Even with Malika in his homelands, Sekizen couldn't help but wander. The male seemed to develop such a liking on his trip out, who wouldn't? Of course, he didn't want to stray too far from home. If he couldn't be back within the Prideland border in 10 minutes, he was too far out. The male was sitting on a rock sunning, tail flicking casually behind him, pondering his life at the moment. What was he going to do with Malika; was it love? It felt like it to him, he liked her more than he'd ever liked Nix, though she'd be a good friend. He hoped deep in his heart that he'd never see Nix again; it'd just make things a lot easier on the adolescent.
--------
Call it insanity, call it fate, but Isi found herself on the borders of the pridelands and simply couldn't pull herself away! She wanted to get home pretty badly, she wanted to see if her pride had reformed, or if there even was a single survivor like her. But there was something about this place that calmed her; made her want to stay here, odd as it was.
But she needed to find out if her pride was in existence! If it was not, she would find Sen again, but she felt she needed to know. With rhythm in her paws, she moved onward.
That was, until she saw a white figure on a rock. Isi, though she was a wanderer and wasn't too bothered by being alone all the time, preferred company to no company.
"Hello there," she said to the sleeping figure, striking white marked with black lightning stripes.
Sekizen, though, had been so deep in thought that he hadn't even heard her approach, and he had had his eyes closed in thought, so at the sound of another's voice, the male started slightly. "Hi," he said, rolling off his back and squinting to see who was here, eyes dilating slowly from the bright-to-dark image. He found an ash colored lioness in front of him; one he hadn't ever seen anywhere before. Neutral face and all, he responded, "My name's Sekizen. I don't think I've seen you around?"
"Nope," Isi responded. "My name's Isithunzi, I'm a rogue, but I stopped here for a rest... And someone to talk to," she said honestly. "You must live in those lands, not far from here."
"Yeah, I do," Sekizen said, again with a flat tone. Isi didn't question it. She'd met more than one lion that preferred to hide their emotions, this Sekizen fellow was just another. Perhaps he felt they weakened one, but it didn't look like it; the male was as gangly as a bunch of twigs tied to a bundle of grass. He seemed friendly enough, though.
"I'm not bothering you, am I?" She asked, to which Seki shook his head.
"I don't mind company either. So where are you going?" He asked, resting his head on his paws, now belly-down. The female sat and tapped her claws to a nice beat. Seki wondered why she was doing it, but he wasn't going to ask. It wasn't annoying or anything, it was barely audible, but he couldn't help but wonder why she was doing it.
"I'm headed... home. Though I'm not sure that anyone will be there." Ever since she had told Sen about it, she felt better, and so she figured she could tell this lion too... "My Pride suffered a plague when I was just a cub... Both of my parents died, I'm not sure that anyone else survived. I don't know of anyone, but I miss the land, I miss the culture, so I'm going back." She said resolutely with a nod. That was the way it was. She was glad to see the male nodding in agreement.
"That's very good. I can completely understand wanting to keep your homeland in good condition," he said, his tail flicking. Sekizen loved his homelands, enough to bring Malika into them and hope they could stay. "So what is the culture there?" He asked, knowing that putting it in present tense would probably cheer the lioness up.
Isi, though, immediately began to tap her paws, beating out a cool syncopated rhythm, meant to be choppy, meant to be off-beat. Yes, but this was only the beginning of the song. Soon the beat picked up, and off-beat accents and clipped staccatos made for an awesome tune indeed. Seki perked up at the sound of it; really, the male had never heard music before. "That's really cool!" he said over the beat, watching her beat her paws on the earth, rising to his feet. "Is this what your Pride is like?" Isi nodded, not stopping the song, picking up the tempo as it reached the climax, where she slammed all four of her paws to the ground: an abrupt end to the awesome rhythm.
"That is a song of my pride. I used to have a drum as a cub, but I've lost it over the years," Isi said with a sigh. "Drums really enhance the song, and they're not too hard to make." She said with a nod. Yes, Isi was wise in the way of the songs of her pride. She was glad to have preformed.
Seki, though, was amazed. "As long as I've lived, I've never heard a rhythm like that," he said. Nobody he'd met had been too musical. Sure, everyone hummed a tune now and then, but what Isithunzi had just preformed was so much more complex! Isi shot him a beaming smile, glad to have spread her culture.
"It was nice to meet you, Sekizen, but I must be on my way," Isi said honestly. She wouldn't get too far, however, she felt like she had a few more things to do around this area, deep in her heart.
"I ought to get going too," Seki said as he hopped lightly off his rock. "I am glad I got to hear your music, Isithunzi. It really is awesome, I hope you find your pride," he smiled. She nodded.
"I hope I do too." They each headed their seperate ways, Sekizen back to Malika, and Isi into the nearby unknown.
