AIM RP Log: Alcmene and Njiru
It was early evening, the moon was already visible in the sky- not far past the full moon. Alcmene was out for a walk, trying to find something fun to do. Her sister was gone, probably with Shira, and her brothers were busy.. and somehow she had managed to weasel her way out of more chatting (or lessons) with her parents. She didn't have a clear plan, but in her mind she imagined running into one of the other cubs around the pride- or maybe she would find Zizi again and they could talk more. Of course, the little princess didn't yet have a nickname or new friends to tell Zizi about. But Zizi seemed like she was full of stories, it wouldn't be the worst way to spend the evening!
Another day, another successful hunt, all without any unpleasant interruptions. It was probably one of the best days he's had since...ever. And with a contented sigh, Njiru started the long walk from the edges of the pridal grounds back to his den. He was only several minutes away when a streak of a familiar blue went past him, but it wasn't accompanied by that annoying white pelt and brown mane. It was smaller, and...darker. Pitch black, in fact, much like he was. So with a curious look on his face he stopped walking and took a seat, silver orbs following what he now realized to be a cub. Before she got too far from him, though, he caught up with several steps and barred her way. "And where do you think you're going, little one?" he asked, tail swaying slowly behind his now seated form.
Alcmene wasn't paying enough attention to those around her, not the ones that weren't small and fuzzy like her or silver and black like Zizi, anyway! She had not a care in the world it seemed, so she had no real reason to pay attention to every little detail- least of all a dark lion nearby. She wouldn't have noticed Njiru at all if he didn't catch up and block her way- an easy task for a large lion when the target was a small and inattentive cub. Skidding to a stop, she looked up with wide silver eyes.
"Where-" she stammered, caught off guard she didn't have an immediate answer, "I'm looking for someone." Her voice was confident when she recovered and finally provided an answer, she didn't have an actual someone she was looking for but she figured it sounded more important. Boys weren't as much fun as girls, she might have been less formal (or pretending to be formal) if she was stopped by a lioness. She didn't make the connection between his fur and her own.
He chuckled, watching the cub skid to a stop. Seems she hadn't been paying much attention. "Oh?" he asked when she found her words, raising a brow. It was strange, to look at her. It was a bit like looking at his own reflection...but he wasn't. "It's a bit late to be out on your own though, isn't it?" he went on, remembering how it had been for him when he was a cub. "Who're you looking for?" And while he waited for her reply, he thought hard about her appearance. His pitch black pelt, the blue from his brother, the crescent moon...
And he slowly made the connection in his mind. They were probably...related. And he was brought back to when he first ran into his brother in the pride's new territory. He had asked for Mitsuki. And it all made sense, and a small smile pulled at the edges of his maw. It was only a suspicion, so he still had to make sure... "By the way," he started again slowly. "Might I ask who your parents are? And...your name?"
She took a couple steps back so she could get a better look at all of this dark stranger, he was hard to see from his feet. The more she looked at him, the more she realized how much they looked alike. Wrinkling her nose and staring up curiously, she almost ignored his question. But that wouldn't be very polite, and she knew she had to behave as best she could. "It's not that dark yet, and I'm not that far from home," she answered carefully, "I was looking for Zizi! Or other cubs." Not that she really knew any of the other cubs yet, but it was on her list of stuff to do! Really!
"My parents?" Alcmene blinked, looking genuinely confused at this question. She thought everyone knew her parents, knew who she was because of that. It was such an odd question, and because of that she couldn't hold back a giggle, "I'm Alcmene, my daddy is the king, Unyezi and my mommy is the queen, Aureole." Her mother's name came out a bit funny, it was a hard name to say sometimes- especially in a hurry. Smiling, she looked at him.
"Who are you?"
Ah. So he was right, Aureole had been pregnant. Seems she'd given birth already, and a while ago at that. And...she was looking for other cubs? There must have been one other who had given birth. He shrugged it off, figuring it wasn't really any of his business who gave birth, when they gave birth, and what the cubs' statuses would be in the future. That was all a priestesses job, and as far as he was concerned, he didn't have to know. But, seeing as this Alcmene had been much less like her father than he had expected, he thought to be the polite lion that he was really capable of being. "Ah," he replied. "Well do forgive me, princess, but you've only inherited little your father's blue and I didn't quite make the connection."
Njiru put off answering her question for the time being, as he was almost sure Unyezi had said less than flattering this about him to all his cubs. "So would you like some company on your search?" he asked instead, standing and waiting on her to answer. Of course, she'd probably demand the answer from him sooner or later, and he'd answer then and only then. For the time being, he may as well entertain her. "Maybe I can be of some help, being a bit large than you. I can see a lot farther, you know."
Slowly, the cub was becoming more and more suspicious about who the stranger was. She had yet to realize the full extent of how similar they were, two black lions wasn't really that odd. And the mention of how little of her father's blue she had didn't tip her off either, not everyone might know who she was yet but they definitely knew who her daddy was. They had to know that, he was in charge! She beamed, "I got more color from daddy than from mommy. She's all brown, Taigi looks a lot like her." With a nod, she looked up suspiciously when he obviously avoided her question. But, since he offered to help she was OK with that for now.
"I'd like help, yeah!" she agreed, "Can you see Zizi anywhere? She's big and black and grey and has a pouch that makes sound if you poke it."
"Zizi huh?" he asked, looked up and around. However, since it was getting dark, it was a lot harder to see anything with the description of her friend. So, with a grin, Njiru sat down. "Well...it's a little hard to see black and gray figures at this time, don't you think?" he said. "How about you climb on my back and look around. I'll do all the walking, and you can do the looking." The former prince lowered his head, white mane almost touching the ground. "So how about it, princess?"
With help, Alcmene was certain to find her friend again now. Trying to see as far as Njiru, she stood up on her hind legs and took a look around. He was right, it was hard to see anyone really dark in color in the dimming light. Daddy would be really easy, he was mostly white. Same with Miakoda, and Erion was light blue so he wouldn't be too hard. Taigi, Zizi and mommy were all rather dark though. She 'hmm'ed thoughtfully and looked over when he offered to give her a ride so they could take a look around. It sounded like a decent idea, and he was a lot bigger than her so it shouldn't be too hard.
"Ok!" she agreed, skipping over by his mane and looking for a good way to get up.
Njiru lay his whole body down, lowering his head a bit more so she could get up without hurting herself. When he felt her added weight was safely on his back he stood up and started walking in the direction she had been before he interrupted her. He was kind of passively looking for the outline of a black and grey figure, thinking to himself how much fun it would be to get close to his nieces and nephews. It would probably irritated the white off of the king. And he chuckled at the thought, trying to picture his face when he finds out that Alcmene had run into her uncle, and he had been the nicest of nice lions, albeit slightly suspicious.
"So, any luck little one?" he asked, his mind returning to the present. "I, unfortunately, haven't seen anybody around here. Maybe a different area?"
Once she was settled comfortably on Njiru's back, she had to dig her little claws in so that she wouldn't fall off. Luckily, a cub's claws were not at all as sharp or strong as they would eventually be. It took her a couple minutes to actually start looking around, it was wiggly and fun riding up there on Njiru's back. She'd climbed all over her father, but they didn't generally walk around like that- not very far anyway. With a laugh, she finally started looking around when he asked if she was having any luck finding who she was looking for.
"No! I don't see anybody," she agreed, shaking her head to emphasize the fact. Then she noticed the strange blue mark on Njiru's back, very much like the one on Miakoda. In fact, looking directly at it she noticed it was exactly like it- or as close she could ever think. And there were starry-spots on his back, too. Alcmene was no genetic genius, but suddenly she realized what Njiru had realized just before she told him who she was.
"You have a mark like Miakoda on your back, and stars," she pointed out, wondering once again (but more urgently) just who this was- she had one educated guess, and immediately she felt the need to get back on the ground. Carefully, using her claws to make the trip easier, she rolled to slide down his side and back onto the ground.
Njiru almost frowned when she got off, actually enjoying spending time with one of his brother's offspring. She looked more like him than Unyezi would like to admit, no doubt, and...well, Njiru had always had a secret soft-spot for cubs. Unless they were hell to handle, Njiru would never really not be nice to any cub. He sighed and took a seat, eyes never leaving his dark pelted niece, his frown turning into a small, apologetic smile.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, wondering if it was time he finally introduce himself..
Alcmene was not necessarily upset, but she was no longer quite so cheerful or so willing to let the male go without introducing himself anymore. She wanted to know why he had those markings, and why he hadn't bothered to introduce himself. Thinking about it slowly, she knew that she and Erion had the same blue, and that daddy had it. And Erion had the same markings as mommy, just in different colors. And Miakoda was white like daddy, too. Family looked similar, it was just not something she'd thought through very specifically yet. If this male had the same marking as Miakoda, and the same stars and fur as Alcmene herself.. well, it wasn't hard to guess he must be related to them. There were only two boys she knew of that were related to her that she hadn't met yet, and Taigi looked like one of them- and this wasn't what Taigi looked like. That meant..
"Who are you?" she asked, staring up at him.
Njiru eyed the cub, brow rising. It felt as though she was burrowing into him, examining him...in a very scrutinizing manner. Though, admittedly, it was rather cute from a cub, but it was still a strange feeling. He cleared his throat and sighed. There was really no point in keeping her in the dark when it came to his identity. It seemed she already had a suspicion that they were related, just how was that was escaping her. With another sigh Njiru lowered his body and lay, eye to eye with his niece. And he smiled a small, slightly awkward smile, as though he were forcing it.
"I'm your father's brother.." he replied, "I'm the only child of the past king who was removed from royalty, as well as the only one who inherited neither of my parents' appearances."
Alcmene watched him, trying to keep a neutral face but it was impossible to hide her curiosity- and perhaps a little anxiety- while he only smiled at her. His smile only made her more nervous, and it didn't help that it was followed immediately by his confession about being who she suspected. Daddy didn't talk a lot about his brother, but when he did it never seemed that happy or anything. He didn't really like his brother, and sometimes Alcmene thought she didn't like her brothers so she let herself think she understood.
"You're Njiru, then," she said, taking a step back and looking him over thoughtfully. He was so nice before, even if he'd left out his introduction. She didn't know what removed from royalty meant, but she did know what it was like to not look like either of your parents- she assumed that's what he meant, anyway. And the lucky princess at least had some traits from her father, though she took more after her mother in build. Thinking only of her father, she didn't know if she should stay and talk to Njiru anymore.
"Why didn't you say so?"
Cubs were strange, always with the questions and the curiosity. He kept himself from sounding anywhere near irked by the last question, but she did have some right to ask it. He had purposely not introduced himself, so it was more his fault that she felt uneasy around him now. And he was sure she knew he and her father didn't get along, whether by observation or being outright told that Njiru was not a liked family member. And with another sigh, he answered her.
"Yes, I'm Njiru. And..well, I didn't say so because I'm sure you know that your father and I don't really get along." He sounded a bit unsure, almost saddened, by the fact that Unyezi would probably keep him as far away from his nieces and nephews as possible. Especially now that he's met one, and he knows that there was one other who had markings that he had as well. The thought made him frown, and he rolled onto his back.
"And he probably wouldn't like you talking to me.."
Njiru was right. A combination of distrust from her father's indirect commentary on his brother and the fact that her uncle had infact decided to conceal his identity made him all the more suspicious. And it made Alcmene all the more certain that she shouldn't actually stick around. No one knew where she was right now, and she just didn't like it now that she didn't know what exactly she should think about all of this. So she took another anxious step backward as he explained in an.. odd tone why he didn't say anything. She wasn't sure what to say, and she didn't like being rude- she was trying to make friends, after all, not enemies!
"N-no," she agreed, "I don't think he would, either. I should go home now, I think.."
He sighed deeply, but nodded, and he rolled onto his side to face her. For once he actually let more than a forced smile or a distasteful frown show on his face, and he smiled that lonely, apologetic smile of his. And he stood and pushed her forward gently on the rump with his paw. "Go on then, it's dark now anyhow. Your parents would worry, so good night."
Njiru's actions only made things more confusing for Alcmene. He was still acting rather friendly, but at the same time she couldn't help but be anxious to get away now. She didn't know much about Njiru, but now she wanted to know why exactly her dad didn't like him, why he wouldn't introduce himself and yet he would be so nice. She offered a small, forced but almost genuine smile to her poor uncle before she nodded and turned around. She would go friend-hunting another time.
"Good night," she returned politely, and scrambled off for home.
Fin.
