[PRP] All Things Considered -- Jozo & Furaha

[bipolar bee]

Although Jozo would have preferred that his children found out about one another under more controlled circumstances, he was utterly surprised at how well things had gone. If Liraz hadn't been there, things could've gotten ugly. If Josepi or Veena had been present instead of their meeker, milder sister, well, things would have turned very chaotic very swiftly.

Furaha hadn't so much as looked in his direction since the whole ordeal, and Jozo had to make amends. With that intention in mind, he'd slowly padded his way back to the den he shared with Gerda and purposefully went looking for his daughter. He figured she'd be around here somewhere.  

[Wylde Roses]

Furaha was enjoying herself for the moment, lying stretched out on her belly in the den and idly rolling a pebble around between her paws. It wasn't a particularly challenging thing, but it was a simple kind of fun and had her attention completely captivated. She never noticed the lion entering the den, so focused was she on the pebble she was playing with.

"Roll pebble, roll pebble, roll pebble roll~" she sang to herself, a tiny smile on her face as she batted around the semi-round stone.  

[bipolar bee]

Jozo caught sight of his daughter and paused. He was both blessed and cursed by daughters -- females were a difficult thing to understand sometimes. Still, he loved them with a desperation that oftentimes frightened him. Clearing his throat he waited for his daughter to acknowledge him. He didn't want to waste time on anger. Life was tragically short and he'd much rather shower his children in love and affection, not fight with them.

Such a strange child, his Furaha. A temper like no other, and she harbored so much anger. Anger for him, yes, Jozo realized this. It broke his heart, it truly did, and he wasn't sure how to patch things back together again.  

[Wylde Roses]

Fura's ears twitched and she fell silent at the sound of the cough. The cub sniffed the air for a moment and then, quite deliberately, resumed her pebble game. She knew quite well that... he was there, but she wasn't going to talk to him! He might as well have been invisible for all she cared. If she was batting the pebble more forcefully than before, and if her ears were laid back and her tail was lashing, it must have just been because she was in a bad mood.

There certainly wasn't anyone nearby who could have any effect on her feelings!  

[bipolar bee]

Gods help him. She was too young to understand the reasons for things that he did. He wanted to explain, he really did, but now wasn't the time. She was too young and impressionable. Exhaling softly Jozo raised his eyes to the heavens as if asking for assistance. He didn't know if he could do this on his own, he really didn't.

Moving closer, he sat directly in front of her. Jozo knew he was being haughtily ignored and he had to smile as he saw a bit of her mother in her. That fire, Gerda had it. She hid it well, or at least she tried to, but she had it. Furaha had that same spark that her mother did.

He cleared his throat louder. Jozo didn't yet speak, not yet, but he would if he got no reaction from his daughter.  

[Wylde Roses]

Hm. He was still there, and obviously not planning on leaving any time soon. That wasn't fair, she didn't want him to exist or try to force her to speak with him. So with an irritated twitch of her tail, Furaha swatted the pebble with all of her might and then got to her feet to run after it - running right past the lion-who-was-not-there to get it.

"Come back pebble! Come back!"  

[bipolar bee]

Jozo was a lion with immeasurable amounts of patience and yet he couldn't help but roll his eyes at the antics of his daughter. He was being shunned, right and proper, and that irked him. With large strides, Jozo moved swiftly around his daughter and promptly slapped a paw onto the pebble, ignoring the slight discomfort caused by the pebble digging into his pawpad.

Now he'd see what happened.  

[Wylde Roses]

It appeared that a tree had somehow grown up in the cave and covered her pebble. A strange and interesting fact, but Furaha couldn't do anything to get her pebble back now - trees were notoriously hard to remove, after all. Thus, the pebble was a loss, and she would now have to find something else to amuse herself with.

Oh! There was a pebble on the other side of the den! It was just a little bit bigger than the pebble she'd lost so suddenly, and had an almost-perfect circle of a rosy color on one side! This would do nicely for batting around, and later perhaps she could donate it to her new friend Liraz's rock collection.

She liked the other cub in spite of herself. Maybe it was the fact that neither of them had a father that made Furaha get along with her; maybe it wasn't. But this pebble would be perfect for both purposes.

Best to sneak up on it and not go for it directly, however.

The trees in this den had eyes.  

[bipolar bee]

Jozo had always taken pride in his ability to calmly think through each and every thing he did. In his mind his decisions always made sense, even if it was in some twisted warped way -- even if he fixed things in his mind so that it made him feel better one way or another.

Enough was enough. His voice wasn't sharp when he spoke, but he did with a tone that threatened retribution if she did not obey.

"Furaha. We need to talk, daughter."  

[Wylde Roses]

It looked like the game was up. Furaha knew she could only go on ignoring the lying meanie.... poophead of a lion for so long while she was little. He was still big enough to boss her around after all. Once she was bigger though, she'd never have to see or speak to him again! And she wouldn't - she'd follow the path that took her the farthest from the pride, where she didn't have to even think about anyone else for months on end!

But for now...

She plopped to the ground, the new pebble wrapped in her paws, and turned her burning orange gaze on Jozo. He could talk all he wanted - she didn't have to say anything back.  

[bipolar bee]

He seemed to have her attention. It actually made him feel a little uncomfortable, to be honest. If looks could kill he'd be long dead. With a small sigh, Jozo just looked at his daughter, his dark eyes pleading with her to understand, even if just a little.

"Fura," he began, unsure of how he wanted to proceed. She wasn't making this easier. She wasn't like his Liraz, always welcoming and attentive to her papa. Of course he'd never make the comparison out loud, but he could THINK about it.

"Fura," he started again, feeling like a stuttering fool. "First of all, I am sorry. Your mother and I ..." he lapsed into silence. What? Your mother and I are together because I feel bad for her? Because I made a mistake? "We love you."  

[Wylde Roses]

Furaha shook her head. He was stuttering, faltering, not saying anything outright. The little cub was young but she was no fool. She knew that meant he didn't meant what he was saying. He was lying, he didn't care - and of course he didn't, why would he if he had other cubs that were better and prettier and... Furaha bit back a sob and wrenched away from her 'so-called father', her expression going from angry to hurt in the span of a few seconds.

"You're lying! You're lying and you hate me and don't want me! Stop pretending you do!" she yelled, moving to run out of the den and get away from this horrible betrayer. Why wasn't she good enough? Was she not pretty enough, not smart enough? What was wrong with her that made him lie to her so much?!? Furaha didn't understand, but something within her snapped and broke as she realized that for whatever reason, she would never be what he wanted.

So why didn't he just stop lying and tell her that already?  

[bipolar bee]

Sometimes Jozo just wanted to howl at the gods. What had he done that had displeased them so? What had he done that deserved such a warped life? Two females, each calling him their own, each demanding cubs, and to what end? He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure.

What he was sure of, though, was that his daughter despised him. She hated him. He hoped that someday she could understand, someday when she knew the whole story and maybe then she could understand that he'd only done what was right in his heart and he'd never intended for it to hurt her. Perhaps someday. He would talk to Gerda about Fura, perhaps she had advice to offer him. Perhaps she could tell him where he'd done wrong. He was furious at the situation -- it broke his heart to feel guilty about spending time with his cubs with Eppie, but what could he do?

What could he do?