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 Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 3:48 pm
It was quite late out. Alcmene was not at home yet, which was becoming more and more common for the girl. She enjoyed being out at night, it seemed. Or out in general- but at night was when it worried Unyezi most. She was an easy one to lose track of in the dark, and an important on to keep track of at all. They all were, but so far she seemed the most keen on wandering off on her own whenever she could.
Of course, now that Njiru was... occupied... Unyezi felt there was slightly less to worry about. But it was strange thinking so differently so suddenly, he was one of the more surprised lions when he heard that Sini was expecting. Especially when he heard, it didn't seem planned in any respect and from his own simple knowledge of timing.. he doubted the cubs would be high class.
"Ally!" he called out, wandering and keeping his eyes open for the little princess. The moon was quite bright, it would help in the search.
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 3:58 pm
Stumbling to a stop mid-jog, Alcmene realized she was being looked for. Her immediate reaction was to crouch down to prevent being spotted. With a small smile, she turned and looked in the direction the call had come from. Daddy was nearby, and he'd almost caught her. She was on her way back home, or that was the story she would tell. She didn't have very consistent playmates outside her siblings, but she still found creative ways to amuse herself.
No point avoiding the inevitable return home when someone was actually out looking for her, though. Deciding to at least have some fun, she turned around quietly and crept along in the grass. She would sneak up on daddy. Hopefully he would be paying too much attention to everything else and not notice funny rustling grass nearby.
When she was close enough, she stopped and listened to see if she'd been found out. Daddy was still moving, though, so she had to take her chance-- now! With a playful growl, she leaped out of the grass straight at her father.
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 4:19 pm
Unyezi was not a master hunter, though he was not a horrible one either. He was attentive, he was actually looking for someone right now so of course he noticed the noisy rustling of the grass from an even less-practiced huntress. He was smart enough as a father, though, to know better than to call her out on it. There was something distinct in the way the grass rustled, the steps Ally took, the way she crawled along.. he knew exactly who it was. He slowed down, but he did not stop. He wasn't going to let her get away, and if she didn't try to sneak up on him then he would have to sneak up on her.
"Ally," he called again. And then, very suddenly, Alcmene jumped out at him growling. He gasped and ducked down to the ground- not avoiding her pounce in the slightest where she couldn't jump as high as a full grown lion. Instead, he was eye-level with her clinging to his side, laughing.
"I found you!"
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 4:28 pm
"No, daddy!" she cried out indignantly while clinging to his side, using her tiny claws to try to climb up his side so she could find a comfortable spot to declare victory, "I found you!" Triumphantly, she stuck out her tongue and settled into the edge of his mane on his back. It was nice and comfy.
"Why are you all the way out here?" she asked curiously, leaning over a bit to try to look her father in the face. It was the polite thing to do.
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 4:36 pm
He didn't even flinch as Alcmene climbed onto his back and settled into his mane, for now she could lay there. For now. He glanced over his shoulder with a small smirk when she said she found him. It was true enough. They'd found each other, he could let her have this one. Her question made him laugh, though.
"Me? What are you doing out here?" he asked, "It's late, you should be heading home and not farther out. I came to get you, now-" He jumped a bit to knock Ally off his back, and got up to his feet.
"Let's go."
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 4:50 pm
Alcmene laughed at how they kept turning what they said on each other. It was funny. Her laugher was interrupted by the sudden jolt, and she tumbled off Unyezi and onto the ground with a soft thump. Her laughter stopped but she was still smiling, even as she scrambled to her feet and followed after her father.
"But dad, I was having fun," she argued, bounding along beside him trying to keep up with his much longer strides. It didn't take too many steps before she stumbled and fell to the ground. As she got back up and shook the dust off her fur, she remembered something she wanted to talk to her dad about.
"Dad!" she called, scampering back to her father's side, "Oh, I wanted to ask you about somebody I met!"
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 4:54 pm
"You can have fun earlier in the day or earlier in the night," he pointed out, glancing down at Ally just in time to see her jump, stumble and fall. He stopped, watching her with a grin. It was evident that she was OK, it wasn't a bad fall. He smiled, but he didn't laugh. When she caught back up with him he started moving again, not expecting to take too long and certainly not expecting a conversation.
"Someone you met?" he repeated, looking down at her, "Who was it?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 4:58 pm
She wasn't sure how to approach this now that she had finally remembered to bring it up. Daddy was being perfectly cheerful and never really got mad at anything she asked before, but she didn't really want that to change. But at least if he got mad now, she wasn't ruining a whole day or something like if she asked in the morning. She slowed down her walking a bit.
"Njiru," she mumbled.
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:05 pm
It was inevitable that Alcmene would meet her uncle, though Unyezi hardly expected it to be while she was so little. He had thought, or perhaps he had hoped, that it could be avoided until later. Much later. Perhaps when it was important that she go around and meet as many of the pride members as possible, become familiar with them, learn names or at least become familiar with their appearance so she could recognize strangers.
"You met your uncle," he said simply, not entirely sure what the question was but rather curious about the meeting, "Was he nice to you?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:11 pm
Alcmene watched her father's reaction carefully, noting that he didn't really seem to have a reaction but at the same time seemed to become a little more tense. There was something about the way he looked now that made her a little worried about continuing too bluntly. She cleared her throat quietly and nodded when asked if Njiru had been nice to her. He had been very nice to her, no one could say anything else. He was only a little weird..
"He was nice, he helped me try to find Zizi when I was looking for her," she said, then quickly continued, "He didn't introduce himself at first, though. It was weird, he wouldn't tell me who he was- I made him tell me when I saw the mark on his back, it looked like the one on Mia."
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:17 pm
He was relieved to hear that Njiru had been kind to his daughter, it was much more than he'd expected from him- especially towards the heiress. Though perhaps he enjoyed the fact that she looked so much like him and not like her father, he'd been a bit disappointed about that at first but he got over it. He didn't even think Njiru might not realize she was the heir.
"Well that's good," he commented, but he was cut off by the rest of her explanation. It was almost funny knowing Njiru had concealed his identity. It meant one of two things, he expected as much as Unyezi that their own little feud would carry over against the cubs or he really was up to something and didn't want her to guess.
Of course, he had Sini and cubs on the way. The second idea seemed a bit out there with that considered.
"That's odd," he said, "And didn't you notice how much the two of you look alike? Your fur is a lot like his."
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:22 pm
"I did notice," she murmured with a nod when asked about her fur and his, "That's another way I figured it out, kind of. You and mommy both have brothers, right? You mentioned them, but not a lot. You didn't seem that happy about Njiru, I left when I found out who he was."
She looked down thoughtfully, watching her own footsteps.
"I don't know why, though," she continued, finally edging towards her question, "Why you don't seem to like him, I mean."
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:32 pm
"Yes," Unyezi answered about him and Aure both having brothers, cubs were a curious type and it was inevitable that they had been asked about the rest of their family. No one had questioned his response at the time, he hadn't realized anyone had taken notice. He might have felt bad, but at the same time he wasn't yet sure if it was a good thing she'd left Njiru instead of hanging around with him.
"Ah."
Her question became very obvious very quickly. With a sigh and a smile, he stopped walking and turned to look at his daughter.
"It's a long story. Njiru and I aren't brothers like you and Mia are sisters, or you, Mia, Taigi and Erion are siblings," he explained carefully, taking his time to find the best way to describe the situation, "We were born at different times, in different litters. He was born first, and he was born earlier than expected. He's upper-middle class, he couldn't inherit the pride and our father's title. When I was born I was named heir, being in the high class. Njiru always thought it was a title he deserved, we never got along no matter how hard I tried to please him."
He sighed. He wasn't about to mention the worst thing Njiru had done to him, though part of him new it was one of the better things now. Better for the pride, though he wasn't about to say Lela would not have made a fine queen.
"He was jealous and we were always fighting," Unyezi said finally, wrapping up his little story in a very simple summary. It might not be the fullest explanation, but it was all he could expect her to understand.
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:37 pm
Alcmene felt the tension and seriousness of her question when her father actually stopped, turned and spoke directly to her now. She stared at him with wide, attentive silver eyes. She followed the story as far as she could tell. She occasionally fought with her siblings, but they always got along well enough. She never imagined any of them could be jealous and resent her for the position she held. It made her nervous, imagining that one of her siblings might end up hating her forever because of it.
"Oh," she mumbled, unable to mask her concern.
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Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:43 pm
Either Alcmene didn't understand or she was trying to apply the story to her own situation, to herself. He didn't want her to worry, he tried hard to make sure that everybody got along. He tried to reassure everybody, though none had really had any doubts thus far. It wasn't a surprise that the first one to actually worry was her.
"Don't worry," he said with a reassuring smile, "Unlike Njiru and me, you're both the oldest and high class. And besides, you're all much nicer than the two of us. You have nothing to worry about."
With an affectionate nudge, he turned back to their walk home.
"Come on," he said, "It's even later now."
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