The little hare was pacing, pacing, pacing; worriedly pulled on each ear and glancing back at the den entrance every few seconds. Folami had been in there for the entirety of the night and a good chunk of the day now, and while it was completely understandable why, Oji still fretted. She'd never known anyone giving birth before, and so had had no idea that it took so long. Was this normal? Apparently, sometimes, according to the healer that she'd asked. The lioness had assured that she was fine, that the pregnancy had gone well and there was no cause for worry, but.... but how could you not?! She was pretty sure you just... push, right? And... and scream, but there had most certainly been some of that.
Still though, Oji was not allowed in. Something about "giving her space" and "infections" and some other stuff that she just knew meant she wasn't allowed to sit in there.
Ugh.
But... Fine. She would wait... for now.
Waiting sure did leave her to her thoughts though. She had tried seeking out some of the other Mwezi hares for companionship, but many were busy with their own lions or simply got sick of her fretting.
Then she had gone searching for some food, which distracted her for a spell, and a place to sleep the night. That had, thankfully, taken out the waiting that would have happened overnight, but it didn't help her now. She doubted that she would be able to fall asleep anyway.
She didn't really feel comfortable hanging out with any of the lions. Despite having cooled some since their initial joining, Oji still wasn't terribly close to anyone besides Folami, and saw no reason to start now. Besides, she still thought their customs were stupid.
Realizing that her options were basically to just sit down and wait, Oji sighed and made her way over to a nearby rock, hopping atop it and wiggling a bit to get comfortable. Now left to her thoughts, the hare stared up at the sky and watched the clouds while mused over how this all happened.
She, herself, had never gotten to meet this mysterious male that Folami had laid with. Supposedly, he'd been someone helpful to her while they were in the rogue lands, someone kind to her who had even visited the Mwezi to see if she was alright. Which seemed awfully suspicious to Oji, considering how the Mwezi disliked slaves interacting with outsiders so much, but she supposed that there wasn't really anything that would stop a godling from doing so. Yes, Folami had told her that much about him, had described him in usual girly-crush fashion that had left Oji rolling her eyes.
And then she'd come out as pregnant.
Oji.... admittedly, hadn't been certain how to process this scenario. Slaves generally weren't meant to fraternize with rogues like this, but then, it wasn't uncommon for lionesses to end up pregnant from them too.... Hopefully the Cubs would be fine. At least they had the chance to end up in a higher rank, though the sky had started doing something funny lately.... Would the lack of a moon affect that?
Uh oh. That wasn't a good thought. Now she had something else to worry about. But.... not now. Not yet. They would cross that bridge when they came to it.
The footsteps approaching were what made her ears flick up to attention, and Oji spun her head around to look at the entrance. Sure enough, the healer was making her way out, pausing as she noticed the hare sitting nearby. With a chuckle, she walked closer.
"You've been waiting all this time? Loyal little bunny, aren't you?" She threw a glance behind her, as if trying to judge something, and then nodded as she looked back at Oji, "As long as you're quiet and careful, you can go in now. Folami and her cubs are sleeping, so no waking them up!" She turned away, "I'm just going to grab a few things from my den, and then I'll be back."
Oji didn't need to be told twice.
Racing to her feet, the hare bounded towards the entrance of their den before skidding to a stop and tiptoeing in. The last thing she wanted was keeping Fol up after what had to be a very grueling experience. Sure enough, when she found the familiar purple form laying asleep on some pelts, the lioness looked exhausted and in desperate need of both a bath and a nap. A part of her wondered why someone would willingly put them self through this. Childbirth looked horrible.
And then she saw them. There were more than she was expecting. When she'd questioned the healer (because of course it was her doing the questioning; Fol was too spacey to think about doing that) about a lioness' litter size, the female had laughed and said that it was usually fairly small, nothing like a hare's. So she had thought there would only be maybe one or two.
They were.... adorable though. They looked like the dawn of morning made into cubs, all cream and purple and starry-pelted, and they made little squeaks in their sleep. One even had the markings of wings, which she suspected came from a certain somebody.
She couldn't stop her heart melting at the sight. Okay, so maybe there was a reason to go through with this.
With ears pulled back against her head, Oji walked quietly closer and then lay down on her stomach beside Folami, one of her little front paws resting gently on the lioness' elbow as she leaned closer. One of the cubs gave a tiny whine before burrowing further into Fol's side, and Oji couldn't help but smile. Cold, huh? She carefully pulled one of the pelts over the cub's body, hoping she could help that little problem.
'You did good, Fol,' she thought to herself after a moment longer of just observing, and she settled in further to watch them. While her friend slept, Oji would make sure they were safe. She may not be a lion or a jackal or a wild dog or any kind of predator, but she could still be a guardian. And she'd make sure Folami -- and her cubs -- weren't alone.
With a determined nod, the hare silently scooted under Fol's chin and settled in to wait for her to wake.