((Usufii and Baala - Light and Krys))
They'd discussed the day's meeting place and they were off! Usufii went one way, Valse the other. Heaven only knew what the other brother was doing during their times apart, but one thing was for sure: they didn't have to tell anyone, and Valse rarely cared anyway. They were family, though. So long as they met up again at the designated time, all was well. Today was... well, this evening. The boys were out for a night-time excursion this time.
As normal, the bright male wasn't in search of anything in specific. His emerald eyes watched the dying sun set as he walked for a while. The stars were just beginning to peek out in parts of the sky, they were exactly the same as they had been when he was back at home. His tail flicked comfortably, not all things were different out here.
Baala was alone, and this was something she had once before been used to, when her mother had passed away, and before she had met Kiuma and had her daughters. For a long while she had travelled alone, so it surprised her that she did not like it very much. Perhaps she had grown too accustomed to the family life. Life with Kiuma had been good, but that spat... their disagreement, it was large enough to have broken the two apart. Baala knew what she had done back then was right - she had given her daughters to the Kunanda'Nakhun, a more stable home and environment then the life of wandering rogues. Kiuma had naturally disagreed... and for some reason both lionesses were too strong-willed to give in to one another. So their love had been shattered to pieces, and now Baala was silently aching for that family. She would never dare show anyone else her pain, but it was there.
The lioness had a path set in mind, though. She was returning to the Kunanda'Nakhun. There she would join her daughters after a long while of being apart. There they would embrace each other once again, and Baala only hoped it would be love between them. She had not needed her daughters, she had had Kiuma back then. But now that she was alone... she needed her girls, she needed her family. So that was why she must return to the Kunanda'Nakhun. Her ideals may not run with them as much as any other rogue... but her daughters were there, and that was what made it home. There was no other place for her. She may be of a low rank in the Kunanda'Nakhun, but that no longer mattered to her.
Her girls did.
The lioness travelled alone for the time being, her dark pelt making her blend easily in the night. Only upon her shoulder, ribs, and back, where bright yellow makings stood out, could she be seen. But, then again, one might think it some ghostly apparition, or some monster. Either way, Baala could see the bright yellow in the distance - not as intense as her own, but more visible in its sheer mass. Another lion. Caution travelled up her spine, and she ceased moving altogether. She was the prime example of a wary lioness, a lioness who had been through too much to set aside any little occurrence and not worry over it.
As he wandered, Usufii turned his gaze back to the horizon, where he was going. Where was he going? That was the beauty of all of this, he wasn't really going anywhere, and there was nobody to tell him that he should be doing otherwise. He let a contented smile onto his muzzle. "Let's see. Plains, trees, grass. No termites." His number one gripe, the last thing on earth that he'd miss about the Outlands were the termites, he was so glad there wasn't an abundance of them out here. However... Usufii spotted something most odd up ahead. Whatever it was, it was sitting still. Usufii would've called it a firefly, if he'd seen them in his lifetime... As it was, it was something bright amidst a canvas of darkness.
"What's there?" the teen yelled out at the thing, voice steady. It hadn't moved all the while he'd been frozen. Usu was confident that he could fight anything that it could be... After all, his mother was big for a female, muscle-wise, and his dad was a beast. However, he'd really rather not get into a fight tonight. His eyes narrowed as if it would help him see. He continued to pad towards it, curiosity piqued.
There it was, what she was waiting for, a voice to help her determine who it was out there. Definitely a male, and definitely younger from the sound of it. There was caution to be had in such a creature. Her mind flickered briefly back to the moment when she had conceived cubs, that horrible fight with a grey lion, a lion who clearly was not right in his head. He had beaten her, bruised her, and had gotten her pregnant. Perhaps that was why she had pushed the daughters she so desperately needed away... because she had never wanted them to begin with. It was ironic how much she had wanted to be rid of them back then, and how much she needed them now. Her daughters...
But now the question was whether to respond to the voice or not. She still did not move, not even as the other approached her. Since she figured that it would not be good to let him stumble upon her unknowing of the situation, she answered. Her voice was light, the words chosen carefully. "A lioness." That was it. She didn't think there was need for further explination. Either his curiosity would be sated, or it would not be. Baala was certain to make sure that he would be on his way soon enough, though. She could not put her trust in a stranger, not even to entertain him for a little while.
"A lioness, huh?" His posture visibly relaxed. Odds were that a lioness was nothing to worry about, he would have no fights here. "You've sure got some strange markings," he said curiously, continuing towards where he had last heard the voice come from. He had nothing better to do on this night anyway. "Name's Usufii, you?" He asked, slowing his pace to a stop before sitting back on his haunches. If she hadn't popped up by now, she obviously didn't want to be around until she knew more about him. Cautious girl, smart, really. Though Usufii wasn't a problem, especially not at night. The last thing he wanted to do was weird others out at night. No, Usu liked to mess with people's heads sometimes, but all in harmless fun and he only did so during the day.
Perhaps if he played his cards right... and she wasn't taken... He could have some fun tonight, the thought was always in a male's mind, though Usufii buried it perfectly. Besides, the way things were at the moment, that was looking like a stretch from this one. He came to another realization.
"I'm not in pridal territory, am I?" He asked suddenly, out of the blue. He was unfamiliar with this area, so Usufii felt it best to double check. He hadn't smelled any boundary markers, but... couldn't ever be too careful. Last thing he wanted was a pride breathing down his neck; he was trying to get away from that lifestyle, not stumble into it.
Baala outright refused to move any closer to him, but she was relieved that he too had stopped advancing. It put a comfortable safety zone between them, because Baala was a small lioness, and she could never hold her own in a fight. She was vicious when she needed to be, but she knew that she was not built as a fighter. Both of her daughters were, but she was not. No, her bone structure was more delicate - though the more correct term would be 'weak'. Malnurishment had stunted her growth, and though she was recovering from it, she could not regain all of what she had lost. So, it was best for now for her to keep her distance, in case she needed to run. "And you stand out like a beacon in the night," she replied dryly. Really, she was not feeling quite in the mood to entertain a youth's curiosities. She had no idea why she was still sitting here, listening to him.
"Nuksani," and that was an outright lie, but she didn't bother to give her true name to strangers. She had fallen into the habit long ago of calling herself 'Nuksani' to those she did not know, nor intended to know further. It had been her mother's name, and now the name belonged to her daughter. Yet, Baala could not shed the name from herself. It meant 'bad luck', and she somehow thought that it was sickeningly appropriate. Bad luck, indeed.
"No, you're not. It'll be a long while before you hit pridal territory, if what you're searching for is a pride to be accepted into." Baala only had a vague knowledge of her surroundings, but it seemed to be more then what Usufii knew. Baala just happened to know that the Kunanda'Nakhun was in one general direction, and from that she could make a somewhat accurate mental map of her surroundings, and of the prides nearby. Of course, it wasn't accurate enough to confide in detail to the young lion.
"Heh, I am pretty bright, huh? My mom's the same color... Well, mostly. So I've got her coat. It's amazing she can hunt, I can't do it at all at night, but I'm not bad during the day. Yellow blends pretty well with the day's grass. 'Specially with these green markings, they help even more," he mused aloud with a chuckle. His mother... He was starting to miss his mother. He hoped she wasn't back in the Outlands being mad at him. He was sure she wasn't. She had to understand what had been happening to the pair of them their whole lives, and neither Usufii nor Valse were much of the type for conformity.
"Nice to meet you, Nuksani," Usufii said- blatant habit that had been ingrained in his behavior. Not like who he was at all, really, but he'd been forced into learning such politeness. Still, he'd probably have said the same thing. From a young age, he knew this: If you could put on a likeable front, you could get whatever you wanted from anyone and then dump them. He'd erase the hint of sincerity behind his greetings soon enough. "Even though I doubt I could really say I've met you yet," he said. This could get old fast, if the lioness decided to stay hidden. He'd hang around for a little while, anyway, see if he could make any headway before he would leave again.
"And that's good to hear," Usufii said honestly. "I'm trying to avoid prides, really. I've been in one my whole life, I didn't like it there, so I left. My brother's out here too, we meet up and travel together for the most part, but he's off doing his thing, I'm doing mine," Usufii explained simply.
