Meleth stretched, enjoying the view of the setting sun she had. She'd taken up a temporary den on the edge of a jungle for a couple of days, and the sunset viewed from there, sinking into the hills beyond...It was beautiful! Truly stunning. The dark lioness purred and began grooming herself. She was never going to let her fur get so dusty and dirty and mussed as it had when she'd been a juvenile, struggling to survive. No...she was an adult now! Lean and lithe, beautiful as a Princess of the Shadows should be! Sure, she was small...
But that only added to the attraction, she thought. Certainly, she would find herself a Prince, and HE could do all the protecting. Until then...until then, she had words and sharp, sharp claws and teeth. She chuckled darkly at the thought. Pity the fool who would try sneaking up on her.
Sneaking, however, occured. The tiny cub was out with mother, but scenting a stranger, she had dropped, prowling up before attacking the tail, pawing and batting and mouthing it.
"AWRAWRAWRAWR!" Cacao cried proudly, not minding if the owner was friendly or not. Circe padded over, snickering.
"And who did you catch, Cacao?"
Meleth nearly jumped out of her skin and turned about to see who had dare snuck up on her! And blinked at the little cub. A...cub? "Well, hello there." So adorable! And...ohnotsnagable. Meleth smiled at Circe's voice. "And hello, old friend." She would recognize her cohort anywhere. "I see you gained a little one. Yours by birth or spirit?" Ah...one day, Meleth would be able to gain little ones of her own. But she had none yet...
"Birth." Circe smirked. "Her sister is somewhere close by... Apologies for not telling you sooner."
The lioness chuckled, her chocolate daughter smiling at Meleth. Unlike Circe she lacked the gaze of a cold, hard, seasoned warrior, instead... An innocent face peered up, and she pawed Meleth playfully.
"Cacao, this is your Aunt, Meleth." Circe rumbled. Cacao giggled.
Meleth chuckled. "Life happens, dear. She's absolutely adorable!" She nuzzled the little one. "Hello Cacao. It is very nice to meet you." She licked the top of the brown cub's head. "See takes after her father in coloring, I'm guessing? Did you manage to snag him into our little group?"
"Sadly, no. He fled." Circe snorted.
Cacao beamed immediately, cuddling into her 'aunties' legs and rubbing affectionately.
The black and brown lioness frowned. "Hmph...Men can be such cowards." But whoever her Prince would be...HE wouldn't be a coward. Not if he was going to stand beside her. She purred and smiled at Cacao. "But he did provide you with some wonderful genes. She has such lovely coloring." Almost as if Meleth had been her aunt by blood. The brown nearly matched her own!
Circe smiled.
"Of that, I have no doubt, my friend." Circe lay by Meleth, her friend since cubhood. Cacao smiled, cuddling into both. She loved everyone, purring warmly.
Meleth nodded. "I hope I find someone good enough to...donate to creating cousins for our sweet one here." Even if she had to wait forever to find her Prince, she had NO intentions of waiting forever to bear cubs. Not when their group needed them so badly.
"You will." Circe smirked. "Even if it kills me."
Or them. Circe wasn't above brutality, and she smirked, stretching. Cacao smiled up to Meleth, licking her chin.
Meleth chuckled. "I would much rather it not kill you. Now...depending on the usefulness of the male...I wouldn't mind him disposed of." She smirked, a dark glint in her red eyes. "Until I find my Shadow Prince, males are disposable."
"Agreed." Circe smirked, her own red eyes glinting. Cacao cocked her head, confused.
"Auntie, what are males?"
Meleth giggled. "Males are silly creatures, Cacao. They look a little like use girls, but tend to be more bulky. Something you certainly won't be. And they have ridiculous manes that surround their whole head. Like they think it makes them look bigger." Size did not intimidate Meleth. She would only bow to cunning and TRUE strength.
Cacao blinked.
"Mane?"
"Stupid amounts of fur, Cacao, dear." Circe piped up. Cacao frowned.
"Oh, 'kay." She settled, playing with Meleth's paws.
"Can we see males NOW?" She suddenly looked up.
Meleth shook her head. "There are none around her right now, Cacao. But when we see one, we can point him out." Such a sweet little one. Oh the innocence of those born without demons.
"Okay!" Cacao beamed, and cuddled into her Auntie's paws. Circe smiled at how well Cacao accepted Meleth, serene herself as she looked out.
"Most certainly, if we can, we must raise out children together." Circe purred.
Meleth nodded. "Yes. I would definitely like for my little ones to know their aunt and cousins." Cubs were such a precious thing. She turned her attention back to the sunset. "A pity so many see this as an inauspicious time. I see the sunset as nothing more than a new beginning, just like the dawn."
"Auspicious? Hardly." Circe stretched. "Merely a transition between night and day. Others are stupid."
Meleth laughed. "Yes, that is true." She sighed, content. "Others follow blindly, seeking the approval of everyone around them. Us...we just need ourselves." She grinned. "Who gives a damn what others think?"
Circe nodded.
"Agreed."
Cacao listened, laying her head on the nearest adult paw, and was silent several minutes.
