The antelope were fast... but she thought she was faster. In the brilliant green land beside Lake Victoria, Mishka had found that she was able to hide herself at least a little--certainly better than in the golden Savannah or dusty desert. That had helped her some with hunting, and she'd long since settled by the lake's shore. Though she was alone more often than not, the lioness had long since forgotten to care of such things. In a way, she actually preffered being 'alone'--not as if that were possible when there was always another being to talk to. When you weren't hungry, anyway.
Today she was hungry... and her meal ill-chosen, by all appearances. The lioness could have slapped herself, had her anatomy allowed for such things. Of course it didn't, but now the one she should have gone after was long gone.. and she was stuck chasing a spirited little thing that looked much older than it was.
Well... if she gave up now she'd likely go hungry tonight--one attack and they were all alert for the next few hours. So she'd just not have to let this one go!
Even so, the antelope was far faster. Before she knew it she'd been lead up a slight incline... and then the damnably stupid thing jumped off the cliff into thin air!
Mishenka threw on her 'brakes' as fast as she could, stopping right on the edge of... yes, it was a cliff. Funny how she'd never been this far down the shoreline before. Looking down, she saw the antelope attempting to pick its way down the sides of the cliff towards a fairly dry looking forest.
Lifting her head, the lioness tasted the air. It wasn't dead down there, not be far... but there was still an underlying scent of rotting vegetation underneath that of fresh new growth. There was even a crawling spot of mist at the base of a waterfall not too far off, its roar dulled only by the distance between her and its hidden bottom. Well.. there were worse places to chase a meal. The lioness gave a shrug and began a slow, carefully planned pursuit.
Unfortunately for her, the decent to the bottom of the valley was far harder than she'd expected. By the time she'd managed to make the ground the antelope was out of sight. Great. Just absolutely bloody brilliant... and it wasn't as if she could hide out here in dead-wood.
Swallowing her momentary self-loathing, she lowered her head to try and gain the antelope's scent. That, at least, was found swiftly, and the female set off through the forest to track her prey.
The rain had lifted once more just a few hours before morning had dawned. The mists from his childhood swirled around the base of the jungle's roots. It gave the half-dead jungle a haunting feel about it. The dry, half-shriveled branches clawed at the air like broken and knotted limbs, allowing dappled light to glare down through to the mist. Along the edge of the cliffs, the mist swirled a bit thicker. It was one of the last places to have light fall on it with the sunrise, and thus one of the darker corners of the valley where the mist linged just a bit longer.
Kisulisuli had left during the dark hours to watch the boarder. The solitary, untrusting male took it upon himself to keep watch on their territory and drive off any rogues looking to scrape into the lands. The suspicions that had brewed within him as a cub now nearly ruled him as a young adult.
Maji was slowly learning to swallow his pride and adjust to his new lifestyle as a subordinate male. His appearance had faded from what it had been. The once silken mane was covered in dust from the cave and fluffed out wildly from his neck and chest. The moisture made it nearly uncontrollable. He and Suli groomed each other here and there but Suli was hardly ever proud of his appearance and often stated that the wild, untamed look made him appear to be more dangerous despite the mistweaver line's stunted size. In Maji's mind, it wasn't worth the trouble. He kept himself away from the main group and thus dedicated more time to hunting for himself and Suli, occasionally leaving a kill near to the main caves. It was his duty afterall, hate it as he did.
That morning he left the cave towards sunrise and walked himself to the river that had arched towards the cave for a drink. He was half grateful to the mists, facing his reflection was something that always brought a sneer to his maw. A b*****d son...how was he to have known? Not that one's blood made them more or less worthy. At least, that's what Taban believed. He found himself at a loss for just what he believed in anymore. No doubt the storm king was real but...beyond that who was to say.
He lifted his head up at the sound of panicked hooves tromping towards him. At first, the figure had him relaxing back, figuring it was the young wildebeest he'd been speaking to. However, once the image became clear he hunched himself back and coiled into his haunches. The antelope was too late in spotting the dusty blue figure surging through the mist- a perfect camouflage for a mistweaver. It gave a startled yelp as a pair of strong jaws seized its throat and pinned its body to the ground.
She'd almost been on it. She'd HAD the damned thing in her sight and----Another lion, grey as the mist nearby snatched it right out from her leaping claws. Mishenka ate dust, and slipped to the side as she skidded in her landing. "WHAT THE ********!" She roared, unable to help herself and glared at the male that had gotten to her "rightful" kill a split second before she had.
Another lion!? A lioness, rather. The male gave a sharp snarl around his kill and tensed back. She was not from around here... she'd not been at the ceremony nor had he seen her around prior to Masika's arrival. It made him wonder how she'd made it past Kisulisuli...unless the big oaf was off hunting for himself.
Slowly, he released his hold on the kill but kept one paw firmly planted on its side. Perhaps she was a member here, no one just walked in. He didn't expect anyone to inform him of new members after all. It was no longer his place.
The scowl remained as he eyed the female. Such language! "....who...are you...." It was said more like a muttered statement than an actual question.
"Who are you?!" She demanded back with a snort, "Anyone could have seen I was hunting that--I'm not exactly well blended." The lioness growled again, unable to keep the hiss from her voice. An entire day--WASTED! She was dirty, hungry, thirsty, AND she now had to climb back up that cliff. odds are food was fairly scarce down here, from the looks of the area.
The female gave another snort... but despite the fact that she was larger than him, she wasn't going to fight him over it. He'd won it, no matter how "unfairly." She brushed past him and headed back towards the cliffs.
He glanced down to the kill and let out a slow sigh. "...Wait." He released his hold on the kill. Old habbits died hard. He'd been a gentleman all his life. It was hard for him to get over.
"Take it..." He stepped away from the kill and glanced off to the side, back towards the water. If she was a rogue...she could use it more than him.
Mishenka stopped, partway to the cliffs already. She thought she'd heard... no way, that couldn't have been possible. Yet her blindingly bright ears twitched and she turned slightly to look behind her. He had...
For a moment she stood still, watching him go. Well THAT was interesting. Males didn't usually do such things... well, no one did actually, though she thought males a little higher on the list of 'assholes,' as a general rule.
The lioness returned to the carcass, looking down at the hot meat and her stomach rumbled. "Wait yourself," She called back. This was insane. Why was she doing this? "There's more than enough for two."
Maji paused partway to his cave and glanced back over a shoulder. He didn't say anything for a good deal of time. It seemed he was studying her, taking her entire posture in. She didn't seem aggressive. It might have been a trick, but he quickly shook the thought from his mind. Far too suspicious...
"I did not get your name... are you from around here?"
"No," She hadn't waited on him to make up his mind. The meat was hot and her stomach hungry and she went to filling the void with a passion. Laying beside the corpse, she began her feast using claw and teeth. After a few moments she licked her jaw and raised her head long enough to finish her reply, "Not precisely. I live by the lake up above her. I don't normally come down the shore this far.. or into the valley. This one tried to make a break for it, though, and I followed." That was as much explanation as he was liable to get from her. "And I did not get your name, either. Its common manners to give ones own name before demanding anothers'."
"My apologies." He walked himself over and sat down a few yards off. For the moment, he'd let her finish up. She had chaised it down here, he'd just managed to suprise it was all. Hungry as he might have been, he was never overly aggressive about his kills. Perpahs another 'weakness' to his being an actual lion.
"My name is Maji." He said simply. "I've lived in this valley all my life."
The female snorted, thought there was an amused note to the sound. "have you?" No wonder he was so stunted.. and scrawny. Her strangely rose-coloured eyes glanced about the place again, the only true sign behind her thoughts on the subject. She shook her head.
"Mishenka." With that she ripped another bloody mouthful out of the soft stomach and spilled the intestines loose. Hot steam rose to meet the thin tendrils of mist near them. There wasn't enough water yet to cover the entire area, but this close to the falls it made for a light bit of shielding. Mishka thought it was all rather too damp for her tastes, an ironic thing when held against the land's past months. "I don't bite. Not lions, anyway, far too salty for my taste."
"You'll have to forgive my distance." He explained quietly, "I find it rude to hover over another while they eat."
His tail flicked a bit against the ground as he too eyed the jungle around them. It had fallen silent in the wake of the kill. It always did. The crickets would stop chirping and the birds would have flown off. It only added to the haunting feel of the jungle. "There's a lake up there. I always figured." He mused out loud, partly just to break the awkward silence between the two.
She nodded, "Some think it an ocean, but I've made the circuit of it before." Mishenka wasn't certain why she was bothering to talk to him... well, after so much time spent alone it was rather nice to have a conversation with something she might not eat later on. That clause had always made it hard to form friendships. "You've lived here your whole life, but never bothered to go up?"
He shook his head, "I have felt obligated to this place... for a time I was the only lion that walked the jungle. Over time a pride gathered." He shrugged and glanced over shortly to take note of her progress on the kill. "You've lived by the lake your whole life? Why did you never come down into the valley?"
"It was dead," She replied with a snort, "i could see why no one wanted it... and that I would stand out like nothing else. A lioness such as I tends to stay in the limited areas she's able to hunt."
In a way she thought the answer should have been obvious... but she let that go. He could probably say the same to her of her question. After another mouthful, Mishka rose to move aside a little. She preferred to clean herself while the blood was fresh, and so she sat down to do so.
Maji sighed at the mention of the land's state. "It was not always so... the jungle was lush and rich in my younger years... there were elephants in our lake and herds of grazers moving through on occasion." He'd not dare mention that many of those herbivores had been his companions. Baba, a wildebeest, Gure, a gazelle, a quagga at one point... Kisulisuli still had his elephant friend that came through during migrations.
Once she seemed to have had her fill, he moved himself over to the kill and started picking at it. For a lion, and a hungry one, he ate slowly and seemed to be very careful just how he ate.
As she licked herself clean, the female considered this information. It made sense.. some anyway. Droughts were not made in mere months, after all, they took years... especially with the fact that the waterfall was supplied by a lake which still got rain.
"Well it seems as if its been doing better here lately. I've seen more storm clouds out in this direction. You must be pleased."
"One would think." He answered simply, his expression unwavering. He'd grown so tired of stewing over the situation. The topic brought a feeling of numbness. The rage and disgust at the entire ordeal combined with his dedication to the pride and sense of responsibility for it counter-acted and left really nothing. Taban's words often came to mind but they weren't his own, he wasn't sure where he stood on it anymore.
He wasn't a god. Saying what he wished to be was about as pointless as leaping off a cliff in hopes that wings would sprout and he'd fly. Not that the ideal was appealing.
Instead of going into it, he took another mouthful of the kill and left it at that.
That was interesting... in a fashion. Mishka raised a brow at his... 'disinterest' shall we say. Odd that such a thing would be displeasing to someone who had lived here.. but who was she to judge. The female shrugged it off and continued to clean herself. It was far easier to do that than make conversation with the unwilling.
Once Maji had his fill he sat himself up and licked his chops clean. he didn't seem overly keen about cleaning up his paws. Then again, he'd looked a bit worn down in coming out in the first place. "Are there others with you? Or are you alone?"
She raised her head slightly, "If there were others with me, would they not then be here with me?"
Maji shrugged. "Not necessarily. I hunt alone...as does my companion. Sometimes we go together but everyone's different. I did not want to assume too much."
"I was remarking on the fact that you ask if there are others with me, when I am clearly sitting with you alone... though I suppose that being near you at all means I have another at least nearby if not precicely with." Yes, being alone had marked her quite a bit. She sat up and stretched herself, claws digging into the earth before her. "But no, in answer to your slightly mangled question, I am alone in all senses of the word, save present."
Maji's expression became quite sympathetic at the statement. Her attitude aside, he could relate very well to her solitude. "Ah... it must be a hard life." He glanced back up towards the main caves. They were barely visible through the morning fog, but he could find them had he been blind. "Though... you must find a good deal of solstice in your freedom."
"It does me well," She nodded. She glanced at the mists.. but saw nothing in them. Of course, this was not her land. "Though I suppose your companion misses you. Perhaps I'll find myself down here again sometimes."
She wasn't certain why she'd bothered to put forth the last, but say it she had and now she turned to try a climb up. It would be slow and hard going.. but she could make it. And she would have to before the next rains came, for the rocks would then be slick.
"Ma'am." He stopped her and got to his paws. "Perhaps I can escort you out? The rocks are slick in the morning especially... it can be a bit tricky. I sprained my paw a while back." He offered a faint smile. "I don't bite."
She stopped, up on a ledge slightly above him. For a long moment, the female merely regarded Maji with a curiously blank expression. The only thing obvious about the entire situation, really, was that neither trusted the other very far. Yet.. she could need some assistance with the path, that was true enough. After a long, quiet deliberations he nodded--once. "It would be appreciated."
"Very well." He flicked his tail behind him and leapt up onto the rocks with an unnatural, almost practiced, ease. "Just follow behind me and hang on. It's easier to climb in the afternoon once the mist has settled."
Mishka gave another nod. Without another word she began to follow the mistweaver up the rocks. Even witht he mist settled, it was no easy journey by any means. She'd have worked off most of their meal by the time they reached the top, but never was there a word of complaint.
Once more, the emerald world of her home was before her and she heaved the softest of sighs for it. Only then did she look back to the grey, drab (by comparison) lion who had led her upward. "Thank you.. Maji, was it?"
Maji seemed to know the route pretty well, at least up to the last few yards of the climb. He never had much of a reason to go much higher than that, but even then climbing didn't seem to be such a big deal to him. Small as he was, his upper body was quite sculpted though by his behavior, it was likely he'd never put it to much use past hunting and climbing.
He dipped his head. "It was nice meeting you. If you find that solitude's taking it's toll on you, feel free to chaise something else down into the valley. I would not mind sharing another meal." He chuckled a bit though even he knew that his attempted joke was a bit dry.
She gave the softest of chuckles in return. Humor wasn't something that came as a 'wet' thing to her,and therefore his attempt was actually appreciated. "Perhaps I shall," She mirrored her comment from earlier and flashed him something akin to a smile. "Till that day."
With that the eye-blinding lioness turned and disappeared into the jungle beyond, as light and flighty as the butterfly upon her back. Somehow she managed to blend in here... perhaps due to the flowers, brilliantly shaded as she was.
Maji caught himself starring long after she was gone and brought a paw up to bat quietly at one side of his face. How very indecent of him... but he'd never seen such colors before! Seems the world was bigger than he gave it credit for.
He paused and turned to look down into the valley...his valley. Well....Masika's valley. He couldn't see much past the dead branches reaching up weakly into the air, from there it looked like a thicket of thorns more than anything. "...mm...." He spared one last glance over his shoulder before stepping his way back down into the mist.
