It had been much more obvious the first time. The Pharoah had grown restless sooner, more agitated, and she had been much clearer about her intentions to give birth. This time, however, Kweku had been much less aware of it all. He had been keeping track, of course, as any father might but he had been much less on guard as she moved along the borders and continued as normal. He had snuck away from his ceaseless tailing from time to time in order to hunt and bury caches of small prey, assured by her normalcy and the knowledge that it was likely Cuirass had been doing his own following too. He had to be, Kweku figured, for he often sought Kweku out himself in order to chew his ear off. At least, he thought as he stretched out and smirked to himself, it kept Cuirass busy and on guard.
He had been doing just that – stretching out and smirking to himself – when the call had been issued. At first, he didn’t quite understand but it sunk in soon enough and made his gut lurch. So, he’d missed it? Ah...that made sense. He’d been too relaxed since he had last seen her on the borders, marking the territory and chasing out any unwanted scents while she was at it. How was he to have known that was her sign? He grunted, but he rose nonetheless and began his journey towards the den she had chosen.
Kaliban had tried to follow at one point but Kweku had chased him off wordlessly, sending the boy scittering back through the spring grass until he was summoned himself. It was a good thing, Kweku thought, to have been able to burn some of his energy off before he arrived, for Cuirass’ scent was thick around the den already. Kweku’s instincts dictated he still feel a sense of...frustration at the male’s presence, but he smoothed his hackles down and reminded himself of whose presence they were truly in. With that in mind, he huddled by the den’s mouth and let out a low growling noise of greeting as he sniffed wearily. He could smell and hear the children well enough, and Sekhmet seemed to smell as a mother usually did – no exceptional smells, no blood beyond the norm. It eased Kweku well enough, or at least enough for him to gaze down and seek out the children that would be at her side.
"They smell strong,” he said for he was a man of simple words, particularly when compared to Cuirass who had opened with compliments and curiosity alike. Kweku, on the other hand, was more concerned about their strength and viability. They’d not need to waste resources on any child who failed to thrive in the early days. For the sake of the pups, Sekhmet would hopefully prefer Cuirass’ own curiosity to Kweku’s practicality. He had thought of names, after all, but his mind hadn’t yet realized the fact that he might need to use them.