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 Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:00 pm
Ever since the attack on Alcmene, Thoth had been shadowing her, keeping an eye on her- he was her uncle, after all (well, cousin, but Aureole had always called him an uncle). Now that Ally had gone off to her den to rest, where plenty of others were around, he was free to wander. And because he had become increasingly familiar with Lela, he had gone off in search of her. Not only would she be good company, he knew she'd be eager to hear how Ally was doing, too. Which was why it probably wouldn't be that hard to locate her, too.
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Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:10 pm
Thoth had been a source of comfort to her, though. He'd done wonders for her temperament. It seemed that she was lighter of heart lately, less concerned with the worries of the world, less concerned that she was unhappy. Inklings of ideas for the future had started working their way into her mind, but she tried not to focus too much on them. She was trying to take her time, ease back into serenity, be the calm and regal lioness she had once been.
"Thoth." She saw him walking towards her, a smile came on her face. "How is my niece?" She was sure he must've recently seen her. They shared their concern for her health.
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Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:15 pm
"Good evening, Lela," he said, coming up and taking a seat near her, "It's good to see you." He smiled, though he knew she had skipped over the polite conversation-starters. She was concerned about Ally, he knew that. But she seemed to be healing quite nicely, and even Lela was smiling, it was not that urgent.
"She's doing very well, I think," he said, shifting his weight around until he was comfortable, "She was tired when I left but she had insisted on going out and about." She was the queen, after all.
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Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:25 pm
With anyone else, save perhaps Unyezi, Lela would've been more concerned about keeping face and starting a conversation properly. She knew, however, that Thoth would forgive her of such things and was comfortable enough to not think twice about jumping to the topic that was always at hand lately. "She's dedicated." Lela smiled, this time not at Thoth but of the thought of her niece's desire to do her job. It was a good quality, one that many in her family shared. "I hope she doesn't overexert herself, though. She needs rest." On that Lela was only semi-knowledgeable. Her post as priestess had taught her some things about the health of lions and what they needed to survive, aside from the obvious. She was no expert to be certain, though. She was just a worry wart.
"Well, I am glad she's feeling well enough to do the things she must, at least." She nodded as if that was the last she wanted to speak of the topic for a little while. Turning her eyes back to Thoth, she brightened. "What have you been up to, Thoth?" She merely wanted to know what he'd been about to since the last time they talked, which really wasn't that long ago. Surely, he'd been doing his job, but maybe he had a nice little anecdote to share. "Anything interesting happening around the pride?" She usually kept tabs on the goings-on, but since he generally moved about more than she did, he might have the opportunity to know of more.
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Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:36 pm
"She is," Thoth agreed when Lela commented on how dedicated Ally was. As soon as she could be out and about, she was- perhaps a bit sooner than she ought to have been to make sure she cleared the names of the other Ilanga lions and then made she Nkosazana had not abandoned her decision to go in search of a mate. Not much else had needed doing except seeing each Ilanga lion when they woke and settled into their ranks but all of that was taken care of now.
"Nothing to report," he said when asked about what he'd been up to lately, "Though I think we may have a little wedding to look forward to, soon. It's starting to look like Amalthea has a mate, though they aren't official yet."
He grinned. He approved of Horatio, he had done wonders in cheering Amalthea up and if she was happy, he was happy.
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Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 1:17 pm
"A wedding? Wonderful." Lela genuinely loved weddings. She loved the feel and the excitement, the expectations and the happiness that was just bursting out from everything and everyone. Weddings in general were a blast, but a wedding of a loved one was even more cherished. Though Amalthea and herself were not as close as Lela would like them to be some day, she still felt a certain amount of affection for the children of Thoth, especially one who had been having so much trouble. it was good to hear that things were looking so good for her future. "I'm glad to hear it. She needs a little happiness."
Lela was about to mention something, but the moment passed when she spotted Amlathea's brother, Atlas, marching their way. He was large, alright. Hard to miss that boy. And he seemed distressed, by the way he was... huffing.
Having recently had a run in with a rogue, Atlas was distressed alright. He hadn't been on the job of guard long enough for him to be confident in his decisions as of yet. He had resolved shortly after the event that he should seek out Thoth and have a father-son talk about the situation. On the walk home with Vunozi, who could not stop singing the rogue's praises, he was certain that the very next thing he did would be to look for his dad. After returning his temporary ward to his family, however, Atlas's resolve had fallen significantly, and he had decided he would wait to talk until he had something to say.
That had gone on for two days. About fifteen minutes ago, he had finally decided to talk. He was concerned about his job as a guard, that he had allowed a cub to follow him, that he had encountered a rogue, that he had a soft spot for the little thing, that he was worried for her safety, and most of all, that he had told Vunozi that they would be able to meet again. Low self confidence coupled with these issues felt like a giant stone on his back. He huffed and trudged and huffed and trudged, and finally found Thoth sitting with Lela. He didn't consider that they might be in the middle of something. He simply barreled forward to them, eager to remove the boulder from his shoulders.
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Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 1:32 pm
"That's exactly what I was thinking about it," he said, beaming. It did occur to him to be protective but this was hardly the kind of situation where someone might take advantage of Amalthea. Horatio was a nice lion and he would be stepping down in rank, not up, if they did get married. Not so much to be suspicious about.
He noticed she was about to say something when something distracted her.. and he turned his head, looking surprised to see Atlas marching toward them with such meaningful steps. He raised a brow and got up to his feet. was something wrong?
"Atlas," he said, "Are you OK?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 1:57 pm
Atlas huffed and dropped his lower half to the ground with a thud. He looked as if he might stay sitting up for a moment, before he sighed dramatically and dropped his upper half, sloppily laying down before his father and his father's... what were they, anyway? No matter, different subject. Atlas was full steam ahead with staying on HIS topic right now. He felt a bit like a failure. He looked up at his dad woefully. "I've messed up on the job, Dad." He let out a little breath and shook his head rather pathetically. In honesty, he wasn't trying to dramatize the situation. He truly felt the part of a failure at his job right now. He felt he hadn't handled anything from the other night correctly, now that he was looking back on it.
To be fair, at the time, he had thought he was doing well. Ziva had been so far from a threat to the pride's safety, and he had spent the entire time sitting close to Vunozi just in case. And... she was all alone out there. He couldn't help but feel a certain pull to look out for her. She had said she had family, yes, but she wandered so far and so alone. It bothered him terribly. And it bothered him that it bothered him. "Vunozi followed me around the other night. He picked me up back near his parents, and then I just kind of... let him think he was doing a good job following me. And then we ran into a rogue cub. And now it's just a mess."
Lela stared at Atlas with some concern and some... disappointment. He was doing a very bad time of holding his composure. Sometimes, Lela quietly wondered if Atlas was really finished growing up yet. His behavior now leaned her towards the negative. She was, however, concerned for his safety and that perhaps something was terribly wrong. As he began to relay his issue, though, she felt only a concern for her nephew. She had to admit, she was not pleased to hear that Vunozi was allowed to wander around and then met up with a rogue. He was young. It could've been dangerous. She held her tongue, however, giving Atlas a chance to defend himself and Thoth a chance to react.
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Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 4:38 pm
Thoth watched intently as Atlas dropped dramatically at his feet, realizing if something was really wrong, he would not be so theatrical about telling him what was wrong. He was genuinely surprised, though, when Atlas spit out his problem.
"What?"
Thoth glanced to Lela as Atlas explained what happened and looked back at him, mainly looking puzzled. He was being very dramatic about a fairly small issue, at least from what Thoth could tell. Cubs were curious little things, it wasn't that rare to get someone tagging along.
"What happened that it's such a mess? You got him back safely, didn't you?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2011 4:54 pm
Atlas moaned. Of course cubs were curious, but Thoth didn't know the half of it. "Well, I promised the little tyke he could see her again. The rogue cub, I mean." He covered his muzzle with with a front paw, embarrassed to relay his feelings of concern for Ziva. That he wanted to keep an eye out for a non-pridal cub on his watches now. That he wanted to make sure she was alright. To him, it seemed absolutely wrong. His job was to look after the PRIDE, and if he were to be watching out for a cub, it should've been Vunozi and keeping him from wandering so.
"They just hit it off so well, Vunozi and Ziva. And they were so excited about meeting, and wanted to be friends..." He looked sheepishly at his father, awaiting the judgment he was sure would come. He dared not look at Lela for fear of what the look on her face might tell.
The lioness tried to conceal what was becoming a giggle. The idea that Atlas felt such a need to defend his part in two cubs meeting and becoming friends she found to be quite funny, though she wasn't pleased about Vunozi being so far from home. In retrospect, though, he wasn't really all that far from the sounds of it. And Atlas was a strong, young, capable guard, for sure. Even if he had his doubts about himself.
She looked at Thoth with a light in her eyes. The woes of his son seemed so very significant to him, but Lela couldn't help but think that Atlas hadn't really had the touch with reality yet that might ground him, give him some perspective. "I'm sure my brother would've told me by now if Vunozi wasn't safe," she eased and nodded.
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Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 7:03 am
Thoth looked back at Lela when he noticed she was glancing his way as Atlas finished his story-- even though he knew Atlas was now staring at him expectantly. He didn't say anything immediately, letting Lela start. He looked back at his son, nodding.
"It's not uncommon for cubs to get out and follow a guard around, Nyota himself had his own little shadow that he couldn't shake until Kivuli became a guard himself," he said, "I wouldn't take him out again unless Unyezi and Nerit are OK with it, though." Ultimately, it would be up to Vunozi's parents if it was OK for him to accompany a guard to visit a rogue-friend. It was up to the guards if they would allow stray cubs to tag along with them, and to keep them safe if they did decide it was OK. If Atlas thought Ziva was not a threat, there was no reason to do anything about her presence, either.
"You should let Nyota know there is a rogue family nearby," he added after some quiet thought, glancing to Lela before looking back at Atlas, "If Ziva is friendly, her family is probably no threat either, but knowing they're there will help avoid any trouble."
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Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 9:39 am
Atlas's face seemed altogether relieved. He wasn't sure, at that moment, what he had expected Thoth to say to him on the matter. Atlas wasn't adopting Ziva. He was simply keeping an eye out for the little thing while she wandered, since she seemed to have a penchant for exploring on her own. If Ziva's parents were alright with that, and Ziva had alluded that they were, Atlas couldn't disagree with them. He could, however, keep a watchful eye on her when she was gypsying through the area. And, apparently, it was alright for him to bring along young Vunozi if his parents were ok with it. He shot a quick glance at Lela, but he knew that wouldn't suffice as parent.
"Alright." He let out a long held in breath and dropped his head onto his front paws. "Thanks Dad." He sighed again. Clearly, this had been bothering him a fair bit.
Lela arched a brow as Thoth's son dropped his head and sighed. If anything, Atlas could use a few lessons in presentation and formalities. She chose to keep such a comment to herself, though. The boy - well he really wasn't a boy - had been distressed and she was willing to allow that as the reason for his behavior. She smiled brightly, pushing it from her mind.
"Cheer up, Atlas. It isn't a bad thing." She nodded briskly and looked at Thoth. It didn't seem that Atlas was going anywhere for the time being, at least, so perhaps they could include him in conversation... though he didn't really look like he was in much of a talking mood anymore. "I wonder what a young rogue was doing on her own around here, anyway?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:20 pm
Thoth was unable to hold back a small chuckle when Atlas' expression changed and he sighed. He was such a worrier sometimes- which was fine, really, but it could be amusing. He glanced over to Lela as she thought aloud about the cub.
"I wonder if they realize there is a pride here," he said, still carrying the assumption she had a family. Atlas would probably be worrying about other things if she was an orphan or something.
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Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:52 pm
Atlas shrugged his large shoulders and huffed. "She said they move around." He didn't understand Ziva's family situation and he probably never would. He couldn't rightly imagine moving around that much. And he had no interest in doing it. He very much liked his easily paced life, and probably would become quite depressed with the rough and rugged ways a rogue could live. Not that all rogues were destined to such a life - but Atlas surely would be for his lazy streak. He was going to say no more on the topic of his new young temporary-ward, until he remembered Vunozi's remark about her coat.
"She was a cutie, though." He lifted his eyes up to look at the pair of lions in front of him. "She looked like the moon, truly. That was Vunozi's words to describe her." She'd fit among the pride lions, for certain.
Lela considered Thoth's statement. She found it hard to think that a rogue family would be living near by and not have noticed an entire pride by now, but perhaps they were a little dense. Or perhaps they hadn't cared to notice yet. She hadn't a clue that the mother of the litter was working on her second brood of eight and was absolutely ridiculously tired of keeping track of all her cubs, much less notice if the family was near a pride at any given time.
"Looked like the moon?" Lela turned a quick glance on her own tan coat. She was a little unhappy with her lack of moon-like and family markings, though she did bear a crescent on her shoulders, though it wasn't as prominent as her niece's.
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Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 6:21 pm
He managed only to smile this time when Atlas commented on what the little one looked like. Suddenly he was imagining him as a father and it made him feel somewhere between old and proud. He glanced over to Lela when she repeated Atlas' words. The moon was a good thing to look like, though not entirely necessary.
"That's a good way to make a good impression on the pair of you," he commented.
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