What.the.hell. (Maua X Kivuli)

[JetAlmeara]

Maua had felt fine when he got up that morning - or at least as fine as one so far along in a pregnancy could feel. None the less she had wandered down to the watering hole to take a drink, gotten a quick bite to eat and chatted with a couple of other noble ladies before starting on her way back to the den.

Perhaps it was the walking that tarted everything off, that seemed as good of an excuse as anything but Maua was feeling decidedly less fine the closer she got to the den and with a groan she recognized the familiar pains. "Aurora!" She called out...where was that dratted bird when she needed her? "Aurora!!"

"Yes mistress!" Came the frantic reply as Aurora winged down to land before her on the path. The bird cast an eye over the lioness and while she was secretly rather enjoying the look of misery in Maua's eyes she knew better then to actually voice that thought. "Should I fetch Master Kivuli?"

"What do you think?" Maua spat at the bird as she leaned against the nearby wall to rest before making the rest of the trip to the den. When the bird didn't move fast enough Maua in her temper attempted to take a swat at her "Of course go and fetch him you wretched creature!" She snarled at the bird who had predictably fluttered out of reach with a swirl of feathers...hopefully off to do her duty and fetch Kivuli although one couldn't really count on slaves all the time. step by step Maua managed to make her way up the rest of the way up the path and into the den where she lowered herself carefully down to the ground.

 

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Kivuli was, and had been for quite some time, extremely excited about the idea of being a father again. He worked hard, very hard, to keep Maua happy, safe and comfortable as the burden of carrying the cubs slowed her down and caused her to spend more and more time restricted to the den and then immediate area around it. When he had left this morning to attend to some duties he made sure everything was fine before leaving. While he knew it was getting closer to the time the cubs would arrive one could never be certain when the event would happen. Last time it had occurred in the middle of the night so Kivuli figured that might be the case again, though he made sure to constantly check on her through the day just in case. Oh he had gotten a couple of tongue lashings for being so worrisome but it was in his nature to be that way.

So when he caught site of Maua's bird flying frantically towards him he knew the time had come. Not waiting around to hear the message Kivuli set off at a run towards the den he shared with his mate. Stepping inside Kivuli found Maua laying down and it was clear she was in pain. Hurrying to her side he gave her a loving nuzzle, even though he knew he risked getting yelled at for it. "I'm here now my love." He reassured her. "Is there anything you want me to do?" She would probably tell him there was nothing to do, that he would just need to wait and not get in her way, but he had to ask anyways.  

[JetAlmeara]

Ah..so it seemed Aurora had actually delivered her message, that or Kivuli had simply come back for one of his little check-ins a possibility that Maua found more probable. That bird was entirely unreliable...though she had other things to worry about right now then her bothersome slave and the problems she caused her.

She was relieved enough to see Kivuli that she didn't even fuss at him when he nuzzled her, but merely whimpered and rubbed her head under his chin more to comfort herself then anything else - though she really had no need to be worried she reminded herself stoutly, she'd done this before and while far from an old hand at the process she wasn't a complete newcomer as she had been last time either. "You know there is nothing you can do" She chided Kivuli gently "But I know you wanted to be here when they came" because really that was the only reason to call for him. There wasn't much anyone could do but wait when the time came.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Letting out a rumble as Maua rubbed her head against him Kivuli knew she was in pain, even if she was trying to hide it or convince them both it wasn't that bad. He really wished he could do something to ease her pain, or perhaps speed things up so the entire process would be over sooner. The only thing he knew he could do was be here, lend his support as best he could and pray to the Gods for a safe delivery.

"I know." He whispered to her and he did want to be here for the birth. Seeing his children come into the world had been such a joyous occasion the first time that he refused to miss it again. Laying down beside her Kivuli was ready to wait things out. Would it be a long or short labor? How many cubs would they have this time? What would they be like? A million questions rolled through his mind and while normally a patient and calm lion Kivuli found that he really couldn't sit still the longer he waited, so he switched between laying at Maua's side and pacing about.  

[JetAlmeara]

Males...Maua thought to herself as Kivuli restlessly moved about the den, why couldn't they just learn to sit still and be patient? She didn't have the energy right now to fuss at him however and if she was honest with herself a part of her was restlessly wishing she could be up and pacing about a well - it was hard to get into anything even resembling a comforting position at the moment and she grunted as she shifted about in the small depression she was laying in. Things were moving faster this time then they had before, she could remember the first time and things were definitely moving faster.

Maua wasn't sure it that was a good thing or a bad thing but she did her best to ignore Kivuli and his restless pacing so that she might concentrate on her own far to important job.

Maua was right in the moving faster department, where last time the cubs had been spaced out in their arrivals and the entire process has seemed to drag on an unbearably long time, everyone seemed eager to arrive this time around and before long there were seven perfect little cubs wiggling about on the ground. Maua had cleaned them off as they arrived, completely thrilled at they're markings and colors. Seven...it was a large litter already but moaning and panting Maua lay back on her side. More? How could there be more? It was already one more then they had had last time!

But she wasn't done quite yet...that she knew.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

It was all happening so fast this time. Each time one of his newest children came into the world Kivuli would wait until Maua had it cleaned and then he would gently touch it with his nose in greeting. They were all perfect. And there were seven of them! He had not been expecting so many and had been about to say something when he noticed that Maua was once more in pain. Another? Giving her a loving and encouraging nudge, for he knew she would be quite exhausted by this point he waited for the cub to arrived.

When the cub came into the world Kivuli stepped forward. He could see that Maua was almost too exhausted to clean the cub herself so he took up the job. Gently he placed the cub in the crook of his paws and licked it clean. It didn't take him long to realize one very important detail about the cub. She was lacking purple. Oh dear. He didn't care so much that there was a non-purple cub in the litter but Kivuli knew his mate well and knew she would be upset and furious at the idea. If only he could somehow make the cub sudden grow purple hair then everything would be fine. But he knew it would not be the case. He set the cub in amidst her siblings, trying to surround her in a sea of purple so that Maua would not notice right away. She would of course, he knew that, so it was best that he did some damage control right away.

He crawled up a way and butted his head into hers. "Eight, eight wonderful cubs. Three boys and five girls." He was extremely excited that they had more than one boy this time, though he would love all of his children equally, even the female who lacked the noble colors. Speaking of her, he cleared his throat. "The...uh...last girl." Oh he didn't want to say anything, the birth of their cubs was a special occasion and he didn't want to upset Maua when she had just enduring birthing 8 cubs, but he had to. "She's a bit different than the others."  

[JetAlmeara]

Maua was exhausted and she huffed a grateful sigh as Kivuli took over taking care of the last cub while she just laid back and rested for a few moments. Eyes closed she listened to the sounds of the cubs as they growled and squeaked and made little cubs sounds. Maua would never tell anyone this of course but she absolutely loved the sounds of new born cubs, they were simply adorable.

Kivuli must have finished taking care of the last cub because she felt him come up close and butt his head against her, cracking her eyes open she gave him a warm look. "A good number" She agreed, and my but their family was growing quickly - it seemed like only a little while ago that it have simply been Kivuli and her sharing the den..now there was her previous litter who liked to pop in from time to time, th adopted commoners and ...eight new cubs. It was perfect..or it would have been had Kivuli not kept on speaking.

A finger of worry started to squeeze itself into her chest and she lifted her head to tare at her mate with fatigued..but worried..eyes "Different? Why? What wrong with her? Is she ill? weak? Deformed?" By the gods please let her just be a runt Maua thought to herself - with a little this size it wouldn't be surprising and she could nurse a runt to full size. She was almost afraid to look for herself but now that Kivuli had brought it up she couldn't help but do just that and turned her head slowly towards the squirming cubs.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Oh if only the cub had been born as a runt, then he could have calmed his mate by simply saying that the cub was small but that it would grow with time. That was not the case, however, and Kivuli took a deep breath as Maua lifted her heads and looked towards the cubs. "No, she is perfectly healthy. It's just that..."Though he was certain she would see her right away Kivuli nosed the purpleless cub and then looked towards Maua. "She lacks coloring." Oh she had color on her, she was a nice mix of white, black and gold, but the only color Maua would care about is purple.

Perhaps she would accept the girl, they had recently taken in two non-noble cubs that were dropped off in the forest and while he knew Maua had done that simply to gain favor with the king he hoped it would allow her to accept their daughter for who she was. To him, the girl was just as precious as the others and he would see that she led as good of life as the others did, even if she was denied the rank of noble.  

[JetAlmeara]

Maua stilled as her eyes fell upon the cub Kivuli nosed, her eyes widened and almost frantically she snatched up the cub and rolled her over, there had to be some purple on her...even a tiny tiny speck..somewhere on her otherwise healthy body. She ignored the cubs indignant squalling at the treatment and let out a sob of her own when after a thorough search Maua couldn't find even one single purple hair. "We can dye her" she babbled frantically at Kivuli "The costumers use purple plants to make dyes, we'll just..rub some on her and...and.." Then what? Hide her away from the rain? Never let her swim? Pollute the noble bloodline with her horrendous coloring?

No..no it would be better to just...Maua pushed the cub firmly away from her and the rest of the litter ignoring the way her voice trembled at the cubs crying "seven cubs" She told Kivuli "Three boys and four girls" Yes this would be best just...just...let the cub...die. she wouldn't feed it..she'd let it sit there and she would die and then Kivuli could bury her somewhere far away where no one would ever find her. Yes...that was for the best.

But...the cub was crying. Crying because she was hungry and cold and she didn't understand why Maua couldn't love her, shouldn't love her. She would be an embarrassment, she was a mistake, a freak of nature that never should have been born.

But she was crying...and not even Maua was heartless enough to just let her die and with another sob she swept the cub back in with its littermates. She wouldn't let it die...but she wouldn't name it and she wouldn't claim it. "Another Orphan" She told Kivuli forcefully "We'll tell everyone it's just another Orphan we took in!"  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

Kivuli expected Maua to react badly, expected the most irrational things to come from her mouth. So when she suggested dying the cubs fur purple the large male simply sighed and shook his head. They couldn't do that, dye was a temporary thing and it would take a lot of effort to keep it on an active cub. Plus that would be lying to the pride. What he didn't expect was for Maua to push the cub away and it pained him to see that, and even more when the cub started crying. He couldn't let that happen and he nudged the cub, licking her to give her some sense of reassurance.

But it seemed that motherly instinct got the best of Maua as she soon pulled the cub back to her side. He was relieved at that but still upset that she wanted to claim it as an orphan and state that they only had seven cubs. "Eight." He said firmly, for once not letting Maua get the upper hand. "Look at her markings, only a fool would think she was an orphan. She is ours." He sighed and looked towards the cub. "I know it's upsetting but you cannot cast her away, she needs you to live and even if you will not love her I will. I cannot go around spouting a lie that she is not of my blood." Giving Maua a nudge with his nose Kivuli wasn't sure what else to say. "Ignore her if you wish, but you must feed her and care for her. I will make sure she stays out of your way when she is older."

For once he was willing to sacrifice his happiness, and that of his mates if needed, in order to see that this cub was raised and loved. So what if he got yelled at for it, she was his daughter and he would never deny that.  

[JetAlmeara]

Why couldn't things just go right for a change? Why couldn't her older litter stop making such blasted bad decisions and settle down like proper lions and why oh why did she have to be saddled with the indignity of this horribly ugly little cub? She'd wanted this litter to be perfect and it had been right up until she had come along and spoiled everything.

Ruined. Everything would be ruined..her reputation, Kivuli's reputation - not that he would care - Everything she tried so hard to establish for her family..wreaked! And Kivuli didn't care, he didn't care at all he was right of course there was no way anyone could mistake the cub for an orphan when she had Maua's one blasted stripes down her side like that...but he could have cared just a little bit about how much misery this little cub was going to bring down on their lives..why they'd be the laughing stock of the nobles before long.

"It's more then just upsetting!" She spat at Kivuli in a fit of temper "It's a disaster! she's going to ruin everything!" She went on, practically sobbing out the last part before turning her head away from her mate and covering her face in her paws. "Just go away, leave me alone" She cried at her mate, something she had never before told him, and while she immediately felt guilty about it - she didn't take it back either.  

[She-Ra of Etheria]

While it was rare for Kivuli to become upset or angry he knew he was starting down that path. Yes, it was upsetting to them both, he had high hopes for this litter, only to offset what had happened with their first and so that Maua would be happy. But could they truly blame a newborn cub for everything? Surely they could make it work somehow. And perhaps he shouldn't have been so forceful about pointing out that she was wrong, perhaps he should have been supportive with her decision to not claim the cub as their own but he hadn't. It pained him to see her this upset but he could do nothing to fix things.

"No, you're right." He said getting to his paws. "It is a disaster and clearly if it my fault because I have such little purple." He took a few steps away, feeling a bit dejected but thought it was best to give her time to calm down. "Maua, I'm sorry, I truly am. But just think, what would the King think if you so hastily abandoned one of your own because she was born of common colors, when not all that long ago you took in a common cub to gain favor in his eyes." He probably shouldn't have said that but he just gave his head a shake. "I will go fetch you something to eat, you will need to keep your strength up to provide milk for so many mouths." With a final glance at his cubs Kivuli turned and slipped out of the den, he just hoped Maua would do nothing irrational while he was gone.  

[JetAlmeara]

Maua pretended to ignore Kivuli's words, squeezing her eyes shut and keeping her face turned away from him as he spoke - he was probably right, his family had always had less purple in their coat then hers had, that was why her parents hadn't been exactly thrilled when she insisted on being with him...but there hadn't been many to choose from at the time and she truly did love him. She didn't like the dejected tone in his voice. No the cubs coloring was both of their faults and since she couldn't bring herself to kill it while he was gone - she suspected that not only would Kivuli never forgive her if she did but she would never forgive herself as well.

Her ears twitched as she thought over his parting words..this was different, those cubs were simple commoners born of commoners, Maua never should have birthed a commoner...but she had...and now she'd have to deal with it. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad..the King had b*****d children without purple she reminded herself recalling the memory o that blue lioness from the forest - Parisette she thought her name was. The Kings daughter and not a speck of purple on her. Maybe..maybe it would be okay. she still had all the others to place her hopes on...right? It was a soothing thought Maua clung to before drifting off into a weary troubled sleep.