Cajanic:
It was weird being a father- he didn't have any training in the area. More than that, he didn't even have a good example to go off of concerning fathers. His hadn't exactly been Mr. Always There. Or a good guy. Now that he was a father, he really couldn't understand what had made him hate cubs so much.
He loved his little babies. He probably would have loved them even if they weren't his. The way they seemed to grow a little more every day. Get fluffier, move around more, start talking- everything, big and small, pleased him.
They were more tiring than any training though. He lie in the den, taking a rest from looking after the cubs, though his ears were still on the alert, even in sleep. Odongo was lying on top of him, like a small furry blanket.
Randy2love:
Whatever undying love their father had it was the opposite for the cub's mother. She was often disappearing into trees to avoid them or distant. It wasn't like she hated them. She just didn't seem to understand what to DO with them and that made her irritable. When they asked for her attention she would bristle and stay only a few minutes before she would get up and lay away from them. It was so confusing.
Especially to Ulan. He wanted both of his parents' attention but more often then not it fell with his father. Like right now, the noises outside the den were keeping him up. He put his ears down before clamoring up his father's back to nudge his twin. "Odongo!" He whispered harshly, "Hey! Are you awake? I think there's a monster outside!"
Cajanic:
Odongo moaned, rolling away from his brother to try and avoid getting woken up. His roll, of course, ended up being right up off the father. "Umph!" grunted the boy, sitting himself up slowly and shaking his head. The young male looked up at his brother, frowning. "Hey!" he snapped, "you woke me up! what are you going on about? A monster? What kind of monster?" He looked out of the down, huffy about being woken up when he'd been in the middle of a nice dream .
There was nothing out there that could hurt his dad- he knew that.
Meanwhile, their tired father hadn't yet noticed the commotion occurring on and around him, still sleeping despite having thought his ears were so alert. Looking after the cubs while their mother was coming to terms with things wasn't really easy, though Konje figured it was what dads were really supposed to do.
Randy2love:
His older brother put his ear down and gulped. "Sorry Odongo! I didn't ...er..." Well he did mean to wake him up. He slipped down and landed beside his twin. "There's something out there and I got scared." He responded looking out at the dusk creeping into the den. "I heard it." He said frowning. "It was like... a big growl that exploded."
There was another crack of thunder and Ulan squealed and tried to hide under his father's stomach. This time there was a flash accompanying it.
Cajanic:
Odongo heard it that time. Yelping in unison with his brother, he scrambled to follow him into the same hiding spot, pushing himself under his father's warm fur to hide from the scary noises and the flashing lights. "There is a monster!" he mumbled into his father's muscle.
Lifting up his head, Konje looked over at his stomach, wondering what as pushing into him so furiously. He then noticed to small rumps poking up, telling him more than enough without any words being uttered.
"Boys," he said faintly, a little groggy, "daddy is not a shelter. What's going on? Are you scared of the thunder?" This was their first storm, it seemed only natural that they would be frightened.
Randy2love:
Ulan was pretty convinced his father was a shelter and retaliated by getting as far under as he could. "There's a monster outside! It makes this big growly noise and-and it has these bright teeth that light everything up!" He wrapped his tail around Odongo's tail. "Can you make it go away?"
Cajanic:
"Make it go away away daddy!" Odongo agreed, also keeping hidden under his father. He didn't want to see the scary monster. Surely his father was strong enough to deal with the beast, whatever it was. Even if it could light up the whole den with one flash. Konje could probably do the same thing!
The male sighed, letting them stay hidden for the moment. "It's not a monster," he said softly, "if it was a monster, I would make it go away. But the noise is called thunder, and the flashes are lightning. They're... uh... you know, they're sometimes part of storms. They're scary, but you're safe if you stay inside until it goes away." He'd never explained a storm to anyone before. Maybe he wasn't doing a great job of it.
Randy2love:
He couldn't believe their father didn't think that scary thing was a monster. He pulled his head out to look up at his father's blue eyes with his own frightened one. "Storms? Can't you make the storm go away, daddy? I don't like storms! Or thunder and lightening!" Another crack make all his fur on his little body stand up and he pushed back under him again. "Why does there have to be a storm?!"
Cajanic:
"Because storms are a part of nature!" Konje replied, watching his two frightened sons with an amused, however kind, smile, "when it rains really hard we get to have lots of nice, fresh water to keep us healthy. And it makes the plants grows! Not only that, but it brings out all the animals too, once the rain passes, so there's plenty of food. Storms might be scary when they're happening, but they make lots of really good things happen after! Don't think about the scary noises. Think about all the fun you're going to have splashing in puddles tomorrow!" He smiled, watching as Odongo made a slow withdrawal from his hiding spot.
"Anyway," Konje continued, "you know I'm here to protect you! I won't let any storm hurt you, so you don't have to be afraid. I'll always be here for you."
Randy2love:
Now curious rather then afraid the cub moved to sit between his father's paws where he's still safe if the thunder should prove dangerous. "We can play in the puddles? Won't we get muddy? Mud's gross. It makes you sticky!" He stays sticking out his tongue.
"Promise? I hope so! I want to be just like you when I grow up."
Cajanic:
Konje smiled. "Yes, you'll get muddy, but you can clean up in the freshly filler watering hole after! Unless you want a tongue bath from your daddy," Konje hummed, letting his tongue hang out. Maybe he needed more training in being a father, but he didn't feel as though he was doing a horrible job at it so far.
He smiled, grinning at the thought of another Konje out there. "Well I'll train you the best I can! I bet you'll end up even better than me." Odongo moaned at that, moving over and pushing his brother out of the spot between their dad's legs.
"I'll be great too!" he said, "and I don't think mud makes you sticky!"
Randy2love:
Ulan smiles up at him then laughs slightly. He leans his forepaws up on Konje's chest and gives his cheek a lick. "You need a bath, daddy!" He fell over when his brother pushed him and pushed back to slip between them. "I want to train now!"
Cajanic:
"Me too, me too!" Odongo yelped, not to be out done by his brother. He let his tail flails about, whacking against his sibling. He watched as his father laughed, shaking his head. Silly children.
"We can train once the rain stops!" Konje laughed, "It's too wet out there right now! I don't think your mommy will like it if I took you out right now. Anyway, knowing when's a good time to train is an important part of it! You gotta know when the day is just right, so you can use it to its fullest!"
Randy2love:
"I want to train better!" He called over his twin and put a paw on his back to get himself up higher and closer to their father. "Ooh! I want the rain to stop NOW then! So we can go out and play and train! How do you know?" He asked bubbling with curiously.
Cajanic:
Konje laughed. "I don't know how to explain it! After a while, you can just feel when the sun is just right for running, or when it's better for something else. I'll show you tomorrow what kind of day it's for! For now, maybe it's best we try and get some sleep. Training is bad when you're not rested for it!"
Odongo whimpered, moving out from under his brother as he moved his way closer to his father. He cuddled up against him, pressing against his fur. "I want to train, not sleep! But... if we really can't..." He sighed.
Konje chuckled. "soon! The rain will pass soon enough, you'll see!"
Randy2love:
"I can't wait daddy! Why can't tomorrow come faster?" He says and lands when his brother moves. He curled against his twin instead and nestled closer to him. "Just think, Odongo, tomorrow we're gonna be heroes just like daddy. I hope the rain stops real fast."
Cajanic:
"Yeah! We'll be the best," Odongo agreed, "daddy will be super proud of us." He didn't seem to mind that his father was right behind him and could hear everything he had to say. It only made him feel more proud of his little babies.
"I'm sure you two will be great heroes," Konje replied, "but you need your rest first! Don't worry, the morning will come faster if you go to sleep! You will be outside playing in no time!" He lowered his head around them, pleased that the whole daddy thing seemed to be going well.
Randy2love:
]color=brown]"Yah! The best heroes! Super ones!" He purred deep in his chest. He looked up and rested his head against his brother's back. "But daaaaad we're not-" A yawn, "Tired! We could stay up until tomorrow..." He responded nestling in the warmth of the body heat.
Cajanic:
"Uh huh," Konje hummed, watching his tired children. Odongo seemed content to dangle his paw over his father's arm, struggling to keep his eyes open. He looked about ready to pass out at any moment. It was kind of adorable.
More than kind of.
"I think it would be better for you to go to sleep. You want it to come fast, right? The sooner you sleep, the sooner you can train with your dad." He closed his eyes, so they could take the hint that sleep was the thing to do. Odongo had nodded off, resting with his dad again. No more fear of monsters.
Randy2love:
Ulan yawned again though he tried to fight it. He put his head down and closed his eyes. "Yah... we can train..." He muttered and finally started to drift off. Hopefully it would speed up tomorrow. He wanted to be a super hero with his twin and his father.
