The Sound of the Wind (Kanii's family)

[Kanii]

Kanii's tiny paw whisked over the grass as she listened to the gritty sound it made against her thorn-like claws. She only extended one toward the flowing blades, and watched as the grass parted with the movement of her paw. She smiled. It wasn't very toothy, but it was wondrous. She thought idly, I wonder if someones ever looked so hard at a piece of grass before. She determined someone probably had. No, no someone definitely had. She swiveled her head up, glancing at the mid-morning sky. Her piercing green eyes held the young sun's gaze as she licked the dew off her pads. She heard ruffling trees in the distance, casting mottled shadows over her creamy coat. The sound of the breeze on the grasses and trees soothed her in a way she couldn't explain, but liked it all the more for. Her movements might have been sluggish, early as it was, but her mind was already pulsing through her entirety. Her one unsheathed claw continued to prod at the blades of grass that dangled about her rose-colored nose. The wind blew the grasses in a fray, sending them in and out of her range, but she didn't mind the challenge. She mewed in a sort of excitement. The morning was a good time to play.

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[Kualei]

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The young, copper lion was awoken with a soft, warm breeze and the contented sounds of the morning, as well as his sister's own noise. His silvery eyes opened to see the glorious light of the new day, though he was not so lucky as to be able to see the day for itself in detail. It was a strange thing, his blind sight, as if one's eyes were simply closed, only to see the light and bright colours of the world. It was his eyes that would never open, never see like others could. Anyone would consider themselves lucky to see if they knew the difference of fate, but Kualei had never been able to see a thing since day one.

With the sound of his sister's mew, his ears were aright. A joyous smile graced his muzzle as he turned to his sibling. Clumsily, he found his paws and sat upright, his ears forward and listening to the forest all around him. The birds chirping merrily in the green canopy, to the smallest creatures rustling in the undergrowth and his family's gentle breath.

[Zuri]

With the early morning dew still very much abundant, Zuri too padded across the tall grass, flattening each of it's blades as she did so. She followed closely behind her young cubs as they rushed out to play, having already checked for any kind of danger in the vicinity. As a mother, she needed to be responsible now and couldn't just play around all the time any more. Of course, keeping the youngsters entertained was a good way of letting out her own vast quantity of energy.

Sitting in the grass, she watched as Kualei tuned in to his sisters playful mewing. She doubted that the feeling of guilt would ever go away. Was his blindness her fault? Was there a reason that cheetahs and lions didn't procreate? She still loved and missed Chima, but the hardships that her little ones endured and would, perhaps endure in the future once they were fully grown and their heritage became more obvious, were reason enough for her too feel more than a little guilty.

Sighing, she allowed herself to collapse on the grass as Kualei approached Kanii. It was a beautiful day and her cubs were content. That was all that mattered at this point in time.

[Kanii]

"Kualei," she began, the smile in her eyes and face so unmistakably clear in the pronunciation of his name, "I have something for you!" She gnawed the stem of a long piece of grass, tasting its tangy green juices on her tongue, and held it to Kualei's chin. She moved the edge along his jawbone and down his neck, all the while smiling through the blade in her teeth. Meanwhile, a small hopping bug entered in her sights. She dropped the grass-blade, then, and held her head in the path of the small critter She tilted her head, curiosity pulsing. "Mama," as she blinked up at her mother, the tiny-green-hopping-thing jumped onto her nose. She blinked in surprise, but didn't otherwise react. She kept still, in case the fall from her muzzle would injure it."What's this?"

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[Kualei]

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A soft, childish laugh rang out into the surrounding green of the forest, his head leaning back as his sister tickled him, "You silly!" he smiled. His ears were sent forward in attention again as he heard the unmistakeable clicking of a grass bug as it leaped delicately from the grass. As hard as it must've sounded to be possible, Kualei could just barely hear the small wind it made as it hopped to and fro.

That's it! A grass hopper! he giggled to himself, "That's a grass hopper, Kanii!" he told her inventively before walking past and flopping down beside their mother. He purred for a moment as he felt the gentle rise and fall of his mother's breathing against his back that leaned on her comfortably.

[Zuri]

Zuri couldn't help but smile as Kanii began to tickle Kualei. The siblings seemed to be the best of friends and it was lovely to see them playing together as such. It reminded her of what she had missed, having had no siblings of her own, lion or cheetah.

Giggling childishly as the grass hopper jumped through the tall grass and onto her daughters nose, she was about to answer when her son did so for her. Though blind, she supposed that his sense of hearing was perhaps stronger than most and so he used what he had to 'see' the world around him.

"As your brother told you", she confirmed as the insect continued to sit on it's perch. Grass hoppers are harmless though", she assured her, although the female cub seemed far more curious than scared or anything.

About to take a closer look for herself, it was then the Kualei bounded over and snuggling in beside her. She gave him a gentle lick as he purred away, making her feel that perhaps she could do this motherhood thing after all.

She turned her attention back to Kanii so she could keep watch. The temperature continued to soar as the days went on, so perhaps it wouldn't be long before they would need to find shade once again.

[Kanii]

She glanced quickly up at her brother as he spoke, smiling more in her eyes than on her face. Grasshopper. She repeated the word a few times in her mind, Grasshopper. Grasshopper. She looked intently at the 'grasshopper,' again and watched as the tiny bug sat silently on her snout. She heard her mother confirm what her brother had said, and add, "Grasshoppers are harmless though." The tiny green bug hopped daintily off her nose as she stirred her tail. "I know, Mama." She lifted her head up from the grasses, setting her eyes on the crystalline blue of her mother's. "It wouldn'ta just sat there if it wasn't." She watched intently as the grasshopper moved along the edge of the field and back into the deeper brush. She blinked after it, her tail slightly flicking as it always did when she was focused. She remembered herself and turned her head back to her family. With a devilish smile set across her new, white teeth, she said, "C'mon, Ku! Let's play!"

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[Kualei]

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A young, fiendish smile soon grew over his muzzle as well as he heard his sister invite him to some play. With just the sound of her voice he could tell she was smiling as well and it contagiously struck him too. His silver eyes seemed so lost, yet so focused. In his heart it was already made clear to himself that he wanted it to last like this forever; he always wanted his sister to smile and be happy.

"Hahah, of course, sis!" he laughed affectionately before getting up from the ground and leaping towards her in a playful manner, his paws harmlessly batting towards her. "Betcha can't catch me!" he teased in good humour, running a few paces through the green of the trees, the wind gently humming between his ears. Oh how good it felt to run!

[Zuri]

Zuri broke out into a large grin herself and she pricked her ears up as the two cubs began to give chase to one another. The only sound on the wind was birdsong and the sound of her children's laughter, both beautiful to her ears. She wondered where the rest of the pride had gone though, as she hadn't seen or heard anyone in a long while.

Pulling herself to her feet, she stretched up against a tree and scratched it with her unsheathed claws. Her adoptive mother had no problem in gracefully leaping onto the branches, but Zuri had never quite mastered it. Probably because no matter her upbringing, in body and heart she was a lion. That was more than could be said for her cubs and she wondered if they would be good jumpers like their adoptive grandmother and their father. Not a day went by when she didn't think about him and she hoped that some day they would see each other again.

Now standing on all fours, she watched Kanii and Kualei play some more. She wanted to join in, as she too so loved to play, but the two were still so small and she worried about hurting them. Instead, she looked on before noticing a passing butterfly. The urge to chase it was strong, but surely it would be a bad idea to take her eyes off the youngsters.