[JRP] GREETINGS NEWCOMERS! [ Mtoto, Ni, Iluka ]

[Depawsit]

"She's around here somewhere ... I recognize her scent." He mumbled the words to his travelling companion as he shoved his nose to the ground. He'd been tracking the female for days, and they were close on her tail. He could feel it in his bones, they were only a few short miles from catching her. Though it wasn't necessarily that they wanted to catch her, simply ask her some questions. She'd met with Ni once before, and in that time had dangled her pride in his face like a pretty jewel. Now he wanted more information on it.

Lifting his nose from the sand, he let out a small sneeze. "She's here, we just have to wait for her to find us now." Shrugging his shoulders Ni smiled over at Iluka and gently rubbed his shoulder against her's. "We'll have to be careful though, I think we may already be in the pride's borders .."

----

There was something weird about the past few days, but she just couldn't quite put her paw on it. It always felt like someone was watching her, but when she looked no one was ever around. At first she'd simply thought the plants were playing a trick on her, but the more she studied their behavior the more she felt that wasn't quite it.

Now here she was travelling along the borders, doing her daily plant checks and the feeling had returned. But this time there was a smell with it. And it definitely wasn't a planty smell...

Lifting her nose to the air she caught the distinct differences in not one but two scents. Tilting her head, she caught a glimpse of blue from the corner of her eye. Peculiar ... Then came the sounds, voices talking about her?

Confused by everything that was going on, she felt it best to just confront the duo.

"Excuse me .... are you two looking for something? Cause ... You're not watching your step!" Her words started out calm and sweet, but ended rather sporadic. Frantically she glanced down and noticed the male standing heavily on a young nest of flowers. "AH! The flowers, get off get off! You're hurting them!"

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

Now that they were getting close, Iluka found herself feeling a little nervous. She didn't know what to make of things, as it was all feeling very real all of a sudden. She'd going from having a nice, extended walk with someone she was getting to like very much, to finding a new home. Wasn't that what she had wanting all along? Why was she feeling so many butterflies in her stomach? As they waited for the female, she kept close to Ni, pressing her cheek against the fur of his chest. "I'm nervous," she admitted softly.

Then, suddenly, there was a female with them. Not only that, she looked a little flustered with them. Well that probably wasn't the best first impression. She frowned, looking down at their paws to see the flowers her travel partner was sitting.

"Oh! We're sorry!" She said quickly, getting up to make sure she hadn't stepped on any as well, "we didn't mean any harm to your flowers, honest!"

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

Though he wasn't quite ready to admit it to himself, he was beginning to develop feelings for Iluka. And unless he was reading her wrong, it seemed she was beginning to feel the same way. The gentle feel of her against his chest gave him the warm fuzzies. "It'll be OK, she's a harmless little thing." He whispered to her, and gently patting her paw with his own.

He seemed so caught up in his own mix of emotions, that when the female did appear, he hardly noticed! It wasn't until she began to fuss at him that he realized there was a problem. "Flowers?

OH RIGHT FLOWERS!"

Taking a rather abrupt leap to his right, he was careful not to land on anymore. He'd forgotten about her rather strange obsession with the plants. Looking over to Iluka's worried face, he made a small nod with his head. "It's OK, she just has a very strong connection with plants, probably shouldn't have forgotten about that." Rolling his eyes, he took a step toward Mtoto and dipped his head in apology.

"We're so very sorry for disturbing your flowers, we didn't really see them there."

-----

Mtoto began to hyperventilate as she watched the male stomp his way off the flowers. With each step, she cringed harder than the last. It nearly brought a tear to her eye. But she brought herself back to her senses long enough to acknowledge the female. "It's OK, you're fine. But he knows better! She shot an accusatory glare at Ni before turning back to the unknown female. "Hey - I don't know you! Why are you here? This is my pride, and if I don't know you, that means you're an intruder!" She offered a weak smile to the duo before bending down to be level with the flowers.

"Why didn't you tell me they were coming! I could have warned them ahead of time!" A pregnant pause passed, before she shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

"Well, in any case, you're lions! So your intrusion isn't one we would fear. But is there a reason you're here?" Pulling her hind legs under her, she sat comfortably before them. "OH! Forgive me, i'm so rude! I am Mtoto'wa'Dunia! And this is my home, the Iknimaya." Looking from the female to the male, she laughed happily and leaned in closer to Iluka to whisper. "He already knows my name, but i'd still really like to know your's!"

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

Iluka frowned. If he said it was okay, then maybe she didn't have to feel so worried. Though, she found her unhappy feelings weren't slipping away from her even though she should have been relaxing. It seemed like she was still just a little on edge about... something. Maybe it wasn't a bad feeling, either. Her heart was racing. Because she had been close to him? It was a little confusing.

But she didn't hate it.

"As long as we didn't cause any trouble," she said softly, watching as he moved to apologize to the girl whose flowers they had attacked without even realizing it. If she cared more about plants, she would probably have been a little bit upset about it, too, if only because things that took so long to get to the level they're at, like flowers, were so easily destroyed in an instant. They definitely needed to be protected.

She found the female they were with was full of energy. Actually, if she had to pick a word to describe her, it probably would have been 'strange', She spoke so wildly about things, and seemed to jumped from the flowers to greeting them without any trouble. So much for being angry! She liked that- this lioness, while hyper, didn't seem like a bad lady. Iluka even managed to smile when she brought herself in closer, though she had an urge to go run behind Ni just to be safe.

"I'm happy that you're not mad," she said softly, "my name is Iluka. We've been traveling to find our way to your pride- we would like to be members here, if such a thing is possible." Since she had never been in a pride before, she had no idea how one went about joining. Did they just ask and hope for the best? Would they have to prove themselves somehow? Fight? Hunt? Answer questions?

The whole thing was making her very uneasy.

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

Mtoto nearly jumped in excitement as Iluka explained their reason for having followed her. This was so exciting! It wasn't very often that she got to meet new members, before they were pride members.

"Well its very nice to meet you Iluka, and do not worry about the flowers. They'll be fine." Leaning in to Iluka once again, she raised a paw and whispered in her ear. "Between you and me, these guys are a little whiny anyway." She then reverted back to her original placement, and winked happily.

She took a moment to briefly examine the duo. They seemed pretty comfortable together, it was cute. But she would keep her feelings to herself. "Well the good news is you're already well on your way to being members!" Her tail swished back and forth as she carried on with her explanation. "You see, here in the Iknimaya we are a bit ... color biased. Those with certain colors are not accepted. But you two will fit perfectly among us!" Smiling from ear to ear, she took a deep breath.

"Joining our pride is very simple, as long as you two are up for the task. You can be admitted into the pride on an um .... trial period! This is basically a way for you two to get to know your fellow pride mates. I've never seen anyone not pass the test! After that, you must meet with the Tree of Voices. If she is able to bond with you, then you will truly be accepted as a member of our pride!" Gasping for breath, Mtoto finally finished up, hardly noticing Iluka's uneasiness.

---

Ni stood wide-eyed, listening to this strange lioness explain everything she could about the pride. He'd already had the pleasure of meeting with Mtoto once, so he wasn't caught off guard by her strange personality. A glance at Iluka however, revealed that she was very offput by Mtoto's personality. He wanted to comfort her, and tell her everything would be OK, but at the same time he didn't want to interrupt Mtoto's explanation. Joining the pride was something Iluka had expressed worry over in the past.

As Mtoto finished up, he glanced over at Iluka, his voice calm and sincere.

"Those sound like some understandable terms to me. What do you think?" The worry on her face was pretty obvious, so he stepped closer to her and placed his head gently along her neck and burrowed in. "But the choice is really up to you, what do you think of all this?" On the outside, he was calm, cool, and collected. But on the inside, he was a ball of worry. Worry that she wouldn't like the pride, worry that she would be scared away, and above all else, worry that his action would make her very uncomfortable.

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

Iluka listened, though she wasn’t sure what the Tree of Voices was supposed to be. It sounded lovely, though- she had always liked trees and flowers and things like that. It certainly beat having to duel or take some kind of really hard test. Maybe she had just been expecting the worst, making what the reality was a whole lot easier to deal with. She smiled faintly, nodding along as the other spoke. Really, she was eager to get to know other pride members- that didn’t sound like much of a test at all!

She took a moment to absorb the comfort from Ni, rubbing him lightly. It was surprising how much calmer she felt just having him around. Maybe she wouldn’t have even wanted to go through with it if he hadn’t been there to help her.

“I think this place looks amazing,” she said softly, “I do want to live here… but only if you do.” It had pretty much turned into that or nothing- she wouldn’t leave him if he didn’t want to stay there, though she had said they might part when things had first started. It was not going to happen now.

She liked being with him too much.

“Let’s stay here,” she said softly, “I think this place could be our home.”

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

The light signs of affection that Iluka seemed to be showing, were driving Ni wild. He didn't know whether to take them as signs, or if he were thinking too far into things. His mind was racing like crazy as he tried to take in her words.

So she wanted to stay. Ni mentally let out a sigh of relief, glad to hear that she had found a place to call home. Though her next words sent his heart soaring, and he tried to catch it before it flew out of his mouth. "Its certainly is easy on the eyes isn't it?" He questioned, taking another look around at all of the amazing plant life around them. All of which was probably thanks to Mtoto. "Well then," Ni cut himself off, unsure of what his next words should be. He stole glances between both Mtoto and Iluka, doing his best to read their expressions. He knew Mtoto wasn't the type to lie, and it seemed Iluka had a genuine interest in the pride, and possibly even in him. His heart had finally ceased its rapid beating, and he felt he could actually breathe and speak without drawing unwanted attention again.

"I think we've found our new home then!" His neutral expression, soon spread into a large smile as he locked eyes with Iluka. He knew this wasn't the time to tell her, but he would need to do it soon. To be sure that his feelings weren't going unnoticed.

"Is there anything else we should know about this place Mtoto?" Ni paused a moment, before continuing on. "Or anything else you would like to know Iluka?" Personally, he didn't care where he ended up, so long as she was with him.

----

There was some strange chemistry going on between these two ... Mtoto could tell. Even if she'd never really had a crush or boyfriend before, she just knew something was going on with these two. But she was a respectable lioness, and wouldn't pester them with her annoying questions.

Mtoto eyed Ni skeptically as he agreed to join without any questions or concerns of her own. Then she snuck a glance in Iluka's direction, she seemed elated to be here. Yep. Definitely something going on.

"OH GOODY!" Dancing around on her paws, Mtoto tried to act like an adult, but this was too exciting. "Come, follow me! I'll take you to the center of the pride, that's where we spend most of our time!" Nodding her head she swished her tail at the duo, instructing them to follow.

"Watch your step though! The plants are everywhere, and we don't want to hurt any of them!" Glaring behind her she caught Ni's eyes before focusing once more on her walking.

"Well ... there is one thing." Mtoto paused debating whether she should tell them. The answer was obvious, though her manners wouldn't be happy with the decision. "When a couple joins our pride, it is customary for them to build a hammock within the trees. The hammock has to be big enough for both lions to sleep comfortably ..." Gritting her teeth, she pushed on with the explanation. "It also has to be large enough to hold their future cubs."

There! She'd said it, and it was out in the open. The damage was done, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

Iluka looked at Ni when he turned to face her, feeling her heart racing against his chest. She was pretty sure it was a loud enough thump to be heard across the pride, and was almost enough to make her blush a bit. It was funny- every time she looked at him, it felt like her heart would explode, but it was only when he looked at her that she really felt her emotions stirring. Was there something going on between them, then, or was she the only one thinking it? She would have to ask him about it, if she managed to work up the courage.

Once they were settled in their home and comfortable with the pride, she was sure to talk to him about her feelings. Hopefully, it wasn't going to end up blowing up in her face. How awkward if they had spent the whole time looking for a home, finally found one, and she ruined it with feelings that weren't mutual! Though it was frightening to think about, she wasn't going to let it keep her from finding it.

Otherwise her heart was going to burst and she wasn't going to be able to stand it.

She followed Mtoto towards the center of the pride, content to listen to what she had to say while she walked near the male. She was telling them about hammocks and having to build one together- a thing couples did. "Oh, well, I guess that would make sense," she said somewhat shyly. Even if they weren't officially a couple, they had come together, right? So it didn't seem too out of the ordinary for her that they would live together, too, at least until they got used to the pride and made more friends. Then they would be able to move away from one another... if they wanted to.

Then Mtoto brought up cubs and she froze a moment, feeling her stand up on end. She smiled awkwardly before looking at Ni. Her eyes then found her paws, her smile growing a little softer.

"We'll make sure it's big enough..." she almost whispered.

Depawsit

 

[Depawsit]

As the odd trio paced towards the center of the pride, Ni found himself beaming with pride. He had not only managed to find Mtoto, but also to find the pride. Now all he had to do was secure the girl.

Everything seemed to be going well, the two were going to stay, together. Ni tried to shoo the thoughts from his head, but it seemed they were here to stay. He just had to hope, he wasn't getting himself worked up for a letdown. It was around this time that Mtoto spoke up once again, this time with an explanation about couples. Ni nearly fell over in his steps, though he managed to play it off as tripping over a root.

"Sorry Mtoto." He mumbled to the other female, quickly catching on to her watchful glare.

So the two were expected to make a hammock big enough to share? He was OK with that, though Mtoto's blunt remark had caught him a little off guard. He glanced at Iluka just in time to hear her agree with the other female's words. Her voice was a bit lower than normal, but she appeared to otherwise be unphased. Ni did a mental fist pump at Iluka's words and allowed a dopey smile to slowly spread across his face.

"I'll begin work on it as soon as we've settled in." He said nodding in Mtoto's direction, and quickening his pace to match flanks with Iluka once more. He'd been dragging behind ever since his trip. Then came Mtoto's next explanation and if Ni had been caught off guard before - he was now struck dumb. His feet froze on him and locked him in place, he could only watch as the other two walked on without him.

"C-Cubs?" He gulped down the breath he'd been holding, trying to get his feet to move once more.

----

They were nearly there now, only a couple more yards and she could pull back the veil of flowers securing her secret entrance into the pride. That is - she could have if Ni hadn't stopped in his tracks.

Confused, Mtoto turned back to notice Iluka looking rather embarrassed and Ni looking completely flustered.

"Well yeah cubs! Y'know those cute little furry babies!" Stamping her foot into the dirt, she rolled her eyes. "C'mon you know what a cub is." She tried to laugh at her own joke, but she kinda felt like she was missing something. There was just no way he didn't know what a cub was.

Confused, she turned to Iluka for assistance.

"Is he always this weird?"

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

Iluka stopped when Mtoto and Ni did, looking back when the female started to explain what a cub was. Of course, Iluka knew that it wasn't because he didn't know what they were that he was standing there frozen. She knew that he was more likely stunned from the very thought of it. Honestly, it still had her reeling a bit, though his stunned face amused her every so slightly. "No," she chuckled lightly, "he's not always that weird. I think he just got a little... surprised."

She ventured over to the male, smiled as she went. "Don't worry," she told him lightly, "it's only one of the rules, right? It doesn't make it a requirement to have cubs just because we're going to make a home big enough for them, right? We would have found a cave or something big enough for a family, right? At least... I hope we would have." She let her eyes shift away for a moment, slightly embarrassed with her own words.

"I-in any case! I think it's a good idea, don't you? If nothing else, it'll be a nice, roomy place for the both of us while we get... settled."

She had only met him recently, and though she felt strongly for him, she worried about pushing things too quickly. It really wasn't like the needed to have cubs right away, right? They could talk and get closer... and maybe have a family in a little while. If he even wanted one. The idea of cubs made her smile, but she didn't know if that held true for him.

She gave him a rub. "Come on, you, let's get moving, shall we? No backing out now!"

Depawsit