Zubin: 5:18 pm
(5:18:53 PM): After a few days, Zubin had recovered from his nerve-rattling encounter with Ikkena. The elder had been very liberal about pointing out every flaw that the newcomer displayed- both small and large. There were some things that were fairly obvious- his studder, his tense posture, the way he slank away from the larger male, and his inability to meet with the stranger's eyes. Then there were things he didn't even notice about himself- such as his slouched posture, the heavy way he walked, and the subtle tongue-tied words that occassionally jumbled together when he was forced to speak quickly.

The elder had retired for the evening, leaving the newcomer to his own devices. He was to meet with Rotem, the pride's king, sometime that week. Until then it was up to him to find a place for himself to sleep, wash himself up, and try to get to know whomever he could. For the moment, he was content washing the sand from his muzzle.

He laid by the side of the river, some ways from the falls, and licked at his paws until they were damp enough to assist in wiping away the sand that had collected around his features.
'Heve: 6:00 pm
(6:00:52 PM): Yokheved was not exactly enjoying her new surroundings.
Well, that wasn't really the problem, for the area was just like it had been in her dreams and it was beautiful and comforting. But the poor, soundless lioness was just all around uncomfortable, her belly swollen, a sign of what she gave up in exchange for her adoptive son's protection. In the long run, she didn't regret it, quite the contrary, she was glad Li would be safe. But right now she was hormonal and hot and tired and just sick of being pregnant. The journey had been hard enough as she got larger and larger, worrying all the while that she was slowing the others down.

But now she was safe in lands where there were no humans to threaten them. She just wanted her cubs to come already so that she wouldn't be so miserable anymore!

She slowly made her way to the riverside, her favorite resting place, after ditching Tamar. Her vervet companion was her dearest friend and very helpful and all, but she also wouldn't stop fretting over her. And 'Heve was sick of that too. She almost didn't see the unknown male, not until she was a few lengths away. But when she did, she stopped in her tracks and took a defensive pose, her lips pulling back from her teeth for a short moment in warning.
Zubin: 9:20 pm
(9:20:45 PM): Zubin's head shot upwards as the lioness approached. He offered a lopsided smile only to have an angry, defensive lioness glaring back at him. The look instantly fell, leaving a wide-eyed, startled young male frozen in place. A few long moments of silence passed before he slowly raised a velveted paw and offered yet another awkward smile. That's right...he'd only met two other pride members. No one else knew him...yet.

"H-hi! I...oh uh...", He slowly shifted himself up to his haunches, it was terribly rude to talk to someone with his back turned. "I....I.... I'm...I'm new here." He began, after another breath he added, <"M-my name is Zubin. I....I was talking to Iekkna... he said I h-have to talk to Rotem?"
'Heve: 9:30 pm
(9:30:08 PM): 'Heve's aggressive, warning look softened to mild wariness as she relaxed and tilted her head to one side. She knew Iekkna, but only by name. But she knew that this male would indeed have to talk to Rotem, if he wanted to stay. And for one of the members to suggest that made her feel a bit better about him. She didn't want to be on her guard around every new face, but her encounter with the vicious lion who was after Li changed that part of her. She didn't want to fall into another trap.

She gave him a tired smile and dipped her head in a slight greeting. What would he think of her lack of words? She hoped he wouldn't think her rude. She was still a little uncertain, but she didn't want to come off as rude to anyone.
Zubin: 9:56 pm
(9:56:32 PM): Zubin heaved a sigh as the female relaxed slightly and offered him a tip of her head in greeting. He waited, holding his breath for a second time for her to comment....give her name? Direct him?.....anything?

The male's expression drooped as she simply stood and said nothing. She looked a little confused, perhaps uncomfortable even. Clearing his throat he slowly stood himself up and took a step forward. "I....l-lived around here...just outs-side of the valley. An.....and m-my mother and myself...got seperated....we just....need a safe place. I can hunt. Kind of... I'll...n-not disappoint the pride."
'Heve: 10:04 pm
(10:04:39 PM): &Heve listened to Zubin, smiling a bit over his stutter. It was kind of endearing, made him seem younger. The smile changed to a more pitying look when he mentioned his mother and she knew he was disappointed when she didn&t say anything. When you can only express yourself with facial expressions, you learn to pick up on those of others, too.

She let out a soft sigh, the only sound she could actually make and shook her head. She looked at him and placed a paw at her throat, tapping it once and shaking her head again. She mouthed and shrugged to add emphasis to her lack of vocal ability.
Tired of standing, she walked towards a nearby bit of shade and carefully laid herself down. She didn&t want to risk just flopping down like she used to. It could hurt her cubs.
Zubin: 10:13 pm
(10:13:39 PM): "....o-OH!" He leaned back and threw a paw up to his mouth, eyes going wide. The poor thing! He should have known, or asked...then again how did one ask that? Then again, the moment he asked that, he'd find out the individual was completely normal- and he'd wind up right back at square one. Good job, Zubin.

"I'm so-sorry. I didn't...oh uh... w-well is....th-there anything I can c-call you? Ah...." He rubbed the back of his head and snorted in laughter. "Oh I guess that'd....be hard....to tell me uh.... well, l-lady...no that's rude to...miss? Yes..miss. Hi miss... well n-now that....we're introduced ah....OH!" He pointed a paw her way. "Y-you're....cubs?"

Or maybe....fat. Heavens that would be bad.
'Heve: 10:19 pm
(10:19:07 PM): 'Heve's face brightened in amusement, nodding as he went down the list of things to call her. Lady would have been fine, but miss worked just as well. Perhaps Tamar would come by soon and she could tell Zubin her name.
Oh, wait, 'Heve didn't want Tamar coming by, because then she would be back to where she was, getting fussed over. What a horrible idea.
Her smile remained when he said "cubs" and she nodded in confirmation, adding a small shrug to it.
Zubin: 10:26 pm
(10:26:04 PM): "Cubs!" He pointed his paw over and smacked his forehead with the other. It was perhaps a very un-lion like gesture, but it seemed appropreate. Thank heaven, cubs. If she was just fat he'd feel terrible, he'd never live it down, it'd be the end to his life in the pride as he knew it.

"Oh...congrats! T-the daddy must be proud... Oh uh...", He jumped back from the river and gave a short nod towards the water. "There you go, water,I...you're thir-s-sty right?"
'Heve: 10:36 pm
(10:36:22 PM): If the young healer could laugh, she would have, and quite well, too. But, in absence of sound, she smiled broadly and tipped her head back, her shoulders shaking slightly. She had laughed enough as a cub for the actions to be subconscious. She laughed, just no noise came out.
That laughter died abruptly, though, when he mentioned the father. She could never truly call him that and would only allow him to be referred to in the sense that he was her cubs' father by blood. She would want it made clear that he would never be what a real father was to them. She hoped her cubs would never have to see him.

She shook her head and gestured with a wave of her paw for him to come closer. That done, she reached out a claw and started drawing in a patch of nearby dirt. She drew a lioness and a lion, apart from one another. Above the lioness, she drew the symbols that rested upon her cheek. Then she tapped the picture of the lion and bared her teeth in anger.
Zubin: 11:00 pm
(11:00:04 PM): Zubin smiled awkwardly as the female laughed. It was a little odd but charming at the same time. He'd never met a mute before, it was a little difficult to know just what he was supposed to do to break the awkward silence. His smile dropped the moment hers did- did he say something wrong?

His brow creased in confusion as he was gestured forward. He slowly stepped forward and tipped his head. The lioness started to draw something in the sand. He stepped beside her and watched.

"....oh! That's....y-you."
'Heve: 11:08 pm
(11:08:08 PM): &Heve nodded and scratched her claws in the space between her figure and the male. She flinched lightly at the memory.
"She&s trying to say the father&s not around because he was a crazy son of a b***h." Tamar&s voice all but growled from the branches above &Heve. She looked up in time to see her totem rush down and start fussing over her, checking her forehead and pressing an ear to her belly and giving Zubin suspicious looks. &Heve snorted at the monkey to tell her to stop. Tamar looked as chagrinned as a naughty child and settled down next to her bond.
"So who&re you?" Tamar asked in an almost accusatory tone, only to flinch when &Heve snorted at her again.
Zubin: 11:21 pm
(11:21:26 PM): The father was- OH!~

He plopped his backside back down and sucked in a deep breath. So...the father ran off then. That was....unfortunate. He'd gone without a father himself but now didn't seem the right time to bring that up.

The lion yelped and brought his paws up against his chest as the monkey snapped his way. "Oh ah- Zubin. Hi." He waved his paw and flashed a wide grin. "Hi... uh... I'm....n-new here, just....wanting to get...t-t-to know everyone."
'Heve: 11:28 pm
(11:28:35 PM): "Ah, well, I'm Tamar and this is Yokheved,," Tamar introduced and 'Heve dipped her head at Zubin again. "She's the pride's healer and seer."
That said, Tamar turned to 'Heve, opening her mouth to fuss over her again. Ever since she was little, Tamar had helped take care of her after her parents died. But it could be exhausting sometimes! Before the monkey could say anything, 'Heve rolled her eyes and gave her friend a hard look, one that said, "You start that again, and I swear I'll whack you."
The totem took the hint and grinned guiltily.
"Sorry, sorry," she said and watched as 'Heve made a series of complicated gestures, though one pointed to Zubin.

"Um... She says you're nice and welcomes you into the pride. And doesn't take offense to anything you said or brought up," Tamar translated the gestures and shrugged while 'Heve smiled.
Zubin: 11:40 pm
(11:40:30 PM): He'd never seen anything like it in his life. A monkey- something he might consider eating if he was fast enough and clever enough to catch one- was fawing over a lioness like it was its cub. The corner of his lips twitched in what might have been a smirk if he'd not have known any better.

"Oh h-hi....pleasure to....m-meet you." He looked back up to the lioness and laughed nerviously. Well that was a relief. "I j-just don't know...how to...really ah...introduce myself to anyone. I've.... n-not known anyone but my mom. This is new."
'Heve: 11:52 pm
(11:52:46 PM): 'Heve made some more gestures, one that gave her an excited face and another that made her totem frown. If Tamar got to fuss over her until she was ready to throw the vervet into a river, than she darn well had the right to tease her friend by making her translate "uncomfortable" things. She finished by drawing a lion in the dirt, with the king's mark above it.
Her bond sighed.
"She also says your expressiveness is cute and hopes that all goes well with his highness when you meet him, or close enough, anyways. Our system isn't exact," Tamar translated as best she could. 'Heve patted her lightly on the head in thanks. She was thankful for Tamar. The put up with one another and that's what really counted.

And she didn't pick that just to tease Tamar. She really did think he was kinda cute, if in a young way. He was very likely younger than she was, but found his mannerisms refreshing. Li acted somewhat like him when he wasn't troubled, but other than her adopted son, most everyone else around her was stuffy in one form or another. She liked meeting someone who made more gestures and expressions than she did.
Zubin: 11:56 pm
(11:56:24 PM): His whiskers flared and he looked away sheepishly, sinking into his shoulders. "Ah...well...I uh....it was just me and mom...I don't know what's...normal for anyone else...heh... I suppose I should work on that a little."

'Cute' wasn't a word he heard in reference to himself often. His mother liked to call him all kinds of things, but then again- she was special herself. They'd met a lion with scales and a horn once. It had taken them hours to figure out what it was. Of course, at the time he'd been a cub and had latched onto every word. He was old enough to wonder just what the thing was. It certainly wasn't a fish. He hadn't seen anything like it before or after the fact.

"Ah...y-yeah well... I've never met a king before. I c.....can tell you about it...later?"
'Heve: 12:08 am
(12:08:37 AM): 'Heve didn't need to make any gestures this time. Tamar just knew what she'd want to say.
"Rotem is a good, kind king. As long as you are respectful, we're sure it will go fine." 'Heve was the type to want to reassure others, something Tamar picked up on a long time ago. And even though she sometimes had an attitude, the totem knew how to be comforting, too.

But there were other things Tamar didn't pick up on as quickly. 'Heve tapped her friend's shoulder and gestured to Zubin's body language. Her friend caught on and made a little "oh" face.
"Also, don't apologize. If she thinks it's cute, that's a good thing. At least, to her, anyways. Now," Tamar paused, turning back to 'Heve. "We really should be getting you back. It's really not good for you to be about without Squall or Li around, especially not now."
'Heve frowned in response and shook her head once, gesturing that she was fine and nothing was happening. She knew so few of the pride members on speaking terms, so she wanted to know more about this potential member.
Zubin: 12:18 am
(12:18:18 AM): "Oh...well... I-I'm sure he is. I just...I didn't even know what a ki-king was until I was....lectured earlier." He glanced warily over a shoulder, half expecting the elder lion to come trudging out with yet another mouthful of 'useful advice' and stories of the times when he was a younger lion. It was disrecpectful to even think it but perhaps the elder had a few bananas short of a bunch...

He looked back and chuckled. "...cute...heh. W-well thank you. I... sh-should be finding som-me where to sleep...."
'Heve: 12:24 am
(12:24:08 AM): Both females knew of a couple of good, vacant sleeping places, and 'Heve posed the suggestion to Tamar that she could show them to Zubin. Tamar frowned.
"Only as long as you go back to the den right now," she replied and 'Heve sighed, but nodded and slowly stood up.
"'Heve suggested I take you to some of the good sleeping places we found that don't have anyone in them, that we know of. Shall I?" Tamar asked with a tilt of her head as 'Heve dipped her head to Zubin and started towards home.
Zubin: 12:28 am
(12:28:13 AM): "Oh...uh...n-night 'Heve. Thank you." He offered her a quiet smile and took a few slow steps backwards, giving the monkey enough room to pass by him. "I w-would really appreciate that...thank you. Ah....Tamar?"

He glanced shortly behind him and offered a short wave back towards 'Heve.
'Heve: 12:30 am
(12:30:59 AM): "Yeah, Tamar. One's not far from here, if you'll follow me," Tamar replied before heading in a slightly different direction from 'Heve, but also away from the riverbank. 'Heve caught the wave and gave a small one of her own before turning and heading off.
She walked the second half of the way home wracked with labor pains.