Mia was... happy, though tentatively so. For the first time since Mheetu's dissapearance, she felt like little pieces of herself had been returned to her, one by one. The first few seemed to float back after the increased support of her son, Kale. He was a serious soul and rather concerned with becoming a historian that he seemed to lose his compassion at times. Mia didn't mind that Kale wasn't overly concerned with becoming a father or meeting a lioness, although she did wonder at times how she could raise someone seemingly so indifferent about that matter. The chocolate coloured lioness was rather family orientated herself, though she had her quirks that never seemed to leave. They were unshakable. It was a strange thing to be concerned with numbers, but Mia loved counting, and others seemed to in turn, love her. There was a sense of sadness and regret that in Mheetu's disappearance, she never got to birth any more cubs. The lioness had however, found recent companionship in the form of a now-dear new friend, who had come to the Pridelands and brightened up her day. They were kindred spirits of sorts, and both understood one another's pain as nobody else seemed to.
Speaking of which, she had offered to take the new male on a tour of the Pride lands. Kale had offered, but she didn't want to bore poor Kihalua with historical facts one after another. As talented as her son was, sometimes he didn't understand that not everyone had the same interests as he did. A flash of pink appeared in the gold, mimicking the colours of a spectacularly unusual sunset and her maroon eyes followed it, more than aware of what – or who, it was.
Kihalua puffed in the hot son as his way to see Mia. The lioness had been very hospitable and kind indeed, and though he had already been on an unofficial tour, he wanted to see the Pridelands from her perspective. It was after all her home, and so it was comforting and familiar. He would get to see it from a completely different side, he supposed. Mia was one of the main reasons he had decided to come back. Though not overly persuasive, the lioness possessed a general love for the Pridelands and a longing to finally move on after she had endured such a similar situation to himself. A new start in these golden lands would be blissful, and after thinking it over with some trepidation he had joined not too long ago. He hadn't regretted it. There were so many lions here, but instead of being overwhelming it was welcoming. Every friendly new face seemed to wipe the slate of bad memories and he found himself grinning and greeting everyone with a chirp. It was still difficult to shake off the pain some days, but he was so glad that he was here. The dry grass thinned beneath his paws as he approached a patch of cracked earth under a spiny-looking tree that loomed across the sun. It was here he'd organised to meet his new friend, and he anticipated her arrival warmly.
Mia watched him approach from not far off. He was so unusually coloured and it was refreshing. Though the traditional colours of the pride were much valued – the natural, golden sandy tones to the sunniest colours of Maawio's lineage, it was indeed different to see what colour pelts the rogues carried into them. With new blood came interesting lineage, strange colouration and strange patterning. Mia thought Kihalua's was quite flattering. Pink was always a unique colour – seemingly reserved for flowers and those things sweet. Perhaps it was a reflection on those who were coloured that way? She chuckled to herself and approached the male slowly. All this musing wasn't going to get them around the Pridelands now, was it?
“Hello Mia!” Kihalau beamed at Mia, his enthusiasm evident as he pawed at the ground excitedly. In truth, he didn't much like being alone... He was able to cope, of course. Being a rogue for a while and travelling meant that you had to cope on your own. In terms of being lonely in a crowd of creatures though, that was entirely different and difficult. He remembered how devastated he felt when he was removed from his sisters and placed with the males of the pride – males he did not know. It was a culture shock he didn't much like. For the first few days in the Pridelands, he preferred to be close to Mia. She was a familiar face, and he didn't have to be alone now.
“Kihalau!” She greeted him warmly. “How are you finding the pride?”
“Large” He grinned gently. “I am settling in well though, thank you. It's all down to you, though, really.” The male was speaking the truth, she had helped him find his new home and though he was full of trepidation, the excitement was there too. He wondered just what the female had planned for today. He had passed a group of soldiers that had been training, and watched them from afar for a moment. The male wasn't too sure of exactly how he could contribute to the pride, but he was sure that he would find his calling soon. Hopefully Mia didn't want to spar, he didn't think he was quite up for that yet!
Mia hadn't planned anything spectacular, more so to just spend time with the male, to get to know him and to invite him into her world. Though she was a little bruised from the pain of the past, she was eager to make new friends and to show the side of her that had been gone for some time now. It was only a matter of time before Kihalau discovered her quirks. She didn't pay much attention to them herself but she had often been told they were both strange and sweet. Mia wasn't too bothered by what others thought, she was rarely faced with negativity.
Chuckling at the male, she motioned towards the watering hole, the only point of interest she could think of right now, other than Pride Rock itself. “You ready to go?”
WC: 1041
