Second on the list, but first for the future(Maua & Pur) FIN

[JetAlmeara]

Maua was throughly irritated with Nyota - but that was nothing new although she had high hopes for purple daughter it didn't seem as thought the cub was going to live up to them. After coming to this conclusion Maua had begun turning her attentions towards Pur'jed in hops that she at least would turn out to be the daughter she had always hoped for. The proper noble daughter. If Nyota wished to continue being a little rebel - well then good on her, Kivuli seemed to think a little bit of space might bring her around anyways.

With these thoughts in mind Maua padded towards the den she shared with Kivuli and the cubs, dipping her head slightly to peer within "Pur'jed darling?" she called out to her daughter. "Are you here?"  

[Princess_Feylin]

Pur'Jed had been - believe it or not - practicing obeisances. It was a pastime that would only have earned her siblings' scorn and amusement had they caught her at it, but she didn't think it was a useless pastime like they did. After all, she'd actually spoken with the queen, and when she did her curtsy had been less than perfect. She didn't want to make that same embarrassing mistake ever again in the future. She wanted her curtsies to be so perfect that people would be amazed by how perfect a courtier she was. Each time she made a bow, critically examining every nuance of the motion, she tried to think of something new and pithy to say, as though she were truly being introduced to another noble.

At the sound of her mother's voice Pur stopped what she was doing and whirled around quickly, almost over-balancing in the process. Sometimes her coordination left much to be desired. The cub could hardly wait until she was old enough to be graceful. She was convinced that grace was a thing that would come with a combination of age and practice. She was practicing now so that when the age part happened it would all just fall into place and she'd be a perfect lady like her mother.

Rather than yell back to her mother, which would have been unladylike, Pur made her way to the opening of the den. She would have liked to move at a sedate, graceful pace, but in truth she knew that if she wasn't going to call out an answer she had to at least appear quickly so that her mother wouldn't think she wasn't there. And so she ended up loping to the front of the cave to present herself.

"I'm here, mother," she said, perhaps unnecessarily. With a smile she hoped was delightful and charming she dropped into one of the curtsies she'd been practicing. "What may I do for you?"  

[JetAlmeara]

Maua was listening carefully for an answer she could hear someone moving about inside but just who it was she did not know, when Pur'Jed failed to answer Maua was beginning to think it must not be her when the mostly purple cub came running up to the entrance. She was such a pretty little creature Maua thought to herself in a rather smug way - after all she was part of the reason the little cub was so good looking now wasn't she?

Far, far to pretty to be rushing about like that and Maua pursed her lips slightly to scold her for galloping about like a common lion when she not only announced herself in a cheerful manner but dipped into a curtsy that would make any mother proud - but most especially a noble mother. "You've been practicing!" She exclaimed in a pleased voice "And your certainly getting better" she praised the cub - praise for spending your time doing important things like practicing skill useful in a noble life was something Maua thought essential to raising fine upstanding members of the pride.  

[Princess_Feylin]

Pur grinned delightedly. Her mother had noticed that she'd been practicing! She was too young to consider the implication that if her improvement was visible she must not have been very proficient before. For one thing, that wasn't the case. For another thing, Pur was simply not experienced enough to pick up on an insult that was so subtly implied.

"Thank you," she said, accepting the praise with as much dignity as she could manage considering how thrilled she was by it.

Pur liked spending time with her mother. Yes, there were frequently lessons and lectures on the duties of the upper classes and the burdens they bore so that the lower classes could have their freedoms, but Pur didn't mind them so much. She didn't even mind the rigid social structure that was imposed on those of her class. It made things make sense to her, and she was glad to have her mother to help her navigate the sometimes tricky ways of pride politics.

"Mother, I was wondering. There aren't a lot of cubs my own age in the pride right now. Are you sure it wouldn't be all right for me to play with the king's cubs? His natural cubs."

Pur knew, and hoped her mother knew, she would probably never play with the b*****d cubs, even with permission, because she didn't want to risk her tenuous friendship with Queen Kalenda, but just to have the option would be a sort of freedom. And they were of higher rank than the cubs of commoners and groundlings, at least on their father's side. Not that she wanted anything to do with them. She just...wanted to know.  

[JetAlmeara]

Maua arched a brow slightly at her daughters question -it was one she hadn't expected from her oh so proper daughter, but at least she soothed herself Pur had thought to ask before simply running off and playing with them on her own the way Nyota and even Zamba would be prone to doing. On the other hand perhaps this would be a good test of her daughters resolve. Was she truly interested in growing up to be a Lady of the Pride? Or was she merely fooling herself into thinking she would be capable of upholding such a demanding position?

Maua had every confidence in her daughter, she, in fact refused to consider that at least some of her children would not grow up to be proper nobles. It was unthinkable...and clearly their fathers fault if they didn't, Kivuli and his liberal thinking about common beasts! Her tail tapped against the ground at the thought but she quickly still it, smoothing her features into a pleasant expression as she looked upon young Pur, curling her tail about her feet as she primly sat down.

"Well Pur love, I think you are old enough now to make these decisions on your own. You need to decide if the company you wish to keep will further your goals in the future or hinder them. and that of course depends upon what your goals might be.." She told her in a serious tone, obviously Pur would understand the implications of choosing the play with and moon be spared actually make friends with some common beast.

this was actually the perfect time to test her daughter in such a way - if Pur made an ill choice she was still young enough that it could be rectified and laughed off as the impulses of youth - and quickly forgotten by those of importance in the Pride. Hopefully. But if she made the proper choice well...Maua could always point it out later - just how wonderfully proper Pur had been right from the start. The perfect cub. She wasn't to worried - and while she wanted her daughter to be happy she soothed her thoughts with the knowledge that there would soon be more cubs for Pur to play with - good proper noble cubs if their parents were any example and destined to have purple on them somewhere. Kagiso and Zumi's cubs would make ideal playmates for her own litter.  

[Princess_Feylin]

Pur's green eyes widened at her mother's response. It was not the one she'd been expecting at all, and it put a great deal of responsibility on her shoulders. What would the correct choice be? Maybe if she spoke through her thought processes, her mother might give her a nudge in the right direction. She studied her paws for a moment while she considered how to begin and how to put it so that it wouldn't seem like she was actually asking for guidance or even hoping for it.

"Of course, they aren't truly noble and never will be," she began. When she'd learned what it meant to be a natural child, Pur had been relieved how obvious it was that she and her siblings were so obviously their father's and their mother's. Even so, she'd entertained several delightfully terrifying daydreams in which it was discovered that she wasn't really who she thought she was. It had been an extremely unpleasant daydream.

"That means they'll never be my equals in terms of rank, and the gods only know what sort of lioness their mother was and what sort of things she might have passed on to them. They could even be dangerous." Pur didn't know anything about the bastards' mother, but she assumed that the lioness had been a rogue and she viewed rogues with a great deal of suspicion.

"But on the other paw, the king seems inclined to show them favor and provide for them within the pride." And now she came to the matter that confused her. "Doesn't that mean he expects the rest of us to treat them as well as he does, even though he clearly doesn't intend to call them royalty?"

"But, since he doesn't intend for them to be royalty, and I think that includes nobility as well, they are still beneath me and even the king would have to agree to that. Which means they wouldn't really be suitable playmates for me, even if their father is the king. Is that right?"

Pur'Jed looked up at her mother, hoping that she'd come to the correct conclusion. She wanted so very much to please her mother. It was true she wasn't the oldest cub in the litter, and she wasn't male, but she wanted to be seen to be of worth and value anyway. She knew she had the potential to become great. She just needed a little encouragement.  

[JetAlmeara]

Maua listened to her daughter as she worked through the dilemma before her - it said allot about the fine breeding Pur had in her veins that even at such a young age she was capable of working through such thing with logic rather then emotions. Sure she wanted playmates - and no one could really blame her there but she was wise enough to the prides way that she could already distinguish proper playmates from improper ones.

Maua was ever so proud and beamed at her daughter with delight, just imagine how much bragging she could do about Pur as she grew - she was wonderfully purple and spectacularly natured. Nothing like her sibling thank the gods! "Of course love, it is important to be kind..but aloof to the b*****d children, we don't want to upset the King of course - and doubtless he is already upset enough by their disappointing color but neither do we wish to taint your reputation. It is important even now" She reminded her child with just a bit of force behind the words. It was important so very important that at least one of her children grew up to be worthwhile nobles!  

[Princess_Feylin]

Pur beamed back at her mother, basking in delight at her mother's delight. She loved her mother so much. It made her happy to please her. Oh, she loved her father, too, but she always felt that he didn't quite understand how the world was really supposed to be. He didn't seem as sure of things as her mother, and she couldn't understand him as easily as she did her mother. Her mother's worldview was easier.

"I was right!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "I'm so glad."

The rest of her mother's speech sobered her somewhat. The part about being kind but aloof was nothing too new. Her mother said that about most of the people in the pride who weren't nobility. It was her duty, her obligation as a noble to put on a good show for everyone else in the pride. That way they could see what they were meant to achieve and strive for it with her example in mind.

"Is my reputation really important even now?" she asked.

She couldn't remember a time when she hadn't wondered how she would be married off, and whether that choice would have anything to do with her behavior even as a cub. She'd always assumed that the better behaved she was, the better her future husband would be. It was an idea that she'd come up with by herself, but maybe her mother could confirm or deny her suspicions.  

[JetAlmeara]

It so pleased Maua that Pur seemed so eager to sponge up all of her advice.It was important advice and she couldn't imagine how anyone could see it differently.Well no one of proper noble blood anyways and it was her responsibility to pass on that information to her children - weather they wanted it or not. Granted it was far nicer to pass it on to Pur who ate it of her own accord then the forced shoveling she had to do with some of her other children.

"Why of course it is" Maua exclaimed pulling back a bit as though the very thought of not thinking about your future was quite repulsive. "Just because you are a child doesn't mean you should not be thinking of your future.." she cautioned her daughter seriously "You may be young but others still see you and yes some things might just be bushed off as youth and everyone expects you to be rambunctious and playful - all healthy cubs are - but you wouldn't wan to grow up with the reputation for being a pest or a troublemaker either" She told her gentle "Some reputation's will follow you into adulthood and however will you find a kind mate if you are thought badly of?"  

[Princess_Feylin]

"I thought that might be the way it is," Pur'Jed said, nodding to herself.

The confirmation of her suspicions neither disappointed nor delighted her. It just proved her right, and Pur hadn't been very much concerned about that. She did wonder who did the judging and made all the decisions. Was it her mother? Her father? Surely the king and queen couldn't be bothered to care about the behavior of every noble cub. And yet someone had to be doing all this weighing and determining of reputations.

"I don't want to be thought badly of. I want to be the very best. Like a princess."

She didn't actually say that she wanted to be a princess, because that would just be foolish. Her mother would likely laugh at her ambition. Right now she was young enough that any cubs born to the king and queen wouldn't be too young for her to marry, but she knew the queen wasn't pregnant at the moment, which meant there'd still be a long wait before they were even born, let alone grown up enough to be interesting.

"Who do you think I'll marry, mama?" she asked, unwittingly slipping into using "mama" instead of "mother." She asked because she hoped her mother's answer would bring her some sort of reassurance that she was being good enough.  

[JetAlmeara]

"All young noble ladies should conduct themselves as though they were princesses to be" Maua stated her approval with a slight nod. Although it was unlikely that many - if any - of them would actually become princesses it was a good thing to strive for. Always good to better yourself from Maua's point of view - and of course she dreamed of her daughter gaining such a wonderful status. Imagine being the mother of a princess?

Her thoughts interrupted by Pur's question Maua decided to let the mama thing slip - besides it sounded a little bit sweet coming from her dutiful daughter. In any case it was a good question and certainly a good thing for Pur to be thinking about - even at such a young age it was never to early to be considering one's future as she'd already informed the young cub. Well really she'd been trying to drill it into their heads since they were born but it only seemed to be taking with a few of them - and their fathers lackluster laid back attitude towards it all certainly didn't help. She swore iif she didn't love that purple maned lug...

Back to pur's question she told herself firmly. "Oh someone handsome and kind I would hope, someone who can provide well for you and your future family and keep you in the life you are accustomed to" And by that of course she meant a good king noble lion. "I'm sure there will be many wonderful suitors when your old enough'  

[Princess_Feylin]

Pur supposed she shouldn't have been surprised by her mother's vague response to her question. It wasn't as though there were too many noble cubs to choose from for mates, and all of her siblings would need to find mates, too. It wouldn't be right or good for the pride for them all to marry into the same family. She hoped the queen and king would have children soon. Surely the queen liked her and would consider her as a bride for one of her sons if Pur was just good enough.

Just the same, Pur did wish that her mother could have told her a name. Some person she could think about and get to know as she grew up. She could make plans, then, and when she watched heroic plays or romantic plays, she would know who to imagine cast opposite her in the leading role. She wasn't really interested in romance just yet, of course, but she loved the stories and sighed over them because she'd seen older ladies doing so. Sometimes she could appreciate what had made them sigh, and then she always felt very grown up.

"I hope so," she said in a small voice. "I'll try to be good, like a princess."  

[JetAlmeara]

"That's my girl" Maua encouraged as Pur expressed her desire to find a good and handsome noble lion when she got older - she only hoped this desire continued on through teen-hood which was Maua knew a very difficult time for young lions. Of course if anyone in her litter could keep to the straight and narrow it would undoubtedly be Pur right? Of course it would...Pur would never disappoint her, she'd raised the cub up proper and well! In an unusual show of motherly affection she licked the cub between the ears. "If anyone can find a way to become a princess it is most certainly you" She told the cub.