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So many terrible things had been going on in the swamps, all of it seemed to start around the time Mkaa had come here with Maji. But he wasn't Mkaa anymore, he was Jitokeza and this was where Jitokeza lived. It was nerve-wracking and worrisome, especially with two young daughters of his own, but he was doing his best. Or he had been until he had lost track of his mate. Maji had disappeared and he didn't know what to do or what to think. He didn't like assuming the worst but with everything that had been going on, how could he think anything else? She was no where to be found, though, and that offered them some hope.

He didn't like leaving his girls now but he was desperate to make another attempt to find Maji. He didn't want to admit defeat, he didn't know what to do if she didn't show up, if something had happened to her.

Baridi'ini.

He heard the name being muttered nearby and it caught his attention, perhaps because he was feeling so anxious. Every little sound made him jump, he had to be careful while he was the only one the girls had. Until Maji came back. Which she would, because she had to. He stopped walking and looked around. The voice didn't sound suspicious or malicious, there was no reason to suspect everybody.. it almost sounded worried, even. He couldn't ignore that.

"Hello?" he called out, "Who's there?"

Jitokeza recognized the stillness that followed his call. There was complete silence. No voice, no movement and then suddenly the name was repeated, this time as a whole introduction. Or he finally heard it entirely. And once she spoke up, it was easy to find her. He weaved through a couple trees and came across the path she had been following- and across the lioness. She looked.. familiar. She looked like home. Well, his old home.

"I'm Jitokeza," he introduced himself, "I don't know about normal but I try to be nice." He smiled and opened his mouth to say something more but decided against it. He didn't have to comment on why someone might be looking for someone nice and normal, maybe she just was new, like he had been. He should have been paying better attention to all the returning members and joining members.

As soon as Baridi mentioned the Pridelands, Jitokeza perked up visibly. He looked almost excited. She was from the Pridelands, he had been right to be reminded of his old home, where his family was. It was nice to feel like he had something right for once, and it showed.

"I thought you looked familiar," he said brightly, "I know what you mean, don't worry. I'm from the Pridelands, too. It is really different here. It's quite nice, I think. N-not counting everything that has happened recently." He frowned, glancing around them. The poor lions and their families.. and then Maji.. It had been quite nice here, they needed to figure out who was responsible and maybe things could go back to normal.

"I spent most of my time by myself at home, I guess that might have made me a little easier to notice than one lion in a big group of 'em," he said with a small shrug when she said she recognized him. It was the only obvious way it made sense, there were too many lions to recognize them all individually. He only recognized Baridi'ini because she looked so much like some of the royal family, her colors were very distinctly Pridelander.

He made a slight face when she tried to change the subject by describing how she had arrived here, realizing that there was really no good way for him to answer this without returning to the more worrisome subject.

"My mate brought me here, too, when she finished her name quest," he explained, deciding to leave out the pregnancy information, it was a little too much information to offer at first, "I- I don't- well, things will get better. They have to. It was very peaceful and happy until all of these murders. We'll find whoever is doing these things and then we can stop being suspicious and paranoid." He cut himself off in mentioning that Maji was missing, but he couldn't ignore the topic after he started. They could be paranoid but they could be optimistic. It was sad that this lioness arrived in the midst of the chaos, it was no way to be welcomed into a new home.

"They will be," he said optimistically, feeling a little better than he had before. This was a better way to think. The pride was large, they were mostly strong and healthy. Whoever was attacking them was attacking those who were alone, weak or defenseless. That mother, that young one.. there was no imaginable excuse for those. There was no excuse for murder but certain things struck more deeply.

"They have to be," he said, "Nowhere is perfectly safe but in a pride you have the numbers to do something about it, right? Remember what happened to the king in the Pridelands?" Mufasa's death had been a great shock and they had gotten even. It wasn't a happy bit of history but it certainly wasn't something that was unknown to the pride members.

"Hopefully something is done before anybody else turns up," he added, slightly less optimistically. It was always going to be a possibility until someone was found, until everything stopped. Things were more quiet lately but the threat always loomed.

"It's not really easy but it's hard not to start recognizing others, at least," he responded with a small frown. He had been lucky to arrive before this, he didn't have to feel like there was only fear and paranoia. He felt bad for Baridi. And he worried about his girls. Would Faaiza and Utamu have happy memories of their young lives here or would this mess be a major part of it? He sincerely hoped not.

"I wasn't- I wasn't really busy," he lied, shaking his head and offering a small smile, "And if I recall, I was the one who spoke to you first. Was looking for someone to talk to all you were doing?"

"Yes, you will know me," he agreed with a nod. It was only one meeting but he supposed that was about all it took sometimes. He didn't have many friends, Kiwi have been his only friend and well.. they had hit it off quite well. They ended up with two beautiful girls because of it, but now.. He was caught off guard when she suddenly asked if she might meet his mate. His immediate reaction was to frown, his ears turning back. He was trying to be nice and positive when he left out that he had been looking for his missing mate but there was no avoiding it now.

"I- I don't know where she is," he confessed in a quiet voice, glancing over his shoulder, "My den is near, though. You could meet my daughters. I suppose another set of eyes that recognize them would be good right about now." He tried to offer a smile but it didn't work out too well. As much as he wanted to be suspicious of who was around his girls, he couldn't be too protective and Baridi just didn't look like a threat. She was from the Pridelands, she looked it.. he could trust her. Couldn't he?