The past few days had left the lioness exhausted, if not in a placid state of bliss. She had done nothing but lay in her den with her body curled around the two fuzzy cubs she had labored to bring into this world. Luckily, her efforts had paid off and now she was gazing upon two beautiful little girls. Great additions for the pride, she was certain, as more claws to hunt with filled more bellies for the pride. But that would come later in their lives, so Dina resigned herself to simply thinking of what best to show them first. The lioness purred softly as she gave her hind legs a stretch, stirring from her waking sleep. Today would be the day she took them out of the den for the first time, and begin their lessons on life in the Ithambo. They were young, that was for certain, but Dina believed the sooner the better when it came to exposing them to their way of life.With a loud yawn and show of her large teeth, Dina gently pushed her nose into the two twins, hoping to rouse them as well. "Time to get up, little ones. We mustn't keep the day waiting," she spoke softly, firmly so as to get to her point across. Not only did the lioness need to stretch her cramped muscles, but her gut was telling her that food was an important part of the agenda. Despite getting up for short bursts during the week to feed quickly and occasionally while her cubs slept in the den, Dina was still quite hungry. All the more reason to begin the day.
Chazama twitched and than turned to stare at the big round nose that had poked her. Was it really time to get up? She thought not, and simply laid her head back down again. It was warm where she was, and familiar, which brought a sense of belonging and safety to the little cub. For now, that was the most important thing in the world.
