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Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 11:31 pm
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It had been weeks since Madaha had learned she was pregnant. The fact that she hadn’t know right away was her own fault, to be sure, but she knew she shouldn’t have been so surprised. She knew how these things worked. She barely knew the male that she’d met while wandering as a rogue, but stuck around at least long enough to take all but one of her cubs back to his pride. To some this might have been a bitter thing, but to Madaha it was a relief. One was manageable, and she was still trying to find out if she could be a good mother, and a student of dance at the same time.
She was outside, and they day was clear and hot. Near her den, but far enough from the cliff face to stay out of it’s shadow, she was moving her feet to her rhythm, practicing what she’d been taught not long ago. She wasn’t aware of anyone watching her, but she wasn’t looking, so in truth she didn’t know.
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Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 4:25 pm
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 9:29 pm
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Madaha had been so caught up in trying to dance that she hadn’t noticed her daughter at first. Somewhere not far off, perhaps in one of the dens, someone was practicing the drums, and the beat of it could carry the lioness away if she wasn’t careful. Mwezi was quiet, and Madaha was involved in what she was doing, and so when her cub tripped at her feet she was startled to see her, but her surprise quickly gave way to pleasure. No matter what mod she was in, the sight of her cub always made her smile.
“Afternoon, Mwezi’nuru,” Madaha said to her daughter, using her full name as she often did because she liked the sound of it. She purred and nuzzled her cub, overcome with affection before she began to think that she might have seen her earlier, out of the corner of her eye, practicing dancing?
“Were you trying to dance, Mwezi?” Madaha asked, sitting down. She had been ready for a break anyway, and her daughter was always a welcome distraction.
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Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 11:44 pm
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Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2011 10:26 am
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Madaha listened to her child and felt, as she heard the words, infinitely pleased. Of course dancing might not mean to Mwezi the very same thing it meant to her mother, but to see her trying was exciting for Madaha. She wondered briefly if her other cubs might have liked dancing too, in their new pride. Would anyone be there to teach them? Madaha’s sadness at the thought was quickly banished as she looked down at her daughter, and she smiled as she licked a little dust off her daughter’s head.
“Dancing is something that makes me very happy, so if you want to learn I’ll be glad to help you, Mwezi.” Madaha herself was still learning, but she had come a long way since she first rejoined her pride, so she was certainly no longer an amateur. Somewhere not far off, in the caves, whoever was practicing their drums was still going, and the slow, rhythmic beat filled the air around the mother and cub.
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Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 7:04 pm
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Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 10:43 am
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“Oh, you won’t be in my way at all,” Madaha assured her daughter, and since it seemed decided, she started dancing again, very slowly so that her cub could mimic the moves and follow her steps. The music could often carry Madaha away, but it did in a different way this time. She was mindful of her daughter and watched her, making sure she wasn’t going too fast to follow. Madaha supposed she could have given her instructions… but this was the way she learned when she was a cub, and so was the only way she knew how to teach.
Madaha’s movements were very slow, half the tempo of the drumbeat off in the distance. Her pawsteps fell in time to the beat, and her tail swished to keep time. For now she kept it simple, using no complicated moves that would be hard for a beginner to try.
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 2:43 pm
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Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 8:29 am
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Madaha watched Mwezi as she seemed to gain confidence and rhythm. It was surprising how quickly she took to it, and Madaha supposed that she might be a natural, as she herself had been when she was young. As the rhythm echoed through the air, Madaha listened and watched as her daughter seemed to not only keep in time with it, but enjoyed it.
Gradually, the drumbeats faded off. Whoever had been making them had apparently decided to take a break, and so as they stopped, so did Madaha. She didn’t really need a rhythm in the air to dance, and perhaps her daughter didn’t either, but she’d been dancing for a while anyway, and the heat of midday was still oppressive. It was enough for now.
“You did very well, Mwezi,” Madaha told her daughter, purring with pride, “You have the makings of a great dancer in you. Did you enjoy it?”
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Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 8:15 pm
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