[PRP] Mother Knows Best?

[Skye Starrfyre]

Although they lived in the same house it seemed almost as if it had been a small eternity since he'd last had a heart to heart of any sort with his mother. She had her duties and he had his and while they both served the same Lord... Things came up, didn't they?

Of course they did, especially with the recent growth spurt the West House had taken in the form of cubs along with the few recent adult additions. Izimbali, or Jing Xinli as he was also known now, had been left the task of seeing to it that everything stayed orderly; that the nannies kept the little ones out from under foot (something that sometimes seemed impossible), that all news was brought to Zahi as soon as it happened (although it would have been preferable if it was brought before it happened... if only), and that nothing got past him (he was getting better at that... really). In between all of that he'd also been practicing his courting when he had the spare moments to do so which left little time for checking in with family.

Those thoughts tugged at his mind as he made his way across the grounds in search of his mother, ears flattening with a tiny bit of shame. Akasha, of all people, would certainly understand being busy, right? Of course, but what would her thoughts be on all of the other things?  

[Skye Starrfyre]

His brow furrowed as he paused the moment he looked up from his thoughts to catch sight of his mother. It wasn't just a brief pause, but a complete halt of movement as he eyed the twitching tail coupled with the scowl. Suddenly he began to wonder if coming to see his mother today really was a good idea.

Then he recalled all of the times he'd faced a ruffled or angry Zahi; every time he'd come to the elder male bearing news that he hadn't wanted to hear. If he could face Zahi, certainly he could face his mother... Maybe.

He took a deep breath, willing his muscles to unlock as he released it slowly. Once he'd found his momentary peace of mind and body he stepped forward. "Mother..." His voice was so soft that it nearly startled him back into being anxious, a light clear of his throat solving that problem. "I didn't think I'd find you here, but..."

At that moment his eyes drifted away from his mother to the tree and he paused again, both brows lofting. "... Decided to take up gardening?"  

[Skye Starrfyre]

"It was either that or you're interested in trying your hand at joining the artisans. I've heard some of them are rather good with their claws when it comes to wood carving..." He chuckled softly, the sound every bit as warm as the soft smile curving his mouth as he leaned down to lightly but his head against hers in an affectionate greeting.

"You really shouldn't over-think things, you know. It doesn't tend to get us anywhere. I mean... Just imagine where we'd be if you had let yourself think about whether or not we were really going to come here?" His smile turned into a bit of a grin and, for a moment, he hoped that he was helping at least a little. "There could be worse things, don't you think?"  

[Skye Starrfyre]

"Come, now, Mother... You aren't all that bad with cubs. I mean, I turned out alright, didn't I?" Again with that warm laughter, only this time the light of it managed to make it to his eyes, dancing for a moment only to fade as their conversation returned to seriousness. Things were always so serious... At least he'd come to accept that there was a time and need for such things.

"As bad as it might seem now, would you really want to spend more time with Lord Zahi than absolutely necessary? Oh, I know the title sounds impressive and you've wanted to impress him since we got here, but..." He let his eyes drift down to his mother for a moment before he shifted so that he could plop down beside her, letting his head rest lightly against her paws. "For a while you were the only guard this house had besides the Lord himself. Don't you think that maybe, just maybe, the Royal Guard might benefit more from having you directly amongst their ranks? Instead of always running off to report some inane detail to our Lord?"

He paused for a moment after that before adding on in afterthought. "Besides, there's always that thought of being the one to keep the Captain on his, or her, toes... Letting them know that no matter what you're keeping an eye on them because you have expectations that they have to live up to and, if they don't?" He shrugged. "Maybe the Lord and Lady will change their mind and you'll find it in your paws again."  

[Skye Starrfyre]

"I only make sense when it comes to this sort of thing... Rationalizing the way things work within the House, trying to keep it all sorted out. There are a lot of things I can't make heads or tails of, you know." He closed his eyes, relaxing just a little bit more as he continued on. "Love, for example. It does all sorts of crazy things to people... I don't understand that one bit, and yet it seems to happen around us every day. Unless the recent surge of little paws is a direct result of lust, in which case some people need to understand restraint just a little bit more..."

Not that he was currently one to talk about exhibiting any sort of restraint when it came to such 'foolish notions'... But he was fairly certain that hadn't ventured all that far beyond his conversations with Rangi, unless she was prone to gossip with the Lady and the other Lady in Waiting.  

[Skye Starrfyre]

"I would have liked to have thought that if love was what made me you might have told me a bit more about him... Or that he would have stuck around. As it is, I think we did well, you and I." He nodded slowly, paying little mind that they were having a conversation that alluded to his mother having some form of relations. He hadn't been delivered by some exotic bird, after all. It had to have happened somehow.

"In that case, I suppose I can give you what you want and stop making sense. For the moment, at least." He couldn't help but chuckle at that, eyes still closed and a somewhat silly smile replacing his generally smart one. "It's rather hard to avoid when you find yourself stumbling into it... Not that I'd expect you to fall prey to that sort of thing. You're far too smart to be taken in by that, aren't you, mother?"  

[Skye Starrfyre]

"Mother..." He said hesitantly at first, body tensing as he prepared himself to run... Or at least be prepared for whatever swipe she might take at him. What he hadn't expected, and what soon had him completely baffled, was her gagging motion followed by the rolling.

Eyes wide he sprang back, watching her from a short distance before slowly creeping back towards her. He almost felt like a cub again; a hard feat given how quickly he'd 'grown up' once he'd had responsibilities handed over to him. "Mother, really. Isn't 'doomed' a bit much? Honestly, I'd expected 'cursed' to be the first thing to come out of your mouth... Maybe asking me if I was out of my mind, but doomed?"

His ears fell flat again as he felt a small wave of anxiousness creeping back over him. If this was how she reacted to that... "I think so. I mean, if that's what it is to enjoy someone's company and to miss them when your schedules don't exactly line up all of the time... I just... She's very nice. You'd probably hate her, or think she wasn't good enough... Or maybe you'd surprise me and she'd surprise you..."

Rambling wasn't his strong suit. Not at all.  

[Skye Starrfyre]

"And what would you have them call you then, Mother?" His brow lofted slightly, head tilting to the side as he watched her, still cautious although not nearly as frightened as he had been before. As a matter of fact, it was almost nice how they could settle right back into the conversation, even despite her extended claw and whatever it was that look she was giving him meant.

"You certainly aren't the Nanny type. Just Akasha, then? You really don't want to leave this up to the thoughts of children, you know. They can come up with all sorts of things on their own."