Nova Kalisetsi - NovaCracker
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Ulogila'asgi Adagaue - Das Tor
It was so strange, being a part of a pride as a 'servant'. But at the same time...Ulo felt safe and secure among Nova's distant relatives. They appreciated his stories and daydreams, and didn't mind his small size and love of cubs. They didn't mind his mate's anger and surliness, treating her as if she was just another lioness. Perhaps not 'equal' with them, but still...a lioness. Not a pariah. And he was kept busy when he needed to be, and idle when he needed to be, and life was just...
Perfect. Minus one tiny thing.
With Noh's cubs came his own want for cubs. But he knew better than to push the issue with his mate. But still...little paws...oh how he wouldn't mind having little ones to inherit the Kalisetsi name. Kalisetsi cubs that wouldn't anger his poor mate...
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Nova didn't tell Ulo she felt safer here than ever anyplace else. While by no means a demon like her cousin, her fire and spit were enough to bring a sense of strength to the female, although she worked hard. There was a sense of welcome and want - even faint care from her darker relations, and she didn't regret finding a family that she wasn't angry at, and it helped push memories of her younger life away, far away into a peaceful oblivion. Still, when Noh had cubs, she watched Ulo. He did love them, and deep down she wasn't sure she'd be a good mother. She wasn't sure at all. Today, she was allowed to be lazy, swatting the male-eater away for her chores to allow herself time to think, as caught up in daydreams as her mate usually was, and she stared at the volcano quietly, sighing.
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It wasn't hard for Ulo to find Nova, the large pale lion flopping next to his mate. "Hello, dearest. You look thoughtful." It wasn't often she turned her thoughts inward. He was the introspective one, not her. "Is there something the matter? Anything I can help bring your troubles to rest?" He did so like it when she smiled. When she was happy and not so...angry.
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Nova looked up but didn't move much, instead sighing and looking down again. "Worrying." She admitted. "What if we have cubs? I don't think I'd be a great mother."
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That was what she worried about? Ulo chuckled, nudging her. "Well...perhaps you can be a different kind of mother. The kind who can teach them how to survive against the world, who teaches them how to not trust everything in the world. You can teach them the hard lessons, the ones I would not be so good at." He leaned over her to groom her ear, smiling slightly. "I can be the gentle one."
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"Do I want them thinking I'm cruel, though?" Nova glanced up, then down again. "I'm worried I'll just disappear, or worse. I'm... Not.. sure I'm fit for parenting. But...." She moved, placing a paw on his. "I want to have a family. A better one."
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Ulo nudged her. "Dearest, look what we live among. I do not think our little ones will find you cruel. Perhaps they may instead look up to you and your fire. They do seem to hold that in high regard here. Fire and unity and strength."
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"I am also not a demon like they are." Nova admitted. "Just a pale thing."
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"That doesn't seem to entirely matter. I've noticed they encourage us to think for ourselves. To think we are better than those outside the pride. In some cases, I am inclined to agree." He missed his family, but he was never returning to the Ela. Not if his mate could not be with him.
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"How so?" Nova glanced to Ulo in concern, blinking. "We're still lions like outsiders." But better than the Nat... Why the pride kept murderers she didn't know. Then again, was she better?
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Ulo shrugged. "I am unsure, but I will not question it too deeply. We're safe and wanted here. You have family who loves you, and we have a chance to be...ourselves. Is that not what we've wanted?" They were odd and strange. Even he had been odd by Ela standards, with his head in the clouds as it was.
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"Maybe..." Nova said quietly, then lay back a bit, shaking her head. "I just fear eviction again. I don't want to be alone. I only came because it was family...." And...
She'd been so hungry for affection it hurt.
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"They won't evict us, Nova." He nuzzled her, making soothing noises. "They are real family. Like mine was. Like we together are. They want us around, help to look after us as we help look after them."
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"I can't not worry." Nova frowned, laying her head on her paws with a sigh. "My temper."
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"Is no worse than some of our fellows. And far better than the two nat." He kept up his nuzzling and noises, seeking to calm her. "Your cousin you share coloring with has quite a temper. And I've seen Nullpunkt go against an intruder."
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"Three." Nova noted. "Three nat, and one avoids others. As for them, they're demons. I'm... Nobody." And she sighed. "Maybe I never was."
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"Right, I forgot about the newcomer. As for being a nobody...you are not." He sighed, shaking his head. "Nova...you are somebody. You are my mate. You are family to more than a few lions here, demon and sador alike. And you are a member of this pride."
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"I suppose..." Nova sighed steadily and knead the dirth, looking down - almost unconvinced. "I just hope they think so too."
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"I know they think so." He leeeeeaned against her, pretending to be trying to squish her. "You're strong, and fierce, and just because you don't have a demon doesn't mean you aren't a valued part of this pride. I've learned that as well. We get thanked, where the nat are expected to go without it. We aren't overworked, or anything close to it. Nova...we're home."
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"I hope so." Nova leaned, and groomed Ulo softly, nuzzling into his fur. "I hope so."
[Word Count: 1,029, according to Google Docs]
