Ico sat atop a large stone, glaring down at the mists below. Her eyes would find themselves locked on the figure of her Queen, Xiu Xiu, who was sleeping peacefully below. She was tired, this was easy to see, so Ico did her best to assure her Lady could rest, even if only for a short while. Soon the Royal Coronation would take place and things were going to be hectic. The spotted female new her job was going to become even more important as the Royal Gems aged, it was her job to protect them. All of them, at all costs.
Her gray eyes narrowed as she settled herself back, sighing in deeply. Where were the little Gems anyway? Well, they weren't so little anymore.
Mylaela, ever the fun-loving cub, was stretching herself out, waking from her own nap. With a shake of her grey pelt, the adolescent was off in search of water and potentially one of her siblings to annoy or play with. They all tended to scatter most of the day it felt like, despite them all probably having lessons.
Either way, she wasn't exactly being quite as she made her way to the watering hole. A good drink of water and she was ready to go for the rest of the day. It didn't take her long to wake up and bounce back from grogginess.
Her mind went to the upcoming events and it made her excited for the future. Something big was going to happen. She could feel it like she felt the mists swirl around them. It was real and tangible and Mylaela was all but vibrating.
She needed to play now. "Galadriel~!" She called, trying to get her voice to pitch in a way that'd be creepy when it echoed off her surroundings.
"Galadriel, where are yoooou~?"
"Galadriel, is with your father, little Gem." Ico spoke out against the mist as she waved a paw in the young princesses direction. "Come here, sit with me." her tone was as welcoming as ever, Ico was the Godmother to these Gems, nothing in this world would ever take the love she had for them away. She would protect each of them with her entire life, for always.
"Your mother is resting for a bit, your sister is with Lord Faun, learning about her future responsibilities."
The older lioness gave her a soft smile as she moved to make room for Mylaela, welcoming her with a soft purr.
"How are you doing today, darling?" she mused as she waited for the Royal lioness to join her. Her eyes settled on the young female's face as she smiled in deeply. "You look so much like your mother, it's uncanny."
Of course she was with their father. Mylaela's head hung low upon hearing the news and a long suffering sigh left her. Still, she moved toward Ico. The elder female was always so sweet with them, so patient. The grey female had the utmost trust in her.
"She's always with father! I want to play with her like when we were cubs.' SHe was pouting and she knew it, yet something in her didn't care.
With the purr, the girl had the courage to go up and nuzzle against Ico slowly after the comment on how much she looked like her mother. "Well. Her genes must be really strong," she said with a grin. "We all look so much like her it's odd."
"I am sure that when she is done with her training she will be available to spend time with her beloved sister. I know the weight that girl carries will be a heavy one. Give her some time to settle into that truth. I know she will be thankful to have you in the coming months." as Ico spoke she moved into nuzzle the younger female. She thought of them as her own, loving their mother endlessly and selflessly. Her love would extend to Xiu's cubs for all time.
Ico's eyes narrowed as she smirked, nodding. "That is true, but you most of all remind me of her."
The black and white female gave the young Princess a deep smile as she spoke. "You've got her fire in you."
"I'm going to be there for her, no matter what," Mylaela finally relented, a fond expression on her face. "It honestly can't be easy. Besides, I'll draw her out for fun times later." She laughed and got even more comfortable before noticing the way Ico's eyes narrowed like that.
Then she swelled with pride. The dark grey female beamed at that and practically preened. That was a high compliment and it wasn't lost on her. Mylaela almost couldn't stay still. "I just wish, sometimes she would cut lessons early and just go swim with me. Or try to fish. Wrestle. We could go dye tails with flower paints. You know. Fun."
"I'm sure if you tell her this desire she will listen, little Gem." Ico laughed as she found herself glancing back down toward where Xiu slept. She loved her deeply, and this family her Queen gave her made Ico's life feel meaningful. For this the lioness would always be thankful and help here she could - even when the problems were trivial and small.
"Dye tails? Is that something the kids are doing now?" Ico laughed as she glanced back over at Mylaela. "We could have fun until Gala is done her with studies? You could show me this... tail nonsense." the older lioness laughed.
With a twinkle in her eye, Mylaela grinned and nodded. "Well you see. First you have to get the flowers together. You have to crush those up really nice and add just a tiny, tiny bit of water."
While the princess talked, she wandered toward a bush, looking for flowers to use as an example.
"Then you need to find your target. Someone with a light colored tail works best. Shows up more. But you have to wait till they're sleeping!" That part was important. "And you have to be really quiet. Then you take the leaf of dye and put their tail in it, then wrap it around. In the morning, they take it off and opps! Their white tail is pink."
"Oh my goddess you are a menace." the lioness laughed as the young female rambled on about her tricky behavior. She was a little fireball indeed. Pale eyes narrowed as she gave the young princess a smirk, nodding in agreement. "I think this is a fabulous idea." It was going to hurt anyone after all, a little fun would do this young Gem some good. She needed a distraction from her sister's distractions.
"Alright, fireball. Let's find us some flowers and a target." Ico was ready to help Mylaela cause a little mischief.
The princess just laughed a little more and motioned the other lioness to follow her. "Honestly my favorite thing would be to dye someone's tail bright, bright yellow!" There was this look on Mylaela's face as she spoke about it. "But yellow flowers aren't easy to find, and when I do find them they're usually so small."
She was animated as she talked, that was for sure. Her face could tell stories alone, not factoring in her body lanuage.
Ico was excited to spend some one on one time with the princess, perhaps this would help the both of them keep their minds off of worry and stress long enough to enjoy the day.
