Haramu was tired. She'd spent the past week looking for a good home for her non-demon cubs. She had to. Her mother had found a proper home for her...Haramu owed her own cubs the same courtesy. She wouldn't be a Sparda demon if she didn't give them that courtesy. And her search had brought her to the edge of strange land. Land she'd not seen before.
It was eerie, in its way...and very, very wet. The Tsafare had found herself testing every step before putting her weight down, in case the land she saw wasn't as stable as it looked.
Every sound of the land was well-known to the inhabitants. Every movement of water, every dapple of sunlight, every bird song, or snake, or whatever animals happened to move about. The water-loving prey animals were particularly well-known, down to the best ways to hunt them. Even if he hadn't grown up here, Zimwi had come to know the ways of the lands, enjoying the sights, smells, and sounds that surrounded him. No more did unknown lions scare him, either, so the strange red and tan lioness presented no ill feelings in him. Approaching by a water route, he watched with intent, eyes dancing with harmless mirth. Who was this, and was she coming to stay, or just a visit?
The small demon's sharply honed senses caught the signs there was another nearby. Forcing herself to not look defensive, she looked about, then caught sight of...a lion in the water? A creature of darkness and fire, she blinked. Well...this was new.
"I'm not interrupting something, I hope..." What sort of place HAD she come across, that the lions would swim in the water?
Crawling out of the water, Zimwi shook the water off, smiling. "Oh, no, nothing at all. I just noticed you and came to say hi." Sitting down, he tilted his head. "What brings you into the Jini'msemi swamps? And don't step there if you don't want to end up in a mud pool." He motioned to a spot in front of her, having fallen in the pool a few times himself before.
Haramu stopped mid-step, blue eyes a bit wide. Well then...She drew her foot back to where she was standing. So a pride did claim this place...good. Perhaps she would find a home for the three here. After all...Earth and Water. How much more non-demon could one get? And yet this place...had a feel to it that might keep alive some of their heritage.
"A search is what brings me to this place. I have three cubs that...do not belong in the pride I am part of. I myself face great obstacles in it...and I do not wish to see that for them." She owed it to them...she was their mother, demon-blooded or not.
The male tilted his head, ears lifted just slightly. "I know sucha feeling..." His words weren't happy, but sympathetic. "When I was a cub, my family was part of no pride. The closest pride to us hated lions that had even a spot of white on their coat. They killed my family, because we were all white..." He offered a smile, tail curling a bit. "This is a good place. The color of your pelt doesn't matter. You can ble black, white, pink, green... I saw somebody who was blue not too long ago."
Haramu smiled slightly. This was sounding better and better..."What sort of place is this?" She wanted to know...had to know. She hoped this place would be the end of her search. Oh how she hoped....
"It's a wonderful place! It's peaceful, for one... There's not a bad lion amid us. It feels like one big, happy family, with a lot of brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, neices, nephews, and so on. It's simply... Wonderful!" And all the water... Zimwi was a creature of the water, it was just who he was. "Cubs growing up here grow up very well, I'd say!"
Haramu smiled. Growing up with Jibril...she'd learned to look for the signs of a lie. And she saw none of them. It seemed her journey had ended, if the pride would take the cubs. "Is there anyone in the pride...who might want three little ones to raise? I...I cannot be part of their lives, so they would not have to worry about vying for role of 'parent'..."
As he thought on it, Zimwi realised while there were a lot of lions in the pride, most had cubs already vying for their attention. Indeed, he didn't imagine anybody'd be too thrilled to take on extra cubs, at least not at the moment. As he thought on it, a smile slowly came to him. "Well... I have a lot of time on my paws... I've got no cubs, but I see all the happy lions in the pride with cubs. I could always raise them."
Haramu blinked. Well...wasn't the first time she'd encountered a male who wanted to raise cubs. She gave him a look, as if she was trying to discern his soul...and then nodded. "If you want to raise them...I see no problem." She chuckled. He had none of the signs of a violent lion. He was well-fed, with no visible scars, and he didn't have that...glint or dullness in his eyes.
Well fed though he was, Zimwi was still a small lion. But his years of abstaining from food didn't show on him, not now. The swamps had helped him to fill in, to be healthy despite his size. "I will make sure they grow up to be good lions." He glanced around, ears flicking. "Where are they...?" He couldn't see any cubs around, but then... Cubs tended to be good at hiding.
Haramu chuckled. "I left them outside the edges, hidden. They were asleep when I left them." She sighed. "We've come a long way...and they tire far more easily than I." Her little ones...they would be safe now. They would be home. She turned and started towards the hidey-hole she'd left the three in. She would introduce him, then...she would say good bye, one they'd gotten to the wet place that would be their new home. She'd been gone long enough, and the pride needed her. "If it helps any...they have names already." Haramu couldn't help but name them.
Following behind her, the male watched. She looked sad... He'd make sure they knew she loved them, and had sought to protect them. "Names are a plus. It's reminescent of one of the pride's customs... A mother has the cubs alone, and they're named about the time they're presented to the pride." Granted, if he presented cubs to the pride, it might look odd... But it'd be safe to assume they'd figure he had adopted them.
Haramu blinked and nodded. "That's good...that's a good custom. My pride...the first moon cycle after they're born, they're not allowed contact with anyone but the mother, father, and the pride leaders." And she'd had to wait that whole moon cycle, because their father, insane as he was, didn't even realize they were his. Not that she'd trust him to watch after the little cubs...
He nodded, eyes inquisative. "That sounds like an interesting pride custom." Every pride had different ways, and hers sounded fascinating to him. "I wonder what other prides do for the birth and naming of cubs..." He scanned the area, looking for the cubs in question. Surely they were close?
"With as many prides as there are...surely there's hundreds of customs." It was a rather interesting thought. "We're close." She trotted over to a patch of bushes hiding a small 'cave' created by a piling of rocks. "The little ones are in here." It would be the last time she'd see them. It was for the best.
Peeking in, Zimwi sniffed. Yes, they were still there. And from the sounds of it, still asleep. They would have a shock if they woke up after their mother left. "Should we wake them...?" He looked at her, orange eyes filled with curiousity.
Haramu nodded, blue eyes sad and happy at the same time. "Yes. The sooner they know you...the sooner I leave." She sighed. "I want them to have a brighter future than I can offer them." Reaching a paw in, she lightly shook the hidden cubs. "Time to wake up, little ones. I have someone for you to meet."
