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 Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 8:29 pm
 Hitilafu knew better than to wander from the den her daddy had found for them. She knew he was doing something important, and he was out a lot but only because he had to be. He never told her anything, but she was sharp enough to pick up on the conversations around her. He grumbled to himself a lot, too, which was often quite revealing. She knew that the lioness that brought her a rabbit once was Unguzo's friend, and that her 'mate' (whatever that was) was going to work with her daddy to do something.
He told her not to worry about it when she asked. So she didn't. After all, she had bugs to chase and cuddles to give her daddy when he looked particularly tired. He never cuddled back, but she knew he liked it. He didn't tell her to leave him alone, which was his way of telling her it was okay.
She knew better than to wander away, but she still did. It was early, and he would be away all day. She was lonely, and sometimes when she came outside she met nice people. At least she had that one time. But today she wanted to go and visit Dunia, and she was following the path her daddy had shown her. It would be fine! He said she could.
She was excited!
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 8:42 pm
Her morning had started out slow, as usual, the late night before tugging at her to sleep more than she might have otherwise... But with the sun came warmth and with warmth came the eventual hunger that sent her out in search of breakfast.
She'd found it, of course, dragging it back to her den where she and Nukta dined before he left to do 'male things'. She didn't question them, of course, figuring that he was going to meet with Unguzo, perhaps, or talk to any of the strange leopards that she didn't trust entirely. It was no worry of hers, for she knew that he could take care of himself now that his strength had returned...
Of course there was always the matter of whatever happened to Unguzo's daughter while he was out with Nukta. It was with the young one in mind that she'd set aside a little bit of her own breakfast, waiting to see if she'd see her today... Or if she'd have to go in search of her herself.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 8:55 pm
Hit got a wee bit lost on her way, but it was to be blamed on her relatively short attention span. Being young, she was easily distracted by flittering bugs or shiny things in the grass. She had wandered from the paw prints her dad had made in the ground for her, which she could still see and smell, to go sniff a weird looking rock that glistened when the sun hit it. It was blue and smooth, and she decided it would make a good gift for Dunia, since she had brought her a rabbit!
And Hit was still too young to go hunting on her own. She once caught a mouse, but it had been on accident and she had only 'caught' it for a few seconds before it climbed out of her paws and ran away into a dark corner of the den.
Rock in mouth, she returned to the trail and padded her way to the den, her little legs a lot slower than when her daddy carried her. She spotted the lioness, though, just before she started to wonder if she had gone off the trail again. She bounded up to say hi, dropping the stone. It landed on her paw and she looked down at it, whimpering a bit. She never cried, but she certainly didn't look too happy about it.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 9:17 pm
Her usual smile brightened when she caught sight of the little one, that same smile fading ever so slightly when she saw the look on the little one's face. Leaving the meal she'd been guarding behind for the moment she made her way towards the cub, leaning down to check her over.
"If you can wiggle your toes I'm sure you'll be fine... At least long before you grow up and find a mate of your own." She grinned, leaning down to touch her nose lightly to the youngster's cheek. "Then if you can do a little bit more than wiggle your toes you can have some of my breakfast... I'm afraid I caught far more than Nukta and I could eat by ourselves."
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 9:25 pm
Hit smiled, rubbing Dunia's face with a great deal of affection, purring loudly. She liked to purr. Looking up with a big smile on her pretty little face, Hit bounced her feet up and down and wiggled her toes, demonstrating that she was perfectly okay and the momentary sadness had already been forgotten. She bounced forward, rubbed between the older lionesses legs, then bounced back to the stone.
Remembering what had happened last time, she didn't pick it up because she wanted to speak.
"I found you this pretty stone! It's blue and the light makes it prettier! Because you gave me a yummy rabbit! And daddy says debts should be repaid. I don't really know what a debt is, but he said that you giving me a rabbit was one. And I wanted you to have it, anyway!" She laughed, butt wagging in her excitement.
Her stomach growled at the mention of food. Her dad had caught food for her before he left, but she hadn't eaten any of it before setting out, a bit too excited for the day.
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Posted: Wed May 06, 2009 1:31 pm
"There is a difference between debts needing to be repaid and acts of kindness, Hitilafu." She nodded slowly, still smiling. "Your father is right, though. If you owe a debt to someone it is better to repay it in your own terms than on theirs. Their terms might not be as kind." Her eyes narrowed slightly as she stared into the distance for a moment as if seeing something, dismissing it easily with the shake of her head.
"Thank you for the gift." She smiled once more as she leaned down to pick up the pebble, turning to lead the youngster back to where she'd left the remainders of the waterbuck that had served as breakfast. Setting the pebble down a bit closer to her den she glanced back at Hit. "Help yourself."
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Posted: Wed May 06, 2009 6:06 pm
Hitilafu smiled, giggling, and bounced toward the carcass. She wanted to just jump on it, but she remembered her dad telling her that 'manners' were important. They showed strength of character, which was as important as strength of body. She remembered asking him what manners were, exactly, and he told her he would show her when he needed to. So later, when they were eating, he explained what good manners were for food.
The first thing he said was not to jump on it and rip at it, especially if she was in company. She could eat without making a mess of herself, of the food, and those nearby. So she practiced then, politely chewing at the meat, even though it was really tasted and she was really hungry.
She had to mind her manners.
"How come," she said, her mouth full of food. He hadn't quite taught her everything just yet, "there aren't any little lions like me around here?"
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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 10:02 am
She watched the young one for a moment, admiring how daintily Hitilafu seemed to go about breakfast this time as compared to the last. Her father seemed to be doing something right in teaching her, at least, even though she still believed that female cubs should be raised by strong mothers.
"Mm... A good question." She nodded as she sat down to make herself comfortable, bringing one paw up to lick at it for a moment before setting it down so that she could address the youngster. "Nukta and I have yet to be blessed with any little lions like you. Soon, though, if Fortune smiles on us, we will... Strong, beautiful girls, like you, and strong, courageous boys."
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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 10:04 pm
"But," Hitilafu said, tilting her head, "how come it's just you and me and Nuk... ta..." she wasn't familiar with the name, and the two consonants together tripped her up a bit. She continued on as if completely oblivious to the stumble. Which, of course, she was. "and daddy? When I'm with mommy there's me, and my brother and sisters, and my half brothers and sister. And then some other lions come but don't stay. Is this place like daddy's land? He doesn't let anyone stay, except for us."
She frowned, then noticed she was still hungry and she chewed some more on the food, purring happily. When she was full she sat down and licked her fur with all the grace and daintiness of a uncoordinated toddler.
"Daddy doesn't like being around others, but I do," she said. For a very, very brief moment she looked sad, simply because she never got to see many new creatures. But she knew Dunia! And that made her happy.
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 6:12 pm
"There are others... Nukta has a servant; a wild dog who relays messages to others when we need her to. I haven't seen her for some time, but I am certain that she is still out there, doing what she can to help us." Recruiting others, if she was intelligent; making some use of herself.
Her eyes narrowed slightly for a moment before she shook it off, smile returning as she glanced back down to the cub. "Soon, Hitalifu, there will be more of us... And cubs for you to play with. I enjoy being around others as well, you see. As does Nukta. Once there are more of us we'll travel to a new place together; a place we'll all be able to call home once Nukta is king."
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 6:32 pm
Hitilfu had no idea what a wild dog was, but it certainly sounded fun! She wondered if she could relay messages to others, but she didn't think there was anyone 'within sight of the cave, or with Dunia' that would need to be told anything through a second party. And she didn't want to break her daddy's rules. She smiled brightly, nodding like she was totally following everything the older lioness was saying.
And, in a way, she was. She made note of everything, any way. She learned the words and took what context clues she could, and she'd undoubtedly remember everything they were saying later, in a different conversation, and bring it up spontaneously. Her memory was strangely keen in that way.
"I like to play! Daddy lets me play with his tail some times, but I chase bugs a lot more!" She blinked, tilting her head as her train of thought switched tracks, "king? Daddy said that word before! It means ruler! And he said it was supposed to be someone strong." She nodded, as if this information was brand new to the world, and she was teaching it.
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 6:59 pm
"Playing with others your own age is a good way to learn." She nodded slowly, distracting the conversation away from talk of 'business'. It was more than enough that she discussed it frequently with Nukta, she could enjoy some time with the younger female free of that for now. "Sometimes you can learn from playing with adults as well, though. For instance, have you ever played tag before, Hitalifu?"
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 7:04 pm
"Tag?!" Hit looked up eagerly. Her dad never really gave names to the games he saw her playing. He always watched, and never participated. So she had never played tag before. She used to see her siblings and half-siblings playing, but back then she had been too little and too sick to join in. They never said what they were playing though, around her.
"What is it?" she asked, bouncing up eagerly, looking up at Dunia with her bright, deep green eyes and smiling from ear to ear. Any game that had earned a name must be fun! She wanted to play it, so when someone else asked her she would know how! Maybe Dunia was the master of the game, and the younger cub could learn so much!
"I want to play!"
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 12:42 pm
"Tag is a game that tests both your speed and endurance as well as your maneuverability." She nodded as she stalked a slow circle around the youngster, tail swishing behind her in an almost predatory manner. "It is in playing games such as that one that we learn more about hunting and testing our abilities. One creature runs and it is the sole purpose of the other to catch them." She paused for a moment, a grin curving the corners of her muzzle. "Do you think that you could catch me, Hit?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 5:26 pm
Hitilafu listened intently, not really understanding some of the larger words, but trying to catch their meaning from the rest of it. It was how she had learned to talk to her dad, who never did much to dumb his diction down for the cub. She grinned happily as Dunia circled her, bouncing on her little paws and nodding furiously.
"I think I can!" She said eagerly, despite the clear differences in their skill level. She was absolutely certain her stubby little legs were more than enough of a match for Dunia's long, muscular frame! After all, Hit spent a lot of time running around.
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