Xing wasn't sure how she had gotten into this situation. Well, okay, that wasn't entirely true. She knew how but it just... surprised her that it had happened. Not that she thought it was a bad thing. Just unexpected.
Staring down at her distending stomach, she wondered to herself when they would arrive. Should she be telling the father about his cubs? She... wasn't sure. She had long since left the Bahari, and she knew that Spectre, himself was just visiting. There was no guarantee that he would even BE there anymore. So how could she possibly find him to tell him about his cubs? She was on her own for now. Well, she had Yu, but she doubted that he knew anything about raising cubs.
Privately, she was relieved that, scary as her mother was, she had taught her how to care for cubs. It was going to be useful now.
The yellow lioness sighed and flopped down to the ground. She was exhausted already, and she hadn't done anything yet! It was probably just as well. Being pregnant meant less movement and action from her, which interestingly lessened the amount of bad things that would have happened to her otherwise. Now if only....
"Oh, come on! You can't be tired already!"
... she could get him to shut up.
Rolling golden eyes over to her little bird companion, the two proceeded to have a stare-down before Xing huffed and rolled onto her side. "I'm pregnant. What did you expect?"
Yu grumbled as he flew up to perch on her head, "Not for you to basically be incapacitated." He was bored, and sort of hungry, but mostly bored. And for as much as he complained about it, he was also concerned. If he was hungry, he was willing to bet that she was hungry too, and it was more of a problem if she didn't eat. Disinterested as he acted, he was rather excited to see lion cubs for himself. He was planning on teaching them how to not end up like their mother.
But they had to be born first. Which meant Xing needed to actually take care of herself. With a sigh, the yellow bird looked around them, trying to see if he could spy any quick and easy meals. They ate different things, but he was beginning to get used to what a lioness would eat.
Unfortunately, what he spotted wasn't food.
Yu stiffened at the sight of another lioness nearby, trying not to move and bring attention to them. He whispered quietly, "Xing..." and tapped a claw against her ear. "Xing, there's someone else here...."
The lioness, curious and somewhat alarmed now, slowly lifted her head up. It took her a moment, before she sat up completely with a jolt. "Hey, I remember you!"
Her outburst caused Yu to fall off, caught between surprise at her sitting up and exasperation at her lack of concern. "What are you doing?! Don't just announce yourself!"
As it stood, Aislin wasn't hunting, nor was she really doing anything beyond just wandering aimlessly. She didn't care for finding anything to do either. All she cared about was that she was free to do as she pleased again. Though she was getting up there in age, so most of that consisted of lounging about. Honestly, she was surprised that she wasn't too old to have cubs, by this point, but apparently she was wrong.
Though she did wonder sometimes... she should have been too old by now, right? She didn't feel like it. In fact, some days she felt like she wasn't getting older at all... maybe even younger.... But that was crazy. Impossible. It must just be her imagination.
The black and tan lioness lopped through the grass, enjoying the silence and peace, before it was broken by the voice calling out. It was vaguely familiar too, which made her cringe. If it was familiar, then she probably knew whoever it was, and they were interrupting her walk. Annoyed, the lioness turned her head to glare down whoever it was.
The yellow pelt was hard to forget - it practically glowed in the sunlight - and memories of a clumsy, skittish lioness floated back to her. Oh, well, what's-her-name managed to survive this long. Honestly, Aislin thought that she would've killed herself by now. She seemed more relaxed too. Had she just woken up?
She glanced down when a little yellow bird started chirping angrily next to her. She snorted derisively. The blinding lioness had found herself a blindingly annoying pest as well.
Despite the itch to just walk away, curiosity inevitably drove her closer. As she approached, their conversation became more legible, and she rolled her eyes.
"- But I know her!"
"That's no excuse! You need to be more careful! What if she hurt you or your cubs?"
"I don't think she'd do that though. She didn't really seem to care for other people, the last time I met her."
"THAT'S NOT ANY BETTER!"
Cubs? A closer look and a quick sniff confirmed that, yes, this rogue was now pregnant. Alright, she could see why the bird was angry now. He had a point.
"He's right, you know." She snorted, "I see, despite your fur, you haven't gotten any brighter since I last saw you." Aislin stopped a few paces away, raising an eyebrow at Xing.
Xing's ears pulled back bashfully, "Well, I mean.... You're not, right?"
"No," she huffed, "I still don't really care, but you should nevertheless be more careful." Or maybe Aislin was just more paranoid. It's kept her alive all these years, so she didn't think it was a bad thing.
Yu puffed out his feathers, "See! Even she thinks you were stupid about that!" He sighed, "Why are you so relaxed about this? You're normally more scared about other people."
"I don't know," and she didn't. Xing just... she felt too lethargic for it. Maybe it was a consequence of being pregnant. It certainly isn't a bad one, she thinks. So she huffed, and flopped back down.
"Oh no, you don't! Xing, you need to go hunting. You haven't eaten since yesterday."
Thank you, Yu, for that reminder. Xing's stomach growled at the thought of food, but she was getting sleepy again, and her motivation to move was leaving her again. Plus... well... she couldn't move like she used to.... she wasn't... sure she could now. And she mumbled as much under her breathe.
"You'll have to speak louder than that. We can't really hear you."
The lioness sighed loudly, "I said, I'm too fat now." Her ears pulled back, "I can't... I can't move so easily anymore."
And that, finally, shut Yu up. Of all the excuses he was expecting, that wasn't it, and he wasn't sure how to respond to that.
Aislin sure did though. An annoyed expression pulling at her face, the lioness marched forward and nudged at her leg. "That's no excuse. Get up."
Sympathy was never in Aislin's repertoire, and considering how she had managed to recently give birth and care for a whopping six cubs, she didn't think that Xing had any excuse to not care for herself like that. "Rogue females with cubs have been taking care of themselves for years. If they can do it, you can too." She bared her teeth, "Now get up."
Xing let out a whine, "But.... but I can barely run. How am I supposed to be able to hunt?"
"That didn't stop me," she said with a huff, and then rolled her eyes at the shocked look. "Yes, I've had cubs before. And no, I didn't have the father or a pride or anyone else to help me." Honestly, this lioness needed to grow a backbone.
How had Aislin ended up being the one to try and motivate her anyway? This sucked. Had her "motherly" instincts not died yet?
Ugh, fine. The lioness turned to look across the savannah. "Look, I was about to hunt anyway," lies, but she didn't need to know that, "how about I show you?"
Yellow ears perked up then, surprised by the offer. She didn't think the other rogue would have been willing to help, but then, if she had had cubs.... Stand-offish as she was, she probably did care to some extent. And Xing did need help....
Yu piped in then, "It wouldn't hurt, Xing." He was nervous about hanging around a stranger, but if it helped her finally move, then he would put up with it. While keeping a very strict eye on this other lioness.
Glancing first at Yu and then back at Aislin, Xing slowly nodded. "Alright," she said with a tiny smile, "if you don't mind." She pushed herself with a grunt back up to her paws.
Watching her from the corner of her eye, Aislin nodded, "Good. Then let's get this over with." And then she turned and began scouting out something to eat.