Welcome to Gaia! ::

Clermeilli-Pie was not sure what she had been expecting with her cubs growing up. It was not her first litter, but it was her first litter with Sata. Like her two older cubs that were off doing their duties in the pride and having their own hammocks, now her younger litter was doing the same. The lioness found herself missing having them in the hammock with herself and Sata. Not that her mate was not good company and wonderful to have all to herself, she just missed having cubs to snuggle as well.

The practical minded lioness was finding the desire to have more cubs ever pressing on her mind and harder and harder to resist. Clerm wondered if she should discuss the matter with her mate and see if he wanted to try for more cubs so soon. He might not, but then again he might be waiting for her to say something before they started REALLY trying for another litter. It was very hard to tell with Sata at times, but at least she knew he had loved having cubs. Their children could not have been more loved and doted on.

Clerm was quite amazed that they had turned out well and not as spoiled brats. Sata had managed to keep his children in the right direction even if sometimes the redirection looked like it was simple encouragement. How he did that sometimes, the female just was not sure. It was like magic. Even if magic didn't exist, Clerm was sure that her mate had to possess such a thing to do what he did. Then again, capturing her heart wasn't an easy task either, so he was a very special lion.

Pikelis was watching the lioness from her perch on a branch. They had already been out and back for the day's hunt, but the bird had noticed that Clerm was a bit quick to return to her hammock and wait for Sata. What was bothering the lioness was a mystery to the bird. She thought maybe she knew, but every time she brought it up, Clerm just shrugged. It was hard to pin point things when there was so much that could be on the feline's mind and the bright avian was not sure where to begin on tracking it down when she could not get much of a response from the lioness.

Pikelis just kept watching her partner for now to see if there were any more clues to help make an assumption into a possitive ID of the problem. There had to be something, there just had to be. If the lioness did not give some kind of hint soon, the bird was going to have to take drastic measures and go to the male lion. Clerm's mate HAD to be able to get something out of the lioness. He just had a knack at such things that the bird wondered about at times. She swore it was magic borrowed from the goddess that claimed the pride as home.

To Pikelis there was no other way to explain it, and she thought magic a very logical explanation for such things. Then again, she believed magic was real without seeing it right in front of her beak, and there were times she doubted even having it right in front of her muzzle would convince Clerm of such things. The lioness was quite stubborn on some stuff. Like not opening her muzzle on this issue. The bird wondered if pecking her lioness would be in bad taste at this point.

Clerm was brought out of her thoughts abruptly by the interuption of a very familiar voice. The lioness knew her mate's bird companion all too well. She looked up at the bird and smiled. "I see you, little brother." She knew that Sipho was not a tactful creature, or patient, and she thought perhaps she would dance around his question to see if he got frustrated. "I am thinking many things, Sipho. Are you not as well?" She and Pikelis had both gotten very good at teasing the male bird almost as much as he did lions.

"I do not know this 'no-good Sata' that you are referring to. the only Sata around is my dear, wonderful mate." Clerm returned Sata's greeting nuzzle and gave him a lick on the muzzle. She batted at his tail before his playful paw could get to her and purred at him lovingly. This would likely get into a tail batting game in very short order. He was her mate, though, and this was normal for them. The blue lioness still would take the time to lie in wait over her children's hammocks' at times and bat them as they came to lay down. They expected this from their mother.

Clerm seemed so serious and distant because of her practical outlook, but when one looked closely, they could see the playfulness. To her, there was nothing more practical than enjoying one's life and sharing that enjoyment with family and friends. "I think Sipho is jealous that he has not had any chicks yet and you have had such fine cubs." She took another bat at Sata's tail as she spoke. "It does feel empty now... and I wanted to talk to you about that..." The blue lioness hoped that the way Sata had spoken meant he was ready for more cubs as well.


Pikelis knew why the other bird ignored her, he was jealous. She had figured out long ago, that he wanted her attention all to himself. She had decided though, that it was much more fun to tease him and still pay attention to other things than to do exactly what he wanted all the time. He teased lions, but she teased him. To her mind it was the best way to have things and the only way that she was going to get chicks out of him some day.

The little green and yellow bird hopped down onto the branch where her mate had perched and pecked him gently on the head. "Someone is jeal~ous." She cheeped it in such a happy, teasing tone. Now that Sata was here, Pikelis did not have to worry about her lioness, so her attention did not have to be there at the moment. The bird was sure that the two lions would discuss everything that needed discussed for sure.

It then became Pikelis' delightful job to distract Sipho from bothering the two while they talked. There were many ways to do that and most of them were quite pleasant. "I finished our new nest, come see it Sipho." Their old nest had gotten a bit worse for wear, and the female bird had thought it practical to make a new one to replace it before it became too bad to lay eggs in. Now if she could just get eggs to put in it. That was what her mate was to help her with eventually.

Clerm shook her head at the antics of Sipho. She was glad that Pikelis had such an easy time with the other bird. The lioness' life with Sata would have been much more difficult if not for the female bird keeping the male occupied most of the time. "Perhaps he was here longer than I thought and I ignored him? I do not know, but I am sure Pikelis will sort out Sipho's mood shortly." She nuzzled her mate and licked his nose affectionately. He really was too cute at times and she loved it.

"Do not look all concerned, Sata... no I do not want to return to the old hammock... but I was wondering if you would want to try a little harder for more cubs?" Clerm gave her mate a coy look and made cute eyes at him. She usually would not have wasted the effort on such actions, but she knew her mate would appreciate them and respond to them. "Unless you wish to wait..." She really hoped he did not. The lioness was quite happy with the idea of having a third litter soon, and perhaps a fourth after that... The idea of a big family with Sata was a good one.


Pikelis tweeked Sipho's beak playfully. "You were so jealous." She settled herself into their nest and waited for the male bird to snuggle up to her. If he did not do so, she would just have to make him. She was good at that anyway. "Of course it is better than the cats' hammock. We are birds and eggs need a good firm, stationary nest." She gave him a very pointed look when she said the word 'eggs'. She was getting impatient to have chicks, and it was Sipho's duty to have them with her.

Pikelis would not come right out and say it at the moment, but perhaps at some point she would. She did not like making things too easy on Sipho. "You should be nicer to Clermeilli-Pie, or I will not share the nest with you." She likely would never do that to the male, but it sounded like a good threat... maybe. So it might make the getting chicks a little harder, it was not like she had to follow through with the bluff as long as the male cooperated.

Clermeilli-Pie grinned right back at her mate and nuzzled him happily. "As my oldest children have pointed out, I was barely an adult when I had them, so another litter so soon will not harm me." It had been her daughters that pointed this out. It was amazing to Clerm that not only had Marinette found her recently, but she had shared Ez' opinion on the blue lioness' thoughts of being so much older than her mate. Mari had been much more blunt than her sister, perhaps, but the opinion was the same: The age difference meant little since Clerm had barely been an adult when she had her first litter.

It suddenly occurred to Clerm that she had not told Sata about the appearance of her red daughter at the edge of the pridelands. She wondered what he would think of such a thing. She knew her daughter was no threat to the pride, even if her daughter's pride might have been. Her daughter seemed to be living on a very fine line, keeping up appearances enough to not get killed in her pride, but doing as she pleased outside it. Clerm was actually quite proud of what she had seen of Marinette's personality. She did wish there was no reason for her daughter's rather interesting talent at faking cruelty and such, though.

Pikelis tweaked the male's beak again. "Only our eggs if you get your tail feathers into producing them, Lazy." The female bird did love how the male focused in on things like eggs. It was amazing how his attention was all on the idea of a family with her. Sometimes she was not sure if it was interest in her or just interest in having a family, but she would take the interest either way. She was not too picky on the why so long as she got eggs out of this male.

Pikelis hated to admit it, but she really did love the annoying blue bird. She just wished he would behave a little better toward the lions at times. He was going to get himself in trouble one of these days, and she would hate to lose him, especially over something stupid like his big beak. The female bird stepped over a little bit and snuggled right up to Sipho. The thought of losing him, even if it was brief, made her want to be closer to the male.

Clermeilli-Pie reached up and batted at her mate's ear playfully. "I think we should wait until we have cubs to speak of before telling anyone of them, yawne." She looked every bit as mischievous as her younger mate. It was amazing how much her usually practical outlook on things did not dampen her playfulness, especially with her family. She was prone to stealth batting on occasion as well, it was no wonder she was such a good mother. Her mate might act a bit like a cub at times, but she was no better when she wanted to be.

The huntress nuzzled her mate again and gave a sideways look up at their bird companions. "I do not think we are the only ones speaking of little ones, Sata. Pikelis is set on chicks of her own too. Do you think Sipho will like that?" Clerm hoped he would, since her companion was quite set on the idea of having chicks with him. And it HAD to be him. As much as the bird might fuss about him at times, she loved Sipho just as much as Clerm loved Sata. The lioness licked her mate's cheek as she waited for an answer.

~~~~~~~

Pikelis tweeked Sipho's beak with her own teasingly. "They have to get their perfection from someone." Oh she thought Sipho was perfect, but she wouldn't tell HIM that. She did not want his ego getting huge over it. She would save that for after they had chicks and he needed the ego boost from being tired out. That was when she was sure it would be safe to feed his ego. Besides, the green and yellow bird found it much more fun to poke holes in her mate's ego, since he did the same to so many others. What went around came around? In this case more than in most.