The day was coming to yet another end amongst the dying lands of the Ithambo'hlabathi, but yet again Mimo stood awake digging into the dirt on a distant hill. She needed a den of her own, away from the constant nagging of her Mother, and the ever present presence of all the females. She never really was all that maternal of a lioness. Much preferring the company of a male, in a friendly or other wise mentioned way, to the ever so dramatic presence of a female. They were so catty, dramatic, whiny, needy, clingy, gossipy. UGH, the list went on and on, and the longer she thought about it, the harder she dug. Though she was finally moving out on her own, preparing to be her own lioness. Mimo couldn't help but feel alone, in her life. Of course, that wasn't in a literal sense. She had all of the loving females of her pride to fall back on, and of course her Mother, whom she loved dearly but could never stand for more than a few minutes at a time. But somehow, she still felt that nagging feeling of loneliness deep in heart. A feeling of not belonging, even among those she should feel the most comfortable with. This feeling only furthered the lioness' frantic digging as she began to growl low in her chest, the rumbling tickling her insides as she tried to stifle her own giggles.
She hated having to move so far from her family, but in the same breath, she thought the idea was the most fitting. Because if she truly didn't belong amongst the pride, perhaps a trial separation was the best way to go about deciding that? Then, if the separation proved to be of great enough help, it wouldn't be so traumatic to her pride when she made the announcement of her departure. Departure. That word left a pang in the lioness' chest as she thought of it. She didn't want to leave, she just wanted to belong. To be accepted for her differences, and not nagged or looked down upon for feeling that way. She truly, had no hopes of finding a new home, she had grown here, laughed here, cried, and thrived here. No possible pride she could ever find would fill the void this one would leave. But perhaps another pride would be more accepting, and welcoming to the idea of a more paternal bond versus a maternal one? Perhaps she could be happy elsewhere? Blend right in as though she were a piece of the scenery, or be so popular that everyone wanted a minute of her time! Ha, as if that would ever happen. No, she was forever destined to be the outcast, the one at the fore front of everyone's whispers, but the one in the back of everyone's list of favorite company.
Mimo couldn't take it anymore, this confusing feeling of being tugged back and forth within her own body, like a rag doll being tugged between to playful cubs. Frustrated, she stepped away from her freshly started den, and took a real glance at it. It was a rough start, really rough around the edges, and could definitely use a touch of love. But it was home, and she was already in love with it. Proud of the work, she had managed in such a short amount of time, Mimo stood tall, puffing out her chest and smiling like a cheshire cat. Heck, she was so proud of herself she even took a victory strut around the tree, directly across from her den, prancing with excitement. It wasn't until she was nearly done that she noticed her visitor. A small bird chirping happily at her misfortune of being caught. Mimo paused in her tracks, and glared angrily up at the bird, shooing her away with her tail and head as she made strange noises in hopes of chasing it away. But nothing seemed to work. Finally, she gave in and chose to ignore it, turning her rear to it, and swishing her tail in a non favorable gesture.
Perhaps now was a good time to test out her make shift den. Of course it was, there was no time like the present, and considering she really couldn't do any more work to it with her new found stalker waiting in the wings, quite literally. She might as well. Huffing, in frustration, the lioness padded over to her den and stepped a few steps into the entrance. Considering it was only half done, she couldn't really go any farther. Instead, she merely rebounded around herself in small odd circles and finally found a spot to rest in, facing towards the innards of the den, and closing her eyes in concentration. She had so much she could think about, and not a whole lot she could actually do at the moment. So naturally, where else was her mind to go?
She thought first of her Mother, and all of the things she could ever remember her nagging about, and the thought left the lioness giggling slightly. But in a good way, she absolutely loved her Mother, and even though she was annoying during the nag fests, after the fact, she supposed it was pretty strange. To watch a lioness arguing with another lioness, when everyone including the two of them knew the argument was only going to end one way. Her Mother's. As she thought of her Mother, the thought crossed her mind of how her Mother would react to her leaving. Well that was obvious, she would be distraught. Mimo was the only cub her Mother had ever had, and as such, Mimo was quite babied, and protected, even when she didn't want it. She wondered if she truly had the strength to leave her Mother behind long and hard. But after tons of thinking, she always seemed to come to the same conclusion. She really didn't know. Naturally, everyone was forced to do the unimaginable at some point in their life, but was she the type to go through with it by choice?
Then she thought of the months she would likely spend alone, away from her family and everything she had ever known. Likely, even if the lioness did find a new pride to call home, it would be similar to the process here. Days, possibly even weeks of an acceptance process before she could even join the pride and begin trying to fit in. As well as a very long journey to get to the lands she would hope to join. Being the coordinate challenged lioness she was, she wouldn't even doubt it if she got lost somewhere along the way. Yeah, that would be about right. An embarrassing thought, but sometimes you just had to be truthful with yourself, and this was just one of those times.
Mimo rolled over onto her back, and stretched out as the dozens of thoughts ran through her head. Causing her to get a little bit flustered and stuffy. She picked up her head slightly and peaked out the den entrance, noticing that the bird was still there. Well, she couldn't ignore him forever.
Shrugging, Mimo pulled herself to her feet and out of the den, enjoying the last bits of sunlight as it fell behind the landscape before her. She waved goodbye to it, and nodded solemnly to the bird. Completely unhappy with it's presence. With one last deathly glare, Mimo turned once more to stare back at her den. She loved it, and the place she called home.
Perhaps, she could give herself one more chance to fit in. Maybe, just maybe if she gave out the good old college try, she'd be successul.
WORD COUNT: 1291
She hated having to move so far from her family, but in the same breath, she thought the idea was the most fitting. Because if she truly didn't belong amongst the pride, perhaps a trial separation was the best way to go about deciding that? Then, if the separation proved to be of great enough help, it wouldn't be so traumatic to her pride when she made the announcement of her departure. Departure. That word left a pang in the lioness' chest as she thought of it. She didn't want to leave, she just wanted to belong. To be accepted for her differences, and not nagged or looked down upon for feeling that way. She truly, had no hopes of finding a new home, she had grown here, laughed here, cried, and thrived here. No possible pride she could ever find would fill the void this one would leave. But perhaps another pride would be more accepting, and welcoming to the idea of a more paternal bond versus a maternal one? Perhaps she could be happy elsewhere? Blend right in as though she were a piece of the scenery, or be so popular that everyone wanted a minute of her time! Ha, as if that would ever happen. No, she was forever destined to be the outcast, the one at the fore front of everyone's whispers, but the one in the back of everyone's list of favorite company.
Mimo couldn't take it anymore, this confusing feeling of being tugged back and forth within her own body, like a rag doll being tugged between to playful cubs. Frustrated, she stepped away from her freshly started den, and took a real glance at it. It was a rough start, really rough around the edges, and could definitely use a touch of love. But it was home, and she was already in love with it. Proud of the work, she had managed in such a short amount of time, Mimo stood tall, puffing out her chest and smiling like a cheshire cat. Heck, she was so proud of herself she even took a victory strut around the tree, directly across from her den, prancing with excitement. It wasn't until she was nearly done that she noticed her visitor. A small bird chirping happily at her misfortune of being caught. Mimo paused in her tracks, and glared angrily up at the bird, shooing her away with her tail and head as she made strange noises in hopes of chasing it away. But nothing seemed to work. Finally, she gave in and chose to ignore it, turning her rear to it, and swishing her tail in a non favorable gesture.
Perhaps now was a good time to test out her make shift den. Of course it was, there was no time like the present, and considering she really couldn't do any more work to it with her new found stalker waiting in the wings, quite literally. She might as well. Huffing, in frustration, the lioness padded over to her den and stepped a few steps into the entrance. Considering it was only half done, she couldn't really go any farther. Instead, she merely rebounded around herself in small odd circles and finally found a spot to rest in, facing towards the innards of the den, and closing her eyes in concentration. She had so much she could think about, and not a whole lot she could actually do at the moment. So naturally, where else was her mind to go?
She thought first of her Mother, and all of the things she could ever remember her nagging about, and the thought left the lioness giggling slightly. But in a good way, she absolutely loved her Mother, and even though she was annoying during the nag fests, after the fact, she supposed it was pretty strange. To watch a lioness arguing with another lioness, when everyone including the two of them knew the argument was only going to end one way. Her Mother's. As she thought of her Mother, the thought crossed her mind of how her Mother would react to her leaving. Well that was obvious, she would be distraught. Mimo was the only cub her Mother had ever had, and as such, Mimo was quite babied, and protected, even when she didn't want it. She wondered if she truly had the strength to leave her Mother behind long and hard. But after tons of thinking, she always seemed to come to the same conclusion. She really didn't know. Naturally, everyone was forced to do the unimaginable at some point in their life, but was she the type to go through with it by choice?
Then she thought of the months she would likely spend alone, away from her family and everything she had ever known. Likely, even if the lioness did find a new pride to call home, it would be similar to the process here. Days, possibly even weeks of an acceptance process before she could even join the pride and begin trying to fit in. As well as a very long journey to get to the lands she would hope to join. Being the coordinate challenged lioness she was, she wouldn't even doubt it if she got lost somewhere along the way. Yeah, that would be about right. An embarrassing thought, but sometimes you just had to be truthful with yourself, and this was just one of those times.
Mimo rolled over onto her back, and stretched out as the dozens of thoughts ran through her head. Causing her to get a little bit flustered and stuffy. She picked up her head slightly and peaked out the den entrance, noticing that the bird was still there. Well, she couldn't ignore him forever.
Shrugging, Mimo pulled herself to her feet and out of the den, enjoying the last bits of sunlight as it fell behind the landscape before her. She waved goodbye to it, and nodded solemnly to the bird. Completely unhappy with it's presence. With one last deathly glare, Mimo turned once more to stare back at her den. She loved it, and the place she called home.
Perhaps, she could give herself one more chance to fit in. Maybe, just maybe if she gave out the good old college try, she'd be successul.
WORD COUNT: 1291