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 Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 8:24 pm
Tau hung around the bottom of Pride Rock, awkwardly looking around as he waited for this lion he was supposed to meet with. It was weird, being put in a situation that he didn't ask for...well, not really. He did, but he...didn't? Everything was so frustrating and confusing for him, and it was moments like this that he wished he could run home.
If he did, though, his mother would skin him alive. So here he was.
Sighing, he watched a couple lionesses run off, giggling to one another. They didn't have anything to worry about, unlike him. How was this meeting even going to go? Probably super awkward. Why did he get himself into this mess? He couldn't help but get a little mad at Wahabu, since he had to get angry at something over his anxiety.
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 8:42 pm
Though skeptical of this plan at first, Kituwe had decided not to argue with his father about attempting to befriend the prince-- and it wasn't that he didn't like Tau, he didn't know him. It was more that he couldn't imagine being set up with a friend, especially one so different, and having it go over particularly well. The best that could be said about Kituwe was that he was the youngest in the family .. and somehow that volunteered him for the job. Mpapuro and Makena had the good luck to not be found first, and to disappear before the meeting time.
His approach was slow, he stayed back a bit for a few minutes watching the grumpy prince wait. He looked so nervous, Kituwe almost immediately felt guilty for not being more enthusiastic about this. He could at least try, so with that settled he finally walked up to meet the crown prince.
"Good afternoon, Prince Tau," he greeted him brightly.
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 8:57 pm
Tau was scratching his neck around his necklace marking, the one thing that really proved he was linked outside of the royal family. It bothered him, at times, but at least his mane was beginning to grow in. Then it would disappear, and the only thing that proved his mother's lineage would be his purple eyes.
Soon, this stupid mane would finish growing in.
"Hm?" He heard a voice, and turned to see a lion approaching him. His structure was much like his father, but it did take a moment for the Prince to recognize that this was the lion that Wahabu hoped would befriend him.
"Ah...you're um...Kituwe?" he asked, clearly digging up the name from his memory. It hadn't been too long since Wahabu promised they'd get together, but he had so much other stuff shoved in his brain that it was difficult at times.
"Hello," Tau finally said, feeling extremely awkward in this position. It was almost like... a date? What the heck was he supposed to do now?
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 9:09 pm
"Yep, that's me," he answered, looking amused and not hiding it particularly well despite trying to tell himself he might accidentally offend the nervous prince if he wasn't careful. He just hoped acting somewhat naturally would help more than it would hurt. An awkward staring contest wouldn't get them very far.......
Even if that was exactly what they were doing right now.
Snapping back to his senses, he gave himself a little shake and put on a smile.
"It's nice to meet you," he said, "Dad was saying you needed some help figuring out the interesting places to go 'round here."
Well, that wasn't awkward to point out. At all. Uhh..
"He's never been very exciting, I'm not surprised he wasn't any help."
Picking on dad was, clearly, the way to go.
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 9:20 pm
"No...he's not. That's probably why he's on the council," Tau said with a little roll of his eyes and a chuckle. It seemed like old lions were always in those sorts of positions, and Tau didn't understand how it always seemed to be like that.
"He noticed I needed some...assistance." Tau didn't want to seem like the weak one here, so he had to figure out how to ask for help without seeming helpless. It was frustrating just trying to think on how it would work.
Unless....
"So, how do you pass the time?" he asked, hoping to make this more of a question and answer system rather than just 'help, tell me how you live in this boring overpopulated place'. That wouldn't go over very well, not when he knew that there was some level of (slow) communication from here to his parents.
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 9:26 pm
Kituwe chuckled along, immediately glad he had chosen to poke fun at his father. He didn't appreciate just how involved Wahabu was with the pride, and especially the royals, now that he was on the council. It was hard to imagine him as anything other than, well, dad. The pride didn't exactly make a big show of any rank most of the time.
"Well, I spend a fair chunk of my time hunting," he said, looking thoughtful, "I don't know if that really interests you, or if you really would have time for that. It's a good way to stay social, though, I guess. And we need to hunt a lot to feed everybody around here."
Maybe not the most useful answer, but an honest one.
"The hyenas in the Elephant Graveyard can be good for a laugh," he said thoughtfully, almost like he was talking to himself, "But you have to be careful, they've been getting more and more vicious since that last time we really had it out with them."
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 9:37 pm
"Hunting...social..." That wasn't something that he had ever considered, and part of him regretted that. He had no hunting skills, as he had been raised up to be the heir. All the skills needed for that had prevented him any time to learn how to hunt. He had begun to spar a bit, but a lot of that was because his teacher from Tianxia wanted Tau to know how to defend himself if the time came. This pride was not full of trained guards like his birthplace.
"I fear that isn't an option for me," he replied, finally beginning to relax. His muscles were not so tight now, and his tail stopped its twitching. "But its an interesting outlook I never considered." It made sense, always having to hunt, but still...a miracle that the herds never seemed too thin.
"The hyenas...I've learned of their history but they still seem mysterious. Do many around seem to fear them?" It seemed like an innocent enough question, since Simi wouldn't talk much about the accident that took away his mobility.
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 9:46 pm
Kituwe nodded, deciding not to press the hunting issue-- even though he thought it would be the best way for Tau to become acquainted with practically everybody, and fit in. Maybe an idea to push for another time, assuming that happened.. but maybe not. Kituwe didn't honestly have much of a concept of royalty. There were so many other lions that seemed far more interesting while things were peaceful. Tau was the only thing keeping them interesting now.. and still, Kituwe hadn't exactly been jumping at the chance to meet him.
"Eh, I don't know if we really fear them," he said, frowning, "I mean, when they get organized they shouldn't be treated so casually but for the most part they stay in the Graveyard. We outnumber them by a lot."
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 10:01 pm
Tau listened, remaining quiet. He had learned about other stories from his teacher, stories about smaller bands being quite successful...but perhaps they were just stories to scare little lions into actually paying attention to their lessons. "Perhaps, yes. I doubt there is anything that outnumbers these lands. Its quite baffling, even if I've lived nearly my entire life here."
He paused, looking at Kituwe and out towards the open lands. There were many shapes moving around, countless lions taking hunting shifts, going to watering holes, watching their cubs, wandering towards their dens. It was much like an ant hill, really.
"Could you show me around, towards some of the dens, maybe? I haven't left pride rock much, mostly because of my teacher," he explained.
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 10:08 pm
"It's really more of a scout problem," he said, shrugging, "Maybe we can find one to ask about it..."
He blinked, then smiled, when asked about being shown around. It was a good idea, and better than standing here waiting for this attempt at a conversation to slow back down to that awkward staring contest.
"Sure," Kituwe beamed, "Do you want to head for my parents' first? Maybe we can find some of my brothers and sisters to help, and it couldn't hurt to know where to avoid if you're trying to keep away from the council members."
Who was the other fellow on the council? Kituwe knew the family better than he did the actual lion. He wouldn't be any help pointing out their exact location.
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 10:13 pm
This kind of went awkward again. Tau didn't know if he really wanted to go see Kituwe's parents already, but he was the one who told Kituwe to lead, so he would feel stupid if he suddenly backtracked on that comment.
"No, that sounds like a good place to start," he added on, partially hoping that his siblings wouldn't be home. Tau still wasn't all that good at being...nice... to everyone around him. One at a time was going to work better than a group. But...best way to learn was to be thrown into it, right?
"Lead the way and I'll follow," Tau said, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm not really trying to avoid anyone, but staying quiet and as unnoticed as possible would be nice."
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 10:29 pm
Kituwe could almost hear Tau's worries and he smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry, mom and dad are never at home at this time of day and if any of my siblings are, it won't be many of them," he said, not bothering to mention that even if they were there, chances were overwhelming they would be much older than the two of them and not actually likely to push themselves into the outing. But he was kind of hoping that Makena would be there.
And, of course, it was close by and ending there rather than starting would only give whoever was there the opportunity to ask how things were going.
"Hmm, OK," he said, grinning at the challenge, "Just act natural and keep up, nobody will really pay any special attention."
And he took off.
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 10:34 pm
Act natural. Sure, Tau totally knew what that meant.
Whatever. He grinned and chased after Kituwe, excited that at least something different was happening in his life, and it was much more exciting than he had thought possible.
Hopefully, Kituwe might actually stick around as a friend.
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