Post by Therdde on Mar 30, 2008 20:26:44 GMT -5
Characters:
Kein – Male Cougar Cub
Maulisho – Female Cougar
- Stone Formations -
The lesson worked. Kein has not gone wandering off by himself since he arrived at the stone formations, their new home, a few days ago. And, for the most part, he has been perfectly well entertained, playing and learning with his siblings. There are only those rare moments when most of his family is sleeping but he's awake that he finds himself bored. This is once such time, as his siblings are napping, and Kein isn't interested in falling asleep yet. He spent the first few minutes lying by them and staring the other two cubs, willing them to wake back up. That attempt was unsuccessful, and his second idea is proving to be only slightly more effective. No matter how he tugs at Ruut'h's ear, she doesn't seem interested in waking back up to play, given that she just fell asleep a little bit ago.
"Hey Kein... over here." It's not the voice of a sibling. It's a much more mature voice -- that of the cub's mother. The cougaress is currently relaxing next to one of the taller formations but seems awake enough. In fact, she's been watching her son for the past several minutes, noting his apparent boredom and frustration with not being able to get any response from his siblings. So instead of letting him eventually wake one of them up to their annoyance, she has an idea to keep him busy, and strengthen his confidence in his membership in the family at the same time.
Kein was so intently focused on waking his sister that he had no idea that he was being observed. When a familiar voice calls his name, he stops tugging, though he keeps ahold of his sister's ear with his teeth as he attempts to turn his head to look in his mom's direction. Doing so is nearly impossible, and this movement is rewarded with a whine from his sister. He lets go moments before she can begin to retaliate and turns away from her. Luckily, she seems content to return to napping as Kein gives up, or he would likely have an irritated cougar cub pouncing him from behind right now. Once he spots Mom, he finally begins walking away from the two sleeping cubs. His energized trot shows that it will likely still be a while before he wears himself out to the point of needing a nap.
The son's approach is rewarded with a warm smile from his mother, as Maulisho admires the little bundle of energy that Kein has proven time and time to be. What she /doesn't/ like, though, is wondering how much of what she loves about her cubs comes from their real father, Azriel. Did Kein really get his inherent leadership and courage from his mother? Maulisho sincerely doubts it, as sickening a thought as it is. She hates Azriel for what he did, and loathes the thought that he's still somehow a part of her life by being the cubs' father. But as Kein approaches, Maulisho does her best to vanish all thinking along those lines. "You probably should let your brother and sister sleep, y'know." She laughs softly. "You have enough energy for three cubs! Do you want to try climbing these formations, or do you want to spend some time talking together?" Another scary thought springs into the cougaress' mind. What if all /three/ of her cubs were like Kein?
Kein leans up against his mother once he gets close, nuzzling her slightly. He avoids complaining when Mom tells him he ought to let Pelutho and Ruut'h sleep. Sleeping is boring, especially when he's not the one doing the sleeping! As she asks if he wants to try to climb the rocks, he looks up. He /might/ be able to jump to the top of the shortest stones. From there, he could /maybe/ even get to some of the taller rocks. It's more likely he'd fall, though, which means it's something best left for when he's not being watched. After the moment of thought during which he decides this, he looks back to his mother. "We can talk." Since that was the other option. With that, he finishes the nuzzling he started earlier.
Maulisho smiles and returns the nuzzle, glad that Kein has taken her lesson to him to heart. If this is the level of love that a mother has for her cubs, Maul can't even imagine the heartbreak it must have been for her mother to have one of her daughters murdered and the other flee for her life. There's a rush of gratitude toward Kasim for being different--not wanting to kill off the cubs simply because they're offspring of a different male. "Okay, then... what would you like to talk about?" She could pick a topic, but she has no doubt in her mind that Kein likely has plenty he'd like to talk about. Another undeniable fact about cubs -- they have to know everything. Even what can't be known or understood must be asked about repeatedly.
Kein remains leaning against his mother, too awake yet to lie down again after spending several minutes lying down just a few moments ago. This is comfortable enough. He doesn't pipe up right away. There is so much left to be learned that it's hard to single out any one topic. Finally, with the event far enough in the past, even if it is only a few days, that Kein is no longer worried about talking about it, he asks, "How many other kinds of animals are different than us?" They are Cougars. The thing that took him was a Wolf. Things that fly are called Birds. Things that crawl are Bugs. Kein has never talked to a Bird or a Bug, though. Just that Wolf.
That's one thing that Maulisho actually enjoys about her cubs' questions: they are amazingly unpredictable and random. It's almost a game at times to try and see if she can guess what they'll ask about next. "I have no idea, honestly... I'm sure there are many more that even I have never seen." While that may be a true answer, Maul knows from experience that it's also a disappointing answer. Kein's not looking for an honest opinion from his mother, he's looking for examples with vivid details and maybe even exciting stories. The cougaress' tone turns into that of a storyteller. "You haven't seen a lynx yet, have you? They're smaller than us, though they're sort of like cougars. They're really mean, though. One of them even tried to kill my friend while she was still really young... almost as young as you, in fact."
A lynx? Kein slowly shakes his head, indicating that he hasn't, and he keeps his ears perks to listen to Mom talk about lynxes. Smaller animals that are like cougars. Hmmm. And mean. It must be that meanness which differentiates lynxes from cougars, since small cougars are still cougars. After his mom stops speaking, Kein asks, "Why would it do that?" Kein has yet to have to hunt, but at least he knows that some animals have to be food for some others, but... That's hunting. Not killing. There's some fundamental difference that he couldn't really name or define, but he still understands to some degree.
The cougaress leans a little back into her son, expression turning a little more somber. "The lynx tried to kill my friend because the lynx hated wolves." That, and so did the lynx' own friend... a particular gray fox that Maulisho hopes has died a particularly painful death. "Some creatures kill others simply because they hate them." Maulisho refrains from going into a long talk on ethics and the moral ideas behind hating and killing and all that. A talk for another time when Kein's a little more capable of abstract thinking. "This particular lynx was like that... only wanting to kill my friend because he hated wolves." The cougaress sighs, remembering how /that/ little incident turned out.
Kein was very nearly lunch to a wolf, and that wasn't enough to cause him to hate even just that wolf, let alone wolves as a whole. He has yet to learn hatred, and he probably won't for some time, if he's lucky. He keeps his eyes on his mom as she speaks, settling down some in response to her mood as she speaks. "Why did the lynx hate them?" If almost being eaten wasn't enough to inspire hatred... Then whatever made the lynx hate wolves must have been /really/ bad, right?
"It's rather long and complicated, but the lynx was good friends with a fox who also hates wolves--I think the lynx was trying to kill my friend because of that. I'm not sure why the fox hates them so much either, but he's been an enemy of mine for a while now." Maulisho still doesn't know if the Lazuli pack was able to deal with Crimson; the last she heard, they were searching for him but hadn't yet found him. At least Lark was able to escape safe and sound, thankfully. Maulisho makes a mental note to ask Chesmu about letting her go be a diplomat or something to see how Lark and Haze are doing. Nothing like visiting old friends under the guise of creating an alliance!
A fox... Who is Mom's enemy. It seems important, so after a brief moment, Kein asks, "What's a fox?" Because anything that is Mom's enemy is his enemy too, right? He may not be intending to do anything about having an enemy, but it could be something that he needs to know, someday. And then, of course, instead of playing Fox and Hens or Cowboys and Indians, they can play Cougars and Foxes.
As best she can, Maulisho proceeds to describe the various kinds of foxes she's seen and encountered over the years. Various shades of red, gray, and black... long bushy tails... very intelligent... "And from what my friend has told me, this fox that hates her has really scary eyes." Maulisho chuckles, though her amusement sounds a bit lacking. "I don't know exactly what she means by that, but apparently it's something that you'll notice should you ever meet this fox." Hopefully that will never happen--the fox may very well prey on the friend of his enemy, and Maulisho would rather not have to deal with more enemies after her cubs than she already has to.
Kein continues looking up at his mom and she tells him all about foxes. It sounds nothing like any of the creatures he has met so far, and he tries to remember as much as possible, incase he should ever run into the fox. And, of course, so he can pass on this information to others, because he likes it when others are impressed with all he has managed to learn. As his mom's short lesson on foxes draws to an end, Kein asks, "Where does your friend-wolf live?" Is she part of the family of the wolf who took him?
"She lives way off in the direction of the sunrise." Maulisho points a paw toward the east. "It's a long travel--it would take you many days of walking to get there." Not to mention that Kein would never make it through the desert without help, though the environment /was/ an interesting place to travel though. The oasis with all the flowers was certainly a beautiful enough location, and Maulisho has already decided to take her cubs there to visit when they're old enough to make the journey.
Probably not, then. Kein has certainly never travelled that far, because even when he was wandering off on his own, hunger would always bring him back long before he could get more than a few hours away. His mom's answer brings another question to his mind, though. "How far have you gone?" Kein has seen everything from here to the crevice, but that isn't even a day's walk. After spending weeks in the cave, he would have never imagined that it would take days to explore all of the outside, but apparently that is, in fact, the case, at the very least.
She has some idea of the concept of distance, but how to measure it? Several days if walking, but how can she measure total distance traveled over the course of her lifetime? What about lands beyond where she's gone? How far /can/ one go? The thought that one might be able to walk forever always discovering more lands and creatures has crossed Maulisho's mind before, but she hasn't been able to test such a theory, for obvious reasons. Maybe if she hadn't met Lark, or hadn't become a Sister of the Amaranth tribe, or hadn't met Kasim and started a family... who knows? "I've traveled pretty far," she finally answers. "Far enough to realize that it's always better to stay with the ones you love." She nuzzles Kein again in a brief reminder of the lesson from earlier.
Kein purrs lightly as his mom nuzzles him, and presses against her. The purr is short-lived, though, and he's quiet for a while after, in large part because he feels somewhat guilty. He has fun with his family, and he wouldn't trade them for anything, which is why he hasn't gone further than shouting distance since they came here... but there are still times when he waits impatiently for the time when he's older, so that he can go out on his own to explore the areas further from home again, and apparently this desire is Bad. After a brief moment, he dips his head to look at the ground and says, simply, "Okay." Apparently, he doesn't have another question to ask.
Readjusting her weight slightly, Maulisho says, "If you don't mind, I'd like to take a turn and ask you a question." There's a faint hint of mischievousness in her voice--would it really matter if Kein /did/ mind? The cougaress continues on: "This is a rather serious question, so you can take as long as you need to answer it." She gives a few seconds of pause to let the effect sink in. With a deep breath, she asks in a not-entirely mock-somber tone, "What do you think makes a good leader of a family, or of the Amaranth tribe?" Indirectly she might be referring to some particular characteristic of Chesmu, but Maulisho is curious to see what kind of response she gets from Kein.
Mom may or may not be referring to some characteristic that Chief Chesmu possesses, but the chief is who Kein thinks about as he thinks about her question. What about the chief makes him the leader, rather than some other cougar? His experience with the wolf, and what little he recalls about what Chesmu required of the wolf in order to spare his life, gives him the best answer he can come up with. "Someone who can protect the others, make sure they're safe." Kein hasn't witnessed the role that the matron of this tribe fulfills yet, the spiritual guidance and inspiration she provides for the others. Thus far, providing that protection seems to be the lead goal of the male leader of the tribe.
"That's definitely one part of being a leader. I think that protection should be something that all members of a family or tribe should be concerned about, but you're right: it's up to the leader to see that it happens." Maulisho smiles. "If being a leader only involves protecting others, do you think you could be a leader?" Obviously there's much more to leadership, but she wants to see Kein figure that out on his own.
Kein certainly did what he could to keep that wolf away from his family, but he didn't get very far. If he were bigger, sure, but he's not, and it seems to him like it will be forever until he /is/ big enough. It may not be the answer the Mom is looking for, but all the same, Kein shakes his head and says, "I'm too small." Or so he has been told, enough times to make it stick. If doesn't stop him from trying, even though he knows they're right.
Bingo. "You /are/ too small to protect everyone else... but that's okay." She delicately avoids mentioning that he's too small to protect /her/--wouldn't want to make him realize that his first encounter with Chesmu wasn't really the victory he thought it was! "Is protecting others the only part of being a leader, though? Is that all Chesmu does?'
If it was, would Mom be asking? Probably not. Kein is /slowly/ getting better about just admitting when he doesn't know things he is asked rather than trying to come up with an answer or some other way to get the attention off of that particular question, though. "I don't know. Probably not, but... I don't know what else he does." That's not entirely true. Chesmu tells him what to do all the time. And maybe part of a leader is giving orders, but given that Kein doesn't always like /following/ orders, he doesn't consider this a very positive thing, so he keeps that part of it to himself.
What else does Chesmu do, anyway? Scent-mark and create cubs with Ayashe, but Kein definitely is too young to understand /that/ part of being a chieftain. There is something that Maulisho /can/ try to teach Kein, though. "One of the biggest responsibilities of being a leader is to love those who you are leading. You have to be willing to still love them even when they make mistakes or do something that hurts you." This time she hadn't even intended to reference Kein's earlier actions, but the point still stands.
Kein frowns softly at what his mom says. He has only recently started feeling guilt, and it's not a pleasant thing. A small part of it hurts to apologize too, because even though he knows his mom and the others he has wronged still love him, he's not so sure that he is actually forgiven. If he were, Pel wouldn't always be looking for him even when he's just on a short walk. He doesn't like thinking about that, but it's impossible to avoid thinking about when he apologizes and isn't met with the reassurances he needs. As such, in an attempt to apologize, to lessen the guilt he feels slightly, without actually saying the words, he says, "You make a really good leader, mommy." Yes, he still recognizes that he hurt her, and he's still relieved that he still has her love.
And the mother laughs softly, giving her son an affectionate nuzzle to the top of his head. "I'm not as good of a leader as I could be, but I have to do my best since I'm the only one who /can/ be the leader of our family." There's a lot unsaid about Kasim and Azriel and other difficult topics but Maulisho intends for Kein to understand a basic truth: sometimes leadership is simply assigned out of necessity. Chesmu achieved his position; Maulisho had hers thrust upon her by the simple fact of becoming a single mother.
Kein smiles softly when his mother nuzzles the top of his head, and after she speaks, he says, "Your best is really good. I wouldn't want anyone else to be the leader of us." Even if there was another qualified candidate. He likes Kasim plenty, especially for the short time they've known each other, but he will always like Mom more.
There's a long and satisfied purr from the cougaress mother, as she enjoys this time spent with her firstborn. She loves /all/ of her cubs, but one-on-one time somehow seems really special. "I have another question for you, but it's your turn to ask me one if you want." Of course, if Kein wants to go sleep or go climb on rocks or do something else, that's perfectly okay as well; Maulisho understands that a cub's energy might feel a little constrained just in conversation or discussion.
Kein shakes his head slowly and says, "You can ask me one again." Kein has so much on his mind that there's no room left for questions, which has only happened a few times. Even though he is often satisfied to learn the answers on his own or wait for the right time, he almost always has plenty of questions that he /could/, potentially, ask. Now is just one of the few times when he doesn't.
They can always return to the topic of leadership at a future point in time--how about a change to a subject that Kein might find more interesting? "You brought one of Chesmu's daughters all the way back to introduce to your family... why? Why did you pick Nayeli instead of one of /her/ siblings?" Maulisho laughs softly again. "And what do you think of Nayeli?" Knowing that Kein knows next to nothing about friendships and relationships and everything associated with them, Maulisho realizes that this could potentially be a fairly humorous point in the conversation.
At least the conversation didn't return to a question that Kein would have found difficult to answer. This one is much easier, and he is capable of answering quickly. "I didn't meet any of her siblings. She was by herself." It wasn't actually any sort of choice. He brought home the first cub he met, rather than going to meet the rest of her family with her. If that hadn't been the case, Chesmu might not have been so surprised to find his daughter so far away from home, and things probably would have turned out much differently. He would have been gone longer, and maybe his mother would have chosen then to move instead of later. It's a good thing for all of them that things turned out the way they did, because Kein would have had a much harder time trying to follow his mother's trail to their new home if Kasim hadn't been with him when that happened.
Maulisho nods as she listens to Kein. "Hopefully before too much longer you'll be able to meet her brother and sister as well." Oh, and of course their mother as well, the matron Ayashe. "But I don't mean to interrupt... what do you think of Nayeli? She's the first cougar around your age that you've met who's not a brother or sister."
What did he /think/? He thought she was a cougar his own age who wasn't a sibling. For a cub as young as he is, that's plenty to make her a friend. "She was lots of fun, and I taught her how to track all by myself, just like you taught me." Okay, maybe that part of it wasn't so fun. Boring and a little worrying, when he wasn't sure he taught her right, but once she found him, there was a sense of accomplishment. At least something good came out of his wandering away, that once.
Another nod. "There's a lot you'll learn about what it means to be a friend. A lot of the same things we were talking about earlier also can apply even to friendships. If you want to be the best possible friend to Nayeli--and to her siblings too, of course--you need to remember that you must protect her if she ever gets into a dangerous situation. Remember that you are stronger and braver than she is, and so you can help her out when she might not be able to do so in return." Maulisho is pretty certain that Kein is smart enough to realize that the same is also and obviously true for his relationship to his own siblings, as well -- especially his sister Ruut'h. Pel might grow up into the world's most introverted cougar, but at least he'll have the strength to fend off attackers like LaVeaux or Azriel or Velefar.
None of what Mom says comes as any real surprise. Of course Kein would do whatever he could to protect his friends, and his siblings. Right now, even during a point in life when most young cubs are motivated first and foremost by self-interest, he is smart enough to realize that if he ever left a friend in danger, he would be the one losing a friend, potentially even if they managed to get out of the danger by themselves. It may be based in self-interest, but like so many other things--adventure, excitement, fun--friends are more important to him than his own well-being. One day he'll realize that bad things /can/ happen, that something won't /always/ happen to make things okay, and he'll have to rework those priorities. Nodding, he answers, perhaps a little too nonchalantly, "I understand, Mommy."
"I hope you've realized this already, but friendships aren't only for cubs--the friends you make now can remain as your close friends for the rest of your life. The friend I mentioned earlier is still one of my best and dearest friends, and I met her when she was still very young." Maulisho smiles at the thought. Well, actually, the /many/ thoughts. It's still nearly impossible to think of Larkspur without remembering many of the events that they went through together. "But you /are/ a cub now, so it's really up to you to start these friendships and enjoy them as you grow up into an adult cougar."
Now Kein does ask a question, pretty much as soon as it pops into his head, after Mom finishes speaking. "How much longer is it until I can go visit Nayeli again?" He doesn't realize how much closer they are to Nayeli's family than they were before, but as soon as he finishes speaking, he /does/ realize that it might not have been the wisest thing for him to have asked. Mom seems to think it's important to make friends, but he has only been back with his family for a few days, and he's still afraid of making them think he might go away again. Stammering slightly, he adds, "M-maybe we can all go, or... I dunno, but... And it it's not for a long time, that's okay, too."
A good question, but Maulisho has been anticipating this ever since Nayeli went back with Chesmu. "I'm not sure yet when you'll be able to visit again, but it won't be that long away. Chesmu and I are.. well.. we're /planning/ something that I think you'll find to be a lot of fun, as will Pel and Ruut'h and Nayeli's siblings as well." Is she going to elaborate on said 'planning'? All the begging and pleading in the world won't persuade her to reveal the surprise!
There is no begging and pleading. Kein is too concerned about making sure his family knows that he /does/ enjoy the time he spends with them to say anything else, now, regarding going to meet Nayeli again. There is still uncertainty in the young cub, but it doesn't manifest too strongly, anymore. "You're good at making things fun. I bet it'll be great." And, with that, Kein finally actually lies down beside his mother, pressed up against her. Who would have thought that talking and trying to find the right words all the time could be such hard work?
That wasn't quite the response that she was expecting from Kein, but it certainly is a welcome and appreciated one, nonetheless. As her son lies down against her, Maulisho purrs again and drapes a paw across his back. "I'm proud of you, Kein. I expect that you will make mistakes and do things you shouldn't do, but that's just a part of life. I'm proud that you still try hard to do the right thing, and most importantly that you think of others." Once again, the subject of Azriel will have to wait until he's older, but he's everything that Maulisho worried Kein would become--selfish, deceitful, and ultimately concerned only about himself. On the contrary, Kein has already shown a willingness to learn what is right and how to be the best friend and son he possibly can be--or at least that's the impression that Maulisho has been getting.
Kein nuzzles against his mother lightly, purring softly himself as his mother lets him know that, despite everything, she's still proud of him. Her opinion of him does mean a lot, and it likely always will. His love for him mother and the approval he craves may be the only thing that will prevent him from developing a similar personality to that of his real father, but those things are strong enough to do that job. Once he is done nuzzling, he leans his head against his mother and says, "I love you, mommy."
Kein – Male Cougar Cub
Maulisho – Female Cougar
- Stone Formations -
The lesson worked. Kein has not gone wandering off by himself since he arrived at the stone formations, their new home, a few days ago. And, for the most part, he has been perfectly well entertained, playing and learning with his siblings. There are only those rare moments when most of his family is sleeping but he's awake that he finds himself bored. This is once such time, as his siblings are napping, and Kein isn't interested in falling asleep yet. He spent the first few minutes lying by them and staring the other two cubs, willing them to wake back up. That attempt was unsuccessful, and his second idea is proving to be only slightly more effective. No matter how he tugs at Ruut'h's ear, she doesn't seem interested in waking back up to play, given that she just fell asleep a little bit ago.
"Hey Kein... over here." It's not the voice of a sibling. It's a much more mature voice -- that of the cub's mother. The cougaress is currently relaxing next to one of the taller formations but seems awake enough. In fact, she's been watching her son for the past several minutes, noting his apparent boredom and frustration with not being able to get any response from his siblings. So instead of letting him eventually wake one of them up to their annoyance, she has an idea to keep him busy, and strengthen his confidence in his membership in the family at the same time.
Kein was so intently focused on waking his sister that he had no idea that he was being observed. When a familiar voice calls his name, he stops tugging, though he keeps ahold of his sister's ear with his teeth as he attempts to turn his head to look in his mom's direction. Doing so is nearly impossible, and this movement is rewarded with a whine from his sister. He lets go moments before she can begin to retaliate and turns away from her. Luckily, she seems content to return to napping as Kein gives up, or he would likely have an irritated cougar cub pouncing him from behind right now. Once he spots Mom, he finally begins walking away from the two sleeping cubs. His energized trot shows that it will likely still be a while before he wears himself out to the point of needing a nap.
The son's approach is rewarded with a warm smile from his mother, as Maulisho admires the little bundle of energy that Kein has proven time and time to be. What she /doesn't/ like, though, is wondering how much of what she loves about her cubs comes from their real father, Azriel. Did Kein really get his inherent leadership and courage from his mother? Maulisho sincerely doubts it, as sickening a thought as it is. She hates Azriel for what he did, and loathes the thought that he's still somehow a part of her life by being the cubs' father. But as Kein approaches, Maulisho does her best to vanish all thinking along those lines. "You probably should let your brother and sister sleep, y'know." She laughs softly. "You have enough energy for three cubs! Do you want to try climbing these formations, or do you want to spend some time talking together?" Another scary thought springs into the cougaress' mind. What if all /three/ of her cubs were like Kein?
Kein leans up against his mother once he gets close, nuzzling her slightly. He avoids complaining when Mom tells him he ought to let Pelutho and Ruut'h sleep. Sleeping is boring, especially when he's not the one doing the sleeping! As she asks if he wants to try to climb the rocks, he looks up. He /might/ be able to jump to the top of the shortest stones. From there, he could /maybe/ even get to some of the taller rocks. It's more likely he'd fall, though, which means it's something best left for when he's not being watched. After the moment of thought during which he decides this, he looks back to his mother. "We can talk." Since that was the other option. With that, he finishes the nuzzling he started earlier.
Maulisho smiles and returns the nuzzle, glad that Kein has taken her lesson to him to heart. If this is the level of love that a mother has for her cubs, Maul can't even imagine the heartbreak it must have been for her mother to have one of her daughters murdered and the other flee for her life. There's a rush of gratitude toward Kasim for being different--not wanting to kill off the cubs simply because they're offspring of a different male. "Okay, then... what would you like to talk about?" She could pick a topic, but she has no doubt in her mind that Kein likely has plenty he'd like to talk about. Another undeniable fact about cubs -- they have to know everything. Even what can't be known or understood must be asked about repeatedly.
Kein remains leaning against his mother, too awake yet to lie down again after spending several minutes lying down just a few moments ago. This is comfortable enough. He doesn't pipe up right away. There is so much left to be learned that it's hard to single out any one topic. Finally, with the event far enough in the past, even if it is only a few days, that Kein is no longer worried about talking about it, he asks, "How many other kinds of animals are different than us?" They are Cougars. The thing that took him was a Wolf. Things that fly are called Birds. Things that crawl are Bugs. Kein has never talked to a Bird or a Bug, though. Just that Wolf.
That's one thing that Maulisho actually enjoys about her cubs' questions: they are amazingly unpredictable and random. It's almost a game at times to try and see if she can guess what they'll ask about next. "I have no idea, honestly... I'm sure there are many more that even I have never seen." While that may be a true answer, Maul knows from experience that it's also a disappointing answer. Kein's not looking for an honest opinion from his mother, he's looking for examples with vivid details and maybe even exciting stories. The cougaress' tone turns into that of a storyteller. "You haven't seen a lynx yet, have you? They're smaller than us, though they're sort of like cougars. They're really mean, though. One of them even tried to kill my friend while she was still really young... almost as young as you, in fact."
A lynx? Kein slowly shakes his head, indicating that he hasn't, and he keeps his ears perks to listen to Mom talk about lynxes. Smaller animals that are like cougars. Hmmm. And mean. It must be that meanness which differentiates lynxes from cougars, since small cougars are still cougars. After his mom stops speaking, Kein asks, "Why would it do that?" Kein has yet to have to hunt, but at least he knows that some animals have to be food for some others, but... That's hunting. Not killing. There's some fundamental difference that he couldn't really name or define, but he still understands to some degree.
The cougaress leans a little back into her son, expression turning a little more somber. "The lynx tried to kill my friend because the lynx hated wolves." That, and so did the lynx' own friend... a particular gray fox that Maulisho hopes has died a particularly painful death. "Some creatures kill others simply because they hate them." Maulisho refrains from going into a long talk on ethics and the moral ideas behind hating and killing and all that. A talk for another time when Kein's a little more capable of abstract thinking. "This particular lynx was like that... only wanting to kill my friend because he hated wolves." The cougaress sighs, remembering how /that/ little incident turned out.
Kein was very nearly lunch to a wolf, and that wasn't enough to cause him to hate even just that wolf, let alone wolves as a whole. He has yet to learn hatred, and he probably won't for some time, if he's lucky. He keeps his eyes on his mom as she speaks, settling down some in response to her mood as she speaks. "Why did the lynx hate them?" If almost being eaten wasn't enough to inspire hatred... Then whatever made the lynx hate wolves must have been /really/ bad, right?
"It's rather long and complicated, but the lynx was good friends with a fox who also hates wolves--I think the lynx was trying to kill my friend because of that. I'm not sure why the fox hates them so much either, but he's been an enemy of mine for a while now." Maulisho still doesn't know if the Lazuli pack was able to deal with Crimson; the last she heard, they were searching for him but hadn't yet found him. At least Lark was able to escape safe and sound, thankfully. Maulisho makes a mental note to ask Chesmu about letting her go be a diplomat or something to see how Lark and Haze are doing. Nothing like visiting old friends under the guise of creating an alliance!
A fox... Who is Mom's enemy. It seems important, so after a brief moment, Kein asks, "What's a fox?" Because anything that is Mom's enemy is his enemy too, right? He may not be intending to do anything about having an enemy, but it could be something that he needs to know, someday. And then, of course, instead of playing Fox and Hens or Cowboys and Indians, they can play Cougars and Foxes.
As best she can, Maulisho proceeds to describe the various kinds of foxes she's seen and encountered over the years. Various shades of red, gray, and black... long bushy tails... very intelligent... "And from what my friend has told me, this fox that hates her has really scary eyes." Maulisho chuckles, though her amusement sounds a bit lacking. "I don't know exactly what she means by that, but apparently it's something that you'll notice should you ever meet this fox." Hopefully that will never happen--the fox may very well prey on the friend of his enemy, and Maulisho would rather not have to deal with more enemies after her cubs than she already has to.
Kein continues looking up at his mom and she tells him all about foxes. It sounds nothing like any of the creatures he has met so far, and he tries to remember as much as possible, incase he should ever run into the fox. And, of course, so he can pass on this information to others, because he likes it when others are impressed with all he has managed to learn. As his mom's short lesson on foxes draws to an end, Kein asks, "Where does your friend-wolf live?" Is she part of the family of the wolf who took him?
"She lives way off in the direction of the sunrise." Maulisho points a paw toward the east. "It's a long travel--it would take you many days of walking to get there." Not to mention that Kein would never make it through the desert without help, though the environment /was/ an interesting place to travel though. The oasis with all the flowers was certainly a beautiful enough location, and Maulisho has already decided to take her cubs there to visit when they're old enough to make the journey.
Probably not, then. Kein has certainly never travelled that far, because even when he was wandering off on his own, hunger would always bring him back long before he could get more than a few hours away. His mom's answer brings another question to his mind, though. "How far have you gone?" Kein has seen everything from here to the crevice, but that isn't even a day's walk. After spending weeks in the cave, he would have never imagined that it would take days to explore all of the outside, but apparently that is, in fact, the case, at the very least.
She has some idea of the concept of distance, but how to measure it? Several days if walking, but how can she measure total distance traveled over the course of her lifetime? What about lands beyond where she's gone? How far /can/ one go? The thought that one might be able to walk forever always discovering more lands and creatures has crossed Maulisho's mind before, but she hasn't been able to test such a theory, for obvious reasons. Maybe if she hadn't met Lark, or hadn't become a Sister of the Amaranth tribe, or hadn't met Kasim and started a family... who knows? "I've traveled pretty far," she finally answers. "Far enough to realize that it's always better to stay with the ones you love." She nuzzles Kein again in a brief reminder of the lesson from earlier.
Kein purrs lightly as his mom nuzzles him, and presses against her. The purr is short-lived, though, and he's quiet for a while after, in large part because he feels somewhat guilty. He has fun with his family, and he wouldn't trade them for anything, which is why he hasn't gone further than shouting distance since they came here... but there are still times when he waits impatiently for the time when he's older, so that he can go out on his own to explore the areas further from home again, and apparently this desire is Bad. After a brief moment, he dips his head to look at the ground and says, simply, "Okay." Apparently, he doesn't have another question to ask.
Readjusting her weight slightly, Maulisho says, "If you don't mind, I'd like to take a turn and ask you a question." There's a faint hint of mischievousness in her voice--would it really matter if Kein /did/ mind? The cougaress continues on: "This is a rather serious question, so you can take as long as you need to answer it." She gives a few seconds of pause to let the effect sink in. With a deep breath, she asks in a not-entirely mock-somber tone, "What do you think makes a good leader of a family, or of the Amaranth tribe?" Indirectly she might be referring to some particular characteristic of Chesmu, but Maulisho is curious to see what kind of response she gets from Kein.
Mom may or may not be referring to some characteristic that Chief Chesmu possesses, but the chief is who Kein thinks about as he thinks about her question. What about the chief makes him the leader, rather than some other cougar? His experience with the wolf, and what little he recalls about what Chesmu required of the wolf in order to spare his life, gives him the best answer he can come up with. "Someone who can protect the others, make sure they're safe." Kein hasn't witnessed the role that the matron of this tribe fulfills yet, the spiritual guidance and inspiration she provides for the others. Thus far, providing that protection seems to be the lead goal of the male leader of the tribe.
"That's definitely one part of being a leader. I think that protection should be something that all members of a family or tribe should be concerned about, but you're right: it's up to the leader to see that it happens." Maulisho smiles. "If being a leader only involves protecting others, do you think you could be a leader?" Obviously there's much more to leadership, but she wants to see Kein figure that out on his own.
Kein certainly did what he could to keep that wolf away from his family, but he didn't get very far. If he were bigger, sure, but he's not, and it seems to him like it will be forever until he /is/ big enough. It may not be the answer the Mom is looking for, but all the same, Kein shakes his head and says, "I'm too small." Or so he has been told, enough times to make it stick. If doesn't stop him from trying, even though he knows they're right.
Bingo. "You /are/ too small to protect everyone else... but that's okay." She delicately avoids mentioning that he's too small to protect /her/--wouldn't want to make him realize that his first encounter with Chesmu wasn't really the victory he thought it was! "Is protecting others the only part of being a leader, though? Is that all Chesmu does?'
If it was, would Mom be asking? Probably not. Kein is /slowly/ getting better about just admitting when he doesn't know things he is asked rather than trying to come up with an answer or some other way to get the attention off of that particular question, though. "I don't know. Probably not, but... I don't know what else he does." That's not entirely true. Chesmu tells him what to do all the time. And maybe part of a leader is giving orders, but given that Kein doesn't always like /following/ orders, he doesn't consider this a very positive thing, so he keeps that part of it to himself.
What else does Chesmu do, anyway? Scent-mark and create cubs with Ayashe, but Kein definitely is too young to understand /that/ part of being a chieftain. There is something that Maulisho /can/ try to teach Kein, though. "One of the biggest responsibilities of being a leader is to love those who you are leading. You have to be willing to still love them even when they make mistakes or do something that hurts you." This time she hadn't even intended to reference Kein's earlier actions, but the point still stands.
Kein frowns softly at what his mom says. He has only recently started feeling guilt, and it's not a pleasant thing. A small part of it hurts to apologize too, because even though he knows his mom and the others he has wronged still love him, he's not so sure that he is actually forgiven. If he were, Pel wouldn't always be looking for him even when he's just on a short walk. He doesn't like thinking about that, but it's impossible to avoid thinking about when he apologizes and isn't met with the reassurances he needs. As such, in an attempt to apologize, to lessen the guilt he feels slightly, without actually saying the words, he says, "You make a really good leader, mommy." Yes, he still recognizes that he hurt her, and he's still relieved that he still has her love.
And the mother laughs softly, giving her son an affectionate nuzzle to the top of his head. "I'm not as good of a leader as I could be, but I have to do my best since I'm the only one who /can/ be the leader of our family." There's a lot unsaid about Kasim and Azriel and other difficult topics but Maulisho intends for Kein to understand a basic truth: sometimes leadership is simply assigned out of necessity. Chesmu achieved his position; Maulisho had hers thrust upon her by the simple fact of becoming a single mother.
Kein smiles softly when his mother nuzzles the top of his head, and after she speaks, he says, "Your best is really good. I wouldn't want anyone else to be the leader of us." Even if there was another qualified candidate. He likes Kasim plenty, especially for the short time they've known each other, but he will always like Mom more.
There's a long and satisfied purr from the cougaress mother, as she enjoys this time spent with her firstborn. She loves /all/ of her cubs, but one-on-one time somehow seems really special. "I have another question for you, but it's your turn to ask me one if you want." Of course, if Kein wants to go sleep or go climb on rocks or do something else, that's perfectly okay as well; Maulisho understands that a cub's energy might feel a little constrained just in conversation or discussion.
Kein shakes his head slowly and says, "You can ask me one again." Kein has so much on his mind that there's no room left for questions, which has only happened a few times. Even though he is often satisfied to learn the answers on his own or wait for the right time, he almost always has plenty of questions that he /could/, potentially, ask. Now is just one of the few times when he doesn't.
They can always return to the topic of leadership at a future point in time--how about a change to a subject that Kein might find more interesting? "You brought one of Chesmu's daughters all the way back to introduce to your family... why? Why did you pick Nayeli instead of one of /her/ siblings?" Maulisho laughs softly again. "And what do you think of Nayeli?" Knowing that Kein knows next to nothing about friendships and relationships and everything associated with them, Maulisho realizes that this could potentially be a fairly humorous point in the conversation.
At least the conversation didn't return to a question that Kein would have found difficult to answer. This one is much easier, and he is capable of answering quickly. "I didn't meet any of her siblings. She was by herself." It wasn't actually any sort of choice. He brought home the first cub he met, rather than going to meet the rest of her family with her. If that hadn't been the case, Chesmu might not have been so surprised to find his daughter so far away from home, and things probably would have turned out much differently. He would have been gone longer, and maybe his mother would have chosen then to move instead of later. It's a good thing for all of them that things turned out the way they did, because Kein would have had a much harder time trying to follow his mother's trail to their new home if Kasim hadn't been with him when that happened.
Maulisho nods as she listens to Kein. "Hopefully before too much longer you'll be able to meet her brother and sister as well." Oh, and of course their mother as well, the matron Ayashe. "But I don't mean to interrupt... what do you think of Nayeli? She's the first cougar around your age that you've met who's not a brother or sister."
What did he /think/? He thought she was a cougar his own age who wasn't a sibling. For a cub as young as he is, that's plenty to make her a friend. "She was lots of fun, and I taught her how to track all by myself, just like you taught me." Okay, maybe that part of it wasn't so fun. Boring and a little worrying, when he wasn't sure he taught her right, but once she found him, there was a sense of accomplishment. At least something good came out of his wandering away, that once.
Another nod. "There's a lot you'll learn about what it means to be a friend. A lot of the same things we were talking about earlier also can apply even to friendships. If you want to be the best possible friend to Nayeli--and to her siblings too, of course--you need to remember that you must protect her if she ever gets into a dangerous situation. Remember that you are stronger and braver than she is, and so you can help her out when she might not be able to do so in return." Maulisho is pretty certain that Kein is smart enough to realize that the same is also and obviously true for his relationship to his own siblings, as well -- especially his sister Ruut'h. Pel might grow up into the world's most introverted cougar, but at least he'll have the strength to fend off attackers like LaVeaux or Azriel or Velefar.
None of what Mom says comes as any real surprise. Of course Kein would do whatever he could to protect his friends, and his siblings. Right now, even during a point in life when most young cubs are motivated first and foremost by self-interest, he is smart enough to realize that if he ever left a friend in danger, he would be the one losing a friend, potentially even if they managed to get out of the danger by themselves. It may be based in self-interest, but like so many other things--adventure, excitement, fun--friends are more important to him than his own well-being. One day he'll realize that bad things /can/ happen, that something won't /always/ happen to make things okay, and he'll have to rework those priorities. Nodding, he answers, perhaps a little too nonchalantly, "I understand, Mommy."
"I hope you've realized this already, but friendships aren't only for cubs--the friends you make now can remain as your close friends for the rest of your life. The friend I mentioned earlier is still one of my best and dearest friends, and I met her when she was still very young." Maulisho smiles at the thought. Well, actually, the /many/ thoughts. It's still nearly impossible to think of Larkspur without remembering many of the events that they went through together. "But you /are/ a cub now, so it's really up to you to start these friendships and enjoy them as you grow up into an adult cougar."
Now Kein does ask a question, pretty much as soon as it pops into his head, after Mom finishes speaking. "How much longer is it until I can go visit Nayeli again?" He doesn't realize how much closer they are to Nayeli's family than they were before, but as soon as he finishes speaking, he /does/ realize that it might not have been the wisest thing for him to have asked. Mom seems to think it's important to make friends, but he has only been back with his family for a few days, and he's still afraid of making them think he might go away again. Stammering slightly, he adds, "M-maybe we can all go, or... I dunno, but... And it it's not for a long time, that's okay, too."
A good question, but Maulisho has been anticipating this ever since Nayeli went back with Chesmu. "I'm not sure yet when you'll be able to visit again, but it won't be that long away. Chesmu and I are.. well.. we're /planning/ something that I think you'll find to be a lot of fun, as will Pel and Ruut'h and Nayeli's siblings as well." Is she going to elaborate on said 'planning'? All the begging and pleading in the world won't persuade her to reveal the surprise!
There is no begging and pleading. Kein is too concerned about making sure his family knows that he /does/ enjoy the time he spends with them to say anything else, now, regarding going to meet Nayeli again. There is still uncertainty in the young cub, but it doesn't manifest too strongly, anymore. "You're good at making things fun. I bet it'll be great." And, with that, Kein finally actually lies down beside his mother, pressed up against her. Who would have thought that talking and trying to find the right words all the time could be such hard work?
That wasn't quite the response that she was expecting from Kein, but it certainly is a welcome and appreciated one, nonetheless. As her son lies down against her, Maulisho purrs again and drapes a paw across his back. "I'm proud of you, Kein. I expect that you will make mistakes and do things you shouldn't do, but that's just a part of life. I'm proud that you still try hard to do the right thing, and most importantly that you think of others." Once again, the subject of Azriel will have to wait until he's older, but he's everything that Maulisho worried Kein would become--selfish, deceitful, and ultimately concerned only about himself. On the contrary, Kein has already shown a willingness to learn what is right and how to be the best friend and son he possibly can be--or at least that's the impression that Maulisho has been getting.
Kein nuzzles against his mother lightly, purring softly himself as his mother lets him know that, despite everything, she's still proud of him. Her opinion of him does mean a lot, and it likely always will. His love for him mother and the approval he craves may be the only thing that will prevent him from developing a similar personality to that of his real father, but those things are strong enough to do that job. Once he is done nuzzling, he leans his head against his mother and says, "I love you, mommy."