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 Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:38 pm
It was a couple of days after Unyezi had spoken to Nerit. Since then, he'd spent a rather awkward time around his den. He felt extremely guilty around Aure, but she claimed to understand the situation enough.. the only thing left to do to prepare for what might be, what he hoped for, what he was starting to think would happen even if he ended up stuck on his own.. the only thing left was to tell Alcmene. He had put it off long enough, the ceremony he expected to get his answer at was that night. There was still time, but it was down to the line.
With a sigh, he left the den to find his daughter. It was time for one last lesson.
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:48 pm
Alcmene was on her way back home from following Miakoda around. They were trying to enjoy the last of the youth, so to speak. After all, tonight they would be officially a part of the high class and officially be taking on jobs. Of course, that meant more for the boys than it did for her or Mia, they already worked hard to learn a lot! Or so Ally thought, anyway. She knew, though, that it would be less fun and games after tonight. Part of her hoped not, though. She'd been too shy to ask exactly how much harder it was going to be, especially since she noticed her parents acting so strange. She also assumed that had something to do with them getting older. Some parents did get like that.. didn't they?
Thinking perhaps she could cheer her father up once she was near the den and could see him emerging, she picked up the pace.
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:57 pm
More guilt. Unyezi stopped when he spotted his daughter. She looked so much like her mother, the way she carried herself, despite the coloration of Njiru. She looked happy, too. And he was glad of that. Most importantly, he did not want to ruin it. She was enthusiastic but showed no signs of immediately wanting to take the throne. There was no telling how she would react, truthfully. She was unmated, but she was young. She was young, but she would have help. That was more than Unyezi had.
"Ally," he called as she approached, smiling fondly at his daughter despite the selfish task he had.
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:01 pm
"Dad," she returned the greeting, happy to see him smiling. She didn't stop until she was right by his side, giving him an affectionate nuzzle. Then she stepped back, swaying her tail excitedly.
"Are you excited for tonight?" she asked brightly, "I've been to them before, of course, but it's different knowing it's about us this time."
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:09 pm
He returned the nuzzle, reminded of just how lucky he was and had been through his life. He could appreciate what he had and still be missing something, he was not so necessary anymore and he could be happy and helpful no matter where he was. Aureole had been hard to tell, Alcmene should not have been so hard except that she would be taking on such responsibility.
"I am, I can't believe you guys are so big already," he said and lead into what he had to tell her carefully, "I wasn't much older than you when I took over, you know."
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:16 pm
"Yeah, yeah," she murmured when he did the typical dad-thing of commenting on how fast they were growing, but she smiled. She expected nothing out of the ordinary when he mentioned when he took over the pride, she knew the story well enough, it had been included in some of her history lessons.
"I know," she said, "You and mom, and then everybody had to move here."
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:21 pm
Unyezi's smile wavered ever so slightly. Alcmene was a good student, she deserved the whole truth. He sat down and considered how to continue, curling his tail around him and settling on the indirect method he seemed to favor for this topic.
"Now that you're almost an adult, I think it's time you knew the whole story," he said, "Sit with me."
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:23 pm
Alcmene had no idea what to expect, but she felt a rush of pride when he made it sound like she was being trusted with some great secret. She didn't doubt some details of the story were left out for her benefit, but she couldn't imagine what exactly they would be. She definitely wanted to know!
"Ok," she said, settling in beside her father and looking at him, "Tell me."
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:45 pm
If there were one word to describe Ally, it would be enthusiastic. She had no idea what the story was leading up to, but she was going to listen and that was a good thing. He couldn't help but anxiously take a look around to make sure they were alone before he began.
"This isn't about the pride, not exactly, it's more about me," he said, realizing that already the selfish perspective was coming into it- but he had not answered too many detailed questions about his youth and he had been asked, "When I was born, like you I was named heir. I was born before you aunt Lela, but after Njiru. He was in a litter by himself, born long before we were. He had no claim to the throne and when I came along and blew his chance of even marrying into a high enough position, he hated me. I spent a lot of time trying to befriend him, though."
He paused, Ally already knew why Njiru didn't like him but he had never said how he had tried to befriend him despite it. That came with a much more complicated story.
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:51 pm
There wasn't much for Ally to do so far as reacting. The story wasn't over, she knew that. She was rather surprised to hear that her father had tried to be nice to Njiru. She had thought her uncle was quite nice, she couldn't imagine him being so mean for so long if Unyezi had tried to be nice himself. It didn't make that much sense.
"Did he ever warm up?" she asked, tilting her head, "I mean, I know he kind of has now but you said I should avoid him. What happened?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:00 pm
"No, he never did," he said, shaking his head, "And eventually I gave up, I was just a bit younger than you. He and I avoided each other, though I later realized he never had stopped trying to sabotage my status, trying to make me look bad and get me evicted of my position."
The truth to that statement varied depending on who you asked. Unyezi, as the victim, might have perceived it a bit harshly- but he didn't know it any differently, and had good reason.
"I stopped trying mostly because I saw it was pointless but I'd also become very distracted," he continued, getting to the point, "I'd fallen in love."
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:06 pm
Her smile changed when he paused again saying he had fallen in love. Her first thought was, of course, her mother. She knew they had been best friends when they were young, it was part of the story they had been told of their parents. They knew nothing of the 'agreement,' it wasn't meant to be made public and their cubs did not deserve to think their parents did not truly love each other.
"Oh?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:13 pm
Unyezi knew what her smile was about and he hated that he was about to ruin it. His expression said it all, he couldn't hide a slight frown. She was old enough now, that was why he was telling her, why he was trusting her. He just had to spit it out before she questioned why he was no longer smiling.
"Not your mother," he said quietly, "A slave, I had fallen in love with a slave. It wasn't something I planned on or expected, but she.. well, I couldn't help but love her." What exactly had drawn him to Nerit was a mystery. She was beautiful and she was kind, she was bright and dedicated. Possibly her being off-limits had an influence before he really got to know her. His frown became a sheepish smile, he realized how long he had paused and drifted off in his thoughts.
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:18 pm
Ally blinked and wrinkled her nose at the comment. She definitely was not expecting him to say it was not his mother, and the complications he would have faced of falling in love had not crossed her mind until the word 'slave' entered the conversation. It wasn't enough that he might have fallen for someone even a class lower than him, no- he fell for someone at the complete opposite of the social scale.
She shook her head when she realized she was getting off track. She didn't realize what this all meant exactly. He said he'd fallen in love, there were other ways to put it if you got over it. Love, love, love. He said it an awful lot. She was speechless and only stared, waiting for his story to get to the point.
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:27 pm
He sighed, not liking the look he was getting.
"I saw her for quite some time," Unyezi continued, "Until Njiru found out about it, about us. He went directly to our father, I couldn't get there first. He told our father exactly what he'd heard, what he saw and that I was clearly not meant to be the heir. My father did not react exactly how I expected, he yelled at me, quite a bit. I was told I could not see her anymore and that I would take my position as heir more seriously. Njiru was scolded too, mostly threatened to keep his mouth shut."
He tried to read her expression, but it was difficult. Despite his mastery of maintaining respectful eye contact in conversation, he was becoming more and more tempted to look away.
"You have been a wonderful heiress," he said, getting to an important moral of the story, though it was not the point, "I got into a lot of trouble when I was young, too. You shouldn't let those times make you feel any worse about yourself or your job."
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