The fog of the morning was clearing, visibility rose. The trees became much clearer... And harder to run into. Nenetl, having separated herself from her sister, was poking around the beginnings of what looked like a forest. A gentle poke inward told her the ground got softer as she got further, until it turned into muck and water. She looked around, gold eyes dancing with delight. What was this new and wet place, so drastically different from the deserts? She let out a giggle, starting to poke around. For as silent as it seemed, though... She didn't realize she wasn't alone.
The ghostly white lion had seen the lioness before she'd gotten far. He kept close, orange eyes watching, trying to make sure she didn't go TOO far in. As welcoming as the pride was, she was still an unknown. Thankfully, the waters stopped her from going far, and Mle found himself still tailing her. He climbed up a tree, using his small size to his advantage to not weigh him down. For as often as he went swimming, today his mane was dry, allowing more lightness to his steps. They didn't stop him from breaking a branch and falling in the water, though.
Ears flicking, Nenetl went over and peeked at the water. Something had landed in there... When a lion suddenly surfaced, she let out a startled yell, falling back in surprise. A bit of water dripped from her hair as she stared in shock at the water. There was a lion! In the WATER! She scrambled up, hurrying over and reaching a paw out. "I can help you out of there!" Never mind what a lion was DOING there in the first place!
Mle reached out of the water, moving his mane out of his face. Suddenly he found himself confronted with a paw, tipped in a golden-brown color on gray-brown. Following the limb, he found himself rather close to the lioness. It was his turn to let out a startled sound, paddling back. Her words rang in his ears, though... She thought he was drowning? Swimming over to the shore, Mle pulled himself out, shaking off. "Thank you, but I can swim!" He offered a smile, though it felt a bit... Forced... He'd gotten use to all the lions in the pride, over his fears of brown lions... If he knew them or met them through someone else. This was a somewhat new encounter.
She could just SEE the pained effort in that smile. Setting her paw down, the lioness examined the male carefully. After a moment, she frowned. "I know this pain..." She got up, going over to him. "Why do you lock yourself up in these chains? No one can change your life except for you... Don't ever let anyone step all over you, just open your heart and your mind." She reached out, placing a paw gently on his shoulder. No claws, just the pads, the fur. "Is it really fair to feel this way inside...?"
Mle frowned, processing her words. They had a meaning to them, but what? He sighed, then got up. "I should take you back to the border. Unless you want to live here, you shouldn't stick around. You might meet the wrong lion." There were bigger lions than him, after all. He paused on that thought. Okay, just about ALL adult lions were bigger than him. The white lion led the lioness through the trees, picking a rather long, if safe, path. All the while, he listened to the words the lioness seemed to be singing out.
"You could sustain, or are you comfortable with the pain?" Suddenly Nenetl placed a paw on the strange white lion's tail, causing him to stop. "You've got no one to blame for your unhappiness, you got yourself into your own mess." She lifted her paw, tilting her head. "What bothers you? What about me seems to be wrong?" It wasn't sung, not like the rest of her words. It was a genuine, spoken question. "Lettin' your worries pass you by, don't you think it's worth your time to change your mind?"
The white lion stopped, staring at the brown lioness. He hesitated, mouth moving, then looked away. "I had a bad past with others... My family was small, all of us had whie pelts... And we lived near a pride of superstitious lions that believed we were ghosts, spirits... They were all browns... They killed my family. It's taken me a long time, but I've mostly gotten over the fears it caused. Being here helped..." He offered a smile, a little less forced than the previous one. "That's why I'm no longer Zimwi, as they had called me, but Mle'tonoka... I've regained my inner strength."
As they reached the border, the lioness smiled happily. "I suppose I'm as much like a doll as my name suggests, then, if you're as inwardly strong as yours suggests!" She happily butted her head on his shoulder. "I'm Nenetl!" She heard a distant roar, one ear flicking. "Oh, and that'd be my sister, Meztli! I should go back to her now! She's probably worried..." She flicked her tail, smiled at Mle, then hurried off. "Some day somebody's gonna make you wanna turn around and say goodbye. Until then, baby, are you going to let them hold you down and make you cry? Don't you know? Things can change, things'll go your way if you hold on for one more day!"
Mle sighed, shaking his head. Nenetl, the doll... As he turned back towards the swamps, he had to mentally question just why her words stuck to him. Maybe he WASN'T over his fears... But then, he hadn't absolutely freaked out. It was a mild discomfort... He WAS better, after all. Slipping into the water to head back for the pride, Mle mulled over his own thoughts, beliefs in himself... Everything. Eventually, he'd figure it all out. For now... He was a bit tired.
