Post by Therdde on Aug 4, 2009 19:28:42 GMT -5
Characters:
Kein - Male Cougar
Maul - Female Cougar Cub
- Sprawling Mesa -
Kein doesn't want to have this conversation. The last couple weeks, since Maul got her marking, have been nice. She's been... Well, loving, instead of... However she was before. Kein fights off a sigh and, once they are well away from the cave, turns around to face his daughter and sits down. He would like to be able to ignore this... But it's not really his choice. He could care less about his grandmother, the one who let a male take her daughters out to kill them. Maul, on the other paw... May care.
Maul loves the walks she gets to go on, even when they are with Daddy instead of Mommy. She never wanders far from him, but she does take the opportunity to explore everything she can. As Daddy stops, a little up ahead, though, she stops her wandering and looks at him. She knew it was going to be one of those kinds of talks, and when she approaches Daddy, it is with a ducked head. It doesn't mater that she knows she has done nothing wrong. There is going to be some aspect of this she won't like. Something that feels like punishment.
Kein doesn't speak until Maul is right next ti him. Reaching out to draw her in with a gentle paw, he says, "I know that... Things like this are a little strange for you, Maul. They're strange for me too. I have something very important to talk to you about right now, though... So I need you to be a big girl, okay?" She remembers things. He knows she does. He has no way of knowing how much she remembers, though, and he really doesn't want to be the one to remind her of something traumatic.
As much as she would prefer to be away from Daddy right now, Maul does not fight him. She doesn't nuzzle or lean against him, but she does sit right up next to him. As he speaks, she listens closely. Yep. She knew this was going to be something unpleasant. Even so, she does her best to do as Daddy asks. Nodding her head, she says, "I will, Daddy."
For all of the problems between them, Maul is a good child. She may seem to dislike Kein most of the time, but at least she is well-behaved. She loves her family and her tribe. That's obvious. It's just difficult on all of them. Kein is silent for a moment, then asks, "I need to know if you remember... Having another Mommy. One before Nayeli." Amber-Kai, the cougaress he met, was very old. How much longer will she live? Kein might not care at all for his maternal grandmother... But Maul may deserve some sort of closure there.
"You mean like-" Maul stops talking suddenly. Yes, she remembers another Mommy besides Nayeli, and she remembers... Shivering slightly, she finally presses herself against her father. In a voice that carries far too much emotion for a girl her age, a combination of mourning and resolve, she says, "I remember." For as quiet as her voice is, it doesn't make the emotion in her voice any less profound.
The tone of voice that his daughter uses makes Kein's heart ache. No little girl should ever have to feel the way that Maul's tone suggests she feels. Were that he could, he would fight against every memory that could ever make her feel this way again, but that's not something he can do. The best he can do is give her the tools to fight against them herself, the opportunities to find closure that she did not get, before. "Would you like me to take you to visit her? Your other mother?"
Does she need closure? No. There were more important things to her mother than her children. She has known that for a long time. Maul *does*, however, feel some other need to see the cougaress who she first called her mother. She'll consider it practice. Practice for what, exactly? She has no idea. "I want to see her. Just once." At least, that's what the little girl tells herself. Her internal voice echoes that same, oddly creepy voice she uses externally. The one even she doesn't recognize.
Kein takes a deep breath. Hopefully, Amber will still be alive... And not too far away. "Okay. We'll go tomorrow." How will Nayeli feel about this? Amber may have once been Maulisho's mother, but Nayeli carried and birthed Maul. Hopefully, she won't be upset that Maul feels some need to see Amber... But even if she does, Kein will still be taking Maul. The girl deserves at least that much.
Maul stands up after her father speaks. Tomorrow is fine. For now, though. "I'm going back to the cave." She feels she has to see Amber. What she *wants* to do, though, particularly right now, is curl up with her *real* Mommy. Nayeli. She doesn't bother waiting for her father before she begins walking. She has no doubt he'll follow her, but she doesn't want to wait.
Kein - Male Cougar
Maul - Female Cougar Cub
- Sprawling Mesa -
Kein doesn't want to have this conversation. The last couple weeks, since Maul got her marking, have been nice. She's been... Well, loving, instead of... However she was before. Kein fights off a sigh and, once they are well away from the cave, turns around to face his daughter and sits down. He would like to be able to ignore this... But it's not really his choice. He could care less about his grandmother, the one who let a male take her daughters out to kill them. Maul, on the other paw... May care.
Maul loves the walks she gets to go on, even when they are with Daddy instead of Mommy. She never wanders far from him, but she does take the opportunity to explore everything she can. As Daddy stops, a little up ahead, though, she stops her wandering and looks at him. She knew it was going to be one of those kinds of talks, and when she approaches Daddy, it is with a ducked head. It doesn't mater that she knows she has done nothing wrong. There is going to be some aspect of this she won't like. Something that feels like punishment.
Kein doesn't speak until Maul is right next ti him. Reaching out to draw her in with a gentle paw, he says, "I know that... Things like this are a little strange for you, Maul. They're strange for me too. I have something very important to talk to you about right now, though... So I need you to be a big girl, okay?" She remembers things. He knows she does. He has no way of knowing how much she remembers, though, and he really doesn't want to be the one to remind her of something traumatic.
As much as she would prefer to be away from Daddy right now, Maul does not fight him. She doesn't nuzzle or lean against him, but she does sit right up next to him. As he speaks, she listens closely. Yep. She knew this was going to be something unpleasant. Even so, she does her best to do as Daddy asks. Nodding her head, she says, "I will, Daddy."
For all of the problems between them, Maul is a good child. She may seem to dislike Kein most of the time, but at least she is well-behaved. She loves her family and her tribe. That's obvious. It's just difficult on all of them. Kein is silent for a moment, then asks, "I need to know if you remember... Having another Mommy. One before Nayeli." Amber-Kai, the cougaress he met, was very old. How much longer will she live? Kein might not care at all for his maternal grandmother... But Maul may deserve some sort of closure there.
"You mean like-" Maul stops talking suddenly. Yes, she remembers another Mommy besides Nayeli, and she remembers... Shivering slightly, she finally presses herself against her father. In a voice that carries far too much emotion for a girl her age, a combination of mourning and resolve, she says, "I remember." For as quiet as her voice is, it doesn't make the emotion in her voice any less profound.
The tone of voice that his daughter uses makes Kein's heart ache. No little girl should ever have to feel the way that Maul's tone suggests she feels. Were that he could, he would fight against every memory that could ever make her feel this way again, but that's not something he can do. The best he can do is give her the tools to fight against them herself, the opportunities to find closure that she did not get, before. "Would you like me to take you to visit her? Your other mother?"
Does she need closure? No. There were more important things to her mother than her children. She has known that for a long time. Maul *does*, however, feel some other need to see the cougaress who she first called her mother. She'll consider it practice. Practice for what, exactly? She has no idea. "I want to see her. Just once." At least, that's what the little girl tells herself. Her internal voice echoes that same, oddly creepy voice she uses externally. The one even she doesn't recognize.
Kein takes a deep breath. Hopefully, Amber will still be alive... And not too far away. "Okay. We'll go tomorrow." How will Nayeli feel about this? Amber may have once been Maulisho's mother, but Nayeli carried and birthed Maul. Hopefully, she won't be upset that Maul feels some need to see Amber... But even if she does, Kein will still be taking Maul. The girl deserves at least that much.
Maul stands up after her father speaks. Tomorrow is fine. For now, though. "I'm going back to the cave." She feels she has to see Amber. What she *wants* to do, though, particularly right now, is curl up with her *real* Mommy. Nayeli. She doesn't bother waiting for her father before she begins walking. She has no doubt he'll follow her, but she doesn't want to wait.