Dad wasn't doing so hot. Not lately. He was getting really old, and sick, and mother had to take care of him all of the time. She went from being a woman with a future to playing nurse. In a way, Jagat resented that. He shook his head as he watched his mother feed his father and that's where he had to leave. Dad was once healthy and proud. He was once strong and healthy. He played with him and his two sisters. Who knew what the others were doing anymore. This whole family thing had fallen apart once dad started getting really sick at a fast pace.Jagat could not play nurse or be a go getter. Jagat hated being sick, he felt uncomfortable around sick people, even if it was family. Shuddering as he walked away from the den, he shook out his full mane and sighed hard.
She moved away from the den once Kafele started snoring away in the middle of his meal. Sighing hard, Aekea looked around with big, sad eyes. She didn't want her mate sick. She'd known him most of her life and didn't really know what to do without him. What would her life be like? The very thought brought tears to her violet eyes and made her stop moving. Things were grim, but she had hope. That's all the orange and yellow female could really do; hope and pray that he didn't get taken away from her. He's getting better. Getting a little bit of strength back. At least, that's what she kept telling herself.
When she finally looked up, she saw a familiar splash of color and moved toward it. Feeling like she needed a pick-me-up, Aekea snuck up behind Jagat and nipped at his tail. "S-son, where did-d you disappear t-to earlier? I needed-d your help with y-your dad." She still had her stutter, and still hated her stutter. Flicking her tail and ears, she waited before walking to the watering hole. "C-come.. with me to the w-w-watering..." She let her voice trail off after that and just walked off a head of him.
Jagat couldn't help but jump as his mother grabbed hold of his tail and tugged. A growl came from his throat and he had turned around to swipe at whoever it was until he realized it was, indeed, mother. Red eyes rolled as he relaxed and all but flopped over to the side. His mother, sometimes, he worried about her. "I had to ...... leave. I was on a hunting party." Not a whole lie. He really was on a hunting party, but it was for tonight. "I had to go get to know the rest of them." He said that last part quietly. His mother had already gone off a head, leaving him standing there, looking like he was dumb and talking to himself. Well then. Alright.
"Sorry, mom. I swear to you that I'll help out tomorrow. I'm not on a party then." Flicking his tail, he moved against his mother and started licking her head affectionately. "What do you need help with, maybe I have time now..?" He was nervous he had made her mad or something. He'd only seen her made a handful of times, and he really didn't want to be the cause of that.
"I ne-needed to move him to.... another spot. B-but I g-got it with no help-p." Her voice didn't sound angry or annoyed, just matter-of-factly. Flicking her tail, she dipped her head down and started drinking the cool water. Thanks to all of the cold-fronts that had blown through, it was such a comfortable temperature lately. A breeze blew by and made her fur ruffle and her bangs fall in her eyes. Tossing her bangs out of her face, she noticed that Jagat hadn't followed her like she wanted too. Instead, he moved at a lazy pace toward her. Frowning, she waited, shifting from paw to paw and sighed. Of course she knew her only son was unhappy with how sick their dad was. She was unhappy with it, too, but she couldn't do anything "J-jagat-t.."When he finally was over here, she rested against him, putting her weight against his side and closed her eyes. "I-I'm sorry it's t-to much for you t-that he's sick-k. I w-wish he was-wasn't." Looking up at her son, she looked truly remorseful.
His mother was playing dirty. She knew that Jagat wouldn't stay mad or unhappy around her for long. So, putting his petty problems aside, he started grooming his mother again and tugged her ear playfully. He only stopped when his mother tapped her paw against his leg and he let out a laugh. Shifting, he took a quick drink and then flopped over on his side, looking up at her. "Hey, mom. Why don't, tonight, you go and talk with your lady friends. I'll...... I'll take after dad. I think you need a break, you know?" Well, she probably didn't know. He'd offered this right when he got sick and she told him he was being silly. Now he was waiting for the same reaction while bating at her feet, trying to get her to lay down.
"N-no... I'm f-fine. It's.. it's my job to t-take care of h-him." She watched her son be silly and laughed when he pawed at her ankles. It was obvious that he wanted her to lay down, so, she did.
A break? No, Aeakea couldn't afford a break. If she took a break, things with Kafele could get really bad. She was so worried about losing him or not being there if he fell or something. He could get seriously hurt if she stayed away too long. At least, when she was by him, she felt a sense of being needed; something she hadn't felt since her kids were but cubs. Aekea always felt better when looking after others and felt like she was needed. Every mother did, really. Or that's what she thought. She couldn't speak for every mother.
He watched her as she said no and sighed. Of course. Jagat knew Aekea would say that. "Alright, if you don't want a break, I won't ask again. .....If you need help though, you could ask my sisters. I know they'd.... be better help than I could." It was true. They were girls, and girls often felt sorry for the weak and sick. He was just so uncomfortable around his dad. When he was a cub, he looked up to his dad. His dad could do absolutely no wrong. Which is why he felt like such a little snob for not being able to take care of him. But he couldn't.
She nodded a little and chuckled. "You n-never really help-ped t-take care of your s-s-siblings when they were s-sick. You'd run far away s-so you didn't-t get sick. I think you d-didn't want to overwhelm m-me when you w-were that-t small. Maybe ... maybe that's-s why y-you're... never real-really around to h-help me." No, she wasn't playing the vicitim card. She was stating a well known fact about her son. Everyone knew he avoided sick people like they all had something deadly and easily spread around, even if it was just a female with morning sickness. What would he do if he ever became a father himself? His cubs would be sick and he wouldn't know what to do! What girl would put up with that?
She felt bad for thinking, it, but Aekea knew he probably would never settle down with a girl. Or if he did, that it wouldn't last long. He had a tendency to run when things got rough.
"Y-you should... go out and b-bring back.... bring me back an in-law! I want s-some grand-d-dcubs!"
Of course. Of course she would bring this up and make him feel guilty for not liking illness. Illness stank and made a person stink and just look bad. He didn't want to be like that. The few times he did get sick, he was miserable and ended up getting his siblings sick, too. They always yelled at him for it, like he could control the sickness. He knew that sick people couldn't control it! And that's why he stayed far away from sick people. He didn't want the random chance that it was something deadly and he'd get it if he stayed around them so long. They didn't know what was wrong with dad, just that he was sick and getting weaker and weaker every day. They were probably going to lose him, and all Jagat cared about was his own well being. Yes, he felt like a little s**t about it, but it's who he was.
"I'm sorry, mom... I know I should help you out more, but.. I just... I can't. I want too, but my instinct is to run. You said to follow our instincts." Then she brought up grandcubs and made him groan, both out loud and mentally. "There aren't really any girls in the pride around my age. They're all older than me." There hadn't really been any cubs born since him and his siblings, as sad as that was. Their pride was dwindling
Getting to his paws, Jagat huffed and shook his head. "My hunt starts in a bit. I'm going to... go ahead and go." Cub talk made him uncomfortable too. If he ever had cubs, it would be all too soon and he wouldn't even know what to do with them. Without waiting for word from his mother, Jagat started walking away toward the elders and shook his head.
And that was the extent of their conversations. The cub talk would just slip out and he would get awkward and walk away. His father wasn't like that. She wasn't like that. Honestly, she didn't know where Jagat got his personality from. Maybe someone back in her old pride was like him, but she didn't know. At least he had a better cub-hood than you.
It was true. The one thing she remembered about her cub-hood is that her cousin, Kim'acha, got attacked because she was pale and her siblings were all dark. She shuddered at that thought and looked to the side. Poor Kim'acha. She left, after that attack, and never ran across her. It made Aekea really sad. But, she watched her ruby-eyed son wander off and thought about what he said. there were no younger girls here. Their next talk, she'd bring up going out to look for them. Picking herself up off the ground, she drank a little more and went back to the den to take care of her sick mate.