Lume Flanco stretched, claws popping out of their sheaths as he splayed his toes out. The sharp points caught on the branch of the tree he was resting on, bits of bark lifting off as the male dislodged them from the wood. The heat of the savannah’s afternoon sun was slowly ebbing to the warmth of evening as the sun began to dip low in the horizon. It had been a lazy day for Lume. He hadn’t done much beyond catching a nice plump rabbit for breakfast. In fact, that had been the only thing he had done.
It wasn’t often that Lume got days like this. His mother was always pushing him to travel, always running off in one direction or the other, expecting him to follow after. Lume snorted. He certainly was not as prone to travel as his mother was, but at least he got to explore a new area every few days. Not to mention meet new ladies. And gentlemen as well, though male of the same...persuasion as him were not as common as a flirtatious female. Lume wasn’t picky, however. He took what he could get.
A rustling of brush below him caught his attention. The wind blew the strangers scent up to his nose and Lume rolled his eyes. His mother was back from her excursion.
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It was nice, not having to always travel alone. Rio had been heartbroken when her other two children had finally ventured off to start their own lives. Barely adolescents, and off they had went. The memory still pained her. But Lume had stayed. A small part of her wished her daughter had stayed instead, but Rio was coming to appreciate the fire of her son’s pelt and heart, the fire that he possessed instead of bright, vibrant colour. In retrospect, that was probably why Rio favoured her daughter the most. She had been the only one of the litter to inherit the rainbow markings of Rio’s bloodline. But Lume had gained the same wings that rested on her own back, the ones she herself had gotten from her mysterious father. Maybe she could start a new legacy, a new line of dancers, ones that were as light on their feet as the creatures their markings were modeled after. It was pleasant idea.
One that reminded her of something she had been meaning to do for a while now. Rio herself had begun learning the ways of dancing at adolescence from her mother. Lume was now at the cusp of adulthood, and it was time for him to begin learned. The leopardess pushed through a thick tangle of bushes and halted below a large tree, gazing up at her son in the branches. “Hurry down now, hijito. Your lazy day is over.” She instructed.
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Lume gazed down at his mother, huffing once before leaping down to the ground next to her. He was much taller than her, and more slender too. Lume was faster and more agile, though he lacked the endurance and flexibility that his mother possessed. It wasn’t hard to figure out that his father hadn’t been a leopard. Lume would have guessed it even if his mother hadn’t told him. His cheetah blood was much stronger than his leopard blood.
The leotah gave his mother a sniff, mentally rolling his eyes at the scent of another male. Then again, apples never fell too far away from the tree. “How did your dance practice go, Mama? Finish that new set you were working on?” Lume asked, his voice teasing.
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Rio resisted the urge to bat at her son’s ears the way she did when he was a cub. “Of course I finish it. You doubt your Mama Rio?” She lashed her tail, scowling a little bit. The leopardess was still young, but she knew how to balance her time between work and play. Besides, the waterfall meadow that Kiros, her companion from the night before, and led her to was a perfect place to start Lume out with the basics. “And now, Lume Flanco, I teach it to you.” Rio said seriously, whisking around to walk back the way she had come. “Vamos, Lume. We have much work.” She paused to glance back at her son, gesturing her head to try and get him moving.
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He blinked rapidly a few times, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He was going to learn it? Dancing? The male trotted up next to his mother, pacing alongside her easily as they moved between the undergrowth. Never before had his mother offered to teach him how to dance. As a cub, Lume remembered watching, mesmerized, as his mother performed dances for them before bedtime. He remembered trying to imitate the moves with his siblings when they played during the day, but they had all grown out of it with age. Now he was very near becoming an adult. Lume knew he wouldn’t be growing any larger than he already was, and her fur had gone from puffy cub fluff to the sleek, flat fur of a mature feline. Did he still wish to learn his mother’s traditions as he had when he was younger? Now that he thought about it, he kind of did. Lume had always felt a sort of disconnect with his mother. This would be an opportunity to bridge that gap. Plus, considering that amount of males his mother seemed to run off with, it would be a great way to pick up the ladies. Lume smirked, head held high as he followed his mother.
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The dancer cast a fond glance at her son, corners of her mouth tugging upwards at the smirk on his face. She was glad he was excited to learn. In all honesty, Rio supposed she had put off teaching Lume simply because he was a male. Dancing was a tradition that had been passed down through the females of her family, from mother to daughter. Never once had her mother mentioned it being taught to a son. But this was the start of a new tradition, a new dance. Should she restrict her son from learning simply because he was born the wrong gender, born without the rainbow markings of her foremothers? No, it was time for a new legacy. What her mother would say, Rio couldn’t know. But this was Rio’s life now. And while her mother’s spirit might become restless at the idea of Rio breaking tradition, Rio was sure that she could put her mother back at peace by sharing the art of dancing with as many as her children as possible.
Final Word Count: 1116
