[PRP] After the adjustment period || Aali/Taja

[Tahja Estes]

She had been given time to let it all sink in, given a better understanding of things after speaking to Aali. She still knew nothing of the male that Lela had gone to-- not beyond what Aali claimed. He had apparently just joined the pride's ranks, but Taja worried that it only meant that his fellow pride members may not know him that well. His only test to join seemed to be recapturing Lela, after all.

She pushed those thoughts aside, white tipped paws carrying her in the direction of the nearby den that carried Aali's scent the strongest. Though still adjusting to what was deemed proper and not, the purple female had enough good manners about her from her upbringing alone to stay at the den entrance, calling in quietly.

"Sultan Aali...?"  

[Roxy_roxanna2]

Aali had been busy visiting his brothers and ensuring everything was going smoothly. He had spoken to Aysel and asked her to ensure the new females felt welcome, she would let him know if problems arose. Today he was tired yet the burden of leading the pride was one that he could not simply take a break from. He was sprawled in the back of his den relaxed and content the sound of a soft greeting made his ear flick back. Slowly he rolled to his feet and stood with a small stretch.

"Come in..." He smiled slightly and perked up when he realized whose voice it was that had beaconed so softly. His lovely new banu, he just knew she was going to fit right in. Hopefully he wasn't being too soft on her but there was something in her wine colored eyes that made him feel strangely protective of her.
 

[Tahja Estes]

Tajamala stepped forward then, easing into the cooler air that the shade of the den had to offer. Briefly her berry red eyes scanned the small area, just checking to see if she was intruding on a conversation, though her nose had initially told her no one else was present. It was a bit of habit after living in such a high traffic pride. Sometimes the nose could be wrong.

"Good afternoon... I hope I'm not interrupting, I wanted to... thank you again for before..."

She let her eyes land on his towering form, standing before him but not coming closer unless invited, there was still so much she had to get used to, and most of it would just be little things. She didn't want to mess up, mostly worried about mistakenly breaking the trust she'd been allotted before she had a chance to prove it was well placed. She'd promised to stay to help this pride, not that she'd had a choice, but promising did make her feel better about it. It gave her some sense of choice in the matter, and she did think that Aali was sincere. Lela might not be cut out for this place, but she thought that perhaps she might be. Sisters and brothers, was she naive to think so innocently of a pride with such... well, sexist views on females? But who was to say what was sexist or not, didn't that depend on each individual's personal values and preferences? Maybe she just thought about it too much. She was sure that she could be happy here as long as she was allowed to stay with Aali, as long as she got along with his other females.  

[Roxy_roxanna2]

Aali chuckled softly and sat down with a soft huff puffing his shaggy black mane away from his eyes. "Come in, you needn't be afraid it's only me in here right now. I think Aysel has gone down to have a drink and check on some of the other females, my brother Faiz just had a litter..."

He trailed off a bit still feeling a tad ashamed of himself, he had been Aysel's Pad since they were both much younger yet he had yet to manage to have a litter. Of course he was so occupied after his fathers death and the sudden realization that the prides numbers had dwindled. Then the search for his new Viziers and the raid for more females...it was no wonder he hadn't gotten a chance to settle. Hopefully things would be a bit more peaceful now and soon his den too would be filled with the soft padding of paws.

"You must be getting lonely...you are welcome to come here nights...it would be much warmer I'm sure." Hopefully sitting and sharing a bit would help her loosen up.
 

[Tahja Estes]

Taja obeyed, or followed the invitation, whichever way you chose to look at it. She kept moving further in until she was nearer to him, sitting down a bit close by, curling her tail about her hind paws-- still a bit shy.

"I... think I might..."

She was glad he was giving her the option, though, that helped. She might not immediately sleep close, but it would be a step, she was sure. Truthfully she only refrained from committing because she still struggled a bit internally. She was absolutely sure that she shouldn't be feeling this comfortable around a virtual stranger already, but she felt safe around Aali, and a sense of security generally gave way to trust.

"... Um, does the day find you well...?"  

[Roxy_roxanna2]

"It does now that I have such a lovely visitor...I had hoped you were adjusting well. I'd have come to see you again but we wouldn't want you smothered after all...Forgive me I'm uncertain how families work where your from. Here the harem stays in their Pads den and the Beybanu lead the Banu out to the lake to drink and socialize or hunt...we all gather at night...we love to tell stories." He smiled and relaxed slowly moving to lay back down still feeling tired.

"I've quite a way with adventure tales or so I've been told..." He looked back at her his pale blue eyes meeting her soft red ones. "How have you been occupying yourself? Perhaps it's time I introduced you to some of the others..."
 

[Tahja Estes]

She took the compliment this time with her ears rocking only partially back, a faint blush reaction. Had they met under other circumstances and he'd spoken to her in such a manner she wouldn't have known how to handle herself, but at least now, this way, she had somewhere to go with the direction of the conversation.

"There were some single parents, mostly mothers, and always some cubs under paw. Most families simlpy consisted of a mother and father and their children, if they had any."

It was such a strange thing, to think that there was an entire pride whose members that had been born into it simply didn't know how "normal", or... conventional families worked. It made sense, of course since she'd also never heard of a harem before, and likewise hadn't had any idea how such a family unit could operate, but still, wow.

"It is very different in the pride that I was born into..." She admitted to his first comment, thinking about how vastly different everyone's histories were, the places some of their members had come from. "But so was the old pride of our storyteller. Everyone came from different places looking for peace or a quieter life."

It was... comforting to at least hear that some things were the same. The stories were something she'd missed as soon as she and Lela had decided to leave.

"I've been watching others interact..." She answered, recalling the hours she'd spent watching the pride's males interact, and the few instances that there had been females roaming freely to socialize. There hadn't been many of them, most still fairly new captures, she'd guess.  

[Roxy_roxanna2]

"Single parents? Only one lion raising cubs?" He tilted his head slightly confused. How could one lion provide and care for a litter of cubs? Among the Ukuucha every Pads female was a mother to the cubs wether she had birthed them or not and every male was proud of his offspring, males to show virility, and females an addition to their wealth and status.

"If you've watched the others perhaps you would like to meet some of them? I'm certain Aysel would be happy to meet her new sister." He smiled softly fondly thinking of his silver Sultana. With time he hoped to form as close a bond with Taja, he knew she was trying and that made him hopeful.

He pawed at the ground softly, "come here...I should like to hear more about you...you have yet to tell me what you would miss most of your old life. I should like to make things here pleasant for you."
 

[Tahja Estes]

At his instruction she drew a bit closer, almost nervously settling down directly beside him, unsure of what to expect or what she should do if he initiated physical contact. She used his questions to distract herself.

"Yes... it's..." She shook her head a bit, wondering how to explain the many circumstances that left cubs with only one parent to care for them. "Some simply chose that path for themselves, like Lela's aunt, who wanted cubs but did not have a mate. Another of my friend's mother was often used by males who simply left her with child. Some simply grow apart, and others were sometimes widowed." She explained softly, sensing that he was curious. "But we were happy, the Pridelands... we were one large family."

Her red eyes moved from his blue, down to the white tips of her shadow dipped paws.

"I'll miss my parents, and my siblings, and our friend Kairi the most. My father..." She answered, the list short for her, what she'd miss most. She didn't have much that she had involved herself with. She'd hunted, spent time with her family, enjoyed the simple things. She'd adored her father even in adulthood, and leaving him behind had definitely been the hardest, but she'd set out mostly to keep Lela company after all. That was why she felt she needed to do what she could to look after her. She wasn't sure she should mention the other things she missed, since there was nothing to be done about the loss of freedom to come and go, or the adventures that she and Lela had planned.  

[Roxy_roxanna2]

How strange that females should wander about unclaimed and unprotected, that was how troubles started. Still he couldn't judge her if he expected her not to judge his pride. Yet the old ways had been passed on within their family for so long he found new ways difficult to understand. Still...there must have been something to it or certainly his new beauty wouldn't miss it so.

"I am sorry for the loss of your family..." He murmured softly truly he was, but she was grown and he added gently. "But perhaps here with us you could find a new family, once you meet the others...you'll soon see."
 

[Tahja Estes]

All that Tajamala could do, really, was nod a little at his suggestion. Refusing wasn't an option and she doubted that he'd like very much if she kept asking to put things off. She'd have to eventually. Meeting the others. Yes, he'd just mentioned someone by the name of Aysel, another of his females. She wondered briefly just how many he already had. She was a little unsure yet how she'd get along with the others, but if they were at least as accommodating as Aali it should be alright...

"Aysel is... one of your mates?"

She wasn't quite sure if that was the term that they might use, but it seemed like the only proper thing to call them since these males were claiming females more or less for that purpose. Her ears perked just so at the prospect that there may be cubs for her to help care for at least, then, and she looked up at him quietly while waiting for him to answer.  

[Roxy_roxanna2]

"Aysel is my Sultana...she is the head female of my harem, each Pad has a head female for his harem called his Beybanu. I'm certain you two will get along, Aysel has been alone for some time...it's good for her now having you and the others. Neema and Vika are also from your lands, they too are adjusting as you are I hope soon the four of you will be close." He offered her a slight smile as if encouraging her to think kindly of the other females.

As important as it was for them to come to care for him and the pride it mattered more that his banu cared for one another. Tales of jealous banu had always swirled uneasily such things happened and a male had to be careful of how he distributed his affections. Jealousy was another reason that cubs were often raised by the whole harem instead of just the birth mother.
 

[Tahja Estes]

Taja was curious to learn about Aysel, she did have to admit. Had she been a captured female as well? Taja also wondered how her fellow ex-pride members were doing, besides Lela. Not to mention that she'd never heard of a Sultana before, but if she had to guess by the word itself, and the explanation of her rank it clearly was a title reserved only for the head female in -his- harem. Beybanu... so then, by the ranking system she had grown up learning that technically made her a queen, though it was probably only by their being mated, and she wasn't his only female, nor did she hold any power over anyone outside of Aali's harem?

Goodness this would have been confusing if some of it hadn't already been explained!

"But... what happened to the females before us?" She had to wonder.  

[Roxy_roxanna2]

Aali smiled as he watched her eyes it wasn't too hard for him to guess what sorts of questions and emotions were flitting through her mind. Her question took him off guard however and he frowned. For a long moment he was silent before he spoke softly his voice much more serious.

"The pride flourished for a long time slowly moving from the harsh desert close to the lush lake, but after being here for generation after generation...we grew forgetful. New females were hardly captured, the concern over Kajira tainting the minds of the banu was a paranoia all Pads seemed to suffer. We forgot that what makes a Banu is her loyalty, her love, her devotion...her mind is not so easily swayed. As males left to find new females, new blood...some...many failed to return. The journey away from our remote territory is hard and there are many other prides and angry rogue lions. The females aged, no new litters were born...slowly the pride shrunk..." His gaze was distant and unfocused for a long while before he sighed and looked back up.

"I will not allow my pride to suffer and falter, it's my duty to ensure the well being of every member of this pride. I'm very proud of my brother Faiz...already he has produced a healthy litter, three lovely girls to make very happy Pads someday...two sons...they must be taught well so that they can return to us, proud." His voice was tight with emotion, it was hard for him knowing he hadn't yet managed to give Aysel a litter to care for. He knew how much she would love to have cubs to feed and coddle...and now Taja as well...she seemed soft and sweet, could she love cubs not her own? Could she share her own cubs with the rest of the harem? It was too early to really tell, but for now he simply had to believe that the raid had helped.
 

[Tahja Estes]

Oh, she'd love cubs of her own, that much was certain, she adored children, and perhaps if she hadn't intended to journey with Lela she would have pursued the rank of nanny. She was far better at cubsitting than hunting, and that was saying something given that she was good enough at that, too. If she was asked, allowed to help in the upbringing of any children it would be gladly that she'd agree to do so.

To his answer-- Lela might have thought it was no excuse to kidnap unwilling females from their homes, or to uproot rogues from their lives, regardless of what mates or children they might be leaving behind as a result, but Taja herself was seeing things from the other side of the fence now. No, she didn't agree with the method of the raids, and so she still felt some conflict, but the pride, other than that aspect, was not horrible, simply different. Would they have been able to find females willing to submit voluntarily to such conditions otherwise?

... It didn't justify kidnap, but if she kept thinking about it she'd only end up going in a constant circle. Instead she decided, right then and there, that since she couldn't do anything about what had been done the best course of action for her to take would be to try to offer what support she could to her fellow females and those that may or may not end up there from future possible raids.

"I'm sorry," She shook her head a bit, admiring his dedication at least. This pride was very small compared to her birth pride, but to lead any group was no small feat. It required the respect of those that chose to follow. "But I'm sure that things will begin to look up now."

And secretly she hoped there wouldn't be the need for another raid, for more broken families. She wanted to ask to confirm that he'd no litters with Aysel, but it didn't feel right to ask such a thing so bluntly, it might be a sore subject.