[PRP] Ill Advised Action [Lengi & Rogues]

[Kaelyndra]

There was general pride-wide consensus that Impoqo had taken a hoof to the head at a very young age. It had rattled her brain, shut off speech, and maybe cut the logic center entirely from her brain.

If Surtak was the man who was small enough to almost pass for a female, Impoqo was the lioness who was large enough to confront an Umholi and win. The Umzingeli would pass a toothy smile every now and then, so the other females assumed that she was happy. She understood basic commands like 'Hunt' and 'Fight' and 'Run' and 'Protect the Children'. As she didn't talk, she didn't complain, she didn't repeat what was said to her, and she almost may not have been there at all.

Except her presence loomed. There was no ignoring Impoqo. The moment she showed everyone felt she was there.

Probably because you were never sure whether or not there really was a brain underneath that rattled skull. Would she someday decide it was a good idea to attack? Most were uncertain, but Impoqo had never hurt anyone, so there had never been any reason to chase her out.

Today, she had been paired with Lengi as a hunting partner. The lionesses rarely went out alone, and Impoqo had stepped up to join the female. Small talk, unfortunately, was going to be rather lacking.  

[Hopefolly]

And that was fine with Lengi.

As a cub, she had been just barely afraid of the dark. The kind of fear bestowed by instinct, that one's conscious could not hope to overpower. There was no way to completely do away with that feeling until she outgrew it. She was sure this hesitation, whether or not others wanted to admit it, was universal. It was natural -- and smart -- to be skittish around the unknown. And there were so few things in life that could be called a certainty.

In the same vein, Lengi was not one hundred percent comfortable with Impoqo. It was nothing personal and nothing she acted on. The lioness was big, and loomed instead of stood. Others were unnerved by her silence, but Lengi did not concern herself with that quirk. She, herself, rarely had much to say.

So Lengi did not verbally express her disappointment they had not found anything worth hunting yet. Instead, a solution was in order: "Maybe if we try a different direction?"  

[Kaelyndra]

Rather than attempt to form some other point of reason, Impoqo simply changed direction. The brutish lioness took a hard left, spinning on her back legs with apparent elegance for one so large, and then began to plod in a different direction.

It was no more than a hair's breadth of movement from the sun later that the female's fur began to bristle. From her throat came a horrible sound. It was not quite a growl, though perhaps it could have been interpreted as such. It was gargled and chopped, sounded sour and more like the dying sounds of a cub ill-practiced in speaking.

The lioness had crouched, paws in the dirt as she crept forwards. In front of her, the land dipped off briefly, and the smell came over the ridge and hit both lionesses in the face. There were lions marking territory, though they did not need to. The group was large enough that their natural scent found Imoqo's ears and she knew there were many of them.

As she reached the downward slope, they began to be visible. A band, full of all sorts of strange colors. Weak lions. Strong lions. Many lions. And many males.

They would be a ready threat to the pride if they wanted; defeatable, but not without loss. Most of the lionesses would not desire another Umholi switch; not with the new cubs, who would surely be killed in the struggle for power.

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

Lengi knew about the world beyond their migratory group. It was 'out there' she had been born; in many places she had been raised. Among her pride, every litter was a commemorative event (some more than others, but she'd best not get into that). This was not so for everywhere. In fact, she dare say most places had enough litters born throughout the entire year that unless they were some kind of royalty... no one cared, excepting their immediate family.

This indifference to cubs, Lengi suspected, might lead to an apathy about their safety. She would protect any young, from anywhere, because it was the right thing to do. But she wondered -- did she only value them so much because it had been taught to her here? Would strangers trample their young and not bat an eye?

This lifestyle was making her paranoid, she thought. Most lions did not approach with intent to harm. She had talked to countless strangers during her run as a rogue and here she was, safe and sound. If they were to have approached the pride, she may have felt differently, but they were doing nothing.

Seriously.

Nothing.

She stayed low to the ground like Impoqo and watched.

Konja must have had Firekin or God blood in him somewhere. He was massive. The male counterpart to Impoqo with wider shoulders and a bigger belly. They got a good view of it as he stretched out on his side, blinking slowly.

That hunt had worn him out! But their bounty had been impressive and the exhaustion was worth it.

Same as Konja, Bazi was blissfully unaware they had disturbed anyone's hunting routine. When they saw the herd, they had taken down more than enough to feed all of them, and obviously, the survivors had not stuck around.

A full stomach did not make this lion sluggish. On the contrary, he had too much energy, and trotted around the others like a smug cub. Why wouldn't he? He had taken down two prey where as the others had only managed one a piece, if that.

Sure, one of his had been old and possibly sick, but it counted!  

[Kaelyndra]

Shavu was more like Konja then Bazi when it came to full stomachs. Perhaps because he was so used to eating constantly in the Pridelands, he'd gorged himself now.

It had given him a bit of a gutache.

Still, he wandered after Bazi in a sort of stupor, wincing every now and then at the pain in his side.

"Hm," he grunted, like he should have been walking. "Slow down, you old git." Perhaps Konja had the right idea. Maybe walking it off wasn't the best idea. He wobbled his way over to the rock of a lion and laid himself out until his head touched the ground.

"It could not get any hotter."

Most of the Boneland's lionesses would disagree with him. It definitely could get hotter. That would be the least of their worries, however, when they found out a pride of wandering rogues had chased off most of their supply of food. The animals were scarce enough without extra mouths chewing on their flanks!

Impoqo made a rough sound in the back of her throat and her eyes narrowed. The large lioness, however, simply sat back until her body rested comfortably over her legs.  

[Hopefolly]

"Old?" Bazi's mirthful gait ceased with one paw in the air. He put it down at an awkward angle, facing Shavu, and span around so his entire body aligned with it. "I'm probably younger than you are." Hard to say. He wasn't known to act his age. But he did have no grey fur to suggest he was old and was totally, completely blue. And not grey.

"Isn't that right, Konja?" Bazi was known to try and rope the quiet ones in. How could anyone have any fun acting so shy?

Konja shrugged those wide shoulders of his. Coincidentally, he did not speak much either.

Lengi, watching from afar, began to wonder if there was some gene that made larger lions mute as a price for their sheer size. But Impoqo was not entirely silent -- actually, she was being louder than Lengi, with all her fussing.

"Hush," she said gently, as if speaking to a cub. (Cubs on the brain! Heaven help her.) "I'll go down there and see if I can shoo them away... If not, you must return to the others and prepare them. Alright?"  

[Kaelyndra]

Once again, Shavu grunted, following Konja's example of a quiet mouth. He was too distracted with how his stomach was starting to attack the rest of his body.

He felt so fat. And for a young lion who was going to be close to his prime in a few years, he wanted to be anything but. Not that he meant any offense to Konja, of course.

"I'll bet I'm younger," he eventually blurted out, unable to resist the temptation of a challenge, even if it was a verbal one.

Completely unaware of the small squabble going on below, Impoqo's eyes swiveled over to Lengi, but the beastly lioness said nothing. Not even a strange, alien sound moved out of her throat.

It could probably have been interpreted as an okay.  

[Hopefolly]

"A young lion could hold his food," Bazi quipped, swaying his head and shoulders from side to side, punctuating the heckling with some sassy movement. The childish debate over who was more immature (ironic!) did not stir Konja aside from the faintest of sighs.

As he was not distracted by any bickering, he saw Lengi approaching them first.

She had not said anything to Impoqo before she descended from their hiding place. There'd be as much point to that as talking to a wall and expecting words of encouragement, comfort, or advice.

Konja grunted to get the others' attention.

"Excuse me," said Lengi, and by then, she was close and getting closer. "Excuse me, males?"  

[Kaelyndra]

Shuva lifted his head up when Konja made a sound. The female was easily noticeable by now and he squinted towards the sound that was echoing in his ears.

"Huh," he managed to move out, scrambling to his feet. While Shuva was not necessarily awkward around the ladies, he had a lot of relatives in the pride lands. Now, out in the rogue lands, he was starting to enjoy the fact that he didn't have to feel awkward around any female that might be looking at him interested.

"Greetings, female," he teased, feeling that friendly Prideland bug creep up his spine. It was hard to keep up a reputation as a hard-a** when you were a naturally happy lion who loved the sound of his own voice.

"You're awful brave, approaching us alone."

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

Bazi's mother would have smacked him upside the head with her claws out if she saw him now. He knew better than to hassle a lady like he would one of his (male) friends, but Shavu goaded him into it! Bazi absorbed the playful mood and his manners bent under its heavy influence.

"Very brave," he agreed, circling Lengi. Non-threateningly, of course! "What brings you to our lands, female?"

Konja had much to say but kept it to himself; however, he had finally bypassed his drowsiness enough to stand up. For him, it would only be a few strides to the others. He sat down when he reached them.

All the sudden, Lengi felt like a fool. Her pride was so serious about everything. They had to be. Their cubs were few, and therefore important. Their water sources were often scarce, and therefore important. Everything was too important to joke about.

These males did not have such a lifestyle. They were the spitting image of rogues and their careless attitudes.

"Pleasure," she mumbled to Shavu. The rest of what she said had a diplomatic ring to it. "I know it's a lot to ask, but would you mind going back that way? My pride is the way you're heading and they're rather adverse to strangers. We don't any trouble."
 

[Kaelyndra]

Now he'd gone and done it. They may as well have been chewing off their own foot.

"Oh, yeah?" he continued to make conversation. In actuality, though, he was squinting in the direction she'd come, trying to catch wind of something. They were adverse to strangers? The idea struck Shuva as stupid. Relatively new to the rogue lands, he had trouble imaging people that weren't outwardly friendly. Sure, he liked to act tough and beat on his male friends a little, but when it came to it, friends were the best part of life.

"They sent you out here by yourself?"

Even for friend-loving Shuva, that seemed like a little risky. Or, at the very least, a little scary. He always liked having a right-hand man whenever he traveled. Which, considering how new he was to the concept, Shuva was doing a very good job of.

"You sure you can't convince them to let us pass through that way?" It was going to be a lot of work to have to go all the way around those plateaus. "Bazi?" he questioned for help.  

[Hopefolly]

"You sure you can't convince them to let us pass through that way? Bazi?"

"I'm not sure you'd want me to," Lengi said. She had no comment on being sent out here by herself. It would be stupid to reveal how far away the others were. Let them assume her some kind of ambassador rather than just damage control in the right place at the right time.

Bazi halted beside Shavu. --Wait a second! "I'm Bazi."

Instead of him, Lengi was staring at Konja expectantly. The orange one had sounded like he was requesting permission to her, and since this one was the largest, she assumed him the leader. The other two were obviously yappy minions.

"I think we can convince them," Bazi said.  

[Kaelyndra]

"Maybe." Shuva stretched his head over his shoulder and peered back to the other location. There were a few rogues watching them expectantly, but for the most part it was a tag-a-long type group.

They weren't exactly all thrilled about staying in this location anyway.

"No sense in starting a fight if we don't have to," the orange one agreed. All that walking was bound to get rid of this troublesome gut-ache, anyway.

"We'll see what we can do."  

[Hopefolly]

Lengi's tongue rolled against the roof of her mouth. She did not get anxious for physical combat, but verbal spars she enjoyed more than she liked to admit. This was her element. Not striking up conversation with females she was not convinced liked her much. Not trying to bear a large brood of cubs and bask in the attention as her offspring were fawned over. Her place was here, problem solving with everything on the line.

"Please, listen." She said so to be polite, not because she was begging. "You must turn back. Wherever you come from, things are done differently here and to ignore that could lead to bloodshed."

"How so?"

That was Konja. The first words he'd spoken in days and only two of them. He grunted at Bazi and Shavu. His way of scolding them for so much as thinking about interrupting! He didn't doubt they would if left to their own devices. Those two never gave it a rest.

Bazi made a face at him and stuck his tongue out.

Point made.  

[Kaelyndra]

What were a bunch of thrown-together rogues going to do against a pride? They could have been a tiny pride, though. It might not end in much bloodshed at all.

Shuva eyed Lengi carefully. She didn't seem like she was lying. Why would she? This particular spot didn't seem phenomenally better than any others.

Perhaps he was the more mature of the two of them, as Shuva didn't make a retort at having been shushed by the large male. Instead he let out a huff of breath and sat down.

Konja was thinking. This was going to take a while.