[PRP] Lighting the Fire (Jasiri x Kianzi)

[Hopefolly]

Kianzi's world was shrinking. The fields were as verdant and wide as they'd ever been; the mountains stood tall as they had before; the rivers ran deep and long as the year prior. The land itself was not the problem, it was the inhabitants. New prides seemed to form and disband everyday. Just when she settled in somewhere nice, they were chasing her off again because suddenly this was "their" land.

The worst of them was also the most recent, and to her surprise, they hadn't been lions. These were cheetahs, leopards, hyenas -- everything but lions, to keep it brief. And chasing? Oh, no, forget it. They'd wanted her life more than her absence.

Luck must have been bored with routine, since for once, it was on her side. She lived through the ordeal, barely escaping with numerous scratches and scars and hurried as far away from there as she could get. By time she happened across Jasiri on that sunny day, she was healed but haggard, pissed as she'd ever been, and looking very much like a Firekin who had strayed too far from the outpost.

She waited for him to come to her, prepared to fight or flee, whichever seemed most helpful when the time came.

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

Jasiri didn't see the red female as a threat at all, and perhaps he was stupid to disregard her. However, he'd mostly had to chase away horny males and various trespassing non-lions from their borders so far. And she didn't look like someone he might need to fight against. One, she was female. Two, she was alone. Three, she was obviously Firekin, and they had a deal with the red pelts. When he first scented her he had approached out of curiosity, and he was curious even after laying eyes on her. It was a bit odd for one of them to be out here, but perhaps she had gone out on some kind of mission before his pride moved back. There was only one way to find out.

"Did you come to switch sides?" he asked with a friendly grin. He was fairly sure one as red as her wouldn't want to leave her homeland, but what was a bit of teasing between neighbors? "I'm just kidding... The Bonelands pride moved back, so you're probably better off going around."

It didn't even cross his mind that she might be a rogue. In fact, he could have sworn that he'd seen her or possibly her sister in the outpost.

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

Annchen

If every lion in Africa but her suddenly died, Kianzi would lose to the strongest leopard instead. Mama hadn't raised her to be a quitter, but she'd said, "Better a live elephant than a dead crocodile." Apparently elephants were symbolism for intelligence or... something. The point was Kianzi only fought as well and as often as rogue life dictated. She was no danger to any part of Jasiri but his pride — the emotional kind, and only if he became a mindreader.

Males like you make me want to switch sides all right. Kianzi never fancied guys like this and she didn't get the joke, but the gears in her head were turning so fast they almost sent smoke rising from her ears. "Right, yeah." She peered over Jasiri's shoulder. "Thanks for that, uh — Afiya, was it?"  

[Annchen]

Jasiri wasn't sure what to make of the elephant - crocodile comment, but the talk about crocodiles made him think of Nguvu. The "crocodile killer". Probably mostly exaggeration anyway...

"Jasiri," he corrected her, and from his posture and expression it was evident that he didn't like being mistaken for someone else. In his own little world he was someone of importance. As far as he was concerned only three lions outranked him, and he should be able to beat Nguvu at something soon...

"I'm not one of your huria," he felt the need to add, "I'm one of the leading males in Ithambo'hlabathi."

He couldn't name many Firekin, but he was still sulking over the fact that this random red-pelt didn't know his name. No, not knowing would have been better. She'd mistaken him for someone less important.

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

Annchen

"Jasiri," she echoed, neither respectfully or as a taunt. Just... plainly, which might have been worse. No sooner had she done so than he was speaking of huria. Kianzi knew this only as the Swahili word for freedom and independence, not as a moniker for cubs whom happened to be born with more than a limited palette of colors.

He meant it another way. As to what that "other way" entailed, she was clueless. "One of?" Kianzi looked around them, searching for anyone else with a mane. "How many are there?"  

[Annchen]

Jasiri had decided that he didn't care much for the red-pelt females. The Bonelands females could be difficult if they wanted to, but he had at least started to figure out what made them tick. And there were limits to how annoying they could be without violating the unspoken code of conduct in the pride. This female wasn't behaving in that familiar way, but he couldn't just blow her off either. The Firekin and Bonelands had a truce, whether he liked it or not, and if he unwittingly insulted someone and broke that truce he'd be in a world of trouble. And so he tried to answer her odd questions, but he wasn't going to pretend to be happy about it.

"How many huria?" he asked, "I don't know, you tell me. I've been told most of them are trained in the outpost before leaving now, so I guess there are about as many odd colored ones as you usually get, just at the outpost instead of the main pride or wherever they used to be trained."

Jasiri had a very basic understanding about the huria. He knew that cubs of the wrong colors weren't allowed to stay once they became adult. Similar but different to the Bonelands practice of kicking out the males.

"Are you headed back to the outpost?"

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

Annchen

Kianzi heard him out. Any information was good information. She had a better idea of what an outpost was than a huria. "No, I meant how many of you are there? The males?" He had said he was one of some unknown number. Good to get a headcount so she could determine approximately how far she had to go to be out of "their" lands.  

[Annchen]

"Oh," he said. Well, that made more sense than to ask him about the number of huria. He'd visited the outpost several times, but he hadn't really bothered with a headcount so he couldn't really tell. "Four, if you mean the leading males. The others doesn't really count."

Surtak and Gakere might have something to say about him lumping all the leading males together, but they weren't here. Jasiri didn't feel like explaining he was something like the lowest ranking leading male to this female. Besides, it was highly unlikely that she'd start discussing Bonelands leadership with anyone.

Hopefolly

 

[Hopefolly]

"They don't —" How did they not count? Kianzi stopped short of asking and elected to nod instead, as though she'd realized the answer to her own question halfway through. Curiosity killed the cat and she liked the whole not being dead thing. "Well —" And again, she didn't finish. In that instant it was clear she'd intended to dismiss herself and bid him a personalized farewell, but she'd forgotten his name already. "Well thanks for your help, buddy."

Annchen

 

[Annchen]

It wasn't all that surprising that she reacted to his comment about the other males not counting. He found the firekin customs odd, and it made sense that they'd find the Boneland way of life a bit strange too. Jasiri knew what kind of lifestyle he preferred...

"Well," he said, "It's not much stranger than you sending the odd colored ones away. We just send the males away when their manes grow in..."

He was probably telling her things she already knew. The lion shifted his weight from one paw to the other. The lioness seemed eager to move on, and he hoped she wouldn't be tempted to cut through Bonelands territory on her way back. Escorting her there would be a pain, but he'd never hear the end of it if she bumbled through the pride and disturbed the cubs or something.

"No problem," he said. Buddy? He chalked it down to weird firekin lingo, "I can show you the best way to the outpost if you want. I'll have to patrol the border in that direction anyway."

There... He hadn't planned to go that way yet, but he did need to cover part of that border too. And as soon as he'd ushered her in the right direction he'd be able to make some excuse and be on his way.

Hopefolly