Full Circle

It was a fair day in the jungle kingdom. The sun was shining, the birds singing their own cheery tunes, but Nyota had spent most of her hours inside the den at Ukingo, safely nestled away with her young cubs. The white male called Sakitu now slept soundly within the den beside his older sister Nyima. Nyota slipped out of the den as quietly as she could manage while the cubs napped, grateful to get a rare moment to herself. Since the litter's arrival, she had spent nearly every moment with her cubs, even though they had Duara to watch out for them, as well.

The new mother remained alert, ears pricked forward in case either of the cubs woke up frightened and crying. They were good cubs, but Nyota was still adjusting to her title as 'mother,' and the concept was still fresh to her. She was still a little paranoid to leave them alone, for fear that they would stop breathing for some reason while she was away, or they would simply disappear into thin air. The protective instinct was strong within Nyota, but even she needed some alone time. She remained near the mouth of the den, never straying far from her babies since their birth.

The chocolate brown lioness stretched out, enjoying the feeling of the warm afternoon sun on her pelt. To her surprise, none of the Lowlanders seemed to be lurking around Ukingo that day. Was there a hunt today that she had forgotten about? Regardless, she soaked in the silence around her like the sunshine, smiling to herself. The day was lovely, and Nyota felt content. She was pleased with her larger family, even if it was not to remain intact forever. For now, she had Duara and they had two cubs. It wouldn't last forever, and Nyota was well aware of the fact, but in that moment, the young queen was happy. Her tail waved behind her idly as she laid down in the open air.

Nyima had slept for quite a while by now, and so when her eyelids opened to reveal her sparkling, blue eyes she let out a yawn. The cub was at a toddler-ish age, but still struggled to walk without stumbling over herself, or just anything in the general area. Her tail came to life behind her as she pulled herself up into a seat position and stared at her peacefully sleeping brother, Sakitu. She looked around and could not see her mother near her, which dismayed the cub. She had already come to adore her mother will all of her being, and also her other mother, Duara. She could not see Duara either. Her eyes turned back to her only companion, Sakitu.

“Saki,” she mewled and awaited his response. There was no movement from him other than the steady rise and fall of his chest. This only spurred the cub on, and she stood up, stumbled, and made her way around her brother so that she was facing his head. She lowered her head to look at his face, and hesitated. She had been going to bite him, but he looked so content that she decided against it. Instead, the cub dragged herself over to the entrance where she could now see her mother resting. She wondered if Duara was with her, but when she could only see her mother’s form she realized that Duara was not. She pushed herself into a clumsy run, her paws flailing in the air as she toppled over and rolled into the back of her mother.

“Ooft!” She proclaimed with a shake of her head as she felt the warmth from the sun wash over her. “Mama!” She then proceeded to exclaim as she nuzzled against Nyota’s back. The cub was quick to reach her paws up and pull herself on top of her mother, before she tumbled down the other side and landed with a loud ‘Oopsies!’. She sat up again and crawled over to Nyota’s head. She nuzzled her head against Nyota’s neck and began to purr softly. “Saki not gon’ wake up, mama!” Nyima wailed as she pulled away from Nyota, a wounded look on her features.

An ear flicked as the sound of movement inside the den alerted Nyota. Moments later, Nyima emerged in all her youthful, clumsy glory, and Nyota's smile widened as the cub tumbled in her direction. She watched with quiet amusement as Nyima attempted to scale her mother's back, only to come tumbling down the opposite side. A rumbling purr of her own escaped as Nyima came to nuzzle her neck, and she craned her face down to nuzzle her daughter in return.

Whether or not Nyota had done the right thing to become a mother, she felt a sense of peace around Nyima that made her believe the Great Spirits would approve, and that the ends had justified the means. She would leave Sakitu's mind clear of the beliefs of his mother's pride, for it would be the faith of his father that he would soon adopt, and Nyota would respect this. It was a thought she tried to push from her consciousness, knowing that Nyima would be an only child very suddenly in the near future. Nyota had not yet decided how to approach the subject and had not mentioned it to Sakito or Nyima yet. Would it be safer to leave both cubs in ignorance until the day arrived? It seemed unfair to both, and the young queen realized it was her own fault for bringing such an unusual and awkward situation to fruition.

Still, Nyota had no regrets. Sakitu was a prince that his father would be proud to call his own, while Nyima was simply precious. The new mother found in quite impossible to watch her soft brown daughter without wanting to say 'aww' aloud every few seconds when the cub did something new and adorable. She found it difficult to correct Nyima's poor diction, as the youngster was still learning the fine art of proper and dignified speech, but Nyota took her cues from what her parents had instilled in her from the start. Her own mother had been very intent on teaching her cubs how to speak correctly, as befits a princess. "Now, now. Say your words slowly and properly, Nyima. Going to. Sakitu is not going to wake up," she corrected gently before licking the cub's forehead affectionately. "We shall have to let him sleep and amuse ourselves without him, then."

After a brief pause, Nyota spoke again, but her voice had lowered an octave now, as if she was revealing a great secret. In a way, she was, and she would remain silent afterwards to gauge her daughter's reaction to her vague comment. "You will not always be able to rely on your brother for amusement and companionship."

Nyima made herself comfortable against her mothers side, her eyes scouring her surroundings in wonder. Though she had lived for a little while now, the world was still wondrous to her. The sun shone so brightly in the sky, which was a beautiful blue colour. The white clouds were like big balls of fluff, and they made her eyes light up. She wished she could play on them. She looked at the jungle around them, and she had already fallen in love with sad jungle. It was beautiful, and she loved the greenness.

She looked up at her mother with wide eyes as she corrected her grammar, and the little cub smiled sheepishly and nuzzled her head against her mother. "Sorry mama. Sak-i-tu is not go-ing to wake up." Nyima pronounced it slowly, and beamed when it sounded right. She hoped that it pleased her mother, for she loved to make her mama happy. She purred softly as she looked around for the sandy form of Duara, sad when she couldn't see it.

"Mama," she started slowly, focusing on each syllable before she actually spoke it. "Where is mummy?" She asked, referring to Duara, as she called her.

Nyima did not seem interested in the idea that her brother would not always be present, and Nyota shrugged it off, unwilling to upset the young cub with the confusing details involving the father she had never met. Instead, the young princess inquired about Duara, her other mother, as it were. There were only a few other cubs in the jungle kingdom, and none of them had a father figure, either, so perhaps it was simply that Nyima did not realize her situation was unusual. Most cubs did not have two mothers, but then, most territories had a king. The Lowlanders were different in many ways, and Nyota was proud of her homeland.

"I suspect she is out hunting, or scouting for herds. Normally it is much more difficult to find zebra here, or even gazelle, but we have been blessed in recent years." While the other prides more often found themselves without the large prey that had once been abundant in the lands, the jungle pride found themselves suddenly overrun by the beasts. The herds had avoided the jungle before, but with the drought that plagued many of the neighboring territories, the migration paths had altered, and now included large areas of the Lowlands. Many of these animals were lost within the unfamiliar green kingdom, which made it that much easier for the pride to hunt.

"The Spirit of Life has provided well for us in the jungle. We must always remember to be thankful." Her focus drifted upwards, as if the legendary Spirit would be sitting up above in a tree, or gazing down from a wispy cloud that floated leisurely across the bright blue sky. Other prides call it by different names, but most believed in the same general concept of a spirit who guided lions, and helped mortals to make sense of their own existence. [color=darkgreen]"Have we discussed the great Spirit before, Nyima? It is an important matter for every lion, but especially for those destined to lead, someday."[color] She gave her daughter an affectionate lick to her forehead, hoping that Nyima would take an interest in the faith of her ancestors, despite her young age.

Nyima's attention was captured by a lizard that scuttled past and moved towards a rock, its dark colour making it easy to blend in with the rock that it had laid rest on to those that did not know it was there. As it was, Nyima had seen and she barely took in what her mother said about her brother as she watched it carefully. As a hopeless hunter, Nyima was merely setting herself up for failure with such an attempt to capture a small lizard as this one - but the young cub still wished to try her hardest. She clambered away from her mother and stuck her butt up in the air. It waggled as her tail laid low behind her whilst her claws scratched lightly against the earth. She let out a growl as she jumped towards the rock but mis-judged herself and went flying over the rock and rolled until she hit a tree behind the rock. She stumbled around dizzily as the lizard slithered away and she shook her head, pouncing after it and stumbling once more. She swiped a paw for it, but it had scuttled away from her and successfully avoided the cub. She looked over to her mother with a pout and stumbled over to her side.

Nyima settled back against her 'mama' and licked her chin. She nuzzled her head against mama's neck and huffed as she was informed that mummy was out hunting or something along the lines of this activity. It displeased the small cub that her other mother was hardly around, always scouting for hunt or patrolling the borders - and she was not allowed to join her on these outings! It was completely un-just and Nyima intended on letting her mama know her own opinion on such activities that neglected the small cub. "Bu' mama, mummy 's always out! Nev' home, she's 'ot." Her words slurred together as she spoke and she cleared her throat and tried again. "I mean, mama, mummy is always out... never home! And Sa-ki-tu is always sleepin'!" Nyima rolled onto her back and huffed again. She really didn't like being left to her own devices and was glad that her mama was around to play with.

Nyima tilted her head as her mother said that the 'spirit of life' had blessed them, and her confusion was clear on her features. She reached up a paw to tap her mothers chin and she wondered if her mama would elaborate further. After all, Nyima knew not of the 'spirit of life' or anything like such topics. Nyima took in that she must always be thankful, but she wondered what for. Not knowing anything other than the jungles with its plentiful food, warm weather and many watering spots she couldn't comprehend why she would be thankful for such things that she had taken for granted. "No, we haven't, mama." She said in response to her mama's question. She waited for her mama to continue, knowing that she would.

The jungle queen watched with interest as her daughter attempted to catch the lizard, only to stumble and topple into a tree. Nyota made no attempt to comfort the cub, knowing she would not be badly hurt, and it was not best to coddle a youngster. Pain was something they had to discover for themselves. "Worry not, Nyima, one day you will be a fine hunter. It is in your blood," the mother stated proudly, recalling the days when her mother Penda, a legendary huntress as well as queen, had still been alive. The herds had been less abundant before the droughts that affected their neighbors, but hunts were often successful, under Penda's direction. The former queen had been wise, firm but gentle, and the most generous lion one could imagine. Her kindness was known throughout the lands. A soft sigh escaped as she thought of the family that had departed before their time. They were with her every day, but it didn't make life any easier for the young queen.

As Nyima settled in next to her mother, Nyota nuzzled her daughter, purring unabashedly. It was quiet moments like this that made everything worthwhile. Chuckling softly as the young cub corrected her words and spoke properly, her mis-matched gaze strayed for a minute to look around, as if speaking of Duara would magically make the lioness appear. Sadly, that was not the case, for the tan queen was off once again. As strange as it seemed for two lionesses to rule a pride, Duara had stepped up to the plate and taken on more than her fair share of duty. "I have spoken to her about relinquishing - giving up, I mean, some of her patroling duties, but she insists. It is difficult to change her mind once it is set on something." She found it all the more endearing that Nyima had taken to Duara as a second parent, and her closest friend filled the void that having a father would create for the princess. Duara took naturally to the responsibilities of motherhood, when she wasn't out and about protecting the pride. She worried the other lioness would exhaust herself, but Duara could not be dissuaded to take it easy.

How could she explain the beliefs of their ancestors to a cub so young, in a way she could understand? It was a challenge, but Nyota felt it was vital that she know from the start the very basics of their faith. "The Spirit of Life is all around us, in every tree, every breath of air. It is nature," she tried to explain, hoping it was a concept the cub could grasp. "Without the jungle, we would have nothing. We live here because this is where we are meant to be." Her thoughts strayed to Sakitu. The white cub was destined to live elsewhere, it was unavoidable now, but Nyima was a princess of the jungle. "But sometimes what we get in life is not what we expect," she continued calmly. "Often, we find our path is not what we necessarily want, either, but all happens for a reason. Nothing is coincidence. The Spirit of Life guides us in the proper direction."