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Kau was hanging back behind his mother and brother. He loved his father so much, but the strength of the cub's feelings were returned a hundred fold with hatred by the god. The boy's posture was a physical manifestation of his feelings. Head down, tail down and dragging, slinking, almost, and ears back. It had been a little while since he'd seen his father. Not that Fleance hadn't come around, but that the god tried to avoid this particular son. Ever since he'd saved the cub, he hadn't had much to do with him. Kau sighed heavily.













Fleance paced back and forth at their assigned meeting place. He was so looking forward to seeing his more-or-less mate (and favorite and beloved) Ninon. She usually brought at least one of their sons along, and he loved to see how they had grown. Well, except for that worthless one, Kau. He scowled at the thought of the tan one. He hated that stupid little... His thoughts trailed off as three forms appeared on the horizon. His ears perked up and he smiled. He couldn't tell which cubs she'd brought along. But as they came closer, he could more easily identify their mannerisms. The excited one that seemed to be running ahead at breakneck speed? Ah, that was probably Yves. And of course there was their mother, Ninon. A special smile came across his face for her. Ah... and then the last one. It seemed to be lagging behind. Hiiro, maybe? He squinted and saw that it looked rather beaten-down.

Oh.

Kau.

His face turned stony as he recognized the last of the litter. He heaved a sigh and then thought of how he'd have to cut this visit short.

Fleance took a few steps and met them, taking turns to first nuzzle his Ninon and then his son, Yves. He sized up the grey child and patted him on the head.

"Yves, you've gotten so much bigger since the last time I saw you!"

He turned back to the lioness, "And you've gotten much lovelier." The god gave her a winning smile and let his paw rest on his son's head.

Kauaense still hung back shamefully, though he'd never done wrong by his father. The little lion played with the mud at his feet, peeking through his tuft of mane with his light eyes at his father, hoping for some sort of recognition.

Fleance denied Kau the approval and attention he so craved.

The boy sighed.

The god shot him a glare.

Kau's heart skipped a beat and he felt so glad for any recognition. He sat behind his mother's rear leg and played with her tail, hoping that perhaps he'd get another glance.

The god laughed at his son. "I can see why. I still don't think you're the size of my paw yet. Yet." Of course, he was much bigger, but under the god's paw, he did still look rather small.

Fleance hesitated before answering his mate. "I've been... alright. Things have come up lately that were rather... surprising." He was referring to the discovery of children he'd fathered in his last life. Well, he'd found one and they had told him of at least two others. He had no remembrance of them or their mother, but he had reason to believe it.


Kau happily played with his mother's tail, but had bigger prey in mind. He pounced at his brother, knocking him out from under their father's paw.

Fleance was startled at Kau's attack but didn't say anything, for Ninon's sake.

Fleance looked down, and rolled a shrug. Ninon was a very understanding lioness. They began a relationship as her doing him a sort of favor, that is, giving him seers by another seer so that their powers could be stronger and the cubs better trained to use them -all in the unending quest to find his brother and kill him before he could be dispatched. So she knew of his other flings, or at least that he'd had them. He'd already had a litter before they even met. So why did he feel guilty in a way? He almost felt that he'd committed an infidelity to her. He nodded.

"Yes, uh, it's about some of my children." He sighed and met her eyes. "It's complicated." At Yves' insistence, Fleance smiled but it was a sad sort of smile. His heart was heavy about the upcoming conversation.

It was all just so confusing. The children of his were older than he was.



Kau cast a glance towards his parents. Would they approve of him more if he could best his brother in the play fight? He tilted his head, distracted for a moment by the ongoing conversation. "Yves," he whispered to his brother. "What other kids is he talking about? Does he mean like Lennox and Kamen n' them?" He narrowed his eyes. The god often left this one of his sons out of the loop. Maybe Yves knew something he didn't.

Fleance gently rested his heavy head on his more-or-less mate. "I know." He let out his breath slowly, and it was a lot, as though he'd been holding it in for a long time. He closed his eyes and nuzzled Ninon. She was such a comfort to have and to be able to return to sometimes. If only she weren't mortal, he thought wistfully. But that was life and that was fate. She would leave him someday. With such morbid thoughts, it felt like his burden weighed all the more heavily on his soul.



Kau shook his head while watching his parents. "I don't think so. Fleance said 'my children,'" he still wasn't allowed to call his father "dad", "not 'your children' or 'our children'." He looked at his brother. "Do you think we have other siblings not in the pride?" For as many things as his father had to tell Ninon, Kauaense had as many questions. While he knew Fleance would never answer them, or even give him the time of day, he would try his best to find these things out from his mother, after her talk with the god. Until then, he would be left wondering.