Sometimes, he almost missed his crazy family; wandering alone through unclaimed lands for days at a time had started to wear him out, and more often than not, he wished he had at the very least a friend to keep him company. That he no longer had much of a destination was another concern. The urge he had once felt for seeing the ocean had slowly dissipated (the result of the lonely life he had been leading since his siblings had split, no doubt), and now, though he had roamed in that general direction anyway for a time, he was simply… wandering. And wouldn’t his parents be proud – he was finally living up to his namesake, the wind, and moving where his paws wished to take him, living without a care in the world. Except that it was boring, and much as he loved the freedom, the fact that he had to walk for days on end without much conversation always depressed him, to some extent.
Niyol snapped out of his reverie to glance about at his unfamiliar surroundings. He had gotten used to that long ago – nothing looked familiar when he was on the move. But there were scents lingering in the air that told him he was approaching some sort of territory; a pride, perhaps, given the concentration of the many different scents. The thought cheered him up almost instantly. New friends, it seemed, were waiting in his immediate future.
--
Kucha'kunge was bursting with fatherly pride these days. He and his wife had recently had a litter of beautiful cubs, mostly girls, and he was certainly loving parenthood with Siki. No matter what anyone said his wife was absolutely the cutest, sweetest thing. It had taken some getting used to, being the assertive one twenty-four-seven, but in time he got used to the idea and had proposed after realizing that his day wasn't complete unless he was looking after her. Love had formed almost overnight, and now it was the same for their children.
So he was out, patrolling, every day.
New members were cropping up almost every other day after all, though. Unknowingly he'd even welcomed in a family member to the lands, and if that wasn't proof it was a small world nothing was.
Now, it was the scent of a new lion that brought him seeking, and at first he almost missed him, but Niyol's coat was richer and darker than the sand, so not quite.
"Hey! You there!" He called, stopping at the top of a tall dune to look down towards the other, staring.
--
Oh, dear. Niyol paused, a little wary, as always when he approached territories in which a large number of lions resided. He had better not have pissed anybody off. He was only one lion against so many others, and he had had enough of fleeing for his life to last him three lifetimes. His pride always rebelled against such actions, but in the spirit of self preservation…
“Hm. Here goes.” He muttered to himself. He allowed a careful smile to spread across his face, remaining where he was. If the white lion was interested in coming over, Niyol guessed that he would, and before he did, it was wise to tread carefully. After all, he had no way of telling how thin the ice he was treading on really was.
“Hello,” he called back, still smiling. “I do hope I’m not… intruding. I couldn’t quite help but wander over to investigate.”
--
"Looking to get yourself killed?" Kucha'kunge laughed, despite the severity of the truth of his question. He began his way down the dune after that, easily coasting over the loose sand. "This heat is fit to kill the most stubborn of lions unless you know how to navigate the oasis chain. You wander too far in and you'll probably die of thirst before you get close to truly 'intruding'."
So they didn't generally have to worry much about that, but still, they knew that wouldn't stop smart enemies, not that they had any anyway.
"You looking for a place to call home, stranger?"
--
Despite the initial surprise at the lion’s question, Niyol laughed and shook his head. “I certainly hope not,” he replied, grateful for the hint. He wouldn’t… wander much farther into the desert, he supposed. He didn’t doubt what the white lion had said about the heat, and in any case, the loose footing of the shifting sands had become a bit of a bother. It was a strange feeling, walking on footing that constantly slid out from under him. “Thank you for the tip. Perhaps I owe you my life now.” He added with a small chuckle. Imagine that, being saved by a perfect stranger.
“Looking for a home?” He echoed, surprised by the ease with which the question had seemed to come from the other lion. “With a pride?” He paused to consider it. What would his parents say to that? “To be honest, not particularly; not at the moment, anyway, but you seem happy enough. Perhaps there’s a certain charm to this desert?”
--
"I was born and raised here, so my opinion may be biased, but we have lions come from all walks of life for a piece of the paradise we have here. Seems like I'm greeting new lions at least once a week." He grinned aimably. "We're known as the Dawnwalkers. You should come see for yourself and decide. If you just want a rest I'm sure the king and queen wouldn't mind having you for a few days."
--
“I suppose this sand is no issue for you then,” he said with a wry smile, glancing down at the ground. Although he didn’t imagine it would take all that long to acclimate to the weather and the footing, it was still something of a challenge at the moment. But if the white lion was welcoming new lions so often, Niyol guessed that there had to be, as he had suggested, a certain kind of charm about this desert.
“Now there’s an idea,” he nodded, grinning. “I must have been alone for a few days too many. The idea of company is certainly hard to resist.” As was the offer of a rest. He had no particular place to be, and no schedule to follow; a short while with the Dawnwalkers couldn’t help, and, if anything, it would refresh him for the long journey through life he still had ahead of him.
--
The pale lion had a laugh at that, moving to level sand and gesturing for Niyol to follow. He'd navigate their way around the steeper dunes to avoid exhausting themselves. "Not really. Learning to hunt on it was a pain in the tail, though. The girls make it look so damn easy!" He snorted, but seemed genuinely amused and not at all sour. "Especially my wife. She came from the desert too, you know? Not this pride, but another, she moves like a real natural. It's a thing of beauty watching her hunt."
His grin was toothy this time, and he regarded Niyol.
"Hope you'll like your stay here, you got good timing, the pride's booming right now, the royal litter is just about to be welcomed into adulthood so all the princesses will be open to court soon, not to mention some of the new members are finally gowing into their manes and what not. I'm Kucha'kunge, by the way, I'm a hunter for the pride. So what's your name, stranger?"
--
Niyol nodded, listening while he placed his paws carefully, attempting to walk as steadily as the other lion seemed to be doing. He understood where he was coming from; if Niyol himself had a mate about whom he could spread praises, he had no doubt he would. Family, that was the key, and if he never got around to finding his parents or siblings again, he would find himself a new family, settle down, have children some day… Doing the parenting thing, and the family thing seemed to call to him. The more the merrier, he supposed.
“Looks like I came in time to join in the fun, then,” he chuckled, wondering at his good fortune. If all of the pride’s members were as friendly as Kucha’kunge, he imagined he would be having some fun if he did rest a while with them. “Pleasure to meet you, Kucha’kunge,” he said, then offered his name in exchange. “Mine is Niyol.”
--
"Feeling's mutual, Niyol." He replied easily.
The conversation would flow like that for the duration of the walk, with Kucha'kunge offering advice for how to tackle the tricky terrain. It was a bit of a walk, but they did reach the pride lands, the temple rising in the distance ahead of them proof of this. There seemed a congregation of scents around the smell of water nearby, and this was where Kucha'kunge led Niyol now.
"You mind taking a rest here while I try to find the king or queen, or my father?" He inquired, noting distractedly that Niyol was getting some curious looks from two of the princesses who were hanging about Dafina, one of the pride's dancers. Even Dafina seemed to give him a curious once over. Kucha'kunge was fairly oblivious.
--
“Not at all,” the brown lion answered, casting curious glances about him. It amazed him, what he had seen on the trek toward the water, and certainly nothing that he had expected. The temple, too, seemed to be a point of interest for him, as he fixed his wondering gaze upon it. “This is… wow.” He added, feeling, for once, at a loss for words.
His attention was drawn toward the lionesses gathered around the water, and for a moment, he thought silently to himself. There certainly was a charm to this place, at once both exotic and familiar, and the fact that there were so many lions congregated at one point only helped. He shook his head inwardly. Yea. He had been wandering alone for far too long.
--
"Right then..." Kucha smirked, amused as he noticed the direction of Niyol's temporary attention. "Careful there... the young ones with the braids are princess Maa-nefer and her sister, princess Shernesertiti. Still a bit too young, the golden one there is Dafina, one of the pride's artisans. We call her the maneater."
He chuckled, nothing dark about his tone, and it was clear he jested.
"Alright, be back in a flash." Were his parting words to Niyol before he slipped off, going to have a look for the royal leading pair or the vizier.
--
“Duly noted,” Niyol replied with a chuckle, pulling his focus away from the lionesses temporarily and returning it to Kucha. As the white lion disappeared, his gaze wandered once more, over the land and the water, and he stood there silently, until he desire to find out some more overcame him, and he focused his attention on the lionesses once more.
“I hope I’m not intruding,” he said, addressing… all of them, he supposed, and expressing the same sentiments as he had to Kucha at the border of the Dawnwalkers’ lands.
--
"Do you suppose he's a new member looking to join?"
"I wouldn't be surprised, we have so many new members every month," Maa-nefer grinned, resisting the urge to giggle. She liked meeting new faces, not to mention every outsider who wasn't related to them ensured that their litter would have potential mates, since there were a lot of married lions in the pride already.
"He's coming over."
They all fell "silent" at that, looking up as he arrived and greeted them. The two princesses offered grins, saying hello in return, Dafina smirked a bit. "And if you were?"
--
“If that was the case, I suppose I would just have to admire from afar,” he answered with a cheeky smile. “The uhm, architecture, of course. And the lands.” He added after a breath, quirking his brow. He couldn’t deny that it was somewhat daunting, approaching three lionesses who were clearly friends and who seemed to have been… well… talking about him only moments before. He couldn’t help but wonder if they would continue to talk about him once he left – not that he would complain about that or anything. It was just… rather foreign, the idea of having others wonder about him even after he was gone. He hadn’t had that since his family had split, and even with his parents and his siblings, it didn’t quite count; they were his family, it was their job to worry about him all the time.
--
"Of course." Maa-nefer laughed happily, seeming pleased by the answer. Dafina just chuckled.
"Are you looking to join our ranks then...?" There was room there to fill in a name by the way she trailed on the last word and looked at him a bit hopeful.
--
As always, the thought of settling down anyway stopped him. All his life, he had been under the impression that the life of a rogue was much freer, much less restrictive than that of a pridal lion; that to be able to wander and have no attachments in life other than family was the ultimate way to live, and he had always followed these ideals without much question. It was the only life he had ever known, and it made sense to him.
But this. Now that he was actually within a pride, he could see that none of the lions were… complaining. If anything, they seemed happy – happier than he was on his own, anyway, and a slight doubt crept into him. What if he had been wrong all this time…? But no. He wouldn’t allow a momentary glimpse into the lives of three lionesses by a pool change his convictions; at the very least, he would observe carefully for a longer period of time before deciding.
“Niyol,” he offered, taking the hint. “Kucha’kunge already informed me of your names, but I certainly hope that hasn’t taken away from any of you. If need be, I can pretend it never happened, and you can tell me your names yourself – only if you want. Certainly, I would not hesitate at the chance to be regaled by the names of three beautiful ladies such as yourselves.” He grinned again.
"To be honest, however, I had not quite the intentions of joining your fascinating pride. Kucha'kunge had offered to arrange for me to stay on with you for a few days for a bit of a rest from travelling, though." He added, answering the lioness' question.
--
The paler of the two princesses grinned a bit, tail flicking behind her. "Princess Shernesertiti."
"Oh! A traveler!" She perked up even more, if possible, beaming excitedly, though trying to reign herself in. Her parents, while not strict on the whole "dignity before social life" spiel, did teach her not to be so exciteable that she startled others, or was unintentionally rude. "Dafina, like you, then! I'm princess Maa-nefer, by the way!"
"Maybe... I left my birth pride to travel and wound up here, but maybe his story is different." Dafina said, by way of letting him know that the princesses assumption was not her assumption, without chastizing her friend. "And Maa-nefer has already introduced me, again, so there you have it." Dafina smiled prettily, though not putting any particular extra effort into it.
--
“Very pleased to meet you all,” he tilted his head to acknowledge the three lionesses. That he had them for company, no matter how little he knew them, was already comforting to him in this strange land. Niyol was all for those testosterone-fueled friendships between males, and in fact even wished he had a few such friendships to enrich his life, but he had always found comfort in the company of lionesses. He had learned, growing up, that he could always go to his mother for a cuddle, and that his sister was always open to the idea of simply lounging about in the sun all day exchanging lazy comments about the wind, the sky, the clouds, and then, if they felt up to it, making completely inaccurate and yet laughably understandable assumptions about life, love, and philosophy.
“It’s quite an honor to meet two princesses in one day.” He added, rather genuinely too. “I haven’t met two princesses in…” Here, he paused. “Well, never.” He concluded with a small, helpless shrug accompanied by a small smile.
“And a traveler like myself; I never tire of meeting lions with whom I share a history of wandering,” And it was true. Travelers tended to have such stories, tales that spoke volumes of who they were and what they were after in life. Niyol hadn’t quite figured out how to find such things out about pride lions yet, but perhaps that was simply a lack of exposure. “I actually was forced to start wandering after a larger force of lions moved into my family’s lands. My parents disappeared before that, and after, my siblings and I just… scattered.” Like the wind.
--
"That's unfortunate..." Dafina murmured, not pitying, simply sympathizing. The princesses seemed equally curious as to his answer. "Are you trying to find them?" A simple, innocent inquiry, not accusing at all. She had wondered little about her family since leaving home, not out of being cold, just a general tendency to worry less and focus more on the flow of things. From the corner of her eyes she'd noticed Kucha'kunge returning already with the old vizier.
--
“Well,” Niyol paused to consider the question, wondering how best to answer. He, too, had given his parents little thought in quite a long while, and guilty as it made him feel to realize it, he knew his choices were justified. “No.” He said finally. “I have no idea where they might be, and… we were close as a family, but to be honest, the parents that left us weren’t the same parents we’d all grown up with.” The father he had known would never have simply up and left his mate and children, and the mother that had gone running off after that father had been but a shell of the loving creature she had once been. Things had changed too much since his childhood, and all he could do now was wish them the very best, wherever they might be.
“But it’s okay, things change. I couldn’t expect them to be my heroes forever, I guess.”
He turned at the sound of footfalls, to see Kucha’kunge return with another lion – somebody fairly important, Niyol supposed. He hoped that the white lion’s offer would remain sound. There was something about these lands that made him want to stay, at least for a little while, and find out more.
--
"Hmm... at least you realize that people change with time." Dafina agreed with a small smile, thinking of her own older half siblings back in the Pridelands or out on their own travels. "It seems vizier Matifu will be stealing you for a while. I hope that you enjoy your stay here, Niyol."
--
“It was a good last lesson to learn from them,” he agreed, returning her smile. Nostalgia had never been one of his strong suits, but he supposed that it was healthy once in a while. After all, he couldn’t run from his forever, and he had no desire to try.
“Barring any highly unfortunate incidents, I believe I will,” he answered. “It’s started out beautifully enough.” He would let the three lionesses interpret that as they so desired, but however they wanted to look at it, he hoped they realized his words were genuine. “And it was a great pleasure meeting you.” He nodded slowly at them, the same roguish smile still on his face. He wasn’t… quite sure how he was expected to behave around royalty but the two princesses had seemed… normal enough, for lack of a better description, and if he was in fact breaking some rules of conduct, he hoped they would allow him this one mistake.
--
"Nice meeting you, Niyol!" Maa-nefer replied back with a cheerful smile, calmer than she had been at the start, but cheerful still.
Sher simply nodded in return with a smile, and Dafina's eyes seemed to be hiding some playful edge as she watched. "We'll see you about later, then."
It was good timing, for just as the three had finished up their goodbyes Matifu had arrived with his son. He looked over the group with ghostly blue eyes, greeting. "Good afternoon, highnesses, and Dafina, a pleasure as always." He rumbled playfully, earning a laugh from Maa-nefer and a chuckle from Sher.
"Hi, uncle Matifu." Maa-nefer actually got up to greet him, moving to stand next to him, looking up curiously. "Are you here to borrow our new friend?"
The old lion seemed amused, as one did with a young cub's curiosity. Of course, he knew Maa-nefer to be much more mature than that, at her age. He nodded almost slowly, a smile on his dulling muzzle. "Indeed I am. I do hope you'll allow me for a short while?"
"Oh, it's fine." Nefer grinned at Matifu, Kucha'kunge, and Niyol, the middle of the three watching the interaction with mirth of his own.
--
Niyol grinned, watching the exchange with interest. It reminded him somewhat of his own family, the one that had scattered across the lands like ashes borne on the wind. Now that he thought about it, he had missed this kind of interaction. There was a certain freedom that came from wandering the lands, but there were upsides to company – perhaps ones that far outweighed the perks of a rogue’s life.
“Pleased to meet you, sir,” he said Matifu, addressing the older lion respectfully, as he had learned to do as a cub. After all, those older than himself tended to be much wiser, and, to a lesser extent, better in combat that he was, and he preferred to be safe than sorry. “I’m Niyol.”
--
Dafina was watching the exchange too with an impish smile. Matifu's attention shifted more fully to Niyol though. "A pleasure to meet you as well, Niyol. As I'm sure you've already heard or been told, I'm vizier Matifu. Let's see if we can get you settled for your stay, shall we?"
He extended a massive paw in an "after you" motion, the lion, though massive in size, being the proverbial jolly giant even in old age.
--
He nodded, turning to move in the indicated direction. “I’d appreciate that,” he said genuinely. The prospect of staying, even if it might turn out to be for just a little while, was an exciting one, to say the least. It was opening a new chapter in his life, one in which he would hold off judgment – of anything – until he had taken the chance to really understand it. Pridal life was not something he could comfortable say that he understood, or even had any experiences about, and even though he had spent his entire life living by his parents’ ideals, perhaps it was time for something new. After all, his parents had changed. Perhaps it was time for him to do the same.
/fin.
