She could have cursed her luck, blamed Finar-si, or anyone else, but this time she only had herself to blame. The male lion had been... Charming enough. If a bit odd... The white had proven his saving point in her eyes, a majority coloring she could appreciate. Granted, he had some coloring on him that absolutely SCREAMED Mistweaver at her, but she got over that bit. And now... Her belly was full of cubs. It seemed such a fate chased her, to be a mother. This was the third time in her life... And not one litter seemed to share a father. But...
She stopped walking, ears flicking as the dark lioness lifted her head, eyes narrow and frowning. Someone was following her... She could hear them... Which meant it was someone big. "Who's there?! Show yourself!"
Melting out of the darkness, a large black-maned brown and red figure stared at the lioness, gold eyes almost glowing in the sliver of moonlight. "A guard is here." A royal guard, much cleaner than when he'd arrived. Once he'd begun cleaning himself up to be presentable, Rasul, referred to in the pride as Hong'lei, had found it much easier to just keep himself cleaned up than periodically clean up a bigger mess than he'd been in when he first arrived. "Who are you, and how did you get this far into Tianxia territory?" The fact nobody had raised an alarm had been interesting. Perhaps she'd convinced someone this was the fastest way to get from point A to point B and had a time constraint. But then, how did she not have a guide? Even though they were fairly close to the internal border of the West House and the Central House, it was still an impressive distance to go without detection... Especially given that the West House was one of the two largest.
Jua stared at the brown lion for a moment, ears flicking. She was silent for a heartbeat, then scowled at him. "Skulking around like that... I didn't even realize I was this far into the territory!" She paused, scowl softening to a frown. "What exactly is Tianxia?" She wasn't sure she'd heard of this pride before, but then, her visions had only told her to come this way before her cubs arrived. "If it's a pride... It's the first I've run into in weeks." She tilted her head. "Perhaps it'd be a good place to stop..." She took a seat, as if this was the final choice. She then glared at the other lion. "Who exactly are YOU?" An old habit, far removed but told to her as a tiny cub by... She couldn't even remember who, rose up. "State your lineage!"
The male was taken aback by the lioness' brashness, and for the first time he realized just how big she was. It wasn't just the wide belly likely full of cubs, but her overall height and length. Where exactly did she come from, with so many scars? "I am Rasul, son of Mahewa and Kasdeya of the Aikanaro'hini, grandson of Bodaway and Ishara on my father's side, and-" A paw raised by the lioness cut him off.
"Bodaway? I know that name, when I left no other Firekin bore it. Nobody else probably does yet..." She scowled. "My son fell in love with one of his daughters... And she was on the OTHER side of the pride." There were clearly few good feelings. "I left not long after..." She noticed his confused look. "The Firekin. You know, pride of primarily red lions, huge in stature? Don't tell me you knew NOTHING about them, if you have their blood in you!" She waved a paw at him, shaking her head and looking away. "As for me, I am Jua'taka, daughter of the Storyteller Ripuka." She stopped at going into detail about her father and his side. There was no need to, she didn't want to think about them and the lies.
His ears folded back as he glared at the lioness. "I don't KNOW anything because my father never TOLD me anything!" Or, rather, he didn't pay much attention if he HAD. "Besides... Jua... You've still trespassed on Tianxia lands! You're FAR too close to the pride's center and the royal family. I'm going to escort you back west where you came from, and you can go AROUND the pride to find your destination." He gave the dark lioness a push, but she didn't budge. "Oh, would you MOVE?!" His answer was a paw pressed to his face before it shoved him aside. "HEY! I am a ROYAL GUARD, and you will show me SOME respect!" He didn't expect MUCH, considering how the lioness was acting, but at least SOME would be better than NONE.
Jua gave the male a sour look. "If you haven't noticed, I don't exactly WALK great, oh mighty stalker, because of scarring on my back leg. I'm also PREGNANT, very HEAVILY so, I'm TIRED, I'm HUNGRY, I've walked a long way to get here, and I'd like to find somewhere to STAY where my past won't rear its ugly head again, because I'm TIRED of walking, and I'd like to do right by at least ONE litter of mine in my life, so KINDLY, if you will take me ANYWHERE, you insolent little whelp, take me to someone in CHARGE so I can plead my case to stay here!" You could take the Firekin out of the desert and away from the fire they were famous for having, but you just couldn't remove the fire OR the desert from the lion.
He actively backpedaled from the rebuke the lioness gave him, visibly cringing even in the dark. "Right.. Um..." He looked around, then to the west. "Well... You said your mother was a storyteller... Are you?" When the lioness nodded, the red-shouldered male gave a nod as well. "Okay... Then you'd best be suited to the West House... That's the house you passed through. They specialize in creativity, like story telling, singing, dancing... Acting..." It wasn't really much his... THING, personally. Of course, not much was.
She wearily rose to her paws, grimacing from the ache in her leg. "Yes, my mother was a storyteller..." She paused once she was standing. "Oh, look, you DO pay attention!" As she began to follow him, she inclined her head. "I am a storyteller myself. I have PLENTY of stories to fill these heads with..." Many of them of the Firekin and their glories, but also stories of the world beyond the borders. She had the feeling, though, that many lions came to this pride from outside. "So, anything I should know about the pride? Anything big?"
As he walked along beside the lioness, the brown lion eyed her. "In Tianxia, we all have two names - Our outside name, like Rasul, or Jua'taka - and a name we use inside the pride." He motioned to himself mid-step. "I am Hong'lei. It means 'wild goose thunder.'" It was a theme he'd passed on to his children - They all bore the 'surname' of Hong, though for his daughters, instead of wild goose, it meant red. Pale gold eyes bore into the lioness as he continued to walk. "And you? What will your inside name be?"
She was quiet with thought for a moment, then gave a nod. "Taiyang. It means 'sun.'" She then gave him a look DARING him to ask anymore questions or talk any further. The male kept quiet, and they fell into a silence as they walked.