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 Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:54 am
Training was done, for the day. As sore as her muscles were after the hard workout she had been put through, Shinda was pleased, even invigorated by all the exercise, unfazed by the sweat hanging from her fur. It had been a fruitful day, and it helped her mind stop musing about many unimportant things if it had been left idle to wander.
Like her family.
Family. Her, her father, her new siblings and the Queen.
...Funnily enough, she had never thought of the Queen as family, until the announcement about the birth of the royal cubs came. It struck her then, that those were her father's children, and also, her step-siblings. An extension of her small family that she had always seen as only her and her father.
But things were changing, and it wasn't that she felt angry, resentful or annoyed.
She just felt awkward, for some reason. Very, very awkward, and she didn't like feeling this way.
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 9:45 am
"Do you want to meet them?"
The question is as abrupt as his arrival, startling and unannounced. The Warleader had been watching the training session from the higher ridge, as he sometimes does. Most of the time he simply disappears partway through, leaving just as silently as he arrived. But this time... this time he descended from his lofty perch, to intercept his daughter as she left the training grounds.
It had taken Sakata a while to decide that his eldest daughter should meet his cubs - her half-siblings - and he's still not sure why it took so long. To be honest, he can't even recall if Shinda has ever spoken with the Queen. The daughter borne of his previous mate is a subject that had never been broached, thanks to the rumours that began to circulate after the Queen went so long without bearing cubs of her own.
He waits silently for her response, the barest hint of expectation glimmering behind the mask he usually wears, sheltered as he is in the shadows cast by the evening sun.
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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 7:29 am
She merely blinked in surprise, the only hint that reveals her shock of his unexpected arrival. She knew he watched them; heck, he was the Warleader, after all, but she never really had the chance to talk much with her father. Their last meeting had been after she had decided to become a Warrior, and it seemed quite long ago, as so many things had happened since then.
Shinda dipped her head in greeting as she wondered if she should see her half-siblings. On one hand, she wasn't exactly the ideal big sister; she wasn't exactly particularly fond of cubs, on the other hand, she was curious. Curious to see how they looked like, curious to see how they were.
How then, could she say no? She smiled at him briefly. "I should."
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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 9:30 pm
"Good," he replies simply, then gestures for her to walk along with him. The pace he sets is slow and measured, resulting in a journey that is long enough to permit easy conversation... or awkward silence.
It is silence that reigns in the beginning, as the Warleader watches his eldest daughter. She looks a lot more like him than any of her half-siblings, he realizes. Was it that her mother's genes were weak, or that the Queen's are so strong? Enough time has passed that the visual memory of his previous mate has begun to fade, replaced with dim half-remembrances and overlaid with the image of Jinichongo.
After some time has passed in silence he realizes that perhaps it would be best to speak, rather than continue to watch her while they walk. So he clears his throat, awkwardly, and gazes into the distance while attempting to make conversation. "Practice going well?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 8:47 am
She followed her father, falling into step with him, strangely unnerved by the silence that lapsed between them as well. It was actually pretty normal that they didn't know how to start a conversation without feeling awkward, yet not so, judging that they were father and daughter.
But this was how their relationship was, how it always had been.
It was a little bit of a surprise when he finally decided to speak; she thought their walk to the cubs would be a silent one. "It has been." She replied. "And you have been well?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 11:19 am
"Good," he replies again, shrugging his broad shoulders as he walks. "Well enough. Busy. Word of reduced game near the borders, but the Scouts have no explanation." Sakata grunts, his annoyance at that inexplicable phenomenon clear.
Will she be jealous, he wonders, if she sees how the cubs treat him? He took no part in her raising, leaving her entirely to the care of the Minders. Only her obvious resemblance to the Warleader stands as proof of their relationship. That is the only thing he's given her, and he has no idea if she appreciates it, or resents it. And he'd never ask.
"Seen anything strange on your patrols?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 7:40 am
A frown scrunched up her face slightly at his reply. She had sensed a sort of panic, restlessness among the other members of the pride which had bothered her greatly.
"No." Shinda replied simply. "Is it about the intruder?" She asked, narrowing her orange eyes. Yes, she remembered when the Claw had been told to keep a sharp eye out for the outsider who had somehow managed to infiltrate them. A strange sense of foreboding had settled upon her when she heard the news and even now, she couldn't shake that feeling off.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 9:29 am
"Doubtful," he grunts, shaking his heavy head. His pace is still carefully measured and his outward appearance has not changed, but now there is an angered energy about him, something dark and barely-restrained. "One lion couldn't account for that much prey."
As they round the last bend he slows, settling down upon 'his' rock. The cubs are visible from here, sleeping peacefully under the setting sun. Jinichongo has stepped away for a short time, and the star-pelted Minder is resting within view. A quiet evening at home, with the family.
The Warleader calms somewhat when he sees his offspring, then turns his gaze towards his eldest - to see her reaction to her sleeping half-siblings and offer a few words. "Be careful," He begins, his voice low to avoid waking them, "something is coming, and I won't have any of my children harmed if I can prevent it."
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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 6:09 am
A dark look settled on her face as well. There is something strange happening here, to her pride, to the lions around her, to her family. And how funny it was to think that she had been complaining to Raruo about things being boring around here, and now that something unusual had happened, it both intrigued and distressed her.
She stopped behind him, gazing at the pile of dark cubs. Shinda hadn't known how exactly she would react to seeing them (Happy? Upset? Jealous?) but now, there was nothing much except a slight stir of what was perhaps, affection? She was their big sister, in a way. "They're beautiful." She told her father. "One of them looks a lot like you."
Shinda gave him a brief smile; yes, she understood that he meant her as well. "I can take care of myself." She assured him. She was strong enough, and he knew it. "I'll be fine." Pause. "Father."
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:28 am
"Thank you," Sakata nods, as he makes himself comfortable upon his rock. He's in for the night, now, but he does not give any indication to Shinda of whether she should stay or go. The choice is hers, as it always has been hers, without any influence from him.
And then he grins, chuckling quietly. "To be honest, there is more of their mother in them than there is of me." The contrast with his eldest daughter is obvious, but unspoken, and he clears his throat before looking away. Awwwkward. See, this is why he doesn't speak with her often, because it's difficult to avoid referring to subjects that get too close to her mother, his deceased mate.
"And I trust that you can... daughter. Shinda." The Warleaders pauses, then the silence grows uncomfortable and he barrels on, "it'd be a sad day if I couldn't rely on one of my Warriors to defend herself!"
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 8:59 am
She continued standing there, gazing at the cubs. Indeed, they bore more similarities to the Queen than they did of her father; the orange markings crossing on their fur were obvious enough. And yet, she looked so much like her father that she couldn't even fathom what her mother had looked like.
She grinned. "I'm sure that won't happen." She lapsed into silence as she watched the sunset besides her father. Jinichongo would be back soon, she realized, and Shinda didn't want to be here when she returned. Although they were a family, she felt as if she was an outsider intruding on a family scene. The lioness bowed her head, bidding her father farewell and a good night before she turned and left.
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 9:36 pm
For once, the silence that hangs between them isn't awkward and uncomfortable. While the cubs sleep and the sun drops lower in the sky, Sakata simply enjoys some quiet time with his family. Lulled into a lazy drowse by the cool air of the evening and the warmth of the rock beneath him, he is startled into attention by the unexpected movement of his daughter. And when she bows her head he nods, bidding her a silent farewell.
That went well.--fin--
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