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Kafei pawed forward towards the boundaries of the Ashnai'le pride lands. It was a place he usually stayed clear of, finding out the hard way how many Ligi the Shatkona had guarding the canyon when he had first arrived to join the pride.

Today the Tama was having a particularly difficult time finding a decent meal though, and had been tipped off on a good spot to hunt near the outskirts. Running into yet another Ligi isn't what the young male needed at all, and realized the importance of treading lightly in what was firmly their territory. The plan was to get in, catch a decent meal, and get out as quick as possible. As long as he wasn't spotted, nobody would know he was ever there.

However, as usual his plans quickly flew out the window. Kafei's ears pointed straight up, catching the voices of two females conversing close by. From what he could hear, the conversation sounded like a casual one... was it possible these two were not ligi, but outsides coming into the pride lands?

Tail swaying nervously behind him, Kafei quickly headed in the direction of the voices. Carefully peaking through the foliage, the male could see them. One was visibly younger than the other, and both also had the same color blue on their pelt. The Tama found himself cracking a smiled and began to formulate how to approach them.Jumping out of a bush most likely wouldn't make a very good impression, so Kafei made his way back down the small path, hopping out of the brush onto the loosely worn path and began walking once again in their direction, except this time straight on. Soon enough he could see both females straight ahead in the distance.

"Why hello there!" He yelled out. Realizing they might be nervous approaching a grown male, Kafei hoped reaching out to them first would put their mind at ease.

As Kafei got closer he noticed that the two lionesses had quite the different demeanor; The female that was a little younger than Kafei seemed unfazed by a stranger approaching them, while her older companion was far more weary. The female revealed that they were not just passer byers, but actually wanted to join the pride.

"Yes, you both are more than welcome to make Abha’s Hiari your home. We are particularly in need of more huntresses at the moment actually." The male started walking back towards the heart of the pride, hoping they would follow him. It was surprising that the two hadn't run into trouble yet and he planned to keep it that way.

"This whole valley is apart of the Ashnai'l pride lands, though most of the pride congregates near the center where it's the safest. My names Kafei by the way, a resident of the Tama house." The male found himself enjoying talking about the pride as though he had been there his whole life. He knew he would have to tell them about the hardships the lands was going though eventually, but he wouldn't give Sahen the honor of being the first thing these new recruits would know about the pride.

"I guess you could say it is, in a way." Kafei gazed upon the iconic symbol of the pride. His parents had talked about it before, but it seemed to be nothing but a constant reminder of what the Shatkona had crippled the pride.

"Please to meet you two." Kafei nodded before contemplating how to answer the young females question.

"Well I think I can answer both your questions at once. Ashnai'le has been around for as long as lions have roamed the lands. It all started with a lioness named Abha who gave birth to two twins. One was named Atmaja and the other Tama." As the trio walked deeper into the canyon, Kafei shared with them the story of the siblings, the fierce rivalries between their two houses for man years, and the eventual arrival of Mahabala.

Then it suddenly dawned on Kafei that perhaps his tales were more information than the lionesses had asked for.

"Apologies if I went on for too long. It's a bit difficult to summarize such stories."

"I know the feeling. My parents left Ashnai'le well before I was born and lived in this pride where their purple pelts earned them a pretty comfy ranking as Nobels. It was a nice place and all, but I just never felt at home there." Even though Kafei had never actually known any other home before Suka'Fumo, his parents would always talk about their old pride lands and taught their son Ashnai'le traditions. In a way, he found it intriguing his parents had been so surprised when Kafei told them he wanted to live in the canyon.

Kafei gave a friendly but nervous smile to Coaxoch's before turning back around. "We are pretty close to the Dens now, and when we get there can take you to meet the head hunters."

The Tama stared down at the ground as he walked. The look of fear in the older lionesses eyes greatly concerned him. Perhaps when he had found them there could have been a chance they could still escape from the pride lands. Then again, if he had tried to get them out and run into a Ligi they would of certainly been condemned to a life of slavery. At least Kafei had ensured they would safely secure the rank of huntresses.

He had done the right thing, bringing them in to the dens and not attempting a risky escape.

Right?

"Once you settle down, perhaps you should ask her about it. I'm sure she has some great stories to tell." Kafei had taken a lot of things about his family for granted, one of them was how much his parents shared about their early days together. It was obvious something big had happened to her mother, and perhaps she's been waiting for Ixy to grow up a bit more before she spoke of them.

"Hmm? Oh wow, good eye Coaxoch." Kafei said as he turned back around and looked down. It was a beautiful and flourishing flower they had found, and it seemed to be the only one of it's kind around. When Ixy commented about how it would look in his mane, all Kafei could think about is how lovely such a flower would look behind Miss Anju's ear.

Kafei pondered their question for a moment."Well usually no matter what our colors are, we are born into the house our mother belongs to. However Ixy, you might be old enough that they might put you separately into Tama."

Kafei smiled nervously as he accepted the lionesses gift. "Thank you, Coaxoch."

Had he been wrong in not disclosing everything about the pride before luring them so far in? Kafei had talked himself into thinking what he had been doing for the lionesses was for their own good, but it dawned upon him that perhaps he was doing this for selfish reasons. The pride was in desperate need of more hunters, and as well intended as it was his actions where no different than if a Ligi had found them.

"We are almost there. It's straight ahead from here." The Tama Lord took them ever closer to their new home. All the while Kafei wreaked with guilt, he felt like a complete coward. He simply couldn't muster the courage to tell them their wishes of happiness and safety were not to be found in Ashnai'le. At least while Sahen held the position of the Shatkona.

If it wasn't for the small flower he was carrying delicately in his jaw, his teeth would have been roughly grinding together. He had come to Ashnai'le to help those who opposed Sahen, and was realizing after months he had done nothing to improve or help anybody yet

"I'm so very sorry, but I just realized I have somewhere I need to be." The Tama hated lying, and kept it simple and vague.

Like I said, just go straight ahead and ask for the lioness Ibis or a lion named Kasim. They are the head hunters of the Atmaja and Tama houses respectively. They'll take care of settling you guys in." He spoke much calmer than he felt. "It's been a pleasure. Please take care of yourselves and be careful." Kafei truly hoped the two were lucky enough to find happiness in these beautiful pride lands. If not now, there was always hope for the future. He nodded before taking off.

He needed to find Anju.