Forte - Redbud-Tree
&
Kaida - Das Tor
Word Count: 1,256 (According to Google Docs)
Kaida was...tired. Not the bad sort of tired, just...she hadn't expected to end up pregnant again. It had been a relatively easy one, and there'd only been one cub...but she'd had to change her schedule on its head for the little one. The sun was not kind to those like him.
Spotting the moon rising up, she smiled slightly and nudged the sleeping bundle of fur curled up to her. "Time to wake up, sweetheart. It's play time." She made sure her little one got PLENTY of play time! After all, it was needed for cubs to grow up strong and happy.
Forte's ears twitched when he heard his mother's voice calling to him, and with a tired yawn he uncurled and stretched out, kneading the ground before turning a sleepy gaze on his mother. "Mnah," he mumbled, nudging his head against her side and sniffing to make sure it was her - his eyes didn't work very well, and he liked to double check sometimes. One never knew when one's mother might be replaced by a cub-eating monster or something!
"Is the mean fire gone now, Mama?" He asked, tail swishing behind him as he nuzzled at her side. "It's safe to go out now?" Being very young, he didn't fully understand what the sun was, or that it didn't hurt anyone else like it bothered him. He knew it only as a source of discomfort and unhappiness and thought it must be so for everyone.
Kaida nuzzled him, then licked behind one of his ears. "The mean fire is gone. Down to sleep, and the moon has come out to watch over us." She was vaguely reminded of times long past with that phrase. A time when there were demons, and demon-hunters, and an alliance long since broken because of time and dying prides. "And after we play for a bit, your brother will likely be home with food!" Kouji was such a sweet boy, like his father. And that he and Dylan had stayed beside her, along with her dearest friends, was a relief. And it made raising Forte just a bit easier.
"I like the moon," Forte said quietly, even though he couldn't really see the moon due to his bad eyesight. That it didn't burn was more than enough to endear it to the young cub, and it meant he could go out and play. Playtime wa sa precious thing and he got so bored during the daytime when he had to stay in and hide from the mean fire that made the whole world bright and painful. Shaking himself all over, the cub scowled, a grumpy expression appearing on his face as he hissed and stamped a paw on the ground. "Somebody should beat that mean fire up! Maybe I will when I'm bigger!"
The blonde-maned lioness giggled and nudged him up. "Perhaps. But also remember that mean fire helps keep us fed. It helps the plants grow, so our dinner can eat and get nice and fat for us." Plus it helped the plants she used for healing, and the trees whose bark she collected to make infusions with...It really was a shame her poor little boy couldn't handle the sun. Perhaps one day. Perhaps.
"But why does it hurt then?" Forte asked, squinting up at her with a disgruntled look. "Good things don't hurt, Mama. Bad things hurt others and then - and then ya gotta stop 'em." He bounced in place a little, and swatted at imaginary villains with his front paws, dodging side to side. "Like this! See, Mama? See?" Forte thought he was a fierce lion, indeed, and he puffed up with pride as he finished his 'battle'. "Bad things gotta stop bein' bad or else they get the swats!"
"Ah, but sometimes things that are good for others are bad for some." She couldn't help but smile, though. "Like the berries that are bad for us, but good for birdies." Kaida sat up with pride, glad her son had a strong sense of right and wrong within him. His ancestors would be proud. "Those that are truly, bad, though...yes, they need swatted down. They need to be taught a lesson."
"But, Mama," Forte said, frowning. "You go out in the bright sometimes. Does it like you better?" Did the mean fire like her, when it hated him? He didn't quite understand, since he was sure it hurt her as well as him. "I need to make it be nice! I'll be big 'nough someday, I know I will!" Big enough to put the mean fire in its place and make it be nicer and behave and stop hurting him and everyone nice. He would. "I'll do it Mama, I will!"
Kaida sighed. "It's...very hard to explain in our case. But I know, one day, you'll be strong enough, and won't be held back by anything." He was so spirited, even when he was so small. She pulled him to her, and proceeded to groom him. "Until then, I'll make sure it doesn't hurt you." Her little Forte.
"Promise, Mama?" Forte asked, nuzzling up against her. Then he frowned and shook his head, trying to get away from the grooming. "Nooooo! Nooo, Mama! Play time! Not bath time! Come on let's go, let's go!" He wanted to play, not get baths!
"I promise, sweetie." She giggled and nuzzled him. "Alright, alright. Just wanted to make sure your fur wasn't everywhere." She nudged him up and gave him a final lick on top of his head. "Come on. Let's go see the rest of the family, alright? Get play time started."
"Yes!" Forte bounced in a small circle before darting out of the den, only tripping and falling onto his nose once before he managed to make it outside. Finally! Finally he could play! "Come on Mama, hurry up! Hurry up Mama don't get stuck inside!" His mother wasn't moving anywhere near fast enough for the cub, since he turned around and raced back in again to try and make her come out. "Faster! Faster!"
Kaida laughed, slowing down just a little. "Oh my! I can only seem to move slower! My speed must be broken!" As if to emphasize, she slowed down a bit more. "Forte! What will we do?" Hopefully his idea wasn't too silly for her to go along with. But as long as it made him smile…
Forte's eyes widened and he swatted lightly at his mother's paws, trying to get them to move again. "Nooo! Bad paws, work! Work for Mama don't leave her in here where it's boring!" He whined and started bouncing around her in circles. "I'll give you some of my speed Mama! Watch!" Faster and faster the little cub ran, until he tripped and fell flat on his face again. "Did ---- did it work, Mama? Did it?"
Kaida shook herself, then nudged at her son. "It did indeed, sweetie! Now, let's get on out there, and play until we can't play no more!" She had such a sweet little boy. He might have been the only cub...but it just meant she could give him the attention he needed.
Forte nodded and pulled himself back onto his feet, then giggled. "Yes, Mama. I'll play more than you though," he declared proudly, little paws having trouble keeping still as he trotted out of the den. "'cause you're old and big and I'm not old so I'll play more than you will!"
