[SRP] Dealing With Cubs (Eldahildr, Vilhelmas & Sunniva)

[ChaosTheories]

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Eldahildr was beginning to feel like a part of a reaver's bad joke. A freeborn, a cub, and a thrall walk into a cavern... While her mood had improved since going out to the beach, it was slowly but surely starting to dip back into dangerous territory. She hadn't anticipated playing babysitter that day, and she wasn't sure if she was enjoying the task. Her experience with cubs was limited to stepping over them when they got in the way, so herding one home was progressing much slower than she thought.

At first she tried carrying the little one, but her weight had quickly become too much for her jaws and Eldahildr had been forced to put her down. Then, to get the cub to walk in the right direction, she had to herd her from behind like a reaver herding new thralls. It wasn't as easy as it sounded.

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Trekking along was getting really boring for Sunniva. She really wanted to go explore the cliffs some more, but instead they were trudging along the familiar path to where cubs were kept when their parents were occupied. At least it had been fun bothering the female who claimed was her aunt. She did look like her daddy; the cub knew that much.

Sometimes she'd stop and bat at a twig or a stray spike of grass until Eldahildr sighed and shoved her forward again with a paw. It was becoming a game for the cub.

"I'm booored," Sunniva suddenly blurted, and stopped, plopping her rump right there on the rocks.

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Vilhelmas was used to taking up the rear when he was travelling with Eldahildr. It gave him some time to think in silence, and as long as he kept up with her. But, he wasn't getting much chance to daydream at the moment. The constant stop and starts of the cub and Eldahildr's immediate reaction was too disruptive.

He stopped once again as the cub did, and internally sighed. Were all cubs this difficult? He couldn't feel terribly annoyed by her, though. She was kind of cute, in a way. All innocent play and silliness. She'd surely grow up to be a female who would know what she wanted and how to get it.

"We should keep going," he said, drawing up beside her before Eldahildr could get angry. "Others have to use this path, too."

 

[ChaosTheories]

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Oh great, now what was the brat doing? She had stopped so abruptly, Eldahildr had been just about to put her paw down where she had decided to take a seat. She grumbled in her throat and looked down at the cub, about to say something...

Until Vilhelmas decided to speak to her instead. For once, Eldahildr didn't mind Vilhelmas taking charge. In fact, she was tempted to send Vilhelmas away with her, but she wasn't sure what the others would think of a lone, unsupervised thrall carrying a strange cub around.

She couldn't resist saying something, however.

"Yeah, wouldn't want somebody to step on you." She rolled her eyes. if this hadn't been her brother's cub...

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Sunniva considered the pair's words. One one paw, she could care less who's way she was blocking! Probably just some stinky thralls, unless there were reavers due to come home from a viking, which would be cool to see. And her paws were tired. She had travelled a long way! But aunt Eldahildr wouldn't carry her anymore.

It was time to stall for time. First, she pretended not to see Vilhelmas, and looked everywhere else but at him. Then, she hummed herself a little tune while wiggling her back paws. Finally, she sighed, and decided to ask the question that had been on her mind since she thought of it back on the beach.

"Mister, why do you have that symbol on your shoulder?" She tilted her head to the side and eyed it with interest, trying to make her expression as cute as possible.

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Vilhelmas could feel Eldahildr's agitation as it built up and then slowly faded away again. It was a familiar feeling, since it was often directed at him. Not that he didn't encourage it, sometimes. But it did feel a bit strange, not being the target of it for once.

He watched as the cub did her best to waste time. Well, he wasn't going to fall for her delay tactics! He was used to staying put for long periods of time, and he knew he could outlast her twitchy, youthful energy.

The next thing she said, however, was not what he expected at all. "Huh? You mean this marking?" He turned his head to peek at his own shoulder. "I was born with it."

 

[ChaosTheories]

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Eldahildr eyed her brown coated companions and huffed. "Why does a symbol matter? C'mon, you're just looking for every excuse to stall," the lioness complained, Sunniva's tactics not going unnoticed.

But Eldahildr's curiousity was now piqued. Why would Vilhelmas' symbol matter to a cub? Cubs didn't notice or care about such things, normally. And he had had it since they were both little cubs. She hadn't cared about it at all at the time, though.

The lioness narrowed her eyes at Vilhelmas, wondering if he had been keeping some sort of secret.

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Sunniva looked at her aunt indignantly. Humph, what a stick in the mud her aunt was turning out to be! In fact, she was starting to like her stinky thrall more. At least he would talk to her!

She glared at Eldahildr, red eyes fearlessly meeting yellow. "I'm not allowed to ask a question?" She asked snottily, wrinkling up her nose like she had smelled something bad. Then she made a show of turning her back to her aunt, and plopping her rump down in front of her.

"You were born with it, mister?" Sunniva confirmed, staring now at Vilhelmas with an expression as full of interest as before. "So were some of my siblings! Well, and my mom too. But it's different, and on her face." The cub explained. "Hey... are you my brother too?"

Eww, she didn't want a thrall for a brother! But Vilhelmas seemed okay, at least.

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The thrall didn't particularly like the way his mistress was looking at him, and the cub wasn't going to improve her mood any if she kept taunting her like that. He cleared his throat self-consciously and peered at Sunniva, feeling a sort of embarrassment warm his ears.

"I was born outside the pride and left at the border," he explained, choosing to ignore Eldahildr for the moment. "I can't be your brother."

But that got him thinking. What if he had other siblings in the pride? Maybe he hadn't been the only one abandoned at the border... He had never really thought about family ties before, but now that he was, he did so in an odd silence.

 

[ChaosTheories]

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"Pfft, yeah, he's DEFINITELY not your brother. I would know," Eldahildr mocked, wishing that Vilhelmas would look her way and share her amusement. But when she noticed how silent and still he had gone, her joy faded away. Something had apparently struck a chord with the thrall, and she didn't quite understand why.

She stood in the uncomfortable silence for a moment, before deciding to redirect everyone's thoughts. "C'mon, we are almost there," she reminded them all. "Let's keep going, Sunniva."

The lioness looked at both the cub and the thrall pointedly, as if she'd move them herself in the nastiest way possible if they didn't choose to walk forward.

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"Aww, well that's dumb," was Sunniva's only reply. It would be cool to have an older brother! But her aunt seemed entertained by the thought and now Vilhelmas was acting weird. Maybe she was seeing stuff that wasn't there. But the cub was sure she'd seen the mark before! After all, she spent a lot of time with her brothers and sisters...

Sensing something was going on, Sunniva decided to keep going without any more fuss. She scrambled over the rocky path, before Eldahildr could get irritated. She was beginning to think everything irritated her, and it wasn't too far from the truth.

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It took a moment for Vilhelmas to realize they were moving again. He started from his thoughts and glanced at Eldahildr, who seemed to be giving him an unusual amount of space after her joke. He didn't want to admit it, but he was grateful for it.

"Maybe you should ask your mom what it means," he suggested, smiling at the cub, and wondering if he'd get a chance to meet Eldahildr's brother's mate. He didn't know much about her at all, and he couldn't recall if he'd even ever seen the lioness. He could always ask Eldahildr too, but it was always hard to tell when the lioness would decide to be helpful. For now, he'd keep all his thoughts to herself.

 

[ChaosTheories]

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The sounds of activity caught Eldahildr's ears, and then the laughter of cubs. The place where the unowned thralls that took care of the pride's young seemed to be up ahead. Finally, she could leave Sunniva where the cub belonged.

"Sunniva, go with the thralls now," Eldahildr said in a authoritative voice. "And believe me, your parents are going to hear about your little escapade." The lioness felt a guilty smugness at ruining the cub's fun. After all, the cub had ruined her fun.

And had possibly upset Vilhelmas, a tiny voice in her mind said. She didn't feel too kindly to anyone messing with her thrall, even if she would deny it to her death.

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Sunniva knew where they were before anyone else did. After all, she had just gone through there herself... At a much slower, sneakier pace, so she had the path practically memorized. Maybe if she ducked behind the rock that dipped to the left...

But before she could finish the thought, Eldahildr's commanding voice reached her ears and she cringed. There's no way she'd tell on her, was there?

Of course there was, she wasn't the type of aunt to hide her secrets. Defeated, Sunniva nodded towards her. "Okay, Auntie..."

Before leaving she gave a small smile to Vilhelmas. "Bye bye, mister." And with that, she pranced back to safety.

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Vilhelmas walked mechanically, acting like a proper thrall for once without forcing himself to. His mind was full of dreams. If he had family in the pride, and if they were freeborn, would he be able to work the system somehow, so he could become free? His life wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly exciting, either. A small glimmer of hope shined in his eyes as he watched Sunniva return to the cub area.

"Good bye, Sunniva," he said to her, smiling again at her as she left. Perhaps, when she grew up, she may be able to help solve the mystery. Vilhelmas felt a touch of fondness for the cub, and hoped he'd get to see her again soon.

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