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 Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 7:59 pm
The young lioness had spent her time growing an annoyance towards her half-brother. Why hadn't he outright told her? He had to have known. The nerve of that lion! Why hadn't he welcomed her with open paws? Li didn't have much of a sense for how family acted outside of her wrestling with her littermates and being groomed by her mother, but she was certain that keeping secrets wasn't how families were supposed to behave. Liyana had no secrets. She told everyone anything freely. She felt no need to hold anything back. Why should she? And more importantly, why should HE?
She'd been in the borders of the territory for about an hour already, huffily stomping around and searching for him. He had to be around here somewhere. He was hard to miss. Just... where exactly was he?
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 8:20 pm
Manny had been trying not to think too hard about the encounter with Liyana after it happened- not that it had stopped him from complaining at length to Marini, who had subsequently learned more about him and his family and was much gentler on that topic now.
It wasn't on his mind now, though. He was happy to be out walking with Marini. They were getting closer, he didn't need any of the teasing to realize it. Even his kids were starting to pick on him about it. But they liked her so it wasn't that big of a deal.
"Is it.. Pride Rock?" To keep things interesting, Marini had suggested a game of I Spy on their walk- there were always interesting things to see out and about in the Pridelands. She giggled when he asked if it was Pride Rock- that would have been way too easy- and it wasn't really that easy to see from here.. unless you turned around, but then she couldn't be spying it.
"No," she said, shaking her head-- but then something else caught her eye. A familiar little one, pacing- not looking in their direction at that particular moment.
"OK, I have a different one," she said, "I spy with my little eye something.. black and blue. And small."
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 8:29 pm
Liyana was about to pivot her huffy little self when she caught a glimpse of an all too familiar brown cropping up out of the ground in her peripheral vision. She stopped dead where she was and shot her eyes in the direction of the brown - to see just what she wanted to see. Manny! Ooo, man, he was going to get it. But... he had Marini with him. Liyana had honestly liked the lioness and had no qualms with her. She presumed them to be mates at this point, and was wondering if she could consider Marini a sister when she suddenly shook her head vigorously and quite overly-dramatic. What was she doing? She didn't have time to think about this! She had to get to Manny!
Without further hesitation, the spied black and blue small object darted forward on surprisingly graceful legs. If there were two things Intombi had truly taught her daughter, it was how to groom properly and how to run like a true lioness - a hunter. She was quick in closing the gap between her and the pair. "MANNY!" She yelled out as she sprinted. If any beast of prey should have been nearby, they would've most likely high tailed it. Heck, even a full grown lion might've gone the other way.
Liyana skid to a stop before her brother and his girlfriend, kicking up dust and panting.
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 8:36 pm
"Black and blue and small?" Manny repeated, puzzled. When she said black and blue, the first thing he thought of was Zi. With Liyana out of his mind, he didn't even think of her immediately with the addition of 'small'. Luckily, he didn't need to guess. Marini nodded off in the direction of the little lioness and he started when he realized who it was- and that she was running right for them.
"What are you doing here again?"
She didn't look very happy, clearly she had a bone to pick with him- and Manny had a vague idea what it was going to be about. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, though.
As soon as Manny hesitated, Marini nodded to Liyana-- partly because she realized they'd been spotted. She didn't even think that maybe Manny would have wanted to try to make a getaway. It was too late for that now, though. She stayed quiet at Manny's side, stepping back so she wasn't really in the middle of anything that happened. He had been quite grumpy after the last time even though Marini thought Liyana had been adorable. She kept an eye on him, hoping he didn't get grumpy at Liyana.
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 8:48 pm
Liyana had actually enjoyed meeting Manny, despite his grumpy nature last time. She'd even taken on a bit of a shine for him. There was something about him that drew her to him - now she wondered if it had been an inherit knowledge of the blood. She couldn't keep any sort of thought train other than reaming him out, though, and so she let anything that popped up fly away just as fast as it had come. After she caught her breath, and before addressing Manuku's rude question, she looked directly at Marini. "Hi, Marini." She beamed at the lioness, remembering how much they'd gotten along last time. "Great to see you!"
She quickly changed her tune, though, and glared back at Manny. "I came to see you." She gritted her teeth, showing her immaturity. Even though she'd experienced plenty in her young life, she was still a short-fused baby underneath the tough exterior. "YOU didn't tell me you're my brother. Do you think I'm stupid?" Her emphasis was past the borderline of dramatic and pushing ridiculous. When she hit stupid, though, she sounded almost hurt. And truly, she was, a little. Manny hadn't owned up to their relationship. Was he ashamed of her? Did he not like her? Did he wish he hadn't met her?
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 9:02 pm
When Liyana ignored him and addressed Marini, his brow furrowed and he turned his head sharply, looking at Marini in utter confusion. She'd obviously made a good impression on the little one, she had been very nice, she always was.. but it was so strange. He looked back at his little sister, still looking rather befuddled. He wasn't exactly happy to see her but now he was just confused.
"Oh."
Crap. She clearly hadn't been afraid to go ask mom what was up with her having a blue clone wandering around the Pridelands. He was happy to ignore it shortly after realizing it, clearly she wasn't. And he couldn't help but feel a little bad when she sounded so hurt by it.
"I couldn't say anything, I couldn't know if mom wanted you to know."
"It's nice to see you, too, dear," Marini said, smiling at Liyana when she addressed her so cheerily-- though she remembered quickly she was supposed to be careful, but the ridiculous look that Manny gave her told her maybe it wouldn't be so bad this time. She even dared to step back up a bit, staying close by Manny. She was looking at him when he defended his decision not to say anything, which he'd already done with Marini. Though it was less obvious than it had been in Liyana's tone, he sounded hurt, too. But Marini had nothing to add just yet.
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 9:18 pm
Liyana shifted her weight uneasily, not sure what her next move was to be. She couldn't possibly imagine why her mother wouldn't want her to know. Sure, Intombi'd failed to mention it, but the tan mother of 16 had been a bit busy. Liyana wasn't blaming her for not telling the story before. All was righted between them now, when Li had come home and asked about it, and had promptly received answers. She stared at Manny, trying to buy time. Her original plan of charging in head first and attacking was falling apart. It had started to crumble when she'd hit a soft spot with herself. Her bottom lip trembled. Tears were threatening.
"I don't understand you." She looked up at him with brilliantly crystal blue, sad eyes. Truth be told, she simply wanted a friend of sorts in Manny. Being one of eight made it hard to get much attention back home. Being one of eight that all scattered during the day made it much harder. She didn't often run into anyone outside the family more than once. Manny was her first second meeting with someone who didn't live in her mother's den. Now, of course, she knew they were family, and for that reason the whole friend thing was perhaps a little different, but still. "Mom told me right away right when I asked her." She huffed a little, but was still solemnly sad in tone.
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 9:37 pm
"Oh."
He was a little surprised by the fact Intombi had so easily told Liyana about them when asked, but he wasn't sure what his opinion of her was anymore, a lot of it seemed to be spite instead of sense at this point. Of course she'd just tell, it wasn't that big of a deal.. but maybe it should have been. Manny couldn't make up his mind. Clearly she didn't realize what kind of impact she'd had on them here, but even if she had, would that have changed Liyana's attitude and presence here? It was hard to say.
"I'm sorry," he said, not sure what else to say. He didn't like that she looked so sad, whatever his feelings about all of this were, she was still a lion, she had feelings and she was right here.
Marini was getting more and more uncomfortable standing quietly where she was. She, too, was feeling bad that Liyana looked so sad- but she knew the things Manny wouldn't tell the little one, he wasn't exactly happy himself.
"Why is it so important to you?" she asked, a sudden and rare moment of clarity encouraging her to get Liyana to stop being accusing and sad. It was clear she was already getting to him.. but she was so sad, it wasn't just about being lied to. She'd cared enough to come all this way to yell at him, right?
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 9:54 pm
The young lioness was losing resolve quickly. She had expected to come here for a fight. She had expected Manny to be grumpy, just like last time. The time in between visits had made her spin a few extra ideas into the mix. Perhaps he'd be angry. Maybe he'd yell at her. Maybe he'd be combative. Of course, in her day dreams she'd always imagined herself coming out as the victor. But for what reason? What would she have won from fighting Manny? Would she have really won, anyway? Well - of course she would've, but what would it have mattered was the real question.
"Ok." She shuffled her paws and stared at her little white toes, unsure of what to say. Marini brought her out her glum thoughts. She spoke without much thought. "Well I just really liked your guys." She shuffled again, suddenly feeling shy. "You don't know what it's like having seven brothers and sisters. Well. Having one brother and six sisters." She half smiled, picturing all of her sisters clambering around and her sole brother, surrounded by females. But - she had more brothers now, did she?
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Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:05 pm
"Yes I do," Manny said when she said they didn't know what it's like having seven brothers and sisters, "Did mom not tell you that part? There are eight of us here."
.. Should he have said that? It didn't really matter now, Intombi had spilled at least some of the beans and now they were talking about it. And of course, he nearly missed the new bit of information. Seven little sisters, one little brother. Great.
But what was the point? She really liked them? She didn't live here, though she was obviously living nearby somewhere.. was she going to be here a lot?
Marini was almost beside herself now that things were turning out to be much more calm and Manny was being so quiet. She was beaming at Liyana when she said she really liked them and she opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Manny pointing out that he had eight siblings. He did have quite a lot.
She closed her mouth again, the moment to say something nice in return had passed. But she maintained an encouraging smile, alternating between looking at Manny and Liyana.
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Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 8:32 am
Marini had been so adept at moving in and out of the conversation that Liyana hadn't even realized the lioness was playing the part of therapist for the brother and sister. She was simply focused on her sudden, deep feelings of hurt. At the back of her mind, she had the inkling of an idea to run away to someone who wasn't such a grump and who wasn't forcing her into an emotional roller coaster. But then again, she had been the one to come here. She had wanted to see them. She had done the searching. So she wasn't going to run away now.
She couldn't remember if her mother had mentioned the number of siblings she had before, but all Li had ever known was her enormous litter. She didn't often ask others how many siblings they had, so Manny's statement held only a small amount of surprise for her. She felt a little less alone now. "So you DO know what it's like!" She smiled brightly at him. "See, we're gonna get along great. At home... everyone splits up for the day, anyway. We all kind of scatter. So I could come here and see you all the time!" For her, there wasn't anything awkward about the situation. She had zero issue with Mom having another litter, and her dad was only ever partially present anyway. She was the result of a non-mated pair, so she wasn't really attached to the idea a true family.
She was beginning to like the idea of seeing her family here, though.
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Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 7:28 pm
If Manny had never had any experience with cubs before, he might not have been able to hide his alarm as Li took his comment as a good sign and suggested frequent visits. He couldn't help but look over to Marini before responding, though.
"Sure, of course," he said, looking back to Liyana. He couldn't bring himself to try to tell her to buzz off and he had a feeling it wouldn't work anyway. Besides, she seemed perfectly nice.. it was the idea of his mother being nearby and having a way to keep track of things around here that upset him. Now he just had to control his panic until she was gone.
Marini smiled and nodded reassuringly at Manny when he looked over to her. She knew what his problems were but she would never have supported being mean to Li. They would be talking about it again later, she was sure, and she would be getting an earful but.. be nice now.
"There are so many lions here and you look so much like Zi, nobody would worry about you wandering in and out," she said brightly to Li, it didn't even occur to her that maybe she shouldn't be dropping names.
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 1:01 pm
The young lioness's eyes widened, her mood having done a complete 180. She'd gone from pouting and vulnerable to delighted in about three seconds. She was super happy about an invitation to come whenever. Well, to her, that's what had just been said by both Manny and Marini. 'Sure, course' could me a great many things, but to her current bubbly state, it meant 'Sure, please come visit whenever you'd like'. And Li was sure to oblige him with frequent visits if it suited her fancy - which it likely would. Like her mother before her, there was something drawing her to this place. Unlike her mother, though, the draw was family. Liyana didn't care one way or the other that she had family IN the Pridelands, or in any pride at all, for that matter. She cared little for the differences of rogue and pride life. She didn't spend much time thinking about it. Having family here, though, was a pull perhaps deeper than her mother had ever felt.
"Oh, great! Great great great!" She bounced her front half, keeping her hind legs firmly on the ground for support. "You'll be easy to find, I'm sure of it." She beamed at Manny first, then Marini. Then she remembered her other siblings. Not the ones her own age, but the ones she'd never known. Her curiosity about this new side to her life was almost too much to contain. The siblings at home - she already knew them quite well. At least, well enough. She saw them every night, almost. Sometimes one of them wouldn't come home, but they always showed up. And she knew her mother. But she didn't know these guys, and that was more than enough to keep her coming back. "Who is Zi?" She bounced a little again, looking back and forth between the pair. "I look like someone?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 1:07 pm
.. Great, now Liyana would be interested in seeing Zi and Manny wasn't entirely sure what to expect from his brother. He could take it a lot better than Manny had, of course, but maybe not. It might be a little more alarming for the one she so resembled.
"Kimbizi is my- our- brother," he answered, holding back a sigh, "His fur is gray and black with some blue, too."
They really did look alike. They even had the same eyes.
"He's not as much fun as Manny here," Marini said brightly, speaking from her own private experiences with Manny moreso than the experiences shared with Liyana- which certainly hadn't been nearly as much fun as they could have been, "But he's nice, too!"
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2011 1:19 pm
Liyana brightened more, if that was possible. "A brother." She looked past Manny's shoulder, and then to both of their sides, as if the spoken of sibling might magically appear. Surely he was somewhere around here, right? Why Liyana had any sort of idea that siblings stuck together was beyond anyone's guess - she didn't stay with hers, after all. But, for some reason, she figured if Manny was here than this Zi would be soon to follow.
"REALLY?" This surprised her greatly. She had little knowledge of how parents passed on their looks to children, but she was surprised. Of course, she had yet to see evidence of Manny's father, as far as she knew. He was the spitting image of their mother plus a little blue, and Liyana had blue. But she had always associated the blue with her father. He was quite blue, after all, and it seemed that some of her siblings took after him and were also quite blue. None the less! The thought of her looking much like someone was exciting. "I would love to meet this... Kimbizi!"
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