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 Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2010 7:54 pm
It was mid-afternoon and Amalthea had found herself without anything to do. Nobody had approached her with any requests and she wasn't entirely sure she should go bother anybody herself so she stayed by herself. Something she seemed to do more often lately. With no aim, worry or thought in particular, she just wandered. She wasn't paying nearly enough attention, though, and walked farther off than she should have gone by herself. But the day was bright and nobody was around, she just didn't think any better of it. Part of her almost hoped she might "accidentally" run into her sister.
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Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2010 9:18 pm
But it was nice to see that there were finally some more sons to at least entertain him. What was with men and their 'I need lots of sons' thoughts anyways? It wasn't as though Artemis had been inclined to need lots and lots of little girls. Though little girls had been delightful.
Without the children to harass her, however, Artemis had been left with some free time of her own, finding herself constantly looking for some high place to go and spy on Namir and her youngest litter, just to see what they were doing. Whatever it was, it was probably delightful.
But no mommies allowed had been the rule, which had left her just watching from afar and sighing wistfully every now and then.
It was during such when she had noticed the younger lioness, 'Hmm'ing thoughtfully at her rather lovely coat (she, however, was biased, as it reminded her of her beloved's), before she moved to speak to this being, who as she grew closer and closer, she began to recognize more and more.
Goodness, it was almost strange to see a lioness she'd only seen rarely since she was a cub all grown up.
Then again, she was as old as her first children had been as well.
"Taking a walk, are we?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2010 9:43 pm
After a while of walking, Amalthea stopped and just stood there, staring off into the distance absently. She didn't have any thoughts in particular, just admired the landscape and tried not to worry about anything. She did notice how lonely it seemed out here, there weren't many lively creatures to be seen. She didn't notice any sounds of Artemis approaching her until she spoke, and then she almost jumped out of her fur.
"What--?" she turned, relaxing when she realized who it was. She might not have interacted with the lioness daily, but whether or not they were close, she definitely had some positive associations with the blue lioness. And so she smiled.
"Yes, just taking a look around," she answered calmly, managing not to sound defensive when she realized she might be a little too far away for anyone's liking, "Is- is there anything I can help you with?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 9:40 am
Truly, while Artemis had come to understand the important of the moon's influence on the ranks, as well as the existence of ranks themselves, there was nothing that she couldn't have found herself doing on her own. Well, except babysitting when she wanted some time alone with Namir.
To gush without the boys gagging in the background. She did find some humor in doing such to the boys, though.
"I was simply curious as to if you'd like some company on your walk." Artemis answered, approaching the younger lioness.. and actually swallowing some compulsion to groom the girl. That would have been inappropriate, really. As much as she did enjoy such things, Amalthea was not her daughter, as much as there was some feeling of it.
Perhaps her maternal instincts over the girl.
"I do need to keep my legs stretched while I don't have the boys," she implied her two sons as well as her mate, "to keep me chasing after them."
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Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2010 7:37 pm
Amalthea shuffled her paws shyly when Artemis only asked if she'd like some company. She smiled at the mention chasing the boys around, feeling bad she had been so shy of coming around but it was a nice thought.
"You're welcome to come along if you like, of course," she said, brightening up, "Where are the boys that you're all by yourself now?" Her tone was a bit awkward but she was bad at small talk and still working on the most appropriate ways to interact with lions outside her immediate family.. but Artemis was as close to family as anybody else got, so she didn't have to worry so much. Right?
Her smile wavered but she managed to maintain a positive expression.
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:41 pm
There was something so endearing about how shy the lioness was being, but Artemis didn't comment on it, nor try to goad her out of the behavior either. To each their own mannerisms. If the girl started to turn into her, she may have been a -little- bit unhappy.
Amalthea was fine the way she was.
"Namir has taken the youngest out for some father-and-son bonding. I do think he enjoys it, having more boys. He did wish Iah had at least one brother to grow up with, just so he could have done more with them." she spoke of the older hunter with a great amount of fondness.
Even barring the fact that they had been quite the untraditional couple, given an age difference between them.. but they definitely weren't the MOST untraditional around. But even that one, Artemis could respect.
Certainly, as a born-outsider, she wouldn't have known of any previous relationship between the previous-king and his now-mate, so there had been a bit of a shock to come with it, but none the less, it was sweet.
"As long as they don't come home all dirtied up for me to clean, I'm..going to attempt to not pry into what they're doing."
She shot Amalthea an almost playful look.
"Unless you're better skilled at spying than I am."
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 10:05 pm
Amalthea couldn't help but giggle quietly about Namir wishing he'd had another son the first time. It wasn't really funny but it was just.. like a father? Perhaps. She thought of her own brother, growing up without any brothers to harass.. and her father, with only one son and three daughters without a mother to guide him on how to handle them. They were lucky he hadn't lost his mind.
"I think dad would have liked more boys, too," she said thoughtfully, "But now Hecate is the one he sees most, I think, she's the only one who followed after him as a guard." Surprisingly, she didn't even think of what she might have done had she woken up earlier. It was just how it was, Hecate was a guard while Kallisto chose hunting and Atlas chose.. nothing.
"I don't know about spying," she said, smiling and almost cowering back in response- though not out of fear, "Though I'm probably easier to hide in the dark than you are."
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Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2010 10:16 pm
That did sound like the way little boys were to their fathers. LITTLE ME'S. NOW GO OUT INTO THE WORLD AND..BE LIKE ME. Though the image of any of her sons trying to be as mysteriously fascinated with the art of hunting and staying up all night to stare back into the eye of the great lion was a rather strange one.
Especially with Yun and his energetic ways. It wasn't unusual for the boy to kick in his sleep and wake up either his brother, or his father. She'd learned to sleep through wiggling bodies after a few weeks of her first litter. Oh that little litter of children who would attempt to wake her up because they were hungry or wanted to go outside, or whatever it was.
It had been a charming experience.
"I imagine if any of them saw me, they'd notice me even if I was easy to hide in the dark~" she chuckled, before lightly nudging the younger female's side with the top of her head.
"I'd hate to interrupt whichever course it was you were walking. Care to lead the way?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2010 1:55 pm
"I suppose you're right," she agreed with a smile, pushing back gently against the nudge. If you were avoiding being spotted by a parent, you probably would be more sensitive to their presence.. or paranoid. Either way, she was right.
"I wasn't really heading anywhere in particular," she confessed, shuffling and then looking around to pick out a direction to go. Once settled, she started moving again.
"What about you, though?" she asked, glancing over, "Are you disappointed you didn't get any girls this time?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 9:46 am
Artemis was receptive to whatever direction it was the lioness had wanted to take, happily taking up stride with her once she HAD chosen one. There was always bound to be SOMETHING to find as they moved along, after all.
Which wasn't too bad.
However, at Amalthea's question, Artemis shook her head lightly. "I now have three boys and three girls. No matter if my child is a son or a daughter, I am to them the same thing; I am their mother. Certainly it's the same for Namir for the girls, but I think he's afraid to really play with them.
Perhaps he's afraid they're fragile and he'll break them."
This notion amused her to some end, chuckling.
"Maybe I just don't feel the same gender-bonding as some parents do?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 9:33 pm
"Of- of course," she muttered, feeling a little silly for asking now. She knew it didn't really matter, after all she had only a father and he had more daughters .. he hadn't treated them differently than Atlas, had he? Maybe he treated Atlas differently.. but that was the same thing, and it didn't matter.
"It doesn't really matter, but like," she hesitated in sharing her opinion, "I think if I didn't have any sisters, I would want them." She thought of her sisters with a smile, and her brother. She wouldn't not want him, either. Hmm.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 1:07 pm
Artemis laughed.
"Iah was thrilled to get some brothers. It's unfortunate, but sometimes boys just need someone they can roughhouse with. Sisters aren't always the best playmates for that."
She could only imagine how much Iah had made his sisters sob while growing up. Not that she hadn't gone to appease the girls afterwards and warned her son to not play so rough.
But at least her two boys now had each other to beat the crap out of (with love..).
"If I do decide I want another daughter, I'm still young enough for it to be a possibility."
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 4:22 pm
Amalthea nodded, immediately thinking of how Atlas was with her and their sisters. He certainly tried to play more roughly than they did, and Hecate was probably the most receptive-- but she was the one who was a guard now, so that made sense. Amalthea never had thought about what she might have been if she had had a choice.
"You don't know if you'll want more cubs?" she asked curiously, looking over, "How do you decide something like that, anyway?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 5:15 pm
THat...
....
was a really good question, actually. It caused Artemis to go silent for a moment as she thought it over, 'Hmmm'ing quietly. Hmm hmm hmmmmmm. How did one go about deciding they needed more children.
"I imagine it varies, depending on what sort of joy one finds in children. Some children are a case of accidents. Some lionesses become mothers constantly, because they enjoy taking care of children, as though it gives meaning to their lives. In the case of Namir and myself, it's not a case of companionship, as we have each other."
Well duh, but following that, she trailed off, obviously mulling some sort of wording on the subject in her head, before she finally continued.
"Well... I would have to say that the reason -I- decided I wanted more children, was because I had enjoyed having my first litter. I wasn't quite ready for an empty den yet. Once the boys are old enough to pave their own paths, I'll assess that again and see what happens.
Though I will say that Namir's desire to have more boys did play a part."
Ha ha. Menz and their sons.
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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 10:22 am
This wasn't a topic that really applied to her family, they didn't have a mother around and so could not contemplate there being more cubs around. And because it wasn't a possibility, she had no idea what her dad really thought or wanted now that they were all grown up and out on their own. He didn't seem to be any more motivated to find himself a mate, so she had to guess he was content.
"Oh," she murmured, nodding at Artemis' explanation, "Cubs are a lot of fun to have around but actually being a mother would be different, I guess. I really haven't met very many, just Andama and Imarika." Andy and Rika weren't exactly cubs anymore, either, they were growing fast. And she really only knew them because they were in the same class as her, Rika especially seemed fascinated with Amalthea but then, she was the one who would always be a slave, just like her.
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