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 Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:36 am
Biski was exhausted. Being a single mother the first time had been tiring, but exhilarating. She was so proud of Mkate, what he had become. SHe loved him so dearly, and so she had wanted to have more cubs. Much to her father's probable disappointment, she had once again decided to be a single mother...but this time there had been five cubs. Five! Mkate was around to help, but having to keep track of so many, while also trying to keep up her scouting duties and shifts are more tiring that she had ever dreamed.
Being so drained had made it hard for her to keep up with how her family was doing. She really missed the times before being a mother, how open and free everything felt. She wanted a taste of that again, so she left the five juveniles with their older brother, and Biski was determined to find Lisi. Right now.
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:50 am
Fyulisi was in her own mothering predicament. Between Biski having more cubs and realizing that her father and Marini were on their second litter since Hamamu was small.. she had gotten to thinking about more cubs and she, too, got more than she bargained for. Not only did she get five cubs but their father refused to leave-- not that she tried to push him away but he had been in the area long enough to realize Lisi was pregnant and he wanted to help and she could hardly tell him no.
Compromising her independence in allowing him to take an active part in the family.. it made everything was that much more tiring. The cubs were still small, though, so it would only be getting worse and she was starting to feel some panic. Takeo was not around now and the cubs were all asleep so Lisi was sitting out in the sun, enjoying the rare quiet and, almost in a daze, she wasn't really watching when Biski came into view.
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:59 am
"Lisi!" Yes! It hadn't taken too much effort to find her sister, and Biski thanked the hidden stars above. She didn't want to stray too far from her own babies, and now she knew that she wouldn't have to.
The darker lioness trotted towards where her sister was sitting, admiring the way the sun shone of Lisi's lighter coat. "It's bee too long, Lisi, I've missed you. Growing up makes everything so much more difficult." Cubs were wonderful, but she had never really realized just how much work having offspring entailed.
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:05 am
Hearing her name, Lisi snapped out of her daze very suddenly. She blinked a couple times before she really registered who her visitor was- and immediately she brightened up.
"Biski!"
She wasn't sure how they had drifted apart as they had but she supposed Biski's explanation was as good as any. How grandpa kept up with everybody even when he had cubs of his own was more baffling the more you thought about it, really. Lisi barely could keep track of Hamamu lately.
"How have you been? How is everybody?"
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:14 am
"After Mkate learned of how foolish he was during the war, everyone's been good." Biski had felt horrible that she couldn't have helped, but having cubs in the midst of it all prevented her from being anything but a burden. At least...for the most part everything turned out ok.
"Mkate's watching my colourful furballs right now. How are yours? It feels like everyone is suddenly having cubs! Perhaps they realized how lonely they were after the war," Biski laughed. Part of her was happy that she wasn't a nanny...they were going to be overloaded for quite a while!
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:26 am
Lisi shook her head at the mention of Mkate and the war, decidedly refusing to touch that subject. The war had been such a surprise- and something of an eye-opener for Lisi, who had been extremely sheltered from certain realities in the quiet, peaceful Pridelands.
"They're asleep right now," she said, glancing back to the den where they were, "Still small enough that I can get away with naps no problem." It was a shame it wouldn't last much longer.
"There are a lot of cubs lately," she agreed, thinking about all the cubs born in the family lately-- and then there were so many more outside the family, too, "I don't envy the nannies."
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:33 am
"Oh, I miss that." Biski nodded, thinking about how much of her own growing up she had to do with cubs. Even more so than whenshe just had Mkate. Boys were so much easier than girls, even if you had to keep a better eye out for them when they went roaming off. At least a lot of the cubs were really being told that the Elephant Graveyard was a no.
"Is Hamamu helping? Or are you going to have her help you more once they get a bit older? It's amazing having Mkate, and the fact that he feels a bit responsible for them helps sway him."
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:41 am
"Hamamu is a big help," she said, sighing, "But I think she finds it a bit awkward when Takeo around. It's not easy making her feel like she fits in when these cubs have their father around, I try but I don't see how much I can do where Takeo and I aren't mates."
Ugh. That was one thing that never crossed her mind until it happened and she felt really bad. It was just her and Hamamu before, adding another adult who wasn't really trying to be a part of the whole family was different than just adding cubs.
"That might be my only regret."
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 11:01 am
"Oh..." Biski hadn't really thought about that. She had come to learn a bit about the male when she was out. She hadn't really left the lands for that long, but perhaps she had wanted someone who wasn't going to hang around? Part of her wished that he had, though. Hehad been kind, leaving his lands for an errand before returning. She knew that she wouldn't have the same issue that her sister was having.
"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help? I can always have Hamamu come by and mingle more with her cousins."
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 11:09 am
Frowning now that she had had the opportunity to verbalize a concern she had about the situation she had put herself into, she thought about Biski's offer, uncertain how to respond at first. Hamamu was an adult, she didn't need them to decide things for her but she would always be Lisi's baby and she wanted her to be happy.
"I think Hamamu would like that, being included with you guys," she said finally, "Maybe we can all get together sometimes, but then there'd be an awful lot of cubs all in one place. We'd need both Mkate and Hamamu around with us."
Maybe that was a way to force Hamamu to get involved without having the chance to overthink it and feel awkward. It was odd to think chaos might be the solution.
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 11:32 am
"I don't think Mkate would mind too much. He always liked hanging out with his older cousin, and the two of them would probably be so overwhelmed with the amount of youngin's that they'd probably stay cubless themselves for a while." Biksi winked at Lisi. "I don't know about you but I am not quite ready to be a grandmother. Poor Father, how we sprung it on him so quick!"
Biski realized she had been a bit reckless, but she had been jealous of Lisi's baby and had wanted her own. Now they were just drowning in them, haha.
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 11:35 am
Lisi snickered at the mention of the possibility of Mkate and Hamamu having their own cubs. She knew it was possible, though she thought it a slightly more terrifying possibility for her where Hamamu would never be able to hide or ignore it- though she didn't doubt Mkate would do exactly what Takeo was doing and make an effort to be there for his family.
"I don't think dad likes it this time around any better," she commented, "It's Marini we have to thank for keeping him calm."
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 12:00 pm
Biski laughed. "At least we're older and a little bit more prepared this time!" Still, perhaps she should drag her father and step-mother over to see the cubs, and maybe he'll change his mind. Just a little bit.
"I'm glad to see that you're doing well, Lisi. We should set up play dates, I think everyone would like it. A few of mine are getting a little bored of each other, I'd guess." A change of pace would be good...even though they grow up so fast!
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 12:23 pm
She couldn't help but snort and laugh at Biski declaring them older and better prepared. Lisi certainly didn't feel any better prepared for this, but maybe she had been expecting it to be more similar to when she had Hamamu.
"I'm glad you came to visit," she said brightly, "Don't hesitate to just drop by, I never know who's going to be around at any point anyway, I'd certainly welcome the company."
Perhaps a bit too optimistic but as long as she knew that, it couldn't be that bad, right?
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 12:30 pm
"Now that I know exactly where you are, you can count on it." Biski was excited, happy, and feeling a bit less overwhelmed with everything. That would change once she returned to her own den with a bunch of hungry, whiny young, but right now she was enjoying it.
"We're not too far from here, so you should come visit too, especially when your brood get a bit older." She motioned forward to give Lisi a sister-ly nuzzle. "It was so good to see you, Lisi."
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