[PRP] Motherly Advice (Shani/Codail)

[Talencia]

It had all happened so fast. It left Shani sometimes feeling as if the world was tilting on end, things sliding past her too quickly to recognize. It was as if one moment she'd been resigned to her lonely state, and the next she was part of a large family with cubs of her own! As the cubs slept, she often would swallow the lump of tears that threatened to overwhelm her as she stroked little faces and smoothed baby-soft fur.

She and Feid had chosen a den very close to his parents, so that it was this day as the cubs slept, Shani slipped out into the soft sunlight, fighting back tears once more. She was so weepy! It wasn't something she was used to in herself. She didn't exactly feel overly emotional, but it did seem harder for her to deal with the swift life changes that had occured than she'd have thought it would be.

With a deep breath she laid out in the sun, settling in such a way that would allow the sun to warm the most hide as was possible. The steady, impersonal touch soothed her, letting her release her fears and doubts, to merely enjoy life in this moment in time. She should be celebrating! She had a mate, cubs, and was connected to a large and loving family! Her dreams had come true. It just... wasn't settling in as reality very well!  

[Das Tor]

Codail had been 'pardoned' from her duties as a Shepard to watch after her own little ones. She was overjoyed to have her own cubs again. She and Dagda had had such a small litter...but she didn't mind. Especially since they were sleeping like little angels for the moment. The pale lioness stood, stretching herself out. Ah...that felt better. A familiar scent caught her attention, and she smiled slightly, trotting out of the den she shared with Dagda, Muscail, Tama, and the cubs.

The scent led her to the gray lioness her seer-gifted son had mated to, and she sat a bit aways. "The little ones sleeping?" Every mother's respite...especially a new one's.  

[Talencia]

She raised her head to give her mother-in-law a weary smile. "Yes," she answered, "thankfully." She gave a wide yawn and stretched out further, dropping her head again, but in such a way as to still carry on a conversation. "I don't know how you do it," she confessed quietly, with sincere admiration. "Even so little, they are wearing me out!"

It wasn't that she wanted to be a mother any less than she had before the cubs had arrived. It merely wasn't ending up quite like the had imagined. Their demanding, pitiful cries tore her heart, and their constant need for tending, cleaning, nursing, cuddling, was far beyond what her duties as a Shepherd had entailed.  

[Das Tor]

The motherly lioness chuckled. "I'm not sure myself. I've just...always been inclined to watching after cubs. But I have noticed a couple of things that help...Getting help in watching them at times, and catching bits of rest or sleep whenever you can! It gets better once they're older, and more capable of looking after themselves and keeping out of trouble." She sighed. "Unless you end up with one like my niece Ngoma. Some cubs can't help but be too curious."  

[Talencia]

That certainly was all too true! She recalled a few cubs she'd watched over that had been a pawful to keep track of. She chuckled softly at the thought. May she never have one full of such trouble! It was still too early to tell yet though if one of her little ones was fated to be mischievious. Still, it was encouraging to hear that it would get a little easier as they grew.

She nodded at the advice to get help. She cast the other lioness a shy look. "That is what family is for, yes?" she inquired tentatively. Her own family had become so scattered, even if they were in the same pride, it seemed they lacked the cohesion of Codail's family group. It was a difference that Shani was slowly learning to appreciate. "I think it's nice that we both gave birth so close together." She promptly blushed, her face growing hot with self-conciousness at having been as forward as that. Bit by bit, she was learning to keep less to herself, to open up to her new large and extended family.  

[Das Tor]

Codail nodded, smiling. "That is, indeed, what family is for." Family helped one another, acting as the rock in the storm when one needed it. "If you ever need help, I will be happy to give it. I'm sure the others will too." She was glad that the other female was slowly opening herself up to them...Family, to Codail, was the most important thing. Loyalty and trust and love.

She laughed softly. "I think it was nice as well. It's always easier when there's someone else who knows exactly what you're going through."  

[Talencia]

Shani was glad of the reassurance, but paused with a question on her mind. She hesitated, though, as it seemed as if being a Shepherd meant she knew a decent amount about cubs already. Would this make her look foolish and unattentive as a mother? She swished her tail in mild agitation, but took a deep breath. Her mother-in-law wanted nothing more than to help, and Shani had to admit to herself the only way that'd happen was if she herself voiced her own ignorance or uncertainties.

"I... I was concerned about something," she said softly, avoiding eye contact but taking her fear by the horns. "They already are beginning to play rough with each other and tumbling about." Her ears flattened with her worry about them. "They are so tiny, and so fragile... I worry that they aren't old enough for that kind of thing." She flicked a glance at the other lioness. "I worry they'll smack their skull open on the rock walls, or hurt themselves on the floor somehow."

Voicing her fears both felt wonderful to let it out, but also made her fret more about sounding ridiculous. Was she being over-protective? Or maybe she was supposed to have already put a stop to it? Oh dear, what would Codail think?  

[Das Tor]

Ah..."An understandable fear, as a first-time mother." Codail remembered the days when SHE'D worried about such a thing. "So long as you watch over them, and start guiding them on what's 'okay' for playing and what is 'bad', they will be fine. Getting hurt now and again is to be expected, but you should be able to steer them away from the worst injuries." She sighed. "Unfortunately, cubs will be cubs, and some tend to play rougher than others, or push their limits further." Her own Saileach was starting to do that, small as he was. Hopefully, he didn't stay so small for long.  

[Talencia]

Shani listened attentively, letting the reassurances wash over her as warmly and gently as they were intended. Oh, she knew very well that cubs would play rough and most of the time be just fine... she was a s cub-minder after all. But what her mind told her was at war with what her heart fretted about. To have another heart tell her that her mind was right eased the conflict within her. It also helped her to feel a part of something beyond herself, which was something she'd longed after for so long.

Stirred by this uprising of warm feelings, she rose to her paws and moved shyly closer to her mother-in-law. With a soft chuff, she tentatively rubbed cheeks with the older mother. "Thank you," she murmured sincerely. "I'm not sure I could do this alone. I can't imagine how rogue mothers do it." The last was said with surprising fervence. She really could not imagine being on her own, perhaps even mateless, with cubs! She knew it happened, but how those mothers survived, she hadn't the foggiest.  

[Das Tor]

Codail smiled sadly at that. "It's...a hard task, when you're on your own. Especially when they're very young. Muscail and I raised her first litter and my second in the rogue lands for a time. And we didn't meet up again until her cubs were nearly juveniles and mine were just barely able to wander outside for more than a few minutes without tiring." She had been a very, very tired lioness. And very thin by the time she met with Muscail again.  

[Talencia]

"Oh my!" Shani hesitated for a moment in thought, then spoke. "I am sorry to have brought up unpleasant memories," she said quietly, meeting Codail's eyes sincerely. "But it makes me all the more blessed to have you here with me now. I am grateful that things have happened this way." She leaned against her mother-in-law and purred low, a mere vibration rather than a sound.

A faint sound of stirring and a a soft but plaintive mewl made her sit up straighter, the call of motherhood setting her nerves crackling. Her babies needed her! She rose hurriedly and had nearly disappeared from sight when she realized she'd left Codail sitting where they had spoken. She halted her rush, turning back towards her mother-in-law. "Thank you. I truly am happy to have you here with me." With a flash of a warm smile, she turned again and was lost in the depths of the den, amidst the rising cries of more awakening cubs.