Azhar'Hilel
Rinh'Kofi
Azhar had been walking for many days, each step taking him further away from the safe home he had always known in the Ukuucha’Wafalme lands. His mane was growing quickly but the adolescent lion still walked with the slightly gangly gait of one whose legs had grown far too quickly. The young boy was fairly relaxed, still in awe of all the new sights and scents that the mysterious rogue lands provided so he didn’t really miss his pride yet. He was hungrier than he’d ever been, he supposed, without a large collection of mothers and sisters to eagerly hunt to put a meal before him and he’d eaten things he’d never had considered in the comfort of home. But he was happy even if slightly worried about where he’d find the next meal.
Rinh’Kofi was watching the young lion walk closer to her location from the low branch of the tree where she’d been napping for the last couple of hours but the lioness pretended not to notice him. She smirked, wondering what she could say to make the adolescent feel more awkward and uncomfortable than the usual adolescents already were by nature. He was young and still smaller than her so it was easy for Rinh to feel confident in his presence, without feeling the least bit threatened by the young lion. If he turned out to be a jerk, she would simply throw the stupid kid off the tree, after all.
Azhar had been admiring Rinh’s tree for a few moments when he finally noticed the lioness sleeping (?) in one of its lowest branch. His head titled slightly and he kept going until he was right under the brown lioness who he could see was clearly looking back at him.
“Hello.” As a male, he was aware than it was his job to start the conversation though he supposed the rogue lioness probably didn’t know or care about it. It was rather difficult to keep the usual titles from slipping into his speech but he managed to hold his tongue. “Do you mind if I join you?”
Oh, bold! Rinh’s tail danced from side to side coyly as she moved her neck to take a better look at the young lion. Handsome, the thought to herself. And polite. He would make a fine male one day.
“Hello.” She smiled playfully, eyeing an unoccupied spot in her chosen branch. “Be my guest. If you can climb, that is.” Some young lions seemed to think that climbing was easy but most of them had never actually tried doing it. Leopards were naturals at the whole climbing thing but Rinh had seen some nasty bruises caused by tree scuffles. And a few had cautioned her against the potential dangers of the activity, claiming that many lions had died because of violent tree falls. She’d never known anyone who had fallen from a tree but this was the type of advice Rinh did not disregard. She wasn’t worried about the young lion though. He looked stronger enough and this was one of the easiest trees she’d ever climbed.
Azhar nodded, taking note of the lioness’ tone and body language. He’d been in no hurry to find his first banu but he was curious about this lioness. She looked well-fed so her hunting skills were probably good and she was rather pretty. He had to wonder – and perhaps that was a little conceited of him - if his quest would be over too quickly. Looking over the tree, he tried to find the easiest path up and made his first attempt. While he ended up sliding back down the tree trunk, his second attempt earned him a spot on his desired branch and he sat down, suddenly a little awkward about the close proximity to the older – and larger – lioness.
“It’s nice to stop for a little. I haven’t stopped walking since I started my adolescent quest.”
He was a pride lion. Of course, she should’ve guessed. Rinh couldn’t help but wonder if this had been his first attempt at tree climbing. It didn’t seem like he had much experience but he’d still done a pretty good job even if Rinh still had to turn her head to the side so he wouldn’t see her laughing at his first attempt.
“Adolescent quest?” Oh dear, he was one of those. She could never understand why parents liked to make their children’s life so difficult. “Prides are strange. They have the strangest customs. Just the other day, I met a young lioness who was looking for her name. Her name! And she couldn’t go back home before she’s found it.”
“Weird? I don’t think my pride is weird.” Azhar said thoughtfully, not bothering to be cautious with his words. Many Pads had warned him that not many rogue lionesses understood the concept of the Ukuucha’Wafalme but most of his pride’s customs made sense to the young lion so he’d never truly paused to consider how someone from the outside world might see the things Azhar had always taken for granted. “But that does sound a little strange.”
Rinh eyed the boy carefully, grinning. He seemed to be agreeing with her which made the lioness even more curious about his quest.
“I know, right? Seriously, what parent would allow a bunch of young lions to go into the rogue lands on their own… to find a name?” Honestly, couldn’t they just keep the one they had since birth? Why go through all that trouble if they would gain nothing more than a bit of personal growth and a fancy name? “I bet your quest would seem just as strange to me. Even if it makes a lot of sense to you, I’m sure.”
Azhar took a short pause to think as he sat down. He’d played out this conversation in his mind many times before so he had a general idea of what to say.
“Well, the Ukuucha’Wafalme is a peaceful pride. It’s family-based and many small families live together. The males are as close as brothers and watch the borders together and the females hunt and take care of the cubs in the dens.” Just a small group of nice families. What could possibly be wrong with that? “And my quest is about finding a female – lioness or otherwise – to be my first banu... which means a mate in my pride.”
Gender roles. Rinh found them detestable but it wasn’t something she’d hold against the young boy… too much. The idea of being stuck in a den rearing someone’s cubs was downright repulsive to the lioness but it was common trait in many prides. Her tail froze as she kept listening. So he had to bring back a girl with him…
“What do you mean by… your first?” She asked in a dangerous quiet tone, eyes fixed on the young lion as if he were her next prey. “And how are you supposed to bring her back?”
Azhar could tell she was not very happy about something he’d said but it wasn’t until she spoke that he had an idea of what was bothering her. A few Pads had warned him that he should keep the whole polygamy deal out of the way until the female was more agreeable but Azhar was usually pretty honest and lying or omitting things that made so much sense to him didn’t really go well with the young lion.
“The small families I talked about consist of a male and two or three females. We call them harems. It makes sense when raising a family because it’s hard for a one lioness to hunt and take care of cubs alone, after all.” He almost shrank under her piercing gaze but somehow managed to hold it together. “And most will talk to a girl and see if she likes the idea of joining a pride. But I guess some are not so nice.”
Rinh’s eyes were narrowed as she stood up on the branch, hairs standing on her back and neck.
“Oh, harems! Of course it makes sense!” The irony and venom in her words was unmistakable. “You couldn’t have some nannies in the pride or simply have a few lions assigned to hunting. Of course, creating harems makes a lot more sense.” She actually growled this time, further angered by his last answer. “Ooh. So some are not nice, huh? So I guess they drag some poor girl back to that Gods-forsaken pride and put in a harem. So I guess those males that watch the borders aren’t just keeping the threats outside but they’re keeping all the miserable souls inside.” And without warning, the brown lioness raised one paw and threw a lightning-quick blow at the young lion, jumping forward to take his space on the branch.
Azhar was already backing away when he realized how angry the lioness seemed to be. He was both surprised with how quickly she had understood his pride and with how upset the knowledge he’d always taken for granted seemed to have made her. He should’ve listened to the older Pads. After her blow and the quick attack, Azhar went scrambling down the tree trunk and landed on the ground with a loud thud.
“No, no, no… most people are really happy there.” He was still trying to argue from the ground, his tone much weaker than before as he tried to ignore the aching shoulder. “It’s really nice and peaceful and…” he closed his mouth as Rinh growled again, looking athim from above as if she were about to attack him again.
“Shut up, boy.” Rinh told the dark adolescent. “Shut up or I swear I’ll tear your ears out and scar you so bad your own family won’t recognize.” She wouldn’t do something like that to one so young but he didn’t need to know that and her anger was boiling hot at that moment. She wanted him to know how awful some of the things he said seemed to someone… well normal!
“This is why I think prides are weird. For a father to subject her daughters to such a life. I hate everything about your stupid pride.” She was fuming and her growly voice didn’t stop long enough for Rinh to take a breath. “I hate that you have strict gender roles, I hate that people can’t leave freely, I hate that males can snatch a girl from the life she’s always known, I hate that females have to share their mates. I HATE everything you said about your pride and if you were just a little older, boy, I would open you up like wildebeest. Get out of my sight.”
Azhar was speechless for a few moments, truly surprised by the amount of hateful words directed at his pride’s ways. Granted, he might’ve botched the introduction a little but he’d never expected such a reaction from the previously pleasant lioness. He did, however, know when a battle was lost. It was easy to see that no words could possibly save the situation so he simply nodded.
“Good day.” he said, still cautiously polite before he finally turned to leave, ears pointing back as if he expected another attack. His face and shoulder were still aching as he took the first few steps.
Rinh watched as the young lion left, his slight limp calming her down just enough for her to collect her emotions. Stupid boy. Stupid pride! What a way to ruin a perfect mood!
“If I see you dragging some poor girl behind you, I swear I’ll tear you apart limb from limb.” She shouted for good measure before she finally returned to her previous position, a deep frown casting a shadow over her bright blue eyes.
