Welcome to Gaia! ::

It would take more than a lifetime for Kisulisuli to forget her name before she joined the Jini-msemi to be with her sister. She had come without knowing whatever happened to her other siblings and had no idea the lands the pride now marched through contained one brother that stood out most in her mind. When her name was called out, she perked up in the crowd and looked out towards the growing group of strangers before them-- and then she spotted Dongo.

Unlike him, she had no restraint. With a delighted squeal, she pushed her way out of the crowd and ran across the gap between the two groups until she crashed into her brother. She left behind at least two staring daughters and no doubt many others.

"Dongo!" she cried.




((Sorry guys. Can't take Kisuli anywhere.))

The male finally gave in, breaking from the group of tattooed lions to meet his sister half-way. The purr that came from him sounded almost like a low roll of thunder, a sign of just how happy he was to see family. As he rubbed against her, his face was alight with a grin. "Pipi, it's been too long! How have you been? What's been going on in your life? There's so much to talk about!" He then turned and pointed. "This is my mate, Huong! And over there are... Most of our children!" The group he indicated were three sons and all but one daughter. He then looked back at his sister. "What about you? Mate, children?"

Huong looked back and forth, watching her mate and a lioness who seemed to be her sister-in-law, and couldn't help but begin to really grin. "It's so nice to see just how MUCH family you have, Dongo!" She felt like she'd joined something far bigger than just Dongo and a brother. "First your brother in another clan, now one of your sisters in a whole other pride! Just how big IS your family?" Amusement reflected in her gold eyes, a joy to, indeed, be part of such a big family. Though it raised a question - How many brothers and sisters did Dongo HAVE? He'd mentioned that his father liked to... Spread the genes... But this one looked like a FULL sister, not so much a half-sister, which certainly made things a little easier to keep track of. A little...

Upendo walked up behind her mother, eyes wide. Who were THESE lions? And why was that male so friendly? "Mom, who exactly IS this guy...?" She'd never really come this direction during her Name Quest, and she wasn't sure any of her siblings or cousins had. Whoever he was, he knew her mother. As she really looked at him, she started to notice something of a resemblance to not only her mother, but her aunt as well. She looked at her own limbs, then the male's, and noted the similar barred glove markings. Finally, she looked to her mother, eyes widening. "Is he related to us...?!"

Skan had a moment of shock upon seeing a slithering form emerge from the lioness' neck. He was having a hard time calming down, but the fact that his father, Tawa'di, didn't seem too alarmed told Skan that he needed to slow his mind down. Think this through. Though it wasn't his generation, he knew that Tawa'di remembered the hardships of losing your homelands. The Ela'wadiyi may never return to their proper home, but here was a chance to help make their migration easier than the Ela's had been, long ago.

Tawa'di spoke up. "I know of the mountains you speak of. They are empty now, as I'm sure you know, and are ripe for the taking for those that need their protection."

Skan nodded, finally gathering his composure enough to speak properly, and not with accusations or anger. "I am Skan Kanati, the wanidatsi of these lands. As you may see it...loosely, the leader of the Ela'wadiyi." He cleared his throat for a moment, weighing the outcomes of two options in his mind. Finally, he spoke again.

"Ah, if it will help you and your kin, we will offer temporary rest within our lands. I see, and smell, that some of yours are injured, and probably not up to hiking the path to where your goal is. Would you....accept our offering?"

It was uncomfortable, knowing that so many strangers would be in their land, but on the fact that some pride members knew each other and ignored the normal standing of strangers, he supposed this could help strengthen their overall relationship as well.

Endesha was one of those who were injured, though she did her best not to show it. As time had passed her movements had become stiff and pained, though she pressed on without a word of complaint. If anyone had asked she'd thrown them a haughty glare and grinned at them, determined to shake off any concern.

She was fine. She was alive. That was all that mattered. It could have been a lot worse. But now it seemed they had been intercepted and Endesha began to worry that if she stopped to rest she wouldn't be able to get up again. Couldn't they just press on? She'd much rather have worked through the pain than take a break and let it creep deeper into her bones.

"What seems to be the hold up?" She asked no one in particular as she pushed forwards, pausing to cast a sceptical eye over the heavily tattooed lions that had come face to face with. "Oh..."

Vyoga's eyes stayed on his aunts, uncle and cousins but his ears were on what was going on between Khara, Skan and Tawa'di-- though if any party interacted with him at that moment, he might have known nothing of what was going on in either place. So much was going on and he was poorly practiced at dividing his attention so. One surprising voice caught his full attention though: his brother had appeared in the crowd and immediately his eyes and ears were on him.

"Boko!" he cried, taking half a step and remembering where he was, stumbling the rest of the step. And, not named Vyoga-kwaa for nothing, he promptly got his feet tangled up in themselves and nearly hit the ground face-first, catching himself just before he could start to fall.

Wide-eyed and embarrassed, he glanced to Khara and smiled sheepishly. So few members of his family returned from their name quests. Not a single littermate of his had returned, it had been so long that one of his younger siblings had come back already. And even then, it was just the two of them.. and there ought to have been eight. He was very happy to see his brother. But he didn't dare make another move yet.

Momentarily distracted by the appearance of Bokoboko, Kisuli was only half-listening to what Dongo said about Wakhakwi being around as well. She could barely contain herself, even when she turned back to Dongo to answer a tricky question.

"Lala, now Baridi'ini, has eight cubs from two litters," she explained, her tone changing as she continued but her expression stubbornly remaining bright, "Two have returned from their name quests, it seems a third has hidden away here."

Tumaini was younger than Vyoga-kwaa and Haikea'sielu but she was very familiar with their younger siblings, being not much older than Nafsi and the others. She immediately recognized that Bokoboko was family, he looked so much like little Anika. Or, perhaps more accurately, she looked so much like him.

Her excitement was starting to rise now, too, as the leaders began to sort out how to make this work and as her mother became more animated. She was a happy observer, she didn't really know any of these reappearing family members, really.

"Anika," she muttered to Upendo, nodding to Haikea, using her sister as an outlet for some of her excitement. It was good to feel so happy about something after the loss of their home.

Once everything was properly put away, Hanaa rose and moved closer to investigate the commotion, making her way through the crowd to get a better view. It wasn't easy... she tried to avoid actually touching anyone, or stepping anywhere that looked like it would get her paws unduly dirty... A soft 'excuse me', 'pardon me' seemed to help ease the way and before long she had an unobstructed view of the goings on.

The cream lioness was startled by the number of strangers that had come to their lands, silently counting them to herself as her mouth moved, forming the numbers. So many... surely the whole of a pride had arrived in their lands. And they were to be guests? The hunters, including her, were going to have their work cut out for them to feed all these mouths...

The happy, raised voice drew her attention and she felt a heat in her chest as lost family reunited, falling on each other as they greeted and shared news. Her dark eyes grew sad as she watched in longing. Pacha... turning from the painful sight, the lioness scanned the pride for a familiar face, as much of a long shot as it might be. How long had it been, since she'd last seen her sister? Years, it felt like. Would her sister even recognize her now?

Though she thought she saw some flashes of bright yellow, none of them belongs to the lioness Hanaa was searching for and she finally gave up, turning back to watch the rules of the two prides speak.