"All I have is a picture in my mind, how it would be... If we were together..." Staring into the watering hole, Hag watched the stars twinkling in the surface. Her ears were folded back, almost a perpetual place for them. The juvenile stared at herself, her gold pelt... Not red. It made her sad, sorrowful that she couldn't be perfect. She spent a lot of nights like this, instead of sleeping, since her dreams brought her visions. She hated it.
On a night like this, it was welcome to be outside. The red male inhaled the cool air, eyes closed for a moment. An ear flicked, and he heard soft singing. Following the sound, he soon found his way to the watering hole, watching one of his youngest, staring at her reflection. On his children, he knew every marking, on every cub. Every spot, every stripe... And in Hag's case, her wing markings. He dared not approach, not yet.
"Let's pretend that you're far away, let's say you write to me... And you promised in your letter, that you'll come home..." She reached a paw out, patting the water. "Come home to my heart... When you come home, we'll never be apart.. If I keep, dreaming of you, start believing it's true... Soon you'll come home... Soon you'll come home... Soon you'll come home, to my heart..." She sat down, shoulders shaking just a bit. If only, if only... "Soon you'll come home... Home to my heart... If I believe..."
The adult let out a small sigh, eyes sad, before he went up to the juvenile. "Hey... It's a little late to be out here, young lady..." He made it no secret... Out of all his cubs, Hag was, so far, his favorite. He wasn't sure what it was. "Why are you still up, Hag?" If only she had been born red, black, or some shade of gray. Then he could justify her being favorite. As it was, she'd be gone soon, gone from the desert and his life. Between her and Mpeko... There'd be gaps in his life.
Hag let out a gasp, looking up. There was no anger in his words, though, or his posture. The juvenile relaxed, looking back at her reflection. "I can't sleep..." She reached out, patting the water again. "I go to sleep... And I see things... Like you do, and like you said Grandma did..." Was this a gift, or was it a curse? She wasn't sure, and wasn't sure she wanted to find out. "Why did I have to be born different? I don't wanna leave..."
Kosuke looked at his daughter sadly, then sat down next to her, pulling her close. "It was how..." Did he dare say Finar-si's name near the dens? No, not here. "I'll tell you why later... Maybe on a good long walk, or when you're older..." When he told her goodbye... "As for your dreams... You and I aren't different in that respect, no... That's why I wish, above all else... You had come out a more respectable color for the pride, instead of golds and browns." He hugged her close, his own ears back. "Because you're my favorite..." Shallow moment - It was her Seer powers that made her his favorite. It meant he had a connection to someone that he could talk to about it. "What do you see in your dreams, Hag...? Are they good things?"
The juvenile looked up, eyes wide with wonder. She was... His... favorite? The thought thrilled her, despite the fact she'd have to leave. Hag cuddled against her father, letting out a little purr. For a moment, the barest of moments, her ears lifted. And then they went back down. "Why me, when I'm one of the ones that have to leave...?" She let out a small sigh, thinking on her dreams. "I often see myself far away... By a large body of water... There's lots of lions, with lots of colors on them, and I know it's not here." She looked up at Kosuke, blinking her large red eyes. "And sometimes I see you... Happy, with the lady with the dot on her forhead. And you're both happy, and doing a pretty dance..." It made her smile, inwardly and outwardly. "And you're teaching my baby sibblings to dance, too, even the ones who might have to leave like I do, and Dooley, and Matope, and..." She let out a yawn, a sign of just how tired she was.
The male let out a sad chuckle, leaning down and licking his daughter's head. "You should sleep, Hag... It's not good to stay up all night and day." Then again, he remembered being a cub, unable to deal with his visions... Old scars twinged as he remembered just what they'd gotten him. Pain, lots of pain, for what he truly wanted and felt was rightfully his. He smiled, though, thinking about how even his daughter saw his future as happy.
She let out a huff. "I don't wanna go to sleep... I can't sleep without a future-dream..." She stared at the water, watching as a night insect landed on it for a moment, then flew off. After a moment, she looked up at Kosuke. "Daddy... Where did those scars come from...?" She'd always wondered about them... She wanted to know before it was too late to ask. Who had left them? The juvenile climbed up onto her father's back, draping over his head. "Was it in a fight with a rogue? Were you defending your honor, winning your woman?" For a moment, her mind took off with romance stories of valiant lions fighting for the right to be with the one they loved.
His daughter's speculations made him chuckle. "It was a silly reason... Though it WAS because of who I saw in my own visions of the future.." He let out a sigh, frowning and looking at the sky. "You see, Hag, you're the third in the family to be blessed with visions... My mother was the first... She could only See the present, though, and very rarily did she see the future or past. She was proud of the old traditions, fiercely loyal to them and the old rulers. She grew up in the days of Kidondo's father, Kimeti, you see." Kosuke blinked, glancing at his daughter. "She wasn't happy about my visions of a rebel lioness, dancing her way through my dreams, and that I wanted to be with her..." He stopped, smiling at the sound of a soft snore. She was asleep... Slowly, the male stood up, heading back to the dens. Apparently stories were a good way to make Hag fall asleep... He'd have to remember that for the future.
