[PRP] Halt! (Moja x Shula)

[Hopefolly]

Shula was not the only cub in the Firekin to take the future seriously, but perhaps she was the only one to prepare for it by obsessively guarding a beetle. For one her age, her vapid imagination was a disappointment or a virtue depending on who you asked. Creativity may not have been her strong suit, but she would be a full-fledged strategist one day and it showed.

The beetle Shula pretended was an injured comrade awaiting a medic, while Shula herself was the one guarding them.

They were near the main dens. Around the beetle, a large circle had been drawn. Shula was duty-bound to keep everyone but the 'medic' out of the circle and away from her 'comrade'. She had been pacing the 'borders' since the late morning and continued to do so now, in the late afternoon.

Azar'bijan was right: Being a guard was boring. Even so, Shula was determined to see this through till the end.

--Wait! A potential enemy was approaching!

"Halt!" Shula ordered. "Who is approaching the borders? Are you Firekin or are you Nergui?"  

[Puhterodactyl]

Moja, as part of her duty as pride's nanny and her overwhelming motherly instincts, had seen a cub near the main dens and was bound to investigate and watch after it. She left other cub sitters and wards to see what this cub was doing, and as she drew near, she noticed the little female was behaving quite strangely. The lioness tilted her head and she watched the girl pace and circle with some purpose the adult just couldn't see.

Then she heard the little voice pipe up. Firekin or Nergui? Well wasn't the answer obvious? Ah, of course. The nanny knew the cub was acting on her imagination. She saw it every day, but she hadn't been able to figure out what scenario was being played out.

"I'm a Firekin! And you? Can you be trusted?"  

[Hopefolly]

Puhterodactyl

Someone dare question her integrity?

Shula supposed she would be angry if someone accused her of being a Nergui too, so she let it slide. Besides, responding with counterattack proved without a doubt this lioness was of the Firekin. An eye for an eye.

The cub had intentionally hard, heavy steps to reach Moja. She probably thought it made her look more fierce.

"Of course I can be trusted," she said, staring up at the nanny. One adult to another -- in her mind. "There is no one more trustworthy."  

[Puhterodactyl]

Hopefolly

Moja nodded her head. "Alright then, I trust you." Moja looked around with her acid-green eyes, and finally noticed the circle and a good number of the cub's footprints concentrated in the middle.

"What's our mission today? And your name? I'm Moja." She bowed a little to communicate respect to her "peer." If she was gonna play pretend, why not get fully into it? While her imagination wasn't really her strong suit, (she parted from her mother and brothers at a relatively young age and didn't find much time for day dreaming) being a nanny forced her to do her best.

As the lioness kept staring into the circle, she noticed the beetle. Perhaps that was part of the game? She didn't want to make assumptions, though, and ruin the cub's game, so until she received further orders, she remained quiet.  

[Hopefolly]

Puhterodactyl

Moja had no way of knowing it, but this kind of game was unusual for this particular cub. Shula's imagination got as far as pretend battles with imaginary enemies, and such was all but ingrained in the cubs of the pride. They were surrounded by combat from birth.

Shula was encouraged by her willingness to take the situation seriously. Nothing got her out of her shell like an adult treating her as an equal. She soured when she had to give her name, one of the most common in the pride. "I'm Shula." She marched around the circle. "I'm waiting for the medic. The Nergui have attacked."  

[Puhterodactyl]

Moja growled when the cub said Nergui. That was a good touch, right? The lioness was so fluffy she hardly seemed fierce, so extra steps had to be taken. Moja nodded somberly. "How many have survived, then?" Another bob of her head gesticulated towards the beetle. "Just the one?"

"Give me my orders, Shula." Obviously in this circumstance, she was the more qualified one, and Moja would be the soldier or guard to Shula's Corporal or Captain. She squinted her eyes and looked around, as though searching for any Nergui on the horizon who could be on the attack.

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

Puhterodactyl

"Yes, just the one," Shula replied promptly, all the while keeping up with her march. Eventually, she told Moja not to bother looking for any Nergui.

"I killed them all already," she informed her, sounding nonchalantly about this fanciful bloodshed. Cubs were not arrogant for placing themselves in the role of the hero, as a nanny would likely know. Shula was too young to understand what being haughty really meant. "Your orders are to find the medic. If more Nergui appear, I will take care of them."  

[Puhterodactyl]

Moja shook her head. "What a shame. Those Nergui deserved your punishment." The nanny then turned her attention from finding Nergui to finding the medic. Her brows furrowed. How was she supposed to know the Medic? She couldn't break character to ask who was playing the medic. Maybe... Maybe she could go find Ayo! Her snake familiar could be roped into play time, as he was immature himself, but that idea began to lose its luster. After all, a snake was a snake. Ayo didn't even have limbs with which to administer medicine. Her ears went flat against her head as she thought harder and harder.

What a poor soldier she would be.

She nodded her head and with resolve, said "I'll be right back with the medic!" Moja then disappeared around the closest rock that erupted from the sand, and waited.

Hopefolly