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 Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 6:14 pm
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TARAFA
Diffudi was lying in a den that had been empty until she came to call on Ua a second time, visibly pregnant. The lion had been, well, somewhat endearing, even if his paranoia was fraying her nerves. The leotah had pointed out that a wandering rogue's life was no way for a cub to live and, since their father had a nice safe pride of a home, there was no reason why she couldn't stay until they were born, and leave sometime after they were weaned.
She hadn't yet decided how long she would stay. It remained to be seen.
And now Ua was being so stupid about their daughters, afraid to even touch them, in case he gave them the disease the pride was known for. In the time she'd been here, Diffudi had done some research and learned that it was a plague that only affected lions and those of lion blood. But some people were immune, and others carriers who could pass the disease on though they had no symptoms. Her blood meant the cubs were that much less likely to become ill.
She looked at them with a loving smile, nestled close to her. Ua (and his family) had had some strong feelings about what names to give the girls. Diffudi hadn't minded that much, not really, and decided that the names worked quite well.
"Are you going to watch from all the way over there?" the black female asked, giving Ua a Look.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The cub had been sleeping, but at the sound of Mama's voice, she stirred and stretched, green eyes opening slightly as she moved around, putting paws on siblings in an effort to do...something. Maybe get closer to Mama. She did love her Mama.
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 6:30 pm
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Ua was so stupid, so very, very stupid.
He wasn't so stupid that he didn't know where cubs came from, he knew this had been a possibility but he had been so sure that it was both unlikely to happen and unlikely to come back to him if it did. Why would Diffudi want them to be born here? A rogue life was not easy for a single mother or her cubs, but it was safer. How he had gotten to this point in having Diffudi and now his daughters here without suffering an early demise as his increasing anxiety exacerbated the symptoms of his ailment, he'd never guess.
"You should have left, should have stayed away," he muttered, glaring back despite the Look he was getting, "And now they're here."
They were hardly brand new now, but still new enough.. the shock was wearing off and he finally had words again, reality was setting in. Diffudi knew more about the pride now but did she dig much into his own family history? Did she really think her blood would be enough to counteract the cruel truth of how young his immediate family tended to depart?
Nyesha was sleeping comfortably in the little cub pile until she felt her sister begin to move. She couldn't suppress a squeak as a paw pushed on her to help its owner get moving. She opened bleary black eyes and tried to make sense of what was going on. |
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 6:36 pm
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 6:56 pm
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 7:03 pm
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 7:16 pm
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 7:27 pm
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Diffudi raised an eyebrow at the father of her cubs. Who did he think she was? Had he learned nothing about her in the time they'd spent together? No wait, ever since she'd returned he'd done his damnedest to stay away from her.
"I don't see much of a problem with your family. They're strong, independent people who aren't likely to roll over and die just because of a little thing." And that was no bad thing at all, as far as the leotah was concerned. If someone so much as breathed oddly because the girls were hybrids, Ua's family would be right there, making sure nobody said anything mean to them.
At least, not without paying for it. In blood.
Not to mention that if Diffudi couldn't be here herself (and that was still up in the air anyway), she was glad to know that Ua's family would make sure that her daughters grew up as people, and not as possessions of idiotic males who deserved nothing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The tail was unfun, now that Tarafa was trying to stand up again and it was moving and pushing against her and making her lean on Nyesha. The younger cub was looking around, trying to figure out what her sister was finding so interesting.
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 7:43 pm
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This was so hard. Diffudi was right, they weren't mates- they were barely acquaintances. It was hard to let himself be vulnerable with a relative stranger, and that was what he was doing even if it sounded more like he was just being stubborn. It didn't look like it to anybody else but he was being protective, this was their best shot at avoiding a life of death and disease.
Would they be immune because of Diffudi? He had little hope for that, experience simply told him otherwise. He couldn't even remember his mother now, though he desperately wanted to.. and all he could remember of Kua was his suffering, though it had thankfully not been drawn out. Tarafa had lived a good, long life but she had still died.
He didn't say anything else right away but the longer he stared at her, the more his eyes filled with anger and hate. He didn't want to, but he forced himself to look away. It wouldn't help to hate Diffudi for this, but he couldn't help it.
Nyesha's tiny tail batted around behind her as she tried to make sense of what was going on around her. It had gone quiet but that somehow felt much worse- she looked back to daddy and just happened to meet his eyes when he looked away. She blinked at him, then turned around to nudge Tarafa's attention in the right direction.
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 7:47 pm
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For the first time in far too many minutes, Diffudi looked down at her daughters and smiled softly. She gently batted Nyesha towards her sisters, and set her other forepaw down to keep Tarafa from getting too far away. Kua, thank the gods, was still sleeping, though the leotah wasn't certain how.
"I think you should go now, Ua," she told the lion softly, not looking back at him. He wasn't important at the moment. The cubs were.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tarafa pushed at the large paw, but it didn't move. Not a bit. Hmmm. Now this was a challenge! The cub backed up and ran into Mama's paw. Still nothing. Green eyes flashing, she looked over towards her sister, who seemed engaged otherwise.
Well, she'd have to try again!
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 8:01 pm
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 8:10 pm
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"As I told you before," the leotah replied coolly, still not turning around, "I'll leave sometime after they're weaned. Which they aren't yet." Which Ua would know, if he wasn't so stupidly afraid of magically infecting them by touch. Diffudi might have nothing to fear, but she'd spoken to some pridemembers and the spread of plague could be prevented by simple, basic precautions. Which the pridemembers took, save in specific instances.
He was as stubborn as the rest of his family, that was for sure, and Diffudi wasn't in a mood to deal with it. The way things were going right now, she might leave the moment the girls were weaned. But she wasn't going to make that decision now.
Deliberately ignoring the cubs' father, she gently grabbed Nyesha and brought her close for a well-earned bath.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mama's paw didn't move. Mama was still talking to the big lion, but that was something that happened and it was boring and she was by Mama and so were her sisters, even though it was apparently bathtime. But Nyesha was first today and so Tarafa didn't have to worry about having to sit still yet.
She could still attack the paw! Which hadn't moved. At all. It was big.
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 8:34 pm
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He continued to glare, biting back more harsh words for the moment but unable to stop a low growl from escaping him. Ua sized her up, seriously considering whether she could be chased off regardless of the consequences that might follow. She was much smaller than him, he had that going for him.. but he could feel himself starting to shake from physical and mental exhaustion the more he fought.
If he wasn't sick, he could definitely do it.. but, in his condition, there was no way he stood a chance to tearing a mother away from her cubs, even if she had already made up her mind to abandon them and in a cursed place like this.
It was hopeless.
So with a frustrated snarl, he turned and stormed himself right out of the den-- managing not to sway until he was out of sight of leotah. His body was deteriorating with his mood, he couldn't stay here and he couldn't go home in this state. There'd be more fighting to do there. So he walked away from Diffudi's den and away from home, unsteady and filled with rage and fear.
Noooo! It was bathtime and she had just gotten comfortable again. Nyesha struggled against her mother briefly but eventually settled down to wait it out. She loved her mama but sitting still ruined all the fun!
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