|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 9:57 am
|
|
|
|
Kivuli was, and had been for quite some time, extremely excited about the idea of being a father again. He worked hard, very hard, to keep Maua happy, safe and comfortable as the burden of carrying the cubs slowed her down and caused her to spend more and more time restricted to the den and then immediate area around it. When he had left this morning to attend to some duties he made sure everything was fine before leaving. While he knew it was getting closer to the time the cubs would arrive one could never be certain when the event would happen. Last time it had occurred in the middle of the night so Kivuli figured that might be the case again, though he made sure to constantly check on her through the day just in case. Oh he had gotten a couple of tongue lashings for being so worrisome but it was in his nature to be that way.
So when he caught site of Maua's bird flying frantically towards him he knew the time had come. Not waiting around to hear the message Kivuli set off at a run towards the den he shared with his mate. Stepping inside Kivuli found Maua laying down and it was clear she was in pain. Hurrying to her side he gave her a loving nuzzle, even though he knew he risked getting yelled at for it. "I'm here now my love." He reassured her. "Is there anything you want me to do?" She would probably tell him there was nothing to do, that he would just need to wait and not get in her way, but he had to ask anyways.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 10:08 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 10:15 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 10:25 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 10:51 am
|
|
|
|
It was all happening so fast this time. Each time one of his newest children came into the world Kivuli would wait until Maua had it cleaned and then he would gently touch it with his nose in greeting. They were all perfect. And there were seven of them! He had not been expecting so many and had been about to say something when he noticed that Maua was once more in pain. Another? Giving her a loving and encouraging nudge, for he knew she would be quite exhausted by this point he waited for the cub to arrived.
When the cub came into the world Kivuli stepped forward. He could see that Maua was almost too exhausted to clean the cub herself so he took up the job. Gently he placed the cub in the crook of his paws and licked it clean. It didn't take him long to realize one very important detail about the cub. She was lacking purple. Oh dear. He didn't care so much that there was a non-purple cub in the litter but Kivuli knew his mate well and knew she would be upset and furious at the idea. If only he could somehow make the cub sudden grow purple hair then everything would be fine. But he knew it would not be the case. He set the cub in amidst her siblings, trying to surround her in a sea of purple so that Maua would not notice right away. She would of course, he knew that, so it was best that he did some damage control right away.
He crawled up a way and butted his head into hers. "Eight, eight wonderful cubs. Three boys and five girls." He was extremely excited that they had more than one boy this time, though he would love all of his children equally, even the female who lacked the noble colors. Speaking of her, he cleared his throat. "The...uh...last girl." Oh he didn't want to say anything, the birth of their cubs was a special occasion and he didn't want to upset Maua when she had just enduring birthing 8 cubs, but he had to. "She's a bit different than the others."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 11:04 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 11:13 am
|
|
|
|
Oh if only the cub had been born as a runt, then he could have calmed his mate by simply saying that the cub was small but that it would grow with time. That was not the case, however, and Kivuli took a deep breath as Maua lifted her heads and looked towards the cubs. "No, she is perfectly healthy. It's just that..."Though he was certain she would see her right away Kivuli nosed the purpleless cub and then looked towards Maua. "She lacks coloring." Oh she had color on her, she was a nice mix of white, black and gold, but the only color Maua would care about is purple.
Perhaps she would accept the girl, they had recently taken in two non-noble cubs that were dropped off in the forest and while he knew Maua had done that simply to gain favor with the king he hoped it would allow her to accept their daughter for who she was. To him, the girl was just as precious as the others and he would see that she led as good of life as the others did, even if she was denied the rank of noble.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 11:26 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 11:38 am
|
|
|
|
Kivuli expected Maua to react badly, expected the most irrational things to come from her mouth. So when she suggested dying the cubs fur purple the large male simply sighed and shook his head. They couldn't do that, dye was a temporary thing and it would take a lot of effort to keep it on an active cub. Plus that would be lying to the pride. What he didn't expect was for Maua to push the cub away and it pained him to see that, and even more when the cub started crying. He couldn't let that happen and he nudged the cub, licking her to give her some sense of reassurance.
But it seemed that motherly instinct got the best of Maua as she soon pulled the cub back to her side. He was relieved at that but still upset that she wanted to claim it as an orphan and state that they only had seven cubs. "Eight." He said firmly, for once not letting Maua get the upper hand. "Look at her markings, only a fool would think she was an orphan. She is ours." He sighed and looked towards the cub. "I know it's upsetting but you cannot cast her away, she needs you to live and even if you will not love her I will. I cannot go around spouting a lie that she is not of my blood." Giving Maua a nudge with his nose Kivuli wasn't sure what else to say. "Ignore her if you wish, but you must feed her and care for her. I will make sure she stays out of your way when she is older."
For once he was willing to sacrifice his happiness, and that of his mates if needed, in order to see that this cub was raised and loved. So what if he got yelled at for it, she was his daughter and he would never deny that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 11:52 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 12:03 pm
|
|
|
|
While it was rare for Kivuli to become upset or angry he knew he was starting down that path. Yes, it was upsetting to them both, he had high hopes for this litter, only to offset what had happened with their first and so that Maua would be happy. But could they truly blame a newborn cub for everything? Surely they could make it work somehow. And perhaps he shouldn't have been so forceful about pointing out that she was wrong, perhaps he should have been supportive with her decision to not claim the cub as their own but he hadn't. It pained him to see her this upset but he could do nothing to fix things.
"No, you're right." He said getting to his paws. "It is a disaster and clearly if it my fault because I have such little purple." He took a few steps away, feeling a bit dejected but thought it was best to give her time to calm down. "Maua, I'm sorry, I truly am. But just think, what would the King think if you so hastily abandoned one of your own because she was born of common colors, when not all that long ago you took in a common cub to gain favor in his eyes." He probably shouldn't have said that but he just gave his head a shake. "I will go fetch you something to eat, you will need to keep your strength up to provide milk for so many mouths." With a final glance at his cubs Kivuli turned and slipped out of the den, he just hoped Maua would do nothing irrational while he was gone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 12:12 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|