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 Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 7:15 pm
It most likely wasn't a good thing that the mother was coming into this situation ready for resistance. That almost begged for it. Last time, though, she'd hoped for a happy little chat that ended the way she had wanted it to - and that hadn't happened at all. This time, it would end how she wanted it to. She'd narrowed her sites. This little fling had run it's course and had to come to an end. The pride was all a twitter with their discontent, and worse, they had lost Mitsuki over it.
She'd allowed her daughter to make her own decision about things after Thoth's urging, but her daughter was proving incapable of doing such, or at least that was how Lela was seeing things. It was time for the future queen of this pride to grow up a little and make a decision for the good of the group instead of for the good of herself. And Lela would see to it that that happened. She chose as private as a place as she could - the front of the family den. She planted herself there and waited, stiffly, for Selene to come around.
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 7:36 pm
Selene was alone now. There was a great deal of pressure coming at her from all around, she could feel it. If ever there was a time to confess her feelings for Mazin and stand up for herself and for him.. it was now. But she was too nervous and more recently too ashamed. She had gone to chat with him but it was cut short after a few awkward minutes.
Wondering if her brothers could ever possibly act in place of friends she didn't have and would listen to and advise her.. and wondering how long she could delay the inevitable scolding or ultimatum, she headed for home, trying not to sulk obviously as she went. Somehow, she managed not to stumble or hesitate when she spotted her mother sitting by the den, obviously waiting for her.
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 8:07 pm
If it was even possible, Lela grew more tense when she spotted the familiar tawny young lioness skulking toward her. She tried to steel herself on the inside, tried to prepare herself for whatever her daughter's reaction might be. This time, she readily admitted to herself that she had no idea how Selene would handle what Lela would say. Her daughter was smart - Lela knew she knew what was coming. But that didn't make it any easier to hear something you don't want to hear. Even though Lela did not agree with her daughter having put herself in this situation, she could at least appreciate that her daughter was most likely mentally spread thin. It's not like she didn't have ears. She must've been hearing the talk, especially after what happened with Mitsuki.
"We have to talk, Selene." Her face was grim, like she didn't truly want to do this. Somewhere inside her, the queen who did whatever the pride needed wanted to get this problem straightened out. But there was also a sadness for what had to be done. She didn't want to crush her daughter's independence, and she didn't want to hurt her. That sadness swelled when she took in her daughter's stance and look. Things already weren't chipper. This wasn't going to be happy for either of them. "About Mazin." Get straight to the point, she told herself. Don't delay it any longer.
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 4:55 pm
It took every bit of self control she had to keep walking with her mother's blue eyes on her. She knew what was coming but her earlier attempt to face it by talking to Mazin himself had ended poorly, she wasn't ready to deal with it but it didn't matter. Her mother was there, looking very serious. Her voice didn't sound like anything Selene had heard before, even when they had argued about Mazin before..
"Oh?"
She drew herself up, though her face was stubborn and forcefully neutral now that she was directly before her mother. It was another surprise that she managed not to stammer when trying to act cool, like she didn't know what was about to happen.
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 3:01 pm
As opposed to being annoyed with Selene for playing it cool and innocent, Lela was actually impressed. She knew her daughter knew what was coming - she'd probably known for a while. She knew her daughter was unhappy about this. Yet in her posture and face, there was a quiet determination to stick this through, to stand up tall and not show weakness. Maybe they had more in common than she had originally thought. Since their previous argument, Lela had lamented a little on how her daughter was so unlike her. But here was Selene, wearing the same kind of mask her mother always did. It was something that might help her greatly in days and years to come, and in her future as queen.
Well, time to get on with it. "It's time for you to end this crush of yours, Selene." She sighed, looked off over her daughter's shoulder a moment, then refocused. "I know you aren't oblivious to the things that have been happening, the things that people have been saying. The pride can't stop talking about the altercation between Mitsuki and Ukene, and they can't stop talking about you." It hurt her to say that to her daughter - after all, what adolescent wants to be reminded that they're the center of attention for a bad reason? But she felt it had to be said. If she laid down the facts fast, maybe Selene would see it and accept it. She paused a moment, looking for a response in those sad eyes.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 6:22 pm
She wasn't shocked that her mother was so direct but actually hearing those words still shook her. This was finally it. She felt a lump in her throat as she struggled to stay calm and process her thoughts and her feelings. She cared very deeply for Mazin and the thought of losing her only friend, especially when everybody else eyed her so accusingly, terrified her. Under any other circumstances, she might have fought for him. It didn't take her very long to realize she was going to give in, she always knew that. That was probably why she couldn't stand to talk to Mazin earlier.
If she was going to be forced to do this, she had only one defiant remark left in her. Her mother would be forced to see it for exactly what it was, Selene wasn't planning to leave any room for any ideas that this was her own will.
"Is that an order?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 6:49 pm
Lela managed to withhold her sigh. Going over her conversation with Thoth, she remembered vividly what he had said about adolescents needing their independence. And here she was, completely taking away Selene's. But it had to be done.
"Yes." She didn't elaborate. Simplicity was the best way to do this, she was sure of it. But one more thing... "And you need to do it soon, Selene. I'm giving you three nights time." She held her mouth in a firm, grim line. She was going to stand her ground on that one. Things had carried on for far too long, in her opinion, and it was time to end things swiftly. She was going to trust her daughter to handle herself gracefully and even professionally while doing this. Even though she knew and accepted that her daughter was hurting from all this, she wanted things to end cleanly and for everyone to move forward. For a moment, she wanted to comfort her daughter, physically move closer and wrap a paw over the younger one's shoulders. But this didn't seem like the time for things like that.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:00 pm
Somehow still holding it together, she tried to make sense of why she was being given a time limit at all. It wasn't like she would try to drag it out and hope they would forget about it, obviously nobody was going to just forget about everything that had been going on.
"Three nights?" she repeated, tilting her head.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:05 pm
Lela felt a swoosh of maternal emotion. She did not want to take away this responsibility from her daughter, but she did want to take away the hurt she could see reflecting in those purple eyes. Was there even confusion there? She wished only happy things on Selene, but here she was inflicting pain. No, she told herself, she was not doing this. Fate, the Great Lion, everyone else... they were all doing it. This was the way things had to be. This wasn't something she was specifically choosing to do for the fun of it.
"Yes, three nights. This needs to be done quickly." She looked grim again, as another thought occurred to her. "And it needs to be done... publicly. The pride needs to know it happened as soon as it happens." Lela was sure those words must of stung more than any, but she couldn't help that. She was becoming more and more resolute in what she was saying. Selene would forgive her for this later, when things calmed down. She was sure of that in her heart. Or at least, if not forgive, perhaps she'd drop the wall she was surely working to put up between them.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:16 pm
Selene straightened herself up again when her mother added that this needed to be public. Her mind raced around ways to make this less cruel for Mazin, could she talk to him beforehand and plan the public display or would that take away from the intended impact? Could she even face Mazin more than once? He hadn't even wanted to be her friend, he'd been too shy.
The longer she stood there, the harder it was becoming to keep herself together but she was determined- however satisfying it might have been to let her mother see exactly how much pain this was causing her.
"Anything else?"
Her voice was careful and while she managed not to let her voice crack, she couldn't completely hide her emotion.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:23 pm
Lela's wheels were spinning out of control, trying to come up with something more to stay. She felt like she was stumbling around in a blinding light, unable to make out the thing that she needed to see. "No," she said quietly, weakly. She had managed to keep her resolve through the hardest part of the conversation, and now she could feel herself crumpling, her tension melting, her emotions running haywire. Here was her first and only daughter, looking beat up and trying her darnedest to hide it - a quality Lela could most definitely be proud of. Yet she couldn't say that to her. Not yet, at least.
"I am sorry it has to be this way." She kept her gaze on her daughter, trying to search for a glimmer of hope in those eyes. But maybe there simply wasn't anything left there for now.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:33 pm
Lela happened to be the safest and the easiest one to blame, so she was stuck as Selene's scapegoat. Selene didn't have to think about it enough to find excuses for her mother, she didn't want to. She was happier having someone to blame other than herself. She maintained eye contact with her mother up until she made her apology and it was clear she really had nothing else to add.
"OK," she murmured, turning her eyes away and moving to walk past her mother into the den. The conversation was done, she didn't want to talk anymore.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:41 pm
Even when expected, nothing could take the sting out of her daughter brushing off an apology, clearly pissed off and clearly unhappy with her. She sat perfectly still while Selene walked by, and tried her hardest not to cry. She knew her daughter was upset, she knew even though not all of this was her fault, she was the one who was bring the pain out in the open. She knew things were not easy on her daughter, and that though she had grown up a royal she'd never grown up an heir. And deep down, she knew that though they were different, they had enough in common to keep things together, and they had a family that was strong. Things would calm down eventually.
Despite knowing all that, it didn't ease the ache in her chest. It'd be close to dawn before she'd be able to talk to anyone, even Thoth. She was sure he'd understand how she felt, but she couldn't do that right now. She just needed the quiet, the stars and to be alone.
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