Kivuli lounged idly on a fallen tree, enjoying the small bit of sunlight that made it though the dark of the swamps. It warmed his black fur rather nicely, and it gave him a chance to simply relax a little. True, relaxing his body was in no way helping him further his mind and increase his intelligence, but he did have to consider his body some days. You couldn't have a healthy mind if you didn't have a healthy body, or so he had heard.
With a small grumble the young male moved to settle in a different spot, purple eyes half-lidded. Sleep would be nice now, but ideas kept dancing about behind his eyes. Ideas to figure out how to cross the swamp water without getting wet. Ideas about how to get things out of trees without requiring the help of silly girls. There were so many things Kivuli wanted to be able to do, if only he was able to find the resources. That crossing idea sounded pretty good.... hmmm...
Aushitia'moyo stretched before her normal morning walk. Getting used to her home had taken a bit, and even now there were some things that she couldn't get used to. It was probably because she had lived in the dry savannah lands for so long, her fur just didn't seem to want to get used to the damn lands of the Jini-msemi. But even then, she knew that even if her fur didn't want to get used to her, her heart had soaked it all up. She loved these lands, and honestly felt that they were the best place for her children to be born and raised.
Speaking of her children...there was one now! With a smile, she turned her direction to go see her black son. She didn't mind if they were a bit independent. She had full faith that they were safe in their birthlands. "Oh, Kivuli?" she called out to him, hoping to not startle him.
Kivuli was a little more lucky than his mother. Her fur was used to the hot and dry of the Savannah, while he had been born in these Swamplands. The juvenile was quite used to this environment. His black fur would not have been very well suited to the Savannah, admittedly, though the young male didn't really think about it. Kivuli did not intend to leave the Swamplands, at least not any time soon.
Black ears perked when he heard his name, and Kivuli looked up to see who it was. Aaaah, his mother! The young male's mouth slowly turned into a grin at the sight of her, moving to sit up. "Hi mom! I didn't know you were awake." Kivuli wished that he had thought up something exciting to tell her. He loved his mother's praise.
Aushi padded up to her son, giving him a quick, loving nuzzle. "Yes, well, I do like to try and get a nice walk in the morning, before it heats up too much." Plus sometimes she was able to catch sight of some of the other members of the pride and get a quick fill in of what was going on. It wans't gossip, not really, but she did like to know what activities were planned, who was getting close to their naming quest. The normal things.
The naming quest. She looked over Kivuli again. That would be nearly the hardest day of her life. Only one thing could be worse, and that was leaving Hifadhi's body behind. But she couldn't let herself dwell on it. She had other lives to look over now.
"Soaking in some of the morning sun?" she asked, an underlying tone of humor hiding in there. There wasn't much of it in the morning, especially because of all the trees that were in the swamps, alive or fallen. "I see your sibilings have run off again. I swear, if all of you weren't such great children I might of already shed half my fur in worry!"
Kivuli purred softly when he was nuzzled, rumbling happily. For all his rather lofty self-ideas and brainpower, the young male was really only interested in praise from his mother. She was an amazing lioness, in his eyes, and thus she must always know about what he was doing. Any ideas he came up with, any adventures he had had, and especially any problem he solved. It was his approval he sought above anyone else, even the Queen's own daughter.
The young male nodded in response to his mother's question, still grinning. "Enjoying it very nicely. I was hoping it would inspire me a little. Give me some new ideas." He blinked at her second comment, before giving a small chuckle. "I don't think any of us would go very far. And if anybody left, I would find a way to find them! Promise."
Aushi smiled. "Well, if I ever have any concerns about any of your sibilings, I'll make sure to ask you first, then. I'm sure with your mind you could help me find them quite quickly." She had faith that the small spritis the pride believed in would keep them inside if they didn't mean to wander out, but even Aushi was completely unsure of how they worked.
Aushi settled herself down on a bit of a drying spot near where Kivuli had decided to perch himself for a time, since she did want to spend some time with her son. "So, ideas? Do you care to share some of them?" She would never tired hearing whatever her children had to say to her. While some might not been seen as too smart to others, everything that she heard was brilliant if it came from her children. In that way, Aushi was a typical, proud mother.
Kivuli could hardly resist puffing up at her compliment. She would come to him first! Not to mention she acknowledged he was smart. It made the young male's chest rumble again as he purred, feeling quite proud of himself. Yes, he would definitely devise a way to find them if they ever got passed the spirits. He really would!
The young male moved over a little when his mother sat down, ears perking at her questions. Would he share his ideas? Of course! She was his mother after all. She would be the first to hear his ideas. "Of course! I was just lying here thinking, and I was wondering if there was a way to make it across the water without getting wet.... like set up little bark patches that you could walk on if you wanted to cross. So we wouldn't have to jump all the way, you know?"
"Hmmm." She played with his idea for a bit, wondering if it really would work. While some of the lions didn't mind the water, there were others (like her) that weren't the biggest fans of walking straight through water to get where they needed to go.
"Well, it could work," she began. "You might just need to make sure that you have enough bark to fill it in, nice and strong so no one would slip." Aushi could actually see herslef slip if she wasn't careful. The little lioness wasn't too strong, even if her children might think she was. "But something like that would certainly help a lot of us out. And if not, I could help me." She laughed. "I still can't get used to all the water everywhere."
With another glance at her handsome son, she couldn't help but get the urge to give him a good grooming. What was it about that that drove her nuts? Her own mother did it to her, even if she knew she wasn't a highly favoured child.
Kivuli, too, didn't like the idea of swimming very much. There was being wet and then there was being soaking, and it was a very unpleasant feeling being the latter. That was the main reason for building a way across the water. All of his ideas generally came from things he would like to better his life, but he was sure that they would help others. Surely his mother would benefit from these bits over water.
"Slipping, right...." The young male muttered, nodding his head absently. Yes, it would have to be big and strong so that it would support all sizes. "It would help you out? Well then I shall definitely devise something like that. I'm sure there are others here who find the large amounts of water to be troublesome. When I figure out the necessary elements, I shall let you know." He would love for his mother to test it. After he had tested it first, of course. He wouldn't let her be his testing animal. That would be unkind.
He tilted his head to allow better grooming when his mother began, twitching a little when she found an itchy spot. "I was thinking about ways to get up places too... like up into the trees..."
Kivuli surprised Aushi. While she always knew that cubs could be smart, he honestly seemed to go the extra mile, just one more step. She never really thought about the things he seemed to agonize over. Sure, there were aspects in her life that she didn't like, but she had learned in life to just deal with them and worry about more important things. But here, Kivuli seemed to make them important, and try to make everyone else's life easier. It was astonishing.
"Trees?" she giggled. That pulled her out of her thoughts. "Now why would you want to do that? Do you want to learn how to fly like a bird, maybe?"
Kivuli laughed when his mother suggested flying like a bird. "Like a bird? Of course not, mom, I wouldn't be able to do it. Birds have such incredible tools to fly, not to mention they are incredibly small. No, my flying days have long since passed. If I'd have wanted to fly I would have had to do it when I was much smaller." Not that the young male was particularly large now, but he was definitely too heavy to fly.
"Well there are rather interesting things up in the trees, and I would very much like to be able to access them. Birds put all there neat little things up in there, and it's really hard trying to get them down. Until I'm bigger, I'll just have to come up with new ideas. Shouldn't be too hard really." He flashed his mother a bright smile. He would surely do it, for her at least.
