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Yareha couldn't believe it. Absolutely could not believe it. How had it happened, and worse, how had it happened without him noticing?

His children - his eldest children - were juveniles. Bigger than ever before, and capable of thought and reasoning that had begun to make sense to him, and not just because he'd learned to understand their childish pronounciations and choices. They were growing up. It had already begun. And the lion had begun to realize that there was a future where they were grown up and living on their own. And that future was not nearly as far away as it had seemed just mere days ago.

Those were Yareha's thoughts as he watched the kids sport and play and run off, even where he couldn't see them. They didn't need him watching them every moment of every day. They didn't even need nannies or slaves watching them, at least not all the time now. They were old enough, and big enough, to do so many things on their own that he'd had to help them with before.

No wonder older lions always spoke of how kids grew up so fast!

Yareha could feel himself smiling. There was nothing like a happy (and adorable) daughter to bring a smile to her father's face. Chiba and her sisters were his treasures (whereas Avahk was his headache) and he was always happy to take a bit of time out of his day for them.

Not that he'd had too much time of late, Those In Charge were still unhappy with him even if he wasn't actually being punished for attacking Mazin. He'd been doing full duty as a Hunter and, between that and being a father, he'd had precious little time to himself.

Except for what he stole from hunts and sleep for...other activities on the border...

Which wasn't a fit topic for a young lioness and so he'd better kick those thoughts right out of his mind now.

"What is it Chiba?" he asked, trying to distract himself from his own thoughts with her discoveries.

Daughters were utterly adorable. There was no helping or denying it, Yareha decided. So he watched Chiba indulgently as she went through her antics before finally answering his question.

"I'm sure there were a lot of lions there, it's one of the busiest places in the entire pride," he replied simply, lips twitching as he tried not to smile too much or worse, to laugh.

"Did you see anyone you know? Any relatives or friends?"

"Neema," he answered absently. His nieces were older than his own children, or at least the ones by Aysu were. He might have some others by now, Yareha simply couldn't be certain offhand. But Neema and Lailah K'chol were unusual in that they had the same markings, simply in different colors. He supposed it wasn't entirely surprising that Chiba hadn't yet memorized which was which - it wasn't like they spent every day together, his children and Aysu's.

He was surprised to hear about the bird though, and reflexively glanced around for Latitare. Ah yes, there was the eagle, circling high above them. It was weird. He didn't care for having the bird around, and Latitare had openly admitted that he was a spy for the rulers and their advisors. But Yareha had found there was something comforting about his company, and now it would feel strange to not have him anywhere nearby.

"If it has feathers, it's a bird," he told Chiba. "There are many different kinds of birds, as many as there are plants!" It was the only comparison he could think of that would properly express the variety of birds in the world to his daughter. He hoped it worked.

Yareha blinked. Now...there was a logical question. And one he'd never personally asked. How could he answer it? The adult considered what he would tell his daughter carefully.

"The Priests would tell you yes, there are many different kinds of lions, and not just in how much of a blessing the Great Lion gives them. Each of us is different, but there are small ways we are like others and each other," he said, reflecting on what he remembered being taught in his childhood.

"But your mother would tell you that there are many different kinds of lions based on where they live and how they live. She told me once or twice about prides where they believe some fur colors are sacred and others are forbidden. How some prides have a certain 'look' to them, different from all other groups, and so on." He looked back at Chiba. "I'm sorry I can't answer you better than that," the white lion apologized. He was also sorry that all he could go off of was hearsay, having never really seen either difference for himself.

Oh darn, he hoped he hadn't confused her. Though his children were now older and more capable of understanding than they had been, Yareha still had to be careful what he said because their understanding was, in many ways, limited by their experience. They had more than other children born in the pride, but they were still young and lacked an adult's perspective on the world.

But he should stop woolgathering and answer Chiba before she got impatient. Then she'd start to whine and that would be unpleasant for him to deal with.

"No, I haven't," Yareha replied honestly. "I was born in this pride and have never left. So you and your siblings have actually seen more of the world than I have." They were fortunate in that way, and lucky enough to remember some of that. Unlike his...the twins, who had been barely capable of walking farther than the necessary on their own when their mother had brought them in.

Sometimes he had to wonder what went through juvenile heads. There was no way he could truly hope to follow his children's thoughts if they didn't say them out loud. So he was thrown for a loop when Chiba asked about her mother.

He had to think about how to answer that one though.

"Well...your mother is different in that she lives by different rules than those of the pride. But I don't think she's very different physically." He hoped that would be enough of an answer for the girl. He didn't want to lie to her, especially when he could not possibly be considered an expert on the subject.

Now Yareha did chuckle indulgently. Ah, the exuberance and neverending energy of youth! He wondered what Chiba was up to on this excursion.

"Have fun Chiba," he told the girl. "And don't be back too late!"

He was a parent. He did have to caution her sometimes. Not that she needed it, but because she had to know there were guidelines and boundaries that shouldn't be crossed.

Which really shouldn't be reminding him of the trouble his crossing bounds had caused. He'd been justified, at the time, damnit! And all this pondering on the subject was not good for him, he couldn't dwell on his problems all the time or he'd miss things, like conversations with his children as they grew up.

And they were growing up so fast.