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 Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 2:07 pm
Fenja watched the sleeping shapes of two little cubs – her cubs – in silence. To say that she had taken to motherhood with ease would be a bold lie but it were moments like these that made it impossible to regret what had happened between the restless lioness and Hoaka. Even if she only had to support herself and two young cubs most of the time, Fenja was troubled by the urge to return to her journey. Sometimes she felt so agitated that only a long walk or an exhausting hunt could dispel some of that pent up energy.
Slowly, as if trying to be as quiet as possible, the pale lioness stood up and stretched before walking away. She stood at the mouth of the den watching her boys for a few moments, listening attentively to the sound of their breathing and then turned and made her way to the closest tree. She climbed easily and made herself comfortable and proceeded to inspect the surrounded area with her keen gaze. Even if she felt safe near the borders of the Intaba pride where the dark lion and the remaining five cubs lived, Fenja knew there was no such thing as being too careful. Not when you were a rogue. Not when you were a female. And definitely not when you were a mother.
The little dark cub shivered when the warm shape of his mother left his side a two bright red eyes opened slowly just in time to see Fenja’s tail tuft disappear from view. He could feel his brother still by his side.
“Ah…” Tallak whispered sleepily before reality set in. He stood up quickly but clumsily, paws kicking in every direction until they were firmly supporting the small cub’s body. In an instant, the dark purple cub was wide awake, running to the mouth of the den at full speed.
“Mom…?” he called out, narrowing his eyes until they had grown used to the brightness outside.
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Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 2:47 pm
 Njordir merely rolled over when his mother moved away, only barely registering the fact before he started slipping back into sleep again. When his brother started shovelling his big paws around, however, the white-pink cub opened his eyes and rolled onto his stomach.
He watched his brother go with a yawn, then drowsily got to his own paws and followed the darker cub.
"Whazza matter, Tallak?" He asked when he caught up with him. Then he got distracted for a moment taking in all the smells and scents that the night breeze carried, lifting his little nose higher in the air. "Did you hear something?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2011 3:39 pm
Fenja looked down when she heard the small voices. Oops, apparently she hadn’t been careful enough and the boys were awake. She watched them in silence from her perch, smiling a little. Could they be any more different…? One as dark as his father with strange leg markings and Hoaka’s eyes. The other as pale as herself, with her eyes and enough pink to remind her of someone she would rather forget or remember, depending on how she was feeling that day. It seemed the only trait they shared was the cute little tail tuft.
She knew she was being stubborn by keeping them away from their father and siblings. The mere thought of joining the pride was enough to make a shiver run down her spine but she knew she should’ve sucked it up for a while. It was a good place to live and the cubs were well treated… it really came down to her own selfishness and the only thing Fenja regretted was the fact that she didn’t feel that bad about it. In fact, the way Hoaka had explained that the pride valued light-colored females seemed to put her off even more. If she’d been able to provide for such a large litter on her own, she would’ve kept all the cubs with her.
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“I saw mom leaving…” Tallak said as he watched the full moon for a few moments, a small frown slowly forming in expression. “She was right here…” he sounded confused and rightly so. He hadn’t taken that long to reach the mouth of the den and his mother had apparently vanished into thin air. Mother weren’t supposed to do that!
“Do you think she went hunting? Without saying anything?” he asked his brother, trying to keep his voice steady despite feeling somewhat anxious. He couldn't explain it properly even if he wanted but sometimes the young cub feared his mother would leave and never return. Not just because bad things happened in the rogue lands but because more than once he'd caught a strange look in his mother's eyes as stared into the distance, a look he didn't understand but worried him all the same.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 6:01 am
The white-pink cub plopped down into a sitting position, his hind paws slipping out sideway from underneath him just a little bit. He looked around a little but found no immediate traces of their mother's bright form. He yawned again and shrugged.
"Or she went to make pee pee. And she want to do it alone." He bent his head back to reach a particularly scratchy point behind his ear, almost falling over anyway when he lifted his back paw to scratch it.
"Anyway," he said from his nearly upside-down position while he scratched, "I think she just didn't want us to wake up." he sat up again and shook his head so that his ears flapped around his skull. It felt great. "You know they say that if you don't sleep enough when you're little, you won't grow right. And we gotta grow big, so we'll be strong!"
He wasn't partcularly worried. Mother had always come back before, so why shouldn't she do so now? All this talk about growing strong was making him feel energised, however, so without thinking much about it, he pounced his brother sideways with a happy: "Rawr!"
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 8:39 am
“Maybe…” Tallak said softly, obviously not convinced but unwilling to continue the same train of thought. Mom was either really fast or he’d been slower than he’d thought… well, perhaps both were right. He glanced sideways at his brother and grinned. “We’re going to be just as big as dad and…!” Whatever he’d planned to say after that was suddenly cut short by the pounce he failed to predict and avoid, despite the fact that he was actually looking straight at Njordir now.
“I’ll get you!” he said before grinning widely as he rose in his back legs and wrestled his brother.
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Fenja almost laughed as she watched the little interaction below. They were so silly, her boys, leaving the safety of the den and being so noisy when they believed to be alone. She needed to have a few words with them about it. This careless attitude was a privilege of youth but it had to be tempered with a solemn acknowledgement and respect for the dangers of the rogue lands. This was how she’d managed to survive until this moment and it was something she considered crucial to teach to the cubs. She took one last look around her, carefully watching every shadow before making her move.
Slowly and as silent as death, the pale lioness slid from the trunk and landed with a soft thud on the ground below right behind Tallak and winked at Njordir.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 10:25 am
Njordir was engaged in the difficult task of fitting his brother's entire shoulder into his mouth when their mother dropped down from above. His eyes widened in surprise and he would have cried out if his mouth hadn't been so stuffed. Then he caught his mother's wink and grinned (as much as he was able to) and winked back. With both eyes, because he hadn't quite figured out how to do it with just one yet.
He released his brother and backed away, lowering himself as if meaning to pounce again, and threw another quick glance up at his mother, eager to know what she planned to do.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 1:47 pm
Dislodging his brother from his shoulder by force didn’t seem to be working so Tallak was glad when Njordir finally released him.
“I’m gonna make you eat dirt, Njordir!” the purple cub announced boastfully when he realized his brother appeared to be planning another attack. Tallak lowered his body to the ground, dropping to a defensive position as he gathered the strength for a mighty jump. The little cub's shoulders wiggled playfully when he was about to pounce right back at his brother.
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That look she exchanged with her white and pink son had a strange power to it. In that brief moment, they were friends and accomplices and Fenja almost forgot for a moment who the pale cub in front of her really was. With a mental shake, she quickly dispelled those thoughts before slowly moving closer to one of the purple cub’s ears.
“Now, now, Tallak.” She said with mock seriousness after blowing hot air into the purple cub’s ear and making him jump a foot in the air. “You should be nicer to your brother.” It was really hard not to laugh at the ruffled shape of the young purple cub but Fenja somehow managed to keep a straight face.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 2:18 pm
The white-pink cub did catch the glimpse of something else in his mother's gaze, but to him it only meant that they were playing with each other. He loved it when they teamed up like this. Even though mother would sometimes get a bit of a funny look when they did, he didn't care because they always had great fun together.
Like now, for example. Njordir laughed so hard that he fell over and suddenly couldn't catch his breath. Tallak's surprise had been awesome. Fenja's face might be serious, but Njordir was far too young to be able to play along with that, when faced with something as hilarious as this.
"You jumped!" he squeaked as soon as he could get some air into his lungs. "So high..." Then another fit of laughter stole his breath from him again.
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Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 4:53 pm
“MOM!!" Tallak shouted angrily before a hint of relief crossed his expression. “You scar-…!” No, he wouldn’t admit to being scared so openly in front of his brother! The brother who was now rolling in the dirt not as he had planned before but laughing like an idiot at his reaction. “Shut up, Njordir.”
“Where were you?” the cub asked abruptly, red eyes rising to meet his mother’s with a determined expression before turning to his brother again. “Where did she come from?”
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Now Fenja really had to laugh. Njordir was already making it hard enough but Tallak’s cute indignant expression was simply too much.
“Isn’t it obvious, Tallak? I flew. And don’t say she so casually.” One big paw dropped on his purple son’s head unceremoniously and Fenja ruffled his little mane. It occurred to her – somewhat belatedly – that her son might actually take her words for the truth considering all the stories of Gods that she’d told the young impressionable cubs. “I’m just joking, dear. I was in the tree. I’ll teach you how to climb when you’re a bit older.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 4:12 am
"Yeah!" Njordir suddenly rolled back onto his stomach and mastered his giggle fit with a deep, shaky breath. "She dropped down from the sky, right behind you! I was really surprised!"
He scampered to his feet and toddled up to his mom, settling down to look up at her imploringly, while pawing restlessly at her leg with one pink-toed paw. "Teach me too, mom! I wanna learn how to climb! Why can't we do it right now? It doesn't look so hard. C'mon mommy, pleeeaaase!"
He tried on his cutest begging face, his paw still resting against Fenja's leg.
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Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 4:25 pm
For a – very – brief moment, it seemed as though Tallak was seriously considering his mother’s first answer. Then his expression changed to one of adorable grumpiness and the cub leaned back abruptly and sat down with a dramatic sigh.
“Mom… I’m not a baby! I know you can’t fly. You’re not a Goddess.” She wasn’t, right? His mother had told him the winged beings could hide their identities and walk amongst mortals without raising suspicion but… he’d know right? She couldn’t be, right? Wait… climbing lessons? “Yes-yes mom, pleeeease!” What cub could resist the idea climbing lessons?
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Fenja laughed at her sons’ cute little faces before he nudged Njordir gently with her head and stroke Tallak with a soft paw.
“No climbing lessons at night.” She was still smiling but her voice was suddenly quite firm. There would be no accidents befalling her cubs for as long as she was by their side and falling from a tree was not something she could even imagine happening. There was point in tempting fate, after all. “And you boys are still a little too young. You’re gonna need stronger legs if you want to get all the way up there.”
She looked at the sky, the moon, the clouds and then finally her gaze returned to the ground. “It’s dangerous to be out when it’s dark, boys. Let’s go back inside. We can other things. It might be a little cramped for dancing but we do some singing? Have you been practicing, Njordir?”
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