Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was a cool and crisp day in the mountains where the Jini Msemi pride had made its new home. The wind blowing down off of the snow capped mountains to the grassy plains where the lions made their homes was chilly before the sun rose but during the day would provide brief, albeit irregular, refreshment from the hot, African sun. Gopala and Paropakari could certainly use whatever relief they could get. The two were absolutely overwhelmed by their brand new litter of fourteen bouncing baby boy and girl cubs. Their parents were forced to squint, just looking at them, they were all so bright (save for one or two but still). Gopala, in labor for perhaps a record amount of time and perhaps with a record amount of live cubs born, had not given them all the nicest of names. Eventually she was naming them things that meant 'dread' and 'suffering' because it described her present state. Oh well, at least they would have their name quests to go on that would allow them to change it someday. And as long as she did not tell them what their names meant, it would be fine, right? They hoped so but were also far too busy managing the small herd of infants to worry too much about it.



Thankfully, life in a pride brought them some relief or else they would not have been able to imagine all of the cubs living to adulthood. Gopala's mother and father, as well as a sibling or two, could usually be asked for help with babysitting. Not that the parents were off doing other things and needed to leave their family entirely. Rather it just took more pairs of eyes than what they had to keep track of all the cubs. The little infants were beginning to get more and more mobile, much to Gopala and Paro's chagrin. Also frustrating, just for a litter the size of this one, was the amount of twins that they had. Thankfully once the cubs had opened their eyes there was some difference between most of them, but a pair of them, white ones, were especially aggravating. One had yellow eyes and one had orange eyes. In certain lighting it was absolutely impossible to tell them apart more than 3 inches or so away.



The one with orange eyes, Dhikkara, was hanging onto his father's mane. Paro grimaced at his mate with the cub dangling off of him, but at least this way they would be able to keep track of him, right? Gopala gave him a tired smile (were any of her smiles not tired these days?) and gently took the cub off of his father's mane. Dhikkara mewled piteously and then gave his parents what he thought was quite the fierce frown. The furrow of his brow deepened when the look only made his parents laugh. Gopala laid down with Dhikkara between her front legs and gently pinned him there for some grooming. But as soon as her face was near ground level, she became mobbed by the rest of them. Paro tried to play interference as best as he could, but what good could two do against fourteen?

Paro glanced outside of their den anxiously. Hopefully someone would bring them a meal soon. Their neighbors and fellow pride members had been more than helpful in bringing them food. Maybe they felt bad for the overwhelmed parents or at least glad it was not them in their place. Gopala and Paro could have cared less about the reasoning, they were just thankful for the meat. Dhikkara clambered all over his mother and siblings and cried to let them all know he was hungry. At the chorus that went up of similar cries, Gopala grimaced. She had put on so much weight during her pregnancy, which made sense for having had fourteen cubs, and she had already shed it all. If she was not careful she would waste away in an afternoon trying to feed all these friggin cubs. Her food intake was through the roof but as much as she was tired of eating all the time, she was also just tired of these cubs stepping on her. Dhikkara was trying to charge out of the den, and his father looked at him with confusion.

"Where does he even think he is going to go?" Paro asked Gopala, though knowing she, like him, did not have an answer.

The parents had made a makeshift fence of sorts out of stones at the mouth of their den. They were too steep for any cub the size of that theirs were at the moment to climb over– which Dhikkara and his siblings found absolutely and utterly maddening– but easy for adults to step over or roll out of the way. They had also had to move dens when all the cubs came. After deciding to become mates, they had chosen a den to occupy together and the settled on one that seemed big enough to start a family in. Gopala had said she hoped for four cubs in their first litter and was not sure about having more than one in the future but would not rule it out. Paro though he might be more comfortable with two to begin with but just hoped it would not be six or more. He was just outside of the den during the delivery to allow the midwives, Gopala and her mother to have more room, and he nearly fainted by the time she pushed out number eight.

Paro gently nudged Dhikkara down from the rock fence with an orange paw on the cub's bright blue forehead. The father was very proud of how strongly they all took after him. Only one had just her mother's coloration and the rest who resembled Gopala showed it with brown gradients on their legs, their grandfather's rump marking or having their father's colors in their mother's splotchy pattern. Paro gave the pouting Dhikkara a lick on the head and scooted him towards his 13 siblings. Smiling at Gopala, he thought even given the chance, he would not have changed anything.