A much needed reunion

<DamuOC> The odd looking oaken pelted lioness lay panting in the heat of the day. Her lessons with Viza had been going very well, but he seemed distracted by something at the moment and was off doing something on his own. With a huff, Castus rose to her lightly spotted paws and shook the dust from her fluffy coat. Everything was so calm. It seemed very unusual now after everything that had happened. I wonder how Mother is doing. I do miss her... Cass chuckled softly, I even miss Nayra. With those thoughts, Castus padded her way across the Westlands, a small portion of the desert, and into the Southlands. Knowing she could easily be attacked due to her Westlander scent, the young heiress chuffed loudly hoping her mother or sister would hear her first.

<Cloudikin> With Ruchi’s return, things had been noticeably more relaxed. The rambunctious three listened more to their mother than to Mbele and with the lioness’ help it was so much easier to care for the five cubs. Mbele had more time to care for Kamau and Fau while Ruchi handled her own litter, but the females seemed interchangeable in the help they provided. Each other was all they had, and without Ruchi Mbele would have been driven to exhaustion. Kodin, angry as he was with her, had not come around since he had seen Kamau’s eyes. Fau often stayed beside her, crying when she was not around, and Kamau as well to a lesser extent. So far it was only Kamau that had opened his eyes… but with the cubs asleep Mbele was left to wonder about Nayra. She had tried to give her daughter space as she too was obviously angered with Kamau’s birth. She should talk to her… Licking Kamau and Fau a series of chuffs pulled her ears forward, a voice she always would recognize even though the tone of it had matured greatly. In the south? The renewed mother blinked, standing up slowly. Her cubs were asleep… and with everyone else around she had no reason to worry for them. With a stretch and a yawn she exited the den, anxious as this was the first she was leaving the cubs, but chuffed in reply, her heart thumping as she made her way with an anxious caution to the direction she had heard the chuffs.

<DamuOC> A tentatively happy smile crossed Castus' lopsided jaws as her mother's soft chuff reached her ears. She chuffed again and padded forward slowly to not arouse the attention of others. Her elfin ears pointed forward in an effort to tell exactly where Mbele was coming from.
<Cloudikin> Another sequence of the guttural noises brought the female from her outskirted den towards the Western border where the sound seemed to be coming from. Rightly so, as Castus now lived in the West, a fact Mbele always seemed to dislike though had come to terms with. Another chuff would tell Castus she was coming, soon spotting the oaken figure. The lioness, her body noticeably softer and less defined from childbirth, stopped, staring at her approaching daughter. She had a smile on her face, Mbele noted, and the approach seemed friendly enough, but the light pelted female did not run to embrace her as she had last time. She was much more weary now despite the eternal love she would hold for her child. Why was she in the south?

<DamuOC> As Mbele's lighter pelted figure came into view Castus padded forward a bit faster, still looking around wearily. Approaching, she noticed that her mother walked to her instead of ran. A small frown crossed her face. Of course she wouldn't run to you, dummy. You were a bastard to her last time. Determined to right her wrongs, Castus called out, "Mother! It's so good to see you," hoping to at least break down part of the wall that had been put between them by her childish actions.

<Cloudikin> Ears pushed forward as the greeting rang over the dry lands, catching the female by surprise. Their last encounter had not been so kind, and Mbele looked a bit past Castus to see if the black pelted lioness, Suma had come with her. Then she recalled the news she had received from Najja about the change in power, which sort of eased her to know that the lioness who had taken her daughter away from her was dead. At this call she rushed forward more quickly than the walk she had been previously approaching with. “It’s good to see you too, what are you doing here?” She stopped as she was within a nuzzle’s reach from the other. It seemed as if she wanted to embrace her but still held weariness in her tired gaze.

<DamuOC> "I came to see you." She smiled tiredly and moved forward to nuzzle her neck and give her a soft hug.  Sitting back, Castus hadn't realized how tired her body was from the journey. This visit would be the perfect time to recouperate for a few hours. "I'm sure you heard that Queen Suma was died and the former King, Viza has taken the throne?" Her thick chocolate brows raised in question before continuing. "He, King Viza I mean... he took me under his wing. And I've realized with all that he's taught me, that I was a horrible daughter to you. For that I am truly sorry." She hung her head and looked at her paws unsure of Mbele's reaction.

<Cloudikin> Hugging and nuzzling? Mbele stood, looking very confused about the kindness. It was welcome, of course, but very unexpected. She tentatively returned the nuzzle, taking a moment to ponder over whether she could, or should, return it. Eventually she did, a breath of relief escaping her nostrils. “Me?” The explanation only puzzled her more. A west land king had changed Castus’ mind, where a female had tainted it? Mbele gaped, not even sure what to say at this. “I should have come to you so long ago… Everything’s been a mess,” she muttered, still unsure of what to say. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, for everything!” With childbirth so near in the past she had been getting more emotional. Her brows slanted upwards, looking almost on the verge of waterworks. “Its not your fault, I should have…” she stopped herself, feeling panicked. Breath in, breath out.

<DamuOC> Cass' emerald orbs peered back up as Mbele's voice took on a panicked tone. Immediately she hugged her mother. "No, no Mom. Calm down." She chuckled softly hoping to calm her with the lightheartedness. "I promise you, it was all me overreacting and only thinking of myself. I was childish to think that your world should revolve around me. Your happiness matters too." She smiled widely down at her mother. It took her a moment to realize that Mbele felt softer than usual and her scent had slight hormonal changes. With a knowing smile, Castus booped her on the nose with her own. "You alright now?"

<Cloudikin> Hugs, apologies, was any of this even real? After the previous events it was hard to think that this was truly happening and not another one of those dreams she had often had, but the scent was so much more real, as was the touch of her fur. What had occurred in the past few weeks drove Mbele to just accept the apology without question, leaning into her firstborn with deep breaths to control her emotion. “I’m fine,” she at last nodded, still seeming to be in a daze. It was reality, her baby was back. With another moment the shocked lioness pushed forward and wrapped her paws around Castus, nuzzling into her thick neck fur. “You’d been through too much, Nayra came too soon,” she protested, eyes shut tight. “You were just a cub! I sprung it on you!” Anything to take the guilt from her daughter, anything. “And Kodin… too soon...” Tears of joy erupted from her useful eye, a relief from all the irritation of the past few days.

<DamuOC> She simply hugged her mother, knowing it would all be all right. After a few deep breaths and lingering moments, Castus spoke. "Mom, no worries. K? I'm happy, well fed, and in a good place." Pulling away slightly, she used a paw to wipe away the tears on Mbele's cheek. "And I have news for you! Good news, of course. For old times sake, want to guess what it is?" She cheekily grinned.

<Cloudikin> In a good place? Did that mean she would not be coming back? Mbele understood Castus had made a home in the lands, much to Mbele’s discomfort, but it was still a home. She would not ask her to come back with the tension between her and the king anyway. She blinked away the tears, calming herself yet again with a wide smile on her face, thoughtful for a moment. “Please don’t say you’re pregnant,” the female first stated, twitching her kinked tail. It was more of a joke, but there was that slight worry in it. Kamau and Fau had just been born. “Speaking of which…” the worry came back. After what had happened with Nayra… “There’s some cubs you should see,” she wiped her eyes, pulling away as she regained her composure.

<DamuOC> Cass laughed boisterously at being asked if she was pregnant. "Noooo. Definitely not pregnant. And I know. You've got a softness to you right now and their scent is still on you." A small smile settled on her face. "I'm actually excited to meet my little siblings. Like I said, I've grown up a lot. Viza's done a lot of good with straightening me up. Speaking of." She paused and sat up a bit straighter. "I was made heiress of the Westlands."

<Cloudikin> “Two little boys,” maw parting to say something about her newborn cubs, which she did have to get back to soon, the news of Castus’ new rank in the pride she had joined caught her off guard, making her almost sputter. “H-heiress? How? Why?” Not that she was not proud, the news had come as quite the shock. A west land king had named her daughter heir? Not only was that… odd, but it meant she would never get her daughter all to herself again. She puffed out a breath and smiled, “That’s great, how’d that come about?”

<DamuOC> "I can't wait to meet them. Probably best to wait until they're moving around a bit more." She grinned as her mother tried to wrap her mind around the news. "He said after Suma, he didn't want his kin on the throne again. And he took his time to choose one of us. I guess he saw potential." She shrugged.

<Cloudikin> “That’s wonderful,” Mbele at last purred, moving her head forward and reading up slightly to nuzzle her dear daughter’s cheek. Queen Castus… soon she would be that. From what the lioness had heard of this King Viza, he was old. “You always had something special about you,” she pulled back, looking so fondly at Cass. “A really strong little cub,” not to mention how much she reminded her of Altyd, a lion that was so noble his own pride had not questioned him too much when he had brought back a strange cub. She rather Castus act as her father had rather than take after herself. “Are you going to stay a while?” She then asked, somewhat hopeful and eager to accommodate her daughter. There was so much she wanted to say, but was once again at a loss for words with the news she had received. West Land Heir, her daughter!

<DamuOC> She beamed back at her mother. "Thank you. It really does mean a lot that you're proud of me. I must go back to the Westlands, as much as I would love to stay here and visit. I have all these new responsibilities and Viza would notice that I'm gone if I don't head back now." She sighed in frustration. "I really do want to spend more time with you and Nayra and the cubs. And... because of that, I, as heiress of the Westlands, extend an open invitation for you and my siblings to visit the Westlands whenever you like for whatever reason." She breathed out a sigh of relief after the formality. "I love you Mother." She finally said.

<howrsesr1> Mbele closed her eyes slowly, then blinked them open once again. She grinned a grin full of love and at last understanding, hiding the pain. She had no right to feel pain, not with such an effort at reconnecting being taken. One day she would bring the cubs to the west… perhaps if Kamau was ever endangered (as instinct would lead her to believe and fret over) she would take him there to Castus. “I understand. I love you Castus, go and be the best heiress these lands have seen,” she spoke her farewell with a dip of her head. “It won’t be so long until next time.”

<DamuOC> Castus teared up a bit at that. "I'll come back again very soon. Possibly in just a few days... just depends on my duties with Viza. I do promise to be back soon." She rose up, gave Mbele one more hug, then turned and finally allowed a few tears to fall as she padded back home.