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 Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 1:03 pm
Ilori was slacking off work again. He couldn't really help himself, the cubs had been keeping him, Makhi and Sepoko rather busy. Mostly because Makhi really wanted to rest and give the new dad's some time with the kids... but really who would have thought the kids were so... energetic? Not that Ilori minded. Hanging around with them and letting them run around or crawl all over him was way more fun than work. Though he did rather like being a scribe... a lot of sitting around and makig symbols, unlike the training that had been required when he was a guard. Yes, he rather liked his new position. He just had to know things really.
But for now, he was watching the cubs. Two, specifically. Moto'Inzi and Ajali. The rest had either run off with Sepoko somewhere... or maybe they had latched onto their grandparents, or even gone to bother Makhi for attention. It was certainly nice that most of his family lived in the pride. His brother, his parents, and even his uncles were starting to make their way home. He felt a little bad that Makhi and Sepoko's families weren't there too... but oh well! They could share his!
Moto'Inzi was, unlike her father, very excited about her day, and about spending time with her family and about... well, just about everything. The cub had become known in her family, almost from the very beginning, as being excitable, jumpy, and about a hundred times less lazy than her father was. Her mom -what she has been calling Sepoko anyway- had claimed that she had somehow managed to inherit every single ounce of her father's unused energy. Which, considering Ilori's basic outlook on life, was enough to destroy the world.
"Daddy! Daddy look!" She called over to her father, who was watching from a comfortable spot under one of the few trees around them. "I can stand on my front paws without my back ones!" She cried, jumping up onto her forepaws and staring straight at the ground.
"TA-DA!" She giggled, raising up one of her other paws to only stand on one. This lasted for about two seconds before she lost her balance and rolled forward into a summersault. "THAT WAS SO COOL! I have to try it again!" Except it seemed that the little lioness, somewhere between what she said and actually doing it, forgot what she had been doing, and moved onto trying to make a rock sculpture.
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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 10:23 pm
 Ajali was happy to be spending time with his family! Even though that's something he did all day, every day, it hadn't lost its novelty yet. He loved his family. Already it was protective of them, in a youthful, stupid kind of way. Not big enough to be able to use his muscles to his advantage, he was already learning how to be diplomatic and brave in different ways. All he wanted to do was be the lion they could all count on. And he was going to, dang it!
Unfortunately, he had to find outlets for his wealth of energy, and that often meant trying to do super-lion things with out super-lion ability. Prone to leaping out of trees after climbing too high, the wingless flier had already hurt his ankles three times. But hey, each injury just made him stronger, and he was learning how to land without hurting himself because he didn't like experiencing the pain. So it didn't bother him that much.
And that was how he would tend to learn many of his lessons. The hard way.
Padding up to his dad, a slight limp in his step from his latest tree-leaping adventure, he watched as his sister did her posing. He grinned and laughed, not just because she fell (though that was hilarious) but because she had been standing on one paw. Awesome! And the way she had rolled too!
"THAT WAS!" he cheered, bouncing over to her playfully, instantly forgetting about any injury or whatever, "I want to do it now!"
And he did, though he skipped the balancing part and went straight for the rolling. He hadn't planned his spacial need out very well, and crashed right into his sister, creating a ball of fur and limbs as he tried to extricate himself from her with useless wiggles.
"No, wait! Daddy! Help!"
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 11:29 pm
"AH!" Inzi managed to scramble out as her brother collided with her, but she quickly laughed it off, flailing around like a maniac despite her laughter, "Aja! You're squishing meeeeeeee!" The energetic girl declared before flipping onto her side and splitting her sides laughing, "You need to get better balance if you wanna do that or you'll just kill me!" She announced, though she wasn't very serious.
"Oh!" She said, forgetting what they had been doing before running to her father and climbing up onto his back without a second thought, "Daddy! Daddy be my noble steed like in the pictures! We can ride to war against Aja! He can be the lone hero who defeats the army!" She seemed rather pleased with that idea and where it was going. "Aja! Aja! Be my hero! Rescue me from daddy!" She giggled, before tumbling forward off her father, who seemed content to let her use him as a jungle-gym.
"Let's play! Come on Aja!" She giggled, rolling forward towards her brother.
Ilori just chuckled, glad to see his children playing. Something about their laughter just soothed him... made him feel more relaxed. Or at least, more relaxed than he usually was. Which practically made him ooze. He couldn't help that he was generally such a happy-go-lucky guy!
"Oh don't you worry you two... I'm certain that you'll both be big strapping heroes some day." He chuckled, clearly put in a good mood. As long as he didn't have to move much, he was content to watch them play around. After all, they generally did all the moving for him. And he rarely had to break up fights between the children. They all seemed to be such good sports.
"Come on now... be careful you don't get too tangled up!" He warned, though he couldn't quite wipe the grin off his face. Fatherhood suited him. Everyone said so. It made him feel like a cub again... weird how everything seemed to fall into place sometimes.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 1:38 pm
"I knoooow!" He laughed back, her energy bleeding off and making him a bit more enthusiastic than he usually was. Still, he liked having fun, and she certainly knew how to do it! He rolled away from her, laughing as he looked at her. She was in stitches, and he couldn't stop laughing just from watching it, "I won't kill you! That's the opposite of what I want to do! Promise!"
He watched as she ran and climbed up onto their dad's back. Blinking, he stood and followed, standing in front of him instead of joining his sister on his back. He grinned, bouncing on his paws and then running away again. If they were going to be his enemies he didn't want to be so close!
"You took my sister!" He playfully yelled at Ilori, but before he knew it she was trotting toward him. "Oh! Nevermind! Thanks for freeing her, Daddy!"
Running back to Ilori, a bit out of breath now, he rubbed his dad's face and purred, then ran back to play with Inzi some more.
"Now you're the evil-doer! And I'm going to stop you from... from... uhm! Doing evil!" He pounced at her, apparently missing his dad's warning not to get too tangled up.
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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 9:09 pm
Inzi giggled, obviously enjoying herself since her brother was playing with her and somehow following her very erretic thought-process. She couldn't really stay on the same line for too long... that just got boring! If you kept moving and beat the heat in the desert then you were bound to have a good time! "Yay! Aja won't kill me! Except now I'm an evildoer, and you must find a way to help me turn off this path of evil!" She declared, flipping her paw up and fainting dramatically. And very fakely.
Ilori grinned as he watched them play, "Oh? I'm a noble steed now am I? Maybe I'll be the scary beast instead." He decided, leaning his nose in and catching his son playfully, "Rawr! I'm a big scary sand-monster-lion-thing! Can you escae me Aja? Inzi, if you fake being dead this whole time, how are you going to help your brother escape the dreaded sand-beast-thing...?" He asked, trying to remember exactly what he had been like as a child. He had been pretty content to roll down sandy hills looking for burried treasure.
Oh well, the kids had such active imaginations, who was he to stifle their learning that way? Maybe they would be brave warriors like his mother, or a guardian like their real mother. Or hunters like Sepoko... or even scribes like he was. So many things... He wondered what they would be. And that was almost like a game to itself, trying to figure out what direction they would all take.
"OH NO! AJA!" Inzi leapt back up to her feet, "You can get away from the dreaded sand-beast! You're a big hero!" She told him, meaning that. She rarely lied, but then, the little girl didn't have much to lie about. She flitted around like a firefly trying to illuminate the world. She couldn't really resist.
"Come on Aja! Escape from daddy!" She giggled, watching as her father pretended to go on an 'evil-tyrade' while he did his best to keep his son hostage.
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 1:04 pm
"Okay!" Ajali nodded. He liked playing with Inzi, though sometimes he had to admit that he got a bit lost in their games. Still, he was eager for fun, and she provided it, so he couldn't complain. If even he didn't know what side she was on most of the time, or what the rules of their play were. He figured she'd tell him if he got something wrong, as she always did, and they'd just move on.
Wondering why the evil doer just fainted, Ajali took it as an opportunity to try and save her from the wickedness that was clearly plaguing her soul. This would only be accomplished by pinning her to the ground, clearly, though since she was already fake-passed out he felt like his victory was too quick and easy.
It was a trap!
The sand beast, of course, was the proof. He wiggled as he was caught, though there was little he could do to prevent this.
"Oh no! I've been tricked! Now I'm going to get eaten by a sand-beast and it's all evil-Inzi's fault! I will escape! I am a hero!" he wiggled a whole lot more, got to his feet and then bounced away, running a circle around his sister before darting off. He came back soon enough, bouncing on Ilori's face with all the grace of a cub just getting used to his paws.
"I'll keep you from catching anyone else! Run, Inzi! I'll protect you!"
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 6:02 pm
Inzi giggled, watching her brother run circles around her. Honestly, most of the time she made things up completely with no idea where anything was going. Everything she said, she invented in hopes that it would lead... somewhere. Where didn't really mean much to her in the long run. Fun was the only goal, and the only goal she could possibly get at with her nonsensical games.
"Oh my poor brother! Alas, he went to fight the sand-beast and may never return!" She paused, about to run away. Seriously, where was the fun in escaping? She had to go back and help her brother! "Aja! I'm on your side again, your noble intentions have swayed this evil heart!" She dceided, nodding her head happily.
Ilori chuckled, happy to play the dreaded sand monster. It meant he didn't have to move much, just stand there and wave his paws around, and the kids would be perfectly happy when they beat him. After all, he had never been much of a sore loser. Or sore about anything except having to do things that didn't interest him... or require him to move around a lot. That's what he liked about being a dad.
As long as he picked the right spot, he could just sit there, flail around a bit, and the kids were happy to crawl all over him. And when they were happy, Ilori generally found that he was the happiest.
"I am the dreaded sand beast of the desert! You may fight your hardest warriors of the Dawn Walkers, but you shall not defeat me!" he didn't really expect that to discourage them. They tended to have his mother's determination, the kids.
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Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 10:51 am
"Oh good!" Ajali laughed. He didn't know if he could trust her for long, but knowing the way their games usually went it wouldn't matter. The subject would change and their characters might be different in moments, anyway. So he went with the flow, much like a good improv player. His one rule of thumb for playing with Inzi was 'never say no'.
"Then you and I can beat the evil sand beast, together! I know I'm going to return from this fight, so you better not slow me down! I'm a hero!" He felt he was developing a catch phrase, for how often he was proclaiming himself, but he couldn't help it. It gave him a thrill every time.
"CHARGE!" he yelled suddenly, thundering as fast as his heavy little paws could take him toward his dad. He lowered his head and ran straight into Ilori's gut, head first. Once he had collided with his dad he didn't relent, pushing against him as if he were trying to knock him over with all his cub-ish might. His head was a battering ram, and he hardly seemed to notice that he had just used it to slam into someone else.
He'd be feeling that a little later, when he wasn't so determined.
"Inzi! Jump on his head!" He ordered, thinking if she took him from higher up it would make him topple. Since he was doing such a great job down here, after all.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 12:29 pm
Ilori coudn't help but laugh as his son tried his best to push him over. He let himself go, putting in a little effort to fall back just because he had always been a fairly big lion. He fell back, flailing around his legs a little, "No! How could the brave hero ever beat me like this? I am a sand monster! You can't beat me! Ahhhhh!"
He chuckled a little when he lightly hit the sand, letting his children mob him with all their might. "Whatever shall I do? I'm a ruined sand monster with no hope!" He tried his best not to burst out laughing. It was hard though... they tickled.
That, and they were just so funny, these two. Always in such an uppity mood. Ajali, always the big hero, while Inzi always... well, she seemed to live on another planet sometimes that girl. But he loved them. So full of life and energy...
...Life and energy... maybe he'd take a nap after this.
Inzi on the other hand, was not thinking about napping. Napping was just slowing down and she couldn't stand sleeping! There was never anything fun to do, though she did tend to have very erretic dreams. But ar least that gave her something to do! What good was sitting around anyway? You never did anything fun!
"YES HERO SIR!" Inzi declared, saluting as she ran around and landed on her father's face, which only made it harder for him not to laugh. She got a real kick out of it though. Maybe she ought to play longer games like this more often...
...naw. She'd change it into a new game as soon as she thought of one. For now this was just fine. After all, they were beating the sand-monster that she had invented. And her dad and Aja were always so good at playing along.
"WE CAN DO THIS AJA!" She declared, standing proud and happy to help the hero of the story.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 10:27 pm
Ajali felt a rush of power course through him when his dad began to topple. He bounced on him as soon as he was able, climbing up onto his stomach in victory, swinging his tail high behind him and letting out a tiny roar in his triumph. It wasn't much of a sound yet, but he was working on it.
He decided this was a victory, and it was complete. He sat down on his dad, looking over at Inzi with a big grin on his face, and his tail swiping behind him. Sitting there until he thought his dad might want to get up, he bounced back down to the floor and circled over to Inzi, by Ilori's face.
Tilting his head, he looked down at his dad and then nuzzled him abruptly.
He loved his dad!
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:24 pm
Ilori just grinned and wrapped his paws around his kids, pulling them into a burly bear-hug, "Alright, alright, you two win. Now give your poor dad a hug." He said, holding them close and chuckling. He had never been happier, he was sure of that, then when he had his kids. Or when Makhi had his kids, actually, but that wasn't the point.
He nuzzled them fondly and chuckled, "I made a good sand-monster, don't you think my little heroes?" He asked, glad that his kids had, thus far, turned out to be the most fun he had ever had. Sure, they got grumpy, threw tantrums, and had their bad days... but they always worked it out.
He loved his kids, more and more every day, and couldn't help getting closer to them. Weird, he had never really expected everything he wanted to happen... and it had. Well, except the limp maybe. But aside from that, life was great.
Inzi flailed around a bit, but eventuall gave into her father's hug. He was awfully big after all... and she supposed that sitting still for a few minutes couldn't really hurt, could it?
"Daddy... I wanna go play." She sulked for a moment, then grinned and nuzzled into his mane, getting lost inside it, "It's a jungle!"
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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 3:42 pm
Ajali purred and squished himself against his dad as he held them both, rubbing him affectionately. He looked up excitedly, though he was a bit winded now and thought that a nap would be a good idea, nodding at his dad's words.
He, unlike his sister, was ready to call it a day on playing. Or at least call it a good couple of hours.
"You did make the best monster! But I like you better as not a monster," he yawned gigantically, settling in for a nap. He was laying half on his father's arm and half off, head down and eyes already closed. Purrs continued to emit from him.
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 7:44 pm
Ilori had a feeling that Inzi wasn't finished playing yet, but then again, the little girl never seemed ready to stop doing anything until she finally actually crashed and fell asleep for hours. Though she did tend to twitch and flip around even in her sleep. But they were such cute kids.
"Yeah, I like being not a monster too. I'd rather get rescued by the great heroes." Though he was certain to tell his big-grand stories of when he had been a war veteran as well. It did worry him, sometimes, that some of his kids wanted to follow in his footsteps and be soldiers, after he had been so badly wounded... but how could he stand in their way when really, the warrior gene was just so... in their family. And he did warn them... his limp was example enough of what happened when you lost a fight.
Some didn't listen very well though. Oh well, if it made them happy.
"How about a little nap. Aja, Inzi, want to sleep a little?" Inzi wouldn't, Aja might.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 2:37 pm
Ajali, who was already pretty much asleep save for that last lingering consciousness that allowed him to hear the conversation going on over him, mumbled something incoherent. He rolled onto his side, still draped over his father's paw.
He cleared his throat and opened one eye, trying again.
"Nap good..." he said that time, with some obvious effort. He yawned, a big one for such a little guy, and moved to curl closer to his dad's furry body. He pushed himself as close as he could, settling down and almost instantly falling to sleep.
He was done playing, that was for sure.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 7:10 pm
Ilori smiled, snuggling his kid and falling back a little. Inzi was struggling, so he let her go. "You have fun now sweetie. I'm taking your brother back to the den." He mentioned, slinging Aja onto his back and heading home.
"OKAY!" And with that, Inzi was gone, tearing up sand in her wake as she soght out the newest adventure. After all, she didn't have time to sleep like her brother did! There was something more to do, she was sure of it.
There always was in the desert.
It wasn't as boring as most people thought. "TIME FOR INZI TO SAVE THE DAY!"
(Fin?)
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