Night time.
Above them, the deep blue tapestry of the late night sky wove an array of constellations and twinkling stars which, if viewed carefully, could easily have been mistaken as fireflies trapped within its realm. Only scattered cirrus clouds remained wisped within the air leaving the heavens, perhaps even the great kings of the past, to look down upon both father and daughter. Such a quiet night had left Kip unable to sleep as her deepened crimson eyes were lured above in both awe and silent contemplation. Lately it seemed she and her fathers’ solitary life had become connected with a lioness’s, his past mate of whom he had become separated from. This new addition was both welcomed and somewhat unsettling. The young juvenile couldn’t be happier for her father; he had been reunited with the lioness whom had been the focus of his stories ever since she could remember and had become embedded within her imagination but it wasn’t until recently that childhood stories had been brought to reality as Kip had discovered that this ‘Rin’ character was an actual tangible being. Mpinduzi and Rin had been given a second chance, she had thought. Their love was something special and even Kip couldn’t deny it. Aside from the mushy stuff it seemed that each time she saw the pair together it only testified of the couples devotion and real love. Each time she vigilantly watched from the sidelines, Kipaku had seen how her fathers loneliness had been vanquished and a new, unseen part of him had been simultaneously rekindled- that incomplete, empty part of him that he had hid away from on looking eyes had been filled. Indeed she was happy for him and optimistic about the lioness accompanying them on their reckless and unpredictable adventures but there was still one thing that Kip seemed, well, somewhat nervous about.
Rin was an individual she admired, someone she looked up to. She was a lioness whose feisty and spitfire presence fit in with she and her fathers. It was refreshing or rather a breath of fresh air to their antics and everyday adventures. There was something about Rin that seemed down to earth yet, at the same time, held an edge which demanded respect from the world and all those that she came across. Kip herself couldn’t quite describe it but whatever it was Kipaku wanted to steal a piece of it- take some for herself and be able to wield such a powerful presence which she could only hope bring others to their paws in sheer admiration and fear. But that was just it. Rin seemed to simply be perfected in all things which drew in his fathers every bit of attention. The lioness was not only an idol but a threat, if in a slight way.
It wasn't a threat which was severe in causing the young female to bristle her fur and unsheathe her claws over- the fear resided in the fact that with both Rin and Duzi catching up and picking back up where things seemed to have been left at Kip couldn't help but feel she was somehow going to be left out of the equation.
Kip tried to shake the idea free knowing her father wasn't the type to simply forget about her or leave her in the dust but that unsettling thought continued to linger at the back of her mind, clawing restlessly and gnawing at her conscious mind if only to get her attention. She tried not to let it get to her but it seemed that currently it was doing quite a number on her. Not only was she beginning to feel somewhat threatened but she was silently pleading that something would work out to where she and Rin could be friends, good friends. Lately the lioness seemed confused and uncertain; acting like her mother or teetering on the edge of trying to decide what exact role she was to be taking with having decided to stay with Duzi. If anything Kip didn't need a mother- her father had raised her just dandy. What she truly needed was someone she could talk to, someone she could have fun with. The role of a mother had been there once in her life if only for a short period and somewhere out there her real mother still walked the lands so, simply, it made absolute no sense for the lioness to seek such a position. But could this all work out to where both father and daughter could be happy?
She shifted restlessly, sighing.
Even such a subtle sigh against the nights serenade of wind and natural music didn't go unnoticed as the large male arched a brow upwards. He had been awake, watching over both Kip and Rin silently while darkened orbs kept a close watch around the surrounding territory. His ears had caught the tail end of his daughters sigh and rose a slight alarm, a curiosity, as he tilted his head slightly and took a step forward. Nimble paws stepped lightly across the rock faces as a warm, affectionate smile graced his maw. Kip's body was turned away from him which only ensued that she, like him, was still wide awake. Coming closer, the male settled down upon his haunches beside her and thrummed a deep purr from his chest. "Yo' thinkin' a bit too 'ard," he commented, gently placing a paw on her head. Delicately rustling the fur of her head, Duzi smiled. "Wanna talk?"
"No," came a muffled reply.
Mpinduzi narrowed his brows slightly as he pursed his lips. She was being stubborn and it was deeply embedded within her like a virus just as it was in him. An ear flicked upwards as he gently shook her with his paw, chuckling.
"That's a bunch o' bollocks an' ya' know it."
"So?"
It would seem that playing a question and answer scenario wasn't getting him anywhere. Rather than simply addressing the problem Duzi had thought that working it out of her with a simple inquiry would be better but, currently, this was not going according to plan. He exhaled, breathing slowly as he looked up to the skies for just a moment before he closed his eyes. "It's Rin isn' it?" His head slowly lowered back toward his daughter as his eyes opened slowly. "Feelin' a little... outta' place?"
She should have known. Why had she engaged in this when she could have sat back and let her father come out with his diagnosis? Kip chuckled a bit sheepishly at first before she shifted her weight and rolled over to face him as the male withdrew his paw from off of her. "Y've no idea," she stammered slightly, fretting just a twinge.
"Do ya' like 'er?"
"'Couse I do," the juvenile replied, snapping just a bit.
"Then whut? Does she smell funny? Look at 'cha weird? O' seem a bi' off?" He was messing with her but as he looked at Kip he could see that what her feelings centered around was something that couldn't be so easily rendered to satisfactory quickly. Duzi stopped. "Oh... You're not worried about dealin' wif' ankle biters, are you?"
Kip wasn't amused.
Behind her, her tail lashed violently like a restless cobra while the tuft of her tail almost seemed to fluff out like a snakes hood. She gave a hard stare for a moment before slamming a paw onto the rocky surface below."No, no, no, and no," she stated flatly. "Guess I wouldn' haf'ta worry 'bout ankle bita's if ya' jus' gonna forget me, huh?" Huffing, the young female sat herself down upon her haunches and looked away. Her ears pinned against her skull as she narrowed her eyes elsewhere while her body turned slightly away from her father.
For being one who often was in tune with others and their feelings this came to a slight shocker for the male. Duzi sat there for a moment as he could feel his maw gape ever so slightly and his eyes widen. His own daughter, Kip, was worried about being forgotten in the wakes of all of this? The thought was, even for him, unsettling and saddening yet such a thing to happen would be absurd! If the situation had presented itself in a way where Duzi would have to pick one or the other he would, truly, pick his daughter. There was no bone, muscle or fiber of his body that would ever allow him to forget about Kip or leave her by the wayside. Black brows furrowed as he shook his head, a small frown curled across his maw. It was true that lately he and Rin had been spending more time together and was guilty as charged; Duzi HAD not fully included Kip in the small outings or gatherings and such a thing he was certain was already making his own daughter feel that father-daughter time was now going downhill and into an obsolete occasion which could, perhaps, be resurrected if he remembered. The crimson and black streaked male wasn't perfect, and certainly everyone knew that, but if it was one thing he wouldn't let himself become was a failure father. Duzi was sure to his other cubs that he would be known as such but to Kip? No. He'd try his damnedest to make it right.
"Fo'gotten? Love, yo' a bit off ya' rocka'," Duzi whispered softly as his body sunk low toward the rock face and curled himself around her, "because there isn' anythin' ya' can do ta' get rid o' me o' make me stop lovin' you. I'll be that fatha' who embarrasses ya' when ya' meet a boy an' give 'em hell an' be there keepin' an eye ou' fo' ya until ta' day I die. An I'll be I'll be ya kids favorite uncle," he added with a wink. "Ya' stuck wif' me."
As her father curled himself around her Kip squirmed slightly, batting at him with her paws and attempting to flee but his grip only enclosed on her. She struggled but only managed to laugh before attempting to swat at his mane and leave a mark somewhere although such a plan seemed thwarted by his thick, tapered, black mane.
"Whut 'bout yo' an Rin? What'll I do?"
"Well fin' a way ta' include you bu' sometimes we may need... a bi' of privacy," he mused, thumping his tail slightly as he only chuckled inside. "But there will still be plen'y o' daddy-daughter events, I swear it."
"Cross ya' 'eart?"
Holding up a front paw in the air, Duzi simaltaneously motioned an 'x' with one claw over his chest with his free paw. "Cross ma' 'eart!"
Eying him for a moment as if to mull over the promise, Kip snorted slightly and flicked an ear. "If ya don' keep it ya' know what' 'appens," she commented, squirming beside him and toward his lowered paw. She nudged it and, instinctively, it rose upwards just enough for her growing frame to huddle with it around her. The warmth of her father brought not only reassurance but comfort.
"Is dat' so?" Duzi replied, astonished. "What is it?"
With sleep already setting in as it was way past her bedtime, Kip tucked herself closer and fanged a small grin while eyes closed. "Death...."
"Dreadful! Thankfully keepin' a promise 'as always been my cuppa' tea. I Don't think ya'll haf'ta worry 'bout losin' ya' fatha'," he whispered.
As it was with patience and care that an unslightly, unwanted fire had been smoldered from even festering larger and swallowing anything in its path, Duzi felt he could breathe just a bit easier. Even still the road ahead wasn't all rainbows and roses- it was still going to be challenging but he, Rin and Kip would overcome whatever would cross their path. So far so good, right? Lying his head down next to his daughters, Duzi licked her cheek.
"I jus' gotta worry 'bout losin' you," he softly aded, watching as his daughter succumbed into sleep with ease. A gentle smile tugged at his maw. "But that's a task 'm best suited fo'."
