Ugh. He was so tired! This ratel was heavy, and had been a little bugger to catch. Mkuu growled softly as he carried it back towards the den in which Hasaa was currently residing, clearly exhausted by the way he carried his large frame. He'd been given time off by the Mwindaji tribe for the birth of the cubs, which was fine. But he hadn't been expecting to run around after stupid ratels because Hasaa craved them.

It hadn't been his fault! It had just...happened. But now she blamed him and he was even beginning to believe her, guilt forcing him to dash out and grab whatever she desired at that particular moment. Well...guilt, and something else. A warm feeling, right in the middle of his chest. Because the fact was, that was a little bit of him inside of her. And he was almost proud of it. The little cubs tha came out would be his - his and Hasaa's. And they'd be gorgeous and amazing in every way. He just knew it.

Ducking into the den he slowed, panting somewhat loudly as he slowly padded to the back of rocky 'home', nostrils flaring as he located his mate. ...Was that what he had to call her, now? Dropping the ratel in front of her, he growled softly.

"One Ratel." was the growl, as he flopped onto the cold, stony floor beside her.


Hasaa's ears fluttered backwards at the sound of the ratel landing on the ground, but she didn't bother turning her head. She was far too tired. Her belly was swollen, her stomach hurt, her eyes weren't as wide as usual, and she was hungry all the time. And when she wasn't hungry, she wanted food. But she didn't want to eat. She just wanted to...Smell it.

Eyes casting a glance over the carcass, she inhaled, sighed, and flopped her head to the ground beside Mkuu. She flicked her tail against the ground once, still not saying anything.

"Could you get me a piece, Mkuu~?" she drawled lazily, nudging his arm with her nose.

She still couldn't believe that big brute was now called her life-mate. She'd never even dreamed of having one, honestly. When she was younger, most males ran in the opposite direction when they saw her.

She really couldn't understand why~.


Mkuu had flopped onto the ground beside Hasaa, a little away from her, but shuffled closer to her when he realized. Pressing himself close to her and her swollen belly, he rested his head on the belly, pressing his ear to the stretched skin. Almost as if he was expecting to hear one of the cubs inside mew or kick. Hearing Hasaa's voice, he glanced up, ears flicking backwards as he watched her sleepily, blinking once. Huh? ...Oh, right. The food.

Grumbling softly as he stood, he fetched the ratel for her, pushing it closer. Eventually it was right under her nose, and figuring that was what she wanted he resumed the position he'd been in before, except this time he rested his head on her shoulder. It almost felt a little awkward, this...but then that must've been 'cause he'd never done this before. Not many lionness' seemed to like him. Too gruff, too grumpy, too large perhaps?

But Hasaa did. And they were life-mates now.

Even if they were slightly dysfunctional.


The pink lioness nosed the dead ratel lightly, not really smelling; more like feeling, but in such a way that it seemed like she wasn't quite interested in it. Then she sighed and turned her head away from it, curling her paws close to her body as if the feel of the carcass disgusted her.

Sure, she had wanted ratel meat...She had missed the taste and hadn't had any in a long while. But now that it was in front of her, it didn't seem very appetizing. No...Now, she wanted something else. Or did she want anything? Well, that didn't matter. She'd figure that out soon enough. The point was that now, she didn't fancy ratel meat.

"It smells a bit strange." Hasaa remarked softly. "Was it perhaps on the verge of death when you killed it?"


Mkuu's eyes fluttered shut as he rested on his mate, although most of his weight was shifted backwards s as not to crush her. He'd suddenly become aware of the fact that he was a rather large lion, and could crush someone unintentionally as well as intentionally. And he certainly didn't want to do that to Hasaa and his children. ...Their children.

His eyes fluttered open again as she spoke in a way he hadn't expected - a soft remark, which was unusual. it was different from the sarcasm and witty comments he usually received. He almost found himself missing them - she wasn't really Hasaa without them. But she msut be exhausted too, he concluded. Having a huge belly full of heavy cubs probably wasn't easy. He reached up, nuzzling her cheek fondly with a kind smile.

"It wasn't - trust me. I chased it for a fair way before I caught it."


A strange, pulse, movement, bump rolled through Hasaa's stomach, and she felt the skin get pushed against. Her eyes widened and she looked a bit more like her normal self for a moment.

She stretched her limbs and bent her head to stare at her own stomach, cheek pressing hard against Mkuu's unintentionally.

"Didyouseesomething?" she asked quickly. She appeared quite surprised, which was unusual for her. But then again, she had an excuse. She had never been pregnant before. And she had never witnessed a pregnant female before. Everything she experienced was entirely new. Whether that was a good or bad thing remained yet to be seen.


Mkuu's eyes had closed again, the male breathing deeply as he tried to get some rest. He felt Hasaa move underneath him, though, and opened one eye lazily. And then, suddenly, her cheek was pressed against his and she was staring intently at her stomach, in a way that caused him to frown in confusion.

"What is it?" he asked, only to be immediately answered by a quick, almost excited blur of words that caused him to frown. He paused, remaining silent for several moments as he attempted to figure out exactly what she'd said, before his eyes lit up brightly as he finally decoded it. He smiled just as brightly as his eyes sparkled - looking almost like a happy cub - as he lifted a large paw, carefully placing it on top of Hasaa's swollen belly, running it from one end to the other.

"What was it?" he asked, almost as quickly, nuzzling his cheek against hers affectionately. "Did something move? How many!?"


Hasaa didn't understand what was happening, but it was somehow thrilling. The shock faded, and she smirked, staring at her fat stomach. She placed a paw on her belly, pressing it firmly, but not to hard. She felt more moving, but it was subtle. She moved it to a different place, and felt more moving. Moved it to a different place...MORE moving.

How many cubs were IN HER?!

Should she tell Mkuu her guess? Hmm...Ohhhh, a plan had formed in her head.

Hasaa grinned placidly and nuzzled him back.

"I'd say eight or so~." she drawled cutely.


Mkuu withdrew his paw to allow hasaa more sace, watching her with intense interest. His eyes were wide as she watched her feel around in his belly, a smile slowly curving his paw. It was almost amusing, watching Hasaa poke her belly.

He glanced at her expectantly, cocking his head to the left at her grin. He blinked innocently, before his expression noticeably dropped in shock at her revelation. He closed his mouth - which had dropped open - swallowing a lump as his eyes widened considerably.

"I...E-E-Eight!?" he asked in shock, heartbeat slowly increasing as he felt it thumping against his ribcage, "I...You...A-Are you SURE!?"

Was that even POSSIBLE!?


Heehee...

He was so delightfully hilarious when he was fretting about something. Perhaps "cute" was the right word...In any case, she liked it. The more she pushed his buttons, the better, as far as she was concerned. Whether he liked it or not.

But maybe he did like it?

Ohoho...

"I'm not sure..." she murmured, darting a glance in his direction. And of course, she wasn't. "Why don't you feel and f--"

A loud gurgle cut through her words.

Hasaa blinked.

Her stomach had growled? Oh, right, she had been hungry. But eww, that ratel...She didn't want it anymore...She actually didn't want anything anymore, no matter how hungry she was. What to do, then? Just sit there bored? ...Well, she didn't have to be bored and hungry at the same time...Her favorite lion was there, after all.

Then she smirked, hiding her expression from Mkuu.

"Mkuu!" she hissed sharply, sounding urgent. "I don't think the cubs want that ratel. Maybe they're upset. Perhaps a nice, juicy...prickly pear..." she said, her voice trailing off. And she knew he would get up and find one for her. Because he was Mkuu.

And she loved every bit of him.


Fretting was certainly the right word. Mku was noticeably stressed now as he glanced down at the belly with wide eyes, trying to imagine eight wriggling shapes. How was he supposed to look after EIGHT!? He was going to have enough trouble with one, let alone eight!

At her invitation he happily reached out a paw to place, gently beginning to run it over her belly before the loud gurgle, paw shooting back faster than lightning, the large lion clearly afraid he'd done something wrong. His eyes were still large, his nostrils flared as he noticeably began to shiver. What had he done now? He wasn't cut out for this! ...EIGHT!?

He swallowed, head flashing around to glance at Hasaa as she hissed, the male shuffling closer to his mate as he lowered his head, clearly wanting to fix whatever was wrong. ...Eight of them!? He just couldn't get over it. Swallowing, he nodded. Prickly pair?

Scrambling to his feet he gave a nod, lowering his head to nuzzle her forehead and lick her nose fondly before he set out from the den without a word, off to find some prickly pear.

...EIGHT!?