[O'ros is an adolescent in this.]
The starry pelted lioness stalked around her family's den area while looking up into the night sky. Where was her place in this world? Was it to live under her father's paw for the rest of her life or was there something more out there for her? Her family always believed that their starry pelts were gifts from the gods so they could resemble the kings who were already among the stars. A smile spread over her maw at the thought. She loved her pelt, but it seemed to also be a sort of curse. It was the reason her father had not left after her birth. It was the reason he was still around. He seemed to treasure it as well which had caused problems for the family.
Her half-brother had already gone off and knocked up another lioness and brought back the resulting cub, leaving it with O'ros and his mother to raise it while he went off doing who knows what. The purple lioness' ears went back at the thought. How irresponsible he was! She would surely grow up to be better then he was! If she was ever given a chance to be herself... O'ros' head lowered at the thought, perhaps one day she would be free from her father.
A bluer pelt moved in the darkness around the younger lioness. The body belonged to her mother, Altana. Of course she was worried about her daughter being up so late at night. They had a large hunt ahead of them in the morning and both could not afford to lose sleep for whatever reason. They both needed their energy for the hunt! With a sigh, Altana approached her daughter, calling out softly through the still night air, "O'ros, what are you doing up so late, dear?" It wasn't completely unlike her daughter to up this late, but for the third night in a row she had found O'ros out and about and of course a mother was bound to start worrying.
O'ros' head turned quickly to look back at voice, shock written all over her face but all of that vanished as soon as she saw her mother's face. "Oh mother, what are doing out of the den so late?"
"I could be asking the same question." Altana replied, rolling her eyes as she smiled back at the purple lioness before taking a seat beside her on cool grass that covered the small hill the two were on. "What's troubling you O'ros? You've been coming out here more often then usual."
Of course he mother would notice her sneaking out at night. O'ros mentally cursed herself for being so careless as to form a consistent pattern in her nightly wandering. "It's just...I want to get out there! To finally find myself. Father has so many...rules." She made sure to put more emphasis on the word as well as her annoyance at the existence of them. "I can't talk to strangers, which I understand, but I can't talk to anyone! Not even passing birds who could tell me stories! I'm almost a grown lioness and I don't have any friends of my own. I can't even look for boys because father could chase them right off." O'ros let out a long, loud sigh as she flopped over onto the group, groaning in her own self-agony which caused her mother to laugh at her over-dramatic display.
"Oh O'ros, I had no idea you felt so badly about how your father chose to raise you. While I agree his methods are...questionable, he means the best." At least that's what Altana hoped. If this is how her daughter truly felt, it was a mother's duty to help her no matter what the personal cost. "Dear, you should go explore. Find yourself in the world. Go out, explore, make mistakes and if the stars align in such a way that you come back to us then I'll be overjoyed, but if you do not then I'll be happy knowing you are happy."
The young lioness was speechless. How could she respond to such a gift that her mother was offering her at this moment? She was offered her freedom, something she had not had her entire life. To forge her own path rather then live the one her father was making for her. O'ros couldn't help herself as she smiled so much that it was started to hurt her maw but the young daughter did not care because she was the happiest she had ever been in her life at that very moment.
Altana looked back at her, a more gentle, loving smile on her face. "Don't worry about your father, I'll deal with him. I'm sure he'll understand once I explain it to him." If he didn't, she'd make him one way or another, either that or he'd be chased off. Her grandson was still around and would likely help it if came to that.
The embraced, putting one paw on eachother's back as their heads came to rest on their shoulders.
Mother and daughter, seperated but never truly apart.
"I love you mom."
"I love you too, O'ros."
They stayed like that together for what seemed like an eternity before they pulled apart. Both of them were smiling so brightly and close to tears by the time their embrace ended. "You better befriend a bird to bring news to me every now and again. You can't keep your mother in the dark forever you know."
"Of course mother, I'll send word as often as I can."
"You take care of yourself and be wary of rogues! Not all of them are kind."
"Yes mom."
"And remember to groom yourself every day! I put too many hours into that fur of yours when you were younger for you to mess it up now."
"Yes mom." O'ros approached her mother and licked her cheek. "I'll be safe mom, you raised me well. I'll be alright." And as much as Altana wanted to tell her that she hoped she'd be alright without her, she kept it to herself, instead opting to tell her daughter that she loved her once more. With her love solidified, the daughter set out from the dens.
She glanced over her shoulder once as she was nearly two hundred feet away from the family dens to look back at her mother who was still sitting on the hill she had left her on. O'ros felt...horrible leaving her mother all alone to raise a A'dal son all by herself. Tears peaked out from her eyes as she looked at her aging mother. She couldn't help herself as her paws thought for her as she ran back to the familiar blue body that was Altana's pelt to embrace her one more time. "I love you too, mom."
After their final 'I love you's, the two parted ways, but it was not goodbye.
[Word Count: 1156]
