Everything was changing now. She was older, wiser..somewhat, though still young at heart, still small in frame. Though she was Tearh, proud of who she was, saw herself in a different light now that she had overcome certain fears in life, swimming for one. Now it seemed like she was constantly around the water hole, peering within its depths, touching her toes to the top to watch the ripples begin and then dissipate into nothingless. Life was different, happier, she made new friends, new relations, in a manner of speaking, though she was still hesitent to tell her father of the male she had come to be so fond of.
Tearh was unsure of how to go about telling her father, he was over protective already, to think that he might go after him because he's her father's 'little girl' made her scared of what her father might do. She didn't want him to be scared away, "What should I do?"
Ngala'leli had heard of the pridelands in her wanderings. It was hard not to, really. It was famous, even in the eyes of non-lions. So when she came across its borders she recognized it though she had never been there before herself. The high traffic of game and numerous lions was hard to miss. And the huge rock in the distance wasn't exactly invisible either. But she paid all of it little mind. She had heard the locals were friendly. In fact, it was what they were most well known for. She was just passing through, so she should be fine.
She kept her pace at a steady lope, conserving her energy. Her large ears twitched alertly back and forth as she went. Sure, it was supposedly safe here, but she was no fool. There was nothing wrong with staying alert.
"Maybe if I show him I'm not a child anymore," Tearh concluded. She pushed herself to stand, dust and dirt clinging to her pelt, she wished to clean herself immediately but it would not be of any use for what she had in mind Hunting, yes, perhaps if she brought her father something, perhaps if anything no less than a peace offering, he might not wish to run her new friend out of the Pridelands. Peering around with sky blue hues she let her ears swivel to hear anything nearby, but all was quiet, not even a butterfly flitted through the air hear. Strange.
Moving herself away from the water hole, as she suspected it was her presence which created hte absense of abundence of life, tearh moved herself towards hte grasslands, a smile on her maw. perhaps she might be successful today.
As Leli moved along she realized the pride must be more densely populated than she had realized. Her nose was bombarded with lion scents, all different and intermingling. It posed a bit of a puzzle for her as she walked...for it didn't seem like there would be enough prey to support such a large group of lions. And yet this area was supposedly "paradise" with enough food for everyone and more. Strange.
She tried her best to keep her eyes and ears peeled for a close encounter. She was surprised that she hadn't ran into anyone yet, actually. But she was sure it was only a matter of time.
Tearh kept low to the ground, as low as she could stay without making her forearms ache while she moved. Something caught her attention, ears caught a sound, somene was about. Peering through grass blades Tearh saw something, something dark..she stopped. Dark? Tearh had never seen a zebra or antelope nor wildebeast that dark in color. Not the build of a lion though. Tilting her head Tearh raised herself up, showing herself, but in a manner that showed she was no threat. What...was it? T
ruthfully, tearh had never seen such a thing before, large ears, slim body. Strange. "H-hi?" Tearh called out not knowing if this creature would be dangerous..it, looked nice enough though...
Leli stopped immediately, her large ears swivling as she searched for the source of the call. Then she saw a lioness not too far away...not hiding herself either. Well, she supposed it was to be expected. This was supposed to be a "friendly" place after all. She was just a little amsused by the lack of caution. Well, it wasn't her problem.
Being in a territory for lions, though, she knew better than to be rude. She'd be polite...or at least as polite as she could get. Her social skills were always a bit sharp and verbally confrontational.
"Hello yourself," she called back, turning both her gaze and her ears towards the lioness to show that she had her attention.
Tearh tilted her head at the black...thing. The voice was female, but it looked nothing like a lioness at all. In all honesty, it looked like a giant sized jackal, perhaps she was just the big one of a family of jackals? Tearh swished her tail in the grasses, watched the other darked pelted..thing, and fidgeted her paws together. "I don't mean to sound rude, or strange, so please do not take it the wrong way," she said first, before continuing.
"But I've never seen...smeone like you before, what are you, a...jackal, maybe?" she asked somewhat hopeful. Her tone of voice sounded sincere, for she really had never seen anything like this before. "My name is Tearh..." she added, so there would not be any confusions there.
Leli snorted, not seeming as concerned as Tearh about manners. She knew pridelanders were sheltered and extremely spoiled, but she had hoped at least they wouldn't have been so ignorant. She had thought that the blind lion she had met hadn't known her species because he couldn't see. Obviously a lack of knowledge was common for the area.
"I'm not a jackal," she scoffed. Really, she had far different shaped ears, along with the rest of her body. And size? They didn't compare. But these pridelanders...she supposed she could expect all sorts of silly conversations like this.
"I'm a wilddog," she corrected.
Wilddog? Tearh wondered if it was anything like a hyena, size would be around the same, but the build, not at all. Tearh's ears fell back as she considered the situation, she really had to get out a bit more huh? "Sorry, if I offended you by not knowing, I don't get out much, or far, as you can see," she said with a light hearted laugh.
"What brings you this way? Just wandering, exploring? Must be nice," she said trying to break the tension that she felt in the air. She wasn't sure if the wilddog felt it either. "Whats your name?" she asked, realizing the female had not given it when she had offered her own.
"Your lack of information doesn't offend me, but it certainly doesn't do anything for you," Leli replied with a shrug. She was blunt and perhaps that would upset the lioness, but she saw no reason to say otherwise. Lying only made sense when it had a purpose and accomplished a goal. Otherwise it was wasteful...and a bit unethical. Though that part of it was more of an after-thought.
"Yes, I suppose you could say that. Nice depends on what you mean by that...judging by your life style I don't think you'd agree," Leli answered just as openly and without care. She did pause a bit at the question of her name. She didn't feel it was the lioness's business. But it wasn't like she could do anything with it.
"It's Ngala'leli."
"Whats it mean?" Tearh asked curiously. Names always had intrigued her, what they meant, what the meaning of a name might mean to the one with the name, that sort of thing. Names were various and different styles and sizes and had significant variences in meanings as well.
Tearh shrugged at her other comments, "Perhaps, though I find stories of the roguelands, other areas interesting, though I love my home," Tearh didn't think she would ever be able to leave her home. Home was where her family was, where her everything was.
"It mean?" Lei rolled her eyes slightly. Name meanings now? Was that what they valued here? Not that she cared. She had always though they were silly. After all, listen to her name! "It means 'gleaming night'. My mother must have been thinking about my fur," she explained off-handedly.
"Stories are often just that; stories. You wouldn't be able to know if it were truly interesting unless you went there," Leli argued logically. After all, she ha heard things about the pridelands but...she had tried not to make assumptions. At least, not until she got here and experienced it herself, if only for a little while.
Tearh smiled at the meaning, but her ears were still held back against her head. Leli seemed very blunt and quick to the point, quite intelligent, and logical, but where was a smile, a laugh? Tearh sighed, no story either? Perhaps she expected too much, or still believed others might ell her stories of their travels as some had when she was younger. Flicking her tail, Tearh stayed were she was, at somewhat of a distance.
It seemed that Leli had no itnerest here, just, logic, but logic was not bad, and Tearh did not think ill of Leli either. Everyone had their own personality, own self, and own way of socializing with others. "If I ever ventured somewhere, it wouldn't be far," she wouldn't be able to ahve herself wander so far from home. Tearh turned a bit, took a few steps and peered over her shoulder, "I need to scout out some prey for a hunt later, it was nice meeting you," she said with a nod, and began to trot off. Wilddogs were interesting, but strange. Jackals, they reminded her of jackals.
"If you say so," Leli commented in reply. Nice or not, she didn't really judge. It just didn't matter enough to her. She almost smiled a little as she kept back a comment on how she was surprised the lioness was going off to hunt at all. But she supposed this one wasn't handicapped or laden with cubs so she had no excuse. It was interesting to see that held up here.
With a flick of her ears she started off loping again. Well, there could have been worse encouters. She imagined that, as she was still moving through these lands she'd have others. But only time would tell. Probability was just another fancy word for chance.
