|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 2:58 pm
 Patch was laying under a tree with her head resting in between her paws. It's true she could usually be found laying somewhere/anywhere these days. It was a tough pregnancy. She hated laying around. More then anything she wanted to run and hunt, just for the rush of energy. Moving would be a blessing. Patch gazed into a nearby pond. Fish swam by now and again. Her favorite food only seconds away from her jaws. She stuck out her tough with a sick expression. With much effort she rolled over. Fish just didn't sound appitizing today.
Icky slimy scaly creatures... Blech! (though she didn't usually think that way)
This wasn't as fun as she would have hoped. Sure children would be a dream come true. Running, playing, and adventuring with little tikes sounded like so much fun. But right now... now was not so fun.
Most days weren't this bad. Usually Patch could walk and have some fun. Unluckly for Patch, sharp pains were upsetting her stomic. So, today she was bedridden. At least she could fell them kick. It was a little exciting.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 8:02 am
Hinyari was crouched low, the tip of her tail flickering uneasily as she eyed the shape between herself and the pond. After a failed and rather embarrassing attempt at hunting, she was painfully thirsty. The young spotty lioness pondered on whether or not she should make her presence know or just circle around the tree and meet the pond a little further away. But then the careless breeze would probably give away her scent before she even got half way to the glimmering waters...
The young lioness felt a little insecure as she watched the huge (or perhaps just fat) lioness in front of her, wondering if her pride was nearby. She definitely didn’t want to be caught moving in on a pride’s territory.
Thankfully, the two seemed to be alone. Perhaps the other female didn’t belong to a pride either, Hinyari thought as if trying to reassured herself. With her dry throat begging to be relieved, the spotty lioness remained still, silently observing the large female, hoping she’d leave soon.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 8:29 am
The cubs continued to kick and flip within Patch. That was definitely not a good place to play tag. "You are killing me settle down," Patch said sternly.
She turned back to the pond full of icky fish to take another drink. She saw a spotted lioness also at the pond. It was stressful realizing she wasn't alone. Patch thought, 'I must look so stupid. Just his big fat lioness talking to herself in the middle of nowhere.'
"I'm sorry I wasn't talking to you. You're not killing me. These crazy cubs are. I hope I'm not weirding you out," Patch said. She was trying to kill any awkwardness, but that was a difficult task.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 10:00 am
Drat! She’d been spotted. She’d been spotted by crazy, HUGE lioness that was talking to her invisible cubs. A lioness so plump she had to one of the best hunters Hinyari had ever seen. Being young and fairly inexperienced, the young adult often wondered if she’d be able to survive without the support of a pack. Well, this lioness certainly had. Either that or she an entire pack working to feed her.
But the other sounded so friendly that Hinyari rose slowly and spoke with confidence, trying not to show weakness. Still, her tone betrayed her as she was still feeling very embarrassed at being found hiding so easily. She moved a little closer to Patch but stopped at a respectful (and safe) distance.
“Not at all…” she lied, of course. “I was just going to the pond… for a bit of water. I hope I’m not intruding…?” the final stated sounded more like question but it occurred to Hinyari that if she had permission, no one could blame her for being there.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 10:24 am
"No you're not intruding. Ah! It's not my pond. Ow! This area is pretty empty when it comes to prides. Stop kicking so hard!" Patch said. In between every sentence Patch was kicked very hard. It was really difficult to uphold a conversation with the constant need for acknowledgement from her cubs. "Don't mind me. In fact, pretend I'm not even here," she said. That was kind of a dumb thing to say.
Patch remembered that she should have been traveling to the temple this week. Ha! Like that was even possible. How did other lionesses do it.
Patch stopped zoning out and remembered what was going on. She was being looked at like a freak show, not that she wasn't one. But what could she do?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 3:40 pm
"No you're not intruding.”
Ah, that was almost an invitation to stay. Then Patch explained this wasn’t her territory and Hinyari relaxed visibly. Maybe the other lioness wanted to talk to someone other than herself.
"Don't mind me. In fact, pretend I'm not even here,"
Or not. The spotty female nodded and stepped closer to the pond’s edge and drank copiously until she finally couldn’t take no more. She moved a little into the pond until her belly felt a soothing cold and then hopped back to land. Shaking the water from her spotty coat she tried to convince herself the next hunt would go better.
And now? Should she just leave? Say goodbye and be done with it? Pretend she hadn’t noticed the crazy talk and just avoid any interaction with the large lioness? In the end she decided there was at least one thing she had to ask if she was to leave with a light conscience.
“Excuse me, but… are you alright?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 7:54 pm
The kicking went down. If Patch wasn't already green, well, she would have looked green a second ago. Not as much now.
'Am I alright?' Patch thought to herself. 'Oh geez that's a though one.' She had no idea what would be an appropriate response. Sarcasm? Denial? Flat out complaining?
Patch sighed. "I'd like to say "Just peachy..." but that's not the case. I'm a new mother and I'm really not liking pregnancy. The little tykes are really leaping around in there," she said as she pointed at her huge belly. "It can't be helped though." Then with a swift emotion change she smiled and said, "It's kind of cool though. I can't believe I'm a mom."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 10:16 am
Pregnant? Oh, pregnant!!!
The young lioness froze in place, tilting her head to the side as she went through various silly expressions. Then all of a sudden, she burst into laughter and trotted merrily to Patch's side.
“I’m sorry…” she tried to say between the laughs. “I thought you were mad!!!” She seemed to regain control of herself quite suddenly as if realizing she looked more like a silly cub than a fully grown adult.
“So… are you going to the temple?” From the looks of things, it seemed she should’ve gone already. “I’m Hinyari, by the way. But you can call me Hin or Yari or Ari…”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 10, 2009 2:53 pm
Patch watched the lioness's several expressions and laughter. It was a relief that the awkwardness was drowned with humor.
"Ha! That's ok. I've nearly gone mad with all this chaos anyways," She said. It didn't matter to Patch if the lioness was acting cub-ish. Infact, Patch had a hard time acting grown up. She never had any adult influence in her life till her later years.
"I'm Patch. It's nice to meet you Ari," Patch said. Hinyari, the lioness with so many names. Patch wondered what her own nicknames could be. Pa? Atch? Ch..? Maybe she'd just stick with Patch.
"Yeah, um, the temple... heh. Well, I'm planning on getting around to that. Earlier this week I tried to go, but I figured I was in too much pain. I figured waiting might be better. Plus I didn't want my mate to help me out. I really like proving that I can be independent. Being waited on is not my thing," Patch said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 10:28 am
Ari it is then, the spotty lioness thought to herself. It had become somewhat of joke to see which nickname the others lions chose for her.
“Oh, your mate…?” Hinyari looked up, looking startled before she remembered she wasn’t intruding on the couple’s territory. She eyed Patch’s abdomen inquisitively like a curious cub who’s sure such a thing won’t happen to her anytime soon as she crouched closer to the round belly almost as if waiting to see some movement under the skin.
“So it hurts… a lot?” Hinyari tensed, looking as though she was about to leap backwards. “Will you… will they be born soon?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 12:15 pm
"Yeah, my mates around somewhere. He's been hunting allot lately and setting up a nice cave or something with Airi, my adopted daughter," Patch said. That's when it hit her. The nickname Ari was her choice because it reminded her of something. She was so absent minded. Airi sounds like Ari. Ha!
"It really kills right now, but now always. It surely takes a lot out of me. Well, I hope they'll be born soon," Patch replied. She always thought it was weird when pregnant lionesses let other lions/lionesses tough their belly. But now that she was a soon-to-be mom, she saw the curiosity in lion's faces and offered willingly, with a bit of pride. After all, nothing was really embarrassing any more. "If you want you can touch my belly. There's one kicking right here."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 8:21 am
“You adopted? That’s… nice.” The words came out distractively as if the young lioness wasn’t willing to redirect her attention even for one bit.
“I can? Really?” Hinyari moved closer and touched the belly gently, first with a careful paw and then when she got more confident, the spotty lioness rested her forehead on the moving skin. The frown turned to a baffled expression as her smile grew steadily wider. She giggled.
“How many do you think you've got in there?” she asked brightly when she finally moved away.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 11:43 am
Patch was oddly not weirded out. Her little cubs in there were probably happy to get a visiter. She felt them reach out more gently then usual. "I can't posibly imagine how many are in there. Sometimes I'm sure it's two but other times it feels like hundreds," Patch said. "All I know is that they're going to be very colorful. Believe it or not their father is red, white, and brown. The only thing me and him have in common physically is green eyes."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 9:50 am
Two adults… plus the adopted cub… and at least two more on the way… That would mean they'd be at least five. A little family. A small pride.
Hinyari dropped her weight backwards very slowly as she sat rather rigidly on the bare ground. She looked rather serious and when the spoke, her tone was somewhat formal.
“At least five then… You’ll have your own pride soon enough.” The spotty lioness felt the weight of loneliness abating on her shoulders. “I miss it, you know? Pride life. I left mine a while ago. It had gotten too big for the land to support and I didn’t have real family there anyway so I decided to find my place somewhere else. But I miss all the activity. All the cubs, the fun…”
It suddenly occurred to her that she might sound as if she was trying to force herself on Patch’s little family. She added the next few words quickly.
“I’ve been keeping my eyes on a little pride I want to join. I hope they’ll accept me. It’s not as if I can’t survive on my own but I’m not yet fully competent at fending for myself… “ Though not thin, Ari’s lean body accentuated her words. The glossy spotted skin showed off every muscle and even if she wasn’t quiet as tall when compared to most lionesses, she was still rather impressive. “But what I really miss is the pride life. Hunting together, sleeping together… having all those cubs looking up to you…”
Her tail twitched anxiously betraying her stance. She wasn’t sure the pride would accept her, a young inexperienced lioness. There was a good chance she’d be a burden for a good while before turning into a valuable asset.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 11:21 am
Patch had tried two or three times in the past to join a pride. Every time the pride either disintegrated or the management wasn't one she could get along with. This lioness put an idea in her head. A pride of her own, why hadn't she ever considered that? It almost fit Patch perfectly except three major problems. Number one: Patch is a bit childlike at times due to her lack of parents. Number two: With all the cubs that would soon need her, she wasn't in good shape to lead a pride. Number three: She didn't know many lions and lionesses.
Patch was sure that forming a pride would finally ease her longing to be helpful. Ever since she told Allihandra from Ekala Adhāra that she'd grow up to prove her worth, Patch has been waiting for an opportunity like this. But so many odds were against her.
"Well, I wouldn't say my family is a pride really. But to have a pride of my own would be a dream. To do something like that seems unlikely. I would need more adult lions. Plus, no one would consider me a leader. Well, I hope the pride you found is a good place for you. Maybe if I find more lions we might meet up again and form a pride," Patch said. She didn't want to sound pushy. She wanted to sound like she loved the idea Hinyari inspired and she wanted her to know that she was welcome in the family. Patch loves big families.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
