extreme satisfaction as he gazed up at his father with all the love and devotion in the world. Father, after all, was Father.
---
“That’s right, Atesh,” he said, his grin stretching wider. “Da.” He nuzzled the cub again as Atesh turned his head back to the stars. “I’m so proud of you.”
He watched as the cub laid his chin tiredly on Azarax’s arm, and even as the tan lion spoke, Atesh’s muzzle opened and he yawned, tiny pink tongue curling, and almost before he had even shut his muzzle, the bright eyes had drifted shut and the little body lay still in sleep.
Azarax’s exhilarated grin faded to a smile that tugged as the corners of his mouth and refused to go away as he looked down upon Atesh and felt as if his pride would grow forever. Careful not to disturb the sleeping cub, he laid his head onto the ground, drawing Atesh close, and as he watched the stars, he felt slumber overcome him and once again in the predawn hours of night, Azarax fell asleep.
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