Siochana - -_Wish of the Goddess_-
Hakuna'jina - Das Tor
It wasn't normal for small cubs to be out on their own in the Pride, especially not in the midst of the day, but the dual-eyed daughter of Tulivu was feeling odd. Siochana's crimson paw took to the earth carefully, and she moved over it with the utmost ease. Her movement was as silent as the grave, and were it not for the fact that she purposefully made a noise every now and again, one might have not noticed she was there. When she scented blood, she stopped, looking at the ground, smiling. This must have been the fighting ground her other father travelled to. THe one who was not her father....but was at the same time. Her paws pressed against the ground, and she eagerly took in the scent, her claws itching for a good fight, not that she'd get it, or she thought she wouldn't. Not 'til she was older. Though maybe she'd meet someone whilst here.
Hakuna had seen the girl her son had brought back. She'd watched her grow heavy with cubs, and then...seclude herself. As a proper demon lioness did when the time to give birth came. So...Hakuna was patient, waiting until the day she would get to meet her newest grandcubs. She had learned a great deal of patience...and oddly enough, it was rewarded early.
The Sinta'hare had made her way out to the training grounds, to stretch and prepare herself for any students who might visit that night. Despite the fact she was still the best fighter in the pride, she...was growing older. And the scars that littered her body ached at times. But all thoughts of prep were lost when she noticed a little cub wandering about the grounds. Huh...how odd. It wasn't hard to recognize her as one her her blood, however. Not with the marking on the little one's back. Smiling slightly, she moved over to the girl.
"You're a bit young to be wandering by yourself, little one."
The young cub's eyes glanced up as she heard a voice. Those mismatched eyes seemed to sparkle with a battle-lust, though it calmed as soon as the other lioness got closer. The young cub sat on the ground, and watched the adult female, her eyes running over every scar, every mark, "......A little bit." Her words were quiet, her voice only slightly raised above a whisper, "I like it here. It makes my paws tingle." The cub answered honestly, her eyes turning around, "I like the smell, and it's....somehow....feeling right to me. " She giggled again, then let her tail wrap about her paws, the golden tip flicking, "Who're you?"
Hakuna chuckled and moved so she was laying down rather than towering over the cub. "By your markings and coloring, I suspect you are one of my newest grandcubs. My name is Hakuna'jina. Would your parents happen to be Tulivu, Aisling, and Tavar?" She'd had no trouble referring to the trio as a trio...it was remeniscient of her own relationship with Verge and Te. Just...a bit different. Despite how much they meant to her, she was still something of a third wheel.
She blinked, and then her lips pulled into a grin, those eyes glittering in delight, "Yes! So you're my grandmother!" She let her tail flick back and forth eagerly, and her claws kneaded into the ground, "I'm Siochana~" Instead of pouncing on the older lion, the cub placed her paws gently on her grandmother's shoulder, so she could stand up to lick at that ear. It was easy enough, and then she was back down, cuddling against a leg. Siochana was one of the smaller cubs of the litter, but she was okay with that, "I like this place, Grandmother. What is it?"
Hakuna's smile grew to a grin. Her family had grown once more. Something inside her couldn't help but be proud of that fact. "Welcome to the world, Siochana." She returned the cub's lick with one to the top of her head. "This is the training grounds I teach others to fight in. This is where many in the pride have learned to defend themselves and the pride, and many egos have been popped when newcomers think they're stronger than me."
Siochana laughed at the thought, "I don't think they'd be stronger than you, Grandmother. I can feel your muscles under your pelt. You've been fighting for a long time. I want to be strong too! Can I fight too?" She asked, her entire body nearly quivering in delight at the thought, "I can imagine fighting others! I'd be good at it! Even if I'm small...."
Hakuna chuckled. "One day, I'll teach you how to fight, too." It was nice to hear the eagerness in the cub's voice. Another swell of pride. "And I have been fighting for a very long time. Even when I was young. And for a long time, I fought to help keep this pride safe." She remembered when it was so young...had it really been so long?
Siochana felt her chest swell in delight, "I would like that, Grandmother. I think I will be good at it. My other daddy fights too, doesn't he? Papa Tuli says you put him in his place once, when he told you they were together. Is that true?" Her eyes gazed up at the female, eager to hear her stories, to know more about the lioness that Siochana had decided she wanted to be JUST. LIKE.
The old lioness nodded. "Your Papa Tavar is one of my students that still comes back to learn, despite being all grown up. And...I did. See, he's got a little bit of an ego, and it needs popping now and again that your Papa Tuli and Mama can't do." She did care for the odd male like one of her own, though. He and his cousin, Moricorm's cast-off daughter.
The girl giggled softly, and nodded, curling into the lioness' side. "Maybe I'll be able to help papa like that when I get older." She purred, "I want to be just like you, when I'm an adult, Grandmother. Can I do that?"
Hakuna laughed and nodded again. "I don't see why not." That...struck a chord in her that might have had anyone else crying in joy. That she had a grandchild that wanted to be like her made her happy in a way beyond description. That was the sort of legacy she'd always wanted to leave.
Siochana purred eagerly, "I can't wait, grandmother! I want to be like you. I want to teach people how to fight, and be the BEST." Her own chest swelled with pride at the thought, "Can I be?"
Hakuna smirked, bopping her granddaughter on the head lightly. "Well...to be the best, you'll have to beat me one day. But if you do...I think I'd like that. Just means I would be very, very proud of you." She wasn't one of those who would accuse of cheating if she lost. Instead...if it was someone she'd trained, she'd feel proud that she had trained someone who rose above her.
