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Sleep. It was a beautiful thing when she could manage it. Between keeping up with her duties and keeping up with her cubs, she rarely found time to get a decent amount of shuteye. But if Fireheart was one thing, it was determined. She could juggle being a new mom and the queen, it would just take some getting used to. And every day would be easier as the cubs grew.

She woke to little paws on her back. Chaska, she was sure. He was the only cub that seemed to wake up when everyone else slept. The question made her open her eyes and peer out as she considered the answer. Danger was out there. Food. Fun. Friends. The ocean. Everything was out there.

"Well...there's plants and water," she said slowly as she woke up a bit more. "Lots of lions...aunts and uncles of yours that are excited to meet you. Bugs...rocks, dirt, the sky, the ground...lots of things."

"Because this is our den," Fireheart explained. "They have their dens. And they know not to come see you until you can go out of the cave. This is time for just us, so your father and I can make sure you learn everything you need to know before starting to explore on your own."

She lifted her head a bit and glanced over her shoulder, arching a brow at her son. "Crazy?" Well, that was a loaded question. "Everyone here is a bit crazy, I think. The whole pride. But in a good way. We're tricky and sneaky and hide from the world, but we're also very creative and unique. Your aunts and uncles are good examples of that."

Fireheart chuckled quietly at the question. "Yes, once you're old enough you'll get your own den," she promised softly, lifting a paw to ruffle his fur. "Once you're just about an adult you can move out to find your own den."

She thought about the question for a while before nodding just a bit. "Things do get done. Everyone has their own talent that helps keep the pride working. We're a very close family, all of us, even those that aren't related. We work together and help each other when someone is stronger in certain areas than others."

Fireheart tilted her head just a bit, wondering if Chaska was old enough to understand how the pride worked. He was just a few weeks, but cubs grew very fast.

Fireheart was amused with all the questions her eldest son had to offer. Of course he was curious, but the other cubs weren't like this. Curiosity was good, though. She knew he'd be a pawful once they were allowed out of the den.

"My talent is my loyalty," she said as she reached a paw up to bat lightly at Chaska's nose. "That's why I gave myself the name Fireheart. I wanted to protect and help my family so much that it felt like there was a fire in my chest, right where my heart was. And you'll come to find your special talent soon enough. It's not something that I can tell you."

She bet his would be more along the lines of the Kizi rather than her own desire to fight. He seemed like he'd be like his uncle, in all honesty. Well-meaning but rather goofy.

Fireheart nodded a bit at the question. She didn't bother to go deeper, though, not wanting to confuse her cub. Instead she let him ponder it himself. It was better to let their minds work at this age than to just give them all the answers.

"Nothing that you don't want to do," she said with a little smile. "You're allowed to do whatever you want here. Within reason, of course. Just nothing too dangerous. As far as being a Lord...it's really just a title. You won't have to do the things that I do, if that's what you're worried about. That's my job," she said, ruffling his fur again.

Gypsy Lords and Ladies were really just titles, as she had said. The cubs could grow up to do whatever they pleased, be it thiefs or alchemists or even just laying around all day. There was no pridal responsibility for them... except for the heir, of course. But Fireheart hadn't decided yet if either of the two females in her litter would take her place some day as the Queen. It didn't need to stay in the family, but was odd when it didn't.

"Something like that," Fireheart said, shaking her head in amusement. She wiggled her toes against Chaska's mouth, trying to evade his little teeth. He was certainly spunky, she'd give him that much. Spunky when he wanted to do something, that is. She had noticed that whenever something didn't seem interesting he'd just lay there and refuse to move. Ah well...he was still just a cub.

"He'll be back this evening," she reassured him. "He's got a very important job that he has to do during the day. Once the sun sets, he'll return and I'll go to do mine." Their father had recently picked up a new role within the pride, now that they had a pact with the pride they neighbored. There needed to be diplomats to keep the peace between the two, and Straw Dog was one of them.

"Why don't you go lay down with your siblings?" Fireheart suggested as she gave his backside a little push, letting him slide off her. "They do need to wake up and a wriggly cub like you would certainly get the job done."

Fireheart watched her eldest cub launch himself into the pile of his brothers and sisters. She shook her head just a bit as she got up as well, knowing full well that they'd be hungry once they stopped chasing Chaska around. She glanced to the mouth of the den for a few moments before moving to break up the little fight that had started, sharing in Chaska's sentiments. She missed her mate, but she knew once the cubs were old enough to leave the den, she wouldn't be apart from him for quite so long.

FIN