A family trip[Santana (later) taka]

[tumai]

The little cheetah dashed out in front of his mother like always seemed to do, even if she was alot bigger then he was, he actted abit to brave for his own good but that could be traced back to his up bringing. he was raised up like a lion so that is how he behaves, he glanced back at his mama with a mile long grin. he wanted to play and honestly he did not care who or what became his play-thing as long as he was having fun that was all that mattered to the small cheetah cub, with his mother nearby he felt untouchable and most likely he was but that remained to be seen, he ran up and jumped up placing his to small paws on that of his mama's right front leg and then gave her a soft lick on the nose before running off after a butterfly.

Tumai had always had a knack for getting himself into trouble but his mother always seemed to bail him out at the very last second, it was clear to anyone in that had ever seen the two together that he was very important to her, she was very important to him as well, seeing how many times when he was bored she became his play toy!, he would bound around her and pounced at her paws repeatedly in an attempt to get her to play with him but it usually ends with him on his back with her paw placed gently on his chest not that he really cared if she won or not he would nibble on her paw until she let him up.

he would run ahead and tackle the butterfly out of the air or so he attempted to do but the butterfly just flew up to a safe distance, leaving the young male cub to crash and burn in the dirt, he slowly stood up and coughed up a little bit of dirt before looking back at his mother, even though he had missed his target the cub had his signture grin still on his maw, his pride was unharmed by the failed attempt. Tumai slowly shook out his fluffy pelt then ran under his mother and began walking in her shadow.

[Santana]

Santana chuckled, watching her son dart and play and paw at everything in sight. She remembered being a cub. He was everything to her, besides Taka, her newly found love. And her pride, which she hadn't even met yet. "Don't play too hard, you'll get hurt." Santana warned the small cub as he chased a butterfly. He seemed so harmless and adorable, but she and he both knew he was going to grow up to be a fierce feline some day.

Her paws hit the grassy ground softly, her haunches swaying to the beat that didn't exist. Her tail flicked left and right. The little cheetah cub attempted to catch the insect, and she smiled as he fell face flat into the grass, though his dignity and his energy didn't fade at all. She watched him as he ran into her shadow. She always seemed to be his shade source, she was so much larger than him, he often just hid in her shadow to cool down instead of finding a bush or tree.

She laughed and picked Tumai up by the scruff and placed him on his back in front of her. She licked his limbs and belly repetitively, and his face, his back and neck. She knew baths weren't his favorite thing, but falling in the dirt was never a good thing for his hygiene. She didn't want him covered with flies, and baths were the only thing to keep him clean.

"All done." She said in her happy, sing-song voice. She expected him to whine, but before he could say anything, she ran off, quickly tackling a hare and piercing the small rabbit with a claw. She then brought it back to Tumai and dropped it in front of her son, smiling at him and urging him to eat. She felt an itch between her shoulder blades, and tried to get at it with her tongue, though it was a very awkward position. She then flopped onto her back, rolling around in a dust patch with her eyes closed. She hated it when she got an itch she couldn't scratch, and squirming around on the ground was really the only way to scratch it.

[tumai]

Tumai went to pick himself up off the ground but before he could his mother picked him up placing him before her on his back, the male cub let out a small groan in annoyance but decided not to struggle because in the back of his mind he knew that it was useless anyway she was alot bigger then he was so he had no chance to escape no matter what he did. but to his relief the bath did not last as long as he thought it was going to. with a relieved sigh the small cub bounded out of his mothers paws then as soon as he was free the small cub turned and pounced on his mother.

"momma you said papa would be here.." he said as he crawled around on her back like a flea then pounced on her head and licked her nose, his rear paws still on her stomach, he kept his balance but he was shifting back and forth just to annoy her as pay back for the washing that he clearly did not like. but soon enough his interest was drawn to something else and he jumped down from his mother's stomach.

He then started chasing another butterfly, this was one of his favorite past times, besides messing with his mother of course but she was still abit to big for him to completely control like he could with the butterflies and other small critters that he chases. he never strayed from his mothers sight through he knew to well that that could spell trouble and that was one of the last things the young cheetah wanted. but then he came to a halt staring at the hare.

[Santana]

She frowned at his comment. Momma, you said papa would be here, The young lioness sighed a bit and sat on her haunches. She didn't know if Taka would arrive or not. He was unpredictable like that. What if he didn't come? What if he forgot about her and just used her for that one day? No, Santana growled to herself. Don't second think it. Her eyes darkened a bit, and then brightened again as she watched her son prance and play with a butterfly.

"Papa'll be here. Promise." She said to Tumai. He had never met his father, and she was nervous for his reaction. Her mind rushed with What If's and Maybe's as she went through the possibilities. Tumai was her only chance to relive the cubhood she wanted to have, not the tragic one she thought of in dismay. She sighed a bit as she felt her throat choke in sadness, and she swallowed it, placing her head on her paws in exhaust and attempt to rid her mind of the nightmare.

She never remembered it. She never did, but when she met Desoto, her mother-like kindness sparked her memories. And Taka's love just lightened the scene. It was like the film with goodness and trees and butterflies was ripped from the projector and replaced with a nightmare, a fire, two cubs hiding in a den, and the man in charge evilly put the film in an endless loop. She couldn't stop thinking about it, watching Tumai paw at the air, attempting to knock the butterflies from their invisible perches in the air. She closed her eyes, and felt herself slowly, gently, drift to sleep. She knew she shouldn't, she should have forced herself to stay awake and watch Tumai - but she couldn't help it. Her eyelids felt like they weighed a ton, and she drifted into her dreams.

[taka]

The hunter stalked after the scent of his lioness, she had taken off for some reason not that he really cared, he was enjoying her lovely scent to much to even think about being mad at her, but what ever had caused her to run off better of been important or he would reclaim Santana's attention for himself, after all he concerned himself to be the cult of personality, if one of his personality traits did not grab her attention then surely another of them would, the scent grew stronger and it enticed him even more but just as the thoughts of mating with her popped into his head another scent hit his nose, it had a mixture of his lioness and a male, the males scent was not as strong as his love's so he assumed that it had to be a young male,

perhaps she had found another lion? if this were so then he should go get his brother but Taka simply shook his head and continued padding forward in the direction of his beloved lioness. soon enough though she came into sight, a soft smile grew onto the prince's maw as he slowly scanned her sleeping form. she was so beautiful it was almost a shame that he had to awaken her from her slumber but he wanted to spend more time with her. thats when his eyes fell upon the source of the other scent, it was a cheetah cub!, but the question was why was it here and why was it with his lioness.

The scarred male moved closer to the small cub, as he leaned in sniffing the cheetah's head only to receive a playful bap on the nose in return, Taka shook his head out softly and just stared at the cub, almost as if he was dumb-founded by the cubs actions, a moment later Taka snapped out of the trance and leaned down again this time nudging the side of his beloved's head to wake her from her slumber."wake up my love"