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 Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 2:35 pm
A brown and pink juvenile had been spending increasingly more and more time within the territory of the Pridelands, and was beginning to think she should just move out of the den at that early stage of life. She was stretched out lazily in the shade of an old Acacia tree admist tufts of rough savannah grasses; her paws out as far as they possibley could be. Life was good. She was comfortable and happy... what a perfect time to groom! With bright eyes, she licked away at her front legs, taking extra care to get rid of the dirt on her pink toe markings. They were her favorite, after all.
After what seemed like around an hour of good, hard grooming, Intombi finally stopped for a little rest. She let her head drop to the dirt and closed her eyes with a sigh of content. Usually, she'd prowl about looking for some Pridelander native to play with or talk to... Today, however, she was perfectly happy staying under the tree in the cool shade.
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Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 4:50 pm
Wahabu was out for a walk away from the central area of the Pridelands for the afternoon, though he was considering going back and looking for one of his friends he knew how to find. He wasn't having any more luck finding Kubwa, and that was rather frustrating- he was starting to worry a bit, too. The afternoon was dedicated to just having a leisurely walk, and if that happened to be uneventful then he might go elsewhere for something fun to do.
He was starting to think about heading back when he spotted an odd shape laying beneath a nearby tree. It was a lion, but an unfamiliar one that had some interesting colors. Not that Wahabu was one to say anything about being oddly colored!
Not wanting to be rude, but curious, he walked closer to see if she might wake up.
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Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 7:17 pm
It seemed that her day of peace wouldn't be quite as she planned. The sound of large, shuffling paws came to her ear, which swiveled in the direction of the young male. She flicked her tail lightly and lifted her head some to get a look at what was comming her way. Taking in the sigh of the sunshine colored adolescent, Intombi couldn't help but smile. He was older than her, sure, but it had been a while since she had run into a lion her age or older. It was a bit refreshing; she had been beginning to think that the whole pride was inhabited by only youngsters and their parents.
Intombi had never learned basic manners, and could often times come off as a bit rude if taken the wrong way. As opposed to getting up to meet the Pridelander, she merely flashed a smirk and nodded her head in his direction. "Care to join me in the shade?" She had no intentions of leaving the tree. Even though he was male, she was sure she could handle his company. He seemed peaceful enough, after all.
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Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 9:11 pm
When the resting lioness turned to look over at him, Wahabu stopped coming closer until he was sure that it was alright. It was the polite thing to do, but also it was a smart thing to do. She might not be as big as him, but that didn't mean she wouldn't necessarily put up a fight- though it was obvious by her carefree glance and the smile that she was friendly.
"If it wouldn't trouble you," he answered, walking over and taking a seat in the shade a reasonable distance from her. "I don't think I've seen you around before, but then- it is a big pride. My name is Wahabu."
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 4:14 am
Intombi was honestly a bit surprised by the manners. She'd yet to meet a male who used them. Then again, she hadn't met many males, and the ones she had met were a bit on the immature side. "Wouldn't trouble me at all." She shifted her psoition a bit when he sat down, as to see him better from the ground. Her stomach was facing him then, so that she could keep her head on the dirt and still see him. It was comfortable. She wondered why he was such a distance from her, but shrugged it off with a gentle swoosh of her tail. "Nice to meet you, Wahabu. I'm Intombi." She nodded her head some what, sucked into being polite by his own manners. "You wouldn't have seen me; I'm not a member of the pride, see. I'm actually a rogue... but I'm planning on joining eventually." She threw out the information casually, unsure of how the older male would take it. She'd gotten various responses from various lions in the past on the matter, from shocked to excited. He seemed pleasant enough to not take the news rough, though.
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 8:11 am
Wahabu noticed how comfortable she was, it seemed to him that it said a lot about her personality if she could lay comfortably in the presence of a stranger. Or perhaps there was some element of his own reaction that allowed for it.
"Nice to meet you, Intombi," he replied with a grin, and listened to her explain how she was a rogue. The only rogues he'd really met before were gods or happened to be from visions he'd had- Intombi was none of these. "Oh, why are you waiting to join? Eventually doesn't sound very committed to me."
He was joking, but was also curious.
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 9:41 am
The young lioness smirked a bit at his remark. Even if he wasn't joking, she took it as such. She had yet to meet a true blue cruel lion in her life, and couldn't imagine why anyone would make a criticism out of no where. She flicked her tail again lazily. "I dunno really..." She looked off behind the male's shoulder, towards the ever present Pride Rock. She didn't neccisarily feel the bond to it that a native might, but she did feel as if she belonged there, here even. "My mom and my brother don't plan on it is all. I don't want to leave them alone quite yet. Ma might take it a bit rough." She sighed a little. It had been at least two days since the last time she had even seen her mother, longer still since she had seen her brother. The little rogue family had been destined to drift apart from the beginning, it seemed. Even when Intombi was a small cub, she wandered on her own during the day. She had had plenty of wandering in her life, now, though, and didn't feel the need to go out and 'find herself' as many her age seemed to. "I spend most of my time here, though."
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 8:12 pm
Wahabu smiled as her gaze drifted off and she explained how her family wasn't going to join and she wasn't ready to leave them. It seemed the most logical explanation possible to the yellow lion, for he was very attached to his own family- just getting over his own mother leaving them, in fact. The only difference was that she was intending to leave her family.
"Ah, then that all makes sense!" he answered brightly, as if the whole matter was settled by what she'd said, "I don't know, leaving the family is a big step. I bet they'll miss you when you do join."
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 8:27 pm
Intombi was aware that pride familes were a bit different than rogue famles, but she was still a little surprised by his last statement. Miss her? Naaahh. Ma would be relieved to have one less mouth to feed. Her brother was on the fringes of sanity as it was; he probablly woudn't notice his only sibling's absence. It was only natural for cubs to leave their families, anyway. Sometimes, they never saw eachother again, but that didn't stop them from going off on their own. At least, that's the way it was in Intombi's world. Perhaps in Wahabu's world things were different? She was curious about it now and wanted to know more. The idea that a family kept track of eachother was a bit alien, but warm at the same time. This whole pride thing was sounding better and better every second. "They won't be too sad. Like I said, I spend most of my time here already. Ma hunts all day, and sometimes doesn't come back for a few nights. My brother is uhm... Well, he's different. We don't talk much." She shruged the shoulder that wasn't against the dirt. "I'm okay with it, though. I just... don't think I should leave quite yet, is all. Y'know?"
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Posted: Sat May 05, 2007 8:51 pm
Wahabu could see the surprise to his words, and again his curiosity was sparked. He couldn't think of any personal reason what he said might be odd, though he guessed she might feel different about family. As she explained how they wouldn't be too sad, he nodded along to show he was listening. Being away a lot didn't mean they wouldn't miss her, what if they never found each other again?
"I guess everyone feels a little different about it," he said with a shrug, "At least it'll be easier, if joining the pride here is what you really want to do."
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Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 7:10 am
The juve knew that her mother cared for her and all, but... Well, she wasn't the motherly type. She might miss her quite a bit, but Intombi would never think that the adult would. Either way, it didn't bother her terribley. She felt more of an attatchment to the idea of joining a pride than she did to the idea of staying a rogue with her family. "I suppose so." She shrugged her shoulder as well, content with dropping the topic of family. Her family life wasn't exactly stellar, and she was a bit on the young side to start day dreaming about starting her own... So the matter meant little to her.
"I'm pretty sure it's really what I want to do." Her eyes glanced off to the giant rock behind Wahabus shoulder again. A sight of content escaped her. Ever since she was a cub, she had wandered the borders of the Pridelands. As she had grown, she had gotten a bit more gutsy about it and actually gone into the very heart. She practically lived there already; yet there was that tiny detail. She wasn't a true blue member. It would come, though, with time. "It's really nice here. You're lucky to have been born into it."
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Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 11:02 am
Wahabu nodded as she agreed without much enthusiasm, sensing the desire to change the subject. Apparently he'd been correct to guess they felt very different about their families, and he just hoped he didn't say anything wrong. If she wanted to join the Pridelands, he didn't want to discourage her or make her doubt it. Besides, she seemed nice and like she'd fit in wonderfully.
He glanced over his shoulder to where Priderock was visible in the distance, and smiled. This had always been his home, so he'd never had to worry about anything like that. Even if he didn't have his family, he'd have the pride. Maybe he and Intombi had that idea in common.
"I am lucky," Habu answered, looking back at Intombi and nodding confidently, "But I don't think they're very picky about who joins, and you certainly don't seem like anyone they should turn down."
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Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 5:02 pm
The young lioness smiled brightly. Wahabu was pretty much the opposite of what she expected males to be. He was nice, as opposed to gruff; polite, as oposed to rude; and he seemed to actually care. It was a bit shocking, but refreshing. She still assumed that he wouldn't raise cubs, as that was the image she had in her mind of any normal male, but he was higher than her expectations in other things. "Thanks. I'm sure they're all overjoyed to have you around the pride."
Intombi wouldn't give up her cubhood for a cubhood in the pride, but she had to imagine what it would've been like. She certainly wouldn't have had the run in with the leopardess, or the meeting with the wild dog... Not to mention the various lions she had met. As far as she knew, only lions lived in prides. If there were other critters roaming the territory, she hadn't a clue. "Say, Wahabu... Are there other creatures here besides lions? Out where I live, there's everything. I've met a leopard, even, and from what she told me, they avoid lions at all costs."
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Posted: Sun May 06, 2007 10:01 pm
"I don't know who really notices me, actually," he answered, though smiling. Wahabu felt no need or desire to be important or well known within the pride, he was content with how he lived his life at the moment- though there were a couple things he would change if he could. It was nothing too serious. "It's a big pride, there are at least a hundred I think. Some might recognize that I've been around, but nothing more," he explained with an indifferent shrug, looking back to Pride Rock again.
He thought about being in the pride and anything he might be missing out on by staying there. His mother had taken him to see a jungle once, but that was the farthest he'd gone and they didn't even walk the whole way since he was small enough for her to fly with. Intombi's voice broke through the daze and he looked back over to her as she asked about other animals.
"Um, there's food," he answered sheepishly, and tried to think of something more like leopards- though he'd never seen one himself, "I don't see any, really. I'm sure there are, though. My mother told me about some creatures she'd met, and I'm sure some of them would have been around here."
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Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 2:53 pm
"Well, it's they're loss that they don't notice you." She flashed a small smile. He was definately friendly enough. He didn't seem to mind that no one noticed him, though, which was a good thing in Intombi's mind. The next sentence caught her attention even more so, though. "A hundred? No flippin' way!" Her head shot up as she said it, her jaw open wide in amazement. She knew the Pridelands were large, btu she didn't know they were quite that large. So many lions living in the same area. Pride life would be far different than what she was used to, that was for sure. Maybe she'd have to take the move in steps? Staying or several days and then going off on her own for a day or so. That might work. Unless she ended up with cubs; that could be a real issue. You can't just leave you cubs, right? Although... her Ma left for days at a time. What a confusing mess.
Pushing that topic from her mind, she turned her attentions back to Habu. "With so many lions, there's bound to be some others around. I wouldn't mind meeting a leopard again; the one I met was real pretty. She told me about cheetahs, too. Supposedly, they're the fastest animals in the savannah."
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