Normally, Katashi would have been up on the mountainside before the sun rose, working in the cool of the dawn and early morning before the midday heat forced him to seek shelter from the blazing sun. But today and the last few days had not been quite as normal as he was used to. The reason was the tiny ball of blue fluff currently curled up against his side, snoring softly. No, it was not his relatively unplanned mate Lihau, but the tiny bundle the blue male had brought home, sheepish and uncertain, not a week earlier.
Konani, as the shifter had named him, was the adorable but exhausting cub of his mate (he still wasn’t used to that term) and a female Katashi had never met before and doubted he ever would, being as she was apparently a rogue. He didn’t blame his mate, hadn’t even considered such an idea, as all life was precious and the tiny ball of fur looked so much like a mini replica of his delicate boyfriend that Katashi could do naught but love him from the first moment he saw the tiny youngster.
The tiny cub stirred at his side, jolting Katashi from his musings. Leaning down he licked the tuft of blue fur on the cub’s head, smiling at the small mewls of complaint. Lihau was sleeping, after having been up with the cub all night and so Katashi had carefully slipped away and brought Konani out in front of his, or rather, their, den, allowing his fragile mate to sleep while he watched over the youngster. He would have to hunt once Lihau woke again, not only for himself, but for all three of them. Having been a solitary male, he found so much change so swiftly to be a shock, but he could honestly say he had never felt more content or at peace. He had even briefly considered fathering his own litter, so he and Lihau could have a larger family, and Konani would have playmates his own age, or close to it.
As if summoned, the youngster stirred again, mewled then woke fully, lifting his furry head and yawning mightily. Blinking sleepy blue eyes he peered up at his dad, offering a large sleepy smile. After a moment he shook himself and pulled himself to his paws, squirming along Katashi’s side and over the huge leopard’s muscular foreleg to collapse against the tawny male’s chest. As much as Katashi loved the cub, Konani returned the affection in full and rubbed his chubby body against his father with a happy, if sleepy purr. Katashi had never suggested Konani call him dad, but the youngster had done it almost right away, and neither of the older leopards had the heart to say otherwise, even though Katashi had carefully explained who the cub’s birth mother was and that Lihau was his actual biological father.
“Mor’in papa.” The furry blue cub chirped happily as he wound himself back and furth against katashi’s tan chest. “Where’s mama?” Just as he had taken to calling Katashi his dad, he had given Lihau the ‘mother’ tag after hearing one of the pride’s older cubs calling out to their own parents, and Konani had instantly decided e needed to call Lihau his mum to match his ‘dad’. It was a source of great, secret amusement for the older leopard, and he teased his fragile mate with it. After all, Lihau was so delicate of body as well as in personality, that Katashi secretly through the name fit him perfectly. It was also what had given him the idea of having more cubs and providing his mate with a real family. There was a lioness he had already met who was sweet and gentle, and who’s colouring matched Lihau’s well. He had been thinking on approaching her about being a surrogate for him and Lihau though had not yet plucked up the courage to talk to his mate about it just yet. Soon, he would, but he wanted to wait till they both got used to having Konani around first.
The youngster in question had woken up fully and was scrambling about on Katashi’s back, playing ‘pounce’ with his ears and tail alternatively. Chuckling at the cub’s seemingly limitless energy, he stood with Konani clinging onto his leather working harness and set off down the mountainside form where his den was located to the lower areas of the pride’s homeland. There would be leftovers form yesterday’s meal and it would be enough for Konani’s breakfast and would buy Lihau some more sleeping time until Katashi woke him to watch their son so he could go out and hunt for them all. Chuclking as his son started up a running commentary on everything that wa around them, before getting distracted with the flight path of a particularly large and colourful butterfly, Katashi was very careful to avoid letting the youngster slip from his back, for the fall would be a rather long one. Katashi was, unusually, almost as big as a small male lion, an anomaly that seemed to put some actual lions on guard but which he didn’t really take much notice of himself. He was a peaceful character, preferring to think than act, and in truth the first time he had been grateful for his size was the day he had brought Lihau home, after finding him half-starved and near collapse just beyond the prides boundary.
Soon they reached the feeding area and he lay back down, allowing Konani to slide from his back and to the ground. Soon the young cub was greedily feasting on the remains of the kill and Katashi once more found himself pondering the lioness he had met and if Lihau would want more cubs to care for... would want a real family with Katashi... The thought made his chest tighten and an emotion he recognised as hope warmed him. But he knew it would be Lihau’s choice, after all the younger male had been through, the family he had lost... Katashi didn’t want to push him into anything that would upset him, so he would wait...
Looking down at Konani he smiled and, at the cub’s urging, took a bite of the kill, chewing slowly while listening to the youngster’s flights of fancy as Konani babbled about things in both his imagination and the world around them.
(Words = 1,067)