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 Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 7:22 pm
Athena padded his way around the others and to find his son. Everyone else had eaten and were napping accordingly. But for some reason, he could not find Dathe in the group. Ares was accounted for, where had that son of his gotten to? Ares of course was easy to account for with as active and cheerful as she was. The big lion had to kick himself for having lost track of his other cub. This is what he got for being distracted.
With the twins gone off with their uncle, one would think keeping track of the two remaining cubs would not be so hard for Athena. Unfortunately, he seemed very good at proving himself wrong. It was most likely just his son walking off behind a rock or some such and nothing to worry over, but of course, Athena did worry a bit over his cubs. So long as he found where Dathe was, he would not be worried. It was the not knowing that bothered him.
The fluffy lion just wanted to double check the male cub was not missing, and perhaps have some time with his son. Nothing complicated, nothing stressful. He had to take a deep breath and calm his own nerves. He was starting to worry and he knew it was not likely he should worry. "Dathe? Where are you, son?" The male finally just sat down and listened for the cub. If he just sat and called calmly, the boy should show up.
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 7:28 pm
 If Athena found it difficult to look after two cubs, Dathe found it equally as hard to stay in one spot for long. He was an active boy as most boys his age are, but he didn't tend to find himself in trouble very often. No, Dathe found obscure things very fascinating. Today his fascination was a termite mound. He'd dug quite a hole in the side of one of the tall mounds. Angry termite guards had coated his paws in the brown gunk that they tended to secrete, and one lucky bug had snapped onto his ear and was currently clenching onto the cupped cartilage. Dathe paid it no heed, merely twitching in annoyance as he dug deeper into the side of the mound. There was something fascinating about watching the termite-guards frantically scurry from the dank innards of the mound. The smaller bugs moved quickly through tunnels that took them deeper into the protection of the mound, and Dathe was waist-deep into the side of the mound just watching all of the bugs move around in chaos.
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 8:09 pm
Athena heard nothing of a response as he waited and sat quietly. He did however hear some kind of digging. That was a start. He got back up and started in that direction to see if perhaps it would be Dathe. One never knew what that cub would get into. Most of the time what he got into was amusing, though. "Dathe? Dathe, where are you?" Maybe the boy would answer. Maybe.
Athena actually found him before he answered. The mess that the cub had made of the termite mound was amusing, but at the same time, he did hope his cub didn't get himself hurt by the termites. "Dathe, what are you doing?" The cub did not appear to be anything but quite dirty, so he was not really alarmed yet. "I am sure the termites did not want an entrance right there." The fluffy lion could not help but chuckle at the sight.
This was definitely his cub. Charge in and do because you want to, worry about it later. Athena did the same thing with hunting. He went over and picked the termite off the cub's ear and picked up up out of the mound. "Let me see if you've done any damage to yourself, and then you can go back to the termites if you like." He gave the cub a once over and nodded to himself. Dirty, but unhurt. "Okay, go on back to your termites."
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 8:17 pm
It took Dathe a long moment to realize that his papa was calling for him, and he'd pulled out of the termite mound with just enough time for him to see his papa approach and move to pull him out of the mound. An intense little frown furrowed between his brows as Athena took the termite from his ear. It pinched a little, but only a little.
"Papa, these bugs built a house," he said mellowly, his blue eyes remaining in the mound that he'd been pulled from. When something had Dathe's attention, it really had his attention. Even at this young age he was intense and attentive. "I didn't mean to ruin it. I was going to climb it and then my paw went through the outside and then all sorts of bugs came running out."
He patiently waited as his father gave him a once-over. "It doesn't hurt, papa," he assured Athena before burrowing back into the termite mound, his tail twitching about behind him. He was there for a long moment before he put it in reverse and backed out of the termite mound, chewing on something.
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 8:39 pm
"Termites do build themselves homes, very big homes. They live in large groups." Athena chuckled at his son and sat to watch the cub. At least he paid attention, even if it was not always to what a parent could wish. Athena was happy the cub was as bright as he was and left it at that. Intelligence was a strong trait in the cub's favor out here.
Athena tilted his head to the side as Dathe backed out of the termite mound chewing something. Was he eating a termite? Not that it would kill him, but why? What worried him more was if it WASN'T a termite. "What have you got there, Dathe?" The lion would ask and see if the cub answered. If not he would make Dathe spit it out forcefully to inspect it.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 10:35 am
Dathe was a lion of manners, and he made sure to swallow his snack before speaking to his papa.
"It was a big fat white termite, papa," he grinned, licking his chops. He looked incredibly pleased with himself. "It wasn't that bad, either. You want one, papa?" Dathe did love to share, but more than that he loved food. If his papa wanted one, Dathe would be sure to scarf down one or two more before presenting them to his dad.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 1:46 pm
Athena watches his son swallow it quickly and tries not to think about the idea of something squishy like that. It just did not seem quite his kind of food. He liked meat, not bugs. Though, thinking back, Athena might have eaten a bug or two when he was younger. He could not remember for certain, but there was a good possibility with all the other things he had done that that was among them.
The big lion listened to the confirmation of the bug and sighed. "So long as it was just a termite, that is fine. I wanted to make sure you were not eating something you should not." He leaned forward and nuzzled his son. "I think I will pass on the termites. You seem to be enjoying them a lot more than I would be. That will leave more for you. You are a growing cub and need all that food if you want to be big and strong."
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 8:18 pm
Dathe shrugged. Like his papa said, more for him!
The cub nodded solemnly at his papa. He knew what was good to eat and what wasn't good to eat. He would never eat rocks or trees or plants or snakes or anything like that, but termites weren't that bad, or so Dathe thought. His papa did not seem very pleased by the fact, and so he would make sure only to eat termites when he wasn't around his papa. Well, when his papa wasn't looking, at least.
"Don't worry, papa. I don't need termites to grow up big and strong."
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 9:12 pm
Athena reached out a paw and ruffled his son's fur. "I would hope not. I try very hard to make sure you have enough to eat and the others that travel with us do much to help with that." He guessed he would let his son play with the termites for now since he was getting tired. That full stomach was catching up to him finally. It was definitely time for the fluffy lion to find a place to nap and let his son to his play and termite eating.
"I am going to nap nearby, if you wish to join me do so. If you have need of me, I will be where I can hear you call, young one. I think you and the termites can use some further acquaintance." Athena gave a huge yawn and chuckled at himself. He was worse than the cubs at times. He padded over where he was just far enough away not to hear every little thing his son did, like crunching termites, but close enough for if there was trouble.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 9:16 pm
Dathe grinned up at his papa as he spoke, nodding his head slowly in agreement. Dathe appreciated everything that the others in their sizable group did for everyone, and he oftentimes would thank them individually.
When Athena yawned, Dathe did so too. Yawns were so infectious, and suddenly Dathe was feeling tired as well. "I'm sleepy too, papa," he said sweetly.
Rising to his feet he gave a little, lazy bat to his fathers tail before he followed his papa back to his nap-spot.
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