Huruma & Chepe'dongo:
"Dongo... Dongo! Come on, you're so slow!"
Huruma had never been the most patient of lionesses, and waiting for her waterbuck companion to climb up to the top of a pretty tall hill was taking far longer than she liked. The view from where she stood was positively stunning. Something like her birthplace, the grasses swayed with the wind like the water of a lake. There were different herds of preybeasts, grazing and living life just as she was. And she could see a really big rock, faaaaaaaaar off in the distance. Of course, it could have been close and really small, but she wasn't the scientific type.

Malik:
Everything had changed...
The entire mood of the pride, the general look of the individuals, the rulers- everything... He didn't reconize any of the faces, none of the lionesses. Sukutu and his kin must have left as well. It wasn't suprising, considering the news of his uncle.

Defeated once more, Malik trudged heavily from the boarders of the pridelands. His strong jaw set sharply, biting back the complaints and curses that would, sadly, go unherd. A small part of him wished that Rehema hadn't fallen in love... the other part was still very happy for the tomboy.

Huruma & Chepe'dongo:
Huruma looked over her shoulder as the older waterbuck finally stepped to her side.
"Geez, Dongo. You'd think you were a croc by the way you walk so slow," she said with a playful grin. He merely rolled his eyes and shook his head in return.
"Obviously you've never encountered one, otherwise you wouldn't make that analogy."
"Oh, buck up. You know I don't mean it. Anyways, look out there! Isn't the world wonderful?" the lioness asked, turning back to the scene before them, eyes wide in awe. Chepe'dongo nodded slowly in return, and in doing so, missed his companion's grin.

"See you at the bottom!" she laughed and slipped over the edge of the hill, slipping and sliding on the grass, eyes closed in merriment as her friend called out her name in warning.
"HURUMA!!"
She didn't realize someone was in her path until she'd run into a rather large, furry form with an "Oof!" as they collided.

Malik:
Malik, who had been quite taken off-guard by the sudden arrival, stumbled a few paces to the side. It wasn't enough to completely knock him over, he'd always been pretty sound on his paws. It helped that his large frame was heavy enough to anchor him down.

"What th' hell was dat!?" He whirled about until he settled on a smaller purple form in the grass.

A female purple form.

"Uh....ya alwight dere, miss? Nasty tumble, ya should putcher claws tah good use."

Huruma & Chepe'dongo:
Huruma shook her head a bit to clear it before blinking up at the other lion, her red eyes wide at his size. In comparison to most of her old pride members, she had been a big lioness, traits inherited from both sides of the family, but this guy... He was even bigger than her father.
She blinked almost cluelessly up at him for a moment before bursting into laughter.
"Man, that was fun! Sorry for running into you like that, I did that on purpose. Well, the sliding part, not the running into you part. Either way, that was totally awesome!" She stopped babbling to look over her shoulder at the rise, up at her frozen comrade.
"Dongo, you totally gotta try that, mate!"
"Like hell! I can't believe you didn't break that stupid neck of yours!" the waterbuck called back as he started carefully making his way down.

Huruma turned back to the big male, grinning at him.
"It'll take more than a tumble down a hill to do me in. Name's Huruma. What's yours?"

Malik:
Fun.......?
He glanced around to either side. Were there others? Was this some kind of....newly invented pridlander game? LIzard toss must have lost its touch then.

"Heh... at least yer still walkin'." He smirked, lopsided. "Name's Malik. Ya....from th' pridelands. Never seen colors like dat."

Huruma & Chepe'dongo:
"Pridelands, huh? My mom talked about that once. Said she used to live on the outskirts 'til my dad took her away to the Kusini. My coat's kinda weird there, too, though," Huruma replied, pausing to give him a playful wink, "Guess that just makes me special, huh?"
She looked around at the scenery some more, tilting her head a bit and nodding.

"It's really nice here, Malik. Kinda like my old home, only more green. Are all the lions 'round here as big as you?" In truth, Huruma wasn't really that talkative on a normal basis, but still hyped up on the ride down the hill and running into someone new from a place she'd only ever heard of was such and adventure she couldn't help but get a little excited.

Malik:
"Guess so?" He shrugged. He really wasn't too up-to-date on the current prides boardering the pridelands- or anywhere for that matter.

"Ah, nah... I'm kinda different too. Not really in color n' stuff- or I wasn't.... but my size is a little abnormal." He shrugged, "'s a nice 'nuff place I suppose. Not my kind of place, though." Not anymore anyway...

Huruma & Chepe'dongo:
Huruma nodded in laid-back understanding, relaxing a bit more in her sitting position.
"I getcha. I've yet to find my kind of place. I like adventure, and well, that really doesn't coincide with settling down in one place, really," she replied, shrugging a bit. She figured sooner or later she'd have to settle down, like her parents did, so that she could have a family and all that, but for now it was just her and Dongo, exploring the world.

Malik:
"It's a big world, das for sure." He chuckled, "Ya sound like a little me though. Though dere's a lotta say 'bout a place filled with people ya can trust n' protect. Ya dunno whatcha got till ya don't got it no more."

He glanced up towards her...compaion. "....Ya talk to yer food?'

Huruma & Chepe'dongo:
"Mmhmm, I've noticed. Kinda miss my family sometimes, but I don't think I ever felt like I really fit in there," Huruma replied before blinking at his question. She looked back over her shoulder where Dongo had stopped at the base of the hill to graze, some ways to the side of them so that he was out of the way.
"He's not food!" she replied indignantly, her ears flicked back as she straightened and puffed herself up a bit to look more threatening. Though, in comparison to the male, she was nothing.

"He's looked out for me since I left home, and I look out for him, and he's been guiding me through the safe places. If anybody tries to eat him, they gotta go through me, first." Her lips pulled back to bare her teeth for a moment before she nodded once with much conviction.

Malik:
Malik waved a paw, "Sorry sorry, I didn't know. I uh...never talked to nothin' but other lions really. Didn't know dat...huh." He glanced back towards the other creature. "....serious? Das yer friend...? Well...huh."

Ona had a pet bird, Rehema's mate. "Maybe I've been on da road longern' I thought. Ya still eat meat right?"

Huruma & Chepe'dongo:
"Heh heh, yeah," Huruma replied, relaxing back and jerking her head in Dongo's direction. "Just not him. He got jittery the first time he saw me hunt, so I go away to hunt and eat and then we meet back up when I'm done."

She shrugged a bit, looking at the waterbuck with a softer smile.
"Right now, he's the only friend I've got. I had another, but we kinda went our separate ways after a while. Kinda sucks he's gone, but it's good to still have Dongo hanging around."

Malik:
His ears rolled back. A familar story. "S' what happens when ya get older. Ya get'cher own life, sometimes it's not 'zactly wif th' ones ya were wif a'fore."

He flicked his tail, "I'm not goin' anywhere in particular. Can't say I got any adventures tah get to or nuffin, but I am travlin'. Lookin' for my family. They kinda...scattered."

Huruma & Chepe'dongo:
Huruma shrugged again, giving him a small smile.
"Least you have a goal. That's what counts, in the end." And then an idea struck her. Her face brightened slightly, eyes widening and ears perking upwards.
"Hey, think we could travel together for a bit? It'd be nice to have another lion to talk to again. Dongo's nice and all, but there are some times when I'd really like to be with another lion. Hunting can be interesting on your own, but it's easier with a friend and all that." Despite her age, that was really the only thing she was thinking about. Anything else just didn't cross her mind.

Malik:
"Kind of... goal's been fadin' for a while." he shrugged, "I like tah think they're all out n' about doin' what I've been doin'. Maybe with familes n' all dat."

He tipped his head. He'd gone for a while without company... it sounded like a decent idea. "...sounds awright. You don't mind a few stops, do ya? I got a friend up near dat big mountain. So..... yeah. I dun mind if ya can deal wif dat."

Huruma & Chepe'dongo:
Huruma's eyes widened even more at the thought of the mountain.
"I totally haven't been there yet! Thanks for letting me come with you!" And just to add to her show of enthusiasm and gratefulness, that she more or less leaped at him, giving him a hug. She never really had learned the whole "Don't talk to/trust/hug strangers" lesson.

Malik:
Malik chuckled at her exlaimation. "Is not much really. Jus' a big hill. Colder, bit more rocky...th' lions dere are- WHOA WHAT!?"

He was soon faced with.... a very unfamilar gesture. It was almost a pounce- a controlled pounce!? "Uh...." He blinked, and slowly pushed her back with a paw.

Huruma & Chepe'dongo:
Huruma pulled back, smiling sheepishly.
"Sorry, sometimes I get a little carried away. My dad didn't like hugs much, but my mom encouraged them so..." she replied, just when Dongo came walking back into hearing/speaking range.
"Doesn't excuse you from hugging strangers at your whims, 'Ruma. Geez, you really need to learn some self-control one of these days," the waterbuck chided. He received only a shrug and another smile from the lioness, though she did nod a bit in acknowledgement.

Malik:
"Never been hugged a'fore." He started forward once more, a lopsided smirk hanging from his maw. She wasn't exactly normal, but fun enough company. It was certainly better than silence.

"'e's got a point. Dere's a good deal of unfriendly strangers ya don't wanna cross. Jus' got back from fightin' in a war myself. Can't say it was the most noble thing for me to do. I'm sure dere's lotsa bitter loosers walkin' around lookin' for a few hides to take their anger out on."

Huruma & Chepe'dongo:
"I like to think I'm a good judge of character," Huruma replied, falling into step beside Malik, with Dongo walking on her other side. The waterbuck rolled his eyes and shook his head in exasperation, but said nothing.
"You were in a war? Must have been... hard, huh? Not really the fighting type myself... well, I mean I don't really know how, besides the basic instincts."

Malik:
"Harder dan I thought it'd be." He winced a bit. He'd been prepared to fight, it ran in his blood afterall. It was -who- he had been forced to fight that lingered in the back of his mind.

"It's somethin' ya pick up I suppose."

Huruma & Chepe'dongo:
Huruma nodded, not really wanting to talk about the war anymore. It seemed touchy and she wasn't the type to dwell on touchy subjects.
Fighting, however...
"Think you could teach me sometime?"

Malik:
"I suppose I can. I'm pretty good at teachin' I'm told. Though I do tend to be a bit rough." He smirked over a shoulder, "Ya can handle a few bumps though. Judgin' by yer introduction."

Huruma & Chepe'dongo:
"I think all the bumps in her cubhood addled her brains," Dongo muttered and Huruma actually laughed.
"Probably, but I think I still turned out okay. At least I'm not gonna lose my fur because I worry all the time," she shot back with a smirk before returning her attention to Malik.
"Sounds good. Though, judging by your size, I think you might be able to dish out more than just a few bumps."