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 Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 2:15 pm
It seemed like Nahmba's poor luck that the week she decided to make the treck back, the sky began to patch with dark sky. Huddled near a bush, Nahmba was swaying too and fro, head tilted up and lower jaw shifted to the left. A frown marked her features and she pulled in a hefty sigh.
"We will have to get wet," she explained after a while. "It is much too late to try and stay longer."
A light rumble at the back of her throat, Nahmba dropped her head and twisted around to snag the scruff of an unruly cub between her teeth. He reminded her so much of her first! All energy. He would be strong. If only he didn't have to leave. The smile that was on her face, and the adoration for the cub with it, vanished at this prospect. No one else had seen him yet and already she was dreading the future.
"You must let me carry you," Nahmba insisted. "Or your feet will get wet."
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Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 2:24 pm
The cub already seemed to have a perpetual furrow to his brow, even when he was curious, rather than upset, as was the case now. Tilting his head toward the sky and its dark promise, he had yet to experience rain, though he had been wet. It had not been altogether unpleasant.
"If we will have to get wet," He mentioned in his growling tone, "Why must I be carried?" His feet were a part of him. Did it make a difference? Experimentally, he clawed at the ground, leaning his weight away from the pull of her teeth on his fur.
She insisted upon things that seemed silly to him, as if he would become lost, somehow, and yet, she was Mother. The two had already learned that he would always question, and if he could, do something other than she suggested, yet, he would not outright defy her, once she asked him to comply.
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Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 2:34 pm
Nahmba was struck, quite often, with the cub's insights. Things that she did not think about, or care to think about.
"My mother carried me when it was wet," she explained to him, as though this answer would suffice. Then again, she had been a girl and this was another boy.
Grinning from ear to ear, Nahmba nudged the cub from behind with her nose instead, pushing him the rest of the distance out of the protected area and into the rain. She would not lose this one! He was handsome, and smart, and very brave. Already, he made her so proud.
"Hurry, hurry, then." He was so insistent on walking. Nahmba thought his feet must have been terribly sore, but she wasn't about to not let him do what he wanted. Perhaps spoiled would have been a better name than "Gakere".
"I have so many things to show you! Aren't you excited to meet everyone? And maybe there will be others for you to play with." This thought, too, made her sad, realizing he may find his playmates more interesting than herself. The pace she had increased because of excitement dropped again, and her eyes wandered with the feeling of regret.
"Aren't your feet sore?" Nahmba asked after a moment of silence, giving in to the nagging questions at the corner of her mind.
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Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 2:47 pm
Gakere blinked rapidly, ducking his face instinctively in response to the surprise of the rain against his fur. It became heavy, soon, and he did not find it especially pleasurable. His paws had ached before, but this new sensation distracted him.
At her urging, he picked up his pace, turning his ambling walk into a running gait. It felt good to stretch his muscles, and this rain did not make him as hot has he was the last time he had run.
He thought about her questions as he stepped on a pebble that made him do an awkward hop and hobble, before coming to a stop. Excited? Gakere did not know what that was, but he doubted it. Mother seemed to feel much more strongly about things than he did, which didn't particularly bother him. Like now, when she was so quiet, that meant something displeased her.
Turning his paw to the side to inspect the pad, he lifted and dropped small shoulders. "I have you." He did not really like 'playing'. "My paw is sore."
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Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 2:58 pm
He was such a strange little cub! The thought occured to Nahmba several times over, but, no, he was just unique. Strange was an improper word. Perhaps he was "different". Then he could stay, and that would make her a very happy mother.
"You will always have me," Nahmba assured him, not certain of her own lie as she said it.
Such a little runner! Breaking into a trot, she caught up to where he had stopped and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.
"It's time to be carried," she told him as he returned his paw to the ground. The last few words were muffled as she picked him up. Her footsteps did not miss a beat.
Tail swaying idly from side to side, Nahmba kept a strong, determined pace. Every now and then, the mumble of her words from behind his fur would sound out.
"The rain makes such a pretty sound," she explained to him in a muffled whisper. It was doubtful he could make out what she was saying.
She carried him the rest of the way, despite his protests, and it wasn't until she could clearly see the rain-drenched figures of the pride that she set him back down again. Nervousness clenched in her gut and she delayed on the edge. "Maybe another few days. . ."
But, looking down at Gakere, she found her strength again. "We'll find your father first. Here, walk next to me and show them how strong you are!"
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Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 3:25 pm
When she used that tone, Gakere knew not to fight, and allowed himself to go limp in her grasp. When they got close enough to make out moving figures, she set him down.
If he had been a little older, he would've been displeased about having to meet the pride while soaked. It did absolutely nothing for his fluffy fur. He was glad to be back on his own four paws, as in the interest of time, Mother had been unwilling to let him stagger along beside her.
To be honest, it have given him a much needed rest, enough that he felt capable of meeting others. Squaring up his shoulders, Gakere lifted his head against the rain and kept pace with her.
"... Father?" She had mentioned him, but only a few times. He was a strong, big lion. Very dark. He glanced around only briefly at the lionesses they passed, but stayed close to Nahmba's side. She would keep him safe, he knew, whether he liked it or not.
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Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 3:38 pm
While Nahmba's demeanor was prideful at first, the act quickly fell away as she began to strain her eyes in search of Matifu. In the distance, she could see Kamikiel, but, no, she didn't want to talk to him.
Several of the females stopped her on her way to ask about things and size up her new cub. Always, Nahmba would respond to them with pride.
"I promise he is here," Nahmba whispered quietly to the small figure that was trying so hard beside her. When Nahmba's gut had sunk and she was about to turn back to the group of females she trusted, she spotted the large, unmistakable shape of Matifu.
"Matifu!" she shouted, uncaring of her manners. All of her wanted to break into a jog, and the tension in her muscles showed as much, but she remained where she was, ears positioned forwards.
The rain had finally ceased, although it still remained overcast and Nahmba must have looked a mess with a dirtied coat and a ruffled mane. But her tail was held high, and she had a cub with her.
"Here he comes," she purred out excitedly. Several bumps of her nose were placed on Gakere's shoulder. He was so stoic, and here she was, so very nervous. As the footsteps came closer, it was obvious which parent the cub followed after.
He stopped in front of her, and Gakere received hardly a glance. Instead, Matifu's interest was on the ground everywhere but that small male cub. "Where are the others?" was the lion's low grumble after he had finished surveying the area. Another glance was given towards Gakere and an unmistakable wrinkle of the nose followed.
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Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 3:45 pm
Gakere felt strangely. Perhaps it was because he had spent the entirety of his life, thus far, with Mother, but he felt the change in her demeanor, her upset, and it made him feel a new emotion. That feeling was heightened when Matifu was finally found [Father?], and the avoidance and displeasure the large lion showed to Mother.
He could feel his thick fur begin to rise in displeasure, and wrinkle on his own face was a match to the Umholi. His bright eyes locked on to Matifu and he found himself a step ahead of Nahmba, subtly in between the two adults.
"This is Father?" He was as large and as dark as she had said.
What was it that he felt? Dislike, perhaps. He'd never had anything to dislike before. It was interesting.
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Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 3:56 pm
Ears dropped back down to her skull, Nahmba seemed to be delaying answering for a moment. There were always so many things that she was prepared to say, but in the face of Matifu, she wondered where all those smart things in her mind left to. It was a bad habit, to lose things, she'd been told, and she did it so very often.
It was Gakere, strangly enough, that was her rescue. He gave her a purpose and reminded her that she needed to set a good example. Raising her head once more, she puffed out her stomach and pushed her chest forwards, doing a very good job of looking bold for someone has gentle-natured as herself.
"This is father!" she proclaimed. "And father, this is Gakere." The words game out as an overjoyed purr, and she took a step forwards as though displaying the strong connection between her and the cub.
"I didn't lose him this time, Matifu! He is already teaching me things."
For the time being, Matifu ignored the cubs glare. His next question was also matter of fact. "No girls?" When he received the answer he had been dreading, he took in a hefty sigh.
It was now time to look at the cub itself. Meeting the scruffy cub's gaze, he lowered his down to its level.
"There are rules here, cub-"
"Gakere!" Namba corrected quickly.
"And you will learn to follow them. I won't have any of your soddy attitudes or sour faces pointed in my direction. Do you understand?" He reached out a paw and tapped the wrinkled nose with his pad, emphasizing the strength he had, and would use, if the cub got out of line. All male cubs went bad, in his opinion.
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Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 4:05 pm
He learned quickly whom he could depend on. Mother would be there for him, and she was a female. Father could not, and he was a male. Perhaps one wasn't to trust males.
Gakere sat back on his haunches as Matifu lowered himself, resisting the urge to move away or smack his large paw as it touched his face. The message was clear, and Gakere knew that he would be feeling the strength of his father time and time again, soon enough.
"Yes, Father." But not today. His face went blank, but Matifu's own eyes continued to stare at him. He wouldn't be the strongest forever.
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Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 4:13 pm
Nahmba was the opitamy of distraught the entire time. She blew a distasteful breath out her mouth as Matifu lectured her son. "He is new, Matifu," she pleaded, hoping he would leave her children alone for just a few minutes. She had, unfortunately, brought Gakere straight to Matifu, and she should have known the response he would have given to a single, male cub.
Based on the sound of his voice, however, that response was not as hostile as it had been initially. The submission relaxed Matifu's face, his nose uncrunched and his ears moved forwards for a moment.
"Good boy." He kept their eyes locked for a few moments longer before he returned to an upright position. The next words were said softly, but without affection. "Perhaps you and I will get along afterall."
That seemed to be plenty of greeting for him. As if to test their bounds, Matifu stepped past the cub and by Nahmba. A brief, "You should have lost him," was tickled against the lioness' ear. It left her confused for a long time after.
When he was out of hearing range, Nahmba felt as though she should repair the situation. "He likes you. He does. He will grow to love you as much as I do." She was insistent on this fact, though her voice was leaded with uncertainty.
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