In the seemingly short time it took for her three cubs to learn to sense the world around them and find their paws, Unyenyezi had regained most of her strength. It had been a hard birth and the last few weeks of her pregnancy had been a strain on the old female, but well worth it. Seeing the tiny bundles of life grow and watching how, everyday, they developed into strong cubs, each with their individual personallities and wants....Zizi had never fallen in love after loosing Tamu, but her heart stirred for her daughters and son. She was today sitting and watching them play, musing on just how much she loved them - it had caught her almost by surprise.
Ukene stumbled a bit, visibly tired from rough-housing it with her siblings. Both seemed to have a bit more stamina than she, but that was probably because she had spent last night staring at the Great Lion in the sky. He fascinated her endlessly, and sleep seemed so trite when there was so many interesting things to look at in the night.
But right now, she was tired, and with a yawn she cuddled up next to her mom, enjoying the warmth of the older lioness and carefully cleaning her paws.
"Moo-om, will you tell me a story?" she loved her mother's stories more than anything in the world; even though her attention would often wander away in the middle, Zizi was always able to remember the story and repeat the parts she'd missed.
Automatically she half turned to smooth the turf of hair on Ukene's head affectionately and with a glance to make sure the other two were still happily occupied she curled slightly around the girl.
"Alright....what kind of story would you like? One about the old days - " Most likely a family story, maybe about Tamu or one about the pride."Or a fable? Or an old favourite?"
Unyenyezi loved telling stories and loved that her offspring seems to as well. She had so many seasons worth memorised, so unless they picked favourites, she could probably tell them a new story every day.
A low, satisfied rumble left the young cub at her mother's ministrations. This was life!
"One about Tamu!" They might not be the most adventurous stories, but there was a note in her mother's voice that wasn't there with the other kinds of stories. She didn't know why, but that didn't really matter to her childish mind - Tamu was, in her world, the awesomest lion ever.
He was probably even awesomer than Utonzo, her brother, who was the only male lion she knew and therefore by default the best, too.
"Well then...have I told you about how Tamu proposed to me? The second time that is. The first time, I told him no, even though I wanted to say yes. We were so young and in love and impulsive. I was sure we needed to wait, to be sure. So one day, he took me on a walk as usual after my lesson with my teacher, the old Historian before me..." Unyenyezi went on to elaborate, explaining about a certain high place in the old lands, and how the Great Lion had silvered all the grasslands for miles...infusing all the story with such peaceful romance - "And then a snake bit my paw! We'd been so wrapped up in the moonlight and his asking, we hadn't noticed we'd walked right over this sleeping adder!"
Ukene snorted with laughter, shaking all over from the force of it. "That's so stupid, Mom! But you got better, right?" She turned wide, serious eyes on Unyenyezi, obviously discarding the fact that her mother was here with her today and therefore did, logically, get better. "Did he carry you all the way back to the pride and travel thousand of miles to get a healer for you and stuff?" She wasn't quite sure what miles were, but definitely knew that it was a long way - the question itself was born from an earlier fable she'd been told, about a lion who walked to the very ends of the earth to get the medicine his dying love needed.
"It might seem dumbnow my dear, but just you wait until you're older." Zizi chuckled. "And almost! Your father helped me walk all the way to the healer and stayed by my side most of the time until I was entirely better. He asked me again not long after that and after that - I just had to say yes. Tamu had been so worried about me and so supportive and reliable, it was clear it'd break his heart to wait for me forever. So we went to see the old king and were married."
"Yeah, right," the silver cub make a face, unconvinced that she'd ever be that stupid. She pondered the rest of the story for a moment, comparing it to the other love tales she'd heard.
"I think," she said decisively, "That he did better than that lion who walked a loooong way to get that purple herb his wife his wife needed 'cause she was sick and stuff. I mean, if I got sick I wouldn't want people to go off and leave me all alone and sad."
She snuck a glance at her mom before continuing her ramble, "And anyway, in the story the lady died and you lived and got married." It probably made a lot more sense in her head that it did when put into words, but Ukene didn't think of that. Her father really was awesome - although the story could've been about him tripping in the mud and she'd still have considered it the most wonderful story ever.
"But Mom.. why isn't he here, then?" She'd been told that he was 'dead', but had no real concept of what being dead actually meant.
"Because he's gone, my loved. He died long ago. Basically one day, hopefully when you're old and you've lived a good full life your time with us is over and you....sort of fall asleep and your body vanishes. But that doesn't mean your gone. Your spirit still watches over your loved ones and so long as they never forget you, you live on inside their hearts." Zizi tried to explain, in as light a voice as she could manage. "Still, its very sad in a way because you just can't see them or talk to them anymore, and you miss them... but thats how it is and how it always will be. Its only natural for your time to come one day."
"Oh, okay." That didn't sound too bad, to be honest. But.. "If they live in your heart, can't you just talk to them there?" Maybe she was older she would remember this explanation and it'd make a bit more sense, but right now she was just a cub asking about things she couldn't understand. But at least her Mom had answered; she'd asked a few of the other lions that came around, probably to see her and her siblings, but none of them had wanted to answer and a few of them had looked at her oddly afterwards.
It was no matter, though. She knew she could always depend on her mother to explain things that no-one else would.
"In a way, yes. I still think about Tamu often and I know he'd have..." Forgiven? No, maybe - understood Zizi having this litter alone and by someone else and not begrudged her her happiness after her loyalty all these years. They had missed their chance to have cubs together after all. "He'd have loved you. Imagine it like the Great Lion - the Great Lion never vanishes but the light does grow less and less and eventually....no light. But the Great Lion is always there despite that. The same with Tamu and the others who have died. We can't see them but they still exist somewhere else. And while you don't have a father like others have one, you have Tamu, watching over you from that else where." I'm sure he would...my dear sweet one...
Ukene nodded solemnly, finally making a bit of sense out of this whole thing. The Great Lion was always there, that was true; one day, she'd seen him in the sky even though it was day. Well, morning really, but he was still there and it was still light, and she really hadn't expected him to be there, so the concept was the same.
She thought for a moment, before deciding, "He lives in your heart, right? You can tell him that I love him too." She snuggled closer, sighing slightly.
"It's alright, we'd rather have Tamu than a normal father, anyway." This way, she'd never be alone and maybe when she was older and her heart was a bit larger, her father could live there too. Besides, how cool was it to have a sort-of invisible dad?
Zizi smiled, though she wasn't sure if she should be relieved or saddened by Ukene's words. She groomed the cub some more, partly for her own comfort, nuzzling the girls cheek when she'd done.
"Oh I'm sure he knows. And I'm glad..."
Ukene sighed again, happy to know that her father knew she loved him. She yawned again, before resting her head on her paws and letting her eyes droop down.
