Fun Fact: Lion cubs are born blind, their eyes sealed shut for about a week. During this time, they rely entirely on touch and scent to find their mother. Even after their eyes open, cubs spend their early weeks hidden away, their survival depending on their mother's secrecy and protection.
Intent is passed on best through nonverbal gestures: the snarl of toothless cubs, flexing of claws whenever you got close to them, the childish contempt etched across their faces!
At first, all cubs appeared equal in their early weeks. Suckling together. But hierarchy begins at a tender age. Act differently from the others? That lands you a small spot at the playground, more aggression during plays to send the message straight.
Well, she, for one, wasn't the only one marked by the sixteen or so cubs in the den, maybe three more experienced similar treatment, but out of all of them, she alone retained her weird eye colour.
Cubs typically possess blue or grey irises for a few months after their birth, before it solidifies to the iconic amber or various shades of brown. However, as the rest were fawning over the similarities of eye colour to their mothers, she, slumped in one of the shadowed corners within the den.
Grey. Untouched by the faintest hint of brown that might promise correction. Week by week, it only grew brighter, as if hammered clean of every impurity, until it lingered at the edge of silver's dull gleam.
Her personality too underwent change, there was no childish joy left in her. She no longer sought the attention of the clique as she did while a few weeks old. Her demeanor morphed into indifference, even when they ganged up on her and roughed her up in pretense play, she neither fought back, nor appealed for adult intervention.
Everything was dull before her eyes, heck, she'd forgotten her own mother, or was it the other way around? Who even cared anymore? Some of the other lionesses offered their tits to her for feeding, no use in letting a healthy child die out early...the drought hadn't even started!
Oh, back to the weirdos of the den! There were two peculiar ones who were shunned (not as much) as her. One possessed the energy of five cubs! She never seemed to tire out! Always running around, chasing shadows and yapping to anything with ears.
The other, was more chaotic! Perhaps one of the dominant types! She never rolled over and accepted defeat, unlike herself. When they tried to oppress her in their rough games, oh–she matched their energy, dishing out double the aggression! When one of the little bastard bested her somehow, she'd disappear for a couple of days and return with more mayhem. Also, she had really bad temper!
Yawning within the shadows, the dull–eyed cub licked at her paw and groomed her face while keeping an eye out on the den's dynamics. She glanced as the duo ran in circles around the lionesses. The energetic one was fast, unbelievably so, gaining distance on the powerhouse chasing after her. And oh–she was getting angrier every minute of not catching up to the other. They were sisters, she deduced.
She rolled on her back, her bored eyes staring at everyone while upside down. Idly, she marked off the cubs in her sight, seeking a particular pair of eyes.
Suddenly, she felt someone's presence within the dark spot she had claimed for herself, instinctually, her body tensed as her mind sharpened with cold alertness. Her limbs folded over her exposed belly. She waited a heartbeat, her tail curled, ready to support any sudden evasive maneuvers should her body will it!
There was slight movement to her immediate right and she cocked her ears to gather more intel. But then, a sharp clatter echoed from her left and she acted on it instantly, her spine coiled, and in one fluid motion she rolled and leapt toward the sound.
She didn't bare her budding teeth, nor did she snarl in agitation, but her claws were out and the resolve was written on her face! She was silent but deadly! And only when her paws padded on the ground next to her opponent's estimated position did she open her maws as wide as possible and clumped them down on his scruff.
Only problem being...she bit into nothing! What lay before her was a smooth pebble! Her eyes widened in realization, she'd been tricked! Now she snarled, and turned back fast. But she was too late, the decoy had worked perfectly!
There was a swipe at her haunches that costed her her balance! She leaned to her left and before she could recover and employ distance, tiny teeth bit into her scruff and pulled her down. The two cubs toppled over and rolled in an entanglement of paws and meows.
When she tried to administer her tail for balance, someone else's wrapped around hers. Her forelimbs were pinned forward by a pair of paws. She was allowed struggle for a handful of moments, but came to terms with the fact that she couldn't push the other cub off of her. She scoffed, and only then did he untangle from her.
Tobey got off her and watched as she stretched and turned towards him with those unique, almost–silver eyes. She feigned aloofness, but her tail betrayed her, wagging in barely contained joy.
She circled him, letting her fur caress his. When she was done inspecting him, she sat in front of him and waited.
Tobey scoffed and walked over and did the same, licking at the spots he thought he'd been rough on when he'd pounced on her. She chirped in unveiled mirth, and when he was done, Tobey swiped his tail across her face before walking off.
A few paces away, he took note that she had followed him.
'Well, even with the lack of verbal communication, it apparently isn't that hard to convey intent, huh?'
He mused as they got closer to a pair of rowdy cubs. They were playing tag it seemed, but if his memory served him well, the agile one hadn't been caught yet, and her sister was a powder keg that would detonate any moment now. While he wasn't against the assault the short-fused princess would surely unleash on the other cubs any second, Tobey valued his time. And his growling tummy dictated it was breastfeeding time!
The ticking bomb pounced on her sister's tail, her mouth agape and ready to chomp her new teeth into the rump, however the agile little mink swerved the last second! Her maws snapped shut and she tripped, her momentum rolling her across the ground, kicking up a dusty storm.
When she got up, luckily, she wasn't severly injured...well, apart from her pride! Her pupils had consumed 70% of her mahogany eyes, she had her claws out, and they appeared longer than before.
Oh, she was really pissed off now!
Her eyes sought out a victim to unleash her rage upon. She spotted two cubs walking towards her and she locked gazes with a pair of amber eyes, shimmering with the weight of worlds unseen. Like a bucket of cold water over a campfire, her rage diminished significantly when she recognized the owner of such a common–yet–unique pair of eyes.
Retracting her claws, she stomped angrily towards him and met the duo halfway. Without further ado, she walked up to Tobey and pressed her head against his.
He sneezed, the tiny sound bursting from his nose as a puff of dust clung stubbornly to his whiskers. With a wrinkled snout, he leaned closer and brushed the grit from her fur with quick, clumsy pats. Then, imitating what he had seen their mother do countless times, he set about grooming her, dragging his tongue in earnest little swipes until her coat began to shine through the dust.
She chirped with delight at his effort, a trilling sound that carried both amusement and approval, and then folded her paws beneath herself, settling into a patient stillness as he worked. Though his grooming was far rougher than their mother's gentle touch, the rhythm of it soothed her, and slowly her squirming quieted into calm. When he finally stopped, panting faintly from the effort, she blinked at him with soft eyes, a silent thanks. Their mother, ever the watchful caretaker, would finish the task later—but for now, his clumsy devotion was enough.
The trio walked off towards the lionesses and along the way, the energetic one joined them! She was brimming with life and couldn't pad patiently, she was all over Tobey, running circles around as well as jumping loops over him. He indulged her once in a while and she loved it. Apparently, he could somehow match her vigour...barely.
'The pros of being young, I guess!'
They jogged along towards his favorite pastime — drinking milk! But even as his belly growled, a part of Tobey lingered on those silver eyes that watched him too closely.