Some days Kipenzi liked to pretend that her home life was sunshine and rainbows. Some days she gave into the madness.
Her mother in law had died in the fire that consumed her old home; the smoke had simply done it's damage on her older lungs. The birth of her first, and only, litter had taken what little of Kipenzi's hearing remained and now she was mateless. The love between her and Eku simply hadn't lasted, though, she still shared a den with him. It was comfortable to them both and to be honest, mated or not, a girl had needs!
Those needs traveled into something else now; Kipenzi wanted grand-cubs! She needed to see her children settled down and happy with little ones coming up to her. She wouldn't be able to hear them, no, but she could still play with them. The lean, almost angelic, lioness glided over the mountainous landscape with a pondering eye. Now, she needed a nice lady for Uongo...
Kiuma was, well, heavily pregnant. The cubs felt overly large in her belly, but that was a given. The cubs would be bigger, for one, than her previous litters, and she had not had children in ages.
Children...
She gave a sigh, a happy one. Not long, and she would be a mother once again. They would be gorgeous, she had no doubt. Their father was stunning, and she felt healthy. She ate regularly and got plenty of sleep. Her first litter was quite the opposite.
But she was gaining in age, so she let go of the things of the past and moved forward.
Today, however, she was walking. The cubs were quiet in her belly when she walked, as if they took a nap with her steady gait. It was nice, she decided, in the pride - a fine place to raise cubs, indeed!
Kipenzi came across the pregnant lioness with a look of softened joy. In her search she hadn't expected to see such a sight, and it make her nostalgic for her own days of being pregnant. The feel of the swell as she walked, her mate laying his head on her stomach to listen to the little ones as they "played"...Oh, she sighed dreamily and placed a paw on her cheek.
When she got a better look at her, however, some things stood out. This lioness wasn't in the company of anyone, much less a mate, and she was, for all purposes, quite pretty. Older than Kipenzi herself, she would guess, but age never really mattered...
Crossing the distance between them, Kipenzi's long, lean body saddled up closer to the other lioness. For all her looks she might have been a cheeton! "Hello there, getting a little stretch before the little ones come?"
Kiuma was nearly started out of her stroll by the lioness. She hadn't expected to be approached, but she wasn't in the rogue lands anymore, after all! It was to be expected - especially now that she was showing quite a bit!
"Oh yes, any day now!" She smiled at the other lioness. Or she hoped so. Her second litter was quite long in her belly - or it felt like it, at least! "My back is beginning to ache when I lay too long," she told the other woman with a cheerful smile.
It was a little difficult, getting used to lip reading a new lion and some of the words didn't translate over, but she didn't let it get her down. If it got to be too difficult she would say something, for now, though she didn't want her disability to be a factor in this conversation.
She nodded pleasantly. "I know the feeling. I couldn't get up to walk as much as I liked, though, because of the way my ankles swelled." She exhaled, thankful that she didn't have to deal with that aspect of it anymore! "Oh, I'm sure your mate is just over the moon with joy."
Kiuma gave a soft chuckle. She was glad her ankles didn't swell enough to prohibit her from walking, though they ached like a sin. All her litters were fairly tame so far, and she worried greatly for future litters that might not be so kind.
"I've mostly been completely ravenous," she admitted. She couldn't stop eating and poor Kule was sent off constantly for more food. She became very needy in her pregnancies!
"I'm sure he'll be over the moon once they're born," she chuckled. "I've been running him ragged, poor man."
"Oh my dear, eat all you want! After all, what better excuse to indulge than a pregnancy?" She winked. "I know I always watched what I ate because of my figure, but when I was with cub...I went wild." Kipenzi laughed. She remembered the look on Eku's face when she had pleaded with him to hunt in the dead of night for fish. Priceless!
Ah, so she really was taken. That was a little stab to Kipenzi's plans, but that just meant she could have a conversation. Though, she had been hoping... "It's hard to look after a family, especially a growing one. I'm sure he could use a little assistance, don't you think?" Kippy winked again. "How do you feel about polygamy?"
Kiuma laughed again, nodding in agreement. Normally she would go days without eating, enjoying the ache that pulled on her belly, but when she was with cub - that all completely changed, and she was glad to learn it wasn't a unique trait.
Of course, then she gave a pause. Polygamy? She flushed hotly. Was Kipenzi offering herself? It certainly seemed like she was! "Oh, um. It depends really? I've never really thought about it..." she stuttered out. She had been utterly loyal to Mauja before, but now - now was a whole new story.
Kipenzi shifted on her paws, "Come again, dear? I'm a little hard of hearing and it's hard to read your lips when you stutter." Whatever it was that had been said she was sure it wasn't a ready agreement! Or else, why would the other be flushed?
"It's a nicer lifestyle, I would think. Two extra paws to help rub the kinks out of your paws when you're tired, to look after the cubs once they're born and for more...personal activities." She was blunt, but then again, what was the point in hiding her intent? "And you really are too pretty to be kept to just one mate don't you think?"
She stopped completely and turned to her. "Now that we've broken the ice, I have a single son...."
Kiuma couldn't help but giggle at the end of the tirade. She really had not expected the turn in the lioness's words. She had thought the pink lioness was offering up herself! She felt a little foolish for assuming.
"It's not something I can decide on my own," she told the lioness - she made sure to inflect in her speech this time, having previously been unaware of her condition - but no wonder she had talked a bit louder than needed and kept glancing at her mouth. It made sense now of course.
The proposition, more than the notion of polyamory, had startled her. "I'd have to talk to my mate, of course," she said again, unsure if she should take the lioness up on meeting her son.
"Of course not, dear," Kipenzi nodded in agreement. This would have to be something she brought up to her mate, and she could only hope that the tides of favor turned well for her son.
"You go back and talk to him, see if you two are even up to it, and if you are you come find me." She nodded, almost as if the entire situation were already settled in her mind. "Then I'll introduce you. You can figure it out from there." And once she had introduced them then she could let her son in on her plans. Uongo wouldn't be pleased with his mother's meddling, but maybe the sweet words of a pretty female could help smooth that along.