Welcome to Gaia! ::

The sun had risen to its peak and the temperature anywhere under that great eye was a place to scrupulously avoid for the next couple spans. Tarafa, panting slightly, reached the cool of the den with a sigh of relief. There was no real reason to be out and about in the heat today, so she had plans to relax and perhaps take a nap.

It seemed she wasn't the only one to have that idea though. Nyesha was already back, curled up in a corner. The older lioness smiled, proud as only a parent could be. It was amazing to think they were already adolescents, her children. Soon enough they'd be grown and moving out of the den she and Mittere shared. She'd miss them, but it was part of the circle of life. And a part they'd not yet come to.

The lioness padded up to her offspring and gently nudged the other with her nose. "Wake up sleepyhead."

Blue eyes narrowed slightly as Tarafa saw her daughter pause after shaking her head. That was...unusual. Children, she had learned, used a fluid set of movements and motions save for when they were completely and utterly distracted from one event by another, and then it was an abrupt jerk. This was neither. Still, she had no reason to bring it up, yet.

"As good as can be," she replied. "With this heat, there's not much going on outside, save for the inevitable gossip." The older lioness' tone made her opinion of that quite clear. A Bard she might be, but she was only after facts, not conjecture, and what was the point in retelling events repeatedly from sunup to sundown?

"What about your morning? What brings you back so soon?"

"A nap?" Tarafa considered the idea. It was, after all, what she'd been about to do. However..she had to wonder now, why Nyesha wanted to take a nap. She'd always been less active than her siblings...but perhaps there was a reason why?

In this pride, parents didn't want to go too far too fast when it came to kids not acting in an expected manner. But when things started adding up, they got worried exceedingly quickly. Was she overreacting? She couldn't be certain, but...

But. She didn't know for certain unless she asked. And her children were adolescents and theoretically old enough to deal with adult issues.

"Naps are a good idea...have you been tired long?" Ease into it, that's what the older lioness thought. Or hoped. Or prayed?

Tarafa reflected on that response. It seemed true enough...but Nyesha still sounded as if she were hiding something. The lioness sighed inwardly. She didn't like pulling the stern, disciplinarian face. That was Mittere's job by unspoken agreement. Still, she didn't approve of lies for any reason.

"Is that the whole truth?" she asked. "Or is there...something you want to tell me?" She wanted to be gentle, since prying like this was a delicate matter. Yes, she felt entitled to do so, as a parent, but if this wasn't done well, it could permanently damage their relationship, and Tarafa had no wish to do that.

The adult held her breath as her daughter answered, reconsidered, and then released it as she finally answered again. There was the thing she'd most expected and least wanted to hear. She supposed she should be grateful it was only this, her youngest daughter, and not all three of her children. Still, it hurt.

"You have the disease, don't you," Tarafa stated, lying down next to the younger lioness. It was a resigned statement, no more and no less. She felt somewhat...dull inside...unsure of how to react to her worst fears confirmed.

Tarafa's heart contracted painfully as her daughter confirmed her worst fears. She'd hoped...but perhaps that had been mere wishful thinking. The lioness felt her eyes getting damp as Nyesha leaned up against her.

"Oh my baby," she murmured, nuzzling the younger lion. "My poor baby, dealing with this all alone for so long." The tears ran freely down her cheeks and into Nyesha's fur. "I am so sorry."

It was her fault for having children in such a pride. The same thing had happened to one of her own siblings, though he'd died a juvenile. Still, she'd wanted children so bad, and they'd made her so happy...maybe she'd wanted to forget that this could happen.

The lioness' tail curled possessively around her daughter. She wasn't ready to let her go yet, but had recognized the inevitable. So be it. Tarafa would savor every day until Pestilence should come for Nyesha.