Family was good. Even though his father was missing, Nagareboshi had moved past that now. He would always hope his father was ok, somewhere else along the ocean, but he still had his mother, his siblings, and now his own little family to take care of. Cahaya was a wonderful mate, and though she liked to tease and nag him a bit, she was still one of the best things that had happened to him. Then...their cubs had come! Two wonderful girls, and Nagareboshi did his best to raise them as well as he could. He made sure that they were strong and confident, and comfortable in the water, unlike their grandmother. Their rites had gone well, and now Nagareboshi wondered what was next in their lives. He walked along the beach wondering, soon spotting his wife and daughter talking as they looked across the ocean on this bright night.
"Hey you two, discussing things without me?" he laughed as he approached them, a slight skip in his step. He didn't know what they could be talking about, but the girls got along well with their parents, or as far as Nagareboshi assumed.
The two females turned their heads, their matching cream coats catching hints of the bright moon above them. Cahaya seemed pleasant, but Brimlad seemed a little down. He slowed for a moment, a touch worried but reassured that Cahaya wasn't too alarmed. "What's going on?"
"Brimlad is just...at that conflicted stage," Cahaya said with a soft smile, leaning over to give her daughter a reassuring nudge. "She doesn't really want to stay as a Kinengwe, but its hard to decide what job to take."
Brimlad glanced over at her father, nodding. "I just...want to help more. I don't feel useless, but part of me wants to push myself more, y'know? Maybe...maybe then someone might like me."
Cahaya shook her head softly, but she didn't say anything. The girls had just hit that stage where getting married was a very real option, but she didn't think that they should rush into it either. There was a lot to learn still, and a huge part of Cahaya just wanted her to play around, learn more about who she is and what she may want out of a relationship. She felt lucky to be with Nagareboshi, and how easy-going he was. Cahaya could get a bit uptight about how she wanted the den cleaned, or how she wanted to eat their meals together...and he just put up with it. She offered whatever she could to him, and their love blossomed because of it.
Talking to your child about their parents' relationship was awkward, however.
"Just don't stress about it too much, sweetling," Cahaya said again, leaning into her husband who finally sat next to her.
"You never know what will come into your life. I can see how you feel like there's no options. Patience is hard, but sometimes it pays off." Nagareboshi said. "Don't forget the story of how your grandparents met; it was your grandfather who encouraged your grandmother to stay...and in the end they got married. Keep your eyes open."
Brimlad sniffed a bit, her mind drifting back to the type of lion her grandfather was. She only ever heard good stories about him, about how skilled a healer he was, about how much he loved everyone in the pride. He sounded amazing, almost too amazing for him to be real. But he had to be...Grandmother still had a difficult time talking about him. She missed him more than she would say, which only led Brimlad to believe the stories.
"So...be risky like Grandfather was?" she said with a laugh between a few tears. "Go mingle at the borders, hm?"
Nagareboshi balked at that, and Cahaya just laughed. "Well, that is what you're implying, my love. I think its a great idea, so long as you're just as careful as you can be. I know you're not stupid, Brimlad, so I trust you to come back to us every night."
The male shook his head. "Well, I guess I'm outvoted. You both have a good point. I trust you as well, Brimald, I just don't always trust everyone else that is outside of these lands. Your mother came from out there, as you know, so clearly there's a lot of good out there. Sometimes some mischievous ones come over, however, so just be careful."
Brimlad tried to not roll her eyes too much, but she couldn't help slipping one of them. "Okayyyy, okay, I'll be careful. Besides, there's enough activity going on every day that I'm sure someone would hear me if I yelled for help. And I won't be out there every day, I think that would get boring. I doubt many others skirt along the border, and I am not a solitary girl."
"No, you're not. And that's not a bad thing. We're both proud of you, Brimlad, so keep your chin up high and you'll be just fine."
The young lioness nuzzled both her parents in thanks before stepping back. "I'll be careful. I'll try to meet a few males before I decide...I'll try to talk to others in the pride too, and see what they think about their marriages, or how their sons are. I don't want to push myself, but...it would be awfully nice for someone to love me like how Daddy loves you, Mom."
Cahaya laughed. "True, true. I remember, growing up, always hoping that I would be lucky to find someone. I hope that luck passes on to you, since I don't need it anymore."
All of them paused for a moment, enjoying the silence that stretched between them. The situation seemed cooled for the moment, though the parents knew that there would most certainly be drama. The heat of the moment of any situation always skewed the overall look of things, and both of them only hoped that some passing rogue wouldn't break their daughter's heart.
"Well, I'm going to go check on sis, so I'll see you two later," Brimlad said with a wink, trotting off with a happy swish of her tail. Nagareboshi and Cahaya only shook their heads as she left, content to spend a little time together before they had to return to the den they shared with their children. It probably wouldn't be much longer before the den was empty, adult children wanting a place to call their own. That was ok, as they both remembered that itch of freedom they wanted when they were their age. Time always moved on, and in a way, that was a calming, pleasant feeling, like watching the waves crash into the beach.
(1,115 words)
