Tancho:
It wasn't enough that her eldest brother had been the first deserter in the troupe. It was an insult to everyone that had known the cub... he'd been the first born following the founding of the Chokwe and as the first and only for the longest time, all the masters had poured themselves into his upbringing. The hyenas had called him brother and the leaders had put all their hopes on his shoulders... then he betrayed them all. Spitting in the face of their efforts, turning his back on their affections, and dishonoring his family. Tancho had been among the second litter born to her father. From their birth the cubs had been trained as their older brother had been, they’d been informed of the history of the troupe and, unfortunately, of the first deserter. She didn’t want that to be the legacy of her father’s line…
And then he left. Turning his back on the pride not only to pursue the same vile temptation as their older brother but to join their mortal enemies… vampires.
Tancho had been a playful, eager youth but shortly after her brother’s departure she became a resentful, angry spitfire with little tolerance for nonsense and even less for weakness and temptations. She trained long after the others had been dismissed. Often times she could be found soaking her paws in the cool water of the stream, cooling them and reducing the swelling from her training.
That afternoon she had volunteered for border patrol. It gave her the chance to cool her heard and come of some use to the troupe.
Zuberi:
Lost.
He was utterly lost his entire life.
Zuberi had been ashamed to return to his birthland with no female, so he left. Ever the follower, he followed another male into a pride that, he thought, fit his standards. He assumed it was a band of brotheres that had more than what they did. Turned out that his den mate had a one sided crush on him. Another male loving him? He couldn't ever look at another male that way, and yet this pride seemed to thrive on it. Females were only breeding fodder and then pushed aside when cubs were weened. The girls went with there mothers to who knew where. What kind of pride was that? Not one he was very comfortable with, that was for sure. When his den mate disappeared, he took it on himself to leave the pride as well. It was full of uncomfortable memories and just lions and others he wasn't quite comfortable with. He understood the phrase to each there own, but he had been the center of a couple of males affections. That didn't sit right with him at all.
Still, he couldn't return home. He had no female. He had no idea where to find a female to bring back to the pride that would go willingly. Not many wanted too, it seemed. So he took off in a random direction. He honed his hunting skills. At the same time, his communication skills dissolved, leaving him a 'grumpy' individual. That's what he was called the few times he encountered someone. Zuberi wasn't grumpy. He just honestly didn't know how to talk to someone. It was awkward for him.
He was wandering again, completely lost in thought and not paying attention to his surroundings. He missed his family. His mother and father, his brothers and sisters. He wondered if any of his sisters had cubs and how many neices and nephews he had running around. Cubs had always been a weak spot for him. The big male sighed as he kept walking. He was unfamiliar with his surroundings, and for all he knew, he had literally wandered into a pride.
Tancho:
“HALT.” A strong but young female voice called out from a nearby hilltop. The valley overlooking the sea-bowl that the pride called home was perfect. The hills surrounding the area gave them a perfect vantage point over both the freelands and the pride’s lands. They could keep an eye on their fellows while keeping an eye out for danger and newcomers. In Tancho’s mind, they were one in the same. She didn’t trust outsiders.
The female was barely into her adolescent years but she had a frame thick with muscle and a hardened expression that could freeze over the savannah.
“…who are you, and what do you want?”
Zuberi:
A voice snapped the gray male from his thoughts and he blinked blue eyes and looked toward the voice. The voice obviously beloned to a female, from just the sounds of it alone, and that made him look around at his surroundings. No, he still didn't know where he was. Frowning, he pushed that thought from his head as he looked her over. She was kind of short, not yet an adult, he guesse add looked kind of stocky. Muscles? He didn't know. He was a distance away. Sighing mentally, he figured she was doing some kind of training, especially with that sour expression on her face.
"If you have to know... I'm Zuberi and I'm just wandering. I don't even know where I am, little girl, so stop trying to put fear in me with that weak expression you have." He had given just about the same expression before, but he hadn't seen it on another lion. Much less a female. Usually they were sweet, at least from what he could remember of females. Then again, he remembered the females of his mother, and his sisters from his pride. The females were so accommodating.
