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He had planned on leaving when he woke up. There was little reason for him to stay in the area. His wings were plenty rested. If he wanted he could travel for the whole day and go somewhere more interesting. However he had seen the little shrine that was crafted for him, no doubt by the small cub. She had left him some meat. Meat had little use for him. The only time he ate was to feel the sensation of eating. Otherwise it would just go to waste.

The young cub should have kept the food, he thought. She actually needed it. He let a sigh before walking away from the shrine.

He had rules for himself. Do not interfere with prides unless there was something to gain was one that he stuck to. He was sure that he could find a more fitting home for the cub then this pride. There were plenty of parents who couldn’t have their own offspring that would love the small thing.

As he pondered the fate of the small cub, a thought came to mind. He could raise her.

It was a crazy thought, but one that could prove interesting. She had already proved that she was self-reliant. All he would have to do was make sure she was safe until she was old enough. He could teach her and eventually he could use her to help him stay entertained.

“You still here?”

Utako turned around to see the cub. She looked a little roughed up compared to how he saw her the other day. “Yep. I over slept and forgot to leave.” He said with a bored tone to his voice. “How did you get yourself hurt?”

Kotone looked away from him in embarrassment. “Didn’t get the fruit fast enough. It’s mostly your fault for distracting me.”

“My fault? If you hadn’t ran into me, I wouldn’t have distracted you.” He said with a grin. “Why don’t we just compromise? You will stop blaming me for your problems and I’ll take you away from this pride. Instead of serving this pride you can assist me. What do you say?

Kotone frowned and looked Utako right in the eyes. “Why would you want to take me away from here?”

“Little one, I just need company. Someone to tell me stories and such.” He said. “If you are unhappy with me as your caretaker I’ll find you a different home I promise.”

No one had ever helped her out in the pride. Since she could remember, the pride had always considered her a nothing more than a nuisance. The idea that someone would want her around was enough to make her cry for joy. The fact that a god wanted her around was even more surprising.

She took a deep breath to calm herself. “Alright Utako, god of labyrinths, you got yourself a deal.” She said, stepping closer to him.

“First I need to know what to call you.” He said. She had yet to give him her name.

“Kotone is my name.” She said proudly. It was a name the pride elders had given her. She had always liked it though. “So where are we going to go? Do you live far away from here? Are we going to fly there?”

And now he remembered why he never dealt with cubs. All they did was question everything around them. “We will have to find a place to settle for the time being. I do not have a place I call home, so you will have to get used to traveling. Once you gather your things, we can leave. And yes we will be flying.” He spoke with irritation in his voice.

Kotone cheered. “I love flying! Let’s go let’s go!” She said eagerly. “I don’t have anything so we can just go.”

Utako did wonder if the pride had allowed her to own anything. When they found a place to stay for a bit, he wanted to find her something, just a small present.

“Try not to claw into me this time.” He said, bending down so she could get on his back. Predictable she got between his wings and clung into him with her claws. At least this time he was prepared for it. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to fly as fast with the cub on his back. Mortals were breakable. If he flew to fast she could fall off, hit the ground and most likely die. Then he would feel guilty. He couldn’t do that to himself.

“Are you comfortable?” He said to her.

“Yes.” Kotone said.

Usually when he took someone from their home there was a game involved. He would take someone’s mate and hide them to see if they could be found. This was the first time he was taking someone for their own safety. He had to remind himself again and again that he was partially doing this for himself. If he was bored he could have her seek out a rogue to play a game with. It would make playing ‘hide and seek’ much easier with her around. On the other hand, he was responsible for her now.

He had never had a parent that really cared about him. Sure they kept him fed when he was a mortal cub, but they did so because they felt they had to. That was years ago. He never had the same struggle Kotone had, where she was expected to do her own chores and such. While she was with him, he was sure he would keep her happy.

Carefully he started to flap his wings and head upwards. He could feel her claws dig deeper into his skin, but he just ignored it. That wound would heal eventually.

Usually he would fly up high, but he stayed closer to the ground. He thought Kotone would prefer the view. As they flew, he could hear her awe and gasp. He saw a mountain and decided that it would be a good spot to rest for the night. He started flying higher and higher until he saw a good landing spot. Gently he landed. His wing extended down so Kotone could climb down.

It was entertaining watching her walk again. Her first couple steps were wobbly like that of a newborn giraffe. “We will stay here for a little bit.” He said, looking at the mountain side. It wouldn’t take him much time to dig them a nice sized den. “Once we get the den dug out, I’ll go catch something for you to eat.”
“What do you want me to do?” Kotone asked, playing with Utako’s tail. He kept jerking around, watching her chase after it.

He had to remind himself that she was used to doing a lot of work. The last thing he wanted to do was make her feel useless while around him. “You can help me dig out the den. Once we get that done, you can clear the rocks out while I hunt.”

She gave him a huge grin. “Alright.”

In all of his years, he never thought he would be raising a cub, but here he was digging out a den. It wasn’t a permanent thing of course. Either he would grow bored of her and drop her off with better parents or she would grow tired of his antics and leave him. There was no way for him to know which would end up happening.

For now he would just have to do his best and see what would happen.


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