Raised by Lions

Chapter 2: A Lot Of Firsts

When Ibuku returned, he had to cover his mouth to stop from laughing. Hino was standing at the far end of the room, hands lifted in the air and a slight frown on his usually neutral features.

Meanwhile, on the floor beside Ibuki's bed, sat Dolph, with little Louis having two handfuls of his mane in his little hands and trying to climb up onto his shoulders. Dolph looked mildly annoyed, but did nothing to stop the kid. "Ah!" Louis called when he heard the door creak.

Louis quickly let go of Dolph's mane and ran over to Ibuki, making a cute noise as he did. "Awoo!" He grabs hold of Ibuki's leg and stands with both bare feet on the lion's spiked leather shoes. He barely reached Ibuki's knee in height, so the lion moved rather easily across the room with the little fawn clinging to his leg.

"It looks like you were having fun," Ibuki comments as he places the bag in his hands on the end of the bed. Dolph moved to get up onto his feet with a sigh, "He kind of woke up and started making a lot of noise, maybe cause he didn't see you."

Hino finally made his way over, "Then he grabbed Dolph's mane and started pulling." Hino chuckled. They were careful not to make too much noise, the walls weren't completely soundproof after all.

Ibuki leaned down slightly and picked Louis up, the fawn not fighting him when he did, and placed him on his hip. "How about a bath, you smell like death." Louis just tilted his head in a confused manner, while Ibuki offered a closed mouth smile. He didn't need to scare off the kid when he was still trying to form trust between them.

Ibuki grabbed the bag he brought and gestured to the other two lions to leave. Hino and Dolph nod and head for the door, deciding they would ask if the kid had a name later.

Ibuki pushed open the door to the en suite bathroom and kicked it closed behind him when they are inside. He put the bag and Louis down before he heads over to the bathtub to fill it before turning back to Louis. Usually, Ibuki would just shower, it was quick and easy but the kid would probably do better with a bath.

Louis, meanwhile, had clambered onto the counter with help of the toilet and seemed to have discovered his reflection. Ibuki walked over and Louis' wide eyes shift from his own reflection to Ibuki's as the lion approaches. "What are you up to, little guy?" Louis points to the mirror, "Ahoo!" Ibuki chuckles, "I'm going to have to teach you to talk." He made a mental note and got back to the task at hand.

Louis seemed adamant because Ibuki hadn't said anything about their copies. "Hoo!" Ibuki laughed again, "That's a mirror. It shows you what you look like to others." Louis tilts his head, but seems to understand it a little better when he looks at his reflection again.

Ibuki leans over and closes the tap before pointing at the cloth Louis had on. "You need to take that off." Louis still seemed confused, so Ibuki reached over and slowly started lifting the rags off Louis. Louis didn't fight it, seemingly understanding he needed to be cleaned.

When he was undressed, Ibuki picked up the little kid and put him in the tub. He took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and sat on his knees beside the tub. Louis seemed confused, but slapped at the water and then burst out in a giggle when the water splashed Ibuki's face. Ibuki ran his hand over his face to rid of some of the water but then smiled at Louis. Is this something all parents went through?

"You think that's funny?" Ibuki asked, moving his hand and gently splashing some water on Louis. "Aah!" Louis yells before making a cute noise that sounded more like a huff than a laugh. Ibuki figured the kid didn't know how to express laughter, so he noted to teach him that as well. Louis kept splashing, albeit not at Ibuki anymore, and seemed to be enjoying the warm water.

It took a good thirty minutes before Ibuki finally finished washing Louis, using some child fur soap he'd bought while out earlier. A lot of filth washed out of the kid's fur and it made Ibuki question how the kid wasn't constantly itchy. Ibuki grabbed a towel and picked the kid up out of the water, wrapping him up for a second so he could pull the bathplug.