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 Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:09 pm
 Harb bolted awake from his afternoon nap with a soft cry of fear his emerald eyes wide in panick as he looked about the den. In his situation most cubs would bolt to their mother for comfort, but the little male most often would bolt to his father, and this time was no exception. Tucking his tail, the golden male left the den to go in search of Vu.
"Daddy?" He didn't want to bother his father, but he needed the older male's council.Harb’s father was taking his afternoon nap, too. He lay stretched out on the pile of rocks near the den. After standing all noon in the sun the rocks had soaked up heat. While the sun warmed him from above, the rocks warmed him from below. One of his ears twitched as the sound of scampering paws emanated from the den. Vu didn’t want to open his eyes. Maybe if he pretended to still be asleep Harb would go talk to his mother. Oh, he doubted that, but it was worth a shot. Harb flicked his ears nervously as he slowed looking at his father. He doubted Vu would ever strike him, but he looked comfortable and he hated to distrube him. Deciding he would be safe for the dreams long as he was with his father, the little male curled up next to his father, careful not to brush up against him and maybe wake him up. After a couple minutes Vu cracked open one eye. And there he was. He heard him climbing onto the rocks. The cubs were still quite young. It seemed like only yesterday they were just opening their eyes and learning to talk. Having little miniatures of himself running around was pretty interesting. Sometimes his cubs amazed him with how much they acted like their parents, yet none of them were quite the same. He still found himself thrown off balance when one of his cubs did or said something that brought back one of his childhood memories like a wave of déjà vu – no pun intended.
This was not one of those times. Vu never had the luxury of going to his father for advice. When he tried he usually found himself trapped in a lecture about how he wasn’t good enough yet, wasn’t training hard enough or taking life seriously enough. Never, never enough. But Vu would not be like that with his cubs. He liked to give them tough love so they’d grow up to be strong like he did. Tough love, yes, but not so tough they mistook it for hate. That’s what he was shooting for, anyway.
He stretched his forelegs, dragging his claws across the stone as he yawned, canine teeth gleaming. “What’s up, little pad?” he said lazily.
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:44 pm
"I didn't mean to wake you Dad," Harb's voice was soft as he lifted his head to look at the older male. He had Mollie's emerald green eyes and would often be found gazing off into the distance. "I just didn't want to bother mom or the girls with this. " Males were suppose to be tough, not worry their females over little things and never -ever- admit to being afraid to the girls. "I will go if you want to be alone sir."
Ah, he wanted to talk about something. So far Vu felt like he’d done a pretty okay job when it came to talking to his cubs. Their problems were little problems. Kid problems. So far he seemed to be giving the right answers. He worried that one day Harb would ask a really difficult question and expose his big secret. Vu’s big secret was this: inside, he was still a cub himself. No, Ghilt’s long talks about strength and hard work did hardly anything to help him mature.
Was he strong? Very. Was he a wise adult? You must be kidding! Could he pretend to be a grown-up in front of his cubs? So far, so good.
“No, I was already awake anyway. What’s your trouble?”
"I have been having dreams. At first I thought they were just nightmares...but in one dream I saw another pad strike his banu...and then I saw it happen when I was awake yesterday afternoon." His little ears flicked back as he looked up at Vu afraid. " My dreams keep coming true...and now..I dreamed someone hurt Zar cause she wouldn't stop talking. I don't wanna let her get hurt daddy."
Uh-oh. That sounds familiar. Vu shifted so he could look at Harb more directly. He didn’t seem phased by the news. In fact he looked like he was shaking off a bit of grogginess, which he was. “Well, you know, everybody has weird dreams sometimes,” he said, licking his tattered lips as he thought. “Are you sure the pad you saw yesterday was the same one from your dream? Totally sure?”
"Yes sir, there was no mistaking him. " The little male shuddered faintly remembering his fear at the violence. He had never seen anyone so angry or so cold. Vu would never strike their mother, Harb just knew it. His father was a good pad who loved his Banu and cubs.
Now Vu did look serious. He furrowed his brow and glanced down at the rocks in thought. His heart started to pound a little faster. My son? A seer? No one else in my family has the sight, unless someone’s been lying to me. I don’t think Mollie’s family has it either. Do they?
“Has this happened before?” he asked, doing his best not to sound worried. If Harb picked up on that he’d probably be even more frightened than he already was and Vu didn’t want to appear easily frazzled in front of his son.
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:32 pm
He looked down at his toes then back up at him, " Yes sir, sometimes I have normal dreams. Then sometimes I have dreams like these... I can usually tell the difference." Something was wrong, he just knew it. Something he has said or done had alarmed his father and that was starting to scare him. "Dad...did I do something wrong?"
He shook his head. “No, Harb. I’m just… a little surprised. That’s all.”
He rose to a sitting position and gazed down at his son, stared at his emerald green eyes. All he wanted was a strong son. It seemed he could find himself with much more than just a strong son. Now he wasn’t sure who to thank or who to blame for this blessing. Harb didn’t look ‘mystic’ either. Maybe seers usually don’t. “It’s actually not that unusual. I had a friend with that power before Mollie – before your mother and I – came here, except she didn’t have visions in her dreams. For her they happened while she was still awake. I think it’s different for everyone. It’s called seeing. You’re a seer.”
"So..so it's not a bad thing?" He slowly lifted his head again, calming down when his father showed no fear. He tilted his head as he listened. So he wasn't a freak, he was something called a seer. "Can..can I do anything about things I see?"
“No, it’s not a bad thing.” That wasn’t what Zito said. She seemed to hate her powers, but they had a crippling affect on her. Hopefully Harb’s visions would stay in his dreams. He didn’t want to start worrying about his son passing out face down in a lake the way Zito almost did when he stumbled across her in the middle of a vision.
Vu shifted his paws. “Well… I don’t really know. I never asked. Tell me about your dream with Zar.”
"I couldn't see it all, it was like I came into the middle of a fight." He shuddered looking at his feet, ears flicking back. "Zar smarted off like she likes to do and the strange male struck her across the face with his claws out. She started screaming and wouldn't stop. There was so much blood and he kept hitting her and I couldn't do anything." A sob caught in his throat but he choked it back down. His sister was a pill, but she was -his- sister and he would die to protect her.
“The other pads aren’t allowed to strike her as long as she’s part of our family. Until she’s old enough to join a harem of her own she belongs to me. Any male who touches her like that outside our family will be punished.” If Harb’s vision was true, that could only mean…
“Harb, I promise I won’t give any of my daughters to a pad who’d only treat them like trash. I’ll talk to her about mouthing off, too. That way your vision can’t happen.” Right? He needed to talk to his daughters anyway. Mollie had been teaching them about the pride on her own, but maybe it wasn’t enough. He could only blame himself if one of his daughters got hurt because they were never properly taught the ways of the pride.
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 5:55 pm
"Thank you daddy. I know you won't let them get hurt." Trust and pride in his father made his green eyes brighten as he looked up at Vu. He was so wise and strong, he wouldn't let anything hurt their mother or them. "I won't let them be hurt either, I will help you keep them safe daddy. They need us after all." The little male nodded, his fear subsiding now that he had talked to his father, everything would be ok.
“That’s right, they do.” Vu nodded, though there was some distance in his eyes. He was thinking about Mollie and the rest of his cubs. “Listen. If you have any more visions like that, make sure you tell me – or your mother if I’m not around, especially if it’s urgent. Understand?”
"Yes sir!" Harb beamed happily as he pranced a bit. His father counted on him! It was enough to make the little male's chest puff out. He may be outnumbered by the girls but none of them had daddy ask them to be strong and help protect the family. "I won't let you down sir!"
“That’s a good boy.” Vu smiled but, in the back of his mind, he worried. That vision about Zar obviously upset Harb a great deal. Harb was too tough to show how scared he must have felt, just like Vu was at his age. This could turn out to be a much bigger responsibility than either of them realized. He would just have to be strong. Vu would show him how.
((Fin~))
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