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 Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 12:57 pm
Patch was relieved that there would be no violence today. All was well. "I didn't ketch your name?" she said to the lioness.
Kero said what they were both thinking to the leading lioness and the Dalin. "Thank you." Then Kero wandered over to the two males. "Thank you guys too." As a cub she was shy, especialy around males. But her fur drew many eyes and triggered many conversations. So, these days she had become severly social. "Will you be staying now that things are situated?" She did want them to stay. She felt really safe with so many lions. It almost felt like a pride, something she had only been a part of as a small child.
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Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 1:06 pm
A young girl and a lion named Kahawa wandered around in
the rain. At her side was her faithful companion, his name known only to a
few. They were on a mission from Zahina. One of dire importance. As she
felt the rain soak her hair and clothing, seeping it felt, down to her very bones,
she took comfort in the fact that what she was about to do would be
spectacular.
In a cave about a mile away, a green lioness named Patch suddenly felt a
pain in her sides. Unsure what was going on at first, it soon became clear
that her labor had started.
dun dun DUN
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Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 2:19 pm
Caelum let out a low growl at the Da'lin, not sure of whether to trust him or not, but left him alone. There was no point in aggravating him even further, he was only trying to protect his home, after all. Leaving him to his mangled rabbit, he noticed a brightly colored female slowly approaching him. He smiled as he heard her words, she seemed like a nice lion.
"It was no problem. I promised the little cub that I'd help her find her mother, and I couldn't put her life at risk by leaving her in such a sticky situation." He paused for a second as the lioness continued. He paused for a second and looked around, "So long as it's alright with the Da'lin, I wouldn't mind staying. It's either that or I have to go and trek through the rain again." He let out a low laugh, eyes lighting up.
Airi's shaking slowly stopped as she curled into a small ball next to her mother. She'd thought she'd lost her. And she hadn't. Completely unsure of whether she was distraught or happy, the cub decided to stay quiet.
Suddenly, she felt odd spasms coming from Patch. She looked up, a question forming in her eyes. What was going on? Suddenly, she understood. "The cubs are coming! I'm going to be a sister!" Her mood suddenly lifting, the little one jumped up to her paws and bounced around in excitement.
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Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 2:23 pm
(( eek OMG! I totally did not see that coming! I was like Kahawa? What is he doing with a girl? Heh, what are the chances. Patch, who hasn't made many friends in her lifetime, is giving birth in front of like, was it 6?, lions. ))
Patch laid down. She was suddenly so weak. 'Oh great! The timing is impeccable. Zolua did you plan this?' she thought sarcastically. It was a blessing that her babies were coming, but surrounded by lions! And where could Kahawa be? What a day, what a day. "Uh guys I hate to break it to you but the cubs are coming!" she said, though she was a bit late. Airi had already announced it. Oh dear gosh, that's when the pain became excruciating. She hugged Airi tightly. "Thank you for being here Airi, my angel. Hopefully Zahina will bring Kahawa." she said.
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Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 2:30 pm
Suri got up and plopped in front of Patch. "Are you sure it's time? They're not false?" The look on the green lions face however, was not one of false labor. Putting her head down to think for a second, she breathed slowly. "Alright... I know we don't know each other, but you are in for quite a night! We arn't far from the temple, but there's no way we're finding it in the rain, and no way you can make it there now. I'm sorry." The lioness truly was, as she knew how it was being a mother wanting to give birth in the temple. She shivered to think about her past however. It was long gone.
"I've been through this before. The best thing for you to do is take deep even breaths... but really past that there is nothing that we can do but pray to Zahina. All the work is yours unfortunately." Giving the lioness an encouraging nudge, Suri got up, standing ready for what was soon going to be a blast of anger from the Da'Lin. After all, birth was a messy thing.
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Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 2:41 pm
"I'm Darius," Darius said as he edged fully into the cave, nodding at the lioness who greeted him. "Sorry we had to meet like this; it's not a fit night for lion or beast." Relieved, he found a spot where he could stand comfortably and shiver himself warm. So they weren't going to fight with the Da'lin. Good. Very good. Darius was cold and wet and really, really, really not in the mood for violence tonight. Especially with a litter of new cubs on the way... he didn't trust the Da'lin male whose cave this was not to get angry about the blood and mess that would soon be coming. He'd seen births before, and, knowing what they entailed, shifted his considerable bulk between the pregnant lioness and the Da'lin. Although he didn't know her, he knew her unborn cubs were a gift from Zahina, and they needed to be protected. He assumed that this was her second litter, due to the cub dancing around proclaiming her near sibling-hood. He guessed that when the first cub was born, the mother had been very young, perhaps just out of adolescence herself, only to produce one cub. The green lioness wasn't an old lioness by any definition of the word, or at least she didn't look it. He looked into her eyes as the pain of labor hit her, wondering if he could offer assistance of any kind. He saw that the other male was just as strong and willing to protect the females as he was; he could take care of the other females and the young cub. "If you roll on your side, Miss, it'll take the pressure of your body weight off your belly; it might relieve some of the pain in your back, and it will make the birth easier," he said in a low, calm voice. She might not have known this, if her first litter had been an easy one. He hoped this one would be easy. There was no real midwife around, and the temple might as well be eight days away; Zahina herself might not want to venture out on a night like this. It was up to them to ensure the safety of these cubs.
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Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 2:43 pm
Marne let out an unapproving sound at Caelum. "'The Da'lin, the Da'lin, oh dear it's the Da'lin!'," he snorted, glaring at the male. "'The Da'lin' has a name, which you've so carelessly forgotten to ask. And we're the ones without the manners?" He huffed, shaking his head. It was ridiculous, the lack of respect he was getting in his own den.
But he snapped his head to watch the pregnant female, hugging the cub. As he watched the others stand around he grew impatient, lifting himself off his belly and moving toward her, frown set in his features. He merely shouldered the tan male out of his way, uncaring for his protectiveness. He stopped above her, watching for just a moment. "I'm not going to hurt you. I swear upon what little I have to call my own." His voice was not sweet, but it's gruff tone held honesty. Before much else could be said he gently placed his paw on his side, keeping his toes uplifted so that his claws did not touch her and make her uncomfortable.
He was feeling for the contractions, mouthing off counts by two. Every so often he shift the position, trying to feel them better. He frowned in something near an apology as he noticed the slight muddy marks he was leaving in her fur. "...You're moving normally." He moved his paw away, sitting back on his haunches. "You're going to be in more pain than you've ever experienced. I was... a healer for my old pride, so... you'll have to trust me, I s'pose." His red eyes stared at her blankly. He had no sympathy for her pain, no joy for her miracle. She was fulfilling life's requirements, and he was simply doing what he knew how to do.
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Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 2:47 pm
Darius blinked hard as the Da'lin approached and laid a paw on the pregnant female. But before he could say any more than what he'd said to her, the stranger had sworn on his honor that he would help. Perhaps they did have a proper midwife among them! He scooted out of the way so that the healer could move about properly, wondering what those at the temple would think of a Da'lin delivering Zahina cubs during such a bad storm.
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Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 2:53 pm
Patch did as the two lions insisted, unsure how the males knew more about pregnancy then the females. Still she was lucky. "Thank you. I'm sorry that we don't know your name. In fact lets all try to go around and introduce ourselves. It could be like a distraction from the pain. Hello, I'm Patch. This joy-filled cub is my adopted daughter Airi. I'll let her introduce herself," Patch said. Her speech was constantly cut off by deep painful shaky breaths.
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Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 2:54 pm
Suri glared at the Da'Lin. Name or not, she cared little. Anyone not a follower of Zahina, in her eyes, was blasphemous and not worthy of her trust. Those that deviated from their god given path to follow a lesser deity, known for his ruthlessness and evil was not worth getting to know or trusting. Still however, she could do nothing for Patch, and if he was true to his word, which she didn't believe for one moment, there might be some hope for an easy delivery.
She stayed at her position at the head of the lioness, being bounced all over by the young cub that was with them. She ignored her, concentrating on the other lions and the lioness in front of her. What a strange night this had started to turn into. As it was indeed night time now, by about half an hour. It was completely dark outside except with the lighting crawling across the sky. It almost felt surreal to be around so many lions, witnessing the beauty of birth. Almost like being in a pride again.
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Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 3:07 pm
"I'm Darius, and I can't think of a stranger situation to meet you and your adopted daughter." Adopted daughter... wait... and if the girl didn't have any siblings... this was going to be her first litter... ohgoddess. She should be at the temple right now. This was the last place a first-time mother should be giving birth. And, unless he was sorely mistaken, the father was nowhere in sight. He didn't know who Kahawa was, but he assumed the missing lion was the father of the litter, or perhaps a friend who would stand in if it had been some fling. He really knew nothing about Patch; hopefully, once the immediacy of the situation had passed, he could get to know all of the lions in this cave, even the grumpy Da'lin. If he could really make this birth a safe one, he would have Darius's respect.
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Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 4:02 pm
Caelum nodded slightly to the Da'lin, "I apologize." His tone was gruff though, "I did not know what to refer to you as, simply because you failed to introduce yourself. If you would so kindly give us your name, then I would call you by it." He growled and almost lunged forwards as the lion moved towards the female who was apparently called Patch. Claws unsheathing, he felt his muscles tense up, and then suddenly relax as he realized the Da'lin truly did want to help. That didn't mean he was comfortable with the situation though, far from it in fact.
Airi lifted her head up proudly, completely unaware that her 'mother' was in pain. "I'm Airi! I'm only a few weeks old. I like to play and love catching bugs." She stuck her tongue out in a lop sided fashion and staggered around on her paws, "I'm also a big silly habit! My friend, he's not here, he's a silly dusty habit, even though he's all grown up." She paused for a second, concentrating. "And Patch and Kahawa are my new parents 'cause my old ones got lost in a storm just like this one."
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 3:57 am
Marne felt a tad bit of emotion well up inside of him as he listened to the cub's words. He knew what it was like to lose your family, and how terrible it must have been for the cub to go through. But he let none of his sympathies show, simply nodding at the names. It would do no good to be emotional, it was never any help.
"Marne. At one time my family lived on land near this place, but I'm all that's left." He concentrated on the lioness as he said this, watching the shifting contraction in her muscles. "They'll be coming soon, Patch. I warn you, it will be excruciating without any form of herb to help with the pain. I would have tried to find some, but with this rain it would be impossible." He shook his head. "I can give you a piece of the rabbit to concentrate on; put it in your mouth an clamp your jaws down hard. But, that's about the extent I can do for that right now."
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 5:09 am
"Thank you Marne, but you've done a lot by sharing your home for the night. I couldn't allow you to run off into a storm to dig through the mud for a herb. I can manage. It would be so hard to find anything outside anyways," Patch said. The pain was already excruciating. Patch allowed Marne to share a slice of rabbit fleash. It was tough meat from the hind leg. Clamping her jaws on it was the equivatent of a human with a stress relief ball that they crush in their fist. (Another mataphore Patch wound't understand.) She clamped her eyes shut and thought about all the days of her life, anything to keep her mind away from the pain.
Kero stood by the door. Something had caught her eye. From far off where her light could barely reach, Kero could see something coming for them. It might have been a lion. In fact, yes, there was a lion. But somthing tall walked beside him. There might have been more then just two creatures traveling, still they weren't very close. Kero walked out of the cave into the wind. "I'll be back Patch. There's someone outside that doen't look like a lion. I have to check it out," she said. The cave grew dimmer once she left but the light was less intence and more calming.
((I don't have spell check at my boyfriend's house so sorry if there are errors))
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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 10:45 am
 Exhausted and full of worry Kahawa huffed forward. This had been a strange day. The girl walking next to him had come to him this morning. He had never seen such a thing and many questions filled his head.
The girl told him they had to fullfill an important task and he had to follow her quickly. There was no time to ask for explanation as she departed as soon as she'd arrived. Hurrying after her Kahawa and the girl traveled right into a terrible storm. This brought up memories of his childhood. It made him feel uneasy and raise his worries for Patch and Airi. He hadn't seen them in a few days and Patch was in the last fase of her pregnancy. He should have gone looking for her earlier and scolded at himself for that.
But he had to keep his head with him now. The sight wasn't very clear with the heavy rain and he had to concentrate on keeping up with the odd girl. Soon he could trace the shape of a large cliff in the distance. As Kahawa squeezed his eyes together he could also see a glowing thing nearer by. The girl beckoned him and ran to the light. With a large huff he gathered his last energy and raced after her.
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