Setting: Some time after the last Sky Festival
The clan had been stopped for a day now, settled for at least two weeks while the most recent cubs rested. There had been a lull, for a time, in births within the clan, but now there were two litters. One had been sired by one of Rajeev's nephews, the other by friends of his parents. The brown lion, exploring a location within the area he'd not been to in a long time, pondered about it. One of his younger sisters had found a mate, and one of her sons had found a mate... Well, technically TWO of his sisters had found mates, but they didn't talk about the other one. The family had been deeply confused and hurt by her actions, and Rajeev suspected she'd gotten some sickness that went to her brain. Regardless of what happened... It wasn't often mentioned.
As he rounded an outcropping of rocks, he stopped and backed up, blue eyes growing wide. There sat a lioness, looking at the sky... And she was NOT a member of the pride.
It had been some time since she'd left the Pridelands and her family behind. It wasn't that Biyu hated being there - Quite the contrary, she adored the Pridelands. But the knowledge that things existed out there in the big world had tickled her fancy and sent her exploring.
Then she'd gotten hopelessly lost.
By this point, her concern wasn't so much finding home again, as finding a pride that WOULDN'T try to run her off. A few had, and she'd met a few unsavory species. Hyenas had already been impressed upon her as a species to avoid. Her experiences wandering had done little to sway that notion. And now, she was near a pride that she didn't know if they liked rogues or not! She knew where the border was, but beyond that... Where were the lions?
Who was this lioness, and what was she doing here? If she was looking to join, she'd missed the Sky Festival already. Rajeev contemplated approaching her, then began to think better of it. He backed up further, a frown on his face. He hadn't the bravery of his father to approach one he didn't know... In fact, when the clan had gained new birds, he had approached those gathered with one of his brothers and his oldest sister. Even at the Sky Festival, the brown lion had been decidedly shy and skittish. It wasn't that he was shy around lionesses - He was shy around everybody that wasn't part of his clan... And even then his bravery had its limit.
Biyu let out a sigh, looking around. Where ever the pride was, they were probably miles away on the other side of their territory. She doubted that showing up in the middle of their lands, instead of at their border, would look very good to ANY pride, and she'd have to make a mad dash back to the border to get away with her life! She started to walk away, when her nose twitched. She wasn't alone... The strong scent of another lion near by had reached her and she looked around, frowning for a moment. They were HIDING... And since there wasn't much to hide behind except a big rock, it meant they were potentially friend instead of foe. The blanket-marked lioness looked at the rock, before walking around it, and soon spied the back of a dark brown lion with a white mane and tail tip. "Hey!"
So focused on his own thoughts was Rajeev, he didn't notice the lioness sneaking up on him until he heard her call to him. With a yelp, the male jumped, eyes wide with shock, before he turned around and gaped at her. "Don't sneak up on a lion! Geeze!" He sat down, shoving a paw under his mane to feel how hard his heart was thumping in his chest. When he calmed down, he eyed the lioness, frowning. "Who are you and what are you DOING here?" It was taking a lot to keep from gaping. The lioness was, in his opinion... Quite lovely. The green-ish mask marking was certainly unique, and her blanket marking was simple yet stunning. Against the green of her marking, the lioness' purple eyes certainly popped out!
Her ears folded back as she took a step back, grimacing. "Sorry! I'm Biyu. I'm..." She looked around. "Well, I'm kind of lost... At this point, I'm not so worried about getting home... My mother's probably given me up as gone forever..." She waved a paw frantically at the expression the male had. "No, not in a cruel way! She has abandonment issues, and wasn't happy that I went out to explore to begin with because of it! She's not had a great life... Mine felt so boring by comparison..." She sighed, sitting down. "But now I can't find my way back to the Pridelands, so I guess the next best thing will be to join a new pride, if one will have me."
"The Pridelands..." He blinked, then stood up. "Hey, my dad's from the Pridelands! You don't know Ezeoha, do you? He's my grandfather!" He motioned with a paw. "And I have a couple half-aunts in the pride from the Pridelands, and at least one uncle! There's a whole bunch of former Pridelanders here!" Of course, as far as Rajeeve knew, Dongo was the only one who'd had cubs yet, despite said brother having a mate. "You could join the Ela'wadiyi, too! They're happy to have new lions join!"
She frowned, one ear folding back as the other lifted to the side a bit. "I don't personally know an Ezeoha... But I do know there's a few lions who trace their lineage to him!" It seemed that this Ezeoha got around a lot at one point, but his presence had thinned. Now only his descendants were floating around. "The Ela'wadiyi...?" She looked toward the center of the pride's lands, contemplating it. "I suppose I could... It'd be so nice to be part of a pride again... Who do I talk to?"
At this the brown lion became sheepish. "Oh, um... You may have to wait until the next Sky Festival... Lions join during the Tree Ceremony, then, and are told what Clan they'll be in." He thumbed toward where he knew his Clan was currently resting. "I'm in the Mantis Clan! I'm part of one of the two largest families there!" Which seemed to be a thing that ran in the blood, if Biyu's words were any indication about his grandfather's ways. Not that his own father had HIDDEN that fact, or showed shame in it. The only thing he showed was WORRY, and rightly so, about his children accidentally wedding a distant relative.
Biyu frowned, giving the male a sour look. "Well that would have been good to know SOONER!" She sighed, then stood up. "I suppose I'll have to wait, then! It sounds like an ideal place to live, and more organized than the Pridelands! Thank you... Um..." She was now the one to smile sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name..."
"Oh! It's Rajeev. Rajeev Kalisetsi." He, too, stood up, giving a bow. "I look forward to you joining the pride, Biyu!" He heard a call and once again looked sheepish. "I'm sorry, I have to go... Be careful about which side of the border you hang out on, or you might be seen as hostile, or potentially run off! See you in a year!" He turned, hurrying off, white mane bouncing a bit as he moved.
As she began to walk away from the border, Biyu mulled over the information a bit. The Sky Festival... She couldn't wait for it, even if it was a year away! That'd give her plenty of time to hone her skills at hunting, and get used to some of the terrain around the pride! She just hoped he'd remember her in a year... He WAS rather dashing looking, if shy... Fully crossing out of the territory, Biyu began to walk along the border, skirting it, and simply... Wandering a bit while she waited.