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 Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:27 pm
IC Publicity Semi-Public
Weather: Hot. Dry. Slight winds during the day.
Location: Onaedo's den area.
Life in the Ithambo'hlabathi had been growing increasingly tense as of late, enough so that even the ever jovial Njalo'sasa was unable to completely avoid noticing. The drought was more severe than those that had presented in previous years. Not something that typically concerned the Bongo marked lioness, but something new had reared its head this season that had left Njalo deeply troubled. A sickness had begun to consume the elderly members of the pride, this immediately made her fear for the life of her surrogate mother, the Umama Nombuso. More troubling though, was the fact that this unknown illness had also begun to attack cubs. The death of one had already begun to spread across the pride and the mere idea of it made Njalo's lips curl with a bristling sense of outrage.
How dare this silent killer have the audacity to take the life of one who had not yet known the joy of life. Loyal to every member of the pride, the bubbly umzingeli had always possessed a particular soft spot for the little ones of the Ithambo. Now that she and Matifu were to soon expect a litter of their own she found herself sick with a fear that she pushed far beneath an ever happy-go-lucky exterior.
It was for that reason alone that she had hoped to catch Onaedo alone at her den. Hope blossomed in her chest that the mother of a successfully well-aged daughter might be able to soothe her uncertainty the closer she came to the mouth of the prey-pelted female, just like herself. Head peeking in as she called out cheerily, Onaedo? Onaaaedo? Are you home?
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 3:01 am
It was cool in the den and with the drought in heavy affect the den was the best place to be at this time of day, it was then that she was quite surprised that someone was wandering about.
Onaedo's mind had been on many things of late, the drought, the vote she had been forced to make for the good of the pride, at least what she thought as the good of the pride. The main thing on her mind though, death. The word had spread quickly when a cub had been taken by the mystery illness that seemed to blight the old and the young. She felt a sadness a sadness she felt only a mother could know. She herself had raised eight cubs, successfully, the males had gone out in to the rogue lands and the females lived a successful life here within the borders as they were supposed to.
All of this, deep thought, dropped as the young female came to the mouth of her den. "The only sensible place to be in this heat Njalo'sasa, what brings you out/" She raises a brow gesturing for the lioness to enter in to the cool confines of her den.
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 3:37 am
If Onaedo's words were a jab at Njalo's lack of common sense the lioness seemed completely oblivious to it. Though the sun blazed above her, soaking deep into the darker portions of her pelt, it was rare that Nombuso's adopted daughter ever complained about anything, let alone her own discomfort. All the same, she was glad for the invitation into the den. Happily bobbing her head in thanks to the generous offer as she stepped just under the shade to settle upon her haunches quietly.
Unlike her usually eager greeting, a rushing head bump accompanied by an affectionate lick or purr, Njalo showed obvious restraint. Perhaps the first and most obvious indication that there was something heavy weighing upon her mind. Njalo is glad to find you, Nae-nae!
She started to churp, cheerily enough. Brilliant, sun-colored eyes gazing at her elder, matching the smile upon her maw to perfection. As Nja lingered in the den though, her smile began to waver and almost as if she couldn't bare to look at anyone without that characteristically blithe expression, Njalo tucked her chin to her chest. Staring at her toes. Nja was hoping.. maybe.. maybe Onaedo would talk with Nja a little while..
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 3:50 am
The older lioness let out a light sigh. This was how this conversation was going to go then? Sometimes younger lionesses got right on her wick. They were too hyper, too happy and far too upbeat. They needed to settle down and stop wandering around in the heat of the sun like a bunch of foolish fools.
Settling a serene smile on her maw the older lioness let Njalo get her greetings out. Nae-nae? Well she would cope with that particular greeting for now. "As previously stated young one, this is where I usually am at this time of day. Heat stroke serves no one."
A quick quirk of her brow made her look at the younger lioness and sigh. Perhaps she was being harsh? Njalo, was young inexperienced, what was with the third person speech? She wondered if she would make it out of this conversation with all of her sanity in tact... "What is it you wish to speak to me about?" She asks settling her paws across one another her deep chocolate brown eyes settling on the female. She realised begrudgingly, that Njalo was worried about something, she could listen and she would be more than happy to offer her best advice.
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 4:55 am
Pawing at the ground beneath the cushioning of soft, pale pads, Njalo finally glanced up again when she was certain she could maintain that chipper exterior. Humming in soft appreciation of Onaedo's words. She'd had heatstroke explained to her before, but to her knowledge the female had never dealt with it personally. Some may have argued that it was because Njalo spent too much time in the sun that her brain was so apparently damaged.
Well, Njalo knows Nae is a good mom.. cause you has beautiful Umoya who grew up so well in the Ithambo and Nja was wondering...how Nae did it. With the dry seasons and all... how d'you keep them safe from... everything? A half-circling gesture of her head seemed to suggest more than just the dry spells. Considering whether or not to tell the accomplished mother that she and Matifu would soon be expecting cubs, it was a comment Njalo sat on for the moment. Given the hostility of the land as of recent, not everyone she had told thus far had been as excited about the news as she had hoped.
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 5:23 am
The lioness opened her mouth and closed it again. This referring to herself in third person was grating on her nerves but the young lioness was heer for advice and advice she could do perfectly well.
"How do you protect them from everything? The simple answer my dear is you can't." She laughs gently "When you have a bunch of kicking screaming cubs around your paws you have to let them fall down, you have to let them make mistakes, as long as it's not THOSE kind of mistakes." She raises both brows, she was a traditionalist, cubs should not stray from that path, they should follow the prides rules.
"If they topple over doing something stupid they know not to do it again.." She pauses suddenly a frown coming to her brow. She had not raised her cubs in a time like this, when the drought was at their door constantly when some sort of illness was scratching at the youth. "Of course, it is best to not bear cubs during the drought but it can be done you just have to be sure you are fit enough. It takes ten times as long to find water and your cubs cannot survive forever without a mouth full of milk."
Taking a deep breath the older lioness reaches out and touches a paw to Njalo's shoulder "There is nothing that can be done if cubs die because of this, you learn and you do better next time. Life is a precious commodity out here Njalo, it's best really to wait and have cubs when the drought has passed." She licks her lips and sighs, it was all well and good saying that but it was their duty to bear cubs. "Is that all you wish to ask of me young one hmm?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 6:43 am
Even a less than brilliant lioness like Njalo could recognize sage words when she heard them and Onaedo's advice would certainly put to good use--if she could stand to remember it that long and she would give it her best to try. A soft titter of amusement falling breathily from her lips in response to the emphasis made over her disapproval of certain wrong-doings. Under normal circumstances, such a statement would have breezed right over her head, but Onaedo was known for her strict views on following the laws of the pride. Laws that Njalo never questioned herself, but occasionally forgot the details of causing minor disasters from time to time.
Her bubbly smile wavered with the sudden severity of the words that were tumbling from the maw of the brunette lioness. Things like "best not to". Things like "cannot survive". Things like "best to wait". These were the sorts of cautionary statements Njalo had feared that she would hear, heart sinking in her chest. She was a skilled predator, one of the best solitary hunters in the pride, but the herds were moving further and further away. Each kill took an excess amount of energy just to cart all the way back to the boundaries of the Ithambo. Could she still manage it when her belly was swollen with cubs? Who would take her place if she couldn't?
Startled out of her reverie by the paw that gently touched her shoulder, a freckled nose crinkled with thought before she suddenly shook her head. Would you, if you were Njalo? If you had been waiting for so long for your turn with the Umholi.. would you walk away from the chance to be a mother, Nae? Njalo... isn't high priority she knows. Neither smart nor light or dark.. but stuck between.. Nja has been waiting for her turn since she came of age and.. if not now.. then maybe never again will Nja have her turn..
Confessing guiltily, the sinewy little female realized that her actions might have been selfish and not in the best interest of the offspring she bared. That being said a part of her wanted Onaedo to reassure her that it was okay. That she would be a good mother, capable of protecting her cubs. That she deserved to have the chance to raise a litter of her very own.
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 9:51 am
The older lioness frowned a little. The question she was posed was a difficult one. It was their duty to bear cubs, their duty to raise them right to hunt and feed the males and see that their offspring grew tall and strong able to survive through the worst of times. What if it was the worst time though, what if survival was becoming hard, should the duty to bear young be forsaken by the times? It was a conundrum wrapped in an enigma and it was one that Onadeo had never had to face.
Njalo was facing this problem though and she felt for the silly lioness. She felt sorry for her that she couldn't be facing her potential pregnancy and ensuing cubs with pure unbridled happiness which was what she had faced when she had born forth the cubs of Kamal.
The lioness sighs and nods. "I understand Njalo, I really do and I cannot answer your question." The truth then, that was all she could do. "Every fibre of my being longs to be a mother, I have been a mother and I love my children more than my own life, I am proud to have born my babes to the pride. YOU have to decide if you can sacrifice your time to cubs, more time than most others would give in times of plenty." She shakes her head and smiles. "I cannot offer you more advice than that, it is our place to raise cubs as best we can to bear them to love them but only you can decide if the times are too hard." She sighs lightly "do you understand?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 2:33 pm
Waiting with bated breath while Onaedo seemed to be deliberating over the question, nervous eyes flickered across the den she sat in. Only just taking in her surroundings. It was a cozy place. A good spot to raise cubs. Fighting for the most advantageous place to rear cubs was another aspect of becoming a mother. Could the overly affectionate and ever submissive lioness effectively fight for the most opportunistic advantages to give the most promising chance of her cubs survival? Perhaps this was something Njalo should have been considering, but naivete made her believe that the other females in the pride would be willing to aid her in giving her offspring the best odds of growing into fine adults. In the same selfless manner she had for them.
When the umzingeli spoke up, dark ears pricked attentively, returning her focus to Onaedo to contemplate her advice with an open mind. For a few moments afterward the end of the wise speech her expression remained quietly impassive and then suddenly, without warning, a blissful smile smile caused Njalo'sasa's dove white jaws to part with excitement. Leaping onto all fours to pace in a tight circle around Onaedo adoringly, their fur brushing as an exclamation point marked cheek rubbed on the mother. Njalo understands! It was a good idea to see Onaedo! Nja is glad she came to talk to you! Nja feels much better!
Pausing under a pale throat, the doting female licked her adviser's chin appreciatively. It wasn't what Onaedo had said as much as what she hadn't said that had gotten her bubble-headed companion so excited. As long as there wasn't a clear cut affirmation that having cubs at such a critical time then there was hope! Or atleast, that's how this always-half-full lioness chose to view things.
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 2:49 pm
The older lioness watched with sheer confusion as the young silly lioness trundled around her. Clearly there was no speaking to this girl. She had obviously taken her advice incorrectly. It really wasn't a time to be bearing cubs but she could hardly take her advice away since it had been so well received.
Onaedo rolls her eyes and gives the young lioness a quick lick, it wasn't like she was heartless simply stern. "You realise if you choose to have cubs now you will find yourself in hard times Njalo?" She sighs gently and lifts a paw capturing the lionesses chin and looking deep in to her eyes.
"Be Careful." She states simply hoping at least those words would sink in. "Know what you are up against, realise times are hard young one and that it will be the most challenging and rewarding time of your life if you choose to go ahead." She pauses for a moment shaking her pale head and sighing "If you choose to go ahead come back to me. I will help." Why she was offering the insufferable female help she did not know, she felt sorry for the girl that was the problem, sorry that she was so nieve, so stupid to think she could come out of baring cubs in this climate without any casualties. Well the girl would learn, but she would provide an assisting paw, she wasn't heartless after all, she could teach the young female some lessons though not all of them she knew would be good.
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 7:28 pm
Njalo knows. The whole pride is in hard times, that's why the abazingeli help each other out, right? Isn't that the whole reason of a pride.. to work together? Njalo knows that there are many good lionesses in the Ithambo. We all shoulder the burden together. There was a look of complete camaraderie in those yellow eyes. A simple sort of trusting as she smiled and poked her damp, black nose to Onaedo's when their faces were suddenly bare inches apart.
Accepting the warning in paw for what it was, when bundled with the rest of the comments that were being tossed her way Njalo could barely contain her excitement. Most rewarding. Yes, she was already certain that it would be, gaze glowing with enthusiasm. Giggling as she nodded understandingly, so glad for Onaedo's offer to coach her through the experiences of being a first time mother. Hardly able to keep still, even despite the arid heat of the day, Nja had to run. Had to find some way to burn the sprightly energy she was currently sitting on. O-okay! Nja will! Promise! Thank you Nae-nae! Thank you!
With one last, tender bump against Onaedo's shoulder, the giddy lioness twisted on her heels and surged out into the sunlight. Sprinting off in a cloud of dust.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 12:07 am
With a sigh the older lioness watched as the young female bounded away. It was a fools errand talking sense in to that girl obviously. Bouncing around in the bright sun, leaping about like a mad thing. She pondered if cubs borne by this lioness would survive at all?
Well it wasn't for her to decide the young females fate nor the cubs she would potentially carry. She just hoped the young female would at least take some of her advice in to her scatty brains.
Time woud tell the outcome of this particular conversation and Njalo would have to learn the hard way that not everyone would offer her a helping paw. Ah well. With a final sigh the pale female laid her had on her paws and closed her dark brown eyes. She had done all she could...
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