[PRP] Heya, you're a new face! [Fura & Enu]

[Das Tor]

One of the few times Enu showed any grace was while hunting. When hunting, she was quiet death on four paws, stalking her prey. She kept her breathing quiet, kept downwind, kept her tail from twitching and rustling the grass. Every pawstep was deliberate and brought her closer to the kill...She had learned well from her mother, a former vampire and a mistress of moving silently and stalking. Her prey this time was a young gazelle buck, jilted by the females he'd been 'courting'. Thus...he was fair game.

He'd make a nice meal for her and her sister. Since neither had a pad yet, due to one reason or another, Enu and Baako had been taking turns hunting for the two of them, to keep their skills sharp and make sure their mother didn't worry herself trying to feed four adult felines.  

[Talencia]

Things were coming together in their newly grown family. Nav had a second banu, which was good for him, but certain deficiencies meant that Fura had to do all the hunting for the three of them. This wasn't terribly difficult, but it did tend to keep her busy. It also kept her distracted. She was overjoyed at the female company, but had a nagging worry that Nav might somehow find his new banu more according to his liking. Granted, they both were from outside the pride, but still... the feminine part of her that was growing steadily more attatched to her Pad fussed over the possibility of losing his affection.

This was what led to her hunting the exact same buck as the other lioness, without even realizing that she was intruding. Reckless as well in her mild fretting, she lunged out of hiding too early. Her claws raked the side of the strong, young gazelle, but it twisted in mid-leap, escaping mortal injury and bounding safely away, though it likely was to develop a limp which would in th end get it killed anyway..

Panting, she threw herself down and began giving herself a talking to. Three mouths to feed, and she was fouling up the hunt? This was ridiclous. No excuse! It was only partway through this tirade at herself that she realized she wasn't alone. Startled and off-guard, she sat bolt upright, still panting, and turned to see who else was present.  

[Das Tor]

Enu herself hadn't realized she had company until the other lioness lunged out...and the buck escaped. The splotchy lioness stared after the buck, ears back. Aw...well, there went dinner option one. She'd need to find a new one. Sighing, she looked over to the other lioness, who had been, apparently, ranting at herself. She gave the other a sympathetic smile.

"Guess we had the same idea, huh?" How to salvage the situation...ah! "Maybe we could help each other out? We'd be able to bring down something bigger, and less chance of dinner getting away."  

[Talencia]

Fura was neither proud nor selfish. The lioness had an excellent idea, and it would prevent them from making the same mistake a second time. Together was always better than seperate. "Certainly, and thank you," she said, bobbing her head and slowing her breathing. "Pardon my clumsy hunting, I usually am much better than that. I've just got a lot on my mind, and I let it distract me." With a lick to her whiskers, she stood and approached the other.

"I promise I'll pay more attention while we hunt," she said soberly. "My name is Fura, and am Beybanu to Pad Nav." It still felt odd on her tongue to include title with her name, but she had learned it was important to do so. Her little teacher had done a good job explaining it. She sat to finish catching her breath. "I'm sorry I haven't gotten to meet you before now," she continued, "for even though I've been here a while now, I haven't gotten much of a chance to socialize with others. I'm sure I'll learn, though." The smile she offered was genuine and open, inviting the other lioness to share as well about herself.  

[Das Tor]

Enu kept a smile on her face. "It's no problem. We all have moments where we just can't keep our minds on the present." Enu bowed slightly to the other, glad she could help someone with a proper Pad. "I'm Enu. I'm still a part of my father, Pad Dahabu-ausi's harem. It's a pleasure to meet you, Fura! I'm glad we could meet, even if it's been under such odd circumstances. Especially since you've been busy. My mother said it was busy for her when she first came into the pride...but it'll settle out."  

[Talencia]

She was very appreciative of the encouragement and reassurance. Not all that she'd met were as forgiving or as kind. "Thank you. Your mother was a rogue brought back as a banu too?" she asked, turning to pad in a new direction, her nose, ears, and eyes focusing on finding new prey for them to take down together, preferably something large for both families to eat off of.

She did not comment on her new companion's state of still being in her father's harem. She wasn't entirely sure how often this happened, or whether there was any stigma attached to it. For Fura, when in doubt she merely treated the other with respect and friendliness. In general it worked well, though sometimes friendliness here wasn't what was called for.  

[Das Tor]

The gold-and-black lioness kept her senses open for new game as well, hoping they could find something large enough for both of them to take away from the kill. If not...well, Enu could always catch something smaller for herself and Baako afterwards! "Mom and Daddy were both rogues, before they settled here. They came looking for Gramma...and stayed, because Daddy wouldn't leave Gramma again. And now they're very happy here!"  

[Talencia]

That was certainly a novel reason for coming here. She paused to think on how it would be if she had come here for a reason, of her own free will. Oh yes, that would have been much easier to adjust to, and probably begun her mated life much happier as well. She gave a soft sigh of regret, she padded on. Life wasn't something you could go back and rearrange to your preference. It happened as it happened, and only time could prove how that would end up. Even now, adjusting as she had, she was more content than she'd ever have thought she'd be in a semi-captive scenario.

"What of you? Are you happy here?" She glanced over at her companion inquisitively. She knew that many females born into the pride were highly content and satisfied with things, but with this lioness still living in her father's harem, things might be different. Did it change her outlook on the pride, or on her life? For a moment Fura was glad she had not grown up in the pride, but that was gone just as quickly. Should she have cubs, she'd have the responsibility to raise cubs here. She truly should give serious thought to how to help them be as well-adjusted and involved here as she could.  

[Das Tor]

Enu blinked at the question, thinking a moment, then nodded. "Mostly, yes. Even though I don't have a Pad yet, it's only because Daddy wants me to have the right one. He wants to know I'll be well looked after. And I don't mind not having one for now...it just lets me make more friends, before I become busy with a family. I think...the only thing I'd maybe like to do one day is see the Outside, only because I have family out there I'll likely never meet." Her mother's parents and siblings, her father's siblings, her grandmother's family...  

[Talencia]

Well here was a new perspective. She listened attentively, taking time to ponder the other female's outlook. It was slightly different than any of the others she'd met thus far. She had rather assumed that all the females were eager to get with their own Pad, to leave their father's harem as soon as possible. It seemed that staying in a father's harem was not seen as a shameful thing at all.

"It must be reassuring, knowing how much your father cares," she said lightly, keeping it casual instead of the grilling Fura feared it would be perceived as. It was an interesting thought to consider how future daughters might feel, and how Nav might react. Her whole pelt shivered at the thought of daughters. Whether it was excitement or anxiety was hard for Fura to pinpoint. Something distracted her, however. Up ahead was both smell and sound of prey. She signaled silently to her partner and dropped to her belly.

Upon creeping forward, it turned out to be a large male waterbuck. He seemed to be aging, for one of his horns was broken, and his fur was grayed around mouth and ears. He was shuffling along with a marked limp, and not another waterbuck was in sight. This was perfect, with plenty of meat for both families, or so she hoped. She glanced over at Enu for confirmation of chosen prey. Would this work for her?  

[Das Tor]

Enu nodded. "It is." At the signal to be quiet, she went completely silent and dropped down, slinking towards their new chosen prey. She nodded to signal her approval. It was perfect. There was enough to feed she and her sister, and likely the family Fura had. She moved to take one side, so the two could flank the waterbuck.  

[Talencia]

Needless to say, it was a very satisfying hunt. Fura laid to the side, panting heavily after the exertion it took to pull down and kill the waterbuck. Eventually they'd need to split the kill up into chunks easily hauled back to their families, but for now she was content to lay back and rest. Even with the two of them, it had taken some time to subdue their prey, and she felt justified in the break.

She glanced over at her hunting partner and smiled toothily. "You are welcome to join me in hunting anytime," she panted heartfeltly. "I'm no stranger to taking down prey, but you are more deft at it than I." It wasn't a matter of Fura making mistakes, but rather the skill with which it was accomplished. It was hard as a youngster to become adept and skilled at anything, with her mother harping at her constantly, her words often in the back of her mind even when her mother wasn't present or speaking. She hunted well enough to survive, and that did well enough for them for now.

She licked her jaws, savoring the taste, but still not feeling driven to rise and attend the carcass just yet. With a wide yawn, she leaned back in the warm sun, seriously pondering a quick nap.  

[Das Tor]

For the moment, Enu was happy to take a break. And glad that she'd had help from Fura. She couldn't have taken down such a beast on her own! She returned Fura's smile brightly, nodding. "And it was wonderful working with you. If you want it, you've my help anytime you need or want it." She was often clumsy outside of hunting, but this was the one thing her mother had managed to get drilled into her head through encouragement and persistence. She looked to their future meal, pondering. "I think we've a little time before the scavengers decide to try making a move."  

[Talencia]

Fura hadn't answered her hunting partner, but merely laid there and closed her eyes for a time. She didn't sleep, but dozed lightly, tail tip flicking from time to time. Eventually a shadow between herself and the sun alerted her. She sat up with a jerk, squinting skywards. A single circled a lonely circle very high above them. With a wide yawn, she turned to the carcass. "It seems our time is up," she said conversationally to the other lioness.

She angled her ears towards Enu, while sizing up their fallen prey. It had been a very good hunt, and it was encouraging to Fura to find another friend among the other banu. She figured it would be best to say their goodbyes before splitting the catch and going their separate ways, so she swung her head to smile at her. "It was so nice to meet you, Enu," she said sincerely. "It's a shame we have to part so soon, but I'm sure we'll see each other around the pride." It was a comforting thought. The pride was big, but not so big that she wouldn't see her friend again. "Be sure to say hi, if you see me!"

There seemed little more to say, leaving her to set to the messy work of disassembling and dragging home their dinner. Thankfully Nav knew enough by now to trust her to be gone so long without worrying she'd fled. She rather hoped wistfully that he'd still be concerned that she was gone so long, but if he did, he was unlikely to express it. Nav was funny with expression of his feelings in that he didn't show them, most of the time. She was learning to read him, though, and definitely would be looking for signs that he cared.  

[Das Tor]

Enu had enjoyed the moment to relax with someone not part of her convoluted family, but was alert when the shadow passed over them. Ah...it did indeed seem their time was up. Oh well. Enu stood, looking to her new friend, nodding. "We certainly will! I will be sure to say hi next time we cross paths. Perhaps we can hunt together again! As I said...if you need or want my help hunting, you have it." That, she supposed, was a bit of an advantage to still being Pad-less.