[OOC: iFail, this should have been done... Shoot, a year ago xd ; Hur...]
Susu had snuck away from Yu, out on an excursion to explore the area around the pride. She admired the Stormborn and how protective they were - As far as she could tell - of the priestesses. Which was, for her, a bit stifling. She wanted even just a BIT of freedom beyond the pridal lands. Of course, Yu had been far less than happy the last two times she'd snuck away, but she'd found two lost souls and sent them on their way. Now... Her visions led her to a thicket, where a pair of cubs slept. They were small little things, just old enough that their minds could be warped to her needs. She smiled at them, then paused, looking around. The mother... Where was the mother? She couldn't have her walking up... For all she knew, she'd only have time for one cub. Brown eyes fell upon the two cubs, sleeping in a perfect yin-yang type of pattern. And then she made her choice, grabbing one by the scruff and hurrying away.
The cub, instinctively remaining limp in the grasp of the lioness, cracked open one eye. Were they being moved? What about his brother? The cub was quiet for a moment, then let out a wide yawn. After a moment, he closed his violet eyes again, simply enjoying the security he felt for the moment. After they'd been going for a while, he heard a roar in the distance. A very familiar roar... He'd heard his mother make that roar every time somebody had come close to them. As he opened his bleary little eyes again, the cub felt a sinking sensation in his belly as he relized... This wasn't his mother. His mother wasn't moving him, and his brother had been left behind. The cub started to shift, stretching his limbs as he started to squeal. Who was this, and where were they taking him?! As they passed some invisible border, the one carrying him quickened their pace, picking through multiple paths before settling with him in a cave. It smelled funny, but the fur he found himself set on was soft. The cub wobbled, before falling over, letting out a displeased sound.
Settling by the cub, Susu reached out and pulled him close, starting to groom him. Every time the cub struggled away, she pulled him back, until every inch of him was clean. Then she admired her work, taking in the pale white coat and the dark tuft of mane and tail. Violet eyes looked up at him, filled with... Was that fear? Confusion? She wasn't sure. She leaned back down, gently nuzzling him. "It's okay, little one... You're safe now... Mommy Susu won't let anything bad happen to you..." Once again, she licked his face, this time a more comforting and less grooming lick.
Mommy Susu...? The cub blinked, soon settling down. The grooming WAS rather nice... As he settled down, he let out a yawn, hearing the lioness' sweet murmurings. In his young mind, he soon forgot what his real mother looked like, only that he'd had a brother. He was soon lulled back to sleep, dreaming random dreams. And it was in these dreams that his head was filled with visions of a mighty lion, big and powerful like a storm. It ran beside other, equally large and mighty lions, and a few lionesses.
The dreams filled his head every night as he grew, soon referred to by the pale lioness as Munyu. By then, he'd long forgotten his life as a rogue-born cub, believing himself to be another Stormborn cub. He awoke, hearing the sounds of early morning beyond the den, and got to his paws. As he started to the den's mouth, he felt a paw on his tail. The cub's ears fell back, before he looked back. "Oh... Morning, Momma..."
The lioness pulled the cub close, rumbling in her chest. "Get back here, Munyu, you haven't had your morning bath!" When the cub began to protest, she tightened her arms around him, starting to groom him. When she finished, she rose to her paws. "Where were you heading off to in such a hurry? Not to sniff the morning flowers again, are you? Oh, what a TERRIBLE thing, to have a son with FLOWERS in his blood!" She sat down, striking an exasperated and worried pose.
The cub gasp, eyes widening and ears dropping. "Oh, NO, Momma, I would NEVER do that! I promise!" He got his tail free, lifting his head up. "I'm gonna go beat up that tree stump I found the other day! It needs a good lesson for giving Uncle Yu a splinter in his paw!" He was determined to prove to his mother and uncle - Munyu was NOT just a little sissy, and his blood had IRON in it, not flowers! He'd go smell the flowers later when his mother was busy and nobody'd FIND him.
Susu chuckled, pulling Munyu back to her chest. "Well, you be careful, my little one..." She licked his cheek, before pushing him out the den entrance with a paw. As he scurried off, she couldn't help but smile, a dark mirth in her brown eyes. He was growing up WONDERFULLY, and soon the pride of the Stormborn would be Munyu, rubbing salt in the wounds of his enemies. She got up, stretching, then padded out of the den. As the sunlight filtered down, she watched him playing with the stump in question. It had long ago ceased being an acacia, but that made it no less dangerous.... Mostly annoying. Susu let out a hum, reaching up and removing some poor rabbt's head from under her cloak. "I think he's going to do quite well, Thumpington, don't you agree?" She paused, as if it was answering her. "Oh, in time, Thumpington, in time..." She then put it back, padding off to find something to eat. It was time to introduce Munyu to ox meat.
Munyu spared the hill above a glance as his mother walked off. After a moment of standing on the stump and being sure she was gone, he jumped down, moving through the grass to a flower he'd found the day before. After a few sniffs and a smile, he turned and returned to the stump. It needed vanquishing, after all!
