[PRP] Sharing is Caring [Kaito x Ukahada Waya]

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The days had begun to bleed together for the new Father. Tivoli had been amazing from start to finish, through birth and the miracle of life. He felt his grips on reality fade briefly at times before realizing just how exhausted he had become.

Today was one of those few days where the stars aligned enough to allow the youthful pops to get enough sleep to wake feeling refreshed and inspired. The rare treat hadn't stopped there his mossy green eyes, foggy from just waking, spotted the still sleeping forms of Tivoli as well as their cubs. Excitement struck him like a bolt of lightning and immediately his well rested brain took to ideas of how to make this day even better - primarily in the form of a special breakfast for one special Mom. Or as special as he could manage without disturbing the bundles of joy.

"Njano." A small head rose from amidst the sleeping bodies and blinked a couple of times slowly. "What are you doing up?" Kaito spoke softly to his early rising son, but didn't receive a response - not verbally - instead he chose to yawn and stood to walk towards him. Fortunately, for the time being, Njano wasn't going to wake his siblings.

"Daddy, I'm hungry." The words were clumsy and soft as he approached his Father. The distance to the dens entrance had seemed much smaller when he first thought to actually get up. His paws, too lare for his small form, slapped the ground which caused an echo. Njano saw his fathers eyes grow slightly, though he hadn't the foggiest idea as to why. All he knew was that the pit of his stomach ached furiously for a meal. Dramatically he collapsed at the paws his father and gazed up with his matching mossy green eyes, but he didn't have the words to put together just how hungry he was.

Kaito, almost willing to applaud his sons dramatic flair, simply stared down as the small frame collapsed atop his paws. "Alright, you can come with me." Nothing more needed to be said to have the cub back on his paws again. "But first lets find you a snack." He had learned that taking an already hungry cub anywhere meant trouble.

Ecavi

 

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Silence trailed after the cub, one whom had usually been chatty - even for being groggy, and Kaito quickly realized why. A smile grew on his maw as he spied the nvwati. "Good morning." He greeted in a soft tone that suggested the rest of his family were sleeping still. Not moments after his greeting he wandered towards the pale lion, decorated in a number of tattoos - a pridal symbol here.

The decorative dyes on the adults pelt caught the eye of Njano almost immediately and suddenly the cub wasn't as groggy. "Wooow." He remarked with his mouth agape in sheer admiration. "Look at them all." Clearly astounded by the curves and ways the tattoos fit to the lions own form.

"Aren't they magnificent, Njano?" Kaito held no excitement back from the youngster, wanting him to love the world out there for everything it had was important. With so many lions, all part of their clan, helping them out eagerly the cubs had been exposed to a variety of markings. "Perhaps you would like to ask him about those tattoos?" At the suggestion he felt the small body of his son press against his leg. "Silly Njano, there's nothing to fear." Kaito shook his head, but wore a large grin.

Daha, for his part, shook his head briskly at the sudden attention. Eyes blinked quickly at the lion, whom seemed much larger now (somehow).
 

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"Why is your fur so plain?" The cub had grabbed onto what little confidence he had found during his bout of shyness. "Will mine look like yours?" Njano knew that they were stories, he liked stories. The stories scrawled across this pelt were personal, the nvwatis own tale. He was about to ask a few more questions when he slowy closed his mouth and thought on them, trying to find the words. Silently he removed himself from his fathers side and took a brave step forward.

"They used my toes?" His eyes grew wide once again as he miss interpreted what was being shared with him stopped where he was. The small trip between his father and the nvwati was mere steps and he found himself frozem, eyes peerin down at the tips of his teal toes.

"Njano, they used the same color.. not your toes themselves." He couldn't help, but snicker a small amount.

Kaitos attention was pulled to Ukahada once more. "Yes, I was lucky. The others and Tivoli are stilled cozied up in the den. Njano woke at the last moment." He chuckled, a deep and warm sound. None of the lions judged him for enjoying these moments, most probably knew the joy he was growing familiar with, of a quiet morning or two. Those cubs were his prides and joy, but silence was a treasure.

"The whole family seemed to need a little extra sleep, save for Njano." Another chuckle. "Light sleeper." Kaito glanced at Njano again and was delighted to see that he had taken a few more cautious steps forward. It seemed his enlightening words that his toes hadn't been used to dye the rest of him had done the trick.

Unfortunately... it was now the face of the nvwati that caught the cubs eye's. There wasn't much way to get a better look of it from his short stature, but he made due by sitting up and staring - still wide eye'd. "Did you get dye in your eyes?" Had he been taken a glance in a puddle he would have realized that his own face was tattooed, not that he would have recalled dye in his eyes.  

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"We are happy to have you here." Kaito spoke earnestly, the nvwati was a kind soul and it warmed his heart at how welcoming the whole clan had been. Any time the nvwati could spare to see them was welcomed with open arms (so to speak). "The little ones enjoy it too." The smile didn't fade, even a little bit, but his gaze did fall to Daha again. The cub was eager to see the markings on the pale adults face at this point and almost everything else had faded to the background.

Only when the nvwati bent down did Daha suddenly spring to action and take a quick step back. Everything was moving so fast and he nearly tumbled backwards. Still.. he was fascinated and sturdied himself before stepping forward, nearly nose to nose. "You're head is really big when it's this close." Daha became cross eye'd briefly and closed his eyes quickly to rid himself of that funny feeling. "Whooa." He remarked as his eyes grew focused once again.

"Your great grandmother?" The words were stuttered, unconfident as the cub repeated the sounds of them. He didn't have other family, not that he knew, though his father mentioned an uncle once or twice. "I don't have one of those, was she nice to you?" He stared at a single, huge orange eye as it was all he could seem to focus on at the time.

"She must have been, to not get dye in your eye!" The accidental rhyme had the cub giggling. "Did you hear that? The sounds rhymed." He whispered to the nvwati before he spotted that the tattoos seemed to disappear into the mane above his brow. Without another thought Daha hoisted himself up and dropped his clumsy paws onto the cheek and bridge of Ukahada's nose.

"Do they go on.. forever?" He gasped quietly, not aware of the personal space he had entered.

Kaito was stunned into silence, but managed a quick, small gasp. "Daha, be careful." Then he held his breath, his heart leaped to his throat. "That's not appropriate." He managed to finally get out before heading to him to stop the sudden intrusion of the nvwatis face.  

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Relief washed over Kaito with the nvwatis easy going nature. He listened, just as attentively as Daha was, the history of the pride was important to him and he was emabressed to admit when his history wasn't quite up to snuff. He and Tivoli had joined during such a peaceful time that he found it hard to imagine a time marked in history called the 'Dark Fire Plague'. The mere idea sent a small shiver crawling down his spine.

"Wow." Daha remarked about the achievement, though he didn't quite understand its significance aside from 'by herself'. "Doing anything by yourself is hard." He spoke firmly, but had a different idea of 'hard'. "I once tried to catch a bug all by myself. That was hard, but I had my Dad." He turned his gaze to Kaito, but it was only fleeting.

Kaito mouthed a thank you to the nvwati, but wasn't able to get a word in edge wise. Pride still hit him with the compliment he's asking good questions. He tucked that away to share with Tivoli for another day.

"Does your Dad help you with stuff?" Question after question he poured on. Which distracted him from the way Ukahada had shifted his position. In fact Daha found himself pull back a bit to stare up at the nvwati, still wide eye'd with wonder. "Does he have a mane as big as yours? My Dad doesn't have one so big, but it's soft." He rambled a little bit, cleary far more comfortable with his situation.

"We played in some leaves once, twigs and leaves stuck in his mane and Mum laughed at him." Daha chuckled merrily at the simple memory. Though most of them had to do with the den, dark and cozy, some were startig to happen out in the sun. He couldn't recall the first time his paws had touched the soft feel of grass, but Daha would call that feeling his favorite.

"Have you ever played in the leaves?" His tail thumped the ground with excitement.  

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Daha watched closely as the near giant stood at his full height once more. He stood there, about ready to go into a speech about wanting to be that tall someday when he was hit with new knowledge. New knowledge that had even Kaito surprised - the current nvwati's father, was a rogue?

"Really?!" It was the first time that true shock had hit his little system and Daha was overwhelmed. "But if they are green.. and brown? That doesn't make white." He could barely take his eyes of the all white lion. "But I'm yellow and teal, so are my parents." His bewildered eyes shot from the nvwati to his father, then back. When he didn't find immediate answers he shot a look to the den to which Kaito had to react.

"No, no.. don't go looking for answers there." He warned the cub gently. "Your mother and siblings should sleep a while longer." He was smirking all the while, but relieved when Daha calmed slightly and returned a steadied stare to their pale company.

"How. Does. That. Work." He darn near demanded. "You are ALL white. Were you bad? Can they take your color away?" His mind tried desperately to wrap itself around the concept. His memory failed to produce any other white lions and he wasn't sure what to think. "Or were you good, did you give your color away as a gift?" Daha recalled his toes, the dyes, and the way his father swore that wasn't how it happened.. but what if they were hiding the truth.

Suddenly Daha grew silent and simply began to stare at his toes. Brow furrowed in deep thought about what he had been just told.  

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"Oh thank goodness." Large mossy green eyes picked up from his toes to stare at the nvwati in absolute relief. His body language spoke of the same reaction as he slumped slightly where he sat and exhaled a sigh of relief. For his part Kaito raised a paw to help hold in a bout of laughter that threatened to pour out. Fortunately his son was so focused on their company that his father could have done a jig and it would likely have had very little effect.

Daha's brow furrowed once again as he tried to work his way through what Ukahada had said, but of course he didn't have his grandparents around to help him understand what might come of any future questions. "I'm glad that no one stole your color." He finally came to the conclusion that he was thankful. "I like my toes the way they are." Daha smiled down at his toes and wiggled them. "But if someone had stolen your color.. I would have shared some of mine." His gaze returned to the nvwati as a he wore a big toothy grin - his parents had taught him that sharing was important, no matter how much or how little you can spare. His color was important to him, but so was the clan - whom were just various members of an extended family (really).

Kaito's ears perked forward at his son. A look of pride replaced his previous smirk as his son promised he would have shared his colors. That look chnaged slowly to thought as Ukahada continued to give them a history lesson - something Kaito enjoyed very much.

"I had no idea." Kaito responded this time. "But I also haven't seen very many white lions around, so there wasn't much opportunity to hear about this." That and those whom were around might have been just as modest as their nvwati. "Perhaps you're luckier than you think?" Health ran in tandem with good fortune, along with many other factors, it was all how luck might be interpretted, but that was a matter of opinion. "My single question for you might be... is that luck shared with your clan? Daha and I could certainly use it to find a fine meal for our family this morning." He chuckled softly.  

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"You're welcome."

A large yawn erupted from the youngster, ending with a small squeak. The sound earned a look from his father, but nothing further. Daha blinked a couple times before yawning once more, much smaller this time.

"Did you want to go back to bed?" Kaito offered his son, but the answer was a firm headshake. "Okie doke." He smiled warmly at how stubborn his son was behaving.

The nvwatis voice and chuckle pulled his attention back. "I'll have to bear that in mind.' He found himself chuckling as well. "Ah yes, share that luck - if you can." His chuckle carried on a little longer before he stood, taking the time to stretch his paws and yawning a little himself.

"Come along Daha." He smiled sweetly at his son, knowing full well he might end up carrying back a tuckered out little one.