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 Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 5:37 am
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She'd taken to motherhood quite well, though she had to acknowledge she had been a touch spiteful since her cubs had arrived. Shui had been provided scarce opportunity to see them, to assist in their education; for all intents and purposes Soleil had stood in 'harms way' and prevented him from spouting the toxic views that he had adopted in the months and year that had gone by.
Her children wouldn't be raised to think they any were any less than they were. Those who had succumbed to temptation were misguided, they might even had reason for their actions, but each was entitled to make amends without being treated with contempt. While she had been in support of shelter for them, a safe place to hide, this had yet to come into fruition and as it stood...she would ensure each and every cub was raised to respect those who had made a mistake.
Learn from it.
Don't punish them.
It was a lesson she had come to learn herself as she gazed out towards the Kizi from the extensive canyon that lay between both 'worlds' now. Separated not just by space, but by less than pleasant traps, the Kizi had had the message made clear to them that they were not welcome. She could acknowledge that what they had done, what they had planned was highly uncalled for but after all this time what had become of them?
The world had been quiet since then, deafening almost as the gulf separated friends, families and foe alike.
Had she possessed a measure of authority and influence she might have attempted to take the long way round, to bridge that gap and offer a tentative greeting... if only to make sure that their neighbours were all right after such a dramatic occurrence.
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Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 8:04 am
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Yai was not the biggest cub, not the strongest. He lacked the energy his siblings seemed to have no limit of, preferring to shy away into his mother's shadow and watch the world go on around him from between her paws. It was still so wide- so intimidating, even if he'd grown tall as her elbow now. There were a lot of looks to notice- a lot of whispers that Yai swore he heard before his family drew close enough to hear, and it all served to crush whatever confidence he managed to gather.
Which is what made quiet walks through the territory with his mother so calming- on normal days. On days in which he didn't feel the nerve-racking need to trail close on her heels, starting at any nose that rustled in the underbrush in fear that one of the famous traps had been triggered, and the fact that it was only a lizard, or a brightly colored bird, each time did little to soothe his nerves on the walk out to the ravine.
Silence wasn't unusual to Yai- he rather enjoyed it, actually, the introspective cub that he was, but the silence of his mother in the presence of the ravine was.... Unnerving, all things considered.
Casting a nervous glance at the jungle that continued across the ravine, on the side of the Kizi, and back up to Soleil, he nervously spoke up, "What are we out here for, Mother?" In his own, overly-proper way, shuffling paws.
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Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 8:50 am
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Why was she out here?
She had been visiting it more and more often and it wasn't as if the situation had changed. The traps remained ever present and the canyon showed no signs of revealing itself to be an extravagant illusion woven by meddling deities. Ah, now that was one thing she had hope would come to pass, the revelation that a deity had intervened in order to halt a conflict before it began... Except reality was a rather hard pill to swallow.
That canyon was real, those traps were real, and they were now divided. It was a permanent reminder of an otherwise shattered and irreparable relationship; or at least that was how the lioness felt when she took a moment to gaze across the expanse. Every now she'd catch sight of a flower or two that made her envious, they certainly lived in a world of unique colour... The beach was certainly beautiful, as was the sea, but that jungle held treasures too.
"It keeps me grounded," she admitted to her young son and smiled. "A reminder that even though things might be really bad, sometimes it's better to step back and breathe before lashing out and causing damage you can't repair," she shook her head. "We both did things we shouldn't have, but I hope they're doing well over there."
"Maybe if we wait long enough we might catch a glimpse of someone, you know?"
Realistic as always she knew this was unlikely, but she did like to imagine a passing wave now and then. At least something to show that while animosity might have existed in some, there were others who held out hope for something brighter.
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Posted: Thu Jul 18, 2019 8:37 am
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The terminology was confusing only for a moment- Yai had only one definition for the term grounded, but it was very obvious that this was not appropriate here- still, he cocked his head to the side as he listened intently, ears perked.
By the time Soleil had finished speaking, more questions swam through the cub's mind- questions he mulled on for a moment only to toss them aside, unspoken, either too silly or too obvious to ask.
"Who are you looking for?" He finally settled, craning his neck to look across- still in his mother's shadow. The sound of water crashing on rock was distant, but loud enough to be a constant reminder of how much he didn't want to be near the edge of the ravine...
A moment longer Yai remained silent and thoughtful before he looked back up at his mother, "If we both did things we shouldn't have, why hasn't anyone come apologized?" That was what one did if they were in the wrong, after all- if there was blame mutually, of course there would be exchanged apologies, but the logic still stood...
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 2:01 am
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"Because they aren't allowed inside...at least they don't feel like they're allowed," She admitted and smiled at her son. "The Kizingo'zaa made the first move, and then they made the second," she explained. She could at least acknowledge that her estranged made hadn't i]started the fight, but he had certainly mishandled it.
...His father may have had a more measured approach.
"Your father reacted badly, he was very angry and he made it quite clear that they had no place here after what they had tried to do," she added after a few moments. She had thought long and hard over everything that had happened in recent months. While she had been furious at Shui for how he had conducted himself in those months that had followed, what had triggered it was now more clear that the smog of her own anger had lifted.
The Kizingo'zaa's young king had provoked them, he had attempted to usurp the Bahari'mtoto and scream his demands. While Shio hadn't intended to behave in a manner that would support this, rather than looking to the King, the Nyangumi had looked to Shio instead. In essence in those moments both the Kizingo'zaa and the King's very own brother had attempted to unseat the King.
...Was it any wonder Shui had regarded his own family with suspicion after that?
Add that to the revelation that their neighbour had moved along the extremist path and had sought to harm them with toxins and Shui had responded with a measured amount of hostility in return.
It had spiraled out of control.
"But before it got too far something intervened and made sure we couldn't fight," she pointed at the ravine. "...It has made it harder to reach out though, at least to see if they're all right." She paused briefly and shook her head. "That being said it isn't us that would need to apologise first; we did not attempt to take control of another pride and we definitely didn't seek to hurt one either," she explained gently.
"...But we should be willing to let them apologise, and respond in kind by acknowledging we let it go too far based on how we reacted to what they did."
Another pause.
"That being said I don't know if anyone even would apologise for what they did, that's why sometimes I like to see if anyone else looks across like I do... Just to see if maybe there is some common ground," She smiled warmly and shrugged her shoulders. "Being an adult sucks sometimes Yai, especially when you have to be a sensible adult," she warned with a smirk.
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Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 11:03 am
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Yai listened intently, head cocked innocently to the side as he soaked in his mother's lessons- as silly as they seemed.
If his brother bullied him time and again, and wasn't even sorry for it, he certainly would not be excited to reconcile..... And he made a face to mirror the thought, which perhaps his mother saw- she certainly continued down a line of thought that explained more of his unspoken questions, though perhaps didn't quell his misgivings. If father had reacted badly, and it was deserved, was that really such a bad thing? It was provoked and deserved!
Glancing at the ravine- a bit thankfully, now, that the barrier was there between them, if the Kizingo'Zaa pride was so aggressive.
"Why does it matter if they're alright?" the cub sniffed- not out of malice, he was young still and entirely lacked the malice to wish harm on others, but the brutal honesty of youth was there, "If they attacked us... Why should we apologize at all? They started it!" he pouted back up at Soleil- her lessons of fairness and equal blame flying over his head, for the moment.
"it's unfair," he pouted with some finality- if being an adult was like that, he wasn't sure he wanted to grow up...
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Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 1:38 am
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She chuckled, he was a little like his father... or at least he sounded like Shui in those moments. They were questions that a more mature voice had first spoke, first demanded to know. Why did it fall to him to take the first steps towards reconciliation when it hadn't been his kind that had stepped out of line; why was it he who had to hold out a branch of peace when he hadn't threatened everything he held dear?
Had he less decorum he might well have spat in the face of those who had tried to get him to temper his fury and channel his father. In times like these, Soleil did have to wonder if perhaps Ram would have reacted differently. Would he have been more measured? He had never come across as the type to fly off the handle but no one was ever going to know now, were they...
"If we had acted more carefully, perhaps we could have resolved things more amicably and simply removed the individual who had threatened us," she explained. "Not everyone in that pride wanted to hurt us, only some, and if we had pressed for the lion who wanted to hurt us to be removed then maybe we could have remained friends," she shook her head.
"Sometimes being the better person sucks," she agreed. "But that is who we are," she pressed and lifted her paw to pat his head gently. "We are the Bahari'mtoto and we are known for our benevolence. We are known for our kindness, our patience and our understanding," she smiled warmly.
"But we are lost at the moment, it would be nice for us to find our way again," she turned to look across the ravine again. "And maybe making sure our old friends are all right is the first step we need to take, no?"
He was much too young to look in to geopolitics, but she would at least reinforce what her pride was in him. She wouldn't let him be soured and tempered by the extremist factions, he would grow up knowing what it was to be a true Bahari, even in the face of those who had either forgotten it...or chosen to ignore it.
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Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 10:01 am
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Yai stared up, big eyes drinking every curious, nonsensical detail of what his mother was telling him- the whole speech had the feeling of something important, though he couldn't quite wrap his mind around it- not yet, was the part he didn't understand. One day, certainly, but not quite yet, young still as he was, but he still listened with attentive obedience quite unlike a cub of his age.
The silent contemplation and attention halted the moment Soleil put a paw to the cub's head, however, meeting with the beginnings of a rumbling purr and a responding press into her touch- maybe the rest of it was confusing and didn't make sense, but he did want to be like his mother- as kind, and compassionate, understanding.... The good guys!
"We can watch for the good ones," he chirped in response, wiggling out from under her paw to snuggle up to her side, looking back over the ravine with less reservation than before, "Maybe there's cubs there? If we make friends, that'd fix it, right?" If there was only one lion being trouble, certainly friends could fix it! That's how it worked- cubs grew up, and cubs took over, so if he and his siblings made friends with the subs that would take over.... That'd fix it, obviously.
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Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:24 am
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"There are definitely cubs there," she reassured him and glanced back towards the ravine with a smile. "And maybe if you do manage to make friends, then you can show everyone else how it's supposed to be done," she added. At some point certain individuals in her pride had forgotten how to do just that and it might very well have taken simple child-like innocence to remind them.
"But for now, I think we should be getting back," She gave him a light nudge as she rose to her own four paws and released a sigh. She'd eventually have people nosing about in an attempt to track her down, some of which were simply determined to keep track of her. Evidently there were some who didn't trust her and she had yet to discern if it was her estranged mate's doing, or they acted independently.
"You can make a plan with your siblings for when you meet one of our neighbours, no?" With that in mind she began to make her way back to the centre of the pride. She'd continue her vigil at another time, she had other priorities this afternoon!
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Posted: Fri Aug 02, 2019 5:49 am
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"There are definitely cubs there...."
Yai gazed into the Kizingo'Zaa territory with renewed interest- outside of his siblings, and the adults that surrounded him, there were no cubs for him to befriend- not that he had any contact with, anyhow, and the prospect of a not-annoying-sibling to play with was terribly tempting, had it not been for the rift in the ground between the territories.
It was his mother's nudging that broke Yai's new concentration, pouting at the prospect of going home now that things were getting interesting.... though it quickly disappeared at the prospect of a special task bossing- er, leading- his siblings.
A grin split the cub's face as he jumped to his paws, "I'll show them!" he blurted excitedly, bouncing along and through his mother's paws, "I'll be the best friend, and I'll make sure everyone gets along!" he could do that, how hard could it be?
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