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 Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 4:53 pm
She was having a fairly good afternoon, feeling more energetic than she had in some time. She was sitting around, enjoying the sunshine and trying not to worry about anything that had happened.
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 1:58 am
The little goddess Féawyn had been left in Kasida's care while her mother was out hunting for them - though 'care' could hardly be the right word as Aida had protestingly grumbled, as the lioness was unlikely to be much use if it came down to a fight, what with her lame leg. To which Henya had replied that she was likely to be more use than Aida herself, which promptly shut the little cat up and sent her into a sulk. Féa didn't mind, though; the new addition to their group had always been very nice to her, if not somewhat careful. It was like getting more family! And Féawyn loved her family because they were the bestest family that'd ever existed on the face of anywhere, period. And now Kasida was one of them. Which meant, obviously, that they should be spending quality time together. Like now. "Kasida! Kasida!" The cub drug out the vowels in lioness' name and was practically jittering in proud excitement, "Look what I found! Look!" She pushed the small, colourful pebbles she'd found a little while away and waited eagerly for Kasida's verdict.
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 5:45 pm
If Kasida hadn't seen Féawyn coming, she might have been startled to hear her name being called out. Luckily, she was well aware of the trust being put in her.. though there wasn't really anything she could do wrong herself. She was fairly transparent in her emotions and was no physical threat herself. She pushed herself up to all fours, though a bit shakily, when summoned to come and look. Féawyn was easier to deal with, Kasida was finding. Perhaps it was because she was so young that her kindness and friendliness was harder to be suspicious of. Even trying to acknowledge this potential illusion was hard.
"What?" she asked, walking over slowly, "Where did you get to?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 5:33 am
"Not very far! I was just over, uhhh.." she squinted around, trying to pinpoint where she'd found the pebbles, "There! See? I could still see you and hear Aida's snoring!"
Anyone could hear Aida's snoring, though - the little black-footed cat was taking a nap in the nearby high grass where they'd spent the night, close enough to the others to not have to worry about predators.
Except Féawyn's pranks, of course.
"So I wasn't that far away, really. And look, I got this one for you!" She pushed one of the reddish coloured pebbles towards Kasida, beaming proudly. It was clearly one of the prettier stones and the little godling had carefully selected it herself as a gift.
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 3:06 pm
She followed Féawyn's directions, looking out to where she had found the pebbles. She hadn't been far after all, but Kasida had felt helpless in keeping track of her entirely anyway. She had wings, healthy legs and plenty of energy.. if Féa wanted to go somewhere, Kasida wouldn't be much to stop her. But then, over time she was showing that she was perfectly happy to stay nearby anyway. She looked back to the pebbles the little one had brought back, even smiling at her. Until the prettiest pebble was pushed toward her. She had not received a gift in a long time, since before her mate's death- his murder. Even if it was just a pebble, it was still meaningful. Wasn't it? The idea of ulterior motives swam through Kasida's mind but she couldn't hang on to them with Féawyn looking at her like that. The little god was probably the least threatening thing Kasida ever had the nerve to be worried about.
"T-thank you," she stammered, "It's beautiful, they're all very pretty, Féawyn." She reached out, pawing at the little pebble gently.
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Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 11:10 am
The little goddess swelled with pride, straightening her back and puffed out her chest. Score! She'd made Kasida happy, which had admittedly been her ulterior motive when going to look for something pretty.
"You're welcome! I already gave Mom and Aida lots of stuff, so it wouldn't be fair if I didn't get any for you, and Mom says unfair things make you unhappy and you shouldn't be unhappy because you're family now and we'll take care of you. And I'll try to be fair-er." Well, that was a bit of a statement. Féa was nodding along to her grand speech with a very serious mien and making grand, if not somewhat uncoordinated gestures every so often.
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Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 5:57 pm
"You don't have to," Kasida murmured, shuffling her feet awkwardly as she tried to arrange them comfortably to take a seat once again. She was still smiling as Féawyn quickly (and dramatically) explained why it was so important to be fair and bring her gifts. Her explanation didn't really sink in right away but then Kasida realized what she had said. She was family now. It was more convincing than almost anything else Féa could have said or done.
"Family?" she repeated quietly, looking back down at the pretty little pebble she had received.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 7:29 pm
"Well, yeah," there was a not-so-hidden expression of duh on the cub's face, "you travel with us. And you help take care of me when Mom's off for something, so you're definitely family." After all, that was what Aida had always done, and Aida was family even though she didn't look like her and mom - at least that was what her mom had said when she'd asked.
And now Kasida did the same, so the same thing applied. It was pretty obvious to Féawyn, at least. "Unless you don't want to or something. I guess I can see why you wouldn't want to be related to Aida, anyway, 'cus Mom says you get your personality and stuff from people you're related to. And I don't want to inherit Aida's grumpiness, ugh."
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 8:59 pm
"O-oh- of course-"
She looked back up to Féawyn when she explained her very simple, very inclusive idea of what a family was. Kasida hadn't really thought about it like that, though she hadn't quite felt like she was just a bother, she didn't let herself feel very welcome. Aida might have contributed to that but it was her own negative attitude that focused on it as she did.
"No, no, I do," Kasida said, surprising herself at how quickly she reacted, "And- Aida isn't that bad. She just worries too much, I think." Despite how Aida had been towards her, the attitude of displeasure at the presence of the strange lioness.. Aida was probably the first one that Kasida trusted. She seemed the most likely to be genuine since it seemed unlikely she would hide her affection for a stranger by being mean, and if that was true it was better than the opposite. Having fled from such deception, it was a comfort to find someone who didn't seem to hide what they thought.
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Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2010 10:01 pm
"Yeah, she's a real pain in the a**. But don't tell Mom I said that, okay?" Her grin had a mischievious tilt to it, but everyone who'd observed the cub with her honorary aunt knew that they loved each other. That didn't mean that the little cat's bitching didn't get on the happy little goddess' nerves at times, though - and Aida's, very vocal, very constant, opinion of the new member of their little group was one of those things that really annoyed her.
"She's okay though, I guess. She did look after me one time when I was really sick and sang lullabies and stuff when Mom was out looking for some herbs." She shrugged and fiddled with the stones she'd found. "It's just how family is, I guess. Was yours- oh crapoodle, sorry!" Henya had left strict orders not to heckle their newcomer about her past, but sometimes it just slipped.
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 8:10 pm
Kasida smiled at Féa's description of Aida, shaking her head. It wasn't the kindest attitude but it was honest and familiar, Kasida didn't need prompting to know it didn't mean she didn't love Aida.
"I won't tell," she agreed but not without a shake of her head. She smiled as Féa described how Aida had helped out when she was sick, immediately thinking back to her mother. Her mother had been the only one she had never stopped trusting. And, unfortunately, thoughts of her cubhood were closely followed by thoughts of Ngoma. They had been friends since they were small.
"No, it's OK," she said, trying to keep a smile on her face but not doing very well, "I- I'm lucky I have you guys now." She wasn't sure if it was a good or sufficient answer but it was the truth and for once demonstrated how grateful she was to them.
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 8:34 pm
It really had been the wrong thing to say, hadn't it? Féa's face fell as she watched the newest addition to their little family struggle to keep the smile on her face.
"You do have us!" The cub left her pebbles and settled in against Kasida's side like she'd always done with her mom. "And we'll never, ever leave, so you don't have to worry or anything."
She attempted to groom the lioness' coat as Henya had done to her many times before when she was feeling sad, or lonely because there wasn't anyone to play with that was her own age. Or size, for that matter.
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 8:52 pm
She tensed and almost jumped when suddenly Féa was at her side, sitting close and trying to make up for the accidental question. It was a surprising gesture but it was also unfortunately familiar, direct affection wasn't something she could trust. It was a large part of Ngoma's deception and in fact the motivation for it. But Féa was certainly a different situation and something about her made Kasida relax a bit. It wasn't easy but it was something.
She sighed, "Thank you."
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 9:04 pm
Kasida was confusing, she thought to herself. First she was happy, then she was sad, then she was tense, and then she was.. sort-of-tense-but-trying-to-be-nice? Yeah, totally confusing. Féa was kinda glad that the rest of her family wasn't as weird, or her head would have exploded by now.
Still, Kasida was very nice, even if she was weird and the little cub liked her very much. She wasn't as vocal as Aida and she looked sad a lot, but she was always very nice no matter the stupid things Féa ended up saying.
So she kept on grooming, stopping only to slip in: "You're welcome! This is what Mom does for me, when I'm sad. And sometimes when I'm not."
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 10:44 pm
Kasida knew she was being unpredictable but she couldn't help it. She was trying hard to be nice, there just wasn't a way to explain it without revealing too much information. At least, it was likely to be too much for someone so young to fully understand and Kasida didn't want to ruin the optimistic and cheerful outlook the little goddess had anyway. At least Féa was patient.
"Mothers are very good at that," she said, smiling more genuinely now. Mothers were an OK topic, and Henya was a very good mother- even to Kasida. She looked around, almost wondering if Henya would suddenly appear now that they were talking about her.
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