Learning the ropes was important. Hlaziya and his siblings would all be brought up in a similar fashion. To learn the importance of doing what would need to be done. While still cubs Shauku would have ensured that they knew the stories of the flood, but she hadn't gotten around to discussing the previous Malengas or how she came to have her role. This was something she hoped to pass down to all of her cubs, but presently she only had one to talk to. The others had managed to scatter before she could gather them for another fetching period of story time.
"Hlaziya." She called out. His name echoed on the walls of their shared den and it warmed her heart to hear the padding of his paws along the floors fo their homes at her call. "Yes Mom?" He asked. His head had tilted in that curious way a cubs head does when they wondered what was going on. It got her every time. The whole litter had adopted this habit, which melted her heart. Of course it sometimes was followed with a whine or what have you, but she treasured it nonetheless. "Sit down, I want to tell you about our history today."
There it was. The groan of a cub that wanted nothing to do with a history lesson. Yet he dropped his rump. She then received a stare that burrowed into her soul - it clearly came from his Fathers side of the family. "Don't look at me like that." She partially demanded of him. A roll of the eyes seemed to clear up the stare, but he still appeared disinterested. Of course. History was a bore and had they been a merchants litter perhaps they'd be learning something like making a drum before this, but he was not a merchants son. Making a drum would come later, chants would come shortly after that. Shauku had plans for her litter.
"Are you comfortable? Would you like a snack?" She offered the cub some dried meats. Shauku was prepared for ravenous cubs on a regular now. They were weaned and had moved on (finally) to things she could hunt. It freed up her time. "Yes please!" Manners came and went in waves. She hoped that if they weren't used with her that at least the pride received the appropriate response, moments like this reminded her that even if the cubs were trouble makers they weren't bad cubs. "Go ahead, eat your fill then. I'll begin - first off is one of our very first recorded Eras.."
"Indlovu!" Hlaziya proclaimed proudly in between gobbling up the meats offered to him. "Oh? Good job Hlaziya!" Shauku was beaming with pride. She'd mentioned the Eras in passing before and was sure he and the others might have heard the names elsewhere, but it was important to recognize that he'd remembered it. "What do you know about Indlovu?" She offered he question as a way to get the gears turning and they did begin to spin, but she could see they were coming up empty. "It's okay, you're still learning." She mused and took a moment to ruffle his mane.
"Indlovu, as a cub, about the same age as yourself was afflicted with a heavy step." She smiled fondly at her cub that was still gorging. He must have had a few empty legs to store away some of that food. "Due to this she found herself unable to join the hunting parties, can you guess why?" A smile broke onto her maw at the puzzled look on her sons face. "She would frighten away our prey with her stomping sounds when she became a grown up." To the cubs delight he watched as his Mother stood up and made stomping sounds with her paws. He caught onto the musical tones as well. "When you're different you need to take the time to find out what you're good at. That is what Indlovu did. She had begun to nanny some cubs and while she was a nanny she began to make the jewelry you see today." Pride bubbled up in Shauku. Though she wasn't a descendant of the great Indlovu she was still following in her paw steps.
"The cubs she watched were gifted the jewelry to wear and play with. As they moved around to tumble and play they found that the jewelry made a music in itself. Indlovu encouraged this play time and even adorned the jewelry herself. She used her loud stomping paws to begin to dance about and create new tunes of jingling. The actions of both the cubs and Indlovu herself are still included in our dances today. The music, chants, and jewelry we have today is because of this lioness. This gave the pride guidance and made everyone happy."
"Really?" Ruby-red eyes opened wide at her explanation. "One lioness did all of that?" He posed the question with awe.
"Yes, Hlaziya, Indlovu changed the way our pride functioned and made a great impact on how they felt each day." She answered him, again with the pride she felt. "When you're old enough you'll learn more dances, chants, drumming, and even to make the drums themselves." She said in a hushed tone as she leaned in to him a little. He was awe-struck at first and remained in a silence to match the look. That silence didn't last for long.
"Is that why she became the Malenga? How long did she stay Malenga? Why did she stop? Who came after her? Was there someone else?" The curiosity of the cub was endless and it was only with a raised paw from his Mother that he ceased his questions. "I'll tell you all of that and more over the next few days. Knowing where we come from is just as important as knowing about the dances, chants, and other things about our home." It hadn't taken her long to explain the foundation history. It laid out just the right amount of curiosity.
"Why don't you go and see if you can find your siblings?" She offered him. "They might want to hear about this too, you know?" She smiled softly. The cub was up before she could almost finished what she had been saying. "Of course Mom!" He didn't hesitate a moment longer before scampering off to find his siblings and basically anyone that might hear him out about their history. Of course he wouldn't think that they might already know, but they would likely get an earful of it anyway.