"Echk" Kauaense made a very sad face as he pulled one of his paws out from thick swamp goo. It made a suction-y noise, and the other three were still stuck. "Dad…" he called out quietly. "Please help." His expression was just riddled with sadness because of the rejection from his father.
Fleance stared coldly at the cub, not moving to help him. He'd visited Ninon today because he had assumed she'd given birth already. He had been so excited at the news she was pregnant. He tired to tell himself it was because there was a new generation of seers for him to use- and with their mother gifted with the power their Sight would probably be stronger, and she would know how to train them to use it. But he was really overjoyed that the lioness he loved the most was going to have his children. He'd been jealous (though he'd never admit it) when she had a litter with another male, though apparently she had foreseen it. The cubs called him 'Uncle Fleance' when he really wished they had been calling him "dad" But now! They had half-siblings by him, so they adopted him as their father. He traveled to the swamp lands to see Ninon, his "children", and all of the new cubs by his more-or-less mate.
However he'd found quite the unpleasant surprise upon his return.
Four of his sons were absolutely beautiful. A black one, a brown one, and two grey ones that looked close to being twins (though he'd been told their personalities were night and day)… But the other one. He wanted to reject it as his child.
Ninon wouldn't dare allow him to, though. She glared at him when he cursed the child, and took it under her paws in an obvious sign of motherhood. The little rat didn't know why he was scorned, but the way Fleance felt about him was more than clear.
True, the boy had his mother's eyes and the swirls on his legs of his siblings and even his tail-bands were Anki. But his colors and appearance… They chilled his father to the bone. They looked just like Fleance's brother - that is, not Ezriel, but the one that always had killed him in the past.
'But it's your son, Fleance! Not your brother!' Ninon had told him. Bah! This was no son of his.
The god spent more time with his mate and his sons, ignoring entirely the other one, and talking about how he'd have to bring his other three children to visit them. He showed affection to his new adoptive litter, too, while the one Ninon named "Kauaense" looked on woefully. Fleance had kept his visit short, though, because of how he couldn't stand the runt, but it had tailed him through the swamps.
It had tried to be discreet, but Fleance was no average lion, and led him to a place where the bog was deep and treacherous. If it died, he could always tell Ninon it was an accident. That he'd teleported before he even noticed the cub was behind him and that when it got lost and tried to find him, it had gotten stuck and drowned or sank or starved.
Kauaense had no idea the depth of cruelty his father's thoughts were in his direction. But he was cold and tired and really shouldn't have left his mother for as long as he'd been away. But he was with his father! And parents were supposed to love their children. But Kau knew even at his early age he'd been rejected by his father. That wouldn't stop him from following him and putting his life on the line for Fleance's approval, though.
"Dad," his voice was a little louder, but filled with tears and pleading, "Dad, please help me. I'm scared..."
