It appeared that age had not helped Nsundu's mothering skills in the slightest.
This was, however, to be expected. Kitambi could have told anyone that asked that her mother was not any more nurturing than she had been with her first litter. Growing up wasn't exactly something on Nsundu's "to do" list, which, while it made her a good friend, it also made her a very poor mother. But Nsundu would say that she had learned from the mistakes of her past litter. Nobody in this litter was going to run off in a fit of teenage rebellion like in her last litter, oh no! This time she was going to let someone who knew what they were doing handle her cubs. Binafsi was the perfect candidate. After raising one of her own litters – which was now on its way to adulthood – the huntress also cared for the cub that Sen had sent over as a part of their alliance. She also looked out for the other young members of the pride, and no doubt had offered to help Isithunzi with her newest, very large litter. Thus, the moment Nsundu could be sure that the cubs would survive without her constant presence, she neatly carried them over to the den of the huntress where they would spend the rest of their days.
Kitambi would have considered this a very responsible move for her mother, and Nsundu was inclined to feel the same. After all, she had pridal duties, and she couldn't be around fussing over new cubs. They needed devotion and love twenty-four seven, and there was nobody else who could do that as well as Binafsi (in her mind). Truthfully, the pride leader was also a little unsure about how to raise boys. She had never had any male influences in her life when growing up, and though she had interacted with males many times, it didn't make raising them any easier. Binafsi, on the other hand, had two very lovely sons, and thus became Nsundu's expert on boys. Her first litter had been all girls, and thus Nsundu had treated them much the same way her mother treated her. She taught them the essentials, and then they basically raised themselves. Nsundu had never had a problem with the way she'd been raised, and saw no reason not to raise her daughters the same way. Besides, they were in a protected pride environment. That automatically made her parenting method ten times safer, and thus a-okay in her mind.
But the last litter had only been two, and now she had four, and four was a Big Number for Nsundu. Could four cubs raise themselves? She had no idea. And that was why she had removed herself from their life the moment she was sure they didn't need her too much anymore. Binafsi would raise them to be wonderful young lions and lionesses. She was absolutely sure of that. Still, she couldn't help being a little peeved that three out of four cubs were boys. More girls might have brought the same complication that Waseme had brought – more potential heirs or at least a challenge to the current one – but Nsundu considered having girls to be very important. Girls were what she knew, not to mention they were very beneficial to the pride. The larger the group of hunting lionesses the better. Even so, at least her gender numbers were even. If there even was a girls vs boys scrap, they were evenly numbered, three to three. And the girls had two elders on their team. So hah.
Nsundu shook her head to clear her thoughts, forcing herself to return to the present and address Binafsi. She had just brought over the final cub – the only girl of the litter – and was watching as the huntress arranged the four cubs neatly against her. There. Mission complete. The Malenga would leave Binafsi in peace now, to enjoy her time with the cubs. Goodness knows how much the huntress would enjoy having more little ones running around the den. Perhaps she should have let her name them. Oh well. There were some things you had to do as a mother, and Binafsi would have insisted that Nsundu name the cubs. "You'll let me know if you need anything, yeah?" Nsundu called from the entrance to the den, even though she was already on her way out. Yuck, that sounded weird. Almost like the was the father of these cubs, not that Nsundu knew what that was like. Her father had been long gone by the time she had her eyes open. Still, the thought made her cringe a little. Though caring for cubs was not her specialty, she did not like to relate herself to any kind of male job. It was a little demeaning.
Binafsi simply nodded her head, already too engrossed in the four curled up cubs that rested at her side. It was very exciting to have cubs of her own again. Her first litter was growing independent, and while she was sure that Kani would always be her baby, it wasn't the same as them being cubs again. Perhaps she should seek out Kyprioth again. Idly, she wondered what the leopard was doing, as she gently adjusted the fur on the back one of the brown cubs. Maybe one day he would come and visit her, and they could enjoy another couple of days of carefree wanderings.
But now she had four adorable cubs to raise, and she had to focus on them. They needed her now, and even if they were not her own, she would still treat them as such. Whether they identified her as their mother or if they still clung to Nsundu she would not know. It would be something they would have to decide for themselves. She would not hold a grudge to any of those she raised who did not see her as their real mother. The huntress turned her eyes away from them for a moment to smile at Nsundu, who returned the smile brightly and then left the den. With a small pleased sigh, Binafsi curled her body more tightly around the cubs, and drifted off into a light sleep.
Perhaps tomorrow she would take them out to search for pretty stones...
