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Caritas was sedately making her way to the watering hole, lost in thought. She and Hagryphus had been busy lately, what with so many pregnant lionesses around. Laelia was the one they were currently switching off on, and the black lioness had taken a break from that at the moment. She spared a moment to shake her head at the sheer mass of gossip that whole part of the pride was generating, most of it seemingly centered on one Yareha Afaer. In a way she was glad the lower middle class Hunter had become someone to know - it proved that pride-affecting events didn't just happen to higher class lions. On the other hand, the drama was almost uniformly negative with him, as it had been with Mazin. She hoped that none of it spilled over on to his kids or his young twin siblings.

Speaking of which, the Shaman had been busy as well of late, with Ieiunium's cubs, the twins, and one or two others. Caritas hadn't seen too much of her sister Stellaluna-

-as that thought crossed her mind, a white blur crossed her path, stopped and grinned up at her. Caritas was still trying to gather her scattered wits when Lailah K'chol, Stellaluna's Apprentice, began babbling apologies for nearly running the older lioness down, explaining how she was late to get back to her teacher, and how she'd led a big black Rogue to the water hole. Then the juvenile lioness was off again like a cheetah.

The older lioness stood there for a few moments, stopped in her path, while she tried to figure out what had just happened. Shaking her head, Caritas continued on to the watering hole. It came into view-

-and there was the big black lion Lailah had mentioned, drinking. She studied him as she approached. He seemed very thirsty, but something in his posture spoke of nervousness. Perhaps confusion? The lioness nearly snorted aloud. If Lailah K'chol had been his guide, of course he'd been confused! That girl needed to learn how to slow down, at the very least.

A smile touched her lips and she went up to the stranger lion. "I'm guessing you're the 'big black Rogue' Lailah was talking about," she offered.

"Caritas," she returned, "one of the pride's Midwives." He wasn't bad looking with that black coat, the blonde mane and by the Lion, the ladies must swoon over those green eyes which were so striking a contrast. She was, however, reasonably certain that none of those physical characteristics had any impact on little Lailah. That kid, the older lioness' mouth twitched, just didn't know that there was an opposite of "trust."

"So...where are you from?" she ventured, taking another step closer. She didn't want to crowd Ukarimu, but she did want to be friendly and not stand too far away while carrying on a conversation with him.

So, a true Rogue then. She knew that some out there had come from other prides, but that was clearly not the case with Ukarimu. It wasn't a bad thing, it simply meant he probably had less of an idea about how any pride worked in general, and the Mwezi in particular.

"Well, a pride is a good place to settle down, if you don't want to wander anymore," the lioness replied carefully. She wanted to go slowly here, and not make any assumptions. She'd...heard...about what had happened the first time Iei had been here. The grey lioness hadn't exactly been stealthy when she ran for the border.

"We're generally pretty friendly to rogues like yourself," Caritas went on to addressing his other remarks. "You don't look like someone who'd make trouble, so you're welcome to refresh yourself here." Staying more than a day or two would, however, raise some eyebrows unless if he expressed interest in joining. She wondered if he would. He had, after all, mentioned that his "wander bug" hadn't lasted long.

Barter? For life-giving water? Maybe in a time of war or something, but Caritas couldn't think of any reason why he should have to be so put-upon at present. She wondered what sort of life he'd led up until now, that had given him such expectations.

"Of course it is!" she retorted, somewhat harshly. The lioness immediately flushed in embarrassment, but it wasn't visible under her dark fur.

"Sorry, it's just...do you not trust me to tell you the truth?" she asked. "I mean, if you just sort of...set up camp here, without wanting to join the pride, they'd look askance at you. But there's no reason for us to deny you a drink and a night or two in a safe place," she went on, trying to clarify and be scrupulously honest. No deceptions here, she wanted him to understand how things worked.

Hopefully he'd stay a day or so at least.

Caritas considered that. He did have a point - prides were, by their very nature, far more complex than any collection of rogues working together for the moment. "Fair enough," she replied. "I've heard that some prides make it pretty clear when you're tresspassing, but the Mwezi'Johari is a bit looser." She pasued, thinking. "Like I said before, we don't want anyone hanging around who's dangerous to us, but we also don't...encourage rogues to stay for very long."

The lioness stopped abruptly, remembering who and what she was talking to. If she could, she'd be blushing even harder now. But...perhaps this wasn't a mistake at all? No, just an opportunity.

The black lioness shifted her posture subtly and looked up at Ukarimu coyly. "But...lions who are considering pride membership are encouraged to stay longer."

Hooray, a positive reaction! Ukarimu seemed genuinely interested in staying a few days at least. She wasn't certain how interested he truly was in joining the pride, but as she'd made guest right contingent on interest, he'd probably at least go through the motions of learning. Perhaps the black lioness could...convince him further in the next few days.

Which sounded somewhat nasty and tricky but damnit, he seemed like a really nice guy! And one who was different and completely unaffiliated with drama of any kind in the Mwezi. Two very important factors when a lioness was looking at a male right now.

"I'd be happy to answer all your questions," Caritas told the lion with a smile. "Though I might not be able to draw the best comparisons, since I've never lived as a Rogue."

Well. She hadn't exactly expected that to be the first question out of his mouth. Then again, she hadn't done this before. Not that she thought she'd mess up or something because, as a Midwife (and thus a Priestess), she actually knew more about these things than most. Or had them down more solidly, at least.

"Religion," she answered succinctly before going into further detail. "We worship the Great Lion, He who watches over us with his great Eye in the sky above." Caritas grinned at Ukarimu. "Which basically means that we worship the moon as the Great Lion's Eye. Our entire class system is based on what moon phase you're born under. A full moon is for the high class, who have his blessings and protection upon them and thus are asked to hold positions of prestige in the pride."

She peered up at the barely visible daytime sky moon. It was waxing, on its way towards full. "His Eye is closed as the new moon, marking the lowest class. They have no special blessings, and so they work for the pride as slaves, staying within the bounds where they will at least have some kind of protection."

"Everything else is in between - lower middle class, middle class and upper middle class. I can go into more detail on those, if you want?" the lioness asked, offering the lion a break from the factual lecture.

She thought this a promising start, that he was taking the time to consider what she'd said. Caritas certainly didn't want to overwhelm the poor lion with information, but she did want to make sure he had enough to really understand what he'd be considering as a possible future.

The lioness nodded happily as he mused his way through it. "Exactly so, you're very quick."

She supposed she shouldn't be surprised that he would ask after her own rank, after all, it was somewhat pertinent. "I myself am a Midwife, which is a duty of the Priesthood. Priests, which covers a variety of roles important to the pride as a whole, must be of the upper-middle class or higher."

The black lioness paused before admitted, "I was born into the high class." She was silent a moment longer before speaking again. "It's also worth mentioning that women don't change class ever. Men, however, will change to the class of their mate." There were those who used this custom as a way to climb higher in ranks. She didn't mention them, nor did she mention Unyezi, who had plummeted from the highest to the lowest rank out of love and created one nightmare of a political mess.