It was a normal day and Kisikusiku was happily moving to her favorite hunting spot. She had observed the area for a couple of days and had learned the best location for catching food and taking it down. That was the kind of thing she did- she learned and applied that logic into her every day life. Being smart was something she took great pride in, and she was more than happy to make sure she used her skills to their fullest. There was no point being smart if she didn’t use it, right? For the most part, she just enjoyed how much there was out there to learn. It seemed she was always finding out some new detail about an animal, or finding the boarders of another new pride. Everywhere she went, there was something more. It certainly took up her time. She didn’t need to worry about things like friends or getting to know others on a more personal, less factual level.
She had knowledge, so she didn’t need anything else.
She hunkered down and got herself ready to attack the small group of antelope so knew would gather in the tall grass, smiling to herself as she moved herself into what she knew would be the optimal attacking position. Everything was going just as planned, and she wasn’t feeling like anything could go wrong.
So it surprised her when all the antelope suddenly took off, running towards her like they had seen a ghost. She gasped and ducked under the grass, pulling her paws over her head to try and avoid getting trampled. Thankfully, the antelope avoided her, leaping around or over her with leaving any hoof prints behind them. Once the dust had settled, she sat herself up, letting out a flustered growl as she looked back towards the now abandoned clearing. Well, almost abandoned. There was one figure still there- the cause of the stampede.
A rather dopey looking tan lion with a blueish mane. Frowning, she got up from her spot and marched towards him. “What’s wrong with you?” she demanded, “I was right in the middle of a hunt and you got in my way! Now I have to find a whole new spot for hunting because they’re probably not going to be back again for hours and I’m starving!”
“I’m sorry,” the other lion said guiltily, “I, uh, I didn’t know you were there… I was just trying to get something to eat myself…”
“Well how did you expect to get anything hunting like that? You came in from the wrong side, caused way too much noise, and from what I saw of your stance there was no way you’d be able to gather up enough speed to actually catch any of those antelope, even if you hadn’t given yourself away before even getting to them.” The male lion looked a little shocked, sitting himself down and watching her dumbly. This was normally the part where others got mad at her for not being very friendly- it wasn’t her fault she didn’t really know how to be friendly. She hadn’t grown up making friends or getting to know others.
She had grown up learning about things.
“I… didn’t know I had done so much wrong,” the male said, “you’re really smart! Do you think you’d be able to help me figure out this whole hunting thing? I know I’m not very good at it… any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated!” He smiled at her, and she tilted her head to the side.
“You… want my help?”
“Of course,” the male replied, “you sound like you know all about hunting, and I’m really not very good at it… I don’t think I’ve been able to catch anything good for along time! I never knew why before. My name’s Kaimu, by the way.”
“My name is Kisikusiku,” replied the surprised lioness.
“Wow, that’s a pretty name, but really long. Is it alright if I call you Kisi?” Kaimu asked with a smile, tilting his head slightly to one side. He watched her, wondering if she thought he was really annoying. Her unsure look made him wonder if he was doing something else wrong. With his inability to go ten minutes without something bad happening, he imagined it was entirely possible he had offended her without even realizing it. Maybe nicknames were really insulting to someone with so pretty a name. Oh Gods, why had he asked if he could call her something else? “I-if you want, I mean,” he said faintly, “you don’t have to say yes…. I’ll call you Kisikusiku if you want!”
“Oh, no, it’s not that!” Kisi replied, “I just… don’t have people calling me by a nickname a whole lot, that’s all. Most… don’t really like me that much.”
“You seem like a good lioness to me- I’m happy to have met you.” Kaimu replied merrily. She smiled in return, feeling happy to have met him as well. This was… not what she had been expecting, but she was happy he didn’t seem all bad. Even willing to listen to her advice, which was rare. She wanted to help this male, and possibly… possibly even become friends with him. Not that she needed friends, of course. It was purely because she wanted to learn more about them than anything else.
Right.
“Well… I suppose it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to help you out, Kaimu, since it doesn’t look like you properly learned how to hunt. I would be happy to teach you, if you really want me to, but don’t get angry if I say something you don’t agree with, okay? Some lions seem to get very upset when I try to tell them the proper way to do something…” She frowned at the male, who smiled at her in return.
“Don’t worry, I won’t get mad at you if you don’t get mad at me. I’m kind of… accident-prone.” He meant it more as a warning than any kind of slam against himself. He really did have a knack for getting into trouble.
