[EXILE] Stronger than I look.

[mouselet]

The brown lioness' breath hissed inward through her teeth at the unexpected and unfamiliar voice. Where on earth had the other lioness come from, and why hadn't Asmar noticed her before?

The Reaver forced herself to relax all the while looking over the stranger as she did so. The other lioness was older - no surprises there - and while she was a total unknown, her markings were even less familiar. Which meant that she almost certainly belonged nowhere near Hroarr's warband.

"Who are you, and the hell do you mean by "making yourself known"?" Asmar asked at last, making her mistrust obvious.  

[mouselet]

Pink eyes narrowed as the other lioness began elucidating her purposes here. The other female had a strange way of talking, though she didn't appear to be a frail weakling or repressed the way the lionesses of the Ukuucha'wafalme were.

Still, that didn't mean she had what it took to join this band.

"If you're so interested, why didn't you come and talk to somebody sooner?" the striped lioness pressed, neither welcoming nor denying the older female. To be fair, it wasn't her place to decide if Makini Babewana could join or not. But she wasn't going to say so yet. Not when she might be able to find out more first.  

[mouselet]

So, of all the things Asmar could have asked, that was what made the stranger pause. And rightly so - why wait when you could take the initiative? At least, that was how the striped lioness viewed things.

"Asking's generally a good place to start," the brown lioness observed, a touch of sarcasm in her tone. Really, what kind of idiot was this? Even Asmar had known that lions who wished to join the Ukuucha'wafalme had to petition to do so! Prides didn't always accept those who wishsed to join, but you never knew until you asked!

And being born into a pride was no excuse at all. Not by her standards. Then again, Asmar wasn't exactly on the best of terms with her birth pride.  

[mouselet]

The striped lioness considered the stranger, Makini, and her request. She had to admit, however grudgingly, that the older female did have some skill - witness how she'd taken Asmar completely by surprise. Especially considering the young Reaver was learning how to not end up in such a position, which made the whole thing somewhat embarrassing.

She'd love to be able to turn the other lioness away and hide her shame. On the other hand, she was still new to much of this. Though she'd learnt much in the year since joining Hroarr's band, she'd begun a whole new level of training once she'd become a Reaver.

"If you must," Asmar answered at last, turning back towards the caves. Makini could follow or not, as she pleased. Unfortunately, the brown lioness had little doubt that the other would indeed follow.