Despite having travelled for a long while on his own, Faudi had transitioned easily into staying in one place. He had a reason to stay in one place now. It wasn’t quite home, yet. He didn’t really know anyone yet, but it was his goal to get to know literally everyone in the pride. He wasn’t entirely sure, but it was part of his job, or what he understood of it.He had a job. He felt so blessed to have a job now, to have a goal or purpose. It pleased his greatly.
So he took a walk, seeking a companion for the day. He bounced a little on his toes. He hoped everyone was kind, of course! Many of the lions here were warriors - fighters, hunters, and so on. Faudi was more suited to a social life or cub rearing.
He was lost in his musing when he nearly ran into another. A dark male with wing markings, a small growl emitting from the darker. Faudi scrambled back, squeaking out an apology. This was not how he had intended to introduce himself! Oh, he was so silly. First impressions were hard.
The dark male frowned at him, staring at him hard for a moment. “It’s alright,” the male said, grudgingly. Faudi frowned at him a little, his brow furrowing. He bit his lip taking another hesitant step back.
“Are you alright? I really didn’t mean to run into you,” Faudi sighed. This was not a good first impression. He didn’t expect the other to smile kindly at him after his blunder, so it took him by surprise when the other gave a small laugh.
“I’m serious, it’s alright.” The wing-marked lion said again. He sat down where he stood, giving a small yawn, waiting to see if the other male would tell him why he was wandering about.
Faudi did not sit, however. He was nervous,shuffling on his feet. “I’m, um. I’m Vunjififaudi. Or Faudi. I was just taking a walk to find someone to talk to…” He informed the other male. The other male gave a small nod, accepting his answer.
“So sit,” Aji told Faudi. “Talk, I’ve got some time. You can call me Aji,” But of course, Faudi didn’t quite know what to say. He huffed for a moment, sitting a bit away. He bit his lip again, but the other male was so warm and inviting him to talk.
“You’re very kind, Aji,” Faudi started. He wanted to apologize again, but he refrained. “Have to always been within Dov’Strunmuh?” Faudi asked, finally settling into speaking to the other male, grateful that his near hit didn’t cause the other male to hate him. That would be absolutely devastating for him.
Ajitabh shook his head after a moment. “No, I’ve joined very recently. I belonged to a pride before this one, far from here.” He had travelled a long time before finding this place. In fact, he had joined the pride right after they had come down the mountain.
“Oh?” Faudi asked, a bit curious. “How are you liking the pride so far then? And Welcome!” Faudi hadn’t been in the pride very long either, having joined the pride some months before the pride began their transition down the mountain.
He was pleased, personally, with the new location. He was optimistic about the future of the pride as it progressed. Aji gave him a small smile.
“Its great, though it takes some getting used to. The pride I belonged to before was very different…” He looked into the depths of the pride’s lands. It was extremely different. He found himself shocked often by the culture difference in just the two prides. They weren’t even that far from one another.
Faudi gave him a smile. “It does take some getting used to,” he agreed, glancing in the direction the other male did. Aji turned his gaze back to the black and white male curiously. “You’re not from here either?” Though he figured he should have known. The mannerisms Faudi displayed were not quite the same as the others in the pride.
Faudi was a little shy, stuttering a lot. He didn’t know if the other lion was always like that, or just on first meetings, but Aji found it a bit endearing.
“I wasn’t born here, no,” Faudi answered. “I came here not long ago, actually. Not a half-year even.” Faudi shuffled. He was still getting used to - well, everything - despite being here a while. He had kept to himself quite a bit in the past and had only recently worked up the courage to talk to the other felines in the pride.
It was hard for him. He spent a lot of his life getting chased and attacked by other felines, especially since he didn’t fight back. He didn’t know how to hunt either. He did, however, recognize the winged lion from when he joined.
Aji was a hunter, one of the few they had at the moment. He’d never watched the other work, however, though he’d seen others just in passing. The Ah Aar was smiling at him though. He knew hunting wasn’t bad - otherwise he’d never eat, but he could not do it himself.
“Well, I guess we’ll both get used to this pride over time. It is a good place,” Aji gave a small laugh and Faudi could only nod in agreement. It was a nice area, and he would know the others eventually. He hoped they were all kind, though some he could tell were a little gruff. It was a little intimidating.
“That we will, my friend.” Faudi said in response, giving a small laugh himself. “This place, he breathed in the fresh air and smiled. It felt like home even more every day. He doubted it would be very long until they both felt this place as something other than the pride they reside in.
Faudi smiled, at his new found friend, bouncing up. “I’ll continue my walk now I think. It was nice meeting you!” he told the other lion, bouncing away. Aji in turn, smiled at the other and went back to his task at hand before he was interrupted. It would be a fine day, he decided, a fine day indeed.