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Khalima, as dark as she is mysterious still has a small smile on her exotic face as she watches him introduce himself with a politeness she didn't expect.
Khalima has never suffered an domineering and respectless male very well nor for very long, he seems to be alright tho. Her ears perk up a bit se he asks to see the cubs, she is not one to bring her cubs out just for the sake of seeing them but her tone is somewhat pleasant even though her voice is jagged with a slight chuckle, still finding the tales of her cub stealing to be amusing. "I do not steal the cubs, however if I find one and no one comes for it within a day, and it is strong enough to follow me here, if it chooses to, I will care for it until I find it a new family, and nooooo Big Shadow may not just seeee the cubs, but I would let this one take one if being a father or a mentor is what one wantsss. It take only an Oath to adopt. " The Jungle has completely fell silent, not even the air is moving. For once the cubs are staying quiet but one little lavender eye is peering from the shadows of Khalima's ferns.
Khalima speaks again, more of a seriousness in her demeanor.
" One must take an Oath to neeever abandon the cub,
To teach the cub not only to survive but to value life... and death.
To teach the cub of the Great Circle of Life.
Only then will the Jungle of Seecretzs let you leave with one alive... Try and return the cub to me and I will let the Jungle have it."
She states, as always making it clear that she only offers her assistance to a cub once. When she said the last part the quiet was jarred by a small gasp within the shrouded ferns behind her.

Chausiku came into view and she lowered her head out of respect to the other lioness and she said "I'm Chausiku I was once a orphan cub raised by other females, I have heard tales that you care for cubs like I once was, I will not bring the cub back for I understand their pain." She ducked her head feeling like she had said too much too quickly and she needed to slow down. "Well I want you to judge me if you will let me care for a cub and take them to seek a safe pride somewhere.." She smiled "Sorry I am rambling."

With that she smiles and Gives a somewhat polite nod to this male lion, he seemed strong and healthy, intelligent and his oath rang true to her. She stood to her paws, her movement had a sort of grace to it and her lean muscled form showed the sure sign of missed meals for the sake of the cubs, but enough travel to keep her fit. She took a few steps forward and rubbed her spotted head on his mane covered chest, marking him temporarily with her rich yet herbal tinted scent, in that moment the jungle started to come back to life with sound. Her eyes lifted to his for a moment "Today, Big Shadow becomes a guardian. Tell Little Shadow Khalima says hello.". With that he turns away and makes a low groan in her chest, a small cub comes bounding from the ferns and skids to a stop in front of him and looking up with her wide lavender eyes. Khalima, like a ghost or a whisper, is just simple gone.

Khalima began to walk forward, her jaws opened a moment to take in this lioness' scent. Her eyes seemed to almost glow here in all the dark and green and they seem to look beyond this Chausiku, perhaps the stories of the shaman where true on how they see into an animals being and not just their flesh.
She could feel the way this lioness was energetic in the mind, possibly even nervous but that just tells Khalima shes smart.
Khalima spoke in her ragged tone as she came closer and closer " Sooo, this one wants a cub. Thiisss one is intelligent and has potential for many things.." Khalima starts to circle the lioness before her, Shoulders rolling under her spotted pelt, her eyes and head staying turned upon her. " Will this one be able to still her mind though? To notice what isn't noticed?"

Chaara hated leaving his mother alone, but, he had to - she was a grown lion, and he had to... He had to be an adult. Still, Chaara didn't like it. He kept fretting his father might target his mother once more and Ashka? His mother was sweet enough to trust and get hurt again. But his mother had insisted on Chaara venturing out to explore, to find some direction beyond clinging at her side, a silent, angry guardian.

So when he wandered into a jungle, Chaara wasn't scared. Not really. Occasional bones actually fascinated him, a macabre reminder for all his virtue-efforts, he was still the son of a lion now ruling murderers and cannibals, were Chaara aware. A paw occasionally explored a smaller space. Slow amd careful. And then withdrew. Slowly. However, a sound caused Chaara's pause, and the shadow of a lion turned, looking about.

"Hm?" He rumbled, instantly soft. "Who's there?"

Nomvula had a lot on her mind these days. She'd spent enough time in the Roguelands, but now prides were forming that she felt some kinship with. She'd skirted the borders of the Pridelands initially, but didn't feel at peace with lions who only had one ruling couple - there wasn't anyone to question their King and Queen, so what happened if a wicked King took over? She didn't want to try her luck.

The Outlands pride were all vicious, self-serving warriors. The Night Plains pride who had sprouted one evening was rumored to kill lions and feast on their flesh: noooo, thank you, she was better off on her own. But then she started hearing rumors on the wind of the Dawnlands, a pride of golden lions who had an Empress that led them, but where you could hold your own power as a lioness, if you brought a group with you or joined a harem within the pride and served under someone else.

Nomvula had been seeking other lionesses to follow under her, promising the security of a pride and offering the rational: do you want to be a rogue, that could be eaten by the Night Plains, or recruited into the Outlands warband? Or do you want to be ruled forever by Prideland lions who call themselves royalty? Better for us to form our own harem, with me as your leader, to find safety in ourselves and make a life for each other.

She'd been turned away by many, but recently she'd found a few who seemed interested. She'd been on her way to seek them out again, now that they'd had time to consider it, when she found her paws leading her through the jungle. Maybe she could find a lioness to join her in the Dawnlands here... or maybe she would find some manner of gift to present to the Empress upon their arrival. Either way, she was certain she would find something worthwhile, she just had to look for it.

Khalima was resting under her favored ferns in her clearing, not far from where Nomvula was making her way through the thickets part of the Jungle. This place was deep and very dark even though it was in the middle of the day, the air was humid and thick and made fur slightly damp. She let out a quiet grunt to tell the cubs to hide and for once they did so. They rustled leaves as they sunk into the shadows and vanished from sight. Khalima picked this place for that very reason but she decided to stand, slowly rising from the deep and unending green that gave her choice of being seen or not. The somewhat smaller sized lioness was covered in exotic spots and wore a green shawl about her athletic shoulders. She always had a strange wild look in her eyes, almost like a feral animal. Her connection to the wild was deep and kept her from having the want for a pride, but she understood why lions normally did. She stepped forward not really being quiet, sensing in a mysterious way the other lioness that wasn’t far. She allowed the leaf litter to rustle and a few bones to rattle as the came to stand in the one dim light that draped through the trees in the middle of her clearing, so that she perhaps could be seen. She peered at the moving stripes and tans of the other lioness that could be seen between vines and wide leaves from where she now stood, the defused light glinted off of her silvery clasp and jewelry, sending thin slices of light through the dark, there she waited.

Ashanti had never travelled so far, away from the open plains, to deep in the jungle, with the stifling humid air and unfamiliar sounds. Every few minutes she would stop, ears twitching, to listen to the steady drip of water from the leaves, left over from the night before, and the constant hum and whine of insects. The birds in the trees called back and forth and every so often she would hear a crack, as something heavier broke a branch somewhere in the jungle.

She was out of her element but she was still determined to reach her destination. So she forged onwards, belly low to the ground, always alert. She hoped her children would be fine without her, though no doubt they were loving the freedom. Sumu in particular was no longer interested in hanging around mum, testing his boundaries as an adolescent.

He would leave her side soon, she knew. It was almost time.

Which was why she was here.

She could have found some handsome stranger to give her another litter of cubs but she’d heard a rumour of a mysterious lion in the jungle, who harbored orphaned cubs and who could be persuaded to part with one for the right lion. Ashanti could think of nothing more important than looking after a cub who needed a mother.

Another sound. Was that a lion’s roar?

Head lifting hopefully, Ashanti continued on into the grasping confines of the jungle.