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It was quiet in the den. The cubs were napping and Yareha was enjoying the fresh air. Thank the Great Lion that cubs of all types were prone to falling asleep frequently throughout the day, else he'd never have any breaks at all. Conversely, they also tended to wake up periodically through the night, much to the displeasure of any parent.

And when there was only one parent...well, it was no wonder the white lion valued every moment he had to himself.

Sometimes he wondered what would happen if he approached Laelia and suggested a partnership - where one of them (starting with him) could take care of all the cubs together so the other could have some time off. But, logically speaking, there should be slaves around who would assist with that.

Which just made him feel more useless. Yareha sighed, looking up at the moonless daytime sky.

Latitare was perched on a nearby rock, watching as usual. There was no need for him to be inside the den as there wasn't much trouble cubs could get into in there (not to mention that Avahk had decided that the eagle was the perfect size to practice hunting on) so he was fulfilling his main duty by sticking close to Yareha.

He saw the lion sigh and looked up himself. It was a lovely day, with a perfectly cloudless blue sky.

"You sound down and out - why would that be?" No, this bird was not subtle at all.

Yareha was about to tell Latitare off when he heard the telltale sound of small paws behind him. He settled for glaring at the bird before craning his neck around to see which cub it was today. To the white lion's surprise, it was Ime'Kotek, his oldest daughter.

"Of course, Ime," Yareha replied, gesturing for the cub to come sit with him - if she wanted, of course. Blue eyes looked up and caught gold ones. "You, fly away," he told Latitare.

Latitare had watched, of course, as the cub came out and approached her father. And he supposed that it wasn't surprisng for Yareha to want a private conversation with his daughter.

"Sorry, but no can do Yareha," the eagle replied. "I'm under strict orders to keep you under observation for every waking moment and report your activities to the King and Queen."

The eagle considered this offer. "Sorry, but I can't do that," he told the lions. It was a shame, since he liked Yareha and wanted to at least give the two the appearance of privacy - wait! That was it!

"But I suppose I could go perch over there instead." Suiting action to deed, Latitare took flight and landed on the rock he'd indicated with a pointed wing. It wasn't so close that he could be considered in the conversation, but still close enough for him to overhear what was being said. That way he coudl still do his duty!

Yareha watched the exchange. Ime was probably going to be a fairly threatening prospect for young males when she was older, given how persuasive she could be already. He did appreciate that Latitare was trying to give them as much space as he could, despite his orders to the contrary.

"I don't think we're going to get much more private than this," he told the cub. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Latitare watched the cub. She was fairly intelligent, all things considered. Though, she was still young and there were many long months before anyone would even begin to consider what sort of role she would have in the pride as an adult. Unless, of course, she was wanted for special training...which, well, his observations might have something to do with.

And this conversation would likely be one that the King and Queen desperately wanted to know about. That is, if Yareha answered his daughter honestly.

"Avahk will be a Hunter," Yareha replied absently, grateful for one easy answer out of this conversation. Avahk was, like Yareha himself, lower middle class and thus could only be a Hunter. Eh, there were worse things. The boy could have been born into the low class and ended up a slave.

"That's a lot of questions," he went on, stalling as he tried to consider how he could answer Ime. "Where do you want me to start?"

The bird was amused as he listened in. Ime'kotek clearly didn't understand the word "easy" as it applied to her father's life and situation. Then again, it was entirely understandable, considering how young the cub was (regardless of her attitude or composure) and how short a time she'd been in the pride. Still, he wondered how Yareha was going to get out of this one or, if the lion would actually answer.

Yareha winced inwardly. Easy, yeah right. Little Ime didn't know nearly as much as she thought she did...well, maybe that was the point here. And now how was he going to deal with this? He'd made himself a promise a while back, when discussing the twins with Kivuli, that in exchange for that one gigantic lie, he'd try to avoid telling any others. But by the Lion, he hadn't expected any of the kids to be asking questions like this so soon!

"Nobody tells your mother what to think, least of all me," Yareha answered mildly. "And as for being a downer..." That took some thought. How much to tell her, mostly.

"Well, there's a reason why Latitare is here. Maybe we should come back to that one. You were asking about why your mother brought you here, right?"

Well, this was not at all going well for the older lion. Latitare felt bad for Yareha, but what could he do? He was truly a spy first. Or at least, he had to be regardless of how he personally felt. But damn it must be difficult to be in the white lion's shoes.

Yareha wasn't happy with himself either for how this conversation was going. Hopefully he could make it up to Ime.

"That wasn't the question I expected you to ask first," he answered dryly before continuing onwards. "Your mother brought you here because she wanted you and your siblings to grow up safe and protected, the way a pride can and she can't." He paused considering further.

"I think, though she didn't say it, that she also prefers to travel faster than a cub can. And she didn't stay here because your mother doesn't like being around a lot of people." The white lion stopped and looked his daughter square in the eye. "She loves you dearly, just as I do. She wanted the best childhood possible for you."

Well, this was adorable. He'd thought Yareha had been doing a decent job of parenting, but apparently the lion still had some work to do. But Ime was right, this part of the conversation, at least, was something that he really shouldn't be eavesdropping on.

However, he didn't have a lot of choice in that respect.

Yareha nodded silent agreement as Ime summed up Iei fairly succintly. But he was stricken by his daughter's words. Was he really such a bad father as all that to her?

"Oh...sweetie, I'm sorry. I'm as new to being a father as you are to having one," he explained, leaning down to nuzzle her a bit. "I can try thinking back on when I was a cub in Grandpa Kivuli's den, but my memory's not the best."

He thought for a moment then smiled down at Ime. "Perhaps you can help me remember what a dad should do, eh?"

Well, there was a cub who didn't let go once she got her teeth into a question! It was a useful trait. He'd certainly recommend that she go for a Guard position.

"I think that's a fair deal," Yareha replied with a smile, nuzzling Ime back.

As she returned to the earlier question, the white lion made a face. "You are quite persistent, aren't you?" He thought rapidly, as to how best answer the question without explaining everything.

"Well...you know your mother and I care for each other. But we're not really in love with each other." The lion paused to consider before continuing. "After Ieiunium left, I met a lioness here in the pride that I truly do love. However...before I could ask her to be my mate, your mother brought you and your siblings. Needless to say, this other lioness was not happy to hear it," Yareha finished dryly.